Thank you all for reviewing! Oh, and I would've updated earlier, but I was waiting for some of my reviewers to review, since they always do. but did they ever review? Noooo, so I decided that I should just update anyways... So remeber! My wonderful reviewers, I do pay attention! lol. So here is the next chappie enjoy!

Chapter 17

As I sat there playing the song on the organ, I noticed that Erik had left my side. Even though it did not seem that I took heed to this, I did wonder why he got up. Usually while I played, Erik would always sit by my side as my hands flowed along the ivory keys.

Once I finished the song, Erik had not returned to my side. Glancing all around me, I finally spotted Erik standing by the trap door that I had gone down earlier and saw him peering down inside.

"Erik," I asked, "what in the world could you possibly be looking at down that hole?"

"Shh," Erik replied while still looking down the stairway.

Peeking my curiosity, I wandered over to the door to also look down it. When I got over to where Erik was standing and peered down the hole, I finally realized what Erik was so worried about.

There were footsteps coming down the tunnel.

In my surprise, I grabbed Erik's arm as I continued to look towards where the footsteps were coming from.

"Who do you think it could possibly be?" I whispered to Erik.

Erik did not reply, but only continued to stare down that staircase. I looked over at him and noticed that his hand had gone directly to his lasso, which he always carried around, just in case Raoul showed up and tried to take me back home. Turning my gaze away from Erik and back towards the tunnel, I noticed that the footsteps were getting louder.

Erik stepped slowly away from the opening and closed the door. Following his shift, I also stepped back away from the door. After wondering why he closed the door, I realized that he did it so that the person would not run away when he or she saw two figures staring down at them.

Quickly shooting a glance over at Erik, I noticed that he had his lasso in his hand and was ready to get it around the neck of whoever came through the door. His grip tightened as the door began to slowly open. Since we were on the backside of the door, the person whose head peered up through the door did not notice us.

Just that quick, Erik flung his lasso around the neck and pulled the person to face us.

The shocked and horrified face that we saw was that of a woman. She had red curly hair that was tied up on top of her head. Her oval face was rather beautiful, pale, but beautiful. I think the fact that she was girl shocked both Erik and I.

When I realized that Erik was still choking the woman, I cried out, "For God's sake, Erik! Don't kill the poor woman!"

As Erik turned to look at me, he also loosened the lasso's tightness, but still kept it so that the lady could not move.

Shaking my head unbelievably at Erik, I walked over to the woman and got the lasso off of her neck. Hastily she backed away from us while holding her neck.

"Who are you people?" she managed to say through her gasps of breath.

"The question," Erik replied with a sly smile," is not who we are but who you are, Madame."

"I," the woman declared proudly, "am Evelyn, the owner of this Opera House, which you, seem to be illegally living in."

At her statement, I knew that she had said completely the wrong thing. How dare she say the he was living in her opera house? This was his!

I was not at all surprised at the way that Erik responded. "Your Opera? I assure you, Madame, that this building belongs to me! And since you seem to be the new owner, all of your actions belong to me as well! You obey my orders, my demands, or it will cost you." Erik gripped is lasso.

Evelyn seemed to be appalled by Erik's answer as much as he was with hers. "What! I bought this Opera House with money, and I will not have anybody give me orders, especially those who live underground! I advise you to leave before I call the authorities."

"And what will you tell them?" Erik mocked. "That you have a man living underneath your opera? They will not believe a word you tell them. They will just think that you are some crazy old woman!"

"Old? I am not old. I am only 40!" After she had calmed herself down a bit, she continued on. "And no, I would not tell them that there was just some man living here, I would tell them that I have found the Opera Ghost."

With those last words, I knew that Evelyn had sealed her fate. Within seconds, I knew that I would witness the death of a woman. But to my surprise, the woman broke out into laughter. I stared at her with my mouth agape. How dare she be laughing? How could anybody laugh at a time like this! When I looked over at Erik to see his reaction, I was even more surprised.

He was smiling.

"Erik," the woman yelled ecstatically. "It is fantastic to see you again! I did not think that you remembered me, with that spiel of ours going on so long!"

"Why, how could I ever forget you? You helped me… accomplish so much." Erik replied.

Evelyn laughed heartily. "I suppose that you could put it that way."

"Wait," I said while shaking my head, "how do you two know each other? This doesn't have to do with my mother again, does it Erik?"

"Mais non, my dear Emma. This goes back much farther than Christine. Evelyn helped me to do something awhile back. I am not particularly proud of that happening anymore, but she was a good deal of help to me at the time."

When I realized that he was not going to tell me anything I asked, "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

Erik glared at me. "Of course not, Emma. You would shame me if I told you, and your mother would be most upset about it, for she does not even know about it."

I nodded my head in understanding. "One of the great mysteries of the Opera Ghost, I see?"

He only nodded his head.

"Come, Evelyn," Erik said. "Let me show you my new home."

I stared after them as Erik showed her everywhere around his lair. In my head, I was going over every possible way that this Evelyn could know Erik and he know her. Of course there were many parts of Erik's past that I did not know, so I concluded that she was from some distant part of his life.

"And here," Erik said proudly, "is Emma's room." He turned towards me as Evelyn peered inside my room. She was just about to go inside when I yelled out, "Do not go into my room!"

"Oh my," Evelyn responded while quickly leaving my room. "I do apologize. I should not have gone in there without asking."

"Of course you should not have! What kind of person goes into someone else's room without permission!" As soon as these words left my mouth I instantly regretted them.

I had done the same thing, with Erik's room, that I was accusing Evelyn of doing.

Because Erik did not reply, I supposed that he saw the guilty expression on my face and decided not to say anything.

"Here," I said, trying to redeem myself, "it is nearly dinner time, why don't I prepare something?"

"That would be stupendous, Emma," Erik agreed.