Everything and Nothing

Notes- The first thing Christine sings in here is to the tune of "I remember there was mist…" The second is "Angel of Music." Thanks to MoonDancerCat for reviewing!

Chapter Four: In Dreams He Came

I discovered two things the night after I introduced myself to little Daae as her Angel of Music.

One was that swearing at yourself doesn't help matters; in fact, it tends to make you angrier.

Two was that little girls are almost unbearably adorable when they're asleep, regardless of how they really act when they're awake.

It was ridiculous how little discipline I was exerting upon myself. Only a few hours ago I had decided that I had given her what she had wanted, and that was that. Only a few minutes ago, I had firmly told myself that I was going to spend the evening reading one of my newer books and sipping some wine by the fire. Only two minutes ago, I had paused in one of my dark passages and announced to my surroundings that this was foolish and I was going home and to bed.

Now I stood in a darkened room, where the only light came from an open window. Ten girls slept crowded together in this room, all on separate tiny cots that probably wouldn't fit them in a year or so. Their belongings were everywhere underfoot- as though they had decided to dump all of the sharpest and hardest objects on the floor right before climbing into bed.

I must say it made a remarkable security system- I was now nursing a stubbed toe and a sore heel.

Little Daae lay asleep before me. Her face was calm and untroubled in the night, giving me an irrational feeling that all was well in the world.

The hell it was. What on earth was I thinking, standing in a room filled with little girls who could, at any moment, wake up and start screaming?

Of course, the answer was that I hadn't been thinking.

I sighed, and watched as the young lady shifted slightly. Why was I here…?

One of the other girls let out a soft groan, and I stiffened. However, she was soon quiet again, and I could relax.

Carefully, I picked a few of their belongings off of a nearby stool and seated myself on it, cursing my stupidity as I went along. I made certain to remember each belonging and where it had been placed on the stool, so that I would not alarm anyone when they awoke the next morning. The last thing I wanted right now was to have them all running about saying they had been visited by the Ghost in the night.

Though if I played my cards right, I could make everyone think that Buquet had-

I shoved the thought away, disgusted with myself. That was an idea that I would never inflict on young children. Ever.

Mademoiselle Daae sighed, and a small frown crossed her face.

I glanced up towards the cot that was next to hers; little Giry's bed, which was empty for tonight. She and her mother had departed for their house, as they usually did whenever they had the chance. Young Giry, I noted with bemusement, had forgotten her sleeping doll. Certainly she was quite unhappy about it right now, though I highly doubted that her mother would do anything about it. After all, the time had already passed midnight. And Madame Giry was quite the no-nonsense woman.

I returned my gaze to my charge, and frowned slightly as she gave a soft whimper. Something was definitely troubling her in her sleep now. Her eyes were moving rapidly beneath the lids, and her small hands were twitching and clutching at the small blanket that served as her covers.

It wasn't cold tonight, so she couldn't have been uncomfortable from the weather.

I felt a moment of shame. It had been mentioned by people before that the Opera Ghost not only looked like death, but smelled like it. I was not aware of such a thing, but… what if that was…?

But no. If anything, when she began to move more violently in her sleep, she moved towards me, not away. I felt a surge of relief along with concern.

Perhaps, I could….

No. Absolutely not. That is not to be considered. Not here, not now, I told myself firmly.

My mind continued along the same vein.

Damn it.

I leaned over little Daae's bed, careful not to get too near, but also careful not to be too loud.

Softly, I began to sing into her ear.

It was a wordless song, a tune that I remembered coming up with on a day when I had been in inexplicably good spirits. I remember that I had actually whistled the tune that time- a thing that I almost never did. I recall only whistling once or twice before in my entire life.

For a moment, nothing seemed to change on little Daae's face, and I feared that, again, I may be the cause of her discomfort in her sleep.

But then, slowly, her expression relaxed, and her hands stopped twitching. As I sang the tiniest bit louder, she gave out a little sigh…

And gave the most heart-wrenching smile I'd ever seen on any face in my life.

I stopped singing, staring at that face in wonderment. Did I do that? I wondered.

A stifled gasp alerted me to the fact that I was not the only one awake in this room.

My eyes shot upwards, to the door. It had opened while I had been focusing on Mademoiselle Daae, and now a figure stood in the doorway.

That figure was Madame Giry.

I stood up straight, one hand automatically going to the Punjab lasso hidden away in my pocket. The other went to check that my mask was firmly in place.

"Monsieur," she said quietly, eyes wide.

"Madame," I greeted her in the same tone.

She looked down at little Daae, then back up at me. Then she glanced towards her daughter's cot. "I… my daughter, she…" she said, gesturing helplessly towards the little doll.

I nodded. "As you say, Madame."

She went to the little cot and picked up the doll, her eyes never leaving me. Mine never left her as she moved, waiting for the moment when she let the whole Opera House know what the ghost was up to.

But she never did.

She carefully took the doll into her arms and began to back away, watching me.

"Madame," I said.

She stopped.

"You will not speak of this."

Madame Giry paused. Then she nodded. "I will not speak of this unless you harm her," she said firmly.

I gritted my teeth, fighting down anger. "I would never lay a finger on her," I began, but she stopped me.

"There is more than one way to hurt a child, Monsieur." With a small nod of respect, my box-keeper closed the door. Once again, I was surrounded by naught but sleeping girls and their toys.

For a moment, I merely stood there, considering her words. More than one way to hurt- of course. She meant with words. With my voice.

But the thought of harming any young child, especially little Daae, was so incredibly alien to me that I couldn't take her words seriously. Harm a child. Oh, please…

I sat down where I had been before, and continued to sing into the young lady's ear…

I watched as the girls were roused the next morning, rubbing my eyes wearily with one hand. Rather foolishly, I had chosen to spend almost the entire night at little Daae's bedside, singing into her ear whenever the slightest hint of a frown passed over her face in her sleep. After Madame Giry, I had been the only conscious person in the room, and had gradually relaxed as the time had passed until I saw the false dawn beginning outside the window.

Mademoiselle Daae was one of the last to wake; one of her friends had to shake her to force her back into consciousness.

Then, to my surprise, I watched as wonder settled on her face.

She wound up being the last of the girls to leave the room and head for practice, so for a moment we were alone; I in hiding, and she in her own little world.

Then, she began to sing;

"I remember there was light…

Glowing light that chased the darkness away.

There was happiness, good cheer

And there was song all through the night

And the song came from an angel…"

I couldn't help but smile at her sense of awe. So she had heard me, and remembered. Once again, I felt an irrational sense that all was well in the world.

What's going on with me? I wondered as she left the room.

Then I realized as I heard her sing;

"Thank you, oh Angel,

Guide and guardian,

Granting me your glory,

Angel of Music,

Thank you kindly,

For helping me sleep well…"

I couldn't quite place my finger on it, but I had the sudden feeling that things were going to get very interesting for me, and very soon.

Well, since I'm supposed to teach her music, I'd better find some children's songs to work with…

But first, sleep called to me. Yes, sleep was a good idea. It was the best thought I'd had in the last twenty-four hours. Perhaps even the only thought...