First of all I would just like to apologize to everyone for being MIA for the last two months. I had gotten a job at Chuck E Cheese's ( I was desperate and I needed money, it's not something I'm proud of) I finally got sick of it and rebelled against my rodent overlord and so here I am, happily unemployed and free to update my stories to my hearts content. I WILL NOT ABANDON MY STORIES! They will be finished one day... Please read and review! Huggles!

You may be wondering what it would be like to actually meet Erik. At any time before that exact moment I would have thought it would be the most pleasant experience of my life. Our eyes would lock and right away all the sympathy I felt for his tragic story would be conveyed. We would instantly understand each other and strike up a pleasant conversation, perhaps over a pleasant cup of tea.

As it was, I was completely, utterly, and in all ways terrified. From where I was sitting (bound and helpless I might add) He towered over me, glaring down on me with cold, suspicious eyes. In his presence the air became a little heavier, the shadows a little longer, the darkness a little deeper.

I found myself suddenly recalling tales of his time in Persia, of all the deaths he was responsible for. Still, if they stories were to be believed he had never killed a women, but there was a first time for everything and it was really hard to convince yourself that your not about to die when your tied up and gagged in the presence of a killer. And then of course, there was the fact that Ashley and I had just become the only two people in the world who knew the opera ghost was still alive.

As soon as he had done with me, Erik carefully picked up the unconscious Ashley and lay her gently on the couch. He left and returned with some smelling salts, a bowl of water and a small towel. Whatever else he was he had always remained a gentleman. Ash's eyes fluttered open as he waved the vial in front of her nose. He knelt by the couch sideways I noticed never exposing the masked side of his face to her. He wet the towel as she watched and wiped her forehead. "Are you well?"

"I think so, I...just remember a guy…coming from nowhere and-" Ash's eyes grew wide

"Oh…my..."I guess she realized who he was. "Your him. Where's Ember." She asked sitting up and looking around for me.

"mmmmhh ober ereeee." I said or tried to say.

I think she gasped. She looked at Erik and hit him on the shoulder. "Untie her!" She sounded like a mother scolding her child. He slowly got up to obey, carefully untying my ropes from my wrists but leaving the gag for me to deal with myself.

Ashley was off the couch in a moment "What's the big idea, tying her up like that? What's wrong with you?"

My eyes opened wide in shock. You couldn't speak like that to the Phantom…could you? I struggled to untie the handkerchief that still gagged me. "Ahh ohhh onn't. uuut uuub!"

But Ashley either could not understand me or chose to ignore my warning. She stood directly in front of Erik and poked him in the chest. "Just wait until I get back up there. I'll have you arrested for aggravated assault. You jerk!"

If it was possible my eyes opened even wider in shock.

Erik was apparently growing tired of this game. He grabbed Ashley by the wrist and forced her to sit down. He remained silent, apparently considering his options on how to deal with, or dispose of us. Either way I was sure it would not be pleasant for us.

With a final desperate tug, I managed to untie the handkerchief and said the first thing that popped into my head. "Erik, I-"

Erik spun around, his attention fully on me now. Sufficient to say it is not wise to address the phantom as if you know him when he has no clue who you are, why or how you got into his lair, and what you are doing there anyway. "Oops…" I don't know what I had meant to say. I managed to gather enough courage to look at his face but I couldn't tell if he was angry, confused, or in shock.

"So. You know who I am." Suddenly I glimpsed the Punjab lasso in his hand.

"Ahhhh!" I raised my hand to the level of my eyes.

Ash looked at me strangely "What the hell are you doing?"

My fingers shook as I pointed with my free hand. "The Punjab lasso! Ash, put your hand up like this and keep it there."

"Huh?" she looked to where I was pointing, "A piece of string? You're going to kill us with a piece of string?" She blinked once, and then began to laugh. "String!" more laughter "Oh, its too much." There were tears rolling down her checks. Her laughter died down and just when I thought she would stop she started up again.

I looked at Erik. He was not pleased. The visible part of his face had a red tint to it and his hands were balled up in fists at his side. One of which, I noted, still clutched the lasso.

"Shut up Ash."

"No, It's okay Ember. Don't worry. I think I have a paper clip in my pocket. We'll fight our way out! HA!" And to my horror Ash actually pulled a paper clip out of her pocket, unfolded it, and pointed it at Erik. "En garde!"

It became hard to breathe. I was getting a little lightheaded and somewhat dizzy. Erik looked pretty angry, with all his attention now focused on Ashley, he gripped his lasso tightly. Perhaps he had meant to kill her, and personally I think he had, but I guess we'll never know. Darkness swam over my vision and I fell to the floor. This time it was my turn to faint.

When I came to a moment later, I found myself face to face with Erik, literally. He had placed the smelling salts under my nose and the combination of the horrible scent and my last memory before fainting made me jump in surprise so that I bumped foreheads with Erik, who had been checking the cold compress that had been placed on my head. "Ow."

I said, rubbing my head. My eyes opened wide as I recalled fully where I was. "Please don't kill us! We thought you were dead! In the book you're dead by now We just want to go home! There was this mirror, with the birds and the grapes and this crazy lady at the shop and she's all like 'your answer lies at the opera house' so we go and she's Anne and I'm Bridgett or Am I Anne? But not really I'm Ember…"

"Calm down, Skitzo." I saw Ash lounging in a chair sipping on a cup of tea. " I already told him what happened and I used complete sentences to do it, too."

I sat up. "And he believed you?" Just then I realized Erik knelt on the floor in front of me. "And you believed her?"

"I have to admit I was a bit skeptical, but it does explain how you knew my name, and about the mirror. There was only one other person besides my self who knew that route."

"It's a good thing you fainted, so I could set things straight."

"Ash, fainting is never a good thing, ever. Ugh…I feel so turn of the century repressed woman. Honestly no one faints anymore. It must be this corset."

I had to admit I was a little jealous that Ash had been the one to fulfill my fantasy of having a chat with Erik over tea. I watched as he stood and began to put away the bowl of water and the smelling salts. I was still having trouble believing he was real. Really real.

"Pop your eyes back into your head." Ash said before taking another sip of tea. I must have been staring.

"So um…what now?"

"What do you mean 'what now?' Now, we are going to march straight back up to the public side of this Opera house and keep looking for the mirror."

I stood up and walked over to the chair Ash was sitting in. I wasn't sure how good Erik's hearing was. "You don't think he'll have a problem with that?"

"Who, Erik?"

So they were on a first name basis. How long was I out, I wondered.

"Why would he?"

"We'll there is the whole fact that he is a wanted man, and we are the only one's who know he is still alive and where to find him."

Ash waived her hand dismissivly and smiled. "Oh, that. It's okay I simply explained to him that we are only going to be here long enough to find that stupid mirror and then we are leaving and that you were madly in love with him and so there was no way you would turn him in."

"YOU TOLD HIM WHAT! What did he say?"

"I was quite flattered actually."

"Ahhh!" I jumped about ten feet into the air. Somehow during the course of our conversation Erik had sneaked up on us and stood quite close behind me. I ran to stand behind Ash who was still sipping at her tea as if this wasn't the first time she had been invited to take tea with a certain infamous Phantom.

As for Erik, he gently placed a saucer and cup of tea for me on the table next to Ash before sitting down on a couch opposite us. He considered us for a moment before speaking. "There are a few things, of course, which I would like to discuss and clarify."