A/N: well, after being disappointed with the last two chapters I was sure to take my time with this one and I'm actually kinda happy with it. I'd just like to thank all of you who've been reviewing; I strongly appreciate all of you who take the time to do so. As for what vampire lore I'm using, well I can't go into that too much now, see there will be a few chapters in the future dedicated to Christine explaining exactly what happened when Catherine took her and that's when you'll all the info. The one thing I probably should explain though, is Christine's sleeping patterns. For that I'm going by the story "Carmilla" which was written pre-Dracula. Anyways it goes that as the sun is rising, she has to be asleep, but once it's after noon, she can be out in the sun, though preferably not directly. Hope that helps.

Erik's eyes met Christine with an emotion the girl could not place. His breathing was slow and steady, yet his whole body was infused with a tightly strung tension just threatening to break. Losing her nerve under his harsh stare, Christine timidly lowered her gaze but instead of hearing the reprimand that the girl was sure would soon come, she heard his steps slowly move away.

Looking up, Christine was confused to see that he had retreated into the kitchen, and was now fixing a concoction of sorts. In only a moment, his towering figure was once again looming over her and placed the glass down, startling her with its sharp noise as it hit the table's surface.

"Drink that," he said in an equally sharp tone, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the fire's mantle.

The girl eyed the auburn drink cautiously before looking back at Erik. "What is it?" she asked uncertainly.

"Why Christine, do you not trust me?" There was a subtle smirk on his face as he glared at her with his stony eyes. How was it that this man could go so quickly from what seemed like a genuine state of concern to one of apparent bitterness?

Shooting him a glare of her own, Christine downed the contents of the glass in a single movement. The taste was harsh and warmed her throat on its journey but at least it wasn't completely unpalatable. She then gave him a defiant look, awaiting his next words.

"I think you'll agree that I've been very patient with you, Christine," he began in a slow calculated manner.

"Erik…"

Holding up a hand for silence, Erik peeled himself from the wall and descended closer to the guilt-ridden girl. "You witnessed your husband's murder unharmed and yet it was two weeks prior that you allegedly went missing. If it is not from the attackers you are hiding, then it is the authorities. This does not look well on you, should you decide to return to the surface."

Christine blanched. She had never even thought of how the public would view these strange events. Could she really be considered a suspect?

Erik's silky voice interrupted her troubled thoughts. "What I've been unable to figure out in all this, is why you were given enough time to leave in the first place."

Christine's eyes went wide and Erik's refused to waver as he kept them firmly locked to the girl's, taking in every involuntary reaction his words pulled from her nervous body.

"The only logical answer is that they had no intention of harming you; that they let you go." He paused in order to kneel before her, watching as the girl's eyes slid tightly closed, turning her head from his gaze.

Erik sighed, and with a light touch, allowed his hand to glide her head back to his, while two tears cascaded down her pale cheeks. "Why are you protecting them, Christine?"

Christine's eyes drifted opened to stare directly into his, momentarily stunned by their close proximity. He then moved away from her to give her some space.

"Erik… what you have to understand…" She shook her head, trying desperately to find the words she knew he must hear. But what was it she could tell him? "I was just so incredibly foolish."

She suddenly wished that she hadn't taken his drink all at once, it had made her feel better and she now wished she could have some more. "I, I met these people, and, well I was lonely… I let them manipulate me so completely, she knew me so well… They managed to convince me that Raoul would eventually leave me, since it seemed I was unable to present him with an heir. I was stupid. They took their time to convince me, but they did it none the less, and I left with them."

Further tears escaped down her face as she made her partial confession, refusing to look in Erik's direction. "I was so horribly confused through it all, but it didn't take me long to realize the terrible mistake I had made. Why they wanted me, I have no idea, but they refused to let me leave, I couldn't leave, not after… I tried to escape, ran straight to Raoul, right to the first place they looked, and despite all my pleading and promises of submission, they killed him anyways and threw his body at my feet."

Christine wasn't sure but it seemed as though Erik's body stiffened as he listened to her trembling words, his subtle hands clenching tightly at his sides and his eyes shining with a fierce intensity. "And then they let me go. After all that, they let me go, promising, knowing that I would have nowhere to turn but back to them. And if I didn't, they'd track me down and kill who ever I had found protection with."

At last she looked up at the man before her, fear etched across every inch of her pleading expression. What could he possibly do to help her? Would he even try to help?

It was a long time before either of them spoke but then Erik finally broke the silence with his emotionless words. "And yet you still protect them."

"You don't und—"

Something in his gaze broke.

"What do you want from me, Christine? Why is it you've made no real effort to leave? I know you didn't come here looking for me, you've made that clear. Why shouldn't I just throw you out now?" Christine gasped audibly as it seemed Erik's volatile temper was about to reveal it's self, but instead he took a step back, glaring horribly at the girl.

In an effort to compose himself, Erik brought his voice down softly, allowing his powerful timbres to caress her pale flesh with his next question. "What will you give me if I allow you to stay?"

Christine's mind whirled. How was it he had so completely managed to turn the tables? Yesterday he had threatened that he wouldn't release her and now, well now he was demanding payment for her stay. He knew she had nowhere else to go, she so much as told him that she was completely at his mercy.

He gave her a confidant smirk, clearly enjoying the new panic racing through the startled girls form. Cursing him in the back of her mind, Christine glared back at his cold, glittering eyes. True, he had every right to be wholly infuriated with her, but she had hoped that after his apparent concern, he would at least be somewhat compassionate to her situation.

The pain in her stomach once again flared, as anger raced to surface it's self within her quaking body. The heat in the room felt as though it would consume her whole, while her ears seemed to even pick up the faint beating of a heart from the man before her.

Rising from her seat, Christine faced the man, biting back a moan as her stomach gave another painful lurch. "Raoul is dead and I'm trapped here, by choice even. It would seem I have inadvertently given you exactly what you've wanted from me. What more do I have?"

She spat the words at him, not caring what their effect would be, hoping even, that they would infuriate him. She stepped towards him, daring him to answer her, daring him to give her the truth. And all the while, she grew increasingly aware of how incredibly human this phantom truly was. She could hear the beating of his heart, feel the heat radiating from his body, smell the blood racing through his veins, and see his pulse thump rhythmically beneath his skin. Christine laughed as the realization dawned on her and the world swam before her eyes.

"Christine? Christine, what's wrong?" came his voice faintly but she paid it no mind. He was only a human, only mortal and she… well what did it matter what she was. What was he to her but food? Again she laughed, fully lost in her revelry.

"Christine, can you hear me?"

She felt his hands tightly grasp her shoulders giving her body a firm shake. Christine's faded eyes began to refocus yet all the while felt the fire ready to consume her. He was much too close. He was much too human and much too close.

Christine watched as her hand rose, as though acting of it own will, and rest carefully on the side of Erik's masked face. She watched in fascination as it made its way down to his neck in a soft caress, and after lingering there a moment, come to settle on a tense shoulder. He was much too close.

It wasn't until his own hand came into view and gently pulled the other away, releasing it while taking a step back, that her odd stare was broken. Their eyes met, Erik's in a combination of rage and worry, Christine's consumed with a disturbing feral presence. It was not Christine Erik recognized before him.

Suddenly the world seemed to come back into view and she realized with a staggering understanding, what she had done. What was she doing? Turning her head in shame, Christine moved swiftly away while a sickening rush of self-loathing over took her mind.

"What did they do to you?" he asked uncertainly with the smallest trace of fear breaking through.

Still she ignored him. Christine couldn't bring herself to look back at him, instead she moved steadily towards the hidden door to the house. She needed to feed, now.

"I'll, I'll be back soon," she stammered, moving closer to the far wall. "I promise I'll come back. I just need some time… to myself. Don't follow me."

"Christine, you are not leaving. Not –"

"You can't stop me," she cut in.

"You can't leave, not without my help." He was still staring at her but had made no move to approach.

Christine glanced over the wall quickly, instantly spotting the faint markings left by the oils of the hand. She smiled inwardly, wondering if even Erik could see them. "I'll not be gone long."

To his amazement, Christine pushed the exact spot where the spring to open the door was hidden. The door opened briefly and she was gone.

Please R&R

I just realized how long it's been since I last updated, I hope this was worth the wait.