15) I will protect you

Erik liked the streets at this time of day, or rather night. They were wonderfully quiet without the rattling of coaches and the talking and shouting of hundreds of people. He enjoyed going for a walk every now and then, and after hours of writing down all the details of his plan he needed to relax before he could either go to bed or do some more composing, which was more likely.

The streets were even emptier than usual because of heavy showers. The few people still outside – mostly women wearing too much make-up and too little clothing who were waiting for their last customers – had withdrawn to the entrances of houses or backyards. They didn´t even try calling out to him, knowing his determined strides wouldn´t take him to one of them. He wasn´t the type of man who visited them. Erik was glad about being left in peace. He also didn´t mind the rain. His cloak and fedora kept him dry.

He didn´t care which way he took. Everything looked quite similar in the dark… except one house, which he´d have recognised among a thousand others. And it was exactly this house he found himself in front of after a while. His feet had carried him here automatically. It was Meg´s home. But as much as he longed for knocking at the door, he couldn´t just do it, not this late at night. He knew what a big concession of Mme.Giry it was to let him be with her daughter at all, and he wouldn´t risk it by such a stupid behaviour.

But while he mentally prepared himself to leave again he noticed a tiny flickering of light at one of the windows, as if a single candle was burning behind it. Though he had only been there once, on that memorable night three months ago, he was certain the window belonged to Meg´s room. Erik sighed, his gaze wandering from the house to the street he had to take to return to the opera and back several times. Of course he was interested in why his beloved wasn´t asleep yet. Or was she? Maybe she had forgotten to extinguish the candle, and now it could set the whole house on fire. He didn´t really believe this excuse, but it was enough to make him approach the entrance door.

Opening it would be absolutely no problem. Over the years he had learned a lot of very useful tricks, some because he had needed them and some because he was fascinated with the gain of knowledge. The task that lay in front of him wouldn´t be too difficult – he only had to make sure he wouldn´t damage the wood. When he tentatively pushed down the door handle the door swung open. It hadn´t been locked. Stepping inside Erik shook his head about this carelessness. Every body could enter the house just like that.

He made his way up the stairs, fervently hoping Mme.Giry wouldn´t pick this moment to go to the kitchen for a glass of water or to do a similar activity which made it necessary to leave her bedroom. Erik didn´t produce more noise than a mouse, but he couldn´t make himself invisible. If she came down the stairs now, she´d surely have many unpleasant questions.

Yet an incident like that didn´t occur. Still his heart was beating quickly as he pushed the door to Meg´s room open, slowly and gradually. He was glad that nobody could see him in this state – the mighty Opera Ghost afraid of entering a girl´s bedroom. Sometimes he did ask himself what had become of him. But then, he had only changed for the better.

Meg was watching the shadows the candle cast on the wall opposite the bed when suddenly the door began to open. A man dressed in black appeared. The girl´s eyes widened in shock. Could it be possible that the figures from her dreams came to haunt her even though she was awake? She let out a shriek. Due to the fact that her body was rigid with fear it hadn´t been very loud, yet in the silence of the house it seemed to have been as shrill as a siren.

Instantly Erik was at her bed, pressing a hand over her mouth. "It´s just me.", he hissed. "Calm down, please! I´m sorry. I didn´t mean to scare you." Having recognised his voice and the feeling of his gloves on her skin Meg nodded. He removed his hand, and she seized the opportunity to take a deep breath. "What are you doing here?", she asked when she had recovered from her shock enough to speak. "Well, I… I like going past your house at night.", he admitted, knowing how strange this had to sound. "I look up to your window and imagine how it would be to sit at your bed, watching you sleep, occasionally brushing some of your beautiful curls out of your face…"

"But you´ve never… actually done it, have you?", Meg whispered. In theory the idea was quite appealing, yet she didn´t like the thought that he might have seen her in one of her boring nightdresses, maybe even snoring. "Of course not.", Erik replied in an indignant voice. "Today was the first time I came in, and I only did it because I saw the light in your room and thought you… could need help."

The girl gave him a relieved smile. Here she was, all alone and tormented by nightmares, and he came along, as if she had called for him. "I didn´t sleep well… stupid dreams.", she explained. Erik nodded. He probably knew more about the topic than any other person on this planet. In most of his dreams he was forced to re-live certain moments in his past, which had already had nightmare quality when they had really happened. The ones which occurred often included the first time he had seen his own face and the moment the slave girl in Persia had refused him. His method of dealing with them was simple: He slept as little as possible. It was quite an effective way, but he doubted it would work for anyone else. Other people seemed to need their sleep more than he did.

"Do you feel like talking about them?", he asked softly, looking down at her with concern in his eyes. She was very pale and gave the impression that she had been awake for hours. He had never practiced the method of talking about dreams himself, but read about it a few times. "I don´t think so.", Meg said. She couldn´t tell the man she loved that he had played the leading role in her nightmares. Erik was a little disappointed by her refusal. Didn´t she trust that he´d try to understand whatever she had dreamed, even if it had been something disgusting? After all, one couldn´t influence one´s dreams. "Do you want me to go?"

Hearing the slight note of sadness the girl felt guilty at once. Making him go and being alone with her fear again was the last thing she wanted. "No. I´m glad you´re here.", she answered. "Could you perhaps stay a little while, till I´m asleep?" "It´ll be a pleasure for me, princess.", he said kindly. Maybe the dreams were upsetting her so much that she couldn´t talk about them at the moment. He could understand that perfectly well. Meg moved forward, creating enough space for him to sit behind her. Determined to stay for not longer than half an hour Erik merely removed his hat and cloak before taking the position she wanted him to and wrapping his arms around her from behind. She leaned her back against his chest and closed her eyes.

"Good night, Erik. Thank you!", she muttered, for the first time since she had woken up truly feeling safe and relaxed. "Good night, Meg.", he whispered, placing a kiss on her cheek. When he blew out the candle, she already was asleep.