23) Wandering free

Christine had never seen the room she woke up in. Yet she knew at once that it belonged to Meg. There was an elegant dressing table and a large wardrobe made of the same light wood, and the silken sheets of the bed she lay in were a pale blue. But what finally convinced her that it couldn´t possibly be Erik´s room was the mirror hanging over the dressing table.

She wasn´t sure how long she had slept, or rather been unconscious. She tried to sit up, but the moment she moved her head the world started spinning around her. With a groan she sank back onto the pillow. "Erik?", she called in a voice so faint that she was quite certain he hadn´t heard her. Christine was surprised that the door was pushed open almost immediately and the man she had asked for appeared. Obviously she had underestimated his hearing.

"Christine!", he said brightly. "How are you?" "I´m -" She stopped, reminding herself that it hadn´t been merely a polite phrase, but a real question. "I feel a bit dizzy and can´t move properly.", she muttered. "And – why don´t you come a little closer?" He was still standing at the door, and it was annoying that she wasn´t able to see him while she spoke.

He smiled shyly. "If you want me to…" She nodded, and he walked up to her, sitting down at the edge of the bed. Christine closed her eyes for a moment; the nodding had been too much movement for her head. The resulting dizziness was even increased as a wave of Erik´s very own scent hit her nostrils. How could someone who spent so much time in mouldy corridors smell this good?

Erik misinterpreted her reaction, thinking that the slight movement of him sitting down had made her feel sick. At the back of his mind a small voice told him that his presence probably made her sick, but he managed to suppress those worries. To distract himself he asked gently: "Can I get you something? Tea, maybe? I´m afraid there´s not much food I could offer you.". Erik´s eating habits were rather different from other people´s, and at the moment his supplies were nearly used up. He´d have to send Mme.Giry to purchase a larger variety of food.

"I´m not hungry.", the girl informed him. "But it would be very friendly if you had a glass of water." Her mouth was terribly dry, partly due to the fact that he was only inches away from her. "Of course.", he mumbled. This was at least something she could be given instantly. A tray with a jug and two glasses stood right next to him on the bedside table. Within moments he had one of them filled. Clumsily he seized Christine around the middle and helped her sit up. She winced slightly about the rough treatment, but didn´t complain. After all, he was doing his best. He brought the glass to her lips and let her drink.

When it was half empty he put it back on the table. Christine smiled faintly. She did feel a little better. At once Erik fetched two more pillows, so that she could remain in an upright position without him holding her. It was only when he accidentally brushed over the blanket, making it slip from her legs, that she noticed something else. "What´s that, Erik?", she wanted to know, looking down at herself. A snow white bandage was wrapped around the lower part of her right leg.

"Your ankle is sprained.", he replied. "At least that´s what I´d say." "You made this bandage?" He nodded. "First I applied a salve made of herbs. It should lessen the swelling. And there was something against the pain in the water." Christine couldn´t help being impressed. Erik seemed to have far more talents that just for music. "Where did you learn such things?", she asked curiously. "Among the gypsies I travelled with was an old woman who showed me some tricks.", he explained. "It´s very useful. I mean, I cannot simply go to a doctor…"

"I see.", the girl said. After a moment she went on: "I´m sorry for all the trouble I caused you. When I came here I certainly didn´t want to end up in your bed.". ´Well, at least not immediately.´, she added in her mind. "I only wanted to find out if Meg was with you. She didn´t show up at the ballet lesson this morning." "No, she hasn´t been here since the day before yesterday.", Erik told her. He looked at her in alarm. "Why? Do you think something´s wrong with her?" Dreadful pictures appeared in his head: Meg standing at a railway station, buying a ticket that would enable her to get as far away from him as possible.

Christine shrugged, noticing with relief that the movement was far less painful that the nodding before. "I don´t know. It´s unusual for Meg not to attend a lesson." Knowing Meg´s sense of duty he was even more worried than before. "Is her mother looking for her as well?" "No, but Raoul is. I´m sure he´ll find her. Mme.Giry told him where to go." Erik didn´t look convinced. He didn´t harbour the most positive feelings for the Vicomte. He could tell himself over and over that those feelings came from the time when he had suspected the younger man of taking Christine away from him, and still they wouldn´t disappear.

"I have to search for her myself.", he announced. He was about to stand up when the injured girl came to his mind. "I can´t go and leave you here alone.", he said. "But I could come with you.", Christine suggested. "If you gave me a walking stick…" Erik shook his head and pushed her down with gentle pressure. "You musn´t move your leg for the next two days or the ankle could remain stiff." "What?", she exclaimed. "Are you trying to tell me I have to stay here for the next two days?"

Author´s note: Yes, I know what you´re thinking. Have a little trust in your Jenny Wren, all right? I didn´t take so much time to build up the relationship of Meg and Erik to ruin everything just like that.