Author´s note: I got so many reviews lately that I felt the need to say "Thank you!" again. It´s a great motivation for me. You guys are amazing. Beata-beatrix: You want to kill me in case the story turnes out to be E/C? Well, join the club! There are so many others who´d do the same. You´re right, by the way: Leroux - Erik and fluff don´t go too well together.

26) To guide these lives we see

A few hours later the last rehearsal was over. Again Raoul sat in the auditorium. But this time he didn´t wait for Christine. Ariane and he would go for a walk as soon as she was finished changing. He was looking forward to this meeting. The little while they had spent together had been quite enjoyable. Admittedly she had talked a bit too much, but he blamed her nervousness for it. Surely he´d be able to get a word in between every now and then if he tried hard enough.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder he looked up, the most charming smile he had to offer on his lips. Yet it wasn´t the girl he had expected. Meg was staring down at him, the expression on her face full of concern. "Why is Christine still with Erik?", she asked. She had been aching to get the answer for hours, so it was quite difficult for her to keep her voice down. But since there were no people around anymore, it didn´t matter that she didn´t quite manage to do so.

It took Raoul a moment to push his mind from the light conversation he had planned to the prospect of serious questioning. "Calm down, Meg.", he said, patting her hand slightly. "Christine just sprained her ankle on the way down. You know how dark these passageways are. Well, your beloved suggested that she should stay where she is for the next two days."

"What?", Meg cried. "Could you repeat that, please? I thought I heard you say she has to stay with him." "This has nothing to do with what happened between the two of us.", Raoul assured her. "He doesn´t want her injury to get worse, that´s all. Go and ask him! I´m sure he´ll tell you the same." The girl nodded, a little embarrassed. She had no idea why she had been this irrational. After all, it was not as if Christine was in love with Erik.

Having got her answer Meg was about to turn around when something else came to her mind. "What are you doing with Ariane all of a sudden?" "Erm… well…", he muttered. He didn´t know how to explain his sudden change of mind without talking about her best friend´s feelings for Erik. So he remained silent, hoping Meg would sense his discomfort and bring the conversation to a different subject. But he wasn´t that lucky. "Merely hours ago you told me how much you loved Christine, and the moment she´s not here you begin to look for a replacement. Are you sure you didn´t make this decision with a part of your body only loosely connected to your brain?"

She glanced at him sternly, and Raoul was startled by the resemblance to her mother. The arrival of Ariane saved him from making up an answer. "I´m ready to go.", she announced, beaming at Raoul. Shrugging off Meg´s hand he said: "We can leave immediately. Mlle.Giry and I were talking about nothing important anyway, were we?". "That´s right, M. le Vicomte.", she said stiffly. "If you could excuse me now – I have another appointment." "Good bye, Meg!", the other girl called cheerfully as Meg walked away. Raoul stood up and offered Ariane his arm. Together they went out of the auditorium.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Three visitors on one day! Erik started wondering why so many people suddenly felt the urge to come here. As he opened the door he found himself face to face with the only person who did visit him more or less frequently. "Meg, my love!", he exclaimed. He wanted to wrap his arms around the blond girl, but stopped in mid-movement, remembering last night´s events. His joy about seeing her evaporated. They stood in front of each other rather awkwardly. "I´m sorry.", she whispered, though she didn´t know herself what exactly she was sorry for. "I should have been here earlier, but there was not enough time."

"I´m glad you´ve come.", he said simply. She was standing at his door, even though they were practically alone. Surely this was a sign that she trusted him. Her next words, however, showed him that it wasn´t that easy. "I´ve heard about Christine´s injury.", she told him. "That´s the reason why I´m here." When she noticed the slightly hurt expression on his face she hastily corrected herself: "Well, part of the reason.". She gave him a tentative smile.

The girl held up a small suitcase made of dark brown leather. "I´ve brought her a few clothes and other things she might need.", she explained. He beamed at her. She was such a good friend to Christine, overcoming her fear of him for her sake. He had thought about going to Christine´s dressing room and getting some of her belongings himself, but since he only had a vague idea of what a woman needed every day he was glad that Meg had taken over this task. "I´m sure she´ll appreciate your effort."

"May I give it to her? I promise I won´t stay long.", she said. Yet Erik shook his head. "She fell asleep moments after the Vicomte was gone. The medication against the pain made her very sleepy." "I see.", Meg muttered, handing him the suitcase. "Then I´ll better go." Knowing that Christine wasn´t awake and could come to her help she felt even more uncomfortable in his presence.

He was about to seize her hand to hold her back, but didn´t do it, in case she wouldn´t like it. "Meg, please come in! We have to talk.", he pleaded. The girl´s gaze wandered nervously from Erik to the path that would lead her away and back. She didn´t have to answer, though, for in this moment a huge yawn shook her body. For the first time Erik noticed the dark circles under her eyes and instantly felt guilty. It was because of him that she hadn´t been able to sleep. "Go to bed, princess!", he said lovingly. "We can still talk tomorrow… if you want to, that is." "Yes.", she whispered. "Thank you." She reached up and squeezed his shoulder affectionately, a gesture that surprised both of them. Then she left. He looked after her, absent-mindedly massaging the spot where she had touched him.