Disclaimer: Same old thing.

A/N: Fondest greetings to you all. Thank you so much for all the kind reviews and suggestions. You all have given me some ideas for later chapters. Again, thank you so very much. Now, on with the story.

Chapter 19: The Storm

The rain was pounding down hard against the roof. I was cuddled up in the library reading a book by Jane Austen. I believe it was Pride and Prejudice. Erik was upstairs doing whatever he did best when he was alone. He might have been composing for years later he played for me a piece that sounded exactly like the storm that night. Louise had left only one day before the rains hit. Her brother was sick and she needed to go to him. I had developed relatively good cooking skills so I was able to cook small meals meaning the house was managed without her. She had been gone a week when the big storm hit.

I had the blanket wrapped securely around me and I was barefoot. I could never quite get myself to wear shoes indoors. I am one of those people who just have to be barefoot or else I'll go crazy. I was cuddled up on the couch reading the book. Though reading, my mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Erik's strange behavior. I could think of nothing to explain it. And the only logical explanation was impossible. He would never do that again.

But is in it that it's always the obvious thing that eludes us and it's not until afterwards that we see what we should have known all along? Well, that's what was happening. At the moment, though, I was playing dumb. The obvious reason for his sudden behavior, I was ignoring.

Anyway, the sky had grown progressively darker as the day had worn on. When the storm hit, I could have sworn it was midnight because of how dark it was. In actuality, it was only around 7:00. As I sat curled up on the couch, lightening was dancing outside the window and thunder was making me deaf. It was an awful storm.

I jolted up from the couch. I had just heard the sound of the door being slammed open and the sound of glass breaking. Or had that been the thunder and lightening? I couldn't tell. My breath came in and out quickly and my heart sped up. What was more perfect than a break-in in the middle of a storm? I quietly placed the book on the side table and walked to the library door which was partly shut. Being as quiet as I could (that was easy being barefoot); I crept down the hall only to find my worst nightmare come true.

The door had been forced open and the windowpanes next to it broken with some sort of heavy object. The smart thing to do would have been to retreat and take the servant stairs up to the second floor and get Erik. He would have been more suited for fighting robbers. But, I didn't do that for I didn't see any signs that the intruder had actually entered the house. Big mistake.

Careful not the step on the glass, I examined the door frame and windows. The guy must have been big because it looked like he had just bashed the door in. I shook my head. It was probably just some poor drunk guy who had mistaken our house for someone else's house in the attempt to get out of the rain. That would explain the absence of the perpetrator. Oh, well. I was getting ready to turn and get Erik.

I felt the cold steel tip of a gun dig itself into the back of my neck. All my senses went on high alert. What a fool I had been! I should have gotten Erik immediately. Now I was captive to some strange man and who knew what he wanted of me. A voice whispered into my ear.

"You'll not scream and you will cooperate. There is no one to hear you screaming anyway. I'm going to walk you into the parlor and tell you what I want." His breath touched my skin and I felt him place a kiss on the nape of my neck. It was all I could do not to scream. I then realized what he had said. He didn't know Erik was in the house! All I could hope was that my Phantom would do his tricks and rescue me.

The man walked me into the parlor, the gun still digging itself into my neck. I was trembling from my head to my toes. I had a good idea what this man wanted and it just wasn't money. I suddenly wanted to laugh at the irony. Is in this how I spent some of the first few minutes of my stay in Paris? And hadn't Erik rescued me then? I sobered quickly as the man spun me around to face him.

He was the ugliest man I had ever seen. His hair had not been washed in quite a number of days, his teeth were tobacco stained, and his face was poked mark with battle scares. He grinned evilly at me as his hands traveled up and down my arm. I wanted to hit him, and with my karate training I knew I could injure him badly, but he had a gun. I wasn't going to risk my life. At least, not until all hope had failed.

"My, you are beautiful, aren't you? Such pity to let all this beauty go to waste." His hand snaked up through my hair. I felt the blood boil in me. The only person I wanted to do that was Erik. Not some moron with a gun.

"You will take whatever articles you want and then leave me in peace, monsieur." I said through clenched teeth. "This is private property and I will not have you breaking in here and assaulting me." He laughed.

"Are you the queen of England to make such demands? I will do whatever I want." His eyes glowed with an evil light. Faster than I could breathe, he had me shoved up against a wall and his hands started to roam.

A scream worked its way up my throat but stopped when I saw Erik behind the man, a Punjab lasso in his hands. Before I could blink, the lasso settled around the intruder's neck. The chocking sound was horrific. The man tried to undo the lasso but was unsuccessful. He fell to his knees, eyes bulging, and collapsed onto the floor. His body shook violently. When it was all over, Erik dropped the rope and raced over to me, being careful to avoid the body.

"Are you okay? Elizabeth, answer me. Are you okay?" His voice was so full of concern and worry. His eyes betrayed how scared he had been. I lost all power of speech. I clutched him, sobbing. I had not felt the fear of my situation until now. Erik wrapped his arms around me and held me.

"It's okay. It's okay." He whispered softly, his hand stroking my head gently. "You're all right. Breathe, dear. Just breathe." I drew in great gasps of air before breaking down again. He rested his head on mine. I could feel the mask pressing into my hair. It was a weird feeling, knowing the man holding me was hiding from me. Suddenly, I realized I wanted nothing more than to strip the mask off and see what lay beneath it. I didn't deserve for him to hide himself from me. It was time this "horror" was revealed and dealt with.

I reached up to grab the mask. It was time I saw the deformity for real. Before I could touch the mask, however, he sprang back, eyes wide in anger. His hands tightened into fists. I made another grab for the mask. He caught me and flung me into the wall.

"You damn girl!" He bellowed. His hand snapped out and struck me across the jaw. Pain shot up my face. It was the first and only time he ever hit me. I turned and fled.