"Eyes of the Undead"

By Nabira

Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom of the Opera, unfortunately. I do own Selena, William and all other original characters and the plot.

Thanks to Brigitta, my beta, for fixing my mistakes for me.
Also, HUGE THANKS to my friend Victoria who had a copy of this story when I lost everything on my USB and sent it back to me. Love you, hun!

ooo

Chapter 2

Protecting the Wicked

The following evening, William left Selena to begin his journey across the ocean. "Don't do anything stupid," he sternly admonished before he left. "I don't want to come back to France and find out you've been exiled from here, too."

Selena's face split into a grin; pure white, straight teeth showed between her lips, the canines pointed and protruding over. "Don't worry, William," she said. "I am going to be a good girl and not get caught."

William hugged her tightly and placed a kiss on the top of her forehead. "I'll miss you," he said softly.

Selena smiled sadly. "I'll miss you too. Don't take too long."

William pulled himself into the brougham and waved goodbye. Selena stayed outside watching the blonde man disappear until she could no longer see the carriage.

Walking back inside, Selena realised suddenly that it was the first time she had not been with William for nearly one hundred and twenty years. She could remember meeting him at that house in England as though it was yesterday. It was dark, of course, and she had been invited to meet some influential mortals the Vampire Council wanted to have dealings with. Selena knew she had been brought along because she was 'young' and more likely to convince the mortals to go along with their plans. She had not expected to meet a man she would become absolutely besotted with, however.

Three hundred and thirty years old at the time, Selena thought herself well above the childish prospect of falling in love. The man was in his late thirties – tall, muscular and good looking with slight crease lines by his eyes from laughter and blonde hair cut short. Selena learned that his name was William Carleton.

The vampires on the Council would've been more than happy for him to become one of them, but none wanted to be joined to him for life. It wasn't long before Selena found out that William was infatuated with her too, and a little over a year after she met him, he made the journey into the world of the undead.

Selena was joined to William for eternity, but she didn't mind. She loved him will all of her being and had never regretted her decision. While she knew that some of the primary vampires feared the thought of being tied to someone forever, she also knew that she was a person that craved companionship, and having William meant she would never be lonely.

Selena left the house and walked out into the cold Parisian streets. She was hoping for another glimpse of the man with the golden eyes, a man who, she suspected, was more like her than he thought.

Trailing down the streets, on the lookout for the man and also for some easy prey, it wasn't long before she found her dinner for that evening, sitting on a park bench in the Bois.

"Hello, Monsieur, may I sit next to you?" Selena asked the man, looking demurely at the ground.

"Certainly, Mademoiselle," he replied, shuffling over to allow her space. Selena sat down, smiled her thanks and looked out at the park. She was waiting for him to make the first move. They always did.

"What is a young lady like you doing out at night?" the man asked. Selena looked at him, a smile playing on her lips.

"The night is the most beautiful time of the day," she replied cryptically, her usual answer to such a question. "But, Monsieur, what are you doing out at night?"

The man looked at her, surprised by her questioning. "I always sit here to watch the sunset."

"The sun is long gone," Selena grinned. "Why are you still here? You should be careful of things that go bump in the night."

The man smiled. "Ah, pretty lady, I am not afraid of things of the dark."

Selena looked at him. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Certainly," the man replied, almost thoughtfully.

Selena leaned over to where his ear was and whispered, "I'm not either." Before he could stop her, she pierced the skin of his neck with her fangs and drank, making sure to stop at the point where he would seem to be just another drunk passed out in the park and would recover all right.

As she stood up and rolled his head to the other side so that the wound was not obvious, she said to his unconscious form, "Do you know why I'm not afraid of those creatures? I'm one of them!"

Selena exited the Bois, and then took a carriage in the direction of the Opera Populaire. It had taken a lot of coaching of her memory for her to remember where she had seen the man, Erik, but she now remembered that they hadn't been far from there.

Once at the Opera House, Selena walked through the beautiful doors and found herself in an almost deserted foyer. Her supersensitive hearing picked up music, however, and judging by the audience's reaction, she could tell that the opera was nearly over. Deciding it would be best to be away from the living audience when they exited, just in case she did something she wasn't supposed to, Selena made her way to an out of the way area and sat down, waiting for the performance to finish.

Sure enough, ten minutes later the throng of Opera patrons left the building, talking amongst themselves about how great the performance had been and other stories which Selena didn't really care about. Selena watched the crowd for the tall man with dark hair and the golden eyes, but she didn't see him.

As the crowd dissipated, Selena left her hiding spot and looked around the foyer at the wonderful architecture and embellishments. Even though she seemed to be deep in thought, Selena saw the brunette girl before she observed Selena.

"Are you waiting for someone?" the girl asked, her large brown eyes looking thoughtful. She was very pretty, Selena thought, with her dark brown curls and her innocent eyes. And she was tall for a mortal girl, only one, maybe two inches shorter than Selena.

"Um, n-yes," Selena said, changing her mind mid-sentence. "I'm looking for someone, rather, I don't know if he works here or not."

"Oh, I can help you," the girl said smiling. "I'm in the chorus here."

"Oh, thank you," Selena said with a slight smile, careful not to show her teeth. "Um, this man is tall, with dark hair and golden eyes," racking her brain for the details.

"Do you know his name?" the girl asked.

Selena laughed to herself. "Silly me, I only have a first name; he didn't give me his surname. His name is Erik."

Selena saw the look of shock in the girl's features and the way the colour suddenly drained from her face. "I don't know anyone that works here by that name," she replied, a little too quickly.

"You do!" Selena whispered, shocking the girl again. "I can see it in your eyes."

The girl stared at Selena, her eyes warning her. "He doesn't work here," she said softly. "I promise you that!"

Selena sighed. "Fine then. I know you know him though, so tell him this: Selena is looking for him. He'll know who I am."

As she turned to go, Selena swung round one final time to look the girl in the eyes. "And since you now know who I am, I suppose I should know who you are."

"Christine Daaé," the girl stammered. Selena could tell that she didn't want to part with that information, but suddenly there was a strange – power – around this stranger that meant she couldn't refuse her any question. Selena smiled.

"I suppose I shall see you around then, Mademoiselle Daaé," she said as she swept out of the Opera Populaire doors.

ooo

Sorry for the long wait, I've been on holidays to Queensland, where it was VERY hot. And it was my birthday yesterday.
Please review, it really makes my day.

Caitlin