Disclaimer: All originating characters and storylines belong to their respectful owner. This is mostly a continuation of ALW's work, but I do throw GL a couple of good nods. All new characters and sub-plots are my original work and are not to be used/reproduced without my expressed permission. Enjoy the story and shoot some feedback my way if you can! Thanks for reading.

Author's Note: I apologize in the delay of updating. Work coupled with HP:HBP kinda took up a lot of my time. Look for Chapter Nine to up up very soon! Thanks foryour patience!

Phanatic: You rock.

Twinkle: Thanks for reading! So glad you are liking it!

Chapter Eight

It was as though his head had been submerged in water. Erik heard what sounded like muffled noises in the distance. As he opened his eyes, all he could see were blurs of color. Trying to get up caused his head to pound even stronger and harder. He resorted himself to wait until his head cleared. The longer he focused, his environment became clearer. The music, of course, was the first thing he recognized. To his left, he saw his music box playing. Erik realized he was lying on his bed in the caverns of the opera house. The grandiose black veil that once surrounded the bed was now torn and weathered with age and neglect. Bearing through the pain, Erik tried once again to sit up. He discovered that his wrists and ankles were shackled with heavy iron cuffs. They were bound so tightly that he could not lift them higher than a few centimeters.

He saw her emerge. A small, dainty hand slipped through the folds of the curtains. Meg glided into the bedchamber and caressed her way next to Erik's body. She whispered cheerfully, "I've been waiting so long for you to wake up from your little nap." Propping herself up with her elbow she stroked the side of Erik's face with her other hand. She raised her hand to his forehead and tenderly fingered over his large, swollen bump. The pain was immense and Erik flinched and cried out as she touched it. "That must hurt, my love, I know." She reached over to a table next to the bed. Dipping a handkerchief in a basin of water, Meg began to tend to the wound. She paused and softly whispered, "I'm sorry, but you must understand. I had to do it." She frowned as she stared into his eyes. "She didn't come here to save you. She was here for her own benefit. You would've done anything to save her, and she would have left you in the end. I had to stop her."

"Meg, she will die if you lea - " Erik started.

She placed her finger over his lips, "Shhhh. You're in shock now. It will take time, but you will understand why it needed to be done." The incessant tinkling from the music box finally stopped. She crawled over to it and gingerly rubbed the top of the monkey's head. "This has brought me more joy than you will ever know." She smiled to herself before acknowledging their surroundings. "You left all this here. When I came back, it was as though you had never left. It seemed as though nothing had changed – that everything could still be as it was.

"For the first few days I was content to just rest here. When I regained some of my strength, I started exploring the building one room at a time noticing small, hidden triggers and traps that I never noticed as a child. I had so much fun discovering all of your secrets. It was like a mystery puzzle you left behind for me to solve." She turned back to him. "See? See how I kept it all for you. I knew you would come back."

Meg reached behind the music box and produced a small, silver tray full of fruits and cheeses. "You look famished." She straddled his waist and leaned into his chest. Erik was uncomfortable with the situation. He tensed up. Meg took no notice of his apprehension. Her hot breath bathed his neck as she whispered, "I thought you might want something to eat." She plucked a plump, purple grape from its vine. Tracing it around his mouth, she was dismayed at his reluctance to eat. "Please, you'll need your strength. I would unchain you, but you might be able to overpower me." She offered it to him again. "It's safe, I promise." Erik grudgingly opened his mouth and she delicately placed the grape on his tongue. "I wasn't always like this, you know." Meg continued to feed him.

"That night we came to look for you and Christine was one of the longest nights of my life. I found the mask you left behind. The entire search party gazed around for what seemed like hours. We were all amazed at the extravagance we found here. My mother quickly ushered me out when she discovered that you had already left. When she sealed the passageway from the dressing room, I thought that was the end. We didn't know at the time that Christine had escaped with Raoul. The way she ran away . . . There were rumors that she would never return, that she was dead, but I never believed them. You wouldn't have harmed her in any way.

"How could she have run away from this? This was our livelihood. It's what we lived for. She loved it here. I thought she loved me. For months we awaited her return, my mother and me. Months! And to find out that she was - " She rammed a piece of cheese into Erik's mouth. When he started choking, she apologized, "I'm sorry!" Laughing, she said, "I am getting caught up in my own story." Daintily, she resumed feeding him. "Living here my whole life made it difficult to exist out there. So I came back to the only place I knew."

"Oh no! You've made a mess of yourself," Meg cooed. "Don't worry," she whispered, "I'll clean you up." Meg proceeded to lick the juice that had spilled onto his face and neck. Breathing hard, she returned to his face and ran her moist tongue across his lips. Erik remained tight and withdrawn. Disappointed, Meg pouted. "It's not fair. I know she must have seduced you into her helping her. I have been your faithful servant these past two years, and, still, I am not worthy of your affection. Why should you remain devoted to her?"

"You don't understand, Meg," Erik quickly said. "This isn't right. Had I known that Christine - "

"And yet now you know the truth and still deny me," Meg retorted.

"My obsessive love for Christine is just that – an obsession. It's an old habit that is too familiar to me. I thought I would be alone, never knowing the happiness of companionship. She tempted me. Shamefully, I took advantage of my good fortune before it left again. I was wrong in doing so. I was weak." Seeing that her anger was building, Erik continued, "Meg, I am not the same man I once was. I am not proud of the things I have done. Living the way I did didn't give me any power or gratification. It only made me more isolated and depraved. Christine was the first one who showed me what I had actually become . . . a monster. I will be forever grateful for leading me to the tright path. It's not too late for you, though. You can save her - "

"Silence!" Meg screamed as she leapt off him. Clapping her hands over her ears, she started sobbing to herself. "It's never fair. They will always choose her." Erik saw her pacing around the room. "That is why," she continued talking with herself, "she should die. She's the monster now. She had her change to make it right. She didn't!" With gusto, she shouted at Erik, "It's her fault! She did this to herself! She doesn't deserve to live! If people are not catering to her every whim she abandons them - even her own husband and son! What kind of person would do that?"

"You're right, Meg." Erik answered. "She doesn't realize how her actions affect other people. But that doesn't make her a monster. She is confused. Other people have taken it upon themselves to take care of her. Christine has always had someone there to show her the way. She doesn't know how to take responsibility for her own actions. That is not something that she deserves to be murdered for, Meg. Let her go. Believe me when I say it's not worth it. You will regret it, if not tomorrow, then someday."

Meg entered the enclosed bed. "Erik, I want to make you happy. I do." She began to laden his chest with kisses. "I want us to be together. I want to show you that I can make you happy, too. But," she looked up into his eyes, "I know that as long as she lives, she will always be in the way. Don't you see? I am doing this not just for me, but for you as well." She sat up. "Choose me, Erik. Let me show you what love can be. I promise that I will make you happy."

Erik desperately whispered, "Meg. It's not that - "

Faced with rejection again, Meg screamed, "Enough!" as she slapped Erik in the face. "I'm am tired of playing these games with you!"

Erik growled, "You had better remember who you are speaking to. I would be careful."

Immediately, she was horror-struck. "I'm sorry. But can you see what she has done to me? Do you see the life I am resorted to live?" Meg wept quietly. A small tear fell down her face, landing on Erik's chest. "Perhaps I have gone crazy. For months I thought I was the only one here. That I would live and die here alone." Her smile was soft. Hesitating for a moment, she asked, "I saw you that night, didn't I? That night you saw me dancing. I thought to myself that I had finally gone insane to think I had seen someone in the rafters. But you were really there, weren't you?"

"Yes," Erik sighed empathically. "I was there." Seeing how happy she was at his acknowledgment of her, he laughed briefly. "If not for the bizarre circumstances, I would have thought you were beautiful, really. You reminded me so much of your mother."

Meg broke down, sobbing into Erik's chest. "I have been so alone. You have no idea how it feels to have someone real to talk to."

"I might have a better idea than you think, my dear," Erik whispered to her. He smiled at her softly. "After all, I have been lonely my whole life. I know the pain of having no one. Please," he indicated his hands, "Is this really necessary?"

"I have already told you before, Erik. I cannot risk you escaping again. Until you truly understand why I am doing this, I will have to keep you here. I cannot allow her to manipulate me, or you again!" Meg furiously beat the bed with her fists. "I trusted her. You trusted her. My mother trusted her. All of France trusted her! And what does look at what she as become! A deceitful, shameless whore!" Meg's breathing was hard and fast. "And, still, you love her! Unconditionally."

Erik paused before answering, "It is difficult, Meg. I will always love her." Fearing her retaliation, he quickly added, "But I lusted for her in the beginning. I cannot, in good faith, lust for her anymore. I thought it was love in her heart for me that brought her back. My desire was stifled once I discovered – the truth." Erik stopped. "Christine is my crowning glory, my greatest achievement. Yes, I would have left here with her, but it was based on her lies. And, yes, deceit." Erik looked empathetically at Meg. "I was a different man then. I was hungry with my own power and I had an insatiable thirst for her. She consumed my thoughts, my very being. I preyed upon her naivety. I was wrong in doing so. Don't go down the same path, masking it under the guise of righteousness. You are better than this." Meg was sullen after his speech. "Let me go. We can escape from this place. We can go back to your mother and pretend that none of this ever happened. Let me take you back to her."

Meg tried to suppress her grin. "I have been waiting so long for this moment. We are alike, you and I, Erik. Both rejected by the world outside, seeking solace in this opera house. Don't you see? We are meant to be with each other," she intertwined her fingers into his, "And will have the rest of our lives to spend in companionship." She gently caressed his face and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "I will prove my devotion to you. I will make you happy, Erik, I promise." She rose excitedly, clapping her hands. "Mother will be so happy to know that you are here safe. She's been so worried for you. Imagine how happy she'll be for us, now that we have found each other?" She began to kiss him feverishly. Erik pulled his head back sharply further into the bed.

"Meg, you are misunderstanding my intentions here." Erik stumbled over his words.

"No more talking. Now I will prove to you how much I love you." Meg ripped the bottom hem off her dress. Giddy, she began to wrap the cloth around Erik's mouth as he tried to protest. "I have waited long enough for you. I have been the only one who has ever loved you unconditionally. We will be together." She began to unbutton the top of her chemise. Stopping suddenly, she exclaimed, "We need music!" Meg laughed jubilantly to herself. She crawled to the music box and began to wind it. As it started chiming its familiar tune, she returned to her prey.

Using her tongue, she began to trace it along Erik's body. He started bucking for her to stop her impassioned deliria. Her sensual kisses traveled further down his body. Her hands groped along his chest to his stomach. Meg giggled as she started to undo his trousers, "See? Even if you wanted to stop, you couldn't. I can feel your desire burning inside, wanting to be released." She grabbed the string that encased his manhood, the music still clanging nearby. "You know you want this. You want me. You need me. Stop fighting it, my love."

Meg couldn't have heard it.

"How dare you?" a voice called from behind her. As Meg turned, she saw Christine's bloody fist for a brief moment before it collided with her face.