A/N- Well . . . chapter four, and well it hasn't been completely reassuring, so I do not know if I should continue with this or give up on it. Some more reviews would be thoughtful, just tell me if this isn't working or if I should continue. I also realize that the chapters have been short so I am working on the length of them.

Thank you to Katherine Silverhair for catching me on those mistakes in chapter 2.

Finally, this chapter is out of Erik's point of view due to what happened in the last chapter, I will probably not go back to his point of view. Thank you

T.D.E.

"Darius, I feel . . . I feel like I did not do all I could tonight."

A voice called softly from the back of a carriage as it slowly made its way out of the chaotic streets in central Paris. A dark set of eyes watched sadly as a column of smoke rose from beyond some buildings as they passed. Nadir was this man's name or the Persian as he was also known as. His voice was barely heard by his faithful servant Darius as the man steered the carriage towards Nadir's flat. The noise of the horses as they made their way through the rain sodden streets, the endless noise due to the fire that was rampaging, and the soft tone of the man could have easily been missed.

"Why do you believe that so? None of what happened was your fault." The man steering the carriage called back. Darius was always the one to help Nadir, the man had always confided with him. Everything that had happened that night was already spilled out. When Nadir had led Raoul De Changy down into the catacombs of the Opera house to rescue Christine Daae, the aftermath, the fire; everything seemed to be the daroga's fault.

A sullen, heavy sigh was his reply. Nadir wished he could shake off the sense of guilt, he had gone back to find Erik only to find himself too late. But, the mob had not had Erik in their possession, although it was easily said that they were the ones to cause Erik to flee. Where was that man now? Nadir knew he would go back to his home eventually, but for now there could be no cause to arouse suspicion. So, with all reluctance, Nadir had left the opera house to return to his own home.

A few moments passed in silence, no more talk of what was already believed. Erik was gone there would be no way to track him down. It was a sort of irony, Nadir had never truly thought of Erik as a friend until now. Perhaps he had always thought of them as an odd acquaintance, in which they would keep one another company. Or else perhaps Nadir had always been around Erik was because Erik had a life debt to the Persian. Either way it did not matter. Erik was considered a friend to him, and now he was gone.

"He'll be alright though, he is Erik after all."

Those few words seemed to put a ease on the man's conscience, Erik was a strong, stubborn man. He would not die without a fight, and just because the Persian knew he was heart broken, Erik would get over it. He was almost positive of it. Nadir looked out the window at the passing nature, a blur by the rain and the window. He turned and looked back a head. The more he thought about Erik and that he was alright, the more he convinced himself.

Erik was alright. Erik is strong. Erik is probably somewhere safe.

It was like a chant to his mind. Repeating this to himself silently was sure to make it probable. You never know how much you truly care about someone until they are gone, and Nadir discovered this himself.

It was a tranquil ride for the next few minutes until the carriage pulled to a stop, and he heard Darius climbing out of the driver's seat. Nadir felt the carriage shake as Darius did so. Only a few seconds later, the door to the carriage opened and Darius' headed popped through the opening.

"Come, quickly, there is a poor chap lying face down at the riverbank!"

Nadir frowned, and almost immediately was out of the sheltering carriage, following faithful Darius off the road who was pointing at a shadowed figure that was indeed face down by the river bank. It was almost difficult to tell it was human by the distance as the two men hurried over. As they approached it was easier to tell. It was a man, drowned by the looks of it. He wasn't moving, and he was still half in the river. Some of the unsorted rocks on the side had managed to snag hold of the man's ruined shirt.

Nadir slowly knelt down, murmuring a prayer to Allah as he laid a hand on the back of the man. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Poor man." He murmured softly, as he moved his other hand under the ice cold body. With some help from Darius they succeeded in turning the body over. Nadir paled, even in the gloom of this night it would have been impossible for him not to recognize who was laying death-like still in front of him on the soaked Earth.

"Erik . . ."

Darius looked from Nadir to the man Erik on the ground; he put his hand to the man's neck searching for a pulse. Erik was in awful state as anyone would be. His face as white as death, his lips blue, his body unmoving under sodden, heavy clothes, and his eyes closed. His hair was pressed to his forehead, clinging to his face. Even his marred cheek could not even compare with the rest of the drowned conditions he was in.

"He is as cold as ice, no pulse." Darius looked to Nadir. "He is dead sir,"

"I refuse to believe that!" The Persian man snapped the tone of his voice he could not help. This was Erik! And he refused to let this man die after saving his life twice in Persia.

"He is dead. Even you cannot bring the dead back to life." Darius replied unusually calm during this entire calamitous.

Nadir shook his head once more and shrugged off his cloak, wrapping it around the seemingly life-less Erik. "He needs heat, and a doctor. Hypothermia. It can render you into a death like state or eventually cause death if not taken care of." He retorted, he had no time for this. There was no telling how long Erik had been out here, or for how long he had been in the Seine River.

Once more with the help of Darius they managed to get Erik untangled from the rocks and up into the carriage. "I'll be damned if I let you die, so stay alive." Nadir muttered to the unmoving Erik as he removed Erik's ruined shirt before replacing the cloak around him.

Nadir climbed into the back with Erik as Darius took the driver's seat once more. "We won't have the money for a doctor, especially with the prices due to the people injured in the fire at the Opera house. You know that!" he called as he pushed the horses off again. "Much less we won't have enough to keep them quiet about the man." He added. These words brought down Nadir's hope once more and he murmured another prayer.

"Turn around, go the other way. There are others who owe me a debt, and now they can repay me. Whether or not they will agree to this I do not know. But it is our only chance." The Persian replied and he felt the sharp turn as they turned around and started back for another path.

"Come on Erik, stay alive at least until we get help. No, if you die I will never forgive you." He muttered as he tried to bring some heat to Erik in the drafty carriage. He looked to the window, "You owe me your lives, it is best not to deny me now." He murmured into the nothingness of the bleak storm.

Ending note:

Please Read and Review, I hate not knowing if I should bother to continue.

Thank you

The Dragon Eye