A/N: Oh I love you guys so much! You're so awesome for reviewing! I woke up thismorning and ran to my computer to start writing this chapter, and I found you all in my e-mail, thank you so much! I'm really glad that you're liking the story. I had to cut this chapter in half because it was going to be over 5000 words! eek, my computers too slow to download that much, so the next chapter should be up really really soon, for those of you who like fluff, I'm sure you'll like the next one.
Oh, yeah I know that it's a bit confusing where the scene switches are concern... I can't do HTML, i'm so computer illiterate. I live in the past you see, lol. If someone could tell me how to put a line on the screen, I would be very glad
Disclaimer: I don't own the Phantom or it's characters.
"Kristen, Kristin! wake up, please wake up." Erik knelt over her lifeless body, tears trickling down his face.
"Do you see what you have done?" He looked up at Madame Giry with searing wrath. "Why can you not just leave me alone? Why must you always destroy any chance I have to be happy?
Kristen, please don't do this to me, please don't leave."
Madame Giry was appalled with herself. She had gone down there with only the best of intentions, but she never intended to cause the girl harm. It seemed that no matter what, misfortune always had a way of following this poor girl everywhere.
Erik lifted Kristen's limp body from the ground, and held his ear to her chest. She was still breathing, but faintly. Her head had hit the stone with such force that she very well could have died, or could be dying. He would not survive her death, just when someone so marvelous had entered his life... now God was planning to take her away? He would surely die, no man could endure such a broken heart.
"Make yourself useful" Erik growled at Madame Giry, "Get her a doctor."
Madame Giry watched them with wonder. One moment he was worried and caring, the next moment he was a vengeful monster. Did he truly give his love to Kristen? So soon after Christine's disappearance?
"NOW!" Erik shouted, which made the elder woman jump to some extent. She quickly turned and left the lair, hurrying up through the mirror passage. When had she become such a meddling woman? Was there a part of her that desired his suffering? after all his unpleasant accomplishments at the Opera house? It was human nature to will revenge, but on a man who was only like this because of society's reaction to his differences? It didn't matter now! Kristen was in danger, she had to save her.
Erik carried her unconscious mass to the beautiful bed in which she had previously slept.
"Can you hear me, Kristen?" He asked, very gently putting her amongst the sheets of red and black silk. "You cannot die, do you hear me? You must survive this!"
She made not a movement. Completely oblivious of his words, she continued to lie unmoving. He took her hand delicately in his, and he wept for her. His mind was submerged in the memories he had of her. Her courage, her strength, the way she felt within his arms, and the strange shock waves she sent surging within him upon giving him that kiss. Such a short time they had with each other, how could it be ending now? Holding her hand to his heart, he knew, he would give his soul for her recuperation, he would give his soul, and everything else he had.
Madame Giry hurried from the Opera house. When Firmin had caught her along the way, exiting the rotunda, she simply told him that there was a crisis that had to be seen to. He also had the audacity to persist in inquiring about the blueprints, and when she shoved her foul mouthed answer at him, he was infuriated.
"You've never done this theater much good Firmin! Why don't you start now!"
She did not linger long enough to witness his yell of frustration. She was down the Parisian street faster than an the average carriage. The nearest doctor was not very close, but she knew her way, it would not take her long to find some unoccupied doctor to aid to Kristen's newest injury.
As Meg sat by her window, brooding over Kristen's kidnapping, she caught sight of her mother storming down the street, with her handbag. She only took that bag with her when she intended to buy something. But where was she going? The marketplace was not in that direction! The only thing she could think of was... oh no, she thought. She stood from the window seat, allowing the large bulk of script to the upcoming opera to fall recklessly to the floor.
"What must be going on?" She asked herself quietly, as she watched her mother disappear behind one of the many buildings in the surrounding area. She had just told Meg that she was going to take care of it, but where was Kristen now? and why was her mother storming from the Opera house? She would not wait to find out... she just had to know, as was the normal situation with the young ballerina. She fled her dormitory and rushed down the stairs with furious speed, towards the Chapel. Once inside, she descended down through the little known passageway that would lead to the dungeons below. None of the other dancers inquired about her absence, in fact, most were quite relieved. She was a very skilled dancer, many would love to see her leave the Opera for good.
She hurried through darkness, the only light she could see was the light which happened to escape through narrow cracks here and there, otherwise, it was a dark, damp, cob web beleaguered tunnel.
Erik could hear the tiny footsteps of the person approaching. Madame Giry had found a doctor so soon? Or was she returning to tell him that she had failed in her search? Just when he was on the verge of getting genuinely upset over this whole ordeal, he saw the young girl standing in the curtained doorway of the bedchamber. It was Meg. Hadn't she learned her lesson the first time she intruded upon this territory?
"Kristen!" Meg hurried over to her bedside, completely unaware of the Phantom whom occupied the other side of her current resting place, "Kristen, oh Kristen, what has happened to you?"
"Your mother tried to make her leave" Erik vented darkly. Meg gasped, startled. He had been completely consumed by shadow, how could she have possibly seen him?
Meg shook in her ballet dress at the very sight of him, but her worry for Kristen was somehow occupying her emotions to a point where her fear of him was not grand enough to send her running once more. She stayed with her friend, poor Kristen.
"Oh, how could this have happened? Kristen, please wake up!" She begged, her concern becoming visible as tears began to line her lower eyelids.
"The only way Antoinette would have known to come down here is if someone else told her of Kristen's residence. Meg, it was you who permitted this information to slip your foolish tongue, was it not?" he inquired coldly.
"I thought she was in danger, I could not bare to see her in danger." She sobbed. Erik could not really care that this feebleminded girl was there, he could not waste this precious time in scolding a ballet rat. He could only watch over Kristen, and hope she would be ok.
Meg was furious with her mother. In some ways, it was all Meg's fault in telling her mother this information, but her mother could have handled this much more maturely than trying to pull an unwilling blind woman from her whereabouts. Oh but it truly was her fault, how could she lay the blame on her blessed mother? her protector and instructor? Perhaps no one was to blame for this, and perhaps each of them could bear blame equally.
"He is here, I have brought you a doctor." Madame Giry said, quite out of breath. Meg's head snapped considerably in her mother's direction as she heard her voice enter the room. "This is Dr. Perdoux, Kristen will be familiar with him." She said. On their way to the lair, Madame Giry took liberty in explaining to this man that she had been right that it was wrong to allow Kristen to stay at the Opera. Basically, she was saying "I told you so," but her words were that of an instructor, as if chastising an ill mannered student.
Dr. Perdoux was completely dumbfounded at the notion of the Opera Ghost, and that he actually existed in flesh and blood. Since the fire, rumors of this mysterious being plagued Paris, and the rest of France, like the Black Death. He was dismayed at the sight of Erik, the Phantom of the Opera. After all the stories, here he was! The sight of his mask didn't really do much to frighten this doctor, in all his years of practice, he had probably witnessed more horror and disfigurement than whatever this unfortunate man hid behind that disguise.
"Can you help her?" Erik asked quietly, hoping that this man would say something in the positive.
"I don't know yet, only time will tell" he replied, moving to the bedside, making Meg move to her mother's side. Madame Giry just prayed for her recovery. She had not meant for anything like this to happen, and if young Kristen was brought to death, she would never forgive herself.
The doctor examined Kristen's head. She was bleeding from the cut at her temple, where she had fallen. "She may have a mild concussion, It's hard to say when she will wake up, or if she will wake up. Any number of things could have gone wrong, although it does not seem to me to be too awfully serious."
"So she will be ok?" Erik asked in deep concern. The doctor began to treat her injury,
"I think so, you should watch her though. I would not advise bringing her to the hospital in her state, the excursion may do her even more harm. She should not move from this bed either. I surely hope this was an accident. I will have to notify the authorities if this place is a crime scene"
Both Madame Giry and Erik lifted a brow. The lair was already a scene of numerous crimes, how much worse could it get?
"Keep her warm, when she wakes, do not let her out of bed for at least a week, until you know she will be ok. I must leave, Madame Giry, you have interrupted me in a very important meeting with this situation of yours."
Erik frowned. He was leaving so soon? He would not even remain for a while to ensure that she would wake up? "Surely you do not intend to just leave her to chance!" Erik said in disbelief.
"Either way, sir, her recovery will be based on chance. She was not very badly injured, but I assure you, it is probable that she will return to consciousness within the next 24 hours. If it will ease your concern, notify me if she does not, and I will return for her, but I must go now, take care." Perdoux stated, and looked to Madame Giry, "Now, will you please get me out of this place?" The lair was truly a creepy place, it did not make him feel at all comfortable with it's gothic atmosphere.
Madame Giry nodded. "Meg, stay here while I show the Doctor out." Meg's chin dropped at the very thought. She was just leaving her with the Phantom? She opened her mouth to speak but her mother firmly silenced her, then left them.
"Will you please explain to me what I just saw in there?" Perdoux demanded with eyes of an insane man.
Madame Giry shook her head, "You saw the Phantom, you saw his dwellings, and you saw the burn victim which you have requested to stay here. You sir, have seen the very outcome of your refusal to listen to me back when I told you it would be bad to allow her to live here. If you are wise, you will hold silent, tell no one of this, and you will be safe."
Meanwhile, down in the cellar, Erik could not believe how simply that man had brushed off her condition. She could be dying, and this man didn't seem to care. Never had he felt such an empty hole where his heart should be. He could literally feel the true fright of her death tearing him apart inside.
Meg's eyes traveled from the Phantom, to Kristen. The way he was pouring his emotions over her, she might as well have been Christine. The perspective of his misery upon the possibility of her death was truly heartbreaking. He looked as Raoul had looked when Christine had gone missing... he looked completely unable to handle the worry.
While Meg watched the two, Erik could see nothing else around them, except Kristen. She was the only thing in existence in his mind. Meg's wandering eyes stopped on the Phantom. Aside from that ghastly mask he wore, he was in all truth quite a handsome man, but she remembered seeing his true face when Christine removed his mask during Don Juan... Those scars were enough to avert anyone's eyes from the more pleasant side of his face.
"Am I truly that revolting that you must stare in such insolence?" His voice came in calm anger and coldness, finally waking her from her trance. She quickly looked down to Kristen,
"I... I am sorry" Meg stated as quietly as a mouse, hoping he would not harm her. The source of her fear could be blamed on the nightmares she was plagued with as a child growing up... the Phantom and his haunting used to be the very reason she could not sleep many nights. "It is not that you are... as you say, sir, but I just... can't believe all of this."
Erik sighed. He hated that he was so frightening. For once he just wanted to be like everyone else, the same way he had wished for a normal face as a child. He loathed being such a beast, the only woman who could ever love him was this woman here, who would never see him. This woman here, who was in a non waking sleep. He moved his hand to Kristen's brow, and gently brushed her hair away, revealing her forehead, and the marks which slightly ravaged it. Meg watched, since knowing Kristen, she had almost forgotten the burn scars were even there.
"You should leave" Erik told Meg,
"But my mother said... "
"I don't care what she said, leave now." He commanded.
Meg nodded, and escalated from the bedside, to walk towards the door. Before making her exit, she turned back to Erik, and quietly sighed, "I truly hope she will be ok" she said, and left. Erik could hear her leaving through the mirror passage.
When Meg left, she had returned to her dormitory, but reading that stupid script was the last thing on her mind. First she had to wonder why the hell he always managed to let her go, especially when it was her mother who had beguiled him so.
In the meantime, as Erik remained by Kristen's side, nothing in the world could have cured him of his fear, nothing at all except perhaps her actual waking.
"Why God... why must you rid me of every little bit of happiness that somehow finds it's way into my accursed life?"
Erik never left her side for the rest of that night. After a few hours of watching her unconscious, he analyzed that her breathing remained the same, some of the color was returning to her cheeks which had grown pale, and he found himself able to stop worrying so badly.
The next morning, around six or seven am, according to that dusty little clock in the corner of his lair, Erik sat in the very same place he had been sitting all night, at her bedside. Kristen still did not awake, but she merely looked now like a sleeping woman. Her breath was as normal as ever, and she had begun to move a bit. The first moment she did move, he felt his heart nearly beat it's last beat. She was slowly waking, but not fast enough, it seemed.
He could not take his eyes off her now, as she began to stir, slowly waking from her unfortunate ordeal.
"Erik?" She asked in a faint whisper, her hand going to her forehead, her eyes remaining closed.
"Kristen... Kristen I'm here, my sweet" He said instantly, taking her hand and kissing it. "Oh how I worried you would not wake up... my Kristen." He said.
She turned her head slowly in his direction, "Erik, what happened?" she asked, with the same intonation.
"You fell, love" he told her, taking her other hand and kissing it in turn.
"My head," she complained lightly, still too drained of energy to even try and sit up, or move too much. "My stomach..." she added.
"What... what is wrong? are you in pain?" he asked her, looking to her stomach and then back to her.
She lightly smiled, "No, Erik, I'm... starving" she answered, truthfully, she hadn't eaten in quite a long time as it seemed.
"Ok,... ok, I'll bring you something to eat, stay here, my Kristen." He said, his voice becoming a slight bit protective. She heard him leave her room, as she rested her head on the pillow. What had really happened? Madame Giry had tried to steal her away from the Phantom, obviously she hadn't succeeded... because Kristen could still feel the silk sheets surrounding her.
And then she remembered what had happened before Madame Giry's intrusion. She remembered clearly the words he said to her. He would have her with him. She smiled to herself. What would have happened between them, had Madame Giry never shown up to ruin everything? And it was then, that she slowly opened her eyes.
Kristen almost fell out of bed at what had suddenly happened. How long had it been, since the first fire? months ago... that she actually experienced undeniable vision. This was not possible... she told herself, "I must be dreaming" She said quietly, and worriedly, as she realized the slight flicker of light that seemed to hover in the distance. Was it possible that she was regaining her eyesight? She was filled with instant joy, it was a light! It was a light in the distance. Unless she had died and was on her way to heaven, she was actually seeing!
Follow the light, she thought ridiculously. Of course she was not dead, not even heaven could possibly compare to her comfortable bed, but she had to know if this was real. She slowly rose to sit up, she squinted. She didn't know how this was possible. She wanted to run, she wanted to tell everyone she knew, she wanted to see her mother and father. But this was a light, and perhaps it was only a malfunction of her mind... she thought. Perhaps the light was just a light in her mind, but as she carefully put her feet to the ground, and walked towards where it was coming from, she realized... as her newly restored eyes adjusted to their surroundings, that it was the light of a candle, flickering from outside the curtains.
"I can see..." She said to herself, amazed. She closed one eye, then the other, realizing that both of her eyes were now working. She cursed herself instantly for allowing Erik to run off to find her food. Oh God! She thought, how was she going to tell him she could see? and how would he react? Given the way he seemed to feel about his appearance?
She gasped. As she walked out into the main lair, she realized... just how beautiful these dwellings were. The red draperies which hung down so elegantly to the stone floor, the many candle holders and candles which lit the dungeons. The stacks, and piles of music everywhere! The furniture seemed to be quite antique, and expensive looking. Everything just spoke of class and wealth, of elegance. She was breath taken. Surely she was dreaming, but never had she laid eyes upon anything so beautiful.
But then... she also noticed several oddities. Certain spaces of the lair were wrongly empty, as if things had been stored there once for many years which were not here now. What disaster had befallen this place before her arrival? Then she noticed the door near the very end of his home. It was wooden, and there was a knob and a lock on it. She walked passed the organ, and stopped to look at it. There was a half finished score sitting on it, the quill pen still covered in ink... how often did he write music? It looked so complicated that she almost felt dizzy looking at it... or perhaps it was just the effects of being knocked out for such a long time? How long had she been out? she wondered.
Walking to the door, she opened it slowly. This was wrong, she felt guilty all of a sudden. She could see now and the first thing she was doing was sneaking through his home? No... she closed the door. He will be back soon, I should return to the bed and figure out a way to tell him that I once again have use of my eyes... she thought.
And upon returning to the silky sheets, she heard his footsteps coming back into the area. She sighed... would everything be different? Perhaps he was only comfortable around her because she could not see him, and although he had allowed her to touch his face, she had not actually seen his face. Would he worry that she would scream? Suddenly... She had an idea.
