Guys...I am sooooo sorry for not updating sooner. School is killing me, as well as marching band. But it's all fun. Anyways, in reply to a guest's questions, the answer will be below the chapter. Also, for future reference in regards to the Q & A sessions, please no vulgar questions. No one really feels comfortable answering them because...well, it's just awkward. Quick shoutouts to Dove13, Dragonpallete, Phantom of the Heart, Lee Anna Kindred, phantomphanatic2004, unicornlady2, PorcelainPuppetLady, and Andimpink. Enjoy!

Chapter 34

The day went by as usual: rehearsal with Madame Giry, the managers pestering me about being in the upcoming opera (I'll give you 3 guesses as to which one it was and the first 2 don't count), and ended on a sour note with lessons with Erik. As you can probably tell, I was very irritable because of my lack of sleep which, in turn, caused Erik to become testy.

"Can you not read music?!" he exclaimed.

I snorted. "Nah, that's music? I thought you had let a three year old scribble on some paper!"

The visible side of his face (yes, he was wearing his mask - it is awfully tiring trying to rid him of it) turned red in anger. "You know very well that I wrote this, Mandy. Why do you have to be so difficult?!"

"Why do you have to be so bossy?!" I retorted just as loudly as he did. I'm surprised we didn't wake the entire opera house up with our bickering.

"I'm not being bossy, I'm..." he trailed off with a growl. "I am trying to help you. This is how you repay someone trying to help you?"

"Not at all," I replied. "This is how I repay someone who is being a complete-"

I didn't get to finish that statement as he suddenly pushed his lips against mine, effectively interrupting me in the most nicest way possible. When he pulled away, we were both out of breath. "You were saying?" he asked.

"I..forgot." I stammered.

He smiled. "Good." He proceeded to walk away, leaving me alone by the organ.

"Where do you think you're going?" I quoted him from that morning. All it did, though, was earn me silence and smile as he kept walking.

It finally came time for the opera, which was (according to your guesses, hopefully you already know) Hannibal. I had no choice but to say yes to the managers' pleas. It was either I said yes or Erik was going to drop sandbags on their heads. We couldn't have him damage what wasn't there, now could we?

But there was one problem: this was when Raoul was supposed to find Christine. I wanted to keep at lease some of the original story intact. Besides, she wasn't acting right. I knew it was because her 'angel' had quit teaching her, but she wouldn't say a word as to why she was so melancholy. What made me really worried was that she hadn't even bothered me in the past month about who my 'suitor' was.

This is the only time you will ever - and I mean ever - say this, but thank goodness for allergies. They decided to kick in that day. I came into the auditorium during rehearsal, sniffling and coughing.

"What's wrong with you?" Meg asked.

"Allergies." I said. "They aren't fun."

The managers overheard me and rushed to me. "You can still sing, right?"

I gave them an 'are you kidding me?' look. There was absolutely no way in heaven or earth that I was going to be able to perform.

"Christine Daae could sing it, sirs!" Meg piped up. They all but rolled their eyes.

"Either Mandy sings it or we will cancel tonight's performance." Firmin said.

I, on the other hand, did roll my eyes. "Are we really that petty?" I rasped out. "Let Christine sing it. I am very confident in her vocal skills and you should be, too."

"B-but we have a special guest coming tonight! He is coming to hear you, n-not some chorus girl!" Andre stuttered. He did that when he was flustered.

"If you won't let her sing, then I quit." I stated. It was fun to watch their faces lose color. "At least listen her sing before you make any final decisions."

They hesitated. It seemed as if time had stopped, everything had gone so quiet. I saw Christine out of the corner of my eye, the expression on her face saying it all: you're crazy!

Finally, Firmin sighed and nodded. "Alright, then."

Christine did not look very excited. In fact, she looked absolutely terrified. As she walked up to the center of the stage, she mouthed 'help me' in my direction. Whether it was directed to me or Meg, I had no clue, but I gave her a thumbs up anyways.

Needless to say, she sang awesomely, Andre and Firmin gave her the part, and all was well..well, almost all...

A few hours later, I was in my room, laying on my bed, curled up in a giant ball of emotion and allergies. Madame Giry and Meg had the pleasure of watching me as Christine was being fitted for her costumes. "Is there anything we can do, Mandy?" Meg asked in a sad tone.

I groaned. "Unless you have a dang magic potion-" I stopped myself. "Oh, why didn't I think of this sooner?"

"What do you mean?" Madame Giry asked.

"Is there any honey and cinnamon in the kitchen?"

They both looked at me with the same expression: cluelessness.

I began to explain to them. "Honey and cinnamon mixed together can cure all kinds of ailments, including allergies."

Realization lit their faces. "We will be right back, Mandy. Don't go anywhere." Meg stated.

"Wasn't going anywhere, even if I wanted to." I mumbled after they closed my door.

"My, my..." a voice filtered through the room. "What do we have here?"

I groaned. "I swear, Erik, if you say one more word..."

"About what?" he asked innocently.

I whipped around towards him. "You know darn well-"

He instantly retreated, his hands up in surrender. "Alright, I'm sorry. I just came with with a cure which I guess is now a peace offering."

I looked at him suspiciously. "What is it?"

"Warm tea with honey and lemon. It's good for the voice. I don't know hoe it will do in your predicament, but there's no harm in trying."

I sighed. "Peace offering accepted, now gimme. I wanna get rid of this stuff as soon as possible."

As I slowly sipped the tea that Erik had so graciously poured for me, an epiphany occurred, hitting me so hard (metaphorically) that I spit my tea out (literally). Erik, who had sat down beside my bed, looked at me as if I was crazy. Well, I am, but that's not the point... "Is everything alright, Mandy?"

"Have you been phantoming lately?" I asked him.

He looked down at his feet with a blush on his face. That was the only answer I needed. "When I convinced Andre and Firmin to let Christine sing, Andre mentioned a special guest they were gonna have with them. Do you happen to know that name?"

He thought for a moment. "I remember seeing the name de Chagny." He cringed at my squeal. "What is wrong?"

"Erik, don't you remember the story I told you when we first met?"

He rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Of course I remember."

I raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Then what was the man's name that came in and swept Christine off her feet?"

He went to answer, then hesitated.

"Uh-huh. That's what I thought." I smirked.

"The only reason I don't remember is because I was too distracted by your beauty." he said innocently.

I nodded sarcastically. "Yeah, nice try. Anyways, his name was...Raoul de Chagny! Isn't this great?!"

"I fail to see how this is such a great thing. All it means is that a foppish boy will steal the heart of a girl I practically raised-"

"Madame Giry raised her. You taught her to sing." I interjected.

"I don't feel comfortable about the situation." he said over me. "How will he treat her? Will he treat her well or just end up leaving her like all of the others? I may not love her like I used to, but I still care for her."

I smiled and laid my hand on his shoulder. "Trust me, Erik. This is the best thing that could happen to her. Every girl dreams of finding their true love and she is finally going to find hers."

"Mandy, I brought your-"

There was a crash at the door, and from the sound of the voice screaming, I knew who it was. This wasn't gonna be pretty...

Alright, now to your question, guest (it would be a lot better if I knew your name, but it's fine). You asked:

"Does Erik have or did Erik have any siblings or a father? I'm going to take a wild guess and say no but would love to find out the answer."

Erik doesn't really feel like answering this question in person, so he wrote me a little note for you. It is sealed, so I have no idea what it says...*opens note and clears throat* here goes...

"You will find out later in the story, but I will give you a hint: I wasn't made by just a mother..."

*folds note closed* Well, alright then...um, I'm not sure if that answers your question, but I hope it helps :)