The walls were hung with black. There were a lot of music sheet about. But in the middle of the room, there was what looked like a four poster bed. I drew back the curtain. What I did see was not a bed, it was an open coffin, and Erik was in it!
"OH MY GOD!" I cried. "ERIK IS DEAD!"
Erik suddenly sat bolt up right. He looked around the room, when he saw me, he yelled: "What are you doing in my room!?"
"I was looking for you!" I exclaimed. "I thought you were dead!"
Erik gave an exasperated sigh. "No... This is where I sleep..."
"I thought you slept in the bedroom where the trap door was," I said.
"No, that's Christine's bed," Erik explained. "Once she and I are married, I'll get rid of this coffin, but for now, I sleep here."
"This can't be good for your back," I said.
"The heck with my back," Erik said, getting up.
"Did Raoul find you or Christine?" I asked.
"No, thankfully," Erik said. "However, next time you want to tell me my enemy has found out about me, don't not try to knock me over again!"
"Well sorry, I siad. "I just kind of panicked and I ran off trying to find you or Chrisitne." I stopped for a minute. "Where was Chrstine anyway?"
"She was just at the bathroom," Erik said. "Anyway, what should I know about today?"
"Well..." I said thinking, "oh, Christine'll go to the cemetary to visit her father... Raoul's gonna follow her there, so you might want to go to."
"Fine." Erik said. "That boy is really starting to annoy me."
"I thik we should watch ourselves a little bit more, now that he knows I'm helping you," I said.
I left Erik, got dressed and walked about the shores of the lake until he came out. The lake kind of reminded me of the river Styx. A mythical river in Greek mythology from the Underworld.
Erik came out and sat down at his organ, but he didn't play anything. He sighed and turned to me. "Christine's singing lesson isn't until four today," he said. "Would you like to learn a bit about singing?"
I gasped. Be taught by Erik? A great music teacher? My own muse? I nodded and ran up to the organ, and sat down in a chair next to it. But Erik shook his head.
"No, no, no. Up. You sing better if your standing," he said. I blushed and stood up.
"Now," Erik said. "Do you know anything from the opera?"
Again, I blushed and shook my head. "The only song I know well enough to sing from an opera is out of your 'Don Juan Triuphant'"
Erik shook his head too. "I can't play that for you. My music, burns, and yet-"
"-It's not struck by fire from Heaven," I finished for him.
"How did you-?" Erik began.
"I read the book and seen the movie," I reminded him.
"Right..." Erik thought for a moment. He sighed again and turned to me. "I can play you one song. But that's it. Got it?"
I nodded. "Is it 'Past the Point of No Return'?" I asked. Erik nodded and started to play. Since it was early morning, and I hadn't had a drink of water my voice was slighty hoarse, so I sang slightly off key. Erik stopped playing and ordered me to go get a drink. I ran to the lake sipped a bit from my hand, and ran back to the organ. Erik started to play again. And I sang:
"Past the Point of No Return... No Backwards glances...
Our games of make believe are at an end..."
Erik stopped me again. "That was much better but your exagerating your voice too much, so sing it simply."
I nodded and tried again. I saw a very small smile creep up on Erik's face as I sang. After I was done Erik let his smile show completely and said: "Well done. I'm quite suprised you sang that well."
I shrugged casually. "I just need a bit of encouragement sometimes," I said.
"Now, listen," Erik aid, getting up. "I have to go spy on everyone involved in my opera, so you stay here and don't do anything insane."
"Got it," I said. As Erik left I wandered into the bedroom, and sat down on the swan bed. I looked up and saw that monkey music box thing that freaks me out everytime I watch the movie. I silently took it down, wound the key and listened to it play the 'Masquerade' Song. It was so light and soft I felt very sleepy. I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes... just for a minute...
--
I felt myself being shaken awake. I woke up Erik was standing next to me.
"What time is it?" I mumbled, sitting up.
"Eight at night," Erik said. "When I came back here you were sound asleep. I could have played my organ it's loudest and you wouldn't have woken up."
"Geez..." I said, getting up. I shot the music box that was laying on the floor a look. "Why do you have that thing, Erik?" I asked.
"That?" Erik asked, gestering to the music box. "I made it for Chrisitne. It plays wonderful music, and it reminds me so much of her."
"I'm sorry, but it freaks the heck out of me!" I said.
Erik rolled his eyes and shook his head. "So what time is Christine planning to go to the cemetary?" he asked me.
"Well... I really don't know," I said. "Sometime late at night... or near early morning... maybe we should go watch her?"
Erik nodded, opened the trap door, helped me through, and we ran off to Chrisitne's dressing room.
We opened her door as silently as we could she didn't seem asleep, so Erik shoved me into the shadows and crept along the wall like a shadow. Chrisitne turned and looked at the wall.
"Strange..." she said to herself. "I could have sworn I saw a shadow there."
Erik told me in sign language to stay where I was. I nodded and watched Chrisitne turn over and close her eyes. Erik, now silently sliding through the mirror, beconed me to follow him. I tiptoed past Chrisitine's bed and quietly ran through the glass. Erik shut it and watched Chrsitine try to sleep. We didn't exchange another word.
After what seemed like hours, I saw Chrisitne finally get up, pull on her cloak, and head out the door. Erik and I followed her from the shadows.
We pasts Raoul. But he wasn\t asleep on a chair infront of Christine's room... he was...on the steps of the opera house?
"What on earth is he doing there?" I asked.
Erik shrugged and pulled me along, still following Christine. As she came to that little station place thingy where they kept the horses and carriges, Chrisitne gave a man some money, and ran back inside to fetch a rose for her father.
"Erik, you're going to have to knock that guy out with a rock," I whispered.
"Why?"
"How else are we going to follow her? I asked. "We can't go on horseback. You're going to have to drive."
"What about you?"
"I can duck down infront of the carrige where you're sitting," I said.
"Fine," Erik said, picking up a rock, and with carefull aim, he hit the man at the back of his head. We came out of our shadows and I looked at the guy.
"Erik?" I asked. "Is he gonna be okay?"
"He'll be fine," Erik said, tacking up the horse, standing half hitched to a carrige.
I looked back at the entrance from the opera house. Christine was coming.
"She's back, I said, jumping in the front of the carrige and curling up into a little ball.
Erik pulled the hood of his cloak and jumped into the carrige wiuth me. I giggled slightly. "You look like a gangst-ah!" I whispered.
Erik gave me a look which shut me up right away, and looked back to make sure Chrisitne was in the carrige and ready to go.
As we pulled out of the 'drive way' I looked up at the opera house's top window. I saw a girlish face with long hair looking backa t us. "Raoul..." I whispered.
Erik must've heard me because he urged the horse to go faster.
As the horse galloped along the snowy path I was very cold. Even though it was... what?... six degrees out side, the rush of the wind created by the running horse whipped at my face and blew my hair back, making it a disaster as usual.
Once Erik, Chrisitne, and I had gotten to the graveyard, Erik let Chrisitne off, and he parked the carrige further down the road.
He jumped off without hesitation, and tired to help a frozen me out.
"Come on!" Erik said, "Hurry!"
"Take your time, she passes the same statues four time before she finally reaches the only building in the cemetary!" I said. "S-sorry, I'm just so cold!"
Erik thought for a minute, and took off his cloak and handed it to me. I smiled, thanked him, and put it on. I felt very elegant and classy.
I followed a hurrying Erik to Gustave Daae's grave.
Erik climbed onto the crypt without difficult, but I had to scramble up it, falling on my behind many times. Erik couldn't help me, because he had to keep watch for Chrisitne. But, once I finally got up, I heard singing in the distance.
"Well... Look who came to visit," I mumbled.
"Sh!" Erik said, trying to listen to Christine's singing.
I watched Christine as she sunk to the ground infront of her father's grave. After a while she stopped singing. Erik started to sing.
"Wandering Child, So lost, so helpless,
Yearning for my guidence."
I was half expecting Christine to wonder if it was Erik or her father. But, she sang:
"Erik, O Erik
Why are you here now?
I wanted to make this visit private..."
Erik sighed.
"Have you forgotten your Angel of Music?"
Chrisitne's eyes became wide and she stood up quickly.
"Erik, of course, you are my angel,
but why...?"
Erik interupted her softly
"Too long you've wandered in Winter.
Far from my far-reaching gaze."
Christne was perplexed.
"Wildly my mind beats against you..."
Erik frowned.
"You resists, yet--"
Christine then sang with him.
"Yet my heart obeyes!"
Heart? I thought. I thought it was soul... The two lovers' singing interupted my thoughts of script errors.
"Angel of music! I/you denied you/me
Turning from true beauty!
Angel of Music do not leave me/my lover
Come to your/me, my angel!"
I sighed. Whats with all these words changed!? I thought. Erik's lovely voice, once again, snapped me back to reality. Again, he was singing his little 'Come to your Angel' thing. I was smiling. Chrisitne was coming closer, and closer. She was almost up the stairs, but then I saw a light grey horse galloping towards us with a person on it's back. It was Raoul.