The next day, Christine was tense as she finally allowed herself to emerge from her bedroom. She saw Erik sitting at his organ, head bowed low. For the first time, she saw him sit before the instrument, but let it be in silence. She walked a few feet from him timidly, waiting to see if he'd speak to her. His head lifted after a few moments, but he did not turn to her. Instead, he spoke, staring at the wall in front of him.

"Shall we or not?" Was his simple, curious greeting to her.

"Shall we what?"

"Proceed in singing lessons, of course. You never did give me an answer yesterday."

Christine quickly looked away from him, uncomfortable about speaking of the day before. "If we may do so peacefully, then I'd love to continue my lessons while I remain here." She answered in a soft, whispery voice.

"Very well. Now, I'm sure you know well that the dancers and singers that formally worked here were transported across town to that new theater. I hear they are putting on Hannibal, so perhaps you'd like to sing from that."

"But you are mistaken. They are producing Faust, not Hannibal."

"It is very rare that I am mistaken, my dear. Besides, with these surroundings, I'd prefer we not do Faust. I never liked the opera very much anyway. Hannibal is a prettier sounding opera - of rejoicing and of the such. Pick a song from that - a song that Ellisa sings."

Christine looked at him with a strange look, trying to figure the man before her out. When she couldn't, she sighed and picked Think of Me. Upon telling Erik her choice, he began to make the organ produce the carefree music of longing and promise, bitter, yet very sweet. She couldn't help but smile as she began to sing it, remembering a time when Raoul had told her that he fell in love with her all over again the moment she started to sing this very song on stage that night.

When the lovely thought stopped, she looked down at Erik and saw him slowly close his eyes, still playing, his fingers knowing instinctly where to fall upon the different keys. Encouraged by his notion, she sung with more feeling, getting more into the song. He breathed deeper, and no longer were his fingers drifting softly over the keys - now he made them play louder, forcing her to raise her voice in song.

She finished two verses before she watched Nadir slip out of his room. His face registered in surprise and he looked her up and down. Shrugging one shoulder, he turned away from the two and crouched down by the fire, sticking the poker in it to make the flames go higher, and the wood to crackle more.

Surely, she thought, with his oversensitive ears, Erik would have heard Nadir's movements, yet he remained the same as he was, showing no sign of recognition. Satisfied with the dancing flames, Nadir put the poker away, then sat in a straightback chair in the corner and pretended to be interested in the book which he held. Christine knew easily that it was just a disguise, for she could see his dark eyes peering over at the two of them in observation. The song through, Erik never stopped playing, just changed the tune. This time, it was a song that she easily recognized. He was playing the song 'Point of No Return.'

She made no attempt to sing this, shocked that he would even dare to play the tune. Instead, she cleared her throat.

"I'm quite tired. I think I shall retire to my room until dinner." She said, then walked back to her room, Ayesha following behind her. Laying down and pulling the sheets up to her chin, she settled in, but her mind was far from allowing her to sleep. Thoughts whirled in her head faster than a hurricane. She mentally begged them to stop, but to no prevail . Ayesha curled up beside her, and Christine was grateful for the added warmth in the chilly room. When Christine had gone, Erik turned timid eyes upon Nadir, whom he had known was there all along.

"Let her go." Nadir replied to Erik's patient gaze. "She deserves better than this, surely even you can see that! And if her fiancé finds you, he'll lock you up for good...if he doesn't kill you with his bare hands first, that is!"

"The insolent boy couldn't touch me if all his rage was turned on. He's quite the weakling." Erik said, staring at the music sheets before him and correcting any mistakes he may have made as he spoke carelessly.

" Erik, this is kidnapping! It's against the law to keep her here against her will!"

That was all Erik was able to take. He threw his quill down and stood up, pacing quickly to Nadir. "You were once, long ago, a daroga. But we are not in Persia. Even if we were, even if you still had your old job back, the law up there does not apply down here. Have you not noticed that yet? Down here is a whole different world. It's my world. I am it's head, it's sire, king, khan, and lord! I am my own god here! I make the rules - all the rules, and only me, no matter who decides to visit my world. If they do not like my rules, they get thrown into the torture chamber or hung by the punjab - by my own hand. If you want to keep pushing me and want your ultimate fate to arrive early, I shall be more than eager to serve you in such. But unless that is what you want, you will listen to me! You will not stand up to me, or try to threaten or change my own rules!" Erik yelled, yet Nadir was hardly fazed. Too many years had he put up with Erik's temper to be intimidated by it now.

"Fine, don't obey laws. Ignore the world and if you like it, shut yourself in your tomb. But why make Christine? Why make her suffer?"

"Her suffer? God, are you as dense as she? She has the easy role in this, do you not see that? Do you think I volunteered to be her Angel of Music for so many years? She used to walk up and down the hallways at night, by her self, singing away her sorrows and nightmares; searching for something that could never be there. Yet night by night she searched as she sang old songs that her father had raised her with. I was drawn to the hallways - how could I not be? Her voice traveled below her, and her feet made the floorboards above me creak. I came up and listened to her heart wrenching voice, and one day she found me; accused me of being her Angel of Music. Not the one she knows now, but of the one that descended from heaven by her father. She told me all this, then said I must be him, for her father would not lie, nor abandon her. She was only seven, Nadir, and even though I have always despised children for their noise and nuisance, I could not turn her away. I became what she asked so I would not break her fragile heart. Do you think I wished that upon me? I am a genius, a master at all I do; not a nanny! But I did so - for her! Yes, I grew to care for her. Yes, I let myself get carried away irrationally. But I did everything over the years for her!"

"I did not say that what you did was ever wrong. Your intentions at that early stage were very honest. But what you allowed yourself to do was your downfall. You saw the Vicomte come back to claim his love and you were jealous. You competed with him for Christine, and in the end, after hurting the one you care for, you lost it. You were wrong to pursue her love for your own selfish reasons when you can not possibly care for her right."

"Don't you think I know that little fact already, Nadir? Must you keep pointing it out over and over again? But do you think that it is easy; being in love with her? Do you think she is the one who really suffers when in truth it is me? I never wanted to love anyone - I am a genius, working always. I never had time to do anything else. But since Christine came...she's all that matters to me and every single thing else has been pushed aside to make way for her. And for what? So she can love de Changy and mock me! I never wanted to love her...but my mind had no choice in the matter. This was one situation where my mind dared, and could not, trod. I wish to Heaven that I could hate that woman in there. I wish that I had no feelings for her in the slightest. I wish I could be happy that she has found someone that she can love, even if he is not worthy of it. But wishing and praying will get you no where in life, and it is useless to even try. I face the facts, Nadir, and am driven to terrible conclusions that, yes...make me act unreasonable at times. But that does not mean all my actions are unjust and wrong. That does not mean I am cruel and heartless when I bring her here! I can not have her, this I realize now. But that doesn't mean that I can sit back and let her ruin her life just because that life no longer includes me. I am attached to her soul as much as she is now. I feel apart of her, and letting her destroy her life is like watching me die as well."

Nadir sat back in his chair, looking quite stunned at Erik, not sure what to say to such a comment. But it did not matter, for Erik gave him no time to reply. Instead, he swiftly walked away and into the kitchen. He would have rathered the privacy of his own bedroom, but since Nadir now temporarily resided there, he had to settle with the only other room that wasn't completely out in the open.

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Christine awoke to the chilly air and the constant hammering and ripping of the lobby floor above. It was what she always awoke to. Never was there a warm day, never was there peaceful silence. Hoping to escape their racket, she wandered into the next room and ended up standing by the fire, fingering the wood pattern of the simple shelf above it. Softly she sung to herself the lullaby that Erik had written for her when she was just a small girl. It was a song she'd fall asleep to after hours of battling nightmares. It always left her in a blissful peace.

"Hungry?"

The sudden voice startled Christine. She gave Erik a slight, sweet smile, but shook her head.

"How are you not hungry? You barely eat."

"I suppose it is the constant cold here. It freezes my lungs so. I suppose it takes away my appetite."

"You're cold?"

"Are you not?"

Erik paused. "No."

"How could you not?"

He shrugged. "I am used to it now. Come, I'll make you tea to warm you."

With that, Erik walked into the kitchen, and for once, Christine followed. It was a small little room, much like the others though. A fire was lit in a small fireplace. Above it was a cast iron rack, which Erik placed a tea kettle on top of.

He turned to her, looking her straight in her eyes for the first time since the night of the opera house fire. "Are you really as miserable as Nadir says? Are you really that unhappy here with me? This was once your sacred home...is it no longer that at all?" He asked. Anything she might have been harboring against him instantly melted when his burning green eyes searched her soul as he did. Staring back, she felt as if she was battling a storm of violent waves, trying to push her away, yet she remained standing tall. It was frightening, to see him look at her like so. And...it was very frightening to suddenly realize that she still held this man's heart in the palms of her hands, even now.

Blinking, she fought to find words; any words to save her from her drowning silence. "No." was the only thing she was able to mutter.

"Then why does he say you are? You'd know I would never hurt you! You know I'd never do anything to put you in harm's way. Or if I did, I'd be the one to rescue you from it. Surely you know that by now. I may have brought you here, but am I not taking care of you? Making sure you have everything you need? Providing you with things to do? Treating you not as a demon or a monster, but as a simple gentlemen? Have I said one cross word to you, or yelled in anger? Have I stepped from my boundaries even once? No, you do not see sunlight here. There are no fancy shops or the highest grade of food. There is no luxurious furnishings, and there are no Vicomtes, but it is decent, is it not? Do I not provide for those that I take on? Christine, can you not see how I'm trying to keep you happy, even down here? To return you to your carefree self you once were, even if it is only for a few days? Can you not see what I am doing for you?" His words were passionate and spoken in desperate, hoarse whispers. Impulsively, he grabbed her hand and held it between his two, staring intently at her to try and force realization into her, if not by eye contact alone.

Yet she stood, quite stunned by his words and sudden burst of emotion. How do you reply to that? Ironic, she thought, seeing that he hardly said anything that didn't end in a question, yet the reply to them was lost to her. She stood, her hand feeling awkward in his, wanting to melt right through the floor.

Just as she opened her mouth to give him the only words she could think of, Erik quickly let go of her hand and turned back to the kettle, which was hardly ready to be let off. Christine could tell it was merely a distraction, wanting to get away from the situation which he had accidently put his own self into.

Her feet felt like lead as she slowly shuffled out of the room and passed everything else until she was safe in her room, once again returning in a daze. It wasn't long before she heard a light clatter outside of her door, and receding steps; Erik had timidly put her promised tea there for her then quickly walked away.

"I'm sorry." She whispered the words she had wanted to tell him before, yet now to nothing but the chilly air that seeped right through her clothes and skin, and into her heart.

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