Hey guys! I have been crazy about this fanfic these past couple of days (in a good way!) Please R&R!

Chapter 4

Joseph Buquet was stumbling about with his bottle of whiskey in hand as he towed his body to the ballerina dormitories. He smelt of alcohol and could not remember the last time he bathed, something he would remind himself to do as soon as he was done with his business with the little girls he loved so much. As he approached the door he heard their soft whispers about what they did today and the gossip they heard at the market or in the bakery.

Joseph pushed the door open and was welcomed to a few squeaks from some of the girls while the others covered themselves with their blankets for propriety's sake. He nodded to all of them and walked with his powerful steps towards the lone chair in the middle of the empty aisle at the far back of the room.

Meg Giry watched the man carefully as he trudged through the girl's dormitory. She rolled her eyes as he sat down and made himself comfortable and acted if he were going to get a private performance from someone, a performance either made for the stage or for the bedroom. The thought sickened Meg instantly and she shook her head as she let the thought of him touching her vanish from her mind instantly. Once she regained her composure she looked directly in his eyes and crossed her arms over her chest to give the same impression her mother imposed on every cast and crew member at the opera house and to be more conservative.

"Excuse me Monsieur Buquet but may I inquire as to why you are in a ladies dormitory at this hour of night? I am sure that if the managers knew about this they would have your head for it," Meg stated with the coldest demeanor she could summon from the depths of her voice.

"Well missy, I am sure that the phantom will have my head much sooner than the managers do if they keep acting like bitches," Joseph grumbled as he watched the perky little blonde stand up to him. He admired her for the effort but he knew that if it ever came down to it he would be able to overpower within seconds.

Megs eyes grew wide as he continued on, he's drunk, she thought. He is drunk and he is around the entire ballet corps. He could do as he wished to any of us. I will not stand back and let this happen, I need to distract him.

"Well sir, if you know that the phantom will kill you much swifter than the managers you must be well informed with the ghost that haunts our walls," Meg asked as she gestured to the grand walls that surrounded everyone.

"Yes mademoiselle I sure am. In fact I know quite a lot about him. Now ladies gather around and let your good friend Joseph tell you a little tale about the Phantom of the Opera and his magical lasso…" Joseph threw his arms open while he watched the girls gather around to hear what he wanted to say. The younger and new ballerinas were the most timid and shy about the story but the older ones knew Joseph so much better and laughed and played along to his little act that he performed for their enjoyment. Everyone was laughing by the middle of his story—everyone except the two Giry women who were now standing in the back of the room as they listened intently to the man's tale:

"Like yellow parchment, a great black hole served as the nose that never grew…

You must be always on your guard, or he will catch you with his magical lasso!"

Almost out of thin air he produced a lasso and playfully captured Ariana LeVange as she was talking to one of her friends and pretended to attack her as she squealed with delight while she cried out his name from laughing too hard.

Madame Giry decided that that was enough of Joseph's storytelling, it was too close to the truth for comfort to the retired prima ballerina and she swiftly walked up to the man and ballerina acting as the phantom and one of his victims. She quickly pulled the noose away from them and began to speak to the entire room:

"Those who speak of what they know find, too late, that prudent silence is wise."

Antoinette watched as many of her students began nodding their heads in agreement, while some others that were boisterously laughing a few minutes ago bowed their heads in shame. When she felt that the ballerinas had all learned their lessons she turned to the man that began the upheaval.

"Joseph Buquet, hold your tongue and keep your hand at the level of your eyes!"

Madame Giry wrapped the Punjab lasso around the man's thick sweaty neck as he spoke the warning that kept the punjab's victims alive…if they were quick enough. Luckily for the man he was one of the few that were quick and kept the lasso from claiming another victim. They stared each other in the eyes for what seemed like forever until Antoinette relaxed her grip on the lasso and Joseph carefully removed the death trap.

Madame Giry cleared her throat and saw that every one of her students shifted their eyes to hers as they waited for further instruction from their mentor.

"Well my dears, it's time for bed now. We all have a practice to attend in a mere eight hours. Goodnight ladies," Madame Giry ended the playing and turned off the lights as she watched everyone settle back into their beds but refused to leave until she saw her daughter's eyes close and her body relax.

Christine awoke but refused to open her eyes because she knew last night was just too impossibly perfect to have actually happened, though she did give a great amount of credit to her imagination for being able to conjure such realistic images that stirred her senses so amazingly. She took a deep breath and realized that she forgot to change out of her corset before going to bed and groaned loudly and lightly cursed.

"Damn it, Erik will not be able if he finds out that I slept with this thing on. But since he is not around I figure a few more minutes of sleep will do no harm." Christine snuggled back into a comfortable position and tried to regain the sleep that she yearned for.

Right before she relaxed into a slumber she heard the door open quickly and she shot up in bed. She looked around and noticed that it was not her room. Not even her bed. Oh dear god, she thought to herself, I am in Erik's bed. Erik, he is real and I wasn't dreaming about anything. Oh dear god this is too perfect to be true. Christine slowly got out of bed scanning and drinking in every square inch of the room she was in.

She knew that it was Erik's room because it held a masculine feel to it due to the deep dark mahogany dresser, chest and desk. On top of the desk held different pieces of sheet music and various inventions that were in various stages of the beginning to some that were even close to being finished. The walls themselves were rock being covered by intricately designed Persian rugs.

As she walked around the perimeter of the room Christine came across a door that led into a private bathroom that, Christine decided, was made specifically for Erik. She admired the large bathtub and sink that held various types of colognes and shampoos and soaps. In a cabinet close to the bathtub there was many dark red and black towels of various sizes and another cabinet held a set of clean and nicely pressed clothes for him to change into after bathing.

Christine felt her cheeks begin to blush as she thought of Erik taking a bath in here. She placed a hand against her cheek as she realized how wanton these thoughts in her mind were, not that she minded but this feeling was entirely new to her.

Slowly and gently the silence began to be filled with an organ playing the most beautiful music Christine had ever heard. She automatically knew that it had to be Erik playing for no one else she knew ever was able to play an instrument just as perfectly as him.

Christine walked quietly, as to not disturb him in his moment of peace, into the main room that she remembered last night before she passed out from complete exhaustion. She glanced around and marveled once again at the majestic splendor that the place emitted and began to think aloud:

"I remember there was mist

Swirling must upon a vast glassy lake

There were candles all around

And on the lake there was a boat

And in the boat there was a man"

Christine looked around the room searching for Erik and saw him at his organ writing furiously. He stopped though as soon as he heard Christine and looked at her for a second before returning to his work. He cursed himself for removing the jacket, vest and cravat when he started to feel uncomfortable in all the clothes. He noticed that his robe was tied around him but his nightshirt hung deeply open and feared that Christine would see him in such a state and shy away from him.

Christine began walking towards Erik while still thinking out loud:

"Who was that shape in the shadows,

Whose is the face in the mask?"

As soon as Christine reached her destination she gently pressed her hands down on Erik's shoulders and smiled as she felt him instantly relax to her touch. He trusts me, Christine thought to herself as she continued her hands up his neck and caressed his face. She looked at the mask lightly began to lift it up curious to see what was underneath it that this man was hiding from the world. Before she removed the mask she remembered what her Angel at the time told her.

"…since I am turning myself into a human and…my face will be deformed…"

Before her curiosity got to the better of herself, Christine stopped her hand from prying the white leather mask away from the intriguing man before her. She knew that Erik was slowly beginning to trust her and she knew that she wanted to keep it that way. If she ever harmed him, physically or mentally, she knew that it would hurt herself tenfold.

A soft sigh escaped from Erik's lips as Christine continued her gentle caress. As he closed his eyes he began to feel the light pressure of her fingers begin to massage his neck and shoulders as she began to hum the song that they sang with each other last night. Ever so slowly, as to make sure that he did not cause Christine to stop the massage she was giving him, Erik replaced his fingers back on the organ's keys and began playing the song along with Christine's humming which grew louder and morphed into the beautiful singing that he had trained her to be able to do.

Christine smiled to herself and changed the song she was singing so quickly that it had caught Erik off guard but nonetheless continued the small song anyway.

"Stay with me, don't let me go, because I can't be without you

Just stay with me and hold me close, because I've built my world around you

And I don't want to know what it's like without you"

Erik listened to the sweet little song that Christine, his Christine, was singing to him and for him alone. But as he listened to the words she was speaking to him, he could not help but to wonder what she was asking of him. Did she really want to be with him forever? Was she so willing to condemn herself to him for the rest of her life? Did she love him?

Erik felt Christine remove her fingers and the absence of her hands was obvious to him. He was slightly disappointed that the massage was over so quickly, he had never received one in his life that felt quite like the way Christine managed to do it. Yes, the servants in Persia tried to see to it that he was absolutely comfortable but their hands never possessed the tender loving touch that Christine's had.

Christine walked back towards a couch she saw not far behind her and picked up the novel sitting on the side table. It was the story "Les Miserables" and as she carefully turned the cover she recognized the emblem that proclaimed it being a first edition. Her eyes widened in wonder because she knew just how expensive these books can get, and she was curious to how Erik acclaimed so much money in the short time while he changed from her Angel to this human man. Something seemed so off about it all to Christine and she felt she needed to know Erik much better, she realized she didn't know anything about him at all—except for the type of soap he uses when bathing. This only information she had of him made her blush fifty shades of red but cleared her throat quickly and began reading the novel.

The two people worked quietly for what seemed like an eternity to each, before the silence became too uncomfortable a small figure darted into the main room and rushed towards Erik. The small black cat with bright blue eyes matching Erik's perfectly dropped the note with the Giry emblem on the back on top of the organ ultimately restricting her owner from further playing.

As soon as Christine saw a figure flash by her she let a slight scream escape from her lips and saw Erik turn his head towards her with an eyebrow cocked up. But he soon put two and two together and came to the conclusion that Ayesha must have frightened her when she brought the letter.

Erik picked up the letter and opened it carefully as to not rip any of the paper.

E,

The managers are searching everywhere for C. Bring her back.

Your friend,

A

After finishing the letter Erik stood up and straightened his clothes before walking towards Christine.

"Come, we must return. Those two fools who run my theater will be missing you," Erik spoke gently with a little humor as he offered his hand to Christine once more. He gratefully sighed as he felt her hand take his once again.

Erik decided to take the shorter and much quicker route back to Christine's dressing room so that she would be able to return much quicker. Before opening the mirror to Christine's dressing room Erik brought her forward and showed her how to use the mechanism so that she would be able to open it herself in any situation where she needed to. It was simply a little switch hidden between two rocks that needed to push down in order for the gears and pulleys to do their job.

As Christine stepped over the threshold she turned around and grabbed Erik's arm before he had the chance to leave.

"When can I see you again Erik?" Christine asked earnestly. She enjoyed their time together so much that she wanted to go back to his kingdom of music as soon as possible. Never before has she ever felt so filled with music, she felt like she was part of the music more than she normally was on the stage.

Erik was shocked that she wanted to see him again and by the way her eyes were gleaming, she wanted to return soon. He knew that he could never deny the woman standing in front of him anything that her heart desired, and her heart desired to be in his humble abode once more. Down once more they will travel to his island-like home and down once more they will sing of the music of the night. His heart began to race as his mind brought about images of what else he wanted them to do together. But for now he was content, nay thrilled, that a woman as beautiful as Christine wanted to be with him more.

"You may return tonight after your rehearsals have concluded, if you wait here for me I will personally escort you and show you the way back to my home," Erik answered her question with Christine nodding in reply.

"Thank you Erik, thank you for everything. I'm sorry but I have to go now, thank you again," Christine said and kissed Erik on the cheek without even thinking about it. Christine was already gone to rehearsals before Erik could reply as he went back down to his house to play the music he had created for her until she returned to him once more.

"You're welcome my Christine, my love."
_

The song that Christine is singing to Erik while he is at his piano is "Stay With Me" by Danity Kane. I came across it as a Erik/Christine song and I loved it so much that I had to add it!