I do not own The Phantom of the Opera. I apologize for the lateness of this chapter and the one before it.
When Erik and Christine returned to the opera, Madame Giry rushed to meet them. Her hair was unkempt, falling out of the knot on top of her head, and there was a frantic look in her eyes. She also looked like she had been crying.
"Have you seen Meg?" she said breathlessly. The words were out almost as soon as Erik and Christine were in earshot.
"What's wrong?" Christine said.
"I don't know," the Madame Giry said, "That's why I asked you."
"Do you think Henri did something?" Erik asked, voicing Christine's thoughts aloud. His hand found Christine's and tightened around it, but otherwise he retained a stolid exterior.
"He might, but I'm not sure," Madame Giry said.
"Are you sure she wasn't skipping rehearsal or something?" Christine asked. Madame Giry had overreacted like this before, and she wanted to make sure this panic was justified.
Madame Giry said, "We ended a while ago, and she wasn't there. None of the other girls have seen her all day."
"Have you looked for her?" Christine said.
"Yes," Madame Giry said, "Will you please look through the opera again? I'll look outside. Erik can…" She looked at the mask and trailed off. No one was eager to fill the silence.
"I'll look through the passages around the lake to make sure she didn't get lost," Erik finished. Christine squeezed his hand, but she wasn't sure what she was trying to convey. He gave her an awkward half-smile before the three of them separated.
When Erik found himself alone under the opera, Henri appeared from behind a corner, his hands balled into fists and his eyes narrowed.
"Where is she?" he spat.
"I could ask you the same question," Erik said quietly.
"I want to know what you did to Meg."
"I'm looking for her, too. I'm her friend." The last word tasted funny in Erik's mouth.
"We all know someone like you can't have friends. Meg and the Daaé girl stay with you out of misguided guilt."
"How would you know? What do you know about either of them?"
"Someone told me all about it."
"Who, pray tell?"
"The Vicomte Raoul de Chagny." Henri grinned coldly; he was finding that this conversation was more amusing than he originally thought it would be. It was easier than he thought to get under Erik's skin. He just had to hit the right nerves.
"He knows nothing," Erik said. He knew full well that Henri was trying to get him angry, but he found himself falling for it anyway.
"He seems to know a lot about you, enough to make me wonder if Meg should be around you."
"That's in the past. It doesn't matter," Erik said. He sounded firm, but he was still trying to convince himself. Henri wasn't fooled, either.
'We both know the Daaé girl still loves him. She never liked you."
Erik didn't want to answer that, so he changed the subject. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because I want you to stay away from Meg! I know you know where-"
Henri found himself with his back to the wall and Erik's forearm crushing his windpipe. He didn't see Erik move. One moment he was standing in the corridor, and the next he was against the cold basement wall.
"Get out of the opera and leave us all alone," Erik said darkly, "or I will kill you."
He released Henri and strode away without another word.
Meanwhile, Christine was wandering the opera in search of Meg when two ballerinas, Élodie and Margot, came up to her. She saw them whispering loudly to each other before, completely unaware of the fact that Christine could hear them perfectly well. They were arguing over who was going to speak first, and Christine's insides writhed when she realized who they were going to ask her about.
"Have you found Meg yet?" the taller one, Margot, asked. Her companion elbowed her.
"No," Christine said, "not yet. I'd imagine Madame Giry is very worried."
Margot said, "We wondered if you knew why she left…if she was kidnapped."
"By the opera ghost!" Élodie added impatiently.
"The opera ghost is just a story. Why are you asking me?" Christine said, hoping she hadn't gone too pale when they brought up the ghost.
"He's real! Lot's of people have seen him," Élodie continued. She looked up and down the hallway. "We know you were kidnapped by the ghost."
Christine knew she must have made some reaction because Margot whispered in Élodie's ear. This time, it was too quiet for her to hear, even though she strained to listen.
"The ghost didn't kidnap Meg, and he doesn't like it when people talk that way. I'll tell him if you do and he'll actually kidnap someone," Christine said, trying her hardest to look stern and keep from smiling. She knew that some of the older ballerinas wouldn't believe her, but it would keep some from bothering her and poking around for a while. She knew the real opera ghost would approve.
Meg still hadn't been found when Erik went to bed that evening. He couldn't fall asleep after the worrisome realization that threatening Henri might have made him angry enough to expose him. It didn't seem likely to happen that late at night, but Erik got up and packed a few changes of clothing and essentials in case he needed to escape quickly, mostly just to get out of bed and move around. For a while, he stood outside the door to Christine's room, unsure whether or not he should take some of her things with him. Would she want to come with him? He decided against it. Christine wouldn't leave the opera for him.