I'm so sorry guys! Being really busy, being really sick and writer's block is not a great combo. I hope you haven't given up on me yet...

And also, thanks to all those who take the time to review my story- your input motivates me more than anything else to update! Thanks, and keep on reviewing:)

R&R and enjoy!

I didn't quite remember falling asleep, but I must have, as I awoke in that ornate swan bed of Erik's. I crept out to the lakeside, marveling as always at the sheer elegance of the decor.

Erik was unsurprisingly at the organ. But then I noticed his chest was gently rising and falling, his head on his bony arms. I had never watched him sleep before, I mused as I ran my gaze over his dreaming frame. I tentatively sat down beside him and stroked his soft dark hair. Suddenly he started and shot up, whirling to snatch my hands. I froze, my breath caught in my throat.

Erik's wild golden eyes soon lost their ferocity as he recognized who had been touching him. "I am so sorry, my darling, I..."

I smiled gently and took his fingers in mine. "It's fine, Erik. You haven't been back here-safe- very long. I understand."

He looked down at his knees, and a period of silence ensued. And then I recalled something he had told me yesterday as he finished his tale.

"Erik?" I said his name in a frigid tone that was not my own. "You just arrived, right?"

He faced me, stroking my cheek desperately as he pleaded. "My darling, I had to take care of some things here, I couldn't just-"

I recoiled from his hand. For a few seconds I lingered there in still disbelief. Then I stood, my voice shaking in betrayed fury.

"You- you- you beast! You lied to me- you don't know what it was like to be here without you! I thought you were dead!" I broke off, tears threatening to fall from their precarious perch.

Erik fluidly got to his feet, his arms out as if to embrace me. "My angel, allow me to explain-"

"No!" I cried, backing away as quickly as I could. "Get away from me! Let me go back up. I want to go home!" I sobbed hysterically. It was as if the steady wall I had built to keep all the agony and the misery in his absence from me had come crumbling down at my feet. Oh, how I loathed him for that! "Let me leave! I refuse to live in darkness!"

His masked face was hurt, as I had intended. "Christine-"

I tripped and fell in my haste to flee and I lay, weeping pitifully, prostrate before him. It was then that Erik began to sing to me, his voice seductive and oh so tender:

"Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation

Darkness stirs, and wakes imagination

Silently the senses abandon their defenses..."

My thoughts left me as I gazed in mesmirised awe at the angel before me. A tirade of emotion rendered me motionless, and I effortlessly gave into the siren call of his song.

"Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor

Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender.

Turn your face away from the garish light of day

Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light

And listen to the music of the night."

Erik approached cautiously, stretching a hand which I willingly took. He smiled, and my heart soared as he continued. I closed my eyes to absorb its sheer monumental beauty.

I don't know how long I stayed there in his grasp before his music's soft melody caused me to drift towards sleep. I dimly remember being laid in a luxurious bed and reflecting on his gorgeous song.

Then I realized. It was the same song as my lullaby he had written three years ago for me. The words were different, but the same haunting, alluring quality was present. Slightly unnerved by this, I fell into sleep dreaming of shifting shadows and fallen angels.

Kinda short, but review please!