"No. No. No." Erik repeated, rocking back and forth slightly on his feet. He couldn't believe-he didn't want to believe what Christine was trying to say.

"You can't speak." He mumbled his head down, but his eyes still fixed on her. "Can you hear?" he asked. She nodded, the sadness etched onto her face unbreakable. Tears cascaded down her once rosy cheeks. Erik unconsciously stepped back, unsure of what to do. Could he handle this?

Her voice drew me in. Can I still love her? No. No, there's no point. She won't love me in return. I did this. I ruined her voice. I ruined her LIFE. NO! Erik argued at himself in his head, knowing that it was his fault his angel had her life's dream ripped from her. He deserved death, and worse in the hell that met him after death.

"No...I...Christine...I'm-"he broke off, a choked cry breaking through the silence. He knew that an apology would never cover this...this horrible mistake he made. Unable to contain his emotions, Erik quickly opened the door and stepped out, leaving Christine a sobbing mess, her world crumbling around her.

When Erik returned, he had composed himself. He carried a large box with him as he opened Christine's door. He had braced himself for her to attack him in some form, but she was simply sitting in a corner, holding her knees to her chest, still crying softly. She looked up at him as he walked across the dark hardwood flooring to her bed.

"Everything you had was destroyed in the explosion. You will need this." He said stiffly. He didn't expect an answer, but Christine looked at him with a confused expression, which Erik didn't see. He dropped the box onto her pillows and left, harshly closing the door behind him.

Once he was gone, Christine stood and opened the box to fin various elegant, expensive looking dresses, hair ribbons, shoes, cloaks, and other items. She glanced down at her tattered white dress, ripped and dirty.

Time for a change, she thought briskly, selecting a dress, ribbon, and a pair of shoes.

A few minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, clothed in a light pink gown with dark blue lacy edges, and a dark blue ribbon across her waist, tying at the back. At her feet was a pair of pink (the same shade as her dress) shoes. Her flowing golden hair was pinned back as always, and tied with a dark blue ribbon. Gazing at herself, Christine felt happy with the selection she had at her disposal.

She had just finished fixing her hair when Erik reappeared. She turned to face him, a slight blush colouring her cheeks, and Erik averted his eyes from her quickly.

You don't deserve to look at her, you monster. He cried in his head.
But Christine didn't seem to mind that he had seen her. This shocked Erik- how could she not be absolutely furious with him? He had taken away her voice. Her life! How could she forgive him? He didn't deserve forgiveness; he deserved death for what he had done.
Well, it all worked out, didn't it? You should have chosen the scorpion, my dear! Then we would be in a much more pleasant situation! Why did you have to choose the grasshopper? Erik reasoned inside his mind that there was nothing more he could have done to stop her- it was her choice, after all, was it not?

Erik broke off mid quarrel in his brain to notice that Christine was staring at him, looking like she didn't understand what was wrong with him.

"Are you okay?" she asked by mouthing the words, pointing at him as she did so.
Erik, who understood what she trying to say, couldn't reply. He was too stunned. He finally found his voice.
"Er- Erik is fine." He stuttered, and then fumbled to find the door handle behind him, walking backwards to the hall and slamming the door after he left, leaving Christine to ponder his actions.

Why was he so stunned I was concerned about him? Is it wrong for me to care about the man who cares for me, emotionally and physically? (A/N – I mean by the dresses and shoes and stuff he gave her. You know, caring for her physical needs, like food and water, and shelter, and clothes. Just to clarify.)

Christine decided to try the door, and found it was unlocked. To one side of the hall outside her room was a barricade of stone and debris, leaving only one direction for her to go- to the right. Stepping lightly onto the hall's floor, as if she was afraid that Erik would hear her, she crept along the passage to the nearest door, where music sounded from within. She paused for a moment, savouring the sound of the sweet music that filled her soul.
Christine shook her head, trying to focus on her self- appointed task. She gently rapped on the door, hardly making a sound, but loud enough for the man inside to hear it.

The door cracked open, Erik's face (A/N- In this he has the full mask.) half hidden by the rest of the door. The look of shock in his eyes was unmistakable. Even dimmed from what they used to be, Erik's eyes still held expression when caught off guard by something.
"Chr-Christine?" he gasped. "What are you doing here? You never went to see Erik in his room before." He mumbled, not wanting to drive her away with his initial reaction to her presence at his door.

But Christine seemed unwilling to speak after Erik's outburst.
Erik sighed, and threw the door open wider. "Come in, and say what you want to say...Christine." He nearly said my dear but he knew better then to assume that she would allow that, and corrected himself before he said it.

Christine awkwardly shimmied past him to sit at the edge of his coffin bed, a look of embarrassment holding her face.
Erik stood in front of her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She replied by again mouthing the words, putting her right hand flat against her chest, then dragging her hands across each other, and finally putting a hand to her forehead, a look of shame replacing embarrassment.

Slowly, Erik replayed the scene in his mind. "You don't remember?" he guessed.

Christine nodded.

Long, but the end bit is important.

*GASP!* oh no! Christine can't remember! Anyone see that coming? I hope not. I also hope that you're all enjoying this. Again, not my best work-everything I write these days seems like too much cheese to me, and my inspiration is running a bit dry lately.

So, before I let you move on, I would like to say thanks to DeadTom77 and PhantomFan01 for the reviews! Feedback means a lot to me.

Keep checking back for the next chapter. Should be up within a week, like this one was. Until then, you'll just have to wait and wonder on what Erik will do. Can he still love her?

Wait and see!

Oh, and one more thing. I did notice a loose end I forgot to tie up in the prologue. See, this line: he lifted the instrument with a disturbing readiness... Was meant to mean the wedding dress for Christine, if she chose the scorpion, with a disturbing readiness to make her wear it, because let's face it; the whole situation was rather disturbing.

But yeah, guess I never really explained that. Sorry. Now you know! If you have a question or anything, feel free to simply send me a PM or a review on the story to ask. I will answer either way you ask, either to you or in the story.

Bye!