Chapter 6:
Horror, Horror, Horror!

"Good morning, Christine," awoke me from a nightmarish sleep that left me breathing hard when I was awake.

I groaned, stuffing my head into the pillow, turning away from the opened window with the sun shining through into my cage of a room.

"Master Erik requests that you have breakfast early so that you may come downstairs earlier and he requests that you have your lesson in an hour."

"Tell him that I refuse to speak with him."

"Christine, he only wants for you to hear him out." Anne was holding onto the material of her shirt nervously, her brow furrowed, I can see that she was trying very hard to convince me. I didn't want her to suffer more of Erik's wrath. I looked from her to the plate that was being offered, and then to my hands letting my messy hair fall over my vision of the world.

"Fine," I muttered, taking the plate of pancakes and scrambled eggs into my lap, and began to knife through them after pouring a little syrup over the pancakes.

"He loves you, you know." She muttered, watching me eat.

"I wish I didn't have to hear that again."

"I know," She nodded, and backed out of the room, "if you need anything, call me." She let the door shut behind her, this time I didn't hear the lock click as she shut the door, and I closed my eyes, quickly praying that I wouldn't have to hear that wretched sound again. I ate my food slowly, hoping that it would only make Erik mad if anything if I wasn't down there directly at 12, for I still had to take my shower and the time was now 11:30.

I put my dishes back on the small table and picked out an outfit to wear, finding the new wardrobe very useful, not all of it was something I'd like to wear, but it was nice to have a selection to choose from.

I walked into the bathroom to find new towels hanging, as if they popped out of nowhere during the night. I shuddered and resumed with taking my shower.

I walked out of the bathroom feeling very refreshed and ready to withstand anything that was about to happen to me. I walked down the stairs to see Erik awaiting me with his head bent and was reading a book in his hands, his legs crossed, and he looked normal once again. It was like it was some sort of mood thing- when to act human and when to not. It seems to get very annoying.

I stood for a second, studying him again, for even the way he sat down was graceful and livid, his eyes sweeping over the pages, increasingly interested. He didn't even look up when I went down the stairs.

"Good morning." His voice surprised me, as if it came from right behind me.

I grimaced and remained silent, thinking back over all the things he's done, and my hatred only grew. Which was a pity, considering he thought he loved me.

"Christine..." he began, looking up to me, as if just realizing that I wasn't going to speak to him. "You're being childish, again. The cold shoulder will not affect me."

I dropped my gaze to my hands as they folded over each other by my waist, not wanting to look at him. It was the most awkward between us as it's ever been now that he's said he "loves" me. I would have never guessed it. Well, maybe I could have. I mean, a rich man allowing me to stay in his home as I was an orphan, giving me more things then I could have never have even wished for.

"I just don't understand you." I whispered, more to myself as I sat down across from him on the chair, sitting up straight and tense.

"I apologize, Christine."

"You say that a lot." I noted blankly. He didn't reply again, pretending he was looking at his book.

"Would you like to start your lesson now?"

I looked up and thought about it for a while, tilting my head from side to side, "Yes." I answered quietly, wondering how he even heard me it was so quiet.

He rose with spectacular and feline grace as he put the book back on the shelf, and put a finger out to signal me to follow, and I did. Just as we were walking something furry passed through my legs and I let out a startled cry, looking down to see a Siamese cat.

Erik turned around and looked down. I lightened up, though the startle seemed to release a few beats of my heart, and I knelt down to pet the cat.

"Careful, I'm not sure how she reacts to strangers." Erik said cautiously.

"Since when did you have a cat?" I asked, smiling to myself as I pet the soft kitten as it played with my fingers.

"I've had Ayesha for a while, it's only just now that she chooses to show herself."

Suddenly, the cat hissed and rolled back onto its feet and ran off. I just now remembered that most cats hate me for no reason. "And she's very rude." He laughed lightly, for it was the first time in such a long time that I've heard him laugh, and it sounded like music, just as his voice was, except it wasn't used in horrible ways. It was just a laugh. A simple, and lighthearted laugh that astounded me.

I rose back to my feet, watching the cat disappear into the darkness of the hallway. I looked to see the same door that was still opened from two nights ago...

"Why did you take my things?" I asked suddenly, as it came into my mind.

"I don't think I have an answer to that," He answered simply, and subtly that I barely heard him as he let me walk into the music room and he followed, walking over to the piano as usual. I followed more reluctantly than usual.

We began the lesson as usual, with breathing exercises and scales, with solfege and then he handed me the piece of music to sing that I've been working on for a while. For some reason, this entire lesson, I felt that I couldn't keep my eyes on the music, instead, I was looking at him as he moved while playing the music, shutting his eyes, rocking back and forth in sync with the music. He looked at peace for once when I see him. I was so entranced by his movement and his mask that I didn't notice when he stopped playing the piano and I stopped singing.

"Christine?" He asked.

"..."

"Christine! Start at the second verse... One, two, three and..." He started again, and I almost had to pinch myself to peel away from my fascination. I began when he directed, starting it all over, this time he wasn't with the music necessarily, he had his eyes open, and listening.

"Christine!" He said again, this time losing patience. I stood back with a gasp, snapped out of it once more. "Where's the emotion that you had before? Try again... think of all the things you love and sing... This women is telling of the man of whom she loves very dearly for, but he is gone... Now, try again from the beginning. One, two, three and," He directed with an elegant unfurl of his hand. His hands seemed to only lightly tap the piano keys to have them play for him, as if he was working the piano with a gentle nudge and the most wonderful sound came from within it.

I shut my eyes to get away, and I opened my mouth and began to sing. Some part in me wanted very much to impress him. I thought of Raoul and how I may never see him again, I thought of my father who is dead and my mother who I barely knew. Of my friends I'll never see again... and I sang as I've never sang before without looking at the music, taking it all in to my mind.

It went by too quick, for the last chord was over, and I opened my eyes to the world I was in. "That was much better, dear." He sounded regretful, looking over the music, and then to me. I didn't have anything to say... I just wanted to go through that again.

"I have a new piece that may be a little more difficult, but it's a duet that I thought you may enjoy singing." He reached over to hand me another piece of music. He began to play the beginning from it and began to sing and it seemed that I completely forgot how beautiful he sang, and when he sang it was like he meant every word he sang. I used my Italian knowledge, looking over the lyrics, and it seemed to choke me up inside that it was a love song. And this is why he picked it out.

Before I knew it, he was looking at me cautiously. "Are you alright, Christine? You look as thought you are about to pass out?"

"I-I'm fine..." I shook my head. So what? It's a lesson! Screw your head back on, Christine... he doesn't mean for it to be nothing more than experience.

"I trust you looked over it, then. Let's begin, I have the first verse." he instructed, and he sang again, and queued me in to begin to sing. It was truly remarkable as we sang, his godly voice rising and falling as mine, which was not-so-godly went with it with different words and different sayings in Italian. He looked to me as we sang, and he played the piano, and looked back.

I felt as if I was giving my own false word, though, and he was singing it as if giving his downright truth... My blood seemed to drain from my face and I felt like I was falling backward, but I was still standing, just not singing.

"Erik," I began, breathlessly, "Can we stop for today?" I asked, and he played a nasty chord on the piano causing me to shudder instantly.

"Are you alright?" He asked, almost looking panicked for my sake. I waved him off.

"Yes, just feeling a little lightheaded... that's it." I said, feeling like I should apologize but I couldn't bring myself to. I put a hand against my forehead to go along with my story, but I only really wanted to get out of this room, feeling like I couldn't listen to one more thing about love in fear I could explode. He picked those songs on purpose. I would be angry, but that would cause him to suspect more things.

"I suppose we could resume tomorrow..." He sighed, sounding disappointed. Maybe I imagined it, I couldn't tell what was real and what was not anymore, actually. It was like I was floating without being pulled down to earth with his music.

"I think I'm going to go read," I said quietly, gathering myself, handing him the music and I began to walk out of the room. When his voice sounded to be cautious.

"Wait, Christine!" He fetched, and I stayed there, frozen until he gave me a reason to be unfrozen.

"I didn't mean for you to feel... uncomfortable..." I didn't wait to hear what else he had to say, I dashed out of the room without another glance over my shoulder.

I went to the library to my regular seat and picked up Great Expectations, and began to read the first line, My father's family name being...And from there, it seemed as if I sunk back into high school times as a freshman, and we had to read this book. I felt that I could really get into this book without having to be put on task and mechanically read it because my teacher ordered me to. And Raoul would be right behind my back, passing notes consistently. No, I told myself, you're only harming yourself. I seemed to be so into the book with the only sound in my ear being the crackling of the fire and my own steady breathing, I fell into the world of the book, just as I could have always done say if I had such time as I do now.

I found myself sliding into the chair that my feet dangled off the opposite arm that my back was leaned up against. In such a position that I could be easily startled out of. "It's time to eat," Announced Erik from across the room, and I almost fell out, and it was instantly that Erik's long bony arms were there to catch me before I hit the ground, the book falling to the floor with a loud thud.

I blushed tomato red at my awkward position in his arms, looking to his masked face, and smiled dumbly. "You really shouldn't pop in and out of nowhere like that. I could have broken something." I said dryly, wiping my stupid grin from my face as Erik helped me to my feet with his cold hands. He didn't say anything, as I picked up the book, and I began to fly through the pages, looking for where I left off. I looked around for my makeshift bookmark that was a piece of ribbon I found somewhere. "Where'd it go?" I asked myself, looking about myself and turned to see Erik holding it in front of me the entire time. I glared and grabbed it out of his hand. "Thanks." He resumed not saying anything and I still searched through the book.

"Christine, your dinner will be cold." He pressed dryly.

"Hold on, I have to find my page..." I angrily shot back coldly, looking through the book hurriedly.

"You have the rest of the night." He rushed, reaching for the book in my hands and successfully grabbed it.

"But it'll take me forever to find the page again and I might forget it. Give it back!" I reached up and fought for it, waving my arms, and I felt something smooth hit my hand, and, my eyes that could not meet with his were drawn near the floor where his mask fell to the ground.

I looked up instantly, and saw his face... I saw his face! A burning scream rose into my throat, and I covered my mouth, screeching, and fell backward. Oh, horror, horror... horror!

His face was that of any ordinary man after he's been dead five or six years. His cheeks were sunken in along with the expressionless eyes, that seemed extremely shocked in disbelief. I muffled another shriek, looking at his face and finding there was a hole where the nose should be! I don't think I've seen anything more horrible.

Instinctively, I began to crawl away on all fours, my body aching all over and my heart beating into my throat. I hid my face in my arms that were quickly grabbed with his long fingers, seeming to completely wrap around my arms once, and using his strength that overpowered my own, he forcefully pulled me to my feet, and pressed me closer to him with both of my hands up.

"Damn you! LOOK!" He screamed in my face as I shut my eyes, "Dammit, Christine, LOOK! You wanted to see, now SEE! Feast your eyes! Glut your soul on my accursed ugliness! OPEN YOUR EYES!" I shrank up in his arms as if I could somehow get out of his grasp by doing so. He was hurting my arms! It felt as though I couldn't feel my hands anymore, and I obeyed automatically, opening my eyes and having a closer view of the Death's head! His skin was stretched like drum skin over his head, that any further it may break, and scars from sometime else were covering from chin up and on his forehead... the only possible human feature about him were his ears and the small black locks of hair that was scattered on his head.

I couldn't help but scream again. It seemed to all pass by in a blur from there, his eyes... his eyes told me more things than he was saying, shouting curse words at me as he moved my hands over his sunken cheeks, having my hands losing blood flow all together. He was pressing so tightly!

"Erik! Erik! Oh, please! You're hurting me... you're hurting me!" I moaned, beginning to fear that he was never going to let go of my arms... I shrunk away seeing that he was finished, and I fell to the ground on my legs, feeling sore and hurting inside and out.

I threw myself further to get off my bruised legs, and was laying on the ground, stomach down, and all I could suddenly only hear was his heavy breathing like that of a raging animal as I heard things crash through the entire room. I dared not to look up, in fear of what my eyes may land upon. I cried into my arms, frightened out of my mind that he was going to kill me. I shut my eyes so tightly as if it may just disappear when I open them again, but the noise never seemed to stop. None of it was near me.

When I first heard silence, it was after the sound of a cat moved past me. I looked up, and saw Ayesha looking at me as if I just killed something, looking as hatefully as a normal human could. She gave her usual hiss and ran off further into the room, which caused me to look up, in fear Erik may harm his own cat in the process of wrecking the room, but everything was frozen right now.

The side tables were overturned, one of the sofas were, and everything from the desk was thrown off of it, papers were everywhere and books were thrown off the shelves, and in the middle of it all was the black figure of Erik, hunched over hiding his head in his arms, toward me. The only thing that seemed to be untouched was his mask that laid right by my feet, looking at me also very mockingly. And it wasn't my fault.

"You wanted to see, didn't you? You damned prying Pandora, you wanted to see? Oh, mad Christine why did you want to see?" His voice grew higher, and I noticed he was trying to hide tears.

"No, I didn't..." I dragged on, though my words were already meaningless. The sadness in his voice seemed to burn me into pieces, from my insides and out... what have I done to this man?

"Know..." He began and I looked up, seeing him slowly rising from his curled-up position on the floor, "Know that it is a corpse that loves you... and adores you... and will never ever leave you!" He exclaimed in one more angry pandemonium and collapsed, looking at me.

"Oh, Christine..." he began slowly, sniffling, "I thought... I thought maybe just as long as you thought I was handsome... that you may love me in return... You wouldn't have so much to fear... one could get used to anything if there's enough time for it... I thought... maybe for once one could love me... When my mother was one to throw me the mask as my only gift and my father who never saw me... Mad, mad, Christine... why would you give yourself over to such horror?"

I couldn't notice while listening to his pitiful words that I was bawling, into my hand, constantly wiping up my tears, using the cloth of my shirt. "Now, I cannot ever let you go again. Not after you've seen my face. No, now you're bound to me forever..."

"No..." I cried so softly he probably didn't hear me, but I was shaking my head, coming to my bruised knees, and looking at him.

"Oh, Christine... I love you so much, so much that I'll do anything for you! Anything! I'll have the world at your feet, I'll give you anything you've always wished for... I could make you the happiest of women on this horrible earth! If you could just love me... in return... for once..." he let out another drawn-out and heartbroken moan, which seemed to completely shatter my world, shatter everything I've ever thought.

"Erik..." I began through my sobs which had stopped because he was crying for us both... crying for me... Almost begging for my kind words. He cried, again, shoving his head further into his arms.

"You think I'm a monster now..." he assumed himself, letting out another sob.

"Why me...?" I asked quietly, sobbing out the words, hardly sounding like words, my face warm and tear-stained. I felt so broken up inside that I might shatter if I move any further. I looked to the mask now, looking at it as if it might bite me... I picked it up slowly, taking it into my hands simply to look at, the black material burning in my hands.

"Because I love you more than you can ever know or imagine," He replied in response, "Your voice... your everything... My angel..."

I seemed to be cut lower to the ground, my cold words coming back to me. I looked to the mask once more, and outstretched the arm that held it, my arm shaking so quickly, as was my body, scared I might break one more piece.

"Erik..." I whispered, crawling closer to him, the mask still in my hand. "Erik," my voice was shaking as the mask dropped to the ground, "Show me your face without fear... show me it just as plain as you see mine."

He didn't move, he stayed there, shaking... "Please, show me..." I whispered brokenly, rising with shaky legs to standing. He seemed to move just a little, his arms moving out and revealing his forehead with the black strands of hair.

"Show me," I whispered again, thinking this might help... though I wasn't sure. Oh, Lord, help me... What do I do, father?

He began to rise, so slowly and so measured-out, his entire body shaking in something like fear. He moved up slowly, keeping his head low so I still couldn't see. "Show me." I whispered once more, feeling another sob escape my throat as I said that. He looked up slowly, and revealed his face to me once more, with tears rolling down his sunken cheeks, his eyes piercing and heartbreaking and it hurt me so much... I wanted to hug him, but I couldn't bring myself to do so... I didn't know what to do.

"Christine..." He fell... and for a second I thought he was falling toward me, but he was at my feet, and shaking with sobs, his disgusting face, and the absence of his nose allowing him to bend lower. A detail as small as that caused me to look up and away, praying to God to give me help in how to fix the broken.

Ook... well I always love being creative with unmasking sequences especially when their relationship is kind of... apart... Now all she can do is pity him, of course, but I wanna know what you think this chapter. I was crying, I think, just a little when I was writing his words. Just to clarify once more, yes, Erik's mask is a full, Leroux mask, covering his mouth including.

So with not much else to be said is that my quick updates have a purpose. I'm trying to get at least most of the story finished before I go to band camp and flute camp and then after that I'll be so damn busy with school it won't be funny and I'll be traumatically deprived of wriitng,. I apologize if it's not suspenseful enough for you just yet, I'm getting there, and don't worry about me writing quickly, I do it all the time especially when I have nothing to do. It doesn't affect my writing I don't think.

THANKS FOR REVIEWING AND NOW YOU HAVE YOU REVIEW! MUAHAHAHA. I feel special now _

~The Phantom's Flutist~