Disclaimer: The Phantom of the Opera does not belong to me, only my own characters do.

Author's Note:

To foxgodess07: The craziness hasn't even begun yet for Erik.

To JonPooky: You're my boyfriend and strange muse as well, even though you're sitting next to me watching me write this.

To phantommistress: Erik is about to discover just how unlike other women S'ray really is. And don't worry, the juiciest parts are yet to come.

To xXThAnKs-FoR-tHe-MeMoRiEsXx: You're in luck, I'm posting 2 chapters today.

Also if I get enough requests, I'll see if I can manage a picture of S'ray and Erik. But remember if you want to see it, you have to ask by writing a review *wink*.

Thanks to all who have read and reviewed; the more you review, the more I write. I plan to post a chapter every week, depending on how busy I am at work. I work at a call center and do my plotting when we're slow. Anyway, on with the show and as promised more of S'ray's background and whiskey.

Phantom of the Glen

Chapter 5 - Erik In and Out of His Element.

"Well, good morning," S'ray smiled as Erik walked into the kitchen.

Erik only nodded as he sat down at the table, his head hurt too much from the copious amount of whiskey he'd consumed the night before with her.

"Here, have some coffee you'll feel better," she said setting a steaming cup in front of him. "I recommend you drink it black."

He wrapped his hands around the mug and took a drink of the strong coffee. Setting the cup down, he asked, "Why are you feeling so good this morning? You drank more than I did last night."

"I'm a Faye, remember? It takes a lot more whiskey than that to get me drunk," she said breaking a couple of eggs over the hot fry pan. "You'll feel better after you have something to eat."

"I doubt it," he said shading his eyes from the mid-morning sun that blazed through the windows.

"Then you won't be interested in the fact that I cleaned off the piano in the study," she said turning over the eggs. "So I might as well pile that stuff back on it."

"No!" he blurted out. "I mean, you don't have to do that. I'll take a look at it and see if I can tune it."

"I thought so," she smiled taking the eggs out of the pan and putting then on a plate already filled with ham, toast, and potatoes.

"What are you going to be doing today?" he asked.

"Depends on you."

"Me?"

"Yes, if you don't mind I'll do some more cleaning in the study," she said setting the plate down in front of him. "Though if you'd prefer to be alone, I've got other things I can do."

Between the delicious aroma of the food and the surprise of being asked if he would object to her presence while he worked on the piano, Erik was struck speechless for a moment. "Actually, I don't think I'd mind that at all," he said picking up a fork and starting in on the eggs.

"There's jam and butter for the toast on the table," S'ray said taking off her apron. She sat down at the table and opened up one of the Paris daily papers. After reading for a few minutes she said, "This is interesting, the gendarmes are no longer looking for you."

"Why?" he asked after swallowing.

"Seems that a body was found in the cellars of the opera house after the fire was put out. It was badly burned, but was wearing a mask. They are assuming it was you," she said and turned the page.

"So much for meticulous police work," he shrugged spreading jam on his toast.

"And you'll be glad to know that Senor Piangi is recovering in a Paris hospital," she added.

"Good, he is a fine singer," Erik nodded.

"Oh, now this is interesting," she said setting down the paper on the table.

"What?" he asked looking up to the open neck of her shirt. Erik froze at the sight that greeted his eyes, S'ray had left her shirt unbuttoned to bottom of her breastbone and she wasn't wearing a corset. He could just see the beginnings of the swell of each breast. He swallowed hard, not quite able to take his eyes away as a gentleman should.

"Senora LaCarlotta Guidicelli lately of the Opera Populaire and Senor Giovanni Piangi also lately of the Opera Populaire wish to announce their engagement. They are to be wed as soon as Senor Piangi is released from the hospital," she read. "What do you think of that Erik?"

Erik didn't respond, he was still staring at her exposed cleavage.

"Erik?"

Still no response from him.

"Erik!"

"You're not wearing a corset," he said in a daze.

"Yeah, I know that," she sighed.

"Your shirt is half-open," he added.

"I know, I like it that way."

"But you're not wearing a corset."

"That's right, I don't wear corsets. Are you going to eat that before it gets cold or just keep looking at my chest?"

"I'm sorry," he said shaking his head suddenly and lowering his eyes, "I didn't mean…"

"Get used to it," she smiled picking up the paper again, "this is how I dress."

Later in the study, Erik had thoroughly dusted the piano and was busy checking it for tune. S'ray had been cleaning off her desk and picking up books that had been left lying around the room. They had worked in silence for the most part, the only sounds were the shuffling of books and Erik humming a tone as he checked the piano.

"Erik, I've been thinking about what you told me yesterday, about what happened between you and Christine," S'ray said as she sorted books.

At the mention of the soprano's name, Erik hit a chord wrong on the piano and his shoulders noticeably stiffened.

"I know it's a sore spot yet, but perhaps a female perspective may help," she said leaning forward at the desk. "Now think about this."

Erik turned toward her and met her eyes, "Go on," he said.

"She's 16 correct?"

"Correct."

"So a girl that age can fall in and out of love at the drop of a hat," she said standing and placing some books back on the shelves.

"And you know this how?"

"Went through that phase myself, my personal record for falling in and out of love was 3 days," she smiled. "I was desperately and completely in love with a cousin of mine."

"A cousin?" he asked quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes and don't look at me like that. Alve can marry cousins with no ill effect on the children," she laughed. "He was older, much older than I was at the time and I thought he was oh so handsome."

"So what changed your mind?"

"I met him and he started talking. It turned out that he was just a power-hungry arse."

"I see," he said turning back to the piano.

"I'm not saying that's what happened in your case, it's just an example from my own experience as to how fickle women can be," she said going back to the desk. "And who knows, she could drop that nobleman like a hot potato any day now."

A smirk came across the phantom's face at that possibility.

"Do you know what would be really funny?" S'ray asked with a suppressed giggle.

"What would be really funny?" he asked playing a scale to check the tuning.

"They're in the church, at the alter, the priest has just gone through the 'Do you take this man' bit, she looks at him, turns around and runs out of the church as fast as she can in a wedding dress," she finished with a laugh.

Erik was quiet for a moment, playing her scenario in his mind. "He would be disgraced," he said quietly as his face lit up with a smile. Then his shoulders shook as a laugh rumbled deep in his chest.

"See, I told you," S'ray laughed and paused. "You know, you're rather handsome when you smile, no wonder she fell for you."

The smile vanished from his face then and his eyes became cold and hard again. "You don't have to say thinks you don't mean just to make me feel better," he said sullenly.

"Pardon?"

"I said you don't have to lie to me to make me feel better," Erik bit out.

"Lie to you? When have I lied to you?"

"Just a moment ago when you said I was handsome," he ground out. "You've seen my face so you know that isn't true."

"That's your opinion," she frowned.

"That, Madame, is the bitter truth."

"Really? Come here for a moment Erik, I have something that I think you need to see," S'ray said pulling a small portrait from a desk drawer and holding it out to him. "This is my late husband."

Erik took the picture from her and looked at it. The man in it had medium brown hair that fell into his dark violet eyes. There was a deep scar that ran across his face from just below the missing tip of his left ear, across his nose and ending at his jawline.

"What you see in the picture isn't the worse of it," she sighed leaning against the desk. "Clothes hid most of his scars, but he was fairly messed up from old battle wounds and he walked with a very visible limp. Tereste was also quite a bit older than me and had seen a lot more war. But for all his visible flaws, I loved him and thought him the handsomest Alve alive."

"What happened to him?" Erik asked looking back to her.

"He was killed in battle over 2 centuries ago," she sighed as he handed back the picture.

"I am sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, however I stopped mourning him many, many years ago. Anyway he died as he lived, a warrior," she said proudly.

"And you never had any children?"

"No, we never had the time, there was a lot of unrest and we didn't want to have children during a time of war."

Erik nodded, he understood her reasons. He also understood her husband, he thought. The man had been honorable and died fighting for his own people.

"But that's not all I wanted to show you," she said picking up a framed photograph this time. "These are the warriors I command, not a pretty bunch, but we get the job done."

S'ray was obviously the in the middle and on her right was an Alve with a scar running down the left side of his face over where his eye had been. To her left was another that had what appeared to be claw marks starting at his ear and going down to his neck before disappearing into the open collar of his shirt. The other four Alve in the picture also had facial scarring of varying degrees.

"So how did you avoid getting it in the face?" he asked.

"Simple, I don't take my helm off during a battle. That doesn't mean I don't have other scars, they're just hidden under my clothes," S'ray answered. "And for your information, these guys have women fawning over them."

"With Faye charm and glamour I can believe that."

"Cast a glamour? That would shame them, the same for using a charm. The challenge for them is wining a woman in spite of their looks. They use what's on the inside because that is what we love someone for. The looks of even the prettiest Faye will fade in time, but what is inside will rarely change," she explained. "Do you understand?"

"But I've done terrible things, I've killed and threatened to kill. I terrorized an entire opera house and enjoyed most of it," he replied setting the picture back on the desk and hanging his head.

"Do you regret the things you've done?" she asked walking around the desk to face him.

Erik was silent and wouldn't raise his eyes to look at her. The pain of what he'd done showed plainly in his face.

"Do you regret the actions of your past?" she asked again, lifting his chin so she could look him in the eyes,

"Yes," he replied in a pained voice, "but there's nothing I can do to change that."

"Yes there is," she said grabbing his arms and giving him a shake. "You can learn from them and become a better man."

Coming up in Chapter 6 – The Maestro Returns