Her Prince Of Darkness

Chapter 4: New Beginnings

After we got back to Erik's (I finally found out his name) lair, he walked over to the piano. I akwardly stood there, unsure of what to do.

He sat down and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

I watched on as he played a few notes, testing, before he started off playing a song I didn't recognize.

The sad melody made tears spring to my eyes. I wiped a stray one away as he finished the last note.

What happened to you to write such sad songs?

He abruptly stood and began pushing things over. He angerly ripped papers off the piano and turned over a desk. I jumped when a giant candle holder beside him was knocked over.

He stopped and turned to look at me for a moment before he simply walked away.

I frowned, confused, then started picking up everything he had knocked over. What just happened?

I looked up and saw Erik return with candlesticks. He picked up the fallen candle holder and replaced the broken ones.

"It's late," is all he said before he turned and walked away.

I hesitated a minute before following him.

He led me to a room with a silk sheet hanging in a circle. I tilted my head, a little confused.

He almost smiled, but turned away so I couldn't see him. He grabbed a rope hanging from the ceiling, that I hadn't noticed before, and pulled.

The curtain slowly pulled away and revealed a round bed with an eagle at the front and wing encasing the sides.

I marveled at the craftsmanship, running my hand over the smooth head of the bird.

"Sleep," he said as he turned and walked out of the room.

I shook my head at his behavior. "Wow, he's a man of very few words." I murmured as I pulled the rope again and slowly sat down.

As the silk encased the bed, I ran through the day again in my head.

"What went wrong?" I asked myself. "This morning I was talking to my friends and preparing for the opera, and now...." I sighed. "Now I'm trapped underground with the Phantom of the Opera."

I yawned and layed down on the surprisingly comfy bed, telling myself I was only going to close my eyes for a minute.

****

I woke up with a start, drenched in sweat. I had a nightmare about the fire, but this time I didn't make it out alive.

My stomach gurgled loudly and I remembered I hadn't had anything to eat since lunch yesterday.

I slid off the bed and stretched. I wonder how he gets food? It doesn't seem like he gets out much.

I yawned and pulled the rope.

Waking out, I realized I had no idea where his kitchen was. I stepped near the piano and looked around for Erik.

My stomach growled again, so I decided to look around for him. I opened a curtain and gasped at what I saw.

****

There was a perfect replica of Christine wearing a wedding dress. Well, someone really was obsessed with her.

I felt a small pang of jealousy. Everyone just LOVES Christine.....including Erik.

I was a little shocked at my last thought. Am I jealous of her fame or because of...

My thought was interrupted by someone walking up behind me. I turned towards him and blushed, embarrassed.

He frowned and pulled the curtain closed.

I quickly tried to explain. "Sooo, I wasn't snooping. I was attempting to find the kitchen because when I awoke I was extremely hungry and realized that..."

Erik held a hand up and smiled a little. He turned and walked to another room. "He seems to do that a lot," I thought.

I smiled and followed him to a small kitchen.

He scuffled around, pulling out plates and getting food ready. I chuckled as he pulled out my chair before sitting down.

I curtseyed and sat down. We both started eating and I wondered yet again how he procured this food.

"If I may ask, Erik, if you live down here, how do you obtain food?" He looked up at me a moment before staring at his plate.

"I have a fairly compensated associate that aquires those things for me," he stood and began washing his plate in a bucket of water.

I finished my food and picked up my plate. He took it and washed it for me. "Thank you, for the food and everything else."

He just grunted while I rolled my eyes and smiled.

I frowned, remembering the weird Christine doll, standing in the other room.

"Um, Erik..." He glanced up at me. "You may not want to talk about it, but that maniqin looks an awful lot like Christine."

He sighed and ran his hand over his mask. "I loved her, once, but...she's marrying Raoul." I looked away, feeling a little spiteful.

"My music is just atrocious now, I need Christine...someone, to sing with me."

So that's why he freaked out earlier. He looked so distraut in that moment that I wanted to help him. So, I said something stupid.

"I can sing with you, if you'll have me. Though, I won't be as good as Christine."

For the first time since I met him, he actually looked happy.

"Thank you, mademoiselle, I'm sure your voice will be satisfactory."

He excitedly walked over to the piano and rifled through his papers. I suddenly realized what I said and started to panic.

I've never sung in front of anyone but my mother and Shelly. I'm a ballerina, not a soprano.

He handed me a piece of paper and started playing a few notes.

I looked at the paper in my hands and read it nervously.

After a few minutes he started the song. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and began to sing in time with his playing.

****

When he wasn't immediately repulsed, I took it as a good sign and continued singing.

As the song ended I cautiously looked at Erik. He was frantically writing on the note-sheet in front of him. I felt self-conscious and started to ramble.

"I'm not the best singer. I took a few lessons when I was little, but my passion was more towards dancing than anything."

He looked up a little startled. "Forgive me, you gave me a tremendous idea for a new balled."

"So, I wasn't atrocious?" He chuckled. "No, you were utterly amazing. You just made me realize my songs were horribly..."

"Depressing?" I offered.

He chuckled. "Quite."

I looked at him while he wrote and wondered why he hid his face. It didn't seem that bad to me.

Before I realized, I was reaching for the mask that particialy hid his face.

*Sorry it took so long to update this chapter. I kinda took a break from writing. I'll try to update another chapter within the week. Enjoy! ;) *