Protect Her, At All Costs. (Phantom of the Opera AU)

The Past

Christine sat in a chair close to Erik.

"Hey Erik?"

"Yes, angel?"
"Can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"I'll answer. Ask away."

"Can you tell me more about your past?"

Erik looked up from his salad and sighed through nose. He swallowed his food and nodded his head at her.

"Well, I was born on January 12th. My mother was repulsed by me. I had handsome parents. Madeline and Charles were the most well-known couple in our small town. Yet, their reputation was tarnished by a demon child. My mother put a mask on my face to hide it. She would whip me if I didn't wear them because they were uncomfortable. She didn't even name me. She brought me to a priest to baptize me and he named me. For my safety, and mostly for my parents' dignity, I was locked away indoors. I was a blessing and a curse. I was a brilliant child. I only got smarter over the years, yet I got uglier as well."

Christine frowned.

"I loved architecture. I had a professor privately tutor me. I never learned his name. My mother hated that I wanted to sing. She believed that such a gift cannot be bestowed upon me by God. When I was about four, my mother took a liking to a handsome man. I used my abilities in the way of hypnotization to force her to reject his advances. The other villagers started to notice the way I controlled people. They became quite enraged and ended up killing my only friend. I had a dog named Sasha. She was a golden cocker spaniel. The mob killed her."

Christine covered her mouth and Erik inhaled. He acted as if he were about to say something, but no words came out. He sighed and tried again.

"I finally ran away from home and then a gypsy camp rescued me off the streets. They used me for my talents, lured me in with exquisite illusions and generous offers. Then they enslaved me. They tortured me. They put me on display for all of the guests to make fun of. One night my slave master, Javert, came into the tent I was kept in. He was drunk. He raped me."

Christine took a deep breath to stop herself from crying. She forced a vacant expression on her face. Erik was still looking down at his hands.

"I killed him." He paused. "I fled from the angry gypsies and started to live on the streets. That's when I snuck into libraries to look for books on weapons. I found some rope in the streets and started killing my enemies with Punjab lassos. I stumbled upon an orphanage where the children there tormented me. I was arrested after trying to kill one of the boys. His name was William Grant."

Erik said the name with disgust. Christine figured he really didn't like this guy.

"Since I was such a small boy, I easily got away from the police. I hitchhiked and murdered my way to Rome. I met a man named Giovanni who took me as his apprentice. His daughter, Luciana, came back from boarding school and she told me she was in love with me. At first I was confused because I clearly wasn't used to this. She tried to convey it in an unhealthy way, though. Not that I knew much of healthy relationships, but she would talk down to me and smash my belongings. One day she took off my mask while we were outside and she was so frightened that she fell backwards off of the balcony. She died."

Erik ran his fingers through his hair. Christine bit the inside of her cheek.

"I was about 15 or so now. I fled to Persia. I quickly made acquaintances with the Shah of Persia. I became his personal engineer, court assassin, and magician. He made me build these torture devices for him."
For a moment, Erik stopped. He spoke slowly and quietly.

"So many people have died in those chambers." He covered his mouth with his hand.

Christine cupped his cheek and turned it to face her.

"You can stop if you want to." She said with a sad smile.

Erik shook his head, "you have a right to know."
He took a deep breath as he uncovered his mouth.

"The Shah and I started to get into a bit of a...disagreement every now and then. To put things bluntly, he poisoned me. Luckily, I had made friends with Nadir by then so he ended up saving my life. The Shah was furious since Nadir originally worked for him. Nadir and I were forced to flee Persia. We traveled around the world to places like Paris, Italy, Scotland, Germany, and China. When we were in Italy, I met a woman named Olympia."

Christine's expression slightly changed and Erik laughed.

"Don't worry. I have no idea where she is now, but she fell in love with me. I also somewhat fell in love with her, too. If I were a normal man, I think I wouldn't have fallen in love with her. She gave me her whole heart and I let her in. She eventually found another man who was superior and she ran off without a trace."

"Oh, Erik." Christine looked at him with pity.

"I'm alright. I'm pleased with where I am now."

Christine smiled slightly, but a hint of sadness stayed.

"Nadir and I decided to settle down here in Oregon for whatever reason after a year or two of traveling. I reconnected with Antionette and now I'm here." He shrugged.

"Wait, so if you moved a lot how do you have so much money? Like, you're extremely wealthy. Wouldn't you have spent it all by moving so often?"

"My dear, I may have had a hard life but remember I taught myself everything I know. I learned how to save funds like the average citizen. I mostly accumulated it from selling compositions, building for the Shah, and stealing."

He cringed at the last one. Clearly, he wasn't exactly proud of it.

"I'm glad you told me." Christine smiled.

"Me too." Erik smiled back.