I'm so sorry, this is much later than I had hoped to update this story. I was away the week before last and then last week I was so busy I barely had time to do any writing. I hope to update at a faster pace than this in future! Thank you to everyone who rea and reviewed the first chapter. I hope you enjoy this next one. Erik is a bit of a drama queen in this one :)

Prince Erik had spent a pleasant day in his music room writing symphonies only he would ever hear. He had become so lost in his world of music that he did not hear the servant who announced his father's presence, and it was only when coughed behind him that he turned to see him stood there.

"Father, a pleasant surprise. What brings you here today?" The smile of Yusuf's face made Erik falter. He knew that look all too well. It was one of triumph. What on earth did the man have to be so happy about?

"I have found her, Son. Your bride; the woman from your sculpture. She is here. Her name is Christine and I have brought her here for you to marry. Did you think that I would fail, Erik? You underestimated me, didn't you?"

Erik turned pale beneath his mask and he was lost for words. "It… it isn't possible. That woman does not exist. She cannot possibly exist."

"I can assure you that she does. She is here with me today, waiting outside this very room. She is most eager to meet you."

Erik stood abruptly, the piano bench toppling to the floor with a loud crash. "Do not mock me old man!" Fury laced his every word. "You will regret it!" He loved his father more than anyone but, in that moment, he hated him with a passion. How dare he lie to him by pretending to have brought him his deepest fantasy. Did he have any idea what that could do to him?

Yusuf stood his ground. He was well used to Erik's temper, after all he had inherited it from himself. "I am not mocking you," he said calmly. "She is really here. I have had people from far and wide searching for her over this last year and she has been…."

"SHE DOES NOT EXIST! YOU ARE A LIAR!" Erik bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the room, which had been designed with the ultimate acoustics in mind.

Yusuf tuned to the anxious looking servant stood by the door and gestured for him to admit the young woman. The only way to diffuse this situation it seemed was to present Erik with the proof.

Visibly trembling with fear, Christine entered the room. The prince sounded incredibly angry and not at all like the kind, generous man she had been told he would be. Suddenly her old life of hardship seemed far preferable to being here in this austere yet beautiful palace.

Even through her fear she couldn't help but gasp at all that she saw around her. Practically every musical instrument she could think of was here, and in the centre a solid gold grand piano stood in pride of place. She could easily spend hours in this room and never grow bored. This was like heaven to her. Such was her awe at the room, she did not at first see the man stood next to the king, but when she did, she knew he must be Prince Erik. No man who was not of regal blood could command a room in such a way. He was immensely tall and powerfully built. He stood a head above his father, who was by no means a small man. His clothes were of deepest black and of the finest quality. Equally black hair lay slicked back from his forehead. It was only then that she noticed the mask that covered his face, leaving only his bottom lip and chin exposed. Christine understood now why he had not come for her himself, and why Sir Raoul had been sent instead. She wondered briefly what had happened to him. Perhaps he had been injured or scarred somehow. She knew very little about the royal family of Aljamila or about the country at all, but at this moment she wished she knew more, especially about Prince Erik himself. He was awfully intimidating that was for sure. Was his face the reason the prince could not find a wife himself? Pity filled her heart at what this man must have been through because of his affliction.

"Erik, I would like you to meet Miss Christine Daae. Miss Daae, this is my son, Prince Erik Devereaux."

Fumbling nervously with the skirt of the gorgeous blue silk dress she had been given to wear, Christine stepped forward and gave an awkward curtsy. She had no idea how to greet royalty and was terrified of doing something wrong.

For long moments Erik merely stared at her, his eyes wide in what she could only describe as horror. Her countenance fell as he continued to look at her as though she were the last thing he ever wanted to see before him.

"No!" That one harsh word coming from the prince's mouth stabbed her in the heart. "Get her out of here! I will not marry her!" With those words Erik swept from the room through another door at the other side of the room, and Christine was left reeling in shock. Was she that awful, that much of a disappointment? Even if that were the case, he did not have to be so rude and dismissive. What an awful man! She decided then that she did not like Prince Erik one bit. No, this prince was not like the ones from her fairy tales. Her was not handsome and he was certainly not charming. As the tears began to fall down her face, she realised that home really was a million miles away from here.

…..

Erik stormed through the palace in a furious rage. Servants dived out of his path as he approached, hurrying into side rooms or ducking back down staircases. The mood he was in, someone would end up dead if they were not careful. Hadi, his faithful dog appeared and followed him close behind, tail wagging and seemingly curious as to what had his master in such a temper. When he reached his bedroom, Erik sank to his bed in despair, tearing the mask from his face and clutching at his repulsive face with trembling hands. Ayesha looked up briefly from where she lay curled up on his pillow before making a small noise of annoyance and going back to sleep. The feline was more concerned with her important sleep routine than her server's distress. Hadi sat whimpering at his feet and lay his head on the bed next to him.

"What am I going to do, Hadi boy? I can't marry her. It would be a crime against nature. God she's beautiful though, you have no idea. Of course you don't, you're a dog." He scratched behind his ears and Hadi closed his eyes in bliss. "What on earth was he thinking?" he hissed between his clenched teeth. "What did he expect would happen, hmm?"

This could not be happening to him. She was here in his home right this second looking more beautiful than he had ever imagined. The sculpture paled in comparison to the flesh and blood woman. Long, golden blonde curls framed a face of such heart-breaking perfection that he wanted to weep. Now he knew that she was real, he would never get her out of his head or his heart. Christine. Her name was Christine. Such a beautiful name. Damn his father to hell! Why had he done this? Did he want to torture him? To dangle before him what he could never ever have but craved beyond all else before it was ruthlessly ripped away from him. Before, he had been content to dream of his perfect angel, knowing full well that she was not real. She existed only in his mind and while she was there, she could be his alone. Now…now she was real, and she would never be his again.

Erik stayed in his sleeping quarters for the rest of the day and night. His father did not try to speak to him, and he was sure he must have left, taking Christine with him. No doubt she was on her way back home this very minute. She wouldn't have wished to stay any longer after seeing him. She would be breathing a sigh of relief at her good fortune to have escaped marriage to the monster. The fury that had been racing through him ever since he realised what his father had done faded as quickly as it had come, and a wave of misery washed over him instead. She would be gone now and he would never see her again.

Erik decided then that the next time he saw his father he would tell him that his foolish marriage games were at an end. He didn't even care that the kingdom would pass to cousin Hazim anymore. He would not subject any woman to be his wife, notwithstanding the fact that he would not even want any other wife but Christine from now on. Now he knew that she existed no one else could even begin to compare.

Sleep did not come to him at all that night, and he lay in bed into the early hours going over the encounter with the angel, Christine. Perhaps he should have spoken to her, he thought as he lay on his bed staring up at the canopy above, which draped over his immense four poster bed. Erik kicked himself for being such a coward and running away. His one chance to look upon the woman of his dreams and he had wasted it. He should have stood there and drank in everything about her so that he had some more memories to cling to in the lonely years ahead of him. There was no way she would have agreed to stay with him of course, but if he could have at least spoken to her then he would have known what she was like, would have known if she lived up to his fantasies. Maybe she would have proven to fall short once he spoke to her. Erik laughed bitterly. He already knew that that would not have been the case. The woman had been plucked straight out of his dreams. Her personality would have matched for certainly, but through his impulsive actions and quick temper he had ruined the one and only moment he would ever have to gaze upon perfection.