A/N: Managed to get another chapter done. Gah... Classes makes life busy. Anyways. I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think.

Chapter Six

The Deal

Lauryn followed Erik as she really did not want to stay by herself in his room. Plus, her curiosity was getting the better of her as she desperately wanted to see his lair. She glanced in a doorway or two as she passed them but found nothing she found immediately interesting. A small kitchen in one, some kind of storage room in another. Both would warrant some exploration later if she got the chance.

She had a sinking feeling settle in her stomach that she might not leave this place any time soon. Even with her faltering memory, she still knew too much. Lauryn decided to just be grateful that she was still alive and relatively well.

Despite this feeling, she felt excitement buzzing in her stomach as they walked closer to the main part of the lair. She couldn't recall exactly how it looked but she remembered it was beautiful. She recalled there was candles, an organ, and a lake but she couldn't remember how they looked or anything else. She could see a portion of the lake and knew that the swan room would be on her left. Erik stepped to the side to allow her to leave the hallway first.

She took a step out of the hallway and momentarily forgot how to breathe. Everything was so beautiful. She was overwhelmed by the main room so she turned to the swan room. She stepped through the doorway and let out a small sigh. It was far better than the movie. "May I?" she asked, gaining a small nod of approval. She didn't ask twice as she took his answer to mean that she could explore to her heart's content.

The room wasn't overly large with a great portion of it taken up by the huge swan bed. There was a great number of items in the room which caught her interest including a bookshelf full of books, a small music box with a monkey sitting on top, and a deceptively large closet with many dresses that looked to be about her size. Finally Lauryn turned her attention to the beautiful bed that was certainly the centerpiece of the room. "Is it as comfortable as it looks?" Erik merely shrugged and continued to observe her.

Lauryn hesitated for a moment before flopping backwards onto the bed. She sighed happily as she sunk deep into the mattress. "I wouldn't have gone to class if my bed was this comfortable," she said more to herself than to him. Erik had to fight back a smile at her behavior.

She tried to sit back up and only succeeded in sinking further. Lauryn let out a small squeak. Erik couldn't stop the grin this time but quickly banished it as he entered the room. He reached out and took her hands and pulled her to her feet.

"Thank you…" she trailed off as she realized how close she was to him and that her hands still were in his.

Erik stepped back, letting go of her hands. "You are welcome, Madamoiselle."

Lauryn felt a blush coming so she turned and left the room to explore the main part of the lair. She heard a soft chuckle but chose to ignore it as she was quickly distracted.

Candle light lit the room from all directions creating a comfortable glow. She was amazed by how lit it was and then realized the lake had a large part in it as it acted as a mirror to reflect the light. The room was beautiful with the various pieces of art and many curtains and mirrors. The uncovered mirrors also helped to light up the room. The floor was littered with paper in various places, namely by an easel and by the organ. If the swan bed was the centerpiece of the other room, the organ certainly was the center of this one. It was beautiful.

Lauryn was over awed with the beauty of it all, so much so that she spun in a circle to take it all in at once. She kept spinning until she was going fast enough that all the colors swirled together, the fabric wrapped around her belling out. It was at this moment that her memory of the rest of the story all came back to her at once. The rush was so much that she lost her balance and fell. "Oh no…" she breathed.

"Are you alright? Are you feeling faint? You probably shouldn't spin," Erik said coming to her side.

"I'm fine," she murmured, fighting back tears at all the memories. All the stories were less than happy. Stories of his past. How his story ended. She assumed the book was about the same.

"Why are you crying then?" he asked confused and obviously uncomfortable. Evidently he didn't know what to do to comfort someone.

"I'm fine. Just remembered something." She soon was lost in thought. What had she done? Had she unknowingly set things in motion for Erik's heart to be broken? She had to fix this. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't at least try. There had to be something she could do to help Christine see who Erik really is. Surely she could learn to love him.

Lauryn yawned and pulled the blanket up closer around her. Erik suddenly was standing in front of her. She looked up sleepily as he reached out a hand to help her to her feet. She placed her hand in his and felt a tingle shoot through her.

"You will stay here tonight," he said leading her to the swan room. It wasn't until they reached the doorway that he let go of her hand. "You should be able to find everything you need."

"Thank you," she murmured, "Good night."

"Good night," he said distracted before closing the door.

Lauryn yawned again as she walked to the wardrobe to find a night gown. She quickly found one and change quickly. The night gown was loose on her but it would work. She pulled the dark gray blanket around her again and crawled on top of the bed, too tired to get under the covers. She curled up into a ball and quickly fell asleep.

Erik was lost in thought as he left her in the swan room for the night. Everything that had happened thus far was a lot to take in all at once. He didn't understand how she could have traveled through time but he couldn't help but believe her. She knew too many things that she wouldn't know otherwise.

But how could that be? How could she have traveled through time? He shook his head. It wouldn't help to think about it. He wondered what she had been thinking about that had caused her to start crying.

Shaking his head again, he told himself that it didn't matter. Right now, he just had to figure out what to do about this situation. What he should do with her. As Erik tried to think, he sat down at the organ and played until the early hours when he wandered off to bed to sleep for a few hours.

Several hours later, Lauryn woke up from the best night's rest she had had in a while. She found a robe to pull on before leaving the room, peaking around the corner to see if Erik was up. It appeared he wasn't. After finding the rest room to freshen up, she wandered out into the living area again. She had no idea what time it was but she guessed it was close to 8 in the morning.

She wandered around the room for a bit, taking a closer look at a few things before sitting down at the organ. She hoped he wouldn't mind her playing it. She hesitantly pressed down on a key and was pleased to hear a clear, beautiful sound. She played a few keys with her right hand before a song came to her which she began to play. After the intro, she began to hum the words. It's not a silly little moment, it's not the storm before the calm. She came to a sudden halt at the voice behind her. "You play?"

"Yes… A little. Just a few songs. Sorry, I should have waited to ask you," she said, moving to stand but stopped at a small wave of his hand.

"Never mind that. I have a deal to make with you."

"What kind of deal?" she asked hesitantly.

He looked away and rubbed his neck before answering. "I will let you leave, if you will help me."

Lauryn's eye brow raised. The Phantom of the Opera was asking for her help. That was unexpected. "With Christine?" He nodded and she could have sworn she saw a faint blush. "I will help you."

"Good." There was a few seconds of silence before he cleared his throat. "Will you play the rest of the song?"

"I would love to."