Erik's POV

I always thought I would die alone, alone and unwanted in this world. The moment I saw Christine Daae, I knew I didn't want to die alone… From the moment I first heard her praying to her father, I knew she would be all I ever wanted or needed. There was only one problem…I was nothing more than a monster, and she was an angel that belonged in heaven. What woman could possibly love me? There was not one… I never intended to be the monster, but God always made me out to be just that. I tried everything I could to get her to love me, but she wanted to be nothing more than a friend. I was running out of time and I knew it, for this handsome boy was after her. I watched him on several occasions approach Christine's dressing room after her performances and give her a single red rose. How dare he! Oh, and how dare she take it from him. I always gave my angel a single red rose, and never once had she ever lifted the delicate flower up to her nose to inhale it's sweet scent… But when the boy handed her one, she always made sure to lift the flower to her nose and feel the velvet petals against her skin. It drove me mad!

I tried getting angry at her for it, but she never understood me. It was always about her precious boy! Everything was always about him! When I first offered to teach her, the only stipulation I had brought up to my Christine was that she couldn't love anything but music. She was a child back then, an innocent seed that had yet to bloom. As much as I wanted to blame her for falling in love with the boy, I couldn't, for I knew what it felt like to be young and filled with new feelings, feelings that you never felt before. My mother called me the devil for possessing such feelings, reminding me time and time again that monsters never got the chance to touch women. That was nearly fifteen years ago… I was no longer a twenty year old boy, no, I was thirty five and aching for one single touch. What I didn't know was that my world was about to change… I had been living beneath the Opera House for many years, too many to remember exactly how long. I barely left the facility, only once in a while to go shopping in the market before sunrise. The winter was here and it was the harshest one I had ever seen in Paris, for the wind alone was enough to cut through the toughest of men. I knew, for my lair often got quite cold… Just the other night, the production of IllMuto had gone terribly wrong, for Carlotta and the Opera House had gone against my wishes to place Christine in the leading role, causing me wreak havoc on the facility. Not only did I drop a chandelier and slip a poison tonic into Carlotta's drink to make her croak like a toad, but I also followed Christine to the rooftop. I was hoping to come out from hiding and confess everything to her. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, and beg her to give me a chance. Little did I know that her boy was there with her and he proposed! To think that this ignorant fool felt as though he had the right to propose to my Christine! And like a fool, she accepted and kissed her new fiancé on the lips! It disgusted me and sent a new rage coursing through my veins.

Since then, I had not seen much of the girl, even at rehearsals for Don Juan. It was by surprise when I spotted her late on evening leaving the Opera House dressed in her cloak. Knowing that he was headed to the cemetery, I followed her in secrecy. The girl laid some flowers on her father's grave and spoke softly to him, begging her father to send her some answers.

"You promised to send the angel of music to me," she cried. "I never wanted to believe it was true, but he's here, papa…I…I don't know what to do."

"Christine?"

Finally, I spoke up, slowly approaching her from behind. She spun around and gasped when she noticed me standing there.

"Monsieur, what are you doing here? Why did you follow me? Please, don't hurt me…"

"Hurt you? Oh, Christine, after all that we've been through, how could you think that I would lay a hand on you?"

"Then go away, I wish to be alone with my father."

"No, Christine, you wish to be away from me…I try to spend time with you, I try to make you see things my way, but you refuse to look beyond the mask."

I pulled her to me, my hands tight around her waist. This had been the closest she had ever been to me.

"I…I don't understand," she cried. "I have treated you like a good friend."

"Friends don't stab friends in the back, Christine!"

Christine was about to say something, when I heard another voice in the distance.

"Perhaps not, but I would be more than happy to do the honor."

It was Raoul, the boy Christine had been courting! He was walking across the snow covered cemetery with his sword drawn. Oh, so he wanted to play did he? Well, I was ready to play as well…

"You can't earn her love by making her your prisoner, Demon!" he snapped, swinging the blade of his sword my way. I dodged the first blow and pulled out my own sword. Christine shrieked in fear as metal met and our dance to the death began.

"Your life ends tonight, demon!" Raoul cursed. "Your body is going to be hanging before the city so that all the town's people can see how hideous your truly are."

His jokes amused me, and soon, I got the upper hand and sliced my blade across his shoulder. Oh, and what a great hit it was, for the sight of fresh blood splattered upon the newly fallen snow. Painting with the boy's blood was a new hobby I found to be quite amusing.

"You will pay for that, demon!" Raoul swore as he covered his shoulder with his spare hand. "I am going to make you bleed ten times worse."

"Enough!" Christine begged. "Just stop it! You're going to get each other killed."

I hated the boy more than anything in the world, but if Christine was begging me to stop, I would do so for her…I wasn't the one who had a problem with stopping, it was Raoul who refused. At the Opera House, I was a wanted man, one that was on Paris' most wanted list. Only a love sick puppy would be foolish enough to come out into the open when there was a possibility of being caught. Raoul swung his sword one final time, and that's when I got the upper hand once more and ran my blade over his thigh. The man was on the ground now, and I didn't feel in danger any longer… That was until I heard shouting from up ahead. I waited a few moments and watched Christine approach Raoul to help him up, only to see the employees from the Opera House approaching the cemetery by foot and on horseback. They had torches and all sorts of weapons, making it obvious that they were here for me. I slowly started backing up, Raoul staring me in the face.

"That's right, demon, it's time to die."

Christine stood to her feet and looked my way, her face filled with fear. But what was I to do? I needed to run and I needed to do it now. I was chased into the woods with the mob gaining on me. At one point, I turned and fought back with my sword, never wanting to give up. Though, there were more men than there were Phantoms, and sooner or later, I knew they were going to get the best of me. Soon, a noose was tossed around my neck and my body was lifted into the slack being tossed over a tree branch. I thought they were going to kill me, but they hung me just enough to where my tippy toes were touching the ground, giving me enough slack to not only choke, but to be able to still go on breathing. My mask was taken away and my body was beaten like a piñata. When I tried to scream, my mouth was gagged with a dirty cloth, making it even harder to breathe. I begged the lord above for death, begged him to save me from such torture and take me… But he never did. No, for what seemed like hours I was forced to hang there in the cold, my clothing stripped from my body and my frail form beaten numb. The mob said and did cruel things to me, things I hadn't thought possible. All I could see were objects being lashed across my flesh, blood splattering into the newly fallen snow and my world turning dark around me. What I didn't expect was to be stabbed… All I felt was pain, pain against my chest and back, but when I felt the hot blade enter my side, I screamed, and felt my world spinning around me. Then, everything went silent and I was left alone to die… The mob became bored and left me hanging by that noose, bleeding as the snow silently fell around me. When I tried to wiggle my way around, the rope became tighter around my neck. I was in utter agony, for not only was the rope tight around my neck, but I was standing on my tippy toes. If I let go, my body would hang, and I knew I would die. It was the right thing to do, for I knew this wasn't going to end well…

For hours I stood there in the cold, my body turning numb from the cold. Snow covered my shoulders and head, my flesh turning a light blue color. This was it… This was how I was going to die. I had just closed my eyes, when I heard footsteps approaching me. I weakly looked up, and there, to my surprise was a beautiful angel… I couldn't make out her figure, for all I could see was white and feel cold hands against my cheek. I heard a warm voice tell me that everything was going to be all right, right before I felt my body go limp in her arms. I couldn't tell if I was breathing or not due to the fact that everything around me was going dark. Oh, but I could feel her arms wrapping themselves around me, and it felt good in knowing that an angel had come to my rescue and that I wasn't hanging from that horrible tree any longer…Or was I? What if I was the spirit of my former self, and I only had to look over my shoulder and find my body still hanging by that tree? I wanted to look back and see myself still hanging there, but I didn't have the strength to do so. No, instead, I closed my eyes and snuggled into the arms of this angel that had saved my life…or my spirit. I wasn't sure where I would wake next, but I did know that I would forever be in her debt. The world was a cruel and wicked place and I would be glad to be rid of it for good. My Christine had betrayed me for the last time… My body hanging from that tree would be the last thing she saw of me, and I would make sure that it haunted her for the rest of her days.

New Story! Whoo Hoo... Well I shall be updating this as soon as my latest story ends. So, in the meantime, enjoy this first installment of another awesome story!