Christine yawned quietly as she walked among the graves, guided by moonlight. She clutched her cloak tighter around her, trying to regain more body heat. It was a very cold night, cold enough to be able to see her breath.

The graveyard was silent, and there was no one to be seen. Did he not come? She thought to herself. I would have sworn he would have. Perhaps he hadn't seen my note.

Or perhaps he saw it and didn't care.

She knelt at the grave of her father, clasped her hands and started to pray silently. She prayed for guidance, hoping his soul would hear and send some to her. She desperately needed it. Thankfully, she was granted it.

"Christine." She jumped slightly as Erik's voice spoke her name, taking her by surprise. She turned her body around, looking up at her angel. Everything he wore, except for his mask, was black, from the cape blowing in the wind, to the gloved hand that was reaching out to help her up. His white mask, on the other hand, was nearly glowing under the light of the full moon.

Christine went to take his outstretched hand but something made her stop abruptly. She remembered the night she had pulled Erik's mask from his face and looked upon his deformity. She now hesitated to touch him, wondering if his touch could curse her. She pulled herself up instead. "Erik... I'm sorry that I have been ignoring you." She said to him quietly.

He looked down at the ground, as if embarrassed. "I guess it would be impossible to blame you. I did kill that stagehand, and then threw down a chandelier. Any self respecting person would ignore anyone after that." He said it so nonchalantly that she looked away herself. He spoke as if killing Buquet meant nothing to him.

"Of course, I'm sure your precious Raoul wouldn't want be coming near you. You two are engaged." He continued bitterly.

"That's true; he doesn't want you near me. Not that either of us can blame him. He's risking his social status to marry me, and he'd hate it if you ruined it for him." Christine responded.

"Well, he must be a noble nobleman indeed. Is that all you wished to tell me?" Erik asked sharply, clearly annoyed. "That your husband-to-be is wonderful?"

"No! I came to apologize, that's all! I'm not trying to rub Raoul in your face, just explain my actions!"

He studied her, his mismatched eyes judging the truth of her words. He must have deemed them to be honest ones, as he had dropped the undertones of anger from his voice. "Then what now, Angel?"

Angel... it's strange... He came to me as my Angel of Music. But now he insists that I'm the angel. She cleared her throat. "I... I hadn't thought of that. I suppose that saying I want to be friends would be tasteless?"

Erik nodded. "Very much so. In fact-" He stopped abruptly, glancing behind him. "Did you hear that?" He peered into the night.

Christine strained her ears to listen. She heard the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees, but nothing else. "What exactly did you hear?" Erik took a few steps away from her, searching. "I don't think we're alone." He replied quietly.

It was then that Francis jumped down from a grave, aiming straight towards Erik.

XxxX

Erik only just had processed Christine's warning scream as he felt something large hit his back, forcing him to collapse face first to the ground. He sensed cold hands wrapping around his neck, cutting off his air supply. Thinking quickly, he flipped over, forcing his assailant underneath him, and therefore weakening his hold on him. He was able to gulp down oxygen to yell to Christine. "RUN!"

He didn't have the time to see if she had listened. The man had thrown Erik into a grave, stunning him for a moment. He's strong... very strong. He had enough time to think as a kick made him gasp with pain. Erik pulled a dagger out of his boot, and stabbed at the man's leg. The attacker laughed as he easily avoided the attack. He lifted him up by his shirt with one hand, taking Erik's dagger away with the other.

"Your blood will be delicious, I'm sure." The man rasped, choking Erik again. Erik kicked and punched, but he wasn't strong enough to push him away. Please God... hear my prayer. Do what you wish to me, but at least let Christine get away safely.

God, however, had different plans. The attacker suddenly grunted with pain, as the grip around Erik's neck disappeared, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Christine was now in front of Erik, holding up a large rock. "Oh God Erik..." She dropped her weapon, covering her mouth with one hand. Erik was stunned. All he did for a few moments was lean against the grave, his hand around his neck, and the other on his ribs. He soon snapped out of it.

"Christine, are you alright?" That was the most important thing. He searched with his eyes for any injuries. She shook her head. "You're the one who was hurt."

Erik shrugged away his pain as he knelt by his assailant. This was the next important thing. If Erik was right about what this man was, their lives were about to get much more difficult. Using the flat side of his dagger, he parted the lips of the man that had nearly killed him.

His teeth, visible in the moonlight, were fangs.

Christine gasped. "Is he... one of those vampires?"

Erik nodded somberly. "Your blood will be delicious, I'm sure." That's what he said. Only vampires would say that.

He stood up. "Christine, I'm going to escort you back to your carriage. I'd like you to go back to the Populaire, and stay there."

She seemed hesitant. "What about you? And what about that thing?" She gestured to the vampire.

Erik sighed. "I'll follow you as soon as I am done with the vampire."

She nodded quietly. "The carriage is this way." They walked until it was visible. Before she went inside, he stopped her. "Don't say anything about this. It could cause a panic." Christine laughed. "As if anyone would believe me." She did, however, nod her acceptance of the idea, and left him. Erik waited until the carriage was gone before he went back to dispose of the vampire.

The first thing to do was to cut off the head. At least, that's what the stories said to do. Erik did so quietly with his dagger.

Next was to burn the head. If someone happened upon both the head and the body, sewing it back together made it possible for the vampire to live again. How that concept even remotely worked with science, Erik didn't know, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He used fallen branches to build a bonfire, and threw the head inside it. He left the headless body lying in the woods. Perhaps other vampires would see it and leave Paris before they did any harm. An optimistic idea, but there was a chance of it working.

After washing up in a creek in the woods, Erik climbed upon his horse and started the journey back to the Opera. It had been a stroke of luck that he had survived the night. As soon as he had rested, he knew that he had to learn more about the vampires. If they were coming to Paris... well, he wasn't going to give up Christine and the Populaire without a fight.