Erik, the Phantom

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Erik

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Name: Erik (Last name unknown)
Nickname: The Phantom of the Opera, The Phantom, Opera Ghost, O.G., The Living Corpse (“Le Mort Vivant”), The Angel of Music
Gender: Male
Age: Forty five
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Fairytale: The Phantom of the Opera
Year: Teacher- Music, Private Vocal Coach
Face Claim: Gerard Butler

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Personality: Erik’s mind is a wildly complex thing, marked with a mixture of deep mental scars and natural, incomparable genius. His life has been in no way simple, and the person that he has become reflects upon that. However, very few people in this world do get a chance to experience his mind, for one of Erik’s dominant personality traits is his distrust and avoidance of human society. You see, humans are creatures that are easily startled and tend to reject what frightens them. Because of Erik’s deformity, he has experienced this ugly facet of the human nature too many times to count. He has suffered immensely because of societies nasty habits throughout his entire life, which is why he now separates himself so completely from it. He has forced himself into solitude, with only his work and creations to keep himself company. He doesn’t entirely enjoy that fact that he feels the need to live out of the public eye, but he certainly knows that life is much more peaceful that way. However, living entirely without human contact is impossible, and Erik has developed in own habits to deal with these occasional interactions. When dealing with people, he has a definite detachment, looking down upon those around him with cold cynicism. Also, since he has no regard or respect for those around him, he can be deeply manipulative. He is most certainly not above using fear and trickery to get his way. Because of his gifted mind, he is extremely effective in controlling people. For example, he had been living in the cellar of the Paris Opera House for years by convincing everyone these that he was the “Phantom of the Opera”. It was a role he played very well, through use of his various talents. Erik has such little regard for people around him that he has never shied away from using violence when the situation arose. Yes, he has even resorted to murder if it would further his own ambitions. Do not misunderstand; Erik does not kill out of bitterness or “just for the heck of it”. He will only resort to homicide when he feels personally threatened or if he is overwhelmed with his own passion for his goal. He won’t resort to murder for just anything, but when he does, he can do so without batting an eye. Thanks to plenty of experience in this field, between working for the Shah in Persia and his recent affair with the Paris Opera House, Erik is just as efficient at killing as he is at manipulating. His preferred weapon in the Punjab Lasso, making his preferred method strangulation. Thanks to the previously mentioned trait of distrust, Erik is seldom without it by his side.

Erik’s disconnection from the world around him is marked with more than his defensive traits. Deep down, he is deeply saddened by his situation. While he dwells upon his life’s own ugliness, he does dare to dream of beauty. He frequently will take time to grieve for his solitude and has never forgotten its causes. Deep down, he really is just a lonely human being. Erik blames all of his misfortunes on his wretched face. There is nothing he wants more in this world than to be loved by another human being, which was certainly the cause of his behavior when he became absolutely obsessed with Christine Daae. On that note, Erik is a person whose emotions always go to the extremes. He is an extremely passionate being, which shows no matter what he is feeling. When he is fixated on something, he will obsess over it with his every fiber. When angered, he can show a terrible rage that is often very dangerous to anyone in his path. He is quite reckless with his emotions, for he seems to have little sense of restraint for the sake of others.

His passion does not only rest in the realm of feeling for Erik. Indeed, he has shown passions for various past times and hobbies, which he uses to fill his lonely existence. Even though fate has cursed him with his horrible face, it has blessed him with great, almost unbelievable talent. He is an expert in architecture, designing the underground caverns of the Paris Opera House which he called his home. He is a master magician, using various illusions and tricks to deceive the world around him, be it just for entertainment or to further his own ambitions. Among his skills as an illusionist is his astounding ability to throw his voice, making it seem as if his powerful voice is coming from the walls themselves, for example. Along with this talent is ventriloquism, giving his ability to fool the ear few limits. Also on his list of talents is his skill as an inventor. He’s capable of dreaming up and creating all sorts of amazing things. In fact, one of his most notable inventions is a unique torture chamber, which he keeps near his underground lair (It works very effectively in keeping out intruders). His skill in these fields are great indeed, but there is only one things that Erik truly pours his soul and passion into; music.

Music is Erik’s single greatest pursuit in life and the greatest talent with which he is blessed. In his life of complete solitude and utter loneliness, music has become his prime companion. His love for it is boundless. At that time in his life when Erik chose to hide himself away from the rest of the world, it was this love that provoked him to make his home in the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, so that he may always have access to his favorite form of the art. While living there, he just couldn’t seem to keep his hand away from having a part in the musical culture there. He created himself as the “Opera Ghost”, creating unexplainable events and then scaring the people in charge into giving into his demands. He even regularly made his opinions and disapproval of certain creative decisions (Casting, etc.) quite loud and clear, seeing to it that they were changed to his favor immediately. Yes, Erik’s relationship with music is very active. He is a master of the organ, playing with frightening skill. He is also a composer, spending his days and nights writing music. A good portion of his life has been spent composing an opera of his own, “Don Juan Triumphant”, which he was finally able to finish and see performed (Although the performance did end as a trap to lure Christine Daae to him). What is probably the most memorable and haunting thing about Erik though is his voice. Anyone who has heard the Phantom of the Opera sing knows what absolute vocal beauty is. The sound is so haunting and perfect that it seems unnatural. His voice has the power to move someone to the core of their being. Some might find his almost supernatural voice unsettling, but its power cannot be denied.

A musical genius. An unhinged murderer. A sad existence. A Phantom. The mere amount of words one could use to describe Erik is truly testament of his complex nature.

Appearance: Erik’s appearance has shaped his entire life, and certainly isn’t to be taken lightly. The Phantom of the Opera was born with a hideous, prominent deformity that makes him a source of terror and disgust for anyone who looks upon him. Half of his face is completely malformed. His skin is yellow like parchment and much too thin; so thin that one can even see some traces of veins beneath the surface. His lips are terribly malformed, with cracks and a warped shape. It seems that a nose doesn’t exist on his face, and instead he only has two holes for nostrils, making this part of his face resemble a skull. The eye on this side in sunken, and the skin on the lower eyelid sags in the most unnatural way. Only thin wisps of hair grew in patches on the top of his head, for on the rest of it, it looks almost as if patches of skin are missing. Because of the ugly texture of these patches, it looks almost as if pieces of skull tissue are exposes. The rest of his face is gaunt and skeletal, giving his face an overall terrifying appearance. The rest of his body is not quite as terrible. His build is very skeletal, with long, bony fingers that feel like ice to the touch. This is the face that has earned him nothing but fear and loathing throughout his entire life. It is absolutely horrifying to behold, which is why Erik has been forced to a life of solitude.

This isn’t to say that Erik does try to find ways to make his appearance not as awful though. In fact, he makes quite the effort to take on a somewhat normal appearance on a day to day basis. He is seldom ever seen without a mask of some sort to hide his deformity. His day-to-day mask, the one that he likes best, is a mask that is white as ivory and covers the hideous half of his face. It is molded to make the one side of his face match the other in bone structure, and even has the shape of a nose sculpted in, giving the illusion that he has one. There are even holes for the nostrils cut out. Of course, there is a hole for the eye, giving him a striking gaze. This mask doesn’t quite cover his deformed lip entirely, so there is a small portion of visible malformation, but it is subtle enough for him to be comfortable with it. As for his skull, Erik does wear a wig to give an even more normal look. It is always a midnight black and slicked back into a proper style. Because of this styling, there are no bangs present, so he has to make special care to make the hairline look as natural as possible, giving a very convincing appearance. Never will Erik ever let anyone see him without a mask on his face, for he knows very well what happens when his real face is seen.

Also, to make up for his unnaturally skeletal body structure, Erik always wears only the best-tailored clothing in layers, giving him the look of a perfectly fine gentleman. The style matches the time period from which he came, with proper suits with coattails and fancy undershirts. His outfits are always completely black, save for the occasional white undershirt. His slacks are a straight, formal cut, and his black shoes are typically shined. Being so surrounded by opera, Erik will sometimes wear a proper opera-cloak and hat, giving him the look of a massive shadow, most appropriate for the infamous Phantom.

History: Erik was born in Rouen, France in 1831 to a widowed mother. His father had died before his birth, killed in masonry accident. It seemed that his mother’s misfortunes were without end, for when she finally had her first look at her child, what she saw was a hideously deformed monster. Immediately, she was terrified of the infant, refusing to hold him and struggling to name him. In fact, her first instinct was to abandon the child, but the priest who had attended the birth managed to convince her otherwise. Not knowing what to name him, the new mother finally managed to name him after the priest who baptized him; Erik. Shortly after the event of his birth, his mother created and gave to her son his very first worldly possession; a mask.

Growing up was extremely difficult for Erik. His mother’s hatred of the child’s appearance did not fade him time, and very much effected their relationship. She always kept her distance, and her only interaction with the child was to unleash her anger and frustration upon him, both physically and verbally. There was no warmth from her, not even in his early stages of life. She also made sure that Erik stayed locked up within the house, so the world would never see her monster of a son. Therefore, the boy spent much of his youth on his own, experimenting with his developing mind and exploring his natural gifts. It was in the house that he discovered music, birthing his greatest fascination. He would sing and play the piano, both shocking and tormenting his mother with his unnatural skill. Naturally, youth will be youth, and the boy did occasionally have moments of mischief. Once he discovered how he could manipulate his voice, he would throw his voice to play tricks on his mother, as most young boys do. However, unlike most young boys, his mother still remained frightened of him. On occasion, he would sneak out of the house and into town. The few people who saw him ever so briefly were enough to start rumors circulating around Rouen. Eventually, unwanted attention came to the family in the forms of curious and often violent onlookers, wanting to see the monster that lived in the house. Between his mother’s behavior and these unpleasant visitors, Erik began to understand what it truly meant to have a face like his. Finally, during a fateful confrontation with one of the tormentors, Erik found severely wounded by the hateful violence. He finally decided that he would relieve his mother of the burden of having him for a child, and fled from his home. He was still just a small boy at this time.

When he ran away from that house in Rouen, Erik found himself with no idea of where to go. For a while, he just wandered, until fate brought him to a Gypsy camp. He had attempted to steal food and supplies from them, but he was caught and tragically made their captive. One particular man in the camp “claimed” him as his own. The man ran and owned a travelling freak show, and had managed to find himself his newest attraction. Because of Erik’s horrendous face, he was put on display as a cruel part of this show, where admission was charged for the common man to gawk at the boy’s unfortunate lot. They advertised him as “’Le Mort Vivant”, or “The Living Corpse”. It was a horrible time in Erik’s life. He was treated poorly, often beaten for the slightest misbehavior, and was subjected to the daily torment endured by an unwilling member of a freak show. For years, he endured this. However, this time wasn’t entirely full of tragedy. Some good did come of his time living with the gypsies. During this time, he studied the practices and people around him, soaking up the unusual things in his everyday life. It was here that he would hone and perfect his skills as an illusionist, learning every trick that the gypsies had to offer and creating a few of his own. Also, his unnatural talent of using his voice became apparent to those around him. It gave him a chance to develop his talent of using his voice to fool others. Most importantly, he still was able to sing. In fact, it was a special night for the patrons indeed if “Le Mort Vivant” was to sing. So, despite his world of suffering and humiliation, it wasn’t all for nothing. Finally, when he was on the cusp of adolescence, Erik decided that he had enough. The man who held him captive in his show had finally gone too far one night, and the boy just snapped. After years and years of cruel treatment, “Le Mort Vivant” finally had his revenge. That man became his very first kill, which Erik had done quickly, efficiently, and without the slightest bit of guilt. He found that he had power in this new act, but most importantly, he now had his freedom.

Erik finally had his freedom long enough to grow into adulthood. For a while, he merely drifted from place to place, furthering his talents even more and disappearing when he drew unwanted attention. These were the few quiet years in his life. They were abruptly ended when he received a summons from the Shah of Persia to be offered a place of employment. Apparently, a trader had witnessed one of the freak shows and was enthralled by Erik’s talent. He had went back and told the Shah himself of what he had witnessed, and now the Shah demanded Erik’s presence. Not having too much of a choice in the matter, Erik traveled to Persia to serve the Shah himself. The ruler commissioned Erik to design a palace for him, which the man did do, but that wouldn’t be his only profession in Persia. During the time Erik spent designing this building, the Shah also employed him for his various other talents. His talent for certain things caused him to be appointed as the Shah’s personal assassin. This profession caused him to perfect his talent for homicide, and he learned quickly to favor the Punjab lasso as his weapon of choice. Also in his job description was using his skills as an inventor to entertain the royal family. His first creation was a room of mirrors, which delighted at first. However, when the novelty of that wore off, the demands became much more gruesome. Erik found himself inventing his first torture chamber then, to be used for both punishing criminals and providing entertainment. Even with all this going on, Erik managed to finish the palace design. It was beautiful and elaborate, with too many trap doors and secret passages to count. The Shah was incredibly pleased with the result. Despite that, he knew that the designer knew far too much about the palace, and ordered him to be executed to maintain his silence. This plan was almost carried out, but a companion suddenly entered Erik’s life for the first time. The Daroga, a man who had gotten to know just what kind of person Erik is during his time in Persia, saw to it that he escaped from the country with his life. For the third time in his life, Erik fled, but this time, he fled back home to France.

At this point, Erik had grown tired of his constant running about. For once, he wanted to have a place to call home, where he could hide away from the rest of the world and find peace. The answer seemed to reveal itself to him with the construction of the Paris Opera House. It seemed to be the perfect place; a place where he could immerse himself in his beloved music. There was also the promising aspect of the underground lake beneath the building, created to deal with the underground water level. Unknown to the rest of the world, Erik inserted himself into the design and building of the Opera House. He began to craft his home in the catacombs and create secret passageways and trap doors that only he knew how to access. He managed to complete all this without the knowledge of anyone else. He successfully built his sanctuary from the world, his underground home on the lake. For years, he lived there in solitude, but he did not entirely lay low during this time. After all, he was living within an opera house and a man with musical tastes such as he could not withhold his influence from the arts. Erik decided early on that he would have say in the creative decisions of the theater. Using his unique talents and his knowledge of the numerous secret passageways of the building, he used fear and trickery to intimidate the men in charge into complying with his will. He made his voice heard on things such as casting, and ensured that Box 5 be forever reserved as his private seating. Because of his mysterious methods and the fact that he never showed his face, those working within the opera house quickly labeled him as the mysterious Phantom of the Opera. Erik took this new title quickly to his advantage, truly becoming the Phantom that lurked in the shadows and was not to be angered. He even began signing his notes to the managers as “O.G”; Opera Ghost. When he wasn’t interfering with the music around him, Erik truly began to focus on music of his own. Finally, he was able to settle down and truly work on his original opera, “Don Juan Triumphant”. This piece was to be his life’s work, in which he poured his very heart and soul. Erik determined that once he finished his masterpiece, his life would be complete. At that time, he truly did think that once “Don Juan Triumphant” was complete, he would simply lay down, close his eyes, and allow himself to die. It seemed like a fitting end for him, but fate always did seem to have other plans for Erik…

Several years into his life at the Opera House, Erik fell in love. It came suddenly and unexpectedly, but when it did come it overwhelmed every aspect of his being and took over him. From the moment he first heard Christine Daae sing, he knew that he needed her. Something about her voice was so pure and perfect, but it was tragically dead and without passion. Erik craved more than anything to inspire her voice and shape it into something that was truly perfect. The source of her lifeless voice soon became apparent to him; the poor girl’s father had died not too long ago, and now the Opera House was the only home she had. He also learned that her father, upon his death bed, had promised the child that he would send her the Angel of Music to teach her. Erik knew better than to think that he had a chance to be the man to stand beside her, but he could easily become her angel. Taking advantage of Christine’s belief, Erik came to her as the voice from nowhere, her loving guardian, her strict tutor, and her Angel of Music. She immediately became enthralled with her interaction with him, hanging on his every word and taking to heart each of his lessons. With him, her voice began to soar, filled with passion and beauty. She even found herself in the lead role of the opera house’s performance of “Hannibal” (Although it had required some manipulation on Erik’s part…). This role of student and angel delighted Erik, but a threat would force him to take desperate measures. Christine received plenty of attention for her first role as a leading lady, and a specific man called upon her that threated Erik’s position in her life. Raoul DeChangy, a patron of the arts and a childhood sweetheart of Christine’s decided to return to her life, with clear intentions of wooing her. Immediately, Erik saw his position as the highest love in Christine’s life threatened. Desperate, Erik made a dramatic decision. One night, after her performance, the Angel of Music revealed himself to Christine Daae, and took her down into his underground lair, showing her his world.

He had taken Christine, but quickly had to return her. The morning after her kidnapping, she had removed Erik’s mask by surprise, revealing his true face to her. Ashamed, reason seemed to return to him, and he swiftly made the decision to take her back to the surface. Besides, this now gave her a chance to take her next leading role, should the managers obey his requests. However, the two new managers of the opera house were foolish, and cast another in the role instead. Making sure that his voice was heard, he sabotaged the performance in revenge, first by humiliating the other leading lady, and then by murdering one of the stage hands and hanging him for all to see. After his expression of rage, he had planned to find Christine once more. He went to the rooftops to find her, only to be met by the sight of his angel of music sharing a kiss and vows of love with DeChangy. Erik’s heart was broken. He didn’t have the strength to interrupt their moment, and instead wept in the shadows. However, sorry turned into rage, and what little remains of his sanity he had slipped away. This world had thrown upon him its last cruelty. On that night, Erik swore revenge on the couple, and vowed that Christine would be his. As if to solidify his resolution, he unleashed his fury during the final bows of that night’s performance, dropping the chandelier itself onto the stage.

His plan went into motion the moment he finished “Don Juan Triumphant”. Using the tactic of fear and having already shown his willingness to kill, he gave the managers no other choice than to perform his life’s work, with Christine Daae playing the lead. Although they planned how to overcome Erik’s control, the production was set into motion. The Phantom had no fear of what they had in store for him, for surely he would outwit them all. On the night of the performance, Erik snuck onto the stage in the middle of the show, strangled the leading male, and took his place. He disguised himself and sang with Christine in his own opera, but only until the soprano finally realized his deceit and revealed him to the world. In the ultimate betrayal, she tore his mask off, showing his face to the entire opera house. Flying into a terrible fury, Erik kidnapped Christine and escaped into the catacombs. There, he forced her to change into a wedding gown he had prepared for her, and was absolutely ready to force her to marry him. It was all he wanted at this point, a pretty wife to tend to so that he may have a normal life, even if Christine did hate him now. To make things even better, Raoul DeChangy did show up in his home, with the intentions of rescuing his lover. He found himself trapped as well however, when Erik managed to slip his Punjab lasso around the boy’s neck. From there, Erik gave Christine a final choice; marry him and let Raoul live, or deny him and let Raoul die. When finally pressed to make her choice, Christine merely approached the Phantom, took his hideous face in her hands, and kissed him. In that single kiss, Erik finally understood what it meant to be loved, and was so deeply moved that he knew that he couldn’t bear to hurt Christine any longer. Broken, defeated, and so deeply moved by her act of love, he released Raoul and told the couple to flee and forget about him. Before he knew it, Christine was gone, off to marry Raoul, leaving Erik once again in his solitude and with nothing.

For days afterward, Erik was forced to just hide and dwell in his grief of letting Christine go. Everyone who had witnessed the performance of that fateful night now knew that he was here, and were looking for a man to arrest for all sorts of crimes. Naturally, Erik outwitted them all, giving the impression that he had either fled forever or had died, and eventually they left him alone. At this point though, Erik was convinced that he was dying of a broken heart, and was just happy that everyone had left to let him die in peace. He had one final visit with his old companion, the Daroga (Who had been forced to leave Persia as well and was now in Paris to pay close attention to Erik’s crimes), merely to tell him of his condition. Then, he was ready to just close his eyes and die at last. Again, fate would intervene.

One fateful evening, as he sulked about his caverns for what he believed to be the last time, Erik stumbled upon one of the portals to Tintagel Academy. Since magic is only a matter of illusions in his world, he was baffled by this strange thing. Curiosity got the best of him, and he was a man with nothing to lose, so he dared to step through the portal and into this new world. When he arrived, he was met by a representative from the Grayle Corporation and given an explanation of just where he was. They began to talk about how they were going to settle him into his new life, but Erik quickly refused that. He preferred to return back to his opera house and follow through on his plan of letting his broken heart kill him. Unfortunately though, he was promptly informed that there was a situation in which the portals were still bringing people in, but were no longer allowing people to return to their homes. In other words, Erik was stuck there. Being the stubborn person that he is, he refused to think of his final resting place being anywhere other than the underground lake back at the Paris Opera House. He decided then that he would simply postpone dying, at least until the portals would allow him to return to his lair again. For the time being, the Grayle Corporation offered ways in which Erik could make a life for himself in Trenale. When they first offered him a position as a music teacher at Tintagel Academy, Erik couldn’t help but think that they were mad. However, they reassured him that the students of this school have probably seen far stranger things than he. It was strange; the concept of returning to the surface and rejoining human society, and at first he resisted it with all his might. Finally though, he gave in, knowing that he would have to find a way to survive here long enough for the portals to allow him to return home, and knowing that a job in the music department of this school would reunite him with the love he had even in his deepest despair. So, he took that job as a music teacher at Tintagel Academy, teaching classes such as music composition and even giving private vocal lessons (Although he is notorious for being ferociously critical and had thrown out more than a few students in the past month). The thought of surrendering to death upon his return to Paris weighed on his mind for the longest time, and still occurs to him from time to time, but forcing himself to continue living has done strange things to him. While he still laments and obsesses over his lost love with Christine, the ache no longer cripples him. He manages to go on now. Time has healed some of the wounds, if only just a little. Now, there is the fair question of whether or not he really could be able to going on living, even with his broken heart…

Other: In case you haven’t caught on already, I am combining elements from both Gaston Leroux’s novel and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical for my interpretation of Erik. Hopefully, this will make him more accessible to everyone. Also, there are some touches of Susan Kay’s “Phantom” sprinkled in his history, so some credit should go there.
Oh, and dreams do come true.

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Sample Post:

Although Erik had been teaching here for nearly a month now, and he should therefore be more accustomed to having the rest of the world around him, he still found himself preferring to travel at night. Old habits die hard, he supposed, not to mention that he still felt much, much more relaxed with only the stars as his companion. Something about the night pleased him as well. The crisp air that only seemed to come out in the sun’s absence, the sound of the night birds signing their late songs, and so many other things were a pleasure to his senses. He supposes that a creature like him, too hideous to be seen out in the day light, belonged in the cool embrace of the night. So, here he was, clearing his mind in a leisurely walk around the edge of the town, with only the stars and shadows to notice him.

While most people did tend to fear and avoid the outskirts of this place, Erik quickly found that they were his preferred place to go. It was very rare to see another soul there, and when he did, they typically kept to their own shady business. He had no fear of what would happen if one of these questionable people did decide to approach him one evening. Certainly, it would be some brute looking for someone to victimize. Well, Erik had spent plenty of his life being victimized, so God help the person who dared to attempt harming him now. Let’s just say that if someone did try to harass Erik during his nightly strolls that the predator would quickly become the prey. Even in a place such as Trenale, the man never did leave the comfort of where he lived without his Punjab lasso.

It seemed that he was always out and about as opposed to hiding himself away in that place of residency the Grayle Corporation has settled him in; quite the opposite of what his life was like in Paris. That apartment, although secluded enough from the rest of the building’s residents, was certainly not his underground lair. He felt no security there, even with the locks and his private nature. So instead, he found himself keeping busy, either enjoying the nighttime air in the sketchier places of town, or immersing himself at work back at the academy. In fact, there were even nights where he would remain unseen and stay on campus grounds. Being a school of magic and fantasy, Erik just knew that the building had to possess numerous secrets of its own, secrets that he was bound to learn and master. He had found a few interesting places and was already figuring out how to move through the building without being noticed, merely from these late nights of curiosity. He couldn’t help but wonder if sometimes security or janitors would catch small glimpses of him or even hear some sounds from his movement, and if any kind of rumors would arise from it. Who knew? Perhaps he would become a legendary phantom here as well! He humored himself with the idea as he walked, twisted his deformed lips into a slight smirk.

A wind picked up, causing Erik’s opera cloak to swirl up around him in a haunting motion. Although he was walking the outskirts of Trenale, he had worn the fancy thing anyway. Even with his fondness of the midnight chill, having it did manage to keep him at a comfortable temperature. It did give him a look of fanciness, something that he typically valued. If he had to have such an ugly face, then at least his clothing could be nice, right? However, in this situation, looking like a man with money did have unfortunate side effects. It was ironic that he was reflecting on how he was usually left alone, even in the sketchiest parts of town, on the very night that some fool seemed to be trying to follow him. The idiot surely was in the misunderstanding that Erik hadn’t noticed him. How very wrong he was. The only reason why Erik wasn’t throwing the idiot off of his trail was because he had become interesting in formulating the best way to punish this brat for his insolence. Oh yes, something very frightening was waiting for this would-be mugger, and it would certainly be a lesson he would never forget. All that Erik was waiting for was for the unfortunate soul to make his move…

[Emily]

Thanks for being so patient and welcome!