Let The Dream Descend

Do we have a deal Miss Daáe?

Christine slowly awoke, baffled by the unusual warmth radiating from her pillow. She frowned, then began to notice the small, almost inaudible, drum of a steady heartbeat from beside her cheek. The young soprano let in a sharp intake of breath, then looked up to meet the gaze of a certain masked man as she kept her head gently pressed against his chest.

"Good morning, angel," she whispered to him, her heart starting to pound in her chest as she remembered what had happened last night. She had run away, Erik had saved her from some horrid man in the streets, and she had ended up confessing everything to her angel after he dressed her wounds; Christine bit her lip and frowned lightly.
Erik reached a gloved hand down and gently grazed his fingers against her cheek, trying to calm the anxiety that was radiating off of her.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?" He asked softly as he pushed back a lock of her chocolate-colored hair behind her ear.

"I slept very well. And you?" She asked quietly, her head still resting against his chest as she looked up at the masked man with her soft green eyes.

Erik sighed softly and shook his head. "I didn't sleep," he mumbled softly.

Christine raised an elegant brow as she looked up at him. "Why not?" She asked him quietly, and slowly sat up, cold air blowing against her now exposed cheek.

"I was too busy watching over you..." He whispered and softly placed his hand on Christine's face.

Christine smiled and closed her eyes, leaning into her angel's soothing touch. She sighed softly and her eyes fluttered back open. "Erik... You should have slept. I would have been fine," she whispered, gently placing her hand on top of his as it rested against her cheek.

"It's okay. I didn't really mind. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't in any pain throughout the night," he said.

Christine smiled softly, a light blush forming on her cheeks. She felt as if she should show him some act of affection, but the confidence that she had last night when she had kissed him, was quickly draining out of her body. "Thank you..." She whispered.

Christine pushed the blankets back from her body and tried to stand up, but winced in pain, her body quickly reminding her that she was heavily injured.

Erik immediately wrapped his arms around Christine's waist and pulled her back to him. "We don't want you to hurt yourself anymore than you already are, now do we?" he said softly. Christine sighed and slightly nodded her head, relaxing into his arms. "Now, lets try again. This time, please be a little more careful. I don't want you to cause yourself any more pain," Erik whispered into the young soprano's ear.

Christine nodded her head, exquisitely aware of his warm breath blowing against the back of her neck. "Alright..." She mumbled. Erik slowly released his grasp on her and helped her out of the bed.

"I will let you get changed," he said softly, walking out of the room.

Christine slowly walked across the room and into the closet. She pulled out a loose fitting dress and slipped it over her body. When she reached behind her to tie the dress, a sharp pain shot up her arms and she gasped. She tried again, with the same results. Christine groaned as she realized what she had to do. "Erik..." She called out softly.

"Yes, my dear?" Erik responded, his voice muffled by the door.

"Can you... Um... Come here? I can't-" she paused, a dark, crimson blush forming on her cheeks, "I can't seem to tie my dress."