Sissel Kyrkjebo (Christine) & Espen Lind (Erik) - Where the lost ones go
(Whispering to Erik, expressing how she know she has to leave him, for both their sake.)
Sissel: Leave and let me go.
(Very sadly, shaking her head)
You're not meant for me I know, Carry on, carry on,
(Glancing up towards the upper floors with some unsure fear for the future in her eyes, but she tries to hide it to ensure E. that they are making the right decision)
And I'll stay strong...
E: Leave and let me go?
(Wanting C to have a better life, a better one than the one he can give her. He wants it so much that he lies to her for the first time, ever, but he can't look her in the eyes while doing so.)
I won't think of you, I know,
*both* (C. Caresses E.`s cheek, and thus forcing him look at her again, he smiles at her sadly.)
Carry on, carry on, and I'll stay strong?
(E. Caresses C`s hair, then just holds her hard, as tears flow from his eyes, but they are being hidden behind his mask, tears he is trying to suppress. This is the price he must pay for her happiness, but an angel, as C is worthy of all the happiness possible. Happiness he can't supply. Not with the darkness down here, the tomb that was supposed to be his life.)
Someone else will keep you warm from now on,
(C tries to be strong for Erik's sake, and she tries not to enjoy the feeling of having him so close to her. She knows what she must do, and to help their unavoidable parting, she, too, lies, and plays along in a charade they both play, and slowly starts to believe in. It's amazing how true a lie can become if you believe it hard enough.)
Someone else will keep you safe from the storm,
(The lie grows.)
But I'll be with you wherever you go,
E: so you will never be alone!
(E places the golden ring with the simple inscription "Forever yours E." on her hand once more, showing her how much he loves her. This ring that he once gave her in anger and desperation, she then dropped, but which he saw at the floor, just by the mirror that lead down to his realm, in her dressing room. Back then he never thought she would return, since she left with Raol then. But she did, foolishly. But now she had to go, and he had to let her go this time, too. They both knew it. He couldn't give her the life she deserved. They had agreed that she would marry Raol, it was the only right thing to do. He could make her happy. And Christine's happiness was all that mattered, was it not? He just hated the fact that it hurt so much to do the inevitable.)
*Both* I'm going where the wind blows,
E: going where the lost ones go!
(C lets E go, filled up with emotions)
S: I will be with you!
E: (Shocked! Can she let go so easily?) I'm losing the love I found, Crying without a sound, Where have you gone!?
S: (Returns to Erik, she heard the sadness in his voice. She falls into his arms in one last embrace.)
I will be with you...
(Smiling sadly, thinking of how the words sound, but still beautiful. Beautiful lies.)
E: You were my fool for love, Sent me from high above, You were the one.
S: I will be with you...
(Thinking how she always will remember her time with Erik, their lessons, visits box 5, and the times they left sweets for Madame Giry.)
*Both* I'm going where the wind blows, Going where the lost ones go...
(Entwining their hands together)
S: Leave, and let me go,
(Explaining seriously to E, shaking her head, she wants to be sure he won't do something just because she has to leave. He must go on with his music and composing.)
Don't look back, Just let me know:
*Both* carry on, carry on, You must stay strong.
*Both* (Sad & thoughtfully. Erik dries off the tears that has started to slowly fall down on C`s cheek, without her awareness, thinking about the unmasking, and their star-crossed love.)
Nothing ever looks the same in the light, Nothing ever seams to quite turn out right, When you realise that you have been loved,
E: . that you will never be alone...
(C let E go, slowly walking away.)
S: I'm going where the wind blows
(Throwing out his arms in despair!)
E: Going where the lost ones go.
S: I will be with you...
(E angry with God, but accepts that his destiny is to be alone for the rest of his life, how he will never find love again, but he is also in some weird way grateful over the fact that he met her. Could hear her. And have her in his life. One second with her, seeing the light in her eyes, hearing the sparks in her voice, was worth more than his pathetic life all together. He, a creature of the dark had finally seen the light, and for one that had lived his whole life alone in darkness, just knowing what the light looks like is a miracle in itself. )
E: I'm losing the love I found, Crying without a sound, Where have you gone?
(C ensuring Erik again, from further away.)
S: I will be with you!
E: You were my fool for love, Sent me from high above, You were the one!
(C ensuring Erik again, from far away)
S: I will be with you!
*Both* I'm going where the wind blows, Going where the lost ones go.
(C touching E`s ring, lovingly.)
S: Leave and let me go, Baby I can't come along,
*Both* (E watching C`s carriage leave from the roof, in the belief that she is now safe, then returns to his lair.)
Carry on, carry on, You must stay strong...
Christine is sitting in her carriage. She is filled with regrets; she can't just leave Erik like that. It didn't feel right- No matter what they had agreed on! Why had he promised something like that to her so willingly? That she would be allowed to marry Raol, and that he wouldn't bother her at the opera ever again? And why had she been so mean that she said that she never wanted to see him again? It was all just a childish test. It was so stupid! He hadn't shown the anger he had shown the time Raol and the Daroga had found their way down to his lair. He hadn't shown any anger at all, as she thought he would. He was instead, yet again, the poor man who used to fall at her feet. She had gone back to him to test him, but it had felt so right to be there. She looked down on her hands. Soon she would have the red ruby ring she had tried out with Raol on her left finger, instead of Erik's plain goldring. They were so different. Two men. She thought over Raol, he had been through a terrible ordeal for her sake. He had told her that he still could feel the taste of sand in his mouth from the torture chamber. And she had overheard his servants speak of his nightmares where he woke all sweaty. But Erik had let Raol go. For her sake. She asked him to, and turned the scorpion. She promised him that she would be his bride. It surprisingly hadn't felt as wrong as she thought it would. But she hadn't had any time to think. Raol and the other man, which she later heard Erik call the Daroga, was dying. That much she knew. Erik was dangerous when he was desperate. But he had never hurt her. And now, when she tried to provoke him, he had done nothing! It was all just a puzzle and which piece fitted the most? Raol or Erik? Raol had some feminin features, but Erik was a man, if there ever was one. Raol was sporty, and social. But Erik was more of a thinker, like her. She had sat by his fire once, and he had stood just some meters away, he hadn't moved at all during the whole evening. He had just watched her. She had been shy at first, but then she dreamed away, like she always did in thought. It had been quiet, but they hadn't felt awkward about the silence between them. Instead, if you enjoy music, you can also enjoy the sound of silence. Erik enjoyed music; he was a genius when it came to music. He lived for music, just like she did! She had always lived for music, ever since she was a child. And that was what she wanted to continue to do. She couldn't get a better man as her teacher than Erik; she has to speak to him again! Oh, it had all been a mistake to leave. Why hadn't she learned since last time? She really had a bad habit of stepping out of conversations.
She was just about to call up to the driver to return to the opera, even though the carriage had just went a couple of hundred meters when she hears a shout. "Halt!" She looks out the window. Raol stops Christine`s carriage after just a couple of hundred meters, pulls her out of it, pays the driver and asks him to take off. He turns towards Christine with a look she has never before seen in his face and says "How did you get free from that murdering monster!??" "He is not a monster Raol, just a man." She tries to explain, but Raol interrupts her: "A man!? Ha! I've been so worried for you Christine, but now we'll deal with this "Phantom" the only way we can. I should have done this a long time ago. And if he is a man, all the better, he will surely die as one! Not even vicious Phantoms live forever!" Raol hurries back towards the opera house, with Christine behind him. Christine then sees the gun in his hands, but by then it is too late. He has already dragged her into the opera house, and heads backstage. Her eyes grow big with fear, and she gasps of shock. "No Raol, you can't!" Raol stops and looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "I sure can, and I will! And if you love me Christine, you will help me! No, I will correct that; you WILL help me regardless of what you feel. That monster killed my brother! He could have killed you! I've put my honour at stake in this, and you have betrayed me. My family turned their back on me when I told them I wanted to marry you. A singer! I should have listened to them, then perhaps Philippe would be alive, but did I? No! So you WILL be my wife, Christine, you really have no saying in this. The wedding will be on Sunday; I've already arranged it all. By the way: Why were you coming from the opera? Didn't Piangi tell you I had terminated your contract with him? A Madame de Changny will never have to work! But enough about that now, we have things to do!" He grabbed Christine by the arm, and Christine has to run to not fall, since Raol has her arm in a tight grip. Raol mutters: "Being away for days when we are engaged to be married! I will kill him, this is something I should have done a long time ago, then perhaps we wouldn't have had to go through all of this madness, we would already be married." Christine, not recognising the man she once knew tried to tell him the truth. "But Raol, I love to sing! You know that! Why won't you let me sing? And must we rush things. I don't love you! We said we would take things slow and let our love grow before we got married. I love you, I have since I was a child, but not like that, not like a wife is supposed to love her man, I don't know you well enough, this has all gone so fast." "You WILL BE MY WIFE!!!" "But Raol." "No buts! You said you loved me once, you will learn to love me again. But you WILL be my wife Christine, you don't break a promise to a de Chagny, if I have to drag you to the church myself on Sunday, don't think I will!" Raol, furious with a rage Christine never seen in him before, eyes black with hate, he pulled the trapdoor to the cellars open, and pushed her down into it. Christine had never been so scared in all her life. Who was this man? Where was the Raol she had known as a child? Was this the real Raol? A man she would have to marry!? Why hadn't she seen this side of him before? Hadn't she wanted to see that part of him out of fear for Erik back then? Erik, where was he now? What was going to happen? Oh, please God let him be all right! But she didn't want him to try and Punjab Raol again, he still had the marks on his neck since the last time, but why were Raol forcing her with him? She felt she had to warn Erik. She tried to stomp and be as loud as she could, but it was hard, since Raol forced her to run all the time, he still hadn't loosen the grip of her arm even the slightest, and she would probably get a mark in the morning. She still knew for sure that they had so have set off some of all the invisible alarms Erik had all over the place. While Raol furiously rowed over the lake, she kept looking over the water for Erik. What would he do now that she came back yet again, but with Raol? Would he kill him now? He hated Raol, she knew that much, he had told her so. Oh, why couldn't Raol just give it up? "Raol, please row back, I will marry you on Sunday, why are we down here? I find it scary!" She really did. She couldn't recognise Raol, and she didn't see Erik's eyes anywhere. "This has to be done!" Raol hissed at her, and pulled the boat up on the other shore. He pulled her out of the boat. "Raol you're hurting me!" He didn't listen. He now saw the secret door to Erik's home standing open, and a smile started to appear on his face. Christine gasped of shock when she started to hear the sound of Erik's organ. "Oh, no!" she thought. Knowing that if Erik played, he didn't care about anything, not even the alarms that she and Raol must have set off, on their way down. The music was so beautiful that she shivered all over, it was the most extraordinary tune she had ever heart, but it seamed to have no effect on Raol. "Good for us that he keeps making that noise! Now we will have the advantage!" Raol said evilly.
Christine`s mind was clueless. Where she to give up the man she told Erik that she would marry? Her childhood sweetheart? They always used to play, and people said they were cute, soulmates, and now she finally had the career to be able to marry him, but she didn't love him, not like she loved Erik. Erik was special, but they had also agreed that they couldn't live together, and that she should live her life with only a memory of him as her guardian angel of music. An angel, loving her from afar. The music from the organ filled her mind, and for the first time she feared that Raol was right. Maybe he did have the advantage. Did that mean he could kill Erik? She couldn't just stand and watch her one soulmate kill the other! For Erik was her soulmate too. Despair was filling her inner being and then Raol threw the door open to the musicroom, pushing her inside in front of him, she was so taken by the sight of Erik again that she didn't even feel Raol letting her arm go. Erik's dark, long, wavy hair glittered in the candlelight. He was so beautiful in his evening suit and short cape. Erik was sitting in front of the gigantic organ he had build himself, completely taken by the music he was composing. "Erik!" Christine couldn't help but whisper with love, seeing his tall, slim figure being so concentrated at his work. And suddenly it was so clear, what was Raol compared to Erik? It was Erik who had her love. Raol. she didn`t even think of him now. Erik was her one love, and the one she belonged with. She smiled; glad over her new found insight. ! Everything then happened in a flash. Erik stopped playing in an instant; shocked he turned around, seeing how Christine smiled lovingly at him. "My angel, you returned! I should never have allowed you to leave like that! This is where you belong, you know." He smiled with complete happiness. Christine had never seen him so completely at peace. He was right; this was where she belonged, or rather, in his arms, by his side, always, in voice, in body, and in soul. Nothing could be more fitting than her light, like the midsummer sun, slightly curled hair, to his few, dark like the cellars where he lived, wavy locks. Her voice, which he had taught her to use clearer and higher than she thought possible. And his, so perfect in every way, that it was indescribable in words even to try to explain. They had tried to stay apart, she had left him, but like a magnet she had returned each time, she now knew that she wanted otherwise, she didn't want to leave him again. She needed him more than she had ever needed anyone. He was her world. Her universe. The voice which was missing in their duet of life.
Then suddenly a high sound echoed through the vaults. Surprised Erik turned his head to his right side, seeing Raol standing there with the gun in his hand. Erik's eyes grow large with shock and he tried to stand up, one hand searching inside the cloak. The sound came again, still as loud and first then Christine realised that Raol had fired his weapon at Erik. "NO!!!" Christine screamed out in fear, despair and shock, throwing herself at Raols arm. He laughs and pushes her away and then fires one last time, saying "For my brother" while doing so. Christine screamed out in agony, helplessness and despair, and then finally succeeds in taking the gun from Raol, who seams more than pleased over his accomplishments. Raol SHOT at Erik! He actually shot at him! He was just as much of a murderer as Erik was. An anger and with a feeling that she doesn't know the man in front of her, she points the gun at Raol, loads it again with a click and says: "Get out Raol! Get out of here and out of my life, and never return again! I will never, EVER forgive you for this! Do you understand me? NEVER!" She said with a voice as cold as ice. She didn't even dare to look in Erik's direction, she knew that if she let her guard down, Raol would probably disarm her in an instant and force her to go with him, but now she couldn't. There was no way she would marry the man who had shot at her Erik. Three times! Three times he had shot him! One shot he might have survived, but two, or three? Her tears almost blinded her, as she tried to surpress them, so she could see clearly, as she aimed straight for Raols heart. "You've obviously made your choice, Raol said bitterly. "But remember this: You could have had a glorious future with me, I would have made you rich and powerful, you would be a diva for life! The wife to a vicomte!" "Now you are a murderer." she said, as if that simple sentence explained it all. She had never cared about his title, but now he had shot at Erik, just as coldly as any simple murderer might do. And he had even LAUGHED while doing so! Erik had saved Raol's life when Christine had begged him to do so, but Raol had just pushed her away when she shouted "NO!" It was now clearer than ever who had a heart out of the two. Raol shrugged his shoulders and muttered something about how it would be ".your loss, Christine." then turned and walked back down towards the lake.
Christine quickly locked the door behind him, then she stood for a moment, quietly, breathing, listening after what she didn't dare to look to see if it was true. Then she leaned her forehead towards the door, before she turned to face Erik. His shirt was totally red, only the sleeves had the white colour left; he had fallen and lay now like a little child. She rushed to his side, laying the gun as far away as she dared, she didn't want to hold the weapon that had hurt her angel so. "Erik." She said, lifting his head gently into her lap. "Erik? Can you hear me?" She cursed the mask that must make it difficult for him to breathe. He looked at it when she untied the knot. It didn't look as the other masks he had. This one looked like skin. It looked like a real face. It wasn't a theatre mask. "Was this the mask he said made him look like everybody else?" She thought, but she quickly took it off, his face didn't repulse her anymore, but she gasped when she saw his eyes. They were open, but the light of life that always used to glow in them, that she loved so much, that the people at the opera said was the only thing you could see glitter as stars in the darkness, was gone. It was clear he had already moved on. "Erik!!!" She started crying out all her pain and love for him, her hate for Raols betrayal. She caressed his face, every line it had. She followed his brows with her fingertips as her tears fell on his cheeks. She then kissed him. Ironically she thought about the fact that Erik wanted her to be his dead wife, when she wanted to be his living bride, and the fact that now when she felt like she was his living wife, he was her dead husband. She cursed the unfair fate of his life, pulled his body up a bit and then started rocking him as a child. He just wanted to be loved for who he was. She loved him for who he was! If she only had realised it sooner. She had been so wrong, if she had stayed with him instead of making that stupid agreement with him; he might still have been alive. If she had stayed she would have heard the alarms. It was all her fault! EVERYTHING! If she hadn't come to Paris in the first place none of this would have happened! But if she hadn't come to Paris, she would never have got to know her angel. There were so many things she wanted to say so many things she regretted. Taking off his mask being one thing, going up with Raol on the roof being another. She still didn't know why she didn't think Erik would go up there. This is his. was his opera house, she corrected herself. And she remembered the time he had gone up with her there the night before Faust and showed her the stars. "Every night has its star, Carlotta may be this nights star, but I promise you, tomorrow night you will shine just as strong, if not stronger! Than her." He had taught her so much, loved her so much, been so proud of her, and she had betrayed him. Drying her tears with the back of her hand, she then made a decision. She would grant Erik a wish of his. She was sure that no one could find the entry to Erik's house since the door now was locked, he was a man with many skills, so even though Raol, and God knows who could get across the lake, no one would find their way in. Not even the Daroga since she saw the door to the torture chamber was closed also. She gently laid down Erik's head down on the Persian carpet and went to fix some things. She took the pillow from her own room, placed it under his head, then she fetched the cover too. She sat down next to him, said: "I'm sorry that I haven't got any ring to give you, as you gave to me, but I want you to have this, you know what it means to me." She took off her own silver medallion, with a picture of her beloved father in it, and placed it around Erik's neck. Then she looked around; finally she saw the two boxes, one containing the scorpion that she had turned to save Raol and the Darogas life, and the other containing the grasshopper. She lovingly put the cover over Erik's shoulders, then rose to see her, and all the opera house's doom. It wasn't more than right to turn the grasshopper and make them all "hop", she thought, they had all been so mean to Erik, accused him of things he didn't have anything to do with. Refused his simple orders. And he had always said that he would have hated to hear Carlotta on the stage again. This time no one would be on the stage again. The only one that could be left in the building at this hour was Raol, and if he died with them, she really couldn't care less right now. She was going to do Erik one last favour, make the other choice this time, since the first choice obviously hadn't been the right one; it had led to his death! With a determination she never experienced before, as if the turn of it would change the past, and make Erik live again. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then turned the beautifully handmade, green grasshopper. And nothing happened.
"What!?" There must be something wrong, she thought, and turned it yet another turn. Thinking there might be something wrong with it. But yet again, nothing happened. It didn't even clicked as the scorpion had done, when the water rushed into the torture chamber. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. She looked disappointed at Erik's body. "Did you just test me? But you had all the barrels with gunpowder to make it a reality! You thought I would rather die than to be with you?" She refused to think over the fact that she almost had back then. Crying again she thought of hanging herself in the torture chamber, because it was a pure torture to live with Erik's life on your conscience, but then she saw the gun again. Raol's gun that had taken Erik's life. It wouldn't be more than right to let the same gun end hers, since it in a way already had. She couldn't live with Raol. She couldn't live without Erik. She knew that now, she had just thought that she could. If Raol hadn't stopped her and pulled her back to the opera, she would have gone back anyway, she was actually thinking it in the carriage when it stopped. She just had a need to be near him. She picked up the gun, inspecting it. It had 2 bullets left. That should be enough, she wasn't a man, just a woman, and she would aim for the heart. "To put it out of its misery." She said and laid down next to Erik under the cover, her head next to his on the pillow, she finally realised that she hadn't closed his eyes. She leaned over him, and closed his eyes, then placing a kiss on both his eyelids. "I will never stop loving you." She explained. "You are all I ever had, and all I could ever have asked for. Please forgive me for having such a weak soul my love. I will join you now my angel." After placing a last kiss on his deformed lips, she snuggled really close to him, closer than he had ever let her come while alive. Placed his lifeless arm around her slim waist, and placed her own left arm under his head, so they lay as lovers on the floor, sharing the same pillow. She then took the gun to her chest, loaded it. Now they would be together forever, in the life after this. She felt safe, wherever she was going, Erik could possibly be there, and that was all the hope she needed. The darkness of her life was too much for her; she missed the light of her beloved Erik. She pressed down the trigger, without regrets, and one shot was all she needed.
"Forever yours C."
(Christine realises that she can't live without Erik, you hear "Who wants to live forever" by Dune or Sarah Brightman, preferably with some famous orchestra, Erik and Christine both dies during this song.)
(Whispering to Erik, expressing how she know she has to leave him, for both their sake.)
Sissel: Leave and let me go.
(Very sadly, shaking her head)
You're not meant for me I know, Carry on, carry on,
(Glancing up towards the upper floors with some unsure fear for the future in her eyes, but she tries to hide it to ensure E. that they are making the right decision)
And I'll stay strong...
E: Leave and let me go?
(Wanting C to have a better life, a better one than the one he can give her. He wants it so much that he lies to her for the first time, ever, but he can't look her in the eyes while doing so.)
I won't think of you, I know,
*both* (C. Caresses E.`s cheek, and thus forcing him look at her again, he smiles at her sadly.)
Carry on, carry on, and I'll stay strong?
(E. Caresses C`s hair, then just holds her hard, as tears flow from his eyes, but they are being hidden behind his mask, tears he is trying to suppress. This is the price he must pay for her happiness, but an angel, as C is worthy of all the happiness possible. Happiness he can't supply. Not with the darkness down here, the tomb that was supposed to be his life.)
Someone else will keep you warm from now on,
(C tries to be strong for Erik's sake, and she tries not to enjoy the feeling of having him so close to her. She knows what she must do, and to help their unavoidable parting, she, too, lies, and plays along in a charade they both play, and slowly starts to believe in. It's amazing how true a lie can become if you believe it hard enough.)
Someone else will keep you safe from the storm,
(The lie grows.)
But I'll be with you wherever you go,
E: so you will never be alone!
(E places the golden ring with the simple inscription "Forever yours E." on her hand once more, showing her how much he loves her. This ring that he once gave her in anger and desperation, she then dropped, but which he saw at the floor, just by the mirror that lead down to his realm, in her dressing room. Back then he never thought she would return, since she left with Raol then. But she did, foolishly. But now she had to go, and he had to let her go this time, too. They both knew it. He couldn't give her the life she deserved. They had agreed that she would marry Raol, it was the only right thing to do. He could make her happy. And Christine's happiness was all that mattered, was it not? He just hated the fact that it hurt so much to do the inevitable.)
*Both* I'm going where the wind blows,
E: going where the lost ones go!
(C lets E go, filled up with emotions)
S: I will be with you!
E: (Shocked! Can she let go so easily?) I'm losing the love I found, Crying without a sound, Where have you gone!?
S: (Returns to Erik, she heard the sadness in his voice. She falls into his arms in one last embrace.)
I will be with you...
(Smiling sadly, thinking of how the words sound, but still beautiful. Beautiful lies.)
E: You were my fool for love, Sent me from high above, You were the one.
S: I will be with you...
(Thinking how she always will remember her time with Erik, their lessons, visits box 5, and the times they left sweets for Madame Giry.)
*Both* I'm going where the wind blows, Going where the lost ones go...
(Entwining their hands together)
S: Leave, and let me go,
(Explaining seriously to E, shaking her head, she wants to be sure he won't do something just because she has to leave. He must go on with his music and composing.)
Don't look back, Just let me know:
*Both* carry on, carry on, You must stay strong.
*Both* (Sad & thoughtfully. Erik dries off the tears that has started to slowly fall down on C`s cheek, without her awareness, thinking about the unmasking, and their star-crossed love.)
Nothing ever looks the same in the light, Nothing ever seams to quite turn out right, When you realise that you have been loved,
E: . that you will never be alone...
(C let E go, slowly walking away.)
S: I'm going where the wind blows
(Throwing out his arms in despair!)
E: Going where the lost ones go.
S: I will be with you...
(E angry with God, but accepts that his destiny is to be alone for the rest of his life, how he will never find love again, but he is also in some weird way grateful over the fact that he met her. Could hear her. And have her in his life. One second with her, seeing the light in her eyes, hearing the sparks in her voice, was worth more than his pathetic life all together. He, a creature of the dark had finally seen the light, and for one that had lived his whole life alone in darkness, just knowing what the light looks like is a miracle in itself. )
E: I'm losing the love I found, Crying without a sound, Where have you gone?
(C ensuring Erik again, from further away.)
S: I will be with you!
E: You were my fool for love, Sent me from high above, You were the one!
(C ensuring Erik again, from far away)
S: I will be with you!
*Both* I'm going where the wind blows, Going where the lost ones go.
(C touching E`s ring, lovingly.)
S: Leave and let me go, Baby I can't come along,
*Both* (E watching C`s carriage leave from the roof, in the belief that she is now safe, then returns to his lair.)
Carry on, carry on, You must stay strong...
Christine is sitting in her carriage. She is filled with regrets; she can't just leave Erik like that. It didn't feel right- No matter what they had agreed on! Why had he promised something like that to her so willingly? That she would be allowed to marry Raol, and that he wouldn't bother her at the opera ever again? And why had she been so mean that she said that she never wanted to see him again? It was all just a childish test. It was so stupid! He hadn't shown the anger he had shown the time Raol and the Daroga had found their way down to his lair. He hadn't shown any anger at all, as she thought he would. He was instead, yet again, the poor man who used to fall at her feet. She had gone back to him to test him, but it had felt so right to be there. She looked down on her hands. Soon she would have the red ruby ring she had tried out with Raol on her left finger, instead of Erik's plain goldring. They were so different. Two men. She thought over Raol, he had been through a terrible ordeal for her sake. He had told her that he still could feel the taste of sand in his mouth from the torture chamber. And she had overheard his servants speak of his nightmares where he woke all sweaty. But Erik had let Raol go. For her sake. She asked him to, and turned the scorpion. She promised him that she would be his bride. It surprisingly hadn't felt as wrong as she thought it would. But she hadn't had any time to think. Raol and the other man, which she later heard Erik call the Daroga, was dying. That much she knew. Erik was dangerous when he was desperate. But he had never hurt her. And now, when she tried to provoke him, he had done nothing! It was all just a puzzle and which piece fitted the most? Raol or Erik? Raol had some feminin features, but Erik was a man, if there ever was one. Raol was sporty, and social. But Erik was more of a thinker, like her. She had sat by his fire once, and he had stood just some meters away, he hadn't moved at all during the whole evening. He had just watched her. She had been shy at first, but then she dreamed away, like she always did in thought. It had been quiet, but they hadn't felt awkward about the silence between them. Instead, if you enjoy music, you can also enjoy the sound of silence. Erik enjoyed music; he was a genius when it came to music. He lived for music, just like she did! She had always lived for music, ever since she was a child. And that was what she wanted to continue to do. She couldn't get a better man as her teacher than Erik; she has to speak to him again! Oh, it had all been a mistake to leave. Why hadn't she learned since last time? She really had a bad habit of stepping out of conversations.
She was just about to call up to the driver to return to the opera, even though the carriage had just went a couple of hundred meters when she hears a shout. "Halt!" She looks out the window. Raol stops Christine`s carriage after just a couple of hundred meters, pulls her out of it, pays the driver and asks him to take off. He turns towards Christine with a look she has never before seen in his face and says "How did you get free from that murdering monster!??" "He is not a monster Raol, just a man." She tries to explain, but Raol interrupts her: "A man!? Ha! I've been so worried for you Christine, but now we'll deal with this "Phantom" the only way we can. I should have done this a long time ago. And if he is a man, all the better, he will surely die as one! Not even vicious Phantoms live forever!" Raol hurries back towards the opera house, with Christine behind him. Christine then sees the gun in his hands, but by then it is too late. He has already dragged her into the opera house, and heads backstage. Her eyes grow big with fear, and she gasps of shock. "No Raol, you can't!" Raol stops and looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "I sure can, and I will! And if you love me Christine, you will help me! No, I will correct that; you WILL help me regardless of what you feel. That monster killed my brother! He could have killed you! I've put my honour at stake in this, and you have betrayed me. My family turned their back on me when I told them I wanted to marry you. A singer! I should have listened to them, then perhaps Philippe would be alive, but did I? No! So you WILL be my wife, Christine, you really have no saying in this. The wedding will be on Sunday; I've already arranged it all. By the way: Why were you coming from the opera? Didn't Piangi tell you I had terminated your contract with him? A Madame de Changny will never have to work! But enough about that now, we have things to do!" He grabbed Christine by the arm, and Christine has to run to not fall, since Raol has her arm in a tight grip. Raol mutters: "Being away for days when we are engaged to be married! I will kill him, this is something I should have done a long time ago, then perhaps we wouldn't have had to go through all of this madness, we would already be married." Christine, not recognising the man she once knew tried to tell him the truth. "But Raol, I love to sing! You know that! Why won't you let me sing? And must we rush things. I don't love you! We said we would take things slow and let our love grow before we got married. I love you, I have since I was a child, but not like that, not like a wife is supposed to love her man, I don't know you well enough, this has all gone so fast." "You WILL BE MY WIFE!!!" "But Raol." "No buts! You said you loved me once, you will learn to love me again. But you WILL be my wife Christine, you don't break a promise to a de Chagny, if I have to drag you to the church myself on Sunday, don't think I will!" Raol, furious with a rage Christine never seen in him before, eyes black with hate, he pulled the trapdoor to the cellars open, and pushed her down into it. Christine had never been so scared in all her life. Who was this man? Where was the Raol she had known as a child? Was this the real Raol? A man she would have to marry!? Why hadn't she seen this side of him before? Hadn't she wanted to see that part of him out of fear for Erik back then? Erik, where was he now? What was going to happen? Oh, please God let him be all right! But she didn't want him to try and Punjab Raol again, he still had the marks on his neck since the last time, but why were Raol forcing her with him? She felt she had to warn Erik. She tried to stomp and be as loud as she could, but it was hard, since Raol forced her to run all the time, he still hadn't loosen the grip of her arm even the slightest, and she would probably get a mark in the morning. She still knew for sure that they had so have set off some of all the invisible alarms Erik had all over the place. While Raol furiously rowed over the lake, she kept looking over the water for Erik. What would he do now that she came back yet again, but with Raol? Would he kill him now? He hated Raol, she knew that much, he had told her so. Oh, why couldn't Raol just give it up? "Raol, please row back, I will marry you on Sunday, why are we down here? I find it scary!" She really did. She couldn't recognise Raol, and she didn't see Erik's eyes anywhere. "This has to be done!" Raol hissed at her, and pulled the boat up on the other shore. He pulled her out of the boat. "Raol you're hurting me!" He didn't listen. He now saw the secret door to Erik's home standing open, and a smile started to appear on his face. Christine gasped of shock when she started to hear the sound of Erik's organ. "Oh, no!" she thought. Knowing that if Erik played, he didn't care about anything, not even the alarms that she and Raol must have set off, on their way down. The music was so beautiful that she shivered all over, it was the most extraordinary tune she had ever heart, but it seamed to have no effect on Raol. "Good for us that he keeps making that noise! Now we will have the advantage!" Raol said evilly.
Christine`s mind was clueless. Where she to give up the man she told Erik that she would marry? Her childhood sweetheart? They always used to play, and people said they were cute, soulmates, and now she finally had the career to be able to marry him, but she didn't love him, not like she loved Erik. Erik was special, but they had also agreed that they couldn't live together, and that she should live her life with only a memory of him as her guardian angel of music. An angel, loving her from afar. The music from the organ filled her mind, and for the first time she feared that Raol was right. Maybe he did have the advantage. Did that mean he could kill Erik? She couldn't just stand and watch her one soulmate kill the other! For Erik was her soulmate too. Despair was filling her inner being and then Raol threw the door open to the musicroom, pushing her inside in front of him, she was so taken by the sight of Erik again that she didn't even feel Raol letting her arm go. Erik's dark, long, wavy hair glittered in the candlelight. He was so beautiful in his evening suit and short cape. Erik was sitting in front of the gigantic organ he had build himself, completely taken by the music he was composing. "Erik!" Christine couldn't help but whisper with love, seeing his tall, slim figure being so concentrated at his work. And suddenly it was so clear, what was Raol compared to Erik? It was Erik who had her love. Raol. she didn`t even think of him now. Erik was her one love, and the one she belonged with. She smiled; glad over her new found insight. ! Everything then happened in a flash. Erik stopped playing in an instant; shocked he turned around, seeing how Christine smiled lovingly at him. "My angel, you returned! I should never have allowed you to leave like that! This is where you belong, you know." He smiled with complete happiness. Christine had never seen him so completely at peace. He was right; this was where she belonged, or rather, in his arms, by his side, always, in voice, in body, and in soul. Nothing could be more fitting than her light, like the midsummer sun, slightly curled hair, to his few, dark like the cellars where he lived, wavy locks. Her voice, which he had taught her to use clearer and higher than she thought possible. And his, so perfect in every way, that it was indescribable in words even to try to explain. They had tried to stay apart, she had left him, but like a magnet she had returned each time, she now knew that she wanted otherwise, she didn't want to leave him again. She needed him more than she had ever needed anyone. He was her world. Her universe. The voice which was missing in their duet of life.
Then suddenly a high sound echoed through the vaults. Surprised Erik turned his head to his right side, seeing Raol standing there with the gun in his hand. Erik's eyes grow large with shock and he tried to stand up, one hand searching inside the cloak. The sound came again, still as loud and first then Christine realised that Raol had fired his weapon at Erik. "NO!!!" Christine screamed out in fear, despair and shock, throwing herself at Raols arm. He laughs and pushes her away and then fires one last time, saying "For my brother" while doing so. Christine screamed out in agony, helplessness and despair, and then finally succeeds in taking the gun from Raol, who seams more than pleased over his accomplishments. Raol SHOT at Erik! He actually shot at him! He was just as much of a murderer as Erik was. An anger and with a feeling that she doesn't know the man in front of her, she points the gun at Raol, loads it again with a click and says: "Get out Raol! Get out of here and out of my life, and never return again! I will never, EVER forgive you for this! Do you understand me? NEVER!" She said with a voice as cold as ice. She didn't even dare to look in Erik's direction, she knew that if she let her guard down, Raol would probably disarm her in an instant and force her to go with him, but now she couldn't. There was no way she would marry the man who had shot at her Erik. Three times! Three times he had shot him! One shot he might have survived, but two, or three? Her tears almost blinded her, as she tried to surpress them, so she could see clearly, as she aimed straight for Raols heart. "You've obviously made your choice, Raol said bitterly. "But remember this: You could have had a glorious future with me, I would have made you rich and powerful, you would be a diva for life! The wife to a vicomte!" "Now you are a murderer." she said, as if that simple sentence explained it all. She had never cared about his title, but now he had shot at Erik, just as coldly as any simple murderer might do. And he had even LAUGHED while doing so! Erik had saved Raol's life when Christine had begged him to do so, but Raol had just pushed her away when she shouted "NO!" It was now clearer than ever who had a heart out of the two. Raol shrugged his shoulders and muttered something about how it would be ".your loss, Christine." then turned and walked back down towards the lake.
Christine quickly locked the door behind him, then she stood for a moment, quietly, breathing, listening after what she didn't dare to look to see if it was true. Then she leaned her forehead towards the door, before she turned to face Erik. His shirt was totally red, only the sleeves had the white colour left; he had fallen and lay now like a little child. She rushed to his side, laying the gun as far away as she dared, she didn't want to hold the weapon that had hurt her angel so. "Erik." She said, lifting his head gently into her lap. "Erik? Can you hear me?" She cursed the mask that must make it difficult for him to breathe. He looked at it when she untied the knot. It didn't look as the other masks he had. This one looked like skin. It looked like a real face. It wasn't a theatre mask. "Was this the mask he said made him look like everybody else?" She thought, but she quickly took it off, his face didn't repulse her anymore, but she gasped when she saw his eyes. They were open, but the light of life that always used to glow in them, that she loved so much, that the people at the opera said was the only thing you could see glitter as stars in the darkness, was gone. It was clear he had already moved on. "Erik!!!" She started crying out all her pain and love for him, her hate for Raols betrayal. She caressed his face, every line it had. She followed his brows with her fingertips as her tears fell on his cheeks. She then kissed him. Ironically she thought about the fact that Erik wanted her to be his dead wife, when she wanted to be his living bride, and the fact that now when she felt like she was his living wife, he was her dead husband. She cursed the unfair fate of his life, pulled his body up a bit and then started rocking him as a child. He just wanted to be loved for who he was. She loved him for who he was! If she only had realised it sooner. She had been so wrong, if she had stayed with him instead of making that stupid agreement with him; he might still have been alive. If she had stayed she would have heard the alarms. It was all her fault! EVERYTHING! If she hadn't come to Paris in the first place none of this would have happened! But if she hadn't come to Paris, she would never have got to know her angel. There were so many things she wanted to say so many things she regretted. Taking off his mask being one thing, going up with Raol on the roof being another. She still didn't know why she didn't think Erik would go up there. This is his. was his opera house, she corrected herself. And she remembered the time he had gone up with her there the night before Faust and showed her the stars. "Every night has its star, Carlotta may be this nights star, but I promise you, tomorrow night you will shine just as strong, if not stronger! Than her." He had taught her so much, loved her so much, been so proud of her, and she had betrayed him. Drying her tears with the back of her hand, she then made a decision. She would grant Erik a wish of his. She was sure that no one could find the entry to Erik's house since the door now was locked, he was a man with many skills, so even though Raol, and God knows who could get across the lake, no one would find their way in. Not even the Daroga since she saw the door to the torture chamber was closed also. She gently laid down Erik's head down on the Persian carpet and went to fix some things. She took the pillow from her own room, placed it under his head, then she fetched the cover too. She sat down next to him, said: "I'm sorry that I haven't got any ring to give you, as you gave to me, but I want you to have this, you know what it means to me." She took off her own silver medallion, with a picture of her beloved father in it, and placed it around Erik's neck. Then she looked around; finally she saw the two boxes, one containing the scorpion that she had turned to save Raol and the Darogas life, and the other containing the grasshopper. She lovingly put the cover over Erik's shoulders, then rose to see her, and all the opera house's doom. It wasn't more than right to turn the grasshopper and make them all "hop", she thought, they had all been so mean to Erik, accused him of things he didn't have anything to do with. Refused his simple orders. And he had always said that he would have hated to hear Carlotta on the stage again. This time no one would be on the stage again. The only one that could be left in the building at this hour was Raol, and if he died with them, she really couldn't care less right now. She was going to do Erik one last favour, make the other choice this time, since the first choice obviously hadn't been the right one; it had led to his death! With a determination she never experienced before, as if the turn of it would change the past, and make Erik live again. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then turned the beautifully handmade, green grasshopper. And nothing happened.
"What!?" There must be something wrong, she thought, and turned it yet another turn. Thinking there might be something wrong with it. But yet again, nothing happened. It didn't even clicked as the scorpion had done, when the water rushed into the torture chamber. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. She looked disappointed at Erik's body. "Did you just test me? But you had all the barrels with gunpowder to make it a reality! You thought I would rather die than to be with you?" She refused to think over the fact that she almost had back then. Crying again she thought of hanging herself in the torture chamber, because it was a pure torture to live with Erik's life on your conscience, but then she saw the gun again. Raol's gun that had taken Erik's life. It wouldn't be more than right to let the same gun end hers, since it in a way already had. She couldn't live with Raol. She couldn't live without Erik. She knew that now, she had just thought that she could. If Raol hadn't stopped her and pulled her back to the opera, she would have gone back anyway, she was actually thinking it in the carriage when it stopped. She just had a need to be near him. She picked up the gun, inspecting it. It had 2 bullets left. That should be enough, she wasn't a man, just a woman, and she would aim for the heart. "To put it out of its misery." She said and laid down next to Erik under the cover, her head next to his on the pillow, she finally realised that she hadn't closed his eyes. She leaned over him, and closed his eyes, then placing a kiss on both his eyelids. "I will never stop loving you." She explained. "You are all I ever had, and all I could ever have asked for. Please forgive me for having such a weak soul my love. I will join you now my angel." After placing a last kiss on his deformed lips, she snuggled really close to him, closer than he had ever let her come while alive. Placed his lifeless arm around her slim waist, and placed her own left arm under his head, so they lay as lovers on the floor, sharing the same pillow. She then took the gun to her chest, loaded it. Now they would be together forever, in the life after this. She felt safe, wherever she was going, Erik could possibly be there, and that was all the hope she needed. The darkness of her life was too much for her; she missed the light of her beloved Erik. She pressed down the trigger, without regrets, and one shot was all she needed.
"Forever yours C."
(Christine realises that she can't live without Erik, you hear "Who wants to live forever" by Dune or Sarah Brightman, preferably with some famous orchestra, Erik and Christine both dies during this song.)
