Safe in Music's Arms: An Erik x Christine Love Story
By:
Phantress Saphira
Chapter One: Acquaintance
It was a cold and bitter mid-January morning. Winter recess was still commencing, so barely a student was in sight on Julliard's campus. However, the National Association of Teachers of Singing (N.A.T.S) competition was taking place, which meant that campus was not completely empty.
This was Christine Daaé's third year in a row taking part in this competition. She originally didn't want to sign up for it after what happened the previous year, but she got talked into doing it anyway. As she approached the door to the room where her first performance of the day was going to take place, she began to feel a tight pain in her chest. Various amount of voices echoed throughout the hallway…and they weren't unpleasant. In fact, these voices were intimidating. If only the rooms had been soundproof…
Trying to drown out the voices by humming her pieces, Christine's eyes scanned the appointed time of her session with the judges. She had about twenty minutes to do any last minute preparations.
She then read the names of the other competitors in her division. None of these names were familiar. Well, of course, being eighteen years old and being a part of a new age group, it was to be expected.
Christine took a deep breath, clutched to the black binders containing her music tightly to her bosom, and placed her back against the wall, continuing to attempt to drown out the voices from the nearby rooms. Unfortunately, nothing was working.
"Christine?"
Reality returned when Christine heard her name being called. Letting her eyes follow the sound her ears had heard, she became face-to-face with her current mentor and mother figure, Ms. Giry. Her daughter, Meg, was behind her, clutching onto her sleeve for security.
"I'm nervous…" Christine muttered. "These voices sound like serious business. Do you think I have what it takes this year?"
Ms. Giry sighed, smiled and placed a warm, comforting hand on Christine's shoulder.
"You always do, my dear," she assured, "Last year was just bad luck. You have very much recovered since then."
Christine's performance the previous year was a travesty. The night before, her father had committed suicide after regrettably, nearly beating his daughter to death while heavily intoxicated. Being able to perform the next day, despite the trashed voice from screaming and crying was a miracle in itself. Regardless, it had cost Christine a place for a scholarship, as well as any praise from the judges, and she had beaten herself up (both mentally and physically) for it. She had to go to therapy for at least six months to recover from this tragedy.
"We believe in you Christine," Meg added, giving Christine an encouraging smile. "You're fantastic beyond your years."
"Thanks, I guess…" Christine replied shyly.
She took another deep breath, and stared at the door, where the judges lurked on the other side. Any moment now…
"Before you go in there…" Ms. Giry reached over to Christine's long, curly, chestnut locks and attempted to comb through them gently with her long fingernails, "we need to fix this hair of yours. It looks like a hurricane went through it."
Christine let out a disgusted sigh as she impatiently waited for Ms. Giry to comb out the knots and frizz. And then, Ms. Giry took out a black ribbon from her dress pocket, and with it, tied Christine's hair into a presentable pony tail.
"There," she said when she finished. "Now, the judges will be able to see your beautiful face."
Christine turned to face her mentor and thanked her with a nervous smile.
"I love your outfit, by the way," Ms. Giry then pointed out, beaming at Christine's modest navy blue dress draped with a white, lacy shawl. "It's very appropriate and flattering."
Christine, once again, didn't say anything, but smiled at the compliment. But then her complexion suddenly changed when she felt a vibration in her dress pocket. It came from her cell phone. Quickly, Christine took her phone out of her pocket, and checked the screen. A huge grin appeared on her face. It was a text message from her significant other, Raoul.
"Wishing you the best at your competition," it had said, "Tell me how it goes when you're done. Sending lots of love."
"I know that smile anywhere," Meg teased, approaching Christine and nudging her shoulder. "Your boyfriend just sent you a text, didn't he?"
"Oh, shush, Meg." Christine giggled as she bumped Meg away.
Meg laughed before going back to her mother's side, and crossed her arms. She felt very proud of herself, considering the fact that she was the one who introduced Christine to Raoul one year ago, almost to the day. Ironically, the three of them had no idea that what was meant to be a well-meaning friendship was going to turn into a romantic relationship. It was slightly complicated for a while, but after Christine and Raoul talked it out, their love was envied by many, including Meg, who had yet to find a love of her own.
"So, what did he say?" Both Meg and her mother asked in sync.
"He wants me to do well, that's all." Christine answered while replying to her text at the same time. Once the text was sent, she put her phone back in her pocket.
Suddenly, the door behind Christine slowly opened, and a young lady (probably in her early twenties) slipped past and hurried down the hall. Then another woman of fifty kept the door open and placed a hand on Christine's shoulder.
"Miss Daaé, they're ready for you now." She whispered, giving Christine an encouraging smile.
Nerves began to build once more as Christine stared beyond the room where the judges awaited her. After one last slow, deep breath, she entered the room, and once she had done so, the door closed tight behind her.
The judges looked at her as if they had seen her face before. Their eyebrows were raised, and they began to whisper to one another. This made Christine even more nervous than she already was. However, she managed to hide her nerves and make her way towards the pianist, who greeted her with an encouraging smile. The pianist was a slightly older lad, probably five or six years Christine's senior. He wore khakis that looked like they were just recently purchased, combined with a black polo top that hugged his slim figure. His blond hair was parted enough to not obstruct his vision. Christine shyly returned the pianist smile as she gave him her music and informed him about the annotations before facing the judges in the middle of the room.
"Good morning," she managed to project, her voice shaking just slightly, "I am Christine Daaé, and I will be performing for you today."
"So, how did it go?" Meg asked when Christine finished her performance in front of the judges and returned into the hallway. "I couldn't hear very well through the walls."
Christine, after catching her breath from all the nerves, looked at Meg and shrugged. "I did okay, I guess. Better than last year, I'll give you that."
"Well, that's good news." Meg smiled at Christine. "Do you have another session to do?"
"At two-thirty in the recital hall." And just to make sure she was correct, Christine took out a map of the campus from one of her binders and examined the location of her next appointment, as well as its time annotated on the back of the map, given by the volunteer at registration. "I have about four hours."
Christine sighed and looked at her surroundings. The hallways were starting to fill with contestants. She also noticed that Ms. Giry was not present.
"Meg, where is your mother?" Christine asked.
"Oh, she found an old family friend of ours down the hall while you were singing. She's probably talking to him still."
How funny, Christine thought, lightly chuckling to herself. Who would have thought that someone the Giry's knew would be here?
Christine and Meg ended up having lunch together in the Student Break Room just down the hall from Christine's next appointment. Christine didn't eat much, for she was still kind of suffering from nerves and anxiety. Meg, on the other hand, was scarfing down her meal like a gluttonous dog. To be honest, it was slightly appalling. And Ms. Giry…? Well, she still had yet to reunite with the two.
Christine cleared her throat and rose from her chair. "Meg, I'm going to look for your mother. You stay here and enjoy your food."
At least Meg had the etiquette to not talk while having food in her mouth. She looked up at Christine and gave her a thumbs-up before continuing to indulge in her meal.
With two more hours to kill, Christine slowly wandered the hallway filled with vocal students, searching for Ms. Giry. She had no luck finding her, so far.
Where on earth could she have disappeared to? Christine asked herself, starting to get concerned.
She turned a corner, down another hall also filled with youthful contestants. And that was when things got uncomfortable. As Christine was walking by a small group of kids in their mid-teens, one boy shouted across the hall.
"Hey, guys, look!" The boy was about sixteen, just slightly taller than Christine, clearly the obnoxious one in his group of companions by the sound of his voice. "It's that girl from last year! She was the talk of the competition!"
Christine attempted to ignore the boy and continue walking, but before she knew it, she was stopped in her tracks by the boy and was unable to escape. He looked at her with unwelcome eyes, his mischievous sneer beginning to appear on his pursing lips.
"Hey, lady, is it true that you croaked on all of your songs last year?" the boy asked snobbishly.
"That is none of your business," Christine answered quietly.
"Why did you come back?" the boy continued his verbal harassment. Then to Christine's shock, he effortlessly grabbed her music out of her arms and held them out of her reach. "You clearly don't belong here if all you're good at is sounding like an ugly toad! I suggest you quit now before you humiliate yourself again."
Christine wasn't one for making witty remarks, and being brought up to act professional, all she could do was to let this jerk trample over her. What hurt more was that his friends were allowing him to harass her, while snickering to themselves.
"You know…" the boy smirked as he examined Christine's binders containing her music, "I could save you the pain and shred your music right here…But luckily for you, I'm in an extremely good mood…"
"And I would have you disqualified if you went through with that action."
Both the boy and Christine widened their eyes in shock as this new voice appeared. It was a light tenor voice; melodious, yet terrifyingly commanding. Christine slowly looked up and saw a tall, slightly muscular, very well-suited young man in his mid-twenties towering over her and the boy with his six-foot-two-inch figure, his dark shadow causing the boy to swiftly turn around (since his voice was apparently not enough) and stare at the man in fear.
"Bullying other contestants is highly intolerant in this competition," the man glared down at his prey with his oceanic blue eyes. Then without warning, he confiscated Christine's music without any difficulty. "You're fortunate that I am also in a good mood, so I am letting you go with a warning. However…If I see you harassing another student again, you will be removed from this competition and suspended. Do I make myself clear?"
It took a moment for the boy to make a response, as if trying to form any word of wit.
"Yes, sir…" he finally answered, letting out a sigh of defeat. He then bowed to the man, apologized to both him and Christine, and left to rejoin his friends, also silent with fear.
"That goes for everyone else, as well!" The man irritably announced. "If I see any harassment within these halls, consider yourselves suspended! Understood?!"
The students said nothing. Instead they all bowed their heads in shame and nodded. Christine, on the other hand, remained shocked, in fact mesmerized by what this man was wearing on his face. It was a simple white mask, covering half of his facial details.
What was he hiding under that mask? Was it just to intimidate his peers? Was it an innocent fetish to wear masks in general? Or…was there a blemish that he was too ashamed to reveal? Whatever the case, the way the mask was designed and detailed, and the fact that this man looked annoyed made Christine quite frightened. She had to admit, though, at the same time, he was rather handsome…especially his eyes…
"Are you alright?"
Christine was snapped back into reality. The masked man was now looking at her, his facial expression emotionless, yet his oceanic blue orbs filled with concern. He offered her music back, thankfully in once piece.
"Y-yes," Christine stuttered, slowly accepting the music while her eyes remained fixed upon his. "Thank you, sir."
"Call me Professor Destler." The masked man smiled softly, bowing his head in respect.
The moment he introduced himself, whispers began to permeate the halls. And Christine caught whim of a couple of them.
"I've heard of this guy," one voice said. "He's the head of Julliard's music department. He's a prodigy!"
"I heard he's very strict in his classes," another voice informed. "There was one story that he kicked out a student for not doing the homework assigned."
These words were intimidating Christine. She wanted to be out of this mysterious instructor's presence as soon as possible.
"Thank you again for coming to my rescue, Professor Destler," Christine managed to say with a trembling voice, holding her music close to her chest.
"Of course," Professor Destler's smile remained soft. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to head to my next location for judging. I have no doubt you and I will cross paths again, if not today, maybe in the near future. I wish you the best on any future performances today."
And with that, the professor bowed his head one more time and walked away briskly down the hall.
Countless students stared at Christine with shocked expressions, as if they knew something she didn't, and couldn't believe their eyes of what had just occurred. Christine didn't appreciate the stares, and she especially didn't appreciate the dead silence. To avoid further awkwardness, Christine lightly sprinted away, heading to her next appointment, completely forgetting any other priorities.
Christine, Meg, and Ms. Giry (who had finally showed up just before Christine's last performance) returned home from the competition. All was silent and grim. Christine set down her belongings on the coffee table, and then sat down on the sofa, twiddling her thumbs and staring off into her darkest thoughts. Meg and her mother both sat on either side of Christine, placing their hands on her wrists and caressing them comfortingly.
"Don't beat yourself up, my dear," Ms. Giry consoled, lightly stroking Christine's curly locks. "You did well…The results are only proof that I failed you as your teacher."
"Mother's right, Christine," Meg added. "This competition is all about finding out your progress in the year. Winning a scholarship is just a plus."
Christine refused to respond. She was trying to fight the tears that were forming in her now cold, defeated eyes. Then, she slowly rose to her feet and silently retired to her bedroom, where no one heard from or saw her for the rest of the night. And she had surrendered to the inner demon that was a small pocket knife painting her pale wrists red. . .