I watched in horror as my mother grabbed Raoul's arm, taking him towards the Phantom's lair. How could she? How could she so this! In my mind, I was not only picturing Mother Giry, I also saw Christine…and my blood turned cold. Erik had been betrayed…and now he would be hunted down like some sort of vicious animal. Unless…
Unless, I stopped it.
"I'll go with you," I called to my mother, trying to stall for time.
"No, Meg!" she replied sharply. "You stay here! Come, Raoul, we must hurry…"
They left without even looking back, and I felt my heart sink as the mob of people went with her, armed with guns and torches. Poor Erik…my hands clenched at my side. Damn that despicable Christine! I looked around quickly, knowing that if I found just the right passage…I could get there in time…and maybe, just maybe, save Erik. My eyes narrowed as I focused on my task. No longer was I under Christine's beck and call…
With this in mind, I gave her locked dressing room a furious kick, smashing the door open. I had been in this Opera House since I had been born…I knew it's secrets. My thoughts went back to the time when I had first laid eyes on the Phantom…when I first heard his music, eight years earlier. I was only fifteen at that time…but my young heart fell in love. Oh, if only I had acted on those feelings…maybe this wouldn't have happened…
I stood in front of the mirror. Taking a breath, I turned to look at the room from in front of the mirror, and walked two paces ahead. Bouncing a bit on my heels, I heard a slight creak…I kneeled down and spotted the hairline, nearly invisible crack along the floorboards…a trapdoor. I grabbed a letter-opener off Christine's dresser, using it to pry open the second secret passage.
It opened with a pop, and a wave of musty air nearly choked me. A spider crawled out and ran across the floor, and a reluctant groan escaped from my throat. What one was willing to do out of love...taking a large breath, I prayed to whatever god would listen and I put my legs into the passage opening, and dropped into the darkness.