Everything Will Be Alright

Christine Daae burst through the doors of the Opera Populaire, hair wild, heart thumping, eyes wide with terror. She stumbled blindly up the steps of the grand marble staircase, paying no attention to the activity around her. Those she passed--Meg, a stagehand, M. Reyer--might as well not have been there at all. A string of thoughts was all she could focus on, memories that had been happening only a short time ago. They raced through her head, repeating themselves over and over. The cemetery...her father's grave...Raoul...the fire...and that voice. That voice.

She charged into her dressing room, letting her cloak tumble to the ground as she shut the door. She sank into a chair. Raoul will be coming along shortly, she thought absently, but the thought vanished as soon as it had appeared, replaced by that haunting, hypnotic voice. "I am your Angel of Music..." it has called to her, soothing and full of love. Her Angel...

No! He was not her Angel! Christine's visit to the cemetery had broken the facade once and for all. She had been tricked. Her Angel of Music was no angel, but a monster. Her Angel was Erik, and he had lied to her and terrified her beyond all imagining.

And yet...

Something about him, something about that captivating voice almost made it possible to forget all that. Erik's voice had been so full of love that it had made Christine's heart ache, made her want to reach out to him. The voice made her feel safe, and cherished, and loved. It made her forget about everything in the world except her Angel

And then Raoul, sweet, darling Raoul, had arrived at her father's grave, and what had been soothing quickly turned to horrifying.

Erik's words had become poisoned by sheer hatred. He had made balls of fire rain down upon them both, missing them by inches each time. He had transformed into what he really was. "I'm here, monsieur: The angel of death!" he had cried, mockingly, maliciously.

And Raoul had drawn closer to him after each cruel taunt and evil fireball, until Christine had had to call him back or else most certainly lose him forever. She had run to him, and pulled him away, and they had run towards the safety of the carriage, but not before she had heard Erik's cry of anguish, "Don't go!"

Should she pity this creature, or fear him? Or both? Her eyes wandered to the mirror on the far side of the dressing room, the mirror that had changed everything. Slowly, she rose from her chair and walked a few steps closer to it. As she gazed at her reflection, she felt something hot and wet on her face, and saw a single tear slide slowly down her cheek. More followed, and then the sobs came, huge, shuddering sobs that racked her entire body. Erik...Raoul...Erik...Raoul...

She heard the door creak open, and she whirled around.

There he was.

"Raoul..." she whispered.

He came to her at once, his eyes wide with concern. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, stroking her hair while she continued to weep.

"Shhhhhhhhh," Raoul said soothingly. "It's alright, Christine. You're safe now. It will all be fine, you'll see. We're going to stop him. He'll never be able to hurt you again. Everything will be alright. Shhhhhh."

Christine closed her eyes. She had never felt more safe than she did in this moment.

Her sobs had begun to cease, and she slowly pulled away from Raoul and gazed up at him. His eyes were so filled with love that it made her throw her arms around his neck and burst into tears once again.

Christine knew that Raoul loved her with all his heart. He would protect her with his life. He would never, ever stop loving her. She clung to him and vowed to never let go.

Raoul held her tightly and continued to try and calm her down. "It's alright. I've got you, Little Lotte. You're safe," he whispered into her ear. "Everything will be alright, I promise."

Christine's sobs were slowing now. Again, she pulled away, keeping her arms around Raoul's neck. Looking at him, she found her heart was so filled with emotion she thought it would burst.

"I love you, Raoul," she whispered.

"I love you, too, Little Lotte."

Their lips met in a soft, sweet, loving kiss. All remaining thoughts and uncertainties about Erik instantly vanished from Christine's head.

The clock chimed then, and they broke apart.

"Is that the time? Christine, I'm very sorry, darling, but I have a very urgent matter to attend to regarding our plans for the Don Juan performance. Will you be alright here without me?"

Christine smiled. "Yes, I think so."

"Then farewell, Little Lotte. I expect I shall be back in a few hours."

They kissed again, a kiss shorter than the last. "I love you, Christine," Raoul said.

"I love you too, Raoul!"

Raoul opened the door, then turned back and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Everything will be alright," he assured her. Christine nodded, and Raoul smiled and left.

Everything will be alright, he had said. Christine knew this to be true. Erik would be caught, and his reign of terror over the Opera would be over at long last. He would no longer fill her thoughts, her dreams, her head. He would have no power over her. He would be gone forever. Forever. She and Raoul would marry and start their happy new life together, far away from all these haunting memories.

Yes, everything would be alright.

A single thought struck her, once so terrible and unheard of that she tried to push it from her head at once, but it kept coming back.

What if I don't want everything to be alright?