A/N: I recently rewatched the 2004 Phantom movie and was craving to read a fanfic with Butler's take on the phantom's character but was having a hard time finding one. So I'm going to try and take a swing at it. I am going to change Christine a bit just to give her a bit more character than she was given in the movie. No bashing to Emmy Rossum, she was 15 acting in a male dominated movie, so I'm pretty certain that the direction they gave her was to not have a character arch and just be a docile object through the movie. There will be no cannon singing (sorry I'm not that into musical writing).

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1 The Long Night

"You try my patience make your choice." He yanked on the rope one more time sending Raoul's eyes to bulge and his face to grow redder. Raoul looked at Christine nodding offering her the courage to declare him dead. Letting him die in exchange for her freedom was as decision for cowards though, and Christine despite her tears and naivety was no coward.

Christine blindly took hold of the tulle that bulged out from her waist as she took a few seconds to take in every feature of her love's face as she knew she would not be seeing him again after she gave her answer. The phantom's heavy breathing and wild eyes were willing her to hurry with her answer.

She released her dress and intertwined her finger in front of her.

"I will go with you," she nearly whispered "husband." He tightened his grasp on the rope before letting it drop into the water.

"Christine," Raoul choke out as strongly as he could. She could see him starting to struggle against the ropes out of the corner of her eye as the menacing figure in the water approached her. His movements were so slow she swore that he was going to pounce on her like a cat does to its toy. She started to shake the closer he came. Her tears were still in full swing and she did not want to stop them. There was a part of her that wanted him to see the suffering he was causing her.

He had reached the shore of the lake and reached his hand to her waist oddly gently. He himself seemed to have gained back a portion of his control. He guided her away from the water to stand by the altar in front of his organ. Raoul's voice was growing stronger and he was not screaming and lashing against the gate.

The phantom took one of the thick-stemmed iron candleholders and blew the candle out atop of it. Christine was confused as he removed the candle itself from the holder and placed it down where the holder had been. Then quickly and with a grimace he drew back the holder and swung it at a covered mirror. Christine flinched and moved backward fearing he was going to hit her.

Instead he dropped the holder with a clang and swung the curtain open to reveal a hallway that was just past the mirror. He looked to Christine and with a deep breath through his open mouth he held his hand up to her and threatened her with just his eyes of what would happen should she not take his hand. Her chin quivered and her hand shook as she took the few steps forward and took his hand. He guided her just past the mirror and let the drape drop back to its original position.

On their prior excursions through the underground of the opera there had always been a few torches lit along the way and he himself had always had a torch of his own to help guide her way. This time the only light that was available was the dim candle lit cave just under the hem of the curtain.

This light was also extinguished as he pulled roughly on a sliding slab of stone. Christine grew panicked knowing that shortly she would be encased in complete darkness with the only man she had met in her life that more closely resembled the devil than the depictions that were shown in her religious texts. She stepped back and touched her fingers to the cool damp walls of the hallway.

He grunted one last time and he pushed the sliding wall to a close. She could still hear the muted sound of Raoul's screaming and now sobbing. Trusting that she could not be seen in the pitch black, she brought her hand to her mouth as she felt a lump in her throat well up that crying could not even release.

Quickly enough her other hand was grasped from her side. She gasped as she was guided forward in the complete darkness. The further she walked the fainter and fainter Raoul's voice grew and she knew that those cries of her name were the last moments she would ever have any contact with him. She was being taken away from her love and her future. She could see no future with the man that was dragging her away from everything she had planned. Everything with him was unknown. Where would they go? How would they have income? Would they have children? Would he expect her to?

She stopped suddenly at the last question that passed through her head as the fear had taken control of her. He dropped her hand and she strained in the dark to see where he was. She sniffled as she panicked at the thought that he had left her alone in the darkness.

She was swept up suddenly and she let out a small audible gasp. When had he snuck behind her, or had she turned around?

He started to walk with her until her senses returned to her. She shimmied around in his arms trying to get him to let her down. He tightened his hold.

"Still," he commanded. His voice was not soft but was not fueled with the pure rage that had taken over him just minutes before. She pulled her hand back and smacked him around where she thought his face was and surely enough came into direct contact with the healthy side of his face. He stopped in his tracks.

"An executioner does not carry his victim to the guillotine; you shall not carry me to my doom."

He dropped her down from his arms. She placed her hand out to the wall to steady herself. He grabbed her upper arm roughly and moved on through the dark with a quicker pace this time than they had before.

They walked for what felt like hours but in truth she could not tell. He never slowed in his quick pace and by the time they had began to slow she knew that the moment she had the opportunity to sleep and rest her sore feet she would gladly take it.

They halted suddenly causing her to scuffle for the wall for balance. He let go of her arm and walked forward. She could hear him shifting around and clanging on something. She could faintly see sparks until a torch erupted into flames. She squinted trying to have her eyed adjust to the sudden burst of light. She looked away from the light and turned to observe the small room that they were now in.

There were several trunks and two passageways guiding to and from the room that they had entered. If she was being honest she didn't know from which they had just come. Throwing propriety to the wind she sat down on top of one of the trunks while he closed off one of the passageways. She assumed now that this was the one from which they had just entered the room from. He clicked a few locks together then quickly turned to the trunk closest to him. He would not make eye contact with her yet, but she could see the tenseness in his jawline.

After fumbling around he found what he was looking for. He pulled a mirror and a clump of beige looking clay out from the trunk. He started to smear the mold onto his face, covering the horrible scars and indentations. After a few minutes of prodding his face looked as closely to a symmetrical face as she believed he could ever get. It was nowhere near perfect; at best he looked as if he had been burned slightly in a war or some sort of accident. He seemed to think so as well and threw the mold back into the trunk.

Next he pulled out another black wig and placed it gently onto his head using the mirror. He looked nearly human now. He reached in again and pulled out a suit and two jackets. He held out the one light blue long jacket to Christine. She took it and gladly slid it on thankful for the warmth that she didn't realize she needed. He was now staring at her deliberately holding his change of clothing.

Christine took the hint and turned around. She looked down at the furry cuffs of her sleeves and gently stroked it. Her thoughts felt muffled. She was sure that the events of the day had left her exhausted as well as shocked. She felt now as if she were just going through motions.

After a few minutes a gloved hand passed her a pair of her own white gloves. She took them and slid them onto her chilled hands. Finally she was passed a few pins for her hair. She sighed in relief and turned around to take use of the mirror he had. He held it up for her and watched her intently as she pulled her hair simply out of her face as best she could. She finished and returned to her seated position.

He stayed put and continued to admire her. She did not see it but for a moment a glimmer of remorse passed through his face. He reached a gloved hand out and gently touched the backside of his hand to her face. The moment the hairs of her face could feel the black leather approaching she jumped to her feet and stood at the doorway that was still left open. The remorse was replaced again with the cold anger. He threw the mirror back into the trunk that shattered on impact.

He positioned a top hat onto his head and took hold of two suitcases. He passed by her through the doorway and led the way continuing on the long dark path.

This time he was not able to physically guide her through the underground and she was forced to use her ears to locate him and follow in the dark. The walk was much shorter this time than she expected. They quickly ceased. He set down the suitcases and opened another door that she had not thought was there.

She had expected to see the morning daylight but she was instead greeted with pale moonlight and simply brighter darkness. She did not recognize the area they were in. She could hear simple tavern music playing somewhere close by and the smell of polluted water wafted toward her. She stepped past the threshold of the underground and stepped into the town.

She looked around confused until the phantom walked past her. She followed him closely after hearing the drunken laughter of a close by man. They walked only a short way until they reached a stable. A single lantern was lit near an already prepared covered carriage. The horses were already tied and started to move as they approached. The phantom placed the cases on the back luggage carrier before opening the door for her and holding out a hand.

The hairs on her neck stood up on edge. This was it. She was disappearing. She could not bring herself to take his hand and willingly place herself into the carriage. He did not push her and he made no movement.

She swallowed and opened her mouth to speak staring into the deep red velvet seat of the carriage.

"Where will we be going?"

"Calais," his voice was stern but not cruel. He did not wish to frighten her at this moment.

Christine closed her eyes and sighed before climbing into the cabby with his help. This was her fate and she convinced herself for the time being that this was all a part of God's plan for her and she would perceiver.

She sat down in the carriage and rested her head against the side of the coach. She closed her eyes for but a moment, however, the second the coach jostled into movement she knew that she would not sleep for many hours.