Raoul opened his eyes. He tried standing up, but soon realized he was chained to the wall. His memories of the last hours were confused, but he remembered water. And heat.

Christine.

He didn't know exactly where he was, but it was surely still in the monster's domain. Christine was still there with him. She had pleased him in the end, she chose the scorpion, she chose to stay. Raoul's heart hurt to remember that moment, that moment on which so many lives depended. Christine saved herself, saved everyone, certainly she was the only reason Raoul was still alive, though chained to a wall in a dark place.

Footsteps. The door opened, and entered a dark figure. It could only be him. The monster.

Raoul noticed that he dressed well. Good clothes, clean shoes. Face covered. The Vicomte couldn't feel any bad for him. He placed a small tray with food beside Raoul.

Raoul wondered what the monster could be thinking of him right now. It was hard to guess, all that was visible were the two amber eyes.

"You know you will die here, right?" The voice was soft, and spoke calmly. Too different from the shouting that took place earlier. It didn't even sound like a threat. He seemed to just be stating a fact.

"I know.", Raoul answered. "I have known from the moment I started my way down here."

"And you still came?"

"I would walk straight into hell for Christine."

A snort. Raoul felt angry, felt like the monster was making fun of him, but he could do nothing. Not tied like that. Not when he still had Christine.

"What will you do to her?"

"This does not concern you. She chose me. What happens between us is none of your business."

Raoul could not hold his anger in anymore.

"'Chose'? You gave her no choice! You never gave her any choice!"

"I did give her a choice and she chose me!", he raised his voice, and if Raoul were thinking better he would be scared. But now all he had in mind was making the monster stop saying such things about Christine. He did not have the right to even say her name.

"That was not a choice! Christine did what she had to do to survive and you know it. She would never want to spend a second near you if that would not cost her life, if that would not cost everyone's life."

Instead of walking forward or attacking Raoul, like he would expect, the monster took one step back.

"You are wrong!", he shouted.

"She will never be happy down here with you!", Raoul shouted back. He then lowered his voice, as he realized something. If this monster, this... Erik still had some sanity left on him, maybe it was not so late. "And neither will you."

"Shut up!", Erik covered his ears.

Maybe it was true, maybe there was still a hope. Could Raoul bet on it? He had to try, for Christine.

"You know it. If the love you proclaim for her is really true, you will not force her to live such a life.", Erik did not reply, but he kept covering his ears and closed his eyes shut. "She does not deserve this. You can't be so selfish to condemn a good woman, who never did anything wrong, to a life of unhappiness to satisfy your own selfish desires."

Raoul was betting high. In truth, he did not believe a word of what he was saying, he believed Erik was this selfish, but he could not fight. The only way would be trying to appeal to his human side, if he even had one. Maybe he had. After all, nor the Persian nor Christine could hate him.

Erik lowered his hands, and walked closer and closer to Raoul. Raoul shivered. A hand closed around his neck, just a move away from cutting his breathe.

"You know nothing.", he whispered, and Raoul felt as if the sound ran through his whole body, deep, threatening.

The hand trembled for a moment before pulling away. Erik seemed to disappear from the room, the sound of the door slamming echoing before Raoul realized he was gone.

Raoul took deep breathes. So much for hoping a monster like that had a human side. He could only pray Christine would be alright.