I do not own any characters in Phantom of the Opera…I am simply borrowing them :)
Hello! I know I'm pretty new to fanfiction but I hope you will give this story a chance. The story line may seem old but I believe there are a ton of different ways to go with it. I've never been one to stick with one source, so you'll find mixes of Leroux, Kay, the musical, and the movie. I have seen or read them all and hopefully my information will be accurate. I am taking on a more cruel Erik so be warned! If you wanna tell me ANYTHING please review or you can review just to make me smile…lol (either way you'll be highly appreciated even if it is criticism). The prologue is short but the chapters will be longer, and some are already written. So I think I'm done babbling and on with the show!
- Thorns of Roses-
Prologue
How had it gotten this far…was the thought that began to slowly invade my mind.
I knelt in the frigid water, which might as well have been blood. I was frozen in that very spot, unable to move, unable to speak, and unable to even try to be strong.
Suddenly the world seemed to come crashing down upon me. I felt so alone, and everything around me only seemed to add to my distress.
Horrid thoughts began to crawl into my mind as I realized the depth of the situation that I was in. They flashed in my mind as my fearful eyes took them in. A man tied to a gate, his once perfect appearance was gone and with its absence it left only a tired and haggard being. He was barely breathing. His air was taken in with small gasps and he hung there, with the rough rope bound into his wrists, which caused small drops of blood to fall down his arms.
He was hanging there with nothing left to give, and I was the cause of it all.
The next sight was, if possible, worse than the first. Standing there was a man driven to edge of his sanity with a rope in his hands. His classic mask was gone leaving the horrors of his face. Others would be screaming or fainting while looking at him, but I knew better. That face did not scare me anymore, but it's owner still had a lasting hold over my very mind.
I closed my eyes tightly and tried to stop the sob that was threatening to escape from the back of my throat. I felt so weak and pitiful. He still had so much control over my life, and I was powerless to stop him.
Our love is more than poisoned now….
It all seemed so simple now, I would lose my freedom or the man tied to that very gate would lose his life. I was becoming more sinister at every second and my heart seemed to turn cold. This was my final choice, and my chance for excuses were gone. There would be no safety in the arms of another, no warm happy days, only days of continuing frigid winter and the constant darkness of night.
Why couldn't I face him? Why could I not even talk? You Idiotic child! Why can't you be strong just this once? Be strong for once in your life.
It was then that I realized that I had already made up my mind. Things had been taken away from my grasp my entire life. First it was my mother whom I never got to know. Then it was my sweet father who had meant the world to me. Next it had been the chance to have a normal childhood. Then it was my beloved angel of music.
Now, my entire life was to be given to another, my voice, my freedom, my right to think for myself, my right to make a decision, and soon my body. I stuttered as I realized what was to come. I was soon to be completely alone, and only left to do whatever was the whim of another.
I would never escape Erik; no matter how hard I tried. He would follow me to the ends of the earth if he had to. For some odd reason I had always known this, there would be no escape.
I felt like a porcelain doll, something that had beauty but would always belong to another. It was funny really, for I felt as if I was nothing at all. I knew that I had lost all strength that once strived within me. I was the possession that he wanted, and I would soon belong to him.
I tried to form words in my mouth, knowing that I had to end what had been started.
"You have won," I cried out in a tortured whisper. "Please," my voice cracked in emotion, "Just let him go."
Each word seemed to only further my pain, and I knew that it would not be long before I would faint. No, I have to make it through this I have to make sure he lets him go before I am his forever.
His golden eyes seemed to burn into me, and he stood there staring at me, as if he was in shock. If he was pleased, in any way, he showed no sign of it. It almost felt as though I was not good enough, and me giving my life to him was just an average thing.
My vision became blurred once again, and I collapsed in the water. I heard Raoul's yells of protest, but I did not react. I had given up, and was left as a helpless figure in the water. I saw the opening of a gate, and I listened as I heard the movement of the boat in the water. He was free, and that was all that mattered. I, however, was completely lost. As darkness enclosed upon me I knew that my fate was sealed, and it was all over now.