The heir

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from "The Phantom of the Opera". They belong to Gaston Leroux / Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Chapter One

August 6th 1887: Christine

Oh the pain! A searing pain that would surely split my body in half! Why couldn´t it just stop? I didn´t want to lie here anymore, on my back like a helpless beetle. I wanted to leave this room and enjoy the sunshine outside. Maybe Raoul and I could take a stroll in the park or even ride out on horseback. I missed nature and its beauties, ripe wheat fields, dotted with poppies, little bluebirds singing in the sky…

From far away a voice drifted to my ears. "A final time, Madame, then it´s over!" I summoned up all my strength and pressed… and pressed. Then it was indeed over. The pain decreased to a bearable level, and as I opened my eyes slowly I noticed that my bedroom was filled with warm sunlight. What a wonderful day to be born!

When my panting gave way to even breaths I was able to hear a new sound: the unmistakable screaming of a newborn baby. "Can I see it, please?", I asked, my voice hoarse from my own screaming. "Just a moment, Madame!", Mme.Lamière, the midwife, called. "I have to wash your little one, then you can hold it." I tried to sit up by myself, yet I was too exhausted. It was as if all the pain which had rushed through my body like quicksilver before had turned into lead, making my body very heavy.

Only with the help of Jacqueline, one of our maids, could I finally get myself into an upright position. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that she took a towel from the bedside table and dipped a corner of it into a small bowl of water. The cool liquid was soothing my flushed skin as the girl wiped my face. A little bit of my old energy returned to me at once. Now all I wanted was my child.

After maybe a minute Mme.Lamière turned around and carried a bundle wrapped tightly in pieces of white cloth over to the bed. Smiling brightly she placed it in my arms. As I looked into the baby´s eyes I was overcome by a wave of happiness and affection. It was so tiny, so defenceless, and I loved it so much. "Hello little one! I´m your maman.", I whispered, not caring about the tears running down my cheeks and seeping in the cloth.

Unfortunately the world isn´t meant to be perfect for more than a few moments. With the midwife´s next words my happiness shattered on the cold ground of reality. "Congratulations, Mme. de Chagny. You have a healthy boy." ´No!´, a voice in my head screamed. It wasn´t possible. It couldn´t be. "Please God, no!", I whimpered. The tears now flowing over my face were no longer those of joy. "No…", I kept muttering. This one word was filling my head. "No, no, no, no, no, no…"

I heard Jacqueline ask: "What´s the matter with her?". She sounded scared. How could she be scared? "It´s a… well, a normal reaction.", Mme.Lamière explained. "The birth was very tiresome. For such a slim woman even the second time can be an ordeal. She simply needs a little time to recover, then she´ll be fine. Tell the cook to prepare a pot of the herbal tea I gave him and a good broth."

None of her words made the slightest sense. No amount of recovery and broth would improve my situation. Why did it have to be a boy? Why? For years I had included the wish to have only girls in my daily prayer. Once it had worked. And when I had become pregnant again I had started saying an additional prayer in the morning. I had always been a pious girl, a faithful wife, a loving mother. For what reason had I got such a punishment?

When I woke up again I was lying on my side and the room was completely dark. I gave a sigh of relief. It had been nothing but a dream. My child wasn´t born yet. Surely it wouldn´t turn out to be a boy. Everything was all right. Comforted by this knowledge I let my hand wander down my body. Yet when it reached its destination I stopped dead. My belly was no longer round and swollen as before. It was empty… terribly empty.

At once I was wide awake. It hadn´t been a dream. Where was my baby? I peered through the darkness, but could hardly lift my head. "Raoul?", I called weakly. A lamp was lit next to the bed; its light was strangely soothing. Just a moment later I heard my husband´s soft voice. "I´m here, Christine.", he whispered. With an enormous effort I looked up.

There he was, sitting on a stool, and in his strong arms he held a white bundle. "I´ve been here all the time, but you slept and slept and didn´t notice anything.", he told me. "You didn´t even wake up when Mme.Lamière extracted a bit of your… erm, your milk and bottled it to feed our child. She left half an hour ago, saying I could take care of him. And that´s what I did."

I saw his eyes sparkle with pride and couldn´t help smiling faintly. It was a pity that I had missed the first time Raoul had seen him son. "Antoinette was here as well.", he went on after a moment. "She wanted to check how the two of you were. You should have seen her holding her little brother; she did it very well." "Where is she now?", I wanted to know. I was slightly shocked that I hadn´t thought of my daughter for such a long time and wanted to make it up quickly.

"She insisted on staying with you, but I didn´t let her. She´s still recovering from a cold – it would have been too risky.", he replied. "I sent her to her room. She didn´t want to be alone, though. So I made Jacqueline sleep there as well. Was that a good decision?" "Yes. You´re a wonderful, father, Raoul.", I told him. His cheeks flushed a little. "Thank you. I only wished I´d have more time for you and the child… children, I mean."

As if he had sensed that he had been mentioned the baby began to stir. Raoul moved his arms back and forth. "I think I should better put him into his cradle.", my husband commented, standing up. "See? I´ve placed it right next to our bed." His thoughtfulness was one of the things I loved most about him. I watched him lay his son down, as cautiously as if his little body was made of glass.

Then he came to bed as well. Clothes fell to the floor, and he disappeared from my range of vision. A moment later a slight creaking and a weight on the mattress told me that he had sat down. He lifted the blanket and pressed his warm body against mine from behind. An arm sneaked to the front and wrapped itself around my waist. We had spent countless nights in this position, talking to the baby in low voices and finally falling asleep, knowing that we´d be together for all times.

"Oh no!", he mumbled. "I forgot to extinguish the lamp. Now I have to get up again." "No!", I muttered quickly. "Can´t we just let it burn for a while till it goes out by itself?" "Well… all right.", Raoul replied with a yawn. Apparently he was too tired to argue, even though he preferred sleeping in the dark. Yet I needed the light. The knot of fear in my stomach had shrunk during the last minutes, but it was still there. And I knew that just like moths were drawn to the light, other creatures fled from it. Especially the creature I was dreading more than anyone else…

Author´s note: Even though it´ll come up in later chapters, I thought I should mention right away that both children are Raoul´s. Just to make things clear…