A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, you wouldn't believe how happy they made me!

And, as you may have guessed, those of you that asked me to continue this story have convinced me to do so!

As it is my first multi-chapter phic I ask that you bear with me as I get into the swing of things. I really want to make this the best phic it can be and I hope you'll stick by me. Your opinions and helpful suggestions are, of course, highly valued.

So here we go, deeper into the rabbit hole...exciting isn't it? I hope so. (",)

We resume a little while after Christine and Erik have left throught the mirror, this time with a chapter from Raoul's POV (a character I have no intention of villifying I assure you). Slightly shorter but a vital chapter in setting things up for later I promise.

Oh, and for the purpose of this chapter Raoul knows that the rose with the ribbon is a sign of Erik and that he is pleased with Christine.

Hope you enjoy it, please don't forget to review and let me know what you think.

Chapter 2

A Rose For The Forgotten

"Christine, darling, it is I, Raoul. May I come in now?"

It had been exactly one hour since I had left my Lotte's side. I cannot begin to describe how agonising that hour had been for me. The urge to rush back to her had been incredibly powerful, almost unusually strong. It was only my respect for her wishes that kept me from acting on my instincts. My love had asked for an hour and so I gave her an hour. I would give her anything she wished.

I had thought it was the things she had told me that night that had me so anxious. To think that all that time that madman had been terrorising her, shamelessly taking advantage of her grief and susceptibility to music. The voice of an angel, indeed! Luring her like that, preying on her innocence…such scandalous indecency! Those were not the actions of an angel. There would be no more of it, I would see to that.

However, I could not help but fear that Christine's imaginative nature had a part to play in this fiasco. My poor Lotte was always prone to daydreams when we were playmates. It seemed, that for her sake, this would be another thing that I would have to help her overcome. We could not, after all, play make believe as we once did, especially if we were to be married. Oh, I would make her so happy as my wife that she would have no need for fantasies.

Yet to believe in the man's lies for so long was almost incomprehensible!

Of course, there was another explanation for all that she had endured. Another reason, one that she hid behind her terror…but no, I couldn't think of that! That she would love that thing was preposterous! She had told me it wasn't true, hadn't she?

Why couldn't I remember?

Shaking off these disconcerting thoughts, I knocked again at the wooden door that concealed my lovely fiancée. My fiancée. Repeating the words in my head calmed me as I waited, and waited…and waited.

I do not know why I let so much time pass but eventually the lack of response from within began to unnerve me.

Pressing my ear to the keyhole, I listened with a panicked intensity for sounds from within.

There were none. The room beyond was as silent as a tomb.

The comparison made me shudder and added to my mounting fears.

Perhaps she had merely fallen asleep? Yes, that was perfectly reasonable! She had seemed so weary when I left her…weary and almost anxious…

No, it couldn't be! I had thought I had felt someone following us but it couldn't have been him! No one was following us because no one knew where we were. We had spoken on the roof, away from his dark domain! We were safe up there! She had told me so herself!

No, he had nothing to do with this…but I had to get into that room and see for myself that she was just sleeping. That she was safe.

I tried to turn the handle, only to find it was locked. Why would she have locked it when she knew that I was coming back for her? Panic had truly gotten its claws into me now. Without stopping to think, I threw myself against the door repeatedly until it was forced to crash open under my assault. There was no other thought in my head now but Christine.

Stumbling into her room, I called her name, desperate to hear her lovely voice. She would probably scold me for making so much noise at such an hour. Such a sweet, compassionate girl, my fiancée was. My fiancée.

But there was no response. The room was in darkness, with only the weak light from the corridor providing any illumination.

I scanned the room wildly but there was no one there. My God, there was no one there! She couldn't have left the room, as the key was on a hook by the door, so she couldn't have locked it. I had only left her for an hour, how could this have happened?

I didn't see her leave…I saw no one leave!

Tearing around the room, I pulled the place apart, searching…for Christine, for anything that would make me understand where she was. I didn't even have the presence of mind to light a lamp to aid me in my search. It was of no consequence though…there were no clues for me to find.

In despair, I dropped to my knees as a terrifying realisation began to form in my mind. Surely there was only one explanation for this!

He had heard after all.

Why had I ignored that feeling of being followed earlier? I should have demanded that Christine leave with me immediately, that it wasn't safe for her here any longer! But she had wanted to sing for that monster one more time…had wanted an hour to prepare to go home…had looked weary, yet almost anxious…

Suddenly a new thought began to force its way into being and, if possible, it was even more horrifying than the first! Glancing around at the mess I had made, I realised that there were no obvious signs of a struggle. But surely if her teacher had tried to take her she would have fought him…wouldn't she have? Unless she went willingly…NO! Never, she would never do that! We were to be married! I was to save her from him!

Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe she had left after all, and someone else with a key had locked the room. She had not gone with him willingly. I could not, would not, believe that she had. He was a monster, a murderer! She would never be happy with him. It was I that loved her, and she loved me…she did.

No, she would never…My mind went blank as I looked up and spotted the one thing that confirmed my fears and shattered my hopes.

For there, before the dresser, illuminated by the light from the corridor, was a single red rose tied with a black ribbon.

His mark. A sign of his pleasure, and now a sign of his triumph.

He had stolen my Christine from right under my nose. He had my fiancée.

It was there and then that I shut my remaining doubts and suspicion away in a dark corner of my mind, hoping they would never see the light of day again.

Christine had not left me of her own free, she had been stolen from me. I would not doubt this nor would I doubt her love for me. We had been fated for each other since our childhood. She needed me now desperately, needed me to be strong. We would be together again!

Breathing deeply, I forced myself to regain some semblance of control over myself. Christine needed me. I would find her, and so help that creature known as Erik when I did! I would search every corner of the Earth for her.

Calm again and fuelled by steely resolve, I rose from the floor. I walked over to the rose and picked it up, clenching it tightly. Looking up I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I looked so far from my usual carefree self, as though I was prepared for battle…and I was.

There were a few candles before me on the dresser.

One was completely burnt down.

Taking up a match, I lit the one closest to it.

Into the stillness I spoke to my poor Christine, "Christine, I swear I will find you, wherever you have been taken. I will rescue you, Lotte, just as I rescued your scarf so long ago. I will take you into the light with me, away from the darkness that smothers you, as I promised. I promise you…I promise!"

With that vow made, I held that cursed rose over the candle's flame and burned it to ash…

And so it begins...(",) Let me know what you think.