RS: Thanks for all the reviews! I had some free time in class today and permission to use my laptop, so I had time to write.


Christine glanced at the sky, the ground below her moving too fast for her to watch. It made her feel worse than she already did. As she took in the view above her, the sky suddenly didn't give her any comfort either. When she had left Paris perhaps twenty-four hours ago, it had been a sunny day, with very few clouds. Now, however many miles south of Paris she was, the sky was gray with clouds that looked as if they would drop their load any minute.

There were, of course, small villages that she could easily stop in, but Christine wanted to wait until she was at least three days away from Paris before stopping for too long, and she was sure that rain would keep her from leaving. She slowed her horse as she approached a village balancing the pros and cons of stopping. Two more hours, and if it still looks like rain, I'll stop, she told herself. She passed the village by.

More than once during her flight, she contemplated getting rid of the carriage and simply riding the horse. It would be faster, but she also didn't want to leave the carriage behind in one of the villages she had stopped in. If Erik had gone north, he would surely head south once he learned that her carriage was found south of Paris. Christine couldn't be sure that he didn't have ears this far from Paris, and didn't want to take any risks.

Guilt was pushed aside as she drove her horse forward. God only knew how Raoul felt right now... And as for Erik... Christine desperately hoped that he hadn't done anything. If it meant he was already on her trail, so be it. She only hoped he had thought to go the other way. Poor Erik...

No. You will not feel guilty. You needed this, Christine. Time... away from everything.


César's hooves left noticeable traces in the road. It was of no concern to Erik. The horse galloped on. Every minute was another minute that Erik was without Christine. When Christine was alone...or worse, perhaps she was no longer alone. Perhaps, another man... Erik's grip on the reins tightened.

Christine had certainly done her best to hide her tracks. Not literally, of course, for there was so many tracks in the road it would have been more suspicious if she had wiped out her tracks. Christine did made it quite difficult for Erik to figure out which roads she had taken, however. When passing through populated area, she must have remained hidden, and appeared to have stayed near other groups leaving Paris, so that no one paid any special attention to her. Erik estimated that he was now half a day behind her at the most, when in the start he had been only ten minutes behind her. It was frustrating as well as unusual for Erik.

Despite this, he had the advantage of not having a carriage attached to his horse, and he was quite certain he was travelling on the same road as her. In addition to this, the road was long, and if she chose to bypass the last village, the nearest one would be a few hours away. Given that it was only just past noon, he guessed that she would want to continue onward. And then he would have her.

Looking at the sky, he worried that the clouds would send her back to the village. Then, Erik realized that if she stopped there to avoid the rain, then logically she would remain in the village until the sky cleared. Because she was fleeing, Erik assumed that she would want to cover as much distance as possible. Deciding that it was more likely for her to have remained on the road, he passed the village when he came to it. Drops of rain fell onto the road. Erik pulled his cloak tighter and continued on.


The rain was falling considerably harder than it had been earlier. The last village, however, was too far away. Christine began to worry when she noticed that the sun was about to set. How far was the nearest village? She urged her horse to go faster, uncomfortable with the idea of having to be out on the road at night.

Again, she considered simply leaving the carriage. It wasn't as if she needed it for anything. It had simply already been attached to her horse, and she had been in too much of a rush to leave Paris to realize that it would only be a burden.

Christine heard hooves behind her. She felt a stab of fear. Thieves? Criminals? "Faster, Marie," she whispered, hoping that there was a town or village near. Her horse picked up speed, sending muddy water splashing so high as to wet the hem of her dress. Ah, if she had been playing Siébel, it would have been so much easier to travel! But more noticeable as well, she reminded herself. The sounds were coming steadily closer.

The sun was level with the ground now. She blinked and squinted, struggling to make out the shapes in front of her. Raindrops clung to her eyelashes, and she raised a hand to wipe her face dry. Too late, she saw a turn in the road and frantically tried to turn. Marie's hooves lost their grip on the road. She skidded across the dirt, and behind her, the carriage only made things more difficult. There was a snapping sound from the carriage. All hope of regain control lost, horse, carriage, and soprano tumbled onto the grass by the road. Christine heard the carriage splinter into pieces and had the time to thank God that she was not in it before she felt her head hit something hard.


The rider who had so frightened Christine was, of course, Erik.

He had easily identified Christine's carriage by the way she drove it. A wave of relief and anger washed over him all at once. He instructed César to go faster, alerting Christine to his presence. No matter. Her Marie had no chance of outrunning him, especially with the carriage. He would have her, and she would explain everything to him. Christine's carriage picked up speed. Erik watched as the horse and the wheels lost their grip on the ground. All anger was forgotten as Erik saw the carriage spin out of control. He saw her shape fall to the ground, and was thankful that the carriage had decided to go the other way.

Erik slowed César to a stop and leapt off the horse, running to Christine. Heart hammering, he quickly checked her vital signs, relaxing slightly. She had hit her head, and that would leave a bump, but she would survive. Marie, though anxious, appeared to be uninjured, as she had somehow broken free of the carriage before it crashed. He removed the broken pieces, quickly brushed some mud and grass off the horse, and lifted Christine's unconscious form onto her. After mounting the horse behind her, he directed her over to César, who was waiting patiently.

"Follow us, César," Erik instructed, wrapping his cloak around Christine. Trembling slightly, Erik set off in the same direction, with César following obediently behind. The nearest village was about a half hour away. It would be quite simple to convince a family to vacate their home while Christine recovered.