An Endless Love

Your Work – And Nothing More

Kristina collapsed into the chair in the dressing room. She was exhausted. She was tired of finishing theatre at around eleven only to be forced to have a singing lesson with Erik that would usually last until two in the morning. She was so tired of performing for almost six hours, that tonight she decided to have Roy over for a late tea and skip her lesson.

When Erik found Kristina missing last week, he gave her a look that was both admonishing and wounded. Demanding an explanation, Erik watched as Kristina's eyes filled with tears as she gazed up at him. With a series of pitiful sniffles, she explained about her exhaustion and a need for a break. Erik acquiesced with a touch of her curls, warning her not to make a habit of missing lessons.

Before dinner, Kristina showed Roy one of the songs Erik was teaching her – one of his own pieces. She held it out for him to see the difficulty of it, silently begging him to understand the importance of the song to her. "Erik is pleased with the progress that I'm making."

Roy nodded, bored. All Kristina ever seemed to talk about was Erik and her music. Never having taken a single music lesson in his life, Roy had no idea what she talked about nor could he really appreciate it. He sighed.

"He said that I will be on West End before the end of the year! Can you believe it, Roy?" she continued, unaware of his boredom.

Gently cupping her face in his hands, Roy silenced her with a kiss. All thoughts of Erik and his music escaped from Kristina's mind as she leant back on the couch and buried her hands in his hair. Hearing the sheet music crinkle under her back, Kristina pulled it from under her body and tossed it at the side table.

"What about dessert?" Roy asked seductively, standing and holding his hands out, planning to take Kristina to her bedroom. Kristina sat up, watching him remove his tie with hazy eyes. Roy looked down at the floor, used to stuff all over Kristina's floor and shrugged.

Kristina accepted his proffered hands and followed him to lead around the couch and watched in absolute horror as he stomped on Erik's manuscript. Her nails dug into his arm, preventing her from crying out. The moment he had removed his offending shoe, Kristina was cradling the score lovingly against her breasts, her fingers caressing the notes just as Erik often did. She was silently pleased that Erik was not there to see his music vandalised by her foolish boyfriend."What do you think you were doing, standing on Erik's music? Have you no respect for his work and his genius?" She wiped angry tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

Roy looked at her in annoyance, unable to comprehend why she was so upset. "It's just a piece of paper, Kristi."

Kristina rolled her eyes. Roy had never – and would never – understand the arts and what music and performing meant to her. "It is more than paper, Roy. It's Erik's composition; all of his hard work. It's Erik!"

"I'm sorry, Kristina; really, I am. I just wanted you so badly that I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't mean to ruin your music." He raised her hands to his lips and flashed her a dimpled smile. "Now, how about dessert?"

Kristina refused to comment. Instead, she headed in the opposite direction towards the kitchen and began to plate up the dessert she had bought.

"I'm a sod, aren't I?" Roy asked weakly.

Kristina turned around and smiled at him. "Sod is a little strong. I think prat is a far better word for you, Roy." She laughed, kissing him as she handed him a plate, everything forgiven.

They were just finished their dessert – a chocolate cake drowned in alcohol, served with ice cream and cream – everything Erik refused to allow Kristina to eat – when there was a pounding on the door. Roy gave her a defeated smile and indicated that she should go and answer it. It was too much to hope that they would be able to enjoy tea in peace. She threw open the door and whimpered.

Erik stood on the other side, his eyes red with fury. This was the third lesson she had missed in a fortnight. He wondered if he was wasting his time with the woman; she did not seem to be interested in learning to sing. Maybe she was not as serious about her dream to perform on West End as he thought.

"You were supposed to wait for me at the theatre. You missed your singing lesson. Again." He was aware of Roy looking at him, annoyed, but Erik refused to be distracted. He was here to talk with Kristina and that was precisely what he planned to do.

"I know," she muttered quietly.

Erik cocked his head in confusion, his brow furrowing. Why would she choose not to attend her lesson? She had such potential and she was wasting it by not practicing. The auditions would be held in less than three months' time and they still had a great deal to accomplish. She had to be ready!

"Why?" he asked softly, his voice laced with confusion.

Kristina shook her head and then looked at Roy for advice. She did not want to tell Erik how she really felt about his taskmaster manner. She could not bring herself to say the words. But when Roy nodded encouragingly at her, Kristina knew she had to speak her mind. She owed Roy that much. She had complained about Erik nearly every time she saw him.

"I didn't want to go."

"But why not?" Erik took a small step away from her and hid his shaking fingers in the pockets of his trousers.

"I am always singing. Always! Have you never heard of a rostered day off? I need a break from singing. I need sleep. I am at the theatre from about five until eleven and then I have to have a lesson with you until one or two o'clock in the morning!" Kristina was so upset that she unknowingly raised her voice. "Why can't you teach me at a reasonable hour? I need a life too, Erik," she finished softly, defeated.

Erik looked pointedly at Roy as if to say 'this is the life you have chosen?'

He drew himself up to his full height and pulled his coat around him. He stood proudly before her, every inch a nineteenth century gentleman. So that was how she felt. He almost wished that he had not asked what was troubling her. "Very well. I will give you a choice: a life or a future. Him or your singing lessons."

Kristina looked at him in disgust. He was making her choose between him and Roy? Had he gone mad? She shook her head, unable to believe things had come to this. How could he make her choose between the two most important men in her life? She loved them both for the different ways they enriched her life. Roy was the sweet, sensible one who kept her grounded and sane. Erik, however, held her in awe. The feelings she had for him were so different – more intense – from the ones she felt towards Roy.

Erik looked intently at Kristina and projected his thoughts into her mind, having to focus harder to get through the protection her Crucifix provided. But once he was through the protective shield, he watched with amusement as her eyes glazed over at the force of his thoughts.

Kristina stood making her bows at the end of her first performance in West End. The audience, on their feet, screamed and whistled its approval. She smiled at them all, nodding her thanks as she crossed to stage left and then stage right to acknowledge the different sections.

Her flat full of flowers that her fellow cast members and the audience had given her the previous night, Kristina sat down to read the morning papers. Each one had a review of the musical in it. Each one praised her singing ability, some going so far as to claim that she was clearly taught by an angel.

A year after her debut, just as her contract was coming to an end, she was besieged by offers to take the lead in other musicals, take part in worldwide tours and even Broadway. The world was at her feet.

Roy watched, horrified as Kristina's body relaxed and she took a few stumbling steps toward Erik. She continued to walk towards him, entranced, her face alight with joy. Roy jumped up from his chair and moved to stand between Erik and Kristina, preventing her from reaching out to the masked man. He gripped her upper arms and tried to shake her from her trance. She continued to look at Erik, unseeingly.

"You cannot make her decide between her dream and me!" Roy shouted at Erik.

Erik glared darkly at Roy, not allowing himself to be distracted from his task. "Stay out of this."

"Kristina," Roy whispered as he turned her by her shoulders to get her to look at him. "Don't give up West End for me. I love you too much."

She blinked, woken from her trance and looked at Roy for the first time. It was a struggle to force away Erik's enticing images of what could be hers if she allowed him to continue teaching her. She could think of nothing else beyond what she had just seen.

Erik spared Roy a glance. Perhaps he had underestimated the boy. Perhaps he would be able to use the boy to convince Kristina to continue with her lessons. "I can make you a star, Kristina," Erik said in an almost pleading voice as he held his hands out to her. "That is more than he can ever do for you."

Erik's insulting words pulled Kristina from her dreamlike state. She blinked rapidly and held her hands out to him, pleading. "This is unfair! I do not want to choose between the two of you," Kristina whimpered as she wiped at the tears that fell down her cheeks. "I can't!"

She gazed again between Erik and Roy, trying to decide whom she would accept. How could any reasonable person expect another to make such a choice? She tightened her grip on Roy's arms and looked up into his reassuring face. Then she looked at Erik's unyielding face.

"I am waiting, Kristina." He could see the despair in her eyes and wondered for a half a second if he had been wrong forcing her to decide. Christine had chosen him over Raoul. He was sure that Kristina would make the same choice. "A future or a life?"

Kristina looked between Roy and Erik, torn. She allowed the tears to continue down her cheeks, refusing to acknowledge their presence. She saw the way Erik looked at her angrily and bravely made her decision.

"A life," she said simply.

Erik's face fell. He reached out to her, his hand in line with her cheek. His fingers trembled as if he debated whether to caress her cheek one last time or to slap her. Kristina stayed where she was, unable to move. It was Roy who wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her away from Erik. Defeated, Erik's hand fell to his side and he closed the door behind him.


Had he been wrong?

Erik was racked with anxiety as he returned to his house. He knew he had been pushing her hard, almost to the point of breaking. Her voice was so amazing, that, with a little more work, she would be one of the greatest singers. He wanted her perfect – for both of them.

Maybe he should have allowed her to have some time with her friends…

He had demanded too much from her. Now he had lost her. It seemed that he was being forced to repeat history again. He had forced Christine to choose between him and Raoul, but he had given her up to his rival so that she would be happy. Kristina, it seemed, was just like Christine and valued her lover's life over his own.

The only hope he had of ever seeing her again was when she was on stage.