After tugging Christine down a winding staircase for what seemed like centuries, they finally reached the bottom, where a black horse was waiting for them. Her Angel (or possibly the phantom that had been haunting the opera house that everyone was making rumors about, Christine couldn't be quite sure) helped her up and led her down a ramp that went even deeper into the catacombs. Christine was wondering what the point of the horse was, because if she could walk down 500 flights of stairs, then she could certainly walk down a ramp. But, she figured he was just trying to be nice, so she left it alone. They finally reached the end of the ramp and Christine was dazed by what was in front of her. It was a vast, glassy lake that wound through tunnels and around pillars, with hundreds of candles lit on the walls. It was one of the most beautiful things Christine had ever seen. The Phantom, as Christine was calling him in her mind, because certainly an angel could not take human form, helped her off the inky steed and into a black gondola with a lantern attached to the front. He began pushing the boat through the twisting lagoon, keeping his gaze forward, but every so often looking down at Christine.
They eventually reached a slightly rusting gate, which opened when the Phantom pulled a lever near the boat. As they gained access to the Phantom's "lair", as if by magic, lit candles rose out from the water, filling the room with warmth and light. Christine was astounded by the rich tapestries and candles literally everywhere, and was taken aback by the beauty of the organ that stood proudly in media res. There were empty music sheets and balled up pieces of paper littering the ground, which made Christine assume that the Phantom had been composing something. She was quite blown away by the fact that such a place could exist under the bustle of the opera house, yet left undiscovered and undisturbed by the world above.
When Christine and the Phantom reached the end of their journey, he quickly jumped out and offered a hand to Christine, who seemed dazed, if not slightly drugged, by the entire affair. She reluctantly accepted, and the Phantom led her up the steps, telling her that this was his domain, and that he needed Christine to "serve him" and to sing all of the music he had written. Christine was actually completely fine with all of this, she was even fine with him groping her slightly, because, come on, he was mysterious and handsome, but at the same time so familiar. However, when he showed Christine the doll he had made of her; a flawless, if not slightly flattering, scale model of her, she freaked out slightly. Because that was a little weird, right? Then, as if her doppelganger knew of Christine's fear, the doll lunged at her, causing Christine to faint.
…...
When Christine had awoken by a monkey in Persian robes playing the cymbals, she was confused, to say the least. She could vaguely remember mist on a vast lake, with candles completely surrounding her, and a boat with a man in it. Who the boat belonged to, and who the man behind the mask was, Christine wasn't sure. Suddenly, she was aware of a mellifluous sound coming from somewhere nearby. Christine sat up, and went off to take a look around. When she rounded the corner, she saw a man, perched at an organ, looking angrily at the piece of paper in front of her. Whose is the face in the mask? she wondered, but soon regretted her curiousness. As she took the mask off, in one fluid motion, she was pushed to the ground hard. However, there was no denying what-or whom-she saw. It was Erik.
