A/N: Hello everyone! So there are just a couple things I want to say real fast. 1. I've gotten a couple questions about why Erik refers to himself in third person. My answer: he does it in the original Leroux book. However, if this is not true and I've just gone crazy, someone please tell me so I can stop telling people the wrong thing 2. You might be wondering why I'm putting up three chapters at once. Chapter 8 ended up being roughly the length of 2 or 3 of my normal chapters, so I split it into 2, hence chapters 8 and 9. Then I decided that I wanted to end with some fluff for Christmas, and that just wasn't going to happen with the chapter 9 so I wrote chapter 10.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! On with the story!

I stirred restlessly on the hard seat of the carriage, my whole body cramped and aching to move around. I would have been in awe of the beauty of the sunrise in the country, but all I could think about was how the four of us had been sitting in this cramped little carriage for hours with nothing but a whole day of continuing to sit to look forward to.

At least we had made it out of the city undetected. Erik had kept the hood of his cloak pulled as far over his face as possible, hoping that should someone see us they wouldn't notice the strange masked man. None of us had even dared to speak until we were well beyond the city, as if the slightest noise would awaken all of Paris and alert them to our presence. Even since then, hardly any words had been exchanged. Meg, who sat across from me, had been lucky enough to fall asleep about an hour or two ago, her head resting comfortably on her mother's shoulder. Madame Giry seemed close to sleep too. She looked much older, I noticed, the lines of her face made harsh by the early morning light. Beside me, Erik looked as alert as ever, watching the countryside intently as it flew by us. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I said softly.

Erik only nodded in response, and I looked back down at my lap, fiddling idly with my skirts and the hems of my sleeves. How badly I wanted to talk to Erik. He hadn't spoken to me since before we left Paris. We had been loading what little luggage we had onto the carriage when he turned to me suddenly.

"Christine," he had whispered, gazing at me intently, urgently. For a moment, I thought he might kiss me. Then I felt a firm hand on my shoulder.

"Come," Madame Giry urged. "We must go."

Not knowing what Erik had been about to say was driving me mad. As I thought back, something else bothered me too. Just before I got into the carriage, I could have sworn that I saw something move in the shadows, but when I looked again it was gone. I pushed the memory out of my mind; I was probably just being paranoid.

Finally, around mid-day, we stopped to eat the small meal we had packed and let the horses rest. I walked leisurely away from the road, back into the trees, following the sound of running water. Kneeling on the bank of the small stream I found, I gratefully drank the cool water and washed the dust off my face. Lying down on the cool grass, I stretched out and closed my eyes, finally feeling relaxed.

"Comfortable?"

"Yes," I sighed, choosing not to get up or even open my eyes. Just the thought of moving from this spot to get back in the carriage made my whole body ache. Madame Giry came and sat down beside me on the bank. I could always tell when Madame was preparing to lecture me about something; I tensed myself, waiting for whatever she had to say to me.

"Christine," she began. "You know that I love you like a daughter. I only want what's best for you, just as I do for Meg…and Erik." I sighed inwardly. I knew this had to be about him. "I know Erik much better than you do, Christine," Madame continued, her tone becoming cautious. "I worry that you may trust him too much. I have known him since he was a child. You know him only as your Angel of Music. I knew him as the abused, scorned boy he was, and now I know him as the dark man that he has grown into."

"What are you getting at, Madame?" I couldn't prevent the slight hostility that was seeping into my voice.

"I'm only saying that I know Erik much better than you do. He is a very dangerous man, Christine. He has killed people. And he happens to have only one desire in this world: you. I believe that what we have witnessed is only a fraction of the horror he is capable of."

"Be that as it may, Erik would never do anything to hurt me," I snapped.

"Then explain why he took you away from your fiancé."

"I chose to go," I said firmly, my anger flaring. "Raoul was the one who showed me cruelty, not Erik. I chose to save Erik's life because I realized that Raoul's true personality was not of the boy I fell in love with. I chose to go with Erik because I saw Raoul for what he was: a manipulative selfish bastard. And you're wrong – I do know Erik. I may not know everything about him, but I know that he loves me more than anything in the world. I know that the world has shown him nothing but cruelty and hatred for his entire life, and so when he feels threatened he acts how the world has taught him to. I know that he is a lonely, broken man, a genius, who lied to me to gain my companionship, and I know that I love him."

Madame Giry stood abruptly. "I know that you chose to go with him – that was not what I was referring to. He kidnapped you off the stage, against your will. He was willing to keep you from the world, make you miserable, just so he could have you. I warn you to be careful, Christine. As much as you don't want to believe it, part of Erik will always be the Phantom. Part of him will always be the monster that the world has made him." With that, she walked off, leaving me to my thoughts.

I sat and wept bitterly, for part of me knew she was telling the truth. Erik may love me, but he had been willing to hurt me before. It's not true, I told myself over and over. He's no monster. I cried until I had no tears left, and then I sat on my own on the bank until I heard someone approach.

"Christine," Erik said quietly. "It's time to go." I stood and started walking away, unable to meet Erik's eyes. He caught my shoulders gently as I tried to walk past him. "Christine, tell Erik what's wrong. Erik promises to make it better, whatever it is."

I should tell him, but I just couldn't. Not now. "It's nothing," I said, shaking my head. "Only… only hold me." I wrapped my arms around Erik tightly, holding onto him for dear life. Madame Giry was wrong. I did know Erik. I knew him for the man he was. He loved me; he would never do anything to hurt me. He held me tenderly as if I could break within his grasp at any moment. And maybe I could. Maybe I was just as fragile as Erik thought I was, ready to fall to pieces at a moment's notice, clinging onto him hoping to be saved. But I couldn't. I had to be strong. Soon we would be leaving France forever, starting a new life.

I slept restlessly the rest of the trip, cuddled into Erik's side. I knew that Madame Giry was probably watching me disapprovingly, mentally preparing another lecture, but I was too exhausted to care. I just had to focus on keeping all thoughts of the fact that I was leaving my entire life behind from my mind. I just had to look forward, focus on a life with Erik.

Finally, Erik gently shook me awake. "Christine," he said softly. "We're here."

So what do you think? Please review, and keep reading – plenty of action to come!