Waking up with a
start, Christine slowly sat up, and looked at her surroundings,
slightly surprised to find herself back in her bedroom. Falling back
against her pillows Christine pulled the covers back over her head.
Inhaling, Christine got a whiff of a fresh smell that reminded her of
the great outdoors, and immediately felt nauseated. Attempting to get
out of her room, Christine tripped, and landed heavily on the floor,
and promptly vomited. There was a moment of silence, and then Erik
walked in.
"I thought I heard something, are you ok?" He bent
down towards Christine.
"I feel ill." She closed her eyes
feebly.
"Here." Erik
hoisted her up in his arms, and began carrying her back to her bed.
"Try to sleep it off. Do you need anything?" He asked, brushing
her hair off of her face.
"Mm, I would like some Scandinavian
chocolate." Christine perked up a little.
"Some what?" Erik
asked, taken aback.
"That would be
so great right now." Christine smiled a little dreamily.
"Um,
all right."
"And if you could hurry, I would greatly
appreciate it." Christine called as he left the room. "Hmm, I
feel a little better." She remarked to herself, and fell back
asleep.
Hours later, Christine was rudely awakened by
Erik bustling into her room.
"I found it." He announced
excitedly.
"Found what?" Christine asked crossly.
"The chocolate
you wanted, it took me forever to find genuine Scandinavian chocolate
but I found it." Erik presented the chocolate to her.
"I don't
want it anymore." Christine turned her back to him.
"This is
an awkward sort of illness that you have got going on." Erik
commented, in a slightly disbelieving tone as he exited her room
again.
Christine passed another restless, moody week, when she discovered she was pregnant. At the time of the revelation, Christine was alone in her room. Feeling a little overwhelmed; her primary reaction was ecstasy. Falling backwards, she began stroking her stomach.
"I finally get to have the baby that I always dreamed about." Christine whispered to herself, smiling, when a second thought rushed through her head, causing her to sit up in shock. "Erik hates kids." She realized, biting on her fingernail. Frightened that he would get angry with her and blame her, Christine pulled her knees to her chest, and began worrying to herself.
Shutting her
eyes, Christine tried to think rationally, when her door flew open,
and Erik walked in, causing Christine to cry out in shock.
"What's
the matter with you?" He asked, inspecting her face
suspiciously.
"Nothing." She said, her voice rising several
octaves in her anxiety.
"You sure have been acting strangely
lately."
"It's just that-" Christine faltered.
"Tell him tell
him." She tried pepping herself up. "No don't tell him." She
immediately contradicted herself.
"I'm pregnant, and I know
you hate kids, and I'm scared that you will be angry with me."
Christine cried out, pressing her hands against her eyes, and Erik
immediately went over and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around him
fiercely. "You're not mad?" She asked hopefully.
"Of course I'm not." He whispered, burying his face in her shoulder. "Everything is going to be great from now on, I promise."
3 Years Later
"Mama?" Christine looked up from the novel she was
reading to see her young son totter unsteadily on his feet. Smiling,
she rushed over to him.
"Oh Lucas what are you doing still
up?"
"Not tired." Lucas pouted slightly.
"Come on, it's
time to go to bed." Christine hoisted him up in her arms, and
starting carrying him to his room. "Now try to be a good boy, and
get some rest." She whispered, tucking him into his bed.
"Sing."
He ordered, as his little fists clutched on the front of Christine's
dress.
"You know your father does that better that I can." She said smiling slightly, but nonetheless, she knelt down, and began singing softly. As she reached the last note, she noticed that he had fallen asleep. Grinning to herself, Christine got up to leave the room, and once she got to the doorway, she turned back around to glance back at little Lucas. Sighing, she leaned against the wall, and emitted a shriek of shock as the wall opened behind her, and she toppled into darkness.
"I cannot believe that I am twenty-three and still a member of the ballet corps." Meg grumbled to herself, as she made her way to the stage by herself in the middle of the night. "I wasn't even the worst one out there, but of course I have to go practice by myself in the dead of the night." She snarled to herself, crossing her arms, and she started sprinting over to the stage.
Once Christine was wrapped in darkness, she stretched her arms out in an attempt to find the trap that would lead her back to Erik's lair. Taking a few apprehensive steps forward, Christine's eyes slowly adjusted to the complete darkness, and she began eagerly following the path in hopes that it would lead her somewhere worthwhile.
After what seemed like hours, Christine found a small wooden door, and opened it gingerly. Blinking stupidly against the sudden brightness, she found that she was backstage.
Hearing a loud clanging noise, Meg stopped mid-pirouette, and looked to see where the source of the noise came from. Careful not make any noise herself, Meg peered between the heavy velvet curtains, and saw Christine. Pressing her fist against her lips in order to prevent a cry escape from her, Meg gaped in wonder at Christine's distorted face. Sensing that someone was watching her Christine completely turned around, and Meg whipped her face back, breathing heavily.
"Christine!"
Meg turned around warily to see the Phantom rush towards Christine,
and cover his arms around her. Watching in slight disbelief as led
her away, Meg tried to gather her thoughts.
"So all this time,
Christine was in Paris." She mused to herself. "And maybe Raoul
was right; maybe she was held here by force." Still shaken up over
the state of Christine's face, Meg decided that it was time to pay
Raoul a visit.
"How did you know where I was?" Christine
managed to ask, as Erik hurriedly led her back into a passage.
"I
saw you disappear, and tried to take a shortcut."
"Fair
enough." She replied, and wrapped her arm around his
waist
Babette the maid opened the door to see a young girl
in ballet clothing, hopping around anxiously.
"Yes?" She
inquired politely.
"Um, is the
vicomte in?" The girl asked.
"No, he hasn't been in Paris in
three years." Babette reminisced slightly.
"He's still in
Sweden?" The girl exploded.
"Oh, heavens no, I think he's in Romania right now." Babette paused, thinking hard. "Yes he's in Romania, he sends me letters every so often, and he thinks that he's following clues that are leading to his wife." The girl snorted derisively.
"Can I come in?" Babette stepped aside, and she strode in importantly.
"My name is
Meg Giry, and I would like to contact the vicomte at once, do you
have anything I could write on?" Meg asked, twisting her hair
nervously. Babette nodded, and dutifully fetched some parchment and a
quill. Hurriedly scrawling a note, Meg handed Babette the parchment
urgently.
"Make sure you send it to him immediately." She gave
the slightest curtsey, and flounced out of the house, leaving Babette
bustling around, searching for Raoul's address
