Christine sat on a stool by the lake, a book in her hand, as she watched Nadir stir two cups of freshly made tea. She glanced over at Erik, who silently sat at the organ as he marked up his music sheets with corrections.

Nadir smiled brightly at her as he lowered the silver tray with two cups on it. She reached up to get one, but he pulled it back. "Other one, dear. You wouldn' want to be drinking that one, now would you?" He said, as if he just told a humorous joke. She took the other, trying not to look at him strangely. Then it occurred to her - he had seen her watching him, and must think she knew something that she really did not.

To her surprise, the other cup of tea did not go to him, but to Erik. When the tray was empty, he quickly put it down, then grabbed a book casually off the shelf and walked to the corner straight ack chair and anxiously watched Erik. Each time Erik would yawn, or rub his eye, Nadir would get a strange gleam in his eyes. He would lean farther out of his chair, obviously waiting for Erik to do some thing. Yet Erik remained unaware of his actions though Christine made sure she noticed all of them.

Finally, after a large yawn, Erik announced that he was suddenly quite tired and would retire to his room. After his door clicked closed, Nadir threw down his book and stood up.

"Come on - we're going to get you out of here." He said. She couldn't help it if she looked at him like he was quite insane...but she started wondering if he really had!

"What do you speak of, Nadir?"

"The tunnels - we're going to clean them up so you can get out."

She thought a moment, then looked at him in shock. "You drugged Erik?"

"You want to get out of here sometime before your wedding?"

"Of course."

"Then stop arguing and lets go. You don't know Erik's mind like I do - I have your best interest in mind. Trust me."

Christine nodded, tying her hair back in a ribbon that she kept in her pocket. She knew she had to do this - she had to get out to get to Raoul, Meg, Madame Giry...so why did it still seem like she was betraying Erik?

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Christine wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead as she leaned against the jagged wall. They had to have been working for over an hour or two by now, yet they never took a break, and she was devastatingly tired. She had hardly slept last night.

Yet she pressed on, knowing that they had little time to advance in their project before Erik would surely wake.

She was working beside Nadir again, clearing away warped and burnt wood and beams that had fallen when her whole body went ridged. She stood straight up, straining her ears, and grabbing Nadir's arm to silence his work. He tried to hear, yet shook his head. She pressed a finger to her lips to keep him quiet. Surely she had heard something not far above them?

Yes, she had! She heard a sob, for there was another one. Then more. Male sobs...Raoul?

"God, Christine...I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. I need you here with me! I'm working every moment that your gone to get you back to my side, yet it's killing me. I cant relax when I know you're down there. I cant sleep, knowing that you're with that monster..."

"Raoul!" Christine yelled some how, her breath taken from her. Yet he didn't hear. He kept talking to her, not having a clue that he really was.

"I love you more than life itself, Christine. Please come back to me. What will I do if that thing convinces you to love him? To stay with him? My life would be over; I would die! What if I don't get to you soon enough? What if it's too late? I could not deal with that pain! I need to reach you, yet at the end of the day, it seems like we still didn't get any where. What more can I do?" He cried out. Christine screamed his name, yet they fell upon deaf ears. She listened to faint footsteps come to where Raoul's voice had come from.

"Come on, de Changy, we're closing it down for the night. It's late. Go home, get some sleep. We'll be back in the morning. You're killing yourself like this." A gentle male voice that Christine didn't recognize said.

"I know...but you must understand. What is he doing to her? What is she going through? Not knowing, and fearing, is more torturous than this dull pain that I feel little of. I have to reach her!"

"And you will - just not tonight. She's survived this long, she'll make it a bit longer. She's a strong woman, Raoul. And she knows how to deal with him. She's dealt with that man for years by herself."

"That is no man! He is a horrid monster that took her from me!" Raoul roared in a way that it almost scared Christine. Never had she heard his voice get so angry and hurt.

"You'll get her back, Raoul - I promise. Nothing will happen to her. Come on, I'll drive you home in my carriage."

Christine listened to their receding footsteps through her screams. Why could they not hear her? Finally, Nadir placed a hand on her shoulder to silence her. "Tomorrow, Christine. He'll be back, so will you. You'll be reunited with him soon enough. But for now...that drug I gave to Erik only has so much power over him. We must be getting back."

Christine nodded, now feeling defeated and angry. Her chest swelled with fury for Erik. How could he do this? Did he not know how this was hurting Raoul, and in turn, hurting her as well? Or did he just not care now that he was getting what he wanted?

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"Are you all right?" Nadir asked cautiously as he entered Christine's bedroom. She hadn't left that room since they got back from the tunnels, though this must have been a full night plus worth of hours that she had been shut up for.

Christine, sitting on her bed, shook her head. "No. Raoul needs me. Raoul loves me, needs me to be with him...but I'm stuck here."

"We'll fix the tunnels - you'll be out of here in a matter of days."

"Nadir...it's not just that. I'm deeply hurt by Erik. I shouldn't have to secretly escape - he should just let me go! He shouldn't have taken me in the first place! He let me go - for me to leave him. I did, and worked weeks trying to release him from my heart as well. I know that no one can understand, but it was so hard to let go of him - my angel. And then I finally think I did so, and he does this - I'm reliving all the pain I just got through! Does he not see what he has been putting me through? Wrong decisions? I don't even know what I want anymore!"

"I can not reasonably explain his actions, for they are not reasonable at all. I just know that he's going through as much hurt and pain as you have been through."

"Yet he sure doesn't want me to know it. Every once in a while he'll open up to me, but much of the days, he says nothing, or only small things such as 'would you like more tea?'. If I must be here, I at least want to be noticed, to be talked to by him! Yet it's as if I would have to get deadly ill or seriously hurt to gain more than a passing glance from him! I don't understand it - I stand right before him, yet he continues with his needless work and studies."

"He's very complicated, and as much as you and I see that, he sees it even more. I believe that he himself don't even know what he could want - out of life, out of this situation...from you. It's hard on him, because he is even more blind than us. I make no excuses for him, and still find him in the wrong, but even so, I know this to be true."

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'Yet it's as if I would have to get deadly ill or seriously hurt to gain more than a passing glance from him!' The words she had said in anger echoed in her mind, over and over again as she soaked her wearied body in the bath tub. Tiredness was eroding away her good sense. She knew she should put her furious mind to bed, yet she didn't. Instead, a cruel plan was created in her head. She knew it was stupid, she knew she shouldn't do it. She knew, but yet she didn't hesitate to step out of the bathtub, wrap a large towel around her, and run to her room. She knew she didn't have to worry about any peering eyes - Nadir was fast asleep and snoring from not getting any sleep the previous night, and Erik was in the kitchen, seeing how much longer the food could last. When his mind was busy and worried, he heard nothing but his own thoughts, this she knew.

Once in her room, Christine quickly put on all of her undergarments, then started picking out all the heaviest of clothing that she had in her closet, and laid them on the bed. When she was through, two shirts, three wool sweaters, and two wool skirts laid outstretched. She added on leggins to her already heavy undergarments, then layered on all the clothes. Then, with her free hanging curls still dripping wet from the now icy bathwater, she fled her room and slowly walked down the steps in her heavy boots and wool stockings. Then, she walked to where she had stood on that fateful day of the fire, not long ago. Backing up slowly, she readied herself. She didn't need to do too much, just enough. 'Don't go overboard', was what her mind kept repeating. She nodded. She'd have to be careful. She'd be able to pull it off, these things never looked too hard when it came to other people.

Then, with a fast running start, she ran towards the lake and jumped in it. Yet, the water was much deeper here than it had been where she aimed. Here, her feet tried to touch ground, yet it seemed lost beneath her feet. Scared now, she frantically tried to swim. It was so easy to people - she could learn! Yet all her feeble attempts led her to do one thing - simply splash the water and scare her more - she couldn't do it! She couldn't swim! She just needed to get into the water long enough to get the sniffles and play that up. This wasn't right! This wasn't what she planned - if she couldn't save herself, she'd be dead! Yet, she could do nothing but be conscious of her sinking. so, she started to scream. But it was to late; her mouth filled with water as her head kept being pushed down by an invisible force. She kicked harder, but to no avail. She was sinking, going under completely to leave no trace. She took a last breath before her head went down for good. Her hand stuck up, splashing and trying to warn anyone of what was happening. But soon, even her fingertips were under.

Just as her vision started to black out and lose consciousness, she heard a loud splash and then felt the tops of her fingers, now a few feet under the surface of the water, being squeezed together and pulled, before they slipped out of the grasp. She lost consciousness, and all went completely black.

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