HI again! I know that it has been awhile, but I think that this chapter will make up for it, so enjoy!
Christine walked slowly to her bedroom, not only tired from dancing all day, but also from the fact that tonight Erik wanted her to come to his lair to sing with him. She had not really thought about it that much all day, but now that it was evening, and a day when everyone was excited to be having the weekend off, she was wondering about Erik.
Finally, she got to her door and went in. She looked around, but she didn't see anyone so she went behind her dressing screen and changed into something more comfortable then her opera costume. When she was done, she sat down on her bed, waiting for Erik. He finally arrived, at exactly 8 o'clock, dressed in all black. Neither of them said anything as they walked down to Erik's home, with Christine focusing on where she was going since she wasn't being carried this time.
When they finally arrived at his home, Erik led her to his organ, which Christine had to admit, was very impressive. She had only seen a organ that barely matched his in a church once, and even that one was still below Erik's. He obviously took great pride in his instrument, for he handled it with gentle hands and movements.
He finally spoke as he motioned for Christine to sit on a chair beside his bench, which was too small for the two of them. "Please sit and we will begin. I thought we would begin with something simple, a song from an old opera, and then we would move into something more complex."
Christine nodded and they began.
As he played and she sang, Christine noticed how his eyes were always closed, as if he was feeling the music inside of him. Her father used to do that whenever he played the violin, saying that the only way he could really play anything was to have the music come from his very soul, not from paper.
Christine also noticed that Erik occasionally corrected her in her singing, telling her that she had gotten the note wrong, or she had gotten the note correct but it wasn't at the right pitch. Christine at first thought it was rude, but then she realized that it was actually helpful, because she sounded better after she fixed her problem.
After who knows how long of this, Christine started to get tired, not knowing how long she had been up. In fact, she was so tired that she didn't even know if she could stay awake long enough to get back to her room. Erik noticed this, and spoke up, "If you are tired, you may sleep in my room. I have another room I can sleep in."
Christine was surprised by this offer, but also felt bad. "Oh no, I don't want to intrude. I'll just go back up to my room that's all." Unfortunately, she yawned right then, crushing her argument, so she finally agreed, and was led by Erik to the swan bed, where he bid her goodnight and left.
Christine lowered herself under the covers, sighing as she felt silk sheets and the most comfortable mattress she had ever felt before. But she didn't have long to enjoy them before she fell asleep.
Christine woke up the next morning, or what she thought was morning, refreshed after a good nights sleep. She looked over at the clock sitting on the dresser. It was 8 o'clock in the morning. She thought that she should go back up to her room, but then she heard a voice. It was Erik's. He was singing. Christine had never heard him sing, so she just sat there, listening. His voce was really good. No wonder he gave Christine advice about her singing, his singing was incredible!
Christine continued to sit there, until Erik finally stopped, then Christine got up and walked out to where Erik sat in front of his organ. He looked up when she came in.
"Good morning." He said.
"Good morning," Christine replied.
They stood in silence for a couple of moments until Erik spoke, "Would you like a cup of tea?"
Christine nodded, so Erik went into the kitchen and then came out with a steaming cup of tea, which he handed to Christine. Christine thanked him and began to drink it. Erik started to turn around, when his foot suddenly caught a small ledge in the floor, making Erik start to head down to the floor, but after years of sneaking around the opera house and exploring tough areas, he was able to catch himself just in time, but not before his mask fell off his face, revealing what was hidden beneath it.
Christine stared in horror at what she saw. His face was extremely deformed, almost beyond recognition. The side that was hidden didn't match the other side at all, in fact, if his entire face was like that one side, he would look like a monster from stories her father used to tell her. Erik quickly tried to cover his face with his hand, but not before Christine turned back and ran to the bedroom again, scared.
Christine ran into the room and fell onto the bed, breathing hard. No wonder Erik kept his face hidden, people would think he was a monster and would hunt him as such. Christine had never seen anything like what she had just seen in her entire life, even when she met one of her father's friends. At that thought, Christine suddenly remembered how she had met that man, it was when she was younger, back when her father was alive:
"Christine, come along, we are going to be late." Monsieur Daae said as she hurried his 6 year old daughter through the busy streets of her Paris.
"But father, I don't understand, why are we going to the monastery?"
"Because I have an old friend who is visiting, and that is the only place he can stay."
"But why?"
Monsieur Daae stopped and looked at Christine. "When we get there, you will understand. Now come."
They continued walking until they arrived at the local monastery in the outskirts of Paris. A monk led them inside and up to one of the rooms that held guests. Monsieur Daae stopped at the door and knocked. A voice from inside told them to come in, so they did.
The room was small, and dimly lit, with only one candle sitting on a desk in the corner. As Christine's eyes adjusted to the light, she saw the shape of a man sitting in a corner of the room, away from the candlelight.
"Ah, Monsieur Daae, it is so good to see you again." Said a male voice. "And this must be Christine. It is good to finally see you again. You probably don't remember me, you were a baby when I last saw you, but look at how much you have grown! Come closer, I want to see you better."
Christine walked slowly towards the man, not knowing who he was. The man leaned closer, but still stayed out of the light. "You look so much like your mother, you have her eyes."
"Ah, yes she does." Monsieur Daae said. "I am happy to see that you are well Thomas. How has your trading business been doing?"
"Very well, but I still have to stay at places like these when I travel, or people will get scared."
"Why is that, Mousier?" Christine said.
The man chuckled. "Because I am different from normal people, and not in a good way. Do you want to see why?"
Christine nodded, her curiosity getting the better of her.
The man stood up and walked into the candlelight so Christine could see him. Christine's mouth dropped open. He was a hunchback! He stooped over so much that he could easily drop his arm down and touch the floor. Christine stared at him for a couple moments but then closed her mouth, and gave the man a small smile. The man smiled back and then turned to Christine's father.
"Your daughter is a smart one, not judging a person on the outside, but from their hearts. You have raised her well."
"Thank you Thomas, now, tell me about what's been going on in your life since we last met."
The men spent hours talking, with Christine listening intently. When Christine and her father finally left, the sun was sinking behind the horizon, marking the end of the day.
As they walked back to the carriage that would take them home, Mousier Daae told Christine that Thomas used to be a dear friend of her mother's, and that he used to give Christine toys when she was a baby. Her father had not seen him since her mother had died, but he still ran a trading business, even though he couldn't be seen by anyone or they would get scared and run away, like had happened to is early clients. Her father said that because of Thomas, he had learned how to look at a person's heart, not their face to judge them, and that Christine's father brought her along to help teach her that lesson, which she had learned.
Christine sighed as she thought about that day. She had never had to be in a situation like that until now, and now she was ashamed of herself. Erik was forced to hide his face from the world to avoid being mocked and ridiculed, like he was as a child, and now his own wife was running away from him. She was such a fool. Her father would be very disappointed in her right now.
Christine sat up. She had to make things right. She quickly walked back out to the main room where Erik was once again sitting at his organ, with his mask back in place. He turned to her when she entered, but then turned his back to her again.
Christine sighed. She knew that Erik had a right to be furious with her, but she had to apologize. "I'm sorry Erik. I shouldn't have run and I really shouldn't have been scared at your face. I apologize, and you have every right to not forgive me, so maybe I should just go back to my room."
Christine started to head to the barge, not really sure how she was going to row it, but she would try.
"Wait." Christine turned back to Erik, who had stood up and was walking over to her. He stood in front of her and sighed. "I accept your apology and forgive you. You should be afraid of my face, it is hideous, fit only for a monster, I am sorry that you had to see it."
Christine put her hand on his arm and shook her head. "No, your face is not the face of a monster, it is just a different face." Christine looked down and then back up to Erik's face, looking him in the eye. "If we are to be married, I need to get used to everything about you, and that includes your face. Please show it to me again, and I promise that I will not run away again."
Erik looked at her in surprise. No one had ever asked to see his face except to ridicule him, and he hesitated for a second but then slowly reached up and took his mask off and closed his eyes, waiting for Christine to run away again.
But she didn't, instead she placed her hand on his face and slowly rubbed his face lovingly. Erik savored every touch, since no one had ever touched his face before, and defently not in kindness. When she stopped, he opened his eyes again and looked into Christine's.
They stood facing each other, and then, unknown to them, they both slowly leaned in, until their lips were barely apart, and then they touched.
Erik's heart did flip flops inside his chest as he savored the taste of Christine's lips against his. He had never kissed anyone before, so he wasn't quite sure what to do, but it came naturally for some reason.
Christine's heart was also doing flip flops. She had never been kissed, but she was glad that Erik was the first boy she had kissed, even though he was also her husband too.
They continued to kiss, but finally broke apart because they had to breath. They stared into each other's eyes, neither of them wanting to break the moment. Then Erik cleared his throat, and looked down, his cheeks being slightly red. Christine also looked down, feeling heat in her cheeks as well.
"You should get back to your room or people will begin to miss you."
Christine nodded and they both climbed into the barge and went back to Christine's room, neither of them saying a word. When Christine walked into her room, she looked back at Erik, and smiled. He gave her a small smile back and then closed the mirror, leaving Christine alone, or at least she thought she was alone. It was hard to know now, but Christine didn't really mind being watched by Erik anymore, she guessed that a kiss can change many things about a person, even how they looked at certain people.
WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a chapter! This is actually the longest chapter I have written in all my stories so far. I hope that you all liked this and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review and tell me what you think. I covered two very important pieces of my story, Erik's face and a kiss, so you need to review on this chapter. So until the next chapter, BYE! Li Li