"Raoul, hurry up! We have to hide! He'll find me, I know!" Christine was breathing heavily, for she had already sprinted up eight flights of stairs up to the roof. They reached the top of the stairs and Christine opened a latch in the ceiling, revealing a ladder. They stepped onto the ornately decorated rooftop, snow beginning to fall.
"Calm down, Christine. Now who's after you?" Raoul asked, unsure of what exactly was going on. I mean, sure, Christine had disappeared for a couple of days, but Raoul hadn't been too worried, because Christine was usually perfectly capable of taking care of herself. That was, until now. Christine must be seriously off her rocker to think someone would come after her, because who would want to hurt Christine? Practically everyone loved her, except Carlotta, and Christine had definitely said it was a "he" that was trying to get to her.
"It's the Phantom, Raoul, I know it, it's him!" She couldn't tell him it was Erik, not yet. With Raoul's slight hatred towards the man, as soon as Christine told him where Erik lived, Raoul would probably gather a bunch of people just to kill him for fun. And that was so not happening.
Raoul was stifling a laugh as he retorted, "Seriously, Christine, the Phantom of the Opera? You have got to be kidding me! Surely you know he doesn't exist!"
"Yes he does, Raoul! I've seen him! I've even been to his lair! Where do you think I was for that long?" Christine was fuming, but she would rather have Raoul not believe her than turning into a murderous animal searching for Erik.
"Well, I had assumed you were sick, and obviously you were. That must have been some crazy dream or hallucination, because whatever you're talking about simply cannot exist!" Raoul was getting angry, but he tried to control his temper, because however crazy Christine was, he still loved her with all of his heart.
"It wasn't, Raoul, I promise you." Christine was crying now. Raoul was kind of lost when it came to emotions and crying girls, but he tried his best to comfort her as he enveloped her in a hug. He kissed the top of her head, whispering encouraging words into her frizzy, snow-soaked hair.
"Please, Raoul, promise me that you'll take me far away from here. After the performance, come find me and take me somewhere. Like England. Or Antarctica."
Raoul shook his head and stared at her in disbelief. "I can't do that to you Christine! You're a star! It's what you've always wanted. You can't leave now, after everything you've achieved."
"I'll stay, but you have to promise me one thing. Protect me. Look after me at all times. If the Phantom finds me, he'll capture me again. I don't want that to happen. I love you Raoul. This is all I ask of you."
"Of course, Christine. Where you go, I go, right?"
"Right." affirmed Christine, as she took Raoul's outstretched hand.
…...
This was it. Erik couldn't let the idiot Raoul live to see another year. Wiping the tears out of his eyes, Erik turned and walked back down the stairs into the theater. He had some evil plotting to do. And oh, how he'd missed it.