A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys. Last week has been extremely busy. But don't let me talk about the reasons because in the end I'd even make up some more. Just on with the chapter. Those who has been worried about Erik using sex as a punishment... please give it a chance. Maybe the end won't turn you away from this story. ;) R&R so I can know what you think.


Chapter 12

Music

Christine was running. All her manners were forgotten as she stumbled through the floors, even though no one was there to see or care about her disgraceful escape. She was in the royal bedroom sooner than she expected.

Shattered crystal covered the floor around the bed but Christine didn't care. He wanted to come for her… He wanted to…

She knew she was panting with fear by now and everything, which had happened, only added to her terror.

Christine collapsed beside the door. How did she end up here? What had happened to Erik?

She had comprehended most of the reasons, but her mind was blurry and it tried to inhibit all the disturbing memories. Raoul's dying rambling was still in her ears and the sick pleasure on Erik's face haunted her every time she closed her eyes.

'You won't need it tonight...'

Cold, iron knots were tied around her heart and were pulling it down. Did he really mean what she thought he had meant? Then... She had no right to protest. Not only right, but she didn't have the power to do so. Only minutes ago, Erik was raising a grown up man with one hand into the air. Protesting would only make it worse. Christine knew this day would come, but after the past few days, she dared to imagine a nice and romantic first night... However, now, she was ready to let her own husband rape her...

"No" she rose her head.

Let her own husband rape her? What was she thinking? Of course she wouldn't let him! Her protests maybe couldn't change the result and the inevitable would still happen, but she could try. She wasn't going to give herself to Erik willingly this way!

Christine got up and wiped off her tears. She wasn't going to obey his demands. In this country, he could order everyone around - except for her. She would have a say in this matter.

"Still dressed? You really don't want to make it easier for you."

Christine's self-confidence was gone as soon as she heard that deep voice. She'd thought it to be beautiful, but then it was harsh and hoarse.

"I'm going to the bathroom. You can use that time to decide" Erik turned the key in the lock and put it on the top of the wardrobe. It was out of Christine's reach. "If you want to see that dress in one piece again, you'd better get it off. If you don't mind me tearing it off of you, then simply wait for me."

"I..."

He didn't listen. Christine stared at him while walking by her and watched the bathroom's door shut behind him with a loud bang.

In five minutes, she achieved to make herself feel a little better and gain some confidence. In five seconds Erik destroyed it all. Christine began to undress with shaking hands. Her dress ended up on the chair, her shoes below it. She was about to undo her corset when she noticed that she... couldn't.

Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and there must have been a knot somewhere. Of course, all her life she could always get rid of her corset easily.

She recalled a time when they had tied it so loosely that she could even breathe properly, and now, the only time she was in desperate need of getting it off, she couldn't. Desperate? She definitely was. Hopeless? That too.

Not even the mirror helped her situation. She tried to find the knot by turning slightly, but she couldn't make it out. It didn't help when a dark shadow appeared behind her.

"Require help?"

Christine dropped her hands without a sound. Another two began to unlace her corset immediately. She could feel the chill of them as Erik's fingers touched her skin through the thin chemise. Christine only stared at her own eyes, in the mirror, during the process.

"You won't change your mind even if I tell you a hundred times that I had no idea about this?"

Erik didn't answer; he was busy trying to unlace the tight knob… It was getting on his nerves.

"No, of course you won't" she shuddered. Her husband could see the goose bumps rising on her neck. The skin was soft and white. He couldn't resist pushing his lips against it for a second.

Another tremble shook Christine but this time it was almost caused by pleasure. Erik saw discomfort and fear on her face but he misinterpreted it. Actually Christine tried to figure out how she could feel pleasant, in a way. She wasn't supposed to react this way!

"What were you doing while you were gone?"

Erik only groaned. The last thing he wanted to do was talking. He was almost done with that cursed knot.

"I made sure that there won't be a rotting body in my palace. The boy is nicely decorated and on its way back to France. A little gift to the king."

Christine only nodded when she felt the corset give away. Strangely - or not - her first motion was to let out an uneven breath. Erik didn't care. He only threw the object to the other end of the room and ran his hands down Christine's arms. The feeling was wonderful...if he ignored the fact that she was shaking violently.

"Go to the bed!"

There it was, a simple command that made her even worse. She could have sworn she was going to be sick.

"There is shattered glass everywhere" she mumbled.

"So I've noticed" her husband nodded, waiting for her to lie between the sheets.

"You don't want me to walk on them, do you?" Christine paled. This couldn't be true. It was a nightmare. Any moment she would wake beside her nice and kind Erik, tell him about her dream and they would make a joke of it.

"Unless you can fly or jump over them, I see no other choice for you. Hurry up a little, we have to get up early in the morning... we have a busy schedule."

Christine closed her eyes for a second. This was impossible. She wouldn't do that! He might as well carry her through it, but she won't step on those sharp pieces.

"Aren't you going?"

"No" she answered and turned to him.

"What did you say?" His voice was nothing but a low hiss; however, Christine had already passed the point of getting frightened by it.

She was standing in front of him in a thin chemise that hid nothing. Her hair was hanging down and her face was red and swollen from crying. A man in his right mind would have run. On the other hand, a human in his or her right mind would have run if had to face Erik.

"I said no" she repeated every word slowly.

"Don't say 'no' to me or..."

"Or what?! You will throw me on your bed and rape me? Oh! You are going to do that anyway! But maybe you'll spend some time killing me afterwards" she shouted at him from the top of her lungs.

"Perhaps I wouldn't do it, if you hadn't betrayed me!"

"I did not! I had no idea about this whole plan."

"I'm not talking about that!" Erik shouted and within a second Christine was under him on the bed. She had no idea how he grabbed her so abruptly and threw her under himself. What mattered right then was that he was pinning her into the mattress, unmovable both physically and emotionally.

"Get off of me, you sick bast..."

She was interrupted by a hard kiss on her lips. Only protesting moans emitted from her, moving was not possible with his hard body covering her small form. Finding no other way, she opened her mouth and bit Erik's lower lip hard.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he roared. Great, now he was bleeding in several places. His hand, his foot and now his lip.

"Me? I'm trying to keep my husband from raping me for no reason!"

Somehow, she didn't find it appropriate that they were talking when Erik's intentions were so clear. Weren't they supposed to get over it fast? Clothes down, in-out and that's it? At least that's what she thought about rape... But there they were, talking and shouting at each other.

"No reason?" he echoed. "You let him kiss you!"

"Minutes ago you accused me of complicity in murdering you. And now the problem is that I let another man - another man who was nice and kind to me! - kiss me?"

"Complicity in my death is one thing. All I wanted to do was lock you up until you are the queen" he answered angrily and took her wrists in his hands to pin them above her head. "But you are mine and not another man's!"

As much as she was surprised at this sudden change, Christine couldn't say a word. He wasn't angry... not for the fact she could have taken part in killing him, but because she let another man touch her. Erik only laid closer and whispered in her ear before nibbling her soft skin not so gently.

"You are mine to kiss, to touch and to possess!"

Christine closed her eyes and gave up. There was nothing more to say. Although she tried to pull herself away from his lips, there was always a hand to keep her in place. Fresh tears began to water her eyes, and when Erik began to push her chemise up she didn't move. She just laid there motionless.

Erik was desperate. The burning anger he felt wasn't the same after he felt her give up. He was dreaming of this night since he had met her and it was always... passionate, full of desire and most importantly mutual. He knew she possessed a spirit to match his own; it was clear since she dared to fight him anytime. But now as she just lay under him motionless... this wasn't what he wanted.

For a second he almost felt her move. Many of his imaginary nights came into his mind. He imagined her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer as he feasted upon her breast. His hand crawled up on her side under her chemise, but he didn't feel the reaction he had imagined. It was pleasant in a way... But not in the way he wanted it to be.

He groaned in displeasure and simply turned his hand on her flat stomach. Her flesh quivered under his touch. How he wished that she would arch her back up against him for a mere second...to show that she was more than a mindless rag doll in his arms. But in that moment she was just that.

Erik raised his head and looked at her calmly for the first time that night. The girl turned her head into the pillow, trying to make herself comfortable a little. Her eyes were shut tightly trying to block, everything that was happening, out. Perhaps she imagined it was someone else on top of her... The thought made Erik mad again. Little he knew about Christine's mental efforts to imagine their first night, if all of those things had never happened.

She imagined that Erik's arms held her with tenderness instead of desire to prove that she was his and he really cared about her. But this was nothing but hope in vain. She made him angry enough to lose control…For the fourth time in 24 hours.

All she heard was a groan, and the next moment his warmth disappeared. She didn't know what shocked her more. What he wanted to do previously? Or that he had eventually stopped. But before she could even put an understandable sentence together he was out of the room. She watched as he pulled a grand painting away to uncover a hidden door. Then he simply walked into the darkness. Christine was too surprised to think... Did he really leave her? He didn't even...

She pulled the blanket over herself but it didn't make her feel warmer. She couldn't understand that... Christine simply laid back and waited.

XXXXX

Erik stormed down the stone stairs. How was that possible? He, who had killed tons of men either in fights or by sentencing them to death…he who thought himself to be utterly emotionless, was undone by that simple girl. How did she manage to soften him was still a question without answer. And in such a short time! It'd barely been a week.

Finally he reached his destination and opened the heavy wooden door. The air of his music room calmed him. He quickly lit some candles. What he needed was his grand piano. It stood proudly in the center of the room, dark mahogany and pure ivory made the perfect contrast. As soon as his fingers touched the keys everything settled and time lost its meaning.

XXXXX

Five floors above and only two hours later Christine dressed up. The cold night-air made her tremble and her mind wouldn't let her sleep. She had to do something. She had to...

Her gaze wandered to the desk. Ink, paper and a quill were placed on its surface. It gave her an idea. As soon as she settled down, she began to write furiously.

And that's how everything happened. I've not seen Erik for a day now and I only left my room once to eat a little. I know you'll never get this letter Edmund but I'll thank you once. It helped me almost as much as if I had talked to you. I wish everything would be back to normal. I've never wanted this to happen but I must leave now. The ceremony will start in two hours and I know we will open the most disastrous chapter in the history of this land. Heaven help me...

Love,

Your little sister, Christine

The girl raised the thick bunch of papers and signed the last one. She wrote more than twenty pages. Her hand ached from the work but at least her mind was clearer and settled. A knock on the door interrupted her.

"Madame?"

"Come in" she sighed and Jane was inside in a second.

"Are you ready, Christine?" she asked softly. "Mary is bringing your dress and everything is ready."

The young woman only nodded and stood up. She had to hide behind her mask again, act as graceful as she had never before.

In two hours she was dressed and looked at herself in the mirror for one last time before putting on that horrible but charming fake smile.

Only thirty minutes later she tried to avoid Erik's gaze as she sat down beside him and the ceremony began.

Within twenty minutes a whole country cheered for her as she laced her fingers with Erik's. The golden diadem felt heavy on her head and she wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. She watched as her husband greeted all the people, much like he did on their wedding. Power emitted from him, but she knew that inside he was broken in his very core. Erik glared at her and she didn't flinch.

From that moment, Christine could only smile.