An Endless Love
I'm Falling in Love With Someone
A few days after she had discovered the truth about his identity, Kristina thoughtfully watched Erik as he stood at the piano perusing his music. She settled her hands on her hips as she regarded him, her head tilted.
"Are you certain you're a vampire? I think you're too nice to be one."
Erik looked up sharply from his music, his head inclined to the side, assessing her. He took half a step towards her but stopped suddenly. His golden eyes took on a wicked gleam as he suddenly launched himself at her.
Kristina let out a frightened squeal, put her hands up to protect her face and closed her eyes tightly as Erik's body slammed into hers. She landed on the thick Persian rug with Erik on top of her, his arms cradling her, protecting her head and spine. He smiled down at her when she opened her eyes. Blinking in surprise, she took a moment to adjust to the unexpected sight of Erik's now red eyes.
He touched the Crucifix at her throat and winced when his finger began to burn. He had never suspected that she believed in the religious power the pendant offered and thought that it was just a pretty piece of jewellery. If only things were that simple. Now that he knew that she believed in the relic, things had changed. It would have not provided her with any protection, nor would it have injured him if she had did not believe in it.
"Will you take off your necklace, Kristina?" he asked, looking down at the Crucifix with a glare.
She automatically reached up to remove the necklace but stopped. "If I take it off, I won't be protected, will I?"
He shook his head, wondering if that would change anything. Whether or not she chose to remove her necklace would speak far louder than anything she could say. He held his breath as he waited to see what would happen.
Kristina smiled, unclasped the necklace and threw it across the room. She raised her head to kiss him.
He dropped a light kiss on her chin and ran his fingertips down her neck. Never in his life had he been so – pleasantly – amazed by another's actions. The simple act of taking off her necklace showed him just how much she trusted him with her life and appealed to the small spec of humanity that he still retained somewhere within his cursed soul.
"Do you still doubt that I am a vampire?" He sighed. "What do I need to do to convince you? Take your blood? Kill you?"
Kristina shuddered. "You would never do that to me," she said with feeling, reaching up a shaky hand to touch his face.
The red faded from Erik's eyes and they took on a curious look that Kristina could not comprehend. "I wish I were as confident as you." He brushed a light kiss on her lips, unable to pull his gaze away from hers.
"I know you, Erik. I know you will never try to kill me." She raised her hand to brush his hair away from his eyes and smiled.
She wiggled slightly, shifting so that the zip of her skirt was no longer digging into her back. The movement seemed to bring Erik out of his trance and make him aware of their position. He rolled off her and assisted her onto the longue, leaving Kristina bereft and missing the comforting weight of his body.
"Are all vampires as nice as you?" she asked as she tried to restore the conversation.
"No, not all vampires are nice," Erik said, almost spitting out the word. He walked away from her, putting the length of the room between them. "The sooner you realise that, the better."
Erik touched Kristina's lips with the tip of his finger. She closed her eyes as pleasure washed over her. Her lips parted and she took Erik's finger in her mouth. Using his free hand, Erik caressed her wrist before raising it to his lips and nipped at it. The shock of the unexpected pain at her wrist caused Kristina to bite down on Erik's finger. Without realising what had happened, Kristina sucked at Erik's bleeding finger.
A moment later, Erik pulled away from Kristina in surprise. He cupped her face in his hands and looked at her. Her eyes were glowing as she stared up at him with passion. The shock fading, Erik pulled her back into his arms and kissed her, carrying her to the bedroom.
Much later, Kristina and Erik welcomed a man in his early twenties into Erik's home. Kristina smiled at him sweetly and handed him a cup of coffee and a plate of biscuits. She sat down on Erik's lap, pressing kisses along his cheek and neck as the three spoke.
"It was very kind of you to ask me over for a drink," the young man said to Kristina.
Kristina smiled while Erik said, "Kindness has nothing to do with it, Dan."
She gave a throaty chuckle and kissed Erik passionately, forgetting that they had company. When she eventually broke the kiss she turned back to Dan. "Would you like something else?" Kristina asked, noting that he had finished his coffee.
Dan shook his head. "No, thank you. What about you? You have not had anything."
Kristina smiled again and looked at Erik. She climbed off Erik's lap and pulled him and Dan to the chaise longue. She sat next to Dan and took a handful of his hair, gently tugging his head to the side to give her better access to his throat. She placed a series of kisses on his neck. She looked under her lashes and saw Erik glaring at her from the other side of the stranger, his eyes flickering red. He hated when she touched other men.
She reached across the man and touched a soothing hand to Erik's cheek, her fingernails skimming lightly over his skin. That seemed to calm him slightly. She continued to caress his cheek even as she bit into the man's neck. Erik sucked in his breath when he saw Kristina close her eyes in pleasure. He shifted so that he would be able to touch her and his hand dipped below the neckline of her top.
"Do not get blood on the longue," Erik chastised her gently, his voice husky as he watched Kristina feeding.
Kristina rolled her eyes. She pulled away from the stranger's neck and climbed across him and straddled Erik's lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him an almost violent kiss. He could taste the man's blood on her lips, which served to arouse him further. He held her tighter and gave her a hard kiss. Kristina moaned.
She scooped up a bit of the man's blood from his neck and offered her fingers to Erik. He sucked her fingers clean and then carried her back to his bedroom.
Kristina woke breathing heavily. She had no idea that feeding, as a vampire was so erotic. She looked around her, disappointed to see that she was actually in her own bed and not in Erik's. She raised her left wrist and saw that it was not scarred. It had all been a dream.
She pulled the covers over her head and sighed.
Kristina guiltily waved goodbye to Alex and Anthony – her new colleagues – as she walked slowly towards Stage Door with Marina. She felt awful that she, unlike the rest of the cast, was able to go home and relax for the rest of the night after the tech rehearsal. Their day would not end for another five hours. For the first time in her life, she did not mind that she had been forced to work on her birthday. Alex had made sure that everyone knew it was her birthday. This was one birthday she would never want to forget.
"Happy birthday, Kristina," Marina said quietly the moment Kristina entered the rehearsal room.
"What am I missing?" Alex demanded with a flash of his dimples as he looked at the two embracing women.
"It's Kristina's birthday," Marina explained. "But don't tell anyone else; she doesn't want people to make a fuss."
Alex nodded understandingly, slapped Kristina lightly on the shoulder and left the two women to chat before the rehearsal started. Kristina stared after him. She did not know her new colleagues well, but she felt that Alex had surrendered too easily.
The arrival of the musical director signalled the end of the conversation and the beginning of the warm-up. Kristina stood beside Marina as part of the circle of cast members as the group began to sing through scales.
"Good," the conductor said when the company had sung its last scale. "Before we go out onto the stage, there's just one more thing. David, can I have a C please?" she asked, looking at the pianist with a smile. "Happy Birthday, Kristina."
Kristina hung her head in embarrassment as the company began to sing to her. Even as she glared across the circle at Alex, who was looking rather pleased with himself, she could not help but note how well everyone sang the song! This would certainly be a birthday she would never forget.
"Did you want to get a coffee with me?" Marina asked as she waited for Kristina to sign out.
"I don't drink coffee, but a tea will be nice," she agreed, pausing in front of the door and looking around at the busy street.
"Good! My shout. No, don't argue with me, Kristina. I want to do this for you. Think of it as your birthday present."
Kristina did not argue; she was too shocked by the sight of Erik leaning against his black BMW that she could not think of anything to say. When he raised his eyebrow at her and gestured to his car, Kristina shook herself out of her trance.
"Sorry, Marina, I'm going to have to reschedule. Thank you for the offer, but I need to go."
Kristina rushed towards Erik's car and smiled brightly when he held the door open. Once she was settled, he closed the door and walked slowly to the driver's side.
"How was your rehearsal?" Erik asked softly as he pulled out into the traffic.
"It went really well! Alex told Andrea that it's my birthday and she had everyone sing to me! I'm ready for my first show, Erik."
Erik nodded his approval.
"Is something wrong?"
Erik looked at her sharply. "What makes you think that?"
"You're driving your car; you always walk with me. Are you in a rush?"
"We have a busy evening, ma moitié."
"Really?" Kristina asked with a smile. "What?"
"We have a tea reservation at The Ritz."
"The Ritz! How did you manage that? It's almost impossible to get a table. Did you flash someone?"
Shocked by her question, Erik blinked several times to clear the expression from his eyes before he looked at her. He gripped the wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "Flash someone?"
"You know the thing you do with your eyes."
Erik relaxed his grip on the wheel even as a tiny smile curled at the corner of his lips. They drove the rest of the way to Kristina's flat in silence. Erik pulled to a stop, helped Kristina out and then pulled several shopping bags from the backseat. He led her up to her flat and placed the bags on her lounge.
"Everything you'll need is in these bags," he said gesturing to the shopping. "I'll return in one hour to take you to dinner."
Kristina could not remember a happier birthday.
Erik had indeed, somehow, booked a table in the Ritz Restaurant, and was so at home in the restaurant with its guilt chairs and ceiling roses, chandeliers and mural that Kristina soon found herself comfortable in the setting. Never before had she dined at the Ritz, but she could easily imagine a fine Victorian lady dining in a place such as this.
In his effort to ensure she never forgot her birthday, he had spared no expense. Anything she wanted, he ordered. It all started a few weeks ago when he searched for the best – and most expensive – products he could find for Kristina.
With only minutes to spare, Kristina looked at her reflection in the mirror, amazed at what the expensive skin products, makeup and clothing had done for her. She was dressed in a floor length black silk gown with a waterfall of fabric down the back. The gown was so beautiful, but simple that Kristina felt she was missing something. Examining herself closer, she decided the dress needed jewellery and so added a pair of earrings.
Precisely one hour after he left her, Erik nocked on Kristina's door. Nervously, she pulled it open and smiled at him. He stared at her, speechless.
Eventually, he found his voice and offered her a formal bow. "You look extremely handsome, Kristina. However, those earrings must go; they were not in those bags I gave you."
Self-consciously she pulled the earrings from her ears. Taking the jewellery from her, Erik handed Kristina a tiny box. "Try these instead."
When she saw the box, engraved with Ritz Fine Jewellery, she pressed her hand against her chest. Pulling the lid from the box, Kristina sank down onto the lounge. In the box, glittered a pair of diamond studded diamond earrings in the shape scrolls.
"Erik! They're beautiful." She dropped the box on the table and pressed a hard, graceless kiss against his lips before giving him a long, tight hug.
Two days before she was expected to appear on West End, Kristina sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the mirrored wall of the backstage area of the theatre. She rubbed her eyes, gritty with tiredness. It was two o'clock in the morning and the theatre was deserted. Already she had sung through all of her songs for Erik's approval, with special attention being focused on her solos. She didn't want to know how Erik had managed to get into the theatre.
"I want you to show me the dance at the end of the first act," Erik ordered severely.
"I'm tired, Erik," she said with a pout as she climbed unhappily to her feet. "I'm so tired I want to cry."
For a brief moment, his face softened. "I know, ma moitié, but I want you to be perfect."
They had been rehearsing for over two hours. She was tired. Her feet were sore. Erik would not let her go home until the dance routine was perfect. She began to mechanically perform the steps, exhaustion affecting her technique. As she danced, she recited the song she had made up while bored one rehearsal to help her remember the steps.
"Strong arm-lines, Kristina. You only have one more day to get this right. Do it properly or do not do it at all!" Erik muttered harshly, tired.
She said nothing as she went through the dance steps as Erik played. Her steps – and arm-lines – were perfect but her enthusiasm wasn't there. Little wonder when she had been awake for over twenty-four hours.
When the song ended, Kristina turned around to face Erik, waiting expectantly.
"Good."
Accepting the single word as generous praise, Kristina watched Erik get up from the piano and join her in front of the mirror. He took up her hands in both of his and raised them to his lips before releasing them and wrapping his arms around her waist. Kristina's arms went around his neck.
She sagged against his chest in exhaustion. She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. Since Erik had explained to her the function of blood for a vampire's survival and secrecy, his heartbeat and breathing no longer troubled her. For a few seconds she dozed against his body, listening to the comforting beat of his heart. As she rested her head on his shoulder, Erik dipped his head and inhaled the scent of her hair, his fingers quivering with his desire to touch her. He contented himself with rubbing his cheek against the crown of her head.
Erik pulled slightly away from her and grasped her right hand with his left hand. His hands held her lightly, worried that if he held her too tightly that she would break. He took a few steps and led her through the first steps of a waltz. Kristina easily picked up the steps and found it easy to move with Erik. She closed her eyes to relish the sensation of being in Erik's arms. And stumbled.
"Can you not hear the music in your mind, ma moitié?" he asked tenderly against her ear, his French accent more pronounced than ever. It had not escaped his notice that she no longer wore silver earrings out of respect to his vulnerability. He wondered for a moment if she trusted him more than he trusted himself, or if she had a death wish.
She shook her head sleepily and stumbled again. She was so tired she could barely think.
He placed a kiss on her ear and tugged her tighter against his body. "Focus and you will hear it."
Finally hearing the music in her head that Erik spoke, Kristina again began to move around the rehearsal room in front of the mirrored wall with Erik. She found herself relaxing in his grip as she felt the movements of the dance and his thigh brushing hers.
"Waltz comes from the Old German word walzen which means to turn or glide. Rather fitting wouldn't you say?" He dropped another kiss on ear.
Erik continued to softly tell her of the waltz and its history. As he spoke of the waltz's infamous history during the nineteenth century, where it was thought too risqué, Erik used his grip on Kristina's hand and pulled her right up against his body.
Kristina pulled herself from her clouded thoughts enough to agree that the waltz was right to be banned from the assemblies for so long. If the desire that was slowly building within her was experienced by couples in the prim eighteen hundreds, it was not surprising there was such resistance.
Erik continued to whisper in her ear, seducing her with his words and movements. When Kristina raised her lips to his and kissed him deeply, neither seemed surprised. As he explored her mouth with his tongue, Erik continued to move through the steps of the dance.
She pulled away from and sleepily gazed at the mirror. It was a truly curious sight to see herself dancing by herself in the mirror when she knew full well that she was in Erik's arms. Kristina guessed that was what happened when one stood with a vampire in front of a mirror! They continued their dance for a few minutes. When possible, Kristina watched their progress in the mirror. Eventually, her head drooped against Erik's shoulder. She deeply inhaled his familiar spicy scent.
Erik's neck was only an inch from her lips. If she just tilted her head slightly she would be able to kiss it. Erik's pale skin shone in the light of the rehearsing room and begged to be touched. Sensing her breath on his neck, Erik quickly and almost harshly set her away and crossed to the other side of the room.
"Change your shoes, ma moitié. We're going home."
Kristina futilely tried to track Erik's progress around the room in the mirror. She could not help herself. After watching her solo waltz in the mirror, she could not help but watch the mirror and Erik's lack of reflection. As she watched Erik stalk around the room, she tried to understand why he had reacted to the kiss she had nearly given him. After the intimate kiss they had shared moments earlier, a simple peck on his neck seemed innocent enough.
He gave her a smile that was nearly as tired as her own. "Vampires have no reflection, ma moitié."
Kristina looked up from her task of changing her shoes to look at Erik on the other side of the room. Despite her tiredness, she felt her curiosity pique. "When did you become a vampire, Erik? How?"
He had been wondering how long it would take her to ask that question. She had taken longer than he expected. Fortunately, he was prepared. Through the centuries, women's curiosity remained unchanged.
He took the seat next to her and held her hands.
"It was 1881. Before sunrise one morning I was wandering restlessly though Paris; I could not sleep. I had not slept in several days. While I was walking through the wood, contemplating killing myself, I met the vampire who was to become my sire. I was emotional and not thinking straight."
Engrossed in Erik's story, Kristina could not pull her gaze away from his golden stare.
"She offered me everything I could have wanted and in my unthinking state I accepted. I did not think to ask her how she would achieve that. By the time I realised what had happened it was too late."
Kristina had a good idea how Erik became a vampire. She had seen enough horror movies to know how the transformation occurred. "What happened to you, Erik? Why were you so upset?" She reached out to touch his cheek.
Erik had not been expecting that. He had hoped to avoid all mention of Christine. But with Kristina's expectant look, Erik knew that he would not be able to find a way out of her questioning.
"The woman I loved left me." Erik turned away slightly from her; unable to comprehend why he had just spoken those words aloud. He shook his head and muttered softly to himself, cursing his stupidity. He ran a hand over the masked side of his face and through his hair.
A little whimper escaped Kristina's lips at Erik's sad statement. She gripped his hand tighter. "What happened?"
Erik would have preferred to end the conversation there. But the imploring way Kristina was watching him stopped Erik from refusing her.
"She loved another man; one more handsome and wealthier than I was. But despite that he would never have been able to give her all that I would have. She agreed to stay with me, but in the end I had to allow her to return to him. I loved her far too much to force her stay with me and gave her the opportunity to marry her lover."
"And she took it?" she asked, amazed that anyone with leave a man as intriguing as Erik. She obviously didn't appreciate him as much as she should have. Perhaps this other woman was not supposed to be with Erik.
He nodded. He saw the dark look Kristina was giving him – no doubt it was aimed at Christine. He had a sudden urge to defend her. "I could not force her to stay with me in my dark hell. She was light and everything good; she deserved more than what I could give her."
Erik's choice of words intrigued Kristina. Somehow she did not think he was talking about his state of mind. "What do you mean 'dark hell'?" She just had to know.
He shuddered as he recalled all those years he had lived under the opera house, in its dark, musty cellars. How much of this could he trust Kristina with? He sighed as he summoned his courage to tell her about the darker aspects of his life. The aspects he left behind when he gave up his mortality.
"I lived in a cellar in Paris. I had all the comforts I could wish," he assured her when he saw her horrified expression.
"But why, Erik?" she asked in confusion. She saw the foreboding look in his eyes and knew that he did not want to answer her questions. She touched his face with the tips of her fingers. It saddened her when he flinched away from her light touch.
"You forget it was the nineteenth century, Kristina; people were not accepting of my face – not that they are much more accepting nowadays. It was best for everyone that I lived where I did and stayed far away from humanity."
Kristina looked at him with teary eyes, feeling his pain at his loneliness. "You had everything you could have wanted except the touch of humans." She touched his mask and was pleased that he did not pull away from her again.
"What was her n-" Kristina stopped herself just before she finished her question. As much as she wanted to know the woman's name, she decided that it would be best if she did not know it. "You must have loved her a lot."
Erik nodded but for some reason could not agree out loud.
He stood and held out his hands to Kristina and pulled her to her feet. He pulled her into his arms and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He could feel her trembling and her sadness at his story. It felt so right to hold her in his arms. With the woman who was similar and yet so different to his Christine in his arms, Erik felt years of loneliness and sadness drain away.
"You lived in Paris," she said slowly, the pieces all beginning to slowly fall into place. "In the Opera House? Like the Phantom of the Opera?"
Erik nodded sharply, aware that Kristina had finally discovered his secret. "I am the Phantom of the Opera."
Kristina paled and sank further into her seat. "Oh, God," she whispered, causing Erik to hiss and cover his ears. "You mean that the Phantom actually existed and you are he? The genius that wore a mask and lived under the Paris Opera House?" Her face turned an alarming shade of grey when she realised the identity of the woman Erik loved. How could she ever hope to compete against Christine Daaé? When he nodded again, Kristina was quick to continue her questioning. "How truthful is Leroux's story about you?"
Shrugging uncomfortably, Erik said, "His story is fiction, but it was inspired by some actual events." The colour gradually returned to Kristina's face when she realised that perhaps Leroux did not know the entire story. When she opened her mouth to continue her questioning, Erik placed a silencing finger over her lips. "Not now, ma moitié."
He had never told another person that he was the Phantom; however, whenever he imagined telling anyone, he always saw the conversation ending badly. Never had he imagined that another could simply accept the truth with nothing more than innocent curiosity.
She nodded, accepting his softly spoken instructions.
"You did exceptionally well tonight, ma moitié. Just remember to keep your arm-lines strong and you will be absolutely perfect tomorrow tonight. I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you are not copying Danielle's portrayal; but are making the role your own." He pressed a kiss on the corner of her mouth. "You are exhausted; let me take you home."
Kristina wrapped her arm around Erik's waist and walked home pressed firmly against his side, both oblivious to the sounds of police and ambulance sirens that echoed through the streets.