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Erik's POV

Christine looked more breathtaking than ever in her gown. Even with a mask covering part of her lovely face, she still was beautiful.

"Shall we, my dear?" I asked and held out my arm for her to take. She did and we made our way to the main foyer.

I was still quite anxious about being in such a large crowd of people, but I tried to stay calm by reminding myself that everyone would be wearing masks.

Christine and I walked down the grand staircase and immediately were taken in by the beautiful decoration of the party. There was gold tinsel and silver confetti adorning every nook and cranny. Mountains of fancy flowers had been purchased and placed on every table. Even the Opera orchestra was positioned up on the marble balcony and was playing a slow waltz.

Christine gave me a brilliant smile as we stepped out onto the floor which was packed with masked partygoers all in strange and wonderfully elaborate costumes. Christine never let go of my hand as we pushed our way through the crowd. For the first time in my life, no one even paid me a second glance. It was a wonderful feeling to not be stared at… I felt almost normal for once.

I now saw where Christine had been leading me. Meg Giry was standing in the crowd, waving at Christine to come closer.

"Christine! There you are! You look beautiful!"

"Thank you, Meg. You look lovely as well!"

Miss Giry was wearing an elaborate lavender dress and a silver mask which was embroidered with a flowery design.

Meg stepped closer to me and turned to Christine.

"Is this Erik? Your date?"

Christine nodded and put her arm around mine.

"Awww! You two look so cute together!" Meg gushed, "I wish I had a nice man of my own. All the guys I know are complete idiots… You're so lucky to have someone, Christine!"

Christine blushed and hid her face slightly in my crimson jacket.

All three of us heard a familiar bang of a cane against the floor and Miss Giry whirled around to see her mother standing behind her.

"Ah, I thought you might be going with Erik, Christine," Madame Giry remarked and shooed her daughter away. Meg scampered off to go flirt with a group of young actors that I recognized from the men's chorus.

"Good evening, Madame," Christine said politely to her ballet instructor who was adorned in her usual black attire and was wearing a gold-colored mask.

"No need to be so formal, my dear. You're like a daughter to me," her usual sternness dissipated just a bit as she said this. She continued, "Well, I hope you two have fun tonight. Just don't dance too hard, Christine, because there will be ballet practice tomorrow."

I found it very puzzling that Madame Giry would be so laid back about Christine and me going together to the masquerade. After all, I had overheard her a few weeks ago talking to Christine about me… What was it she said? Oh yes, she said, "I don't like you spending so much time with him… It only intensifies his obsession for you." So why was she fine with us being together now?

"Because I care about both yours and Christine's happiness… I feel like a mother to both of you and want the best for you two. That's why, Erik."

"Madame, I didn't say anything."

She gave a sly smile, turned away, and said, "I just had some intuition as to what you were thinking, Erik… Have a good evening."

With that, she was gone. Over the years, I have learned to never underestimate the power of Madame Giry.

Christine turned to me and smiled, "Shall we dance then, Erik?"

Dancing. I hadn't stopped to think that I would have to dance at this party until now. Had I been so caught up in my fear of being here amidst all these people that I had completely overlooked that fact? I didn't know how to dance with a partner. Of course, I have seen people waltz before, but I myself have never tried it. How could I? I've never had a partner to dance with before.

"Erik?"

I snapped out of my idle thoughts and faced Christine.

"Christine… I've never waltzed before."

She gave me a reassuring smile and said, "That's okay, Erik. It's quite easy to waltz, you just have to follow the beat. You'll be good at that, plus, you catch on quickly."

"You're a dancer, Christine… I'm afraid I'll embarrass myself dancing in your presence."

"I'm a ballerina, Erik. I'm not that accomplished in waltzing myself… Even if we mess up, it'll be okay… Most people can't dance that well anyways."

I gave her a curt nod and she proceeded to instruct me, "Alright first, put your hand on my waist like this…"

Saying this, she placed my hand on the smallest part of her petite waist. Touching her like this sent a wave of ecstasy through my entire body. We were less than a foot apart from each other.

"Good, so I put my hand on your shoulder…," she did so and continued, "So, with my other hand I hold onto your hand like this…"

She held my hand gently, our arms out to one side with our elbows slightly bent downwards.

"Now you step forward with your left foot on the beat and I'll step back with my right foot…"

I did so and she smiled, "And you just keep stepping left and right or back and forth and I mimic your movements."

I quickly got the hang of it and thankfully, I didn't think that I was making a fool of myself. Actually, I stayed on the beat a great deal more than most of the drunk partygoers.

"You're very good at this, Erik," Christine praised.

I was surprisingly enjoying this so far… I liked how my body moved in sync with hers to the graceful music.

We drifted past Carlotta and Signor Piangi who were just making their way down the grand staircase. Carlotta sneered at Christine when she noticed her. She turned back to Piangi and whispered loud enough so that everyone within twenty feet of her could hear when she said, "Ah, that little tart, Christine, was with the Vicomte and now she left him for some other man. The little peasant should just pack whatever few things she owns and move to the whore house!"

How dare that woman! How dare she ridicule my sweet Christine!

Before I could wring Carlotta's neck, Christine tightened her grasp on my shoulder and whispered, "It's alright, Erik, just leave her be. She doesn't deserve our time or attention… It would just bring that woman some sick kind of joy if you got all upset because of her remarks."

Christine was right. We left her alone and shifted over to the opposite side of the room to dance.

I saw a man in a half female and half male costume twirling about drunkenly with a woman dressed like a butterfly. A woman passed by us dressed as a monkey and holding a pair of cymbals… She reminded me of my music box…

"Oh, I'm getting tired, Erik… I need to sit down for a bit," Christine said and let go of my hand, but kept her other hand on my shoulder still.

We found a place to sit on a bench off to the side of the dance floor. I reached over to the nearby table and grabbed a couple glasses of champagne.

"Here," I said and handed one of the glasses to Christine.

She thanked me and took a little sip out of the glass. She wasn't much of a drinker, but I knew she enjoyed a bit of champagne on special occasions.

"I'm having fun tonight, Erik. I'm glad you came with me."

"I'm actually enjoying myself as well, Christine," I responded.

We talked for awhile and waltzed for another half hour or so before Christine leaned close to my ear and whispered, "It's getting crowded feeling in here, Erik. Let's step outside."

She took me by the hand and pulled me through the crowd towards the exit.

We stepped out into the cool night air and sat down on the marble steps in front of the Opera House. I guessed that it was almost eleven in the evening.

We sat there in silence for several minutes until I got up and held out my hand to help her up.

"Shall we go back inside, Christine?" I asked.

"No, it's stuffy in there… Let's stay out here awhile longer…"

I nodded and sat back down next to her.

"I don't want to just sit here though, Erik. Let's go for a walk together in the Bois."

Christine's POV

The night was just so perfect and I wanted some alone time with Erik. I felt no longer scared around him. Now when I was with Erik, I just felt safe and like I had at last found my place in the world.

We walked together hand in hand to the Bois, passing by streetlamps and several carriages here and there. The usually busy Parisian streets were pretty desolate this time of night.

After awhile of walking at a leisurely pace, we reached one of the many entrances to the Bois de Boulogne. It was completely devoid of people, not a single soul was there.

"It's so dark here…," I said, tightening my grasp on Erik's arm.

"Well, there aren't any lampposts in this part of the park, Christine, just pure darkness… There is nothing to fear though, my angel. I would never let anything hurt you."

I smiled and snuggled closer to him.

We continued walking like that, nestled very close to each other. We reached the pond where we had watched the mother duck and her babies last time we had been at the park together. The pond was now shadowed in darkness and reflected nothing but vague shifting shadows of rustling leaves on the nearby trees.

"Oh Erik, look!" I pointed to a couple of beautiful, white swans gliding gracefully across the water.

"They're lovely," he replied.

The two birds were gliding so close that they were almost touching one another.

For several minutes, we watched their graceful dance across the pond.

Erik broke the silence and said, "I think they are mates… Swans mate for life, you know… Swans need one another to survive… They can't live without their partner…"

Erik had such a way with words.

"Swans are such beautiful birds… Their love never dies," I said.

Erik turned to me and held me close in his strong arms, "I pray that you'll always be with me, my sweet Christine… Life wouldn't be worth living without you."

"I love you, Erik," I mumbled into the fabric of his shirt.

"And you know that I love you too, Christine."

I got up on my tiptoes and planted a soft and loving kiss on his lips. He caught my chin gently in his hand right after our lips had parted and brought me in for another more passionate kiss.

After about a minute or two of reveling in the feel of each other's embrace, we broke apart gasping for oxygen.

Erik smiled at me and I returned the gesture. I turned back to the pond and saw that the swans were nowhere to be found.

"Where did the swans go, Erik?"

He placed one of his gloved fingers to his lips to quiet me and whispered, "Don't move too quickly or you will scare them."

Saying so, he pointed to an area under the tree that was merely a few feet away from us. There, amidst shadowy grass, were two white silhouettes of the swans at rest with their heads nestled in each other's feathers.

We both sat down on the grass and just watched the swans for the longest time.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little whore and the masked freak of nature."

Immediately, Erik and I shot to our feet, scaring the peaceful swans off. Standing a few yards away from us was the last person I wanted to see. It was Raoul.

"Raoul! What are you doing here?"

"I've told you, Christine, that I planned to find this Erik of yours and I intend to end him."

Raoul wanted to kill Erik?

Protectively, I jumped in front of Erik and shouted, "I won't let you hurt him!"

"He's a murderer, Christine! Don't you think it would be just to end his life?"

Before I could say anything, Erik gently pushed me back and said, "Just stay back where you're safe, Christine. I'll handle this boy."

Erik stepped forward and drew the sword that rested in the sheath on the side of his belt. He began to approach Raoul, sword in hand. Raoul drew his sword as well.

"Erik!" I cried, "Please, remember what you promised me, do not kill again!"

He nodded to me just before Raoul charged at him in rage. Erik was able to dodge this attack and swung his sword out to block when Raoul sliced at him again. Their swords were locked in heated battle swinging back and forth and slicing through the air.

The battle didn't seem to be going in the favor of either of the men until Raoul knocked Erik to the ground. Raoul lunged at Erik with his sword aimed for Erik's heart. Thankfully, Erik acted quickly and rolled out of the way. Raoul's sword struck down onto thin air causing Raoul to stumble to the ground like Erik.

The two men wrestled on the ground with their swords locked in struggled combat and then Erik stopped struggling and dropped his sword…

Oh God, what had happened? Raoul stood from the ground and in his hand I saw the silver gleam of a dagger that was coated in blood. Raoul must have had the dagger hidden somewhere and stabbed Erik with it while they were wrestling on the ground.

Raoul flashed a menacing smile as he looked down at Erik's bleeding body.

"Looks like my work here is done," he laughed and disappeared into the night.

"Erik!"

I ran towards him as fast as my feet would carry me.

Blood was gushing out of his stomach in a pool of crimson darker than the Red Death costume he wore. He had several large gashes across his stomach and a deep stab in his side. His eyes were wide open, but he didn't respond to me no matter how many times I called out his name. He was dripping sweat and his breathing was heavy and irregular. At least I knew he was still alive….. Barely…

I needed to stop the bleeding first before I did anything else or surely he would bleed to death.

Quickly, I removed the red, velvety cape that hung over one of Erik's shoulders and wrapped the material tightly around the injury.

"I will be right back, Erik. I promise. I need to go find a carriage to take you to a doctor," I told his unconscious body.

I ran out to the street like a madwoman and began to search frantically for a carriage. I silently praised the Lord when I heard the familiar sound of horse hooves against the brick street.

Waving my hands frantically, I yelled, "Help! Help! Please!"

The late night carriage driver thankfully heard this as he stopped and swiftly jumped out of his carriage and approached me.

The carriage driver was an older, portly gentleman who had aged with smile lines and had a look of genuine concern on his face.

"What's wrong, mademoiselle?"

"My friend is hurt. I need to get him to a doctor quickly," I explained.

"Where's your friend?"

"In the park, monsieur."

"Well," he gestured to the carriage, "get in. I can drive into the park and get your friend."

The man helped me onto the seat next to him in the carriage and he drove the horses on into the park.

We came across Erik quickly and the man helped me lift Erik onto the back seat.

I stayed next to Erik, cradling his head in my lap.

The carriage was open so I was able to see the driver.

"Thank you, monsieur."

"Oh, that's no problem, miss. I wouldn't be a good religious man if I'd just ignored your cry for help."

I smiled at the man. He seemed like quite a kind old man.

"You know, miss, you're in luck that you came across me. My cousin's actually a doctor, quite the skilled one too… He retired from working in the hospital a few years back, but he still takes patients in his home. I'm sure that he'd be happy to help your friend… He lives pretty close by."

I cried in joy at hearing this. I hoped that we would be arriving at this doctor's house soon… Hold on, Erik. Please don't leave me…

Okay and that concludes this chapter! I bet that you want to know what happens next! Well, I'll post the new chapter sooner if you REVIEW! And speaking of reviews, you all should READ and REVIEW Eriksangelofmusic4ever's awesome fanfic Phantom Royale! She's an awesome author and deserves the reviews!