Notes: I want to start out by dedicating this chapter to the cast, crew, and devoted fans of Love Never Dies. It has its problems, but it is a beautiful piece of theatre and the West End just won't be the same without it. I'm a fan of the show and this little note is just my way of showing love for it.
Hopefully, that dedication didn't put too many of you off. :) A chapter or two left after this, thanks for sticking it out with me! Hope that you enjoy!
Christine smiled up at Erik as he brought her a cup of tea, sitting down next to her on the couch. They had found the Girys and together, the four of them had found a hotel near the operahouse that had a few rooms vacant. They were currently sitting in the sitting room of the suite that Erik had procured for the Girys, next to the room that he had rented for Christine. His own room was a floor above, much to Christine's disappointment. She realized that away from the comfort of the operahouse, they would have to conduct themselves with more propriety, but the last thing that she wanted tonight was to be away from her fiancé.
Meg leaned forward eagerly, a blanket from one of the beds around her shoulders. "Raoul knocked Erik unconscious? Truly?"
Christine chuckled and looked over to her beloved who only grimaced. "The Vicomte," he spat out, as if the title left a sour taste in his mouth, "was not responsible for my state of unconsciousness. The vase that he dropped on my head was." He rubbed the knot on the back of his head with a wince and Christine leaned forward to gently kiss his cheek.
"I fainted after that and was so disoriented when I finally awoke…oh Meg." Christine sighed mournfully. "I do feel oddly sorry for Raoul…he seemed so in earnest but I can hardly fathom how misguided he was. I never gave him cause to think that I was in love with him and yet he seemed convinced that I was!"
Madame Giry had entered a few moments before, taking a seat next to her daughter's chair. "Love can do strange things to people, Christine. It is quite the force to be reckoned with. Look at the lengths that you two have gone to in the name of love." She gestured knowingly to Erik and Christine. The young girl blushed slightly, but Erik just smirked.
Christine was about to continue on with her story, but was interrupted by an enormous yawn from Meg. The blonde giggled and her cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment. "Oh Christine, I'm so sorry! I swear that I am not at all bored by your story, but my body is arguing differently. Could we continue this tomorrow? I want to be fully awake for the rest of your tale!"
Laughing, Christine nodded, quickly rising. "Oh of course, Meg! How silly of me…both of you must be exhausted!" she exclaimed, suddenly taking in the rather haggard expressions of both her ballet mistress and her dearest friend. Briefly embracing both, she smiled sweetly at them, before picking up her still full tea cup. "Sleep well, dear friends. We shall speak more in the morning."
Erik rose and tilted his head to both the Giry women. Meg gave a playful and overly elaborate curtsy in return and Madame Giry just rolled her eyes and nodded curtly. "Thank you for your generosity, Erik. The room is lovely."
His lips quirked up in an almost smile, half hidden by the mask. "It is the least that I can do, Madame. Sleep well." With that, he escorted Christine from the room. They walked slowly to her door, indulging in the quiet of the hotel.
Christine looked around quickly, before rising to her tip toes and pressing a kiss to Erik's lips. She pulled back almost immediately and smiled at him. "Goodnight, dear fiancé. I love you, Erik."
He gently stroked her cheek in return and smiled at her. "I love you too, Christine. Sweet dreams."
Opening her door, she set down her teacup on the small table right next to the door and then waved to Erik as she shut it again. Sliding the chain into place, she pouted slightly as she heard Erik's footsteps down the hall. Moving around the room, she turned up a few of the lamps, making sure that she would not be completely in the dark as she prepared for bed. She quickly drank her tea, pleased that it was not so hot as to burn her tongue as she gulped it down, and then headed into the en suite bathroom to complete her nightly ritual.
She came out; dressed in her simple sleep chemise, thankful that Madame Giry had thought ahead and had grabbed a few of her belongings along with hers and Meg's. Although she often slept nude while in Erik's bed, the thought of sleeping in that fashion by herself in this unfamiliar room was quite unsettling.
"Christine…"
Spinning around so that she was facing the bed, Christine nearly screamed as she saw a man sitting there. Her hand clutching at her chest, she glared at her fiancé, sitting with the most innocent of expressions on his face. He was in his own sleeping attire and his mask was on the nightstand beside the bed. "Erik, you frightened me half to death!" Her eyes darted to the door, its locks still in place. "How did you get in here?" she whispered incredulously, moving towards the bed.
She stifled another shriek as Erik grabbed her waist as soon as she was within arms' reach and rolled her beneath him. "I suppose that the Opera Ghost is not wholly dead. A man must have his secrets, Christine." She giggled as he stroked her cheek. "Did you really think that I would leave you alone tonight? I told you, I never want to let you out of my sight again," he mumbled, his lips preoccupied with the soft skin of her neck.
"I do have to admit that I was not looking forward to sleeping in this room by myself," she replied, her hands stroking his back. Squirming out of his embrace, she burrowed under the covers and flashed him a winning smile. "And now I have someone who can put out the lamps for me!" Erik grumbled as he got out of bed, but Christine just giggled.
The room was plunged into darkness but Christine knew that Erik could see the smile that she was giving him as he climbed into bed beside her. She drew herself closer to him, her fingertips brushing against the soft cotton of his shirt. His hands grabbed hers gently, wrapping around them completely and stopping their movement. "Sleep, Christine."
"But I'm not tired!" she declared petulantly, fully realising how childish she sounded.
"That's the adrenaline from the night talking. In reality, your body is exhausted, my dear." She was about to protest more, but Erik started humming a soft lullaby, one that she recognized from her youth.
He was barely halfway through the song before he heard her soft snores. Smiling to himself and drawing Christine closer, Erik let his eyes close as well.
Christine sighed, taking a sip of her water. They had all returned to the operahouse the next morning to find that Don Juan Triumphant was to be performed at least twice more that week, possibly three times depending on the ticket sales. Apparently what the audience had seen had enchanted them and the previous night's audience was eager to see how the story turned out. The managers were the ones to deliver the news and after thanking Erik profusely for rescuing Christine and ridding the operahouse of its resident spectre, they anxiously inquired if Christine would be willing to reprise her role in the opera. After Christine assured them that she was well enough to perform the role of Aminta, the company went straight into rehearsals.
Of course she heard the whisperings of the company, but she tried to ignore them. The tales that she caught snippets of grew more and more outlandish, as they often did within the walls of the operahouse, but she refused to open her mouth about anything that had happened the previous night, which tortured the gossips to no end.
She was secretly quite pleased that the public had demanded more performances of Erik's opera; it was by far her favourite role to date-doubtless because it had been written specifically for her. His music was divine and Aminta was such an engaging character to play.
Rehearsals did not run very long and Monsieur Reyer dismissed them with nothing more than their call times for the next day. In the chaos that was the backstage area after dismissal, Christine looked around for Meg but was taken by surprise when Carlotta accosted her. "Oh, I am so happy our little ingénue is safe!" she exclaimed dramatically, practically smothering Christine with a hug.
Finally catching sight of her friend nearly doubled over in laughter, Christine simply glared at Meg and awkwardly returned Carlotta's embrace before drawing away as quickly as possible. "Thank you, Carlotta. I am…glad to have your support during this time."
"Yes, yes, anything to help, darling. But of course," a wicked look crept into the other woman's eyes and Christine fought the urge to recoil, "I want you to enjoy your time in the spotlight. I'm sure with the Opera Ghost gone once and for all and the Vicomte on holiday for a bit, you'll be back with your little dancing friends in no time."
She hadn't known about Raoul's holiday, but after not seeing him at all at rehearsals that day, Christine had figured he had taken some time away from the operahouse. It was probably for the best for all involved, it would give him time to recover his wits and it would give her and Erik time to get married without fear of interference. Not that she thought Raoul would interfere again, but a small part of her couldn't help but be relieved at his absence. Turning her thoughts away from Raoul and more to the situation at hand, Christine smiled sweetly at Carlotta, squaring her shoulders. "I would like nothing better than to rejoin the corps, Madame. But my teacher's dream was to have me on the stage as a diva…although I cannot justify his recent actions, I can think of no better way to honour his memory than to audition for a leading role in the next production. And I assure you that my teacher was the best there was. I do not think that I will disappoint him. Good day, Madame," she said, with little more than a flick of her hair as she turned and came to stand beside Meg.
The petite blonde, much to Christine's surprise, managed to suppress her giggles until they were safely ensconced in Christine's dressing room. "I cannot believe that you stood up to that wretched old cow, Christine! I have never been so proud to call you my friend!" Meg exclaimed, hugging her tightly.
Christine only chuckled and shook her head. "I simply could not bear it any longer. With all the talk that's been following me around the entire day…I could not stand such nonsense to spew from her lips as well." Meg released her from the embrace and turned her gaze to something over Christine's shoulder, her eyes gleaming like she knew some sort of secret. "Meg?" Christine asked, trailing off.
The other girl simply took hold of her shoulders and spun her around, so that she could see the beautiful wedding dress hanging up in the armoire. "Oh…" Christine whispered, moving forward to gently skim her fingers over the luxurious and beautiful material. "But…I don't understand…"
"It's a wedding dress, silly!" Meg giggled, spinning Christine back around. "And I have been charged by your fiancé to see that you are in it and prepared for your wedding by six tonight! He's been planning this for months, Christine! He was so confident that the plan would work that he planned for you to get married the day after your great triumph! And I managed to keep it a secret, all this time! I've been picking out flowers and helping prepare and…Christine?" The excited chattering stilled and Meg stepped forward cautiously, her hand cupping Christine's cheek, wiping away a few tears that had fallen. "Oh Christine…this is what you want, isn't it?"
"What I want?" she questioned, her voice soft as if she were dreaming. "It's what I've wanted…since forever it seems." Snapping out of her trance, her eyes suddenly focused on Meg and a bright grin spread across her face. "Oh Meg, I'm getting married!" she squealed, catching her friend in a tight embrace which Meg heartily returned.
"Not if I don't get you out of this gown and into that one, you're not!" she teased, drawing back from their hug. "Now hurry up, future Madame Durand, we must work quickly!"