So, I had had most of this planned out, but i wrote it all today. So hopefully it's all cohesive. Thank you to all of my readers! Please do let me know whether you like where the story is going or not.

Hey! Here's a random thought. You know how there's movies and books and things about how writing about/drawing characters makes them real? Wouldn't that be great!? Maybe not... I'm not sure. Sorry... I'm very tired and am talking rubbish.

Enjoy!

Phanty belongs to Leroux and Lloyd Weber


"I think that this is it." Christine said quietly as their carriage pulled up next to a familiar looking building. She stepped out, Nadir behind her who paid and thanked the driver. "Yes. This was the spot." She added with confidence, slightly pleased with herself and surprised at the strength of her memory under such circumstances. "And that was the door."

Nadir followed her gesture until his eyes were met with a weathered door; faded blue in hue.

"You don't suppose that we should knock on the door... or check whether or not they are still there?" She asked.

"No. We cannot risk them knowing our plan." Nadir replied. "If you are sure that this was where you saw him... we should conceal ourselves and wait."

"Alright." She conceded.

"I know that you are worried, Christine... but this is the way we must do things. Come." He took her arm gently. "Let us hide ourselves." They walked to the opposite side of the street and concealed themselves inside of a small alleyway created by two buildings.

"Look." Nadir said, pointing to the house. "Inside... there is light. They are still there, Christine. Do not worry." Christine shot him a small smile; she appreciated what he was doing for Erik and for her and she appreciated the fact that he was trying to put her mind at ease in the meantime. But nothing helped... Erik was in there, he was so close but there was nothing she could do about it. Not yet.

She stared out into the icy street; the crisp air reminded her of the night of Don Juan; the night that she and Erik were concealing themselves the very same way, waiting for Raoul to deliver them a horse so that they could make their escape. That had seemed like so long ago... When Erik was safe and Raoul did not despise her. She had them both at her side that night; her childhood friend and her love... and now she had neither. She pulled her jacket tighter around her body and folded her arms in an attempt to keep out the cold and the negative thoughts threatening to cloud her mind.

"I keep thinking about that door opening..." She began quietly. Nadir looked at her. "What should I prepare myself for? What am I going to see? How am I going to react?"

"Prepare for the worst." Nadir said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You must. And as for your reaction... just know that the only way for you to help him at this moment is for you to keep silent. No matter what."

Christine nodded. She knew that it would be easier said than done. She looked around her to see that the streets were virtually empty... an abandoned carriage lay unaccompanied a few meters away, but that was all. There were no people to speak of. How could they hope to follow Erik without horses?

"How are we going to follow them?" She spoke, voicing her concern. "Do you have a horse?"

"No." He answered plainly. "I do not. But I have an acquaintance nearby who owes me a favor." Christine smiled. This Nadir was going to spend his favor on Erik.

"When you say nearby..."

"A few streets away. I could not pick up the horse beforehand due to the noise it would surely make. I can see the concern in your eyes, Christine. Do not fear, I have it all planned. One of their men will have to leave to fetch a cab; this property has no space for horses. When that happens, I will have to leave to fetch the horse. Before you speak against the plan, I promise that I will make haste."

"So many things could go wrong, Monsieur..."

"Nadir." He smiled. "And I know... but this is the only option now. Please, do not worry. Erik... he means a lot to me as well. I would not want to see him come to harm."

Christine looked down. "It is the only option... I know." She said, wringing the fabric of her dress in frustration. "How did things go so wrong?"

"If... you don't mind my asking." Nadir began. "What happened? What happened in the end? I heard about the fire at the Opera... was that... his doing?"

"Yes. Yes I suppose that it was." She said absentmindedly. Nadir nodded.

"I read about it in the papers. I didn't want to cast aspersions on Erik but usually, when I suspect something of him I am correct..."

"What... exactly happened? If you don't mind my asking?"

"No... not at all. Truthfully I haven't spoken of that night to anyone except Erik. Not even Raoul really." She looked up and across the street, her gaze focused on the house in front of her. Almost as if Erik would know she was there as she spoke of him... She took a deep breath. "This is quite a long story, Monsieur. It might bore you."

"Please. If I put up with Erik for as long as I did, I am quite certain I can handle this. Just start from the beginning." Christine smiled.

"Alright." She said. "The short story is that Erik... caused the fire. But it wasn't as simple as that. When I came to the Opera I was but a small child. And he was..." She looked down and laughed to herself. "It seems silly... saying it out loud."

"It is alright, I wish to know the whole story."

"Well..." She began again. "I lived at the Opera house because my father... had died. I think that he was close with Madame Giry; the ballet mistress there but I never thought to ask her about it. Madame Giry raised me and... Well... She and Erik are old acquaintances. I only discovered that a few days ago." Nadir nodded but did not speak. "When my father was alive, he used to tell me stories about someone called 'The Angel of Music' and he promised me that I would be visited by this Angel and he would help me with my voice. When he passed and I was sent to the Opera, I knew no one. I was terrified of... this new world that I was suddenly part of and had nowhere to turn for comfort. Then... he came to me, or at least his voice did."

"Erik?"

"...Yes." She replied uneasily. "He called himself 'The Angel of Music' and from a young age, he would talk to me... simply talk to me and keep me company in the chapel when I would pray or talk to my father. He claimed that... he was sent by my father."

"He... mislead you?"

"Yes... and I thought a lot on that during the months leading up to the fire. I felt betrayed and... in a way I felt used. But since then he and I have discussed it at length and I understand his reasoning behind those actions; The Angel of Music was... another mask, I suppose. I was vulnerable then, but so was he. And I suppose that he could see our connection before I was able to; we were kindred spirits. Each lost in solitude, each of us needing a friend in the darkness." She smiled to herself once more. "As I grew he began to train me, give me singing lessons. He has a remarkable voice and his knowledge of music is unlike anyone I have ever been fortunate enough to meet."

"Yes, I..." Nadir began.

A drunken couple staggered past, arm in arm. They kept silent. When they had passed, the conversation continued.

"Yes. I have had the opportunity to hear him play... he is truly talented."

"He taught me everything that he knew about singing and before I knew what was happening, I was performing at the very Gala that you witnessed; Hannibal." Nadir nodded in recognition. "Things... changed after that. He revealed himself as a man and... I suppose that I was not ready and things got out of hand. He hated Raoul and I suppose that he was mad with jealousy but... At the debut of another Opera, Il Muto, he saw that I was not cast as he had requested and... Everything happened so fast after that. He... killed someone." She looked up at him in search of answers. Nadir just stared back at her; this came as no surprise and he could not offer her anything in the way of an explanation. "I was terrified. Raoul and I had been courting... and after that I turned to him completely for comfort and security. I suppose that I was so hurt by Erik's actions because of how much I felt for him. I had him on a pedestal in my mind and... what he did simply shattered all my hopes in one night. After that, I became increasingly afraid of him. What I once loved about him; the fact that I could speak to him anywhere and he would hear me, the fact that he was always watching over me... I began to dread. I could not escape him. In the end, he cast me as the lead for one final performance; his own Opera... Raoul had a plan to... to stop him but..."

"But what, Christine...?"

She could recall it as if it were yesterday; he had appeared on stage beside her. His bari-tenor the perfect complement to her soprano. Before she knew it she was making promises to him through song, pouring all her emotion into what she was singing; all of her sincerity. She has known it was him from the moment he had replaced Piangi and appeared on stage, she was giving herself to him, mind, body and spirit even though she knew that Raoul was watching, even though she knew that the whole theater was watching. They had all thought it an act, a trap to capture him and put an end to the madness that had consumed the whole theater... and that was what it was to begin with. But she had lost herself within his voice, just as she always had; lost herself within his alluring presence, his hesitant yet confident touch, his gaze; agonized yet... somehow powerful and sensual...

But she had betrayed him all the same.

"I... I removed his mask on stage. That was the plan. To expose him and have him arrested."

"Ah." Nadir said, looking towards the house across from him. "And so... he burned down the theater."

"Yes and no. I betrayed him, Nadir. I hate myself for it. I know that Raoul was only trying to keep me safe and I have long forgiven him for it... but I can never forgive myself for what I did. That look in his eyes when I tore away the one defense he had left... I shall never forget it. He dropped the chandelier on a full house of people but it was only so as to cause a distraction."

"I see."

"Then we were down in Erik's home... he was... giving me an ultimatum. I had either to stay with him or to watch him end Raoul's life right before my eyes." She seemed almost stupefied by the narrative, by her own explanation; as If she were hearing it for the first time as well as Nadir. "Of course, I could not live knowing that I had been the cause of someone's death, particularly a person whom I loved... and was engaged to... And so, I chose Erik. At first I only chose him so that he would release Raoul... And I kissed him..."

Nadir did not speak, only continued to listen attentively.

"You asked what happened in the end." She said.

"You chose him?"

"No. In fact, in the end Erik let me go. He released both of us even though he knew that it would be the end to his happiness; his life..."

But I felt something in that first kiss...

"He told me to go and so I left as he told me to."

But I did not want to.

"And you returned."

Christine nodded. She didn't see the need to explain any more. What else mattered? In the end she had chosen Erik but they had only found a few days of happiness before it had been snatched away; stolen from their grasp.

Nadir gave her a knowing smile, very Erik-like in gesture; challenging and somewhat cynical.

"And you love him."

God, she did.

"Yes. And every second I live in fear, reminded of who he is and the fact that he could be taken from me at any moment."

"Yes." Nadir smiled. "Trouble has always followed him... but that doesn't mean that the two of you won't find happiness. It will be alright, trust me. We will follow him, we will come up with a plan and we will save him. I promise you this."

Christine smiled at him halfheartedly.

"How can you promise such a thing?" She asked.

"I simply can." He said.

Suddenly, the door across from them opened. Nadir shrunk back into the shadows just as his friend would have and took Christine's hand. She gasped and clung to his arm tightly.

"It is alright." He whispered. "This will just be the boy to fetch the carriage."

Just as he said, a boy around thirteen or fourteen years of age, slim in stature and meek in demeanor emerged from within the house.

"Alright, alright!" He called behind him. "I'll go as fast as I can." He closed the door and crossed the street, folding his arms against the cold and muttering under his breath as he went.

"Now is the time." Nadir turned to her. "I must leave. You must stay and you must be strong."

"I know." She said to Nadir's surprise. He had expected a complaint, a rebuttal... something. Instead, Christine was calm; a determined look in her eyes. "We must do what needs to be done; whatever it takes."

"Yes." He said. "Do not move from this spot, alright? I will return before they leave, but if I do not you must not leave here without me. Do you understand? It does not matter what you see..."

"I understand." She said. She wiped a tear from her eye but her gaze did not falter.

"Alright. I will return shortly." He said. He walked in the opposite direction of the boy who had just passed them. Christine watched him until he had turned the corner and was out of sight. Then, she turned her focus back to the house across from her. She hoped that Erik had not given up; not given up on her. She took a deep breath.

Hold on, Erik.

She had to believe that it would be alright. That he would be fine and that in the end, it would all work out the way they had planned, the way he deserved. There were so many things she wanted for Erik, for both of them... but for now all she wanted was for Nadir to return. What if the boy returned first? What if they all left and what if they could not be found? Erik would be lost to her. Lost forever.


Within minutes, the sound of a carriage accompanied by horses could be heard approaching; as it came into sight Christine's worries were confirmed; the boy was atop and its driver seemingly, was not present. It stopped outside the faded, blue door.

The boy jumped down and knocked on the door before folding his arms once more and peering around cautiously. The door opened, another man emerged from within followed by two more carrying what appeared to be a body.

Erik.

Christine's hands flew to her mouth, both from shock and to ensure that she would not make a sound as Nadir had instructed.

Was he dead?

He was not moving... but he would not be dead would he? Surely not. As Nadir had said, he was far too valuable to them alive. Just unconscious? She had hoped at least to have seen him once more... awake... to see his eyes. His eyes had always told her everything she needed to know; all the things he could not voice for one reason or another. But she could not see what he was thinking, where he was at; whether they had... broken him or not. She could not see him, and he could not see her. He would wake up only God knows where and he would wake up alone. Again she began to weep.

"He's so heavy!" One of the men complained. His voice echoed through the cold, empty streets.

"Stop complaining, were almost there." The other replied.

She watched helplessly as they loaded his lifeless body into the carriage, handled him as if he were nothing more than baggage.

Where are you, Nadir?

Several more men exited the house and piled into the carriage. The last man to exit the house was Emile and Christine wanted nothing more than to scream at the top of her lungs. The injustice, the cruelty... he was entirely to blame. He carelessly walked to the carriage and jumped atop. It was too late. Nadir was nowhere to be seen. It was over...

Within what felt like seconds, the carriage was moving and the distance between she and Erik was beginning to grow.

"No..." She whispered to herself. "Please... not yet." She thought of following it, of yelling, of approaching them. At least if she were captured as well she would be with Erik. But if she did, who would be left to help him? Nadir would...

As the carriage picked up pace and began to shrink into the distance her anxiety grew, her inner struggle became more difficult to control... to keep silent. She had to speak; say something, do something. Just when she thought that she could take no more and would surely implode if she did not speak out, she felt a calm hand on her shoulder.

"Christine..."

She spun around to see Nadir standing behind her in the darkness, a horse in tow.

"Thank god." She whispered anxiously. "They have left. We have to follow them!"

"It is alright." He soothed, holding her shoulders reassuringly.

"It was awful, Nadir. He looked like..." She clung to him. "...like he was dead. He was unconscious, I expect. But... just to see him like that. It was terrible!"

"Shh, Christine. We will have to stay quite far behind them." He peered out into the street. "I think that this distance should be safe." He led her out into the cold street once more. "Let's go."

"Nadir." She began softly as she was about to mount the horse. He looked at her curiously. She rarely called him by his name. "Thank you." She said.

Christine did not know where to begin thanking Nadir for his service... for his loyalty, for his friendship. Even though she had just met him she clung to him both physically and emotionally just as she had clung to Erik this past week. Perhaps it was because she knew that she could trust him, perhaps it was because just by being around this man, she was able to feel close to Erik.

"You are very welcome Mademoiselle." He smiled.


They rode until the sun could be seen rising in the East, giving their surroundings a beautifully warm glow. Unfortunately, said beauty was lost on the two travel partners. They were focused on what was in front of them, nothing more. They were sure to remain a reasonable distance behind the carriage so as to avoid arousing suspicion. Nadir could see that Christine was exhausted and found the fact that she did give in to the sweet embrace of sleep quite commendable. She was determined to do everything in her power to rescue Erik and she knew that at the moment, the most she could do for him was to keep alert; stay awake. Again, she was reminded of her time with Erik. The sun had been rising as they made their way to the cabin on their first morning away from the Opera house. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind before she could become lost in it.

She had to stay focused.

She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to gain further focus on what was drawing nearer. Gypsy caravans; at least ten... a whole clan from what her father had told her.

"Look." She said sleepily.

"Ah." Nadir replied. "They must be planning on discarding this carriage and moving Erik into one of those caravans."

Of course. There would have been no way for them to have brought this many caravans into Paris, unnoticed.

This was just what Erik feared...

As they drew nearer, they were sure to remain hidden in the bushes lining the small road which had now turned entirely to dirt. Christine narrowed her eyes again.

"What? What do you see?" asked Nadir.

"That... That is Caesar! I am sure of it!" She exclaimed, pointing to a large stallion tied to the side of one of the caravans.

"And... who is Caesar?"

"Erik's horse." She touched her forehead absentmindedly as the memory returned to her. "Of course. We were riding Caesar when we were captured... they must have taken Caesar too. No doubt Erik is terribly worried about him. I do hope they aren't mistreating him."

"Not likely." Nadir replied. "Even if he is Erik's horse, the gypsies value horses quite highly."

They watched in silence for a few moments as the caravan they had been following came to a complete stop, Emile jumped down from the roof and several men exited the cabin. A few men approached him from the various caravans. They seemed quite glad to see him as each of them either shook his hand or embraced him. Christine saw him gesture towards their carriage several times and she knew that they had to have been talking about Erik.

She felt sick.

Then, Emile simply walked away, entered one of the caravans and closed the door. The same two men who had carried Erik previously reached into the carriage carried him into the very last caravan, next to Emile's. She looked up at Nadir upon seeing this.

"It is... hard to watch." He said, cringing. "You are very strong to have done it alone."

Seemingly he was still unconscious.

Better to be conscious for as little of this as you possibly can...

"Yes but... like you say, we will come up with a plan." She said. Nadir's gaze did not lift from Erik's new home until the door was shut and locked. He looked down at Christine, as if suddenly aware that she had responded to him. "Won't we?" She asked.

"Of course."

Within minutes the convoy was in motion, as were Christine and Nadir.


No Erik in this chap. I know and am deeply apologetic. Soon though! Sorry to leave you guys hanging! And many sorries to Erik too, if my whole 'characters just chilling in limbo until you continue writing the story' theory is true, then... sucks to be him. :/

And yay. Christine and Daroga are friendsies! I actually cannot wait until i can write Erik and Daroga into a scene together. The sass. The sass!

Please review, friends! :)