Chapter Thirty-Three –

The End of the Dream

-Erik-

"Ellexssya."

I growled the word so harshly that I sounded almost more like a wolf or some other predatory beast than a man; I scarcely cared what I sounded like at that moment. All I knew was that my worst enemy now stood before me and that she was here uninvited, unwanted, and inopportunely. I felt Christine's eyes on the sorceress and moved over so that I was even more in front of her. I didn't want Ellexssya looking at my princess.

"What do you want, sorceress?"

Her black-red mouth quirked in the infuriating, taunting, cool little smirk that I hated so very much, and I growled low in my throat. My fingers clenched into fists, which I hid within my cloak, keeping my arms forcefully pinioned at my sides. I would not snap–not right here, with Christine standing by to see. I would not lose control. I would face the sorceress without going mad with fury.

I would not—I would not—!

"I learned, through sources of my own…" Ellexssya informed me.

I blocked her off from Christine by extending my arm slightly, causing my black cloak to form a shield in front of the girl. Ellexssya's eyes reflected her displeasure at that for a split second, but then it vanished and her normal mocking expression took its place on her face again.

"Through my own little means," she repeated, going on, "That you intended to…hm…how to put it? That you meant to beg a vow from your princess tonight. Now…could this possibly be true, my lord? When I last looked, you were not on the best of terms with the said fair maiden–though I see that you have somehow managed to bring her back to you again. Tsk, tsk, Erik! For shame! Did you dispense with her handsome young knight–the famous Vicomte de Chagny? I was delighted to hear that he gave you a run for your money during that battle in the graveyard! He is rather good with the sword, is he not?"

I glared at her icily, and did not take the bait.

This was not the reason she had appeared here–she hadn't come all this way, expended so much magic, to merely taunt me on the subject of the Vicomte de Chagny. That was a topic that would have best waited for another time. She wasn't here.

Unfortunately, I knew her too well.

"I won't ask you again, Ellexssya." I stated. "Why are you here? Did I or did I not order you to stay out of my realm upon the occasion of our last meeting? You must have some dire cause for meeting us here, after I had given you such a command! For you also must have known what jeopardy, what peril, your life would be in then, were you to come here. What do you want?"

She sneered at me: the outer façade of the refined and elegant sorceress slipping to reveal the true hag who lay beneath, carefully shrouded by lies and her art. Raising an arm, she stabbed a finger in Christine's direction: her scarlet-painted fingernails flashing like blood-stained talons in the moonlight.

"Much as I would like to say otherwise, it is not to meddle with you alone, Erik Shadowrose!" the sorceress hissed, with venomous anger. "I have come here to address you both, and especially to inform you, Princess,"—she spat the word as if it put a vile taste in her already vile mouth—"Of events in the world beyond your blissful solitude."

"Let her be, Ellexssya!" I snarled. "Speak your mind, and be gone!"

But Ellexssya's eyes went past me, and she looked at Christine again. I saw Christine's eyes widen, dark with fear and resentment. Then I saw her skin grew slightly paler, and I immediately whirled her into my arms, locking her protectively within my embrace. I looked back to the sorceress over the dark tresses of my beloved, and repeated—

"Say what you have come here to say, and go!"

"Very well!" Ellexssya declared.

She moved her hand, and suddenly a large, silver mirror appeared in her palm. She passed her fingers over it, and then a beam of blood-red light shot forth from the mirror, illuminating her features and making them seem a hundred times more horrible. Christine recoiled in my arms, pressed fearfully against me. I held her closer and rested the unmasked side of my face against her hair, trying to impart a feeling of reassurance and safety to her–though I myself was unknowing and afraid of what the mirror in the sorceress's hand might divulge to us.

With a bit of a low, triumphant laugh, Ellexssya then turned the mirror around to face us, and straightened her arm, holding it out towards us. Drawn by some power that we could not resist–curiosity, or something more–both Christine and I stared into the depths of the mirror, watching as a picture formed before our eyes.

In the mirror, we saw the Daae cottage: the day was full of rain clouds, grey and dreary and dismal, and mist was everywhere. Then we somehow passed through its walls, and were inside of the little house itself, looking into the parlor as if we were actually standing there, and not merely looking into a picture on a mirror. I heard Christine gasp, suddenly, as she saw her two sisters, both of whom were red-eyed and weeping; then two young men came into the picture. Her older brothers. They also were haggard and grief-stricken, their eyes rimmed with red and ringed with dark circles of pain and tiredness.

There was sadness in this house: awful sadness.

Again the picture shifted, and then we were standing, it seemed, within one of the cramped little bedrooms within the cottage. Within it was a single bed, upon which lay…Monsieur Charles Daae. He was very ill. At the end of the bed had been placed a little cot, and upon it lay a small child: a young girl whom I knew had to be Christine's young stepsister, Marguerite, or Meg. She was also very ill. Moving back and forth between the two of them was a dark-haired, pale woman–Christine's stepmother, Antoinette Giry-Daae–and she was tending to both her invalid husband and daughter. Both of the stricken had a strange, dark aura about them, and I knew, as an enchanter, that this was no good thing to see.

Something was very, very wrong here.

I heard a strangled, ragged gasp from Christine, and looked instantly to her; I saw both of her hands go to her mouth, and her eyes were wide and suddenly very bright. I reached out to her, for she had pulled away from me in the midst of her dismay, but somehow I could not reach he –I could not reach her…

Then, all at once, the vision in the mirror ended, disappearing as quickly as it had begun. Christine began to fall, but I caught her swiftly and held her securely against me as I turned my furious eyes on the sorceress.

Ellexssya looked pleased with herself.

And I knew that she had accomplished the task she had come here for.

"They've fallen ill with the hellion delirium," she said. "They will waste away within their dreams, unable to return to reality–unable to decide what is real and what is not in the midst of their subconscious. They will burn with fever and shake with chills; they will neither be able to eat nor drink, and they will not recognize the faces of any of their loved ones. They will slowly lose their minds, and so perish. One of my better spells."

"No!" Christine sobbed.

Suddenly, she made a frenzied movement and would have lunged for the sorceress had I not restrained her.

"How dare you! You evil woman–how dare you!" she cried, struggling against me with wild thoughtlessness, tears streaming down her face. "How can you be so cruel? How can you do this? How dare you!"

And then she stopped fighting and fell limply against me, pressing her face against my chest and sobbing into my shirtfront.

I could do nothing more than hold her close.

"Because I can, Mademoiselle Daae, and because I enjoy it," Ellexssya replied, with scathing mockery and disdain. "You have a choice now. Remain here with your monstrous prince and you will, perhaps, attain happiness with him in the short time he has left before he dies. Yes, child, you have heard me aright: he will die. His time will soon be at an end. Remain with him, Mademoiselle, or return to your family, who needs you in this dark hour. You may be able to heal them, with what you have learned during your time in Shadowrose Castle! There may be hope for them yet! Leave him, and go back to them. Or do you wish their blood to be on your precious lily-white hands?"

Something inside of my mind snapped.

"THAT'S ENOUGH, WITCH!" I roared: my eyes flaming a deep, bloody red as I whirled to face her. Ellexssya took an involuntary step away from me, but I saw that her eyes glowed with the same anger for an instant. But I was beyond caring about this–I had been pushed past my very last limit, and I would stand for no more of her evil.

"No more!" I snarled at her. "Get out, and leave us! You will not torment this innocent, Ellexssya Scarlet-Heart! I will die before you harm her further!"

And, for once, she obeyed.

She stepped backwards, and began to slowly disintegrate, disappearing in a shower of molten red sparks. Before she left entirely, however, I caught her last words to me—

"…Is that a promise, Erik?"

The night was still and shocked through with grief, anger, and helplessness after that. My question went unasked, and Christine wept for hours against my shoulder. My perfect evening…all of my plans, my heartfelt and romantic proposal…everything had been shattered, and ruined, at the arrival of the sorceress.

We would never have those moments back again.

I gave a shuddering sigh that hurt as it whistled through my lungs, and let my face drop so that my unmasked cheek could rest against the crown of Christine's skull. Her warmth was comforting to me…even in this moment.

She had quieted now, her tears having abated themselves after a long span of weeping. I didn't blame her. If I had known how to weep when I had first been enchanted, I would have wept until my tears were no longer water but blood. Her family, her world outside of my realm, was in danger.

I knew of the sickness that the sorceress had named, and I knew of its awful lethal capacity. Here, we had the means—medicines and books on treatments—that could help them, and restore their health, but such items would never be found near their village. And Christine wouldn't even be able to say goodbye to her father, or her little sister.

Tears burned my own eyes now.

I looked up, and let my gaze rove across the gardens. Everything was still moonlit and beautiful, but when I looked closely, my night-seeing eyes told me that now that beauty was beginning to tarnish. The roses were wilting. I smiled, sadly, and shifted my grasp on Christine.

Finally, I knew what I had to do.

"Ma belle?" I said, softly, craning my head down upon my neck so that I could see into her face. Her eyes were closed, but her fingers were still wrapped securely around the front of my coat, which told me that she was yet awake. She did not respond to me, however. I tried again. "Christine."

A pause.

"Christine. Please look at me."

She didn't move.

I took a deep breath, and felt my stomach twist and turn, tying itself into knots. I knew that what I was about to say was for the very best. It would be the only unselfish thing that I had ever done in my life, and it would also spell my very own doom. If I said the words, it would mean my death. I stood upon the brink. Once I opened my mouth, there would be no going back, no changing what I had brought into being.

Once and for all, I would be past the point of no return.

So, for one last time, I glanced at the roses. An invisible, soft night breeze riffled through their bushes, causing the blooms to nod upon their stems, as if for them to say to me—Yes. Yes. This is right. This is good. You have chosen. Yes.

I smiled, noting their withered petals.

Yes. This is right. This is good.

"If you ride hard, Christine, and reach them by dawn, you will have enough time, I think, to save them. They are not yet past human aid–but they do need medicine, and it is a medicine of a kind that they will not find with Sumer's Flax village."

I stood up with her. Christine moved in my arms, finally returning to life, and I set her down, gently. We stood facing one another for a long moment, eyes scanning across each other's faces, and then she blinked.

"You'll be able to take the medicine with you in one of your saddlebags," I told her, softly. "But you must give it to them right away, when you reach home. If you move quickly, there will be no need to worry over them for long. I promise you that, cherie."

"Erik."

She snatched a hold of my coat's lapels, dragging me close to her. Her silver-flecked amber eyes stared up, wide and dark and searching and alarmed, into my own.

"Erik," she breathed. "What are you saying?"

Carefully, but firmly, I disengaged her fingers from my coat, and stepped away from her. Three long strides took me a good distance across the grass, safely away from her, and then I stopped. I stared at the ground for a long, long moment: memorizing each and every blade of dark emerald grass. So much of me wanted to refuse to let her go, to ignore the danger of her family, to keep her here with myself forever–and break the spell, so that I and my kingdom might be free—!

But more of me wanted to see her happy.

No matter what the cost.

"Christine," I rasped, unevenly and gracelessly. "I'm telling you, child, that you are free to go. Pack up some of your things, and come down to the stables. I will meet you there with César; he will be your swiftest means of reaching your family, and speed is what you require most now. There is yet hope for them."

"You—" she stammered, and I could feel her staring at me. I did not turn around, though. I couldn't bear to look at her. I couldn't bear to look at her. "You—I'm to go back to them? You—"

"Yes." I replied, almost brusquely. "Now hurry, child! There isn't much time! I've already wreaked enough havoc on your family–I won't be held responsible for more pain and suffering within the Daae clan. I think I already have enough atonement to do in that respect, and I don't want my soul to be wandering in torment as fitting punishment for my evil deeds after I die. Go."

I heard an odd sound from her then: it was something like a choking noise, something like a gasp, a cough…and a sob, all in one. I didn't dare turn around, though, for fear of rescinding every word that I had just said and ordering her to remain her with me for the rest of time, without ever going further than my arms' reach.

But I stayed where I was. I had made my decision, and now I would abide by it.

Even as my heart died.

Then I heard the sound of softly rustling satin skirts again, and the sound of footsteps on the grass, gradually fading. In moments, I knew that she was gone.

At length, when I was certain that I was entirely alone, I turned, and stepped silently to the place where she had stood just seconds before. I stared at the ground, as tears blurred my eyes, and suddenly a shaft of red-hot anger and grief lanced through me. With a sob, I fell to my knees and buried my hideous face within my hands: howling my sorrow to the night air, where no one could hear me.

After all, it was my destiny to be always alone.

Some time later, I made my way to the wing of the castle that held Christine's rooms. I was now much more composed and detached, feeling confident that I had regained control over my emotions. When Christine came to open the door at my knock, I knew, I would find out whether this was true or not.

Three times, I rapped gently on the door.

No reply.

"Christine?"

Finally—

"Yes, Erik?"

Her voice sounded muffled and unsteady, even through the door. She had been weeping again. My lips set into a firm, thin line, I called through the wood to her—

"You were supposed to have met me down at the stable some time ago, Mademoiselle la Princesse. If I find you crying in there—"

I heard a short, uncharacteristically bitter little laugh from her.

"Then you might as well walk in and get your rebuke over with, Erik–I am crying. And I don't care what you say. I will keep crying if I want to, and nothing you can say or do will make me stop. I hope we understand each other now."

My hand was on the doorknob before even an instant had passed; one lightning-quick movement of my wrist, and a rough shove of my arm, and the door was swung open, revealing the candlelit interior of my ingénue's sitting room. She was crumpled up on the fainting couch that had been placed by a wide window, beyond which was a pretty little terrace. The doors to that were open, and the night breeze was causing the filmy white curtains that hung there to drift lazily about.

I kept my fists firmly at my sides as I looked across the space to her. She had not yet changed out of the diamond gown, but her mussed hair and tear-streaked face were testimonies to her bereaved state of mind. I half wanted to order her to her feet, so that she could pack her things and leave before I went out of my mind with grief and the overwhelming, maddening prospect of being alone again…but I didn't.

"Christine," I said, keeping my voice soft. "Please,ma belle. Please–they need your help now, and you can give it to them. Go back, and help them."

She shook her head, vehemently, and stood up.

"No," she told me. "I made a promise. I vowed that I wouldn't leave. I won't break my word to you."

"Christine, I am telling you to go. As both your prince and your fiancé, I am telling you–I am ordering you–to go. Leave this castle, and go back to your family. Make them well again; I know you can do it. But you must go."

"Erik—"

And suddenly she had flown across the room and was in my arms again, burying her face in my chest as she wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me to her.

"What about you—what about the—she said…"

"Anything that that witch said is none of your concern, Christine," I informed her, sternly, and pulled away so that I could look fully down into her tear-brightened eyes. I felt my insides writhing with shame and self-hatred. I was going to lie to her. "She was lying to you, so that you wouldn't go back to help them–so that you would feel compelled to stay. I am not going to die, Christine. She was lying, ma belle…my darling, sweetest Christine, my only…"

I caught myself up on a near-sob, and yanked her back into my arms.

"She was lying, Christine; there is nothing about her that isn't false! None of it was true, what she said about me–none of it. I will not die…but you must go back to them. You can make them heal, just as you made me heal. Go to them, Christine–please go."

I buried my fingers in her beautiful dark tresses, and wondered,Can I ever let her go? Can I face the thought–and then the reality–of waking up every morning and knowing that she will not be the first person I will see? Can I bear the truth of her being gone? Can I live with the knowledge that she is gone…even if only for a little while?

"Go, Christine."

I watched, then, as Christine rode to the gates of Shadowrose Castle, which opened slowly as she and César approached. From my vantage point in the tower, I looked on as she passed through shadow and moonlight, moving further and further away from me—

Drifting towards freedom.

How many moments drifted past, after that, without my knowledge, I could not say–but the memory of the moment when I heard distant running footsteps in the marble corridors of my labyrinthine home, growing gradually closer, is forever etched within my memory. I had scarcely enough time to turn around and think, No!, before a pale blue form had launched itself at me, and was grabbing me around the waist.

"Christine!" I gasped.

Why had she come back?

"Ma petite, what are you doing here?"

Suddenly, she clapped one hand around the back of my neck, placing the other on the masked side of my face, and then she was pulling my face itself down towards her, so that I was more on her level. She made me look her in the eyes.

"Erik, you must tell me when to return to you," she said. "Tell me when to come back, so that I won't worry for you while I'm gone. Tell me."

I nearly fainted with relief from a pent-up fear that I hadn't known I had.

"Oh, Christine!" I sighed, and we embraced: holding onto one another for a long, long time after that. When we finally parted, she looked at me again.

"Tell me to return."

"Come back to me, Christine," I whispered, as she caressed a stray strand of my hair back off of my forehead, out of my eyes. "Come back."

"I will, Erik. I always will!" she promised.

With a flick of my wrist, I conjured a white rose out of the air, and held it out to her. As she carefully received it from me, I told her, "A month, Christine. Return to your family, and stay with them for a month. During that time, this rose will serve as a reminder of me to you. For a month, it will bloom and remain as beautiful as it is now, but when the month is out, its beauty will fade and it will slowly wither and die. Then you will know that you must return home to me."

For I will fade and die…without you, my mind whispered.

Angrily, I pushed such thoughts into the back of my mind.

No.

"A month," she said. "I will not forget."

Then I wrapped my arms around her, lifting her off of the ground, and kissed her without preamble or discussion.

The melding of our lips was sweet and simple, but full of determination and bittersweet passion. I could taste both her tears and my own on my lips; we were both weeping openly, and neither of us thought for even an instant of apologizing or stemming the flow of our tears. Being separated from her would be unbearable…more unbearable than anything else that had ever befallen me. I did not want to let her go. I didn't want her out of my arms for even an instant. I wanted to look into her eyes every waking moment, and know that she was, without a doubt or fear, my own, just as I was hers.

Our kiss deepened, and I held onto her more desperately, crushing her to me with all of the passion that I had felt slowly growing within me during the past months.

I didn't want to let go. I didn't want to say good-bye. I didn't want her gone for even a moment. I wanted to hold onto her.

She gave a little sob, breath moving swiftly from her mouth into mine, and I shuddered at the force of both her sadness and my own. If only I hadn't been cursed, this farewell would not be so difficult. We both knew what we were facing now.

I felt her slender fingers moving up from my collar to my face; she gently untied the laces of my mask and brought it away from my face, without ever breaking our kiss, and I wept even more brokenheartedly. She was so willing to be with a monster! Her fingers caressed the sensitive disfigured skin on the right side of my face, brushing against the rough surface that was so unused to being touched; shivers ran down my back. I loved her so.

We had come so close to realizing our bond to one another…but that moment was gone now, forever…

"Remember me, Christine." I whispered, hoarsely, as we broke away from one another.

She reached up and caressed my cheek for one last time. The silver shards in her gorgeous eyes sparkled with her tears, and I leaned into her touch, closing my eyes as a miserable groan emanated from the pit of my chest.

No…Christine…no…

"I could never forget you, Erik! And I will return. I will…you must believe me."

And she turned and left, in a flurry of pale blue silk.

I do believe you, Christine, I whispered in my mind as I watched her disappear into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest. I put my face in my hands, and felt the heart-wrenching sobs overwhelm me once more.

I always have.

The dream had ended.

You alone can make

My song take flight…

It's over now:

The music of the night…