A/N: For a lot of you this is a chapter you really don't like becuase of stupid (cough) Christine's betrayal. But I want Raoul to be a real opponent for Erik so have to make him somewhat likeable don't I? Well thank you to all of you who have stuck by me and reviewed me story. I know 37 chapters is a lot to read in order to get the whole plot, but trust me you'll be glad it was so long in the end...at least I hope...umm...well moving on!! Have a great day guys!!
Raoul found Christine on the roof. She had changed into a midnight blue dress with lace around the edges. The hood of her matching cloak was down revealing her long brown curls covered with tiny snowflakes. She turned quickly when she sensed his presence and flung herself into his arms as soon as he came near. The soft lightly on the roof top from her kerosene lamp illuminated her face making it appear even more ghostly pale.
"Raoul!" She whispered. "Oh Raoul!" She clung tightly to him.
"Christine?" Raoul breathed softly. His warm breath fell cold upon her cheek. "What is wrong?" He gently grasped her shoulders and pulled her back so he could see her face more clearly. "Christine?" He asked. She was shivering from the cold. Snowflakes fell all around them on the rooftop. She turned her eyes toward him. The distant haunted look in her eyes shocked him.
"I'm so glad you came...I didn't know if you would."
"I will always be there when you need me." He corrected gently. "What is so urgent?"
"He was there, you saw him! Doesn't that give you cause for alarm?"
"Of course my darling, but I know that the managers of the Opera House with sort it out."
"Its not just that...I...fear for your life...Raoul." She whispered in a soft anxious tone.
"My life? Christine you're tired from your performance. I'm amazed you've lasted this long, my love." He tenderly drew the hood of her cloak over her head so she would be more sheltered from the cold.
"Please Raoul! Listen to me! " Panic rose in her throat making her feel as if she could retch. She held on to him so tightly. Raoul gazed down at her, pity was etched in his face.
"What places such terror in your heart?" He asked brushing a curl from her face.
"The Opera Ghost." She whispered. "I've seen him...I cannot rid my mind of the memory...the memory of his face." She looked at him, not really seeing him. Her eyes had gone wide, and her face already pale from the cold, had turned ashen. "His face will haunt me till I die. I cannot explain it! Oh Raoul! He will kill you! If he finds out that I have met you here we will pay with our lives! What have I done? What have I done?" She cried.
"Christine...my love. It was a dream! Only a dream! It has to be. " Raoul consoled her. Christine drew back.
"You think me mad." She whispered shaking her head. She turned away from him and looked over the edge of the roof and down at the soft glow of Paris. "Am I mad? Every time I close my eyes, he is there. Every time there is quiet, I hear him singing in my head. He is everywhere. I cannot escape him." Christine said softly. "My soul longs for him while my body shuns him. He is repulsive to me, yet he is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. He gave me my voice... and he gave me his heart."
"Christine." Raoul whispered in shock at her confession. "Please, you are scaring yourself with your tales. Rest your head against my shoulder, calm yourself. I am here." He said gently grasping her arms and pulling her towards him once more.
"No!" Christine cried pushing away from him. Fear flared up once again in her eyes. "You do not believe me! I swear on my father's grave I am speaking truthfully."
"Truly?" He asked searching her face. He found no deception in her eyes.
"I speak the truth." She whispered urgently.
"I believe you, love." He grasped her hand. "I must take you away from this place if someone is haunting you."
"Raoul I can not leave! For as long as he lives he will love me, he will long for me. I see it in his eyes. It is not a lust for flesh. It is a lust for the soul! And until I give it to him he will never stop haunting me! He said himself he will kill anyone who tries to seduce me! I do not want you to be a victim!"
"This Phantom will pay for his actions and deeds." Raoul said forcefully. She looked away.
"I fear that will never be. He has lived in a world full of hatred all of his life. He knows how to form plans, he knows how to outsmart, and trick!"
"I will protect you Christine! Even with my very life!"
"I know you will." She looked up into his eyes. "I...trust you."
"I still see fear lingering in your eyes, love."
"You see all too well." She whispered. She gazed tenderly. "I still fear for your life. Please be careful. We have seen him kill! Someone has died tonight! "
"Shhh. Christine." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You worry to much about my welfare. I have been looked out for my entire life, It is you who need protection. That protection I will give you." Christine drew herself back up into his arms. "You do not know how much I care for you. I need to know, love, I know how difficult this could be to say, but has this Phantom taken advantage of you...in any way?"
"Oh no! I...he...would never do that."
"Do you have feelings for him...Christine?" Raoul asked hesitantly.
"Raoul. I dare not speak of my feelings for him...He could be here...even now!"
"He is not here! He would not dare be here. Tell me, love." Raoul ran a finger gently against her cheek. She closed her eyes at his touch.
"I...I was frightened when he took me to his home. All the time I feared for my life and my soul. Oh but the places he took my soul. I felt like I was flying or on fire with passion for the voice he has given me!" She said her voice was lifted in awe, her eyes were wide. "But his face, Raoul! I took away his mask from his face and underneath was the most terrifying face I have ever seen! I have nightmares, I cannot get away from seeing his face." Her eyes were now filled with terror. "No...I'm certain now that the only feeling I feel when I gaze into his eyes is...pity. That's all. That's all that it ever will be." Christine's voice faltered as if even she wasn't sure of herself. The shadow of the Apollo's Lyre loomed over them with a dark menacing quality. The snow was falling even more quickly and the dark night sky was clouded over, blocking out the moon's glow glow. Suddenly a soft moan met Christine's ears.
"What was that?" She asked anxiously. Her hands were clenching Raoul's dress coat. He gently released himself from her grip. He put a finger to his lips signaling her to be silent and he slowly ran the length around the statue. He also checked the darker corners of the large roof. After a moment he returned to her.
"Shhh. It was nothing, love." He captured her tiny waist with his hands and drew her close once more. "I'm here. I will keep you safe."
"Raoul...I'm frightened. He could be here!"
"He is not here." Raoul said firmly brushing back a curl off her forehead. Her hood had once again fallen to her shoulders revealing her beautifully long curls.
"How can you be sure?" She asked softly as she gazed into his eyes.
"I'm sure..." He whispered gently. His hands reached up and cradled her face. "I would never let anything happen to you."
"Do you promise?" She asked fearfully.
"I swear. Come...I wish to see a smile." He said lightheartedly. She slowly lowered her eyes.
"I have not smiled in such a long while. It has felt like years."
"Than maybe this will put a smile back on your lovely lips." He whispered. His face slowly lowered down towards hers. His lips found hers and his hands encircled her waist. Her wide eyes closed in surprise at his sudden action. Her hands moved from her side to his shoulders as she was swept up in the kiss. She was the first to break away taking a few steps back.
"Why did you do that?" She asked him softly.
"You were so frightened...I wished to comfort you." She blinked slowly at him not quite knowing how to react. "I love you Christine. Heaven knows that its been hard to get that fact across to you! You never listen to me...your mind is always a thousand miles away. A kiss was the only way to get that across. I love you!" He smiled gently at her. "I loved you the moment I ever laid eyes on you! Even as a boy I was caught up in your beauty and spirit! I love you Christine Daae...marry me...and I'll take you away from here. We'll grow old together and our love will never die. I know what you must think..." He said.
"Raoul..." She said softly. She was speechless.
"I know what you must think...I've said too many flowery words for your taste. You must think me a fool."
"No...never, Raoul."
"Then please tell me what you think about my confession. For as a man in love I must know!" He said fervently.
"Oh Raoul..." Christine whispered stepping closer to him and cupping his chin in her small hands. "You know I care for you!" A soft moan once again met her ears. She shivered as a tingling sensation crept down her back like an icy hand. She turned her head in all directions, but there appeared to be no one around except the shadows.
"And I for you, love." He gazed intently into her eyes. He had not noticed the second noise. All he saw was the raised fear in her eyes. "You are I will escort you back to your room. From now on you are not to go out alone in the halls unless you have someone with you to guard you will I am not there. Ask your friend...Meg...yes I believe that's her name."
"I shall." Christine blushed at his concern. She reached back up and softly kissed his cheek. "Thank you for protecting me, Raoul." She said in a small child-like manner.
"Always. Now come with me down below. You'll freeze up here." He whispered placing his hand at the small of her back and leading her down the steps that would take them inside the warmer areas of the Opera House.
A dark shadow slowly moved out from it's hiding place when they had gone.
"Christine..." Erik whispered softly, his breath hardly showed in the icy air. His soul had died in him. There was only a corpse to carry the remains. "Oh Christine." He cried. His hand gripped a corner of the cold statue of Apollo's Lyre. A shiny translucent tear slowly slid down his cheek. Why did the image of her gazing up at him with her beautiful eyes and mouth slightly open in awe of him, keep appearing in his mind? "I denied you nothing. I gave you all I had to give. I asked nothing of you but your voice!" He wept. His hand curled into a fist and slammed against the hard statue. No pain reached him. He felt like his heart was writhing and screaming within him. "I have nothing else to give you!" He shouted. The snow continued to fall softly around him, giving the scene an surreal feel. Erik's voice cracked with emotion as he cried out her name. The cold wind whipped his cape against his legs and arms. He slowly stumbled over to the railing of the rooftop and leaned on it for support. His tears fell frozen to the streets of Paris below. That was how his heart felt...frozen...numb...iced over. He felt as if someone was manually pumping air into his lungs. Without the unseen help he knew he would not have been able to breath after his betrayal.
He shakily opened his eyes to look down at the streets below. He had nothing to live for...no one to love him back. Who would care if he threw himself off the roof. His death would not matter in the whole scheme of things. God did not care about him. In his mind a voice whispered her name, the name he vowed he would never utter again, a vow he knew he could not keep. Christine...Christine would care if he died. His eyes closed once more. He had been betrayed by her. She certainly did not care for him at all. She had done well to hide her emotions down in his lair. She had been more afraid than she had let on. She had lied about caring about him. Everything she had said and done was a lie. Ripping off his mask had been a doorway to her own true feelings about what she thought about him. He envied the kiss that the Vicomte had stolen from Christine. He envied the feeling of her arms around his neck and the look of love in her eyes. Those things he would never have.
"I gave you my love...Christine..." He whispered. He pulled a hand roughly through his black hair out of habit.
"But no more will I earn your pity." He straightened slowly. He would have her for his own prize. Both she and her young lover would pay for their treacherous deeds against him. They would suffer like he had. They would be humiliated. They would curse the day that they had disobeyed him. Yes, he would make them both pay. His heart had truly hardened. The ice had spread. No more would Christine pity him. She would love him. He would make her love him. A cold laughter rang out, coming from a wasted soul. It was his laughter. A laughter that put fear in man's soul. He was the Phantom and he would get what he wanted...a woman's love...no matter what it took.