Christine awoke around nine in the morning, rolling over to find herself alone in bed. Her eyes wandered to the bedside table, finding a note. She quickly sat up and grabbed the note, reading it to herself.
"Good morning, my love. Unfortunately, I have much work to do before the opening of the show tonight and had to leave for the theatre. Do feel free to come a little earlier than your call time today and see me. I am positive Meg, Nadir, or Leila will go with you. Be sure to bring all of your things for the after party to the theatre beforehand, as we will not be returning home. I love you and I hope to see you soon. Erik," She read out loud, smiling to herself.
Christine knew she had to hurry to the Opera House. The young girl giddily jumped out of bed, running into the study to get dressed for the day. She pulled out a light, simple day dress and her undergarments, changing quickly out of her nightgown.
As she began dressing, Christine grew nervous. It was opening night and Erik was going to tell her the secret today! Her heart pounded in her chest as she grabbed her evening gown for the after party and made her way to the Opera House.
Erik sat in his office, finishing the last bit of paperwork he had. The cast was running around, frantically trying to get ready for the show. He could hear them scrambling around, yelling at other cast members for costume pieces, wigs, and props. Normally, Erik would not tolerate all the noise while he was trying to work, but today he wasn't focused much on work. He was more focused on Christine.
At around ten o'clock, someone came knocking on Erik's door.
"Enter," he called, glancing up from his paperwork.
Meg Giry popped her head of blonde curls in the door. "Nadir and Christine have just arrived! They're entering the lobby right now!" she smiled.
Erik quickly got up, going to the door. He had been waiting all morning to hear word on Christine, and she had finally arrived. As he made his way to the lobby, he caught the attention of a few cast members. Word began to spread that Christine had arrived, and the cast began to hide some of the after party decorations.
The masked man entered the lobby, finding Nadir stalling for him as he spoke to Christine. "Ah, here you are!" Erik greeted, a smile gracing his lips.
Christine grinned widely as she looked over at Erik. She reached out her hands for him to take, which he did immediately. Erik pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, squeezing both of her hands. "Bonjour, Mademoiselle," he whispered as his lips kissed her cheek.
She giggled and kissed the nose of his mask. "Bonjour," she whispered back. "I suppose I should go get ready for the show tonight. I have a lot of things to get done."
Erik nodded, pecking her lips before releasing her hands. "You go get done what you need to do. I will see you again before the show starts."
Christine nodded and smiled before turning and quickly making her way down the hall. Erik turned to Nadir.
"How late did she sleep?" he asked, gesturing for Nadir to follow him as he made his way back to his office.
Nadir straightened his jacket. "Until about nine, I assume. She came running down the stairs at about nine-thirty. I believe she thought she was alone in the house, for she was startled when I stopped her from running straight out the door," he said, chuckling lightly.
"Ah, that sounds like her. She's not always very aware of her surroundings, I'm afraid," Erik said, joining the chuckling. "But that is alright, it's only a minor flaw."
They entered Erik's office, closing the door behind them. "So, do you have the ring?" Nadir asked, smirking slyly.
Erik reached into his desk drawer, pulling out the small box. "Indeed I do." He opened the box once more, revealing the gorgeous ring.
"My friend, she is going to adore this," Nadir said, examining the ring. "Even I am jealous that you got such a nice piece crafted!"
Erik closed the box and set it back in his drawer. "Well, you could get a piece crafted for your woman. You have been with her a very long time," he said, eyeing his friend.
Nadir chuckled lightly. "Well, I have been considering it. I suppose I will wait until you and Christine have been wed. It would be the proper thing to do."
The masked man gave a nod. "I suppose you are right. I wish you the best of luck. Now come, we must go double check that everything is set for tonight," he said, leading them out of the office.
At around half past six, the audience began packing into the theater. Christine sat nervously in her dressing room, adjusting her wig as she gazed at her reflection. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she fidgeted with the blonde braids that were pinned onto her head.
Christine had never been this nervous for an opening night, not since the opening night of Hannibal back nearly six years ago. Maybe it was because the Angel of Music was watching her again.
Christine prayed that everything would go alright tonight. Oh, she could not mess this up! This was going to be the first time in five years that Erik would see her perform! She couldn't mess this up; she had to get every note, every word right!
There was a knock on the dressing room door, startling Christine. She turned towards the door quickly, sitting up a little straighter. "C-Come in," she called, biting her bottom lip.
The door opened slowly, revealing her masked lover. A smile consumed Christine's face as she stood to meet him. He entered the room, going immediately to her and gently kissing her lips.
"Are you nervous?" he asked softly, breaking off the short kiss and framing her face with his hands.
Christine nodded. "Very nervous, actually…" she said, biting her lip once more.
Erik kissed her forehead. "Do not be nervous. You will be perfect, I know it. You look lovely in your costume and your vocal warm up was spot on, there's no way you will mess up. Now come along, the show will be starting soon," he said, linking arms with her.
Together they exited the dressing room, padding down the hallway to the backstage area.
As they got closer to the stage, they could the excitement of the audience. The good vibe the audience sent helped relax Christine, her mind settling and her heartbeat slowing down.
"Have a wonderful show, my love. I will be watching from my box, and then afterwards I will receive you from your dressing room," Erik whispered, kissing her ear. Christine turned to him and quickly kissed his lips.
"I love you," she smiled.
Erik returned the smile. "I love you too, Christine," he said. It was about time for the show to begin, so Erik quickly headed up to his box.
As soon as Erik sat into his seat, the curtain opened. He sat back, enjoying the production he had put together. Christine did not come onstage until Act Two, but when she did, his full attention was on her.
She looked so young, so beautiful as Marguerite. As she opened her mouth to sing, the whole theater was in awe. Some recognized her and opened their cast books, searching for her name. Others simply sat in amazement at her voice.
Erik sat forward in his seat, his heart racing as she sang her beautiful aria. As the song came to an end, the whole theater applauded loudly.
"I must say, she truly does have the voice of an angel," Nadir said. Nadir and Leila had been seated beside Erik, but all Erik was paying attention to was his Christine.
Before he knew it, the show was in its second to last Act. Christine stood onstage by the spinning wheel, singing Il ne revient pas. As she sang about being left alone with her child, thoughts rushed to Erik's head. Oddly enough though, they were not sad or angry thoughts like the song suggested. They were happy thoughts.
He imagined giving Christine a child after their marriage. He imagined spending the days at home with his pregnant wife, watching as her stomach grew and helping her through whatever she needed.
He thought about holding a child, his child. Whether it be a boy or girl, it would be perfect because Christine would be it's mother.
As the song ended, Erik decided that someday he would give Christine a child.
The Act flew by quickly and the next one started just as fast. Erik watched as Marguerite's soul rose to heaven and Christine disappeared. As Leon fell to his knees in prayer, the curtains began to close.
The audience jumped to their feet with roaring applause. The curtains reopened for the bows and the amount of cheers and applause Christine received was incredible. Erik clapped loudly, watching as Christine smiled up at him.
Now was the time. Erik reached his hand into his pocket and made sure the box was still there. When he found that it was, he turned and exited Box 5.
Author's Note: I really apologize for the lateness and shortness of this chapter, but I wanted to put of the proposal until next chapter so I would have more time to write it. I totally forgot that I have a daylong commitment today, so this will be the only chapter out today.
Thank you for sticking with me through this and hopefully next chapter will be out tomorrow!