Chapter Twenty Five

Christine drifted under a heavy weight. Her papa's voice came to her in that sinking state, followed by Mrs. Bancroft and Mama Valerius.

"Wake up, my little Christine," her father pleaded softly.

"He needs you," Mrs. Bancroft whispered.

"Go and live, Christine," Mama Valerius declared with an air of finality.

"Papa?" she murmured in the darkness, her hands reaching for something…something…

"Go back."

"Go back."

"Go back…"

All three voices collided together in one harmony.

"Stay, please," another voice cut through those of her past loved ones. What a horribly tragic sound it was! So pitiful, so desperate!

"Do not leave me…" And then an awful, horrid sobbing assaulted her ears.

Erik?

The heaviness shifted over her-she gasped. A sharp, burning pain shot across her right side even within the darkness where it seemed nothing could touch her.

Christine began to wake up.

The men's voices blended together. One was incredibly gentle but firm-calming. The other was hoarse and desperate.

She felt a tight pressure on her hand and squeezed back weakly.

"Christine!?" She recognized the voice. It was her Erik.

"Erik…" she murmured, feeling exhausted.

"Christine? Speak to me. How do you feel? Are you in much pain? I am so-," he choked, unable to finish. Finally, he whispered. "Please-please, please come back to me."

She had never heard him quite so distraught and it made her heart ache.

The girl made a move to sit up and immediately groaned as the pain furthered. Two hands met her shoulders, pressing her back down.

"No! No, do not move, my love. You have a wound…Nadir stitched it closed. You were bleeding so much, Christine. I thought you…DO NOT EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!" He suddenly shouted, sounding very angry.

"Erik! Calm yourself," the other man interrupted, his footsteps falling closer to where Christine lay. "Christine, do you remember what happened? How is your pain? You have quite a nasty gash from the bullet but I believe you will recover."

"Nadir?" she murmured-the first she had spoken since waking up.

"Yes, child. We are at my flat-it was closer than your residence. Do you want me to tell you what happened?"

"Please…"

"Your friend, Mademoiselle Giry, became distraught when you did not answer the door yesterday. She found it unlocked and let herself inside; the parlor was in complete disarray. There was also blood on the floor."

Blood? Christine could not remember if her attacker had drawn any blood from her then, but she did remember savagely biting into his finger. It must have belonged to him.

"Giry did not find you in the house anywhere but she noticed the window was open with signs of forced-entry. She immediately went to the opera house and snuck into your dressing room. I daresay she made such a commotion for such a long time that Erik had no choice but to see what was going on behind the mirror. Giry told him of what she had found and he left immediately to find you. He arrived on my doorstep, hoping I could assist him in tracking Ashkan down. As we were preparing to find your location a young boy came to my door with an "important" missive. In the…note," he coughed. "-was several locks of your hair along with the location-an old prison long abandoned."

Nadir sighed, seeming troubled as he recounted the tale. "The prison was two hours away by horse and we went alone. I brought my doctor's bag with me in case-just in case it was needed. It had started snowing and when we arrived we could see you on your knees in the distance with Ashkan bending over you. And then you shouted that he had a gun as Erik came closer. We knew he must be armed but your shout gave Erik time to maneuver out of the way and dismount. When he took up his gun again, you…stopped him."

Christine squirmed, remembering how she had so savagely plunged the knife into his chest. She shivered. He was a bad man, yes. He meant to kill Erik and so she had to protect him. Could she regret the action?

No, not if it meant Erik still lived and was safe.

"Then you were shot," Erik's voice cut in, clearly upset. "I held you in my arms and you bled and you were in so much pain. Khan removed the bullet right there. He dug into your flesh and removed a shattered piece of metal from your side. And you were screaming and begging me to help you and all I could do was watch!" he moaned in perfect agony.

"Nadir, will you please give us some time," Christine asked softly.

When they were alone she reached her hand out, relieved when his bony, long fingers wrapped around her palm.

"I am sorry I caused you so much pain, darling," she whispered, trying not to wince from the ache in her side. "But you are safe and I do not regret what I did."

"YOU COULD HAVE DIED! YOU COULD HAVE LEFT ME FOREVER! YOU WOULD HAVE LEFT YOUR POOR ERIK TO WASTE AWAY WITHOUT YOU?!" The outburst did not frighten her as it once might have.

"Come here," she beckoned softly, pulling him closer as their hands were still entwined.

She heard a thud and knew he dropped to his knees at her bedside. "Come lay beside me," she entreated further. His movements were cautious, not wishing to jostle her and cause more pain. Finally, he straightened on her uninjured side. She smiled sadly and carefully reached for his head, bringing it down to lie on her breast.

"I could never bear to watch you in so much pain again, Christine," he choked as she rubbed circles into the back of his neck. "I was so helpless-if Nadir weren't there you could have died," he groaned.

"But I didn't" she replied gently. "I did not die, and you were not hurt, and we are both safe. How grateful I am."

"Please, do not ever put yourself at risk for me again," he pressed, desperation creeping back into his tone.

"That, my darling, is something I cannot promise. I will always want you to be protected and safe, just as you wish the same for me." She moved her head down to his slightly, the movement causing another burning she struggled to ignore as she pressed her lips to the crown of his head.

"You are in pain." He stated, drawing away from her and rolling off of the bed.

"A little," she lied, trying to take small breaths.

"Khan will give you a sedative. Do not move," he commanded lowly before his footsteps fell away. Christine understood he was still upset over her earlier behavior-his tone clearly betrayed his anger, but she would not lie to him and tell him it would never happen again. She hoped, fervently, that the future they built together would never call for such violent action. But if it did, she would defend him till her dying breath, just as he would do the same.

Nadir came back into the room and asked her how she was feeling and this time she was honest. It hurt very badly. He bid her drink a warm concoction and she soon felt herself drift into another dreamless sleep.

The next two weeks Christine was determined to recover fully so she and Erik might have their winter wedding before the opera season began.

Meg visited her often as Christine had been returned to the Valerius residence to heal. When she told her friend all that had happened Meg had been quite a mess.

"He took you!? He shot you?! Oh God, Christine!"

The girl wept next to her friend who was propped up in bed and rubbing Meg's back in order to soothe her.

"But I am alright Meg! Nadir says I am healing very quickly. Please, don't worry so."

"You could have died! You say the man is…dead? He can no longer hurt you?"

"Yes, Meg." Christine answered uncomfortably, ducking her head down.

"What if someone else from Erik's past comes back to haunt him?" Meg whispered, sounding anxious.

"We will deal with it when the time comes, I suppose. The Shah meant for Erik to die here," Christine stopped, her voice raw with emotion.

She continued. "Nadir and Erik say they plan to trick the Shah into believing Ashkan has written to Persia with news of Erik's death. How they will do that, I do not know, but Erik is very intelligent. I do not want to run from these people my entire life…but I won't leave him."

"I hope they succeed in tricking him."

"Me too. Not to change the subject so abruptly Meg, but I was wondering if you could do me a favor…"

"It is healing nicely, Christine," Nadir said after his daily check-up on her injury.

"It still bothers me sometimes. Do you think I will be alright to walk for the wedding?"

"Yes, but we should make it a very short walk down the aisle. And you should not overexert yourself right now."

Christine blushed. "Nadir…do you think our wedding night…" She couldn't even finish the question.

"You both must be very careful then. But yes, Christine, you can still be with one another on your wedding night," he answered knowingly.

"What about the opera?" She asked, changing the awkward subject.

"I believe those at the Populaire would be more than happy to make accommodations for their Prima Donna as she heals. Once the stitches are out, your movement will be better, but you must be gentle with yourself even after that."

"I understand. Thank you, again."

"Are you two done in there?" Erik's voice spoke impatiently on the other side of the door.

"Yes! You can come in darling," Christine smiled as the door to her room slammed open.

"How is she, Khan?" Erik asked quickly.

"She is healing nicely, Erik. As I said, her stitches will be out soon-before the wedding I should think. Be careful not to overexert her though," Nadir finished with an audible smirk in his voice.

"Watch it, Daroga," Erik growled.

"I will leave you two now," Nadir said, ignoring the man's threat.

Erik was at her side before the Persian had even exited the front door. "Do you need anything?" he asked tenderly.

"Some tea would be nice I think," she answered.

He left to prepare their drinks and Christine reflected on his current mood. Initially, he had been very upset over her actions, but apparently he couldn't stay angry with her for long. Now, he just appeared to be relieved that she was okay. Erik stayed with her at night now, in case she was in need of anything.

Mostly she craved his presence because of the nightmares.

Christine could not get the thought of stabbing Ashkan out of her head. The action itself haunted her and at night the event ran wild in her dreams.

The first night in the Valerius' residence after being shot she had woken up screaming, wondering if there really was blood on her hands. They felt so slick and sticky! She rubbed them together, sobbing until Erik had calmed her, immediately taking her into his arms. He had taken post at her bedside in a chair before she had woken up in a panic.

"I killed him! I am a murderer!" she cried into his neck as he rocked her gently.

"You are no such thing. I ended him, Christine. You said it yourself, you were only protecting me. He was not dead until I killed him." He kissed her forehead, rubbing her back soothingly.

"He-he had a-a family," she wept quieter now.

"The Shah expects his men to die for him. His family would have known this may happen."

"It doesn't make it any easier on his wife, on his children," she choked, imagining a woman waiting in an empty house with an infant on her lap, wailing with despair.

"You are innocent in this. You did not take away a man from his family. The Shah did. I did. You have done nothing wrong."

"Does it ever go away?" She asked quietly against his neck, swallowing. Christine knew he understood what she referred to.

"No," he answered honestly. "But it will get easier, I promise. I will be with you."

"Am I a bad person?" She murmured against his cravat.

"No! No, my love. You are an angel. An angel that has been trapped in this mess with a devil."

"You are no devil," she stated strongly, pulling away from his neck then.

"Then what am I?"

"You are the man I love," she said before pressing her lips to his.

After weeks of recovery, she had made it. They would be married at nightfall in a chapel near her home. She still did not understand how Erik had convinced the priest to marry them so quietly and at such a strange hour, but she was grateful the event would be no extreme stressor on her love with the promise of a very small gathering.

Meg adjusted the ties on the back of Christine's dress, oohing and awing over the soft and light material of her gown. The favor Christine had asked Meg included taking her mother's wedding dress to a tailor with Christine's measurements so she may wear it on the day-or rather night- of the ceremony.

The gown itself had been lying untouched in her wardrobe. Her Papa had given her possession of it when she turned eleven years old. Christine had always admired the photograph of her mama and papa on their wedding day; it was an image she ogled over when she was much younger-before the fever had taken her vision.

The gown was a pale ivory with a long train. The neckline stopped mid-throat and was decorated with lacy depictions of flowers while the sleeves were of the same material and came down to her wrists. The tailor did not have to alter much. It seemed Christine bore a striking resemblance in figure to her mother at the same age.

Instead of a veil, she opted for flowers in her hair in the form of a crown filled with roses and lilies. The golden locks themselves had been brushed by Meg into an impeccable shine and the ringlets tumbled down her shoulders and back.

"Erik will be very pleased," Meg commented slyly.

"I am so excited," Christine replied, laughing. "After everything, we can finally be together."

Meg pulled her into an embrace, careful not to muss her hair or dress. "I am so happy for you, Christine. You deserve this."

Christine gave her friend a light peck on the cheek, knowing she must have left just a tad of rouge on her skin due to the paint on her lips. "Thank you for being with me. For everything." She gave her a quick squeeze on the shoulders before pulling away.

"Are you ready?" Meg asked, slipping a warm cloak onto Christine's shoulders.

Christine smiled. "Yes! Let's go."

A/N: Next Chapter-The wedding! I promise lots of fluff 3 I am thinking there may be one more chapter after that consisting of an epilogue. Thank you to everyone for your support and reviews of this story!