Raoul woke up, stretching his hand out, expecting Christine to be there at
his touch, but all he felt was empty space where his palm wandered around.
He opened his eyes just a crack to realize his wife wasn't lying next to
him, but didn't think much of it.
She must be in the bathroom, he thought.
Raoul rolled out of bed, and groggily rubbing his eyes, he stepped towards the bathroom. "Christine," he called, "Love, are you in there?" Raoul entered the bathroom, plainly seeing that it was empty aside from a toilet, sink, and bathtub. Thinking she might have been eating breakfast by then, he exited the bathroom, dressing quickly to see why she was up so early.
While he headed towards the dining room, he bumped into a hand maid, asking her if Christine was eating breakfast.
"Master de Chagny," the maid said quietly, "I haven't seen Mme de Chagny since last night."
An uneasy feeling passed through Raoul... why would Christine leave without saying goodbye or telling him where she had gone? The Vicomte rushed back to his bedroom, searching the floor for a note that might have fallen from the dresser, telling where his wife had gone. He found nothing, and started to search the bed and under Christine's pillow. Then he felt something.
"What's this?" Raoul retrieved his treasure from underneath Christine's pillow, finding that it was her golden wedding ring. It only took a few moments for the horrible truth to sink in... Christine has been kidnapped once again by the Phantom of the Opera!
Raoul felt a shiver of hatred and fear run through him.. How DARE that monster take his wife from him! How dare the Phantom take Christine after he let them go! What gave that evil man the right to trespass on others property illegally?
He can't keep doing whatever he wants just because he feels like it, and just because he can!, Raoul thought. If I have to go back to the Labyrinthine underneath the Opera House once again to save Christine from the clutches of that mad lunatic, I swear to God I'll do it as many times as I have to, to finally have her safe in my arms! Why won't he just leave her alone?!
With consistency, Raoul quickly loaded his pistol which he kept for such emergencies, and left the house, calling on the nearest carriage.
"Take me to the Paris Opera House," Raoul muttered to the carriage driver, climbing into the back seat so quickly he almost lost his footing on the step. He thrust a pile of money into the driver's hands.
"Monsieur!" The driver stammered, "This far too much for a ride to Paris!"
"If you drive as fast as you possibly can, it will be worth it!" Raoul shouted impatiently, squirming in his seat like a restless child.
The carriage driver yelled to his horses to go, slapping the reins down onto their backs skillfully, and they took off down the road.
"Don't mind me asking, Monsieur, but are you late to the Gala?" The driver wondered curiously as the countryside whipped by next to them.
"No," Raoul said, "I have an urgent meeting with an acquaintance, and we must sort out a few, er... problems."
"The Opera is a strange meeting place, wouldn't you say, Monsieur?" The driver commented casually.
"Keep your eyes on the road, Monsieur," Raoul nodded to the street. Despite his soft tone, his voice was stern and gave the driver the feeling that this conversation was over.
After what seemed almost an hour to Raoul, the carriage pulled up outside the Opera House, and before it had even stopped he leapt from the step and pushed through the busy crowd of people who were to attend that night's Gala performance.
"Sir!" A man who worked for the Opera House stopped Raoul. "If you would kindly wait at the BACK of the line to pay for your seat..."
Raoul shoved past the guy, emptying his pockets into the man's hands. "This should be enough," he hissed, running towards Christine's old dressing room. The Vicomte de Chagny was willing to bet that the secret passage to the ghost's lair was still there, and now knowing where to find the door inside the Torture Chamber, he would easily be able to confront the Phantom face to face, which he had been unfortunate not to do the last time. This second time, though, Raoul swore he would shoot the murdering psycho monster, until there was nothing left of that slimy beast to haunt the Earth.
A/N: Have any of you realized that I'm trying to keep Raoul in character? Now think, how many phanfics have you read where Raoul overreacts and shoots everything in sight and makes Erik look like the total bad guy? Eheheh, there you go. The next chapter awaits! (How do you think poor Vicomte is going to react once he finds out Erik didn't kidnap Christine?)
She must be in the bathroom, he thought.
Raoul rolled out of bed, and groggily rubbing his eyes, he stepped towards the bathroom. "Christine," he called, "Love, are you in there?" Raoul entered the bathroom, plainly seeing that it was empty aside from a toilet, sink, and bathtub. Thinking she might have been eating breakfast by then, he exited the bathroom, dressing quickly to see why she was up so early.
While he headed towards the dining room, he bumped into a hand maid, asking her if Christine was eating breakfast.
"Master de Chagny," the maid said quietly, "I haven't seen Mme de Chagny since last night."
An uneasy feeling passed through Raoul... why would Christine leave without saying goodbye or telling him where she had gone? The Vicomte rushed back to his bedroom, searching the floor for a note that might have fallen from the dresser, telling where his wife had gone. He found nothing, and started to search the bed and under Christine's pillow. Then he felt something.
"What's this?" Raoul retrieved his treasure from underneath Christine's pillow, finding that it was her golden wedding ring. It only took a few moments for the horrible truth to sink in... Christine has been kidnapped once again by the Phantom of the Opera!
Raoul felt a shiver of hatred and fear run through him.. How DARE that monster take his wife from him! How dare the Phantom take Christine after he let them go! What gave that evil man the right to trespass on others property illegally?
He can't keep doing whatever he wants just because he feels like it, and just because he can!, Raoul thought. If I have to go back to the Labyrinthine underneath the Opera House once again to save Christine from the clutches of that mad lunatic, I swear to God I'll do it as many times as I have to, to finally have her safe in my arms! Why won't he just leave her alone?!
With consistency, Raoul quickly loaded his pistol which he kept for such emergencies, and left the house, calling on the nearest carriage.
"Take me to the Paris Opera House," Raoul muttered to the carriage driver, climbing into the back seat so quickly he almost lost his footing on the step. He thrust a pile of money into the driver's hands.
"Monsieur!" The driver stammered, "This far too much for a ride to Paris!"
"If you drive as fast as you possibly can, it will be worth it!" Raoul shouted impatiently, squirming in his seat like a restless child.
The carriage driver yelled to his horses to go, slapping the reins down onto their backs skillfully, and they took off down the road.
"Don't mind me asking, Monsieur, but are you late to the Gala?" The driver wondered curiously as the countryside whipped by next to them.
"No," Raoul said, "I have an urgent meeting with an acquaintance, and we must sort out a few, er... problems."
"The Opera is a strange meeting place, wouldn't you say, Monsieur?" The driver commented casually.
"Keep your eyes on the road, Monsieur," Raoul nodded to the street. Despite his soft tone, his voice was stern and gave the driver the feeling that this conversation was over.
After what seemed almost an hour to Raoul, the carriage pulled up outside the Opera House, and before it had even stopped he leapt from the step and pushed through the busy crowd of people who were to attend that night's Gala performance.
"Sir!" A man who worked for the Opera House stopped Raoul. "If you would kindly wait at the BACK of the line to pay for your seat..."
Raoul shoved past the guy, emptying his pockets into the man's hands. "This should be enough," he hissed, running towards Christine's old dressing room. The Vicomte de Chagny was willing to bet that the secret passage to the ghost's lair was still there, and now knowing where to find the door inside the Torture Chamber, he would easily be able to confront the Phantom face to face, which he had been unfortunate not to do the last time. This second time, though, Raoul swore he would shoot the murdering psycho monster, until there was nothing left of that slimy beast to haunt the Earth.
A/N: Have any of you realized that I'm trying to keep Raoul in character? Now think, how many phanfics have you read where Raoul overreacts and shoots everything in sight and makes Erik look like the total bad guy? Eheheh, there you go. The next chapter awaits! (How do you think poor Vicomte is going to react once he finds out Erik didn't kidnap Christine?)