Disclaimer: Sorry, I own everything…Secretly, My name is Andrew Lloyd Webber and you shall all pay for your disobedience. *giggles* okay, so I lied. It's just me and I don't own anything so far, haven't invented any of my own characters. My bending of the truth/or fiction, depending if you believe if Erik was real or not, is a figment of my distorted imagination.
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Finding strength to somehow make it home after such a horrible revelation, Christine still didn't know what to think. She was near hysterics, tearing at her hair and rubbing her eyes that were beginning to itch from all the tears she had cried. Her eyes were blood shot and her cheeks were very red and splotchy.
"Christine, you must stop this. You'll make yourself ill, you know. That will do nobody any good." Megan said softly, handing Christine a handkerchief hours later after Meg had been brave enough to tell her the truth.
"You don't understand…" Christine sniffled a little and sighed heavily.
Megan grew impatient. The Hell She Didn't! Megan had been on a voyage that did nothing but made her ill, for her best friend. She had gone into Erik's lair the night of his opera's debut, when no one wanted her there. "Christine-do not say that. If you had known what I've gone through for you, for Erik, for everyone-then you wouldn't say that. If you knew."
If you knew…that phrase struck a chord with Christine, seeing the anger and despair in Megan's eyes. Yes, her friend had been through a lot and it had been Christine's fault. "I'm sorry Meg. I shouldn't be like this. "
Megan looked around Christine's modest apartment, finding posters of Operas on her walls, besides the posters of ballet that featured Meg as Prima Ballerina. She was amazed that Christine had kept up with all Meg's performances, the Opera's performances. She made no move to listen to the apology just yet, unsure that she could answer sweetly without first calming her unruly temper. "Where did you get these?"
"I guess your mother sent them to me, they came one day in a box-and I was only too happy to put them up everywhere. It made it feel like home to have pictures of my friends nearby. Especially you, Meg. You've been so good to me. I feel awful for treating you the way I have in the last five hours. " Christine offered Meg some tea and they sat down at her little table. Meg seemed distant, staring off until she remembered to sip her tea slowly, trying to pay attention.
"It's been so long," Christine began to explain, "since I've heard from anyone. A year, almost two. What happened to Raoul is, very painful for me. Death has always been a hard thing for me, and maybe that's a bit of a understatement. It's never easy for anyone, but I partially am to blame, you know. He wanted to make good with his family, before we were wed, so he sent me to his family while he made one last trip with his brother, who was interested in the surveying of the Arctic. I didn't like the idea one bit, and neither did his family, who was always very kind to me, despite their every reason not to be. It led to a little resentment on my part. But he went off with his brother very happy, until people began to get scurvy, frostbite, all sorts of horrible maladies. If there is one thing I know about Raoul, he was not the little boy everyone outside his family thought he was. He had been many places, and had been close to death several times. He had even served in an army at one point. And maybe that wore him out, you know. "
Meg heard the noises from outside that the other apartment dwellers were making. Shouts, drunken singing. How mad would Erik and her mother be to find out Christine Daae lived in such a place! Why would Raoul's family dump her here? She tried to drown everything out and concentrated on Christine's soft voice, massaging her forehead for a minute. "So…what happened to him? And why aren't you still with Raoul's family any more?"
Christine became embarrassed by Meg noticing the condition in which she lived. "He died of starvation, with a love letter in his pockets for me. He even drew little pictures to show me how beautiful things were there, like the icebergs and animals. He never showed me in his letters nor his pictures how gruesome life must have been. God knows how his older brother made it home, probably on sheer will and nothing else. Either way, most of the crew died. As for Raoul's family, well…" She shrugged.
"No, Christine, you'd be better off telling me. I won't think any less of them."
Christine hung her head for a minute, fiddling with her hands. "You'd be better off to think less of me. I was the one who did wrong there."
"How so?"
" Part of what happened in the last few minutes at the Opera Populaire, changed me forever. For good or for bad, trust in me was broken. I trusted Erik, and he betrayed me, and he trusted me, only to have me betray him. I didn't want to do that to such a good family who had taken me in. I had to learn to trust myself-to become stronger and more adult in my actions. "
"Have you?" Megan asked out of concern.
Christine nodded. "Yes, I have . At the time of Raoul's death, I ran away from all and any charity. I was still was very childish then, and untrusting. It was a subconscious thing, Megan. I wanted to be on my own, and they let me."
"Then I don't see how I could think less of you. " Meg said, beaming with pride at her friend's self confidence. Maybe her scheme would work yet to get Christine back home.
"Thank you Megan. I needed to hear that. So, how long do you plan to stay?"
Meg frowned and bit her lip until it bled. Meg didn't mean to lie, she only lied to keep people safe. And this time, it was herself. "As long as it takes, I suppose to chase away my demons.."
"But your career! How could you not think about your ballet? And your Maman!"
"We all have our own burdens, Christine. Someday, I might be able to tell you, not today. "
"I'll trust you to that. But could you at least give me a hint?" Christine said jokingly, as if to lighten the already somber mood.
"I could indulge you, yes. You see, I left Paris on bad terms. And getting to see you and tell you your news was of great importance. As for the other matter which led me here, it concerns my father. "
"I thought he was dead."
"No, mother had the sense to leave him when he became abusive, yet never told me who he was. " Meg said, her eyes becoming sorrowful and withdrawn. She gripped the poorly made wooden table, feeling as if she had to lock herself inside to keep everything about her father from spilling out.
"OH…God…Meg…and you found out who he was the night you searched the desk, didn't you?" Christine stood and embraced her friend as Meg began to cry. It was such an odd sound to becoming out of a woman, like a little child's crying, it was. It scared Christine to hear it.
"Yes…..and…he's….he's…" Megan began to stutter.
"It's all right, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Meg." Christine began to pat Meg's back in sympathy.
"They've been writing to each other the entire time! Behind my back! Not only that, he has watched me for years and I never knew it!"
"Maybe it was to keep you safe." Christine muttered.
"You don't understand!" Meg grumbled, as she dried her tears.
"Try me.."
Megan tried to catch her breath, unsure if she should go on.
Christine was in a daze. She couldn't be referring to Erik, could she?
Megan laughed in surprise as she guessed what Christine was thinking. "Oh no, not Erik. Heaven's no. This is much worse! It's M.Firmin."
Christine breathed a sigh of relief.." So he came to the Opera for you, didn't he? To be a manager. I never would guessed he was your father."
"Neither would I, until I knew. I was happy thinking he was dead. Now he shows up to ruin everything. And I ran away, citing going abroad with the chorus girl who needed a companion. Mother thought I was coming back with another girl from here, one of our former ballerinas, but she will find out soon that I lied to her. Oh, I can't go back without you! "
Christine saw that she had nothing to lose, and she knew that now was her time to be there for Megan, and she had to get back to Erik. It was the only solution. "Well, then we go to Paris…but for now you can sleep here….and we'll think of how to get home in the morning. "
Meg clapped her hands as her tears began to dry and laughter poured out of her face in joy. "Oh I knew you would! Don't worry, I have money…Maman gave me more than enough to pay for your ticket to...We only have to worry about food, I don't eat very much. "
Christine chuckled. "You little devil. I should have known you had a card up your sleeve! Very well then, as soon as we can, we'll go. "
Megan began making plans that instant, and when they settled down after a long night of having "girl chatter", nothing but dreams of friendship rang true and pure in her head.
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Review if you like! I bet you thought Meg's father was gonna be Erik!
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Finding strength to somehow make it home after such a horrible revelation, Christine still didn't know what to think. She was near hysterics, tearing at her hair and rubbing her eyes that were beginning to itch from all the tears she had cried. Her eyes were blood shot and her cheeks were very red and splotchy.
"Christine, you must stop this. You'll make yourself ill, you know. That will do nobody any good." Megan said softly, handing Christine a handkerchief hours later after Meg had been brave enough to tell her the truth.
"You don't understand…" Christine sniffled a little and sighed heavily.
Megan grew impatient. The Hell She Didn't! Megan had been on a voyage that did nothing but made her ill, for her best friend. She had gone into Erik's lair the night of his opera's debut, when no one wanted her there. "Christine-do not say that. If you had known what I've gone through for you, for Erik, for everyone-then you wouldn't say that. If you knew."
If you knew…that phrase struck a chord with Christine, seeing the anger and despair in Megan's eyes. Yes, her friend had been through a lot and it had been Christine's fault. "I'm sorry Meg. I shouldn't be like this. "
Megan looked around Christine's modest apartment, finding posters of Operas on her walls, besides the posters of ballet that featured Meg as Prima Ballerina. She was amazed that Christine had kept up with all Meg's performances, the Opera's performances. She made no move to listen to the apology just yet, unsure that she could answer sweetly without first calming her unruly temper. "Where did you get these?"
"I guess your mother sent them to me, they came one day in a box-and I was only too happy to put them up everywhere. It made it feel like home to have pictures of my friends nearby. Especially you, Meg. You've been so good to me. I feel awful for treating you the way I have in the last five hours. " Christine offered Meg some tea and they sat down at her little table. Meg seemed distant, staring off until she remembered to sip her tea slowly, trying to pay attention.
"It's been so long," Christine began to explain, "since I've heard from anyone. A year, almost two. What happened to Raoul is, very painful for me. Death has always been a hard thing for me, and maybe that's a bit of a understatement. It's never easy for anyone, but I partially am to blame, you know. He wanted to make good with his family, before we were wed, so he sent me to his family while he made one last trip with his brother, who was interested in the surveying of the Arctic. I didn't like the idea one bit, and neither did his family, who was always very kind to me, despite their every reason not to be. It led to a little resentment on my part. But he went off with his brother very happy, until people began to get scurvy, frostbite, all sorts of horrible maladies. If there is one thing I know about Raoul, he was not the little boy everyone outside his family thought he was. He had been many places, and had been close to death several times. He had even served in an army at one point. And maybe that wore him out, you know. "
Meg heard the noises from outside that the other apartment dwellers were making. Shouts, drunken singing. How mad would Erik and her mother be to find out Christine Daae lived in such a place! Why would Raoul's family dump her here? She tried to drown everything out and concentrated on Christine's soft voice, massaging her forehead for a minute. "So…what happened to him? And why aren't you still with Raoul's family any more?"
Christine became embarrassed by Meg noticing the condition in which she lived. "He died of starvation, with a love letter in his pockets for me. He even drew little pictures to show me how beautiful things were there, like the icebergs and animals. He never showed me in his letters nor his pictures how gruesome life must have been. God knows how his older brother made it home, probably on sheer will and nothing else. Either way, most of the crew died. As for Raoul's family, well…" She shrugged.
"No, Christine, you'd be better off telling me. I won't think any less of them."
Christine hung her head for a minute, fiddling with her hands. "You'd be better off to think less of me. I was the one who did wrong there."
"How so?"
" Part of what happened in the last few minutes at the Opera Populaire, changed me forever. For good or for bad, trust in me was broken. I trusted Erik, and he betrayed me, and he trusted me, only to have me betray him. I didn't want to do that to such a good family who had taken me in. I had to learn to trust myself-to become stronger and more adult in my actions. "
"Have you?" Megan asked out of concern.
Christine nodded. "Yes, I have . At the time of Raoul's death, I ran away from all and any charity. I was still was very childish then, and untrusting. It was a subconscious thing, Megan. I wanted to be on my own, and they let me."
"Then I don't see how I could think less of you. " Meg said, beaming with pride at her friend's self confidence. Maybe her scheme would work yet to get Christine back home.
"Thank you Megan. I needed to hear that. So, how long do you plan to stay?"
Meg frowned and bit her lip until it bled. Meg didn't mean to lie, she only lied to keep people safe. And this time, it was herself. "As long as it takes, I suppose to chase away my demons.."
"But your career! How could you not think about your ballet? And your Maman!"
"We all have our own burdens, Christine. Someday, I might be able to tell you, not today. "
"I'll trust you to that. But could you at least give me a hint?" Christine said jokingly, as if to lighten the already somber mood.
"I could indulge you, yes. You see, I left Paris on bad terms. And getting to see you and tell you your news was of great importance. As for the other matter which led me here, it concerns my father. "
"I thought he was dead."
"No, mother had the sense to leave him when he became abusive, yet never told me who he was. " Meg said, her eyes becoming sorrowful and withdrawn. She gripped the poorly made wooden table, feeling as if she had to lock herself inside to keep everything about her father from spilling out.
"OH…God…Meg…and you found out who he was the night you searched the desk, didn't you?" Christine stood and embraced her friend as Meg began to cry. It was such an odd sound to becoming out of a woman, like a little child's crying, it was. It scared Christine to hear it.
"Yes…..and…he's….he's…" Megan began to stutter.
"It's all right, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Meg." Christine began to pat Meg's back in sympathy.
"They've been writing to each other the entire time! Behind my back! Not only that, he has watched me for years and I never knew it!"
"Maybe it was to keep you safe." Christine muttered.
"You don't understand!" Meg grumbled, as she dried her tears.
"Try me.."
Megan tried to catch her breath, unsure if she should go on.
Christine was in a daze. She couldn't be referring to Erik, could she?
Megan laughed in surprise as she guessed what Christine was thinking. "Oh no, not Erik. Heaven's no. This is much worse! It's M.Firmin."
Christine breathed a sigh of relief.." So he came to the Opera for you, didn't he? To be a manager. I never would guessed he was your father."
"Neither would I, until I knew. I was happy thinking he was dead. Now he shows up to ruin everything. And I ran away, citing going abroad with the chorus girl who needed a companion. Mother thought I was coming back with another girl from here, one of our former ballerinas, but she will find out soon that I lied to her. Oh, I can't go back without you! "
Christine saw that she had nothing to lose, and she knew that now was her time to be there for Megan, and she had to get back to Erik. It was the only solution. "Well, then we go to Paris…but for now you can sleep here….and we'll think of how to get home in the morning. "
Meg clapped her hands as her tears began to dry and laughter poured out of her face in joy. "Oh I knew you would! Don't worry, I have money…Maman gave me more than enough to pay for your ticket to...We only have to worry about food, I don't eat very much. "
Christine chuckled. "You little devil. I should have known you had a card up your sleeve! Very well then, as soon as we can, we'll go. "
Megan began making plans that instant, and when they settled down after a long night of having "girl chatter", nothing but dreams of friendship rang true and pure in her head.
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Review if you like! I bet you thought Meg's father was gonna be Erik!