Chapter 3
"I'll be back." She promised, looking back at the great pillars, which stood in the foyer. The cold night air on her face helped very much to bring her back to the reality of the night, and as she pretended to listen to Raoul as he made plans for a hurried wedding, her thoughts drifted to the day when she could finally return. She wanted nothing more than to leap from the carriage and run back down to the cellar on the fifth floor.
"...and then we could go away to England. Yes, I think that would be best..." Christine looked out the window of the carriage as Raoul continued his endless banter. Her eyes followed the road leading to her flat, where she could get all of her things together before the wedding. She didn't understand why she had to leave the place, there was no possible way that Raoul could be afraid of Erik coming for her, he had never even been to there as far as she knew.
Raoul wished her goodnight and kissed her on the cheek. She repeated the words and stepped out of the carriage.
"Goodnight Raoul," She returned quietly.
"I'll come for you tomorrow, and take you to one of my family's estates, where you'll be quite safe." Christine nodded silently, and watched as he returned to the carriage and drove away.
"Alright." She said to herself, trying to sort out her emotions logically. Everything felt wrong, she felt off-centre and terribly confused. She knew she would have a good life with Raoul; he was a wonderful person, really, when he wasn't trying to be the hero. It would be everything she ever wanted, if only – if only she had never met Erik. If she had never known what more the world could offer she would have been so completely content in the life she saw before her. She may even have taken some pleasure in teasing him and getting everything she wanted like a small child. She wanted so much more now; she wanted Erik. If only she could forget his unearthly, never-ending love for her, her own in turn for him, too late.
Only it didn't matter, the door to that world was closed and bolted, and there was no window back in. There was nothing she could do now; this was how her life would be. She would marry Raoul, and he would make certain that they moved far away, although her heart ached at the thought of being far from Erik, she wasn't sure exactly how far it was to England, she had never really paid much attention to that sort of thing, singing had always seemed more important to her, music always took the upper hand. Now she doubted she would ever be able to sing again without thinking of Erik. Every melodious chord would remind her of him, everything about him, his dark, ominous, yet somehow greatly comforting presence, even thorough her fear she had felt it. She had to stop thinking about him, she had to stop thinking about England, and how horribly far it was.
She knew that Raoul only wanted to keep her safe, but he could never understand that there was no way she could feel safe so far from the opera, so far everything. How could I feel safe so far from home? So far from Erik? She thought desperately, but even in thinking this she knew she would, in time. In time perhaps she would begin to forget, and the aching in her heart would subside. Perhaps in time she could begin to find some form of happiness with Raoul. With all these thoughts in her head, Christine got ready for bed and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
"I love you, Christine."
"I love you too, Erik." She replied, smiling up at him. Their wedding had been so beautiful. The most perfect day Christine had ever imagined. Erik had spared no expense for this extremely special occasion, and being the perfectionist that he was, had made certain that everything went off without a hitch. Christine's wedding dress was even more beautiful than the first Erik had chosen for her, and her hair was done up in swirls on top of her head, intertwined with tiny white roses. Erik wore a traditional black tuxedo, but with some small alterations that were hardly noticeable, although you could tell there was something different about the attire of this man from that of the others. He also donned a single red rose in the breast pocket.
Meg smiled as she walked over to the couple. "Congratulations!" She exclaimed excitedly, catching Christine up in a hug.
"Oh thank you Meg, it's great that you and your mother could make it!" Christine smiled at her friend and Erik put his arm around her. Everything felt so perfect, so right. As she looked around at all the smiling faces of the happy guests, and felt her own heart swelling with happiness and love, she knew that she was dreaming.
Christine woke with a start. It took her a few minutes to regain her bearings and figure out where and how she was. The dull throbbing in her heart reminded her that her dream had been just that, and would never come true; could never come true. She rolled over in her bed, and drifted back into a light, uneasy sleep.
It came as no surprise that she felt anything but rested when Raoul came to get her in the morning. She heard his carriage pull up outside her flat and jumped frantically out of bed, cursing under her breath. She began rushing around like a madwoman; finding a dress, and her corset and other undergarments.
Raoul knocked briskly at the door, obviously feeing much better after a good nights sleep, and expecting Christine to have done the same.
"One moment Raoul!" Christine called from inside her flat. "I haven't quite finished getting dressed yet." Raoul frowned outside the door, not having expected such a delay; he had been hoping she would be ready to go when he arrived. Hopefully, he thought impatiently, she has already finished packing.
Christine dressed as quickly as she could, no easy feat on a good day. Luckily, she managed no to kill herself, and hurried to let Raoul in. When entered he saw at once that any hope he had that she was already packed was useless.
"You aren't ready, Christine." Was all he could manage in his surprised disappointment. He sounded like a schoolboy talking to his mother on a day when she had baked the wrong kind of cookies.
"I'm sorry Raoul." Christine said with a sigh. "I was so tired when I got here last night, and I didn't sleep very well -" She moved quickly around her flat, gathering up her things and putting them in one of the large suitcases, which had been her father's.
"Did you not sleep well, Christine? I'm sorry." Raoul exclaimed. Christine remembered her dream from the night before, and felt a slight flush creep up her cheeks.
"You look flushed Christine, are ill?" Raoul asked, his concern deepening.
"No, no Raoul, I'm not ill." She replied, moving to her closet to collect her dresses. "I'm simply tired. I haven't had much rest in the past few days, with the Opera and -"
"Well you may have all the rest you like once you are safely settled." Raoul interjected quickly, a trace of satisfaction in his drawn voice.
"Nice to have your permission." Christine thought bitterly, and immediately felt horrible for it. Raoul was merely trying to make things easier for her. He had always done whatever he could for her, in the time they had been friends. She couldn't begrudge him now for doing the same things that had brought them so close together. Too close, Christine found herself thinking, but in time she knew she would adapt, and adjust to the life she must have been destined to live. She finished packing as quickly as she could with Raoul's help, which was made slightly more difficult by his complete lack of domestic house skills.
"Where should this go?" Raoul asked, picking up a small white garment. "Maybe the smaller suitcase. What a peculiar thing, isn't it?" Raoul stopped and dropped the undergarment like it was on fire, his face flushing crimson. "I am so sorry Christine, I did not realize," he stammered, covering his face with one of his hands.
Christine hid an amused smile behind one of her own hands, "it's fine Raoul, really, no harm done." She retrieved the undergarment fro the floor and placed it in one of the suitcase. They finished packing, Raoul being very mindful of his selected packing items, which merely increased Christine's amusement, and his own embarrassment. Raoul loaded the suitcases and other belongings she had decided not to part with into one of the awaiting carriages, saving the second for the two of them.
They drove to one of the many de Chagny estates, where a few servants came out to help unload her luggage.
Christine felt unnervingly useless throughout all of this, which led her thoughts to wander to the dream she had had the night before. It had a wedding. She remembered. But I was married to Erik. She moved out of the path of one of the servants. An older gentleman, whom she would later learn went by the name of Gus. After all of her luggage had been unloaded, Raoul bid her good day, excusing himself by telling her he would let her get settled on her own.
Christine sighed and looked around the enormous house. So...
"I'll be back." She promised, looking back at the great pillars, which stood in the foyer. The cold night air on her face helped very much to bring her back to the reality of the night, and as she pretended to listen to Raoul as he made plans for a hurried wedding, her thoughts drifted to the day when she could finally return. She wanted nothing more than to leap from the carriage and run back down to the cellar on the fifth floor.
"...and then we could go away to England. Yes, I think that would be best..." Christine looked out the window of the carriage as Raoul continued his endless banter. Her eyes followed the road leading to her flat, where she could get all of her things together before the wedding. She didn't understand why she had to leave the place, there was no possible way that Raoul could be afraid of Erik coming for her, he had never even been to there as far as she knew.
Raoul wished her goodnight and kissed her on the cheek. She repeated the words and stepped out of the carriage.
"Goodnight Raoul," She returned quietly.
"I'll come for you tomorrow, and take you to one of my family's estates, where you'll be quite safe." Christine nodded silently, and watched as he returned to the carriage and drove away.
"Alright." She said to herself, trying to sort out her emotions logically. Everything felt wrong, she felt off-centre and terribly confused. She knew she would have a good life with Raoul; he was a wonderful person, really, when he wasn't trying to be the hero. It would be everything she ever wanted, if only – if only she had never met Erik. If she had never known what more the world could offer she would have been so completely content in the life she saw before her. She may even have taken some pleasure in teasing him and getting everything she wanted like a small child. She wanted so much more now; she wanted Erik. If only she could forget his unearthly, never-ending love for her, her own in turn for him, too late.
Only it didn't matter, the door to that world was closed and bolted, and there was no window back in. There was nothing she could do now; this was how her life would be. She would marry Raoul, and he would make certain that they moved far away, although her heart ached at the thought of being far from Erik, she wasn't sure exactly how far it was to England, she had never really paid much attention to that sort of thing, singing had always seemed more important to her, music always took the upper hand. Now she doubted she would ever be able to sing again without thinking of Erik. Every melodious chord would remind her of him, everything about him, his dark, ominous, yet somehow greatly comforting presence, even thorough her fear she had felt it. She had to stop thinking about him, she had to stop thinking about England, and how horribly far it was.
She knew that Raoul only wanted to keep her safe, but he could never understand that there was no way she could feel safe so far from the opera, so far everything. How could I feel safe so far from home? So far from Erik? She thought desperately, but even in thinking this she knew she would, in time. In time perhaps she would begin to forget, and the aching in her heart would subside. Perhaps in time she could begin to find some form of happiness with Raoul. With all these thoughts in her head, Christine got ready for bed and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
"I love you, Christine."
"I love you too, Erik." She replied, smiling up at him. Their wedding had been so beautiful. The most perfect day Christine had ever imagined. Erik had spared no expense for this extremely special occasion, and being the perfectionist that he was, had made certain that everything went off without a hitch. Christine's wedding dress was even more beautiful than the first Erik had chosen for her, and her hair was done up in swirls on top of her head, intertwined with tiny white roses. Erik wore a traditional black tuxedo, but with some small alterations that were hardly noticeable, although you could tell there was something different about the attire of this man from that of the others. He also donned a single red rose in the breast pocket.
Meg smiled as she walked over to the couple. "Congratulations!" She exclaimed excitedly, catching Christine up in a hug.
"Oh thank you Meg, it's great that you and your mother could make it!" Christine smiled at her friend and Erik put his arm around her. Everything felt so perfect, so right. As she looked around at all the smiling faces of the happy guests, and felt her own heart swelling with happiness and love, she knew that she was dreaming.
Christine woke with a start. It took her a few minutes to regain her bearings and figure out where and how she was. The dull throbbing in her heart reminded her that her dream had been just that, and would never come true; could never come true. She rolled over in her bed, and drifted back into a light, uneasy sleep.
It came as no surprise that she felt anything but rested when Raoul came to get her in the morning. She heard his carriage pull up outside her flat and jumped frantically out of bed, cursing under her breath. She began rushing around like a madwoman; finding a dress, and her corset and other undergarments.
Raoul knocked briskly at the door, obviously feeing much better after a good nights sleep, and expecting Christine to have done the same.
"One moment Raoul!" Christine called from inside her flat. "I haven't quite finished getting dressed yet." Raoul frowned outside the door, not having expected such a delay; he had been hoping she would be ready to go when he arrived. Hopefully, he thought impatiently, she has already finished packing.
Christine dressed as quickly as she could, no easy feat on a good day. Luckily, she managed no to kill herself, and hurried to let Raoul in. When entered he saw at once that any hope he had that she was already packed was useless.
"You aren't ready, Christine." Was all he could manage in his surprised disappointment. He sounded like a schoolboy talking to his mother on a day when she had baked the wrong kind of cookies.
"I'm sorry Raoul." Christine said with a sigh. "I was so tired when I got here last night, and I didn't sleep very well -" She moved quickly around her flat, gathering up her things and putting them in one of the large suitcases, which had been her father's.
"Did you not sleep well, Christine? I'm sorry." Raoul exclaimed. Christine remembered her dream from the night before, and felt a slight flush creep up her cheeks.
"You look flushed Christine, are ill?" Raoul asked, his concern deepening.
"No, no Raoul, I'm not ill." She replied, moving to her closet to collect her dresses. "I'm simply tired. I haven't had much rest in the past few days, with the Opera and -"
"Well you may have all the rest you like once you are safely settled." Raoul interjected quickly, a trace of satisfaction in his drawn voice.
"Nice to have your permission." Christine thought bitterly, and immediately felt horrible for it. Raoul was merely trying to make things easier for her. He had always done whatever he could for her, in the time they had been friends. She couldn't begrudge him now for doing the same things that had brought them so close together. Too close, Christine found herself thinking, but in time she knew she would adapt, and adjust to the life she must have been destined to live. She finished packing as quickly as she could with Raoul's help, which was made slightly more difficult by his complete lack of domestic house skills.
"Where should this go?" Raoul asked, picking up a small white garment. "Maybe the smaller suitcase. What a peculiar thing, isn't it?" Raoul stopped and dropped the undergarment like it was on fire, his face flushing crimson. "I am so sorry Christine, I did not realize," he stammered, covering his face with one of his hands.
Christine hid an amused smile behind one of her own hands, "it's fine Raoul, really, no harm done." She retrieved the undergarment fro the floor and placed it in one of the suitcase. They finished packing, Raoul being very mindful of his selected packing items, which merely increased Christine's amusement, and his own embarrassment. Raoul loaded the suitcases and other belongings she had decided not to part with into one of the awaiting carriages, saving the second for the two of them.
They drove to one of the many de Chagny estates, where a few servants came out to help unload her luggage.
Christine felt unnervingly useless throughout all of this, which led her thoughts to wander to the dream she had had the night before. It had a wedding. She remembered. But I was married to Erik. She moved out of the path of one of the servants. An older gentleman, whom she would later learn went by the name of Gus. After all of her luggage had been unloaded, Raoul bid her good day, excusing himself by telling her he would let her get settled on her own.
Christine sighed and looked around the enormous house. So...