A/N: Just a note to those who don't like "the other woman" stories. I don't
quite like them either, but as I was writing this I realized Erik couldn't
just be left hanging so I had to think of something to leave him happy. I
don't care for Raoul Bashers and I wanted Raoul to be happy and to have had
a good life with Christine even though their children died. So I guess to
solve the dilemma I gave Erik back Christine in a way, through her
granddaughter Christina. Each one of us carries something from our parents
and grandparents so I gave him a woman who was the same, but different than
Christine. That way Erik would not the reject the intruder in his lair. How
could he when he felt a strange connection to her already? Ok well to sum
everything up, I tried to make everyone in this story happy in the end. I'm
sorry, but I don't see the point of reading a story and then not having a
good ending to wrap everything up...lol....all right back to the story.....
Erik was still on the floor, his hand balled into a tight fist. It was bleeding from the force in which he had exerted pounding on the stone floor. He didn't know how long he had been there, maybe a day? His mind would not clear. It was blurred with things that happened in the past. Thoughts of Christine and his mother were his usual musings, but this time they seemed more painful than usual. Maybe if he remembered everything the pain would eventually fade, rather than burying it all in his mind. He steeled himself against the pain and let his mind wander back ....
"Oh Erik!" His mother shrieked in horror. "Put it back on!" She gasped. He had taken his mask off to give his mother a proper kiss goodnight. A kiss she had always refused to give. Was it his mask? Why did she make him wear it? He had never seen his face for his mother had smashed and removed all of them from the house. She made him close his eyes whenever he was by a pond which was rare since she hardly ever let him go outside.
"Mama?" He asked in his five year old innocence. "Mama what is frightening you?"
"PUT IT BACK ON!" She ordered picking up the forgotten mask from the floor and shoving it into his arms. She turned away from him and ran into her small room and slammed the door. He could hear her sobbing from behind the heavy door. His little heart broke, what did he do to cause his mama such pain? He hurriedly placed the mask back into place. His dark brown hair settled over the mask in its usual curls framing the mask. He ran over his mama's bedroom and knocked quietly on the door. It opened slowly. He saw his mother's face. It was streaked with tears and pale. His mother's eyes were not softened by pity this time, though. They were full of resolve and hatred and she was looking right at him.
"Mama?" Erik said and she rushed past him. When he grabbed her skirts to stop her she flung her hand back and knocked him to the floor. He looked fearfully at where she was hurrying to.
"Erik, I have to leave," She said frantically opening the door.
"No Mama! Please!" He said panic rising in his throat.
"Erik I have to go!" She said shaking her head. Why was she leaving! What had he done???
"Someone is coming for you to take care of you. I have to leave you here. Wait for the man!"
"But why!" He wasn't crying out with questions anymore, they were cries for mercy from the fate she was leaving him to.
"I...I just have too!" She closed the door behind her and he heard the key turn as she locked the door.
Erik felt tears run down his face. The memory was all to clear and it angered him how his mother left him there to face the gypsies. She had been the one who had made a deal with them to take him away. Now he was no longer a problem for her, she was free of him.
Erik's head snapped back with the force of the blow against his cheek. He felt blood run into his mouth as the gypsy slapped him. He had not preformed that day as they had asked...no...demanded him to. So he was being punished. His mask had been ripped from him when he had arrived then and now he had been forced into the cage the gypsies said would be his home for a long time. His desolation and abandonment was completely and utterly a horrible feeling. He was defeated. He clung to the bars of the cage feeling the metal's coldness seep into his hands. Now he would become a sideshow. He was a monster to be spat at, to be screamed at, and to be hated above all. He felt the tender skin of the "ugly" side of his face. Tears rushed down his face. He had never felt the comforting arms of his mother or from a person who cared about what would happen to him. When would this end?
More and more scenes from his horrible past flashed through his mind. He swallowed the bile hoping he would not retch. The final demon he had to fight with was here. His final scene with Christine. His love....
They had stood here for hours it seemed. In truth only a few minutes had passed. Raoul stood across from him, his eyes lifted in a silent plea of mercy. Christine's eyes were wide with terror. His Punjab lasso was around Raoul's neck with a frightening tightness. Coldness had enveloped Erik. When had he become so much like the men who had wronged him?
"Please Erik!" Christine cried out. Her voice made him tremble, but he did not show it.
"You must choose Christine," He said coldly. "If you choose him he dies, and you live with his blood on you head forever. A lover's curse of course. If you choose me, we immediately wed and you live forever with me below the surface, and he goes free," He said.
"No I cannot choose!" She was frightened, and he could hear the shaking in her voice.
"Please!" She pleaded. Raoul had closed his eyes, and was swallowing repeatedly to get rid of the sensation of the Punjab Lasso around his neck.
"Choose," Erik ordered. His voice booming. She shuddered. Raoul stood straighter for some reason, as if he was accepting his final doom.
"Leave Christine, I don't care what happens to me!" He pleaded with her. He was filled with the fire and passion of a foolish young man.
"NO!" She cried. "Erik! Why do you wish me to have to choose between men that I love!" He remained silent for a moment.
"I can't Christine," Erik whispered.
"Oh Erik," Christine's eyes were lit with sudden pity and understanding. She slowly came towards him. Her eyes were filled with waiting tears. She slipped her arms around him and drew her face up towards his. He realized what she was doing. She gently pressed her lips to his. There was passion in her kiss, but she broke it off soon after. He took a sharp breath in, and was filled with shame of what he was doing to her love.
"Just go," He whispered. Christine's look told him she was not expecting that. Shock filled her body and she almost fell with the weight of it.
"My Angel," She said softly, she drew her cold finger gently across his good cheek. "Thank-you," Erik released Raoul from the death-sentence, the Punjab Lasso that he'd worn around his neck.
"Come Christine," Raoul urged. They hurried onto the delicate boat, and rushed across the dark waters of the underground lake. Christine turned her around to face him as they rowed to the other side. She had to take one last look at her Phantom. Her eyes revealed the tenderness she felt for him.
"I'll always love you Erik," The thought seemed come from her, but she spoke no words.
"And I you," He whispered as she was helped out of the boat by Raoul. He treated her lovingly as he looked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. He knew she could not stay with him. Butterflies and flowers needed light to stay alive. She would always love him, but in a different way than how she loved Raoul. He understood. He saw them vanish into the darkness as they headed to the surface. "Goodbye Christine," He knew he would never see her again. The sudden gleam of torches brought him back to the present. The mob would kill him for his wrong doings if they found him, but they would not. He placed his mask on his throne and disappeared for forty long years.
He closed his eyes against the bitterness he felt. No more would he be haunted by the demons of his past. He raised himself up off the floor with slow precision. He was exhausted from the journey he had taken through his mind. His eyes focused on the flickering candles, he was willing himself not to faint. It was done.....
Erik was still on the floor, his hand balled into a tight fist. It was bleeding from the force in which he had exerted pounding on the stone floor. He didn't know how long he had been there, maybe a day? His mind would not clear. It was blurred with things that happened in the past. Thoughts of Christine and his mother were his usual musings, but this time they seemed more painful than usual. Maybe if he remembered everything the pain would eventually fade, rather than burying it all in his mind. He steeled himself against the pain and let his mind wander back ....
"Oh Erik!" His mother shrieked in horror. "Put it back on!" She gasped. He had taken his mask off to give his mother a proper kiss goodnight. A kiss she had always refused to give. Was it his mask? Why did she make him wear it? He had never seen his face for his mother had smashed and removed all of them from the house. She made him close his eyes whenever he was by a pond which was rare since she hardly ever let him go outside.
"Mama?" He asked in his five year old innocence. "Mama what is frightening you?"
"PUT IT BACK ON!" She ordered picking up the forgotten mask from the floor and shoving it into his arms. She turned away from him and ran into her small room and slammed the door. He could hear her sobbing from behind the heavy door. His little heart broke, what did he do to cause his mama such pain? He hurriedly placed the mask back into place. His dark brown hair settled over the mask in its usual curls framing the mask. He ran over his mama's bedroom and knocked quietly on the door. It opened slowly. He saw his mother's face. It was streaked with tears and pale. His mother's eyes were not softened by pity this time, though. They were full of resolve and hatred and she was looking right at him.
"Mama?" Erik said and she rushed past him. When he grabbed her skirts to stop her she flung her hand back and knocked him to the floor. He looked fearfully at where she was hurrying to.
"Erik, I have to leave," She said frantically opening the door.
"No Mama! Please!" He said panic rising in his throat.
"Erik I have to go!" She said shaking her head. Why was she leaving! What had he done???
"Someone is coming for you to take care of you. I have to leave you here. Wait for the man!"
"But why!" He wasn't crying out with questions anymore, they were cries for mercy from the fate she was leaving him to.
"I...I just have too!" She closed the door behind her and he heard the key turn as she locked the door.
Erik felt tears run down his face. The memory was all to clear and it angered him how his mother left him there to face the gypsies. She had been the one who had made a deal with them to take him away. Now he was no longer a problem for her, she was free of him.
Erik's head snapped back with the force of the blow against his cheek. He felt blood run into his mouth as the gypsy slapped him. He had not preformed that day as they had asked...no...demanded him to. So he was being punished. His mask had been ripped from him when he had arrived then and now he had been forced into the cage the gypsies said would be his home for a long time. His desolation and abandonment was completely and utterly a horrible feeling. He was defeated. He clung to the bars of the cage feeling the metal's coldness seep into his hands. Now he would become a sideshow. He was a monster to be spat at, to be screamed at, and to be hated above all. He felt the tender skin of the "ugly" side of his face. Tears rushed down his face. He had never felt the comforting arms of his mother or from a person who cared about what would happen to him. When would this end?
More and more scenes from his horrible past flashed through his mind. He swallowed the bile hoping he would not retch. The final demon he had to fight with was here. His final scene with Christine. His love....
They had stood here for hours it seemed. In truth only a few minutes had passed. Raoul stood across from him, his eyes lifted in a silent plea of mercy. Christine's eyes were wide with terror. His Punjab lasso was around Raoul's neck with a frightening tightness. Coldness had enveloped Erik. When had he become so much like the men who had wronged him?
"Please Erik!" Christine cried out. Her voice made him tremble, but he did not show it.
"You must choose Christine," He said coldly. "If you choose him he dies, and you live with his blood on you head forever. A lover's curse of course. If you choose me, we immediately wed and you live forever with me below the surface, and he goes free," He said.
"No I cannot choose!" She was frightened, and he could hear the shaking in her voice.
"Please!" She pleaded. Raoul had closed his eyes, and was swallowing repeatedly to get rid of the sensation of the Punjab Lasso around his neck.
"Choose," Erik ordered. His voice booming. She shuddered. Raoul stood straighter for some reason, as if he was accepting his final doom.
"Leave Christine, I don't care what happens to me!" He pleaded with her. He was filled with the fire and passion of a foolish young man.
"NO!" She cried. "Erik! Why do you wish me to have to choose between men that I love!" He remained silent for a moment.
"I can't Christine," Erik whispered.
"Oh Erik," Christine's eyes were lit with sudden pity and understanding. She slowly came towards him. Her eyes were filled with waiting tears. She slipped her arms around him and drew her face up towards his. He realized what she was doing. She gently pressed her lips to his. There was passion in her kiss, but she broke it off soon after. He took a sharp breath in, and was filled with shame of what he was doing to her love.
"Just go," He whispered. Christine's look told him she was not expecting that. Shock filled her body and she almost fell with the weight of it.
"My Angel," She said softly, she drew her cold finger gently across his good cheek. "Thank-you," Erik released Raoul from the death-sentence, the Punjab Lasso that he'd worn around his neck.
"Come Christine," Raoul urged. They hurried onto the delicate boat, and rushed across the dark waters of the underground lake. Christine turned her around to face him as they rowed to the other side. She had to take one last look at her Phantom. Her eyes revealed the tenderness she felt for him.
"I'll always love you Erik," The thought seemed come from her, but she spoke no words.
"And I you," He whispered as she was helped out of the boat by Raoul. He treated her lovingly as he looked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. He knew she could not stay with him. Butterflies and flowers needed light to stay alive. She would always love him, but in a different way than how she loved Raoul. He understood. He saw them vanish into the darkness as they headed to the surface. "Goodbye Christine," He knew he would never see her again. The sudden gleam of torches brought him back to the present. The mob would kill him for his wrong doings if they found him, but they would not. He placed his mask on his throne and disappeared for forty long years.
He closed his eyes against the bitterness he felt. No more would he be haunted by the demons of his past. He raised himself up off the floor with slow precision. He was exhausted from the journey he had taken through his mind. His eyes focused on the flickering candles, he was willing himself not to faint. It was done.....