Chapter Three
Till Death Do Us Part
Authors Note: No! They are not getting married! It's a bit of a long chapter, but I rather fancy it! Please review!
"Speak to me Erik."
She pulled away from him and Erik felt a deep longing to pull her back into his embrace. His lanky arms hung by his side, useless. All manner of bitter rebuttals to her blabbering stuck in his throat. What would it do to question her motives for returning? She was his again now, arguing would just make it worse. Still, he had to know.
"Christine." Was all poor Erik could manage without choking. That one word, the girl's name, caused a fresh wave of tears to overtake her. Finding his voice, Erik continued. "Why do you return to me, to the ruined Opera House? What became of you and Raoul? Certainly only death could have parted you two lovers."
As he spoke the bitterness had disappeared; all that remained was hopeless desperation and the realization that something terrible must have happened to Raoul for Christine to come back to him, her Angel. "You leave me for two years and now you come back. What were you thinking Christine? If Raoul finds you here it will be the end of me."
"Erik…" She straightened herself up, dusted off her tattered dress and looked him in the eye. "I returned to the demon of my past," in a wide sweeping motion she showed she meant the Opera House, "to do the one thing I dreaded, to bury you. And of Raoul, he is no matter to me now. He is as dead to me as that flower. Please, let us not talk of such unimportant matters. He can be discussed later, I promise." She tilted her head towards the doorway where the crushed petals lay in a heap.
"Did you not think you would find me alive? Well, Christine, I am alive." Erik placed his hand upon his chest. "A heart beats within this corpse. I can only imagine your horrified surprise when you heard my retched voice calling out for you to sing."
"No, Erik. You are not a corpse, nor a monster, nor a ghost. You are a man. A man with a heart and soul and mind and the voice of a god. I returned to fulfill my promise I made to you two years ago. You must remember…" she pleaded.
"I remember." He acknowledged. "I made you swear to come back one night when I was dead. I told you to cross the lake from the Rue-Scribe side and bury me in the greatest secrecy with that gold ring which you were to keep until that moment. You are free to go. I'm not dead."
"I don't want to go. I want to stay with you until I die." Her tears had dried and fierce determination shone through her eyes. She pressed her body against his once more.
Erik, annoyed with how a simple touch from Christine affected him so, turned his head away. "That is not possible."
"Why?" She whined, "If I love you anything is possible."
"No!" His voice grew rough as he broke away from her, his fists clenched with a burst of anger. "You do not love me, Christine. You can not love me for I can not be loved by anyone."
"What horrors do you speak of? You believe you lack the ability to be loved? Erik, these thoughts in your pretty head are not true." Christine moved towards him again just to be blocked by his arms crossed against his gaunt chest.
Had she just called his head pretty? "No one makes me feel the way you do and if I were to get used to you residing with me and then you left, I believe that I would not be able to forgive myself."
"Forgive yourself for what? For allowing yourself to love? One can't live in solitude forever Erik. I need you and I believe you feel the same towards me."
"You have matured over these two years my Christine." He sighed deeply. "I remember when you were like a young child, always needing answers."
Christine smiled sweetly in remembrance and it broke Erik's heart as he looked down upon his own Angel.
"Little Lottie," she whispered solemnly, "thought of everything and nothing. She wheedled her mother, and was kind to her doll, took great care of her frock and her little red shoes and her fiddle, but most of all loved, when she went to sleep, to hear the Angel of Music sing songs in her head. Your Little Lottie has grown Erik and her Angel of Music continues to sing songs in her head."
"In your dreams I will always reside. Now, please, Christine, I can not bear to loose you again."
"You won't!" Christine yelled feverishly. "I'm not leaving you Erik! Not ever again, I couldn't bear to turn my back on you even once more."
"You can not bear to look upon my horrid face!" His fingers found his mask and gently felt the smoothness of the pale porcelain. Grasping the edges of his disguise he tore it off, taking his wig with it. The mask shattered when it hit the floor, sending pieces of snow-white porcelain scattering throughout the dressing room. He waited for Christine's inevitable gasp of horror with tightly shut eyes. When it did not come, he glanced up at her.
His marred skin seemed to have no effect on her. His face, with his one droopy eyelid and rough folds of red skin hanging from his cheek ceased to repulse her. She had grown past the point where appearances mattered.
"It 'tis but a face." She said sensibly, stepping forward to grasp his hand. Holding it gently in hers, she brought it to his face, running his own fingers over the deformity. "Trust me." Dropping his hand, she lifted her fingers to his distorted face. Gently, oh so gently, she explored each crevice, every single centimeter of his beautiful face.
Exploding under her fingertips, Erik closed his eyes in ecstasy and savored the sensation of her light touch. Never before had a woman willingly touched him, and certainly never as Christine did so.
"Erik." She whispered. "Let me stay with you."
Breathless, all he could do was nod. Eyes still shut he moved his head towards her shoulder and rested it upon her still frame.
Moving her hand to his crown she stroked the clumps of greasy raven-hued locks that hung from his skull. With ease her fingers untangled the knots that had plagued his hair for years and massaged his throbbing head.
"Come." Erik stood upright; the ghost of Christine's touch quickened his breath as he offered his hand.
Taking his palm in hers she fell into step behind Erik. Her heart refused to still as he led her forward even though she knew exactly where the dark passageway hidden behind her mirror was going to lead them.
