The Plan

Christine heard every last word. Every. Last. One. She heard of Erik's past. The past that she had known nothing about. She had seen Mercedes take off his mask. He let her take off his mask! And she did not back away in fear! Mercedes had meant it when she had said that she loved Erik. Fortunately, thought Christine, Erik doesn't seem to love Mercedes.

Christine also heard of Mercedes' past. She blocked out what she hadn't wanted to hear, however. She did not hear of Mercedes being raped. She did not hear of Mercedes' father and best friend being murdered. All that Christine heard was about how Mercedes had killed hundreds of people and had stolen from countless others! This seductive whore loved her Erik!

To Christine's horror, when Mercedes finished her story Erik kissed her! He held her! He promised to never leave her! I'm too late, thought Christine. A nagging voice in the back of her head told her that she deserved it after she had betrayed Erik. She shoved that voice from her mind, ignoring it completely.

She would get her beloved Erik back. And she knew exactly how to do it.

"My name is Christine Daae. I am interested in playing the lead soprano role in 'Don Juan Triumphant,'" said Christine to Mercedes. They were sitting in Mercedes' office, a lavishly decorated room filled with expensive furniture and tasteful artwork. She knew that she was safe revealing her name because Mercedes Gautier had never heard of her before, not even from Erik.

"How did you hear of this play, Mademoiselle Daae? We have not publicly announced that we will be performing it yet." inquired Mercedes.

"Well, Madam Giry is a good friend of mine and when I visited yesterday, she told me that you would be performing this opera." Christine purposefully neglected to tell Mercedes that she had been in this very opera. She did not want Mercedes knowing who she was.

"You said that you have sung here before. Which plays were you in?" asked Mercedes.

"I was in the performance of Hannibal. I would have been in more plays, but I got married." replied Christine. Again, she withheld some information from Mercedes. If she mentioned any of the other operas that she had performed in, Mercedes would surely figure out who she was.

"I see. Well, since no one else has asked for the position, partially due to the fact that no one knows that it will be performed," she gave a knowing look to Christine, who smiled slightly. However much she disliked this woman, it was getting increasingly difficult to actually hate her. "… you will have the part. Congratulations. Be sure to attend rehearsal and practice in your free time, although I'm sure that you don't need that speech."

Christine smiled, shook Mercedes' hand, and went to exit the room. Suddenly, Mercedes spoke again and said, "Daae, Christine Daae." For a second Christine was fearful that Mercedes knew her name. She thought that Mercedes had seen the headlines and knew everything about the incident during Don Juan Triumphant.

Her fears were not true, however, and Christine breathed an inaudible sigh of relief when Mercedes said, "Your father was Gustaav Daae, wasn't he?"

"Yes, Mademoiselle. I'm his only child." Christine replied.

"My father, Anthony Gautier, was a doctor and a good friend of Gustaav. My father helped your mother give birth to you. I was only three when you were born" said Mercedes. Mercedes seemed suddenly slightly melancholy, for she was remembering that only a week after Christine's birth they had traveled to Africa.

Christine left the room soon afterwards, heading towards a certain dressing room.

Erik sat on his large couch, thinking. Mercedes had suggested that he be in the performance of "Don Juan Triumphant" since he had both written the Opera and acted in it, even for such a short amount of time. He wasn't sure if he was ready to sing in the opera. He was afraid that another mishap would occur. He wanted so badly to perform in it, but it would never be the same as it had been with Christine.

The thought of Christine made his heart wrench. He wished so badly that she had never left him. She had left him with a broken heart when she left him. Or was his heart broken? No, it was not actually broken, but he feared that it might be soon. He loved Christine, but he was not sure what to do about Mercedes. She obviously loved him; he could see the adoration in her large, grey eyes. He knew he felt something for her in return as well; he just wasn't sure what it was.

Sighing, he decided to perform in his opera "Don Juan Triumphant." It would never be the same, but it would still draw crowds. Maybe performing in this play would help him get over his pain and move on in life.

She stood in front of the mirror in her old dressing room. Knowing that it was now or never, she gently slid open the mirror and walked down the passage to see her beloved Erik.