A/N: Just a warning- there is a slight sexual situation towards the end of this chapter. If it bothers you, you should be able to skip it and figure out what happened based on the chapters after this.
Christine sat up in her bed, breathing heavily, her whole body covered in a cold sweat. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, trying to remember what she had dreamt that had put her in such a panic. She tried to hold on to the images in her mind, but they escaped from her like water through her fingers. All she was left with was an overwhelming feeling of pain and sadness. The feeling invaded her whole body, causing her to shake uncontrollably. She placed her unsteady feet on the cold floor, leaning on the wall to keep her balance. In the dark, she felt her way to the door. She turned the knob slowly and opened the door just a crack. Her eyes scanned the hallway, looking for the men who had invaded the cottage. A few of them were slumped on the floor, passed out from exhaustion or alcohol. Christine began walking towards the kitchen, carefully stepping over the men along the way. As she neared the kitchen she could hear Erik talking with the man who had identified himself as Gustave. Erik sounded exceedingly nervous.
"What are we still doing here? You said you would help us get away from the Vicomte de Chagny," Erik said Raoul's name with disgust.
"In time, monsieur. Don't worry," Gustave replied calmly, tossing a grape in the air and catching it in his mouth. "You and your… friend… will be out of here long before the Vicomte gets anywhere near this place. Allow her and my men rest for the night."
Christine stepped closer to the room. She was near the doorway when a loud creak sounded out from the floor. Christine tried to jump back into the darkness, but it was too late. Erik had spun around in his chair quickly enough to see her.
"Christine, what are you doing out here?" He sounded like a father who had caught his daughter sneaking into the house in the middle of the night.
Christine absentmindedly ran her hands through her hair, letting them linger at her neck. Her eyes dropped to the floor and she spoke slowly, "Erik, something's wrong. I don't know what it is, but something is terribly wrong. It's Raoul, I can feel it. He needs me." Christine looked up with tears in her eyes, scanning Erik's face for some hint of what he was thinking.
Erik's eyes became dark, and he spoke with a roughness that Christine had never heard in his voice, "How dare you! All this time that I have suffered, and after all that I have suffered at your own hand, all you can think about is him. I don't give a damn what happens to your beloved Vicomte! I hope he burns in hell for what he did to us!" Erik slammed his hands down on the table, causing Christine to jump.
"Erik please, you don't understand…" Christine's tears fell freely as she begged Erik to listen to her.
Erik stood up and grabbed her painfully by the wrists, forcing her to the ground. Christine cried out, but Erik was so lost in his own pain that he didn't seem to care anymore.
"I don't want to hear another word about your fiancé. You belong to me!"
He released her wrists and turned back to his companion. She stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Her mind was raging. She belonged to no one! She ran to the next room and grabbed Erik's music box off the table. She threw it, with all the strength she could muster, at a spot on the wall just above Erik's head. He ducked instinctively when he heard the crash. He looked at the shattered pieces of his gift that lay on the floor. He couldn't help but think that it was just like his heart, broken to pieces that could never be put back together. He turned angrily on Christine. All her life, she had shown no regard for his feelings. His mind clouded over as his darker side took control. He was overcome with his emotions, the loneliness and rejection he had felt all his life. He was going to make Christine feel the pain she had caused him for so long.
Christine looked at Erik, and she didn't recognize him anymore. She had seen flashes of this hate in his eyes before; it always vanished as quickly as it appeared. But this time it wasn't going away. For the first time in her life Christine was truly terrified of Erik. She ran as fast as she could towards the front door and in a flash Erik was behind her. She could hear his footsteps getting closer. Her bare feet were cut by the jagged rocks in the dirt road, but Christine took no notice; she was running for her life.
It took only a few moments for Erik to catch up to her. When he grabbed her wrist, he heard a sharp crack. He slapped her hard across the face and she fell to the ground. She raised her arms to her head, trying to protect herself from the blow that she knew she was about to receive. Erik raised his hand, ready to strike her again when Christine turned her head and looked at him. He could already see the bruise beginning to form along her cheekbone and around her eye. His eyes trailed along her arm to see even more bruises, and her limp broken wrist. Christine kept her blazing eyes on Erik's arm, waiting for it to fall down upon her. But it just hung in the air as if suspended by an invisible thread. Erik's eyes filled with tears and he stumbled backwards. He would have joined Christine on the ground, if not for the tree that provided him with support. Erik reached a hand up to his fast-beating heart. What had he almost done? If he hadn't stopped himself then, he might have killed her. How could he have done that to the only person in the world that he had ever loved?
Christine stared at him in wonder. She had no idea what was going through his mind. She looked into his eyes and saw that the madness was now gone. Her breathing slowed as she realized that she was safe again. She reached a hand up to her aching cheek. Her eyes fluttered and she slumped to the ground. She was given a temporary relief from the flurry of emotions that had controlled her since she awoke.
Erik walked towards Christine and gently lifted her up into his arms. Her head rolled onto his shoulder. Even though he knew she couldn't hear him, Erik vowed to her that he would never hurt her again. He carried her back to the house and tenderly laid her in her bed. He pulled the quilt up to her shoulders and kissed her lightly on the forehead.
He turned around to walk back to the kitchen, but Gustave was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed, leaning against the molding.
"You showed that little tramp who's boss, didn't you?" he said with a chuckle.
Erik grabbed Gustave by the throat and lifted him slightly off of his feet, "Don't you ever talk about her like that."
"I'm sorry, mon amie. Slip of the tongue. Remember, I'm here to help you," Gustave gasped, his hands trying to pry Erik's from his neck.
Erik gave Gustave a threatening look before releasing him. Gustave stepped back and rubbed his throbbing neck. "I think she needs some medical attention for those wounds, just to be safe."
"Perhaps you are right. Wake one of your men up and send him to the village."
"My men are exhausted, monsieur. I doubt you'd be able to wake them up for all the francs in the country."
"Well then, you go yourself. Make sure you find someone we can trust," Erik replied, stepping past Gustave into the house.
"Not me, monsieur. You know the village better than I do. Besides, I think it would be nice gesture if you went yourself. It will show her that you care for her health and safety. I'm sure she'll appreciate it after what happened."
Erik looked at Gustave warily.
"Monsieur, I give you my word that I will keep careful watch over her," Gustave said, placing a hand on his heart. "And if the Vicomte should somehow manage to find us, I will take care of it," he added.
Erik was hardly reassured by Gustave's promise, but he knew that he should get some help for Christine. She needed to be prepared to make the journey that lay ahead of them.
"I will go as fast as I can. I should be back in a few hours."
Gustave stood by the front window, watching Erik ride off towards the village. Finally, that freak was out of the way. Gustave found himself in a unique position. He had two men, both willing to give anything for him to deliver them this woman. The Vicomte was most assuredly the wealthier of the two, but the masked man would sink to any depths to provide Gustave with what he wanted. If he played his cards right, perhaps he could squeeze both of them dry. No matter. He had plenty of time to think about it and work out a plan. For now, he could claim a small part of his fee.
Christine awoke to the sound of breathing in her ear. The last thing she remembered was waiting in fear for Erik to hit her. But he never did. He had stopped… and she had fainted in the middle of the road. She was in her bed, covered by her red quilt, but what was Erik doing there with her? Christine rolled over and her face met Gustave's. She opened her mouth to scream, but Gustave quickly placed a hand over her trembling lips.
"There's no point in screaming, dear," Gustave smiled, "there's no one around here who cares. I'd let you scream, it wouldn't make any difference, but it breaks my concentration."
Christine reached up her hand to slap him, forgetting about her wrist. Gustave grabbed her hand and bent it back, causing Christine to cry out in pain.
"I'm sure your friend won't mind if you and I spend a little quality time together. I mean, look at you. It's not like he hasn't thought about it. I'm sure he'd understand," Gustave whispered into her ear.
Gustave removed his hand and covered Christine's mouth with a kiss. Christine almost vomited at the sour taste of his tongue invading her mouth. After a few moments he pulled away and Christine took in a deep breath. Hot tears began to roll down her cheeks. Christine felt Gustave's hand move down her body to the bottom of her dress. As he began to pull her skirt up, Christine slowly reached her other hand to the night stand beside her bed. She grasped the solid gold candlestick that she used to read at night and raised it high over Gustave's head. She heard a painful crack as she swung down with full force. Christine felt Gustave's body go slack. She pushed him off of her and heard him thud as he hit the floor. Christine ran to her desk and grabbed her engagement ring. Slipping it onto her finger, she snuck past Gustave's men once again. Outside she carefully mounted a white horse, trying not to use her bad wrist, and started off towards the village. The horse was moving quickly enough, but Christine couldn't go at a full gallop; her body was too sore. She tried to ignore it, thinking only of the possibility that someone in the village could help her find Raoul. She knew she needed to do it quickly. She knew something was wrong with Raoul, and it was getting worse by the minute.
