Christine woke up in Raoul's strong embrace. She looked up in amazement at his smiling face and bright eyes. He was no longer the pale, worn-out man she had seen last night.
"Raoul! You're awake! Why didn't you wake me up too?" Christine didn't want to miss a single minute spent with Raoul. Her ordeal had made her realize how fleeting time is and that she should cherish the precious few moments that they shared.
"You looked so peaceful; I couldn't bear to steal you from your dreams," he said, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb.
"This is my dream," she replied sweetly, her eyes looking deeply into his.
Christine tried to run a hand through her hair, only to find it caught in a tangled mess. She realized how she must look with her dirty face; she didn't want to look like this when Raoul first laid eyes on her again. Embarrassed, she tried to hide her face by pulling the blanket up to just below her eyes.
"What are you doing?" Raoul chuckled, taking her hand from her face and planting a kiss on it.
"Oh Raoul, I must look simply awful!"
"Never. You always look beautiful to me," he said softly.
Christine smiled shyly. She could have stayed like this all day, but she knew that Erik had probably arrived home and found that she was missing. She could picture his furious outburst, like the rage she had seen in him when she broke his music box. Christine was sure that he would waste no time in beginning the search for them. Christine hated feeling like the lion's prey, stalked by a vicious beast she couldn't control. The worst part was knowing that she probably wouldn't even see it coming. But now that Raoul was awake, they could start running, together. Sadly she pried herself from Raoul's arms. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the window, wondering if they would ever again have a moment's respite from fear. When she turned her head, Raoul caught a glimpse of the bruises that ran across her cheek. He brought his hand up to her chin and gently turned her face toward him.
"Did he do this to you?" Raoul asked angrily through clenched teeth.
Christine had forgotten about the marks Erik had left on her face. She put her hand up to her cheek, "It's nothing Raoul. I'm fine," she said nervously.
"You're not using your left hand; it's been hanging limply ever since you awoke," he noted.
Christine gave Raoul a small smile, "I said I was fine."
"How could he do something like this? I knew he was a monster, but I didn't know he was capable of hurting you. I could kill him for this," Raoul whispered threateningly. He sat up quickly, wincing and grabbing his side.
Christine protectively lowered him back down on the bed, "You'll do nothing of the sort. You are in no shape to fight anyone. You rest. I'll speak to Maurice and we'll be leaving here as fast as we can."
Raoul shut his eyes tightly. He hadn't been able to protect her before, and he couldn't do it now. Christine leaned down and gently kissed Raoul's lips. She ran her hands through his hair. Raoul was beaming, his heart revived by the warm feeling of Christine's mouth upon his.
"Everything's going to be ok. I'll be right back." Christine backed out of the room, keeping her eyes on Raoul's smiling face.
"Good morning mademoiselle!" Maurice said cheerfully behind her.
"You're in a rather good mood, aren't you Maurice?" Christine remarked with a happy tone.
"Of course! It's a beautiful morning, the sun is shining, and we've found the lovely lady we've spent nearly a year searching for… well, actually you found us, but that's beside the point. How could life be any better?"
"Well Raoul is awake now. So I was hoping that we could leave as soon as possible. I fear that Erik will be coming after us shortly and I'd rather not be here."
"I'll go prepare the horses. We can leave in a few minutes."
"Merci," Christine said, breaking out in an uncontrollable smile despite the danger she knew they faced.
When Christine entered Raoul's room again, he was sitting on the edge of the bed putting his shirt on. He painfully lifted his arms over his head and pulled the shirt down. He stood up and strapped a sword around his waist.
Christine leaned up against the door, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are you going to do with that?" she asked playfully.
"You never know when it will come in handy," Raoul replied with a roguish smile.
Christine smiled and shook her head lightheartedly. "Maurice is preparing the horses. Let's go, Monsieur Warrior."
Raoul followed her out the door, but stopped suddenly in the hallway.
"What's wrong?"
"I think I forgot something," Raoul answered with a puzzled look, patting his shirt and pockets. "Oh, that's right," he said as he took Christine into his arms and kissed her passionately. Christine's whole body felt like it was on fire. She had almost forgotten what it felt like when Raoul pulled her tightly against him and met her passion with his own. She was glad to know that the months of isolation had not numbed her emotions. When their lips parted, Christine looked up into Raoul's sparkling eyes.
"I missed you," he said sincerely.
"Monsieur, mademoiselle," Maurice interrupted, "I hate to ruin the moment, but we really should be leaving. The Vicomte should heal up before he faces the Phantom."
Christine turned to Maurice puzzled, "Faces the Phantom?"
"Let's not talk about it now," Raoul interjected.
"No Raoul, I think now is the time to talk about it," Christine turned on him angrily. "What are you going to do?"
"I…I don't know," he answered, his arms falling resignedly at his sides. "We have to do something Christine. He won't ever let us be. You know that."
"I don't want to see him harmed, Raoul."
"How can you say that after everything he's done to you, to us?"
"I can't explain it. He was there to comfort me when I lost my father…"
"He lied to you," Raoul said, his face set like stone.
"I know," Christine said, agitated.
Raoul's face softened. "Christine," he said, taking her hands in his, "help me understand."
"It's not that I don't love you Raoul. I do, with all my heart. But he's suffered for so long. I can't bear to add to his pain."
"We'll work something out. I promise. But now is not the time," Raoul said, leading Christine to her horse.
"What are we going to do? He'll find us wherever we go," Christine said, moving into Raoul's arms.
Maurice cleared his throat, "I humbly offer my home until we work something else out. It's not very elegant, but I'm sure he won't look there. It should buy us some time."
"Thank you Maurice. I don't know what I've done to deserve such loyalty," Raoul said while helping Christine mount her horse. Once Raoul had climbed into his saddle, they followed Maurice down the road. Raoul kept his protective eyes on Christine. He was overjoyed to have her back, but his mind was clouded with the pleas she had made for the Phantom. How was he going to protect Christine from Erik without turning her against him?
