The Lucky Bracelet
Being a Humorous Look at What Was Really Happening During the Point of No Return and What Should Have Happened During Down Once More
Chapter One: In Which Jewelry Attacks and There Is Much Plummeting
Christine sang her lines and waited in feigned anticipation for Piangi to make his appearance. Mon Dieu, how she hated singing this duet with him! He was such a slimy little man, and it made her feel…dirty. Damn the Phantom for writing this opera that brimmed with double entendres and then making her sing it with Piangi! She needed a real man to sing it with!
Her eyes cut up to Box Five, where Raoul was sitting with a gendarme, totally focused on her. Christine snorted silently to herself and wished she could roll her eyes. No, Raoul didn't quite fit the bill either. For a while Christine had been dazzled by his boyish good looks, his easy charm, his money, his title, but his attractiveness had begun to pall. Compared to her Angel (aka the Phantom of the Opera), Raoul could only be described as…tame. Safe. Boring.
Bah, she had been singing this stupid song about passion plays, blooming buds, and racing blood a little too often. But it did bring the Phantom to mind. Christine almost licked her lips at the thought. He was definitely more exciting than Raoul. Christine made a mental note to ditch Raoul once this farce was over with and get in touch with her Angel.
Where in Hades was Piangi? Christine shoved up the straps of her irritating costume and continued to pretend to be fascinated with her basket of roses, grinding her teeth. Couldn't the imbecile even remember his cues?
Finally his cloaked figure entered. Luckily, no one in the audience had noted the delay. But when he sang his first line, Christine about died from shock. That was definitely not Piangi! It was the Phantom!
Shock kept her locked in place during the first part of his song. The idiot! Of all the arrogant things to do. To appear as the lead in his opera in order to kidnap the prima donna (for Christine had not the slightest doubt that that was why he was there) with half the Paris police force waiting to kill him! Christine vowed to kill him herself at the next opportunity for pulling a stunt like this.
Not that she didn't want to be kidnapped, but he had to go and make a spectacle of it. He could have waited; she would've gotten rid of Raoul and installed herself in his lair within a week. But nooooo. He had to steal her in front of half of Paris!
She couldn't figure out why she liked him. Just because of his sexy voice, broad chest, strong arms, dark hair, gorgeous eyes, his tendency to pamper her and bring her gifts… Okay, so she did know why she liked him, but that was beside the point.
Suddenly he was behind her, singing into her ear. Her breath whooshed out of her as his arm came around and caught her by the throat. The feel of his arms and his glorious voice almost made her faint. This was how this song was meant to be sung!
She risked a glance up at Raoul. He looked both gleeful that the Phantom had revealed himself and livid that he was near her. How he could look both she didn't know, but he managed it. No doubt visions of sweeping in after the show and capturing the dreaded Phantom of the Opera were running through his head. The man really was too concerned with capturing the Phantom and not about her safety. At least they wouldn't risk shooting—Christine was too close for that, and Raoul had at least that much caution.
The Phantom released her neck and trailed his hand across her shoulder and down her arm, clutching her hand in his. Christine shivered at the sensation but, just when it couldn't get any better, her bracelet came unhooked and flopped down her wrist.
Christine cursed in her head. Something had to go and spoil this. Come on Phantom, she thought, just grab it and drop it later. No one will notice. But he continued to sing and somehow swept it back up over her wrist, managing to refasten it.
She blinked at him. How had he done that? She could barely get the thing hooked if that was the only thing she concentrated on, and then only if she held her mouth just right and got lucky! How did he manage to fasten it and still sound so seductive?
Then it was her turn to sing. Christine opened her mouth and sang, letting her passion show as it never had with Piangi. As she sang, she carefully kept near him—well within bullet range. As they moved back towards the twin spiral staircases, Christine's blood ran cold. The script called for them to go up separate staircases. If Raoul had the bright idea to have the police shoot then…
Christine deliberately made her voice become low and passionate. She shrugged her shoulders so that both straps of her dress fell off: double seductive power! At last the irritating things had a purpose. She was willing to bet that there wasn't a male in the theater that was looking at the Phantom and not at her.
They both reached the top of the steps. Christine wondered what to do now. Piangi was so much shorter than her that they had just held hands and sang to each other. The Phantom, however, had other ideas. As he grasped her hand he spun her around and back into his chest. The final verse crested over them like a tidal wave, and when it was over Christine could only stand there locked in his arms, she was so overcome.
It took her a few seconds to realize that he was singing something else, but when she did her heart skipped a beat. He was singing the song her and Raoul had sang on the roof! He was asking her to love him, to live with him!
Gleefully, she turned around to look him in the eyes. She put her hand up to the side of his face, getting ready to drag him down so she could kiss him. But then she remembered all the people watching, time enough for that later, when they were safe. She let her arm drop, but once again her pesky bracelet spoiled everything. It had gotten caught on the mask string, and when she dropped her arm the mask came with it, revealing his face to the audience.
There were screams from the crowd, the Phantom was looking at her in betrayal, and the pit of Christine's stomach dropped. This was not good…
That was the last thought she had time for before the Phantom's arm shot out and grabbed her, crushing her to his chest. His other arm slashed something with his sword, causing screams from the audience, and then hit something else. Suddenly, they were plummeting…