A/N: Hello all of my reviewers! (I Despise Raoul, TerpintineMind, WildPixieChild16, Countess Alana, and TryptoPhan) I appreciate your reviews a ton! you all rock. :) Well this chapter is slightly angsty, but i really liked writing this one because there are a ton of character P.O.V's. I have a question though, pick A or B. grins just do it, humor me, i'm torn between two ideas on what to do next. So, pick A or B.
TryptoPhan:aww your review made me go SQUEEE! you are so squee worthy hehe. Yeah, i wasnt sure on whether or not to have Erik say "fcking" but i just did it. I agree with you though, it isnt too much like him. hehe i dont think ill be having him say it again, he was just craaaazy with anger.
K, enought talk, on with the chappy! WHEEEE
Madame Giry sighed in annoyance along with many other emotions. Christine…She was such a child at times. Did she not understand that toying with men hearts…Especially Erik's heart, was simply wrong! That seemed harsh… yes. But the truth hurts. Antoinette closed her eyes briefly as she recalled her long talk with Miss Daae. Once she had calmed Christine down enough to make her understandable, Christine blurted out the entire terrifying ordeal. Christine may be many things, a dancer, singer, but she was not a liar. Never a liar.
"Christine I love you as a mother loves her daughter…My child. But you need to mature…Choose what it is that you want: Raoul or Erik? You cannot have both." Christine was barley coherent at the time. She locked into her guardians cold eyes and exclaimed, "Oh, Madame, I do not know! Do you think one can die of guilt? Why does it hurt so horribly? Why can't papa just be here with me? Oh Papa, I am nothing but the common whore. Papa, Papa…Where are you now? Where is my Angel of Music? You promised me, you promised me!" An uncomfortable silence passed between the two. So she feels guilty…Not a surprise. The Madame feared that Christine had gone completely and utterly mad. Now was as good as any time to get answers out of her. "Why do you feel guilt? Do you feel guilt for leading Erik on, only to break his heart," Madame Giry inquired a bit too harshly, "Or do you feel guilt for accepting The Viscount's proposal?" Christine sat very quietly for several moments. Then, her so reply, so chillingly mature quietly came. "Madame I am very tired. If you do not mind, I would very much like to be left alone." Antoinette merely gave a stiff nod and showed herself out of the room. Briefly, she pondered on what Christine must be going through. Let's run down the list shall we? At far too young of an age she had her father ripped from her, she never even knew her mother, she has had nasty ballet rats pester and ridicule her for her lack of talent in ballet, and to top it all off, she is torn between the men whom she loves; what a lovely, lovely life. Her and Erik have so much in common…They share pain…They share a common love: Music. And whether they knew it yet or not, a common love for each other. Antoinette's thoughts drifted to Erik…His life was not much better, if not worse than Christine's. He had been hated by everyone who ever laid eyes upon his face. Either that or feared…Or most horridly of all, pitied. Pity was a most terrible feeling to have, or to receive. Erik didn't want to be pitied, no, all he wanted was to be loved. But why in Hell had he fallen for Christine? She was barley ready to choose what frock to wear in the morning, let alone choose who to love for eternity. Maybe that was it…Maybe he was helplessly drawn to her pure innocence and capability or acceptance. "Oh Erik, what have you gotten yourself into?" The stern ballet mistress muttered beneath her breath.
"Too much Antoinette. Far, far too much."
His appearance was appalling at best. His usual crisp, formidable suit was wrinkled, and he was without his trademark cape. His eyes were darkened with the black bags beneath them, and his hair was in frenzy. He smelled of whiskey and brandy. All of those things were surprising, even shocking, but what horrified her was the absence of something very, very dear to him. His mask…It was missing. She couldn't even stifle the gasp that passed through her thin lips. Erik showed no embarrassment or shame, only amusement. Even the first woman ever to give a damn about me can't accept my face… Softly, he chuckled but only to trail of into sharp ragged breaths. "My dear, please do not conceal your fear, it is only natural of your kind." He then smiled politely, the way a grade school teacher would to a confused pupil. My Kind? Antoinette asked herself silently. What in God's green earth does he mean my kind?
"I beg your pardon, Monsieur, but what do you mean by my kind?" Madame Giry asked, forcing herself to be gentle and kind. She knew better than anyone else that one should stay on Erik's good side. Erik grinned in the strangest manner down at Antoinette. The smile he offered her was neither comforting nor reassuring.
"Well you see Madame, society, or on a larger scale, the human race does not see me fit to be a person. Why have I been kidding myself for all this time that I am like you or the Viscount or my beloved Christine? You know as well as I that I am not. I should become the monster that I am, should I not? It is simple, really. I am hated, or more likely feared. That is it isn't it my dear friend? She cannot love me because she is afraid of me!" Erik explained quite bluntly. A painful realization then settled within Antoinette Giry's heart. Oh Erik…Why are we so blind to what is laid right before our eyes?
"No Erik, no. She cannot love you just yet because she is only a child. Erik, she is only a child. She is not ready to be mature, save an adult. Give her one thing Erik, and let that be her innocence. She is just not ready…"
"I am a thing of Hell, Antoinette. I cannot stop loving her. She gives me light. Dear Jesus, I simply cannot stop." A salty tear slipped down her weathered cheeks. Erik made a move to cover his marred face, but was stopped abruptly by his only friends loving action. She bent down a gently pecked his right cheek.
"A face is a face Erik. Soon Christine will see that." She left him to be in privacy with a second glance. Erik was filled with a new hope. If Antoinette can accept me, she will too! Yes, Christine will accept me and love me and we will have our long sought out happily ever after! No Erik, you blasted fool! His pessimistic side snarled. Demons and beasts don't get happily ever afters.
