Update fast enought for you guys? Hehehehe... Anyways, after staying up two night in a row till four in the morning, I finally finished the whole fanfic. Except for the epilogue...that's the only thing missing. I know,I know, another short chapter... but that's to torture you girls (i'm sure most -if not all-of you are girls) Okay I'll stop. Chapter twenty-four:
Descending to His Labyrinth
There was nothing romantic or remotely welcoming about the dizzying hallways this time. Christine found that out quick enough. And there weren't very quiet for long. Because all that Christine would do was grunt against his force, trying to get him to put her down.
She didn't like feeling like she was a damsel in distress. "Let me go," she said pushing away from him. "Let me go!" She tried kicking but her legs weren't anywhere near him and she couldn't reach.
He kept her over his shoulder an arm around her legs the other arm was out ahead of him with a torch lighting his way. She continued to squirm in his grip until he finally let her go.
He placed her on the ground but grabbed her wrist in an iron grip that not even the devil himself could tear apart. But she tried, she tugged and pulled and tried to hold on to a column to keep from going on, but it was to no avail because he pulled her hard and she continued forth with her dark companion.
"Erik, please," she said almost pleading. "Let me go."
And then he did something that she found was out of place. He laughed. "So you can go back to that ridiculous fop? Not likely."
"Erik, please, be reasonable."
He stopped and turned towards her. "Reasonable?" He hollered. "You want me to be reasonable?"
She shrank in fear but not because of his exposed flesh but because of his tone of voice.
"I have never known pity or love because of what I am, because of my abhorrent face! No one came to me, no one! I was locked up here, into these confines because of how I look!" Then his tone changed into a soft whisper. "I was going to get out of here, Christine. With you, my angel. But now –" he seemed to be holding back a sob. "Not now." He turned back and pulled her along the catacombs. "Down once more into the dungeons of my black despair. Down that path to darkness as deep as hell! Now we plunge to the prison of my mind!"
Christine tried to get away, but with each new attempt, it only made him tug on her harder and pull her even faster.
As soon as we get to the stream and he puts me in the gondola, I'll jump out and swim like hell.
But they never got to the stream, instead he led her through more echoing –echoing because of her struggles- catacombs until they were in his little home. It was just like the first night, she realized. Only that everything seemed foreboding, threatening. All of it.
He left her next to the organ, and left fumbling with something behind a curtain.
Christine looked around desperately looking for an escape. The iron gate was closed and she knew that if she went back the way they came, she would get lost and Erik would only get more angrier than he already was.
Maybe if she reasoned with him, maybe he could get her loose.
Making up her mind, she tried to approach him. "Erik?"
He stopped what he was doing and looked at her.
After a couple of seconds, he turned back to what he was doing. Then he stopped, walked past her and went to his small organ where there were small candles lighting the large room.
"Can we talk?"
He took a candle and turned to her. "Yes, my angel, we shall talk, after the wedding."
Christine's breath caught. "W-wedding?"
He smiled and walked to her, pointing to a curtain behind her, the one he was fixing earlier.
Her hand reached out and pulled the red curtain to the side. There to her horror, was herself in a wedding dress. It was like looking in a mirror. There was a mannequin much like herself, with her long lustrous, semi-curly brown hair, her large expressive brown eyes. She had the same milky white complexion, high cheekbones, and scarlet lips.
The only thing that convinced her that she wasn't looking at her reflection was what the mannequin was wearing. The wedding dress was ivory white with embroidered silver flowers on the torso.
It was beautiful, something that she one day she wished she could wear. Just not now. "Oh shit."
Review Responses:
Bawdy Bardess- Sure, go ahead. I actually got the idea from the Simpsons. There was an episode where they see into the future or something and Martin becomes the Phantom. It was only for like two seconds but it was funny.
MidnightPrincess- I tried to make Raoul as "un-foppish" as possible but it seems that people hate him anyway. Oh well.
DaydreamingTurtle- I'm soo glad you like it! Okay, answering your question: The Phantom of the Opera never happened in this story. There was no book by Gaston Leroux, no musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It's as if this was the original. These people have never heard of The Phantom of the Opera, we know and love. This one is as if it was the original. It is retelling the tale in our modern time. Hope that answered your question. ;o)
SapphireTearz-I guess you'll just have to stick around and find out. ;o)
Some Crazy Girl, el loppy, Christine2004, EmilyWillow, LittleLotte, Lindseys Trachea, Asia 1st- Glad you all liked it! I updated for you guys. I sat down and continued! What an achievement! yay!
Stay tuned for Chapter Twenty-Five: The Chandelier Crash and What Follows...
