From Angel's Eyes

Chapter Seven

Christine got there early, as usual, on Monday morning. She couldn't resist being a tad vain, with the prospect of reporters, and had taken special care to look good. And, she told herself firmly, it had nothing to do with the fact that Erik Destler would be there.

Still, dressed in jeans and a white sun top, her dark curls falling free, she hoped she looked decent as she entered the theatre. Nadir and Dr Carter were talking cheerfully with two men, one of whom had a camera. Dr Carter spied her as she entered and said loudly,

"Here's our leading lady now! Christine, come here." Christine put her bag and jacket down and walked over, a little intimidated. Dr Carter put a hand on her shoulder and smiled widely at the reporters.

"This is Christine Danes, our leading lady. Christine, this is Arthur Mackinnon and Jonathon Shrewsbury from the local paper. They'll be watching the rehearsals today and I expect they'll want to talk to you."

"Indeed we will." said Arthur with a smile. Christine smiled slightly and looked around quickly to see if Erik was there. Nadir smiled and said,

"He's in the office. If you want to start warming up, I'll fetch him."

"Thank you, Mr Khan." Christine replied.

Arthur took a notepad out and wrote down her name.

"Christine Danes… You're playing Christine in the musical. Did you expect to get the part?"

"Oh, no. I just thought I'd audition and see where it got me." Christine admitted. Arthur smiled.

"You're glad you did?"

"Of course. Excuse me; I'm supposed to be warming up."

"Oh, go ahead." Arthur said.

Christine went to the piano with her score and waited for Erik. He arrived a moment later and offered her a slight smile.

"Good morning, Miss Danes."

"Good morning, Mr Destler."

"I see you've already been accosted." He nodded at the reporters and she smiled.

"Yeah. I guess I had it coming."

"I suppose so. Scales and then Think of Me."

Christine nodded and began to sing clearly, going up and down the scales several times before he was satisfied. Then she began on Think of Me. Erik stopped her halfway through to point out an error. Christine noted it down to remind herself not to do it again and they started again. This time they got all the way through and Erik nodded.

"That was good."

"Thank you." She smiled.

"Good morning all." Max said, entering with a paper cup of coffee in one hand. He glanced over at the reporters and grinned at Christine.

"Thanks for the heads up. I made sure to get plenty of caffeine down."

"Not exactly the idea, but whatever works for you." She smiled. Erik said,

"Through The Phantom of the Opera please. Let's hope what we did on Friday gets through to today, Miss Danes."

"I think it will." She said quietly.

"Good. Might as well show off for our guests." He nodded at the reporters and Max grinned.

"I think we'll manage, won't we Christine?"

Erik began to play and the reporters came over to listen in awe. Christine sang her part, fixing her eyes on Max's as she did so. He smirked slightly and sang his verse so powerfully Christine was surprised. He really was in his element when he was able to show off like this, especially with an attentive audience. She turned the page and sang her part. "Those who have…" She looked up at Max as they joined together again.

Max said clearly, powerfully,

"Sing, my Angel of Music!"

And Christine began the part she had practised with Erik. Instantly she forced herself back onto the stage, back to Friday when Erik had held her, his hand on her ribs, coaxing the song out of her. She remembered how he felt, his chest to her back, his hand on her throat, the strength he possessed, the power he had over her voice. She remembered the wonder and intensity they had shared in that moment of euphoria, when song had taken flight.

And then the song ended and she was snapped back to reality. She blinked and looked around. Max was staring at her, as were Dr Carter and Nadir. The reporters were open mouthed. But she couldn't care less about what they thought. She looked over at Erik who nodded and smiled.

"Perfect, Miss Danes."

"Excellent, both of you!" Dr Carter said. Nadir glanced at Erik, who was shifting through his music, with a smug smile on his lips. Arthur and Jonathon exchanged a look and Arthur said,

"That was incredible. You could be professionals for all we knew!"

Tom arrived a few minutes later and Dr Carter pushed them all towards the costume room.

"I want you in your costumes. Yes, Christine, I do mean that outfit." Christine pulled a face as she imagined having to wear the revealing outfit again. Max poked her in the ribs.

"Cheer up. Once they get a picture of you in that outfit into the papers, the place will fill out!"

"Yes, but how many of them will be listening to what I'm singing?" Christine pointed. Max shrugged.

"Hey, it's all publicity. And publicity is worth its weight in scantily clad Christines."

Once they were changed into their costumes and make-up, they returned to the hall. By this time, a lot of other people had arrived and were milling around excitedly. Dr Carter clapped his hands.

"Dancers, to the big studio with me! Christine, Phantom and Raoul stay here with Mr Destler. Mr Khan will sort out the rest of you."

Christine perched on the edge of the stage and shivered as she noticed the dent in the stage, where the lighting fixture had landed. So close…

"Miss Danes, I want you to run through The Phantom of the Opera with Mr Hodges. Mr Sutherland, after that we'll go through Why Have You Brought Me Here." Erik said calmly. He took Christine and Max onto the stage and instructed Max on how to move.

"As soon as the song is finished, Christine will sit in the boat and you move over to the organ to begin The Music of the Night. Show me hold you'll hold her during the final notes."

Max hesitantly put his hands on Christine's waist and Erik moved them so one was on her ribcage and the other was on her neck.

"Like that, Mr Hodges. Don't be ashamed to touch her, its called acting." He said matter-of-factly. Christine waited whilst Max and Erik spoke and then Erik ordered them to do the end of the song, crossing the stage to each other.

Christine couldn't help noticing the reporters standing nearby, snapping pictures of the extras. In particular, of Rebecca in her Carlotta outfit. But as the music began and they started to sing, the cameras turned towards them.

"No! Mr Hodges, did I tell you to do that?" Erik snapped. Max rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's just a bit… with the cameras…"

"I don't care about the cameras. Do as I instructed." Erik told him. Christine frowned. He was being unnecessarily harsh with Max. She returned to her side of the stage and they began again but Christine hadn't even reached Max before Erik stopped the music again.

"No! Mr Hodges, you are doing it again. Stop making up movements!" he said.

Max groaned.

"Mr Destler, it's first thing on a Monday morning!"

"It could be Christmas for all I care. Do you need me to show you again?" Erik demanded. Max grinned.

"Might help."

Erik stared at him. This clearly hadn't been the answer he'd been expecting. But he said,

"Fine. Off the stage. Miss Danes, back to your place." Since she'd only gone about three steps, this hardly seemed taxing. She stood, ready for the music as Erik took off his jacket and faced her across the stage.

"As before. Mr Hodges, try to pay attention, or at least force another cup of coffee down your throat."

"Yes sir." Max said, saluting. Erik didn't seem to appreciate this wit and said simply,

"The music, please."

The music began again and Erik and Christine began to sing. Max watched closely, as did the rest of the audience. When they met in the centre of the stage, Erik turned her swiftly to face the audience, pressing her to him as he projected the words and she sang her section. She closed her eyes, lifting her face the rafters as he held her. And the final note arrived. Christine sang it, feeling Erik's hand press against her, half forcing, half tempting the song from within her.

The silence was almost deafening as the song ended. Christine turned her head slightly so she could look up at Erik. He was staring at her. For a moment neither of them moved. Then Erik stepped away from her and over at Max who was watching, open-mouthed.

"Do you think you can manage that? Hand on her neck, hand on her ribs. It isn't rocket science." He said scathingly.

"Yes." Max said confidently.

"Then do so. We haven't got all day."

After they had gone through it several time, Erik ordered everyone to do Prima Donna. Since Christine wasn't required for that scene, she was asked to do an interview with the reporters. They sat at the back of the theatre and Arthur asked her questions, whilst Jonathon went a little crazy with his camera at the performers.

"You take music at the university?"

"Yes, in Dr Carter's class." Christine confirmed. Arthur jotted something down and said,

"How do you feel the show is coming along?"

"Oh, it's amazing. Everyone is so dedicated. It's going to be wonderful; I really think everyone is going to enjoy it. And I feel I can say that because I just show up and sing. Everyone else is working on dancing and the backstage people just don't get enough credit."

"And the producers?" Arthur said, glancing at Erik who was watching silently and Nadir who was talking with Tom.

Christine smiled.

"Dr Carter has been really good; he's put in so much effort. Mr Khan is just great. He's so positive and he's always ready to help everyone."

"And Mr Destler?"

"He's… well, you saw him. He's just incredible. He really knows what he wants from us and he'll do just about anything to make sure that our performances are the best that we can possibly give." Christine said.

Arthur wrote that down swiftly.

"That's a great quote."

"You're welcome." She smiled.

"And your Phantom, Max Hodges… what's he like as a performer and a co-worker?"

"Wonderful, as both. He's really friendly, which is handy. I'd feel so uncomfortable if we didn't get along, especially in scenes like The Music of the Night and The Point of No Return."

"And Tom Sutherland?"

"Also wonderful. Seriously, both guys are really great, we get along so well."

"Any bad things about the musical?" Arthur asked and she smiled.

"Only this particular costume. It's a little too… revealing for my tastes. But apparently there's nothing I can do about it."

Arthur smiled as he jotted everything down.

"Thank you, Christine, that's great. I can't wait to see the show."

"You're welcome." She said, shaking his hand. Arthur moved off to talk to Max and Christine went to fetch her water bottle from her bag. But as she pulled it out, a folded piece of paper fell to the floor. Curiously, she picked it up and unfolded it, only to gasp and drop it onto the chair, staring at it.

Her face went pale and she could feel herself trembling slightly. She sank into a seat and stared at the piece of paper. A moment later, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up hastily. Erik frowned down at her.

"What's the matter?"

"I… that… it was in my bag…" She stammered, gesturing at the paper. Erik looked at it and picked it up, unfolding it. He read the single line and his eyes narrowed.

Next time the light won't miss

Christine got shakily to her feet and whispered,

"Who…? Who would do something like that?"

"I don't know. But I intend to find out." Erik said coldly. Unfortunately, at that moment, several people entered with video cameras and microphones. Erik swore.

"The local television."

"Don't say anything yet. Do it later. We can't miss this chance for the publicity." Christine whispered. Erik looked down at her determined expression and then nodded.

"Very well."

He slipped the note into his pocket and looked at her. His expression softened slightly.

"I will deal with this, Christine. Don't be afraid."

"I don't… I don't understand how someone could have… why would someone do that?" she whispered. Erik put a hand on her shoulder and said quietly,

"I'll take care of you."

"I know you will." She whispered back.

They were both snapped back into reality as Dr Carter came over excitedly.

"Mr Destler, the television people wish to interview you!"

"No. I said I would give no interviews. They may speak with Nadir, if they want information."

"Oh… well… I suppose." Dr Carter said, clearly displeased. He looked at Christine. "Jonathon wants some pictures of you with Max and Tom."

"Oh, right. Of course."

Jonathon was apparently a bit of an artiste. He had taken plenty of pictures of them acting out scenes but now wanted them to pose for pictures.

"Christine, stand between the two guys. Max, stand sideways, looking towards the camera and Tom do the same, facing inwards. Great!" He snapped a picture and took at least six more. Eventually Christine stepped down, only to be pounced on by a television producer.

"Could we ask a few questions?"

"Oh, yes. Sure." Christine smiled. After checking the lighting the camera turned on and the reporter, a stunning blonde woman smiled brightly.

"I'm here at the University Theatre looking behind the scenes at the latest show to be put on. The Phantom of the Opera will be performed in three weeks by the students of the musical department here at the university. Here with me is Christine Danes who will be playing Christine in this stunning performance."

She turned to Christine who smiled.

"Christine, what's it like to be performing in something on this scale?"

"It's amazing, it really is. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed doing something this much."

"How did you get the main part?"

"It was a simple audition process. I sang Think of Me for Dr Carter, Mr Khan and Mr Destler and they gave me the part." Christine said. The reporter smiled.

"Are you nervous about performing?"

"A little, but everyone has worked so hard. It's going to be amazing." She said, sounding a lot more confident than she felt.

The reporter smiled and turned to the camera. After a few words, she made a slashing motion and grinned at Christine.

"That was great. Matt, get the boy playing the Phantom over here and then we'll get some filler footage."

Christine watched in amusement as they interviewed Max and Tom before the reporter asked if they could get Christine singing. Everyone fell silent as she moved over to the piano. Erik sat down and glanced over at the reporter.

"Any particular song?"

"Entirely your choice." The reporter told him and looked into the camera with a dazzling smile.

"And here's a special preview of what's in store, as Christine Danes sings a song from the show, only here on your local channel! Over to you Christine."

The camera turned on Christine and Think of Me began to play. She smiled and lifted her face as she sang clearly, determined to make a good impression. She looked at Erik who was playing intently, watching her too. She couldn't help smiling slightly as she sang to the best of her ability.

When the song had finished, everyone applauded and Christine took a quick bow before looking at Erik.

"How was that?"

"Perfect. As usual." He said with a smile.

Once the cameras and reporters had all left Erik ordered for everyone to gather in the theatre, once they had changed back into their normal clothes. He stood on the stage, looking down on them. Once everyone was sat down and reasonably quiet he said,

"I find it very hard to believe that anyone of you sitting here is capable of harming someone. Generally, from what I've seen, you all seem to be decent people. But I regret to inform you that I have had a member of the cast come to me with a threatening note left in their bag."

Everyone gasped and began to talk. But Erik said over the top of them,

"The details of this note will not be revealed, nor will I say at whom it is directed. But let me tell you this… if I find out who sent this note, before they give themselves up, not only will they be excluded from the show but I will also be summoning the police. This behaviour is not acceptable and I will not allow it to continue. That is all."

He stepped down from the stage and everyone started to gossip, wondering who the letter was for, who had sent it and what it had said. Christine picked up her jacket and bag, wanting to slip out before anyone asked her if she knew anything. She heard Max call her name but pretended that she hadn't heard. Just as she stepped into the bright sunlight, her mobile phone began to ring. She answered quickly.

"Hello?"

"Christine, its Meg. I've got an emergency, can I meet you?"

"What sort of emergency? An oh-no-my-boyfriend's-broken-up-with-me emergency or an I-don't-know-what-to-wear-to-my-date emergency?"

"The second one. I need to raid your wardrobe." Christine smiled.

"OK, I'll be there in twenty minutes. Come over mine."

"See you soon!" Meg said cheerfully.


"Thank god, Christine, I've got a date tonight to the Villa Restaurant with Will and I have nothing to wear!" Meg cried, falling through Christine's front door. Christine smiled.

"Come on, we'll find you something. The Villa Restaurant? That's a bit posh."

"He's a posh guy. I need something that says look-at-me but not too much." Meg said, as they went into Christine's room. She opened the wardrobe door and Christine said,

"Dresses are on the left, or do you want a skirt?"

"I don't know!" Meg collapsed onto the bed, a dramatic hand pressed to her forehead. Christine laughed and pushed her.

"You should be in this musical!"

"Yeah, how's that going by the way?" Meg asked, sitting up. Christine shrugged.

"It's good. We had reporters in this morning; we're going to be on news tomorrow night."

"Oh my god! That's incredible!" Meg squealed.

Christine laughed and went to the wardrobe.

"It's only local news."

"But still! You're going to be famous!"

"Famous, locally. This one?" She held up a red dress.

"No, something paler. Anyway, I'll record the news. Then I can sell it to some major television network when you're famous!"

"They'll love that, I'm barely wearing anything in it. What about green?"

"No, I hate green. Got anything in pink?"

Christine disappeared inside the wardrobe and Meg asked,

"How's it going with that guy? You know, the one you like." There was a loud thud as Christine hit her head. Meg snorted and Christine brought her head out of the wardrobe.

"Ow…" she rubbed the tender spot.

"I'll take that as a not good?"

"I told you, there's nothing there. He's just… he's too good for me. And besides, why would he be interested in someone like me anyway?"

"Depends who it is really." Meg commented. Christine pulled out a peach coloured dress and held it up.

"What about this?"

"Ooh, I like!"

She started to take off her jeans and t-shirt as Christine put the other dresses away. Trister came bounding in and landed on the bed, wagging his tail. Christine rubbed his head as Meg looked in the mirror at the dress.

"Oh, yes. This is the one." She said confidently. Christine smiled.

"I haven't worn it in ages. And it looks a lot better on you than it does on me. Of course, you look good in everything."

"True, true…" Meg said smugly and laughed as Christine threw a pillow at her. She started to take the dress off and as she did so, she asked,

"Do you have time for a coffee?"

"I was going to walk Trister, but we could walk past the café and get a coffee to go, if you want to come."

"Sounds good."

Walking through the park, with coffee in hand, Christine found herself relaxing as Meg rambled on about her date for the evening.

"He's so cute, I'm so excited!" She squealed. Christine smiled and whistled to Trister, who had been sniffing at the ground. He pattered along beside them, tongue lolling out. The two girls sat on a bench to drink their caffeine, Meg still talking about her date. Christine adored her friend, but she seriously had a one track mind.


"A threat against Christine Danes?" Nadir said in astonishment, as they walked through the Entrance Hall of Erik's home. Erik nodded.

"Yes. And I am determined to find out who it is."

"Any ideas about who?"

"No. I want you to keep a carefully watch out for anyone. It will be someone in the show." Erik said, going to his art room. Nadir nodded and disappeared. He knew he was not permitted to enter the art room.

Erik closed the door behind him and looked around the dark room. The curtains were drawn. He threw them open, allowing sunlight to flood the room. Then he turned his attention to the centre of the room, where a plain mannequin stood. He crossed to it and ran his hand over the roughly modelled face. This had to be perfect, had to be exact to the smallest details. A large television screen stood to one side and he slipped in a disc of footage that Nadir had been collecting for him.

The shaky picture came into focus. It showed Christine sat on the stage, reading through her score, with Max and Tom talking nearby. Christine looked up with a smile as the boys joked about before looking around the room. The next clip was Christine stood at the piano, singing Think of Me. The section after that was her arguing with Dr Carter about her Music of the Night costume. Clip after clip of her showed and Erik watched them all, before setting it playing from the beginning. He picked up tools and began to shape the face carefully, tenderly shaping the nose and cheekbones, tracing outlines of eyes. For hours he worked, interrupted only once to answer a phone call.

He sat back to admire his handiwork. He allowed himself a smile. It was almost perfect. The features weren't coloured, but it was as close as he could get. Erik turned to pick paint. He chose the palest skin colour and brushed it softly over the white face, dabbing the merest blush of red on the cheeks. After all, this was a blushing bride, he thought wryly.

The eyes were the hardest part and he did those next. How was he to capture that life that sparkled within her? Erik looked up at the screen again and froze the picture on a close-up of Christine. She was smiling only slightly, not looking directly at the camera, but at something behind it, her mouth on the verge of opening in order to speak. Her eyes were soft and warm, laughing a little. Erik wondered what she had been looking at.

He began to colour the eyes, being careful, constantly referring to the screen. When the eyes were finished he took the pink of the lips, shaping them to perfection. This had to be perfect, as she was. He couldn't afford to have this do her any injustice.

When the colour was done, he reached for the brown wig. Erik had handpicked this himself, not trusting Nadir to do this. And Erik generally trusted Nadir completely. He laid the hair over the head of the mannequin and carefully arranged the thick curls around the face, over the shoulders, securing it in place. Then he stepped back to look at his creation.

A smile graced his lips as the mannequin of Christine gazed back at him. Perfect. He couldn't possibly have done better.

And tomorrow it would receive judgement.

A/N: Hmm… I wonder who could have sent that note? (Strokes imaginary beard of wonder) Well, obviously I know because I already wrote it. But you don't! HA!

Thank you everyone who wished me luck in the exam. I failed. Well, I don't know for sure but I can't possibly have passed. It was like, who cares about the details of a weaving process of nylon? Not that the teachers ever explained any of that to use anyway. But, hey. It's over, down with and I only have ONE more exam left! Woohoo! Unfortunately, from Monday onwards, I'm back at school. Out of curiosity, has anyone else broken up for the summer yet? It's so unfair; we don't break up until the end of July… grr. Stupid English system.

Ahem. Anyway, please leave a review!