Though a Rose May Fade…

Chapter III- Breaking Free of my Misery

A knock on the door signaled the arrival of the de Chagnys. Another servant and friend to Christine, Hanna, opened the door to let them enter. The slightly plump woman pushed past Hanna in a huff, the thin and tall man following her like a shadow. Christine and Raoul stood up from their seats elegantly at the sight of their visitors.

"Oh, my son, look at how you have grown! You are so handsome!" his mother cooed, taking Raoul in this back-breaking hug.

"Yes, mother, it is lovely to see you as well." He managed, successfully freeing from his mother's grasp.

"Ah, Raoul, my boy, it is so good to see you! You are just as handsome as I was when I was your age." Raoul's father slapped Raoul playfully on his back. Raoul's breath was knocked out of him.

"Yes, it is good to see you too, father. It has been quite a while."

They laughed and shared this enjoyable reunion between parents and child, laughing, talking, and gossiping about all the things that have occurred recently such as the birth of old Oliver's and Samantha's baby boy or about how Farmer Sebastian had chased the kids out of his garden with an oversized rake. All the while Christine sat there feeling more than stupid and more than awkward. She hadn't said a word nor had she even met his family before. Sure she and Raoul had been childhood lovebirds but that was so long ago. She hadn't ever really met his parents because, just like how Raoul was currently, they were always away. Christine twiddled her thumbs patiently and looked upon the ground, the cherry wood catching her slightest bit of interest.

It had deeply aggravated Christine that Raoul had not the slightest bit of concern for the fact that she was just sitting there like a dumb fool not knowing what was going on and the fact that he hadn't even introduced her to his parents! They acted as if she wasn't even there! It aggravated her that he hadn't spoken to her about his parents' arrival, net giving the slightest hint they were coming then having to be dragged to a room where she had to have such a long makeover to make her look like that perfect little angel everyone thought of her as. She wanted someone to at least understand her and someone she could talk to, but there was none. The only person she could ever think of talking to that would ever really listen was far from her reach. And even if he was still close at hand, would he still treat her so kindly after all the pain she had caused him? Would he still comfort her and take her under his trance so for once she could just forget everything about this cold world that she had been brought into so abruptly? Her thoughts were interrupted as Raoul nudged her arm, causing her to jump with sudden surprise. She looked up at the faces and instantly regretted having to for they were laughing at her. Her face grew beet red. How could he humiliate her so?

"Silly girl…" Raoul's mother muttered. Christine's face flushed an even deeper shade of red.

"Mother, Father," Raoul began clearing his throat. "This is my lovely wife, Christine Daae. Christine these are my parents Bijou de Chagny and Thomas de Chagny."

"Such a pleasure to meet you both." Christine smiled warmly and extended her hand for them to shake, but they did nothing of the sort. They just grunted smugly. Christine felt she was on fire from the embarrassment they had put her through and now this? She wasn't sure if she could handle this every single year of her life.

"Daae, hm, are you daughter of the violinist, Gustave Daae?" Bijou de Chagny asked bluntly, as if with no interest.

"Yes, Madame, I am his only daughter." Christine answered sheepishly. The woman nodded.

"So, what do you do for a living, Miss Daae?" Thomas de Chagny questioned her. The way he said "Miss Daae" sounded as if he were somewhat disgusted by the name which made Christine angry and even more humiliated if that were even possible.

"I… well I did work at the Opera Populaire." she said.

"It burned down did it not? I wonder what had caused it to catch fire." Thomas inquired.

"Madame Priscilla insists that a horrible monster and his obsession caused the fire although I am not too sure it is true. It was probably because that Opera House was already a worthless piece of waste already." Bijou said. Christine tried desperately not to slap these people because they had no right to insult her home… or her former home.

"Well, in any case, what was it that you did there?" Bijou asked. Christine worked to keep a calm attitude.

"I was a chorus girl." She replied, not being too surprised by the reactions that came.

"You were a chorus girl, a filthy chorus girl? Did you get money for your… acts?" These people asked her. They were driving her to the edge.

"Well, no. I just enjoyed my job. It was such a pleasure."

"I'm sure it was." Bijou snorted. Christine was on the brink of tears. Her eyes widened in horror at their retrospective of her and what she was doing… or did. They didn't know her, nevertheless even attended one of the many plays the Opera Populaire had performed. They didn't even attend the masquerade! She choked back a sudden lump, knowing attached to it would be such language and actions that would humiliate her to the point of destruction.

"Mother! Father!" Raoul scolded them to stop, but they did not. Monsieur de Chagny stood up and banged his fist into the coffee table making it rattle, the tea spilling everywhere.

"Son, she is not good enough for you! You need someone better!" his father declared, his voice raising as each word came.

"Yes. You don't deserve a prostitute of a girl for a wife! You should find a woman of class, not a woman of filth! She has probably slept with hundreds of men already!" his mother agreed pointing dangerously at Christine, her eyes glazed with fury.

"You need to find a woman worthy of you that can raise money not raise beer bottles and drunks!" they agreed yelling. Their voices rang out throughout the room, vibrating through the walls. A tea glass had broken and the tea was spilled like blood on the beautiful cherry wood. The words rang through Christine's ears and spread through her like a virus, killing her slowly until there was nothing left but her broken hollow soul.

She's not worthy of you… she probably slept with hundreds of men… we need a woman of class not of filth…

The words sunk in deep and pierced her very heart. She could not stand it here any longer. She needed to break free from these horrid monsters! All of a sudden the lair beneath the Opera House felt so much more welcoming… She had passed the edge already as tears flowed from her big brown eyes. She got up and hurriedly left the room. Raoul didn't even run after her or called her name in concern. From the room, Raoul's parents gave one another a satisfied smirk.

"Why don't you just kill me now?" Christine sobbed to the sky. "Please… I have nowhere to go and no one to talk to. I need to go somewhere…"

The lump in her throat suddenly got bigger, but she tried as hard as she could to swallow it and for a moment it worked. And that's when she packed what little belongings she had and threw her linen cloths out the window from her room in the second story of their house so the linen could be used as rope.

"Wait, Christine…" a voice called. She froze at the sound hoping that the person would not tell.

"Leah, I must go…"

"But, we've been so close and I…" Leah began, her hazel eyes growing sparkly.

Christine suddenly saw how vulnerable and naïve she looked. Her hazel eyes seemed too big with her small lips. Her ratted black hair seemed to be all over the place. Her clothes were more like rags. She noticed how young Leah was, no older than fourteen.

"I am so sorry. Here." Christine felt tears coming again as she handed Leah a beautiful white dress, a necklace, and a small doll.

"Oh no, I couldn't…" Leah said as she gazed lovingly at the objects handed to her.

"My father once gave me these," she said pointing to the necklace and doll and putting the necklace around her neck. "And my mother gave me this. It was her masquerade gown."

Leah's eyes already close to tears began to cry. Christine pulled her in a hug.

"I have no use for it now, but you may have it to remember me." Leah hugged her fiercely.

"I will not tell Master Raoul that you have gone, but please don't forget me, Christine."

"I won't little one, I won't." she promised kissing the top of the girl's head before heading outside. She looked to Leah again barely visible from the darkness of the night and mouthed a "goodbye" to her before she caught a carriage. With the last few Francs she possessed, she asked the carriage driver to take her to Paris. Hopefully she would find who she was looking for and that he would forgive her for everything.