Hey folks here you go!
Disclaimer: I may have secretly kidnapped Gerald Butler...but he's all I got...I swear!
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Madame Giry walked swiftly through the halls of the Opera Populaire. So swiftly in fact that she nearly ran out of breath as she attempted to escape its premises. She was grateful that Meg was "covering for her" so to speak as she had informed her young daughter so claim that her mother was ailing and could not consult the rehearsal for the day. Meg was (the least to say) more than happy to participate in the adventure.
The ballet instructor wasted no time in completing the task before her and in turn ordered a carriage immediately and had spoken with an in town real estate agent who had given her the directions to some houses she might be interested in. Surly choosing a home for two people who would not so much as view it before they moved in would prove to be a difficult task and frankly Antoinette Giry was not looking forward to the grueling (and most likely irritating) day, that lay before her.
"Madam Giry I do say!" The sound of her name forced the woman to halt in her position and close her eyes tightly while swearing under her breath as the two annoyed managers approached her hurriedly.
"Where have you been all day!" Exclaimed Andre as he advanced towards her. Firming followed suit clearly as frustrated as his partner.
"Good lord woman we have been searching for you everywhere! Meg claimed you were ill but when the substitute went to look for you and your instructions for the ballet girls you were no where to be found!"
Madam Giry quickly regained her composer however and smiled falsely. "Forgive my absents but I fear I shall have to remain so for the rest of the day."
"And why is that?" Huffed Firming.
"Monsieur Firming I am surprised at you! How dare you intrude in a ladies' business when it is no one's business but her own! Now, if you will excuse me gentlemen I fear I have a pressing matter to attend to."
With that said she left and retreated to the fresh air that lingered out side the Opera house and proceeded to the carriage that awaited her there.
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Erik stood silently and somberly outside the door that Christine now used as a shield from his burning gaze. Despite what were probably her best efforts he could still hear her weeping and shuttering every so often with a sigh of misery.
He clenched his fists in an angry gesture until he felt his knuckles twist and fold unnaturally to the palm but when the action had become too painful he at last released the digits to stretch them against the cold and unfeeling embouchure that lye before him. Oh how he wanted to rush in there and hold her until her woes ceased! Nothing would have satisfied him more than to soothe her with his voice and declarations of love...
...And yet he knew these things would not help.
That fact riled him and sent feelings of self-loathing and distasteful rage galloping through his soul. These were the only things that he could give her! He was incapable of giving her a cavernous house in the country with open air and sunlight like the Viscount might once have! Nor could he ease away the horrors of the world despite his standings with them as well! What good was he to her now if he could not even appease her in her time of need!
Eventually Christine's sobbing quitted and Erik assumed that she had fallen into a fitful spell; for the occasional moan of misery could be heard every so often. Erik sighed deeply in his chest for once finding the catacombs air stall and dull.
No wonder Christine once believed she was incapable of being content here.
He sat miserably upon his organ bench and begin to think once more of their impending situation.It was beyond frustrating to fathom the accusations the media and police force had placed on his angel! Why it was a downright ridiculous theory that a divine creature such as Christine was capable of hurting another! The idea was so blindly unrealistic that it disgusted him! A sin against humanity of even think up such things...
And yet it appeared that there was no solution to the problem of actually clearing her name. Sure they could run away together, (something he had dreamed himself) but the act would take away whatever impending innocents she had left and force a blanket of guilt upon her. Or the other hand he could just present the managers with a life and death query about allowing her to perform but that would only take care of only one of the many problems they faced and might create just as many in the process.
Clearly the situation called for something clever and ingenious. And yet as he pondered the details of the situation no thoughts connected themselves and formed a complete idea, and in the end the only logical conclusion Erik could comprehend was that above all else he wanted nothing more than Christine's happiness and safety.
And idea formed in his head as he though this. He arose silently and walked until he stood in front of Christine's door once more. Without permission he quietly opened it to find her fitfully sleeping on a bed of ragged sheets and surrounded by candles that were eagerly burning out the last of their remaining light. As he stared at her tear stained face Erik also came to another conclusion.
They would not accuse her of killing...if they already had their killer.
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When Christine awoke sometime later a feeling of overwhelming darkness and a lingering fog littered her brain. She arose quickly searching her bed as though she was missing something valuable and yet when she realized he would most likely not be there she stopped her search and collapsed on the bed once more groaning and covering her eyes with her forearm to rid herself of the impending hopelessness that seeped through her soul. As the days events came back to her she called out, and the only reply that returned to her was that of the echo that eerily followed her as she arose and reached for her robe to shield herself from the oncoming cold that eagerly greeted her when she left the lavish quilts and coverlet behind her.
Slowly and sadly she moved from her darkened room and lit a candle that awaited her on the brim of the doorway. She smiled softly at the gesture, knowing it was most likely her angel who had put it there. The thought of her Erik and the love she had for him brought haunting thoughts from within in.
She felt herself growing resentful at the thought of her and Erik running from the authorities for something they did not intentionally do…and yet what if she emerged to the outside and spoke of the truth? With little or no evidence they would no doubt think her lying and if not than Erik would be charged with the crime itself and that was something she simply could not allow him to endure.
The wretched thought that she might in fact lose her beloved made her all the more anxious to see him, for he would no doubt be worried about her previously frantic behavior.
"Erik?" She whispered into the music room as she entered it. "Erik are you here darling?"
The silence that she received told her he was indeed not and a sense of panic filtered though her soul and after a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself her she began her race from room to room in search for her guardian. Before she even finished looking in every place she knew of...she concluded that Erik would be nowhere in the facility.
She sighed sadly and collapsed upon the organ bench that Erik himself had rested upon himself on so many different duration She caressed the ivory keys as a small smile graced her features. She closed her eyes and could picture Erik sitting there beside her playing away and smiling at her as she sang beside him, their concentration for the music entwining them in something beyond romance and intimacy.
Christine almost hesitated to open her eyes once more and throw herself into the whirls of reality yet again but when she did so she found herself blinking several times just to readjust herself to the darkness around her. After several minutes an unnatural white caught her eye and she felt herself frown as she reached out to seek the odd material. Upon touching it she realized that it was a parchment-based envelope and after further exploration she found her name printed on the center of the front flap. She steadied her shaking hands that seemed to represent her nervousness at the potential note but she stopped as she took the document out of the envelope and shook her head to hid herself of the paranoia that was clearly taking over her.
I am sure it's nothing. She repeated to herself over and over. It probably just explains where he has gone and when he will be returning…
With that she lifted her chin at the parchment and carried it over to the pewter to light a variety of candles to light the darkening lair and without taking her eyes off the message she at last lifted it to her eye level and read the impending document.
My Dearest Christine,
As I observe you in your slumber I am instantly reminded of a time where I actually believed there was a loving God somewhere in this world. Of course he never favored me, and naturally I knew this even as a child…but still I believe that some sort of creature had to be merciful towards even a hideous creature such as me.
Looking at you now makes me wonder why I ever stopped believing in that. You truly radiate everything it means to be an angel, and I thank you for that now for it is only now that I begin to realize just how much you've changed me. I have hardly ever known compassion and you feed me it in great strides, you have taught me more about humanity and the blessing of life than I could have ever dreamed, you made me an angel and gave me companionship, but most of all you've loved me Christine…and that is something that I cannot possibly thank you enough for.
For all the incredible things you've done for me I fear I have done nothing in return. As desperately as I desire you Christine there will always be a raft between us, and while this is something I have denied until this point I cannot continue to do so any longer. I cannot give you a sparkling home with gems and gold, nor can I give you that light upon which you thrive on, more so I fear that I could not be the father of your children as I am cowardice that my deformity would spread and as you may deny you need not any of these things I do know you desire to be a mother to a child someday…
Of all the reasons you should not be with me Christine I know the thought of your freedom being taken from you is a devastating thought, and as the young Giry predicted this is a situation I cannot fix as a Phantom. Therefore I beg your forgiveness, as I fear the only way I can recuperate this disaster for you is to reside this episode as a responsible human being.
I hope by the time you read this; my task will be complete. If not then I beg of you not to pursue me, for I shall soon be in the custody of the Paris Police. I realize they will most likely hang me for my crimes, they may even torture me first or even let the angry citizens of Paris have their way with me…but you must not think of that now my dearest. By this time they will be searching for you as I have claimed all responsibility for the Viscount's death and the burning of his home and your apparent kidnapping. I beg of you to accept my impending death, as it is to be. Let me do this for you Christine…
You have no reason to fret or fear my beloved. I assure you that now you will be safe and with me in the afterlife to no longer haunt you; you shall have the opportunity to claim everything you deserve in this world. Please know that I do this not because I desire death, but because I now understand what it means to love someone more than yourself: something you taught me as well. I beseech you to leave this matter be and perform as the 'phantom's' innocent victim for as long as the media implies. Please know that I carry your voice with me always and it will insure I die with a smile on my vile face. And that perhaps this awarded fate is the only way I can truly be your angel of music.
Eternally Yours,
Erik
An acidic scream rang the lairs of cellar beneath the Opera House…Christine nearly fell to her knees weeping as though she had never done so before dropping to the floor completely and beginning an intensely desperate prayer.
"Oh dear God what have I done that would ever make him think freedom would be better than a life without him!" The realization of his destined goal bombarded her then and she pitifully pleaded out to the darkness in-between sobs.
"Lord have mercy on my soul for if he dies in my name I shall surly be sent to Hades! Oh Erik why! How could you make such a foolish sacrifice!"
She arose then, a new sense of vindictive purpose filling her every waking component. She vectored to her chamber and dressed in appropriate garments before making a hasty journey to the surface where she only prayed that she could find assistance. She stopped briefly however before entering the opposite end of her dressing room and sighed shakily before asking the darkness around her:
"Oh Erik what in the world have you subjected yourself to?"