Red Rose

Chapter V: Misery

She stiffened.

Christine hadn't moved from her spot. The truth was she was too terrified to even flinch. Her very soul felt as though it had been drained from her body.

She was lifeless.

Each breath she took, felt as though it was a painful stab in her delicate flesh.

Flames of surrounding candles, danced cheerful over the splendid red wood of his piano. They washed over the white porcelain mask, basking in the glow of the fire's light. Christine, feeling daring, made her way over to the instrument, careful not to arouse Erik. Those wide, brown eyes glared mockingly at the unfeeling scrap of clothing. Red liquid surged through her veins, boiling with bitterness and wrath. She had come to comfort a pitiful creature…she would leave, despising him.

"I was a fool to ever take pity on you. I was blinded by my own idiocy, to ever believe that I missed you!"

No response.

Her eyes became brimmed with fresh tears.

"How could I ever miss a monster?"

And Ms. Christine Daae swept the mask from the ledge, letting it crash into pieces, to the cold, hard floor.

The journey up to the opera house was that of a lonely one. Did she truly expect Erik to even look at her, no less forgive her? Could she really bring herself to believe that this was his fault? A lonesome tear dripped down her face, that flawless face, entering slightly parted lips. It splashed against her tongue, letting Christine taste the salty water. Never, had something tasted so horrible.

Erik wallowed alone in the darkness. Oh, how her words hurt.

But she had come to him, in which he cruelly rejected her. He had dreamed such dreams in the night, but each dream ended the same. Her, betraying him, going off to live with that viscount, that handsome viscount who was blessed with a face handsome and tempting, a face which he longed for.

"This face which earned a life of ceaseless searching,

A life, unfilled, that's left me bleak and yearning…

Never dare I wish-

Someone love a face like this…"

Something twinkled in the blackness, slowly moving downward…

"How ridiculous…to expect a woman's tenderness..."

……………………

The viscount had become drowsy from his constant waiting. The sofa was indeed warm, and the imprint of Raoul's behind seemed not to go away. His eyelids fluttered open as he heard the gentle creak of a door shutting. But this was no door.

"Christine!"

The woman froze in her place. If it were not for her eyes, no one would have recognized her. The coloring of her skin had disappeared long before, and she became cold, like the dead. Raoul reached out and grabbed her wrists, realizing they were numbed by icy air.

"Go ahead; I dare you to tell me you were with him!" Victome de Chagny was delirious with rage. "Say it, my dear, I wish to hear those words!"

"Why are you so quick in attacking me?" She screamed, slightly hurting her throat. She had never screamed at him before. In fact, he didn't think she had the heart to even yell. The husband blinked for a spilt second, until his expression changed to furry.

"You seem upset, Christine! What has happened?" He laughed harshly, causing her to cringe at his coldness. "Did you see your precious phantom?"

She shuddered, fighting to break free from his grasp. "Let go of me, Raoul! Oh please, do let me go!" The fingers wrapped around her flesh, held on tightly. The grip was strong, and was surely not gentle.

It was fierce.

"Not until you tell me what happened! I will go to any lengths, in order to find out the events which have happened between a beauty and a beast!"

"Nothing, Raoul! I swear it was nothing!" She whimpered, feeling the pressure on her wrists. Not once, had Raoul abused her like this. It frightened her…

"Oh Christine, you shouldn't have disobeyed me! Not only that, but how could you even think of going down there? How could you go down there, knowing that our child rests within your womb?" His breath was hot against her shivering body. "You have pained me, Christine!"

"Raoul, I-"

"I was wise in not wanting to come here, but like a lovesick fool, I followed you! I thought of you greatly, believing in your words. Perhaps, you really just wanted to visit friends. Now I see that was pure cockamamie! All of it!"

He grinned a wicked smile. "You say he knows all that goes on in his opera? Can he hear us now, Christine? Is he waiting for you behind that cursed mirror? Let it be known that I was the one to win your love, and that you were the one to bear me a child! Let that demon know it!" All sanity Raoul had, was lost, as he became mad with jealously.

She burst out of his hold, stroking her wrists in order to ease the pain of the back and blue marks that stain them. "How dare you speak of Erik like that? I see all compassion you have had is gone!"

He took a step forward, backing her up against the wall. "So, he has a name, now? Erik, you say?" Raoul snapped, furiously. "What a name! Are you fond of it, Christine?"

She pushed him away, scurrying towards the door to escape.

"If you love him, do tell me!"

"You're speaking nonsense!" The soprano cried.

"Does your heart yearn for him?"

Her eyes widened, as she stood still. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up. Her attention had been caught, as she ever so brutally, turned around. Daae was now facing him entirely.

"Don't think I don't hear you…. Singing sweet melodies in your sleep, melodies that Erik hadtaught you!"

The heart was a strange thing. One moment, it was beating severely, and the next, it felt as though it had stopped.

Raoul de Chagny smirked, passing her, and leaving his wife to drown in misery.

………………..

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