Swallow your words and swallow your heart
Blink back the tears that drip from your eyes
Silence your screams and quiet your howls
Build a façade of joyous and lies
Give back the promise and give back the rose
Return the poems wrote once for your eyes
Splinter the memories and destroy the vow
And forget the name that once made you smile
Someone asked me if Christine had simply disappeared out of the picture, this chapter is your answer, no. And I apologise for the lateness of this chapter, unfortunately my computer decided it likes to play games and wouldnt let me upload! On the good side, I got to see Tripod last night (hilarious) as well as Dave Hughes (Holden means a great deal to Australia) the fabulous Adam Richards and Nelly...someone, but she was cool too. I Got To Hug Yon And Scod! ANd Gatesy held my plushie Syd the Sloth! -skips off to work dancing-
"Mon Ange?" the echo died off across the lake, Erik leapt up, tumbling Adriana to the floor. She winced as she hit the floor, hard, then scrambled up and opened her mouth to swear when she realised where Erik was staring.
Soft brunette curls tumbled from her shoulders, wide brown eyes stared about her, a slender figure outlined in white stood dumbstruck by the edge of the lake, gondola clumsily knotted to the pier with hands that were now clapped over the mouth from which such a glorious sound that it captured a dead hearts soul issued. Christine had arrived.
She gaped for a moment at Adriana's head, just visible over the back of the couch, then at Erik's rumpled clothes, her gaze travelling up to his bare face, her mouth opened and she gasped for breath and her eyes rolled backwards up into her head. Silence reigned supreme for a single fleeting second as Erik took one look at her crumpled form and fled, leaving Adriana standing alone in the middle of the room with a dead to the world soprano. She hesitated for a moment, staring at Christine then dashed after Erik, "Erik! Wait!"
The door to his room slammed shut, echoing dully throughout the house, Adriana skidded to a halt and pounded on the door, "Erik!" This could not be happening, not now, please not now…she gulped in a deep breath and tried the knob.
Surprisingly, the door opened immediately and the Wraith fell inside, righting herself she glanced around and her gaze immediately fell on Erik, hunched over his coffin and shaking uncontrollably.
"Get out," he whispered hoarsely,
"Like hell," Adriana retorted, gripping him by the shoulders and trying to tug him round to face her, Erik's knees gave out and he slumped against the marble pillar his bed rested on. "What is she doing here?"
"I don't know," Adriana was trying valiantly to erase the tremor from her voice.
"Why has she returned?" Trembling badly, Erik raised his hands to the rim of his coffin and pushed himself upright, head drooping low on his chest, Adriana tried not to notice the salty splotch that appeared on the red silk. "She is too innocent for this…"
"She's a brainless twit!" Now Adriana was the one to clap her hands over her mouth as she met Erik's furious gaze, "Sorry," she muttered,
"And how, pray tell did you come to that conclusion?" Erik whispered.
"I saw the twin beams of light shining through her eyes from the hole in the back of her head," Adriana retorted bitterly. She glanced at Erik, watching his eyes, the Phantom hesitated a moment, oblivious to the tears tracking the twisted lines of his face, then he sighed, "Will you see to her?" he asked nervously, "I- I don't think she would be able to handle this," he gestured to his distorted face, "Not yet, I will talk to her soon, but…" Adriana's fingers twitched to touch him, then she nodded mutely and left without another word. It was only when the door shut behind her did Erik allow himself to fall to his knees and clutch at his chest, feeling once again his soul being ripped in two.
Outside, Adriana steeled herself, she may not have been romantic, but happy endings were still part of her nature, and the tiny EC worm in her mind had come alive. She swallowed hard and raised her chin. It would be Erik's choice, and whatever she had to do, she would do. No matter how much it hurt.
With not precisely gentle movements, Adriana dragged Christine over to one of the couches and heaved the unconscious girl onto it. Her limp arms the Wraith rested on her stomach and shoved a pillow under her head, she looked at the soprano's hands, the bright shining rock was still on the pale finger, but no companion was anchored beside it, "No wedding ring," she muttered quietly, "Oh hellfire…"
Quietly, she considered her chances of slipping a knife between the soprano's ribs, simple, painless…well relatively painless and quick, it was so tempting…
"Better not," she muttered finally, "Knowing my luck I'd miss her heart and get my knife stuck in her rib," she glared down at the soprano, "Sleep well princess,"
Jumping up she took a look around the room and frowned, mentally cataloguing everything she had to do before Christine woke, she could only hope she had missed the masks, "You stay here," she told Christine's slack face absently, crossing the room to find a sheet.
Tightening lids on paint jars and throwing a plain white sheet filched from the wardrobe over her work table, Adriana started picking up her books and shoving them into a chest stuffed with Erik's music, "Books, masks…oh CD!" she snatched the HIM Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights CD from within the pages of The Hobbit and wiped the rainbow side clean. Then she looked down at herself, blown trousers and white smock that went to her knees for painting, not exactly impressionable material, "Frakk it," she muttered, holding the CD as she disappeared into her room to grab her Theatre Wraith costume and her veil.
Her head hurt, it ached actually, a dull throb that forced her eyes open to stare at the roof of a cave. It took a moment for her to remember where she was, Christine turned her head and saw the massive organ sitting proudly in its carved niche, then her memory came crashing back.
The long and clumsy trip through the basements, the gondola she had twisted around those damned confusing passages, getting endlessly lost through to the fearful relief of finding the house, and what's more, finding it inhabited but seemingly empty…the faint gasp of pleasure, which, as a lady she had been taught was never meant for her ears…Her Angel, his clothes in disarray and unmasked hideous face flushed with passion, gazing at her in horror, an unbelievable turn from the impeccable guardian who had always presented himself to her as a mysterious gentleman…
She blinked and struggled to sit up from the heavy couch, gazing about her in wonderment, her eyes fell on a black feather, fallen carelessly on the carpeted floor. With trembling fingers she reached out and picked it up, pure black and a white tipped quill, she turned it over and a sparkling pair of letters seemed to jump out at her.
TW
Theatre WraithShe had not believed the rumours her old ballet rat friends had regaled her with about a new horrible female ghost terrorising the Opera House, laughing them off as tales thought up by minds no longer haunted at every turn by the Opera Ghost, now it seemed the rumours were true. She refused to believe she could have been so easily replaced by her Angel. Had not he sworn he loved only her? Had not she admitted on some inner level, she felt some emotion for him as well?
She jumped as a distinctly feminine voice carried out from the corridor beside her, "I hope you're awake sweet cheeks, otherwise you'll get to meet the lake water first hand," Christine stayed silent, shrinking in on herself and clutching her hands together for comfort, coming here was a mistake. She looked up as a mysterious veiled creature, obvious beyond doubt this was the dreaded Wraith, entered the room, if possible, she went even paler, she had expected her Angel, not this being. "Where is…" her voice was breathy and fearful, "Where is he?"
"Erik? Getting dressed and finding his mask, I'd imagine," Adriana answered without a trace of tone, seemingly absorbed in turning a black feather in her fingers over. "What are you doing here Christine?"
"I came to…" Christine trailed off, "What are you doing here? How did you get here?" The veiled girl snorted, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, so I'm not going to bother,"
"How do you know my name?" she whispered, a roll of grey eyes answered her, "I probably know more about you than you do princess,"
"Who are you?" Christine whispered fearfully, Adriana shrugged, "I'm the Theatre Wraith,"
"I don't understand,"
"Why does that not surprise me," Adriana muttered to herself, she lowered herself onto both knees so that she was kneeling before Christine's pale, frightened face, she reached up and slid out the pins securing her veil, tossing the loose scrap of sheer black gauze onto a chair, "My name, Christine, is Adriana,"
"Adrianna…" Christine breathed, staring at the plump, mobile face before her, scattered with a few freckles and a dark brown mole, hints of twin dimples at the sides of her full mouth, heavy lidded grey eyes watched the soprano cautiously. "One N,"
Christine flushed, "I'm sorry,"
Adriana shrugged, "You're not the first,"
"How do you know my Angel?"
Adriana shrugged, "To avoid getting into complicated explanations that neither you nor I have any chance of understanding, let's keep it simple and say we met a fair while back for the first time, I had no where else to go and I've lived here about nine months now," she frowned thoughtfully, "I think that's about it," she let a sad grin flicker across her face momentarily "I'm his companion in the darkness,"
Christine stared, beginning to feel afraid as her plan crumbled around her, then as Adriana's words clicked, she flushed, "I- I would never have thought that anyone could stay down here so long," she blurted out, "No matter how desperate the whore was to avoid the streets,"
Adriana's face registered shock which flashed instantly into fury, she seized Christine's wrist, forcing her nails into the former diva's delicate pink flesh, Christine's brown eyes went even wider in pain as Adriana stared down at her angrily, "I have been many things in my life Miss Daae," she hissed, "But a paid lover is not one of them!" she threw the brunette back against the seat and turned away, adding spitefully, "And neither have I been a gold digger,"
Christine cradled her arm against her chest and looked up at the furious blonde girl in shock, "You are…you stay willingly?" she whispered.
The blonde enigma turned and dropped into the armchair beside the divan with a heavy sigh, kicking her legs out indolently before her, "I do."
"But…why?" Christine's voice was clingy and fearful, Adriana stared at her, "You've got to be joking,"
Christine shook her head quickly, brown curls sweeping across her face, "My Angel was a beautiful being…"
"But the man himself wasn't good enough for you?" Adriana cut in sarcastically, "God Christine, even I'm not that shallow,"
"I am not shallow!" the former star shrieked, "I came here to offer myself as a sacrifice to save the women being…being murdered on the streets!"
Everything fell into place for Adriana and she stared at Christine, oh Hell…
"Is that it?" the Wraith demanded.
The star flushed.
"Christine…believe it or not, that isn't Erik,"
Christine gaped, "It's not?" she clutched at her skirt, "Then who is-" she halted…Adriana… "You?"
"Of course it's not bloody well me," Adriana retorted, "We don't know who it is yet,"
"How…how do you know it's not him?" Christine whispered, "He could slip out while you're asleep, or drug you or-or-"
Adriana let a wicked smirk drip from her lips, revelling in momentarily being able to lord everything over the bug-eyed gerbil before her, "Trust me Christine," she purred, "I know exactly where Erik is at night,"
Christine blinked, then went red, "Oh,"
"'Oh' is right, why aren't you married Christine, it's been two years, more than two,"
The girl started, "How did you know that?"
Adriana rolled her eyes, "I'm not blind Daae, rings remember?"
"Oh," Christine looked at her hand, "My fiancé…Raoul, the Vitcome de Chagny…"
"I know who Raoul is," Adriana replied disgustedly, Christine didn't notice the change in tone.
"He wished to court me properly…for his families honour…I accepted,"
"You must be desperately keen on marrying him then," the blonde sniped, Christine flushed, "Raoul is not why I am here,"
"I somehow find that incredibly easy to believe," Adriana muttered to herself.
Christine was looking around her with frightened eyes, noticing the papers everywhere and heavy table covered with a sheet, "What happens now?" she asked fearfully, eyes darting around for Erik's appearance.
Adriana sighed, "The major part of me is screaming to set my cheese grater on you," Christine blinked, "But the tiny little rational scrap of EC worm in my mind is commanding that I wait."
"Why?"
"In the hopes that you wont hurt him…again." There was no question about who "He" was.
"I came here-"
"Yes, I know. Because just like the rest, you think he's the one behind the murders, well he's not, happy now?"
"What am I to say to him now?" the brunette fretted, clutching her hair as if it offered support like a security blanket.
"Not my problem,"
"You're lying," the soprano accused, a shrug answered her,
"Of course I am, I'm a professional bull spinner, it's what I do,"
"Why are you lying about it?"
"Why do you care?"
Christine toyed nervously with her fingers, "I…" the rest of the sentence was an unintelligible mumble, Adriana blinked, "Come again?"
"I don't want to hurt Mon Ange,"
"Don't want to…but you left him," the blonde accused, Christine gaped up at her, "He pushed me away…"
"But you still left!" the blonde female's fury astounded Christine, she looked down at her hands, away from that dark, deadly grey gaze, twisting the ring Raoul had given her, which she had intended to make as a gesture to Erik, with nervous fingers. "It's not that simple…"
"Of course it's that bloody simple!" Adriana snapped savagely, "Love is simple! It's your damned fear that ruins it all with complications."
"I am not afraid…I think. Mon Ange…he would…I do not fear him,"
"Oh bullshit,"
The soprano blinked, "I beg your pardon,"
"It'd take a lot more than begging my pardon for me to forgive you what you've done. You do fear him, you always have and you always will."
"I…" Christine sighed, "I do fear him, he has killed, he knows no God, how can I not?" she looked pleadingly at the other girl, "But don't you as well?"
"Yes," Adriana answered without a trace of embarrassment, "But he wouldn't be Erik if he didn't instil some form of fear in me, it's part of who he is."
"And you accept that?" the young brunette stared at the other girl incredulously,
"Hell yes, its part of my love for him, that he is so dangerous, I can't abide safety, it scares me and suffocates me in its control."
Christine sighed, almost regretfully, "If I shared your carelessness…" she shook herself, "I could not do it, I would not know how,"
"Avoid regret," Adriana advised in an oddly dry and philosophic tone, "Never look back and regret or you spend your life thinking of what could have been and forget what it is,"
"What if you make a mistake?" the soprano asked, "And you are in pain all your days?"
"Pain hurts princess, always has always will, get over it."
Christine couldn't bear it any more, none of this was going the way she had planned, "I have to go," she whispered.
"Ah, no," Adriana pressed her foot down on Christine's stomach, "You're staying right here little missy,"
"Please!" the soprano begged, eyes huge with fear and panic attack, "I cant do this, not now, let me go!"
"Aww, schedule so busy you couldn't plan an extended stay?"
Christine flushed, "Stop it," she whispered,
"Not likely, he needs to talk to you first. Now tell me were you expecting Erik to supply you with a wedding dress straight away or did you want a leisurely courtship with him as well? Who knows, maybe even carry on both at the one time,"
"I cant," Christine gulped down on her panic, and ignored the sarcasm loading the Wraith's tone, fear drawing tears in her eyes, "I…I would need to marry him…soon,"
Adriana stared, her eyes growing brighter as she looked at the soprano, eyes dropping to Christine's tiny waist then up to her face again, "You conniving little bitch!" she cried, leaping up, "You're pregnant aren't you?"
"No!" the denial was vehement,
"You are!"
"I don't know!" for the first time, Christine raised her voice a little, "I don't know yet!"
"Oh," Adriana stared then began pacing, "Oh my dear little soprano that is rich, that's worthy of a phic all in itself," she stopped pacing and turned to look at Christine. "So you slept with Raoul in the hopes you'd get yourself pregnant so when you came to spend the rest of your days in dark torturous night, you'd have something to remind yourself of how rich and fancy your life could have been," she paused and looked at Christine almost admiringly, "Very conniving of you my dear, I'm impressed,"
Christine flushed ashamedly, dropping her eyes, "You…you would have done the same!" she cried, "Had our roles been reversed!"
"You mean me leaving Erik and go with the fop?" Adriana asked incredulously, "I'd rather scull cyanide."
"He is not a fop!" Christine pushed herself back from the cushions and glared up at the other girl, Adriana snorted, "Beggin' ye pard'n miss but I'm a thinkin' he is," she flashed her dimples, "Raoul de Shiny and Christine Daze, what a match,"
Christine's mouth gaped, "How dare you!"
"How dare I what? Tell the truth?" she flamed, "You truly are so naïve Christine."
Christine gawped at her, "You hate me don't you?" her timidity was almost amusing.
"No…" Adriana answered, "Well yes and no, I hate your fiancé and I think you're a little bug eyed twit, but I don't hate you." She paused, "Tell me did Raoul's hair and eyebrows grow back? My minions told me all about it, I was quite impressed with the scope of their torturous abilities,"
"That was you?" Christine gasped, Adriana managed a grin, "No the other Theatre Wraith, I wasn't personally involved, but those who did are under my command, so in a way you might call me responsible," she cocked her head, "Any awards will of course, have to go to them, but that's really besides the point,"
"Those…those demons are under your command?" Christine leapt back fearfully, "You're a witch!"
"Will you stop insulting me!" Adriana snapped, "There are two people who I permit to call me that and you know neither of them, and no I am not a witch, now grow up!"
"I have grown up," Christine whispered, Adriana looked at her sidelong,
"Yes," she replied thoughtfully, "I suppose you have,"
"What do you mean?"
"It means princess, you forgot how to dream,"
Christine looked confused, Adriana sighed, "Erik doesn't think like we do, he was never taught how, he is made of passion and fear and all those primal responses we try and hide. He cannot conform, he will not be bent to another's will and he refuses to be ruled. If you look at it through one set of eyes you would think him deranged, dangerous and a threat to society, like a wild animal." Adriana flung a careless leg over the arm of her chair, "But look at him with a dreamer's eyes and you see him for what he really is. Music, beauty, pure, Beauty and the Beast and all that is love and passion in any world, princess, in order to understand Erik you have to dream, when you tried to force the Angel of Music into acting as a creature who could easily be content with modern Parisian society and believed it could happen, you forgot how,"
Christine was silent for a long moment, processing this curious look at her Angel, perhaps the other girl was right, but what did that change? At length, she drew herself from her reverie and spoke.
"What does he think of me?"
"If I knew, I might consider telling you, possibly," Adriana said, "Well, probably not, but I do know this…He managed to turn you away once Christine, out of passion, fear, remorse and love, in the heat of the moment, that's fair enough in any case. The question remains however, is he strong enough to go through that again?" Adriana fixed Christine with her stare, "He never stopped loving you, I knew that much, he never could," she sighed, "Of course he never went so far as to say your name instead of mine, but I still don't doubt there hasn't been a day go past when you haven't sung your way into his head at one point or another." She made a flourished bow to the dazed soprano. "You have my congratulations Christine Daniel, for walking straight into the lions den."
Christine was silent for several moments, "If I were to stay…in whichever fashion that may be," she ventured hesitantly, "What would you do?"
Adriana rubbed her forehead with her fingers, looking down to avoid Christine seeing her bite her lip, "Wish you good luck, have Erik sing one last song for me, and go back to being who I was."
"Who you were?" Christine echoed, "Who was that?"
Adriana's eyes were fixed on an invisible point somewhere in midair, an odd smirk twitched at her lips and she uttered a single name, "Adi"
"Who?" Christine looked confused, "You mean Adriana isn't your true name?"
"It is actually," Adriana ran a hand through her hair, "Adi is the abbreviated form, I never liked Adriana back where I came from, it was too intensely formal, something I dusted off and trotted out for special occasions, no one knew me as Adriana unless they didn't know me at all." She shook her head regretfully, "When I'm alone, writing or caught up in what I love best, Adriana slips out, probably because that's the other worldly side of me, and when I met Erik, it was who I became, because I never wanted to feel anything other than the intense passion of inspiration and love that I feel when I'm with him, or when write, and Adriana is who I am when I feel that…" her voice trailed off into echoes across the lake and she glanced at Christine, "That make any sense to you?"
Christine shook her head, Adriana grinned humourlessly, "Fantastic,"
"So," Christine tried to puzzle her way through, "You would leave him if I were to stay?"
"I would leave him if I knew it would made him happy," she replied distantly, her eyes fixed on the point of nothingness again. Christine blinked in surprise, "You make it sound as though you do not care for him,"
It was the wrong thing to say, Adriana was on her feet in an instant, looming over the unfortunate soprano, looking ready to tear her throat out, "Don't care for him?" her voice was a deadly hiss, "You think I don't care for him?" her hand lashed out and caught Christine's shoulder in a vicelike grip, "You think I wouldn't give my very soul to save him so little pain as a pricked finger? He is my everything!" then some of the fire in her eyes seemed to dim and she released her grip, "Just as you were his,"
Christine was gasping and clutching at her shoulder, staring up at her in fear, "You love him?"
"Yes."
"And…does Erik love you?" it was the first time she had spoken his name since arriving, Adriana looked at her sharply, but the soprano's eyes were downcast into her lap. She spread her own hands helplessly, "I don't know. I'd like to think I mean something to him but in all honesty, I have no idea." she snorted indelicately to herself, "I've been nothing but a trial to Erik since I first came here, but that doesn't change the fact that I love him, body, heart and soul,"
Unbeknownst to either of them, a third party was eavesdropping on the conversation. Hidden in the shadows of the passageway, Erik clutched one hand tightly around the mask in his hand and allowed his head to tilt and hit the granite wall of the corridor. She loved him, love was an unspoken word between them here, but she could confess herself to his Angel. What kind of ridiculousness had happened?
How many years had he spent desperate for love, for acceptance, for the simple pleasure of being touched?
Authoress: The Raoul de Shiny is thanks to my friend Mel aka deltaevenstar to all you DBCA-ians, the Christine Daze is mine.