Just thought I'd leave you on a dramatic note...

Chapter 12

Erik felt a thrill shoot through him at the sound of the door opening. He had finally decided that— well, actually, he hadn't really decided anything. And yet there he stood, tensely in the hallway behind Christine's mirror.

Breathlessly he watched her come in and stare dejectedly out the window. Erik felt her own sadness sweep into him, and desperate to comfort her, he began to sing.

Christine's head jerked up and towards the mirror. Erik watched as her expression changed from one of fear and surprise to one of amazement. Entranced, she slowly stepped forwards and brushed her fingertips over the surface of the mirror.

Erik felt his mouth growing dry but continued to sing. Unthinkingly, he slid the mirror apart from the wet stone, and with a swirl of his cape, Christine was in his arms.

She gazed up at him, her eyes wide and incredulous. Erik felt his voice falter and fade to silence, unable to hear anything over the uneven music of the water droplets that fell from the ceiling above. One fell on Christine's cheek and tentatively Erik wiped it away. At his touch, Christine's eyes fell shut, her face still turned up to his.

How long they stood that way, neither knew. When Christine's eyes opened, it was to see a look of such pain and longing in Erik's that she shrank away, in fear that the same emotions would be shown in hers. Erik's hands immediately lifted from her waist, and he took a step backwards.

Christine looked bewildered as she peeked back through her mirror. Erik hated that look. He hated that he held this power over her, this power of music, while she held him with such a stronger power of love. In the depths of his soul, he knew he was jealous of the power she had, and wanted to hold her with the same control.

Erik let his frustration and hurt take over. Wordlessly, his hand shot out and gripped Christine's arm. Still unspeaking, he pulled her after him down the hallway towards his lair. Christine struggled and protested, but upon reaching the gondola her cries died out. She had noticed the grimly satisfied air about Erik and it scared her.

Once seated in the gondola, Erik's grip loosed. Stiffly he stood looking down at her, his eyes emotionless and glittering in the dim light. Christine felt as if she had been stabbed and the pain was unbearable.

"Why?" She whispered, mostly to herself.

The gondola bumped up against the shore and Erik sneered. Roughly he grabbed Christine's arm and pulled her from the boat. His eyes seemed to glint and flash, like the candles reflected in the lake. Christine felt the cold lake water lap against her thin shoes and begin to soak through.

Erik's eyes met Christine's for a moment, and the angry light in them seemed to flicker slightly. Christine felt a faint glimmer of hope.

Resolutely, Erik turned his face away and pulled Christine after him towards the swan bed. Recognizing where they were headed, Christine's glimmer of hope faded to be replaced with a flurry of panic that rose in her throat.

"Erik! What is wrong with you! What-"

Erik by now had reached the swan bed. Swiftly whirling to face her, he roared furiously, "Oh, would you shut up!" and forcibly lifted, then dropped Christine onto the bed.

Christine felt incredibly small as Erik leered down at her. She shrank against the pillows behind her, her voice trapped behind the lump in her throat. She found herself trying to look anywhere but Erik's calculating eyes.

Erik watched as Christine's panicked eyes darted this way and that, and it only served to make him more angry. "What did you expect?" a little voice in the back of his head prodded him. A much stronger voice boomed, "How dare she not meet my eyes! How dare she refuse to acknowledge this cold, hard proof that I don't love her! And never will!"

Christine had finally fixed her eyes on a vase in the corner when she heard a thunderous sound above her. Cautiously, she glanced in the direction of that powerful sound.

It was Erik, letting his voice fill and darken the room, gaining power on all thoughts and emotions and making them match his own. Christine felt claustrophobic as wave after wave of anger and disappointment crashed over her. She wanted to hide but couldn't, forced to meet these emotions. She pressed a pillow frantically over her ears but Erik ripped it away.

Christine's defenses began to waver and grow weak. She accidentally let some of Erik's fury seep through and it was because of this that she grew strong enough to leap up and scream angrily, "Enough!" Desperate now, she grabbed his shoulders and shook his tense form, all the while shouting, "Enough! Stop! Enough…" her voice faded to sobs as Erik's voice trailed away, and with it, her borrowed courage.

Erik stared down at the listless shoulders of Christine. He did not feel the control he thought he should have. He actually felt horrified. Christine was right. What was wrong with him?

"Oh god, Christine," he gasped and pressed her into his chest, willing her shaking shoulders to calm. "I'm sorry… I'm so, so, sorry… I'm sorry…"

Christine's pale face gazed up at him. Even her lips were pale. Erik found that thought growing stronger and louder in his brain, and desperate to quiet it, he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. Erik felt the shock of that small kiss jolt through her body, and through his.

"I love you," he whispered desperately into her ear. "I love you…"