Chapter 16
"Erik?" Christine called out into the dark abyss.
"Your angel is here." His voice washed over her, as if she was standing below a water fall. She tried to find the source of his voice, but her search was folly.
"You left me, all alone. What was I to do without you, My Angel? I don't think I can survive." She called to him, but he didn't answer. "Angel?" She called out again, but only dead silence followed.
Christine opened her eyes and looked around. The bed room Raoul and her were sharing was remarkably smaller than their own master bedroom, but it was a nice escape from the over top wealth their home was cramped with. The walls were painted a pale soothing yellow. The small amount of furniture was painted white, and had silver hardware. The golden sunlight that enter the room from the eastward window filled the room with a warm, inviting feeling, unlike the cold blues of her home. She turned over to find the bed empty, the other side untouched. She stretched her arms out over her head, and yawned.
"Raoul must still be out." She spoke to herself, before rising out of bed. She changed into a modest cut violet dress, then made her way out to the main room. Kat, Phil, and Sorelli were all sitting in the breakfast nook, enjoying a simple, light meal.
"Where is Sasha?" Christine asked as she took a seat beside her daughter.
"Oh, she's still asleep. We spent all day out, and she stayed up all night reading some book she bought in the market. I thought it was best to let her sleep." Kat quickly lied. When she woke up that morning, Sasha wasn't in their room, her cloak and items she bought at the market were both gone, with exception to the writing materials. Christine nodded, and didn't press the issue. Sasha was known to spend hours on end with her nose in a good book, most of the time hiding out in the horse stables from Raoul.
"Christine, I was wondering if you would join me today. The old Ballet Rats miss you." Sorelli said.
"I think not, I was planning to visit father's grave, then maybe stop at some shops in town, there are a few things I would like to pick up before we leave tomorrow." Sorelli nodded, although she was disappointed with Christine's decision.
"Mother, Would it be alright if I went riding with Phil?" Kat asked hopefully, as she flashed an energetic smile at Sorelli's son. "He has a mare that I could ride." Christine raised her brow in curiosity at her daughters sudden attraction to Phil.
'If only she knew Phil's heritage.' Christine thought, then quickly pushed it out of her mind. She didn't want to think of the dead, especially not poor Philippe.
"I don't see a problem with it." Kat's smiled widened.
"Shouldn't someone be here for Sasha?" Sorelli questioned, but Christine just shook her head.
"She will be fine. She will probably spend the day reading that book, what was it called?"
"Faust." Kat spoke.
"Faust? Isn't that written in German?" Kat shrugged her shoulders. Christine gave her a distaste look for her unladylike behaviour.
"She likes being alone." She finished. She quickly nibbled on some of her breakfast, then rose from the table. She quickly grabbed her cloak, said goodbye to her daughter and friend, then left to roam the streets of Paris.
Initially she planned to go to the cemetery, but her feet took her elsewhere. They stooped her in front of her old home, the Opera House. Memories came flying back to her, dancing on the stage, playing trick on the other ballet girls, learning to sing, with the help of her angel.
Her angel, the man she loved, but couldn't love. When he asked her to choose between him and Raoul, she was still so very young, the tender age of seventeen. With her youth she held her most regretted trait, ignorance. She measured people back then by their worth in beauty and wealth, not their souls. Ever day she regretted choosing Raoul, but how could she have known how it all would turn out? When she married him, She had no idea the habit's he would pick up from his 'gentlemen friends', the drinking, cigar smoking, and worst of all, his choice in company. Christine shuddered at the thought of him at one of those wretched places, but she knew he visited them often. The very thing she loved Raoul for, His boyish charm and innocence was lost shortly after she took her vows.
Erik had always been kind to her, even when he was furious at her for removing his mask, he never harmed her, but he did himself. Once he made her gorge her finger nails into his retched flesh. Despite his hatred for himself, he love her with every thing and would never do anything that would cause her pain. He never go drunk, or left her for someone else's pleasure. Erik devoted himself to her, body and soul. Even after she left him, he still loved her, and would do anything for her. That is why he left her. He knew it pained her to lie to her husband, and commit acts that he did. She know how hurt she was ever time he left her, and couldn't imagine hurting him the way he hurt her. Erik removed himself from her life, despite his need for her, to protect her.
She looked up at the haunting building, not sure why she was here, but something called to her, something inside of her made her enter. Her soul still longed for him, although her brain knew he wouldn't be there. She needed to go down there. She needed to be in his comforting world once more, even if he already left this world behind, to join his rightful place in heaven. She hadn't even realized she was walking, till she found herself at his door.
"He's not there, Lotte. You know he isn't, why are you doing this to yourself? It will just make your heart brake more." She told herself, but she couldn't stop herself from entering.
Her eyes widened at the sight before her eyes. It looked as it always had, the candles burning, the sheets of music stacked up everywhere, they looked they were recently torn through, some still laid open on the organ. Erik, her Erik, sitting on the armchair. His eyes were closed, and his chest rose slowly in his slumber.
"This is a dream." She nibbled on her fingernail, as tears started to stream down her face.
"Erik?" Her voice was shaky, but loud. He opened his eyes, and focused them on the startled women before him.
"Christine?" He slowly rose from the chair, his eyes falling on the love seat that separated the two of them, were Sasha still slept. The back of the seat blocked Christine's view of her daughter. Slowly, Sasha's eye opened, and fell upon her father. The look of fear glistened in her eye as she watched his tense, startled manor. She went to sit up, but he shot her a warning glance, so she stayed were she was.
"Angel!" Christine choked out, than ran to Erik. She threw herself into him, and sank to the floor, dragging him down into her sobbing body. He wrapped his arms around her in comfort, and tried to stop her sobs.
"Calm yourself." He spoke tenderly, as he gently stroked the back of her head. She wrung her hands around his shirt, clutching it for dear life.
"I thought you were dead. I came to look for you, but you weren't here, and your mask, it was shattered. Oh Erik! I love you. I wouldn't have been able to survive without you, if it hadn't been for Sasha. Oh Erik, After you left, I had a child, yours. There is no question about it. She's beautiful Erik, smart, talented, she is like you, in every way. She had your eyes, your brilliant Golden eyes. When Raoul found out, he wanted to... he wanted to...I wouldn't let him Erik, I couldn't let him do that. She means too much to me. With her, it's just like you were here again." She sobbed out, seeking comfort from her Angel. In her sobs, she hadn't noticed Sasha get up off the love seat, and approach them.
"Mother?" She touched Christine's shoulder. She looked up, and stumbled over in shock at seeing her daughter's golden eye in front of her face.
"She is beautiful, Christine, but I'm afraid she gets that from you, just like her curiosity." Erik helped her up off the floor, as she tried to compose herself.
"But how?"
"Sorelli let us come here, when you were visiting Madame Giry, well, Madame Khan. But Phil wouldn't let us come to the cellars, something about his father. Kat and I came back yesterday, while Phil had his lessons. We had heard the stories from some of the dancers, and we wanted to find the Phantom. When we came down, he snuck up behind us, and Kat-" she cut off, not wanting to tell her mother that her father almost killed her sister. "His eyes. I just knew. No one has ever had eyes like his. I snuck out last night, to visit him, I was going to return before anyone noticed me gone, but I fell asleep, I just had to see him again." Christine rose her hand to silence her daughter.
"I should have told you. Little One, But I didn't didn't want you to find out what I did, but you always knew. You obviously inherited his logic." Sasha dropped her gaze to the floor.
"I don't want to go." She said plainly.
"What?" Christine asked, unsure what she was talking about.
"I don't want to go back to London tomorrow. I never want to leave, not with my father here." She walked over to Erik, and linked arms with his. Christine sighed, then looked at their daughter, and Erik. She look perfect next him, she belonged with him, there were two peas in a pod, despite their lack of knowledge about each other.
"I don't want to leave either, I never wanted to, but Raoul-"
"I don't give a damn about Raoul." She looked up at Erik. "I'm not leaving my father."
