Fallen Angels Chap.5
The cold bleakness if the gravestones washed around her like an ocean tide in this land of the dead. Christine came to her father's tomb to tell him of the recent events and her plans for escape from Paris. "And now I will go to Sweden. What do you think father?" She sat silently in a state of meditation for a long time, reflecting on her life and the twists and turns it had taken. She turned her head in the direction of Erik's house. I can't leave without saying good-bye.
As she approached Erik's door, her heart felt like a lead weight within her chest. She knocked, no answer, so she knocked again a bit louder. After a few knocks of increasing loudness, she gave up hopes that anyone would answer the door. Maybe he and Helena eloped. A sad smile crossed her features at her humorless joke. In one last bid, she tried the door handle; if Erik wasn't home perhaps she could leave a note. Christine let out a shocked gasp as she realized the door was indeed unlocked and it swung open before her. She entered the living room, that was defined by the over powering presence of the giant piano. As her gaze wandered over it, she noticed that there was a piece of music out that Erik must have been working on. Flipping through it she discovered it was on opera entitled Helen and Paris, or The Romance of Troy. How blissfully narcissistic. I can only imagine who this might be for. However disdainful the idea of an opera written for her rival, the piece intrigued her. Maybe if I wait a little while, he will return. Christine lowered herself onto the piano bench and began to play one of the beautiful arias that were within the opera.
Upstairs, Erik awoke quite suddenly. Who the hell is in my house. He rolled out of bed, placing a mask on the right side of his face and donning a robe. He checked his appearance in the mirror before descending to the first floor. Might as well meet burglars as good looking as possible. He crept along the hallway, realizing that the sound that had woken him was that of the piano being played, and a woman's voice. Halfway down the stairs he was greeted by the recognition of the voice and the sight of Christine, sitting at the piano. She was singing Helen's aria from Act II of his opera. In it Helen describes her feelings about betraying her husband Menelaus and her feeling for Paris. She has feelings for both of them and wants to hurt neither, she is a woman torn. In truth nothing more than a little lost girl searching for love. This was the truth Erik had come to understand of Christine, the truth of her pain and confusion. He crept down the remainder of the stairs, noting that she was both crying and singing. This he could tell by the intermittent sobs she produced, for her long unbound hair covered the entirety of her face, giving one the impression of a burial shroud. He approached her slowly, not wanting to frighten her. He stood beside her, not daring to speak for a moment. "Christine." He finally whispered in a low and throaty tone. No more torment. Oh Lord, take this cup from me. She said nothing, just stared forward, her hair still obscuring her features. Erik suddenly became enraged by her audacity; the time was long past where she could just wander into his house and place her hands upon his things. Listening to her singing had the aria had broken his heart, and all she cared about was whatever had her upset at the moment. She was an entirely selfish being, caring for no one but herself. He snatched the sheet music up from before her. "Never touch any of my music again Christine!" He was infuriated as he tossed it aside, waiting for her response. Christine only inhaled in an effort to smother the sobs that threatened to consume her. Getting her emotions under control, she spoke to him, completely ignoring his outburst of moments ago. "I have come to say good bye Erik. I leave for Sweden in a matter of hours." He leaned towards her, as always feeling the powerful pull that seemed to draw them together. He reached out as she attempted to turn away from him and forced her face via his hand on her chin to turn to face him. "Why?" His breath coming slowly, seeking only what had harmed her to this point, no longer angry. He let out a gasp of outrage as her face finally met with his, her hair parting to reveal the bruise that covered the right side of her face. "I can no longer live in the same country as the Viscount Du Chagny." She said, her voice revealing how resigned she'd become.
He still held her chin, gently cupping it now, reluctant to let go of her. "No, you can't leave Christine." He whispered, his heart filling with a deep ache, the same ache he'd felt years ago after she'd let him with Raoul. "Why? What is left for me here but despair?" Bloody Hell. He felt the walls he'd built to keep her out start to crumble, he couldn't turn his back on her pain, it was something he had never been able to do. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his body. She took refuge in his unwavering grasp. "Don't go, or if you must, let me go with you." He leaned down on his knees beside the bench, leaning his head on her shoulder. "Christine, I love you." Swiftly she turned to look into his eyes, disbelief painted itself over her features. "You still love me?'' Her voice was quiet; afraid she'd misheard and would now face the unpleasant truth. "Come away with me Christine. We can see the world together. Please, come with me." He had melted, even if it meant risking his heart again, he couldn't allow her to walk out of his life. Looking up into her beautiful face, he made a note to end Raoul's pathetic life. He curled his fingers into her brown tendrils and felt her soften against him, as if his touch emptied the years of pain and denial out of her body. Unable to resist the pull of her lips, he gently brushed his against them. He pulled away, not sure of what her response would be, she darted down towards him and pressed her lips to his in a deeper kiss. Lifting her off the bench, he settled her in his lap on the floor. They held the kiss for moments before Erik risked slipping his tongue into her mouth, caressing her tongue with his. He was satisfied to hear her muffled moans of pleasure. "Christine, Christine." He breathlessly clung to her. "Love me, oh God, just say that you love me Christine." Her breathing had become just as ragged as his own in the desperate passion that was mounting between them. "I do Erik, I love you. I want you beside me where ever I go. Tell me you'll forgive me the past." Joy, utter joy, the words he had so longed to hear finally fell from her lips. "All is forgiven love." "What of Helena?" She kissed him yet again, robbing him of all reason for the moment. "Forget her. I'll leave her the opera and be done with it." He deftly stood up and scooped her into his arms to carry her toward the stairs. He would make the most of this evening, he would show her all that he had wanted her to know from the moment he had first laid eyes on her, all the emotions she brought forth from him.
Christine giggled like a newlywed as Erik gently placed her on his bed, contemplating how her being in that particular spot increased her beauty tenfold. As he sat down next to her, Christine untied his robe, gently pulling it off to reveal the nightshirt he wore beneath. She kissed the hollow of his throat and worked her way up his neck, to his cheek, and finally his lips, drawing from him a level excitement he was not aware he was capable of. He pulled her dress over her head and began slowly unlacing her corset. Christine's breath raced as Erik moved slowly with the laces, wanting to increase her desire, and not hurry them along. After agonizing minutes passed, Christine burning with desire through out them, Erik removed all her complex undergarments, leaving her naked before him. He drank in the sight of her exquisite body, her porcelain skin, her pert breasts crowned with supple pink nipples, and the tuft of brown hair at the apex of her legs. The whole while Christine felt an ever growing ache between her thighs, she no longer simply wanted Erik, she needed him. Her breasts burned for his hands, her lips for his kisses, and her most secret part to be filled with him. Erik tentatively reached to caress her hardened nipples with his fingertips. Christine shivered and let out a low moan. Guided by her obvious desire, he reached out to cup one of her breasts fully in his palm, and hold it while massaging the now almost painfully hard nipple. He kissed a line from her neck down and suckled at the pink flesh, gently at first, then harder as her moans urged him on. His hand traced its way up the creamy flesh of her thighs, gently spreading them, and caressing her causing the wetness between her legs to increase. "Wait, my love. It is not fair that I am the only one without clothing." He pulled away a bit as she grasped the nightshirt and tried to remove it. "No, dear, please. I'm not ready for you to see." Christine was not dissuaded, and yanked the nightshirt off. Marks similar to those that covered the right side of his face trailed their way down the right side of his torso, ending near his hips. His hardened member was somewhat deformed as well. "You see now what a monster I truly am." The sadness that she knew so well overtook him again, he believed she would leave now that she saw the whole truth. Christine reclined on his bed and drew him down towards her. "Never a monster my love." She tried to convey all her love to him in a hard and impassioned kiss. He returned his hand to the place between her thighs and slowly inserted his fingers into her, their motion drawing an instant, vocal response from her. The rapid motion of his fingers soon brought Christine toward climax, calling his name as her juices flowed around his fingers. Erik quickly moved to place his mouth between her legs, as she attempted to prevent him out of lingering sense of shyness. He simply brushed her hand away and continued onward, laying light kisses up the length of her thighs, noting the painful bruise Raoul had left. Slowly he let his tongue run over the outside crevices of her, bringing it to the node of flesh that made Christine arch her back in response the waves of pleasure that crashed through her. Erik's careful ministrations with his tongue were soon followed by by Christine's crying out "For God's sake Erik just take me!" She pulled him by his shoulders until his hips were positions next to hers, and sensing his hesitation, she pulled him into her, both uttering a cry. Erik began a desperate thrusting against her, reflecting their mutual need for the contact they now shared. In response to him Christine's legs lifted higher to wrap around his back, allowing for deeper penetration. The increased sensation soon brought them to edge of their desires, Christine's voice rising like an aria in Erik's ear. They both came together in a crashing union that left them exhausted in their positions.
They lay together for a long while after their frantic lovemaking, staring into each other's eyes. Christine noticed that she did not feel the usual wetness that followed a man's passion, but chose not to mention, guessing Erik had an array of physical abnormalities that would be painful to bring up. She lightly stroked his silky black hair. "My sweet Erik. How can I repay you for all that you've given me?" He had given her the world, her voice, her career, and his love. It seemed up until now she had never given him anything but pain. "All I ever wanted was you Christine, beside me." He held her close, gently tracing the outlines of her body with her fingertips, her eyes seeking his deep green soulful ones, her heart aching upon seeing that they shone with unshed tears of bliss. Only now did she realize that half his face was still obscured by the mask, it pained her that they could share such physical closeness and yet he left a mental and emotional barrier between them. "You were always truly my Angel; the truth was hid from me until now." Of its own volition her hand reached up towards his cheek and soothingly stroked it, drawing nearer to the mask, yearning to remove it. "May I?" Erik nodded his silent assent, closing his eyes, frightened by what her response would be. Slowly, she pulled it away, to reveal the twisted side of him. In a breath taking moment Christine became aware that she found no horror there, only beauty. Her lips drew near and laid one solitary, redeeming kiss on the deformed tissue, causing Erik's eyes to swiftly reopen. "I love you Erik." This time the tears could not be prevented as they rolled down the sides of his face and onto Christine's soft flesh. "You do not know how long I've been yearning to hear those words from you." He enfolded her in the fiercest hug she had ever felt, nearly crushing her. "I love you my wondrous Christine." They locked into another passionate kiss. Reluctantly Erik broke the kiss. "You must get dressed. We can leave now and retrieve your things from the Girys on the way out of town." "No, Raoul may have the house watched, if you're seen you'll be killed. I'll go alone, and return to you." The worried look he gave her was smoothed over by her kisses and promises to return shortly. A few moments later they were bidding each other farewell at the door, Erik leaning down to bring his lips to hers one more time before she disappeared into the night. "I will return shortly mon amour." She whispered as she took her leave of the sanctuary of Erik's house.
Raoul, the Viscount Du Chagny, had been watching the stately brick house for some hours now. He had guessed that eventually his estranged wife would come, especially when he demanded her return, so he had made it a point to know the address sometime ago. Seeing her exit the house, he sent his burly hired men to shadow her, and confront her when she was awhile away, to prevent her from returning. He would bide his time until he was sure she quite a distance away. A sinister smile played around his lips, it was all coming together for Raoul Du Chagny, and soon he would be rid of his most hated of enemies.
Christine's pace on her trip back to the Girys' was nothing short of a run. She wanted nothing more than to return to Erik's arms to begin their new life together. She flung the front door open and flew up the stairs, noting that it was near midnight, and worrying that her plans could be interrupted any minute by the return of her friends. Collecting the bags and arranging a traveling cloak on her shoulders she caught sight of herself in the mirror. It was as though she saw the woman framed in the glass for the first time, drawing nearer she studied herself. Since before her marriage to Raoul she had stopped paying attention to what her reflection truly looked like. My God! I have truly grown up. She no longer had a girls figure, but a rather well filled out woman's one, her lips were full and rosy, and her eyes were dark and sensuous. So this is what Erik saw in me all along? She mused to herself, knowing now that he hadn't loved the silly little girl at the opera house, but had loved the strong, beautiful woman she would become.
After descending the stairs, Christine stopped at the desk to leave short note as to what had become of her to ensure that no one worried themselves unduly over her. Closing the door behind her, she made her way out into the world, ready for her new life to begin. Now walking at a reasonable pace, Christine's heart froze as Raoul's two thugs approached her. "Good evening Madame, you wouldn't be on your way to return to your lawful husband would you?" She wanted to scream in the man's face, she wanted to kill them for this. No, God damn him, he will not rob me of this. Trained by years of quick dance movement, she lithely darted around the burly pair and ran towards Erik's.
In the shadows he waited, giving the dear girl time enough to reach home, focusing on the building before him and the man within. Raoul crept up the front stairs, rapier unsheathed and in hand, and entered Erik's house.
Erik, unaware of the man who now watched his home, was finishing packing what belongings he would take. He was taking two important musical scores with him, one was the opera he had composed for Helena, and the other was a long forgotten opera meant for Christine, Hades and Persephone. He had the fondest hopes that now he would finish it and Christine would star in it when she returned to the stage after their flight. His attention turned from his task as he heard the door downstairs quietly opened and footfalls that were definitely not Christine's. He reached for the first weapon at hand, his favorite rapier. As the unknown party reached the top of the stairs, Erik was there to greet him. "Du Chagny." Erik growled. "You!" The young Viscount spat, stunned that his stealth had been detected, and charged Erik, his sword going before him. Erik deftly sidestepped the misguided attempt at a run-through. "Still haven't been working on that swordsmanship." Erik smiled ferociously and rushed Raoul, the two clashed and separated. The pattern repeated itself several times, each time saw Erik the victor, and finally he managed to knock the Viscount's sword away, sending it clattering down the stairs. Erik hefted his sword, and advanced on Raoul, preparing for the killing blow. I should have finished him a long time ago. Spinning backwards, Raoul floundered out of the way and ducked into the bedroom. The first thing his vision encountered was the state of the bed, and upon the pillow he could clearly see one long strand of brown hair, the sight enraged him. She let that beast under her skirts! Yet she refuses me! Raoul screamed out to Erik, who was coolly approaching him, sword still in hand. "Christine has returned to me." The words froze him where he stood, causing Raoul laugh upon seeing how the trick had worked. "She only waited for me to come to her and ask her to return; now she gives me leave to finish this messy affair." Raoul walked calmly toward the man who had become as still as a statue. "After all, why would she want a mangled freak like you, when she could have me?" Erik finally released his sword, all the fight gone out of his heart. Why Christine? Why have you done this to me? Now beside Raoul whispered in his ear as he sank a vicious fist in to Erik's stomach. "Christine could never love you." Erik collapsed as the Viscount's blow knocked the wind out of him, no longer feeling any reason to fight.
Christine fled the thugs as fast as her body allowed, trying desperately to reach the safety of Erik's house. All too soon, however, she was overtaken and walled between the two burly men. "Sorry Madame, but we have orders to return you to where you rightfully belong." Glaring at them in frustration and rage, she tried to dart around them, but was successfully walled up again. "There's really no point to struggling, the Viscount's taking care of your paramour right now." He then sounded out something that sound like a bestial grunting that Christine took for laughter. Erik! Her fury gave her strength beyond her delicate form and she swiftly brought her knee to the groin of the man she faced. He crumpled over and groaned, as Christine darted around him, pushing him the path of her other pursuer. Soon both lay on the ground in a tangle of limbs and curses. The distraction gave her a head start and while the two eventually made it off the ground; she was lost down an alternate route. Her anger and love carried her through the round about way she took, eventually losing the men and reaching Erik's house. Realizing that she yet carried her solitary bag, she dropped on the porch and frantically tore off into the house, toward the upstairs where she could clearly hear Raoul's demented shouting.
Raoul cruelly kicked Erik in the chest, sending him toppling over backwards. Taking the tip of his boot, he dislodged his mask. "Poor pitiful Phantom, lost without Christine. He won't even fight back." Raoul sneered. "You're pathetic, and that's exactly why she doesn't want you." Raoul reached down and grabbed Erik's shirt. "Do you hear me, she doesn't want you!" He was shaking him, violently trying to get his point across. God, just let him finish me. I want to die. Erik stared at the ceiling, wishing a real angel would come for him. Raoul released him and spit in is face, turning from him he hefted the standing candelabra up and twirled it so the candles pointed at the floor. Brandishing it before him, he advanced on Erik. "I'm going to make you even uglier than you are now." The candles began to make their way towards his face.
"Erik!" The scream caused both men to turn towards the doorway where Christine stood, breathless and bedraggled from her flight. In her eyes, Erik saw all the love and concern she held for him, and knew himself a fool for ever doubting her. "You came back to me." Erik whispered, not daring to believe what he saw before him. While Raoul gaped at Christine like an imbecile, Erik calmly rolled out from under the candles, grabbed the candelabra, and used it to forcefully yank Raoul to the ground in the position that he himself had formerly occupied. After the quick switch, Erik righted himself and was now standing above Raoul, and brandishing the candelabra in his face. "Maybe I should make you even uglier than I ever was." He gestured the whole burning mess at him. "You malicious, filthy bastard, after all you've done to Christine, you deserve it." He pressed in closer, little by little.
"Erik, no. he isn't worth it. Don't cover yourself in blood again, especially not for the likes of him." Christine's hand on his stayed him, and he slowly began to back away. She chooses me, there's nothing left to prove. When Erik's guard went down, Raoul let a growl and placed a well aimed kicked at the candelabra and sent it sailing across the room to land on the bed. Erik's and Christine's eyes widened as a dread filled them both at the Viscount's mad persistence. The man dragged himself off the floor and turned to once more to stalk towards them as the bed burst into flames. "I will not let go of what is mine." The flames now had the entire bed engulfed and would soon spread to the rest of the room. "You are out of your mind Raoul Du Chagny." Erik took a composed attitude the desperate situation they were headed into. "Go Christine, get out of here." Nodding and giving him a lingering look that spoke volumes of her feelings, Christine dashed out of the house, unconsciously grabbing Erik's mask and bag off the bedroom floor, and did not stop until she reached the front yard.
Raoul's posture was one of a man who wanted to continue the now pointless and stupidly dangerous brawl. Again he attempted to come after Erik, fists blindly swinging. "For God's sake, we're both going to die up here!" Erik spun to avoid him and ended up with his back to one of the bedroom windows. "Let us then. If she won't have me, then she can't have you." Again came the blind and furious movement of Raoul's fists. Erik shot out a hand and with a grip like steel he grasped the Viscount's arm. Noticing that the room was almost entirely in flames, and that the floor beneath the bed was almost burned through, spreading flames to the downstairs as well, Erik realized they were almost out of time. Using Raoul's momentum against him, he stepped away from the glass and hurled his adversary head first out of it. Christine's going to be upset about that. Two stories shouldn't kill him though. With the room, and likely the rest of the house, steadfastly burning behind him, Erik dashed down the stairs and out of the inferno into the front yard and the waiting arms of Christine.
Christine hurried to him and wrapped her arms around him, placing gentle kisses on his cheeks, before she leaned her head on his chest in relief. She took the mask that she had retrieved and placed in on his face, as the firefighters and police would soon arrive. At least his dignity can be spared. Christine had observed what had become of the Viscount, and that he had landed on his head. She had made sure he was alive, but could do nothing for his lack of consciousness. "Erik?" She asked, still clinging to him. "Why did you throw Raoul out a window?" He looked down at her, a little surprised that she wasn't upset at all by the event. "It seemed like the best option I had at the moment." A smile lit up her petite features, and abruptly the whole situation became uncontrollably uproariously funny causing her to laugh uncontrollably. Before he knew what came over him, Erik joined her, her girlish giggle thrilling every part of him. Gently lifting her chin with his finger, he cut off all sound by kissing her firmly, never wanting to have to break away from the beauty of it. They were interrupted by the arrival of the authorities to the scene. Upon finding the unconscious Viscount, a constable came to question the pair.
"Mind explaining all this to me?" He asked in a typically gruff police way. Erik fed the man a half truth quite glibly. "You see, sir, the good Viscount was in the middle of a divorce with his wife because he learned of our affair. To be able to leave her with nothing though, he had to get proof of her infidelity. So, he snuck into my home to obtain his proof and ended up knocking over some candles. When the fire started to spread he got frightened and jumped out the window." The officer turned to Christine. "Is this true Madame?" Christine summoned her powers as an actress and tried to reply in kind with Erik's confabulated tale. "Yes, I am afraid so. I feel wretched about this whole incident and wish to give him the divorce he wants. If I were to send a letter to his lawyer confessing, could you see that he gets it and that his lawyer starts the process for?" He smiled a reassuring smile at the woman who seemed so distraught. "If you wish to Madame. He'll be taken to the hospital, and hopefully when he wakes up, he will have his divorce." The constable gave a look of confusion to the masked man and lovely young woman before him, but said nothing, he had better things to do than get involved in domestic squabbles. The two watched as the fire was put out, leaving not much of Erik's beautiful home behind. "I'm sorry love. I didn't mean for all your things to get ruined." Christine turned to him with tear filled eyes. "Don't think on it dear, they were just that, things. You are what matters to me." He kissed yet again, not caring if the world saw. Moments later, the constable's superior appeared beside them and allowed Christine to write the self incriminating note to Raoul's lawyer, before telling them that the official investigation would likely rule the whole affair and accident and that it should amount to no more trouble for them than petty gossip column fodder.
"Where to now, my love?" Their plans for leaving seemingly no longer necessary. "We'll go back to Girys' I suppose. We can plan things from there. The pair set off serenely down the streets of Paris, hand in hand, bags weighing them down, the past couple of hours seeming to melt away. After a bit of their walk, Erik uncomfortably cleared his throat. "I had thought you left me for him again." Christine abruptly halted their progress to turn and face him, her eyes seeking his, wondering at the sadness she found there. She opened her lips in an attempt to assuage his fears, but Erik simply put a finger to her lips. "Now that you will be free of Raoul, for his lawyer will certainly force the divorce through, thinking he is doing him a favor, do you still want me? Do you need me even though you won't need my help to escape?" Hurt that he would ask her this, yet understanding why he must, she dropped her bag to the ground and answered him with a deep and impassioned kiss, her tongue sliding sensuously into his mouth, her arms wrapping fiercely around him. "I still love you and want you Erik. Never doubt that I always will. I know that many things have happened tonight, and emotions have run high, but I regret nothing I have done tonight." She once again stared into his eyes. "I mean that. I only regret that you doubted me for even a second." A stray tear trickled down her cheek. "I am sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you Christine. It is hard to believe you would want me over him." Realizing that she never told him the truth, Christine sighed, she would have to someday, but tonight she was tired and would be concerned he would go back and finish Raoul. "Let's go, I'm exhausted." After a moment more of lingering in one another's arms, they continued back on their way.
