Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry again for such a delayed update! I wanted to take the time to say thank you for showing the spectacular support you have given me over the duration of the story, I really do appreciate it, it gives me warm, fuzzy feelings inside! Anyway, on to the story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 8: Demon Eyes

Raoul stood as he watched her fall into Eric's arms, finally at a loss for words at the actions that had caused this outcome. He was in such a state of shock that he didn't even notice his hands shaking, causing the blade to fall from his grasp and onto the grass. However, he did notice the glint in the other man's eyes, the hint of anger that would eventually boil over until he received retribution for her suffering. Before the Vicompte could say a word, the Phantom pulled Christine into his arms and ran into the house.

Raoul had no choice but to follow the masked man, unsure of what else he could do. He found the two in the study, watching intently as he lowered her body to the divan. By now, her frail body was looking even smaller as the color drained from her features, giving her more of a ghost like complexion.

Eric gently rested his hand against her face, then turned his burning gaze towards the now belittled man.

"Fetch a doctor!" He screamed, for he was trying as best he could from lunging towards his opponent. He knew that they had very little time, if any, to save the woman's life. When Raoul made no attempt at moving, Eric stood and closed the gap between the two. "Either fetch a doctor, or I will and he'll have two patients on his hands!"

It didn't take any other convincing to get the young man to move. In mere minutes he was out the door, climbing atop of his horse and riding down the road. Eric could only hope that he was bright enough to actually find the doctor's building down the road. He shook his head, and then turned back to the figure behind him. He pulled a chair closer to her and pulling his coat off, pressed it against her wound. It seemed the redder her blood, the darker the anger in his eyes became.

Eric wasn't sure how long he had been sitting by her side when the doctor finally arrived. Raoul wasn't far behind, his face a bright red from the harsh riding he had completed. The Phantom could not face the Vicompte until he was sure Christine could be taken care of.

"She's over here, doctor." Eric stated as he shook the older gentleman's hand.

The two men watched as the man inspected her wound, pulling apart the dress where it had been torn and nodding every once in awhile to himself. Pulling his bag closer to him, he opened it and began to pull surgical supplies out.

"It seems nothing vital was hit," He remarked, a hint of a lisp echoed on his breath. "I can close the wound, but it will be up to the Child if she is to survive."

Raoul seemed as if he was about to pass out when the doctor began to cleanse the wound, finally turning away from the scene to look out the window.

"You, in the mask, hold her down." The doctor remarked as he placed a gloved finger against her wound, causing her to stir. "If she moves, I might cut something that she needs."

Eric couldn't stand by and do nothing, so he walked to the side of the couch and held her down by the shoulders. He was hoping the pain would keep her in the unconscious state, never wishing such a pain on any person, let alone Christine. He stood guard as the surgeon felt his way around the wound, cleaning the excess blood away from the area. He listened as the girl's breath became shallow, the color fading from her face, causing him to almost turn a shade as pale as her. But he could do nothing, he had no medical experience, and all he knew how to do was wait.

Almost an hour later Christine was laying comfortably in the bedroom upstairs, both sides of her wound stitched and healing. Her spirit, on the other hand, seemed to battling the idea of living or dying and all they could do, as the doctor instructed, was to wait.

"I will come back by tomorrow evening and check her wounds. Make sure that she is kept clean and that it does not take an infection." He turned and grabbed his coat and bag, not once questioning why she was in the state she was.

Raoul walked into the entranceway as he heard the locking of the doors. During the past hour, he could only keep him mind elsewhere, not once looking at her frail form; a way of telling himself that it wasn't his fault. If anything, he had to face him. He deserved whatever Eric was going to send him, and if anything, he felt he had a reason to die. It was his bitter jealousy that brought him back, his anger that started the fight, and it was his sword that found it's way through her belly.

He stopped a few feet away from the man who had once haunted the old opera house. From where he stood, he could not understand how someone like him had caused such terror over the people who had worked there. One man could change so many people's lives with a simple action, and there he stood, a demon ready to charge. He felt his heart stop for an instant as the opposing man turned to face him.

Eric's fists clenched open and close as he slowly approached the Vicompte. When he raised his eyes to face Raoul, it felt as if time itself had stopped. An icy chill clung to the blonde's spine causing him to shiver slightly against a vain attempt at keeping his composure. Looking into the Phantom's eyes it was as if he were looking into hell itself, the fire and hatred burning deep within his gaze, and for once it wasn't his anger that scared him, it was his calmness.

"Leave," Came the gruff response to the quiet stare.

"What?"

"I want you to leave," And he turned towards the stairs.

"I'm not just going to leave her here with you!"

"You think you're any better? If it hadn't been for you, she wouldn't be fighting to stay alive right now. If it hadn't been for you, she wouldn't have been run through. And if it hadn't been for you I wouldn't have to worrying about her dying!" Eric grabbed Raoul's shirt by the collar. "You really think she wants to stay with the man who almost killed her?"

And with that, the brunette turned and made his way towards her room. Raoul stood, staring into emptiness as he realized the real impact of Eric's actions. Sure, he could have easily have killed him, or beaten him until he begged for death. But what the Phantom had done would haunt him for the rest of his life. By leaving now, he would never know if Christine had survived, and he would have that on his conscious until the day he died. He would have preferred death to such torture, even if it had meant that it had been the easy way out. Closing his eyes he felt as if a piece of him was dying, as if it wasn't Christine, but him that lay on a bed, with a sword through his heart.

Eric stood guard in Christine's room as he watched Raoul slowly ride away. He had done everything in his power not to strike the man down, run him through and toss him like he was garbage. But he knew that it wasn't what she would have wanted, and his decision ultimately dealt the Vicompte a fate worse than death. For now, all the Phantom could do, was stand watch over her. The color seemed to be slowly coming back into her face as she slept peacefully under her Angel's gaze. He only hoped that they weren't too late.

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