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Christine's POV

"Yes, it was lovely to meet you as well," I said for what felt like the millionth time.

"We are very pleased you came tonight," Raoul assured the departing couple. I could see the strain and impatience in his voice, though everyone else seemed oblivious to it. I laid a small hand delicately on his forearm and gave him my own tired smile. He returned my affections with a tired yet sincere grin. It was the first true smile I had seen on his face for some time. All night we had endured many underhanded, snide comments. I was surprised, though, that most of the comments were directed towards Raoul rather than to myself. I suppose no one expected me to behave any better, but Raoul, a noble, was a different story. Despite everything, he had remained very much a gentleman, even replying with a few remarks of his own.

When a particularly large and rude couple had asked Raoul when the wedding would be called off, he had responded, "Oh, no time soon I assure you. Although I'm not sure you'll be able to attend our wedding with a new baby on the way. When is it due?" The woman had indignantly put her hand to her belly while her husband tried hard to maintain the illusion of calm. Needless to say, they left within the minute.

I smiled and bit my lip to hold back laughter. Raoul looked down at me, eyebrows raised.

"What, may I ask, do you find so amusing?" I just shook my head. My first instinct was to lean up to kiss him in order to silence him, but stopped myself at the last moment. I was all too aware of the burning gazes of the countless departing couples. Raoul, however, appeared to be completely oblivious as he continued to lean down. His lips claimed mine in a tender kiss.

For one brief moment, everything was forgotten. My world shrunk so that only he was left in it.

"Ahem." I pulled away with a start. I felt my face flush, but forced myself to turn and face the newcomer. Though I didn't look at him, I could feel Raoul's annoyance. He sighed and settled for burying a hand in my dark tresses. It was the same fat couple as before. The woman was sucking in her stomach and throwing out her busty chest. She obviously took pride in the fact that her breasts were larger than mine, although she continued to look enviously at my flat stomach.

"My wife and I will be departing," the man said.

"It was a pleasure to have you here," Raoul lied. The couple missed his obvious sarcasm. I simply remained quiet at his side and smiled at the appropriate times while Raoul exchanged a few pleasantries.

"Your voice was marvelous," the woman added at the last minute. I smiled and nodded my thanks. Raoul gently massaged the base of my neck in his private compliments. "I should love to hear you again."

"You will just have to come to the Opera when it reopens." Andre had suddenly appeared with Firmin not far behind.

"As you might know," Firmin began, coming up behind Andre. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the eccentric pair. "Our noble Vicomte has agreed to renew his patronage."

"And our beautiful Miss Daae had graciously agreed to reprise her role as prima donna," Andre interjected.

"Well, we will all look forward to that," the fat man said with impatience. "We really must be going. My darling is tired from the festivities." He looked affectionately at his wife, patting her forearm.

This show of tenderness touched me. Perhaps if I gave these people another chance, they would redeem themselves.

The fat couple departed, and Andre and Firmin left soon after. After reciting the customary niceties countless times, the hall was finally almost empty. Only two women, beside Madame Giry and Meg, remained.

The younger of the two was very pretty in an exotic way. While many would say I was more classically beautiful, this girl was one of a kind. She was taller then most woman of the day, standing just a few centimeters below Raoul's eye level. Her eyes were also something to be boasted about. Their striking green color danced and changed with the emotions of their owner. The older did not at all resemble her child. Every feature of her face was sharp and her eyes…her eyes were equally striking as those of her daughter but not at all in the same way. Her eyes were cold and unforgiving. Something about them made me instinctively distrust the woman, but Raoul appeared to have an attachment to her and her daughter. They could not be that awful. In fact, I found the daughter to be quite nice.

From across the room, I saw the older woman whisper something to her daughter who shook her head furiously. In response, le Cometess only raised her eyebrows until I thought they would be forever lost in her hairline. Chantal slumped in acquiescence and followed her mother towards us like an obedient, little puppy.

The two reached us and curtsied formally. I mirrored their action, not wanting those reproachful eyes to linger too long on me.

"Oh I think we know each other well enough to forgo such formal greetings," Raoul said, moving his hand in a dismissive gesture.

"It was so good to see you again, Raoul," Chantal said earnestly.

"Yes," he replied warmly, "It has been too long." I heard the pattering of footsteps as Meg and Madame Giry made their way across the hall.

"Thank you for inviting us," le Comtess said. But her eyes were no longer on either of us but on Madame Giry who had just arrived at my shoulder with Meg not far behind. I could tell Madame Giry did not like this new woman. I was sure anyone could sense the enmity the hung thick in the air between them.

"It was nice to meet you, Christine." Chantal offered a genuine smile. It was a nice change from all the phony ones I had received over the course of the night. "And you as well, Meg." She turned her warm smile to my lifelong friend. "I do look forward to when the Opera reopens." I smiled, and made a mental note to remind Raoul just how much I loved him later.

"My," le Comtess exclaimed with a laugh and smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "It seems we are your last guests. Where has the night gone?" Raoul chuckled in response, and I employed my acting skills from the Opera to add my own tinkling laughter into the mix. While Meg had followed our leads and, using the same skills I had, joined in the laugher, Madame Giry did not and made no secret of it. Le Comtess glared disapprovingly at her before turning back to Chantal.

"Well, we must be off." With this, she gave Chantal a pointed look. Before I could begin to contemplate what that look might mean, Chantal had turned back towards us.

"It was truly lovely to meet you," she said as she embraced me. Her actions took me by surprise, but I managed to overcome the shock in time to hug her back. Raoul gently untangled his fingers from my hair and brought his hand to rest on the small of my back. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He was smiling broadly at the two of us. I could tell Chantal meant a lot to him, and seeing us becoming something akin to friends was making him ecstatic. I was glad I could make him so happy; after what he did, welcoming Meg and Madame Giry so unquestioningly just because I loved them…I would welcome these friends of his.

As Chantal pulled away to embrace Raoul, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. After I had gone to the ballet, this was the woman who had taken my place in Raoul's life. It wasn't that I didn't trust Raoul. I did. I trusted him with my life, my heart, everything.

"I don't want it to be this long before we see one another again," Raoul whispered.

"No," Chantal agreed from his arms, "If that ends up being the case, I'll be an old spinster before I see you." Raoul chuckled his wonderful laugh. The painful knot of jealousy vanished at that sound. It was, quite possibly, my favorite sound.

Chantal pulled away and placed a delicate kiss on his cheek. To anyone else, it would have appeared to be a harmless, platonic show of affection. But to me, in my slightly jaded point of view, it lasted just a split second too long. And when she pulled away, she seemed to linger just centimeters away from his cheek much longer then was necessary.

They (much to my relief) broke apart. After a final round of farewells, the mother and daughter departed, leaving the four of us.

"Oh," Meg exclaimed, "It was so much fun!" I knew the isolation of the country didn't suit Meg; she was just glad to see new people again.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Raoul said as he resumed his place at my side, one hand pulling me close. "Did you enjoy yourself, Madame Giry?" She had been withdrawn for some time, not that that wasn't a usual appearance for her. But she was much more closed off than usual these days.

"Hmm?" She pulled out of her reverie. "Oh yes, it was marvelous," she said somewhat despondently. I frowned slightly at her response. I had just worked up the nerve to ask her about her recent behavior when she abruptly excused herself, saying she was exhausted.

"I don't understand what's wrong with her," Meg said to no one in particular.

Raoul made some sort of a noncommittal grunt as he stared thoughtfully at the hallway in which Madame Giry had disappeared in.

"What?" I questioned gently. He just shook his head, indicating he had nothing to tell.

"Perhaps I should find what's troubling her," Meg whispered. "I'm not sure I can take this"—she made a general gesture with her hands—"any longer." I nodded my agreement.

Still puzzling her mother's recent behavior to herself, she wandered out of the ballroom. I chewed thoughtfully on my bottom lip. In all my years of knowing Madame Giry, I had not known her to be so withdrawn. Sure, she always had an aura of mystery about her, but she never shut people out like this. Especially not Meg or me.

My thoughts were interrupted by two soft, very familiar lips being pressed against my neck.

"And did Little Lotte enjoy herself?" Raoul mumbled into my neck. I giggled and squirmed away from the ticklish sensation his breath caused.

"Oh, very much." I allowed myself to be wrapped again in his arms. He kissed me lightly.

After a moment, Raoul brought himself to break the comfortable silence. "Would you like to go for a walk? Or are you tired?" I grinned up at him.

"A walk would be nice." He smiled a smile that made me glad his arms were around me, lest my knees give way.

He led me into the entryway, and called for a servant to bring us our coats. The servant arrived in no time with Raoul's long, leather coat and a heavy cloak for me. Raoul shrugged his jacket on quickly before turning to help me with mine. He made a face as if he had just remembered something, and started to walk away. Confused, I made to follow, but he shook his head.

"It'll only be a moment, Little Lotte," he assured me and was gone. I bit my lip, but remained were he left me. True to his word, he was back in minute with something very obviously hidden behind his back. I cocked my head at him.

"And what was so pressing to retrieve?"

"Close your eyes," he softly commanded. I threw him one last suspicious look before obliging. I felt him coming closer to me. He softly put his fingers to skin on my neck.

"Raoul?" Even through my eyelids, I could tell he was smiling. He said nothing, but wrapped some piece of fabric around my neck.

"A scarf?" I questioned, still obediently keeping my eyes closed. My stomach twisted excitedly as I began to guess what it was.

"Open them," he whispered, placing a warm hand to my cheek. One look at his face told me that I was right. My suspicions were confirmed the second I looked down and caught I glimpse of red.

"After I went to so much trouble to retrieve it for you, I was beginning to wonder where it had gone." I bit my lip at the sweetness of this action.

"I love you," I whispered. I just smiled back at me and took my hand.

"I love you too, Little Lotte," he said, leading me out of the estate.

The night was crisp but not too cold. The moon was almost full, so there was no lack of light. Raoul picked a direction at random, and we simply started walking. I loved this. We had gone on walks like these countless times. Walks that had no destination, no purpose really. It was nice to have no pressure to get anywhere on time or to have something that needed to be done or anyone that needed to be seen. We could just walk together until exhaustion or hunger called us back to reality.

A couple of snowflakes drifted down towards the ground, and I pulled away from Raoul. I opened my arms as if to welcome the snow. I spun around gracefully going up onto one toe, testimony to my extensive dance training. Raoul's laugh (in my opinion, the sweetest sound on earth) brought my spinning to a stop.

I shot him a mock irritated look. "What?" I shook his head, and smiled with utmost sincerity that I immediately dropped my irritated façade. He approached me with, what appeared to be, nothing but adoration in his eyes. I noticed the mischief glinting in his eyes a second too late. And, before I knew it, with practiced fingers Raoul expertly snatched my scarf from my neck.

I stood there, mouth slightly agape as he darted away. Once he was safely out of reach, he held out my scarf triumphantly still laughing. I regained my composure, and turned to face him, calling of my acting skill to fight a smile from my face.

"Raoul," I said his name warningly, taking a single, small step towards him.

"Oh, I apologize, mademoiselle," he said, giving a bow. "Is this yours?" I nodded and took another step towards him. In response, he merely took an even larger step in the opposite direction.

"Well, I'm not so sure about that." He grinned, clearly enjoying himself. "You see, mademoiselle, I went to great trouble, at great personal risk too, to retrieve this for a pretty, little girl once."

"And what was this girl's name?" I asked, playing along. I never grew tired of seeing him in such a playful mood. All during our time at the Opera, we always had to be so serious and formal. But now….things could be different.

"I didn't say she was memorable." I raised my eyebrows. He pretended to think. "Well, let me see. I believe it started with a C."

"Chantal?" I suggested, cursing myself when my voice quivered. He was sure to pick up on that. He didn't disappoint me as his smile faded.

'No,' I thought silently. 'My insecurities shouldn't mar this moment.' I fought a playful twinkle back into my eyes which he seemed to believe. At least temporarily, I fully expected to be questioned about it later.

"No," he said, smiled returning. "I happen to know a Chantal, and this girl was much prettier." Such a blatant comment coming from Raoul made me blush. He smiled upon seeing the redness in my cheeks.

"I think I have it," he whispered, coming closer now.

When he didn't say anything right away, I spoke up. "Yes?"

"Carlotta?" I allowed a little indignant gasp at that.

"You truly are horrible, Vicomte," I whispered as he laughed. After a moment his laughter was replaced by a loving smile, and he moved closer yet.

"No," he whispered, drawing me into his arms. "I remember now." He pulled away just enough to look me in the eye. He reached in and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Christine," he stated. He then placed another kiss on my cheek. "Christine," he repeated. He then pushed his lips to mine, which I graciously received. "Christine," he mumbled a final time into my mouth.

He pulled away and cupped my face in his hands. "You're cold," he commented, rewrapping my scarf around my neck.

"I wouldn't be if I had had my scarf." He smiled.

"Am I really that horrible?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Yes," I agreed. "Really, truly."

"Hmmm," he commented indifferently, pulling me back into his arms. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, placing a single delicate kiss there. I sighed contentedly, feeling I could sleep right there despite the fact that I was standing and the cold.

"You're tired," Raoul commented. I smiled against his skin at that. The only other person who had known so well was my father.

"We should go back." I shook my head.

"Not yet."

"I will not have my fiancé catch her death out in this cold," he said firmly.

"It's not that cold," I commented lightly. But he would not be swayed. He let go of my body and grabbed my hand.

"Time for your horrible fiancé to get you inside." He made to leave, but I stood rooted to the spot.

"You're not horrible, Raoul." I just wanted to make sure he knew that. After having come so close to losing him once, I hated to think that we would ever leave things on poor terms. Even if we were only joking.

He smiled and pulled me into him again. "Don't worry," he whispered into my hair. "I know I'm incredible." I felt his smile and shook my head against his chest.

"Maybe you are horrible." It was his turn to chuckle.

A/N

I feel so bad. I hate writers block, but I made myself write this one. I'm afraid that if I go back and edit it too much I'll end up hating it, deleting it, and making you guys wait another 2 months. So sorry. I saw Phantom on Broadway! It was so freaking cool! OMG! So much fun! But I'm really sorry about the wait. So I decided to make this one fairly fluffy. Depending on how much longer this guilt plagues me (and how many reviews I get wink, wink) I might write another version of this chapter from Raoul's POV later today or tomorrow. I'm so sorry. Really I am. I've also been toying with the idea of writing a Tony/Michelle 24 fic. Anyone out there like 24?