Chapter 8: A shadowy visitor and a surprise
Christine's POV
Two weeks pased as November wound down to a close. There were only two days remaining until opening night, and Monsieur Reyer and Madame Giry were working us to the bone. My throat ached from singing so much, and I was constantly drinking water. Raoul had begun work at Phillipe's law firm, and he was doing quite well. He had court today, so before I went to rehearsal he had entrusted me into the capable hands of Madame Giry, making absolutely sure that she would watch over me.
We had been rehearsing for over three hours now, and I could tell that even Madame Giry was getting a bit irritated with Reyer's perfectionism. The opera was nearly flawless, and he still managed to find the most miniscule of problems. She banged her cane on the stage and the dancers stopped dancing almost the instant that they heard the sound.
"Monsieur Reyer, I believe that this is enough for today. The cast deserves a break, or they will be too exhausted to perform, and Andre and Firmin will lose a great deal of money." said Madame Giry seriously.
"Alright," said the reluctant voice of the conductor. "That will be enough for today. But you should all be here at eight o'clock sharp tommorow morning for a full dress rehearsal."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that the long rehearsal had finally come to and end. I smiled as I watched the cast mill about. I was so happy to be back at the opera, it was hard to even explain how wonderful it made me feel. And I simply loved Hannibal, with all of its brightly colored costumes and lovely, powerful music. This cast was undoubtedly one of the best; the chorus and the ballerinas were unbelievable and Pierre, who was playing Hannibal was the best male singer that this opera had ever seen. Well, except for the instance when Erik had made his unexpected appearance in Don Juan.
I walked off of the stage, chatting with various friends as I went. Just as I reached my dressing room door however, I met Meg. She was dressed in her costume from the first act, and her brand new pointe shoes that she had recieved as a gift from her mother when she had gotten the role of Prima ballerina.
"I say Meg Giry you seem to dance with more flare each time I see you. Or is it because you are courting Lucien?" I raised my eyebrows playfully at her as we entered my room.
She grinned shyly as she wiped the perspiration from her face." Perhaps it is Christine. Lucien is such an amazing man. And truthfully," She whispered. "I think I may have fallen for him already. He has invited me to the theater to see a play this evening."
"Well from what Raoul says, you are all Lucien can talk about." I said, seeing Meg's eyes light up with joy.
A knock was then heard at the door and Meg and I turned to see Madame Giry entering, holding my costume from act three. "You two haven't changed a bit I tell you," she said, a bit of a smile on her face. "In here telling secrets and I have no doubt that you are discussing Lucien."
Meg blushed, giving Madame her answer. "He's so sweet Maman, and he is simply hilarious."
I met Madame Giry's eyes and I could see the happiness that was there at Meg finding a suitor, and she had commented to me earlier how interesting it was that Lucien was Raoul's best friend. And even though Meg and Lucien had only met a few weeks ago, they seemed so close already.
"Yes he is quite funny." said Madame with a chuckle. "Now Christine dear I need you too put this costume on so that I can make the final adjustments to it. The performance is the day after tommorow after all."
"I can hardly believe that," I said as I went to change. "Time has flown. Raoul and Lucien are sitting together in box five together by the way."
But as I went to put on the dress, my stomach began to suddenly feel quite ill. I put it on, finding that it was just the tiniest bit more snug than it had been a year and a half ago. I frowned. That was odd, I didn't think that I had gained any weight, but then I chuckled; perhaps Raoul's cooks had been feeding me too well. I stepped back out and Madame began attacking the dress with pins, making sure that it was absolutely perfect.
"This only needs to be let out about half an inch Christine, so I should be through in a few minutes." She looked over at me. "Are you feeling alright dear?" she asked.
"I'm fine, just a bit tired." I lied, not wanting to worry them. The truth was, my stomach was churning.
"Well we'll let you be for a few minutes." said Meg, still looking concerned. "But be watchful Christine, we'll be in the dormitories when you're through changing."
I nodded, noticing that Madame Giry looked around the room a bit before walking out. I knew that she worried that Erik might attempt to kidnap me again. I knew that she still cared about Erik, but she had told me point blank, that under no circumstances would she let him get away with anything like what had happened a year ago. He was still a friend to her, but I was like her daughter, and Raoul was practically her son in law. She had made that very clear.
I turned back towards my vanity and started to pick up my dress when I noticed something that I had not seen before; a letter lay there, accompanied by an ever familiar blood red rose. I looked around the room to see if Erik was in the vicinity, fear threatning to creep through my veins. But I managed to calm myself, and I opened the letter, the wax skull staring up at me. A thin sheet of paper was revealed, with a spidery script written across it.
'Dear Christine,
I wanted to commend you on your beautiful performances during the rehearsals over the past week, your voice is absolutely magnificent. But it would have better served this new opera of mine, and I am angry that those dimwit managers failed to do as I asked. You ought to tell them of their mistake, and that whether they like it or not, the next opera performed after Hannibal shall be mine! I offer you a chance my angel, to return to me once again, to return to the music of the night. Or perhaps the opera would like to see the Phantom reign again.
Love from you angel of music,
Erik.'
I stared at the letter, a minxture of anger and sadness welling up in my soul. I had always felt an odd sense of compassion for this man, but how I wished he would cease to haunt me! This letter seemed to be filled with a bitter anger, sounding much like the Phantom, rather than the man who had allowed Raoul and I to go free. I could almost hear his deep voice as I read the letter. But I decided to play him at his own game. I turned the parchement over, and picked up a quill.
'Dear Erik,
I shall not return to you. You were once my angel of music, and I do thankyou for what you helped me to get through. But it was a lie Erik, you decieved me completely, leading me to believe that you had been sent by my father. I cared about you as my teacher Erik, but Raoul is the one that is the love of my life, and I tell you now that if you hurt him it will break my heart, and I refuse to let you do that. There is someone out there for you Erik, but it is not me. And until you look into your soul, you will never find peace.
I wish you the best Erik,
Christine de Chagny'
I put down the quill, and left the rose where it lay, showing Erik that I would not accept it. I put my dress back on, and was just going out the door, when my stomach gave a lurch. I stopped and leant over, as I proceeded to be sick. It was then that another thought occured to me; I had skipped my menstrual cycle this month. Could it be that I was pregnant? I walked as quickly as I could towards the ballet dormitories. I reached the door, but then heard Meg's voice behind me; she had apparently just come from her dressing room.
"My goodness Christine, what took you so long?" she then looked over to see the slight smile one my face." What is it Christine?"
"Meg," I said. "I think I have morning sickness"
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A/N: Ya, its sort of a weird cliffhanger, but I wanted to put the part about her telling Raoul in a seperate chapter. Isn't this exciting! I told you there was a good surprise waiting for you! The story is about to take another major turn soon, so please keep reading(and reviewing!) Most chapters will be in Raoul and Christine's POV, but there is one soon that is partially in Erik's POV. Hope that you liked this! RC forever! Thanks to all of my reviewers, you guys keep me writing!