Chapter 19: Raoul's Secret Plan
A/N: Okay, this is a very un action oriented chapter. It really looks into how Raoul is feeling at the moment and why he makes the decision he does. I hope that you like it. I also apologize for the shortness, the next chapter will make up for it, believe me. Enjoy!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Raoul's POV
It was just a week after New Year's Now, and I sat by the window in the parlour reading the newspaper. As had been the norm for the past few days, it featured a front page headline about the attack on the Opera Populaire. I sighed; I was growing tired of seeing mine and Christine's names constanly being mentioned in connection with this. It caused so much discomfort for both of us, we really didn't want to be reminded of it every day. The house was rather quiet at the present moment. Jacques, Caroline, and Sarah were all resting, and Christine had gone with Meg to begin looking for wedding gowns and bridesmaids dresses.
It was a lovely day outside, so why wasn't I out horseback riding with Lucien as he had suggested? The fact was, as the week had gone by I had felt my usually vibrant spirits dwindling and my energy fading. Yes, the gypsies had been delayed, but they hadn't been stopped permanently. The police still couldn't find their lair. I wished more than anything that all the bad things that had happened over the recent weeks would simply vanish. It seemed that Christine and I had been through more in the past year and a half than many people went through in their whole lives. I felt much older than my twenty years, and Christine was much wiser than her eighteen.
I was exhausted of Christine and I being constantly in the spotlight. Yes, the year spent at the house by the sea had been peaceful and filled with bliss, but a good majority of that has been spent recovering from the events of the opera house. And besides, we couldn't run away from the world forever, as much as we wished we could. Sometimes I sincerely wished that I wasn't a Vicomte, I wished that I could simply be Raoul. I loved the fact that Christine's singing was so popular in Paris, for it made her so happy; people came from all over to hear her sing. But I wished that people wouldn't always connect her as the "opera singer involved in that Phantom scandal". She could simply be Christine.
We could travel around Europe together, she singing and I playing the violin as her father had taught me. We would only tell our close friends and family where we were. We could have our chidren without it being all over the papers. We would have our love and that would be all we would need. At the present moment running away from our problems to a far away place where nothing could touch us was very appealing. But I knew that we couldn't do that. I shook my head, trying to make myself see sense. I wanted so badly to be able to protect Christine from any harm, I wanted her eyes to be always alight, I wanted us to be able to live in the joy and peace that I knew we could achieve.
I jumped in my chair as I heard a crash of thunder outside. Lighting began to flash and the rain began to pound against the window. Ah brilliant, a thunderstorm. I hoped that Christine and Meg were in a safe location and that Lucien hadn't been caught on his horse in the rain. I tossed the newspaper aside and removed my reading glasses. I walked down the hallway to the library, my footsteps echoing in the silence. I had gone in there with the intention of perusing one of my favorite novels, but as I stepped inside, my eyes instantly set upon a photograph of Christine and I on our wedding day. It was one of the more casual pictures of the many that had been taken. I had picked Christine up in my arms, and she had her arms around my neck, a laughter filled smile on her face. I could see the light in both her eyes and mine and knew immediately that that was what I wanted to have again.
My eyes shifted to another picture of us, this one during our childhood. We had our arms casually around each other's shoulders and carefree smiles on our faces; we had been seven and nine at the time. Then I focused on another picture that had been taken just recently at the grand opening of the Opera, just after we had found out about Christine's pregnancy. I stood behind her with my arms around her shoulders; she grinned in bliss, her brown ringlets cascading down her shoulders. It struck me very clearly now that the only way to get back what we had was to take matters into my own hands. If the police couldn't catch the ruffians then I would search for the hideout myself. I wouldn't confront them alone, that would be foolish, but I would spy on them. Then I would alert the police and lead the charge, no matter what they said. I was sick of us having to live in fear, so I would nip this in the bud before something else happened.
There was also the matter of Erik. Was he truly on our side? It seemed like it, but I was still very hesitant to trust him. But perhaps his hate for the gypsies overcame his hate for me, and so in order to help protect Christine he was willing to help. And we could use all the help we could get, that was for sure. My mind was swirling with thoughts, but they were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. I walked into the entrance hall to find Christine entering, back from her outing with Meg. She took off her cloak and shook the water off of it, looking a bit perturbed at having gotten caught in the storm. Her lips were in a pout and the expression on her face was rather comical. I chuckled and she looked up, just noticing my presence.
"What are you laughing at?" she asked, smiling despite herself.
"Nothing," I said, grinning. "I'm glad that you got back before the storm got worse. What is that?" I asked, gesturing at the box in her hand.
"Oh, well one of the shops Meg and I looked in for wedding gowns also had baptisimal gowns. I know it's a while still before the baby will be baptized, but I couldn't resist. It will be perfect for our baby, whether it be a boy or girl." she said, a happy tint in her cheeks. "What have you been doing today?"
I hesitated slightly; I couldn't tell her about my plan to spy on the gypsies, it would worry her far too much. I had never kept anything from Christine before, so this was hard.
"Nothing really," I responded. "I just did a bit of reading."
She looked at me, concerned. "I thought you were going riding with Lucien?" she questioned curiously.
"I decided not too. I haven't been feeling very well today." I answered as we made our way into the parlour, the rain falling so hard now that we couldn't even see out the windows.
We sat down and she rested her hand over mine, looking at me with those soulful brown orbs of hers. "Raoul you've been so quiet lately, what's wrong?"
I sighed and stroked her hair absentmindedly. "I just worry about you Christine, what with all of this going on. You so deserve happiness and the right to live without this fear of those ruffain gypsies. You've been through enough already."
She leaned in close to me, resting her head on my shoulder. "Oh Raoul, I will admit that I would give anything to make all of these problems go away. But I could never be completely unhappy; I have you." She said as she kissed my lips.
I kissed her tenderly back. She was right about that, we would always have each other, no matter what.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: I hope that you liked this! Please review! I'm getting close to 100 reviews, yay! I love you guys!