Chapter 23: Imminent Danger
Disclaimer: Sadly I own nothing that concerns Phantom, but I do own my original characters, so yay for me!
Raoul's POV
A cold wind whipped across my face as Erik and I galloped down the lane and into Paris. We were riding too fast to speak, so I sincerely hoped that Erik would tell me what was going on when we reached our destination. My hands gripped the reins so tightly that I could fell then going numb; it was purely from expereince that I managed to stay on my faithful horse's back at the speed we were going. I could scarcely make out Erik's form as we rode on, his black clothes and black horse were almost fully concealed in the night. Only his pure white mask and the white of my stallion's fur stood out.
My mind was racing; what could have happened to make Erik dash to my house in such a panic? There was only one thing for sure; it had something to do with Christine, and that fact fueled the fire of fury in my heart against the gypsies even more. Never would I allow those fiends to harm her, never again. We came to a halt outside the alleyway, our horses hooves skidding on the cobblestone. I vaulted off the side of my horse and started to make my way towards the lair, my mind so filled with determination to finish this battle and protect my loved ones that I wasn't even thinking straight. I had only taken two steps however, when a hand grabbed the back of my jacket and roughly pulled me back. I turned and heard Erik's harsh tone.
"You musn't rush in there without thinking Chagny! I believe that you made that mistake when you chased after me to my lair a year ago." He smirked but continued. "These are not the most intelligent of beings, so we must take advantage of that." Our eyes met for a moment, and it seemed that we both knew what we were in for.
"What did you hear them talking about?" I questioned. "What made you come dashing to my house like you did?"
He looked at me, and I couldn't read his expression but he seemed to hesitate.
"When you went to tell Christine about what we had heard, I realized that my cloak had fallen off. I knew if they found it they would suspect that someone had been spying on them. I found it right outside where we had been standing, and I heard them still plotting. In short Vicomte, they felt that they should waste no time in attacking you. They were going to kidnap Christine to lure you to them. But fortunately we will meet them head on."
"Perhaps then, we will be able to take them by surprise?" I asked, so angry at the thought of them trying to kidnap Christine that fear didn't even enter my thoughts.
"That is our other advantage, and we must use it. And now we will go." He began to walk forward down the alleyway.
"Wait!" I said, and he turned. There was something that I had to know. "Why are you helping me?"
His eyes bore into mine for a few seconds before he answered. " Because if there's one thing that I loathe more than you de Chagny, it is these wretched gypsies. And because I respect that fact that we both care about Christine enough to work together."
"I thank you," I answered him." I'll go first."
He nodded, and I led the way down the alley, shedding my coat and tie, so they would not get in my way. The alley seemed darker and longer than it had previously. It seemed an eternity until we got to the end, and I could feel something sinister in the air as we approached. The inconspicuous entrance to the hideout loomed in front of me, the small snake etched into it staring at me as though daring me to enter. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, lifting up a silent prayer to God that if something happened to me that Christine and our child would be kept safe. I then nodded to Erik and we both pulled out our swords and broke down the door with one push of our feet.
Dust filled the air and my vision was obscured for a moment, but when it cleared a most overwhelming sight met my eyes. There stood at least fourty gypsies, looking shocked, but ready to fight.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Vicomte de Chagny!" came a deep and commanding sort of voice.
I looked up to see one of the biggest men I'd ever seen in my life. I was six feet tall, and he stood at least six inches taller than me. His muscles bulged under his shirt, and his black hair hung down far past his shoulders. His eyes were filled with nothing but ruthlessness.
"We were just on our way to find you, but it seems that you have saved us the trouble. But where is that pretty little wife of yours? We were hoping that she might come with you," he sneered, taking a step towards me.
I felt the bile rise in my throat at what the man suggested. "You shall never touch Christine!" I snarled, my voice so harsh that I hardly recognized it.
He merely chuckled, which only infuriated me further.
"Are you going to laugh or are you going to fight me?" I called out scathingly, knowing it sounded childish but not giving a damn. The comment the fiend had made about Christine had angered me beyond belief.
Then, faster that lighting he came at me and our swords slammed together. Out of the corner of my eye I saw another gypsy engage Erik in combat. I wondered fleetingly if they would recognize him as the one they had once called 'The Devil's Child.' But the cruel voice of my attacker brought my attention back to my own fight full circle.
"I've been looking forward to our meeting Vicomte," he spat. " You are the only man who dared to fight back against my fellow gypsies. Most aristocrats we robbed just let us take the money and go."
"Its not the money that I care about!" I yelled over the clang of the swords. "Its the fact that you endanger the life of my wife and of others. You aren't just a pack of thiefs, you are murderers to!"
He smirked. "I assure you Vicomte, your murder is the next on my list!"
With that, he pushed down on my sword with his and attempted to make me cut my own throat. Just as the blade moved ever closer to my throat, I managed to to push him off with more strength than I thought possible. He went flying through the air, landing amongst a pile of boxes. Its amazing the things that adrenaline will do to you. The man's confusion gave me a chance to survey the situation. I whipped around to see Erik fighting what appeared to be the leader's right hand man. He seemed to have almost beaten the man quite easily until he was elbowed in the face, causing his mask to fall off. I had hardly had time to consider what the repurcussions of this might be when a sudden noise distracted me; there in the entrance to the hideout stood Lucien, Phillipe, and...Christine. My heart went into my throat at the sight of them. The three people that I cared for most in the world were standing directly in danger's path.
I wanted to slap myself for telling Christine to stay near Lucien and Phillipe, I should have foreseen something like this happening. Christine was a determined woman, and a brave one, and when it came to me, like I with her, she would go to any lengths to help. Oh how I wished she were safe at home! But surprisingly enough, they weren't noticed by the gypsies at first, because they were focused on Erik.
"Louis!" called the man that Erik had been fighting to the man that I had been fighting. "Its the Devil's Child, the one that killed your father, it must be him, look at his face!"
Erik's eyes burned with such hatred that even I had never seen there before, and I certainly didn't blame him; these people had done him a cruel and horrible wrong.
"And his death was well deserved," Erik growled. "I was tired of the abuse."
The man called Louis stood up and brushed himself off, giving both Erik and I dirty looks as he did so. He surveyed the room, a wicked, lopsided grin on his face.
" Well, I couldn't have hoped for a more entertaining evening. I have the Vicomte de Chagny, who has managed to put half my clan in jail, I have the legendary Devil's Child who killed my father, and oh what have we here?" he asked, a cruel excitement in his voice. " It seems that the Comte de Chagny has decided to join us, along with the lovely Vicomtess." His eyes drifted to Lucien. "And you must be that aristocrat that helped fight my men at the opera house. Well, I welcome you all."
I stepped towards him, wiping the sweat from my brow. "You will touch none of them," I said in a voice of forced calm.
He merely chuckled at me. " I have a propostion for you Chagny. Well really you have no choice in the matter, so here it is.You and I will duel one on one. If you win, you and everyone may go free. If I win, well, I won't go there just yet." He grinned evilly.
I stood stock still, and felt the night close in around me as though it were trying to choke the very life out of me. I saw no other way out of this. Of course I certainly didn't trust the man to keep his word, but perhaps is he were out of the way, then the rest of the clan might scatter. I swung around to look at the others; Lucien looked scared but determined, Phillipe looked incensed, Christine was as pale as a ghost, and Erik's expression was livid.
"All right," I said grimly to the man.
"I hope that you've enjoyed yourself Vicomte, for in accepting this you have accepted death. Bind the others!" he called to his henchmen.
I looked at ny loved ones as the horrible gypsies tied them up. Lucien and Phillipe looked like they might resist, but they trusted me and let themselves be tied. When they tried to tie Christine however, she broke free and ran over to me, her eyes slightly wild. She took me by the shoulders, curls falling out of her ponytail as the harsh wind blew around us.
"Raoul, you musn't! You'll be killed!" she said, her breaths shallow.
I looked at her angelic, innocent face that was only accented more by motherhood, and saw tears springing up there. There they were, those diamond like tears that were my greatest weakness. For the first time I could not find those words of comfort that I wished to convey to her. I hadn't felt this desperate, ironically enough, since we had been trapped in the Phantom's lair. I had been able to calm her fears night after night as she had experienced her nightmares, but now I had to search for words to soothe my love's fears.
"Trust in me Christine, everything will be all right." I placed a hand on her stomach. "I do this to protect you and our child."
"But what if I want to protect you...?" She was cut off by a stern remark from Erik.
"Christine, let him do what he must," he said, and I noticed that his hands were now tied.For the first time, I agreed with my adversary. I kissed Christine's cheek, and she gave me a sad smile, and made her way back over to the others. Louis then stepped in front of me, his expression like one of a predator surveying its prey.
"Now Vicomte, we bow before we duel," he said, bending his neck a fraction of an inch.
I merely stood there; I would not bow to him.
"You won't bow? Not what I expected of an aristocrat such as yourself," he said sarcastically.
"I have no wish to waste valuable minutes of my life conversing with you about manners, of which you clearly have none," I said harshly as I pointed my sword at him.
A clang rang through the air as the blades of good and evil clashed.
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A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I just took my last exam today, so my updates will be much more frequent without school. I hope you guys enjoyed this. Can anyone guess where I got that little bowing bit from? If you've read the forth Harry Potter book you'll know! Please read and reivew! Vive le Vicomte! RC!