Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Wheldon, The Mummy belongs to Steven Sommers and The Phantom Of The Opera belongs to Joel Schmacher, Gaston Leroux and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The songs in this story belong to the songwriters who wrote these amazing songs. Please don't sue me, I'm completely and utterly broke and it's for entertainment purposes only.
Timeline: Post-season seven, Buffy, post-The Mummy Returns and during the movie The Phantom Of The Opera.
Pairing(s): Erik/Christine (a little bit), Buffy/Erik, Dawn/Erik (friendship), Raoul/Christine (sorry for those of you who hate Raoul), Willow/Christine/Raoul
Author's Note: Hello, dear readers! Thank you so much for the reviews so far and for some of the votes I got for the second pairings poll. Here are the results:
BtVS/Angel
Xander – 1
Angel – 1
Spike – 1
Gunn – 0
Connor – 0
Other Character (Lindsey – 1)
Harry Potter
Harry – 2
Oliver – 1
Fred – 0
George – 0
Other Character (Snape – 1) (Ron -- 1)
Well, those are the results so far. If you want to vote on which one of these characters gets paired up with Christine in the sequels please do so. Remember, you can vote only once inboth categories. Also (I forgot to mention this in the last chapter), when you vote, tell me why you think thecharacters you voted for should be paired up with Christine.Anyway, there are four chapters left of this story before I begin posting up The Other Side Of Courage (I've already begun work on the first chapter of that). So, please enjoy and remember no flames! I will ignore them and I don't have any patience for them.
WARNING: There is a lot of angst in this chapter plus someRaoul-bashing and a tiny bit of violence. Just to warn you before you get with the chapter.
Summary: Dawn ended up nearly getting killed after saving Christine's life from a pack of hellhounds and reunited with Imhotep via a dream who told her that Christine's destiny will lie within the Slayer's own timeline and not in the nineteenth century.
As the days went by, Dawn made the slow and difficult road to recovery from her injuries she received during the attack at the cemetery. With Madame Giry's guidence, she was able to learn how to walk again due to her leg injury but was forced to walk with a cane. As soon as she was well enough, Dawn was moved to Erik's lair where she spent the rest of her recovery period in. After nearly a week and four days, she was back to her normal self again.
Well, almost. I still have to walk with a stupid cane plus I'm really, really worried about Christine.
Dawn sighed as she tried to read the book she took from Erik's library but she found that she couldn't constrate. Her worry for Christine was hard to ignore as was the naggering suspiscion that something very bad was about to befall her. Unable to ignore the sinking feeling at the pit of her stomach and not caring that Buffy told her to stay in the lair, Dawn got up and hobbled over to the edge of the lake. Then with her walking cane supporting her, Dawn walked along the edge of the lake and navigated herself through the passage that led her to Christine's room. Just as she was about to open the mirror, she stopped when she heard hysterial sobbing and her heart gave a horrible jolt.
Oh, God, please!
"Jesus." Dawn whispered as she slowly and quietly pushed the mirror opened and stepped through. Then as fast as her injuried leg would allow her, she rushed over to the sound of the crying and saw that the person sobbing hysterially was Christine. She was on her knees and her face was buried in her hands. Her body shaking with sobs. Ignoring the pain in her leg, Dawn went down on her knees and laid a hand on her sobbing friend's shoulder. When Christine lifted her face to look at her, Dawn saw that she looked devastated and heartbroken. That made the Key's heart give another horrible jolt.
"Christine, what happened?" Dawn asked.
At that point, Christine burst into tears once again. "Raoul betrayed me!" she sobbed. "I was walking by Madame Giry's room when I heard something. It was of someone kissing. I opened the door and I saw Raoul …" Christine sobbed harder. "I saw Raoul kiss another woman. How could he do this to me? How can I marry a man who would do this to me?"
As Christine sobbed uncontrollably and heartbrokenly, Dawn took her in her arms trying to comfort her. As she rubbed her back, Dawn asked the one question that she was afraid to ask but needed to.
"Did you see who it was, Christine? The woman Raoul kissed?"
Through her sobs, Christine replied. "It was Willow."
Oh, no way!
The answer hit Dawn like a kidney punch. Feelings of fury, sadness and betrayal ran over her like a tidal wave. She was angry at Willow for falling for the Viscount's advances and for acting on her feelings and furious at Raoul for betraying Christine at a time when she needed him the most. Then an unpleasant thought crossed her mind.
Erik is going to kill him. He's going to be so angry when he finds out what Raoul did to Christine. Not to mention Willow. Buffy's going to be pissed too proably more at Raoul than at Willow.
As she continued to hold a sobbing Christine in her arms, Dawn wished that she could say something or do something to ease her friend's pain but she knew that there was nothing she could do but be there for her when she needed a friend.
I wonder if Buffy and Erik knows about what happened.
Meanwhile …
Oh, Goddess! What have I done? I betrayed Christine! What have I done?
Tears blinded her vision as Willow ran in the corridor of the Opera Populaire and a sob rose out of her throat. As she ran inside a small room and slammed the door behind her, Willow let out a scream of self-loathing, pain and sadness before she broke down into uncontrolable sobs. As she sobbed, Willow let the horrible memory of what happened earlier run through her mind like a VCR.
/FLASHBACK/
After checking on Dawn down in Erik's lair, Willow went back up to the Opera House to pay a visit to Madame Giry. Buffy and Erik had gone out on patrol leaving only the ballet instructor, Meg, Raoul, the Wicca and Christine to watch over Dawn. Before she knocked on the door, Willow checked to see if she was completely alone. Once she was satisfated that she was, Willow knocked on the door.
"Hello? Madame Giry?"
After a few minutes, Willow opened the door but to her surprise, she saw Raoul standing there. At that point, she stopped dead in her tracks.
"R-Raoul." Willow stuttered. "I just came here to see Madame Giry …"
"She and Meg are in rehearsal for a new production." Raoul replied. "Apprently, Elizabeth gave the managers music that Erik wrote for a new production called Don Juan Triumphant. They asked her if she was working for the Phantom."
"Let me guess, Buffy told them that it's none of their business?" Willow asked with a small giggle and a smile.
Raoul returned her smile. "I believe those were the exact words Elizabeth used when she answered their question." He answered. "Then she just walked out of the room without saying another word."
Willow shook her head. "That's Buffy. Always straight to the point and very defenseful when asked the wrong questions." She said. "So, who's going to get the female lead? Carlotta?"
Raoul shook his head. "The managers are thinking of giving Christine the lead instead of Carlotta." He replied.
Good. That woman has the singing voice of screeching cats. Plus, she's a complete bitch. Ten times worse than Cordelia back in high school.
"That's good." Willow replied not realizing that she had said it out loud.
Raoul must have heard the relief in her voice because he said. "You don't like Carlotta, don't you?"
Willow made a face. "No. She's a horrible singer and the worst one on the planet plus, she reminds me of someone I knew back home when we were in high school. Only ten times worse. I mean, who sings like she does? I know I …"
The Wicca stopped when she realized that she was babbling and felt her cheeks grow hot with embarassment. Raoul chuckled lightly.
"You look beautiful when you blush." He said softly.
Willow suddenly felt very uncomforable with the way Raoul was speaking to her and immediately tensed up. "Raoul …"
"Willow, please." Raoul cut her off. "Please don't make this harder than it already is. I can't help it. Whenever I'm around you or you are mentioned, I don't feel like myself. I feel like flying away from here with you."
"Raoul, don't!" Willow cried out and she backed away from him. "I told you once and I'll tell you again. It won't work between us. You are enagaged. I have friends who love me and I won't betray your fiancee by having an affair with you!"
"Willow." Raoul pleaded. "Please don't lie and tell me that you don't feel the same way about me. I love Christine but I love you too."
"If you love Christine, you wouldn't think of presuing me behind her back!" Willow shouted. Her anger rising. "I do feel the same way about you but I won't ruin Christine's happiness by pursuing you!"
Willow kept backing away from Raoul until her back was against the wall. The Viscount walked slowly toward her and once he was close to her, he leaned forward to kiss her. Willow kept still never moving away or forward.
"Raoul, please don't …" Willow moaned.
"Willow." Raoul whispered and he pressed his lips onto Willow's in a passionate kiss. At that point, Willow could no longer resist or deny the temptation and kissed Raoul back. After a few moments, Willow heard the sound of a door opening and a gasp. She opened her eyes and recoiled in horror when she saw that it was Christine. The young singer had a heartbroken and devsatated look on her face and in her eyes. Suddenly furious and disgusted with herself and Raoul, Willow pushed the Viscount away from her. He glanced at a heartbroken Christine before looking back at Willow.
"Willow." Raoul took the Wicca's hand in his own.
Furious, Willow pulled her hand from his grasp. "Don't touch me, you bastard!" The Wicca screamed at him. "You tricked me into kissing you! You tricked me into betraying Christine! Just stay away from me!"
As she ran from the room, Willow heard Christine scream at Raoul behind her. "How could you do this to me, Raoul? Why?"
/END OF FLASHBACK/
"I'm so sorry, Christine." Willow sobbed uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Why did I do this to you? Why wasn't I strong enough to resist and say no? Why? I hate myself for doing this to you! I'm so sorry, Christine!"
Again and again, the Wicca wept. Great sobs wracked her body and tears swam down her cheeks hating herself for what happened between her, Raoul and Christine. She knew that Christine must hate her now for kissing her fiance and that Buffy and Erik would be furious for not reisisting Raoul's advances.
After that thing with Xander when we kissed in front of Oz and Cordelia, I swore that I wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Now I made the same mistake again this time I kissed Raoul in front of Christine. I wish I could take it back. I'd do anything to take it back.
"But I can't!" Willow wailed. "Now Christine hates me for what I did! I want to take this back! I want …" She buried her face in her hands and sobbed in dispair, grief and self-loathing.
Meanwhile …
"They what?"
Dawn winced as Buffy screeched out her question. After she and Erik returned from partol, Dawn repeated to them what Christine told her and just as she predicted, Buffy was angry but no one was angrier over what happened than Erik. Dawn shuddered at the murderous look on her future brother-in-law's face. She knew that Erik still cared for Christine despite being in love with Buffy and that he cared for Willow like a sister but his hatred for Raoul was apprent and both Buffy and Dawn knew that sooner or later, that hatred was going to blow up in Erik's face.
What happened next happened in an instant, Erik grabbed the first thing he laid his hands on in the room which was a vast and with a scream of rage, he threw it across the room and it smashed into a thousand pieces. Then he threw the doors open and stormed out of the room. Buffy, Dawn and Christine glanced at each other worriedly then broke into a run after him. Buffy managed to catch up with him.
"Erik, wait!" But she knew that Erik would never listen to her now with the way his rage was. Her fear intensfied when Erik pushed the door to Madame Giry's room open and he went after Raoul when he saw him. He grabbed the Viscount by the shirt and threw him across the room. Raoul crashed into a bookshelf and landed hard on the ground. Then Erik went over to him, picked him off the ground and then threw him back down onto the ground. Then he started to kick him repeatedly.
"Erik, no!" Dawn screamed. "You're going to kill him!"
"Erik, please stop this!" Christine cried out with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please not like this!"
If Erik heard them, he gave no sign that he did and kept on kicking Raoul. Afraid that he was going to kill him, Buffy grabbed Erik by the neck and pinned him against the wall. Her green eyes flashed with anger and fear.
"That's enough." She said in a cold voice.
Erik pushed her away from him but just as he was about to attack Raoul again, Buffy punched him on his unmasked cheek sending him to the ground. It was at that moment that he realized what he had almost done when he saw Raoul lying on the ground a few feet away from him and then he looked to see the fear and anger in Buffy's eyes.
"Oh, God. What have I done?" Erik whispered in horror and self-loathing. "What have I done?"
Buffy turned to Dawn and Christine who were trying to help Raoul to his feet and lead him out of the room. Then she turned back to Erik still angry and afraid.
"Get up." She said still using the cold voice she spoke in before.
Tears welled in Erik's eyes he got onto his feet. "I made a terrible mistake." He said softly trying hard not to cry.
"That's right, you did screw up!" Buffy shouted at him. "You could've killed him, Erik! You almost did!"
"I know, Elizabeth and I'm sorry!" Erik shouted at her back. "I was angry for what he did to Christine! He dishonored her with Willow and …"
"I know what happened because I was there when Dawn told us, remember?" Buffy kept on shouting. "Your vendetta against Raoul could've cost us our chance to go home! Are you that foolish or arrogant to let a grudge stand against our chances of getting back to the twenty-first century?"
Her words must have struck a cord because Erik spun around angrily. "Arrogant!" he roared. "That fop stole Christine away from me and then fools around with your best friend behind Christine's back! He's not worthy of having her as his wife!"
"So I'm just a replacement for Christine, is that it?" Buffy shouted. Tears welled in her eyes. "You lost Christine to Raoul and so I'm the suitable replacement for her. Doesn't that song I sang with you that night mean anything to you?"
Erik looked shocked and very upset. "Elizabeth, I …" He started to say but was cut off.
"I love you, Erik but how can I marry someone who can't control their violent impluses?" Buffy asked with tears running down her cheeks. "How can I? What you did to Raoul frightened me and now I don't know if I can spend the rest of my life with someone who is violent whenever they get angry. I'm sorry, Erik. I love you but I'm sorry."
As Buffy left the room, she heard Erik sobbing behind her and tears blinded her vision as she walked away.
One hour later …
As she wiped remaining tears from her eyes, Willow walked down the hall toward one of the other rooms where there was a passage that would take her back down to the catacombs. After crying for half an hour, she decided to face the music with her friends and Erik and try to tell her side of what happened. But then a sound of someone crying caught the Wicca's attention and she turned around. She followed the sound back to Madame Giry's room.
Christine. She's probably still very upset over what happened.
But to Willow's surprise and shock, she saw that it wasn't Christine who was in Madame Giry's room. It was Erik. His normally sleeked back hair was all over his face. His unmasked cheek was red with what looked like to the Wicca was a handprint and it was covered in tears. His body was shaking with gulping sobs and he looked utterly heartbroken. Confused, concerned and a little afraid, Willow walked over to him and carefully knelt down in front of him.
"Erik?" Willow said softly.
Erik glanced up at her and sobbed harder when he saw her. "Willow." He was sobbing so hard that the Wicca was afraid that he was going to choke but to her relief, he didn't. Willow gently took him into her arms and held him as he cried.
"Erik, what happened?" Willow asked gently.
"I-I-I almost killed him." Erik sobbed. "When Dawn told me and Elizabeth what Christine told her about what happened between you and the Viscount, I let my rage control me and I almost killed him. They tried to stop me. Elizabeth, Dawn and Christine." He sobbed harder. "Dawn and Christine kept screaming for me to stop and I wouldn't stop. Finally, Elizabeth hit me and then we argued. She told me that she can't marry me because of my temper."
"I lost her, Willow." Erik wailed. "I love her so much and because of my blasted temper, I lost her. She is my life. Without her, I am nothing. She is everything to me. I might as well be dead."
"Erik, don't say things like that!" Willow chided. "I know that you can control that temper of yours. You just need some guidence. I know after my bout with the dark magicks, I needed to learn how to control my anger in order to keep my magicks under control. With the help of the coven in England, I learned how to control my anger and keep it in check. I can help you but you have to let me, okay?"
Erik, still crying, could only nod.
Willow thought carefully what she wanted to say next before she spoke again. "Also, I'm sorry for what happened between me and Raoul. I'm just as at fault over what happened as Raoul is. I should have said no more firmly and not give in to my impluses no matter how tempting they might be. I also should have known that he wanted Christine to find out like that and betray her at a time when she needs him the most. When I saw the look on her face, I felt angry and disgusted with him and myself. I hated myself for what happened and I still do. But I know that it was a mistake and that I want to make amends with everyone starting with you, then Buffy, Dawn and Christine."
"Buffy will come through this, Erik." Willow said gently. "Buffy and I have been best friends since high school and I've seen her survive a lot of things. She'll come back to you when she's ready."
At that point, Willow kept on holding a sobbing Erik in her arms and comforting him completely unaware that Christine had heard the entire conversation through the open door and was now walking toward her dressing room to the passage to go down to the catacombs.
Twenty minutes later …
It had taken her twenty minutes to navigate herself down to the lair but for Christine, those twenty minutes were worth it. As she reached the other side of the lake, Christine walked over to the door of Erik's lair, pushed it open and saw that Buffy and Dawn were sitting near the Phantom's organ apprently arguing.
Possibly over Erik.
Christine couldn't get the words that Willow told Erik out of her mind. Despite being angry at the Wicca for what happened between her and Raoul, the young singer believed her story that she didn't want to betray her by having an affair with Raoul and that she didn't mean for it to happen. Then Christine felt a swell of pity for her music tutor when he told Willow of what happened between him and Buffy knowing that he was afraid that he lost his finacee forever because his temper.
Poor Erik!
Christine was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Dawn shout at her sister rather heatedly and angrily.
"Did you ever think that Erik has suffered more than he's letting on? That he has issues with the past that's the cause of his temper?"
"Oh, how would you know that, sister dear?" Buffy said sacartically.
"Because Madame Giry told me the story of how she saved him from gypies." Dawn snapped. "It wasn't until she told me that story that I completely understood why Erik has issues with people! Maybe, if you had gotten him to open up to you more, he wouldn't be doing what he had done earlier tonight!"
"You don't know that!" Buffy shouted.
At that point, Christine spoke up. "No, Elizabeth. She is right."
Buffy and Dawn both looked up at her stunned. Christine ignored the looks on their faces and kept going. "Erik has suffered more than you know. I also know the story of what happened to him with the gypies because I was there when Madame Giry told Dawn the story."
Sighing, Buffy glanced at Christine expectedly. "Regale me."
Bracing herself, Christine began to tell the tale. "It was many years ago. Madame Giry was studying to become a ballerina. A gypy fair had come to Paris and naturally, Madame Giry went to it along with other girls her age who were also studying to become dancers. She and the girls visited the one attraction that one of the gypies called 'The Devil's Child'."
Knowing that she already knew what Christine was trying to tell her, Buffy felt sick to her stomach thinking about it. "Erik was …"
"Was that attraction? Yes. He was only twelve years old and was kept in a cage." Christine continued. "His keeper would beat him and barely fed him. He would wear a bag over his head to conceal his face until he was forced to show it. That night, his keeper beat Erik with a stick in front of a crowd of people including Madame Giry. Then he forced him to show the deformity on his face to the world. According to Madame Giry, men laughed at him and girls and women screamed at the sight of him. Then later that night as his keeper was counting money, Erik sneaked up behind him and killed him. He strangled the gypy to death. He was freed from his cage by Madame Giry and she brought him to the Opera House."
"She hid him away from the world and its cruelites." Christine said as she finished her story. "The Opera House became his playground and then his artistic domain. He never had any other human contact except for myself and Madame Giry until you, Dawn and Willow arrived three months ago."
Oh, God!
The story Christine told her shook Buffy to the bone. She had no idea that Erik had suffered such horrible abuse from his fellow man and it made her feel sick to her stomach thinking of what was done to him and what he had done to deserve such a terrible fate. Buffy now regretted what she had said and done to him earlier.
"You were right, Dawnie." Buffy said in a remorseful voice. "God, what have I done?"
"It's not too late, Elizabeth." Christine said softly. "Go to him. He needs you now. Go to him."
"Where is he, Christine?" The Slayer asked.
"In Madame Giry's room." Christine replied. "Willow is with him but I think he will want to see you. Go to him."
Without any heistation, Buffy walked toward the door with Christine and Dawn close behind her. The trio went back up in the Opera House in silence. Then just as she reached Madame Giry's room, Buffy stopped when she heard the sound of someone singing. It was Erik and the song he was singing brought tears to her eyes.
Oh, God! I'm so sorry, Erik.
The tears that welled in her eyes when she first heard him sing streamed down Buffy's cheeks and she continued to cry silently as Erik continued to sing his song in a heartbroken voice. Unable to hold it anymore, Buffy silently went inside the room and with tears still streaming down her face, she sang to him.
"Erik, I'm sorry." Buffy said tearfully. "I had no right to say all of those things to you. I love you so much and I want to be your wife so badly that it hurts. You have suffered more than anyone should have in their lifetime and I should have realized it before I said the things I said and did the things I did to you. When Christine told me your story with the gypies, it made me realize that sometimes some people need help letting go of the past and I think you are one of those people. I want to help you, Erik. I still want to marry you and I will marry you. If you still want to."
In reponse to her statement, Erik rushed over to her and scooped her up in his arms. Still crying, he finished his song with his voice mingling with Buffy's. As they uttered the last words of the song, Buffy and Erik just clung to each other like a couple who have been separated after many years and cried in each other's arms with Christine, Dawn and Willow as their witnesses.
Three days later …
Christine Daae and Willow Rosenberg sat together quietly in the young singer's dressing room without saying a word. It had been a long three days for everyone involved. After Buffy's tearful apology, she, Dawn and Erik returned to the catacombs while Willow remained in the Opera Populaire with Christine, Meg and Madame Giry. During the early morning hours of the third day, Willow wondered around the halls of the dorms of the Opera House and looked so lost that when Christine found her like that, she had taken pity on her and invited her to sit with her in her dressing room. The Wicca did so without saying a word and had tears in her eyes as she glanced at her.
Willow was in pain. Terrible pain. Christine could see it in her eyes and it made her want to comfort her. She wanted to tell her that she didn't blame Willow for what happened between her and Raoul but she wasn't sure how to say it without making it sound like that she blamed her. At that point, Christine cleared her throat catching Willow's attention.
"Sometimes, I wonder why God invented pain." The young singer said.
Willow didn't look at her as she spoke quietly. "To motivate us, I imagine." She replied. After a few moments, she finally looked up at Christine with tears running down her cheeks.
"Christine …" Willow started to say but was cut off.
"Willow," Christine said also with tears in her eyes. "It is all right."
"No, it's not." Willow said. Her voice breaking with emotion. "I betrayed you. I kissed the man who was supposed to love you and support you through the bad times. Not only did I betray you, I betrayed her too."
At first, Christine had no idea whom Willow was talking about but then she remembered that night on the roof of the Opera House just days before and the story of Tara's death ran through her mind like a tape recorder.
"Are you talking about Tara?" She asked.
Willow stood up violently from her chair. "DON"T!" she screamed. "Don't you ever say her name! Goddess, it's my fault that she's dead. I wish she was here!"
At that point, Willow finally broke down crying and fell onto her knees. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry. Please come back to me. I need you. I'm so sorry I betrayed you. Please come back!"
As Willow sobbed uncontrollably, Christine knelt down in front of her and took her into her arms. Then Christine let the tears she had held at bay run down her cheeks and cried silently. She cried for Raoul who had broken her heart by kissing another woman. She cried for Erik whose heart was repeatedly broken until Buffy came into his life but most of all, Christine cried for Willow who was destroyed by the death of the woman she loved. At that point, Christine started sobbing uncontrollably clinging to the distraught Wicca tightly.
Willow stopped crying just as Christine started sobbing with no self-restraint and immediately took over the young singer's role as the comforter by holding her in her arms and stroked her hair. Why is she crying? I mean, she has …
Then a thought crossed the Wicca's mind. Christine must have kept her anger at Raoul bottled up inside of her. Not to mention that she hasn't really talked to him since the other day. She still must love Raoul despite what happened but is afraid of getting hurt again.
"Oh, Christine." Willow murmured. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"It's Raoul." Christine sobbed. "When I saw him kissing you, I was so angry at the both of you that I hated you. I hated you for kissing him. I wanted nothing more to do with you. But then, I saw you with Erik and I overheard what you told him." She sobbed harder. "That you didn't want to kiss him because you didn't want to betray me by having an affair with him behind my back. You were trying to remain honorable and yet you fell into temptation even though you fought so hard not to."
"I loved him, Willow." Christine sobbed even harder. "I still love him but I …"
"You're afraid that he would break your heart again." Willow said finishing her sentence for her.
"Yes." Great, gulping sobs wracked Christine's body as Willow struggled to maintain her grip in her arms. The Wicca couldn't help but feel very sympathetic toward Christine and angry at Raoul for what he had done to her. There was a lot that Willow wished she could say but nothing she could do but to be there for her and try to ease Christine's pain.
"I'm so sorry, Christine." Willow whispered letting a few stray tears run down her cheeks.
Meanwhile …
Buffy woke up earlier than she wanted to but at that point, she didn't care. For the last three days, she had slept in Erik's room in the same bed but didn't do anything else other than sleep. She opened her eyes and turned to face Erik who was still sleeping. The Slayer couldn't help but stare at his face with interest and amazement. She still found it hard to believe that he had suffered such horrible cruelites by his fellow man and yet remain a sweet, kind and gentle man.
If I was in Erik's shoes and I lived the life that he did, I wouldn't surivive. I would've ended up like a lot of the Big Bads I've fought over the years. I would've spent the rest of my life hating humanity. Like, I know about what the gypies did to him but what about his family? Did they treat him as terrible as the gypies or did they love him?
Those were a few of the questions that were nagging at the back of the Slayer's mind ever since Christine told her about the gypies had done to Erik three days previous. She also knew that she had made the mistake of not coaxing him into opening up to her. It was time to have Erik confront the demons of his past. Gently, she kissed him on his unmasked cheek. The feel of her lips on his cheek woke him up and he smiled when he saw her.
"Good morning, Erik." Buffy said softly.
"Good morning, my darling Elizabeth." Erik replied in a voice just as soft as hers. "Did you sleep well?"
Buffy nodded. "Better than I have been." She replied. Then her face turned serious. "We need to talk, Erik."
"About what?" Erik asked sounding slightly confused and concerned.
"About what happened three days ago." Buffy answered as evenly as she could.
Erik stiffened at the mention of the events of the previous three days. "Elizabeth, I don't think there is much to talk about that day…"
"Actually, there is." Buffy cut him off. "I need you to be completely open with me. I told you that I want to help you and I will. But I can't do that if you won't talk about your past."
"Please, Erik." Buffy pleaded. "I need you to start talking. Really talking."
Remembering the words she had said to him three days earlier, Erik sat up and stared at the wall. He didn't want to talk about his childhood to Buffy because of the pain it caused him but upon seeing the sincerity, compassion and love in her eyes and on her face, he realized that he couldn't keep his childhood a secret from her forever.
Not if I want to marry her. She has opened up to me about her life and childhood but I have never opened up to her. It is time that I must.
Sighing, Erik turned back to Buffy. "Elizabeth, I have never told you about my mother, did I?"
Buffy shook her head. "You never talked about her and every time, Willow asked you about her, you keep avoiding the subject."
Taking a deep breath and struggling to keep his emotions at bay, Erik spoke. "I never knew my father. He died before I was born. My mother was a beautiful woman who lived a lonely exile after my father died. After I was born, she feared and loathed me and wouldn't look at me. The priest who was there for my birth named me after himself and baptized me. All my life, my mother denied me and the only gift she gave me was a mask and she forced me to wear it. The only person in the household who has shown me an ounce of love and compassion was a servant named Marie Perrault. She had tried to protect me more times than I can remember and there were times when I wished that she was my mother."
Buffy saw that Erik's eyes were bright with tears and she took his hand. "It's okay, Erik." She said softly. "I'm here." Feeling grateful for her love and support, Erik continued on.
"I was often a target of beatings, taunts and even horrific abuse from my mother. She never had a kind word to say to me and she never kissed me or comfort me when I needed to be held. Marie was the only one who did such things to me. There was one incident when I was five years old when I confronted my mother about my mask. My God, she was angry! She yelled at me and shook me. Then she dragged me up to a room that had a mirror. It was the only mirror in the house. Then she forced me to look into it to see why I had to wear a mask and …"
Tears slid down Erik's cheeks and he let out a sob. "And I was so horrified over what I saw that I screamed and flung myself at the mirror shattering it. I was out of my mind with fear and terror. I just kept screaming and pounded the broken mirror. I even bit my own mother when she tried to restrain me. Marie coaxed me from the mirror and she stayed with me when she took me to bed after bandaging my hands. All night, I had horrible nightmares of what happened …"
At that point, Erik started to cry. "My mother did things to me that no child should go through." He sobbed. "I hated her for what she did to me and I still do. I wanted her to love me like a mother should love her child. But I knew that she would never love me. After my eighth birthday, I ran away from home." Erik sobbed harder. "A few days after that, I snuck into a gypy's camp to steal some food and …"
"You were captured by them." Buffy said finishing his sentence for him.
Sobbing, Erik nodded. "They put in a cage and they began calling me …"
"'The Devil's Child'. I know." Buffy replied knowing that she already knew the rest of the story. It took all of the Slayer's mental restraint to keep her seething anger in check and her disgust.
Poor Erik. I can't believe he went through all of that. That he suffered horrific abuse from the sorry excuse of a human being that he called his mother. God, what the hell did he do to deserve her cruelity? Why? If Mom was alive and she heard about this, she would be just as pissed as I am right now. She would've loved Erik like a son just like she was with Spike. God, I wish she was here.
As she slowly pulled herself out of her thoughts, Buffy removed Erik's mask and gently ran her thumb along his deformed cheek. Her gentle touch made him cry even harder.
"Oh, Erik." Buffy murmured and she took him into her arms and held him. Erik clung onto her like a lost, frightened chlid and sobbed with no self-restraint or control. As she was comforting him, Buffy let the tears that welled up in her eyes as he was telling her his story run down her cheeks and she cried silently for him. Neither of them were sure how long they were like this. Erik, sobbing and crying. Buffy, holding him and stroking his hair. But after a while, Erik seemed to cry himself out but Buffy continued to hold him knowing that her presence was enough to comfort him. After a few moments, they pulled away and looked at each other.
"Feeling a bit better?" Buffy asked with a gentle smile.
Erik nodded. "Yes." He rasped. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Buffy replied with a smile. "We better get dressed and see if Christine is up for some conversation."
Erik smiled at her. "Of course." He said. Just as he was about to go find something to wear, Buffy said something else winkling her nose as she was speaking to him.
"Um, Erik. I'd clean up a bit first if I were you."
Erik took a glance at the only mirror in the room and with a wince agreed.
I hope I didn't overdo it with the angst in this chapter. Anyway, for those of you waiting patiently for the Don Juan Triumphant/Point Of No Return scenes to come into the story, you will have to wait a little longer but don't worry, you will see them in the story soon enough. Remember to vote in the second pairings poll and to review. Also (for the millionth time) no flames. I will ignore them and I don't have the patience for them. There will be some Buffy/Erik fluff in the next chapter as well as a little bit of Raoul/Christine so keep your eyes peeled!