Hi everyone. This is back to the day Christine woke up from her nightmares so everyone knows, lol. Angsty stuff, some cursing, etc. Longer chapter than the last two. :)



Learn to be Lonely

Back to April 21st, 1871

Christine wandered around outside while Raoul was inside the house getting ready. The sky was partly cloudy, and the temperature was very warm. She just stood there for minutes to let the sun radiate on her. But her train of thought was interrupted when she heard the sound of a man crying…

The man, dressed in black, was lying on the ground 20 feet ahead of her. His back was facing her and he had his head in his hands. Cautiously she walked over to him, but each step closer she took she realized who this man was. "Angel…" she whispered.

The man looked up ahead of him, but did not look back at her. His crying subsided as she walked closer. "I'm….I….I'm sorry" she managed to finally speak. The man just started laughing at her. A sinister laugh that sent chills down her spine. "I hate you" his voice was low, and twisted. Along with those things she could also hear pain and rage. "I HATE you!" He started to yell louder.

"No…please don't hate me…" Christine started to say but was soon interrupted by the man.

"I HATE you with a passion!" He started laughing some more as Christine continued to beg forgiveness.

"Please, I'm sorry…"

"Go inside you little whore. Your precious Vicomte is waiting for you." He spat out.

"How dare you call me that!" Pity soon turned to anger as she stormed over to him. Now she was standing right behind him. She could barely see the front side of his face but she did see the smirk he was making.

"I hate you for what you've done." He started to cry out, tears starting to form. Those words started piercing into her soul, tearing her heart up.

"Angel, I'm sorry…I love you." The words came out of her mouth so fast; she didn't even realize what she was saying. Was it true?

"It's too late for that." He got up and ran away through the yard. But Christine did not give up. She followed him close behind. They ran across the yard of the estate, he then turned a corner around the side of the house.

"Angel wait!" she yelled while running, and then ran into a person. She hoped it to be him but got a bit of a surprise to find that it was actually Raoul. She felt her face go completely white realizing Raoul heard her calling for her Angel. She looked behind him but could not see her Angel anywhere. "He was just here…." She started.

"Christine, calm down. No one is here."

"No…he was here! I saw him, he was in front of me…and he hates me! God…" she started to go hysterical.

"Christine, listen to me. I was watching you running across the yard. There was nobody there."

"What?"

"You were chasing after nothing. Nobody else was there with you. You were talking to yourself."

"No, no, no! That's impossible! He WAS here! I'm telling you!"

"No Christine, he wasn't." Raoul hugged her and motioned her to come back into the house. "You were hallucinating." Christine stood thinking with a blank expression. "I guess we should not attend the party." Raoul sighed.

"No…Raoul, I'm sorry. I don't really feel like going." The truth was she hated those parties. She was normally the talk of the party, and not in a good way. She saw their laughter, their eyes watching her like hawks, knowing the scandal of her name.

But what was worse was Raoul's mother, who seemed to hate her more than anything. She always gave her a hard time, and reminding her of how she was not 'born into this world of aristocracy'. She even once talked of the Opera ballet girls as 'future prostitutes'. She claimed they would be so poor, without a real job, and no home. One day they would have no other choice but to sell their bodies for money. Christine bit her tongue, she wanted to get up from the dinner table and slap that woman right across the face. But she didn't because Raoul quickly stopped his mother from talking about that. Even he began to realize what his mother was doing.

"You could go to the party, if you want to." Christine told Raoul breaking out of her negative thoughts of the past.

"No Little Lotte…I would not do that! I wouldn't leave you here unattended." He proclaimed.

"Oh…speaking of which. There's something I forgot to mention." Christine started. "I invited Maman and Meg to stay here for a while. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I need to see them."

"Christine, next time you do something like this you need to tell me!"

"I'm sorry, I just need them." She said softly. He saw how sad she has been recently, maybe a visit from her dearest friends would help.

"Fine, when are they to arrive?"

"Uhh….ummm….well…." Christine started, and then whispered in a low voice, "today…."

"Today?" Raoul exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I've been so stressed lately."

"All the more reason for you to get out and socialize."

"You know I hate those parties!" Christine was cut short of her sentence when she heard knocking at the door.

"That's them!" She proclaimed and ran through the house and to the front door. When she opened it Meg jumped forward almost knocking Christine off her feet. Christine and Meg burst out in laughter, and for once Christine felt happy and carefree. Raoul saw this and smiled, he was happy to know there was a possibility of her returning back to her old self.

"Christine, how are you!" Meg hugged her best friend so tightly she was almost choking her.

"I'm doing ok." Christine tried her hardest to fake a smile at Meg. Madame Giry came in carrying two suitcases, Raoul ordered the butler to take the suitcases up to two of the guestrooms upstairs.

"Thank you Vicomte." Madame Giry said.

"You're welcome Madame Giry. Tell us, how was the trip?"

"It was ok, nothing special…kind of boring." Meg blurted out. Christine laughed at her. She then looked up at Madame Giry. She got up and walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"I missed you guys so much." She stated trying so hard not to cry.

"We missed you too. Christine, I love you so much. You're like the daughter I never had." Madame Giry said laughing.

"Hey!" Meg yelled. The trio started to laugh as they thought back on the good times at the Opera House. An older gentleman walked over to Raoul and pulled him aside to talk to him. Five minutes later Raoul came back into the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I must go to a business meeting." Raoul declared.

"So you won't be going to your party?" Christine asked.

"I'm afraid not."

"I'm sorry." She felt a little bad about it; she knew Raoul loved to get out a lot and party. He really hated business meetings.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You two take good care of her." He said to Madame Giry and Meg. With that he walked over to Christine and kissed her. "I'll be back in a couple of days; this meeting is in the other side of France. I'll try to get back home as fast as I can. I love you Little Lotte."

"I love you too." She said. Raoul then walked out the door leaving the three women alone. Christine went right back into remembering the past.

"Hey, you remember how we used to trick people into believing we were sisters?" Christine stated.

"Trick people? What do you mean? We ARE sisters." Meg said smiling. "Or at least, you're more than my best friend to me…your like a sister to me."

"Awww…Meg you're going to make me cry." Christine laughed. "Same with you," she replied.

"May I be excused? I want to start unpacking." Meg asked.

"Of course, go right ahead." Christine replied.

Meg ran up the stairs finding the butler to tell her where he placed her luggage. Christine looked back at Madame Giry.

"Maman, may I ask you something?"

"Of course, my darling you can ask me anything."

"….What happened to my angel?" Christine replied with sadness in her voice.

Madame Giry sighed. "Christine, please. Forget him. I'm begging you."

"Why?" Christine said in shock.

"I don't want to see him hurt again…." Madame Giry said simply, and then got up. She brushed passed Christine and up the stairs. Guilt built up in Christine's heart as Madame Giry's reply echoed in her mind. Christine got up and walked back outside to where she was before. Why was her Angel still haunting her? She kept questioning that in her head as something caught her eye. She walked over to the object…it was a rose with a black ribbon on it. Her heart began to race as she went to pick it up. A sudden rush of pain stabbed into her finger which caused her to drop the rose. On it were thorns, none of them had been cut off. She saw her blood on the stem of the rose. The thorns were so thick that it left deep cuts in her finger, and caused her to bleed a lot. Christine realized the message of the rose now. He did hate her. Tears built up in her eyes as she let out a sob. She looked around, but no sign of her Angel. Before she knew it she was running back inside and up to her room.