Chapter 34- The Art of Persuasion

Christine was lying down on her bed thinking. A week had passed since her confrontation with Catherine. What pleased Christine greatly was the fact that it seemed to have had a noticeable effect on the way people acted around her. At one time Christine saw Firmin spot Catherine and then turn and walk in the opposite direction.

Christine had so many things on her mind now, one of which was the problem of getting the evidence of Catherine's attack. She could not think of an appropriate time to pay a visit to 'Agatha's Apothecary' because it would surely cause a lot of suspicion if she was seen in such a place.

Another, not so important problem was the dance that she had to prepare for the Masquerade ball. Since she was pretending that Erik was dead, it would not exactly be easy for her to go down to his home and work out a routine, but since the ball was not until August, this did not really matter too much.

Christine could not bear just lying there. She wanted to go and see Erik but knew that it would be a foolish thing to do. She got up and walked over to the door, thinking.

Maybe if I sneak out at night…then nobody need ever know. Christine checked her clock, it was getting late but she would have to wait a few more hours before leaving. This gave her time to come up with a proper plan.

Christine moved back over to her bed, lifted up the mattress and then pulled out a sword which was concealed under it. Attached to the sword was a note from Erik, which only had three words.

Just in case…

Christine thought that she had better take this with her to the apothecary. Being hit with one potion was one thing, but being surrounded by lots of potions with unknown effects made Christine a little nervous.

The minutes seemed to drag by as Christine paced up and down her room. She had been thinking about the directions that Daroga had given her earlier that week; she did not want to get lost.

Then there was the problem she faced when she got there, having never met Agatha she did not know how easy or difficult it would be to get the evidence from her. For all she knew this 'Agatha' could be even more horrible than Catherine.

After what seemed like days rather than hours, the time had finally come for Christine to leave. Putting on her cloak and exiting her room, she silently made her way to the front door of the Populaire. It was very fortunate for her that the doorman was only on duty during the day and not at night as well.

Stepping out into the cold night air, Christine admired just how beautiful Paris looked at night. She could not linger however, the task at hand was much to important for that. Christine pulled her hood over her head and started to head off quickly in the direction that Daroga had told her.

She soon found out that the Apothecary wasn't as close to the Opera House as Daroga had made out. She walked down the bright streets of Paris for what seemed like a good half an hour before finally coming to a very gloomy looking alleyway. Without pausing, she made her way down it.

The atmosphere changed instantly. Christine felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle as she slowly walked down the alley. In no time at all, Christine was standing outside the rotten wooden door marked 'Agatha's Apothecary'. Making sure her sword was securely fastened and easily accessible, she knocked three times… no answer, she knocked harder.

"Who is it?" Shouted a very weedy voice from the opposite side of the door.

"I'm a customer." Replied Christine in an unnaturally high voice which sounded nothing like her own.

There was a short pause, when the voice, which Christine supposed must be Agatha's, called out again. "Well you should know that I need a letter of notice then."

Christine had not been expecting this.

It is time to expect the unexpected from now on Christine. She thought to herself.

"I'm sorry… I didn't have time, you see…" She paused to think of what excuse she could possibly use. "… My needs for your services are very urgent."

There was another pause, followed by the sound of a lock clicking, the door swung open slightly, and Christine entered, coughing as she inhaled some very odd smelling fumes.

"And what services do you require my dear?" Said Agatha as the door closed behind Christine.

Christine mustered up all of her self control so as not to shake, the aura that Agatha gave off unnerved Christine a great deal. Christine lowered her hood and stared directly at Agatha.

"I want to see your records of previous customers." She said, in a much braver voice than she felt.

Agatha let out a high Pitched cackle. "And why would I want to show you them my dear?"

Christine gave a very evil smirk. "You want to know why?" She said, taking a bold step towards the hag. "I've got a very good reason why…"

"I'm listening!" Shrieked Agatha in a high pitched mocking voice; Christine drew her sword and held it at her throat. "Like I said… I'm listening." Her voice was now serious.

"One week ago you had a customer who goes by the name of Catherine Beaumont…" Began Christine, making her voice as cool as she possibly could. "…I want the records that show what she purchased and when."

Christine could see Agatha start to sweat, her eyes were wide and fearful, and her hands were trembling. "And why… would you want such a thing?"

Christine pulled up her sleeve so that the cut on her arm was visible to Agatha. Christine noticed her lips twitch slightly at the sight of it. Christine pressed the blade of the sword harder against Agatha's neck.

"In the drawer… over there." Agatha jerked her head to what was clearly her writing desk. It was very dusty and had jars of what looked like eyes and live spiders on it.

Christine seized Agatha by the arm with her free hand and pulled her over to the desk with her. Keeping the blade against Agatha's neck, she let go of her arm and opened the desk drawer, pulling out some pieces of parchment.

It took her a few minutes to find everything she wanted, a purchase for two thousand one hundred francs, made by Catherine Beaumont, and letters addressed to the apothecary, signed by Catherine Beaumont. Christine put them in her inside cloak pocket.

"Are you going to kill me?" Asked Agatha, nervously.

Christine put on an expression of mock sweetness. "Oh no…" She began, then she pulled out a vial of clear liquid from her cloak pocket. "…You are not the only person who is talented at potion making."

She took the stopper out of the vial and forced the liquid down Agatha's throat. Christine saw her eyes begin to droop.

"By the time you wake up, you will remember nothing." Christine turned and left, hearing the 'thud' of Agatha's body hitting the floor.

Thank you Nadir… She thought to herself, as she replaced the vial in her cloak pocket. Pulling her hood back up over her head, she made her way quickly back to the Opera Populaire. She felt slightly light headed due to the fumes, but also felt triumphant at getting what she wanted.

She made it safely back to the sanctuary of her room in what seemed like no time at all. She thought that it would be best to leave the letters with Erik. Fortunately for her, Porsche was curled up on Christine's bed and so she walked over to her and gently shook the cat awake.

Porsche yawed, and looked up at Christine with tired eyes. "I need you to take these to Erik, Porsche."

The cat took the letters in her mouth and then headed over to the mirror. Christine went to replace the sword under her mattress, and by the time she had turned back round to watch Porsche leave, she was watching the mirror slide back into place.

-

Erik had fallen asleep at his piano, a quill loosely gripped in one hand, and his other resting on the ivory keys.

He started to mutter incomprehensibly, and his free hand started to press down gently on the keys, his muttering became louder, until eventually he sprang back to consciousness and shouted…

"D Flat Major!" Then he began to scribble on the parchment so fast that it might have caught fire.

Erik let out a sigh as he finished the line of music that he was currently working on. He then felt something nuzzling at his ankles, looking down he saw Porsche, and in her mouth some pieces of parchment. He leant down and relieved her of the burden she was carrying, and was surprised to see that it was not a letter from Christine as he was expecting, but a letter from his mother, however it was not addressed to him, it was addressed to Agatha.

Agatha,

I am in need of a potion that causes loss of self control, preferably resulting in the death of anybody who comes across the victim's path, please write back with a time for me to come and see you about payment.

Yours truly,

Catherine Beaumont.

Erik smiled as he realised what the letter was, putting it down on the piano, he unfolded the second piece of Parchment which was also a letter.

Thank you very much, I shall be there at that time, please make sure the potion is ready if possible.

Catherine.

Erik placed this letter on top of the previous one, and then unfolded the last piece of Parchment, which unlike the other two was not a letter.

Narkèsado- Quantity, 1 Vial. Cost 2100 francs.

Signature of Buyer- Catherine Beaumont.

On the other side of the parchment was a date and time, Erik's eyes sparkled and he was positively beaming as he placed the final piece of parchment on top of the two letters. He then went into his study, pulled out parchment, ink and quill, then began to write.

Christine,

I am at a loss for words. This is undeniable proof that my witch of a mother was indeed at the Apothecary. My only concern is how you managed to get a hold of these letters and the documents.

Please write back soon.

Love Erik.

-

Christine read through the letter several times, she finally made up her mind that she was going to go down and see him. After all, it had been nearly a week since she had last seen him, and he would be resting.

Since when has Erik ever done what he is told? Christine smiled to herself, she could just picture Erik on the stool in front of his grand piano, scribbling away madly at a half finished score of his 'Don Juan'.

Christine was stroking Porsche, thinking, then got up and walked over to the mirror. It was late at night so nobody would know that she had gone, would they? Before going down the dark passage, she went over to her door to make sure that it was locked.

Taking a few steps down the corridor, she clicked her fingers to ignite the torches and then turned to see the mirror slide back into place. After a long and uneventful trip down to Erik's home, Christine got out of the boat and made her way to the music room, where she was not surprised to see Erik sitting at the piano, bashing away at the keys.

Erik had obviously heard her enter the room. He turned round on his stool, and gave her a very wide smile. Christine was surprised to see that Erik was not wearing his mask.

"Finally learning to live without it?" She asked, walking over to him, Erik gave a weak grin in return and got to his feet.

"It was itching…so I." He could not finish his sentence due to Christine's lips being pressed against his, he felt her smile.

"You should take it off more often…" Christine whispered to him, after finally breaking apart. "... What your face looks like doesn't change who you are."

Erik smiled and looked at the ground. "How did you get these?" He held up the three pieces of Parchment that Christine had sent down earlier.

"I paid a visit to Agatha of course." She replied in an off-hand sort of voice.

Erik sighed. "I meant how did you get them from Agatha?"

"Using the art of… persuasion." Christine sounded very mysterious, and Erik's expression turned to one of curiosity.

"Gun point?"

"No…" This made Erik look even more curious. "…Sword Point."

"You didn't kill…!"

"I didn't need to, she co-operated." She said quickly, cutting him off mid-sentence.

"Then how can you be sure she is not going to go to the police?" To his great surprise, Christine chuckled.

"Nadir… I mean Daroga, made me a potion which should help her to forget."

Erik then remembered that Daroga had experience in potion brewing, Erik didn't believe in those sorts of things. In his experience, swords and lasso's were much more reliable and trustworthy.

"You should have left it for me to do" He said sternly, looking Christine straight in the eye.

"I thought you would rather be composing, besides, I got what we wanted, and like you said in the letter, there is no way she can deny any of this." These words seemed to reassure Erik. "How is your 'Don Juan Triumphant' coming along?"

"It will be finished before you know it." He replied brightly. "It's always difficult when I start a new song, but once I get into it, the music just seems to…" Erik looked as though he had just remembered something very important. He then seized his quill and scribbled out the key signature on the score. "D sharp not D flat."

Christine started to giggle at his seriousness and then Christine looked as though she had remembered something very important.

"Erik…" She began, very serious. "When are we going to start working out a routine for the ball?"

It took Erik a while to work out what she was talking about. Then he remembered that the managers wanted her to do a dance with somebody to end the ball.

"Are you sure you want to do the dance with me?" As soon as he had finished asking the question he realised just how stupid it must have sounded.

"Of course I'm sure. I can't think of anybody else in the world I would rather do this dance with." She said in barely more than a whisper, giving him a peck on the cheek.

Erik paused for a moment, thinking. "I am so close to finishing my 'Don Juan'. If I can just concentrate on finishing it for a few more days then we can start practicing the dance immediately."

Christine smiled, and Erik held her tightly in his arms. The ball was starting to sound like it was going to be a night to remember indeed, but it would all be about careful preparation and thinking that would make it be remembered for the right reasons.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" Erik would have liked to have replied with a 'Yes, of course', but knew he couldn't.

"No." He replied bluntly, Christine looked sullen. "It's dangerous for you to be here now."

"Why?" Asked Christine. "Nobody is going to come and check on me in the middle of the night are they?"

Erik was still fighting the urge to say yes to her first question as he replied. "Would you really put it past that witch to come and sneak round your room in the middle of the night to check if you have mysteriously vanished?"

Christine could tell that this was one battle that she was not going to win. It was true that Catherine had already shown to what lengths she would go to get her own way, and if she was looking for a way to verify whether Erik was dead she might even at that very moment be on her way down to his lair.

"Ok, when will I next see you?" Christine asked, down-heartened.

Erik thought for a moment. "I will come to you next time. There is enough space in your room to practice for the dance, and if anybody comes to check on you I can slip out through the mirror in an instant."

The two of them kissed passionately one more time, before Christine turned and headed for the boat. When she was alone in her room once more, she thought about everything that had happened that night.

I did it! I managed to get the evidence on that witch. All I have to do now is wait for the ball, and she will be gone for sure!

These last thoughts comforted her as she drifted off into a peaceful sleep, no doubts or worries in her mind, except the thoughts of the dance with Erik…

-

So the rumours are that the Phantom of the Opera lives… lived beneath the Opera house… Thought Catherine to herself as she lay in bed awake. She had been finding it very difficult to sleep since her encounter with Christine. People did not trust her much anymore, so she would have to be careful. There had been so many incidents that led her to believe she was not trusted, such as the one with Firmin deliberately avoiding her.

She continued to think. That was all she seemed to do anymore, hardly talking to anybody, just keeping herself to herself.

Well my son, even if you are dead, it doesn't stop there… It is far from over…I will not rest until I find what lies beneath the floors of the Opera house…