At Night

Chapter 3: The Kindness and Strength of Others

Disclaimer: No, I refuse to do another disclaimer, since all my creativity already went into the story. But one thing, I don't own Ver Wang or her wedding stores and dresses and I don't know how she really looks so I'm making it up. However, if anyone would like, I'll start The Wax Fruit Restaurant and Giry's Girly Gowns Wedding Store. So how about it? crickets chirping as everyone prepares their rifles Ok, bad idea.

Christine stared at the lovey-dovey teddy bear, waiting for it to sprout evil horns and a tail and tell her that her life was over. Yet, another thing for her to hate and destroy. She was beginning to wonder if everything in her world needed to be destroyed so she could live happily ever after. 'Yeah, like that would ever happen. They all have enough money to sprout up from the dead, or become ghosts and haunt me for the rest of my life,' she said to herself. Her mother put the bear away in the shopping bag that it had come out of.

"Come my dear, for the gowns of royalty await thy presence!" Raoul exclaimed with a hint of Shakespeare in his voice.

'You don't even know what half of Shakespeare's plays mean, why should you start acting like him, you dolt?' she chided herself. "Ay, and amid this hurly I intend that all is done in care and reverend of her."

"Yes, of course everything I do, I do for you my sweet," was his response to her quote from Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.

'Idiot,' she secretly thought.

"Enough idle chit chat between you two love birds, Ver Wang should be waiting for us in the store right now," exclaimed her father. Christine didn't care how famous Ver Wang was for her wedding gowns, she just thought of it as another day of trying on dresses that must have been made by a blind sewer.

They entered through the rotating doors that had silver lining around each glass door. Christine wasn't even looking up at where she was going because she already knew what awaited her: white, fluffy torment. Christine's father was right; Ver Wang was waiting for them at the front of the store, with some of her most trusted and fashionable designers with her.

Ver Wang was a tall and slim woman, somewhere in her mid-forties. She had long brownish-black hair that was tied up in a complicated ponytail that had many turns and twists in it. It reminded Christine a bit of a roller coaster at a theme park. She wore a business dress that came down to her knees and the straps looked like two braids on each shoulder. She looked like a down to earth and intelligent woman. Christine felt comforted and calm around her. She felt like she could release her worries to her and she would understand. However, if her family had been the ones to pick her wedding store, then she was in some way crazy and over exaggerated her life to a point where it was just sickening.

"Mr. and Mrs. Daaé," she shook their hands, "And the soon to be Mr. and Mrs. de Chagny," she shook both Raoul's and Christine's hands and gave a warm smile. "If the rest of you would like to browse around the store and I'll take Christine to try on some of our newest gowns made by these talented ladies," she motioned towards the other women around her. They all blushed with embarrassment and gave a little curtsy. "Come along this way my dear." She led Christine away to a private changing room.

Christine could hear Raoul off in the background saying, "Don't be too long sugar darling! I want to be the first one to see you in a wedding gown!"

'Why is he even here? I didn't think the groom was supposed to see the bride in her wedding dress until the wedding day. It's bad luck to see the bride in her gown before the wedding. Oh, well, that might be good luck for me.' She kept following Ver Wang and her little horde of fashion designers to the dressing room. Christine had been in thousands of high class wedding stores and in their dressing rooms, but she had never seen a dressing room such as this one. It was almost like stepping into the largest master bedroom in the world. Mirrors covered two of the walls. The mirrors had gold and silver trimming with little, tight wedding balls on each corner. The carpet had a unique Renaissance European style to it. There were different kinds of lighting all around the room. The brightest lighting was right next to the mirrors. Some places had different colors of lighting and some had designs on the light bulbs. On one of the walls was there wasn't a mirror there was a long, elegant table with different kinds of wedding vales and tiaras. On another wall there were old fashioned, European dressers that were filled with necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc. Christine was so taken aback that she even let out one little word that would change her perspective on Ver Wang and weddings entirely. "Wow," she whispered.

"I knew you'd get a kick out of this place. I don't just use this room for other girls to try on dresses. I also use it to inspire myself and let my girls use it to draw and create a master piece. And that's why I'm so famous. Of course none of the media knows about this place, or else it would lose its beauty," she said as she glanced around the room with a loving look in her eyes.

Christine decided to test Ver Wang, "You must have spent all your money on just this one room and completely forgot about the rest of your store," she said as a smart ass comment.

"Actually all my money goes into pleasing you stuck up, wealthy bitches that have too many one-hundred dollar bills shoved up your ass," she said matter-of-factly with a little sneer.

Her little designers didn't even flinch. They stood there perfectly still, waiting for the time that they could whip out their design and make Christine try it on.

Christine smiled and said, "I like you. You don't treat me like I'm just a little girl that has to be forced into everything. And you don't call me stupid nicknames that you think up on the spot. You're smart, witty, and you have common sense. You're my kind of person." Christine could tell that Ver Wang found the same qualities in Christine and that they would get along perfectly.

"Well now that we have the formalities out of the way, let's let these anxious girls bring you their designs." All the girls were extremely giddy and flew off to grab their favorite dresses. Once the first girl came back Ver Wang introduced her, "This is one of my newest designers Mrs. Reilly. She graduated from Augustana College in South Dakota and got top honors in her class. She majored in Communication and Fashion Design. Tell Christine about your dress."

"All of the silk is imported from Italy. The lace for the layered look comes from a well known European family in Vienna that hand makes all of their lace. These are real pearls around the flowers that line the bust line that come from a clam fishing business in South Carolina. Everything on this dress is imported from the best. So, what do you think?" asked Mrs. Reilly with a cheerful, happiness in her voice.

Christine didn't know what to say. She had seen many wedding dresses that had been done up with the best materials, but this one was the first that had taken her breath away. She absolutely loved the dress. Every detail about it was wondrous.

Before Christine could say anything, Ver Wang piped in for her and said, "Maybe Mrs. Daaé would like to look at a few more before she makes a decision."

Mrs. Reilly curtsied to both Christine and Ver Wang and stepped aside for the next woman waiting to enter the room. Christine leaned over to Ver Wang and whispered into her ear, "Thanks for saving me. I don't know what stupid sound might have rolled out of my mouth." Ver Wang winked at her and gave her a little smile that said, "You're welcome."

It was as if the next hour went past Christine like a lightning bolt. She remembered bits and parts of everything. There were many beautiful and high end dresses that at least she remembered. After it seemed that all the girls were done showing off their prowess, all the elegant wedding dresses were put before her. Ver Wang came in the front and center of the room again and smiled at Christine and simply said, "Have you decided yet?"

Once again Christine was speechless. She was waiting for Ver Wang to say something for her again, however a new angel had come to rescue her this time.

"How about your new dress Mrs. Ver Wang? You haven't found anyone else that is "worthy" enough to wear it yet. What about her?" piped in the first girl that had showed off her dress Mrs. Reilly. Ver Wang studied Christine with so much intensity that she thought for sure she was reading her mind. Christine even started to lean back a little so Ver Wang's stare didn't start boring into her head.

Finally Ver Wang said, "Let's try it," and she lifted her concentrated stare from Christine. One of the other girls went to fetch the dress. Christine could have almost sworn that she saw the dress maker skip into the other room. 'They must praise the ground Ver Wang walks on, not to mention her dresses,' thought Christine with puzzlement.

It was only a moment until the little designer came back with a mysterious dress. Christine did a double take once the dress caught her eyes. The only word that could come out of Christine's mouth was, "Pretty." She sounded just like a toddler seeing their mother's dangling earrings and wanting to pull them off to get a closer look at them.

"I probably don't have to go into a long explanation into what this dress is made of and where it came from, do I?" questioned Ver Wang. Christine shook her head no as she made her way across the room, inching ever closer to the marvelous dress that lay before her.

Christine could tell that it was made purely of silk. The bust line was cut low, but not low enough to see the cleavage. The sleeves didn't touch the shoulder, rather it was loose enough where it came down to about half way between her shoulder and elbow, but flared out as they got to the bottom. In fact, the sleeves would probably cover the enter arm, wrist and hand if her arms were held at her sides. The skirt of the dress start at the lower part of her hips and cascaded down to the floor where it left a little train in the back. There were small little flower designs that were embroidered onto the dress in a cream color, made to stand out. Christine couldn't take her eyes off the dress. She could tell that she looked like an idiot and that all the designers were smiling at her in a mocking way, but she didn't care. She was in heaven. All the anger and frustration over her family was slowly melting away. She forgot about Raoul's stupid little sayings and her mother and father's obsessive ness over her wedding and how "cute" she and Raoul were going to look. Everything drained from her body, except for the words beauty and joy. Then something else flashed through her mind. For a split second the image of a motorcycle flashed through her head. However, she was awakened from her sense of awe when Raoul's voice was heard outside the door.

"Christine, my little pumpkin, we'd like to talk to you," he said as he kept knocking. Ver Wang motioned Christine to go see what her family was up to and that she would stay behind in case it was personal.

Christine slowly opened the door to see her mother, father, and annoying fiancé outside with some very disappointed faces. "What's the matter," she said, with just a little annoyance in her voice.

"Deary, we don't think this place is up to par with what we want. It's just too…too…," she kept repeating.

"Down to earth," stepped in her father.

"What are you guys talking about? I've looked at some of their best dresses and they've all turned out wonderful," responded Christine. 'I'm not going to another one of those glitzy, ditzy stores that you guys think has just the right amount of fluffiness.'

"Does there seem to be anything the matter?" Ver Wang walked up to the arguing group.

"Your store doesn't seem to fit our criteria for our sweet little Christine," put in Raoul. All this was really starting to piss Christine off. Christine didn't want to go through with the wedding, but she really wanted that dress.

"Well Christine doesn't seem to think so. Maybe you should ask her what she wants," rebelled Ver Wang. Christine started to blush uncontrollable. She didn't know what to say in front of all these people staring at her, waiting for her decision.

"You must be toying with us. We know our little Christine. She would never like anything in this two bit store."

Christine suddenly lost control of her mouth. Her head kept telling her no, but her mouth all of a sudden forgot the meaning of that word. "But I really do like this place. Ver Wang is so nice and she's a genius when it comes to designing wedding dresses. This is the best place I've been yet. Please." Everyone stared at her like she had gone a jumped off a building, except for Ver Wang. She looked at her with approval and satisfaction.

"You've brainwashed our daughter! You witch! How could you do something that evil! Oh, Christine we know you're still in there. We know you would have never said those things. We are leaving this place at once and going to a real wedding store," yelled her mother. Christine was rushed outside and into Raoul's car. She didn't remember any of the car trip, but she did remember a sense of impending doom.

Once Raoul stopped the car, Christine was able to snap out of her trauma and get back to real life. She looked out the window to see a big sign that said Giry's Girly Gowns. Right away she thought, 'What kind of name is that?' Raoul turned to her in the car, gently took her hand, and softly asked, "Are you ok now?" That was the first time Christine had ever heard concern in Raoul's voice. He actually sounded sincere. She nodded her head yes. Then, he turned back into his annoying self and said more loudly, "Well that's great! Now you can try on more dresses that are more suited to you."

'And to think, I actually started to tolerate him in that little moment,' she thought to herself.

Once they met up with her parents in the parking lot, they entered the dreaded store. Christine knew that it was going to be a nightmare of fluff.

They entered the store and they met the owner, known only as Madame Giry, and her daughter Meg Giry. They had big smiles on their face that made Christine want to puke on them.

"Welcome to Giry's Girly Gowns. Owned and operated by me and my beautiful daughter," chorused Madame Giry.

"We hope you enjoy your stay and feel like the prettiest and wondrous bride and groom ever!" added her daughter.

'Wow, they've mastered the technique of putting you to sleep while sounding like a recorded speech. Losers.'

The only thing Christine remembered during that dreadful time was a lot of poof, puff, fluff, and ruffles. She was sure that the whole time there was just a suppressed memory that would haunt her at night for the rest of her life. The next thing she knew, she was in Raoul's car again, but this time there was a dress in the back. It was filled with lacey madness around the bust line and sleeves. The bust line was up high enough that nothing of her chest and only part of her neck could be seen. The dress poofed out so much that it took up the whole back of the car. Christine could feel part of the dress on the back of her neck as they rode along to their next destination.

'But, wait. Where are we going?' she thought. "Raoul honey, remind me where we're going again. I seem to have gotten lost in a daze when you first told."

"I can see why you be would a little lost. You've had an exciting day with that nasty woman Ver Wang and now finally buying your dress that looked just wonderful on you. I'm glad you decided on a dress at last. This way we can rest up for our special day."

'Me? Decide? Yeah right. They probably forced it on me while I was out of it.'

"So now we're going to a place called The Wax Fruit to celebrate your dress. It's a French/German restaurant. I hope you'll like it."

'Wax Fruit? Why do they always pick places with weird names?'

Their normal routine of getting out of the car and meeting her parents was performed once again. The day had gone by so fast that when she saw that the sun was almost gone and the moon was already in the sky, she just about fainted from the sight. 'Wow," she thought, 'today has gone by really fast. I thought for sure that this day was going to be long and aggravating.'

They entered through large wooden doors, under a large fancy sign that said "The Wax Fruit". 'Well it looks okay so far,' thought Christine, 'nothing too weird yet.'

"Hello. How may I serve you today?" questioned the hostess as they walked up to the front.

"We have reservations," said her father. "It should be under Daaé. A table for four."

"Wait. You guys have reservations? I thought you decided to come here after we bought the dress," posed Christine.

"Oh, you're just as silly as ever my little daughter. We were going to buy you a dress today no matter what. So we made reservations here last week."

'I can't believe this is happening. They've planned out my whole life!'

"Ah, yes. Here's your reservation. Please follow me right this way," interrupted the hostess. Christine and her lousy companions followed the young hostess towards the back of the restaurant. They were set at a table that was cut off from the rest of the guests. There was a white picket fence that connected to the floor and the ceiling. It was just one panel, but it was wide enough to cover the whole table form sight.

The hostess seated all of them and handed out the menu. "Tonight, for our special guests, our head French chef Chloe LaSeur will be you waitress. We hope you enjoy your evening here with us."

"What a nice place. And nice employees as well. I just hope the food is as good," Mrs. Daaé had to put in after the hostess left and was out of earshot.

"I recommend the teriyaki scallops wrapped in bacon for you Christine. I know how much you love seafood, and it's a small portion size," suggested Raoul.

'I'm allergic to certain kinds of seafood you idiot. I thought I was the one who was trying to kill you, not the other way around,' thought Christine.

"No, no. Christine you should try the orange-glazed duck with hearty green beans and a baked potatoes. You need to eat up for your big day," advised her father.

'I'm not a pig like you dad.'

"Christine you must try the salmon with this delectable dip over it. It sounds just right for you," counseled her mother.

"That's it!" shouted Christine, "I've had it with you people!" she shouted as people started to glance over at their table with disgust. "I refuse to do anything that you say anymore!" she kept screaming as the other guests started complaining.

"Christine," her mother scolded, "you're drawing a crowd. Sit down this instant."

But Christine kept on with her rampage. "I'm not your little girl anymore mom! Nobody is controlling my life from now on! You can all go to hell!" Christine stormed out of the restaurant, giving other guests evil glares if she heard them whispering about her and knocking over trays if anybody looked at her weird.

She shoved the heavy wooden doors opened, knocking over a few people and giving them bloody noses. She walked to the edge of the sidewalk just staring at whatever caught her eye. The cool night air began to ease her out of her anger and strip her down to the unhappy sorrow that she felt inside. She felt tears roll down her cheek as she thought of all the frustrating events that she had gone through ever since she was a child to now. She couldn't believe that all these years she had kept this anger and grief locked up inside her mind and heart. The tears started to come out faster and bigger and soon she started sopping. She couldn't help but let it all out. Let all her locked up emotions and feelings out of her tortured soul.

She stood for what seemed like a lifetime until something familiar caught her attention. It was the smell of gasoline and leather. She knew that smell. She encountered these amazing scents every night. She opened her eyes. Eyes caught hold of the bottom of a motorcycle, the wheels, and a man's boot. She kept looking up until she was starring directly into the man's face behind the helmet. It was her romantic, midnight phantom. She couldn't believe that he had come for her. He was finally here in front of her. Before, she was the one who always had the courage to come out of the house to meet him, but now all her courage had left her. She didn't know what to do in front of him. She had never thought of what to do after she was right in front of him, both starring into each other's eyes.

However, this time he made the first move towards her. He reached out his hand towards her and said with such a soft and soothing voice, "Come with me." And she obeyed.

Soon the night sky filled with the moon and millions of stars whisked the two enchanted lovers away to an endless music filled night.

I am so sorry for not updating when I said that I would. Work was terrible, school just started, and it took me forever to figure out how to put down all of my ideas onto paper. Well hopefully this chapter will keep you guys busy for a while because I think the next chapter might be just as long and so it will take this long to write it up. But in the next one, you'll all get to see Erik's humble abode. And yes the helmet will come off, but a mask will be there. It wouldn't be Phantom of the Opera without a mask. And the dress that Ver Wang designed, that was one of my designs that I drew. If the dad ever decides to get a scanner, I'll put it on the web so you can all see what I was talking about. See you all in the next chapter!