A/N: I'm so sorry that it has taken me this long to update. Forgive me. I've had writers block and have been suffering from migraines, and I also have not been able to get computer access. Again, I'm sorry and will try to remember to update. Since I am busy with real life problems, I may only be able to get a chapter out every two weeks. So please bear with me, this story gets better I promise. Thnx.
Chapter Four
Truth be Told
"I won't take 'no' for an answer." Madame Giry stated with a stern tone, her stance rigid with authority, worry etched in the lines of her face.
Christine breathed deeply through her nose and released it slowly out of her mouth, instantly calming her nerves. Her body relaxed as a sense of tranquility overcame her. She quickly went over her thoughts, organizing just exactly what she wanted to get across with clear understanding.
"Okay. If you both can sit down and not crowd me I will tell you the truth of what has been on my mind."
Immediately mother and daughter sat down on the bed, and Christine turned her chair around to face them. She hesitated again, a new feeling of dread stealing away her courage. How would they react to her newfound decision? Would they scream and rant at her, telling her what a fool she was?
Meg seemed to notice the stiffness and the set of Christine's hunched shoulders. "Christine, why don't you start with the hardest part, just blurt it out. Trust me, once you get that off your chest the rest will come out much smoother." Meg's voice was so sincere and friendly; it helped ease Christine once more.
"Alright." Taking one last deep breath, she let the words spill out quickly as she exhaled. "I do not want to marry Raoul!" God, she sounded awful saying it; a part of her heart broke at hearing the words aloud.
She gasped through a sob that escaped and the tears she held in check up until that point spilled down her cheeks. Her head fell into her hands, her elbows supported on her knees. Her body shook lightly while she silenty cried.
A hand gripped her shoulder, bringing her back into herself. She looked up to see Madame Giry standing over her trembling form. With another wordless cry she threw her arms around the older woman's waist. Antoinette leaned over and put her own arms around Christine, stroking her hair and making soothing noises to help calm her down. Meg too got up from her spot from on the bed and came around to Christine's other side, wrapping her arms around her and her mother.
The three woman stayed like that for several minutes. It was Christine who straightened up first, the tears had dried in tracks on her pale face. Madame Giry and Meg went back to sit on the bed, neither saying a word. They knew that there was much more that Christine still had to say, and their silence would cause her to say it all. Besides, at this point they weren't all too sure what to say exactly.
Christine seemed to be staring at nothing in particular beofre she finally settled her eyes on the two women with her. Wiping her eyes withthe back of her hand, she made another attempt to speak her mind.
"Well, aren't you going to tell me what a foolish child I am?" She frowned when they didn't answer. "Well?"
Madame Giry spoke first. "Christine, dear, what is it that you want us to say? I personally had a feeling that this was the cause of your distancing yourself from us, and for your quiet, subdued behavior around the Vicomte. You just haven't been acting like yourself since the Vicomte proposed."
Meg nodded her agreement. "It's true, I've seen the the same and share mother's exact words."
Christine looked on a little helplessly, her brows furrowed in thought. "If it was so plainly obvious for you two to have notice, then that means that Raoul could have also seen through to my feelings." Another tear slipped from her right eye. "I love him, I really do. But I just do not think I can marry him. My heart is telling me that this is wrong, that I'm not making the right choice."
"And what other choice is there?" Madame Giry asked with a knowing look. Christine had to turn away from her intense stare.
Could she possibly know that there is another choice out there for me? Christine thought.
Meg saw the peculiar exchange between the two women. A thought entered her mind and she just had to voice her suspicions. "Christine, earlier today when we were shopping for our gowns, whenever I mentioned Raoul or marriage you grew silent and a sad look crossed you face. And when Madame Tavily commented on how beautiful you looked, when she called you an 'angel', you froze and almost started to cry. There is only one reason I can think of that would make you react in such a way to that word."
"What are you getting at, Meg." Uncertainty and fear crawled up her spine in cold tingling sensation.
"Don't act so innocent, Christine. We would stay up and talk for hours at night, gossip during the day. For years now you have been telling me all about your 'Angel of Music'..."
Christine let out the barest of gasps, but Meg continued. "...After your big aria months ago you disappeared. I snuck into your dressing room to congradulate you, but you were just gone. I saw the mirror, Christine! It was open, I went through it..." She watched as a small amount of fear trickled into Christine's eyes. But she was not finished just yet.
"...There were passages, an underground labrynth. Mama found me and had no choice but to tell me the truth, I promised her never to speak to anyone what I saw. She told me all about The Phantom.Who he really was, that he was not some ghost but actaully a real man..." She paused as Christine swayed slightly. She was afraid that her friend might pass out from shock from what she was revealing.
"...I know this man to be Erik, a man who wears a mask and haunts the cellars of the Opera. And a man who apparently has an infatuation with you!" Meg did not look away from Christine's glistening eyes. She said what she had been needing to say, and she would face her friend no matter what the outcome.
"So you know, you know about Erik then." It wasn't a question. Christine's voice was so soft that the other women had to srain to hear. She sat up straighter, squaring her shoulders. "I guess it shouldn't surprise you then if I were to say that I too am in love with him."
Madame Giry and Meg both took in a sharp breath. They looked at each other tehn back back to Christine. Meg was absolutely speechless and confused.
It was Madame Giry who chose her words carefully. "Are you sure that you love him? Does he know how you feel? Oh God, Christine, if it is true then you must tell him!" She stood up abruptly and went over to bend before Christine. "Dearie, he must know. For the past three months he has locked himself away in his home. He has been so upset and angry ever since he found out about your engagement to the Vicomte."
"How do you know that?" Christine asked in wonder. Pain seemed to attack her heart at discovering how she had hurt Erik. She would never willingly cause him pain, yet it turns out that she had already.
"Christine, you must believe me when I say that I have known Erik for many years now. You see, I've perhaps been his only friend since he first arrived here at the Opera. When I was a young girl, I saw a poor, scarred boy being tortured at a traveling carnival that came to Paris. I helped him escape from those awful people and brought him here. I hid him from the world and its cruelties."
Christine was wide-eyed at this new realizaion. "You! You brought Erik here. He never told me any of this. Why wouldn't he have told me?" Again her face fell into her hands as she cried out her sorrow for the man she loved. Then a new thought arose. She looked Madame Giry in the eyes. "How would you know that he is upset?" She paused a moment. "Have you seen him, have you talked to him?" She sounded almost desperate to know the truth.
"Yes. As I've told you, I am his only friend on this earth. I know the way down to his home beneath the Opera, and I visit him at least once a week. I last saw him about three weeks ago. He was consuming himself in his music, and when I tried to beg him to stop and eat, or at least get some rest, he had one of his tempermental fits and yelled at me to leave and not come back. His anger clouds his better judgement at times, so I did not take it too personally. But I still dare not go back until he comes to me and tells me himself that he did not mean such hurtful words. I have no doubts that Erik will come to his senses and apologize."
"He was angry at you because I triggered his awful temper. What have I done?" She sobbed agian but forced herself to control her emotions. She had to be clear-headed if she were to come up with a plan of action on how to fix her current situation.
Christine got to her feet and started to pace the small room. "I think the first thing that I should do is confess to Raoul, perhaps tomorrow night at the Masque Ball I can take him aside and tell him that I've had second thoughts." She nodded to herself, and continued to think of the next step. "Then you, Madame Giry, can take me to see Erik and from there I will too tell him about my feelings for him." She continued to pace as she imagined each scenario in her mind.
"I agree that that is what you should do, Christine. And I will help in any way that I can." Madame Giry stood and placed on e hand on each of Christine's shoulders. "I know that this will all be very challenging for you. It will not be easy. The Vicomte may not take this news very well. When you tell him, try to also explain that you do still care for him. You do, right?"
"Of course! He was my childhood friend, and I will always hold a special place in my heart just for him. It's confusing really. I love him, but I don't love him in the manner that he wants me to. I guess I care more for him as just a friend and not a husband. But with Erik. That love is completely different all on its own. Erik seems to have captured me heart and soul. I don't know what kind of relationship we will have, but I'm willing to try. I at least have to tell him how I feel."
" I am very proud of you, Christine. You have grown up to be a very beautiful and caring woman. And if you don't mind me saying so, I believe that Erik truly needs you more than the Vicomte ever will. There is no other woman out there for Erik , but the Vicomte, I'm positive that he can find another to love in time."
Christine nodded. She didn't know why, but Madame Giry's seemed to make perfect sense. She could see Raoul falling in love with someone else, a woman that would be able to give their whole heart and soul to him. But Erik, on the other hand, was all alone and he was only comfortable around her. He loved her and she knew that he could never love another for as long as he lived.
It was then that she realized that she really could envision herself being with Erik. The mask and the face hidden behind it did not frighten her as Erik had believed. She smiled at this knowledge.
Truth be told, Christine found that she truly thought him a beautiful, handsome man. And she loved him.
Please R & R! Much appreciated.
