Christine awoke early that morning, roused by the sounds of Meg preparing for the day. She crawled out of her shoe in the closet and peeked around the corner to look at Meg, who sat at her vanity and brushed her hair. Christine liked Meg the best of all the ballet rats, partly because her long blonde hair reminded Christine of her own fur, which had gold patches mixed into the soft white.

Meg finished trying her hair in a bun and sprinted from the room, calling out to a friend just down the hallway.

Christine sniffed cautiously before coming out and crawling up the leg of the vanity table, sure enough finding that Meg had left a half-eaten pastry next to her brush. She happily munched on the pastry, noting that this one had jam in the middle - something her angel had told her to avoid, lest it compromise her voice. She dutifully avoided it, looking at the gold thread on her tail as she did.

After her breakfast she made her way down to the ballet room, watching the girls warm up and stretch. She stood in the corner and did her own stretches that her angel had recommended to help her voice. How wonderful it was to be part of the company! Wasn't it lovely to be able to prepare for the big show with friends? With the help of the wall she stood up as tall as she could, leaned side to side, and rolled her head to loosen any stiffness in her neck. She stretched out her little paws, shaking any tension out of them, and wiggled her tail, taking deep breaths as she did so.

Her warmups done, she went to her dressing room and waited for her angel. He didn't make her wait long.

"My Christine," his voice was filled with pride. "It is finally time. All of your hard work is about to pay off, my dear."

"If you say so, angel," she was nearly trembling with excitement but also worry.

"Everything will go smoothly, you need not worry."

She nodded, her fear beginning to melt away. The angel always knew how to soothe her.

"You will do just as we planned," he continued. "After the intermission, you will take the place of La Carlotta."

Christine nodded again, eyes bright. This was it.

"You are most certainly ready, my dear. Do you feel ready? You know what to do, know your songs?"

"Yes, angel. I'm ready to sing!"

"Excellent, Christine! This is going to be one for the history books!"

Christine lingered backstage as she waited for the first act to end. The music was so loud out there! It rumbled and hummed and soared, and it very nearly frightened her. She could feel it vibrate through her entire body, and it made her feel small.

But she wasn't small! She jutted her little chin out. She was Christine Daaé! She was going to make her debut and everyone would love her, just as the angel had said!

She busied herself with studying the costumes that hung backstage for the quick changes, finding an occasional button or bead that had dropped off of them, carefully stashing each one away to later take to her room and save.

Soon enough it was intermission. She began to feel nervous, but then she heard that voice once more.

"Christine..."

She closed her eyes, grateful. The angel was with her, even now. He would be there to witness her triumphant debut!

She listened for her cue, waiting just behind the curtain. She was eager to hurry and go out, but the curtain was too heavy to wiggle under, so she had to wait until it was raised. Once it was, she ran to the very edge, right up to where the audience was the closest, standing on her mark before Carlotta could even walk onstage.

The familiar music began and she stood tall on her back legs, demurely clasping her tiny hands together as she began to sing.

Erik watched from the top of the curtain, eyes glowing in the darkness. His Christine! His marvelous little Christine! How like an angel she was, how heavenly her voice! Was she not made for the spotlight? Was she not the best singer to ever grace the stage of Paris? He could swoon away in delight at it!

He wanted to glance out at the audience and see how she was being received, but he simply couldn't take his eyes off of her. He nearly shed a tear behind his mask at the sheer beauty of it.

Suddenly he noticed movement at the corner of his vision, and he turned to see what it was.

Carlotta was there, hissing at a stage hand.

"Watch what you're doing with those ropes - you made me miss my cue!"

Carlotta pushed past the stage hand, bursting onto the stage, lifting her voice to jump in to her song just a few stanzas too late.

Christine's little brow furrowed. Carlotta was singing with her now. That was okay, she thought. Her angel had said that Carlotta might be on stage for a moment or so before she realized how inferior she was to Christine and left in shame. Christine forged on, just like her angel had said to do no matter what.

Every muscle of Erik's body was tense. His claws gripped the rope tightly and threatened to cut through his gloves. What was that woman doing, how dare she be on stage as though she deserved to share it with such talent? Her squawking was drowning out the beautiful voice of his dear little love!

Carlotta was flustered at having missed her cue, and she had to hurry to get where she needed to be on the stage. She didn't even notice Christine at all - didn't see the tiny mouse that was standing where she was supposed to be standing, didn't hear the squeaks she was making as she stood there.

Carlotta's foot came down heavy, and Erik nearly passed out.

Christine screamed, but Carlotta didn't hear that high pitched squeak, either.

The sharp heel of Carlotta's shoe had come within an inch of crushing Christine, but Christine had jumped out of the way. She looked up at the tall woman, then out at the audience, then burst into tears and ran backstage. Carlotta sang on.

Erik was livid. The nerve! The absolute nerve! Why, she had done it on purpose! Trying to take out the competition, eh? Realized she could never compare to Christine and thought she had to be gotten rid of, did she?

He fumed about it, nearly considering chewing through the ropes that held the curtain up and letting it fall where it may, but he realized that if he did the next shows would have to be canceled until it could be fixed, and that meant Christine would have to wait before she had another chance to sing on stage again.

With a swish of his little cape, he turned and stalked away to Carlotta's dressing room, mind working overtime as he did.

He had assumed, of course, that once Carlotta heard Christine singing, she would be embarrassed and stay off of the stage. He had never imagined that the awful woman would just plow right out there and try to kill his beloved in a fit of jealousy! Oh, he could weep at the very thought of it! His heart ached for poor Christine.

He must comfort her, of course - she had left in tears, even though she had been doing well! But first - revenge.

He pushed at Carlotta's dressing room door with his little hands until the heavy door creaked open.

Once inside, he marched up to the wall with the hook that held her dressing gown, pushing his mask up so he could bite the lace hem, tugging viciously until the entire thing fell to the ground in a heap. Triumphant, he turned to kick her slippers over.

Still seething, he climbed up to her vanity table.

"How dare you treat Christine so shamefully!" he shouted as he pushed a perfume bottle to the floor with a clatter.

He grabbed her makeup brush and began pulling the bristles out and tossing them away.

"You will rue the day you crossed The Phantom! Mark my words!"

He turned over her makeup and a cloud of powder went up, making him sneeze and only enraging him further. He stood on his hind legs and squealed angrily. He continued to tip over anything and everything on her vanity, breaking her necklaces, gnawing on the carved handle of her hairbrush, pulling and tangling the hair of her wigs, scratching the jewels and pearls off of her coat.

Erik had never considered himself particularly lucky - he was, in fact, rather cursed in his own personal opinion - but he was lucky that no one was outside of her dressing room at that time, lest they hear a long series of loud squeaks and hisses and terrible little wails.

Finally his rage abated, and he went in search of Christine.

Christine! How could he have forgotten her?

Christine was searching for her angel. She needed him! She paused in the middle of running down the hall to wipe a tear from her eye. Everything had been going so well! She loved the spotlight on her, even if it was blindingly bright and made her feel much too warm. She loved knowing that all the people were looking at her, listening to her voice! All she wanted to was to continue singing. But then Carlotta had come and stomped her awful feet and Christine had never been so frightened in her life! She had thought for certain it was about to be all over. Even now her little heart was racing! She needed to talk to her angel about all this - he would know just what to say to make her feel better, she was certain of that.

But her angel wasn't in her dressing room. He wasn't in the hallway where she heard him sometimes, either. Where was he? She needed him! She sniffled. Surely- surely he hadn't abandoned her, had he? She ran down another hall, calling out for him, imploring him to speak to her.

"Christine!"

She froze in fear. That wasn't her angel- that was-

Raoul stooped down, smiling.

"Christine, I found you!"

He was beyond pleased that he had noticed her as she was going down the hallway, squeaking as she ran. Was squeaking for him?

She turned and looked up at him, standing up. She missed Raoul, she did. She had known him since her childhood, after all.

He reached a hand down and held it out to her, and she nudged him with her nose. She knew he wanted her to go back with him, but she didn't want that right now. She had to talk to her angel! And there was her career to think of, too. She tried to explain it to him, that she loved him but things had changed now and she couldn't leave with him, not right now anyway.

"What are you doing down here, you silly thing?"

He wrapped his hand around her, picking her up. Was she okay? She normally didn't squeak so much. Maybe she missed him! He cupped his hands around her, bringing her close to his face to make certain she was alright.

He frowned a little.

"Christine, what's this?" he pulled at the thread on her tail, untangling it.

"Raoul, no!"

He callously threw her gold string on the floor before rubbing the top of her head gently.

"You're all tangled up in trash, poor little dear," he murmured. "Don't worry, I'll take you home."

She jerked her head away. She didn't want to be petted right now! How dare he barge in on her life and think he knew what was best for her! How dare he steal the gift the angel had given her!

Startled by her little fit, he closed his hands around her lest she fall out of his hands and get injured.

Feeling his grip tighten, she began to squirm violently, trying to escape. Raoul had always been gentle with her, and tonight was no exception, so Christine had never before had a reason to bite him, but tonight she tried something that she had never attempted before - she reared her head back and tried to bite him.

He frowned a little harder.

"You're so fierce tonight, Christine. Are you frightened?"

Frightened? Of course she was! She was terribly frightened that her angel would see that she no longer wore the thread he had given her and think that she had scorned him. And Raoul was going to take her away, too! She wanted to stay here and sing and take lessons with the angel!

"Raoul, let me go! Let go of me!"

Raoul put her into his coat pocket.

"You're safe now, dear, it's okay."

"Raoul please! I want to stay here! I want to sing!" she pleaded, trying to claw her way out of the pocket.

Raoul set off down the hallway, beaming with joy that he had found his beloved little Christine once more after he had thought he'd lost her forever. Wait till he told Philippe!

Christine claimed to the top of his pocket, sticking her head out. She looked back at the thread on the floor with despair, traveling further and further away from it. She looked up at Raoul, who she loved, but who just didn't understand her right now. She looked down at the floor, which seemed so awfully far away - but it was her only chance.

She gulped back her terror and her better judgement and, teetering on the edge of his pocket, leapt to the floor.