I didn't sleep that night, nor did Meg. We both sat up against the headboard, me fully dressed, Meg in her pajamas. A small sack with a few of my personal items in it, things I couldn't bear to leave behind, was lying at the foot of the bed. A pearl necklace that belonged to my mother, a small jewelry box my father had given me, a book of music from Meg, and a couple other trinkets. They all felt like memories of a former life now that mine was about to really begin.
The moon climbed high in the sky as the noises from the house fell away into the darkness. The servants climbed downstairs to their quarters, Raoul's footsteps faded down the hallway and disappeared into his room, the fire crackled and slowly died away, leaving a chill in the room. I noted all of this, but didn't really care. My eyes were focused on my balcony door, where I'd seen his shadow once before.
It felt like an eternity, and I began to fret that something had gone wrong. "What if he was captured?" I whispered, my eyes still on the window.
"We would have heard," Meg whispered back.
"What if he decided it wouldn't work? What if he left without me?"
Meg's hand gripped mine. "You're being ridiculous. After everything you've gone through together? He wouldn't leave you."
I tore my eyes from the window and turned to Meg. "But there's so much at stake! He would do anything to protect me, including leave me. You don't know how he is. If he thought the police would turn against me, if he thought there was any risk at all-"
"Christine." Meg nodded behind me and my whole body began to shake. With a gasp, I turned around.
Erik was standing in the doorway, the breeze blowing his black cloak around his slim body, that hideous brown mask on his face. The light from the moon was bright enough that I could see his expression was carefully blank, his eyes on Meg. I didn't care, just bounded off the bed and slammed my body into his, my arms around his neck. He remained stiff against me and I looked up to see him still staring at Meg.
"Meg, isn't it?" he murmured.
Meg looked terrified, and I finally released Erik to say, "Yes, and I've told her everything. She wants us to be happy, Erik. She's helping us." He didn't look convinced, just continued staring at Meg with that cold look on his face.
"I-" Meg squeaked, "I'm going to tell Raoul that I got up to get a cup of tea and when I came back, Christine was gone. I promise."
"Of course you will, Meg," he said, and his voice was the same smooth darkness that he'd used on the girl at the Fleur, "because you know what will happen if you don't. Christine will be arrested, maybe killed. I would be most unhappy. We don't want that, do we?"
She shook her head, terrified. "Stop it," I said to him, my voice stern. We all knew that he was threatening her. "I know you want me safe, but you will not threaten Meg to save me." Finally, his eyes moved to me. "If anything happens to me, it wouldn't be Meg's fault. Even if it were, you are not the monster beneath the opera anymore, Erik."
His cold expression fell apart and he gathered me into his arms. I kissed the only thing I could reach, which was his brown leather mask. He turned his head so I could kiss his lips, which I did with abandon. He held me against him so tightly that I couldn't tell where my body stopped and his began, my arms keeping his head bent to mine, our mouths pressed desperately together. Long before I was ready for it to end, Erik's mouth left mine. "Come," he said, "we must go."
Meg's face was covered in tears, from fright or sadness, I wasn't sure, but I thought it might have been both. I ran to her and wrapped her in my arms, her small body covered by mine. "Christine, are you sure?" her voice shook.
"Absolutely. He loves me, Meg, more than anything. And I love him. Take care of yourself, my dearest. Thank you for everything." I released her, gave her one last peck on the cheek with a smile, and wrapped a heavy cloak around myself. Erik raised an eyebrow at the sack on my bed, and grabbed it at my nod.
"I owe you thanks, as well, Meg," Erik said, "and an apology. I will keep Christine safe and happy. I vow it."
Meg nodded, tears streaming down her face. I gave her one last fierce hug and turned toward the window, Erik's hand at my back. With his help, I climbed over the balcony rail and down the rough stones of the wall, which were ornate enough to be excellent footholds. Erik climbed faster than I did, and reached the ground first. He held his hands towards me and took my waist when I was close enough, helping me make a soft landing.
"Quickly," he whispered. He led me through the garden, stepping to the side of the path, under the cover of the trees where we couldn't be seen from the windows. He glanced back periodically as we ran, but I didn't. When we burst through the gate at the end of the garden, there was a small black carriage waiting there, horses standing patiently. Erik handed me into the carriage and sat beside me. He cracked the reigns with a quick flick of his wrists and the horses were off, trotting away down the street. As the distance between me and Raoul increased, I breathed easier and easier. My hand curled around Erik's upper arm, my head rested against his shoulder, and my eyes slid closed. I concentrated on the feel of him, of being with the man I loved.
Erik wasn't so relaxed. I could feel him tense periodically whenever we heard voices on the sidewalk or passed the odd carriage. He would shrink deeper into the large hood over his face and lean back into the awning of the carriage. With my hood over my hair, I doubt anyone would recognize me in the darkness, but I kept my face turned into his jacket all the same. This meant, of course, that I had no idea where we were or where we were going, but Erik was driving the carriage with purpose, and I don't think I would have been much help with directions. He was silent, focused on the horses and the street.
After a while, the passing light from lanterns grew more infrequent, the passing voices died away, and the only sounds of hoofbeats came from our own horses. I turned my face forward again and noticed that we were out of the city center, moving past older, less-stylish homes that were outnumbered by knobby old trees. I thought, surely, we must have been nearing our destination. The sky was turning pink with the rising sun and the air was growing bitter with the cold of early morning. Still, we kept going until the houses disappeared altogether and we were surrounded by forest and fields. The road was so rough that my teeth chattered over every rock and the horses stepped carefully around the stones. I wished Erik would say something, but he had never lost that dark focus on his task, his eyes darting from the horses to the sky, left and right, then back to the horses again.
Finally, Erik pulled on the reigns. When the carriage stopped, I felt him sag against me, just a bit. He let out a slow breath and turned his eyes to me. We stared at each other for a moment, then the enormity of the moment hit us. I laughed and threw my arms around him. His smile was the biggest I'd ever seen from him, and it made him almost beautiful, though he wouldn't believe me if I'd told him. I buried my face in his neck, pressed my mouth to his skin, and held him tight. "Are we free?" I whispered.
"Almost," he said. Once out of the carriage, I could see that we'd stopped in front of a small cottage, tucked away from the road behind a large row of thick hedges. There was a barn behind it, obviously old and crumbling in the morning light. The cottage was small, but looked sturdy, with two levels and few windows. The white paint on the bannisters was chipping, and I knew that Madame Giry would faint at the sight of its disorder. Me, I could only think of how no one would expect Christine Daae to live there. Erik's hand landed on my shoulder and he said, "Go inside. I'll see to the horses and be in shortly." He leaned down, kissed me softly, and murmured, "I love you."
"Erik, we've done it!" I smiled against his lips.
""""
God, she was young. The longer I spent staring at her, the more glaring that fact became. So young, so hopeful. After everything, that hope in her burned so strongly that it warmed every corner of my heart. I was ashamed to see her beauty surrounded by dust and decay. This old house would keep us safe and hidden, but she deserved so much more. She deserved the decadence and richness of the grand house I'd stolen her from, but I was selfish. Her lips were made to smile, and when I opened the door to this sorry excuse for a home, saw her standing in the kitchen/sitting area, she gave me a smile that erased all my fears. She didn't belong here, but she did belong with me.
"I know it's less than you deserve, but it's safe. I acquired this house some time ago, just in case," I said, my voice low in the warm glow of the fire.
Her smile turned to a smirk and she said, "I'll certainly have to add some womanly touches to the decor," her hands came up to rest on my chest, "but it'll do."
My breathing quickened with her simple touch. I would never get used to her caresses. "Not for long, I promise. I'll give you everything Christine, everything I possibly can." She raised up on her tiptoes, and I had to bend to meet her lips with mine. "The whole world," I whispered against her mouth.
"I don't need the world, Erik." Her arms wrapped around my neck and I was lost. Every inch of her pressed against me and her weight was a vindication. I feared that if I told her what she meant to me, how closely her love was tied to my very existence, she would crumble with the weight of it. I held her to me and knew that I would burn this entire city to the ground if it meant we would never be apart again.
"God, Christine." I swept her off the floor, lifting her small frame easily. Tied together, I carried her up the stairs to the bedroom. The linens weren't fresh and the covers were still disturbed from where I'd slept in them the night before, but I didn't care. The burning of her skin against mine, so unfamiliar and so precious, pushed my ever-present fears as far from my mind as they could get. It was possible, with her lips on mine, to believe that she would never leave me. All I had to do was show her every moment that she'd made the right choice.
The first time we'd made love, she'd been so bold that I worried that it hadn't been her first time. Not that it would have turned my heart, but it killed something in me to think that someone else had held my beloved the way I'd always dreamed of doing myself. Then, seeing the fear as I'd hovered over her, the limitless trust that I wouldn't hurt her, I knew that she was as innocent as I was, in this at least. We'd learned together, and it was the most precious gift she could have given me. Now, she had no fears, only desires. Her hands raked at my clothes, pulled my head down to hers so her lips could assault mine. Like this, she was absolutely free. I didn't think I would ever be able to completely abandon myself like she did, but in her arms, I felt freer than I ever had. Every kiss broke something new inside me, and I got the sense that she was destroying me. I only prayed she could rebuild me into something much better than I was, something that deserved her.
Standing beside the bed, we kissed over and over, relearning the caresses we'd only begun to discover a few days ago. I curled her hair around my fingers, keeping her face close to mine. Her hands roamed boldly across my body, over my chest and pressing around my stomach and waist. Her fingers pulled my shirt free from my pants and I let her yank it over my head. I stood bare from the waist up for her inspection in the morning light. I loved her with all my being, and I knew that she wanted me, but I still couldn't quite believe it. I wanted to let myself go, to trust her completely, but my hands clenched into fists, and my heart tried to brace for rejection. Just like she'd done that first night, Christine placed a kiss on my disgusting shoulder, and my eyes slid closed. Thank you.
A/N: I'm not completely happy with this chapter, but I wanted to get it posted so nobody would think I was abandoning the story! The next chapter will be out very soon. Thank you for all your reviews!
Also, I'm trying some of Erik's perspective in this chapter. Did you guys like it, or was it too jarring?