"You ignorant fool!" Madame Giry began hitting Tom over the head.
"What the hell is the matter with you?"
"She sang for him! You were supposed to trap her in her room before she sang, not afterwards!"
Tom looked at her dumbfounded. "You told me when to do it. You crazy, old witch. Not my fault you're getting senile."
"Let's go before anyone sees us."
"It's fine. She's locked inside, and Mr. Y has no idea where she went. Damage is still done plus when we get back to Coney Island you can start telling folks she was locked in her room with her husband."
"Raoul was here?"
"Yeah, they were shouting like mad."
Madame Giry yanked Tom's arm.
"What now?"
"Change of plans. We need to get back and find Meg."
"Meg?"
"I have another idea."
"Now what?"
"I'll tell you on the way. Let's go before anyone sees us."
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Erik had the carriage circling around and around for what seemed like an eternity. He tried not to think too much of it. He knew that any amount of time without Christine seemed longer than it really was.
I am sure he is spellbound by her. No doubt throwing countless offers to her. She is probably reviewing each one and probably asking far too many questions. He smiled. Then his smile faded.
"Stop it, Erik. It's going to be fine. She is going to come and meet me any minute and tell me all that transpired. She said she wants me to be a part of this, even if I'm in the shadows. It will be worth it, as long as I can still hear her sing." He closed his eyes. "She loves me. She has forgiven me. She knows we complete one another. We are whole when we are together. Nothing will change that." His eyes continued to stare out the window, waiting for her, doing all he could to shut out his inner fears.
After a few more minutes the driver tapped on the door.
"Sir? You said you had to be at the club by 7o'clock. If we don't leave now, you will be late."
Erik looked at his pocket watch. "It's that late?" He wanted to run inside and search every room for her but stopped himself. This was her choice and he knew Hammerstein would do right by her. He had to leave now or else the club owner wouldn't think him to be sincere. "Goodbye, my love. You finally achieved what you wanted. We'll figure out the rest later." He forced a smile. He then turned to the driver. "Let's go but after you drop me off, I want you to come back here and retrieve Ms. Daae. I'll give you a note."
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Christine began to panic. She had to get out of that room. She began pounding heavily on the door and screaming to anyone who would listen.
"Help! I'm locked inside, and I can't open the door! I need to get out! Someone… Anyone…. Help me!"
She continued to pound on the door until her hands began to turn red and started to ache. She then slammed them on the door one last time out of frustration.
"Why did I send Erik away? What was I thinking? Why was I certain I had to do this without him? Without him? I can't even breathe without him…. He's a part of everything I do. If he was here, we would be far from this place by now and we would be closer to our son's arms, making sure Raoul stayed far away…I've caused destruction for us again. Oh Christine, you stupid, naïve, fool!"
She then realized that she was late meeting Erik.
"Good God, what will he think? No, he'll come inside. He has to…. He must! He wouldn't just…." She gasped. "No, Erik. Don't think the worst. I would never abandon you. No, you have to trust me, angel. You have to trust us." She then began pounding on the door again, screaming for help.
"Ms. Daae?"
"Yes?! Yes! I'm locked inside, and I can't get out." Who is this?"
"It's Mr. Walker. Just clam down, Ms. Daae, I'm going to get you out of here."
"What are you doing here? Does Erik know?"
"A few days ago, there was a suspicious couple hanging about Phantasma. I met them in the lobby and something didn't seem right. Anyway, since then I've been following both you and Mr. Y just to make sure you were both safe."
"Erik never mentioned any of this to me."
"That's because he didn't know, Ms. Daae. I didn't want to worry him. There's been so many things going on. Besides, I knew he wouldn't agree with me about cancelling this trip into the city and rather than have a useless dispute where he would spend the journey trying to escape me, I decided to follow you both on my own."
"Mr. Walker, I can't say I agree with you keeping this a secret from us, but I am so grateful that you are here." She heard him struggle with the door. "Do you know who did this?"
"Not yet…. Ms. Daae are you sure it wasn't your husband?"
"I…" Her heart stopped beating. "I honestly don't know anymore."
"Don't worry. I'll have you out of here soon and I'll have you on the next train back."
"Thank…. Wait. What about Erik?"
"I know where he was going. I'll find him and tell him. You have nothing to worry about. He'll be safe."
"No, Mr. Walker, you don't understand. I was supposed to meet him and I'm very late."
"I'm sure once he knows…."
"No! You don't understand. Erik is probably going out of his mind with self-doubt. I need to see him. I have to go to him and we'll go back together."
"Ms. Daae, I need you to back away from the door."
"But…"
"I have to break it down!"
"Oh." She did as she was instructed. "Be careful!"
He broke the door down and didn't even seem to flinch. "Ms. Daae are you alright?"
She was a little stunned by how the door didn't seem to affect him. "I'm fine… Are you alright?"
"Yes. Now I must insist that I bring you to the station…."
"Mr. Walker, you obviously don't know my Erik. I need to go to him. Tell me where he is."
He was not in favor of her request. "Ms. Daae…."
"Mr. Walker, I need you to go back to Phantasma and make sure that my son is safe and away from my soon to be ex-husband. He left here very angry and I don't know if he locked me in here or not, but I need to make sure my son is safe. Can you please do that?"
"Everyone at Phantasma knows how Mr. Y feels about de Chagny, Madame. He won't set one foot inside the park while Mr. Y is away. Your son is safe on that account."
Christine breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you." She whispered. "Mr. Walker, I owe you a great deal for what you have just done but I'm afraid I need to ask you one more favor."
"I…."
"Mr. Walker, I assure you I will not go quietly. They will think you are kidnapping me and I won't deny it."
"Are you serious? I'm not playing games."
"Neither am I. Take me to him if you are so concerned and then we both will be safe."
He shook his head in defeat. "You are to do exactly as I say."
"As long as you take me to Erik and keep my son safe, I will do whatever you ask."
A/N: I love how strong Christine is. I firmly believe that had she lived in LND, she would have been much more assertive in her feelings and actions. Lessons learned…. As for the rest? Stay tuned!
