A shorty but a goody. Thanks for all the support guys! :) Let me know if you like how the story is going so far...
Phanty belongs to Leroux and Lloyd Weber.
Illuminated only by a small streak of the setting sun, he was chained to the wall... and he was bleeding. Again. It was horrifying to see him in such a way after so much had happened between them. She drew her hand to her mouth. Surely, he had not been here long enough to look so utterly exhausted, so... broken. He was wearing the same clothes as when she had left him, only now they were tainted with dirt and she could see stains of blood on his collar. Not as bad as last time, at least..? His mask had been removed and his hair was hanging in his face and even as she had entered the room, he had not looked up.
Why? He had been so full of life when she had last seen him.
Why was it that when she was able to taste the slightest bit of happiness with him, it was begrudgingly snatched away? Why couldn't they just live a life without danger; without the constant threat of impending doom, drama... death? She took a deep breath and let her hand fall from her mouth.
At least he was alive for now. As long as he was alive, there was hope. She would find a way to get him out of these chains... she would. She looked up at Emile tentatively, almost asking his permission to go to Erik.
"Erik. You have a visitor, it seems." He spoke.
At once, Erik looked up; his eyes narrowed as he searched the darkness, searching for someone who could not possibly be there. Searching for her...
"Erik..." She called, her voice choked with emotion. She could not believe it. He was right in front of her. He was so close...
"Christine!?" he called in response, pulling at his chains in an effort to get closer to the voice. "Is that... you?"
"You have ten minutes." Emile whispered in her ear before turning on his heel and exiting the same way he had entered. Christine had hardly heard him; she shot him a quick glance before running toward Erik. After what seemed like an eternity of running she was able to embrace him once more.
"Erik... you... you are alive!" She cried, wrapping her arms around his waist tightly. She pulled back and haphazardly placed a kiss on his lips. "You are alive!" She repeated, kissing him again. "I thought I had lost you..."
"Me?" He asked in stupefaction. "You are alive! Christine..." He buried his face in her hair and began to weep. "I thought you to be dead... when I saw... you get hurt... I-I am... so sorry. I told you that I could... protect you... and again, I could not. I am so sorry!"
"No! Don't be sorry!" She raised herself up slightly and placed a kiss on his neck before burying her face in his warmth, just as she had done by the river...
"Emile... he wouldn't tell me... whether y-you were alive or not... it was torture, Christine. You... h-have no idea what it was like and I couldn't do anything to save you... I wondered if you had been badly hurt and if you had had medical attention or not and I keep thinking of that moment and... And... It w-was all my fault! All... my f-fault..!" She felt him shaking under her embrace as he began to sob harder.
"No! It was not your fault!" She soothed through tears of her own. "It isn't your fault that this has happened to you... or to me..." She pulled away slightly and reached up to touch the right side of his face; her fingers gently tracing his deformity. "None of it... is your fault."
He looked at her and knew that by those words she meant so much more. At that moment he loved her more than he had ever thought possible.
"I... Oh... Erik, I love you." She cried.
Erik smiled through his tears. Those words... He felt better instantly.
"I love you, Christine. How... How I wish that I could embrace you..."
She pulled back once more; reminded of where they were and why he could not embrace her. She examined his chains; a mixture of disgust and helplessness on her face and began to cry once more.
"This... is not fair... It isn't right! I don't know what to do... I don't... I don't know." She began shaking her head in frustration as more tears made their way down her cheeks. She walked back to him wrapped her arms around his waist once more. "Tell me what to do, Erik... tell me what I can do. You... you must have a plan? What can we do! There has to be something!"
Erik looked down at her; his tears clouding his vision. She was so beautiful. It seemed that hours of believing her to be dead only served to heighten his love for this woman. And she was here... she was here and she was very much alive but he could not embrace her. There was something... a last resort. Something that only became possible with the presence of Christine but it was a long shot... Erik became aware of the lack of warmth as soon as Christine moved away from him. It was now almost night time, the light was dwindling and the dropping temperature was causing him to visibly shiver.
"You must be so cold." She cried; her bottom lip quivering as she tried her best to contain the barrage of sobs that threatened to overcome her.
"Yes..." A smile ghosted across his features. "I will be alright, Christine."
"You always say that." She smiled. "...but you never are." She reached up and held his face in hers; gently touching a wound on his face. "What... are they doing to you...? My Erik..." She kissed him again. He closed his eyes and tried his best to pretend that he and Christine were somewhere else; the riverbank, perhaps. Before they were captured...
"Christine, how is it that you have come to be here?"
"Well, I woke up at... the de Chagny Estate. Apparently there had been a ransom..."
Erik's stomach dropped as he was reminded of what was on his mind prior to Christine's visit...
"Raoul." He interrupted.
Of course.
The letter.
"Yes. There had been a ransom for me... Raoul paid it and they released me..."
"You were with Raoul?"
"Yes. And..."
"Is he here? Is that how you were able to come?"
"Yes. He escorted me... I thought that you were alright with this?"
"Oh, he escorted you, did he?"
"Erik, he saved my life! I am able to see you now because he paid them."
"Oh, he saved your life. I am very sorry, Christine. I do apologize but I have been slightly preoccupied." He tugged at his chains, the rattle echoed throughout the small room. "Do you know what I have done for you, Christine?"
"Erik... of course..." She reached up to touch his face but he jerked away.
"I have been through so much in order to keep you from harm. But it doesn't matter to you, does it? As soon as I am locked safely away, you run back to Raoul. Just tell me, how long? How long have you wanted to be back with him? From the very beginning?"
"Erik! What are you talking about?"
He looked at her and took a deep breath before speaking. It had to come out. Now was the time.
"Your letter." He stated plainly. "I read your... letter to Raoul."
"Letter..."
"Yes. You dropped it as we were leaving the cottage. For so long I didn't read it. I did not want to break your trust. But as I was sitting here alone, in the depleting rays of sunlight, thinking that you were dead... I simply had to read it."
"You... read my letter? Erik. How could you?" Slightly relieved to discover what his rant had been leading to, she was still taken aback by his actions.
"How could I?" He spat. "How could you!" Christine stepped back in shock. He was a jealous man. She knew that. But to her mind, she hadn't done anything wrong and he had.
"How could you needlessly, heartlessly string me along? You actually made me believe that you loved me..."
"Well... I do? I told you that I loved you. There wasn't anything in that letter stating otherwise?"
"Why did you come back if the out come was only going to be the same? Why did you come back? You should have left me to that mob..."
Christine cringed at the memory.
"Please tell me what you are talking about?"
"You said that you cared for him!" He yelled, emotion beginning to hinder his speech once more. "And... you said that you loved him."
"What!? I did no such thing, Erik!"
"It's there." He turned his head in the direction of the discarded letter and nodded. "...on the ground. Read it for yourself." Hastily, Christine searched the ground for her letter, finally finding it and holding up to the light just as Erik had done.
"This... All this says is "I love"" She looked up at him. "That is all. I didn't get to finish writing it so you could never have known what I meant."
""I love?" What else could possibly follow those words than "you"?" He looked at her; eyes narrowed, tears staining his already tainted cheeks.
"Erik! This is silly!" She smiled. "I was only going to tell him that I loved him as a friend!"
"And I am supposed to believe that?" He smirked.
"You're being unreasonable!" She argued, walking back towards him.
"No I am not, Christine. Just admit it. Admit the truth... You have always loved the boy."
Christine approached him, again wrapping her arms around his waist only this time; attempting contact. This time he did not pull away...
"Erik... believe me. I love you." She buried her face in his neck once more and felt him exhale.
"Why... do you torture me so?" He breathed into her hair. Tears ran down his face as he closed his eyes. "I cannot bear it. Leave me."
"I am not leaving until they drag me away."
He didn't want her to leave. Even if he was not chained to the wall, he would not have pulled away from her embrace. He did not possess the strength.
"When will you stop doubting me?" She whispered. "I love you."
"I... want to believe you, Môn ange." His voice was thick with emotion. Suddenly, a memory came to mind. "Christine..?"
She looked up.
"Reach into my pocket... There is something that you should take." She looked at him quizzically before doing as he told her. When her hand came in contact with the object she knew at once what it was.
The ring...
The wedding ring...
She looked up at him, her eyes asking the questions that she could not voice. Was he challenging her? Trying to determine whether or not she would follow through on her promises and declarations, just as he had done once before? Was he proposing..? Or was he simply giving it back to her?
"Erik..." She managed.
"It is better that you take it... before they do." His statement confirmed her thoughts but the look in his eyes gave a different answer. His eyes were hopeful, desperate... loving...
He was asking her. He had to have been.
"I wish that it were under better circumstances but... I don't know how much time I will have."
Yes. He was asking her.
"Erik..." She began, tears flowing freely down her face. Her heart was breaking. Was he asking her because he wanted to? Was he asking her because he knew that he wouldn't get another chance? Was it both? "Are you asking me to...?"
"Yes." He said. She should have known that his proposal was going to be just as cryptic as he was. "If... what you say is true... I am offering that ring to you one final time." He looked down at her; challenging her with his glare. Perhaps she constantly needed to prove herself to him and for that, she could not blame him. If it was to be a challenge, she would accept it.
"Yes." She said, slipping the ring onto her finger. "Yes." She embraced him and held him to her tightly. She was flooded with emotion; happiness, sadness, regret... Her mind raced. Would she even get to see him again this? Was this him offering her one last token of love?
"Yes?" Erik asked, as if he were not expecting the answer.
"Yes! Of course!" She smiled into his neck.
Yes! She had said yes. What else mattered? He could die tonight and he would die a happy man. He had pictured this moment for years and while he would have preferred the use of his hands in such a situation; to slide the ring on her finger, to hold her... it hardly seemed to matter. It was both the happiest and most anticipated moment of his miserable life, and yet it's taste was that of bittersweet. He had no idea what the future held... He loved Christine with all his heart and while he was beside himself with excitement, a sense of foreboding lingered as it always did. Perhaps he would not see her again after tonight? He knew it to be a very real possibility. He knew that he would be moved soon and that Christine may never be able to find him. He knew that his wondrous journey with this woman could very well be at an end. He had found happiness, yes. Even if it was at the end of his days, and for that he was grateful.
"When will you understand that you are loved?" She cried. Again, their lips met, they tasted each other's tears as they had done not too many nights ago and under very different circumstances.
"I love you..." Erik cried into her hair. If nothing else, he loved her. He always had. Of that he was sure. "...I will always love you." He added. "Please, remember that."
As if on cue, the cellar door opened. Erik and Christine broke apart.
"Time is up, mademoiselle." Emile's voice echoed down the stair case.
Christine turned back to Erik and held onto him.
"No..." She cried. "No, I can't leave you. I won't."
"You have to, Christine." He replied calmly. "I will be alright. I promise."
Emile had now entered the room with one of his men.
"Wait! No! I'm not ready!" She cried as the man took hold of her arm. "Please!"
"Don't you touch her!" Erik threatened. He clenched his fists in frustration.
"Or what?" The man turned to him. Emile stood back and snickered.
Or nothing... he could not do a thing.
"Let me go!" Christine screamed. She managed to wriggle free of his grip and embrace Erik one last time.
"Christine, it is alright. Don't give them an excuse to hurt you, please..."
"Time to go, girl!" The man warned, walking back towards her.
"Rue de Rivoli, Christine." He whispered into her ear as she was being pulled away. "He is our only hope."
"Wait... what... what does that mean, Erik?" She was handed to Emile.
"Go there." He mouthed.
"You! Be quiet!" The man approached Erik from the darkness and threw a punch into his torso. He keeled over as much as he could and coughed deeply.
"No! No! Leave him alone!" Christine screamed as she was being dragged away from him. "Don't hurt him!"
"It's... alright, Christine." Erik managed before receiving a punch to the face.
"Yes, it is alright." Emile mocked. "We will take good care of him."
"No! Please!" She begged. She could not see any more, for she was dragged around the corner and up the stairs. Before she knew it she was on the other side of the cellar door. She sank to the floor and wept.
"Christine..." Raoul rushed to her side. "Are you alright? Christine! Did they hurt you?"
"No... they did not hurt me."
Not me.
Only him and i left him there in the darkness...
Rue de Rivoli... she knew where that was but what could it mean? Who was he? Who lived there and who was he to Erik? She needed to find out. It was her only hope, as Erik had said. She stood up and wiped her tears.
"Let's go." She said.
