Author's note: Even though I'm on break right now and should be sleeping my life away right now, I'm writing this in hope that I can get to post this sometime soon. Enjoy!
The rickshaw stopped as near to the sultana's elaborate palace as the driver could get it, and opened the door for Christine and Nadir to get out, but Christine moved. The driver said something in Farsi, and Nadir said, "You can get off now, Ms. Daaé."
She shook her head slowly. "No, M. Khan. I am not getting off now. I'm getting out now."
"I'm sorry; it was a mistake of mine. I will never be perfect in French, you know. You can get out now."
She shook her head once more, this time with more vigor. "No, I mean that I'm getting out of this whole saving Erik business. I have no place here, and it's taken me this long to realize that. Erik is not my concern any more. He left my life, and I should be glad about that. Why am I searching for him, Nadir? Why? Tell me that, and perhaps I shall continue."
"Perhaps you search because, in some recess of your brain, you love him. As I love him as a pupil might love his teacher, I will search for him. But I cannot do it alone. I need the support of someone who loves him as well. If you do not continue with this search, than Erik may die in captivity. Just imagine the hope you could be giving him just with the knowledge that he is loved, and being looked for."
"But how would he know?"
"I have reason to guess that Djali, that is, the flirtatious Djali, may be in contact with Mathieu and know more than she lets on."
"Then why did you not question her more?"
"Because she was being impossible—trying to play on your obvious jealousy to its max. She would've easily brushed off a more serious question."
"My obvious jealousy?" Christine cried indignantly.
"Well, yes, I'm afraid it was rather obvious, Christine. But that is beside the point. I am trying to tell you that it is a good possibility that Erik knows you are looking for him, or that he will soon. If he then discovered that you had abandoned him, I don't know how he would take it."
"But I've been trying to say that his well-being is no longer my concern!"
Nadir gave a heavy sigh. "If there is truly nothing I can say to convince you to stay, then I shall accompany you back to France. In fact, I have been getting the sense more and more that Erik is not in Persia anyway, so it may be good to go back to France."
"Why do you think he's not in Persia?"
"I'm not 100 sure, but the Djalis who we've talked to seem far too relaxed and confident. If Erik were here, there would be more tension around. I am aware that it is all conjecture, but it's an instinct that I feel is correct."
Christine looked at him, trying to see if she could believe him. Finally she said, "If you are right, and Erik is in France, I will help you find him. But if it turns out that Erik is in fact in Persia, I will give up. I haven't even been in Tehran for a day, and I have already had enough. I've been feeling so overwhelmed, Nadir." The exhaustion of a fruitless search and an unusual country took over her, and she fainted.
Christine woke up intermittently throughout the train ride back to Paris, and only got up to change trains. Once she and Nadir reached Paris four days later, Nadir suggested she rest a while. She whispered that she didn't really have a place of her own, so Nadir led her to his apartment, and she slept in his bed for what felt like a week.
One late afternoon she woke up, feeling much refreshed, so she got out of bed, noticing that she was still wearing the clothes Nadir had bought her in Tehran, and walked out of the bedroom to the living area. Nadir was sitting there in a deep discussion in Farsi with another Persian. Noticing her, he stopped talking and looked up.
"Good news, Ms. Daaé," he said. "My friend here has a good idea of where Mathieu and Erik are and, in truth, I'm rather ashamed I haven't thought of it already."
"And where's that?" Christine asked, yawning.
"Rouen," said the other man. "It's a town in north France where they were born. I have a cousin who lives there who told me about a plot of Mathieu's to…" he stopped and looked at her. "Well, the plan as I understand it is to capture you or lure you in some way up to Rouen so Mathieu could kill you in front of Erik before killing Erik. So I advise you not to go."
Christine looked to see Nadir's expression, which was as shocked as hers: he obviously hadn't been told about that yet. Turning back to the man, she said, "I disagree with your advice. I am going to Rouen. They won't expect that. I'll hide in Rouen and figure out where Erik is, then I'll rescue him somehow, and together, we'll be invincible! Erik is that powerful." Her eyes were glowing with the idea.
The man expressed his skepticism, and left shortly thereafter. Christine didn't give a thought to him afterwards, which would turn out to be a major miscalculation. Instead she discussed the speediest way to get to Rouen with Nadir, who she forbade to come with her this time.
"I'll still be in my home country—I will be able to disguise myself with great ease. Never fear, Nadir."
"I can't help but do so, Ms. Daaé. You are still unaware of how dangerous Mathieu can be. Beware, Christine, and be wary."
Christine left that evening for the overnight train to Rouen—luckily it was a big enough city that there was a direct train there, which also meant that it would be that much easier to hide herself. As she waited in her box of the train for it to depart, the door to her box opened and, of all people, Raoul walked in. Seeing Christine, he gave a sigh of relief, saying, "When I saw your name on the departing list, I almost couldn't believe it. Christine, Christine, where have you been? I've been so worried—I even checked morgues and the obituaries."
She looked at him in utter confusion. "Why on earth did you do that? I seem to remember our engagement being broken off," she said.
He ignored the comment and sat down across from her. "Why are you going to Rouen? I wasn't planning on getting on this train until I thought I saw you."
"That's rather impulsive."
"Isn't it?" He sounded rather proud of himself for some reason.
"You didn't answer my question, Raoul."
"Which one was that?"
"Why you've apparently been searching for me when I broke our engagement, at what seemed to me a mutual agreement at the time."
"Oh Christine, mon chéri, I acted far too impulsively. I sent thousands of flowers to the Girys, where I thought you were. I had no chance to apologize, so I'm afraid you'll have to take this one, though it is long overdue." He smiled bashfully at her.
"And what makes you think I'm accepting your apology? There's nothing saying that I must take it."
"But Christine, my parents would be devastated! They still talk about you often."
"Saying terrible things, no doubt. You know as well as I that your parents disliked me immediately upon seeing me."
The train started off as Raoul cried, "Of course not! It's normal to be worried about first appearances, but don't be frightened by my parents—they can be hard to read at first, but they're loveable once you get to know them."
Christine gave a long sigh, abandoning that topic of conversation to hopelessness, than she had an idea. "Raoul, do you have any idea why I'm going to Rouen?"
"Nope—remember? I just got on this train by impulse."
"I'm going to find Erik. The Phantom of the Paris Opera. My Angel. I'm going to rescue him. I went to Persia to try to find him—that's how much I care for him."
"Why in God's name did you do that?" He was shocked.
"I asked myself the same question while in Persia, and in the mean time I've come up with an answer, and it only has three words: I love him. Isn't it a known fact that people in love act like fools? I suppose I am the perfect example of that. So I am going to Rouen to be with my beloved."
Raoul's mouth set in a grim line that Christine had never seen before. "Then I am going to Rouen to convince you of the love you surely still hold for me in your heart."
"That wasn't love: that was blind fear combined with the comfort of someone I knew from my childhood and someone who didn't question me like only Erik can.'
"You wish to be questioned."
"I don't want to take a certain path simply because it is the easiest way to go."
"I'm sure that's not true."
"I know it to be so."
Raoul sat back. "We shall see," he said, giving a semblance of his old silly smile.
But Christine had already forgotten him, and was losing herself in her thoughts of Erik. She loved him, yes she did. But how on earth was she going to rescue him from Mathieu?
We're getting to the climax of the story: yay! PLEASE review, people! I haven't gotten reviews on my past two chapters and this worries me. Are people sick of my story, or am I just doing things the way you like? If so, please say so! Is the story getting inane and boring? If so, please tell me! Once again, I thank you for reading, thou loyal POTO-ers!