M. Gabriel stared at me with bitter disappointment as I announced my refusal of the role. His usual sour frown deepened further as he looked over his papers in his office. He had already written out the cast list and was ready to present it to the company at the morning rehearsal. With a hard jab of his pencil, he crossed my name off the list. This was quickly followed by another hard mark.

"Seibel, then." he stated.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I had resigned my disappointment to being demoted to the chorus. I surely didn't expect to be given another solo position. I leaned over his desk to see what name he had crossed off in favor of mine.

"Oh..." I shook my head. "Not Mlle. Babineaux. Please sir, I don't want to displace anyone." I protested. Gabriel's pencil rose in the air to stop me.

"Mlle. Babineaux has already spent two years in the chorus and has just made enough process for me to barely consider her for a part. But she is not ready, not yet. You are." he explained. He let his hand fall down into his hand.

"I'm still disappointed in you, Mlle. Daae. You have shown yourself to be incredibly talented and gifted. In my fifteen years as choral director at this opera, I have never seen anything like it, especially for someone without any previous training. However you should know that talent is not the only thing to equal success in this business. You must have conviction as well. You must have passion. I saw it in you, but I have a feeling despite your dedication these past weeks, it has faltered."

I nodded. "Your assumptions are correct sir." I sighed thinking of all the hard work I had devoted myself despite my unwillingness to the task in the first place. To singing the leading role wouldn't have just been wonderful. It would have been my father's dream come true. "I guess I don't feel really ready for such a responsibility." I was genuinely sorry to have another person put faith in me, only to let them down. "Besides, I think you would upset Mlle. de Changy if you did not allow her to sing."

Gabriel bit into his pencil. "That is true. The last thing I need is another annoyed diva. She and her brother are patrons." he mused. "I hope that you are not giving up this opportunity just because you and Mlle. de Changy are close friends."

I sighed. "I would be lying if I denied that, but I'm afraid there are more complicated issues behind it. Again sir, I am very sorry."

Gabriel gathered his papers off his desk in a frantic gesture to look busy. Clearly he was becoming increasingly annoyed with my presences and my apologizes. "I'm sure that given your progress over the past few weeks, memorizing Seibel's role shouldn't prove much of a challenge." He took the stack of papers in his hands, he turn to gather his jacket and open the door for us both.

"Don't worry Mlle. Daae, many sopranos have won the hearts of men, even while wearing breeches." he quipped with a wink.

The rehearsal for Faust continued under surreal circumstances that everyone in the company seemed to accept. Genny had made her triumphant return and assumed her role as prima donna. The rest of the company followed back into their normal pattern of business. The same friendships and alliances reformed after the disturbance caused by Carlotta's murder.

However, there was still an air of cautious among the artists as if everyone was suspicious of one another. Everything seemed the same, but we all were aware of a strange difference that we did not wish to voice.

Genny's friends among the chorus praised her now more than ever, and surprisingly she returned their affection. However only so much. She no longer invited them to outings or brought sweets to share at rehearsal. She retreated to her dressing room; Carlotta's former dressing room which she had claimed, after every rehearsal instead of sharing in the friendly conversation among the other singers. I in turn did my best to become involved with the others, but I did not have a fraction of Genny's charisma. I succeeded in only appearing more awkward and distance. I felt the distain for my presence as an amateur.

One morning, M. Gabreil who was insanely punctual, was almost twenty minutes late to rehearsal. The chorus was in an argument before Camille left the stage, only to return moments later, the chorus master's papers and notebook crammed under her arm.

"Please, M Gabriel can't be at our rehearsals any longer." she stated, shouting over the agitated noise. "I shall contact M. Mercier to help us in these last few days, but for today, I have been asked to lead the rehearsal." This statement lead to even louder protest, particular from the men. Camille stood firm and soon with the corporation of the conductor, she managed to calm the singers and have them sing through the first acts of the opera.

Afterward the room was abuzz with gossip about M. Gabriel. I stayed off in the corner and watched as Camille spoke to Mercier and the conductor, before pushing her way pass the crowd. She saw me and gave a small smile.

"I suppose you're curious too." she asked. I nodded. In the few minutes after we had been dismissed, I had overhead the rumors speculating the chorus master's absence, ranging from mental breakdown to extramarital affair.

"I just want to know if M. Gabriel is well." I asked

"Well enough, considering a broken leg." She laughed and I looked at her stunned. "Don't worry Christine. It's all his fault. His superstition got the best of him again." We started to walk to the wings as Genny explained. "He tripped down the stairs outside the manager's office. He was babbling about seeing the Persian."

"The Persian?" I asked, my thoughts concerned for my mysterious ally.

"Yes, don't tell me you don't know about the Persian?"

I shook my head. "No, I have seen him about the opera."

Camille sighed. "Ah the Persian, a person who's mystery is only surpassed by the Opera Ghost. Despite how M. Gabriel might act, he is incredibly superstitious. He was raving that he saw the Persian and the Phantom together and they were casting the evil eye. He was in such a hurry to get away; he tripped over his own feet and fell down. I think his pride is more wounded than his leg."

I nodded as she spoke. "Strange things are happening around the opera." she added.

"Indeed." I touched her hand. "Camille, I've been meaning to ask you. Have you noticed a change in Genny?"

Camille gave me a startled look. She read the look of concern on my face and realized the seriousness of my question. "Apparently not as much as you have noticed. Is there something that has gone wrong? Something between you two?"

"Yes, but I think it is more than that. I think her mind is disturbed." Camille gave me a crooked frown of disbelief. "Please, it's not as it appears. Yes, we have had a quarrel but there is more to it than that."

"She's upset that you were given the lead role before she was. Is that it?"

I wouldn't bother to ask Camille where she had heard that information, for we both knew her to be a notorious snoop.

"That is part of it, but I fear something else in her had changed. Something that she is hiding." I sighed. "Perhaps I am overly concerned, since it's apparent that if there has been a change, you haven't noticed it. Perhaps it's all in my head."

"Christine, dear. I think the only problem you have is that you care too much." Camille offered. "You are just too full of kindness that it might cause you to think the world is coming to an end if we all don't get along." she chuckled. "But now that you mention it, she has been becoming more isolated. We've hardly spoken like we did before her promotion, and she was insistent on having Carlotta's own dressing room for herself." I watched her give an exaggerated shudder. "Oh, to be in a room that belonged to a dead woman."

I nodded in agreement. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see a welcome and familiar face. "Raoul?" I was genuinely astonished to see him since he had made an effort not to frequent the opera. I hadn't received word from him in over two weeks and the opera was set to open in ten days. I could only hope that their plan was being set in motion.

More than likely he had stayed away as to not anger his sister. He took my hand on kissed it. "Christine." Camille looked at us both in a state of stupefied wonder and it occurred to me that Genny had never introduced her brother to her friend.

"Raoul, this is Camille, our assistant chorus director." I said emphasizing her new title. "She is a very good friend." Raoul offered her a small bow and brought her hand up to his lips in turn.

"Pleasure to meet you, mademoiselle."

"The pleasure is all mine, M. Vicomte." Camille answered and I could see her blushing though she tried to conceal it with a sheet of music. My assumption must have been correct.

Raoul reached into an inner pocket of his suit jacket and withdrew a letter. "Christine, I have something for you...could we discuss this in private?" I looked over at Camille, whose cheeks were still candy apple red. "It will only take a moment." he explained.

"Of course." Camille turned to address me. "But don't forget Mlle. Daae. I have notes for you." she chided in a playful voice, looking through her notebook to find her remarks that she had made throughout rehearsal.

I nodded. "Could you leave them in the dressing room? I'll only be a few minutes"

"Don't make promises you can't keep." she said smugly with a wink and then continued down the hall.

I turned my attention back to Raoul. The hall had only a few people left but I let him follow me down another until we came to the large sewing room which was deserted. I laughed inwardly, thinking of how I had scolded him for trying to meet with me alone in the opera before. Now I was leading him astray.

I couldn't help myself and I stood on my tip toes and planted a kiss on his warm cheek. I let my fingers brush a lock of his hair before touching his neck and falling back to my side. For a few precious moments, all my anxieties were driven away, being replaced by the pleasures I felt being near Raoul. He handed me the note which I opened. I didn't have a real need to read it since Raoul explained every word.

"We are leaving on opening night." he instructed. "I wish I could leave sooner, but our friend thinks this is the ideal time. Everyone around us will be distracted. I have already spoken to Philippe..."

I cut him off. "What exactly have you told him?" I inquired uneasily.

"I told him that you are under the terrible influence of your music teacher and that I must get you away from him. That is all."

I was incredibly thankful that Raoul had been so vague, but I also wondered what could endanger the Comte in our actions, if he did not know the deadly risk he would be taking to help us. "We will have our carriage posted outside the artist's entrance. As soon as the curtain falls, you and Genny must leave. I will be backstage with you as well as our friend. Philippe will stay in his box until the last act, and then prep for our departure."

"Then where will we go?"

"I have sent order to have our cottage in Perros made ready for us. We can flee there and then decided where to go. England perhaps." he mused. "Or would you rather return to your home country? Christine, I would carry you across the earth if you asked me to." he confessed.

His hands encircled my waist, pulling me close. "I don't want to wait. We should go now. Every day, I despair knowing that monster still keeps you imprisoned." he pressed his nose into my hair, letting his troubled words fall like rain into my ears. A small voice in the back of my head called out for me to object. To say that Erik was no monster, that I wasn't held like a prisoner in a cell. In this moment, enclosed in Raoul's strong arms, I felt safe and calm. It was too lovely a moment to let my doubts destroy it. "Oh Christine, fly away with me. Say you'll leave here with me now." he pleaded.

He knew my answer before I even spoke it. I shook my head. "I can't. I promised myself I wouldn't leave without your sister. How could we hope to be together if we wounded your family so?"

Raoul sighed, a dreadfully dejected sound that resonated through the empty room. "Christine, do you love me? If Erik were handsome, would you still love me?"

Such of question should have repulsed me. To think I would be so shallow that I could judge him based on appearance. However in that instant, my heart felt for Raoul and his unhappiness and I reached up and pressed my lips to his in reply. He returned my kiss with restrained intensity.

"Then say you'll marry me..." he whispered between breathes before I pulled away.

Cruel fate decided to act at that moment. As I pulled away, Erik's ring which I still had hidden between my breasts swayed and struck my chest.

"In time. First we must make our escape. We have waited this long..."

Raoul let his shoulder straighten back to their full height, but his hand still gripped mine. "I'm afraid, though, you will have to do some convincing to Genny to get her to leave. I know that Philippe and I are no longer in her good graces. Surely you will have better luck"

I frowned knowing the difficulty of the task ahead. I was also curious if the de Changy brothers had noticed the change in their sister as I had.

Raoul slipped the letter into my hand. "I know that notes like this are becoming dangerous things around here. Please read that at your earliest connivance." I pressed it in between my hands.

"I will." I promised. He stole another kiss from me. I could sense the hope within him that soon this nightmare would be over. I should have been sharing in it, but my heart was still full of doubt.

"Christine!" An irate voice interrupted as. We pulled away to see Genny marching down the corridor to the room, Camille trailing in her wake. I backed away from Raoul and put my hand behind my back trying to conceal the note. Even at this distance, I could see the fury in her eyes.

Raoul reached out her hand to his sister, but she pushed it away. "Christine, I thought we had an agreement."

"Genny please..." I started.

"What's that you're hiding?" she demanded and reached around to see the letter. I pushed her hands away and she in return push me back with a violent strength I could not fathom coming from such a delicate frame.

"A letter; a love letter, no doubt." she snarled and snatched it from my hand. "Appears my brother is more foolish than I give him credit for."

Raoul's brow furrowed at his sister's action, while Camille looked astonished at all three of us. I gritted my teeth.

"It's private." I reached for it. "Please give it back."

"I know what you have been planning, Christine. You want me to leave the opera, leave in my hour of triumph." she proclaimed, holding the letter high above her head. Genny stood several inches above my meager height, placing it out of reach. My eyes burned with the threat of new tears. Our plans were contained in that letter, or perhaps Raoul's affection. Either thing could destroy us if Genny in her mad state discovered them.

Raoul stepped in between us. "Genevieve, please. Not here." he berated.

"Why not? Why not here. It seemed a suitable place for you two to sneak off and make love? Is it not?" He remarked garnered shocked gasps from both Camille and myself. "It's perfectly acceptable for you to shame the family by throwing yourself at Christine, but you won't let me sing." she challenged. "You, and her have been plotting against me, trying to force me to leave the opera. You want to replace me with her. That has been your plan all along."

"Genny, come to your senses." Raoul pleaded. "You know Christine, she is your friend and she only wants to protect you."

"Genny, if we leave, I swear to you I will never set foot on the stage again. I would give you all the fame you deserve, but you must trust us this once. What we are doing is for you own protection." I added. I watched on edge as she took several steps backwards and tighten her grip on the letter. One finger slide underneath the folds to break the seal.

"Forgive me if I don't believe either of you. I know the truths you are concealing. Raoul, have you truly told our brother why you are so desperate to rescue Christine? I know you haven't, because he would agree to it. Imagine the Vicomte de Changy marrying..." her eyes turned to me, fixing me with a sinister stare. "A costume girl. For that is what you truly are, Christine Daae. Nothing but a simple minded wretch who, if not for my influence, would still be picking up pins from the floor!" she spat.

Her words wounded me but only for a moment. I knew they were only a product of her madness. I used the opportunity to jump forward and grab the letter out of her hand. A corner tore and remained trapped in her fingers while I released the rest.

Genny's face became red hot with anger. Her tongue readied another insult. I took the letter and shredded it into pieces in front of her. Her jaw drop watching me defy her. Raoul managed to put a firm hand on his sister's shoulder to steady her, but in her rage, she managed to pull forward with that same mad speed as before.

The impact of her hand on my cheek caused my hands to drop the pieces of the letter to drift to the ground like falling snow. My reflexes caused my hand to cover my cheek. I heard Camille's loud exclamation in the background as well as the sounds of Raoul and his sister's heated words. I watch the remains of the letter scatter across the floor and prayed that it wasn't a love letter after all.

Raoul had both of his sister's arms locked behind her back. Her shoes made an angry sound on the floor as she tried to charge at me.

"You stupid wretch! You're nothing without me!" she declared. "I told you to stay away from my brother! You are not worthy of him, you little slut."

"Genny, enough!" Raoul roared. I stood up to face her, trying my hardest to look strong.

"You're mad." I stated. My resolve only seemed to infuriate her further. She managed to pry herself from Raoul. Even in her state, I knew that Raoul would never restrain her with enough force to cause any pain. She stood there fuming, her fists clenched at her side. She had her hair down, and it caught every flicker of light illuminating it like the sun. It cast an unearthly glow around her once pretty features, now distorted in rage. She spun to face Raoul.

"You want to marry her?" she laughed at him, "I'll tell Philippe! I'll tell our brother about all her dark secrets, even the ones she won't share with you!" she tugged at her dress. "Then we will see if he agrees with you then!" She gathered up the train on her dress and stomped out of the sewing room, deliberately making her footfalls as loud as possible.

It was Camille who came rushing to my side first. Her arms gripped my shoulders and felt them shaking underneath her hands.

"Dear God, Christine!" she cried. "What has happened?"

I glanced up at her to see that she too was visibly shaken from Genny's outbursts. I reached up and touched her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze to let her know I was all-right. I had two wishes in that moment. One was that Genny would keep silence for I was sure that even the Comte's good nature would not allow him to overlook any rumors about my relationship with his brother. I was certain in her wild imagination, Genny would have no trouble spinning lies about my morals in hopes of upsetting the family patriarch. Genny could not control Raoul's actions, but his older brother certainly had the power to.

Second was that I hoped that Erik had been true to his word and had not been lurking in the shadows watching me. He could have witnessed Genny's assault, heard my words and seen me willingly exchange my affections with Raoul. I was certain if he had seen any of this, he wouldn't allow any of us to live.

"I fear we are all under the will of lunatics now," I replied.

R/C Fluff! What am I doing? ;)