Disclaimer: I do not own POTO or Elisabeth.

A/N: For those who don't already know, I edited Chapter Six.

Another short chapter. Bad, bad, bad me! The next one will be longer- I promise!

Chapter Seven

Relax in My Arms

"Dona eis, domine," Christine responded with the rest of the small congregation that had gathered at Beate's funeral. She couldn't help but feel that she was to blame for her friend's death. Had she only gone down at midnight, she might have been able to save her.

Christine remembered part of the article in the local newspaper:

"Beate Svanbäck's death is one shrouded in mystery. All that was known of the case was that at exactly twelve midnight, Beate let out a scream and that was the end of her. Her scream woke her parents, who ran out to see what was wrong. Her body was found in the Crackling Hearth's back yard, slumped over a book of witchcraft. The strangest thing about Beate's death was that no sign of physical harm was ever found. There were no wounds of any kind, and there was no evidence of poison on the body or around the place where the body was found. The authorities believe that Beate froze to death."

A pretty good idea of how Beate met her end had already formed in Christine's mind. Her theory was horrible and defied the laws of modern science, but it made perfect sense to Christine. She knew that Erik had simply come down and taken away Beate's soul. His motives for the crime were obvious. Erik murdered Beate to convince Christine to give him what he wanted- which was something she wasn't prepared to give.

The funeral ended. Every slowly filed away as the undertaker began to cover the coffin with clumps of dirt.

Raoul gently placed his hand Christine's shoulder. "Come, Christine. You don't have to watch this."

"I just want to be alone with her for a while."

"I'll be at the inn." He softly pecked Christine's cheek and walked away.

Christine walked up to the grave slowly. The undertaker shot her a cantankerous look, but continued on with his work when she refused to move. Finally, the undertaker had covered the grave and he left the cemetery indifferently. Christine knelt by the headstone and traced Beate's name with her finger.

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

A hand rested on Christine's shoulder.

"Raoul, please go away," she said without turning around. The hand that was resting on her shoulder slid down her arm and took her hand. Any other sound disappeared as the person behind her began to sing soothingly:

"Don't despair,
relax in my arms.

I want to comfort you.
Escape and you will be free
and all the fighting will be over.
I want to take you away from space and time
into a better reality."

Erik smiled as he helped Christine to her feet. His music had always entranced her, and it would continue to. Repeating the short song, he led her towards the black carriage at the cemetery gates.

Christine's mind became a battleground. Erik always sent her better judgment and some dark, aloof emotion that Christine couldn't name into a confusing war. Erik opened the door to the carriage. Christine tugged her hand out of his.

"No!"

A/N: Erik sang an excerpt from "Ich Will dir nu sagen (I just want to tell you)" from Elisabeth. Once again, many thanks go to Stacy's Musical Village for the English translation.

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