Chapter 8

From the Diary of Christine Annabel Daae.

"It has been nearly a whole year since Papa died and I came to live at the opera house."

"Everyone is very nice to me, especially Madam Giry (my guardian) and her daughter, Meg."

"Sadly, since Papa died, I have been nothing but a shell. I thought Erik would help me through this hard time, but he disappeared after Papa was gone!"

"I have lost my Papa, I have lost my first love, who is possibly dead, and I have lost the desire to sing and so instead Madam Giry trains me as a ballet rat."

"Meg is a sweet girl and I have told her everything about Erik and she seems to understand, but I know she has no idea what it feels like to have your heart broken."

"It's coming close to the anniversary of the day papa died and I told Meg I just want to be alone, but she insists that me and a few other girls sneak out with her tonight and go to this circus that just arrived last night."

"Truth be told, I could care less. All I wanted to do is go to the chapel and light two candles for Papa and Erik, and then cry myself to sleep, but being such a fool I couldn't refuse my only friend, because if I lose her there is no one else."

"Christine come on!" Meg said, prancing into the room.

Christine put down the book she was writing in and grabbed her sweater and coin purse, joining Meg as she literally danced into the hallway.

Meg smiled at Christine as the opera house disappeared and a circus tent rose up before them.

Christine silently had tears going down her face. As she bought her tickets from the glove-fingered girl, Meg said, "Christine, please don't cry. Is this about Erik running away to the circus?"

They didn't hear the gasp or notice the shocked look on the face of the ticket-taker as she put a gloved hand to her mouth. People just stared at Christine as she began to sob.

Meg knew it was rude, but she was happy when the first part of the show started and Christine laughed as three clowns—Hurly, Curly and Moe—came into the tent and started whacking each other in the back of the head.

The show went on for a couple hours more, with more performances, such as a ventriloquist, and a lion-pawed girl who, for some odd reason, kept staring at Christine's face with worry.

Meg realized she was the ticket-taker, and she seemed really scared.

Finally there was one act left and a big, beefy man with coal black eyes and a whip came into the center of the tent.

He said in a loud booming, well-rehearsed voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for your wonderful patronage tonight."

Christine whispered to Meg uneasily, "Why does he carry a whip?"

Meg said, not cracking a smile, "To make whipped cream," but she knew otherwise.

Christine giggled, but was still apprehensive.

Suddenly the man on stage motioned for a cage on wheels to be brought in and the two girls gasped. Inside the cage was a young man, barely dressed, covered in lashes, wearing a dirty sack on his head.

The man said loudly, "Beware the son of the devil,, his face marked by the kiss of Satin, his evil eye will turn you to stone!"

The man walked into the cage and kicked the youth's beaten form to the ground and whipped him. Then he ripped off the sack and forced the youth's face to the audience.

Meg paled considerably at the face she had seen in the pictures Christine had shown her of her lost family.

She looked over at Christine and saw tears of hate and love in her eyes, hate for the big man with the whip, and love for the poor soul in the cage.

Meg knew just by looking at Christine who that youth was.

Erik!