Sweet Seduction

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Life Taken

A/N: Please don't murder the authoress. And keep in mind I said please.

Christine was having dreadful nightmares as she slept. She saw Raoul in the cemetery, driving his sword into Erik's flesh, Erik's head rolling limply to the side, gasping for his final breath, his face disappearing behind his mask and her screams of horror. She saw Raoul in the chapel, his hands around her throat, choking her to death and beating her and Erik watching from the rafters. The scenes changed again and she saw Buquet's dead body hanging from the rafters, saw Erik tightening the noose and running off, Raoul carrying her off to the roof and suddenly throwing her off it. She was falling through the darkness, just falling into space as time slowed when suddenly the darkness around her burst into flame. She was engulfed in fire and so hot, so horridly hot as she burned and saw Erik's body beside her, turning to ash. She felt fire running through her, hot and sticky and so painful, flowing from within her and she couldn't stop it. She screamed and screamed and screamed, but no one heard. No one would listen...

"CHRISTINE!" Erik shouted, shaking his wife gently by the shoulders. She gasped and sat up instantly in bed, her head spinning

"Oh Erik, the fire and I was burning and you were ashes and Raoul was beating me and killing you and I couldn't-"

"Christine, darling, calm down. You were just having a nightmare. It's all right now." He said, gently embracing her. She still kept sobbing against him

"It was so horrible. Raoul kept killing you and he threw me in fire and I couldn't find you" she cried

Erik rubbed her arms gently "Christine, shhh, everything is all right. I'm right here. You're perfectly safe"

"But it was so real!"

"I know, honey, I know. It's all right now, you're awake."

She sighed "Oh thank goodness" She moved a bit groaning "Oh, my stomach hurts wickedly"

Erik smiled "Christine, you haven't eaten anything since last night and I believe we slept in."

Christine looked around, her surrounding becoming familiar again. She remembered that they were still in her dressing room. She rubbed her stomach again. "Christine, let me go get us some breakfast. You''ll probably feel better after you've eaten"

"I don't think it's that Erik, it hurts"

"Well, why don't we see if you'd like something to eat anyway, all right?"

She nodded.

He smoothed her messy hair down "There's my girl." He got out of bed, heading for the door

She sighed, lifting the covers "I'm so glad that it was only a nightma-"

She stopped in cold horror at the sight before her before she began screaming. Her white robe and petticoats were soaked in blood. Hot, messy, sticky blood was flowing everywhere from her legs and the sheets were crimson and plastered to her bare legs. She kept screaming and put a hand on her petticoat, lifting it to find it covered in a bloody, streaming mess. Erik bolted back over to her, muttering "Oh my god"

She stopped screaming as Erik gently covered her mouth with his hand. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the horrid sight before her. Erik rubbed her shoulder gently and gulped, running out of the room "Love, I think I'll go find a doctor." he called back

She nodded in shock and promptly fainted, sliding into the mess of her own blood.

Erik sighed, lowering his head into his hands. They were both back at home now. Christine was cleaned up in a crisp navy ensemble and propped up on pillows in the chair across from him, her face still ashen. Neither of them could believe what had happened today.

After Christine fainted, Erik just blindly bolted out of the room towards the opera house's staff doctor, then remembered he wasn't here today. He ran back over to the ballet corps, quickly found Marie and the words poured out of his mouth in a jumbled, worried rush as she quickly followed him back to Christine's room, crossing herself when she saw what had happened. She sent Meg to fetch a nearby doctor and he came right over, breaking the bad news to Erik out in the hall while Marie helped Christine get cleaned up and changed out of her bloody garments, burning them afterwards. Erik couldn't believe it.

Christine had a miscarriage. According to the doctor, her body wasn't strong enough to support the baby and she was still so young, only eighteen. Her fragile body, she just hadn't developed enough to support their baby. He shook Erik's hand and gave his apologies but Erik hadn't heard a word he said after that. His main concern was Christine and then their lost child. Christine was in shock for a while and couldn't believe what had happened, until finally she broke down and sobbed into Erik's chest while he gently rocked her. He couldn't even think of going to rehearsals or anywhere else Christine wasn't today. They had only come home a few hours ago and neither one of them had moved from the chairs they sank into upon their arrival. The silence, filled with grief was closing in around them and almost deafening. Christine at last broke it with her quiet cries

"How could this happen?" she cried softly

Erik brought his head out of his hands finally "Christine, please, stop crying. It's over now. There's nothing you can do about it. It just happened"

She sighed "I know. I just feel like it's all my fault. I killed our baby"

Erik looked up sharply "Christine, stop saying that! You did no such thing"

"Then why did it have to happen? Hmm, explain that to me since you seem to know everything today! Explain to me why I feel so horrible about this if it wasn't my fault! Explain that to me!"

Erik stood up ready to explode "Christine, you didn't do anything to make it happen! Neither of us did! It's just unfortunate that it happened!"

Christine stood up so fast her head began spinning again, but she forced herself to ignore it "Unfortunate? Unfortunate! Our baby dies and all you can say about it is that it's unfortunate! You can't even feel sorry about it? I just don't believe you!" she screamed

"Well, Christine, what would you like me to say? I'm sorry? I'm sorry you woke up a bloody mess this morning? I'm sorry our baby died? I'm sorry I ever got you pregnant in the first place? I'm sorry you married me?"

She was panting furiously by now and suddenly Christine just sank down to the floor, her skirts swirling out around her. Erik ignored his anger and instinctively moved to help her. She shrugged him off

"Erik please, don't" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands

He hugged her again "I am sorry" he whispered

"I feel like I did something. Like maybe our baby would be alive now if it weren't for me. I just feel like a murderer" she cried

Erik dried her eyes gently with his handkerchief "Christine, you didn't do anything. There's nothing you could have done to prevent this. It just happened, even though we both wish it didn't."

She sighed "I know, but I still can't change the way it makes me feel"

He just kept quiet, still hugging her gently and stroking her hair

After a while, they both just got up and quietly got ready for bed, trying to forget everything that had happened that day, even though both knew it was useless to try. You just couldn't forget about a life that ended before it had begun.

A/N 2: Once again, please don't muder me.