Hey everyone! I need your opinion please, and if you would be so kind as to leave said opinion in the comments, I would love it and it would be greatly appreciated! :) So, I have to make a Renaissance dress, and being the obsessed POTO fan I am, I wanted it to resemble Christine's Point of No Return dress from the 2004 movie (the stage version would be too complicated to make). I'm having difficulties trying to decide if it is similar enough to Renaissance dress to make (not an EXACT replica) something like it. Pictures can be easily found on Google Images. Thank you so much, this will be so helpful! I hope you like this chapter :)
Erik couldn't stand it. He had hurt his Christine, and he was too cowardly to just go ahead and end it. It was pathetic. He considered seeing her, but then made excuses to not go. But finally, he decided to go and see her afterwards. Maybe if Christine had enough hate for him, she would end it for him.
He arrived at the doctor's soon after making this decision, and snuck in without the doctor even noticing. He opened the door to the room Christine was in and then closed it softly behind him, and turned around to see her.
"Who...? Oh my God it's you! I can scream if I have to. The doctor's nearby so I wouldn't try anything, and Raoul should be coming back any minute", she said, her voice shaking.
"No, Christine please. I was..." he trailed off. He was about to say that he had given himself drugs, but was too ashamed to admit it. He had come a long way from being her angel.
"You were what? Going to force yourself on me? As I told you before, I can easily scream", Christine said, covering herself. She didn't have anything on... she hadn't come with anything on.
"Christine, I didn't mean to hurt you..." Erik said, walking closer to her.
All of a sudden her eyes welled up in tears. "Please. Don't come any closer. I would think that you've had enough", she looked away, biting her lip.
He quickly closed his eyes, as if to shut away the thought that yes, yes he did really do that to Christine. It hadn't been a nightmare.
"I trusted you and even... loved you. That feeling has left me, and any feelings I may have for you still is cold hatred. You were my Angel. Now what are you? The devil?" Christine cried.
"No. I'm the Devil's Child", he murmured under his breath so Christine couldn't hear.
"What are you saying? Why can't you just leave? Go find another poor girl to satisfy your hunger. Please, leave me. I can't..." she said.
"Christine, please understand..." Erik said.
"No, Erik. I've tried to understand you, honestly. I've given you many chances; I know what you've been through. But this... how can I forgive you?" she asked.
"Christine. If you would just let me explain... but you don't want me to. I wouldn't go against your wishes, because I love you and always will", Erik confessed again.
Christine wanted to tell him that he had gone against her wishes many times, but then she heard the sound of a carriage. Raoul. "Erik, go. Raoul is here. You're lucky you left before he came to the opera house-who knows what he would've done to you. Go, please. And... don't come back".
Without another word, Erik left through the window. Those words had hurt him quite a bit. Did she really mean it, though? He didn't want to believe it, but he knew inside that it was true. He would leave her alone. God forbid, it would torture him worse than any of the many tortures he had endured, but he would stop seeing Christine.
Two weeks later and after all performances of Faust were over, Christine was ready to leave. Raoul picked her up and put her into the carriage. He was relieved to see his beautiful Little Lotte healthy again. There was color in her cheeks once more, and she hummed and sang constantly. She was back to her healthy weight, the doctor had told him, and was acting much more cheerier.
Christine was so happy that she felt better now. Erik had kept his promise and hadn't seen Christine once after that visit, and therefore she felt more safe and happy. She could even sing now, without thinking of her teacher. Carlotta had indeed played the lead role in Faust, but Christine knew better than to approach her about it when she arrived once more at the opera house.
"One week, Raoul. Only one week. And then it will be gone-waking up in that old building. But it will be for the best", she said, holding onto his arm.
He smiled. It was their wedding in one week. Christine would live with him as his wife after the marriage, but would continue performing in the opera house. He knew that this may be looked down upon by other ladies and couples, as Christine should be keeping house, and, in their opinion, soon becoming a mother. But Raoul knew how happy she was at the opera house, and he couldn't bare to tear her away from her passion of singing and acting, so she would continue there.
"You don't have to live at the opera house for that week, Christine. You're welcome to stay... in the guest bedroom until we get married", he said awkwardly, and then cleared his throat.
"Oh, I know, and thank you very much for offering, Raoul. But I'd rather savor the end. Not really the end, though. But I won't get to see everyone as often, so I would like to make it last. Make the good thing last until the better thing comes along", she said, smiling ravishingly at Raoul.
They arrived at the opera house and Raoul helped Christine off. The carriage driver gathered up her solitary bag and followed them from a distance as they walked into the opera house.
Raoul dropped Christine with a deep kiss to go about some business, and Christine began to cheerfully unpack her things.
"Think of me. Think of me fondly, when we've said goodbye. Imagine me. Trying too hard to put you from my mind..." Christine sang softly.
"Oh, how things have changed, Erik", she whispered sadly. Now that she could think clearer, she knew how much he loved her. And now that she was marrying Raoul...
She stopped unpacking and looked at the mirror. Why was she doing this?
"Am I to risk my life to gain the chance to see you?" Christine cautiously touched the mirror.
Christine easily found the tiny lever to open the mirror, and, grabbing a candle, went through. Why am I doing this? Hadn't I told him to leave me? She thought to herself. She shook her head at her own actions and continued until she came across a boat, which she boarded. Seeing Erik row the same boat many times, she easily managed.
As she turned the corner, expecting the gate closed, she was surprised. The gate was open, and Erik was no where to be seen. Only one candle was lit, and even that one was more than halfway burned down. Only the light from the grates made it visible enough to maneuver. Cobwebs hung in the most random places, and as Christine ran her fingers over his piano, a small layer of dust coated her fingers. She furrowed her pretty brow in worry, and pushed back the dusty curtain that led to his swan bed.
"Erik!" she whispered softly. He lay on his bed, eyes closed, and she thought he was dead until she saw the smallest rise and fall of his chest, covered by dirty, white fabric.
She rushed to him and put the candle down on the small table next to his bed. He still hadn't awakened. She found a small, tattered piece of cloth on the floor and searched for some water. She couldn't find any, so she had to resort to the river around her. She soaked the cloth in the freezing, cold water and put it over his forehead.
He sat up with a jolt and his eyes shot open. He took in a quick, shallow breath, but didn't say anything.
"Erik", Christine said, stroking his unmasked face.
She gently tried to push him back down, but he was persistent and remained sitting up. "I have died, haven't I? And I have gone to hell. Christine, your image is torturing me... it is hell", Erik rasped in an anguished voice.
"No, Erik. You're still alive. Don't worry. I don't know what happened to you, but I'll help you", she told him gently.
He snorted. "Christine? It may look like you, but Christine would never say anything like that to me. She hates me, I know she does. Heroin made me rape her..." he looked off into the distance.
"Oh, Erik! You're not well. Please, listen. It is me, Erik. It's Christine", she said, stroking his face again.
"I realized, Christine. I just, can't believe... but why? and how?" he asked her, standing up. He wobbled on his feet, but managed to stay upright.
"Wait Erik. Wait a little bit first", she said, and gently helped him back onto the bed.
"I don't understand", he said, looking confused.
"Was that true, Erik? The part about... the heroin?" she asked him quietly. She pushed the hair out of his face, and he closed his eyes under her touch.
He looked away. "That's what made me do it, Christine. I couldn't take it-couldn't take the pain of not being able to be with you. I through it in the lake afterwards", he said, embarrassed.
"Erik", she breathed. "I wish you would have told me that at the doctor's. Maybe... maybe things would have turned out differently", Christine told him.
"But Christine, things can still change. We can find a way", he said, reaching for her soft face.
She turned her head away. "No, there isn't a way", she whispered.
"Christine?" he asked her, and this time tried to hold her hand, but she pulled away once more.
"No, Erik. Please don't", she told him.
"I'm sorry I did that to you Christine. I suffered too. I felt so horrible after..."
"That's not it. Erik, in one week, Raoul and I are getting married".