"How are you doing today, Miss Daae?" Nadir asked, standing in front of the closed door as Christine ate her breakfast.

"Fine , I suppose."

"Suppose? I'm sure you terribly miss your normal life. Your friends, the city, the theater, the shops..."

Christine shook her head. "I do very much miss Raoul and the rest of my dear friends, but nothing more. I do not care much for fancy shops - I never feel as if I belong there. And...I am at the theater, in a way."

"But what about your new home?"

"Oh, I miss that not at all! I do not like that house! It's so...open and big, yet filled with nothing. No laughter or chatter. And the servants are more like ghost - no one speaks or does anything other than their job. It's why I have never minded this place. It's small, but you know where everyone is. You're together. In a strange way...this home is almost...cozy. Comforting even."

Nadir looked at her like she had gone insane. "You miss the Vicomte, yes?"

"Oh yes! I miss Raoul terribly. But..."

"But what?"

"I don't know. Suddenly...it's like...I can wait to see him a few days more. I'm okay, staying here right now . Maybe, like so many times before, Erik was right about me. Maybe I did make too hasty of decisions."

"Christine?"

She stood up and headed to the door.

"Christine, where are you going?"

"For a walk along the water's edge. Or read a book, perhaps. I'm even in the mood to let my soul soar and sing!" With a big smile, she headed out, Nadir hurrying after her and calling her name.

OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

Madam Giry watched her daughter pace nervously by the curb of the street. Meg had been frantic and restless for days now, which was, of course, very explainable. Looking behind her, she saw another person sick with worry about Christine. Raoul, clad in a very dirty white shirt and ripped up black pants, was digging through the soot, ash, and crumbling wood. His hair was now a grey color, along with his face and hands from the work. So far, Madame Giry hadn't seen him rest or eat once. He didn't sleep until he passed out from exhaustion. Many workers were helping, but Raoul didn't trust them to work fast or hard enough. If only Christine could see him now; see just how much Raoul truly loved her, despite it all. If Madame Giry ever had doubts about that before, they were erased now.

"I'm so scared, Maman!" Meg burst out in tears as she yelled. Madame Giry welcomed the girl into her arms, whispering words of comfort into the girl's flaxen hair as she looked over at Raoul, who had turned to see what Meg had shouted about. When he realized what, his shoulders drooped and his eyes welled with tears that refused to fall, even still. Then, with a second wind, he started ripping through the old wood to replace it with enough new to get to his beloved.

OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

Christine stared at Erik, her heart ripping into two. Her old feelings of when that heart of hers was still innocent and blind to all sins of 'the phantom', started to come rushing back. Yet, as she heard the hammering and ripping, she could feel Raoul's presence, and knew her feelings to him were still true. Her mind turned the pages back to that day in the lake, both men's eyes on her, she having to decide their future, her future.

Her gaze turned from Erik to the lake as she headed to it. She kept walking until she stood in the exact spot she had on that fateful day. Her feet were barely in the water, yet enough to wet her dress. She looked across the lake as if the gate was down and Raoul was tied to it once again. She glanced over, not too far from her, and imagined Erik standing there, holding the rope that had the power to end her fiance's life. She felt as if she was placed in that situation again, though she was all alone. She could feel misery's presence starting to shadow upon her. Was it happing all over again? Was this the beginning of reliving the past? Had she not learned her lesson the first time, and was doomed to repeat her mistakes? Perhaps she hadn't; perhaps she still harbored that little voice inside that resided in a place right next to her heart of secret hearts, that had not died when she thought it had. Perhaps it just went to sleep, and was awakening now; that voice that constantly plagued her with the question 'did I do the right thing, or did I make a big mistake for us all?'

Yes, as surely as she stood here, she knew the voice was well rested and now fully awake. And she knew that the history of not long ago would repeat itself...it was only a matter of time. And with each hammering of the upstairs, that time grew closer.

"You happy now?" Nadir asked angrily at Erik, who was peeking out the kitchen doorway to stare at Christine, who's back was towards him. Yet he sensed something was wrong...

"Erik! Can you not pay attention?" Nadir scolded. Erik snapped out of his trance.

"What?"

"I asked if you were happy now."

"Why? What has changed?"

"What has changed? Christine believes you! She thinks she really has made wrong decisions now!"

"Oh...now that's not good..." Erik said, wincing as he directed his attention on Christine again.

"Of course it's not! She don't-"

"She's getting better...I may have to let her go. I didn't expect her to catch on so quickly and learn her lesson."

"Lesson? Erik, there is nothing wrong with that girl! She has nothing to learn but what amazing things can come out of a productive marriage, like the one she is embarking upon. She has absolutely nothing to learn from you! You are a destructive dead end when she is concerned!"

But Erik heard none of this. "How do you know that is what she thinks?"

"Well, she told me! Said you were right many other times, so you're most likely right about this!"

"Not good...not good at all. I might have to set her free quite soon if she keeps going like this. Why'd I have to pick one that is wise and understanding?" He said, though he simply talked to himself out loud, not to Nadir, whom stared at him as if stunned.

"You're not serious, are you? You're not really going to let her think that her recent decisions are why she's here, are you?"

"Why not? It's the truth."

"It is anything but! She's here for your own selfish reasons - because you cant let her go, because you cant stand the thought of your life without her. This has nothing to do with Christine, except the fact that you seem to believe you cant live without her!"

"What would you know about it, Nadir? If you had the chance to keep your wife with you, no matter how she wanted to leave, you would have. You would have kept her in pain instead of dying peacefully if it was your choice! You would have taken the same action as I have done, and do not tell me you would not, because you did so with your own son! You hated me because I put him out of his pain - you rathered him to wither away than to be without all his agony - for your benefit, Nadir - not his! So don't stand there and say how much better you are than I - for, in all realization, you are exactly the same as me. You did the same - you are on the same level as me. So stop your preaching and go sit in your room until Christine's rescuers come!"

Nadir knew better than to push Erik any farther; already he was beyond his limits. But besides that, Erik's words had hit home. He knew that everything his friend had said was...true. Because of the deep anguish welling in his chest and the words ringing in his ears, he did go to Erik's bedroom and shut the door, not to speak again until he was out of this hell hole.

OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO