Chapter 2 Don Juan Triumphant

Christine shuddered at the sudden rush of heat from the floor lamps that burst into flame to illuminate the stage. Briefly reminding her of the words the Phamtom had sung to her the night she first visited his lair… "Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation, darkness stirs and wakes imagination, silently the senses, abandon their defenses…" how true those words were, they had haunted her since that night. She could think of little else. Her senses were so heightened at this moment, she felt as though she would shatter into a million fragments if someone dared brush against her.

She was quickly brought to reality, the stage flooding with clamoring dancers, and…Carlotta. Carlotta came close enough with her enormous gown to nearly topple Christine from her feet, taunting her. What simple pleasure Carlotta took in seeing the terror in Christine's eyes.

The music surrounded her as though a thick, hot, wet, veil had been tossed upon them all. She brought her hand to her chest, hoping to quell the thumping of her breaking heart.

The music was dark, sinister, so unlike anything she had ever heard her tutor play. He had always been so gentle, so melodic. The music that radiated this night was dark and powerful, somehow purposeful.

The stage seemed strange and menacing, looking like what she imagined of hell. Draped by thick red over-sized velvet curtains, bathed in red paint with peels of flames running up the walls. A commanding fire took center stage, dancing tauntingly at all who dared look upon it.

The words of the music were direct, each pawn artfully playing their part. Christine's pulse quickened as she heard Piangi sing his final line, signaling her entrance. "If I do not forget myself I'd laugh"

In one swift second, he disappeared behind the curtain. It was time. She had no idea how far this would all play out. Would he appear as she began to sing? Had he observed the readying of the theater with armed guards? Would he not show himself, but observe undetected, taking the opportunity at the end when the opera drew to a close? Too much, too much….she felt faint again.

Christine shook her head, quickly regaining control as she had been taught. No, no, I've got to go on. Angel had coached her about stage fright. How to make herself feel as though it was just the two of them in the darkness and privacy of the cellar where he had met her every day since he first came to her. Swallowing hard, she fought back the urge to run from the stage so as to spare herself and her tutor from this horror. The little girl within her crying out no, no, no. She had become the hope of the evening, of the Opera Populaire. Meg, Madame Giry, dear Raoul, the others she had performed with, ate with, lived with. They were all counting on her to play her part and put this madness to an end once and for all.

Carefully, gracefully, with all the poise of a perfected ballerina, she moved toward center stage. He heart beating wildly as she allowed the first words to escape between her bitterly betraying lips. "No thoughts within her head but thoughts of joy, no dreams within her heart but dreams of love." Her voice trailed off.

She didn't move, she heard him…but from where? Did everyone else hear him? Was his voice inside her mind? No, she heard his pure, powerful voice. Now, she didn't even need to look, she knew. He was on the stage with her. So bold, so clever, so powerful. Where had Piangi gone? Then she heard him begin… "You have come here, in pursuit of your deepest urge, in pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent…silent."

Christine eyes widened. She couldn't help it, she felt drawn to his presence, enraptured by his voice. This wasn't the voice of her tutor, this was the voice that had ignited passion in her heart, in her soul for the very first time. This voice was different, not the voice of a teacher, but of a lover.

"I have brought you, that our passions may fuse and merge, in your mind you've already succumbed to me, dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me, now you are here with me, no second thoughts, you've decided,..decided."

Christine could feel the pull of his mesmerizing voice surrounding her, awakening that deep warmth within her.. as it did when they had been alone in his lair.

She loved Raoul for all the worldly reasons. He had been respectful, with gentle kisses and fond embraces. But never had he made her feel the way she felt at that moment. The Phantom's voice enraptured her.

"Past the point of no return, no backward glances, our games of make believe are at an end. Past no thought of if or when, no use resisting, abandon thought and let the dream descend."

He was behind her now, embracing her as he had that first night, pressing her up against him. She was leaning into him as if being drawn by a magnetic force beyond her control.

"What raging fires shall flood the soul, what rich desire unlocks it's door, what sweet seduction lies before us. Past the point of no return, the final threshold, what warm unspoken secrets will we learn beyond the point of no return."

Christine turned to face him now. Bursting into song, as if in an automatic, subconscious response to him, not as lines that had been rehearsed. The words seemed strange to her, as if he had known she could not resist him.

She felt fully a woman, the very words that rolled from her tongue were one's of seduction, of yearning, of yielding.

Erick was entranced. Realizing she was singing his words, responding to Erick the man, not the monster that everyone else saw. He felt drawn to her. As they parted and walked slowly, but with purpose, toward the staircases on either side of the enormous flame. The raging fire which represented the passion he felt for her. He had never seen her like this before, and he could not take his eyes from her.

They mounted the stairs, one by one, as she sang each word with the yearning that he felt in the very depths of his soul. He gazed at her across the stage with desperate longing. They were rising step by step in unison.

Erick drinking in the sweet nectar of her voice, of the emotions that were boiling over from her soul. Could it be true? Could she really have chosen him? Could she have decided…was she past the point of no return? His heart beat madly at the mere possibility of it. Could their unrequited love bloom to life? She was no longer the innocent child he had guided, but a woman who was seducing him.

At the top of their winding staircases, they were facing one another now, the last shred of distance lay between them. He reeled in the thought of what was to come, the final threshold to be crossed. She was facing him, looking at him, only him. Her face and eyes glowing not only with the reflection of the flames far below, but of the desire within. "How long should we to wait until we're one, when will the blood begin to race, when will the bud burst into bloom, when will the flames at last consume us?"

Their voices blended in a hypnotic dance as they were drawn to each other by the enormous force of the moment. The audience held its breath, captivated by the intensity, enthralled by the immeasurable passion.

Raoul's eyes were brimming with tears. Never having seen Christine like this. He thought of her as complete innocence. Only a husband should see this passion, stir this passion…. had he been a fool? Had Christine given her childish heart to him, but her soul to another? He could hardly bare to watch. It was at his own request that Christine was there, he had begged her to do it. His soul could not bare such anguish.

Meg and Madame Giry stood far below, the two gasping. Madame Giry had rescued both Christine and Erick. How could she choose whom to save? Could she? Erick's tempers, his need for solitude, for absolute control. Christine had such a promising future at the Opera Populaire, she loved her as a daughter. Could these two souls survive against such odds, survive in the reality of the world they would have to live in? She could only stand by and watch helplessly now as they forged their own destiny. "Erick!" His name escaping her in a mournful, pleading cry.

He looked down, horror filling his eyes. His name now known by all who heard her.

The last words uttered, they finally embraced Erick turning Christine so her back was pressed firmly against him, his arms circling her around the shoulders as if to protect and accept her.

"Past the point of no return, the final threshold….we've passed the point of no return." In the silence, he could feel her heart beating as if her chest would explode. Her lungs heaving from the labor of her breathing.

Christine turned to face him, never leaving his arms. They embraced as lovers would when they had decided to surrender to each other completely.

There was no question in the minds of anyone who saw them. The lion and the lamb had found each other in an embrace.

Christine felt the strength and warmth of Erick's body pressed against her. His arms wrapped firmly around her. His breath on her skin. His hands now gently caressing the length of her neck. She no longer trembled. She found herself lost in the overwhelming euphoria of his touch. The hushed whisper of his voice on her cheek.

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime, lead me, save me from my solitude, say you want me with you here beside you.." Erick looked deeply into Christine's eyes "anywhere you go, let me go too, Christine, that's… all… I… ask…of… you."

Christine was in the arms of her angel of music, looking into his eyes. She could scarcely believe it. His pleading eyes, filled with love, passion, needing of acceptance, of true love, the love he had never felt, that had never been returned.

Reaching up with her hands she gently caressed his neck. He was handsome to her despite his fleshly flaws. She knew she could remove his mask, taking him off guard so as to aid in his capture. He would be killed like a wild animal would be that happened to wander into a town or farmyard. She gazed deeply into Erick's eyes, her hands moving slowly up the back of his neck and rounding the curves of his jaw, until his face was fully in her hands.

She felt him tremble Looking into those deep dark pools of blue and green, she felt herself drowning. In that instant, she knew that she was no longer Little Lottie, she was a woman. A woman who loved an imperfect creature, and had been loved by him too.

Christine closed her eyes once more as Erick pulled her even closer to him. Gently reaching out her lips until they met his. A sudden rush, a release of adrenaline coursed through her. She could feel Erick's response and the warmth of his tears on her cheek. She had denied him twice before, had turned from his true beauty, his pure love, his genius. But now as they claimed each other in a proper kiss, they displayed for all the world to see…passion, love, in their raw, pure, form.

The theater was silent, the orchestra stopped playing. In that moment Christine's intentions were made plain.

Raoul shrieked from the balcony "take him now." The theater tossed suddenly into chaos. Dancers ran from the stage, guests clamored for the doors, knocking one another to the ground in the ensuing confusion. Armed guards rushed in from every entrance.

Erick looked about the theater sensing there was no way out and knowing that the world would never accept their newest diva choosing to love a beast. Raoul was climbing down the ropes and drapery that hung from box 5, Erick's box 5.

Erick glanced at Christine who had begun to pull away as the gravity of the situation rose to her consciousness. Terror filling her eyes. She was afraid, he knew that, but was it of him or the events to come? There was no time for contemplation, he must act swiftly or they would be parted forever.

He reached out and firmly grasped Christine about the waist, flinging his cloak around them both. Pulling her close to his torso to protect her. He looked down one last time into Christine's pleading eyes and said those words that had so long been danced around but never uttered "Christine I love you." He said lips trembling. She looked up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks, "Erick, I know" she said, and then buried her head in his chest.

With that the Phantom reached out and pulled the first of two ropes that had been carefully placed just the night before. The first releasing the grand chandelier from it's permanent home on the filigreed ceiling of the theater. It began to sway under the enormous weight of the cut crystals as it made its' fateful descent toward the stage.

The element of confusion, distraction, disaster, Erick had envisioned. With one more flip of his wrist he tugged the second rope. Before either of them could catch their breath, the floor beneath them gave way. They were dropping through the air, down into the flames.

Raoul was just reaching the stage, jumping the last ten feet to the floor as he saw Christine disappear. Rushing toward the pit of fire that had just swallowed his betrothed whole. His mind raced as the trapdoor slapped shut. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the chandelier diving towards him. Leaping out of the way just as it came crashing down into the first rows of the seats, toppling over onto the stage, igniting everything in its path. He jumped back as curtains and cushions burst into flame, and shards of a million pounds of flying crystal were illuminated to brilliance by the raging glow.

Raoul was on his knees, gasping for air, face beaded with sweat from the heat. She had been right! Panic quickly overtaking him. She had pleaded with him not to make her do this. But why would she go with him…couldn't she escape his grasp? Christine must have done so only to spare her life. In his wildest imagination he could find not one reason she would choose that monster over him. His intervention had been too late. Now he would have to hunt them down…to save her…to free her… He had made a promise to her that very day in the cellar. Nothing would stop him, even if it cost him his very life.