Erik POV
"What in God's name did you do Erik?" Nadir questioned as he met up with Christine and I in one of my secret passageways. "The police are outside the opera house!"
"Nadir please, I don't need your observations, you know damn well what happened! " I yelled bitterly. Nadir raised his eyebrows and was quiet for a moment.
I could hear Christine's small sobs from behind me where she was standing and it caused my heart to sink to my stomach. I wanted to sweep her up into my arms and give her reassurance. I wanted to give her everything and stop the crystal drops from rolling down her cheeks.
"We need to go." I said sternly as I grabbed Christine's hand once more and began to walk swiftly down the long passageway. Christine was stumbling behind me causing my pace to slow only a little and Nadir was beside me. As I walked I could feel air hit my exposed face and cringed at the thought that its grotesqueness was still on display. I was somewhat thankful though that the pathway was dark but that didn't stop me from still wanting my mask.
"We need to grab what we can and leave the opera. They'll be looking for us within an hour." I spoke with a sense of urgency. "Christine, you will need to collect the items that you need. We will not be coming back."
When we finally got to my underground home I let Christine free in her room to collect her necessities and I went straight to my room to grab the mask I usually wear, then proceeded to throw my most important music scores in a small leather bag.
"And where are you planning to go Erik?" Nadir said as he walked into my room with a bottle of whiskey he had stolen from my kitchen.
I took a deep breath and shrugged. "I don't know! I'll find someplace!" I yelled out of stress and urgency.
Nadir rolled his eyes and took a quick swig out of the bottle.
"I'll need you to stay here and keep a watch on our dear friend, Raoul. I want you to deal with him if he makes any concerning advancements, Daroga." Nadir rubbed his head and took a deep breath. I dropped my bag on my bed and walked over to him. "I just want the best for Christine, and Raoul is not it." I uttered quietly while placing my hand on his shoulder.
"Yes Erik, I understand. I just can't remember when you were deemed best fit for controlling that aspect of Christine's life." His words pierced at my heart but I refused to let them penetrate it. Without saying a word I walked past him and carried on with the task of collecting the things of the most importance to me. I didn't know really if I'd ever come back here. I couldn't help but wonder if this chapter of my life was coming to an end.
Christine POV
Salty tears slipped down my cheek and left a path to dry on my skin as I scanned my room for things to take. He said we were leaving...the thought left me cold and dead. I had no desire to leave Meg, or Madam Giry. I would once again be all alone. Even the man I thought I had loved had left and abandoned me to a monster capable of killing.
I went over to my bed and looked under it. The black outline of the one item I wanted to take was just barely visible. I pulled it out from underneath and set it on the center of my bed. I sat down on top of the silky covers with my dress splayed out around me and studied the worn out case it was enveloped in before opening it.
"Oh father." I whispered under my breath. I reached for the brass clasps keeping the case shut and lifted the lid. The violin enclosed in it held memories of my Papa trapped inside of its delicate wood and I eagerly picked it up wanting to feel them rush through me. I rubbed my fingers down the finger board and felt the strings slip between my fingers. I closed my eyes and imagined my Papa creating sweet music from the same instrument I held in my hands. I could practically see his bow sliding across the strings in a rhythmic motion, summoning a cheerful tune from the violins core, as a bright grin was plastered to his face.
A few small tears fell form my cheeks and hit the red varnish of the violin's wood.
"Christine." Erik said sternly while opening the door to my room, startling me. "Do you have everything you need? We must leave quickly." I didn't sayanything in response. Instead, I just stared at him letting my hate for him speak through my eyes.
I found myself almost intrigued as I saw his serious gaze shift to one in possession of softer features, one that appeared to have held….sympathy?
"Oh Christine…" He crooned softly. He took cautious strides towards me and I watched him hesitantly, ready to escape from him if I felt the need to. He sat down on the edge of the bed and languidly reached over to brush a strand of hair behind my ear. His touch was gentle yet I couldn't help but pull my head away from his hand as if on instinct.
We sat there in silence for a minute and I could feel his eyes searing my skin.
"Christine" He uttered in a smooth tone as he reached for my left hand. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it so delicately as if the touch from his lips would cause me to shatter. My eyebrows creased in concern. I was so entirely speechless and confused.
When he brought my hand back down from his lips he turned his attention to the diamond wedding ring on my finger. He grasped it between his thumb and index finger and started to slowly pull it off. When I realized his intentions, I quickly yanked my hand back from his grasp preventing him from taking it.
"No. I will not let you take this just as you have my necklace. This is the only thing I have left of my childhood friend that you murdered." I spoke in a shaky voice anticipating his next move.
"Very well." His tone shifted from tender to a more formal one. He stood up and swiftly headed out of the room. Before he left, he stopped in the doorway and turned around to speak.
"You have roughly three minutes to collect your things and be ready to leave before I come in here and get you myself with or without your belongings." And with those final words he slammed the door shut. Within seconds I could hear the soft singing of a piano in the background and I yearned for it to stop. I didn't want to be reminded of his presence in the house…waiting for me to leave with him.
I carefully placed my Papa's violin back in its case and grabbed a few dresses. I placed everything in a medium sized bag I found tucked away in my dresser and walked towards the door of my room.
Before I left I turned around and took in the view of my room for what I deemed the final time. I longed to go back in time to when this room held a joyful energy created by angels and music, but I knew that even if I tried to pretend everything was still the same it would never hold the same magic it once did.
I held Papa's violin and my bag of things tightly in my hands and took a deep breath before entering the living room. The sound from the piano grew louder and sucked the breath out of me.
I felt weak and my limbs were shaky. I couldn't let him take me. I wouldn't be able to tolerate his constant intrusive presence knowing what he did to Raoul, and always questioning his sanity. What if I were to anger him further? It would not be unlikely for him take my life as well. I looked over at Erik pouring his wrath into the innocent piano keys. His back was turned to me and all I saw was the hollow shell of a man I thought I loved. Leave. I decided I would just leave, escape his furry while I had the chance and forget him.
Silently and swiftly I walked with a determined purpose towards the door to exit the living room, but to my dismay and horror, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped as I turned around, expecting to see Erik's penetrating eyes on me but was shocked to find that familiar foreign man looking back at me.
Never taking his hand off my shoulder, the man bent down a little so that his eyes were even with mine, then began to speak.
"Christine, it takes special strength and bravery to love a man such as Erik. Don't let him force those traits on you. They won't be real unless you discover them yourself. And if you never find them, then so be it. Let yourself run away from him if you must."
I nodded emptily and felt lost between his words and Erik's music playing in the background. I watched as the strange man walked away into a separate room and I suddenly began to feel as though my legs were plastered to the floor beneath me.
I looked back at Erik as I contemplated the words that were just spoken to me. I watched as his body swayed with the melody and his fingers crawled effortless across the keys. He was playing a slow song, one I did not recognize. Yet, the raw emotion encased in every note caused my heart to beat faster and the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. I couldn't tell you why, or how I even allowed myself to, but in that moment I had let go. Overwhelmed by words, music, actions, and decisions, I simply gave up. I just stood there until the music stopped. It was almost physically painful as the last chord rung on the piano and disappeared into silence, taking my soul and will with it.
"Christine, we must leave." Erik's urgent voice broke sullen air around us. I watched as he got up and walked swiftly in my direction. "We've already been here far too long."
I felt lifeless and broken as he grabbed my wrist and took me at a fast pace out the door to his catacombs outside. When we emerged from the dark caverns we did not end up in the chapel but instead outside. It was dark and I noticed in front of us was the large field Meg and I had spent the day in once which now felt like so long ago.
He took me in long strides through the grass, past the pond and eventually to a pathway that lead to a small stable with horses in it.
"I pay a young boy to keep my horse here." He explained when he saw a look of confusion cross my face.
He grabbed a tall black horse and quickly swung a saddle over his back before attaching our belongings to it.
He picked me up and placed me on top of the calm animal and then proceeded to climb up and sit behind me.
I felt my body shake with the uneasiness that surrounded me. I didn't wish to be this close to the same man who had killed Raoul and then turned on me in an instant. I cringed as I thought back to the rope he had had around my neck.
Erik kicked the horse into a frantic gallop and I wanted to throw up at the thought that I was actually riding off with him. I looked down at my shaking hands and saw the wedding ring Raoul had placed on my finger only just an hour ago.
Could I have actually gone through with the marriage? I thought about it a little harder searching for whether or not my choice to say yes was correct. My thoughts shifted to when he kissed me in front of everyone. I had felt sick and his lips did not ignite the spark the ballerinas had once said would come from kissing a man. No, I concluded. I did not hold any love for Raoul and knew I would be miserable chained to him by marriage. I instantly felt guilt over the fact that his death awoke me to such crucial realities. It was foolish of me to have blindly made decisions which weighed to heavily on Raoul's and my life.
With each breath I took, my sympathy for Raoul grew. I wondered if he really was dead. Dead because of me and my foolish games of angels. A tear escaped and ran slowly down my cheek. He was only trying to save me from the man I had yet to realize was a monster. It should have been me to take the blow of the knife not him.
And yet, what about the monster that I was riding off with? I didn't love him either. Surly I didn't…did I? I had told him I did. My words were weak yet they still held meaning behind them. But how could a person love someone when they had blood on their hands? How could I call the fear that engulfed my body just by being so close to Erik, love?
It didn't make sense and I chose not to think about it. He didn't love me any ways, he proved that to me the second he wrapped a rope around my neck and stabbed Raoul.
Hours passed as we rode silently into the cool night air. Snow laid smoothly across the ground and I had no clue as to how Erik could tell which way we were going. A sense of numbness had taken over my mind and everything became a thoughtless blur. The only thoughts in my head to be entertained were those filled with blood and shock and I didn't have the energy to let my head rest on such images. Instead I stared lifelessly at the ground moving fast under us with every gallop of the horse's hooves. It was not long though, until the horse came to a smooth halt and I looked up to see why.
I saw nothing but trees all around us. Erik got down from the tall horse, then reached for my waist and gently pulled me down afterwards. He caught my hand and I made a failed attempt at pulling it away however he just tightened his grasp and held it more firmly.
He led the horse and me through more trees only for a few minutes until a little cabin appeared that could have easily been missed if you didn't know its exact location. We walked up the small wooden steps that led to the doorway and he reached in in his pocket to reveal a key.
A puzzled look spread its self across my face and I knew Erik noticed it, however this time he wasted no time clarifying.
He turned the lock and opened the door, letting us inside. The air was chilled from the winter outside and the wooden floor beneath us creaked and made subtle noises with every step we took.
Erik went directly to the fireplace and lit a modest flame and began to coax it into growing. As the fire grew, it lit up the house we were standing in and I took in my surroundings. There was a bed in the corner and a desk in the other with sheet music scattered all over it and by the fireplace, there was one couch. This house was the complete opposite form the lavish one Erik had back under the opera house.
"We will only be staying the night here, we will leave early in the morning and move to our final destination." I looked over at Erik as he spoke, his tone sounded professional and I wondered how he could act so unaffected by the situation in front of us. He had just killed a man and I had just lost my first love.
Raoul POV
"Raoul!" I heard the ringing of Christine's voice in the back of my head as that monster plunged my knife into my stomach. A rush of air escaped my lungs as I was pinned to the ground and I felt my muscles weaken with every movement I made.
"Erik! Stop, please stop Erik!" desperation and shock ran off of her lips as I heard her voice getting closer. I looked up to see her pulling at the man's arm and saw that her eyes were flooded with helplessness. "Erik, you're going to kill him!" She was shouting as loud as she could and I found myself contemplating her words yet my thoughts felt sluggish. Was I really going to die? I looked up at Christine and watched her every movement. She was beyond beautiful and I felt myself becoming mesmerized by the bewitching creature that now owned my last moments in this life; yet, was she worth my death?
I felt the world around me begin to slip away and with the last breath I took, I felt anger well up in side of me as I saw Christine remove the mask to reveal his hideous twisted face. No, I would not let that demon win and take Christine's life as well.
Darkness was all there was. I felt confusion enfold my mind as I thought of what death should be.
"Raoul," I immediately became more alert at the sound of my name. "Raoul," Christine?! I thought. Was she dead too?
"Christine?!" I yelled trying to find the source of her voice. "Christine, Where are you?" Only darkness surrounded me, leaving no trace of the girl anywhere.
"Raoul Wake up!" I felt my shoulders being shook and I felt my eyes…open. "Everything is going to be alright, we will find Christine." My sight was blurry so I blinked several times to try and clear my vision.
"Christine?" I muttered as I looked around. I was in my bedroom and daylight was pouring brightly through the window. There was no sign of Christine, the only other person in the room was a young nurse who held a wet cloth over my head. But I didn't yet give up hope, where was she? "Christine?"
"Yes, Christine, we will find her, don't worry." The nurse spoke as she continued to press the cloth to my forehead.
"She's gone?" I questioned, trying to gain my wits.
The nurse gave me a sympathizing look and avoided the question all together. "You have someone here to visit you. She has been waiting quite a while for you to awake, should I send her up?" I agreed and in no time the nurse left, and a young girl with long blonde hair entered my room.