I DONT OWN PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Chapter Twenty six
Elizabeth suddenly realized that the whole while she had been making her speech she had begun crying. Water was streaming down her cheeks and as she touched a tear stained cheek and realized it was true.
Oh god, she was in love with Erik!
That's why the feeling had been so familiar, it was almost the same feeling she had for Anthony, only stronger. That's why she was feeling so jealous of Christine all the time and why her thoughts were always jumbled around him. Emotion suddenly took over Elizabeth and she burst out sobbing, because she knew the horrible truth.
This wasn't a fantasy love where all her dreams came true, this was a nightmare. Because once again she was in love with a man who was in love with another (much better and much more beautiful) woman. First it was Anthony and Hermione. Not it was Erik and Christine. Again, she was second place.
"Why are you crying?" Christine asked finally.
"Because don't you see!" Elizabeth cried, forgetting all her sensibilities in her hysteria "It's all wrong. I can't be in love with him. Because he loves you and nothing will ever change that!" She screeched "And there's nothing I can do, I shouldn't even be in love with him. Except now that I'm thinking about it, I can't help it! I love him so much it actually hurts. It all makes sense now.
"After all, I'm constantly thinking about him and how I can make him happy with me, make him proud. I want so badly to get closer to him but I can never. Because in his heart, I will always be second to you. I'm second best again!"
Again she was rambling, but Elizabeth didn't care, she was in hysterics. The realization was too much, what was she supposed to do now?
She collapsed to the floor in a sobbing heap, her legs too weak to support her anymore, tears streamed down her face as feelings overwhelmed her. How was she supposed to show her face to him now? The only reason he probably didn't know already was because until this moment, she herself had not known, but now...
Christine watched as the black haired girl collapsed to the ground, her hands covering her face as she cried.
Good god, it was true. The girl before her had actually fooled herself into honestly believing she was in love with him. "No Elizabeth" Christine said after she had caught herself "You...I was wrong, you can't be in love with him."
Elizabeth looked up, her face was covered in hears "W-what?"
"You cannot be in love with him, it's impossible. All this is, is a childish crush and with time it will go. I was the same for a while, as a girl I fool myself into believing I was in love with my Angel. Then I realized it was his sweet music and his mysterious soul I was in love with."
Elizabeth started shaking her head "No...No" she mumbled "You were right, I am in love with him"
"No, you can't be" Christine dropped to the ground till she was on eye level with the girl. "You are so young and this is only a small swaying of the heart."
"No, I can feel it!" she still protested.
Christine was beginning to get a little annoyed. She was trying to help her and yet the fool was being so insistent. "You are deluding yourself into believing he is some dark brooding hero from a romantic novel, but it isn't like that. He's dangerous. Especially with his mask."
"I know" Elizabeth cut her off "And I know you say he is deformed and perhaps he is, it would certainly explain so much. However I...I just know, in here" she pointed to her heart "I know my feelings are real, and I don't care about..."
"About his face?" Christine finished "If you can look into his face and still proclaim absolute love then I will believe you...if he will let you see his face" she added, remembering how he had reacted when she had taken his mask, he would probably never allow anyone near his face again. For that, Christine had the good sense to feel guilty. Because for all he had done to her, she still cared a little.
Elizabeth stared at the ground in utter defeat; she couldn't disagree with Christine because even now she couldn't even begin to try to put together an image in her mind of what he could look like. The closest thing she got was the beast from a story book beauty and the beast.
But yet she knew in her very being, her love was real.
Christine shook her head "This is madness...I know! I shall inform your mother; she will put a stop to this"
"NO!" Elizabeth cried and leaped forward, grabbing Christine's hands in hers as she sobbed harder.
"No! I beg you, please don't do this; she will never allow me to see him again!"
"My dear Elizabeth, this is entirely the point" Christine exclaimed "your mother will put a stop to this nonsense and you..."
"No, no, no, NO!" Elizabeth chanted, you cannot, I won't let you" she clenched Christine's hands tighter "at the time when you knew Erik, if someone had told you never to see him, would you have allowed it?"
Christine had no answer to that in truth; she would not have allowed it. But in the end she replied "I wish someone had"
"Bu I do not. I need to see him. I don't know if you can possible understand, but the very thought of never seeing him again..." her eyes widened as the sudden realization "I...I'd rather die!"
And to Christine's shock, she was absolute truth in Elizabeth's eyes. But still she tried to understand "Why! Why do you need to see him this badly" because Christine couldn't understand. As a child, she had been alone without her father; the angel of music gave her the comfort she needed. But Elizabeth was a delicate English rose who would never want for anything. What part of her did the Phantoms tortured music touch.
But she was to be surprised as Elizabeth looked her directly in the eyes "Because...he saw me when I was invisible. When I was nothing, he saw something. All my life I've been overlooked as the plain bookish sister, too...uninteresting for even my own mother to remember my presence. But when I was with him I felt like I was real. Until I heard his music it was like I was seeing the world in black and white, and now there's color everywhere I look. he taught me to sing and gave me feelings I didn't know existed. He gave me a reason to be alive and when I'm with him I feel so happy to be living."
Her eyes at that moment were so animated, for a moment even Christine was fooled into believing Elizabeth loved him, but that was impossible.
"Christine" Elizabeth implored "Please. I don't know what could happen, but let me see him, let me love him silently and if this turns out to be a crush...I'll... I'll inform the magistrate of his existence" she cried, even though they both knew that wasn't true. "Please" she repeated "Just...let me love him, let me do this on my own. Don't interfere"
Christine was at a loss. She didn't want to interfere. She didn't want to get involved with the Phantom ever again; she had put that all behind her the moment she returned that ring to him. She would have gone about her years in blissful ignorance if she had not heard Elizabeth singing. But she didn't want to see the girl hurt by the phantom either.
In the end, thoughts of her unborn child won out. How would the Phantom react if he found out, Christine didn't want to ever find out? So she nodded "Fine, I will keep my silence" Elizabeth gasped in happiness "Thank you Christine, thank you!"
Christine thought Elizabeth's familiarity with the phantom was strange as he often didn't like her type. He was naturally drawn to the stunning beauties as they had what he didn't, and then she realized something.
Erik?
She had said the Phantoms name was Erik.
"Why do you call him 'Erik?'" she found herself asking.
Elizabeth pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve to dab her eyes now that she had calmed down a bit. "He—I asked him what his name was. He told me to call him Erik. I wanted to feel closer to him and calling him 'Master' made feel like there was a gap between us."
His name was Erik? Christine had not known that. Now that she was thinking about it, in all her years knowing the Phantom, she had never once even thought to ask his name. To her, knowing him was all a dream and if she knew his name, she might wake up. But Elizabeth had had the courage to seek his name.
However, in Christine's mind, he would always be the phantom of the opera.
Elizabeth sat in her bed in her hotel room. Christine had left later that day as this was her last day in Cornwall before she was due back to her husband, Elizabeth had been lucky to catch her.
She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest.
A part of her wished she hadn't gone to see her in the first place. Now all it did was invent more problems for her.
Now that she was calm, Elizabeth felt horribly embarrassed for causing such a scene, hysterics did strange things to women.
She felt so empty. After Christine left Elizabeth ran up to her room and cried her eyes out. She cried for a love that was pointless and until she couldn't cry anymore. And then she fell asleep
Christine had promised to stay silent about the secret meetings Elizabeth had with Erik and that was good, but now...she didn't know what to do with herself. How could she love him, didn't she promise to always be in love with Anthony? What happened to that love?
But then again, recently she had been noticing that those feelings were fading. She had originally thought that perhaps that was she was so focused on her music lessons, was it really because she had been falling in love with Erik?
She closed her eyes and thought of him and her heart began to speed up. So this was it? No going back?
Fine.
A fruitless love, Elizabeth could live with. It would be painful but it wasn't anything new to her. It was no different from watching Anthony with Hermione, only this time it was Erik.
But it was Erik that made things different. She couldn't bare it. With Anthony she knew Hermione would make him happy, but Erik was a different story, Christine's memory was only causing him pain. How could she ever live up to a memory? Elizabeth didn't want to even try; it was too much pain for her.
No! She couldn't do it, not again. Not for anything, she wasn't going to put herself through any more pain.
Tears began to creep down her cheeks again "I...I can't do it" she sobbed. It was impossible. She couldn't handle the pain anymore; she couldn't watch him hurt everyday while knowing she could never be good enough. What woman could resign herself to that kind of fate? A stronger woman than her.
And Elizabeth wasn't a strong woman. She was weak and useless. Ugly and stupid. How could she have forgotten that?
Well, no more. It was time she learned to face the facts. She was the eldest daughter and no good ever came to the eldest daughter.
What did she think, that she was Cinderella and Erik was some kind of fairy god father? And that she would waltz away into the night with a handsome prince? But what if she didn't want a prince, what if she loved the fairy instead? It just didn't work like that.
Who was she kidding?
However she made a promise, she would sing at the masquerade ball, and then she would tell Erik that she just couldn't do it, she couldn't sing anymore. Not with him. Elizabeth had thought that all she wanted was to live her life singing his music, but it was hopeless when the only emotion she would ever be able to recall is that of a broken heart. She couldn't do it.
Erik might be angry. No, he would definitely be angry; he may even try to kill her.
Then again, he might not are this was all probably nothing more than a game to him anyway, something to pass the time.
Yes, she was only something to pass the time and that was it. He wouldn't even care. Who knows, perhaps he might see one of her sisters at the ball and fall madly in love with her, why have Elizabeth when he could have someone insanely talented like Verity or Abigail?
So it was decided. After the masquerade ball, Elizabeth would say good bye to Erik. For once and for all.
Or risk her heart getting broken again!
SHORT CHAPTER, MORE OF A FILLE OR ANYTHING.
ANYWAY, I GOT A NEW LAPTOP!
IM SO HAPPY!
UNFORTUNETLY SCHOOLS STARTING SOON AND I WILL HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO BUT I PROMISE I WILL DEFINETLY CONTINUE THIS STORY AND WHEN ITS FINISHED I WILL WORK ON MIDNIGHT SAKURA, A NARUTO STORY IM WRITING.
PLEASE REVEIW
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