They did not wish to tire the poor animals out so a few minutes into their race they had slowed and allowed the mounts to catch their wind. From there they rode leisurely back through the fields that lie south of town, listening to the birds and the buzz of insects, speaking only a few times. Christine asked more questions about where Erik learned combat and added in a few new inquiries of situations in which she might need to use her new knowledge. Upon seeing the edge of town over the hill, Christine unexpectedly spurred her horse into a gallop and took off with Erik chasing at her heels. They startled quite a few people with their mad race through town, but Christine was laughing the whole way.

Hooves skidded to a halt in the dirt of the yard in front of the stables at the inn. Their sides heaved with deep breath and they stamped their feet, impatient to be relieved of their riders and tack. Christine reined hers in for the stableman to take the lead then Erik helped her from the saddle, lifting her off by the waist and setting her down gently on the ground. He braved a kiss on her lips in front of the weathered horse keeper as he led the animals away.

"I win!" Christine exclaimed breathlessly.

"Only because I let you," Erik retorted with a smile.

She clasped his hand in her own and led him around the side of the inn, nervously wondering what Erik was thinking. Her face felt hot as she wondered what the evening would hold for them both. She did not see the large black carriage that waited in front.

"I'm going to my room to change out of this dress into something fresher," she said as they walked through the front door, leading Erik in behind her.

"Christine?" a familiar voice called out to her from the settee.

Erik's heart stopped beating.

Christine stood still, completely confused at the unexpected address. "Raoul?"

Fuck thought Erik.

Raoul had risen from the cushions to greet her and his face fell at the sight that greeted him. He stared at Erik's mask; then at Christine's hand grasping his, then at her suddenly anxious face.

"Christine?" I don't understand," Raoul stammered.

Christine blurted out, "Raoul, what are you doing here?" She was intensely aware of the cold statue that was Erik, standing frozen behind her.

Raoul looked from Erik to her and back again at the man in the mask. Clearly this was not the scene he expected to find upon arriving.

"Never mind that, who is this and what are you doing here with him?" recognition was dawning on his face that told him exactly who Erik was, not needing an answer to that question.

Christine did not say anything, her mouth working to come up with an explanation on the spot.

"I said, what are you doing here with this man, Christine?" Raoul repeated with more force. He watched Christine quail at the inquiry and she seemed to sink backwards towards the man behind her who still had not twitched.

Finally Erik moved; to Raoul's horror, placing himself between him and Christine. "I'll ask you not to shout at Mlle. Daae, monsieur," he snarled low as he set his stance defensively in front of her.

Christine felt the tension in the room escalate in that one utterance of a threat in the tone Erik used and she knew so well. "Raoul, please," she began, squeezing Erik's hand to signal him to let her handle the situation. "I can explain, but not here." She begged silently that Raoul would acquiesce to her unspoken plea for peace.

Raoul did not look at the moment as if he wished to wait to hear her excuse, but given the situation of the moment, he gave in. "Alright, Christine. I shall just wait here for you," he stammered.

Christine thanked him and apologized with her eyes as she gave a firm tug on Erik's hand to follow her from the room and up the stairs, practically dragging him away from the situation. When they reached the door to her bedroom, Erik pushed it open and strode in before her, pulling her in behind him and letting it slam shut, shaking the frame with its force.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Erik demanded, pacing the floor wildly.

"How should I know?" Christine defended.

"He obviously knew where to find you! Did you tell him where you would be this entire time?"

Christine held out her hand to calm him, but he was beyond calming. "How could I have done that? I didn't even know where we would be until we were well on our way here!"

Erik looked at her through dark eyes and knew she spoke the truth. "But how?" he wondered.

"I don't know," Christine replied. She stepped in front of him to stop his pacing and caught him with her hands on his arms. "Calm down, please."

"How can I be calm?" he shouted. "I finally have to myself here, then he shows up to ruin everything!" he tore himself out of her grasp and started pacing again.

Christine knew he truly feared losing her to Raoul, but she had never seen him so frantic in his jealousy. "Erik, look at me." Her voice was quiet but her words cut the room to where he fumed. "I'm not going anywhere," she reassured him.

Erik breathed deeply out his mouth, wanting to take heart in her words, but knowing it would not be that simple. "What are you going to tell him?"

Christine thought a moment. "I don't know Erik, perhaps the truth?"

Erik laughed, "As if the truth would convince that conceited brat!"

"Erik!"

"No, it's true! Listen to me; no matter what you tell him he won't believe you. All he will think is that I've somehow kidnapped you here to take advantage of you and spirit you away without another word never to be heard from again!" he was on the verge of tears now. Downstairs right at that moment was the biggest fear he had, standing in the flesh, ready to rip away his every happiness.

"Please," she pleaded with him to calm down. She couldn't stand to see him like this. "I don't know what he will think, but I need to know what I should tell him."

"Tell him what he wants to her, because that is all he is likely to listen to," Erik sneered derisively.

Christine stood still with her arms cross over her chest. She felt cold with unease at the suddenness of the situation. She was not ready to explain her relationship to anyone yet, least of all to Raoul. It would take delicate handling as to not hurt her friend and she begged God for more time to come up with the best way. She never wanted to hurt Raoul; he was her ever-glowing beam of sunshine. He would not, she feared, understand that he was no longer the love in her life. But she still loved him all the same. Oh what shall I do?

"Erik, let me go down and speak with him and find out why he is here and how he found me," Christine said.

Erik stared at her, painful torment in every nuance of his body language. "Please don't go down," he begged. "Just stay here with me. We don't need to know."

Christine moved closer to him, hearing the fear in his voice, "I will be right back, I promise."

She reached up to place her tiny hand on the side of his face. He gripped it tightly at the wrist and pulled her close, hugging her tightly to him, imagining that once she walked out that door he would lose her to Raoul forever.

"Hurry back to me, please," he choked into her hair as he squeezed her one last time. He prayed she would do just that.

"I will." Christine left his embrace and opened the door, "Wait for me here."

Erik nodded, his eyes wild with anguish. He slowly sank down on the bed as Christine shut the door behind her. He reached up with hands that shook and removed his mask to cry in the emptiness of her absence.

Christine stood outside her door a few moments, gathering her breath and courage. As she neared the stairs, she heard Marie's voice talking jointly with Raoul's.

"I tell you, Monsieur le Vicomte, he has been the impeccable gentleman."

"How can you be certain? Have you spent all your time watching over Christine? You know what an impressionable young girl she is!"

Christine listened to Raoul's voice sounding so protective of her. She knew she had wronged him in not letting him know she was going away. He must have been very worried for her.

"He saved her life, more than once in this last week Raoul," Marie continued to defend Erik to him.

"What do you mean? Christine was in danger?" Raoul's voice escalated. "What happened?" he demanded.

Marie sighed audibly, "Christine was alone and trapped when a terrible storm came through here and he rode off to find her. Then just two days ago they were attacked by three men and he fought them off and brought her back to safety. You may rest assured that had she been here alone, she would have most certainly died."

Raoul's voice cut through the air, "And had she stayed in Paris, none of that would have ever happened at all!"

Marie exclaimed, "You cannot justify reasoning on what may or may not have happened. All I know is what has happened, and I can vouch for M. Durand's perfect manners and respect for Christine."

"So that's the monster's name?" Raoul spat back.

Christine felt an angry heat spread over her face as she eavesdropped on the landing.

"Watch your tongue, young man!" Marie chided. "Why on earth would you call him a monster? Surely you wouldn't hold his deformity against him? He cannot help that!"

Raoul replied, "His face has little to do with it. Did you know how he met Christine? How he deceived her into thinking he was her father's Angel of Music?"

Silence.

"He kidnapped her and held her against her will in his dungeon beneath the opera and would only release her if she sang his music for him," Raoul explained.

Marie was quiet for some time then, "Oh, I see. But surely things have changed now? If you only saw the two of them together…"

"I do not know what power he holds over her now, but rest assured I will not allow him to continue it."

"Shouldn't you let Christine decide that for herself?" Marie asked. "I have it on good first hand authority that she is happy to be here with him. She is, after all, practically engaged to him now."

Christine could almost hear Raoul's heart screech to a halt.

"No. It can't be true…" Raoul said in disbelief.

Christine knew she had to put an end to this. She stepped down onto the lower stairs where they could see her. "It's true, Raoul," she confessed. "Erik and I are courting now, which means you have little say in what I do with him here." She spoke with a confidence she did not feel and she knew her words were cutting him like a knife.

Raoul stared at her unbelieving, still imagining her to be under some sort of spell. She could also see the hurt in his eyes as she reached the bottom of the stairs and faced him.

"How long has this been going on without my knowledge?" he finally choked out.

"He propositioned me only a few days ago. We have not been long in this relationship," Christine admitted.

Marie knew her part in this was done, and she disappeared into the next room, unnoticed by Christine or Raoul.

"Then why did you come here with him?"

Christine was not ready to answer that so she retorted, "Why are you here, Raoul? How did you know where to find me?"

Raoul was taken aback by her attitude. "After I had not heard from you for a few days, I went to the opera to find you. I asked around for your whereabouts and it seemed nobody knew where you had gone to." Raoul ran a hand through his blonde curls. "I went to speak to the managers and they said they had had a letter from you stating you were coming here to visit your father's grave."

Christine nodded for him to go on. She knew Erik had let the managers know of her absence. It all made sense.

"I asked to see the letter, but after they showed it to me, I realized it was not written in your hand. I thought you had been abducted so I began a search for you around Paris at first, then I took the first train here on the chance you had truly come as the letter stated."

Christine motioned for Raoul to sit and she joined him on an adjacent couch.

"I first went to my aunt's old summer estate then began asking about through town at all the inns to see where you might be. It was a long shot but I ended up here and Mme. Beauchamp recognized me and said you were indeed staying here, but that you were out. She seemed flustered to see me and that seemed strange, but now I can see why." Raoul shot her an accusing glance.

Christine nodded, accepting his story. "I'm sorry if I caused you any anguish over my disappearance. I would have told you I was leaving, but it was rather short notice and I honestly did not know where he was taking me."

Raoul waited for her to continue.

"He wrote the letter to the managers and brought me here as a surprise. I did not know our destination until we were already on our way," she explained, trying to make it sound like a good enough excuse for not letting him know of her whereabouts.

"Why would you go anywhere with him? And why would you leave and not even know your destination?

Christine did not know how to answer that question without hurting him. "Raoul, please don't ask me so many questions. I never meant to hurt anybody by going away."

Raoul stood and came to her side, "Did you not think that you would not be missed? Going away without a word to anybody…"

He tried to grasp her hands, but she pulled hers away and stood to move. He was too close to her and she felt overwhelmed with the guilt of what she was doing to him. She couldn't look at him, because every time she did, she saw her childhood sweetheart sitting there, pleading with her for an innocent kiss. It was not for lack of love that she did not wish to be near him. She did love Raoul, but the difference in that love and what she felt for Erik was so stark in its contrast it was almost difficult to reconcile. Raoul was her friend and the one person who knew her longer and better than anybody else alive. Oh why did he have to come here? Christine screamed inside. Although she knew this day would come once she and Erik returned to Paris, she was not prepared for the turmoil her decisions caused inside her.

Raoul could see her struggling inside her head. "I thought," he began, "I thought you and I were together. We were always supposed to be together," he said, trying to deny what he saw in her inner struggle.

"I know what you thought Raoul," she began, hugging herself as she stared out the window. "But things change. I've changed." She could not explain herself further.

Raoul came to stand behind her, "Surely things cannot have changed so much in less than a fortnight?"

Christine choked back the lump in her throat. Oh but they can Raoul, in ways even I did not know existed.

"Come for a walk with me?" he asked. She turned and his eyes were pleading with her. He needed more explanation than she had given. Not knowing all the details was killing him inside.

Christine thought about what Marie had said. She was not to be alone with another man without a chaperone. But this was Raoul; her dearest friend. Surely it would be alright if they simply walked together. She needed to be alone with him, even if only for awhile so she might explain to him how she felt about Erik, away from the eyes and ears of the inn.

"Alright, Raoul," she agreed, "But only for a moment." And with that she walked out the front door, not checking to see if Raoul was behind her.