Tension was thick in the air as opening night drew closer. There was a constant feeling of impending doom, though nothing happened. Everyone was edgy as we went about rehearsals. True to his word, Raoul did not allow me to be alone. When he was not at my side, Claudia was. Raoul also implored the managers to move me out of my dressing room and into the common room, where I was constantly surrounded by people. My irritation grew, but it did not matter. Raoul was adamant.

I was a nervous wreck. I could not sleep. Strange nightmares plagued me when I tried to sleep and I developed dark circles under my eyes. I lost weight, as I was unable to eat.

I had the most horrible sensation of sitting on a powder keg, with the fuse burning.

Raoul and the managers went over their plan. They called in the police and hired a trained marksman, who would sit in the orchestra pit with a clear view of box five.

I could not help but hope that Erik would not come to the performance. But I knew it was highly unlikely that he would not come to watch his Opera. And surrounded as I was, I could not even leave to warn him. I had had a million opportunities to warn him and I had not, now it was too late.

The day before the opening rehearsals went quite late. Tempers were short and nerves frazzled. Monsieur Reyer drove us to exhaustion while the managers stood offstage, watching the proceedings grimly. When we were finally dismissed we were told to return early the next day.

The carriage ride to Raoul's home was quiet. Raoul seemed lost in thought and I was still angry with him about the way he was treating me. I felt like an irresponsible child that has to be watched constantly so they will not injure themselves.

He had tried, the first few days after the cemetery, to implore me to talk to him, but I refused and after a few days he retreated into stubborn, stony silence.

"When this is all over, you will thank me," he said suddenly.

I looked up at him, feeling sad. Part of me wished that things could be as they were when we were young, happy and carefree. Until I had met Erik I had been a child, an innocent child unaware of the reality of life. The death of my father had shown me the pain that life could bring, but it was Erik that showed me the darkness and had encouraged me to embrace it. Before Erik I had never given thought to the seductive beauty of the night. Before Erik I had found beauty only the perfection of the day.

Now, now that it was too late, I realised that what I felt for Raoul was just a childish first love. I had confused my affection for him with love.

When we arrived at Raoul's I went directly to my room. Staring at my reflection in the mirror I wondered how on earth either Erik or Raoul could be attracted to an immature little girl such as myself.

I sighed as I sat on the bed. I had the most horrible feeling of impending doom…

X

After a restless night in which I was surrounded by disjointed nightmares, it was time to go to the Opera House for a last minute rehearsal before the opening. It was a sold out show, no doubt there were many that were simply fascinated by what had happened six months previous and were only coming out of morbid curiosity. Either way, the managers were determined to have as normal a show as possible, their hope being to capture Erik at the end and hopefully not have any refunds.

Raoul pleaded with me to eat something, but I could not. My stomach was tied in knots and the thought of eating made me ill.

"Christine, you are going to make yourself sick. Darling, you must snap out of this madness!" Raoul said angrily as I sat at the dining table pushing food around my plate with a fork.

I looked up at him, at the hardened lines and dark bags that surrounded his eyes. It seemed he had aged years since I had first seen him at Hannibal. He looked so tired, and I felt guilty, as it was all my fault.

"I am sorry, Raoul. I just cannot. I am sorry!" I said and stood up. I threw my napkin on the table and ran out of the room. He followed me and grabbed my arm as I was trying to go out the front door.

"Christine, I am trying to be patient. You have been through a great ordeal. Please, let us go to the Opera today and by tonight your dark angel will be captured and you will be free. We will be able to marry and get on with our lives."

Raoul's dark eyes were pleading as he held my hands. I took a deep breath. "Raoul…I cannot…"

"No, Christine. Do not say anything more. You have been under a great amount of stress and you are not thinking straight. We will talk later, after the Opera."

Tears filled my eyes as I looked at Raoul. He thought that everything would magically be fine once Erik was caught. And perhaps it would, if only I loved Raoul the way he thought I did. But he was not going to listen to me now. He thought I was still under the Phantom's spell, and nothing I could say would change his mind. He had always been too stubborn for his own good.

Rather that fight, I simply smiled and said, "Of course, Raoul. We will talk later."

He smiled and kissed the back of my hand. "Oh, darling. I love you so. Once this is all behind us we will be so happy."

I gave a tight smile and turned from him. "I must get my cloak," was all I said and I turned my back so I would not have to see the hurt look on his face.

The carriage ride to the Opera House was silent, the air heavy with strain. I refused to look Raoul in the eye and I could sense his frustration.

When we pulled in front of the Opera House Raoul helped me out and held my arm firmly, apparently making sure there was no chance I would try to escape.

He passed me on to Claudia who took me backstage where we were to get last minute instructions and have a quick rehearsal before we had to get costumed.

Time seemed to fly as we rehearsed. When it was finally time to get costumed Claudia came to gather me and hustle me to a dressing room.

She helped me into the scanty Spanish dress and sat me down so she could do my hair and makeup.

"You look beautiful, Mademoiselle," Claudia said when she was finished. She brushed some perfumed powder along the neckline of the dress.

"Thank you, Claudia," I said with a sigh. Once again she had performed a miracle and had hidden the circles under my eyes, and with a touch of white liner around my eyes they looked bright, not dull as they had recently.

"It is time, Mademoiselle," Claudia said when she finished my hair, weaving red flowers throughout the curls.

I stood before the mirror and barely recognised myself. The dress and make up gave me an exotic air. I took a deep breath. Curtain was in twenty minutes. I did not know what would happen, but I feared that it would not be good, whatever it was…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fools! I thought. I stood above stage, hidden in the shadows watching Messieurs Richard and Firmin and the Vicomte 'securing' the building. They had not yet opened the doors into the theatre. There were police officers scattered throughout the Opera House, all with explicit instructions on my 'capture'. I laughed cynically as the Vicomte strutted around with the managers, acting as if he were part owner of the Opera.

At the moment they were standing above the orchestra pit. The maestro was standing next to a dour-faced man that was their marksman. The police chief stood with the managers and Raoul. Two of the police officers walked up.

"You understand your instructions?" the chief asked them.

"Yes, sir," one of them replied.

"When you hear the whistle, take your positions. I shall then instruct you to secure the doors. It is essential that all the doors are properly secured."

"Are we doing the right thing, Firmin?" Andre asked in his typical nervous manner.

"Have you got a better idea?" Firmin asked. "Something must be done, Andre."

Andre nodded, still looking nervous.

The police chief turned to Raoul. "Monsieur le Vicomte, am I to give the order?" he asked.

Raoul nodded firmly. "Give the order."

The chief blew the whistle and the police officers fanned out to their assigned spots.

"You in the pit-do you have a clear view of box five?" Raoul asked.

The marksman nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Remember, when the time comes, shoot. Only if you have to, but shoot. To kill," Raoul said severely.

"How will I know sir?" the marksman asked.

"You will know," Raoul said.

Those fools, those insufferable fools! I was tired of them. They would soon learn that they had greatly underestimated the Phantom of the Opera. I slid along the catwalk, lost in the shadows. I went through a secret corridor and ended up behind the curtain in box five.

"Monsieur le Vicomte, are you quite certain this plan will work? Will Miss Daae sing?" Firmin asked.

"Do not worry Firmin. She will sing." Raoul replied.

"My men are in position," the chief said.

"Go ahead, then," Raoul said with a nod.

The chief blew the whistle again. "Are the doors secure?" he shouted, his voice echoing through the auditorium.

There was the sound of slamming doors, followed by shouts of "Secure!" from throughout the room.

Using my ventriloquist skills I said, "I am here, the Phantom of the Opera…" so it sounded as if it came from the opposite side of the stage. The men onstage whirled around and the chief hurried towards my voice.

Snickering at their stupidity I said it again, this time it came from the back of the auditorium. They whirled around again. From the shadows of Box Five I laughed again at the stupefied looks on their faces.

"I am here!" I said again and it came from the direction of the chandelier and they all looked up, identical looks of horror on the managers faces, while Raoul looked simply furious.

"I am here! I am here! I am here!" I shouted again, throwing my voice rapidly from place to place while the confused policemen rushed about trying to find me.

"I am here Messieurs!" I finally shouted from where I stood in Box Five, moving out of the shadows for a split second before I disappeared into the shadows. A shot hit inside the box as apparently the marksman attempted to kill me.

"You idiot!" Raoul hissed. "I told you only to shoot when the time comes!"

"But, Monsieur le Vicomte…" the marksman said, sounding flustered.

"No buts!" I said, my voice filing the room. "For once, the Vicomte is right. You may try to seal my fate tonight, Messieurs, but your plan is futile. I hate to cut the fun short, but this little joke is wearing thin. Why do you not let the audience in and let my Opera begin!" I laughed coldly at the managers horrified faces. This truly was a game they had no hope of winning.

And now, I thought, it was time for the Opera to start and the next part of my plan would not come until later. For now I would watch the idiots ruin my Opera.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Don Juan had gone on without a hitch. Despite the incident that had happened before curtain, the production had gone on with no problems. Meg had been talking to her mother, Madame Giry, backstage when it happened.

"It was the Phantom," Meg told me, her eyes wide. "His voice came from throughout the entire building! And he sounded so angry!" Meg shuddered delicately.

My arms crawled with gooseflesh at her words and I felt cold. He was planning something, of that I was certain. But what? I was now certain he knew exactly what the managers and Raoul were planning. I felt a sense of relief at the thought, but I was sure that we had not heard the last of Erik. I remembered his fury at my father's grave with a shiver. No, we had not heard the last of him, and the feeling of some impending disaster only grew within me.

But despite my certainty that something would happen, the opera had gone on without a problem. I kept glancing at the new chandelier, half expecting it to start swinging, but it did not. In fact, the only problem had been Piangi's singing.

Finally it was the last scene and I finally began to relax. Perhaps I had been wrong. Maybe Erik was not planning anything. Surely he would have acted before now, I told myself as I waited backstage for my cue.

In the final scene of Don Juan Triumphant Don Juan and Passarino make their plans to deceive Aminta. Aminta thinks that Passarino is Don Juan, but Don Juan wants Aminta, so Don Juan wears a hooded cloak so she will not recognise him.

The duet between Don Juan and Aminta that followed was a passionate, wanton song. The words had brought a blush to my cheeks more than once in rehearsals. Despite Erik's admonition to not judge the song and to just sing it, the raw, lascivious words were hard for me to sing, and it was impossible for me to feel the words and to sing it as if I meant it. I had not sung the song to Erik's nor Monsieur Reyer's approval once. Now, singing it before an audience, knowing that Erik was certainly watching from Box Five, I was nervous, almost to the point of being ill.

I looked up suddenly. Lost in thought, I had almost missed my cue. Reyer gave me a nudge and I sang from offstage,

"No thoughts within her head but thoughts of joy!

No dreams within her heard but dreams of love!"

Don Juan dismissed Passarino, who passed me as I walked onstage, my steps light. I walked across the stage, waiting for Don Juan's entrance. I took off my cloak and se it down. I looked around and then took an apple from a bowl on the table and walked around, tossing it in the air.

From behind me I heard the swish of curtains as Don Juan came onstage. I gave a broad smile and started to turn when Don Juan began singing.

"You have come here in pursuit of your deepest urge

In pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent, silent…"

My eyes widened and I froze in place. It was Erik! He was wearing the black robe, the hood covering his face. But his voice, his beautiful, eerie voice, wound around me and I was frozen in place, my heart pounding loudly. The feeling of impeding doom crashed down around me as I realised that whatever he had in mind, I was helpless to resist, helpless to do anything but go along with him or risk revealing him to the police, to Raoul and the managers. Where was Piangi? I thought wildly. What had he done to him?

I walked to him, trying not to show that anything was wrong. I kept smiling, kept acting the part.

"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…." Erik sang, his voice deadly.

For the first time I found myself truly listening to the words. I felt them and realised something. The words were not Don Juan's words to Aminta. The words were wild, passionate and full of temptation. They were Erik's words….to me.

"Past the point of no return

No backward glances

The games we've played till now

Are at an end…

Past all thought of if or when

No use resisting

Abandon thought and let the dream descend…."

Until now Aminta was to be flirting coyly with Don Juan, always keeping just out of his reach. It was hard not to betray myself, but I kept on with the act. I walked to the table and sat at the bench. Erik stood next to me. He reached over and gently caressed my cheek.

"What raging fire shall flood the soul?

What rich desire unlocks its door?

What sweet seduction lies before us…?"

His hand slid along the neckline of the dress, his sensual touch sending flames of desire through me. I stood up. With that piece Don Juan puts his arms around Aminta from behind. Shaking, I stood in front of Erik and felt his strong grip on my hips. I put my arms up behind me to caress his head over the hood of the cloak. I shivered as I felt the mask.

"Past the point of no return, the final threshold.

What warm unspoken secrets will we learn?

Beyond the point of no return…"

I slipped out of Erik's grip and walked to the table. My heart was pounding and my mind was reeling. My throat was dry and I swallowed.

"You have brought me," I sang.

"To that moment where words run dry

To that moment where speech

Disappears into silence, silence…"

I sat on the bench, my legs slightly apart. Always before I had been too embarrassed to perform this part the way it was written and Monsieur Reyer had finally changed it so I could do it. But now I found myself following Erik's instructions. I barely even noticed the audience, it was as if Erik and I were having our final showdown; nothing and no one else mattered. I felt the words as I had been unable to before.

"I have come here hardly knowing the reason why…

In my mind I've already imagined our bodies entwining

Defenseless and silent and now I am here with you

No second thoughts I've decided…decided…"

Finally I understood the words of the song, finally I felt the longing, the passion in the wanton words I sang. Almost without knowing I sensually ran my hands down the front of my bodice and down my legs as I sang. There was no one else, just Erik and I…

Erik walked towards me and sat at the other end of the bench and I stood and walked behind him. His shoulders were taut, and I could feel his tension….

"Past the point of no return no going back now

Our passion play has now, at last, begun

Past all thought of right or wrong

One final question…

How long should we two wait before we're one…?"

I sang the words and could hear the challenge in my voice. My own frustration boiled up as I wrapped my arms around Erik from behind. I ran my hands down his arms and clasped his hands in mine.

"When will the blood begin to race?

The sleeping bud burst into bloom

When will the flames at last consume us…?"

No longer following the script I pressed my body firmly to his, until surely he could feel my heart pounding. I took his hands and rubbed them sensually along his chest. I heard him gasp and felt him tense up even more. There was an almost electric energy crackling between us and my fingers tingled from his touch.

Overwhelmed by the intensity of my emotions I backed away. Erik stood quickly and grabbed my hands, pulling me towards him. We continued the song in duet. His voice was harsh, sensual.

"Past the point of no return

The final threshold

The bridge is crossed

So stand and watch it burn

We've past the point of no return…."

Our voices merged, pouring together perfectly, as if made for each other. He was still holding my hands, pulling me closer to him while my heart raced and desire flooded through me. We were facing each other, though I could not see his face through the cowl of the robe.

There was a moment of tense silence in which we stood. I was unaware of my surroundings. All I could think of was Erik, standing before me. "Christine…" he said softly.

"Christine, please say you will come with me. Save me from my solitude," he said.

Time seemed to stop. There was no trace of anger or hatred in his voice. Rather it was soft, caring, almost pleading. He released my hands and quickly pulled the black onyx ring from his little finger. I was standing, frozen in place. He took my left hand and slid the ring onto my finger. "Please say you will stay with me, say you will be mine, say you will stand by my side," he said. "Christine, that is all I ask of you."

Tears filled my eyes at his words. He wanted me! He did not despise me. I was filled with such relief, such joy. There is only one thought in my mind. I had to see him, I had to see his eyes, to make sure he meant his words and that this was not all part of some elaborate scheme.

I was not thinking. Everything faded from view except for Erik. I reached towards him and gently pulled the hood of the robe back, taking the mask with it. I just wanted, no needed, to see him, to show him I feared him no more.

The instant his face was revealed I realised what a horrible mistake I had just made. I put my hand to my mouth and my eyes prickled with tears. I heard gasps and screams from the audience, and saw from the corner of my eye that Raoul and the managers and the police were scurrying about, Raoul shouting at the marksman to shoot, but I was standing between Erik and the orchestra pit. Erik's eyes were wide with anger and confusion and his breath came in sharp gasps as he stared at me. In his eyes I could see how betrayed he felt.

"No," I whispered frantically, taking a step back, but he reached for me, grasping my wrists firmly, almost painfully. I had to tell him the truth, but before I could say another word there was a scream from behind Erik. I turned towards the curtained alcove where Don Juan, Erik, had been hiding. A police officer was holding the curtain back, revealing Signor Piangi splayed across the bed, clearly dead.

"Oh my God!" Andre shouted.

There was pandemonium. The audience began screaming and rushing to escape. Carlotta came running from backstage, screaming in Italian.

Erik stared coldly at me and pulled me roughly to him. He pulled the robe around us and we slipped through the crowd and through a hidden door backstage. I had never seen such fury in his eyes before and I was terrified of what he was going to do…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"No thoughts within her head but thoughts of joy!

No dreams within her heard but dreams of love!"

Christine's voice was bright as she came onstage. I waited for a moment before I stepped from behind the curtain. She had her back to me, taking an apple from the table.

I took a couple of steps towards her and she kept her back to me.

"You have come here in pursuit of your deepest urge

In pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent, silent…" I sang softly with a touch of menace behind my words. Christine froze as she recognised my voice. Now was the moment of truth. She could either scream, revealing me to the managers or she could play my game with me. It was in her hands.

We stood, facing each other, for what seemed like an eternity before Christine smiled broadly and walked towards me. I could see the barely concealed panic in her eyes.

I continued the song. Christine's nervousness, her unmistakable tension filled me with a heady feeling of power.

She followed my lead and we continued our little game. She met my eyes with a bold defiance as if she knew full well that I had half expected her to scream and turn me over to the police. I could sense her growing confusion as she listened to the words, as she began to lose herself in my song.

When the time came for me to caress her cheek I did so, trying not to notice how my fingers tingled as they brushed across her soft cheek and down her neck and along the neckline of the scanty Spanish costume. She shivered beneath my touch and when she looked up at me her green eyes were fiery with desire.

She stood and I put my hands on her hips and she reached up, winding her hands around my neck, stroking my face and the mask through the robe's hood.

I watched as she continued her part of the song. I barely heard the words she sang as she sat on the bench, her hands sliding along the sides of her bodice and down her legs. I noticed her voice change, deepen slightly as she sang.

I felt a definite changing in the emotion between us. It altered and shifted, throwing me off-balance. I sat at the end of the bench and she came to stand behind me.

She was supposed to merely slide her hands down my arms, but instead she clasped my hands in hers and caressed my chest, pressing her body firmly against mine. I could feel her trembling as she held me and my heart practically stopped. Suddenly she backed away from me and I stood quickly and grabbed her hands, pulling her towards me as we finished the song in duet.

"Past the point of no return

The final threshold

The bridge is crossed

So stand and watch it burn

We've past the point of no return…."

Her eyes were blazing with an emotion I could not read as we faced each other. My heart was pounding as I stared at her, at the look in her eyes that almost seemed as if it could be love.

"Christine," I said softly. I would give her this last chance to come to me willingly, one last chance to show me where her heart truly lay.

"Christine, please say you will come with me. Save me from my solitude," I pleaded gently. Her eyes were wide, open, with no trace of fear or hatred. Feeling an unmistakable hope, I took the black onyx ring from my little finger. I gently pulled her hand to me and when she did not pull back I slid the ring onto the ring finger of her left hand.

"Please say you will stay with me, say you will be mine, say you will stand by my side. Christine, that is all I ask of you," I said, holding my breath.

She stared at me, not moving. Behind her I could see the managers and Raoul talking frantically. They knew something was wrong, but they did not know exactly what.

And then, lightning quick, she reached for me and the hood and mask were gone before I even knew what she was planning. She stared at me, the look on her face quickly changing from one of wonder to one of absolute horror as she looked at my face. She put her hand to her mouth and her eyes filled with tears. Apparently she had forgotten the horror of what I looked like, lost in the spell of my voice as she had been.

The scheming little vixen! I thought furiously, glaring at her. She had revealed me to the entire Paris Opera House, to the police, to the managers and to the Vicomte de Chagney.

How could she have done it? Knowing that she was signing my death warrant, she had exposed me with no apparent thought and no apparent remorse. I was beyond furious. She was a far better actress than I had given her credit for. I had thought, in my supreme stupidity, that I had seen desire in her eyes. I had thought from the way she sang, the way she moved that she had finally succumbed to me. How completely stupid I felt standing there with my face naked, listening to the screams of panic from the audience. It brought forth an onslaught of memories. My mother's disgust as she looked at my unmasked face, the looks of horror on the faces of countless people staring at me through the bars of a cage while I was with the gypsy's and Luciana backing away from me in terror across the verandah to her death. And of course, the look on Christine's face after she had removed my mask the first time. Between that and the fact that she had denied me, betrayed me over and over again, I felt myself snap.

My anger flared up, consuming me completely. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me.

"No," she whispered, backing away from me. I grabbed her wrists, holding her tightly so she could not get away from me.

Just then Piangi's body was found and in the ensuing panic I grabbed Christine and escaped with her through a hidden passageway backstage, disappearing in the panicked crowd.

I had been stupid enough to give her yet another chance. I would not make the same mistake again. She would pay for this, I vowed. She would pay dearly. She would not get another chance to betray me.