Chapter Six: La Victorie Aliée
Paris, France, June 22, 1881
Turmoil filled the entire auditorium.
"Raoul!" Christine appeared out of nowhere, dressed in the costume of the Countess, and took his wrist. "I know where we can go!" Raoul followed her through the crowd to a nondescript door, which she flung open and pushed him through the threshold. "Follow the staircase to the roof and wait for me by the La Victorie Aliée figure. Hurry!" He did not question her but followed her instructions. After he had gone some steps ahead of her, Christine locked the door and followed him up the stairs at a run.
A few moments later, Raoul opened the old metal door and entered the roof. A moment later, Christine burst through the opening. "Christine, what on earth is going on?" Raoul demanded.
"Joseph Buquet was murdered by the phantom. I know it was Erik! No one else has a Punjab lasso!"
"The phantom?" Raoul repeated, comprehension dawning. "The opera ghost who has been sending the notes through Madame Giry?"
"Yes!" Christine looked desperate, her perfectly styled hair blowing in the warm summer wind. "Buquet's death was because of me! If I hadn't listened to Erik, if I hadn't gone to the catacombs, Buquet would never have seen me leaving and he would still be alive!"
The strain and fear showed clearly on her face. Overwhelmed by everything leading up to the night's events, her strong façade finally broke and she started to sob. Christine sank to the ground, clutching the cape at her shoulders. Raoul knelt next to her. "Christine, none of this is your fault. The phantom killed Buquet; you had no part in it whatsoever."
"I brought this curse onto everyone!" Christine said brokenly.
"No, you did not. You did not cause anything." Raoul gently raised her chin and looked her in the eyes. "Listen to me, Christine: it is all the phantom's doing. All of it. Nothing is your fault."
Christine looked up, guilt still evident in her eyes. "Do you really think so?"
"Completely." There were still traces of teardrops on her face. Raoul raised his hand to her cheek. "Here..." He carefully brushed the trails of tears from her face. Christine seemed to draw strength from his touch. She stood unsteadily and touched his hand as he stood to join her.
"Thank you, Raoul. You have been very kind to me." She gave him a shaky smile and turned to leave.
Then she turned back and embraced him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Raoul felt very clearly that terror and confusion were flooding her emotions.
She clung to him, desperately. "I've seen things, terrible, horrifying things that are beyond my imagination. They have been burned into my memory, Raoul. I will never be free of these living nightmares. I can never get them out of my head. I always see horrible things in the shadows. They will never leave me alone; they will always haunt me in the corner of my mind."
"It's because of the phantom, isn't it," Raoul murmured, stroking her hair.
She pulled out of his embrace and crossed to the edge of the roof, looking at the panorama of the city of Paris. "I've seen his face, Raoul; his true, unmasked face. I cannot get the sight of it out of my mind. And no matter what you say, this curse is happening because of me."
Raoul stepped closer to her. "Why do you insist it is, Christine?" She continued to face away from him. She spoke in a whisper.
"He wants to marry me."
Raoul froze.
"That's why he is killing and destroying. He's trying to win my love, in his twisted, insane way." She sounded bitter. "Because I haven't given him an answer yet."
"What is your answer?"
Christine finally faced him. "I can't. I do not love him. He terrorizes me and threatens me. I cannot live underground for the rest of my life. I cannot be his prisoner-wife for my entire life. I cannot live with someone who loved me for my voice. I cannot live with someone I didn't love."
Raoul saw Christine clearly, for a split second.
He saw a woman who was being threatened, countless times. He saw a woman who wanted to be known for who she was as a person, not just as a singer. He saw a woman whose image of her beloved father was being destroyed. He saw a woman who desperately wanted to leave everything associated with the night. She wanted to live where there was light, hope and love, not shadows, misery and hate.
The moment passed. Raoul returned to the present, on the rooftop of an opera house, where a man had been murdered.
He took her hand in his. "Christine, I can take you away from all this. You can leave all the darkness, all the hate. Just say the word, and I will arrange for you to leave the opera."
"Promise me you are telling the truth." Raoul nodded, holding her gaze. "All I ask is for you to do one thing for me. Please love me."
"I always have, Christine. Ever since I saw you on the shore, all those years ago."
"Raoul… thank you, thank you so much." Christine's eyes glimmered and blazed with a fierce love.
He somehow knew what he was going to say, even before the words left his mouth.
"Marry me."
As Christine leaned forward and kissed him, they both had the same feeling: the proposal was not rushed or ill timed. They had loved each other for years, even though they were separated. "Yes," she murmured. "Yes." She drew back. "Take me away from this horrible, nightmare-filled place and never let us be separated. We've spent too many years apart."
"I can arrange everything by tomorrow," Raoul answered. "Just say the word and we will leave."
Christine nodded. "I can survive one more day." She seemed incredibly strong to him in that moment.
"We should go," Raoul whispered. Christine nodded reluctantly. She took his hand in her soft one and led him to the metal door.
Raoul stopped and reached inside his coat pocket. He drew out a small ring adorned with a simple diamond. "I want you to have this."
Then, from the corner of the roof, came a ghostly wail of anguish.
They froze, listening hard. Without speaking Raoul transferred the ring onto Christine's finger. She smiled at him and opened the door. They quickly went down the steps.
Raoul and Christine entered the backstage area unnoticed. Christine gave Raoul a secret smile before leaving for the Il Muto curtain call. Raoul made his way to Box Five. The audience applauded somewhat enthusiastically as the performers stepped onto the stage. Raoul noticed Christine was dressed the costume of the Countess, and Carlotta was conspicuously absent.
As the cast made their bows, cries suddenly broke out amongst the audience.
The chandelier was shaking violently. It dropped inch by inch, almost as if the fastenings were loosening on their own will. Then, starting slow and gradually building speed, the chandelier swung towards the stage.
Raoul, standing the hallway that led to Box Five, knew he had seconds. He turned around and sprinted to the stage, pushing desperately through the crowd. As the chandelier swung closer and closer, Raoul heard the phantom's insane laughter echoing in his mind. He pushed it out of his mind. He had just found Christine; he would not lose her again.
He finally entered the stage. He saw Christine, standing frozen amidst the scattering performers. He reached her and pulled her off the stage.
Raoul pushed Christine to the ground and covered her head with his arm as the chandelier finally hit the stage. It exploded into bits of shattered glass, covering everything in sight. "Keep your eyes closed!" he shouted. It seemed like they laid there for hours, as the echoes of the screams and the sound of the glass resonated.
Eventually the sounds died away.