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PhantomsAngel1870
Chapter 6: The Killer Performance
Christine paced her dressing room as she waited for Meg to come back. Earlier that morning she ran in there out of breath, telling Christine that she needed to tell her something very important after she was done with said important business. Christine stopped pacing and checked the clock in the corner of the dressing room, it had already been two and a half hours! Where could Meg be and what on earth was she doing to make her friend wait this long?!
Before Christine got up to go look for Meg herself the blonde dancer ran back into Christine's room very frightened. Meg's eyes kept roaming everywhere as if she was being watched while muttering under her breath,
"The Angel sees, the Angel hears, the Angel knows…" Meg knew that something bad was going to happen again if the managers and Carlotta continued with the nonsense they were doing right now. Oh dear god something bad was going to happen and Meg could feel it in her bones.
Christine grabbed Meg by her shoulders causing her to come out of her small trance. Meg sighed and sat down with Christine on her chaise to begin the chain of events that occurred this morning while she was asleep, carefully leaving out her conversation with the Vicomte about the Phantom.
"…and the managers and Carlotta completely dismissed the notes that the Phantom sent to him! No one has ever done that to the Phantom and lived to see the light of day again Christine! Oh dear god I hope nothing happens to them, it was horrible the way that Carlotta acted as if she owned the Opera Populaire. What I'd do to see her kicked on the streets!" Meg huffed at the last sentence and crossed her arms across her chest causing Christine to burst out laughing.
"Oh my dear Meg to be honest I am a little worried about what their actions will do to the production as well but, nevertheless, you know as well as I that no harm ever comes to those who faithfully obey the Phantoms wishes so that means you will be untouched! You did as he asked of you and your mother and you are in his good thoughts now." Christine said to sooth her distressed friend and sister as she hugged her tightly.
"I know Christine, it's just so scary! At least I can keep my mind off it with preparing for the Masquerade that is next week, I have to—" Meg was cut off by Christine's large gasp.
"Meg you never told me you got a date! Who is this lucky man that has the honor to take you dear sister?" Christine implored as she grabbed Meg's hands.
Meg bit down on her lip and shakily took her hands out of Christine's grasp while she thought of the best way to approach this.
"Well I don't know how you will react about this Christine, I am sorry," Meg began.
"There's nothing to be sorry about Meg, it's not like you have stolen my date for I have not one for you to steal!" Christine said laughing slightly at her joke, but was soon sadden by the thought. She knew exactly who she would want to take her to a night full of dancing and music and laughter. Oh how she would love to show him off to the world and claim him as hers for all the people to see. He deserved to be with all these other people, not alone. No one deserves that kind of punishment.
"It's the Vicomte DeChagney." Meg said very quickly to get it over with. She watched her friends eyes grow wide with shock for a moment and then softened gently as she laughed once more.
"Is there something funny that I missed Christine?" Meg asked Christine worriedly as she saw her friends face turn slightly red from the lack of air in her lungs. Christine looked at Meg and tried to regain her composure to answer her question.
"Oh no there's nothing funny, nothing funny at all," Christine said as she cleared her throat before continuing on. "In fact, this is wonderful! I am very happy that you and Raoul will be attending the Masquerade together. Now I know he fancies you!" Christine told Meg as she winked at her causing Meg to blush just as much as when she was with Raoul.
"Oh, well thank you Christine, I think I need to go to rehearsals now before Maman catches me missing them. I'm sure you remember how strict maman is," Meg told Christine as she fixed her hair into a tight bun.
"Oh yes I remember, in fact she was particularly worse in the early morning rehearsals." Christine reminisced of the older days with a small smile. Some days Christine wished to be back with the corps de ballet so that she didn't have to worry about anything except making the high jumps during the ballet act. Then again, she loves to sing and act too much to give up her position she has been rewarded now.
Once Meg was done fixing her hair and touching up on her makeup she turned back to Christine and gave her a big hug and then stepped back and looked at her sister with a slight smile.
"I just hope you don't get hurt Christine, if you ever need help you have many people waiting for the word to come to your rescue," Meg reminded Christine.
"I thank you for such a large vow Meg but I am a big girl now and I can take of myself. If I do something wrong I, and I alone, am responsible for what my actions cause. I do not want anyone getting in harms way to try to protect me. He's too strong for anyone to beat, he always wins in the end. He keeps me safe Meg, I trust him with all my heart. I know that he will never lay a hand on me." Christine promised Meg before the dancer had to leave.
"If you say so Christine, I—I just love you," Meg said with tears in her eyes as she left. After Meg left Christine stood there and whispered,
"I love you too my dear sister."
Christine sat on her chaise and looked at her mirror longingly, to anyone else who saw her aat that moment they would very quickly believe her to be simply and positively mad. But she did not care at that moment. All she cared about was that she wanted—no, needed—to see him now more than ever before.
As Christine decided on this decision she got up and carefully inspected the mirror. To everyone else it is a simple, but unearthly beautiful, mirror. To Christine it was so much more than that, the mirror transported her into the world of music and love and it was her goal to figure out how to open the door's to sweet music's throne. She continued running her fingers over all the edges and parts of the mirror until she felt a little switch on the right hand side of it, she took a deep breath, and quickly flipped it and watched the mirror open faster than one blink's their eyes.
Christine took a quick glance down the dark and damp walkway that led her to Erik. She looked in her room before glancing back into the hallway before nodding her head and grabbing a candle to help light her way on her journey to finding the man she held dearly in her heart.
It felt like hours before Christine managed to find her way to the boat that her Angel had used to bring her directly to his home. As she rowed the boat slowly but ever so surely she hummed along to the song that they had both sung during her first time with him. Christine took the right and then the direct left she distinctly remembered and was rewarded with Erik's playing as a sign that she was close.
As she took another right Christine felt something hit the oar she used and watched as a gate down the way open quietly. Christine closed her eyes and gave the lord a silent thank you for not disturbing Erik and his playing. With the gate in complete view now Christine was rowing quicker than ever to be able to see the man she had missed ever so much.
After a couple of minutes of pushing the boat to her destination Christine finally reached the shore line and knew that she had not disturbed Erik because when the water stopped crashing she heard him begin to sing the accompanist to the grand piano he was playing,
" No one would listen, no one but her
Heard as the outcast hears. Shamed into solitude
Shunned by the multitude, I learned to listen
In my dark my heart heard music.
I longed to teach the world, rise up and reach the world
No one would listen, I alone could hear the music
Then at last a voice in the gloom seemed to cry "I hear you;
I hear your fears, your torment and your tears."
She saw my loneliness, shared in my emptiness
No one would listen, no but her hears as the outcast hears…"
Christine was rooted to the spot in which she stood listening to Erik pour his heart out into the music he sang for the empty audience. The smooth, velvet texture of his voice added with the mourning of a life he would never know brought Christine to tears before she even realized it. She watched Erik's back hunch over the piano to sing and play once more. Before he could do so, however, she made her presence known,
"Bravo monsieur, that was truly magnificent." Christine almost whispered but she knew that it was loud enough for her Angel of Music to hear.
Erik shot his head up to see who managed to come into his lair at this time of day, everyone should be at rehearsals and he knew that no one would possibly be able to accidentally stumble upon his home because he made sure all the secret passageways in the opera house were locked until the curfew. When his mind registered that the woman in front of him was Christine his heart began to soar and he started smiling brightly but soon stopped when he realized that she had just overheard himself in his private moment. As Erik debated with himself about how he should feel about Christine's presence he could feel her walking towards him.
"Erik, why do you hurt yourself with your music? It was such beautiful music and a wonderfully sad and tormented song," Christine begged him to talk to her. She felt that he trusted her enough to be able to open up more with him now that they have grown so closely together throughout the years. Their relationship has developed so much since the days when she was younger and still believed him to be the Angel in which her father had sent her.
Erik thought of her words for a minute and bowed his head down in shame. I have saddened her, and that was the last thing I have ever wanted to do. She only ever deserves to be happy, and if knowing why I sang that will make her happy I am left with little choice but to please her with my reasons.
"I sing that song because I deserve the torment it creates Christine, someone as ugly as I does not deserve the beautiful music of the light such as yourself. Please forgive me for causing you to become distressed over me." Erik stated, somewhat pleased with his respectable gentleman response.
"You do not deserve to call yourself ugly Erik! Never speak of yourself that way! Because if you are ugly than I am ugly as well." Christine put her foot down, never would she allow such a perfect man to let himself disgrace his own being with such hateful words.
"You don't even know the whole of it Christine, you cannot speak like that when you have not even seen the ugliness," Erik sighed as he slightly touched the white leather mask that laid upon his face. His one shield from the hatred of the people above who deserve to walk in the light. Their hatred is deterred because of the mask, it is his own personal sanctuary after so many years of learning about the world's humanities' cruelties.
"Please let me in and let me be the judge of this 'ulginess' of which that you speak of. Please let me in and let me take care and love you Erik." Christine begged and she held Erik's hands and kissed his knuckles fervently. Erik was shocked that such a perfect woman would ever voluntarily wish to see his face, but then again Christine was never a normal girl. That was something Erik knew quiet well as he watched her grow over the years that she lived in the opera house.
Erik lifted his hand to touch his mask and then pulled it back as if he touched fire, "Christine I don't know what I would do if you screamed, everyone else's screams would be nothing compared to the pain that yours would put me through. Don't you see? Nobody else matters but you, I couldn't bare to lose you if you should choose to see only the horror that is my face.
Christine watched the man she was growing to love open up his deepest and darkest fears to her. Part of Christine enjoyed that he trusted her enough to be able to trust her with this personal information and the other part wanted to comfort him in his time of need. But based on what little human interaction Erik has been allowed in the past, her comfort she'd shown him could easily be interpreted as pity—something neither of them wanted from people but always got due to Christine's fathers passing which led to her being an orphan and Erik because of his face. Christine smiled to herself slightly and held his hand.
"I won't scream Erik, I promise. In fact, I will close my eyes while you remove the mask and you become used to having me in your presence without it on. Once you are comfortable enough for me to see you I will open my eyes." She watched Erik's eyes burn with a new emotion, hope?
Erik thought about this for a moment. This could actually work, this plan of hers. It all makes sense, I can get used to her around me, and god this woman is making me feel normal for once in my life.
"Very well Christine, we shall try your plan," Erik said as he smiled and rubbed Christine cheek with his gloved thumb. Christine's face instantly brightened more as she sat straight in her chair and closed her eyes as she promised.
Erik watched her eyes closed and breathed out loud. It has been so many years since anyone saw my face, he thought, and I promised myself that she was the last time I would ever show anyone my face after she jumped out of the window. I don't care what anyone else said, I know that there was some part of her that wanted to end her life after she found out that she began to have feelings for me. I understand though, no one wants to love a monster. Yet, Christine wants me to remove my mask so she can love me. I knew she was different, but never have I ever thought that she would end up being this extraordinary—I love her all the more for this brave attempt—and should she not scream at my face I will never leave her side ever again.
Erik looked over at Christine patiently waiting and mentally counted to three. At the three he slowly removed his mask with his shaky right hand and ever so slowly set it down on the table next to him. Looking over at Christine he could tell she had heard his mask touch the table but she never tempted her eyes to open, she was almost just as patient as he himself is.
"Don't open your eyes let, please," Erik whispered to the ivory angel sitting in front of him and he received a slight nod of her head as her agreement to his plea. He slowly lifted his hand as he reached her and caressed her cheek and carefully drew his lips to wear his hand just was and softly kissed her silken skin.
He sat there for a moment more watching her and almost feeling normal. He knew that if she should fully accept him than he would feel completely normal. Was he ready for that risk? Did he want her to see him truly and not be afraid of the ugliness but see the beauty underneath? Yes, yes he watned her to with all his heart. He wanted to make sure she did but he didn't know how to exactly word it, how can he ask her to do that? Then he remembered how he told Christine to speak through music when words could not do justice. He thought for a few minutes then held Christine's hands and began to sing to her.
"Can you feel the beauty underneath?
Can you feel it?
Come closer,
You've no fear of the beauty underneath
Can you face it
Can you take it
Can you see through to the beauty underneath
To the splendor and to the glory
To the true beauty underneath
Can you accept it and can you embrace it?"
Christine felt his hand glide against her skin then his kiss following right after his caress. At that moment she did not care that her face was tinted with a dark blush, all she wanted was to see this man that she knew so long. She waited and waited and soon heard the deep musical voice beg her to see his true beauty. She smiled as she kept her eyes closed and softly but very much eagerly whisper, "Yes."
Erik grinned and finished his song,
"Then open your eyes to the beauty underneath", Erik finished singing and watched Christine's eyes open.
Christine saw Erik's left—and very much handsome—side of his face and looked to the new side open to her and saw a red mangle of flesh that looked like it was in so much pain. She kept her face very stoic just to ensure that Erik did not misinterpret any of her body language as fear or pity. She silently lifted her hand to caress the terribly red, right, side of her loves face and looked up to see his eyes pleading with her. She gently smiled and thought of something appropriate to say to him.
After much contemplating Christine finally asked, "Oh dear Erik why do you wear such a mask, does it not hurt to wear it all the time?" She said as she gently rubbed the sensitive lumpy skin on Erik's cheek while tenderly kissing away the visible redness, giving it easily away that Erik was in quite a tremendous amount of pain.
Erik nodded softly as he began to cry. He had never met a person who cared about the pain of which his face caused him physically and mentally all his life. Everyone thought he deserved to feel pain for the pain of which he caused his mother by being alive. The entire town believed that his mother did the right thing to send him off with the gypsy's and so what was the only life he knew for six years.
Christine continued to caress Erik's face for a few more minutes while she thought of something else to tell him, something that she knew he would understand that would show him that she did not care about his face.
"This beautiful face
Holds no horror for me, love
It's in your soul
That the true beauty lies."
Christine sang to Erik as she watched him sink his head in his hands break down in front of her. She didn't know of any other way to show him her love but one action. She slowly pulled his hands away from his tear streaked face and pulled his face up. She saw that the man in front of her was confuse as much as she was nervous, but she didn't stop, or think, as she pulled his face to hers and kissed him.
For a few minutes Christine did not feel his lips moving at all but after a while later she began to feel him beginning to understand how to kiss and he slowly began kissing her back with a hidden passion that she soon mirrored with everything in her body that she didn't know either of them possessed. Their hands frantically searched each other's bodies as they moved over every curve and dip.
It hurt Christine to have to pull away from their intimate embrace, even if it was to breathe. As she tried to control her breathing she looked up to Erik and she watched his smile produce a very cocky grin. She smiled back as she went over the last few minutes and carefully looked at his face. Now that she looked at it for a second time she realized that there was nothing wrong with it at all in her opinion, in fact that face made him look all the more beautiful and she said it twice as much. She realized had he not had that side of his face they would have never met.
"Erik, I know that this may not be the best of times to ask but what am I to do tonight? The managers completely disregarded your instructions and casted me as Serafino in 'Il Muto' tonight. I know this might sound horrible but do you not think Carlotta is more of a toad than I am? All she is missing is the voice and she would be perfect…" Christine muttered near the end causing Erik to laugh very loudly, this made Christine happier than she ever thought she could be.
"Don't worry my dear, they will pay for their blatant disobedience. Trust me, my love," Erik replied as he reached down to take Christine's hand. He led her back to her dressing room as they walked in the most comfortable silence that they both have ever felt in each other's presence. Once they reached Christine's dressing room he opened the door and told her the directions he had readied in their trek through the passageways to the light of day.
"I want you to get ready in your costume and play your part in the opera, let me take care of everything. I love you with all my heart Christine," Erik said as he kissed Christine's hand.
"I love you too Erik, and yes I trust you with everything." Christine smiled as she gave him a goodbye kiss. It wasn't until Christine walked to her privacy board where she began undressing that Erik looked at her vanity mirror and saw he had left his mask down in his lair. Christine had done the impossible.
Christine made Erik feel like a man once again.