Hey everybody, sorry it's been so long :) I should have another chapter up tonight as well though!
Standard disclaimers apply.
"I want us to be married."
She's given this a lot of thought over the course of the last few weeks, and decided it only makes sense. They love each other. They would do anything for each other — already have done things most people couldn't even imagine. Why should they not make it official, become a family? She's ready for a family. It pains her to be so alone, surrounded only by ghosts and and that tiny voice in her mind whispering about what might have been. She knows, if only she had another chance, she could do it right. Despite everyone who has left her — her father, Meg, Raoul, her baby — she deserves this love.
To her utter confusion, Erik doesn't even look up from the score he is studying. "You tried that once already, my dear. The results were far from encouraging." His tone is disinterested, with a slight chill. She doesn't understand.
"We wouldn't be like that. There are no secrets between us, nothing to drive us apart."
"Do you honestly think any minister will marry the vicomte's widow?" he demands, shaking his head. "I'm not sure it's worth the struggle, quite honestly. I worry what might happen if we try to walk among ordinary men in search of someone to perform the ceremony."
"But — we love each other!" She tries hard to keep a note of panic from entering her voice, and fails miserably. She hasn't been this close to tears in a long time. Something about her tone must strike him as odd, because he lets the music fall and kneels before her, taking her hands in his. She reads an apology beneath the mask.
"Christine." He takes her hands between his, gently, and meets her gaze without looking away. "I only meant that perhaps the official route is not one we'd be well-advised to take. We have a life down here, in our little underground palace. Isn't that enough?"
"No," she says slowly, and she can see his expression sharpen before she continues, "that's not what you meant." It's clear to her, all of a sudden, what he thinks of her. The way he's felt these past weeks, trapped here with her.
"By all means, tell me what I did mean, then." There's still an edge in his voice that won't seem to go away, but it's changing even as she listens. His words have grown more playful somehow, despite the nature of their disagreement. And if she's honest with herself, she knows why. She is reminding him of the old Christine — the one who used to converse with him, challenge his claims.
Truly, she misses that Christine, too.
She sighs, unsure if she can put her thought into words or if she even wants to. There's something about this moment she needs to hold on to, the way he is looking at her like a person and not a slightly eerie children's toy, breakable and barely wanted. Her sudden insight is almost guaranteed to take that away. "I think … I think you're frightened. Of me, Erik? Do I frighten you?"
His response is short, honest, and exceedingly gentle. "Yes. In a way, you do."
"How do I stop?" she asks immediately, almost begging him for an answer. For some way to fix this. He should not be afraid of her — he should love her. There must be some way for them to find happiness yet.
He stares at her for a long while, the minutes ticking by in silence. She can't even hear him breathing — in times like these, it's no wonder he was once thought a ghost. But finally, slowly, he shakes his head. "I've thought a lot about this, my dear. But to tell you the truth … I'm not entirely sure I want you to."
"I—" she releases a breath, raises her eyes to his. "I don't—"
His widening grin is lethal. "Oh, how the tables have turned."
We're nearing the end of this story, so their different kinds of crazy are going to start lining up more and more. So let me know what you think! Reviews are confidence boosters!
Much love,
KnightNight