Chapter 10

hiya strangers! I have been without a computer for months! It's been awesome[/sarcasm So yeah, i've missed writing this fanfic so now that i have a new computer i will be finishing it! Sorry you guys have been hanging all this time, but i'll have you know this is far from over. The best is yet to come. So anywho, to chapter 10...

What I once feared the most had come true. I was to marry Erik. It hadn't actually hit me until I put on my wedding dress. I stood there looking through the mirror, a confused and unsure bride. I was the one who accepted his proposal, yet I felt so trapped. I slipped on long white satin gloves and tried clearing my mind of doubts. As I tried desperately to tie the back of the wedding dress, my mind wandered back to Raoul for a moment. I still thought of him every now and then, and would wonder where he was or what he was doing.

I felt my waist suddenly tighten as Erik tied it when he came up behind me. I turned around and he placed a long laced veil on my head and smiled. He continued to fixing anything crooked or out of place, almost as if I were a wedding doll he wanted to dress perfectly. He fluffed my dress and looked into my eyes.

"You look ravishing," he said, smiling with pleasure.

I could feel myself blushing and looked down. He took my hand.

"This is such a happy day my life, Christine, the day I know we will be forever joined in marriage."

I stood there and smiled at him, and glanced up at the clock. It was around eleven o' clock.

"We shall be married by noon, Christine."

Writing a marriage vow isn't as easy as you might think. I couldn't lie in a vow, and it had to be straight from my heart. It is a promise. I had to write a promise to him. As I sat down thinking, I started to write. I wasn't much of a writer, but it was my wedding day and I had to make the best of it.

Erik walked in and stood in the doorway looking at me. I glanced up and continued writing my vows. After I finished I studied them for a moment. I took a breath and hoped they were the right words Erik needed to hear.

As my marriage was nearing, I pulled out a picture of my father and gazed hopelessly at it for a long while.

Father, I thought, I hope I am making the right decision.

Then it was noon. I walked around until I found Erik, dressed very neatly. Soft flickering candlelight spilled throughout the dark room and beautiful rose petals covered the floor. The place was indeed decorated for a wedding. Erik's tall grandfather clock showed twelve o' clock. I was quite a ways from Erik and he reached out his hand for me. I pulled the lace from my veil down so it covered my face and hesitantly started to walk towards him. My heart was beating like crazy the whole way. When I came to a reasonable distance I took his hand and he led me to the center of the room. Though a heavy laced veil was distorting my vision, I could see his eyes twinkling and his expression glowing with pride. I smiled nervously.

He took both of my hands and kissed them.

"Are you ready my dear?"

I took a deep breath, and in a trembling voice I answered.

"Yes, Erik."

Without anymore hesitation, Erik began his vow to me.

"Christine," he began,

"Today I take you for my wife. Now you shall feel no more sorrow, for I will be your shelter. I will no longer feel the pain of loneliness, for you are my happiness. There is only one life before us, and the seasons of our life will be so wonderful, oh Christine they will! I promise to love, honor, and cherish you always, no matter what lies before us, for as long as I live."

It was a typical but beautiful vow. I couldn't really see his face now because of the veil, or maybe it was because one of the candles went out. I paced myself and my voice was a little stronger but slower.

"I, Christine Daae,-"

My heart leapt for a moment realizing what I was doing. I've never really had stage fright, being that since I was 8 I have lived on the stage, but right at that moment it was if my mind completely froze infront of someone.

I began taking shallow breathes and started shaking. Erik tried rubbing my hand gently to calm me down. I closed my eyes and tried to get my mind straight and working. I couldn't blow this, I thought. The show must go on.

I began to speak again.

"I, Christine Daae, take you, Erik, to be my husband, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph. I promise to cherish and respect you, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and to stay with you, for all eternity."

After I had said my vow, my shoulders felt a little lighter. It was over with. I tried to look through my veil to see Erik. I was a little nervous wondering if he actually trusted that my vow was genuine after my slight panic attack. I felt my veil being lifted and I saw Erik with tears in his eyes. But they were tears that didn't make me sad.

Through his tears he smiled at me.

"Do you take me for your husband?"

"I do."

I squeezed his hands tighter.

"Do you take me for your wife, Erik?"

Erik sighed and closed his eyes, then opened them and looked into mine.

"Oh, Christine…I do."

He leaned in and gave me a proper kiss on my forehead and it was done. We were married.

Some hours later, I could hear the sound of an opera performance to begin. I sat down and tried my hardest to listen to it. The sound was muffled but skilled. How I missed the shows these days. Living in an opera house most of your life, one thing was certain, nothing could entertain you more than a good opera.

"Christine, would you like to go see the opera?"

I looked up at him, a little surprised.

"Erik, we can't go up there. You know that."

Erik glanced upward listening to the singing.

"Oh I've done it for years, Christine. As long as there is a special box open for us, nothing will go wrong."

His words disturbed me a little.

"But-"

"Come Christine, it is a very special day for us, let us see a show."

Hesitantly I agreed and followed him into his boat. There were many questions I had concerning how, exactly, would "nothing go wrong."

I've mentioned it before, but may I remind you how long the journey is from the bottom of the opera house to the main floors. It takes at least a good 30 minutes. And when you want to go to the very top, like on the roof, I'd say that's a good 45. Of course I've never actually timed myself, but that's what it feels like. Every time Erik took me someplace above the lair, he would take a different way. Lord knows how many ways he could take to get to one room. As time went by I noticed the room that had the most ways to get to was my room.

It was dark when Erik led me through doorway after doorway. I could barely see anything, and held on to Erik hoping I wouldn't trip on anything. Suddenly he stopped and started reaching for something on the wall. We were in a tight dark corner of a hidden passageway. Erik grumbled as he reached higher trying to find a lever of some sort.

"I know - its here somewhere," he said.

Suddenly light shined directly on my face and the next thing I knew we were in Box 5 with the stage right there infront of us. I could hear beautiful operatic singing and closed my eyes in pleasure. As I walked toward the edge of the box to get a full view, Erik pulled me back into the shadows.

"You must not let them see you, Christine. Remember, we are out in public eye now."

I obeyed his words and stood in the hidden corner with him right next to me. The older soprano moved on to her next song which had a slow melancholic melody.

I stand in the rain, there I'll never be lost

No matter where you go or what I see

The rain is where my heart is,

and though I will follow you always

The rain is where I'll always be

As Erik and I enjoyed the opera, I began wondering again..maybe we could appear in public more often. This idea swirled around in my head and it seemed that it was going to be either a very good idea or a terrible idea.