AN: Thank you to everybody for all the reviews on the last chapter! I I'm glad you like it This one is much shorter, but the next one will be longer and more eventful Just so you know, the song that is used later in the chapter is called Endless Night, and it's from the Lion King on broadway. I'm posting this in a hurry since I'm really busy this week, so I apologise for any mistakes I didn't catch.
So enjoy, and please review! (I would really like to hit a hundred reviews, and the hundredth reviewer will get a special preview as well as some of the pictures I've been basing some of my people off of
I sat on a small chair near the door of Christine's room, watching my angel sleep peacefully underneath the thick, deep red, duvet I had picked for her bed. I drummed my fingers against my thigh nervously, awaiting the moment when her eyes would open.
Obviously she would be scared, anxious and mostly likely angry, waking up in a new environment, especially after the traumatic way I had taken her. My fingers stopped drumming and curled tightly around the armrest.
I certainly hadn't meant to take her in such a traumatic way, having to put a gun to her head and pull her up the stairs like I had. It certainly wasn't the way I had planned it! I was simply going to lure her outside take her quietly, without all the commotion.
Of course, she had been the one to yell and then unmask me, that much wasn't my fault. Damn her! She seemed to be the only element in my life that I couldn't plan and predict perfectly! I would have thought that she'd be happy at her angel's return, but she had somehow deluded herself into happiness with that fop…
And then decided that it was a good idea to remove my mask in front of the entire masquerade.
The look of horror on her face as she screamed would haunt me for the rest of my life.
For some reason I had deluded myself into thinking that she would be different if she ever saw my face; that she had the ability to ignore my monstrous appearance and see only the music within my soul. However, she proved to be just like everybody else, screaming in horror at the first sight of me.
If I wasn't so angry about the whole ordeal, I might even be sad about it.
I stared intently at her sleeping face, looking for any sign of movement. Her eyebrows scrunched together, and her peaceful face began to look troubled. She moved slightly, and then began tossing and turning more dramatically.
I looked down at my pocket-watch; she should wake up any minute now. She tossed and turned for a couple more minutes, then her eyelids slowly began to flutter open.
I watched her intently, anxious for her reaction upon waking. She lay there for a moment, taking in her surroundings with her eyes, then brought a hand to her head, carefully pushing herself up.
Her gaze searched the room, confusion evident on her face, until her eyes landed on me.
All of a sudden her eyes widened, and terror crossed her face as the events of the night before came back to her, so I stood up and took a step toward her to reassure her.
She leaped out of bed like a frightened deer, and stumbled into the dresser when a wave of vertigo hit her. She pressed a hand to her forehead, and glanced down at the silk underclothes she was wearing with an appalled look on her face. I sighed; obviously, I had to take her out of the gown, and had simply left her in the undergarments she had on under the humongous dress.
"Christine," I tried to soothe her, taking another step toward her.
She stumbled back into the dresser, pressing herself against it. "S-stay back!" She stuttered. It pained me to see the fear etched across her features.
I held my hands out in front of me in a pleading gesture and took another step forward, desperate to erase her fear of me.
"D-don't come near me!" She shrieked, grabbing a candle holder from behind her and holding it like a weapon. Her hands were shaking, her body still weak from being unconscious for so long.
It was really a pitiful sight, her standing there in her under dress, her entire body shaking, holding a candleholder out at me as if she could actually protect herself in the condition she was in.
"Christine," I took another step forward, trying to reason with her. "Why don't you just lie back down…"
I was focussed so intently on her face, staring her deep in the eyes to try and reassure her, that I didn't see the candle holder until it collided with the unmasked side of my face. MY hand flew up in shock to cover the cut as pain seared across my face and blood trickled down my cheek.
"Christine," The tone of my voice turned to scolding, but she reached behind her and threw a book at me. However, this time I was ready and deftly dodged it, sidestepping so it came nowhere near it. Determined to ease her fear, I took another step toward her.
Tears began to stream down her face, as she threw everything in sight at me. I stopped where I was, easily dodging the un-aimed, hysterical throws. Obviously she just needed to get this out of her system… then she would realize that I had actually done her a favour by taking her here.
Energy spent, she sank to the floor and began to sob, pulling her knees to her chest and burying her face in them. I took the opportunity to kneel beside her, and try to console her again; now that she had all that anger and fear out of her system she would see why I had brought her here.
"Christine," I began, "It really is for the better that you're here… Now you can focus on your music and…"
"That's why you took me here?!" She shrieked hysterically. Her face shot up, and she looked at me, shock etched across her face. "To focus on my MUSIC?!"
"W-well," I flubbed, confused by this reaction. I had thought she would be happy to be able to focus on her music, obviously she loved it. "Among other things."
"What other things," She whispered, her hysteria giving way to anger. I moved backwards a little bit, treading cautiously. "Could possibly justify kidnapping me Erik?!"
She stood up and I stood with her, following her across the room. This kind of emotional behaviour had me completely flabbergasted. "You may not understand now…"
"Then make me understand Erik!" She screamed, poking a finger angrily into my chest. "Make me understand why you've ruined my life, taken me from everyone I've ever loved…"
Her anger was dissipating as quickly as it had come, and tears were welling up in her eyes, threatening to overflow.
"Taken me from Meg, Mama Valerius, Raoul… You were my angel… I trusted you with everything!" The tears streamed down her face once more, but my heart had heartened at the mention of the fop's name. Even now, that she was faced with a life with me, with music, she still mourned the loss of him! How could he have managed to completely delude someone as intelligent as Christine?!
"You will take some time to adjust." I said firmly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Then you will…"
"I DON'T WANT TO ADJUST!" She shrieked through her tears, throwing my hand off her shoulder in a hysterical tirade. "I don't want to 'adjust' to whatever life you've deluded yourself into thinking I wanted, I don't want to not have any contact with Meg or Raoul, I don't want to have a life with you!"
"Christine!" I started angrily, trying to stop her before she could drive her dagger of words any further into my heart.
She collapsed into sobs on the floor in front of me. "A-and I d-don't ever want to s-see your h-hideous f-face again!"
"As you wish my dear," I growled, walking quickly over to the door before I truly did something I would regret. "But remember, we are alone here, so if you don't see me, you don't see anybody. And from my experience, performers don't do well in solitude."
I flung open the door and slammed it shut behind, turning my key in the lock I had installed.
"Wait!" She yelled frenziedly, and I heard her scrambling to get up. Her footsteps sprinted to the door, and she grabbed the nob and began to shake it roughly. "Let me out you monster!"
I sat on the ground, for some reason unable to leave her, even through the torrent of insults she threw at me. I was scared of what she might do in this crazed, emotional state and didn't want her to hurt herself.
"You evil, revolting, vile bastard!" She shrieked, hammering her small fists on the door.
After nearly an hour of screaming until her voice was hoarse, and her arms couldn't beat against the door anymore, she finally stopped, falling to the floor and beginning to cry. It was at this point when I was finally able to leave her.
"She will adjust." I assured myself. "That was certainly more emotional than I had expected, but Christine is strong… She'll get through it."
I did menial tasks around the house, wanting to distract myself but for the first time in a long time not feeling like going to the piano. Of course, I knew where I really wanted to be;
With Christine.
Despite all the anger and humiliation running through me at her unmasking me, and her peculiar emotional state upstairs, I wanted to be in her presence. Her voice was like a drug to me; addicting and altogether consuming.
Maybe she'll be hungry, I thought as I started grabbing food from around the kitchen and began walking upstairs. Obviously she needed food, and this seemed a good excuse to be close to her.
I was just about to knock on the door when something cause me to freeze…
She was beginning to sing; broken, heart wrenching notes streamed out of her in such a beautiful way. I kneeled down, pressing my ear to the door so I could hear her song better.
"Where has the starlight gone? Dark is the day. How can I find my way home?" She sobbed, her voice barely above a whisper.
Her voice continued, getting stronger with every note she sung. "Home is an empty dream,
Lost to the night, Father, I feel so alone!"
Her voice continued to grow, until she was belting out every glorious note with everything she had. "I'm trying to hold on! Just waiting to hear your voice! One word, just one word will do, to end this nightmare!"
"You promised you'd be there! Whenever I needed you! Whenever I call your name, You're not anywhere!" By the time she reached the end of the song, the fire in her voice had all but died completely, and she burst into horrible, fragmented sobs.
Hastily, I stood up and knocked on the door with the food, eager to end her suffering.
"Don't come in!" She sobbed, and anger flared up inside me. Couldn't she see I was trying to help her?!
"Christine," I said softly, pushing the frustration down as much as I could. "I have food for you…I figured you might be…"
"I'm not hungry." She said bluntly, not even letting me finish my statement.
"Christine," I said, the frustration slightly showing in my voice. I unlocked the door and stepped in.
"Get out!" She shrieked, throwing a pillow at me, but I stepped to the side and let it hit the wall behind me. I set the food down on the table next to me, treading carefully. I hadn't expected her to be so hysterical; angry, yes, and sad perhaps, but not in this hysterical state.
"I don't want food!" She yelled, tears welling up in her eyes. She walked up and stood in front of me, holding her hands together and beginning to beg. "Please Erik… Please just let me go."
Tears were streaming down her face, and I couldn't deal with seeing her in this state. I pushed all emotion from my mind, retreating into the dark confines of my logical brain.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," I said coldly.
"Please," She sobbed, clinging to the front of my shirt desperately. "Please Erik… Angel… Please…"
I took her hands and gently unclasped them from my shirt, putting them down at her side. She looked down at the ground, tears silently streaming down her face. I could physically feel her sorrow, and the shriveled up remains of my heart were breaking. For the first time in my life, the logic and darkness of my mind couldn't keep the emotion from flooding in.
"I'll be back for supper." I said shortly, turning on my heel and practically fleeing the room. I locked her door and sprinted to my piano room.
I pulled my mask off as two silent tears trailed down my cheeks as my hands sought my violin and bow, and began to play a soft, painful melody.
I hadn't meant to make her feel that way… I had been trying to help her…
The bow pushed harder on the strings, making the sound come out sharper. I tried to soften my grip on the bow, making the sound more pleasant.
At least she was away from Raoul… That was always a positive thing.
The wheels in mind began to turn as they always did when I played music, and a stroke of genius hit me. All I had to do was create something special for her… Something that would make her see that I was not a villain when it came to her, merely her protector with a marred face.
I smiled widely, grabbing some of my sheet music and beginning to write down the violin notes on the page.