Overture
"Angel? Will you grant me a favor?" Christine asked one night in the chapel as she kneeled in front of the lit candle. It was the tone that made Erik pause in his reaction answer.
Erik had known this was going to happen eventually, but he had hoped it was not going to be only a month after their meetings had started. The girl had taken to visiting the chapel almost every night since their first meeting, the days she did not show she would explain that she did not think she could sneak out without alerting Mme. Giry. The amusing part about that was that the Madame already knew about her secret trips because Erik had told her about them. He did it for Antoinette to know that if she were to find the girl out of her bed at night, she would know where she was. However, neither she nor he could tell the girl, so they let her be. The two of them thought it was a good thing to not tell her, because it made her careful and quiet as she crept her way to the chapel to visit her angel, not disturbing any of the other employees.
During their time together, she would talk about her life before her father's death, the stories of their travels and how her father was a famous violinist that would tell her tales of their home land. She would also go into her current life at the Opera Populaire, and when she became too stressed, he would sing to calm her nerves and would send her to bed. On those nights, he would follow her through the tunnels and sing to her in a voice only she could hear, until she reached her living quarters with Meg and Antoinette. Once in a while she would ask him questions about himself but Erik would avoid them, figuring the less she knew, the less she would be able to pull together that he was not an angel at all. She must have picked up his reluctance towards those questions because she stopped asking them.
While Christine obviously missed her father, Erik could tell that she was finding the opera house and its life style to her liking. She quickly became friends with Meg and started dancing lessons under Madame Giry. Even if he did not have these secret meetings with her, he would have known all this because Meg and the Madame would tell him as well. Antoinette has told him she was going to be a wonderful dancer as she got older but has informed him of her desire to be a singer. Christine has told him multiple times over the past month that while she adored dancing, her heart was not in it like she knew Meg's was.
Now the time for her request had finally arrived. Considering the fact that Erik was portraying himself as the angel of music, and from his previous talks with the Giry's and the girl, he had a feeling what Christine's request was going to be.
"What is it, Christine?" he asked, his voice soft and heard from the flame of the lit candle he had taken to speaking from. He figured it gave something for Christine to focus on instead of having her look around the room as she tried to find where his voice was coming from. Which she had tried to do the first few times they had met and he had let his voice come from all around her. He had found her attempt amusing but had started talking from the flame for her to not strain her neck because she had been trying to find him by staring at the ceiling. Antoinette would scold him if she were to be injured in anyway under his care.
Apparently, Christine was now more of his ward than the Madame's.
"Will you be my teacher?" The young girl asked nervously. "Be my guide and teach me to sing."
Erik guessed and he was correct. He turned away to let out a sigh that she would not hear and looked at Farren who was on a stand that Erik had brought for the eagle to stand on instead of the ground during these night discussions.
"What do you think?" he asked her, knowing what she was already going to say, but figured he should hear her out.
"I think you could do it. You have never taught someone but you have taught yourself. If someone has the discipline to teach themselves, they can usually teach another. With that in mind, I say do it." Farren answered and begin preening her feathers.
"You give encouragement but not actual advice that I can use." Erik scowled at the bird.
"You will think of something. You always do." Farren replied simply, not pausing in her grooming.
Shaking his head, Erik turned back to look in on the chapel. Christine appeared nervous from having to wait for an answer.
"Sing for me." Erik whispered. Might as well find out what I am dealing with, he thought.
Christine perked up and stood from her kneeling position. Her companion, Nada, scurrying to stand between her feet. Christine looked anxious but also determined. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth.
Then she began to sing.
The melody was simple and slow, in a language that Erik did not know but figured was the girl's native language and the song was possibly something for children. Her voice was soft and sweet, giving Erik an impression that she has had some form of training in the past, most likely from her father.
In all the voice was beautiful, not nearly trained enough to be in opera and had a long way to go before it could be, but it was better than Erik had hoped for. He could easily picture her in a few years being the highlight of the opera house, maybe even the prima donna if she was up for it.
Then a memory of a smiling Antoinette receiving a banquet of roses from her suitor flashed to the front of his mind. His friend whose dancing career was cut short because she had fallen in love and had a child.
He could not let that happen to Christine. He refused to.
The girl had trailed off as she finished her song. Her voice cracked the slightest bit, but Erik paid that part no mind.
"I will teach you." Erik announced.
Christine instantly brightened and clasped her hands together to her chest. "Thank you!"
"There is one condition though." Erik added. Farren gave him a strange look but he ignored it.
Christine frowned in confusion. "Anything, angel."
"I will teach you to sing." Erik began firmly. "I will make it so that years to come you will become the most admired singer in all of Paris. But to do that you must never marry, and if you can help it, to never fall in love."
"Erik!" Farren exclaimed scandalized, her wings flapping a couple times in dismay.
"What does love have to do with singing?" Christine questioned, her brows furrowed down in confusion, her clasped hands relaxing at her sides.
"You will be surprised." Erik informed her. "Many artists have fallen from their prime because they allowed their emotions to cloud their desires of what they want to achieve on the stage. I have witnessed it and it is not always a worthy fall. I do not wish for you to experience the same, especially if you wish me to be your guide."
Christine was silent for a few moments, Erik began to think she might not be able to do it, and briefly wondered what would happen from now on if she refused to do as he asked. His thoughts did not last long because then she nodded.
"Alright." Christine agreed resolutely, one of her fist clenched from her determination. "I swear to you, my angel of music, that I shall never marry. But I cannot promise to never fall in love because I do not think I could make such a claim."
"Christine!" Nada exclaimed in panic the same moment Farren called his name.
Erik ignored both of them and focused on the girl. He figured she would not have made a promise towards love, even he knew that it was something that took people by surprise during times they least suspected it. But the marriage one, he could deal with.
"I will accept your promise. Do not betray me Christine." Erik stated letting his voice get louder and shrouded it in power.
Christine nodded. "When will we begin?"
"The next time you come to me." Erik answered, his voice going back to its softer tone. "We will practice in this room, but for now, go to sleep, my child."
And with that, he made a gush of wind and blew out the candle, dismissing her.
Christine picked up a squeaking Nada and left the room. Erik watched them until the door closed before turning away and begin to make his way up the tunnels.
Farren was not letting him off without nothing.
"What was that?!" she exclaimed, landing on his shoulder.
"That girl can raise through the ranks with a voice like that. In a few years, she just might, and I refuse to let something as useless as romantic love and marriage get in her way. Not again." Erik explained fiercely.
Farren was quiet a lot of the way to the roof of the opera house. Since she was now a large bird, she needed time to fully exercise and spread her wings. His home on the lake and the tunnels could only do so much and he had taken up on going to the top of the opera house at night to let her do her exercise.
When they entered the roof she flew off his shoulder to land on one of the statues.
"Is this because of what happened to Antoinette? She is happy with how her life turned out, you know." she asked, watching him with her golden eyes that were much like his own.
Erik looked away from her and did not say anything.
Farren realized she was not going to get an answer from him and sighed. She spread her wings and took off in flight to get her exercise in for the night.
He knew that what Farren said was true and he himself could not hate how it turned out for Antoinette either, he loved her and Meg too much for that. However, he could not help but think of what could have been if she had only waited more years to be married and have a child. She would have danced and been sensational, Erik had no doubt about that. Sure she had danced after giving birth to Meg, but she had no longer been able to do any major roles because her first priority was her daughter. While he saw that as a good thing, he did not like the timing. He had watched her over the years when they were younger. She contained drastic amounts of passion and love for dance, the same amount he knew that Christine felt towards singing.
Erik looked up at the starry sky. He could not see Farren because of the night and how high she had flown up.
He thought about Christine and Antoinette. He had been a child when Antoinette had gotten married and did not protest a lot.
He would not make the same mistake with Christine. He was her angel and guide, and as such, he would fuel her love for the arts enough that she would never consider giving it up for the sake of marriage, even if she falls in love.
With his mind made up, he began to sing the song Christine had sung to him in the chapel. The foreign words felt strange on his lips but he pronounced them flawlessly and let the words drift off into the night sky along with the wind.
Christine had gone to bed that night to her angel's voice singing in her head and the promise she had made to him before he agreed to teach her how to sing. She was able to promise him that she would not marry easily, but she could not make herself promise to not fall in love for it was already too late.
She loved her angel with all her heart.
But to her, this was an advantage, for because she loved him, she would do anything in her power to make him happy with her. If that meant never marrying to have her angel by her side forever, she would gladly do it.
She fell asleep with the gentle words whispered by her angel in her ears.
Yay! Got another up! I'm hoping you're all enjoying it. I really enjoy getting reviews from my readers, something that keeps me going, you know? Anyway, has anyone guessed the pattern of the titles yet? I think this one's another good hint! See ya next time!