Chapter 3

Parties with the aristocracy were truly torturous, Christine decided. Ever since Raoul had publicly announced their engagement days after they escaped the lair, she was expected to attend these ridiculous events on the arm of her fiancé.

Two nights after her leading performance at the opera, she found herself at a large event held at the estate of another wealthy family. It was a dinner party celebrating something. A birthday? A marriage? A piece of artwork? Christine couldn't remember and frankly didn't care.

Christine owned very few fine gowns, just enough to get through gala and patron events at the opera, and tonight she wore the last of them before she would start repeating. Christine's deep red gown was simpler than the other women's dresses, but Christine felt beautiful nonetheless. When she had come downstairs from her apartment, her well-spoken fiancé had stumbled over his words in an attempt to complement her, which had made Christine giggle. During the carriage ride, Raoul had kissed her and held her close. However, as soon as the driver opened the door, Raoul straightened up and put on a mask of arrogance and indifference. Christine clutched his elbow as they made their way around the party, greeting various important people that Christine was supposed to remember.

Eventually, Raoul left Christine with a group of women so he could "talk business" with the other men. Before he left, he kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "you're doing great." They shared a quick smile before he walked away, Christine enjoying the small crack in his façade just for her.

Christine turned to the four other women. They were all around her age or a few years older, two of them married and one of them engaged. The fourth woman, who was not attached, stared at Christine with a dark expression.

"How did you manage to get him to fall in love with you?" she asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Christine said, taken aback.

"I think what Marguerite is trying to ask is how you two met," one of the other women said.

"Oh," Christine said uncertainly. "We met at the Opera, but we actually knew each other from childhood and just happened to be reacquainted at the opera."

"Yes, just before the whole Phantom of the Opera scandal began," one of the other women said. "You met the Opera Ghost, didn't you? Tell us, what was he like?" Suddenly Christine had four pairs of eyes burning into her, waiting eagerly for a piece of gossip.

"I'd rather not discuss it," she stated.

"Oh, come now Christine," Marguerite said, a mischievous smile spreading across her face. "just tell us something! Was he terrifying? Did the two of you talk? What did he do to you when he took you captive?"

Christine knew that if she started talking about Erik, she would win over these women, at least temporarily. But their hungry expressions gave Christine pause. "I'm not going to tell you anything!" she said harshly. "What happened with the Phantom is between me, him, and Raoul. You just want me to tell you so you can go gossip to your other friends and enjoy the attention you get!"

Christine's outburst was followed by a shocked silence.

"What a temper you have, Miss Daaé," Marguerite said. "You better watch that mouth of yours."

It took much of Christine's strength to not roll her eyes. Luckily, another woman joined the group and the conversation moved on, although Christine could still sense Marguerite seething beside her. Finally, Raoul came and told her it was time to leave, much to Christine's relief.

"Why hello there, Madame la Vicomtesse. How was your fancy dinner?"

Christine rolled her eyes at Meg as she collapsed onto the sofa in her dressing room beside her friend. Meg sometimes hid out in Christine's dressing room when Christine wasn't there, so she wasn't shocked to arrive and find her friend already there when she arrived for rehearsal. "Please don't call me that," she said. "I'm not married yet. And I may kill myself before the wedding if I have to keep attending these dinner parties."

"That bad, huh?" Meg said.

"Worse," Christine laughed. "I may have chastised a few aristocrats for gossiping…"

"Christine!"

"What? I didn't want to tell them my story just so they could go gossip about it elsewhere!"

Meg laughed. "Oh Christine, you crazy girl. I guess you can make it your personal mission to reprimand the aristocracy for their poor behavior since attending these parties will become a regular thing for you now."

Christine's heart fell at Meg's words. "I honestly had never thought of that," she said seriously. "This is my life now, isn't it?"

"All part of marrying a Vicomte, my friend," Meg said. "I'm sure you'll find some joy in it all with time."

Christine sighed miserably, thinking of the lifetime of ridiculous small talk she had ahead of her. Meg rubbed her back.

"What were they asking you anyways?" Meg asked.

"They wanted a firsthand account of the Phantom of the Opera affair."

"Hm."

"What's that supposed to mean, Meg?" Meg always had a response for everything.

"It's just… I found something on Maman's desk yesterday about the Phantom," she said cautiously.

Christine's breath hitched in her throat. "What did you find? Is he alive?" she asked desperately.

Meg looked frightened by Christine's sudden interest. "Yes, he's alive. But I don't know for how much longer," she said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"It was a letter. He said he was hiding out in the crypt of the Église Saint-Sulpice. But, Christine, it sounded like he intends to kill himself."

"What?!" Tears sprang to Christine's eyes. "Kill himself? Oh God, oh God!" she cried, burying her face in her hands.

"Christine!" Meg threw her arms around her friend. "It's okay."

"If he takes his life, it will be my fault."

"How could this possibly be your fault?"

"Because… because I left him," Christine whispered.

Meg looked at her curiously, and Christine realized she had never told her friend everything that had happened in the lair. She took a deep breath and explained Erik's love for her and how he tried had Raoul with the lasso and was forcing her to choose Raoul's life or freedom from Erik.

"And I realized in that moment," Christine continued, "that Erik was reacting this way because he had never been loved. He was the loneliest person I had ever met and as much as I hated him, I understood. I understood what I meant to him and why he was taking such drastic measures. He didn't know any better. I decided to show him compassion and kissed him."

"What?! You kissed the Phantom?" Meg looked shocked.

"In front of my fiancé, no less," Christine added with a humorless laugh.

Meg made a face. "He's just… so hideous. I mean I only caught a glimpse of him without the mask, but still, it was horrible."

"It wasn't that bad," Christine said wistfully. "It was… tender." She remembered Erik's stone cold brown eyes peering at her and watching them break into confusion then wonder as she brought her lips to his. She remembered how he couldn't even fully bring himself to embrace her, how his hands had trembled as they brushed against her back.

"You are full of surprises, Christine Daaé," Meg said, shaking her head.

"I just- I can't let him take his life. He may have done terrible things, but he doesn't deserve to die." Christine paused, making a decision. "I have to go find him," she said definitively. "Oh God, please let him not have done it yet."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Meg asked. "And what will Raoul say?"

"Well I won't tell Raoul. He would never allow it. Erik won't hurt me, though. He may be fixated on me, but he has never tried to take advantage of me."

"Wow lying to your fiancé… You're really serious about this?"

"Raoul doesn't own me. I've been on my own for years now, and just because I'm engaged doesn't change the fact that I am my own person and can do what I think is right."

Meg nodded thoughtfully. "I have something for you." She took Christine's hand and led her out the door and to the ballet chorus dressing room. Luckily, the room was empty, although costumes, clothing, and hair pins were strewn about. The disaster of the ballet chorus dressing room brought on a wave of nostalgia for a more innocent time. Meg reached under the table by her chair and pulled out a few boxes of her things- extra ballet slippers, costumes, tights, and hairpins. She dug to the bottom of one of the boxes and pulled out a bundle of fabric, which she handed to Christine.

Christine unwrapped the bundle and found herself gazing into half of Erik's face. She was holding his porcelain white mask.

"Oh Meg," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. "How did you come by this?"

"I was the first one to reach the lair, and it was on his chair beneath his black cape. I took it and never told anyone. It seemed too important to leave to the gendarmes."

"Thank you, Meg," Christine breathed. "You are an amazing woman." She pulled her friend into a tight embrace.

"Just be careful with him. You may believe there's hope for him, but that doesn't erase the actions of his past."