Hearing it was perhaps the best thing and the worst thing all at once. Christine loved the way it sounded. She didn't want to argue. She wanted to allow this to happen.

But guilt and worry swirled in her guts, making the moment almost bittersweet. As much as her feelings for Raoul had shifted, there was a bond there once. He deserved better than just her disappearing on him.

On the other hand, the idea of trying to make Erik let her go made her feel even worse. She didn't want to do that. She wanted to remain with him.

Not only that, but surely people would come after him. From their perspective, he'd just kidnapped her and it wasn't a good look for him.

She might not have much of a reputation, but someone like Erik would have an even worse one despite being a man. They'd use any excuse they could to put him behind bars.

In fact, they probably wouldn't even bother with locking him up. They'd probably sentence him to death immediately. Because living underneath an opera house also wasn't the best look.

"You're right... but Erik, I'm engaged." Christine finally reminded, unable to look at him.

She wouldn't be able to handle the look she was almost completely sure would be on his face. She didn't want to hurt him. She'd never wanted to hurt him. She didn't like this any more than he did.

"But you don't have to be. If he can't find you, you can't marry him. Problem solved." Erik refuted stonily.

God help her, Christine wanted nothing more than to give in and relent. Because she didn't want to argue with that. She wanted to believe that just as much as she did.

But there was just too much weighing on her to really let herself do that. She shifted from foot to foot, crossing her arms over her chest tightly.

"What if they find you Erik... I don't want our relationship to put you at risk." Christine implored, hoping it would make him see sense.

The silence that followed was promising as it was worrying. It could be a good thing, but her angel was still rather unpredictable. Even to her.

Especially when this was the subject at hand. This was unexplored territory. This was perhaps the first move that had been made in a long while.

Erik cupped her cheeks and peered down at her, seemingly searching her eyes for something. He must've found it because he relaxed slightly.

"They won't, I promise. Even if they have a general idea, I believe it to be very unlikely they'd know the exact way. I have an array of traps anyway." Erik soothed, his thumb caressing her cheekbone.

Despite herself, she relaxed, melting into his touch. She leaned into it, raising her hands to gently wrap them around his wrist. He had a good point.

Maybe this was only a part of his plan. Maybe he didn't intend for them to live down here permanently. As much as she liked her singing career, she was fairly certain she'd give it up for him.

It was a startling revelation but she could handle it. It was frightening in it's intensity, but it was nothing compared to the fear she'd felt that day.

That day that she'd been so convinced that she was going to lose this man, thanks to the actions of the man she thought she loved.

"I trust you.." Christine breathed, offering him a shy smile. She leaned up onto her toes and pressed a gentle peck against his masked cheek, the material cool against her lips.

Erik's eyes were wide and surprised, clearly expecting her to continue arguing against this.

But despite the surprise, she could see the faint smile turning up the corners of his lips.

She'd made him happy. Visibly happy. The knowledge filled her with a warmth that she could soak in.

It made her want to see that expression again and again. She wanted to be the reason for it every time it happened.

It wasn't hard to locate Meg. The little blonde was gifted with quite noticable assessts that the other ballerinas lacked.

Raoul didn't intend to notice, not really. They were just hard to miss. He tapped her on the shoulder. He expected her to jump like any of her little friends would.

But Meg didn't. She simply whirled around to face him, a look of surprise entering her eyes. Clearly she didn't expect him to approach her.

Normally he wouldn't. He was risking a lot by marrying Christine already. He didn't need the public to think he was entertaining more of them.

In fact, it would be worse if they thought he was entertaining Meg. Being a dancer, she had a worse reputation than his lovely fiancee.

"Can I help you with something?" Meg questioned, braking the silence.

Raoul inwardly cringed at the sound of her voice. It was a little too chirpy, even for his tastes. But he reminded himself that she just might be his only chance.

"I do actually, would you be opposed to walking with me? This is a conversation better suited for private." Raoul responded, forcing a charming smile to his lips.

Meg didn't answer right away, simply staring at him almost blankly. He watched as she looked around, clearly making sure she wouldn't be missed.

"I suppose not. It seems like whatever it is might be important." Meg teased.

He batted down the annoyance and offered a small chuckle in response. He took her arm and deftly guided her through the crowd and out into the corridor.

Meg followed him, occasionally stumbling over her feet in an attempt to keep up.

Raoul blamed the lack of grace on her height. She was rather short. Not only was she shorter than himself but she was shorter than Christine as well.

Once they had an adequate amount of privacy by his standards, he stopped and turned around to face her.

Meg waited patiently as he gathered his thoughts, removing the mask that she had been wearing. That was good. It would make him feel that she wasn't taking this as a joke like she had earlier.

"Christine. I need you to help me find Christine. Can you do this?" Raoul demanded, his voice nothing more than a hushed whisper.