They say that nothing is perfect, but I disagree. The first time I saw Christine Daaé the only word that made sense in that moment was "perfect". All my life I've strived for beauty. Created beauty and surrounded myself with beautiful things, all in spite of my face. But then I found this girl and everything else seemed ugly in comparison. Suddenly, she was what kept me grounded to the earth. There is nothing I would not do for her.
One night, when the performance was over and the house was quiet, I took her to the Grand Escalier with a plan in mind.
"At the masquerade, I didn't get to dance with you."
"Erik, you know I longed to dance with only you, but you insisted upon keeping to the shadows!" She laughed, though I could see the hurt that night had caused her.
"Dance with me now, Christine." I held out my hand and gently, formally bowed.
"But there's no music…"
"There's always music. It's in the sound of your sighs, the beat of our hearts, the notes in my head."
She smiled and reached her little hands out to me. I took her up in the correct dancer's pose and began to lead her gently on our makeshift stage. For a few glorious minutes we danced and I could not tear my eyes away from hers. That didn't seem enough for her though as she dropped her head to rest gently on my chest, relaxing our clasped hands and cradling them between our bodies as she did so. Shivers raced through me as she snaked her other arm under my coat and around my waist. Time ceased to matter then, it was just her and I. The building could have fallen down around us and I would not have noticed, for I had my angel here in my arms, protecting my heart.
"I love to hear your heart beat, Erik."
"It beats only for you, Christine." We had fought the odds to be together, but I'd always known, without a shadow of a doubt that she was my future. "I want everything with you. All of it, the glorious, the tragic, the melodies and the music, I will be there because I love you. I vow to you now that I will dance all my dances with you, openly, for all to see how little I deserve you. Marry me, Christine."
She pulled back from me and I instantly missed her warmth. But it was a small price to pay to see the joy in her eyes. She clasped her hand to her mouth, tears already forming in her eyes. But she was smiling as she nodded and then flung her arms around me, nuzzling in close before whispering; "I've been waiting for you to ask that question since the day we first met."
Sometimes, I fail to believe that I get to love her, that she chose…me. Loving her is the best thing I've ever done, for she is the best part of me.
