Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Phantom of the Opera or its character's it all belongs to Gaston Leroux, Susan Kay, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Warner Brother Studios, and anyone else that has the rights to it.

Chapter 2

Enchanted

Christine was careful around Raul, making sure not to upset him. She knew the temper he had but never actually thought that he would physically harm her, until tonight. She remained quite only speaking when absolutely necessary usually exchanging small conversations with the people that would come to congratulate her. Raoul kept his arm around her waist all night as a small reminder that she belonged to him. She wondered if anyone else could see the obvious tension between them.

Raoul pretended as if nothing happened, although she could still she the flash of anger in his eyes whenever he would look at her. When surrounded by his friends, Raoul was an entirely different person. He behaved like a complete gentleman and was incredibly charming. No one could see through him, not even her father. She worried about her father; their relationship had become strained in the past year. She knew that he was just trying to save the family name by covering up his debt with this marriage but she would never forgive him for it. Of course it wasn't his entire fault; she couldn't find the courage within herself to deny Raoul especially after tonight. She felt utterly alone.

The rest of the night was a blur to Christine. Raoul talked to his friends about his accomplishments and his plans for the future. His family was the patron of the Opera House and he also was in charge of overseeing decisions regarding the upcoming performances.

Occasionally someone would ask them about plans of their wedding. Christine looked down and refused to answer any question about it and Raoul would give a short answer before quickly changing the subject. Apart from that his guests seemed to be fascinated by him, most of his friends were dancers or singers of the opera house and were interested to hear his plans. One of the women was Carlotta, a beautiful red headed woman that seemed to give Raoul her undivided flirtatious attention. Christine was well aware of his eager response towards this woman, but she didn't mind.

"Ah! My friends may I introduce the new composer for the future opera, Erik Dessler." Raoul proudly said as he extended his hand to Erik making sure he was by his side.

"He composed a wonderful new opera and will be with you during rehearsals starting tomorrow."

Christine looked up to see the mysterious stranger; he was dressed all in black in a three piece suite. He was one of the tallest men in the room, well-built and probably in his thirties. Christine thought that he held himself with such composure. His hair was dark and combed back. The right side of his face was covered by a white mask, she thought it suited him. The other half of his face was unbelievably handsome, in a rugged sort of way.

As Erik thanked Raoul for introducing him she could see Carlotta shifting her attention from Raoul to Erik.

"Hello Monsieur Desseler, my name is Carlotta I'm hoping to become prima Donna in the next opera" she said before giving Erik a flirtatious smile.

"Please call me Erik. I'll be looking forward to hearing you in the rehearsals" Erik said politely. He turned, stopping when he saw Christine.

"My fiancée, Christine Daae" Raoul introduced Christine noticing the way Erik was looking at her.

Erik slowly walked over to Christine until he was directly in front of her. Taking her hand in his and placing a soft kiss on top, His eyes never leaving hers.

"Enchanté" Erik said quietly for only her to hear.

"May I steal your fiancée?" Erik looked over at Raoul who seemed stunned by his question.

"Excuse me?"

"For a dance of course" he then looked back at her and smiled warmly, not waiting for Raoul to respond.

"May I have this dance?"

Christine nodded and intertwined her arm with his until they reached the dance floor, leaving Raoul behind completely stunned and slightly confused. The music began to play, Christine placed her arm on Erik's shoulder and his hand was placed on her waist as he expertly led her in dance.

"You dance marvelously Mademoiselle."

She was completely mesmerized by him. His eyes were alluring; the warm amber color held so much gentleness.

"Thank you Monsieur. Is this your first time working as composer?"

"For this company, yes. I'm looking forward to it."

They seemed to share a connection and Christine found it impossible to look away from him, he was so handsome and mysterious she wanted to know more about him. She could feel Raoul looking at her and was glad that for once he was not in control.

The trance was broken when the music stopped Erik smiled at her before walking her back to Raoul.

"Thank you my friend, she is quite lovely"

Raoul was slightly annoyed but gave Erik a polite smile before taking Christine's hand holding and holding her close.

"Thank you for coming Erik, I'll see you around the opera." Raoul then turned and started pulling Christine behind him

"Goodbye, Erik," she said hoping he would hear her before Raoul took her away.

"Goodnight Mademoiselle" he responded giving her one last smile before disappearing into the crowd

Christine was glad when the party ended, knowing that Raoul would be leaving her for the night. She would finally be free of him even if it was for a short while.

"Goodnight darling, I'll see you tomorrow." He said sarcastically, attempting to kiss her.

She quickly turned her head to the side, narrowly escaping his lips. He gave her a cold penetrating look but said nothing and left without looking back.

She finally relaxed and pushed past her heavy gown slowly making her way up the marble stairs. All she wanted now was rest. She finally reached the entry way of her room opened the heavy door and entered the darkened chamber. A streak of light was let in by the balcony doors which were slightly opened. She walked to the other side of the room and opened both doors letting the fresh air and dim light in to illuminate the room.

Marie entered the room to help Christine out of her gown.

"I almost forgot! A monsieur Dessler asked me to give this to you earlier" She said reaching into her bag…

She pulled out a single red rose. It was the most beautiful rose Christine had ever seen. She carefully handed it to her and Christine noticed a black ribbon that was elegantly tied to the stem. She smiled to herself as she remembered those enticing amber eyes that would haunt her for the rest of the night.

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