The Masked Parisian

The Point of No Return

Christine sat in her dressing room, the opening night of Don Juan Triumphant. She felt incredibly lonely, not seeing Erik for weeks now. She had heard him and she knew that he was there, but the news of Meg's engagement had made Christine both amazingly happy and also incredibly envious. Daroga had been so forward in pursuing Meg and Christine wished that Erik would be the same. She dreamt of him pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply. She blushed, thinking such scandalous thoughts, but she loved him and couldn't stand to be parted from him a day longer. She sat by her mirror and stared at herself, hoping that Erik was listening.
"Erik, I hope you can hear me. I know you will be watching tonight and I hope that I do your wonderful opera justice. Just please, one thing is all I ask, make yourself known to me, show me that you are still here and that all you said is still true." She touched the glass, before making her way to the stage.

Erik had heard Christine's plea and could not wait to see her face when she saw him instead of Piangi. He chuckled, thinking of her angelic face in an expression of shock. He then thought of his hands pressing onto her bare flesh and couldn't contain himself. He wanted her more than any man had wanted a woman, he was sure.

Christine was nervous as she stood at the wings of the stage. Two months ago, she was sitting in her armchair, reading fairytales and now she was the soprano for the Paris opera. She couldn't believe that things had changed so much in such a short space of time. She heard her queue and centred her skirt, before walking, barefooted onto the stage.

Raoul sat in box three and waited in anticipation to see Christine walk onto the stage. He had persuaded his wife to come to Paris, rather easily, in an effort to be able to see Christine in the opera. He had heard from one of his friends that he had seen Christine perform in Il Muto and that she was extraordinary. He sat next to his preening wife, whose stomach had now lost its size after delivering a baby girl. Christine walked out onto stage and Raoul's breath was taken away. She was more beautiful than he had remembered.

"No thought within her head, but thoughts of joy,

No dreams within her heart but dreams of love." He heard Christine sing for the first time and his mouth fell agape.
"She really is quite good, isn't she?" His wife asked.
"Yes," He replied, a tear in his eye for letting her go. "I suppose she is."

Christine looked down to the basket of roses after seeing Raoul in the audience. She briefly looked up to see his wife, who was round in the face and pleasant on the eyes. She smiled, glad that he had married a fair woman and thought no more about it.

Erik walked onto stage, wearing his black mask and black cape. He looked over to Christine, picking at his roses and smiled, awaiting her reaction.

"Go wait for the trap he has set and wait for its prey." He sang to one of the chorus, he could not wait to see Christine, to touch her and to sing with her.

Christine was stunned into silence. She had expected Piangi's voice. However, instead she had heard a far more familiar voice, the voice of her Erik.

"You have come here.

In pursuit of your deepest urge.

In pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent, silent."

She looked over to him and gasped at the sight of him. He had never looked so good, he teasingly placed his finger over his mouth and smiled crookedly at her.

Erik could not have been happier with Christine's reaction to his being Piangi's replacement. She looked excited and overjoyed, then her eyes began to fall closed, and her mouth fell open softly, sighing in pleasure.