Say You'll Share With Me | Phantom Oneshots

POTOber Day 18 - Your Fears Are Far Behind You

day 18 prompts: rescue/protection/the rooftop

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Christine clung fiercely to Raoul's coat, burying her face in his chest and feeling the slightest bit of relief when he wrapped her tightly in his arms and ran his hands up and down her back. The costume she wore weighed her down, but the fear and anxiety in her mind were an even heavier weight on her mind.

Joseph Buquet had just been killed by none other than the Phantom of the Opera, who she now knew to be the man she had once thought was her Angel of Music. Seeing his body drop from the rafters, a rope taught around his neck, only moments after the Phantom—Erik—had caused Carlotta to lose her voice and embarrass herself publicly. He had wreaked havoc that evening, and she knew it was because he was upset that his orders had not been followed. Whatever the cause, though, the Phantom had attacked, put the anger and fury that he was capable of on full display, and even with how gentle and kind he could be with her, it terrified her.

Raoul was promising her safety, though. Protection, love, a life away from the Phantom, and nothing was more appealing in that moment. She realized that it would be a life away from the stage and that the chances of her singing, at least professionally, would diminish quickly, but it would mean her safety. She would have a chance to build a life with the young man that she loved, a chance for financial security, a warm environment to raise any future children. On all accounts, it sounded wonderful.

And then there was the matter of Raoul wanting her to leave and start their life without speaking a word to anyone else. Christine thought about leaving Meg and the other ballet girls without even getting to tell them about her engagement, her future as a Viscountess, but even with that though, her mind drifted to Erik. She wasn't oblivious to the fact that he loved her, and she did still consider him a friend of sorts, even with his terrible actions that he would have to redeem himself for if he had ever hoped of continuing their association, so the thought of running off without so much as a goodbye pained her. She didn't want to do that to him.

Still, Raoul was firm on the idea. Smiling at her, he kissed her cheek and stepped towards the door to the stairs back into the Opera House. "Come along, Christine. We need to get you back to finish this opera, to shine in this role as the Countess! Then we can be off," he said, flashing his toothy smile that she had always admired since they were children.

"Yes, of course," she replied, smiling back at him. "I'll be down in just a moment."

He nodded and hurried off, leaving Christine to take a deep breath of the cool night air. As she turned her head to look out over the city once more before going back inside, she froze when she noticed a cloaked, dark figure just rushing out of view on the other side of the roof.

"Oh Erik, no," she breathed, lifting the skirt of her dress as she hurried across the roof to try and stop him, only to be disappointed when she found him gone once she'd reached the other side. Not that she was surprised with how nimble he was in skipping over the rafters and through the basement of the Opera House; why she thought she could catch him, she couldn't say, but she wished she had. She knew right then that she had broken his heart in a way that could never truly be repaired. If he had heard everything that she and Raoul had said to each other, they would never truly recover their relationship, that was a fact.

Shaking her head, she looked out at where he had been standing before she brushed the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, praying he was in a spot where he could hear her before she rushed back into the Opera House with the hope that the Phantom's heartbreak would not bring about any further tragedies that night.