Inside My Mind: The Phantom of the Opera as told by Miss Christine Daae

Chapter 23: Dark Fate

He has the veil in his hands and he lets go of my wrist. I can hear him breathing heavily as though he had just run a marathon. I run towards the organ and stop midway before I ask screaming "Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood? Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?" He approaches me with the veil still in his hands and reminds me of the already known fact. "That fate which condemns me, to wallow in blood, has also denied me the joys of the flesh." He reaches his hand towards me but I turn away. He comes closer and pointing at the deformed side of his face. "This face, the infection, which poisons our love". I can't help but shiver at what he says next. "This face, which earned a mother's fear and loathing. A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing." So that's why the mask was so important to him. It was the only thing he really had. His voice suddenly changes to an angry cry. "Pity comes too late!" He forces the veil onto my head and spins me around to face him as he continues "Turn around and face your fate. An eternity of this *he points at his face* before your eyes. He grabs my wrists and we are face to face.

I look up at him and with a tremble in my voice I finally admit the truth to him. "This haunted face holds no horror for me now." The Phantom moves behind me and starts fluffing the veil frantically. He takes the bouquet of fake flowers off the floor and hands them to me. I continue, stopping him dead in his tracks. "It's in your SOUL that the true distortion lies." He looks up at me and with a sly tone to his voice says "Wait, I think my dear, we have a guest!" He point to the closed grated and I notice Raoul standing behind it, soaking wet. "RAOUL!" I exclaim running towards him. "Sir, this is indeed an unparalleled delight!" The Phantom seems very amused by the fact that Raoul has interrupted whatever it was we were doing. "I had rather hoped that you would come! And now, my wish come true. You have truly made my night!" I look over at him and he has since tossed the doll onto the ground and is sitting in the throne. I am suddenly mad at him, but Raoul beats me to the punch.

"Free her! Do what you will only free her! Have you no pity?" The Phantom, still showing his utmost amusement says to me "your lover makes a passionate plea." I turn to Raoul and beg with him to stop. "Please Raoul, it's useless." Raoul keeps trying to convince the Phantom to let me go. "I love her, does that mean nothing? I love her. Show some compassion!" To the Phantom, that clearly means nothing and he informs Raoul that "THE WORLD SHOWED NO COMPASSION TO ME!" Raoul clearly hasn't gotten the message and tries one last time. "Christine, Christine. LET ME SEE HER!" To my utmost surprise, the Phantom stands up from the chair and raising his arms says "Be my guest, sir." The grate opens just enough for Raoul to slide underneath and embrace me. "It's ok, Christine, I'm here" he says lovingly. From behind us, the Phantom says with sheer delight in his voice "Monsieur I bid you welcome. Did you think that I would harm her?" We try and exit through the grate, but to our surprise, the grate has been lowered back to the ground. Without even thinking we turn our backs to the Phantom, who keeps his tangent going. "Why should I make her pay for the sins which are YOURS?" Before I have time to react, the Phantom has looped a lasso around Raoul's neck and the end is hanging oddly in thin air. "NO!" I scream as I try to help Raoul break free. I can see the Phantom out of the corner of my eye, mocking Raoul. "Order your fine horses now! Raise up your hand to the level of your eyes! Nothing can save you now!" He looks at me and he smiles cunningly, and coming over to me, he grabs my wrist and pulls me away from Raoul. Taking both my wrists in his hands, he get in my face and gives me the ultimatum. "Start a new life with me, by his freedom with your love. Refuse me and send your lover to his death! This is the choice!" He throws me to the ground and he runs over to the organ and slamming the key screams "THIS IS THE POINT OF NO RETURN!"

Lying face down on the ground, I slowly sit up and with the power slowly increasing in my voice I profess that "the tears I might have shed for your dark fate, grow cold and turn to tears of HATE!" I look over at the Phantom and the stunned look on his face told me that he heard the message loud and clear. I rip the veil off my head and holding it up to him continue my profession. "Farewell my fallen idol and false friend! We had such hopes and now those hopes are shattered!" As I'm doing this, the Phantom attempts to challenge my words saying "Too late for turning back, too late for prayers and useless pity!" Out of nowhere, Raoul and the Phantom start trying to sway my decision. Raoul remind me that if I "say you love him and my life is over" while the Phantom says emphasizes the fact that "All hope of cries for help; no point in fighting!" Then, they say the line that sends chills down my spine and my body trembling. "For either way you choose, he has to win/you cannot win!" Why are they doing this to me? Why is this happening? The Phantom's voice overpowers Raoul's as he asks me that fateful question "So do you end your days with me, or do you send him to his grave?!"

I can hear Raoul's voice, which has grown shockingly weaker ask "Why make her lie to you to save me?" I find the strength in my soul to ask the Phantom "Angel of Music, who deserves this? When will you see reason?" while Raoul and the Phantom continue their battle to influence my decision. The Phantom emphasizes that we are "Past the point of no return, the final threshold" and reminds me that Raoul's "life is now the prize which you must earn." Raoul pleads with me. "For pity's sake, Christine say no. Don't throw your life away for my sake." By now the Phantom has walked past me and is holding the veil in his hands. He drops the veil on the ground and as he walks over and sits down in the chair he sings "you've passed the point of no return!" I kneel in front of him and confess my final plea. "Angel of Music, you deceived me. I gave my mind blindly!" I put my face in my hands. I hear the Phantom stand up so I look up at him. He takes my chin in his hands, looks me in the eye and asks "Blindly?" Dropping my chin, he bends down so our faces are about five inches apart. With a small amount of terror in his voice he jeers "You try my patience." He stands up, walks away and with his back to me says "Make your choice!"