14 Days

The reason

Erik did not hold out his hand for Christine but waited for her to follow him. She did not move, instead, she stayed where they had sung together.

'Christine?'

'But I would like to stay here a little bit longer' she whispered shyly.

Erik gave a sound which Christine was unable to interpret. Was it relief, shock, surprise or maybe something entirely else? Whatever it was, Christine took new courage from it. So she asked: 'I know that it is uncivil to ask something like that, but I hope you will forgive me if I ask how old you are?'

She did not know why, but she was highly interested in that.

'You mean because I look something like 200 without the mask?' he tried to ease the tension, but he failed with his strange humor and ashamed Christine when she heard that he brought her question at once in connection with his involuntary unmasking she had caused.

'It was more because your mask does not reveal much of you. But you do not have to answer. I am sorry.' She once more felt like a little naive girl.

'You do not have to be sorry. I may not be a young man, but I am not too vain to reveal my age, although with my 50 years I would certainly be old enough to be your father.'

'Why have you brought me here?' she asked directly.

'Because I wanted you to sing with me' he quietly said.

'I do not believe that. It can't be the only reason; there is a whole room with clothes and everything for me. Why the effort? Do not lie if you want my trust.' she replied; she suddenly rediscovered her courage.

'Christine...'

'So it is true that singing was not the only reason?'

'Yes, that is right.' Erik whispered. He did not know how to tell her that he had kidnapped her for love; for a love that she could never return. He could not tell her that he had kidnapped her because he wanted her to live with him; because he did not ever want her to belong to an other man. He had seen the Vicomte de Chagny at the evening, he had stared at Christine all day and Erik was afraid that one day she would give in his begging and marry the young rich man.

And yet he knew that he could force her to stay here with him but that she would never do it voluntarily. But now that she was truly here, he could not lock her, it was something against his conscience. He had been cruel in his life at times but this was now one thing that he simply was not able to do. He knew that he had to bring her back up.

'Christine...' he began again, 'Are you afraid of me?'

'Yes...' she admitted honestly.

Erik felt his heart breaking at her brief answer. He turned his eyes away.

'...sometimes.' she added as she realized how much she disappointed him with her answer.

'I can not deny that you have scared me last night... I woke up in a strange room and did not know where I was or who you were...' she hesitated '...and then the thing in the music room. But you still are the angel of music; you are the voice that lightened my life in the last months. You are the one who trained my voice; how could I be scared of the voice that I owe my big debut and that visited me when I was scared and lonely?'

Erik turned to face her again as she continued: 'But of course my world shattered yesterday when I had to realize that my angel of music and the mysterious Phantom of the opera were one and the same man. Of course I was afraid and still am... sometimes.'

'Please do not think that I wanted to fool you, Christine. But I saw no other way to be close to you but in being your angel of music.'

And as she looked in his deep, golden eyes, she understood everything and did not need any more explanations. She recognized worship and desire in his gaze and she understood that he wished nothing more than to be close to her.

'Oh Erik...' she said, 'let me see your face one more time and I promise that I will see nothing but the man you are and the angel behind the monster.'

Erik jumped and harder than he had intended, and with vehemence that brooked no argument, he almost shouted: 'I will bring you back upwards now.'

Christine flinched and did not contradict because she felt the terrifying rage from last night boiling in him once more. She realized that it was the best like that.