I Belong to You (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Erik warmed his fingers up quickly by playing through a few scales on the piano. He was very excited for their voice lesson to get started. It felt like he hadn't heard Christine's voice in a lifetime, and he was eager to hear her magnificent instrument again.

Finishing his routine on the piano, he turned to Christine and asked, "Are you ready?"

Christine could see the look of anticipation in his eyes. She could hear the excitement in his tone. And she was glad. For him to want to hear her voice so badly was exactly what she wanted. He was in for a big surprise. "Sure," she replied dully.

He studied her unenthusiastic expression for a moment before turning in his seat and placing his fingers on the keys. "Now, we will sing the first, third and fifth of the scale and then back down on an '-ee' vowel. We will move up by half steps." He played an example one time, as he always did during their voice lessons, before saying, "Shall we?"

Here goes... She took a deep breath and then proceeded to sing... horribly. Everything was wrong, from her posture to her tone quality.

Erik stopped playing after the first four notes. He instantly turned towards her with wide eyes. "Christine, what is wrong?" he asked worriedly.

Time to play the 'girl who's lost everything' role. "Everything," she replied, sounding disheartened. I have to be the perfect actress, although what I'm about to say is actually true. "I can't sing here, like this. I just...can't."

"Oh, my sweet angel," he said softly, sympathetically. "You can if you try. Just try. Alright?" he asked gently. He turned back towards the piano, and they attempted the same exercise again. It was even worse the second time. Staring blankly at the keys, he realized that he hadn't expected it to be this way. Her voice was always exquisite. Never once had he heard it lack effort. She always gave it her all, and it was always beautiful. This, though, this was... painful.

"Erik?" Christine called out. Maybe he's realizing what keeping me here as a prisoner is doing to me.

Not even his name on her lips was able to bring him joy. He stood from the bench and looked at her in anguish. "Christine, what can I do?"

Looking at him as he looked at her, she could tell that he really would do anything for her, which she still wasn't able to get used to. "Nothing. You can't do anything." She forced her voice to sound lifeless.

"There must be something..." He began to contemplate.

"Everything's been taken from me," Christine suddenly acknowledged aloud. She watched as Erik looked at her again. "You've taken everything from me," she mumbled without energy while trying to make it sound like her words weren't rehearsed. "I guess that's why I can't sing... You've taken that, too."

He stared at her. "I am to blame for your not being able to sing properly." Erik supposed he knew deep down that it was because of him, but the confirmation was still hard to bear. "I- I'm sorry."

Christine couldn't suppress a gasp when hearing him say that. He'd never apologized for his actions. Wait a second, though.. "What are you sorry for?"

"For putting you through this," he replied, nearly choking on the words. He sighed while trying to control his emotions. "If only you'd willingly agreed to marry me when I asked the first time..."

No longer acting, she looked into his eyes and murmured, "If only you hadn't kidnapped me?" Please say you regret it.. Please..

Desperately, he tried to make her understand. "It had to happen. I need you, don't you see? Without you, I am nothing. Together, we can be an unstoppable force."