Mon Espion || Phantom of the Opera

Chapter 43 - The Finale

There was no time to talk as Constance led Raoul deep down below. She tried her hardest to block out the sounds of shattering glass and patron's screams as they made their way down, hurling their feet towards the cooler surfaces of underground. Before long, the sounds of urgency were so distant that they were left unheard but the urgency both of them felt remained as they raced to the Phantom's lair. Constance forced herself to hold back her emotions, for all she wanted to do was to scream in agony over all the trouble Erik's illness had caused. But she remained calm and slightly out of breath as they continued their decent.

Think Constance she told herself, there's something you need to remember. What is it? What is it? She continued thinking in this fashion, noticing that they were coming down a spiral stone staircase that led them close to the lake. As they both made their first steps onto this case, the sudden urgency returned to her. The trap doors are active!

Suddenly she halted her step and called out to Raoul who had not noticed, "Keep your hand at the level of your eyes!"

Raoul paused, turning back to look at Constance, "What for? Now is not the time for more warnings. He has her within his grip!"

"We all saw that he has her," she reminded him, "I know we are in a state of urgency but you must listen to me. He is a known lover of trapdoors and tricks Raoul."

"I don't have time for this Constance," he told her sternly, turning back to go down the staircase, "either you will help me or you won't, but I will find her!"

"Raoul please!" Constance cried, rushing after him while searching for any clues of these dangers, "He has them hidden all around the tunnels and ways to his lair. If you're not careful they could kill you! Remember how you almost drowned?"

"These trapdoors are no match for me!" Raoul obliviously cited, beginning to quicken his pace down the stairs as he ignored Constance's blabbering, "I will be victorious, you shall wait and see!"

"You foolish man!" she yelled, racing after him as she held her skirts higher to get to him faster, "you rush to your death!"

Raoul turned to face her once more, not halting in his steps as he prepared to speak to her. But before he could do so, a trapdoor that Constance had warned him about opened up beneath his feet, causing the Vicomte to fall through it and down below.

"Raoul!" Constance cried, racing towards the trapdoor as she kneeled down beside it, peering down to see nothing but darkness awaiting her.

Constance wept uncontrollably, her hands beginning to shake as the faint sound of splashing water could be heard in the distance. She began to fear he was within the icy waters once more and feared he would not remember how to rescue himself without her guidance. The trapdoor shut itself before her, causing her to jump once it closed. It returned to being hidden, as the edges of the hole now blended in with the rest of the stone surrounding it. She clutched her hand to her chest, weeping for the uncertain fate of her friend. Raoul may have been an idiot, but he was in love and was willing to do whatever it took to help those he cared about. She knew that before and knew it now, knowing that Raoul did not deserve to be caught up in these mind games.

Hesitantly Constance stood up, carefully moving around the trapdoor as she continued on her path towards Erik's house on the lake. Her tears were becoming less frequent as she remained focus on watching out for the traps in her path. She thankfully knew the way to the lair from this route and knew she wouldn't have to go too much farther to reach her destination. The faint sounds of yelling could be heard the closer she got, so much so that she could distinguish that one was a male and the other was a female.