The Phantom Ascending |✔| [Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction]

Castle of Fears

Christine

Nadir's mask of amiability slipped away as soon as the guests left into their rooms or their carriages, and he grabbed me by the shoulders, perfectly serious.

"Miss Daae--" he began, fixing me with the steely look. His eyes were dark gray, I noticed, and there was something dangerous hidden inside them, something dark and painful. Perhaps he and Erik had more in common than they were aware of.

"You may call me Christine. I am too exhausted for formalities."

"Christine, then, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yes," I blushed. "I apologize for creating a scene. Thank you for supporting my story."

He waved it away.

"That's of no importance. What matters is that you can either escape to a different country, beyond the reach of these news, or stay here and marry that annoying man."

I laughed. "I am staying. Oh, but you're fond of him, are you not?"

"He makes things interesting," Nadir confessed. "Now better go and find him. As things stand, I might leave you two to manage Rosier for a while. It will make an impressive wedding present, at least," he said dryly.

"What...?"

"It's a long story, and can wait for another day. Go now, Christine. I must think."

Nadir's brows furrowed, and I left him to his troubles. It was time for me to stop delaying the inevitable, and to seek out Erik.

For the first time in months, I was afraid of him, afraid of facing him, but it was an exciting kind of fear, the one that made my blood run faster, the one that made me feel more alive. All the butterflies in my stomach woke up from their lengthy slumber, and I was surprised to realize that I loved Erik even when he intimidated me.

Surely he wanted me as his bride, but to wed me in a fairly public ceremony? In hindsight, my clever idea seemed less clever by the minute.

I reached my suite, located in the hallway with all the other guests. The doors were all old, thick and soundproof, so I couldn't tell if the others were already asleep, but in the end it didn't matter -- Erik was not in my room.

I went to seek out his room, taking turns until I reached the end of the hallway. His suite was removed from the other occupied ones, and I was grateful for it. I knocked and then tried the knob. It was locked, and there was no reply. I hoped this meant he wasn't inside, and not that he was ignoring me for some reason. Uncertain what to do next, I paused and contemplated my options.

In all honesty, I expected Erik to throw himself at me with some kind of reaction -- positive or negative -- at the first opportune moment. This lack of response was making me nervous. After such an upsetting evening, I needed to see him, to talk to him. He would comfort me and make me feel safe.

While the castle intrigued me, it was my first day here, and I had no idea where to look for Erik.

"Miss Daae."

I jumped, but it was only a man called Darius -- Nadir's personal servant, from what I noticed. Without comment, he offered me a key and nodded toward Erik's room.

Oh.

As I stepped inside, I could see that the room had been thrashed. There were at least two broken vases on the floor, with scattered flowers and the wet carpet, one overturned chair, and cushions, thrown and scattered across the carpet. One of them obviously got torn, judging from the amount of feathers lying about.