In The Wings

Act V Scene IV

Christine lay on the ground, streams of tears rolling out from her eyes. She refused to look in the direction of the Phantom, of Eric, knowing that she would only be giving him precisely what he wanted by doing so. But her curiousity and her fear was great - she could hear him shuffling around behind her, mumbling under his breath.

Finally, she felt a mound of fabric being tossed upon her. She finally turned to look at him as she saw what was laying in her lap. Her face immediately paled as she ran her fingers over the crisp white ruffles and the piles of tulle.

"Change into it," the Phantom demanded.

"So you're forcing me to strip in front of you, are you? I see how it is!" Christine yelled as she rose to her feet, her rage and terror erasing any thoughts of reason from her head. "You've finally gotten enough for your blood lust, and now you're lusting after me! I should have known!"

Eric looked a strange combination of furious and also rather sad and pitiful. "No," he said. "No, it's not like that at all."

"Then what is it like?" Christine said. She wanted her voice to spit out like poison, but it was too soft and sweet.

"Nothing in my life has ever gone right, and this scar has always been the root of it. The reason why I must wallow in blood is the same as why I have been denied the joys of the flesh."

"That's no excuse," Christine said. But she still doubted what she said even as she spoke it.

"My face is poisoning our love," he said. "I know, it has only earned me hatred in the past. But you have no choices left now, Christine. Change. Now."

She glared over in his direction, although it didn't translate into anything that seemed to be particularly threatening or anything else. With tears beginning to fog up her eyes, she reached a hand back to unzip her costume dress and change into the one that he had thrust towards her. Much to her surprise, Eric immediately turned away and refused to look until she stopped rustling around.

When he finally turned to look at her, his expression remained perfectly blank. But in his hands was yet another piece of fabric.

"Now turn around," he said. "Turn around and face your fate!"

Before he was given the opportunity to raise his voice towards him, she turned around and felt a veil being placed on top of her curls. Her hands immediately snapped up to feel it there - a veil. A wedding veil. He grabbed her wrist and snapped her around, the fury returning into Eric's eyes.

"Just think! An eternity of this before your eyes. You must loathe it so..."

After swallowing back her tears, Christine responded, "Your face doesn't scare me, not anymore. No, it's in your soul where the real distortion is!" She had to choke out her last few words.

Eric seemed ready to start pouring out venomous words, but he spotted something over Christine's shoulder. "Wait, my dear, I think we have ourselves a guest!"

"Paul!" Christine cried out, the chains immediately linking in her head. She started to turn around, but Eric's grip on her wrists only increased.

"Oh, sir, this an unparalleled delight," he said, beginning to swagger over towards Paul. He finally released Christine from his grip, sending her tumbling into a pile of fabric as white as snow. "I had hoped you would come, and now it seems that my wish is coming true. You have truly made my night!"

Paul came bounding down the catwalk, looking up in an attempt to see Christine. But he knew one thing for certain - she was up there with the Phantom. And he wasn't going to stand there and take it.