Your Voice

Chapter 1

Hey guys! This is my first Erik x Christine fanfic, actually it's my first fic, so I hope you'll like it! I'm including songs and some of the plot of Love Never Dies, so if you haven't seen that, I suggest you do so before reading this. Enjoy! :)

Christine

Walking back down the steps, I heard Raoul calling me from further up the stairwell. My heart ached as I slipped off the glimmering ring and continued into his lair. I saw him through teary eyes. The unmasked man sat curled up in a ball as a child would next to the music box with the monkey.

"Masquerade... paper faces on parade... masquerade... hide your face... so the world will never find you..." His voice broke.

On the verge of bursting into tears, I silently approached him, ring in hand. He turned to me, and I saw that face that he kept hidden from the world for so long. I didn't see a monster. I saw a broken, lonely soul. Oh, I wished, how I wished, I could hold him in my arms forever, as if to shield him from the world that tortured him into solitude and despair. Because I heard Raoul coming down the steps, because I heard the angry mob approaching, I placed the ring in his hand.

"Christine, I love you..."

I felt hot tears escape from my eyes as I turned away; I knew I could never be with him, I could never say it back to him, despite the cocktail of feelings bubbling in me. Sobbing, hurting and reluctantly, I took Raoul's hand and followed him up the steps. My eyes turned to catch one last glimpse of Erik, the beautiful composer, the wonderful artist, my angel of music.

"Say you'll share with me one love... one lifetime..."

I hoped Erik would hear it and understand that it was meant for him. I heard Raoul sing something in reply, but I refused to listen to it; he's not the man I want to spend a lifetime with. I loved him when I was a child, but now I learned that the years apart have turned him arrogant and stingy, also quite rude. So I imagined it was Erik's mesmerizing, beautiful voice singing back to me. How long can I fool myself?

Erik

At that point, I didn't care if she sang it back to me - I just needed her to know that I love her. If I had had a few more moments, a bit more privacy, I could have told her everything I loved about her.

I loved the way her eyes lit up when she sang. I loved the way she used to pirouette when she was still just a chorus girl. I loved her little jokes when I was her hidden vocal teacher. I loved how her hair would be all over her face when she woke up. I loved - oh, God, I could go on forever.

Aside from hurt, I was boiling with disbelief. Why would she love the Vicomte? I knew they were childhood sweethearts - Christine had babbled about him her first few years at the Opera Populaire - but how long ago was that? How does she know he's still the same boy who used to bring her out on picnics? Sure, he's got looks, money. But does he actually love her? Or is he using her fortune as a singer to retain his high reputation?

IT DOESN'T MATTER!

I scream at myself internally, bending over the piano. She's gone. My Christine...

"You alone can make my song take flight..."
I pictured her in the costumes I had designed for her to sing in, dresses that would never be worn. The songs that she would never sing...
"It's over now, the music of the night!"