The Phantom's Daughter

5. Phantom Fears

Christine was still missing the following morning, and Raoul had spent most of the night looking for her.
But despite his best efftorts, it was Elise and the Giry's who found Christine. She had been returned to her dressing room by the phantom, and she seemed to be in a state of shock, not wanting to disclose what she had seen.
Though by the look on her face, Elise had a hunch that she had seen the phantom without his mask on.
Erik had been mad when Elise had removed his mask for the first time, so she expected that he hadn't been happy that Christine had seem him in his true form.

"Elise, take Christine back to the ballet house with you, and stay with her until told otherwise" instructed Madame Giry, as she approached the dressing table and picked up an envelope that had been left there.
Elise instantly recognised the seal on the envelope, as it belonged to her father.
"What about me?" Asked Meg.
"You will come with me. We're going to deliver this letter to our new employers" answered Madame Giry.
Meg nodded and squeezed Christine's shoulder reassuringly, before heading towards the door.
"Tell her nothing" whispered Madame Giry, just loud enough for Elise to hear and no one else.
Elise met her eyes and nodded, before escourting Christine back to their quarters.

Christine said nothing as they walked back to their room.
And even once they had arrived, Christine stayed silent.
Elise obeyed Madame Giry's instructions and stayed by her friends side, until Meg and her mother arrived.
"Well?" Questioned Elise.
"The phantom wants Christine to play the countess in tonights opera of Il Muto. But Firmin and Andre refused to bow to his commands. So Christine will be playing the paige boy as normal" revealed Madame Giry.
"But what will happen if I don't sing for him?" Asked Christine quietly, talking for the first time since her return.
"I do not know. The phantom promised that a disaster would occur if his demands were not met" replied Madame Giry.

"Then why don't the new managers want her to sing? Why risk enraging the phantom?" Quizzed Elise.
"They do not want to be pushed around" sighed Madame Giry.
"But then they are putting us all at risk with their foolishness"
"I do not think they believe that the phantom is reveal"
"Well they soon will".
Madame Giry frowned and turned to Christine, "I told them you were not to be disturbed and that you wanted to be left alone".
"Thank you" Christine replied quietly.
"I don't know how long I will be able to keep them away. You are excused from rehearsals today, but you two should be with the others" reminded Madame Giry, looking back at Meg and Elise.

Elise sighed, "I guess we'd better head to the theatre".
"You and Meg go on ahead. I will join you later, but right now I need to speak to Christine, alone" admitted Madame Giry.
Meg nodded and left the room with Elise at her side.
"What do you think about all this? Where do you think Christine was last night?" Asked Meg, once they were alone.
Despite having all the answers, Elise knew that she could not reveal any of them to Meg.
"I don't know. I'm in the dark here just like you" lied Elise.

"Mother knows more than she's saying I'm sure of it" insisted Meg.
"Maybe she does. But she's unlikely to reveal her suspicions to us" replied Elise.
"True... Christine seemed pretty frightened when we found her"
"Yes she did"
"Do you really think she was with the phantom of the opera?"
"I don't know Meg. But I don't believe in supernatural beings"
"You never want to talk about the phantom. Why?"
"There's no point in speculating about things I don't know the answer to. Besides, ghosts aren't real".

"How can you not believe in the phantom when you've seen the things he's done over the years?" Questioned Meg.
"Just because some strange things have happened it doesn't mean that the theatre is haunted" admitted Elise.
"Then what happened to Christine last night?"
"I don't know. Maybe she fell asleep somewhere odd and had a nightmare"
"So if you don't believe in him, the why were you worried about what would happen if Christine didn't sing?"
"Because someone wrote that note. But I do not thing it was any kind of spectre"
"Then you're not scared about performing tonight?"
"Not in anyway"
"You're brave then".

Elise stopped walking and frowned at Meg.
"Are you scared of him?" She asked.
"I'm surprised that you're not. If he did take Christine last night then who knows who he'll take next" shuddered Meg.
"You don't need to worry about things like that. If this phantom is real then I expect he's just a man, which means that he's no threat to us, since he's paid us no attention so far"
"I wish I had your confidence"
"I promise you that no phantom is ever going to lay a finger on you. Does that reassure you?"
"Not in the slightest, but thanks for trying".

****
After rehearsals Elise found a note from her father lying on her bed, asking her to join him. It was unusal for him to summon her down to his lair, since he liked to keep is distance from her.
But not wanting to keep him waiting, Elise headed straight down to see him, curious as to what he could want from her.
When she arrived she found that he was not at his piano, but instead perched by the water, waiting for her. And when he saw her approaching he stood to his feet.
"Are you well?" He asked.
Elise raised a suspicious eyebrow, "Yes, I'm fine. But I don't believe that you called me down here to ask how I am. So what do you want?".

"Giry told me what happened last night with Joseph Buquet" announced Erik.
"Of course she did" mumbled Elise.
"I'm sorry I was not there" replied Erik.
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Besides, you were busy"
"Yes, I was... But you don't need to worry about Buquet anymore more. I will deal with him. Oh, and good luck in tonight's show".
Elise frowned, "Why do I need luck? What are you going to do?".
Erik smiled, "You'll just have to wait and see".
"I don't like the sound of that"
"You don't need to be concerned, no harm will come to you".

"It is not my own life that I am worried about... Promise me that you won't hurt Christine or Meg" begged Elise.
"Why would I want to hurt Christine? She is my prodigy and I am her angel of music... Giry's daughter is safe as well, for I wouldn't want to lay a finger on her and risk losing an obedient servant like Giry" admitted Erik.
"Good.Just don't do anything stupid tonight, please" replied Elise.
"I am no fool. Everything I do has been thought out carefully, don't you worry. Go now, you have a show to get ready for. And I have things that I need to prepare".
Elise sighed and nodded her head, as she knew there was no way of changing Erik's mind. Once he had his head set on something, nothing would change what he wanted to do.