And he loved her (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 1

For as long as I remember, I had been confined in a room, crying sadly until I had fallen asleep.
Now it was night. I walked to the window and drew back the curtains. The night air was crisp and fresh, brushing my hair so gently. As I peered into the window from the window grills, the scenery was nothing more but trees and greenery. Great, I thought. All those trees meant I was in some kind of forest, probably in some secluded place away from town. But as I crept towards the door, I could hear the sound of footsteps- not Erik's footsteps though, for the way he walked was quick, confident and much more quieter than that. Perhaps they were guards from Erik sent to patrol outside my door?

No. I had to escape from this place… somehow. I needed something to distract the person outside to give myself enough time to run, for I could never sprint fast. And at this moment I saw it- a mirror and a flashlight on the table. It was just what I needed.

Years ago, on my last year of school before I dropped out, I was taught there was a way to create an illusion of someone if I were able to point the flashlight strictly at a certain angle with the mirror. And so, slowly I tilted the flashlight and shined it at the mirror, which in turn reflected the light through the glass panes of the door, and into the wall of the hallway outside. Immediately the guard saw my great illusion walking through the hallway to the left. The guard hastily rushed away, following the fake mirror image of me.

Just when the guard had been a fair distance away from outside my room, I pushed the door open and sprinted straight to the right hallway and to the outside. Behind me, I could hear the shocked voice of the guard as he simply watched me flee.

Yes, I might be weak physically, but when it came to mind games, no one could ever outsmart me. Not even this Erik. I was one of the most intelligent pupils in class when I had attended school. I turned behind and looked as the guard stood by the door yelling, but wait- all the lights in the mansion were switched on as noise escalated in the house. There were people being woken up, and I could presume they worked under Erik.
This meant I was really on the run.

There was nothing but trees and a thick forest surrounding the mansion. Still, I dashed straight into the woods, avoiding the branches and leaves, until my face hit smartly right at a tree trunk. Blood had started to ooze from my wound, and I could hear the sound of people's voices growing louder. Frightened, I ran even deeper into the forest. My arms were being clawed by the branches and having splinters all over my skin.

But my run was fruitful. The loud commotion from before was reduced to nothing more than the sound of silence. My legs were tired but as I sat down to rest, I could hear that unmistakable sound of footsteps. Quick, fast and almost silent -  Erik. Immediately I stood up and got ready to dash further inside the forest, but my legs were too tired. Just then, I saw a humongous tree towering high above me and the other trees.

Immediately I started to climb it, from one branch up another branch, until I could be covered up by enough leaves. And then I could see him. Erik was walking past the woods, about to pass by this tree. I held my breath as he was about to leave, and then… he halted and I saw his eyes turned to meet mine.

But how? How exactly could he have seen me in this woods? The leaves were clustered so together and I had camouflaged so well. Also, before I had climbed the tree, I left many false trails, like broken branches and twigs at the opposite side of the forest. How could he have known where I was?

Immediately he rapidly closed the gap between us by climbing the tree so swiftly. I edged back as he got closer towards me, until suddenly a branch snapped under my weight. I let out a scream as I plunged straight into the shrubs and mosses below, but then his hand gripped me immediately, and slowly I was pulled back up to the tree. I glanced back at Erik. His eyes were that of crackling rage and anger, so much fury that my spine had tingled so frightfully. But was that all the emotions in his eyes? If I had looked carefully for just one moment, was there a flash of fear in him?

His arms had wrapped around me firmly so that I would not fall, and I turned to look into his gaze, and our eyes had locked for that moment.

"How? How did you find out? Find out about the false trail, the fake illusion I had made of myself, and all my other tricks? How could you actually know? No ordinary person would be able to see the loopholes in these things." My head had been stirring so quizzically for it was the first time someone could see through my tricks so quickly and efficiently. Even the well-known professor in my old school had took an hour to find out about my illusions.

That was unless Eric was a genius. So Eric was a rich, strong person and also so very clever. Even more clever than the professor who was known as one of the smartest men in the world. Even more clever than me. If he could outsmart me in wits, then… I already had no chance of escaping from Eric.

"Christine." His voice was that of a soft whisper, but he had sounded with such authority and hateful fury. With such anger that it scared me. My skin rippled so uneasily as I looked at him. His amber eyes flashed such rage and focus at me. Immediately my breathing got heavier and faster. "You do not leave your room without permission."

Later on, I was brought away from the forest and back to my bedroom. But as I passed the entrance back to the mansion, I saw a door- or rather, broken wood and glass shards that once made a door, now littered on the floor like puzzle pieces. The door had to be blasted with such unbelievable force to be reduced to this pathetic pile of bits. And then I had heard one of the servants say as she escorted me back to my bedroom.

"I saw Eric punched the door the moment he realized Christine had escaped, and the door had crumbled into pieces immediately." I gasped upon listening to the servant. What kind of strength did Eric even have? That door was of high quality wood! A normal man could do not have destroyed it in such a manner.

"And what about the guard who failed to keep Christine?" another servant had asked.

"He lost the sight of an eye," The same servant replied. "He suffered such a devastating blow from Eric at the eye, that now he could only use one eye to see."

And then I was locked back in my bedroom. Who exactly was Eric? He was clearly rich for he lived in a house of servants, and he was rather strong from the account of punching the door into bits. And Eric was a genius to already be able to outsmart me. But what does he want from me? I am poor and I have a weak body. And since he could already beat me in wits, what else was there to gain from me? It was not like I had relatives either, so I definitely did not have any beneficial connections. But as I lay on my bed, just before I was asleep, one thought had formed in my mind.

The only reason why he had troubled himself to kidnap me and even forced me to marry him, could only be one thing:

He could have truly loved me.

But I could not be totally sure. Anyways, just before I had slept, at that very moment when I was drowsy and exhausted, I could hear the beautiful weaving of a violin, as the music notes floated so smoothly and peacefully in the night. And the music piece that was being played was the favourite song of Mother's. And also my favourite piece of music. Quietly I sobbed as I heard each note. This had reminded me so much of home, and also the time when Mother was still alive and Father had not been hit with cancer yet. I had never thought I would hear that music piece again.

Slowly I closed my eyes and lay on the comfortable bed, while the moon hung on the night sky.