The Phantom's Melody (The Phantom of the Opera)

22. Mistletoe

Weeks passed after my little incident, and to my relief the Phantom didn't bring it up when I came to see him for my lessons. I felt more than a little embarrassed with myself, but he didn't rub it in my face. For that I was thankful. However, things felt different between us after that night. He wasn't nearly as critical of my singing and he was less...grumpy than usual. It was a strange sight to behold, but I wasn't complaining.

The Opera Populaire's annual Masquerade was just around the corner, so I had barely even realized that the end of the year was so close to being here. I only remembered when I awoke one morning to Christine standing at the end of my bed with a grin on her face. I raised an eyebrow at her as I sat up and pushed my curtain of curls back out of my face.

"Why are you smiling like that?" I asked warily.

Christine waved her hand at me in dismissal. "Why do you think I'm smiling? It's Christmas!"

I blinked and then looked at the little calendar sitting on my bedside table. Jesus Christ, it was Christmas. "Are you serious?" I looked at her again. "That means..."

"The masquerade is next week!" She grinned. "Isn't this exciting? The new year is almost here." She looked practically giddy.

I sighed. "You seem especially happy." I smirked a bit. "Did Raoul buy you a diamond ring or something?" I teased.

A dark blush creeped up her neck. "No!" She looked away bashfully. "But speaking of presents," She grabbed my arm and pulled me up out of bed. "Let's go shopping. There's this wonderful boutique that has dozens of new dresses for sale. We can pick out our outfits for the masque." She smiled.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "I don't know, Christine...won't they be expensive?" I was trying to save my money so I could eventually move out of the dormitories.

She waved her hand at me again. "Don't worry about it. Raoul said we could buy whatever we needed for the party." She reassured me.

I smirked. "I guess dating a Vicomte does have it's perks after all."

She rolled her eyes before smiling. "Hurry and get dressed." She told me before exiting the room.

I smiled to myself before walking over to my wardrobe, pulling out a simple green dress and a matching overcoat. It had been snowing quite a bit these past few weeks in Paris. I made quick work of changing, struggling considerably less this time with my corset. I powdered my face with some makeup and pinned my hair back before wrapping a scarf around my neck and slipping into my favorite pair of boots.

When I met Christine downstairs, I practically gagged upon seeing her and Raoul sharing in a passionate embrace. "As charming as this is," I said as I walked over to them, "Christine and I should really get going."

Christine quickly pulled away from him and blushed a little as she pushed her hair back behind her ear. "Right." She smiled at Raoul. "We'll be back before dinner." She told him before taking my hand and pulling me over to the coach that waited for us.

The trip into town didn't take very long, so soon enough we were walking along the streets of Paris, looking through the different shop windows as we passed the many storefronts. Eventually we arrived outside the little boutique that Christine had mentioned to me earlier. It was quaint, and didn't seem to have a lot of business, but it had several dresses on display of varying colors and styles. It also had quite a few options for men as well.

"How did you find this place?" I asked her as we browsed through the different clothing.

She smiled as she examined a pink ball gown that was displayed on one of the mannequins. "Raoul and I were in town together the other day for lunch and I saw this place in passing." She looked at me. "I thought you would like the selection they had. I know you don't like most of the popular fashion trends going around, so I immediately noticed the unique styles." She explained.