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

26. Clashing Swords

Rehearsals continued underway for Don Juan after Christine agreed to go along with the plan. She was still scared and uneasy, but she was trying to stay strong for everyone else's sake. That didn't stop me from worrying about her, however.

I left my room in the dormitories early one evening to go check on Christine when I heard a whip crack down in the courtyard followed by the sound of hooves across cobblestone. I furrowed my brow, walking to the banister of the outside balcony to see a coach with horses disappearing around the corner. Who was leaving right now?

Quickly I ran to Christine's room and found that Raoul had fallen asleep in the chair outside her door. "Raoul!" I shook his arm, causing him to stir and open his eyes. "Is Christine still asleep?" I asked him.

He blinked away the sleep in his eyes and quickly stood up. "Christine?" He knocked on her door, which swung open and revealed her bed to be empty. "Damn it..." He cursed under his breath before taking off downstairs to the courtyard. I quickly followed after him. When we reached the stables, the coachman was pulling himself up off the ground. He was rubbing his forehead where a sizable bump now existed. I immediately felt my gut twist.

"What happened?" Raoul demanded.

The coachman sighed. "I was preparing to take Miss Daae to the cemetery. Someone hit me and knocked me out from behind as I was preparing the horses." He explained.

Realization dawned over both Raoul and I at the same time. "We have to get to the cemetery. Now." I told him as I quickly opened the door to the stable.

"Lucille, you should stay here. It might be dangerous." Raoul said as he grabbed the reigns of his white stallion and pulled himself up onto the saddle.

"Like hell I'm going to stay here." I mounted my own horse and looked at him. "Two is better than one, right? Now, let's go. They have a head start on us." I said before taking off into a gallop out of the courtyard.

As we made our way through the forest towards the cemetery just outside of Paris, I kept thinking about Erik. What are you planning, Erik? He never did anything without reason, that was for sure, but following Christine to her father's grave? It didn't make sense. He had to know that Christine wouldn't choose him over Raoul. Or perhaps he was too blinded by his love for her to realize that.

I was scared to see what Raoul might do if given the chance. He would protect Christine no matter what, even if it meant killing Erik. I couldn't let that happen. Protecting him wouldn't be easy, though. Madame Giry was under scrutiny just for warning everyone. If I tried defending him, it would probably end in my dismissal from the Opera Populaire, along with suspicion towards my feelings for him. Right now I just had to worry about keeping Christine safe. Dealing with Erik would come second as long as he continued threatening everyone working under the roof of the opera house.

"Why are you so interested in helping Christine?" I heard Raoul ask, pulling me from my thoughts.

I glanced over him as we rode down the pathway leading towards the cemetery. "She's my friend." I said simply. "I don't want anything bad happening to her."

He pursed his lips. "You're hiding something." He said, accessing me for just a moment before he focused his gaze back on the road ahead. "You and Madame Giry. You harbour many secrets, don't you?"

I swallowed. "Monsieur..."

He cut me off. "Don't. I'm tired of hearing excuses." He shook his head. "I don't care what you do or don't know. I just want you to know that I plan on keeping Christine safe from this Phantom no matter what the cost." He leveled me with his gaze once more. "So it is best to stay out of the way, for your own sake." The warning in his eyes was clear: Don't get in my way.