Erik is NOT Dead (Phantom of the Opera one-shots)

A Monster's First Kiss

Christine's POV:

My eye fluttered open. I was confused at first as to where I was. Then it all came back. Walking through the mirror, being found by a strange creature who smelled of death, fainting in this creature's arms. It was dark all around me and I was laying on someone's knees.

I shivered and felt some water on my forehead. I looked around and saw the masked face of the man who I had thought a creature. The mask covered everything except a pair of golden eyes which shined like a cats.

I tried to stand and attempted to push away the hands of the man. They were the hands of death and I didn't want them near me. I was afraid. I was quick to ask,

"*Who are you? Where is the voice?*" I had come because of my angel of music. He had prompted me to walk through the mirror. But he was nowhere to be found and I was in the hands of Death himself. He sighed slightly and suddenly I felt something warm on my face.

I looked up and saw the form of a horse's head looking down at me. The man lifted me up onto the horse and mounted behind me. I shivered and felt slightly ill. The man took the reins of the horse and directed him somewhere thought I couldn't tell where.

I knew now in whose grasp I was in. The Opera Ghost. I was his prisoner. What did he want with me? What had I done? What would he do with me? I shivered again as all those thoughts rushed through my head. I thought to call upon my Angel of Music but I was too afraid to speak.

The ghost held me firmly in his grip while the horse made his way ever downward. It was a long journey and by the end I was cold with terror. I didn't fight for fear of what he might do if I should.

We soon arrived at the edge of a lake and there I saw a boat. He helped me off the horse and into the boat. I sat perfectly still, frozen still from fright. The ghost's golden eyes never left me. No, he watched me like a hawk. He never once seemed to even blink. I couldn't look away no matter how hard I tried.

When the boat hit the opposite shore, the ghost scooped me up in his arms and I screamed. I was terrified. This was all too much for me. I didn't understand anything.

A moment later I was standing in a large room filled with flowers and plants like the ones I was given after a performance. Standing in the middle of them was the ghost, cloaked in black and tall. I just stared at him. My hands were shaking and I was scared.

He then said,

"*Don't not be afraid, Christine; you are in no danger." I drew back when I realized it was the voice. This was my Angel of Music. No, it couldn't be. No, this couldn't be him. This was the ghost, a madman not an angel.

I was furious at his lies. My first reaction was to lunge at the mask and try to see the man beneath it. He gently grabbed my wrists and pushed me into a chair, all done very gently.

When I was seated, he kneel down before me and said nothing. I sat frozen in the chair. Anger, fear, confusion - all rushed through me at once. This wasn't right. This wasn't normal. How had he managed to get such things down here? It was like any other drawing room above ground but this was five levels below the surface.

I looked at him and realized what I was dealing with. Danger and death. One wrong move from me and he might hurt me. I didn't dare to anger him. I clinched my hands together and started to weep from it all. My angel was just a man, I was a prisoner, and I was scared.

The man seemed to understand what my tear were about as he said,

"*It is true, Christine! . . . I am not an Angel, nor a genius, nor a ghost . . . I am Erik!" He bowed his head before me and started to weep himself. I watched and listened as he begged me to forgive him for the lie. He crawled at me feet and cursed himself for all he had done.