The Man Clad in Black: Book Two

A Letter from Christine - Chapter 1

You had just received a letter from Christine Daaé. According to the rumors floating around, she and her fiancé ran away from The Opera Populaire (and perhaps the entirety of France, too!)... Despite the fact that she had been kind to you, and as much as you tried to return the favor, you barely thought that she would consider you someone worthy of writing to... If anything, you thought that it would be Meg who received such a thing. This led you to decide that it was probably urgent, and of course, you knew you had to read through it immediately.

"I'm surprised you didn't tell them off and say that you needed to get a bra on," you heard someone snicker... Sure enough, you turned around to see Erik (who was standing quite close to you again). He seemed to have come out of his hiding place, and you couldn't help but roll your eyes a little and the revival of such an old inside joke.

"Shut up," you murmured with a smile, swatting at him playfully as you returned your gaze to the letter. Almost immediately afterward, you noticed Erik glance over your shoulder, a bit of a concerned expression playing on his face.

"What's this?"

You glanced up at Erik and shrugged, your eyebrows furrowing ever-so-slightly. Other than the fact that it was a letter from Christine, you had no idea - it made no sense to you...

( Hey! This is the only time I will ever make an author's note in the middle of a chapter, but I wanted to let you all know that a friend of mine, peppermint-twist , has given Christine a voice in this letter... literally! She gave an audio!! If you would like to listen while you read, go to https://roleplay-fortheopera.tumblr.com/post/175259576258 )

Dearest [Y/N],
    I hope that all is well with you. As you may have heard, Raoul and I have left Paris as of last night, and while I truly wish that I could speak to you in person, it is under these circumstances that I am unable to.
The investigation concerning the opera ghost still continues... However, something still tells me that you are quite fond of the man (it probably has something to do with the fact that I saw you in his bed the night he took me away), and because of that, I wish to warn you of the events that might unfold in the future.
The only thing to be wary of at the moment is, to my knowledge, a man called Francois Rousseau. He appears to be the only detective currently investigating the occurrences at the Opera Populaire... Until he gets a lead, I am sure that both you and the opera ghost will be safe, and perhaps, if God is willing, you two will grow quite old together before they discover anything on this.
You have been nothing but kind to me, [Y/N]. You helped give Raoul and me a happy ending, and now, I just want to help give you yours.
Let me know if you need anything at all. Madame Giry knows where to find me.

Sincerely,
Your friend,
Christine Daaé

"Someone's after you," you muttered, folding up the letter quickly. You placed it on the dresser before glancing back to Erik, whose gears seemed to be turning.

"By God..." you muttered, sitting down on the bed as you massaged your temples with your fingers. Just as soon as you sat down, you were back up again, frantically pacing around the room. "People will think you're nothing but a murderer - you'll be put away forever you're caught!"

Another idea frightened you.

"Or worse..."

That was enough to speak volumes. The people of France were unforgiving, and you knew that if he wasn't placed behind bars for the rest of his life, he wouldn't be able to live at all. The thought terrified you. "By God, Erik - I can't bear to think about this! What are we going to do? We're going to have to keep running, but we - we can't just hide for the rest of our lives! I don't understand - "