Christine's POV
It's been a week since the whole Raoul incident and he has actually proven himself worthy again. He has been a really good friend to me, and never try's any romantic stunts. He's even saved me from awkward conversations with Adam on several occasions. It's shocking, but he and Erik have been getting along as well. Raoul would often laugh and talk with us in the lair all the time. Tonight was the masquerade and Erik, Nadir, Raoul and I were all having lunch together. The lunch was pleasant and everyone got along nicely. After lunch we all retired to the den of the lair.
"Angel have you decided what you are going to wear to the ball tonight?" He asks. I groan.
"I don't want to go."
"You have to." He says as I lay my head in his chest.
"What's the point? I'm not going to have any fun without you and people are going to ask me to dance with them. Probably Adam. I bet he'll pester me all night." I say in an exaggerated tone to make him jealous.
"I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work. Besides I'll be watching over you and will check on you every once in a while." He says.
"What if I take you?" Raoul chimes in. I feel Erik tense. "Just as friends," he reassures. "This way you won't be alone and Adam won't pester you all night" he says mimicking my exaggerated tone. I glare at him and he laughs.
"I suppose that will be alright." I say and look up at Erik. He sighs.
"All right. But I want her back by 12:00" he says sternly as I giggle at Raoul's frightened expression.
"So then it's settled." I say. "What do you think I should wear?" I ask looking to Erik then to Raoul.
"White or gold" Raoul says. Erik nods in agreement.
"I'll help you find a dress angel." Erik says kissing my forehead.
"I better go get ready myself." Raoul says then gets up to leave. Erik stands and leads me to a wardrobe in the guest bedroom. He opens it revealing beautiful ball gowns. I gasp at all the expensive fabrics with lots of detailing. He pulls out a beautiful white strapless gowns that has gold detailing all over it. It takes in at the waist and fluffs out around the hips and reaches the ground. It looked like a princess gown. I look up at Erik and smile.
"It's beautiful." I say as he lays the dress on the bed.
"I'm glad you think so. Now you better get ready." He says and gives me a soft kiss on the lips. I nod and give on last glance at the dress before drawing a bath. After I washed up I dried my hair by the fire. I then styled it in an up due with beautiful gold clips, leaving a few curls to frame my face. I then start on my makeup. After I'm satisfied with how I look I slip off my robe and get into my slip. I then try to tie my corset but I can't get it right. I groan in frustration. I walk to the door and open just a little crack and stand behind it. I can hear Erik and Nadir talking.
"Erik?" I call shyly. I hear the talking stop and soon Erik's at the door.
"Yes love?"
"Um.. could you help me tie my corset?" I ask meekly. He laughs.
"Of course mon ange." He says walking into the room. I turn and he gently laces the corset then he turns me around and kisses me. I laugh and try to pull away but he grabs my waist and holds me in place.
"Erik you're going to ruin my make up." I say giggling some more.
"But I love you" he whines. I then give him a quick kiss and shoo him out. I slip on the dress and look in the mirror. The dress is so amazing and I feel beautiful in it. I walk out of the room and both Nadir and Erik turn to look at me. "Stunning" Erik breaths
"Christine you look lovely." nadir says. I blush at their compliments.
"Nadir will be at the ball keeping an eye on you so if anyone does bother you, you'll be safe." Erik informs me. "I myself will be watching from my hiding places, but I will occasionally walk through to check on you. I'll blend in with the mask." He says and I nod. "Raoul should be here soon." He says and then hands me a white lace mask with gold detailing. I smile and embrace him.
"I wish I could go with you." I say.
"I know, but at least this time your secret engagement is to me, and not him." He says picking up the ring that is on the chain around my neck. He smiles as I kiss his unmasked check. There's a knock on the door and we both sigh.
"Have fun mon ange." He whispers and then kisses me. I smile and get the door.
"You look beautiful lotte." Raoul says offering his arm. I smile and take it as he escorts me up to the party.
It was a beautiful setting with dancing and music. Raoul and I were having a really fun time running around and dancing just like old times. When we got tired we would stand in a corner and criticize people's outfits and dancing. The night was full of laughter and fun. Nadir was always keeping a close eye on us, and whenever Adam tried to approach me (which happened numerous times!) Raoul would whisk me off to dance away from him. Every now and then I would feel Erik's presence and I caught him a few times. When I did I would raise my eyebrow and he would smirk, then disappear into the crowd. At one point Raoul left me alone to go get some punch and I stood in our corner waiting for him to return. I wasn't concerned because I knew Nadir was close, and Erik was watching from somewhere. Suddenly I felt a hand in my back and I jumped. I heard Erik chuckle from behind me and I turned and glared at him.
"You didn't think I was going to let you have all the fun, did you?" He asks raising an eyebrow. I smiled as quickly kissed my cheek and whispered "you're beautiful." Into my ear. He then quickly twirled me around, before disappearing again. Raoul came back and we set off to dance once again when we saw Adam coming from the corner of our eyes. It was getting late and we would soon retire, even though this party would last for hours more. Raoul was speaking with other people about business and other boring stuff so I strayed away slightly to watch the dancers.
All of a sudden a gunshot rang through the grand hall. Shouts and screams were heard as the bullet hit the post I was standing right next to. My eyes widen as more shots are fired and I hear the bullets whizzing towards me. I felt a sharp pain in my arm and I stood there in shock. I suddenly feel strong arms lifting me and I was tossed over someone's shoulder as they started sprinting to the door. I thought it was Erik until I looked up to see him across the floor and a worried expression as he raced after us. He also looked angry. I looked to my left and saw that it wasn't Raoul. He to was sprinting towards me. We kept maneuvering through the loud crowd of people who were screaming and panicking.I began to panic when realization set in and tried to break free from this strangers grip. It was no use. My kidnapper reached the outside and gently tossed me into a carriage then climbed in himself. As we started galloping away I saw Erik's panicked expression as he turned and raced towards the stables. I whipped my head around to see who had kidnapped me.
"Adam?!" I say a little surprised.
"Are you alright Christine?!" He asks panicked. "Whoever was shooting was aiming for you, I couldn't let you just stay there."
"You have to take me back!" I say worried about what Erik might do to him. he shakes his head.
"I'm sorry Christine, I can't do that. I'm not going to put you in danger." He looked genuinely nervous. He then turned to look at my arm. I didn't even realize that there was blood dripping down my arm until he looked wide eyed at it. "You're hurt." He states as he examines my arm. He breaths a sigh of relief. "The bullet only grazed your arm. Nothing serious." I to breathed a sigh of relief. He tore a piece of his shirt off and carefully bandaged my cut, even though the blood continued to soak through. "You're losing a lot of blood." He says worriedly. "We will be home soon, don't worry."
"H-home?" I question.
"Yes, my home. I'll care for you there then I'll take you to the opera in the morning. There's no way in hell I'm leaving you alone, not after what just happened. You need a man at your side to protect you" he says before looking back to arm. I already have a man looking over me thank you! Three to be exact, and I don't need a fourth!
A few minutes later we reach the edge of Paris and pull up to a huge manor. Adam quickly helps me out of the carriage and whispers something to one of the maids. He then leads me to the kitchen where he gently picks me up and places me on the counter. He then cleans away all the blood. Then he pulls out some whiskey and pours it on a cloth, then some into a cup. After all the adrenaline that had kicked in during this whole process I hadn't noticed how much pain I was in. I looked at the cloth nervously, knowing what he was about to do.
"Here" he says and hands me the cup of whiskey.
"I've never had whiskey before." I said meekly.
"It will numb the pain." He says as he brings the cup up to my lips. I take a sip and begin to cough at the strength of the alcohol. He takes advantage of my coughing fit and places the cloth over my rather large gash. I gasp in pain and he grabs my hand for support. He finally removed the cloth and bandages my arm.
"Thank you." I say when he's finally done. He looks up into my eyes and I stare back into his green ones.
"You are certainly welcome ms. Daaé" he says then offers up his hand and helps me off the counter. He leads me through the large house, then up some stairs. He opens up a door at the top of the stairs revealing a very elegant room with a nightgown laid on the bed. "Here's your room" he say from behind me and I nod. "My room is just down the hall. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask me or any of the staff." He says.
"Thank you" I say again. He leans in and brushes his lips against my cheek.
"Sweet dreams Christine." He smiles then leaves, closing the door behind him. I sigh then quickly change into the nightgown laid out for me. I lay in the bed and after a few minutes I slowly fade into a deep sleep.
I'm awoken my a cold hand being placed over my mouth. I wake up panicked and let out a scream, which the hand muffles. I look up to see Erik standing above me. Relief washes over me as I see his familiar face. He puts his fingers up to my lips, motioning for me to be quiet. I nod and he removes his hand then pulls me into his warm embrace. I get up out of the bed, then he proceeds to mess it up to make it look like there was a struggle. He then tosses a note on to the vanity then leads me to the window. "Scream." He whispers and I do as I am told. I let out scared shriek, knowing what Erik was doing, and he pulled me out the window. When we reached the ground he grabbed my hand and we sprinted to the front of the manor and into a carriage with a worried looking Raoul inside. I turn and see several lights now on in the manor. "Drive." Erik commands Nadir, who is sitting up front. I snuggle up close to Erik who wraps his arms around me protectively. "You're safe now." He whispers before I fall back into a deep sleep.
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Ok guys so I've decided that I want to write the Love Never Dies fanfic, it's called Love will still remain. Go check it out if you're looking for a good story about Erik and Christine and another new character I know yall will love!
I just want to thank you guys for the support yall have given me as well! It really means a lot to me, so please keep commenting and voting! It really makes me so happy! Thank you and love you!