Chapter Nine
Christine Meets the Phantom
It had been three months since the Phantom had attacked Firmin. But
his tricks did not end. On the opening of the new opera, he made the
chandelier shake, causing the entire house to flee the building. No one
had bought a ticket since.
Christine's lessons had continued. Even though Raoul tried to get
Christine to spend time with him, she never betrayed her angel. Raoul
returned to his home to meet with his brother and explain the situation
to him. Philippe listened to every word his brother had to say. When
Raoul was finished, Philippe folded his arms and shook his head.
"Give her up Raoul. If she doesn't pay any attention to you, don't
bother with her," said Philippe. Raoul glared at his brother.
"I know that Christine's loves me just as much as I love her! But
every time I try to talk to her, she just tells me she has to go to her
lesson and leaves!" Philippe twirled his moustache and began to
think. " What should I do Philippe?"
"Find out who her tutor is and ask him to reschedule her lessons. Do
that or go for another member of the Opera Populaire." Raoul got up and
started for the door.
"I'll take your advice and ask the tutor."
"You're sure you don't want anyone else?"
"Yes."
"Only Christine?"
"Yes." Philippe leaned back in his chair and sighed.
"Fine Raoul, if she's your choice, I won't stop you. Good luck."
Raoul smiled at his brother and then left the house. Back in the Opera
Populaire, Christine was talking to Meg in the theater.
"Meg! My angel has decided to show himself to me! I am going to
finally get to see my angel!" Meg held Christine's hands.
"Christine! I'm so happy for you! When are you going to see him?"
"After today's lesson. Not a word to anyone Meg," said Christine.
"You can trust me. What do you think he looks like?"
"Maybe he looks like your angel." Meg laughed.
"Maybe the Angel of Music and the Angel of Dance are brothers." The
two laughed together. Christine and Meg then saw the two managers pass
by. They looked at each other.
"Have you noticed that neither manager has left each others' side?" asked Christine.
"There's a rumor that the Phantom has threatened Monsieur Firmin's
life. I wouldn't want to be in his shoes for a king's ransom," said
Meg. Meg then looked up into Box-Five. "My mother told me that the
Opera Ghost wants to kill him because he gave away information to the
press."
Meg then noticed movement in Box-Five. She tapped Christine and pointed
upward. The two stared at the box. Then Raoul appeared up in Box-Five.
He waved down to Christine.
"Hello Christine! How are you Meg?" he called down. Meg was somewhere
between terrified and annoyed.
"Get out of Box-Five, de Chagny! That Opera Ghost does not like
people in his box!" snarled Meg. Raoul laughed.
" Come now Meg! There's no such thing as ghosts!" said Raoul. The
Phantom's voice became clear.
"Really Monsieur de Chagny? Are you so sure?" asked the Phantom. Meg
and Christine jumped out of their seats.
"Raoul! Get out of the box!" cried Christine. Raoul dashed out of the box.
"A very wise move Vicompt!" shouted the Phantom. Raoul appeared at the
bottom and approached the two ballet girls.
"I hope you weren't too scared Christine. I guess it wasn't very
smart to greet you from that box," said Raoul.
"It was just plain stupid!" snarled Meg. " Even you should know that
Box-Five belongs to the ghost!" Raoul ignored Meg's comment.
"Christine, do you want to go to dinner with me tonight?"
"I can't Raoul, my lesson," explained Christine.
"Oh yes, then could I speak to your tutor?"
"No!" shouted Christine. Raoul stared at her. " He doesn't speak to
anyone but me."
"Well, maybe I could just join you during your lesson?"
"There's a thing called privacy Raoul!" hissed Meg.
"Oh! I'm late for my lesson! I really must be going Raoul! I'll talk
to you later Meg!" Christine started to run out.
"Best wishes to you Christine!" Meg called after her. After
Christine had left the theater, Meg started after Raoul. " Where
do you think you're going?"
"I have a meeting of my own!" growled Raoul. When he reached
Christine's room, he put his ear to the door and listened. Christine was
just meeting her angel. She bowed to the mirror.
"Please pardon my lateness angel. I did not mean to keep you waiting."
"You have not kept me waiting child. But you shall not get a lesson
today," said the Phantom.
"What?" asked Christine shocked.
"Today you shall see me, and today you shall join me. You shall come
with me and we shall continue there."
"The heavens," whispered Christine. Raoul clenched his fists as he
continued to listen.
"Are you ready to view your angel?"
"I am." The Phantom's image became clear in the mirror. Christine
let out a soft gasp. He opened the mirror and stepped out.
"Don't let my form frighten you. It is I, your Angel of Music. Come
Christine, come." The Phantom reached out to her. He made sure
that he wore gloves so that she couldn't feel his icy skin. Christine took his
hand and followed him into the mirror. The Phantom immediately closed
the mirror. Raoul opened the door and stormed in.
"Alright Angel! I want to talk to----" Raoul then noticed that the room
was empty. " Christine? Christine!" Raoul bolted out of the room and
hurried to the manager's office. He leaped into the office, catching
Firmin off guard. The frightened manager clung onto Andre.
"Richard! Andre! I need to speak with you!" when Firmin realized
that it was only Raoul. He let go of Andre and scowled at the patron.
"Now Raoul! I'm in a very jittery stage. The last thing I need is you
jumping into our office!" barked Firmin.
"He has a point Raoul. Next time, try to enter a little more calmly,"
said Andre.
"Christine has disappeared!" cried Raoul. Firmin crashed his head
upon the desk.
"Oh lovely! Thousands of francs gone, two thousand one hundred and
fifty six empty seats, one shaky chandelier, one missing ballet girl and
two Phantoms! Could this day get any worse?" cried Firmin.
"We must do something! Richard, this is no time to mope! We must find
Christine!"
"Who's moping?" snarled Firmin.
"We've already sent out and add for information on finding the
Phantom. What more can we do?" asked Andre. Raoul sighed and left the
office. Down below, the Phantom was leading Christine through a tunnel
of mazes. Christine looked around nervously.
"Angel?"
"Yes child?"
"I have the feeling that we're not going to the heavens."
The Phantom stopped and held his heart. " My dear Christine, I have a
confession to make." Christine stared at him. " I'm not your angel,
I'm not even an angel. I'm just a lonely man who needed to make your
dream of singing come true." Christine gasped and began to back away.
"Why? Why did you lie to me? Couldn't you just let me wait for my
actual angel to come?" cried Christine.
"My dear! I meant you no harm! Have I done anything that has caused
you pain? Have I not been a good angel?"
"That's just it! You're not an angel!" Christine started to dash
away.
"Christine!" shouted the Phantom. He ran over and caught her. " Do
not run! This is a very confusing maze, you would never find your way
out! It would be best just to come with me."
Christine at first didn't even look into his eyes, but soon calmed down.
The Phantom released her arms and took hold of her hand again and
continued to lead her to his lair. The Phantom prayed that Christine
could find it in her heart to forgive him. He also hoped that William
would not mind having a lady stay with them.
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