I HAVE RETURNED! really, i'm so sorry it took me this long, and i've discovered it actually hurts my review numbers more than anything. Did you know that although i have 18 people who have me on their alert lists, I only got 9 review on my last chapter, and about a third of those do not even have me on their alerts! It's shameful! I really hope you people will review--YOU TOO YOU LURKERS WHO NEVER REVIEW!--even if you're just telling me that i need to change the way i write to make it better. i do not mind criticism. but if you do like it, that's even more reason to review!
so, anywho, i'm taking two math courses. algebra 2 is too boring so i decided to do geometry also. yes i know i'm an idiot Rita! and i'm working on that humor fic too.
and they won't let me say HI! to al of you on here individually anymore, so I'll just say thank you for the reviews and i'll try to remember to reply!
and now on with the show!
(may i mention that there's a good bit of fluff in this chappie, even tho it took me so long?)
oh yeah, btw: Disclaimer: I dont own this really at all...but if i did i would be a billionaire!
ok now you can all go ahead and read
Awakenings
Meg awoke with a start in her chair by the Vicomte's bed. "Monsieur?" she whispered, wishing she was of the station to call him by his Christian name. "Monsieur, is all well with you?"
Raoul sat bolt upright, oblivious to the pain it caused him. "Christine…Is that you, my love?" His eyes, glassy with fever, looked around the room wildly.
"No, Monsieur, it is only I, Meg Giry," came the reply.
"Where is she? Where is Christine? I must see her!" He said, attempting to rise.
"Monsieur, no, you mustn't! She is alright, you will see her soon," Meg lied, trying to pacify him in his delirium. "You will see Christine soon, but now you must rest, Monsieur." She rose from her chair and tucked the formerly distinguished Vicomte into bed as if he were a small child. As she reached over to dim the lamp, she caught a breath of a song from Raoul's lips.
"Christine I love you…"Meg fled the room, her heart falling to pieces.
XXXXX
Erik rolled over and immediately sensed two things. The first, the most constant companion in his life: pain. It split his chest in two and made him gasp from the feeling. His second sensation was a feeling only found in his dreams; dreams that he believed could never come true: Christine, lying at his side. The Opera Ghost stared in awe at the beautiful creature nestled against him, completely at a loss for words. "Can it be? Can it be Christine…?" he sang softly. "What a change…it really is a change from where I thought her heart would be. I'd not have thought for one moment that she might choose me…" Erik broke off from his song as his angel stirred in his arms and he heard her mumbling brokenly in her sleep. "Can I ever escape from that face…in that darkness…can I ever forget…he's in my dreams…" Christine turned in her sleep so that whatever else she might have said became inaudible.
Why did she stay with me if she finds me so repulsive, then! Her love still belongs to Raoul, obviously, no matter what I try to tell myself, he thought. Disgusted at his own naïveté, he threw off the plush velvet covers and strode out to the organ. He of all people should know not to be so trusting! How many times had he been betrayed, how many times had he been backstabbed by those he thought were his friends? But she was different…Christine wasn't—isn't—like that! I'm sure there is a reason…there must be… Erik continued playing the instrument as he mulled over these thoughts, composing as he went. Before he was ready to stop though, he began feeling dizzy and stood shakily to go back to the swan bed where he had left Christine sleeping.
Christine whirled when Erik came through the curtained doorway, then rushed to him in concern when she saw how ill he looked. "Erik! You are not in full health, you shouldn't have been up and about, exhausting yourself so soon after your wound!" She gently guided him to the bed and helped him sit down.
Erik looked hard at her when she greeted him. Her worry and compassion looked so genuine…but she was also an actress, it was her life's duty to pose as what she was not. He shook his head as a wave of nausea came over him, trying to fling the unwanted thoughts from his head, when his angel spoke to him.
"Erik…those gowns in the wardrobe…are they for me? They are so beautiful…" Christine asked him, still worried.
"The gowns? Yes, they are for you, Christine. Who else would they be for?" he replied, distracted by the fact that she only stood before him in only her chemise.
Christine looked away, blushing. She was well aware of how little the garment concealed. Embarrassed, she went to pick up her corset from where she had dropped it the previous night. "Erik…would you…?" Christine was feeling uncomfortable beneath the Phantom's unrelenting gaze.
"Would I assist you in getting into that horrid device?" Erik completed her query in a steady voice, though inwardly he was trembling that Christine could really mean for him to touch her in a way only a husband should.
"Yes, please…I can't lace it up myself." She had never been so aware of how nearly helpless she was when it came to getting dressed, and so positioned her corset on her slim frame as best she could and turned around before her face became any redder.
Erik took the laces gently and began threading them through the loops in Christine's corset, his fingers dancing lightly over her back, sending shivers up her spine. "Erik…it must be tighter," Christine said, trying to hide the shakiness in her voice.
Redoing the lacings, Erik dropped his lips next to her ear and whispered, "But how are you to breathe, my dear? Surely fashion does not require you to suffocate yourself."
Christine turned and felt his arms wrap around her waist, pulling her body close to his. "It is no matter, for I can hardly breathe even now. What will the difference be?" She willed herself to look into his fiery eyes, brighter than ever with longing for her.
Pushing all thoughts of self-doubt aside, Erik bent his head and took her mouth with his, pouring all of his love and passion for her into the kiss. His skin tingled as he felt his beloved's hands run up his back, her fingers tangle in his thick hair. Impetuously he moved his hands to her corset and began to undo the laces he had done up just moments before, when Christine pulled away and stilled his hands.
"No…not yet, Erik, not yet. We could hardly earn the Lord's blessing on our union by so blatantly disobeying him..." her voice trailed off as she separated herself from the warmth of the Opera Ghost's very real body.
"I have murdered more times than you could count, Christine. Do you think God Almighty would give me His blessing after what I've done!" He reached for her hand to pull her back to him.
"Erik, please don't!"
The anguish he heard in Christine's angelic voice broke through the Phantom's passion; he let her go and dropped back to the bed. "Because I love you, Christine, but only because I love you. God's blessing, or lack thereof, shall not keep me from you for long, He has no hold on me now that he has left me for dead."
Now dressed fully in a blood-red silk dress, Christine returned to Erik and bent down to kiss him chastely on the cheek. "As I love you, Erik. But that shall not make me betray my Lord, though it is hard." She slipped her fingers from his grasp and went toward the doorway.
"And where are you off to, my dear?" he asked, still uncertain if her "love" for him was an act or not.
"I am still a part of the Opera, Erik. It is my duty to return to rehearsals, and I must also see to the state of Raoul, as well as tell him my choice." The tone of her voice was gentle, but with a subtle reprimand underneath the love. "Will you come with me?"
Erik thought a moment, weighing his protection over her best interest. "No, I don't think I will, my presence will only make things more complicated for you to get back to your normal life."
She nodded her head in thanks. "Thank you, Erik." Then Christine blew him a kiss and left the house by the lake.
see? nothing really bad happened! and lots of fluff too! so there's no reason for me to get angry reviews other than the ones that are yelling at me for not updating sooner...and i swear, i'm actually already working on my next chapter
oh btw those of you who don't live in the US of A, you're really missing out on some goooooood food at Thanksgiving...