Christine, I Love You! (with C. Svenna)

[Erik Lenoir]

Erik saw Christine's lovely face became troubled as he mentioned her father and the Angel of Music. "You must miss your father," he said, trying to be comforting. He wanted to pull her toward him in an embrace, but he dared not, lest she become more upset.

She seemed to be trying to appear pleasant, but Erik could see that she was still troubled. She started to rub her temples and said that her head hurt. "We don't have to start lessons immediately, dear Christine. Whenever you are ready will be sufficient. Just do not ignore it for too long. " He touched his throat . "The vocal cords are muscles too and must be exercised for them to remain in excellent condition. This is why I am adament about not ignoring your lessons for too long."

He paused for a long moment, almost not knowing what else to say. "The opera house will be a lovely place once it is refurbished. It was well built, with excellent acoustics." He paused again. "I have had quite a time getting anyone interested though, in helping me with the project. Many will wish to have use of the place once it is refurbished, but there is no one about when the work and planning need to be done." Erik said the last matter of factly, not laying blame on anyone, but enjoying the fact that he would be able to take much of the credit for the project when it was completed. Only two people had said that they would help and for t hat he was grateful.

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

Christine gave a little bit of a nod when Lenoir said that she missed her father. She did, very much so. It was something that she could never really bring herself to forget about, no matter how hard she tried... She could never quite find a way to fully say goodbye. It was a dark contrast to her otherwise cheery and generally care-free self.

She looked back at him and nodded again, this time in agreement, when he explained why he thought that she should not ignore her lessons for too long. “Yes, An– Erik!” she said, correcting herself before she could finish the word she had previously used to address her teacher. This was going to take some getting used to...

“I'd still be happy to help,” she chirped, trying to push away the gloomy thoughts from before.

[Erik Lenoir]

"Dearest Christine, the only help I should wish from you at the opera house is to sing for me upon the stage. Your angelic voice sends me into ecstacy and the audience will fall at your feet with adoration. You call me your Angel of Music, but you are truly my Angel of Music. I have always thought of you as such."

"So we shall begin the singing lessons again soon. And we shall hold it in the Opera house then." Erik wondered if Christine had a mirror that opened into her room. He had discovered that Emilie had and had visited her once through that mirror. "I shall contact you when the time is right. Shall I come the usual way?"

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

Christine could not help but to blush when Erik spoke and called her his 'Angel of Music'. “Me? The Angel of Music...,” she murmured to herself, musing upon the idea. It really was a rather flattering statement. “You really think of me as your Angel of Music...”

She smiled, the thought still fresh in her head, then nodded firmly when he asked to confirm that they would begin lessons again soon. “Yes, of course we shall. After all, I owe a good portion of me 'angelic voice' to you... Thank you.”

And then her smile faded a bit and she tilted her head. “There is a mirror in my room, but... will that one work too? Are all mirrors like that?”

[Erik Lenoir]

"I do think of you as my Angel of Music, dear Christine," replied Erik. "Since first I heard you sing, it is what I have called you in my mind." Then his voice became almost a seductive whisper. "Do you not remember the song we sang when first I took you to my home and we called each other Angel of Music? It is still true..."

Then his voice returned to normal. "The mirror. I don't know. I shall have to find out. Things are different in this place than they were in the opera house. My home is exactly the same, but the ways in and out of places have indeed changed." He stopped a moment to think. "If the mirror does not work as it used to, I shall come the conventional way, considering there is no reason for secrecy any more..."

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

Christine closed her eyes, almost shivering at the sound of that voice. That utterly beautiful voice... She remembered the first time she had heard that voice, she'd though it must be the voice of an angel.... the voice of the Angel of Music.... Her eyes fluttered open again and she turned to face him, her lips parted in a sort of exhilarated smile. “Of course it is still true...”

She listened as he spoke to her about how the layout of the Manor was quite different from that of the Opera House, with the exception of his home, which seemed almost exactly the same according to him. He told her that, even if the mirror didn't work, he would still come to visit her the 'conventional way', as there was no reason for secrecy. She smiled, but then her smile faded and her eyes widened a little. “But what if Raoul sees you come in? I told me to stay away from you...”

[Erik Lenoir]

"Raoul?" said Erik almost sharply, as if the name were a bad word. "Does he watch you every minute of the day? Do his feelings run to paranoia if he should see your teacher coming to give you lessons?"

Then Erik forced himself to calm down. There was no reason to speak this way, for it would surely cause Christine to fear him again. "Certainly there is a way around this. We of course do not wish to upset Monsieur de Chagny or make him worried about you in any way. I know that, in the past we have not had a ...perfect...friendship, he and I. And I know that he cares for you. So I expect it would be best for neither of us to breathe a word to him ... or anyone else...that we are resuming your lessons. I do not wish him to have any ...angry...feelings toward either of us. He shall only be impressed with you when you sing upon my stage and dazzle the whole audience, including your Monsieur de Chagny."

Then Erik's voice became a whisper again, soft and seductive. "It will be our secret, n'est-ce pas?"

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

Christine Svenna bit her lip a little when Erik made his remarks about Raoul. “Well... no, he doesn't, but... Raoul has been my friend for... for a long time now. He only wants me to be safe... right?” Sure, Raoul was definitely controlling at times, but it certainly wasn't anything she hadn't learned to handle already on her own...

She looked at the floor a bit as her teacher calmed down a little and continued to speak. He suggested that they merely not tell Raoul. Christine thought this over for a moment. It seemed to make sense. After all, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right? Erik said that he would merely be impressed with the results rather than have to know about any of the process, that everybody would be impressed with the results...

And then his voice softened into a whisper again. His beautiful.... beautiful voice.... It will be our secret, n'est-ce pas? “Of course...” Christine said back, the tone in her voice quite genuine. “Our... our little secret...”

[Erik Lenoir]

"Yes, of course," said Erik soothingly, again in a soft voice. "Cetainly he wishes you to be safe. But you are infinitely safe with me, are you not? And who loves you more than..." here Erik was planning to say, I...who loves you more than I? But he supposed that Chrstine thought that de Chagny loved her. So he amended it to say, "Who loves you more than your de Chagny and I do?"

Erik's voice was still soft and soothing, and he almost forgot the bad business that had happened in the lair, between the three of them, before he had arrived here. But Christine had no memory of that. It could work to his advantage. He was starting to think of the time he had mesmerized her and wooed her while in the lair, singing gently to her while moving around her in a dance of love...a dance that spoke of how much he cherished her and wished for her to love him. How he wanted to touch her again, her hair, her hands, caress her face...

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

Christine listened to the sound of Erik's voice, an almost sickly smile forming upon her lips as she took it in, like a mortally ill person who had received the first news that there was, in fact, hope for them to be cured. She had all but forgotten the events the previous evening, with the chandelier and with Joseph Buquet's death. “Of course I am safe...” she said in a soft, comforted voice. It made sense after all. Who cared more about her than Raoul and her Angel of Music?...

She looked up at him with her bright blue eyes gazing into his. Those strange two-toned eyes that seemed to regard her with utter adoration... yet seemed filled with such sadness... “No one,” she said finally in a soft affirmation to his question. “No one could love me more...”

[Erik Lenoir]

Erik's voice was still soft and cajoling. "We shall commence lessons then at a future date, but soon, very soon. I shall see you back to your suite then." Erik put his arm gently around her back , not touching, but he knew she felt that it was there. He started walking toward the large wooden door to the hall and held it open for her. He wondered how much of their conversation she would remember, for she did seem to be mesmerized by his voice. She must feel good about their relationship and not be afraid, especially when she awakened....it was not really a trance, but it seemed akin to it.

"Your Angel of Music looks out for you, dearest Christine..." he whispered to her as they walked slowly. He was concentrating on Christine, but part of his mind was desperately hoping that no one would see them together, especially Christophe. What a scene that would be! Would that they had met through the mirror. It would have been better, but it had not happened that way.

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

“Mmmmmm mmmhmm…” Christine murmured, nodding in confirmation when Erik suggested that they continue their lessons at a future date. “Thank you for offering to take me back,” she said, moving with him. “I’m still getting the hang of finding things around here..” It was true. She’d been there less than twenty-four hours so far, so getting around was still a bit tricky for her.

They walked slowly together, toward the dormitories, she glancing over at him from time to time as they walked. A small smile crossed her lips when he told her that her Angel of Music looked out for her. It was something she knew, but that she’d begun to forget as of late, so having a little reminder was nice, really. She nodded a bit, acknowledging that she’d heard them, and began up the stairs toward the dormitories.

[Erik Lenoir]

Erik led Christine up the winding staircase to the level of the dormitories, then started down the long hall to the dormitories. So as to keep her calm and not startle her, he walked slowly and kept his voice low, almost a whisper. No one else could have heard what he said. Erik's heart soared with joy when he saw that Christine was again under his spell. Of course the trick would be to keep her feeling good toward him and to have her slowly fall in love with him, as he was completely in love with her. And to do that, he must do his best to convince her of his good intentions.....which was absolutely true. He only wished the best for her and the best would certainly be to have her fall madly in love with him and wish to spend her life with him.

He saw in her kiss, the one which of course she did not remember, in the aftermath of the terrible scene that had happened in his lair, he saw that she did have feelings for him. She hadn't really betrayed him as he had earlier thought. Christine had cared for him, but it seemed she cared more for de Chagny. This was unfortunate, but perhaps understandable for she had known de Chagny since childhood. He must work to make her see that he was the better man, the more accomplished man, the man who could give her a whole new career upon the stage. Especially here where he completely controlled what happened at the Opera House. It was his now, to do what he wished. And he wished to make Christine a star.

They approached the door leading to the individual rooms and he opened it for Christine and led her to the door on which her name was printed. He stood there a moment with her, and took her warm hands in his cold ones. "I shall see you soon, dear Christine. I shall come to you via the mirror in your room. You shall once again sing for me..."

[Christine Svenna Daaé]

Christine Svenna walked with Erik Lenoir all the way back to the dormitories. It was a surprisingly… quiet and calm walk. Little happened that was truly worth discussing. It seemed as if both were afraid of startling the other somehow, lest the situation turn unpleasant without a moment’s notice. For some reason, Christine felt bizarrely relaxed, which was quite a shift from the beginning of their encounter. Surely Raoul would have been upset had he seen her so relaxed, but could it really be considered a crime? After all, this was the man she’d called ‘Angel’ and ‘teacher’ for nearly three years…

When they reached the door to her room, he took her hands in his own, which caused her to give a small gasp, for they were quite cold. She looked up at those strange two-toned eyes as he spoke. “When should I expect you?” she asked him. “So I can be ready for my lesson?”

[Erik Lenoir]

Everything was perfect again, as it should be. Christine was ready to be swept into his arms. She would sing again for Erik only. And later he would make her a star. But he must work carefully and slowly so as to not frighten her in any way. And it would be harder to make her a star at the mansion, for there were so many with beautiful voices, although Erik of course thought, rightly or wrongly, that she had the most wonderful voice of all.

She gasped a bit when he took her hands. He always forgot how cold his hands were. Then she asked when he was coming. " This evening, after dark. I shall come through the mirror and take you to my realm where music reigns supreme. " His words were almost a whisper at this point.

The Erik pushed open the door to her room and followed her in ,then turning, he stood in front of the mirror. He reached up above to a latch and slowly the mirror opened. All the while Erik kept his eyes on Christine. Once he was behind the mirror, he could still be seen facing her. Then slowly the light faded and it was just a mirror again and the Phantom was gone.