No, I did not see any birds... (Raouly-bear <3 )

[Christine Daaé]

It was a hot summer morning in late August there in wherever it was they were. When Raoul and Christine went down to the village. Christine had heard it was a small village somewhere in England and, seeing as everything was written in English and everyone spoke English... Frankly, it didn't thrill her much, seeing as all she spoke of the language was what the old professor had taught her before he died. She had learned English diction while studying at le Conservatoire, so she could read something for you and pronounce it flawlessly (minus a Swedish accent which lingered a bit over her spoken words), but she couldn't understand hardly a word of it.

She hadn't been out to the village since the day that day when they had first gone there in an attempt to return to Paris... and had found out that they were further from home than they had initially thought that they were... Now, they stood in front of a large gate with the word ZOO written over the top. There was a slightly musky odor about the place, like animals and feed.

There had been more than just a few odd glances that they had received from passers by at the young lady's attire. She refused to dress in the highly scandalous attire of the people who lived there. She was dressed in a deep purple long sleeved gown with lace trim, a matching purple hat with a back plume, a pair of gloves, and a was carrying a fan. Perhaps it was a little warm for summer, but the dress was cotton, so it breathed well. Besides, she didn't feel like taking arsenic again if she got too dark.

She held her fiancé's arm and stared up at the gates before them. “Dear, are you sure about this? Honestly, I would prefer to go back and we could spend time perhaps in the gardens if you wanted to go outdoors. After all, who will look after Mamma Valérius? Even with the wheeled chair, it's difficult for her to move around there with the steps, and the narrow doorways, and you know I would never forgive myself if she came in contact with one of those frightening demons or apparitions and was frightened to death....”

[Raoul de Chagny]

Raoul smiled up at the sign reading ‘Zoo’ and gazed over at his fiancée, still grinning. He still had yet to get used to them walking out and about like this, clearly together and not trying to hide anything like back in Paris. Nor was he used to her acknowledging that she loved him, but both things were things that he could easily get used to. They were really getting married. They had initially planned to wait until they returned to Paris, but Paris was not the same as it had been when they had left it.

He thought this scheme too elaborate for Erik to have dreamt up, regardless of how much of a genius he appeared to be. He was almost completely convinced that they were in the future, but he didn’t share his convictions with his bride-to-be. He wore so-called modern clothes to work, as they had a dress code, but whenever he wasn’t working he still dressed like a Vicomte. Today he wore a lightweight gray frock coat, club-collared shirt, colorful red and orange striped pants, a burgundy vest, and a gold ascot with a brown top hat. He didn’t want to argue with her—he hated it and he could never win. Nor did he want to upset her. So, not long after their first trip to the village, he had taken a job at the zoo, giving tours to children each day and selling balloons to tourists. They would need money, and this was the only job available. He didn’t mind it, but he did want to leave the village, so that he could buy a decent house in which the two of them could live once they were married. With his salary they could barely afford an apartment.

But again he didn’t share his worries with Christine. After all, he had taken her to the zoo today for an excursion. There was no need to ruin their outing with fears of the future. He shook his head as she voiced her desire to go back to the manor. “Nonsense, dearest—you need to get out of that awful place every once in a while. Besides, it will be fun.” When she expressed her worries about her adoptive mother, he squeezed her hand. “Don’t fret, Christine, she’ll be fine. Either way, I shan’t keep you out late.”

[Christine Daaé]

Christine sighed a bit when Raoul said that she needed to et out of the Manor for a while. She knew that he was right – she did need to get away from there, especially with how maddening the place was – but this strange village terrified her so. Between the strange way that everything looked, and the fact that she could hardly understand anything from the people and signs around her, it was not surprising at all that she was so frightened of the place.

The way that her betrothed had dressed for their excursion at least made her feel a little better, like she wasn't completely mad for looking so different from everyone else. She remained close to him,almost as if she were afraid she would lose him in the ultra-modern (or at least I comparison to what she was used to at home) world surrounding them as they passed through the iron gates.

[Raoul de Chagny]

Raoul smiled and led his bride-to-be through the zoo gates. They were greeted by the cacophony of various animals mewing, roaring, and squawking as soon as they entered. He, of course, was used to it. He found animals in general fascinating. He had since he was just a boy. He loved reading books about animals, and had always dreamed of seeing exotic specimens such as lions and tigers and polar bears…

Polar bears… A bit of color drained from his face as he remembered the expedition, but it didn’t matter, did it? That man had written to his commanding officers to pardon him, so he wouldn’t have to go. He and Christine could spend the rest of their lives together as they saw fit. “What animal would you like to see first, dear?” he asked.

[Christine Daaé]

“I.... I'm not sure, really,” she replied in a trembling voice when he asked her what animal she would like to see first. “I'm not sure what animals are kept here.... Do you have any favorites?... We could always go back, you know. I'm sure that between the gardens, and the grounds of the manor, and the nearby forest, there are plenty of animals to see...”

She pursed her lips together, glancing about for a moment at the people who stopped a moment to stare at them as they passed by, as if she and her fiancé were but other animals there on display. She honestly hoped that he would just eventually agree with her to go back. She may have disliked the manor, but at least it contained a few familiar things and those around were not so very different from themselves...