Christine Daaé's Return

I sit down at the writing desk to send a letter to Raoul. I want him to know where I am and that I'm safe. I wave off the servants service, except for the platters of food. They want to dress me but at the moment I don't feel like wearing a gown that is going to suck the life out of me. I do not want to have them going though trouble for me and I mainly, want to be left alone.

I'm doing this for me, I keep repeating to myself. Myself.

As the train makes stops at the different cities, my anxiousness accelerates because I'm getting closer to the Opéra Popularie.

When I was last at the opera house, I wasn't afraid  of The Phantom. I thought he was my Angel Of Music at first, but he had a dark side. When I truly saw who he was inside, I saw a sad man. That side of him was full of sadness and longing. He only wanted to be normal. I pitied him and began to care much more for him than ever before. For me and for everyone who every saw him, they only looked at the side that was dark. He wanted to feel accepted, not hated or scared of. I was the only one who understood him. He came to me and I was only a bird who didn't know how to fly. He gave me my wings and I soared. I know he's hurt people but I always cared. I never knew what happened to him after that dark night but my heart told me, I was never alone.

I stand from the writing desk, feeling a way of nausea. I grab for my cleansing bowl. I grip the edges until my hands turn white, waiting for the meal I ate last night to be in the bowl, instead of my stomach. I haven't eaten since then, and I don't feel as if I want to. I feel the food in my throat and then in the bowl. I retch until my stomach hurts from the emptiness. Tears spring to eyes as I collapse roughly on the floor beneath me, and become a sprawled mess. My eyes are heavy and I can't keep them open.

...

I wake, feeling ghastly. My head aches and my bones feel useless. I can see blurred outlines of the furniture in the room. I can't make out what everything is, but my vision comes back to me, slowly. My body is cloaked in a warming sensation and I realize I'm being carried. My first thought is that Raoul has me in his arms and we're at home but that can't be right.

My face is sticky from all of the salty tears and I don't feel nauseous anymore. My body feels stiff as a board but I'm curled up. Sounds around me are calm and I still see blurry objects.

I start to feel the strong arms grip me tighter. My vision begins to clear.

Dark black hair.

"What's happening?" My voice is raspy and my words are slurred. "What is going on?"

"You are alright now." The males voice is reassuring. "I am here."

I smile, "Raoul." I close my eyes, laying against him, wanting to sleep in his arms. But Raoul doesn't have black hair.

Raoul scowls and I'm confused until I hear him say, "No, Christine. It is your Angel of Music."

I gasp.

The Phantom!