"Oh, Erik. I had the most horrible dream." Even in the safe, warm confines of his home, she couldn't banish the shaking. Christine leaned in close to him as he pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Why don't you tell me about it, darling?" Several long minutes passed while she recounted the strange events. As Christine finished, she looked up at her lover, only to see his face go dark with dreaded recognition.
"I didn't think he would ever come here," the Phantom repeated again and again. He moved to disentangle himself from the bed sheets. "And now, with all that's going on."
Christine was just as confused as ever and asked again "Erik, what is it? What's happening?"
"It's none of your concern, love. I have to take care of something. A promise I made to someone long ago." His words were soft but commanding nonetheless and Christine fell silent.
Erik left the bed and bent to retrieve his clothing. It would be a time consuming process just finding everything, due to the previous night's vigorous lovemaking.
Christine watched her lover. There were so many things that she still didn't know about the man. They met over a year ago when she had first known only his hypnotizing voice. He insisted that she should know him only as the "Angel of Music" and tried to keep himself as an omniscient, disembodied figure, ever in the background. Christine remembered the night the Phantom revealed his humanity to her and took her to his underground home. She recalled being transfixed by his powerful voice and then, horrified the next day when she realized that that voice belonged to a disfigured genius. Days of singing with Erik turned into weeks and then a month, two months, three.
The Phantom's face no longer bothered her and she fell in love with the man behind the mask. Things became more complicated with the arrival of an old childhood friend, Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny, who began courting her soon after seeing one of her performances. Since Christine was becoming a star and had no "official" escort, she saw it as a convenience to be on the arm of what accounted for royalty in that day and age. However, Raoul was still only a boy in so many of the ways that counted and was no competition against a masterful composer, a powerful magician and probably the most brilliant man that she had ever known. Erik was disfigured but his voice and the sensual spell that he wove about her when they sang pulled them even tighter together....
Eight months from the day he came to her in her dressing room as the beautiful, deadly voice, she went to his bed. The seduction, when it happened, was swift and beautiful. However, it still did not change the fact that she now had two suitors vying for her love; the mystical, dangerous night bird of prey, Erik and the callow youth, Raoul who fawned over her during the day.
Eventually, she would have to make a choice. But this decision would require that she tell Raoul the truth about where she went and what she did with her phantom tutor. And Christine was not certain that she wanted to leave the daylight behind, possibly forever.
Watching Erik finish buttoning his shirt, Christine thought back to that first night when her trembling fingers needed so much help unbuttoning it.
"Christine, my love, I have to go out tonight." The Phantom's voice, though soft, carried weight and allowed her to focus on the present. Fully dressed now, he reached for his cloak and hat. Erik stopped and looked down at the fragile angel that had become his love, his salvation on earth. Moving to the bed, he caressed her face as he spoke.
"My darling, there is a slight chance that my guest may not wait for me at our prearranged site. You see, he's...."
"He?" In all of the time she had known him, the Phantom had never had any visitors to his underground home. In fact, he held the knowledge of where he lived sacrosanct and killed many men for attempting to invade it. The fact that Erik would receive visitors surprised Christine.
"Yes, my love. Though it may appear strange to you, I have had friends in my existence--several. This one, in particular, is very special to me. He helped me out, saved me you could say. Now, he's in trouble and I must help him in any way possible."
"Erik, I don't understand. What did this man do for you? Why are so beholden to him?"
"The time grows short, Christine and I can't speak of everything he's done for me. Suffice it to say that he rescued me when I was a boy and brought me to a place where I could develop my talents."
Christine studied the Phantom. She knew he was a brilliant mathematician, architect and magician in addition to his seemingly inhuman musical abilities. Of course, he had to be tutored somewhere, but where? What institution would ever take him without paying attention to his hideously formed visage?
"This person--this man paid for your schooling?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes. So you now understand why I, well we, must help him in his time of need. Please, Christine, if he arrives when I am out, show him every hospitality here. He may seem a trifle strange..."
"I've known you intimately for six months so nothing will shock me now."
"Yes." The Phantom corrected her. "But my guest is even more, how shall we say--different. This is a difference that you've never encountered before and you may feel apprehensive about it at first. However, remember that he is a friend and treat him as such." Erik leaned down and kissed Christine, a long passionate kiss that reminded them of their special bond.
"Don't worry, Erik. I'll be the perfect hostess." Christine smiled, a mischievous curve to her lips.
The Phantom started for the door that led to what Christine now thought of as the sitting room. From there, Erik could leave to walk in a winding path to the lake and eventually, use a boat to journey outside the Opera house. At the door to the bedroom, the Phantom stopped.
"Two last instructions, my darling. First, our guest may be interested in the coffin in the antechamber."
What could a man possibly want with that? Christine thought though she voiced no immediate reply. The Phantom, as if reading her mind, tried to explain further, "It's not the coffin ... it's what's in it that our guest may have need of."
"What is in the coffin?"
"Soil." When Christine continued to look perplexed, the Phantom continued "Well, it's not just any soil. It's earth from his homeland."
"And where is that?"
"Transylvania. The soil has healing and restorative properties."
"So why did you never use the soil to..."
"No, Christine," Erik cut her off. "It's only beneficial to our guest. Now you know why I kept the coffin for so long. Though I had to lie to you and concoct a story about resting in it, the coffin and its contents are really the sole possession of my guest. I could not explain everything to you then. Then you would not have been able to understand everything but now, now you know a bit more of the world and the strange creatures who inhabit it." Here the Phantom gave Christine a sad smile.
"What is the second instruction, my love?" Christine reminded Erik.
"I know how much you love me," the Phantom began.
"I would die for you Erik."
"Yes, I understand that. But this man is rather striking and you may feel drawn to him in ways that you cannot now imagine. Do not let this trouble you. My guest has had many paramours in his lifetime and often forgets..." The Phantom chuckled "...how to act around a woman who can never be his."
"I will never betray you."
"Remember that, Christine. For if you do, I will kill him for it. I have waited a long time for you and I will never allow anyone to come between us." Erik donned his cape, adjusted his hat and strode out of the room, toward the door and the lake beyond. Christine remained on the bed for a minute, taking in all that was said about this soon to be new guest. A thought occurred to her and she got up and ran toward Erik.
"I forgot to ask you, Erik, what is our guest's name?"
"Vlad," he said. And then he was out the door, into the waiting night.
)
