"Beyond the edge of sin there is no more pain."

Before there was a Phantom he had been only Erik. Before Christine became his obsession she was only a child in need of an angel. They were brougth together by music, the sound of a violin. This is the story of how Gustave Daae gave his child an angel, and to Erik, his friend, a love.

Read on to find out why the Phantom believed Christine belonged to him.

Title: Historia de un Amor (Story of a Love) by: Luis Miguel
 
You are no longer at my side, Love
In my soul all I carry is loneliness
And if I can no longer see you
Why did God made me love you
To make me suffer more
 
You were always the reason for my existence
Adoring you was a religion to me
In you kisses I found
The warmth that you offered me
Love and passion
 
It’s the story of a love,
Like there is none other
That made me understand
All that was good, all that was bad
 
That gave light to my life
And later took it all away
Oh, what a dark existance
Without your love I cannot live
 
You were always the reason for my existence
Adoring you was a religion to me
In you kisses I found
The warmth that you offered me
Love and passion
 
It’s is the story of a love,
Like there is none other
That made me understand
All that was good, all that was bad
 
That gave light to my life
And later took it all away
Oh, what a dark existance
Without your love I cannot live
 
You were always the reason for my existence
Adoring you was a religion to me
In you kisses I found
The warmth that you offered me
Love and passion

Chapter One: The Beginning

Chapter Two: The meeting

The room that was to be his quarters was just as gloomy as the rest of the building.  Gustave tried to make out the color of the blanket that lay on the bed that was from now on his.  Dark brown perhaps, he thought to himself.  He walked over to the bed and carefully deposited the weightless bundle that he was carrying in his arms.

“And… I will try to find a small bed for the child, but I really don’t understand how you will manage to work and care for the girl at the same time.”

“It’s no different from what you do.” He responded and quickly regretted having done so. “I’m sorry Madame Giry, I didn’t mean to sound rude.”

The Ballet Mistress smiled in acceptance.

“I shouldn’t have questioned your abilities.  I am a widow with a daughter of about the same age, that is true, and I manage to get it done somehow.  But I am a woman and, forgive me for saying this but, I have never seen a man care for a child the way a mother does.”

“It’s not easy I’ll admit.  But I have been doing it since the day she was born.  You see, my wife died in childbirth.  I am all Christine has, and she is all I have.” He said stroking his four year old daughter’s curly black hair.

“That is an admirable thing to say Monsieur Daae.  I am more than sure that you are an excellent parent.”

“Please call me Gustave.”

“Very well then.  Gustave, dinner is served at 7:00 sharp everyday, except on performance days.  Then it is served right after the show.  Come with me and I will show you the way to the dinning area.” Gustave looked worriedly at his daughter.

“She will be okay.” Madame Giry assured him.

He kissed Christine’s forehead and murmured to the sleeping child. “I will not be long.”

Madame Giry walked out the door and into the hall.  She spoke as she walked, making few pauses between sentences to catch her breath.  It appeared to Gustave that there was a lot of information she needed to get across.  He walked behind her and nodded occasionally to let her know he was listening.  She was younger than him, but she had a mature nature, a mother’s knowledge that could not be hidden. 

Madame Giry introduced him to several people on their way to the dining area, and they stopped at a few corridors that she said led to the other musicians’ quarters.  She continued talking as she walked and he listened as he followed.  All this time, trying to take in the darkness of the place that would allow him to raise his daughter and still be able to play his music.  The Opera Populaire manager had been kind to him.  While he didn’t quite understand Gustave’s need to care for his child himself either, he at least didn’t ask him to choose between Christine and his passion for the violin.  Gustave was to be the lead violinist, and Christine would be allowed to remain at his side as long as she behaved like a proper young lady.  There will be no complains, Gustave thought smiling to himself, my Christine is an angel.

“Once you get past the eternal night of the place, you will find that it is quite pleasant to be here.” Madame Giry offered sincerely.

“I like it already.” Gustave answered.

“Good. We are here.  You may sit anywhere you like.” In that instant two dancers passed by them almost knocking them off their feet. “I guess I had better say, anywhere you can.”

Gustave laughed whole heartily and Madame Giry smiled at him.  A small blond girl, close to his daughter’s age, approached them with a curious look on her face.    She smiled at them and seemed sincerely comfortable and happy.  That child had a confidence about her that he longed to one day see in his own child.  The lost of her mother and the solitude that had surrounded them afterwards had made his daughter a fearful and shy child.  She was never at ease unless she was next to him.  Gustave returned to the present as he looked at the blond girl, and smiled at last noticing the resemblance between the girl and Madame Giry. 

“Hello” he saluted the young girl.

“This is my daughter, Meg. Meg, say hello to the new lead violinist, Monsieur Daae.”

“Hello Monsieur Daae.” The child repeated.

“Monsieur Daae has a daughter himself. She is about your age, perhaps you two can play together later today.  That is, if it’s okay with you.”

“I am sure Christine will love that.  We haven’t been in one place long enough for her to socialize with other children.”

“I can show her to dance mother.” Little Meg offered.

“Yes, you can show her.” Madame Giry said as she fixed a strand of hair on her daughter’s head. “But, for now you must return to your table and finish your meal.”

“Yes, mother. It was a pleasure to meet you Monsieur.”

“The pleasure was mine Mademoiselle.” Gustave answered. “Such a beautiful daughter you have.” he said as he watched the girl walk away. “She seems so happy.”

“Thank you.” The woman responded; a little confused by the saddened expression on the man’s face as he made the comment about her daughter’s happiness.

“I beg that you excuse me, the trip here was an exhausting one. I will head back to my room now.”

“Yes, you are excused.  Do you want me to walk you back?”

“No, Madame. I can find my way back. Thank you.”

After walking in circles for what seemed like ten minutes, Gustave finally found himself at a corridor that looked very similar to the one which contained his quarters.  He entered it and walked slowly, holding on to the walk for balance.  The floor was just as black as the path before him.  He wasn’t able to see where he was stepping.  Suddenly he heard a familiar cry in the distance.  Christine! Oh God, she was awake! Gustave let go of the wall and ran toward the cries.  There was no one but him walking the halls, they were all at dinner. No one had heard Christine’s screams.  How long had she been screaming? He found her sitting on the bed hugging her knees and crying.  My poor scared child.

“Father!!!” he screams echoed in the dark.

Gustave ran into the room and sat next to her, taking a deep breath...  She was sobbing and trying to make out his figure in the dark. 

“It’s okay Christine. I am here now; there is nothing to be afraid of. Come here.” He offered his arms to her, lightly touching her shoulders, and she came into them frantically.

“It’s dark father.  So very dark.”

“I know Christine, it will always be dark here.  And I know you are afraid of the dark, but after you get to know the building you won’t be so scared.”

“No, father, dark is scary. There are monsters and ghosts.”

“Christine please!” He held her a little apart from him so he could look her in the eyes, but was unable to do so, the room was just too dark.  The single candle that rested a few steps from them was overpowered by the shadows.

“I have told you many times that those stories you heard somewhere, are not true.  There are no monsters and certainly, there are no ghosts, here.  From now on, this will be our home and the dark will always be here. You have to learn to live with it. Understood?”  Gustave looked at the child and waited for her response. “Understood?”

“Yes father.”  Christine answered while hugging the dark figure from which her father’s voice emerged, in the shadows of the room, she could not see his face.

You’ll learn to love the dark. Gustave wordlessly told his daughter as he firmly embraced her. One day, you will no longer be afraid of the night.

Over the next few days Gustave arranged for Madame Giry to watch over Christine while he had the official orchestra rehearsals, so as to not make the conductor angry.  Christine was very excited to take ballet lessons, but she was not so excited about the fact that the classes involved more little girls.  Timid Christine felt threatened by the presence of other children.  Madame Giry assured Gustave that it was a natural reaction, and that his daughter would fit in perfectly with the rest of the girls.  More than believe Madame Giry, Gustave just had no other choice.  He couldn’t take Christine along to rehearsals.

At night Gustave tried to get Christine to talk about her classes and what she had learned, but his daughter only wanted to hear him play the violin or have him tell her a story.  It seemed that it would take a long time for Christine to adjust to their new life.  All the commotion of the Opera house, with the dancers and musicians living all under one roof, was overwhelming for the child.  Gustave hoped that this feeling would pass.  He wanted to be certain that he had made the right choice in taking the job and bringing Christine to live into a place of eternal night.

Unfortunately, five days from the time Gustave joined the orchestra, the conductor decided one evening that extra rehearsals were in need for the perfection of a new score he had received.  This meant Gustave was to stay until after 9:00 in the music room.  Night, which meant complete darkness inside the Opera house, fell around 8:00 and Madame Giry returned Christine to their room at 8:15.  His daughter would have to be alone for an hour. 

Gustave tried to find a way to avoid abandoning his daughter to the night, but there was none.  He couldn’t impose even more on Madame Giry, and the conductor was not very kin of Gustave, which meant he would never allow Christine to be with him during rehearsals.  With a heavy heart Gustave had to tell Christine the bad news.

“It’s only for a little while my child and I have brought you many more candles to light the room for you.”

“No father, the candles won’t help keep the monsters away.”

“I thought we had settled this, there are no monsters. This is something I have to do Christine, it’s for our good and you must be a good girl and understand.” Gustave said smiling to the girl. Christine looked at him with a sad look on her face. “You are five years old now and that is plenty old to be on your own for an hour. Come on and give me a kiss so I can go back to work.”

The girl kissed her father and he left.  She then ran into her bed and covered her whole self with her blanket and began to cry.

Every night, for the first three nights of late rehearsal, Gustave came back to a bawling Christine.  Again she talked about monsters and ghosts, and complained that the darkness was the cause.  To calm her Gustave played her a song every night.  Knowing that she was once again in her father’s company, Christine fell asleep almost instantly every night. 

Witnessing his child’s angst left Gustave feeling miserable.  He wanted to be with her every minute but he also had to work.  Worrying about Christine’s state of mind during the time they were apart was affecting him deeply.  Even his music was suffering; he couldn’t concentrate on the new score and was making dumb mistakes that he would have laughed off in his prime years.  Because of this Gustave began the nightly ritual of practicing on his own after Christine, and everyone else, had gone to sleep.  He would make sure his daughter was sound asleep, and then he would sneak off to the music room.

Three weeks after his arrival at the Opera house, Gustave experienced the first of many strange encounters with the boy.  It was very late at night; as usual the violinist was walking to the music room when he heard a sound coming from the direction of the chapel.  Everyone was in bed by then, no one was allowed to roam the halls after 10:00, but Gustave was a stubborn man.  The initial noise was followed by another one.  At first he thought it was a rat, but his instinct told him it was something else.

Attracted by the contemplation of finding someone as hard headed as himself, Gustave set for the direction of the chapel.  Not wanting to startle his fellow insomniac, he walked in complete silence.  At first Gustave wasn’t sure if what he was seen was real.  A young man, perhaps no older than 20, was picking up the candles he had accidentally dropped on the floor.  The boy’s action was not what mystified Gustave. It was his garments, and particularly, the mask.  The young man was wearing a mask that covered his whole face.

Gustave was too engulfed in his own thoughts and spoke without intent.

“Who are you?

The boy turned to look at him and then in one fast motion disappeared into the dark.

“Wait! I didn’t mean to frighten you, come back.” Gustave called into nothingness. 

For a few moments Gustave was left with an overwhelming curiosity and a sense of guilt for having scared the boy so much that he had to run away.  He wondered if he was one of the young dancers that Madame Giry trained, or perhaps the son of one of the opera actors.  In all fairness, he can even be an actor, he told himself.  Gustave’s mind labored around the need to explain the young man’s origins and his sudden escape.  He attributed his flee to fear of being discovered roaming the halls after bedtime.  It was obvious that the boy knew of this rule because he was alarmed when he saw Gustave.  The boy possibly thought that Gustave was there to scold him for not being in his room. 

In his internal quest for a logic explanation Gustave was hiding his true intrigue; who was that boy, and why was he wearing a mask?

To be continued...