Page 54 - Phantom of the Opera

such a way that it was insulting to me, and he intended this."
ugliness. Now you would run away and never come back. So I
"What did you do?" Raoul asked.
will keep you here! Why did you want to see me, Christine? My
"We began singing and I sang with great sadness and terror,
own father never saw me and my mother — in order not to see
which I had never done before. Suddenly, I needed to see what me — gave me my first mask!'
face was under that mask, the face of the voice, and I tore off the
"He let go of me and cried, a terrible cry of great pain and
mask. Oh, horror, horror, horror!"
sadness. Then he went to his room and closed the door. I
A far-away voice sadly repeated, "Horror! Horror! Horror!" heard him play his Don Juan Triumphant and it was both awful
But the words were not clearly heard by the two lovers.
and wonderful. It expressed every emotion, every suffering
"If I live to be one hundred, I will always remember the cry of known to man. I opened the door and he rose. 'Erik,' I cried,
pain and anger which he made when the terrible sight appeared 'show me your face without fear. You are the most unhappy
in front of my eyes. The face of Death that you saw at Perros and and the most heavenly of men — a great genius.' He fell at my
at the masked party was a silent horror, not alive. But imagine, the ; feet. He kissed my dress, at the ankle, and did not see that I
four black holes of Red Death's mask suddenly coming to life to
closed my eyes.
express the extreme anger of a devil.
"Now, Raoul, you know the tragedy. It went on for two
"I fell to my knees and he cursed and shouted, 'Look! You weeks. I burned his mask. He was my faithful slave. I gave him
want to see me! Look at Erik's face! Now you know the face of such confidence that he took me in the boat across the lake and
the voice! I'm a very good-looking man, aren't I? When a let me through the gates that close the underground passages in
woman has seen me, as you have, she belongs to me! She loves the Rue Scribe. Here a carriage was waiting and took us to the
me forever! I am Don Juan triumphant!' And when I turned my woods. That night that we met you was very dangerous for me.
head away, he angrily took my head with his dead fingers and
He is very jealous of you. I had to tell him that you were soon
twisted them into my hair."
going away. Then, after two weeks, he believed me when I said, 'I
"Enough! I will kill him! Tell me where the dining room on will come back!'"
the lake is and I will kill him!" shouted Raoul.
"And you went back," Raoul said painfully. "You tell me that
.
"Listen, Raoul, he dragged me by my hair and then .. and you love me, but you were free for only a few hours when you
.
then .. Oh, it's too terrible!"
went back. Remember the masked party?"
"What?" Raoul asked, his voice full of suffering and anger. "Yes, and those hours I spent with you were a great danger to
"He seized my hands and dug them into his awful face. He both of us!"
tore his flesh with my nails. He was shouting, 'Maybe you think "I doubted your love for me, during those hours."
that I have another mask. Tear it off!' And then he said, 'I am "Do you doubt it still, Raoul? Each of my visits to Erik
built of death from head to foot, and this is a dead man who loves increase my horror of him! And I am so frightened!"
you and will never, never leave you! You can never leave me "But do you love me?" Raoul asked. "If Erik were good-
again. While you thought that maybe I was handsome, you could looking, would you love me, Christine?"
.
go because I knew you would return .. but now you know my She rose, put her arms around the young man's head, and said,
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