"Oh, my God," Christine whispered. Erik sighed and nodded, suddenly very tired. All of this talk about Emma weighed heavily on his heart.
"So even now Nadir thinks that letter was from her?" Christine asked. Erik nodded. Her poor mother! How could she have been able to go through all of that? She did not think she could do so and she admired her mother greatly for her will power.
"Do you mind if we go to bed now, Christine? I am rather tired," Erik whispered. Christine glanced at him and could see the strain around his eyes and mouth from having to talk about Emma. She smiled at him and took his hand.
"Of course," she said, wanting to lighten the mood, "We have a masked ball to prepare."
Erik groaned. Every masked ball he had ever thrown had taken hours of planning and it was rather exhausting. He was looking forward to the ball itself, but not the work before.
"You know just how to cheer a man up."
Christine smoothed her hands over her white dress and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. The maid was finishing the laces of her dress and corset and for the first time in a long time Christine felt happy about the evening ahead of her.
Erik had been working hard for the past few weeks in order to make this ball as wonderful as he could. Christine had helped with invitations and she was surprised with how many people might show up tonight. She was dressed in a silk dress of the most pure white she had ever seen. At her throat were several blood red rubies that stood out breathtakingly against the white of her skin and dress. Her mask, which the maid helped her to put on, covered her whole face except for her lips and chin. Her hair was braided into a thick braid but several curls had managed to slip out and lay against her mask and neck. She was dressed as a fairy queen tonight, and the costume helped her feel like one. She had been working on this dress ever since Erik had told her about the ball. Now the only thing this queen was missing was her king. She did not know what Erik was wearing tonight and she liked the idea that she would have to look for him in the crowd, it was a mystery and she was very curious to see what he was going to look like.
"You look lovely, Madam," the maid said with a small curtsy. Christine smiled and thanked her. Gathering her skirts Christine checked herself one more time before leaving the room and heading downstairs. She could hear people talking and laughing and having a good time and she smiled to herself as she made her way down the marble stairs into the grand room. She was so surprised to see the crowds of people. So many masks greeted her Christine suddenly knew why Erik loved to throw masked balls. He was in his element. For one night out of the year he was not the odd man out in a crowd. He looked just the same as everyone else when he was in the room and she was glad that he could be comfortable tonight.
As soon as she was at the end of the steps Christine's eyes began roaming the room, trying to locate her husband. She wanted to see him and dance with him. She wanted to be like a normal husband and wife. But there were so many different masks, not one the same and she could not find him no matter how hard she looked. She found Anthony and Sienna quite easily; they were dancing and made a breathtaking couple. Sienna was dressed as one of the beautiful goddesses from Greet mythology with her black hair flowing down her back. Anthony was dressed as a woodsman of old and he looked extremely handsome as well. Christine wished that he knew the truth of his origins but he had lived a good life with their father and she was afraid to see that end. Anthony glanced in her direction and knew immediately it was his sister. He murmured something to Sienna and the two of them came over with wide smiles on their faces. They both gave Christine a tight hug.
"You look wonderful, Sister, just like always," Anthony said fondly, Sienna agreed.
"Where is your husband?" she asked. Christine shrugged and looked around.
"I do not know," she said with a small frown.
"Would you like us to help you find him?" Sienna asked. Christine shook her head and smiled.
"No, the two of you go back to your dance, I will find him," she said. They hesitated before hugging her once more and going back to their dance. Christine went over and got herself a glass of wine and while she sipped at it she looked around the room once more. She was not happy when she saw Natasha, looking far too beautiful in her woodland nymph outfit. Her bodice was scandalously low and Christine was surprised that she had not popped a seam. She was talking to a man in a black domino suit that Christine did not recognize and she was obviously flirting shamelessly.
"You are more beautiful then she could ever hope to be," a rough voice whispered against her ear. Christine turned around in surprise to gaze into the unmistakable eyes of her husband. She could not help the smile that came to her face at the sight of him and she felt her body tingle in obvious desire at the sight of him.
He wore a black mask that covered all of his face except his strong chin and lips. He wore a dark maroon evening coat with matching pants. On the two sides of his coat and down each leg there was elegant designs stitched into it. Beneath the evening coat there was a black vest and beneath that a white shirt that opened down the front to show a good amount of his bronzed chest. She did not know who he was pretending to be dressed like but she approved of the outfit immensely. She looked back at his face only to see him studying her just as intently as she had been. She blushed and a small smirk came to his mouth. His hand reached out and touched the very top of her bodice.
"You should flush more often, it is an interesting shade on you," he murmured. Christine looked down at her hand to see that her blush had spread to her breasts and she had to look away in embarrassment. Did it have to be so bloody obvious that she desired him?
"Everything looks wonderful, Erik, and your guest obviously are having a good time," she murmured, trying to distract him from her obvious attraction to him.
"Indeed, and you light up the room," he answered, taking her hand and kissing it. Christine studied him again, wondering if he had been drinking a little too much to have so many compliments about her. She said nothing and he smiled.
"Although I must admit that red would have been a color more suited to you, spit-fire," he murmured, obviously trying to provoke her. Christine arched a fine brow under her mask.
"And you, Monsieur, are more suited for a costume of Red Death!" she shot back. Erik grinned, having known that she would have a comeback. He had missed that fire in her and had needed to see it if only for a moment and now that he had it had made his whole evening.
"Who are you dressed as, anyways?" Christine demanded, looking him over once more. Erik took her hand and slowly led her to the dancing area. He wrapped his arms around her, surprising her when he pulled her close.