What Really Happened
H D Kingsbury
Copyright © 2006

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system -- available today or in the future -- without permission in writing from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.


Summary: At the end of the movie, Raoul de Chagny visits Christine's grave to find a rose left there by the Phantom. This is the story behind the rose.

Rating: PG-13 for mild expressions of profanity and non-explicit references to adult situations.

It was late autumn. Though the sun was shining and the sky was a bright azure blue, there was a distinct chill in the air. Trees now devoid of their foliage stood as silent sentinels while dried leaves swirled and danced between the monuments and across the grounds of the cemetery. For one person, this was a day of sadness, of remembrance for a loved one who had been called from this world; for another, it was a day to put to rest once and for all a pathetic chapter from long ago.

"There. It's done."

Erik turned to his companion, a look of satisfaction upon his face. She beamed back at him, a tallish woman of rather solid build with Clairol-red hair. Neither of them was young by any stretch of the imagination; yet the woman couldn't help admiring how kind the years had been to Erik, the streaks of silver in his hair making him look distinguished rather than older.

"I can understand your wanting to come here. After all, this is the anniversary of Christine's death," the woman said softly as she slipped her arm through his. "What I never knew was that you've had that ring all these years. It must have been a very special keepsake for you."

Erik shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I'd forgotten it was still in my possession."

The redhead snorted and gave him an I-don't-believe-you-for-a-minute look.

"It's true," he insisted. "It would never have crossed my mind to come out here if I hadn't found that damned ring the other day when I was cleaning out my drawers." The woman snorted again. "No, not those drawers. You know what I mean. As a matter of fact, I was ready to throw it out."

"But...what about Christine? I thought you came out here because...well, because you still love her."

A frown creased Erik's forehead as he pondered what to say, how to explain his true feelings. "Looking back, I realize now that I probably never really loved Christine." He saw the surprise and disbelief in his companion's eyes. "It's true. It took me a long time, but I've come to understand that I was in love with the idea of being in love with her. Even if she had chosen to stay with me, I doubt things would ever have really worked between us. She was too young, too immature, too…innocent of the ways of the world. Not like you, my love," he said, drawing the redhead closer and kissing her lightly on the cheek.

"But what about the rose and the black ribbon?" she asked, not quite believing this whole story. "If the ring, and Christine's memory, mean so little to you, why go through this whole charade?"

Erik smiled mischievously. "Think of it as thumbing my nose at M. le Vicomte one last time. I knew he would be out here. As you so accurately pointed out, this is the anniversary of Christine's death. Seeing him bring that stupid little music box out here makes my little gesture all the more delicious. I'll bet he's wondering even now if Chrissy and I had a thing going all those years." He laughed wickedly.

"You mean...? But...wasn't the music box something...special? I mean...I thought..."

"No, there was never any significance to it. It was a cheesy mechanical box that I found in one of the prop rooms a long time ago. The movement in it was broken and it didn't work properly. Half the time it didn't even play properly, skipping notes or jamming up. I'd been tinkering with it. You know, something to do late when I couldn't sleep at night. When I brought Christine down to my lair, she found it sitting out on my work desk and took a liking to it." Erik shrugged. "I supposed I should have expected that kind of reaction from someone as childlike as she."

"Then, you mean..."

"Yes. This was all a joke, although I doubt de Chagny will get it. Did you see the look on his face?" Erik laughed as he recalled how Raoul de Chagny had practically choked when he saw the beribboned rose with the ring around the stem. "I thought he was going to shit his pants!"

The woman laughed, too, as she playfully punched Erik in the shoulder. "Come, my love. I can think of better things for the two of us to do besides standing around in a cold cemetery. Maybe I can...warm you up?" She grinned up at Erik.

"You know, HD, finding you was the best thing that ever happened in my entire life."

HD's smile grew even bigger. "Then come along, M. le Fantôme; let's go home. I've got some muffins fresh from the oven -- just for you."

HD and Erik strolled towards the cemetery gate, their arms entwined around each other's waist. As they neared the waiting carriage, HD's hand drifted down, a whoop of delight filled the air as she gave Erik one more squeeze.

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Author's Note: Hey! What's the sense in writing if you can't give yourself one of the best roles?