A/N: Hello, my lovely readers! Winter break is a wonderful thing – all I've been doing for the past few days is reading, writing, and planning an after-graduation trip to New York! Thank you so much for the reviews, as always, and enjoy the chapter!

It seemed unreal as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My curls were elaborately pinned up, and the white gown that I wore, though not at all my style, seemed perfectly suited for such an ostentatious occasion. My face, though, was pale; my eyes showed the sadness of the tears that I could not shed, and the dark circles underneath them betrayed my sleepless night. Today was the day of my wedding to Raoul. I had not been able to escape it. Raoul had made sure that Adele was by my side constantly, and he himself had slept outside my door, just like he had before when he had been trying to protect me from Erik. I knew that that was not his intention now, though – despite the lies that he fed me, I knew that he really just wanted to make sure I didn't decide to sacrifice Adele's well-being and leave.

So I ended up here, sitting at my vanity as Adele placed the ornate lace veil on my head. "I am sorry, Miss Christine," she said softly.

"Me too," was all I could say in response. I didn't want to think about Erik. Knowing that I would never see him again, in addition to knowing that I was about to betray him and marry Raoul, hurt too much to think about. "Adele, can I have a moment alone, please? I promise I won't try to run away."

Adele nodded, her expression kind and understanding, and she left the room without a word. For a moment, all I could do was stare into the mirror, unable to even process what I say there. I was about to marry Raoul – something I had always dreamt of, something that I had always believed I wanted. But I didn't want it anymore, not at all. My love for Erik, my memories of our brief night together, made life with Raoul seem insufferable. I had loved Raoul at one point, or at least I had thought that I loved him, but now I knew that I was more in love with the idea of him than anything else. Falling in love with and marrying my wealthy, handsome childhood sweetheart had seemed so romantic. And Raoul was safe, familiar. He was dependable and constant, and Erik was mysterious and dangerous. Raoul truly had seemed the better choice – so much so that I had never even given my feelings for Erik any consideration.

But Raoul was just a fantasy. The perfect life that I had dreamt of us living together was exactly that – a dream. I could see now that I would not fit into his life, not anymore. Perhaps if I had never realized my love for Erik, I would be content to live life without passion, to simply do as Raoul told me all the time. But my love for Erik was like fire; it was all-consuming and even the slightest thought of Erik fanned the flames.

I could not marry Raoul. I would never be happy with him. I wanted Erik, I needed him, and I would find him.

In my mind, my resolve sounded strong and sure, as if it was the simple, indisputable truth. But the rest of me was not so certain, and knowing this made the sadness weigh down on me even more. What if Erik was already long gone from Paris with Madame Giry and Meg? They would cover their tracks, I knew, and if the purpose of their flight was to keep the police from finding Erik, then how was I to find him? And even if they were still in Paris, they were due to leave tonight, and there was no hope for me to find a way to escape by then. Raoul would be watching me like a hawk before the wedding – I was sure that Adele was standing just outside the door even though she had agreed to give me a moment alone, and soon Raoul would be sending others in to make sure that I would be at the church on time. From then on I would be surrounded by people, and I knew that Raoul would be by my side constantly. And then he would whisk me away for our honeymoon…

I shuddered at the thought of another man touching me. Even if Erik had left me after that night, being with anyone else would be a betrayal to him. Just the idea of it made me feel sick. How could I possibly be with anyone else, even someone I was married to, when I still loved Erik like I did? I had to leave now, I had to get away before I was married to Raoul, but I could think of no way to escape.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror in front of me. My eyes were wild and panicked, and coupled with my paleness and the dark circles under my eyes, one might have thought that I was about to be taken to my death instead of my wedding to my childhood sweetheart. I knew that I had to move, that I had to be looking for a way out, but I felt frozen, held in place by my own panic and despair.

And then, suddenly, it was all gone. My breath caught in my throat; I could feel the familiar presence all around me as if it was something tangible. "Erik," I breathed hopefully.

There was no response, no movement, but the presence did not retreat.

"Erik, please, I know you're there," I said, standing and looking around the room. There was no sign of him, but I knew that I could feel him. "Erik," I said again, not even noticing that my unshed tears had started trickling down my cheeks. "You cannot leave me here, Erik. I love you, and I want to stay with you. But if you leave me here, there is no choice for me but to marry Raoul, and I will be miserable for the rest of my life because I love you and not him. Please, Erik, I know you can hear me," I pleaded. "And do not think that I will forget you; do not think that I will soon learn to be happy with Raoul. Yesterday I told him that I do not want to marry him, and look at what he did to me!"

With one quick motion, I pulled my veil over my head so it no longer concealed my face. There was a bruise blossoming where Raoul had hit me yesterday, one that I was sure he had already come up with an explanation for. Perhaps he was planning on blaming it on Erik.

There was silence again, but this time the silence was thick and heavy with emotion. I turned when there was the faintest hint of movement behind me, and my tears began to flow harder and faster when I saw Erik standing there, his expression distraught. I wanted to run to him, to feel the comfort of his embrace again, but something held me back, telling me that now was not the time, that I had to focus on leaving now.

"Christine," Erik said softly, clearly conflicted.

"Erik, we can talk later," I said quickly. "But I do not have much time before my maid will come to fetch me, and if Raoul thinks that she has something to do with my disappearing, he will hurt her. Please, Erik," I said, my words gentle but firm. "I know that you want what's best for me, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that staying here is not it. We can talk later, but please, just take me away from here now."

Another second passed before Erik nodded, reluctantly, and held out a hand for me. I took his hand gratefully, and he led me to the balcony doors where he must have entered. Standing on the balcony, I couldn't help but look down with fear at the ground that looked terribly far below us.

"Don't worry," Erik said, sensing my fear. "I've got you."

Just as he swung himself over the edge, landing gracefully on the ground, the sound of the door opening made me turn and look back into the room. Adele stood in the doorway, but before I could say anything she simply stepped inside and closed to door behind her. "Go," she said quietly.

I offered her a small smile in thanks before swinging my legs over the edge of the balcony, pushing myself off and landing in Erik's waiting arms. Moving quickly, keeping a firm grasp on Erik's hand, I did not even look back at the life that I was leaving behind.

What do you think? As always, if there's anything that you want to see happen, just let me know, because at this point the plot of this story is open to pretty much anything. Please, please, please review!