Thank you all for understanding that it is ALL Suzette's fault...NOT MINE.

In all honesty, I just write down what Erik tells me happend. I am his 'Ghost Writer' for his autobiography, you see. ha ha.

Guest Reviews:

syrianlight: NO! Do not feel bad for Suzette...it is not allowed. ha ha. Anna would have loved to steal him away too. Yes, Erik DID promise to be good...but even HE has his limits. I hope you can trust me...for I am a sucker for happy endings!

PhantomChristine: *FP33 ducks and covers* Yes i COULD have let Anna take Erik...but...but that is not how the story goes. Sorry. And you are forgiven for yelling if I am forgiven for writing something that made you yell. ha ha. Hope the next chapters make up for it.

Guessst: I am glad that line struck home with you...I meant for it to. Sorry about your heart, but thanks for the compliment.

TheRebbs98: I swear...IT WASN'T ME...it was Suzette! Oh no, there will be none of THAT! I will not let her cross that line in the sand. NOPE!

Guest 1: Thanks! And I don't have to write more...the story is done. All 50 chapters, just waiting for me to keep posting.

Guest 2: Um...well...I can't tell you that my dear, but that is not to say it won't happen! Just read on and see for yourself. ha ha.

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Chapter 10

A Promise Kept

1858

It had been two years. Two long years since Anna had left this house and France behind…yet she had never forgotten. Now, as she opened the rusty gate and stared at the dilapidated mansion, she recalled the last time she had stood on this very spot; the day she had been cruelly driven away from the boy who had stolen her heart.

~XXX~

Anna had run away in tears that day, having no idea where she was headed and her heart feeling as if it had shattered into tiny pieces. She didn't know what to do yet all she wanted was to turn around and find a way to steal Erik away from that horrible woman. Yet how? She had no way of supporting herself, let alone a child, and Suzette had threatened to take her vengeance out on Erik if she ever saw Anna's face again. Still, she had to do something…anything!

Then it hit her…Monsieur Collier…perhaps he could help? Though he had no legal authority over Suzette or her treatment of Erik, at least he could offer a sympathetic ear and perhaps some sage advice. So drying her red and swollen eyes, she rushed into town, asking directions from anyone she met, desperate to locate the law firm where Jacque Collier worked. Yet when Anna arrived at the two-story, stone building, she found it locked up tight. She rang the bell, beat on the door and called out, but to no avail. It was a Sunday afternoon and nothing was open, all the shops and businesses closed to the public. Anna's tears had begun once more as she beat frantically against the unyielding wood, feeling desperate and helpless. Her voice must have carried for just then, two uniformed policemen came around the corner, spotting the frantic woman and heading towards her. A paralyzing fear gripped Anna, thinking that perhaps Suzette had not kept her word after all, and had notified the Gendarmes of her assault and destruction of property. Would Madame Trouville truly have been so cruel? It did not take long for Anna to answer that question, and abandoning her attempts to locate Jacque Collier, she fled, leaving the officers calling for her to stop as she raced through the streets and alleyways. When she at last felt she had eluded them, Anna stopped to take a breath, leaning against the stone wall as she prayed for direction.

That was when she heard it…the sound of a train whistle, blowing in the distance. Reaching into the pocket of her apron, Anna pulled out the fistful of bills Suzette had given her. Could she do it? Her heart begged her not to, yet her mind reasoned that she would be of no use to Erik if she were locked up in prison. If she remained free, she might be able to come up with a plan to rescue him from his attic prison…yet behind bars, she would be just as much a captive as he. Every fiber of her being ached at the thought of leaving her darling little boy…for abandoning him in any way went against her very nature. Still, the shrill whistle of the train called to her, promising freedom and the chance to return to save the boy. And so, with feet that felt like they were made of lead, she walked the few blocks to the train station, her eyes once more filling with tears.

There was one last train leaving that day, heading north to Germany. Anna knew no one in that country, but it was her only choice and she realized if she stayed, her next night would be spent behind bars, compliments of Suzette. So purchasing a one way ticket, she climbed aboard and prayed that she would find a way to one day return to France…and to Erik.

As the hours ticked by and the miles between them grew, Anna was forced to admit just how lost and alone she was in the world. No husband, no friends and only a few francs left in her pocket, leaving her with very few options. So with nowhere to turn, the once celebrated diva of Paris decided to return to her home country in the north. Her father had sent her away from their small village in Sweden at a young age, but she did recall once meeting an aunt and assorted cousins who had lived in another town. And as she spent more and more of her precious money to secure passage further north, Anna prayed that they still lived and might offer her refuge.

The trip had been long and arduous, made worse by the aching in her heart over the loss of Erik. What would become of him? Would Suzette treat him even worse than before, or would she leave him blessedly alone, allowing him to exist in relative safety in exchange for the income his sad little life offered her? She prayed nightly that it would be the latter.

Upon her arrival in Sweden, she quickly located the relative she sought, her Aunt Emma. Amid many tears, Anna explained her situation and begged for refuge from the bitter winter that had just set in. Thankfully her aunt was a benevolent soul and allowed her to stay within her home in exchange for her help and assistance. Emma's own children had long since grown and moved away, beginning their own lives and leaving the elderly woman quite alone. And as the winter snow began to fall, keeping the pair housebound for days at a time, they grew close, enjoying each other's company more and more.

Yet each night, Anna would open her window and look to the south, towards France, and pray for Erik's safety. More than once she had thought of trying to send a letter to Monsieur Collier begging him to look in on Erik, yet not only was she unsure if she recalled the address correctly, but what if her missives fell into the wrong hands, thus giving away her location. She would not put it past Suzette to somehow entice the Gendarmes to search her out in Sweden, still claiming that she assaulted her and destroyed her valuables. Writing to Erik was also out of the question, since not only would Suzette never allow him to see such correspondence, she might see them as a challenge to her authority over the boy and punish Erik for her attempt. As it stood, Anna had no idea how she would keep her promise, now completely broke and living off the good graces of others, but she knew if she did not return before those two years were up, Erik would be lost to her forever. She hoped the threat Suzette's father had laid out would protect him until then, but once Erik reached the age of ten…oh, but Anna could not even conceive the horrors that awaited that poor innocent boy. No matter what, Anna was determined to make her way back to France and rescue Erik from such a fate.

When spring at last melted the ice and snow, Anna set out looking for employment, eager to somehow earn some money while still remaining with her aunt to offer assistance. Thanks to the meager cooking skills she had learned, much in part to Erik's fine instruction as he read from the cookbook, she was able to secure a position at a local inn. Anna spent her days baking many sweets and pastries to serve the guests who ate and talked in the common room downstairs, often enjoying a song or two provided by local musicians. A few of them were quite good, some barely passable while one or two were tossed out on their backside by the innkeeper for offending their customers' discerning ears.

One musician, however, caught Anna's attention: a handsome violinist with chestnut brown hair and piercing blue eyes, who was perhaps a few years older than herself. He came to play three times a week, enthralling the patrons with his magnificent talent and casting longing looks at the comely pastry cook they kept hidden in the back. He would find any excuse he could to slip into the kitchen, just for the chance to speak with her. At first Anna ignored him, her past experience with men leaving her wary and untrusting. Yet his kind smile and gentle eyes won her over little by little, until the day came when he asked if he might walk her home…and she agreed.

That had been the start of an amazing, whirlwind courtship between Anna Silberg and Charles Daae. And by the end of summer, when he got down on one knee and asked for her hand in marriage, he had so completely won over her heart, that Anna could offer him no other reply but yes!

Explaining her obligation to her now bedridden aunt, the two newlyweds moved in with Emma. To the elderly woman's enjoyment, they both took marvelous care of her until her death several months later, leaving this world warm and satisfied with her years.

Anna had long since explained to Charles that while she wanted to be everything to him a wife should be, there was no chance that they could ever have children. Not only due to her advancing age, but primarily because she was barren. This disappointed him greatly, but his love for Anna superseded any craving for a child and he swore he would just have to shower all his extra love on her instead. And for a time this proved to be enough for him.

Yet on a chilly day in May, as Anna walked home in a daze from the doctor's office, she knew the focus of his sole affections would soon be changed forever.

"A baby?" Charles asked, his eyes wide with shock. "I thought you said…that you couldn't…" he was unable to finish his sentence due to the fact that he felt the sudden need to sit down.

"I thought for sure that I couldn't," Anna explained. Though now that she thought back, none of the physicians had been able to explain her inability to conceive. During all the exams, all the tests, they had always pronounced her quite healthy. "Perhaps…perhaps it was Walter who could not father children?"

"Well," Charles said, at last able to rise to his feet and take her in his loving embrace. "It would appear that was the case, since you will soon be having my child!" At this he swept her into his arms and spun her around, causing them both to burst with laughter. "A baby! We are going to have a baby! What would you like it to be, a boy or a girl?" he asked.

"I…I don't know," she answered truthfully, for she had never considered it a viable prospect before this. Yet as she thought of giving birth to a son, her face fell and tears sprang to her eyes.

"Anna…what is wrong?" Charles begged, sitting her down on his lap as he cradled his now weeping wife close to him, soothing her with sweet words. "Tell me why you cry, my lamb."

"There is something about my past I have failed to tell you, my husband," she confessed, never yet having had the courage to share this with him. The time was growing short though, and if she did not find a way to return to France soon, it would be too late. Yet how could she explain to Charles her need to liberate a deformed boy from the clutches of his evil mother, a wicked woman who would send her son to his doom in a little less than six months. So many nights she had lain awake, agonizing over how to tell him about her need to save Erik, yet the words would not come and she feared losing him if she spoke up too soon. However, now with the thought of having her own child, Anna knew she needed to confess this almost frantic need to her husband. "In my heart I…I already have a son…and his name is Erik Trouville."

Charles Daae sat there, holding his wife as she poured out her heart to him, telling of the amazing boy she had once had the privilege of caring for. How he was a musical genius, smart as a whip, kind-hearted and desperately in need of love. Her husband did not say a word the entire time she spoke, her tragic tale of Erik's life often coming out through sobs as she finally explained the circumstances that surrounded their parting.

"I swore I would find a way to go back to him," she revealed at last. "I told him I would never forget him." Anna fell silent, not sure how Charles would react to this news. She had been betrayed before by the man she loved, though last time it was over the sin of not giving him a child. This time she might lose her mate for the mistake of offering him one.

"Well then," Charles said at last, his tone revealing nothing to her worried and distressed mind. "I suppose we must find a way to go get him then, for I cannot have my tender-hearted wife being called a liar for going back on her word, now can I?"

Anna's head jerked up as she stared at her husband, dumbfounded by his offer.

"You mean it?" she gasped, afraid she had somehow misunderstood him. "You…you would go to France and help me rescue Erik?"

"I do not know the boy or his situation and neither have I formed any affection for him like you. But I know and love you, my wife, and on your word alone I have confidence that I will come to care for the child in time," Charles assured her, leaning down and kissing her lips gently. "You are my wife and your pain is my pain, just as your happiness is mine as well. I would do anything to see you smile, Anna. Even become father to a desperate boy who obviously needs a good home and family. On this day you have twice blessed me, for God willing, I will soon have two children."

~XXX~

And so, almost two years from the day she left France, Anna stood in front of the old house built by Henri Trouville, gripping her husband's hand out of fear and excitement. Charles Daae was truly an exceptional man to have come all this way on her guarantees alone that he would love the little boy.

She stared up at the attic windows, straining her eyes against the sun in hopes of seeing some sign that Erik yet lived and had survived their forced parting. All the way from Sweden to France she had prayed she would find him safe. Many times Charles had caught her staring out the window of their train car, lost in her memories as her hand caressed the swell of her stomach where their baby grew inside. Would Erik have forgotten her? Would he think she had forgotten him? She had sworn she would return, and Anna prayed that he had believed her - enough to keep him going over the two long years they were apart.

With Charles at her side, Anna found her courage exceeded that which she had possessed the last time she knocked at this door, alone, desperate and seeking employment. Yet this time she felt strong, confident and ready to take on Suzette Trouville, not willing to leave that house a second time without Erik in tow.

It was a long time before their knock was answered, and once again the door was opened only a crack as the familiar face of Suzette came into view. Yet it was not the same prideful countenance Anna remembered that stared back at her, but instead that of a haggard woman, one beaten down and laid low by life. This frightened Anna, for if Suzette appeared this horrible, what might Erik look like as well?

"Who are you?" Suzette spat, squinting her eyes as she glared at Anna and Charles.

Anna opened her mouth but found she could not speak, the past fears and emotions building up in her until she was left mute. She did however feel a measure of pride at seeing Suzette was still missing the tooth she had knocked out at their parting.

Seeing his wife's distress, Charles spoke up in her place.

"I am Charles Daae and this is my wife Anna…we have come to negotiate for the boy, for Erik," he explained, his tone firm and unyielding.

"You what?" Suzette questioned, opening the door a bit wider as she stared at the two of them in wonder. "You came looking for that… thing?"

"Erik is not a thing!" Anna shouted, coming out of her trance at Suzette's harsh words. "He is an exceptional child, the likes of which you could never understand!"

"YOU!" Suzette gasped, suddenly recognizing Anna from her vehement defense of her unwanted son. "I thought I told you never to come back here! I could have you arrested for trespassing!"

"Yet if you did," Charles countered, placing his arm protectively around his wife's waist. "You would never hear the proposition we have for you, one that involves quite a bit of money, I might add."

Anna knew that Charles was stretching the truth a bit about the amount of currency he was offering. Before leaving Sweden they had mortgaged their house and borrowed every bit they could, in hopes of it being enough to sway the money-grubbing Suzette into releasing Erik to them.

"Money?" Madame Trouville's eyebrows rose in interest, the man before her having said the exact thing to spark her attention.

"Yes…may we come in?" he inquired, stepping forward and practically pushing his way inside, not allowing Suzette a chance to object. Anna was pulled along beside him and as she entered, she let out a gasp of horror at the state the house was in. Gone was most of the furniture, the decorations and the knick-knacks that had once adorned the parlor. A thick layer of dust covered every surface, even worse than when she had come the first time. Had the house not been cleaned once since she left? What had happened?

"You said you were offering money…how much and for what exactly?" Suzette pressed, not even bothering to appear embarrassed by the disgraceful conditions she was living in.

"We are willing to offer you a substantial amount, in exchange for you turning over custody of the boy you keep in the attic. For Erik," Charles bargained with her. "We know that your deal with your father will expire in just a few months and the money we offer you now could last you quite a long time if you do not spend it frivolously. Now, what say you…will you give us the boy?"

Anna was half expecting Suzette to fly into a rage and throw them out of the house or call for the Gendarmes, but she was most assuredly not prepared for what the woman did next. Madame Trouville began to laugh.

"Oh, this is rich!" she said between snorts of humor. "You come here asking me to hand him over, when all this time I imagined he was with you! I thought you had come back and stolen him away long ago, that you and the little monster had outsmarted me after all. I guess I was wrong."

"What?" Anna's heart sank. "He…he is not here?"

"Hasn't been for almost a year," she confessed, still chuckling to herself over this unexpected turn of events. "I went to feed him one day and he was gone…simply vanished. I have no idea how he managed to free himself with the padlock on the outside of his room, but there it was, lying useless on the floor. That little ghost probably learned how to walk through walls."

"You…you are lying!" Anna shouted at Suzette, panic radiating through her voice. "Erik knew I was coming back…he would have waited! You are hiding him…he is still here, he has to be!"

"You think I'm lying?" she scoffed, taking a cautionary step back at seeing the frantic look in Anna's eyes. "Go then, check for yourself. Search every alcove and behind every piece of furniture - shouldn't take long now that there is hardly anything left. After that ungrateful brat ran away my father cut me off. No more kid meant no more money and I had to sell everything I could in order to feed and clothe myself. I am living in abject poverty thanks to him, I have nothing left and it is all his fault."

Tears had sprung to Anna's eyes at Suzette's words. Not because of any sense of compassion for her plight, but at the idea that she might be telling the truth – that Erik was no longer there. Why had he not waited…why had he not trusted that she would return? Perhaps things had become too bad for him, his evil mother treating him so wickedly that he was forced to flee in order to protect himself. Why had she not come sooner…why? Yet Anna was not about to take Suzette's word on this, she had to find out for herself.

Leaving Charles and Suzette in the parlor, Anna hurried up the stairs, as quickly as the slight swell of her stomach would allow, yelling the boy's name as she went. When she reached his door she found it unlocked and ajar, something Madame Trouville would never have allowed if Erik still resided within. Pushing the door open, she stepped inside, once more calling out to him as she was greeted by nothing but empty space. The room was a mess, the rugs having long ago been ripped from the window by the harsh winds, allowing leaves and debris to litter the floor, and everywhere she looked there were only signs of abandonment. Yet Anna could not shake the fear that Erik may not have left of his own accord. What if Suzette was lying? What if her father had felt the need to punish her further and withdrew his monetary support early, causing her to no longer need Erik? Had she sent him to the lunatic asylum like she threatened…or heaven forbid, done away with him in a fit of rage?

Anna had to know for sure.

Turning around, her eyes fell upon the wall that housed Erik's secret hiding place, still appearing like nothing more than the rest of the room's dilapidated paneling. Crouching down before it, she pressed the secret spot that released an unseen lever, allowing the door to swing open. Holding her breath she looked inside, praying that what she would find would ease her troubled mind. Before her lay Erik's father's books, a stack of paper covered with both drawings and music, but much to her infinite relief…no paper swan! Erik had indeed left of his own volition, for if he had been forced out or murdered, the swan would still be there. The fact that it was missing told her that he had taken it with him, a thought that not only touched her heart, but sent waves of relief throughout her body. Erik was gone…but at least he was free. He had not been sent away, or locked up in some hellish prison, only to be beaten and starved for the simple crime of his pitiful little face.

Yet…where was he now? He may have left of his own free will, but what had become of him since? Over the past two years she had always envisioned him here, waiting for her to return, but now a new horror took hold. Erik was alone in the world, wandering aimlessly and possibly searching for her! This thought brought a fresh set of tears to her eyes as she reached in and removed the books and papers, clutching them to her chest as her only tangible link to the boy she had grown to love. Was this all she would ever have of him? The only things to remember him by? She looked around the room, desperately searching for something he might have left behind, anything that could tell her where he had gone. But the room was empty. So with one last look around, she quietly shut the door and made her way back down to the parlor, her steps this time much more subdued.

When Charles saw his distraught wife reappear, he hurried to her side, searching her eyes for any sign of hope. When she collapsed in his arms and sobbed into his chest, he knew the truth – her precious Erik was indeed gone.

"I told you the little beast had left," Suzette scoffed, unaffected by Anna's sorrow. "I suppose I can take a bit of comfort in the knowledge that he is not living in some warm house with plenty to eat and drink like I have been imagining all this time, while I am left here to starve."

Suzette's words were barely out of her mouth when she saw Anna break away from her husband and lunge towards her, her hand raised to deliver a punishing blow for the horrible things she had just said. Suzette stumbled backwards, a cry of fear escaping her lips as she imagined another tooth falling victim to the woman's fist of iron. Yet before Anna could land her blow, Charles sprang forward and grabbed her arm, holding it at bay.

"Anna!" Charles cried out in shock, doing his best to steady his wife, her fist still quaking with the urge to silence Suzette. "Think of the baby!" he warned, watching her cringe at his words, her eyes glancing towards her stomach. Though Anna had long ago confessed to having knocked out Suzette's tooth at their parting, Charles had never seen this side of his wife first hand before - this wild and protective she-cat with claws. And while he was grateful that she seemed to have calmed down at his reminder of their unborn child, he found he rather liked this side of her!

"You were never fit to care for a houseplant, let alone a child as special as Erik!" Anna shouted at Suzette. "If I thought it would help or bring Erik back I would happily beat you senseless and feel no remorse over the deed. Yet if I did, that would make me no better than you and I will never dishonor Erik's memory by such a sinful deed. I hope you rot in this house, this prison of your own making, and on your deathbed you lament the wickedness of your life and all the suffering you have caused that innocent child. He deserved better than you for a mother….he deserved much better!" And still grasping the few treasures Erik had left behind, Anna turned on her heels and stormed from the house, never looking back.

Erik was gone and that house now held nothing but grief for her. She would forget it existed, forget such evil as Suzette lived in this world…but she would never forget Erik.

She was vaguely aware that Charles was beside her as they made their way out the rusty old gate and headed back to the train station, the astute man never saying a word. It was not until they were far enough away that there was no chance Suzette might see, that Anna at last broke down, falling to her knees in the grass by an old tree. Laying Erik's things down, she sobbed into her hands, feeling the comforting arms of her husband as they wrapped around her from behind. Charles lovingly pulled her into the safety of his chest as he rocked her back and forth.

"I am sorry Anna, so very sorry," he said, doing his best to comfort her. "You did all you could…it was just not meant to be."

"He trusted me, Charles. He was counting on me to save him," she cried, unable to stop. "Now he is out there, somewhere, all alone and frightened."

"We don't know that," he countered. "For all you know he has found himself a fine home, a new life and a better future. If he is as smart and talented as you say, there is no telling how he might be living now. You must have faith, Anna. You cannot give up hope."

"I will never give up hope of seeing him again," she assured her kind-hearted husband. "I will never stop loving him either."

"I never expected that you would, my lamb," Charles nodded. "That is why I fell in love with you, for your amazing capacity to love. After all, you took pity on a tired old musician such as me, didn't you?"

His words caused her to smile slightly, yet the aching in her heart over the loss of Erik could not be soothed that easily. But as she looked down, running her hand over her stomach and imagining the child that grew within, Anna knew she could not let this grief consume her. A new life was counting on her, one she swore would never know the horrors that Erik had needlessly suffered.

"I will protect you always, my darling one," she whispered to her unborn child. "You will never know hunger, never know loneliness and you will always know you are loved. I am just so terribly sorry that you will not have a big brother here to greet you when you arrive. That you will never know the amazing man Erik was destined to become."

"We should go, Anna," Charles announced after a bit. "If we hurry we might be able to catch an earlier train back home. There is no reason to stay any longer."

"Yes….this town only holds bad memories now that Erik is gone," Anna agreed, then something occurred to her. "But first, I need to go see a man."

"A man? What man?" Charles tried to keep the twinge of jealousy out of his tone, but he knew he had failed. It was something he had dealt with many times before, his extreme aversion to having men stare at his beautiful wife wherever they went. For even in her mid-thirties, Anna was still a stunning woman, one whose inner beauty lit up a room just as much as her outward appearance. Charles knew he would never stop feeling possessive of the treasure he had found.

"A Monsieur Collier," Anna told him, squeezing his hand as she did indeed notice his slightly jealous comment. "He was Erik's father's lawyer and he needs to know that even though Erik has run away…that the heir to the Trouville fortune does indeed exist. I do not want him to believe any rumors or Suzette's word on the matter should he choose to investigate. I can only pray we find Erik soon, so I can tell him about his inheritance, but if he does not show up to claim his money when he comes of age, Monsieur Collier needs to know why. I have to tell him the truth…he needs to know Erik is alive. Or…at least I pray that he is."

"Shhhhh, Anna, don't even think that way," Charles soothed, running the palm of his hand over her hair in a comforting gesture.

"I know…it's just…I can't help but worry," she confessed. "He is so little…so young and so desperately alone. He needs me, just as much as I need him." She then turned her head into his chest, burying her face in his protective warmth. "Could you please hold me for a little longer…just hold me?"

"Forever," Charles promised.

With that, Anna gripped his shirt tighter and nestled further into her husband's embrace, sobbing uncontrollably until there were no tears left.

Well? Did you see that coming? That Anna is Christine's mom? I would think that fact that she married Charles Daae, and is currently pregnant, was a dead give away, ha ha. Some of you had already guessed this little plot twist...you smart cookies...but I HOPE I was able to shock a few of my readers. DID I?

Ok, so now Erik is in the wind...But don't worry, we will be seeing him in the very next chapter.

I think Suzette is getting her 'reward in full' now with her horrible life and the fact she is destitute. It is the LEAST she deserves, grrrrrrrrrr.

Charles is pretty nice though, right? Willing to adopt Erik on just her say so.

Ok, get ready for the MAIN part of the story to begin in the next chapter...hang on to your hats, my lovelies, we are jumping in with both feet!

Reviews please?