Chapter 10: A New Beginning
Raoul was arrested for his crimes and immediately taken away by authorities.
It was at the same time that Bella stood a few steps behind Erik as he placed a fresh bouquet of roses on Christine's grave before leaning down and pressed a kiss to the memorial plaque,
"I'm sorry that I couldn't save you" he whispered, closing his eyes sadly as Bella came to his side and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder,
"Erik... Is there anything I can do?" she asked, not being able to bare to see him so sad and he stood to full height before taking her hand in his own and pressed a kiss to its surface,
"You have already done more for me than you you, Bella... You gave Christine back to me. All this time since I lost her... I thought that I wasn't enough for her but... You reminded me that she regretted betraying me and now... I can finally lay all those bad memories to rest" Erik told her as he entwined his fingers with her own as they began walking back towards the Chateau,
"I was told that your father has finally paid off his debt so that would me you are no longer chained to your promise to me" Erik informed her causing Bella to frown,
"Well... I can understand if you wanted me to stay... Raoul mentioned how there... was a resemblance between me and Christine" Bella said timidly and Erik immediately stopped so that Bella would do the same and he looked at her with a frown,
"Bella... There is certainly no resemblance between you and Christine. If I wanted you to stay then it would be because of an entirely different reason" he told her whilst brushing the back of his hand against her cheek,
"My secret recipe for Victoria sponge?" she asked causing Erik to chuckle,
"No... But perhaps you could whip one of those up for when you join me for dinner tonight?" he asked with a charming smile as they began walking again and Bella couldn't help but giggle,
"Hmmmmmm, I don't know it's a bit last minuet considering that you haven't asked me to join you for dinner tonight" she pointed out teasingly and Erik chuckled once more before pulling her close to him as he began dancing with her playfully,
"Bella... Would you do me the honour of joining me for dinner tonight?" he asked and Bella giggled in delight as she danced with him,
"The honour would be mine, my prince" she teased back as they finally made it back to the Chateau.
Erik and Bella had a wonderful dinner together that ended with Erik walking Bella back to her room,
"I think I'm going to have to add your Victoria sponge to my daily menu" Erik told her causing Bella to giggle,
"I'll think about it" she said back as the came to her room,
"Thank you for a wonderful evening" Erik said, lifting her hand and pressing a kiss to its surface,
"Goonight, Erik" Bella said softly before heading into her room and closed the door behind her and Erik began heading back to his study but found himself pausing just as Bella was doing the same and she soon opened the door,
"Erik?" she called after him and he looked back towards her and there was silence between them but they soon rushed towards each other and shared a passionate kiss,
"This was the entirely different reason why I wanted you to stay" Erik whispered against her lips,
"This was the reason I was hoping you would want me to stay for" she whispered back as Erik rested her forehead against her own,
"I... I love you Bella" Erik whispered causing her to look at him stunned,
"Will you stay... for me?" he asked and Bella smiled softly before removing his mask gently and cupped his disfigured cheek,
"I love you too... Of course I'll stay" she whispered and Erik smiled brightly before pulling her close for another passionate kiss.
Since that day, Peace returned to the valley and not one resident was every poor again thanks to Prince Erik restoring all the money he had taxed from them. Erik was finally able to once again compose music without sour notes; Something he hadn't been able to do since the death of Christine,
"I'm proud of you, Erik" Bella told him as they looked out at the now flourishing valley,
"There's just one last thing left to do" Erik told her before offering a ring box to her and she looked stunned,
"Erik... We... We haven't known each other long enough" Bella told him with an uncertain expression on her face,
"I know that but... Another thing I know is that I don't want to wake up another day without you by my side" Erik told her softly causing a tear of happiness to fall down Bella's cheek,
"Yes" she whispered,
"Yes?" Erik pressed unbelievably,
"Yes... Yes, yes a thousand times Yes" she said before kissing him passionately as Erik smiled brightly before pulling away so he could remove the ring from its box before placing it on her finger and pressed a kiss to the diamond,
"I love you, Bella" Erik whispered,
"I love you too, Erik" Bella whispered back before hugging him close and he instantly hugged her back.
…. And so it was safe to say that Erik, Bella and all the residence of the valley lived happily ever after.
I hope you all enjoyed 'A Phantom's Tale' :) Please review and let me know what you thought of the overall story!
Kind Regards,
TheAuthor1996