Thank you for all of the wonderful, encouraging reviews. I'm sorry about the cliff-hanger last chapter, hopefully this one makes up for it! :)

(Madame Giry)

'Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatae Mariae semper Virgini, omnibus Sanctis, et vobis, fratres (et tibi pater),quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo et opere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem, omnes Sanctos, et vos, fratres (et te, pater), orare pro me ad Dominum Deum nostrum. Amen.' Madame Giry whispered, her lips moving rapidly as she clutched her porcelain rosary between her clasped hands, her eyes closed as she kneeled before the crucifix that stood proud, the sole adornment of the small chapel within the Opera Populiare.

"Forgive me father. I have betrayed the man who relied upon me so heavily. I pray that you will forgive me." Her words echoed around the cavern of the small blessed room, and she raised her pleading eyes to the simple cross.

"Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen." The porcelain beads slipped from between her fingertips as the tears spilled from beneath her closed lips.

xXx

(Christine)

"Hello Christine." He slurred, swaying slightly on his feet as he stood, propped against the curve of the staircase banister.

"R..Ra..Raoul. What are you doing here?" She asked, but was interrupted by Erik.

"It's you. I thought I was clear last time. You were never to come near myself or Christine ever again. I told you that. But perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough." He roared, his voice dropping at the last sentence to deadly whisper as he broke from the grasp of Christine's hand and stepped forward menacingly.

"She's mine. She has always been mine. From that first moment, upon that windswept beach, you belonged to me." The raised the bottle of aged brandy to his lips, the amber liquid spilling from the corner of his lips as he swallowed like a fish. "I must say, you do have a fine taste in spirits. Perhaps I shall take them home with me later, along with my Christine." Wiping the beads of alcohol from his mouth that clung to the stubble of his beard, took a step forward towards them, staggering heavily.

"Never." Erik roared, and before Christine could stop him, Erik had pounced upon him, his hands locked around his throat in a deadly grip, and he slammed him into the wall, his thumb angling Raoul's jaw so that eyes locked; Raoul's sky blue, watery bloodshot eyes met Erik's molten golden sharp pools.

"This will be the last time that I ever warn you. Next time you should not be so lucky." He spat, a smirk upon his lips as he watched Raoul struggle limply against his grip. "If it were not for my beautiful wife standing across the hall way, I would do far worse to your pretty little face." He growled low into Raoul's ear, his twisted lips curling nastily.

"Christine, my Christine, you cannot want to spend your life chained to this monster." He snarled mockingly, and Erik tightened his grip on Raoul's throat until his eyes bulged and his skin became a mottled deathly blue.

"Erik, please. Don't strangle him. I won't lose you to him. If you squeeze any tighter, he will die and so will you, when the police catch you." She said pleadingly, watching as with a snarl Erik loosened his grip, the white of his knuckles returning to normal, his hand remaining threatening around his neck, waiting, testing.

"You have no reason to be here Monsieur. It is because of you that we had to leave before. You will not terrorize us again. Am I clear?" He asked, and when Raoul refused to answer, Erik shook him until his eyes rolled within his skull.

"Perfectly Monsieur." He spat, and a globule of saliva flew from between his lips and landed with a spat against the jagged indentation of Erik's cheek, dripping slowly over the bumps and dents of his skin and Christine gasped in disgust and horror, her hand twitching at her side, begging to slap and scratch at that smooth skin until it bled.

"I could snap your neck with a twitch of my hand. Do not forget my power, Monsieur. I am a trained killer. And I would. How I long to." His voice like a blade, deep and deadly, cut through the sound of Raoul's laboured breathing, and he chuckled.

"Are you trying to scare me? I have spent months trying to find my love. I have spent thousands of francs, desperate for information as to your whereabouts. I am nearly bankrupt, my life is a mess. I had everything, everything. Beauty, wealth, my choice of women... But I want no one, nothing, but my Christine. I will not leave here without her. You will not stop me." He slurred, his tongue thick and heavy within his mouth. He needed another drink. The bottle of sweet amber nectar was within his grasp. If only he get it to his lips.

Deciding that she must intervene, or Erik would do something that he would regret, she stepped over the picnic items and walked slowly up to Erik's side, laying her hand gently upon his arm where it remained tightly clenched, his muscled locked, and he slowly turned his face to hers, his lips curled back in a snarl, and her cool, loving gaze met his.

"My love, I will speak to him. He will listen to me, I promise you. He will be gone soon, and we get back to normal. I relish the idea of the drink you promised me." She said with a smile, her hand cupping his rough cheek, and slowly, so slowly that she feared he would change his mind, he lowered his arms from around Raoul's neck, and stepped back behind Christine, his arm creeping around her waist, showing him that she was his, that she had chosen to be his, and that she always would be.

"Raoul. Please, do not do this. I love Erik. He is my husband. I have chosen to be with him, I have pledged to spend the rest of my life with him before God because I love with every fibre of my being." She said quietly, her sweet voice thick with emotion as she tried to retain the tears that threatened to fall at the apparition of her childhood friend and sweetheart before her.

"You cannot love him Christine. You love me, I know you do." He protested, and she pressed a slim finger to his lips lightly to silence him, the diamond of her wedding ring sparkling in the natural glow of daylight, highlighting her eternal attachment to another man.

"What happened to the little boy who ran into the sea to fetch my red silk scarf, who would share dark stories of the north and goblins and elves?" She searched his watery eyes for the last remnants of the boy she once knew, for this man before her was nothing like him.

"He grew up. He became a man who vowed to keep the promise he had made to you as a child to be your protector, to keep you safe from all of the horrors of the world. I would be failing you if I let you stay here with this horror. He has admitted himself that he is a killer. He could hurt you Christine, he could kill you. You saw the way he had his hands around my neck. Your neck is slim, it would break easier. I cannot leave you here." A wild, crazed look entered his eyes, and she stepped back from him, raising her hands instinctively to protect herself.

"Raoul, I do not love you. I love Erik. I want to be with him." She whispered, terrified by the gleam of his eyes, and he shook his head rapidly.

"You do, you do. You do love me. You will love me too." Raising his arm, he brought it down against her cheek, sending her to the floor, and he kicked he sent his boot into his stomach before Erik could restrain him. She curled in on herself, tears streaming from her eyes, and her hand pressed to her stomach, caressing their child that grew within.

"You bastard. You will get out of my house now and never come back or I swear it upon my unborn child's life that you will die." He roared, hauling Raoul to his feet and slamming him into the wall, his jaw connecting with the plaster.

"You will rue the day that you spurned my love, Christine. I only wished that I had kicked harder, ridding you of that...Devil's spawn that is sucking the life from you." He spat, and staggered to the door, followed closely by Erik.

Christine rose slowly to her feet, and with slow, faltering steps, she walked to Erik's side, grasping his hand firmly within her own for support, her knees shaking beneath her. She could not believe that this was the same man who had done so much for her and would now hurt her and punish her for loving another.

Turning upon his heel, he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers, his foul breath reeking of stale alcohol and smoke, and her lips moved unwittingly against his. She pressed her hands to his chest, and pushed him from her, wiping her mouth and the taste of his from her lips.

"You will get out now." Erik roared, and flinging the door wide, he grasped Raoul by the collar of his coat and pushed him outside, shutting the door behind him with a bang. As the door closed, Christine collapsed within his arms, her face pressed to the skin above his beating heart, and she breathed deep, revelling in the scent of her true love. His arms wrapped tight around her, his hand cupping the back of her head, cupping her skull within his hands and his hands twisted within her loose curls.

"You are the one that I love Erik. For ever and for always." She said, and rising to her tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his, her hands creeping up the length of his spine to hold him close to her. She came undone under his ministrations, her senses overwhelmed. She loved him so much, so much that it hurt her. The feel of his swollen, twisted lips against hers made her knees shake, and pulled him close to hold herself up. Their breathing harsh and ragged, she knew that this was where she wanted to be forever. She could love no one more than she loved her Erik. The fear, the drug abuse, it all meant nothing when she knew that he loved her.

"I love you so much, I love, I love, I love." She whispered into his ear, knowing that no matter what problems they faced together, they would always be strong, because their love could endure anything.

xXx

(Raoul)

He stumbled back to his carriage through the garden, stumbling over his feet and roots and plants, not knowing where he was going, or caring. He knew that he had been defeated, that she would never be his.

The gates appeared, and he leant heavily against them, his fingers grasping the trailing iron framework for support.

"Monsieur le Vicompte, let me help you into the carriage." His driver, Henri, walked up to the other side of the gate, and opening it, he stepped through and threw a supporting arm around his shoulders, guiding him back to the carriage.

"There you are Monsieur. I shall take you directly home, and ask the cook to make you something to eat. You look like you could do with a proper breakfast." He said, and with a nod, closed the door behind Raoul and climbed up onto the front of the carriage. Shaking the reins, the horses shook their heads and the carriage rolled off.

Through the window of his carriage, he watched the house, their house until it disappeared out of view. That would be the last time that he would ever see her. His hand straying to his inner pocket, he drew out his revolver, turning it over slowly within his hands, admiring the indentations upon the barrel and the smoothly worn trigger. How easy it would be to end it all. To place the barrel to his temple, to pull, and then nothing. Bliss. He had lost the love of his life, what else did he have to live for?

He had never feared death. Too many people he had cared for had died before their time. Opening his plump, smooth lips, he placed the barrel inside until it reached the back of his throat, choking him. It was now or never. He had lost. He was defeated. That freak had won the ultimate prize, and he was the loser. His finger strayed to the trigger, and with thoughts of Christine, he pulled, a smile upon his lips.

Thank you so much for reading. I know, when I wrote this chapter, I couldn't quite believe what was happening either. My hands seemed to write without my brain being fully engaged. Anyway, here is a translation of the two Latin prayers that Madame Giry speaks.

I confess to almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to all the saints, and to you my brothers (and to thee, father) that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore, I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, to pray for me to the Lord our God. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.