That last one was tough one too, eh? Thank you for all your reviews and to those who have chosen to follow and favor this story. I appreciate your support more than words can say.
Please forgive me, as this chapter is a bit longer than most.
Wait…. I had to double check…. Yep, I still own nothing!
"Where are my leads? This is absurd. I let them go for an afternoon; it has now been three days."
Andre was indeed in a frantic state. No one from the Opera House has seen Erik or Christine since the day he publically proposed. Rumors were circling that they had eloped. Meg was doing her best to avoid the inquisition, but the ballet rats were relentless. She realized it was better to skip rehearsal until her uncle and best friend returned. Hence, leaving Andrea with no prima ballerina, no tenor and no leading diva.
"Antoinette, thank goodness you are here." He rushed to Madame Giry's side when she walked into the theatre.
"Andre what is it? You look horribly flustered."
"What is it? May I remind you that for the past three days, I haven't seen your brother, also known as our lead or our leading lady? To make matters worse, Meg has not shown up here today. What is happening to our cast?"
Madame Giry laughed it off. "Andre calm down. Meg is home sick with a cold. I thought it be best to have her rest and not overdo it."
"Sick with a cold? Wonderful...And pray tell, where is your brother and Mademoiselle Daae? Do they too have a cold?"
She pretended to be nonplussed, even thought she worried about her two lost souls. "Andre, I am not my brother's keeper. As far as Christine is concerned, I am sure they are together and will return when they are ready."
He shook his head. "I manage to cast a diva in both parts. What are we to do?"
"Can't you work with the chorus?"
"What do you think I have been doing these past three days when not working with Meg? Besides, your brother made his opera cater to the character of Amita. No Amita, no opera."
Madame Giry thought of a reply quickly. "Mademoiselle Daae has been under the instruction of Erik Dexter since she was a child. I have no doubt she could perform this role tomorrow, if she had to. He has taught her well. As far as Erik is concerned…."
"But I need them to block numbers and the rest of the cast has not been born with Monsieur Dexter's talent nor been taught by him. Our time is precious."
She sighed in frustration. "Fine, use me." Erik, you better be making things right with Christine. I will make sure I collect for this.
"You?" He almost choked as he spoke.
"Certainly. Am I not suitable enough to block for the role of Amita?"
Dear God… "Uh well I suppose we could use you to block for the others and for the benefit of the lighting staff." He was about to agree when he realized they were one short. "What about our Don Juan?"
"Annie, you left the house so quickly you forgot your shawl. We can't have you catching cold." Nadir walked right into the theatre ignoring Andre and Antoinette's conversation as he spoke. He turned when he noticed both of them were staring at him. "What in the name of Allah are you two looking at?"
Andre grinned. "Let's get him up on the stage. We can forget make-up as I just need to see where the light hits you two as you move."
Madame Giry was pulling Nadir onto the stage. "Annie, what are you doing?"
"Let's just say we are helping out our dear friend until he can return to help us all. Trust me; his debt will be quite large. In the meantime, you better remember to keep you hands to yourself. We are only blocking these characters, not playing them out."
"That's the understatement of the year. He knew he would regret this, but motioned for her to lead on.
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"Can I love you?" Did he misunderstand her words? Did she really think that after all they had been to one another he could ever stop loving her?
"You ask me if I still love you." He laughed in disbelief. "Angel, I will love you until I release the very last breath from my body. Do you have any idea how I love you? I loved you when there was no hope you would ever return my love. I loved you when you went away. I loved you when you came back. Most of all, I love you for remaining right in here." He placed his hand over his heart.
"When you curse at yourself and ask if I still love you, stop and think about your actions. You are not the only one who hurts when you ask such a question. You hurt me deeply when you question the love I carry for you within me. This love is unconditional, undeniable and unbreakable. It pains me to have to reaffirm my feelings to you over doubt. Christine, I am yours and I always will be. No matter what you do or say or act or feel, my heart goes on for you." He turned away to wipe the tears that were shedding from his eyes.
"Erik!" She ran to him, and turned him around. "I'm sorry. I love you… I know you love me. How could I fail to know?"
"Then why Christine? Why do you torment yourself so? You were afraid. You were alone and yes, you didn't want to think about carrying that bastard's child, but the child was half yours. Half full of beauty and light. A baby isn't to blame for the sins of its father or mother. It is here to be cherished and you would never have abandoned that child."
"Erik, how can you be so sure?"
"You feel shame and remorse now, don't you?"
She trembled but remained silent.
"You have been hurt so terribly, and I know what happened was hard, but do not let it succeed in making you hard, my dear. You are still warm, and compassionate and loving, despite everything."
She shook her head in disbelief. "But I….."
"You are good." He moved to stand close beside her and touched her hand. He brought it to his chest. "You have a heart bigger than France. You would have seen past the horror and looked at the innocent eyes of that child. A child who would have had a voice just like yours."
"Angel, how can you be so sure? Answer me."
"Because I know your heart. You are not someone that judges from the outside. You are not….." He caught his breath as he thought of the woman he refused to let his thoughts trail back to. He then looked up at his Angel and spoke with conviction. "You are not Madeline."
Christie wanted to fall on her knees and beg Erik's forgiveness. Madeline…. His mother. The woman who wanted him dead the moment she bore him. The woman who condemned him to misery not for a mortal sin, but for the wickedness of his face. She went to feel his face and brought it to hers as she spoke.
"Angel, forgiven me. I never meant to …..I never would condemn anyone to the loveless childhood you had. I…. I couldn't have been like her, could I? No! It wasn't your fault that your face was different."
"As it wouldn't have been this child's fault who fathered her."
She brought him close to her and he secured his arms around her protectively. They were so close, that neither knew where one ended and the other began. "I want to believe you, but when it was over, I only felt….."
"Normal. Were you given a drug?"
She stopped and thought for a moment."Yes….. Fawn said my fever was…I had an infection and she had to take the baby out of me through a….."
"Cesarean."
"How did you know?"
"The gypsies provide a very well rounded education. The drug brought on a fever?"
She nodded, as she tried to understand how he knew all of this. "It was supposed to help me rest and forget about the pain and…."
"And what my love?" He held her steady.
"The loss." She brought her hands to her mouth. "Erik…"
"I know. I know. He gently took her hand and kissed her palms. "It was a terrible experience and the pain, the loss and the shame was worse than feeling nothing."
"All this time…..No, what am I saying? I still could never have had the child. I never would have come back to Paris. I never would have found you again."
"Why not? I told you we would have found one another some way. If a non-deformed face would still have brought us together, then so would your child."
"Angel, to ask you to care for another man's child….."
"Don't you see, it never would have been that to me. It would have been your child. Anything that is a part of you is not only worthy of love but it is a part of me too."
"Erik, I love you." She fell into him, and he carried her back down to the proactive roar of the fire.
"I love you too."He looked her without blinking for a few minutes and Christine questioned his gaze.
"What is it?"
"I …Forgive me. I know you should rest, but I can't help but wonder what happened after….. After you were well enough to leave. You didn't come straight to Paris did you?"
She shook her head. "No." She sighed "I…."
"Wait, Angel. I'm sorry No more needs to be said tonight. I…."
She caressed his check. "Erik, it's alright. You should know. I've kept you in the dark long enough. When I realized that Justin had saved my life….."
"Justin? Megan's Justin? Saved your life?"
Christine felt her heart stop. "You never were told. Please Angel, you have to understand when I realized who he was I swore him to secrecy, as I wanted to tell you myself but then…" She saw the hurt in his eyes. "I know you owe me nothing, but if you would allow me a moment to explain. This wasn't meant to be a betrayal. I did not choose Justin as a confidant over you."
For the first time, Erik's face was expressionless. Inside he wanted to physically harm himself when he realized that once again, his pride not only caused Christine pain, but he wasn't there to protect her. "I know." His voice was but a whisper for fear he would lose control. "I caused this nightmare and I couldn't help free you from it."
"What?" She sat up and placed her hands dominantly on his shoulders. "What are you saying? Are you getting lost in those voices again, because they need to shut up and be gone!"
He did a double take. "Angel it is my fault. I was the one who…."
"You were the one loving me and supporting me all night long. If I am ever able to accept and move on from the rape it will be because of you my Angel. My precious…. My everything."
"How did he help you?"
She realized she would have to tell Erik who his family was. "This may be more difficult than I planned. "Erik, Phillip and Raoul had a cousin. One night while I was locked up in their estate, he must have saw or heard something to suspect that something wasn't right. He followed Raoul and me to the marsh to find the woman who would do the…..Abortion. That cousin was Justin."
"He's Chagny's blood?" He them remembered the night he was shot. How he heard that Justin went with Phillip in his carriage. "He's with Megan? Does she..."
"Angel, yes Meg knows. Please, listen and breath."
He felt awful. Christine should not be comforting me. How is it that we each are able to find strength in the other? He steadied himself. "Go on."
"There were complications. Due to my inflection, if she had gone through it naturally I would have died. Raoul left the moment Justin came in. That selfless boy had to react quickly. His actions saved my life."
Erik bowed his head in guilt. "I will forever be in his debt."
"I never saw him again until Meg brought him to meet you. That's why I….
"Fainted." He looked at her. It all was making sense now.
She nodded. "Please, he is good and I know he loves Meg. They wish to marry…."
He put his hand up. "Christine, who am I to stop two people who want to be together find their happiness? Now can we bring the focus back to you? What happened once you were able to leave?" He placed his arm over his knee and every once in awhile he would bring his index finger to his lips.
"Fawn, was very kind. She took care and tried to help me see, what you are trying to do now. I was given a bit of money and then went out on my own." She looked into the air. "On my own, with nowhere to go and no one to call on or turn to." She bit her lip. "Erik, I was cold and hungry. The money ran out quickly and I had such little skills. Even if someone wanted to give me a chance, they saw I was poor and were afraid as if it were contagious. Everyone stayed far away. Except the disgusting honorable males. They were always trying to….."
"Christine…."
"No, nothing like that. The authorities were very well circulated. This caused me to think. Prisons were warm and they fed their prisoners. I decided to steel something, anything and get caught."
He looked at her in disbelief. "You my dear, steal?"
She smacked him on the knee. "I wanted to get caught."
"You would have regardless."
"Oh! Stop! Are you telling this story?" She couldn't stop herself from laughing. She was laughing and her Angel made it possible. "I needed that."
"So did I." He squeezed her hand. "So who did you steal from?"
Her name was Madame Rose Valerius. But I will always remember her as Mama Valerius."
Erik was intrigued. Christine smiled and continued. "There she was walking out of her carriage. She looked very important and I thought, all I needed to do was touch her arm and I would be taken in.
He smiled. "But that's not what happened?"
"Hush." She sighed. "No, I took her arm and she thought I was welcoming her. As if I knew her and she was at a disadvantage. She hugged me to reduce her embarrassment. I took her mink stole from her shoulders in a panic and ran."
"And then?"
"I was caught."She grinned. "See, I wanted that to happen."
"Go on."
The authorities brought me to her and said they retrieved her mink. She said that there was a mistake. For I hadn't stolen her mink, she had given it to me."
Erik's mouth was gapping open. "Really?"
She nodded. "She refused to press charges and gave me her mink. She then waited for the authorizes to take their leave and turned to face me. How she knew I would stay put is beyond me. She said I was going to have to work off that mink, by reading to her during the afternoons, starting today."
"You went home with her?"
"She was so kind hearted and good. I was withdrawn and very shy, but after a few weeks, I couldn't resist the music."
"Music? Did she play?"
"Her grandson did and it was one of our earlier pieces. The first song you taught after we had passed the scales. I smiled humming along. I even hummed parts he hadn't gotten to yet. It was as it you were there in some small way."
He went to hold her but hesitated, afraid he was being too forward all of a sudden. She saw his fear and she pulled him near her. "Don't be afraid. I need your touch as much as you need mine."
He embraced her warmly. "When did you leave her?"
"One day I was under a deep melancholy, more than usual. She had asked is it had to do with the fact that her grandson hadn't been playing the piano anymore. Seems he had lost his passion for it."
Erik was confused. "How can anyone lose their passion for music? It must have never existed."
"I told her the music reminded me of my teacher. The only friend I ever really knew and how I missed him. She told me to go and find you."
Erik didn't understand. "Just like that?"
"I told her that….Well I never told her everything. I never said you may not have been real. I just said you were my Angel of Music. She said Angels are always seeking to be found. You just have to know where to look. She arranged for my travel to Paris and got me set up in that small apartment, you were so found of." She blushed.
"My Christine, where is your Mama Valerius now? Would you like me to send for her?"
"She died, Angel."
Erik couldn't explain it but he suddenly felt heartbroken, even though he had never met her. "How?"
She shook her head. "I learned of her passing shortly after I arrived in Paris. I don't know of the causes. The next day, I went for a walk and met Meg again… And you."
"How do you feel?" He wasn't sure what she would say.
"It's strange. I feel so many things but I don't feel afraid." Her eyes searched his. "Erik, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I know I want you with me when it does.
He took her hand in his. "And here I shall be."
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The next morning Christine woke to the smell of coffee, and the cracking of a newly made fire. As she opened her eyes she smiled at the thought of Erik's name from her lips. She then sat up and called for him again, worried when she did not see him near.
"Love, I'm right here."He handed her a cup of coffee. "I didn't want to be too far away from the stove. I think it's been here since the French Revolution."
"Erik, this place is not that bad."
"Humph. I will have a stern taking with that boy, prince or no prince. To think he brought Megan to a place like this."
She almost spit her coffee out. "Uh…. What did you say?"
"Did you really think I wouldn't know? Come now."
"Erik, don't be angry. They are in love and…."
"So are we. Yet we have practiced restraint."
She blushed. "Yes, but…..We have had circumstances, I wouldn't wish upon anyone."
"I know it shouldn't be my concern, but as Megan has no father, I feel I should know his intentions, upfront."
"She does have a father, my dear. He's the kindest and best of men." She kissed him sweetly.
They lingered a little longer towards one another, until Erik spoke. "Now then, I need you to get ready, for we are going home."
Home. She smiled. Did she really think of leaving just the other day? The thought of never seeing her Angel again, was incomprehensible. She loved him much too much. "What is that?"
"Oh this? It's a new dress. I took the liberty of arranging a few provisions. Would you delight me in wearing this?"
She went to hold the dress up in the light. "Angel, it's magnificent."
"I knew green would be your color. Just plain white doesn't do anyone any justice at all."
"When did you find time to shop?"
"I didn't. I made it."
She stared at him in amazement. "Will I ever discover what you can't do?"
"Yes, but only after you have studied me long enough to be sure. It could take years."
She grinned. "50 or 60 at least."
He made a face. "60? I'm not sure you would wish to see me in 60 years, my dear. Especially if I had to spend one more night on that couch. My back feels as if I'm 100."
"Give or take a few years, Erik." She waited for his response and laughed as she saw his face.
"I see. May I remind you that classics never die. Well then, I'll just tend to the horse if you are sure he is nice and gentle." He pretended to walk away offended.
Christine came running after him throwing her arms around his neck. "Have I ever told you I am a classic affectionate?"
"Indeed." He kissed her and it felt as he did when they shared their first kiss. After a few moments he wisely moved to the door. I'll pack up Cesar. One hour my Angel."
A few moments later, he thought of all that had happened. "This is right. I know it to be true. Everything is arranged. Now if I can keep my nerve." The horse made a sound. "What is it my boy?"
Cesar just nestled to his side. "Is this for celebration or commiserating?" As he looked up he saw Christine grace him with the green and white lace dress he designed, stitched and sewed for her. "Angel, you are a vision."
Cesar must have agreed for he uttered an approving sound. "Oh you like her, do you? See, another suitor."
Christine gently stroked Cesar's face. "I've missed you too." She then turned to Erik. "I've never felt so beautiful."
"Well you should feel beautiful every day. You are an Angel after all." He gestured for her to come near. "We ride."
"How long before we arrive home on horseback?"
"Well I'm not sure as we will make two stops along the way." He lifted her up.
"Two stops? Where?"
"The first is only moments away, and depending how things go there, we shall see about stop number two."He motioned for Cesar to go and they were off.
Christine's curiosity was peaked at a new level. "Erik, why won't you tell me?"
"Because we are already here." He motioned for the horse to stop and he jumped off, extending his hand to help Christine. "You and Megan, really have no idea about your surroundings."
"I don't understand, why are we here by the cemetery?"
"Because it is not cemetery. The church owns this land and it is a clearing with a very lovely brook down below. It's the perfect place."
"For what, Angel?"
"To say goodbye to our child, my dear."
