Welp, three years passed and let's see what everyone's up to!

Three years have passed since the execution of the royals, and much had changed. After the attack, life had been gloomy and dark, ever since the last of the Daae family had been killed that fateful night. No one seemed truly happy. However, in the small Parisian village of St. Marie, gossip had kept them busy. Rumours had stated that while all the royals had been killed that night, there might be one daughter who was still alive… Christine Daae… The last grand duchess.

The rumour caught the attention of a tall, scruffy-looking street rat. He had been roaming the street when he heard such things, he instantly ran to his older brother to go tell him of the scheme brewing in his mind. His days as a con man would be over and now, this was their chance to leave and get their lives together!

"Phillipe, have you heard of the rumours surrounding the Grand Duchess Christine Daae?" Raoul asked excitedly as he pulled out the newest issue of the local newspaper he found lying on the streets, shoving the front article into his face. It was about the missing princess and there was a photograph of her at sixteen-years-old.

Phillipe let out an exasperated sigh as he read the headlines "'The Grand Duchess Christine Daae Lives'? Mon dieu, what is this preposterous nonsense, little brother?"

"I've been thinking of this Christine Daae…"

"Not you too, Raoul!" the older man rubbed his temples and shook his head "It's all just a bunch of crazy talk! A rumour!"

"Say, Phillipe, didn't you always want to go to Manhattan? And you happened to have had a history with Sorelli..." the street rat shrugged nonchalantly as a ghost of a smirk played on his lips.

"I don't like the sound of this…" Phillipe recognized that smirk anywhere when his little brother thought he was being clever.

"The Dowager Empress would be there," Raoul added "One of Sorelli's closest friends and the only remaining member of the royal family. They say she's offering a princely fee to whoever brings her granddaughter back safe and sound…"

"Quit this preposterous idea!" Phillipe glared sternly at his younger brother.

"Listen, Phillipe, the Daae family lived the life everyone wanted," the young man continued "We will find a girl who kind of looks like the duchess herself, and then we dress her up and take her to Manhattan to meet her grandmother! Her grandmother finds her missing granddaughter, we get the cash and you get to see Sorelli again- it's an everybody wins situation!"

"A terrible idea but… go on,"

"Granted they couldn't find her corpse, which means there's no proof the princess died from her injuries during the revolution three years ago!"

"Oh no, I recognize that face anywhere…" Phillipe warned, "It's that face you make when you think you're being clever but something goes terribly wrong…"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"There's more to a tiara and a pretty dress to become a grand duchess!"

"Meet with me at the black market later this afternoon, we're gonna go on a scavenger hunt…"

A loud bang echoed across the street, Erik turned to find the source of the sudden explosion.

"No! Please, no… I beg you… no…"

The man turned to face a woman whispering desperately to herself, tears streaming down her face and her broom laid near his feet. As he came closer, he saw a young woman of about nineteen or twenty. Her coat was many sizes too big for her and torn from wear and tear. Her hair was wild and unruly, from what he could see through the grime, was a deep auburn. She was sobbing and shaking her head, whimpering with her arms wrapped around her thin, waif-like body. What was all the fuss about?

A loud bang echoed down the road, barely holding back a shriek, the young woman ran to seize her body, throwing the broom wildly as she curled up into a ball.

"No! Please, no… I beg you… no…" she whimpered to herself as images of bullets and blood flashed through her mind.

Over the blood pounding in her ears and her resounding heartbeat, she felt a firm grasp pull her out of her panic attack, voice calm and stoic.

"It was a truck engine, mademoiselle, there's nothing to be terrified of anymore…"

However, those reassuring words did not calm her down at all as she continued, resisting the urge to vomit as her stomach clenched "Guns… Firing… Soldiers…"

"The war is over, there's nothing to be afraid of anymore…"

Glancing up, she saw a tall man around his late thirties to early fourties, wearing a mask that obscured most of his face, the thing that caught her attention was not the mask however, it was the military uniform which caused her to snap back to reality.

"Please monsieur, I promise to stop screaming and crying, I promise to work twice as hard! Just please, let me keep this job!"

Erik tried to suppress a small gasp but failed once he had a proper look at her face. She was beautiful in an understated, modest way. The contours of her face and neck were smooth, slender and graceful. Even though she was grimy, cold, wet, thin, ragged, and terrified, her beauty was enough to take his breath away. He noticed her shivering from the cold and with fear.

"You're shaking," he finally spoke up, breaking the silence "There's a teashop just a few blocks down the road, let me-"

"Thank you," she stiffened and grabbed her broom hastily, having a regal aura around her despite her appearance "But jobs are hard to come by and I need the money," scurrying away before turning to face the man "But thank you for the offer!"

"I'm here every day!" he called out from his spot, feeling as if she looked familiar, but couldn't identify who she looked like…

"Grand duchesses do not grow on trees," Phillipe sighed as he browsed through the objects in the black market.

"Now we need something personal to show that old lady…" Raoul shook his head, inspecting what could be considered valuable. A music box from a nearby stall caught his eye, twinkling in the sunset…

"Ah, I see how interested you are in this little thing!" The plump man noticed the con man inspecting the trinket "It has the Daae family symbol! It could belong to one of the royals, I could never part with it!"

"Two cans of beans, comrade?" The young man negotiated, smirking as he knew that it was difficult to find food in such times.

"Done!" he threw the music box into his hands and hastily ran off with the two cans as the other hungry street vendors chased him down the street.

"Do you believe in fairy tales, Phillipe?"

"Once upon a time, I did…"

"We're going to create a fairy tale the whole world would believe!" And he was determined to make it all happen… Now all they needed was the girl and it could be the biggest con in history!

Note: I think I would like to find a Beta Reader for this fic (and a few other fics). It would be mainly for continuity and checking if someone is being OOC because as many times I reread my work I always seem to miss something. If you are interested, please send me a message. Thanks!