A/N: We arrive at the inevitable moment of E and C's wedding. Again, do not fear, I will allow our lovers a few chapters of peace.
phantomann: Thank you for your generous comments in your review from Ch 31. And of course all their pain is behind them! I have no idea what you might be implying! (author feigns innocence)
Ch. 34 – Two Broken That They Might Be Made One
Later that afternoon, they went into town to make the necessary arrangements for their wedding. It was decided that it would be a simple ceremony, with no guests. When they arrived before a majestic cathedral, Christine raised an eyebrow curiously, remembering Erik's former aversion to anything having to do with religion. He laughed at her perplexed look, but merely patted her arm, "I think you will find me to be a reformed man in all respects, my dear. I have been a devoted attendee every Sunday for the past two years. Father Dominic knows me well, and will be happy to perform the service." Just as Erik had said he would be, Father Dominic was overjoyed to hear of their plans, and the service was planned for the following Sunday.
With the arrangements made, Christine was concerned that she would never find a dressmaker who would be able to complete a wedding dress for her in so short of a time. Erik suggested a woman whose reputation was well known in the city, and paid her a handsome sum to give his future wife the dress of her dreams and to make up for the haste in which it was needed. The dressmaker was a warm, cheerful woman who delighted in working with a beauty such as Christine, and took great care in helping her to design the perfect dress.
The week before the wedding passed in a dreamy haze. For the first time in three years, Erik did not work the entire week, but instead, spent every minute with his future wife, making up for the time they had lost. They sat in the park on a blanket, her head resting on his shoulder as he read poetry to her in his rich, musical voice. They walked on the shores of the beach, Christine convincing a rather squeamish Erik to go barefoot outdoors for the first time in his adult life. They strolled through the market place, Christine shining with pleasure at all the exotic colors and sounds they encountered, and Erik smiling indulgently. The nights were filled with passion and utter contentment, as they lay face to face, their bodies spent, but their eyes continuing to speak volumes long after their voices were silent.
On Sunday morning, they attended mass together, and after the service, they arranged to pick up Christine's dress. She stubbornly insisted that she be returned to the church to get ready so Erik would not see her in her wedding dress before the ceremony. Erik had protested initially, but as always relented to her girlish whims, and instead sent a maid from the house to help her dress.
Christine took great care in her appearance, wanting deeply to please her new husband. With the help of her maid, she slipped the elegant dress around her shoulders. It fit her perfectly, and suited her slender, well-proportioned frame. As she looked in the mirror, she was startled by the thought that the dress looked vaguely familiar, even though she and the dressmaker and designed it entirely themselves. With a merry laugh at how much their minds tended to think alike, she realized that the dress she thought she designed from scratch, was almost entirely the same dress as Erik had made for her all those years ago. Her taste so matched his own, that unknowingly she had created one virtually the same.
Christine piled her hair loosely at the back of her head, allowing several curls to trail down her neck onto her bare shoulders. She slipped a strand of fine pearls around her neck that had belonged to Elsa, and added the matching earrings to her ears. Finally, her maid, Jocelyn stood behind her and helped her to arrange her veil atop her crown of curls. The veil was somewhat shorter than a traditional veil, rising up slightly from the top of her head to drop in a smooth cascade of lace just below her shoulders. As she and Jocelyn studied her appearance one last time in the mirror, she was struck sadly by how differently she looked today than the frightened girl she had been the last time she had dressed to become part of the de Chagny family. Smiling softly, the radiance returning to her transformed face, Christine realized what had been missing that day was Erik. What a difference his love had made in her life and what a blessing he was. She thanked Jocelyn kindly, and then moved in a rustle of silk to leave the room and finally embrace her destiny.
She could hear the familiar notes of "Canon in D" reverberating through the hallowed halls of the church from a violin somewhere in the choir loft above. It was Erik's gift to her, and hearing the sound she remembered her father and silently asked him to bless her marriage. Knowing Erik had taken great pains to find a worthy musician, mainly because he could not abide imperfection in any form, least of all in music, she let the flawless sound envelope her as she began her march toward the alter. As she saw him standing there, handsome and whole with pure undisguised love radiating from his eyes, she thought of God's mysterious workings in their lives. She understood with sudden clarity that God had broken each of them in sorrow and suffering so that they might be made whole in each other – two shattered souls merged as one complete being at last.
Erik watched his beloved angel walking toward him up the aisle of the church. He could not help but wonder at God's boundless generosity toward him in the last three years. Of all the gifts he had been given, the one he was about to claim was by far the most precious and the least deserved. As she reached him at last, their eyes met, and he took her hand, pausing to tell her in a breaking voice, "Christine, I have never seen you more lovely than on this day. I love you." Christine smiled serenely up into the strong face that she adored, "And I you, my love." He tucked her arm in his and together they stepped forward to at last take together the vows that they had each sworn separately to God long ago.
Father Dominic watched the two figures before him as he read the familiar words of the wedding mass. He had officiated over many marriages, but for some reason the union of the powerful, mysterious Comte and the tiny, young beauty before him seemed different from the rest - as if God himself had ordained it and was now present in the room to watch it come to pass. The priest knew without a doubt that he was witnessing something divine. As he read the words of scripture, he added his own prayer silently behind them, "Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder. Amen."