A/N: Phoenix is beginning on the last few chapters of our story. It is a sad day but a happy one for you, the readers. She will bring you an ending that hopefully you would not have seen coming. Once this story is finished, Phoenix assures me that she has another Phantom story in the works. She hopes that you will continue to read her stories. I know I will be.

One's actions must be either ignored or punished. For my poor Angelina, I am afraid that it might be the latter. Read on, my fellow readers. As always, read and review. The stage is yours.

With much love,

Erik

Chapter 41 – The Repercussions of One's Actions

Angelina walked down the corridor. Faces and eyes were trained upon her as if she were marching toward her own funeral. She felt small and insignificant. Her body was hunched over and her head hung low. She was trying to ignore the stares and the whispers that followed.

"She saved the boy."

"Supposedly."

"Do you doubt it?"

Before she could put her hand on the door knob, the door opened and Arnaud stood there. His eyes seemed to pierce her but did not hold anger. Gesturing her inside, Arnaud closed the door behind her leaving the other dancers and stage hands to ponder what was going on inside.

Angelina stood there and saw the man she had stolen the keys from – the gypsy. Meg watched as the man pointed at Angelina.

"That is her! That is the girl who took the boy."

Angelina looked up into the eyes of Arnaud. "Angelina, please sit down."

She sat down in the chair that was directly behind her. Making no sound, she looked at the gypsy without any fear. There was no turning back now. Erik had seen to it that the boy was safely on a ship and sent to a family in America. He would be taken care of by a rich family that wanted badly to have a child but could not conceive.

"Monsieur, please sit down." Meg begged. The gypsy was growing more and more angry with every second he saw Angelina. The boy was one of the more profitable parts of the carnival. Without him, there would not be the popularity the carnival needed.

"The leader of the carnival seems to think that you have taken one of his children. I told him that it was not possible." Arnaud looked at Angelina. There was no emotion on her face. It scared him to no end.

"I did, Monsieur Bellmonte. I will not deny it."

Meg and Arnaud looked at each other in shock. They did not expect Angelina to admit to such an act. Angelina had been a wild child and had gotten into a lot of trouble in her youth. But both Raoul and Christine had thought it was far behind her.

"And I would do it again."

"I want her arrested, Monsieur Bellmonte! I will not stand for it."

Angelina did not tremble in fear. It felt good to have it off of her chest. The boy had been in Erik's care for almost three days before gossip had begun about the boy being missing. Police had searched all over Paris and did not find a trace of him. Erik had assured her that the boy would be safe until he could find a way to get him to his new family.

The boy did not bear many scars. There was a long scar down the right side of his face that had continued over his eye. He was far from being the Devil's Child. The boy merely had an accident when he was a child and paid the consequences.

"Monsieur, please. I am sure Angelina will be able to help you retrieve the boy."

"I do not know where he is." Angelina smiled up at Arnaud. "He seems to have…vanished."

Knocking over the chair behind him, the gypsy stood with his anger finally reaching its boiling point. "I want my child!"

"He is not yours!" Angelina stood. "You abused him! There were bruises up and down his rib cage. His left eye was swollen and his right arm broken! He had a family and a home and you took that away from him because you thought the scar on his face would serve your purpose!"

"Angelina…"

"Monsieur Bellmonte, I saved the boy from humiliation and the ignorance of man. I will not be held accountable for something that should have been done long ago."

Silence hung in the air until the gypsy had stepped in front of Angelina. Her breath did not catch as the gypsy had hoped. The girl who stood in front of him had nerves of steel but would be broken in a heartbeat once she was arrested.

"I want this girl arrested."

"Then arrest me, Monsieur. If I had my actions to do over again, I would."

The gypsy screamed in a tongue none of them understood. Moving along side Arnaud, the gypsy looked down at him in utter disgust. "I want her punished severely. I will not tolerate anything else."

"I assure you, Monsieur, she will be handled."

The gypsy gave one last glance at Angelina before storming out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him as Angelina continued to stare off into space. Arnaud moved in front of her, knowing that her actions would have consequences.

"This incident will be told to your parents."

"I do not fear that, Monsieur. I did what I did and I will suffer the repercussions of my actions."

"Do you not regret what you did?"

"No, I do not."

Arnaud sighed and turned away from her. Meg watched as his back tensed, knowing what he must do.

"Will you tell me where you sent the boy?"

"No." Angelina smiled. "He is safe and happy. That is all that matters."

"You will suffer to save a boy?"

"Yes, Monsieur."

Arnaud turned toward her once again with tears in his eyes. "I am afraid, Angelina, that you will not like the outcome of this. I hope that you did the right thing in your eyes because the suffering that will incur will hurt you for quite some time."

Erik sat at his organ, playing a melody that closely resembled a death march. Angelina seemed to step down every stair to the beat of the notes. Erik did not turn but knew she was approaching.

"I heard the gypsy even in the depths of the opera house."

Angelina smiled. "He was angry."

He turned and looked at Angelina standing there. Her posture showed that she was proud and strong.

"I take it that it went well…"

"No, it did not."

Rising from the bench, Erik began toward her. "What did they ask you?"

"If I had done it and where the boy was."

"What did you tell them?"

"That I did it and I have no idea where he is."

Erik smiled. "You were strong."

"I would not take back my actions. I believed what I did was right."

His hands gently took a hold of her shoulders. He looked deep into her eyes and saw pain behind them. "What action did they take?"

"The next opera that is to be performed – I will not take part in."

Erik's breath caught. They would deny her the one thing she loved – to star in an opera. "Angelina, tell them where the boy is."

"No!"

She pulled away from him. Her actions were warranted. The boy had been suffering and someone had to alleviate him from the pain.

"You will suffer the entire time you are away from the stage."

"In my heart, I know what I did was right."

"So you will suffer…"

"You would do the same thing, Erik. I know you would."

Erik knew he would have. Angelina had acted before him. Fury was building inside of him after seeing the boy in the cage. Before he could put together a coherent thought, Angelina was already unlocking the cage.

"This gives me time…"

He looked at her curiously. "Time for what?"

"Time to practice – to perfect my craft. I want to learn it all, Erik. Teach me everything and I promise you that I will not let you down."

Erik took several steps toward her and put a hand to her face. The woman standing before him could not be defined with words. Angelina was an angel that no one saw. She was his student, friend, confidant…

And love of my life…

"I will teach you everything you wish to know. Day or night, come to me and I will teach you what you wish."

Her arms wrapped around him and her head pressed against his chest. He let her linger there until he could take no more.

"Angelina, you must return. I am sure Meg will want to speak with you about this matter."

"You are right…" Bringing herself back from his touch, Angelina smiled up at him. "…I must return. Erik, please do not think I regret any of my actions. I would save that boy's life a thousand times over. I will not be suffering. I will be living."

After kissing him lightly on the cheek, Angelina began to ascend the staircase. Erik watched her go. He was proud of her – more then he could profess. As he began into his private sanctuary, his thoughts began to overwhelm him. A tear ran down his cheek as he pulled the velvet curtain closed behind him.

"I have meaning to tell you this for some time…"

Erik stood in the middle of the room, pacing. The wig and mask that he usually donned seemed to have disappeared. The robe billowed around him as his pace seemed to be filled with meaning and purpose.

"I am not the man you think me to be." Erik took a deep breath. "But I am the man who loves you more than life itself. There have been things in my past that I am not proud of. I have taken the lives of several men, have burned down an opera house, and have frightened the woman whom I thought I loved."

Falling to his knees, tears streamed down his cheeks. "I am so sorry, Angelina! I have loved you since I took care of you that night you were injured. I was unsure of my feelings – that they were still lingering because of how much you look like your mother. But now I know that they are real more than anything in this world. You are my angel. You are the woman who has saved this tortured soul."

Looking up, he smiled. "I love you. I love you…"

Erik put his head in his hands and cried. The figure before him did not make a sound or move a muscle. It seemed to stand still – frightened by what he had just said.

Standing up in a flash of fury, Erik knocked over the mannequin. He watched it sink into the watery depths below. The love that he professed was not to Angelina but to a mere figure that he imagined was her. Erik screamed in agony.

Would there ever be a time where he would be able to tell the woman he loved that he loved her? Could she love him in return?

God, Angelina…I love you.

He fell, once again, to his knees. Letting himself fall to the floor, Erik cried himself to sleep. The regret of telling a mannequin instead of the woman herself filled him with indescribable feelings. There would be a day he found the courage. He just hoped it would not be too late.