Author's notes: I guess I once again have to excuse the dealy, but this chapter wouldn't work with me. But at least now I can tell you all that the story is written. I'm done with it, the end is near lol I won't tell how many chapters that's left, but it's not many. I'm really excited about the ending, I'm really fond of it actually. And I hope you'll like it to. But this chapter is not the ending, I wouldn't be that cruel lol

Enjoy!

Part X

The following evening, Raoul was walking down the corridors of the Opera towards Meg's room. When he'd entered the Opera five minutes earlier, he'd found himself very early, so he thought he could just as well pick her up at her room. He'd been there twice before, so finding the way wouldn't be a problem, he thought. But after having taken the wrong turn at least once, he had no idea where he was. The corridor was unfamiliar to him, which didn't say much, because he didn't know many of the Opera's corridors. He could find his way to the auditorium and the manager's offices, but that was about it.

He looked at the doors leading out of the corridor. They were numbered, the door closest to Raoul had number 48. At least I'm in the livingquarters, then, Raoul thought. Now all I have to do is remember which number Meg's door had. He kept walking down the corridor, but when it ended it split in three new corridors, one ahead and one on every side. I won't ever get out of here, this will be my grave, Raoul thought sarcasticly. But then he heared someone comming down the hall on his left. I'll just have to swollow my pride and ask for help, then, he thought, and turned towards the sound.

"Looking for something?" Meg asked, a big smile gracing her lips.

Raoul laughed. "How come you always find me in the most embarrassing situations?" He kissed her hand. "You look wonderful." And she did, wearing a pale yellow dress and her hair pinned up on her head.

"Thank you," she said and took his arm. "Do you have any idea where you are?"

Raoul smiled and shook his head. "Not a single clue."

She laughed, and in less than no time she'd guided him through the labyrinth that was the Opera, and Raoul found himself once again in the foyer.

"How do you know your way around here?" he asked in wonder.

Meg shrugged her shoulders as they walked out through the front doors. "I grew up here, this Opera was my playground ever since I learned to walk."

Raoul's carriage was parked outside the entrance, but Meg hesitated.

"Can't we walk to where ever we are going? It was so nice yesterday."

Raoul nodded. "Allright." He turned to the driver. "You can take the rest of the night off, Pierre, I will take a cab home."

"Thank you, sir." The driver touched his hat, and then sat the carriage moving towards Raoul's house.

Raoul helped Meg put on her cloak, and then he took her arm. "Have you been rehearsing today?" he asked as he led the way towards the restaurant he'd chosen for the evening.

Meg nodded. "Yes, we had a tablereading where everybody read their parts, and the orchestra played the music since they have been rehearsing a bit longer."

"Did it sound good?" Raoul was very interested in hearing about the rehearsal.

"Yes, I think it did. Of course they still have a lot to practise on, and then we have to learn out parts properly, but I think it will turn out extremly well in the end." She was silent for a moment. "The managers have been very lucky," she said in a low voice.

"How come?"

"They have a very talented ensemble, maybe even better than the one they had before."

Raoul was genuinly surprised at hearing this. "What makes you say that?"

"None of us is very famous, except for maybe Maman and Monsieur Reyer, but they do not really count, and perhaps a few of the ballet- and chorusgirls, but I would rather call them notorious. But they are all wonderfully talented, many, almost all, of them. They just need to show it."

Raoul smiled. "You are too modest, Meg." She looked at him with puzzled eyes. "I would say you are quite famous too. There is not many in this town who have not seen Meg Giry dance." And many who'd happily have her do a private show for them, he thought darkly, and wondered why that thought made him jealous.

Meg blushed. "I think you are exaggerating," she mumbled.

"No, I'm not, I am perfectly serious. Meg, you are known."

When hearing her feeble protests, Raoul decided that she wouldn't listen to him no matter what he said, and the rest of the way to the restaurant, they talked about other things.

When they were just a block away from the restaurant, Meg suddenly stopped dead on the sidewalk.

"Now I know where you are taking me, Raoul, and you can't possibly do that."

Raoul was amused by her reaction. "Why not?" he asked.

Meg stared wide eyed at him, and gestured wildly with her hand as she spoke. "It is the most expensive restaurant in Paris! How would I ever be able to repay that?"

Raoul moved towards her and took her hands. "I invited you to dinner, Meg," he said, putting emphasis on the second word. "I do not want you to repay me."

Meg looked helpless. "But-" she stuttered.

Raoul shook his head. "No 'but's', Meg. Can't you just enjoy the evening?" She still looked doubtful. "Please?" he pleaded. "For me?"

And she smiled. "Allright, for you then." She took his arm again, and they proceeded into the restaurant.

L'Italie en Paris was the latest fashion-restaurant among Paris society, recently refered to in Le Figaro as "the most beautiful place, with the best food, Paris has ever seen". The owner, Signore Luciano Sabatini, was originaly from Venice, but had moved to Paris when he'd married a French actress. To support them and their children, he'd opened a restaurant with a mix of French and Italien food, and it's become a tremendous success.

Raoul had reserved a table there as soon as he'd settled his plans with Meg. The restaurant was always full these days, but with a title such as Raoul's, getting a table for the evening wasn't difficult.

As he walked through the room with Meg at his arm, Raoul couldn't help but notice how peolpe, especially men, looked at her. Perhaps it's her dress, he thought. It certainly did show, in a room furnished with dark red, green and brown, where people mostly wore darkcolored clothes. Or perhaps it was her appearance. She looked very confident, with her head held high, and very...happy. Raoul was pleased, because he knew that it was he who made her feel that way.

They were seated at a table by the window, and the waiter gave them their menus. Meg opened hers immediately.

"Don't you dare!" Raoul said as he saw her eyes move to the right, towards the prices. "I am paying, Meg, so order anything you like."

She looked alomst angry. "But I can't let you pay it all, have you seen how much the food costs?"

Raoul had to smile at that. "Meg, I think you are forgetting who you are talking to. I am a vicomte, I have more money than I need."

Meg blushed slightly but didn't look away. "But there has to be a better way to spend them than on me."

"I doubt that." Raoul picked up his menu. "Now chose what you want to eat, and do not bother what it costs."

Meg mumble something inaudible, but picked up her menu too. They ordered their food, and when it came, they were once again discussing the rehearsal, and Meg was once again smiling.

"I know I said I would rather have done a ballet," she said enthusiasticly. "But this is so exciting. Just the mere thought of being back on stage makes me want to sing."

Raoul laughed. "I am glad you are happy. And I actually think the managers are planning on a ballet after this."

Meg became, if possible, even more excited. "Really? Which one?"

Raoul shoke his head and took a sip of his wine. "That is too early for me to know, but hopefully the will have decided that in time for the opening of Carmen."

They realized that they'd forgotten to eat, and they ate up in silence. The food really was a delicious as Le Figaro had said, and they hardly spoke during the rest of the meal, only enjoyed their food. While they waited for their desserts to come, Raoul suddenly became aware of the band playing in the next room, and when he looked through the doorway, he saw couples dancing. He remembered that he'd wanted to dance with Meg at his parents' party two night ago, but hadn't had the opportunity to, and he decided to do that now instead. He rose from his seat and stood beside Meg.

"Would you care to dance, Mademoiselle?" he asked and offered her his arm.

"I'd be delighted to, Monsieur," she answered and took his arm. Together they walked on to the dancefloor, and Raoul laced his arm around her waist and began to move her.

"I can't remember the last time I danced like this," Meg said after a moments silence, and Raoul couldn't tell wether she looked happy or sad. "Maybe I never have?"

She looked away from him and placed her head on his shoulder, and Raoul had the feeling that she'd ment more with her words than what she'd said.

He softly began to hum along with the song, and caressed her back. He didn't know why she was sad, or if she even was, but he wanted to make it go away.

After a while, Meg lifted her head from his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what came over me." She hesitated. "Maybe we should return to our desserts?"

Raoul nodded and took her hand, and in silence they returned to their table. The air was tense, and none of them could say why. They ate up, Raoul payed the bill and they left the restaurant, everything in silence. But out on the sidewalk, Meg turned to Raoul.

"We can't let our lovely evening end like this, Raoul," she said. "I do not know what happened, but we should not let that worry us."

"Of course not," Raoul agreed. He raised a hand to stop a passing cab. "I shall give you a ride back to the Opera."

Meg sighed. "Can't you just stop spending money on me?"

Raoul shoke his head. "Had it been earlier in the evening, we would have walked, but now we are very likely to get robbed." He opened the door of the cab. "So get in!"

Meg smiled and did a deep curtsey. "Yes, sir!" she said and got into the carriage, shaking with laughter.

"The Opéra Populaire, please," Raoul said to the driver, then followed Meg inside and sat down on the opposite seat. He bent forward and took her hands. "So, did you have a nice evening?" he asked.

"Yes, it was far better than I could ever have imagined," Meg answered and smiled softly. "Is it too bold to ask if we could do it again?" And she lowered her gaze.

Raoul laughed. "How about every night?"

Meg looked at him again. "That would be wonderful."

And so they did. Raoul and Meg spent every moment they could spare together. In the mornings and afternoons, Meg would go to rehearsals and Raoul would go to meetings, and in the evenings, he would come to the Opera, sometimes to pick her up for a dinner at a restaurant, or sometimes for a party along with his parents and friends. They'd come to accept Meg, and all though many still wondered, as she'd done once herself, what the relationship was between her and Raoul, they were nothing but friendly towards her. And even though Meg enjoyed their company and all the fancy dinners, she sometimes asked Raoul if they could just stay in his house or in her room at the Opera, just the two of them. And he always agreed when she asked that, because despite what people thought about him, Raoul prefered to stay at home.

It was soon, very soon, known by everyone at the Opera that Meg Giry was seeing the Vicomte de Chagny. Both Raoul and Meg had tried to avoid this, Meg because she knew she'd be refered to as "Christine's replacement", and Raoul because of the same reason. But the balletgirls where curious little brats, and they couldn't let such juicy gossip pass unnoticed. Madame Giry did her best to make them keep silent, but her being Meg's mother only added fuel to the fire.

During these two weeks, Raoul found that he thought less and less of Christine, and that this didn't bother him at all. Being with Meg made him forget the past, even though she was a part of it.

The day before the opening night, they were sitting in Meg's room. She had been rehearsing all day, and was now standing in front of her mirror in a dressinggown, combing her hair. She had become so comfortable in Raoul's presence that she no longer cared what she wore when it was just the two of them.

Raoul was sitting in the armchair beside the fire. He had taken off both his jacket and waistcoat andwas halflying in the chair. His mother would not had appreciated that.

They were talking about that day's rehearsal, which should have been the last before the première. But a few of the costumes had not been finished, and many of the actors had performed so poorly that Monsieur Reyer and Madame Giry had decided to do a last minute rehearsal the following morning.

Raoul hadn't been present at the rehearsal, but as always, he got all the details from Meg.

"Usually, I do not understand Maman when she points out mistakes I can't see, and demand extra rehearsals, but today I could really see her point," Meg said, looking into the mirror while pulling the brush through her golden curls. "You should have seen us, Raoul. For a final rehearsal, is was a disaster. It was even worse than when La Carlotte rueled."

Raoul laughed. He'd seen the former leading diva in action off stage, and he couldn't understand how anything sould be worse than that.

"Yes, Meg, you have said this about three times already," he said, meeting her amused look in the mirror.

"Would you rather talk about something else?" she asked in a challenging voice.

Raoul shrugged his shoulders. "You pick a subject," he said and made an inviting move with his hand.

Meg got a look in her eyes that Raoul didn't like, and she put the brush down. "Don Juan Triumphant," she said and turned around and looked directly at him. "Tell me what happened that night."

Author's notes: A very feeble try to write a cliffhanger. But this was the best way to end this chapter, andI hope I don't make anyone want to kill me lol I tried to put abit more action into this chapter, since many of you had asked for that, but I don't know if I succeeded. But I promise a lot of action in the next chapters.

This chapter is dedicated to EriksIngenue, because you wanted them to dance together.

Ah, and one more thing. Can anyone figure out what Meg ment by "Maybe I never have."?