An RC oneshot by Kchan88
A/N: Hey everyone, what's up? I've been feeling up to writing one shots in between finishing the chapters of my full length Phantom fic, 'A Strange Affair,', so here's another one for all of you RC shippers. Hope that you like, please review! This is set to the words of the song 'Lady' by Kenny Rogers.
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Raoul de Chagny stood at the front of the altar, tugging nervously at the hem of his tuxedo jacket, a happy smile on his face. He could hardly believe that this was the day that he was to be forever united with his beloved Christine in marriage. The morning had gone by blur, with everyone rushing about to get everything ready. He gazed around at all the guests seated in the pews of Notre Dame Cathedral, all people that had been there for Raoul and Christine throughout all that had happened over the past few months. He saw Madame Giry, Andre, and Firmin smiling at him from a pew not too far back. He couldn't believe that it had been two months since the chandelier fell, two months since that horrible night. It had haunted him for the past months, and he was willing to do anything to make Christine happy, and to help her feel safe again. He loved her more than anything in the whole world, and whenever he thought of her, his heart felt as though it would burst with love and emotion. He would do anything to protect his beloved from being hurt, ever again, despite any fears or obstacles that might stand in his way.
' Lady, I'm your knight in shining armor and I love you. You have made me what I am and I am yours. My love, there's so many ways that I want to say I love you. Let me hold you in my arms forever more.'
Raoul felt Phillipe nudge him as the music began, jerking him from his reverie. Raoul smiled at his brother as he watched Meg, who was Christine's maid of honor, come up the aisle in a lovely ice blue dress. Then as Raoul caught his first glimpse of Christine, the rest of the world seemed to cease to exist, as if it were just he and Christine, there at the altar. She looked more beautiful than he had ever seen her. She was radiant in her dress of purest white. Her veil reached the floor, and her curls were partially pinned up, leaving a few to cascade down her back. There were pink roses in her hair. And as she walked toward her husband to be, her chocolate eyes sparkled with bliss and there was glowing smile on her face. Raoul wondered if there had ever been a man more in love than he was. She had made his life what it was, and him who he was. She was the light of his life. He simply couldn't imagine his life without her, his childhood sweetheart that he had loved since he had first rescued her red scarf from the sea.
'You have gone and made me such a fool. I'm so lost in your love. And oh, we belong together. Won't you believe in my song?'
As Christine reached the altar, Raoul took both of her small hands in his sword trained ones, and gave them a gentle sqeeze. She mouthed an 'I love you', to him, and Raoul felt his heart beat faster. He mouthed an ' I love you to' back to her. He was so happy that this day had finally come, when they had been so close to losing one another forever. When he had first set foot in that opera house, he had had no idea what he was getting into. But he had stepped forward willingly, ready to do anything to free Christine from the darkness. Raoul wanted so badly for his love to be happy, and whatever it took for that to happen, he would do it. He would be there for her when she woke from her nightmares with tears in her eyes, and he would be there for her when she would needed to laugh out loud. For better or for worse.
' Lady, for so many years I thought I'd never find you. You have come into my life and made me whole. Forever let me wake to see you each and every morning. Let me hear you whisper softly in my ear.'
Then, As the vows were read, and Raoul slipped the ring onto Christine's finger, he smiled even more, for to see that look of ultimate happiness in her eyes and on her face, made him feel reassured that he was doing what it took to make her life all that she deserved. Then as Christine made her vows and slipped the ring onto Raoul's finger, a happy tear slid down her face. This was the happiest moment of her life. She could never love anyone more than she loved the man standing before her, it simply wasn't possible. Raoul was, and always had been, the one that she loved, and she knew too, that her father was smiling down on them. It was Raoul who had brought happiness back into her life, had made her smile again. And she wanted nothing more than to spend her life with him, and to start a family together.
'In my eyes I see no one else but you. There's no other love like our love. And yes, oh yes, I'll always want you near me. I've waited for so long.'
Then as those words 'By the power invested in me by God and the Catholic church, I pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride' were spoken by the priest, blue eyes met brown, and their lips met in their first kiss as husband and wife. It was undoubtedly the most wonderful kiss that they had ever shared, for they were forever united as one. And then they turned to the sea of smiles behind them and began to walk down the aisle, their faces beaming. The sun that shone through the the gorgeous stained glass windows reflected off of the newlyweds, as though God himself had commanded it to, as if it were a blessing from above.
'Lady, your love's the only one I need. And beside me is where I want you to be, cause, my love, there's something I want you to know, you're the love of my life, you're my lady!'
Raoul and Christine made it to the end of the aisle, their fingers intertwined tightly, as though they never wanted to let go. Christine threw out her flowers, and it was Meg who caught them. Rice and flowers were thrown as the ecstatic couple made their way to the carriage. They laughed and waved as they climbed in, sharing another sweet kiss. And, though both knew that it would take a while to heal from the events over the past months, they were both thankful. That though they had gone through a lot at the hands of Erik, he had let them go. And for that they were ever thankful. And for that, they could forgive him, for it had after all, been love that had driven him. And hopefully, Erik knew that they would forgive. And as the couple drove off, wrapped in each other's arms, they smiled. This was the beginning, of what they knew would be a blissful one love, one lifetime.