A/N: I love reviews. :D Reviews make me update three times in one day! This is the end of what I have typed up though, so I will try to catch up with ... myself. :)

phantomphan1911: I was kind of following the movie, not wanting to confuse myself, but at this point, I have a lot of freedom because of the three month gap in between 'All I Ask' & 'Masquerade.' I'm so happy you like it!

ReganX: I know there is no 'o' in Buquet, but for whatever reason, I cannot stand having those little red lines under the misspelled words in Word! I know I'm a nerd, hehe. I'm also glad that, that chapter didn't harm the character of Erik, which I was worried about. There also are worse problems coming up than that yucky man though.

Ethalas Tuath'an: I meant by that, there are trials that are to arise that are bad, but as explained in this chapter, Christine has been instructed to never give up. I'm glad you like it, I always thought that there was something weird about Joseph, that the movie didn't show. I talk about it like it's real, haha. I'm glad you like the story though!

Yay for reviews, and yay for Chapter 10!

Chapter 10: Rooftop Romance & Dreams of Love

"Christine, it's alright, it's me" He released his hand from her mouth, and she turned around surprised.

"Raoul!"

"Come with me, I must bring you to safety." He pulled her gently, but she resisted, much to his surprise. She knew that now it was safer than ever. He pulled her again, and she resisted again. "Christine!"

"I'm fine, Raoul. I'll be fine." He stared at her in disbelief.

"Christine, there is a murderer. He's here."

"The man I love, he is here too. He will save me, honestly." He looked at her uncertainly. "I promise, Raoul." He wasn't allowed to answer because a petite blonde rushed up behind them and grabbed onto Christine's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm so frightened, Christine! What's going on?" Christine seemed to be the only one without fear in her eyes, but she couldn't tell anyone the truth, as much as she wanted to. Raoul took Meg's hand gently.

"Come with me." And without a word, she followed. Christine continued searching for Erik frantically, but so was everyone else - well, they were searching for the OG, who was blamed for all misfortune.

"The Phantom of the Opera! He did this!" One of the ballet girls shouted. Christine turned around and gasped. All she saw was a caped figure zooming toward her. In a sudden whirlwind, she was above the stage, in Erik's arms. He had swooped down holding a rope, and grabbed her. She threw her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arm around her back momentarily, but knew that they needed to get out of there.

"We must go, Christine," he said quietly, as Christine followed him, silently. He thought for a moment where no one would be, and no one would look, before gently taking her hand and leading her to the rooftop.

"Erik, I'm frightened. They will be looking for you. I don't know what I would do if they got you." They stepped out onto the rooftop, and Christine was fighting breaking into a fit of hysterics. "I don't know what is happening. Everything has gotten so confusing. Joseph Bouquet ... it was awful, but then he, and now, and when I'm with you, everything is so ... " Erik pulled her into his arms, and her tears vanished. He pulled away slightly, to look into her eyes. "Perfect," she finished in a whisper. He gently placed his hand under her chin and brought her lips to his. They brushed lightly, but Christine pulled away. She saw the look of hurt and confusion on his face, but it needed to be done. She gently traced the edge of his mask with her fingertips before pulling it away from his face, and he flinched, unaccustomed to the bare vulnerability he had without his barrier of protection from those who might harm him. She ran her fingers lightly on the disfigured side of his face. "Perfect," she repeated. Erik again drew his mouth close, and pressed his lips to hers. Christine wrapped her arms around his neck. True, she wanted to be closer to him, but she felt if she didn't, that she might collapse from the shear breathtaking enchantment of his kiss. She wondered how one person could make her feel such a way. Erik reluctantly pulled away, not wanting to part from her, but needing to release the words, the lyrics, bursting from his heart.

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime,

We will lead each other from solitude,

Say you need me with you here, beside you,

Anywhere you go, let me go too,

Christine, that's all I ask of you."

She turned around and he wrapped his arms around her from behind, stroking her hair, as she responded.

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime,

Say the word and I will follow you,"

They continued singing together, their words seemingly flowing through each other hearts.

"Share each day with me, each night, each morning,"

"Say you love me,"

"You know I do,"

Erik responded without hesitation, and they finished together.

"Love me, that's all I ask of you."

The two again joined in another breathtaking kiss. Christine pulled away slightly, looking into his eyes.

"Promise you'll never leave me." Erik pulled her in closer.

"I promise." he whispered against her lips, and she smiled. They again interlocked their mouths in a deep and passionate kiss. Erik couldn't resist: he picked her up, and spun her around, and they both grinned, and sang.

"Anywhere you go, let me go, too!

Love me, that's all I ask of you."

Their lips met again, each time, feeling like the very first.

"I must go, Erik," Christine said, realizing that she has a part in Il Muto, and the audience still may be there. "Come with me?" He smiled before kissing her briefly and putting his mask on, and hand in hand descending the stairs into the opera house.

Christine took a sip of hot tea and tightened Erik's cloak around her body. His lair was cold, but she wasn't sure that was what her goose-bumps were from, and besides, being away from him was far colder. His cloak, though, was sumptuous and thick, the tea was delicious, and the company was extraordinary.

"You did very well tonight, Christine." Erik broke the silence, drawing the young girls bright brown eyes up to meet his.

"I cannot believe that the managers insisted that the show continue."

"Whatever turns profit," Erik said sarcastically, and fell silent. After a few moments, again he spoke. "Christine, do you think what I did to that man was wrong?" Christine let out a sigh, obviously thinking over her answer, before shaking her head slowly and carefully. She was calmer now, but the occurrences of the day still shook her.

"I think ... it needed to be done. If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else. I'm sorry that you had to be the one to do it but ... " A shadow fell over her face, a darkness that even Erik wasn't used to seeing, and it concerned him. "Men like that need to be stopped and..." her voice drifted off, and her eyes filled with tears. She was obviously still consumed with the emotions of the days unlikely events. Erik was also struggling.

"He died once. To see him do that to you, to see the pain on your face, it ... it killed me a thousand times over." Christine set her tea down and walked over to where Erik sat, brought herself down beside him, and cuddled up against his chest.

"It's over now," she murmured.

"Christine," he whispered after a few moments of gently stroking her soft curls. "I love you ... more than anything. I ... " he stopped when he realized that she hadn't heard him - she was already asleep. It didn't matter though, he was sure that she knew.

Christine walked through mist. That was all she saw: mist. Somehow though, she felt strangely comforted, despite her strange surroundings. She walked along, although she felt no ground beneath her feet, until she saw something in the distance. At first, it was just a speck, but soon, the full figure of a man was in view. Not just a man: her father.

"Father ... " she whispered, and he disappeared, just to reappear a few seconds later, right in front of her.

"Christine," she heard his voice whisper, but his mouth did not move. He took both of her hands in his. He didn't look the same as the last time she saw him, when he lay dying. It was him, sure enough, but different. His black hair was no longer streaked with grey, and the grows feet and bags that had surrounded his eyes no longer existed. His eyes themselves though, piercing and green, so intense, yet so full of love - they always remained the same.

"Christine," he spoke again, this time his lips moving. He leaned forward and pressed his warm lips to her forehead. That was the other thing that had changed: he felt so warm now, and the last time she had seen him, his touch was so cold, and it had frightened her. Christine sighed at the touch of her father and closed her eyes. It had been so long since she had felt him kiss her, she could hardly recall. Once he pulled away, he looked into her eyes.

"Do you love him, Christine? Do you love Erik?" She was surprised by his question, but answered without a hint of doubt in her eyes.

"I do, Father, yes. Should I not?" He smiled, his eyes sparkling with the scintillant brilliance that they always had.

"True love is never wrong, mon enfant, never forget that. 'Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.' No matter what happens, Christine, never give up on love." At that moment, he was gone. Her hands that were grasping so tightly to her father's now collapsed into fists, with nothing else to hold to. Contained, one in each fist, were two rings.

Christine opened her eyes to see Erik's face, asleep beside her. She placed a small kiss on his lips and he sighed in his sleep. She sat up, and looked in his hands, shocked. In her left hand, was a white gold ring for a man, in her right, one for a woman. Inscribed on both of them, were three simple words from scripture: 'Love never fails.'

Christine grasped the rings tightly in her hands as Erik led her back to her room. She couldn't try to explain it to him, not yet. She stepped into the boat and held to Erik. He spoke as he began poling across the lake.

"I've been working on something, Christine." The young girl looked up at him with bright, inquisitive eyes.

"What is it?"

"An opera. Don Juan Triumphant. I was wondering, well hoping, you would preform it with me ... "

"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed, cutting in. He looked unsure.

"Don't answer so quickly, Christine. It's unlike anything I'm sure you're used to, or anyone, for that matter. Full of passion and ... " his eyes looked far off, but he suddenly snapped back to reality. "Well, I want you to hear it first." She smiled.

"I am quite sure I will love it, as long as you wrote it. If you insist, though."

Once in her dressing room, when she was sure she was out of Erik's sight, she opened her hand. The two white gold rings glimmered with startling grandeur in her hand as she traced the imprint of them in her palm with her fingertips. She sighed, not sure what to make of it all. She also didn't know what to do with the rings, wanting to keep them close to her, and not wanting to lose them. She looked around her room, and her eyes caught on a vase containing four or five blood red roses, each with a black ribbon around them, from a different occasion. She walked over to them and carefully untied one of the black ribbons. She threaded both rings on, and secured them with a knot. She silently sealed it with a kiss before tying the ribbon around her neck, forming a sort of necklace long enough to tuck behind the front of her dress. 'Love never fails.' The words echoes through her mind, and pulsed at her heart, but she had yet to find how hard it was to never give up on love.

A/N: Yes, much gushiness, I know, but I try to put sweetness when I have sadness too, because I am such a sap. I hope you enjoyed!