Chapter 26

"Everything changes but beauty remains

Something so tender, I can't explain

Well I may be dreaming but til I awake

Can't we make this dream last forever?

And I'll cherish all the love we share

Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this

Some people search forever for that one special kiss

Oh, I can't believe it's happening to me

Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this"

-Kelly Clarkson, "A Moment Like This"

Julianna suddenly pulled away from Erik's warm embrace and held his hand gently. She just realized how much danger he was in, being in the middle of Paris… at night, no less. There were probably guards everywhere looking for him. "Erik, what are you doing here?" she asked firmly, but he could hear the worry in her voice. "I told you not to come," she said, squeezing his hand tightly.

"I'm sorry," he said, caressing her cheek tenderly. "I followed you. I just had to make sure that you were safe…" He looked at her desperately. "Please don't be angry with me…"

"Oh, Erik, I'm not," she said, kissing his cheek. "I'm just terribly worried that someone might recognize you and turn you in." She paused for a moment. "Wait… you followed me?" she asked eyes opening wide.

"Yes, I followed you, my love," he replied. "How else would I be able to keep an eye on you?" Then all of a sudden, he remembered exactly where he'd followed her. He doubted she ever would have gone to either the Opera House or the de Chagny residence if she'd known he was there.

Oh my God, she thought. He was there when I went down under the Opera Populaire… to his old home. And he was there when I went to la Maison de Chagny… and visited Christine… the woman he used to love with all his heart. How could I have been so stupid? she asked herself. How did I not know he was there… watching? And now he's probably seen her, and perhaps he still has feelings for her. I thought I'd finally found someone to love…

"Julianna, what's wrong?" Erik asked, pulling her into his arms again. She looked truly distressed and upset, as if she'd lost something precious to her. Was she upset because he'd followed her? he wondered. That couldn't possibly be why she was so distraught all of a sudden, could it?

"You followed me… everywhere?" she whispered, clinging to his warm body. She had to be sure. Maybe he didn't see Christine. Hopefully he didn't. Julianna didn't want him being around Christine too much. He may just decide he loves her all over again.

He nodded. "I did," he said, gently. "To the pharmacy… under the Opera House… to the Vicomte de Chagny's manor…"

She gasped. "Did you see her?" she asked, trembling slightly. She couldn't help it. She loved Erik so much… she didn't want to lose him. Not now. She would do anything … give up anything just to be with him … forever.

"Who? Christine?" he asked, kissing Julianna's forehead and massaging her back softly, trying to cease her trembling. He had no idea why she was so worried. Was it because of Christine? Was she worried that he would go back to Christine?

Julianna nodded, solemnly. "Yes … Christine," she said, voice cracking.

That is what she's worried about, Erik decided. She's afraid that I would leave her for Christine. Good God, can't she see how much I love her? I would never go back to Christine now… not after experiencing true love with Julianna. And after everything we've been through, she still thinks there's a chance that I would choose Christine over her. "Yes, I saw her," he said, voice suddenly emotionless.

Julianna frowned. "How did that make you feel?" she asked quietly.

"It made me feel many things," he said, caressing Julianna's cheek, feeling the tears that spilled from her eyes. "Hatred, anger, betrayal, pain…" Erik continued. "Terrible things… I didn't like being around her at all." He bent down to kiss Julianna's lips lovingly. "I could never go back to her … because I could never leave you. I love you," he said, pressing his lips to hers again. "Can't you see how much I love you?" he whispered.

"I can," Julianna said softly, wrapping her slender arms around his perfect waist and pulling him against her. "I love you, Erik," she said. "I love you so much."

He bent down and kissed her again, letting his lips lingers on hers for a moment. "We should go," he said, wiping away the last of her remaining tears. "It's getting late."

She smiled and pulled his hood back over his head, hiding his visage from the world around them. "Come, Erik," she said, taking his hand. "Let's go." She led him back to where their two horses were waiting patiently. She gasped when she saw the brown gelding that Erik had been riding. "Stormy," she said, patting the horse gently. She looked at Erik, with a shocked look on her face. "How did you ever ride Stormy?" she asked, amazed. "He's wild. I've never even been able to stay on his back for any longer than a few seconds."

Erik shrugged. "He didn't seem wild to me," he said smiling. "I guess he just likes me, hmm?" he said, rubbing the horse's neck affectionately. Stormy rested his head on Erik's shoulder gently, nibbling on the fabric of his cloak.

Julianna just shook her head. "He does like you," she said, unable to resist the compulsion to kiss Erik passionately. Erik parted his lips, eagerly giving her tongue access to his warm mouth. She cupped his face gently and pulled him against her mouth, encouraging him to kiss her harder. When she eventually pulled apart from his inviting lips, she could hear his breathing become ragged with need. This was definitely not a good time to be kissing him. They needed to be heading home as soon as possible … the life of a child depended on that.

The horse neighed loudly, rubbing his head on Erik's back. Erik smiled and scratched Stormy behind the ears. "Jealous, aren't you?" he said, rubbing the horse's long, muscular neck.

"Jealous of what exactly?" Julianna asked Erik, holding his hand gently.

"Why, you, my love," he said, pressing his lips to her palm lovingly. "Don't you know that you are every man's dream?" he whispered. "I just don't know why you're in love with me."

"Oh, Erik," she said, kissing his soft lips. "You know perfectly well why I'm in love you." She put her arms around his waist. "You're an incredibly amazing man, you're smart, you're unbelievably charming… and not to mention, you're the most handsome, beautiful, sexy man I've ever met."

Erik chuckled quietly, deeply pleased by her words. If she thought he was all of those things, then he would be happy. He didn't care what anyone else thought. All that mattered was what she thought. He wanted more than anything to make her happy, and for her to be happy, he would have to believe. If she said he was charming and handsome, then he was. He could finally believe her, and he was overcome with happiness. He kissed her softly, smiling widely. "Come, my love," he said, cheerfully. "We should be getting home."

Julianna smiled. He'd just called her house 'home.' His home… no, their home. "Of course, Erik," she said happily. She looked over at the horses. "Can we ride double?" she asked, smiling at him mischievously.

"If you want to," he said, grinning playfully.

"Do you?" she asked, gently caressing his cheek.

"You know I do," he said, pressing his body against hers, playfully, but only for a second. She reached out for him as he moved away, not wanting his body to be separated from hers. God, he was so sexy she could hardly stand it. Erik grinned, and slid one arm around her back and the other under her thighs and picked her up gently, almost effortlessly. He was very strong, even though one couldn't tell from his outward appearance.

She held onto his neck tightly, not liking not being in control of her legs. She was completely powerless to him, but she trusted him fully. He gently helped her onto Duke, and then he took his cape that was full of his clothes and tied it to Stormy's saddle.

"I forgot about that," Julianna said. "I brought you some of your clothes." She just hoped he wouldn't be angry with her for going to his old home.

"I know," he said, softly. "I was there…" Watching you sniff my clothes, you naughty little devil. You have no idea what that does to a man…

"You're not mad at me, are you?" she asked. "For going down there?"

"No, I'm not mad," he said. "It was just hard… seeing what they did to it. That place was my home for most of my life…"

"I'm sorry," she said, sadly. "They shouldn't have. That's just another example of how cruel human beings really are. I truly am sorry."

"Nothing to worry about, my love," he said. "I would never go back there anyway. I always thought I would die underneath that Opera House. That is, until I found that there was something better out here."

"What's that?" Julianna asked, resisting the urge to jump off of the horse and kiss Erik to death. What they did to him was cruel and pitiless. No one deserved that. Not even the most vicious criminals deserved the punishment Erik received just for having half a deformed face.

"You," he said, smiling at her. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I can't even tell you how much I love you… because no matter how many times I say it, I still love you more."

"I love you, Erik," she whispered. "I love you so much."

He quickly tied Stormy to the saddle, so the horse could travel along with them and not wander off. Then, he climbed up on Duke behind Julianna. The saddle was small, and they barely fit in it. If they both hadn't been so skinny, they wouldn't have fit. But still they were squeezed together pretty tightly, not that either of them minded.

As they traveled through the city, they didn't talk much. Not because they didn't want to … they just didn't want to draw too much unwanted attention to themselves. They decided they must have been quite a strange sight … a beautiful woman dressed like a man and a man wearing a hooded cloak, hiding his face.

They were both immensely relieved when they arrived at the edge of the city. Luckily, they hadn't been spotted by any of the guards. Don't know how we managed that, Julianna thought. There were guards everywhere, but none of them seemed the least bit suspicious of Julianna and Erik. Apparently, they weren't very bright.

When the city was completely gone from their view, Julianna kicked her horse in the sides, and they sped up to a fast gallop. Erik held on to Julianna more tightly, wondering how she could even see the road since it was so dark. Even Erik, who had lived most of his life in the dark, couldn't make out the road in the pitch-black darkness.

He looked up to the sky, seeing that there was no moon and no stars … no sources of light at all. Either it was very cloudy or it was a new moon, but that still didn't explain the missing stars. "It's so dark," Erik said, breaking the long silence. "How can you see?"

"I can't very well," she said, smiling. "But I trust Duke here will get us home safely. He knows the way back," she said, reaching down to pat the horse affectionately.

Erik smiled as the horse whinnied and sped up a little with a sudden fresh jolt of energy. "Tell me what it was like being a pirate," he asked suddenly.

"What do you want to know?" she asked, pleased at his interest in her past life.

"Everything!" he said, genuinely fascinated.

"Well," she began. "The life of a pirate isn't easy. You never know for sure who you can trust, and you always live with the fear of being captured and incarcerated, and then hung, without even a fair trial. Many people believe that pirates are just brainless drunks with enough muscle and gunpowder to raid and sink any ship out on the sea. Truth is, pirates are quite clever, not to mention organized. If the French army recruited pirates, then they would most certainly win every skirmish. The reason people believe we are unintelligent drunks is only because the only pirates that allowed themselves to be captured were the incredibly stupid ones, and they were probably drunk, too." Julianna smiled sweetly. "What else do you want to know?"

Erik thought for a moment. "What is it like sailing on a ship?" he asked, finally. "I haven't been on one since I was a child. I don't really remember what it was like."

"Sailing is hard work, and you have to know exactly what you're doing," she said. "If you mess up once, it could cost you your life, as well as the lives of your mates. My father chose only the best men to be his crew. They had to be smart, strong, and have good hand-eye coordination… among other things. Being the captain of a ship is difficult. It's not just about the status or rank. A captain has to earn the trust and loyalty of his crew. To be a captain, you have to be able to account for every inch of your ship and crew at any time … and you have to know the oceans. To be good at anything, you have to become one with your surroundings… in this case, the sea. You have to feel the water, the waves … as if it were your heartbeat, your life force. Do you understand?"

"More than you could ever know," Erik replied. "It's the same with music. When you write music, it isn't absolutely necessary to hear it. You have to feel it … become it. A famous composer, Ludwig van Beethoven, was almost completely deaf when he wrote some of the last of his compositions. And they were beautiful. Hearing the music has nothing to do with it. Anyone can hear it. To succeed as a composer, you must become the music you create. You and it are one."

Julianna smiled. "You really do understand," she said. "Not many people can grasp the concept of becoming one with such things as the sea or music. In the end, it's your heart, not your brain that will allow you to succeed."

"So very true," he said. "No book can show you how. The ability can only be found deep within your very soul. Few have succeeded."

"You and I have, my love," she said softly. "You know, I miss the ocean. I don't know why my father had to build his house so far away from it."

"You should return to the sea sometime," he said, lovingly. "It would be good for you. I'd go with you, and you can show me the ocean that has captured your heart."

"I never really thought about going back," she said. "After my fiancé died, after my father died, I told myself I would never go back. But I'd lost everything … I was dead inside. If I'd went back out on the ocean, I surely would have died, because I had no will to live at that time." She took a deep breath. "But I would like to go back… someday. And I would be very pleased if you would come with me."

"Of course, I will," he said. "I'd love to." Anything she loved found a place in his heart as well. Suddenly he realized that they were talking about the future. She said 'someday.' He'd always dreamed that they would be together in the future, but nothing was certain. They hadn't even talked about marriage. Erik's mind screamed as he realized that they might not end up together. What would he do then? Die probably … because he surely couldn't live without her. But would she even want to marry him? She didn't seem like the kind of woman that would settle down and have a family. But he didn't know for sure. Besides, she did say that she liked pretending to be married to him.

"Julianna," he said, voice serious. "This isn't anything formal but…" He paused trying to find the right words. "Would you ever consider marrying me?" he asked softly. "Would you consider being my wife?"

Julianna smiled happily. Erik wanted to marry her. Why does this feel so much better than when my dead fiancé asked me to marry him? she wondered. Probably because Erik and I have no secrets to hide from each other. We can love each other fully and without restraint.

Erik swallowed hard, trying to wait patiently for her answer, but that was proving to be rather difficult. What if she says no? he asked himself.

Julianna could feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest. Was he really that nervous? "Yes," she said, lovingly. "Yes, I'll marry you Erik. I was wondering if you were going to ask. But don't go formally proposing to me until we get this thing with Christine in order."

Erik smiled. He'd never felt so happy in all of his life. He was the luckiest man in the world, because he was going to marry the most beautiful and amazing woman in the entire world… once they are free of Christine. Erik frowned. "And how are we going to accomplish that?" he asked, kissing Julianna's ear tenderly. He really wanted her mouth, but he couldn't exactly reach it at the moment. But he couldn't resist kissing her somewhere. She wanted to be his wife. His wife.

"I don't know," Julianna said, unable to contain her happiness. The most handsome and incredible man in the world wanted to marry her. I am not worthy of him, she thought. I don't deserve him. But God, I love him so much. "Kill her?" Julianna suggested.

"I don't think so!" he exclaimed, surprised. Was she truly willing to kill one of her few friends just so she could be with him? Now that's what I call devotion, he thought, cheerfully. "You can't kill her. Once you're my wife, I'm not going to allow you to kill anyone else. It's not good for you… and I don't want you to get it trouble. You're certain to get caught one of these days."

"And you're going to stop me, Erik?" she asked, teasingly. "I specifically remember you saying something along the line of … a woman should never have to give up any part of who she is for a man."

"So, you're a murderer then?" he joked, kissing her ear again.

"Um, yeah!" she said. "You haven't realized that by now?"

Erik laughed heartily. Julianna could be so amusing at times. "But seriously," he said. "What are we going to do about Christine?"

Julianna frowned. "I really don't know," she said, darkly. "We have a couple of days to think about it though." She took one hand off of the reins and reached back to rub Erik's leg tenderly. "Don't worry," she said. "We'll think of something." She grinned, and continued to massage his leg. "We're almost home."

Well, there's Chapter 26. Tell me what you think. Sorry it took so long to write. I've been so tired because of soccer practice and stuff. Three and a half hours a day of practice. It's a lot of fun, but it's hard work… Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Please review. : )