A/N: There will be two or three chapters after this one. I will reply individually to each of you in the next chapter.

Thank you ALL!

'She's the one that makes me fall
Midnight moon shines through it all
She's the one that makes my dreams
They call her Mississippi
But she don't flow to me
They call her Mississippi
But she don't flow to me' – Train 'Mississippi'

Brownie points to anyone who knows what Oscuridad means.

Chapter 60- Pursuit

The black stallion with the white mask was called Oscuridad.

And Christine was riding him across the French countryside, following Henry
towards Calais.

Erik had left her Oscuridad in case ... well... just in case.

Suddenly she was glad of all of the riding her father made her do when she was young. The horses hooves were pounding hard on the dry ground, the sound echoing around them and in her ears. Henry led but was closely followed by Christine who was hunched over the front of the horse, allowing it to gallop at it's own speed. They shot past the woodlands on the outskirts of Paris and headed north. Calais was still hours away and Christine knew that they would be lucky to get there before Erik's boat left the next afternoon. She was more than aware that they would need to stop, the horses would need a rest and to water and that there was no way that they could keep up the pace.

It was almost dark and the stars were out, shining above them, breeze touched their bodies and they pushed their horses forward, knowing that delay would be heart break for Christine. As they rode Christine reflected on the evening, on leaving Erik in the street and going back, crying, to Raoul .She thought about the conversation that they had had.

When she had stepped back from Raoul's warm embrace and looked into his soft eyes, she knew he had something to say. He had taken her by the hand, squeezed it gently in his and led her to the sitting room. He sat first and then invited her to sit at his side, no assumptions, no pressure simply Raoul being who he was.

The kind, considerate man that he was.

He had turned to face her, taken her hands in his and held them in his lap, then he had looked into her eyes and released a sigh. As he rubbed her hands with his thumbs it had seemed that he was searching for the right words, any words...

'Christine,' his voice had been sweet but sad. She had glanced at him, looked back into his eyes. 'We need to talk about this.'

She nodded, shaking at tear from her jaw. She felt the pressure on her hands as he squeezed them.

'You know...' he began, and he swallowed. 'You know that I love you. You know that, don't you?'

Again she had moved her head, nodding at him... yes, she knew.

'And that I would give you the world if I had it in my possession... if I could buy it...'

She allowed a small smile to cover her lips.

He sighed.

'Where have you been tonight?' he asked, there was no malice in his voice. When Christine had searched his face she was aware that he already knew the answer.

'Erik's alive,' she choked and he nodded, rubbing her hands gently.

'I know,' he said. 'I saw him.'

Christine had stared at him for a moment in shock.

'When?' she asked.

'A few days ago,' Raoul replied. 'I saw him leaving the Giry household... it was late.'

'I...' she began, but Raoul had stopped her.

'I didn't tell you because at the time I couldn't be sure,' he said, his tone was sorrowed, there had been no anger there.

Christine had bowed her head.

'It's okay,' he said and slipped his finger gently under her chin, lifting her eyes back up to meet his. 'I promise... it's okay.'

'Oh Raoul...' she whispered. 'I do love you.'

'I don't doubt that, Christine,' he said softly. 'I never doubt you... not anymore.'

She kissed his fingertips gently, let him cup her face in his strong hands.

'How is it...' he sighed. 'How is it that I can love you so much, so deeply... that I would give you anything in this world and CAN give you the things you dream of... how is it that the one thing I want to give you I can't?'

'What...'

'I can't make you happy, Christine,' He murmured. 'I try so hard yet I know that I can't... I know that it's impossible.'

'You can...' she said but he had simply shook his head.

'No,' his chest heaved. 'I can't. No matter how desperately I want it... while this continues, I can't make you happy.'

Christine had turned away from him, snatching her hands back and letting her body shake with her sobs. Raoul slid his arms around her and pulled her back to him, back into his chest, and he had held her close, kissing her hair. She cried into his body, her tears soaked through his shirt and wet his skin.

'There is something I can do, isn't there?' he whispered into her hair.

She looked up at him through her tears.

'I can let you go,' he said.

'Raoul...'

'Christine...' he said firmly. 'If you stay with me... if we stay together can you honestly tell me that you will be mine.'

'Of course...' she whispered.

'No,' his voice was hard but not unkind. 'Completely mine... can you tell me that you're heart will belong to me and only me, that you won't think of him when it's dark or when you hear music?'

'No...' she murmured, her voice barely audible.

'Then what choice do I have?' he had asked as he reached out and brushed a tear gently off her cheek.

'I'm your wife,' she said.

'Yes, you are but you don't have to be...'

'Raoul...'

'Listen to me Christine,' he said. 'I love you... and I need you to be happy.'

'But...'

'And he loves you... as much as I hate that I can't change it.'

Christine wiped her eyes with her hand.

'There are other women Christine,' he said and then continued. 'I would choose you above them all… every one… but if you are not there then there will be other women somewhere for me...'

She nodded, it sounded harsh but she knew in her heart that he wasn't being cruel.

She knew he was trying to make everything okay.

'For Erik there is no one else,' he had dropped his head and looked at his hands. 'For him there are no other woman... there is not another woman on this earth that he would ever considering giving his life to... for him there is only you.'

'Raoul...' she said, a tear trickled along her cheek.

'Shh,' he held up his hand. 'I know now that for you there is no other man but him.'

She fell silent, she could hear her own breathing.

'Christine...' he kissed her cheek softly. 'As much as I love you… oh and how I love you… there's a part of me that knows that I could love you for a million years… I could love you for that length of time and still never know how he feels.'

'I love you...'

'I know,' he whispered. 'I love you, too.'

'Then what are we doing?' she asked, letting her eyes move over his face, letting the tears drip from her jaw.

'I'm staying here,' he said gently. 'And you're going to find Erik.'

And so there she was, riding hard and fast across the open land of France, racing time to the beat of her pounding heart.