Chapter Eighteen

With Hawkins being interrogated by Piangi, Christine looked around the court room. They were all staring at her as if she were some kind of mirage. She walked swiftly to the seat at the head of the room and looked around at them all, smiling slightly.

"I'm glad to see you all again. Now, let's have a little talk about how a rebellion rose up and the steward of my country has gone missing. Would anyone care to explain?"

Lord Charlton stood.

"Your highness, it was completely unexpected. We were summoned for a court meeting and Hawkins arrived with his men, told us that Prince Raoul had been disposed off and said that he was in charge. But… how did you come to hear of this?"

"Lord Callin found his way to my home." She said. "It is urgent that I find Raoul. Philippe de Chagny is sending men to help get rid of any remaining rebels and hopefully clear up Rymansia."

"Your highness, will you be staying with us?" Another lord asked, rising.

Christine hesitated.

"Only as long as it takes. It has been made quite clear that I cannot take the throne and it would be quite impossible to leave my husband, especially now that we have a child." There was an outburst of gasps and talking. Christine lifted her hand. "Yes, we have a child. A daughter of four years. But if we could return to the subject of Rymansia…"

Erik looked up as something caught his eye. Serenity was scrambling along the floor. She'd learnt to crawl recently and hadn't stopped since. He peered under the piano and saw her coming towards him. She smiled, a few tiny pearl teeth showing. He held out his hands and she shuffled towards him, laughing.

Raoul came into painful consciousness once again. He looked around the cellar and then closed his eyes. There were no rebels. There had been until now. He was grateful for their absence; it would provide him with some time to recover from their last beating. One of his legs was clearly broken and he could barely breathe. A small pool of blood was gathering beneath him.

Somebody… somebody help me…

"Christine, where is Serenity?" Erik said, looking around the kitchen door. Christine stared at him.

"I thought she was with you."

"No, I've been in the library."

"But… but I heard the piano not a moment ago." They stared at each other and then both rushed to the music room. Serenity was perched on the seat, randomly pushing keys and smiling at the pretty sounds she could make.

"Christine is here? In Rymansia?" Meg said in disbelief as she poured tea for Erik. He nodded.

"She told me not to come, but I had to. She won't be safe and if she gets hurt, I will be here to protect her. Why aren't you in the castle?"

"We left before Hawkins took over. He and my mother… they do not get on well. But Monsieur Destler, Christine will be in danger if she stays here."

"I am aware of that, Little Giry. But I need to find Raoul de Chagny before I do anything. I trust Christine to take care of herself, especially if she is with Ubaldo Piangi." Erik said.

The door to the house flew open and Marie Giry burst in. She stopped short at the sight of the masked man sat at the table and the young child who was under the table, playing with a doll.

"Good Heavens!"

"Mama, Christine is in Rymansia!" Meg burst out.

"I know, Marguerite. I have just heard it from one of the Royal Guard. She is in the court house, Piangi has Hawkins. But there is still fighting going on." Marie said, recovering almost instantly. Erik stood.

"Do you know where Raoul is?"

"No, Monsieur. At least…" She hesitated and then closed the door behind her. "I have heard rumours that he may be in the abandoned outpost. I cannot vouch for that though."

"An outpost? Where is it?"

"At the outskirts." Marie said. "You have to travel to the far west of the city to find it. But… he is probably dead by now, Monsieur."

"That may be so, but I cannot risk the chance that he is alive." Erik said. He looked down at the girl under the table. "Serenity."

She crawled out and smiled up at him.

"Yes, Papa?"

"I'm going out for a short while. You will be staying here with Marie. I assume that is alright?" He looked at Marie who nodded and looked closely at the girl.

"This is…?"

"Serenity, our daughter." Erik said. He embraced her tightly, pressing his lips to her forehead before standing and going to the door. Serenity looked up at Marie and Meg dubiously. Marie smiled and knelt before her.

"Hello Serenity. My name is Marie. I used to know your Mama, when she was a little girl."

"Mama was a little girl?" She seemed quite surprised by the fact.

"Yes, she was. Now, let's clean you up and see if we can't find you something to eat." Marie said, taking Serenity by the hand.

I swear to God, Erik and Christine. If you leave this girl an orphan I will personally see to it that you are both sent to hell!

"Mama! Papa!" They stirred awake and looked blearily at the child bouncing on the bed.

"What is it, Serenity?"

"Snowing! It's snowing!"

"How charming. It's also four o' clock in the morning." Erik mumbled. Christine climbed out of bed and crossed to the window. Looking outside she smiled at the steadily thickening blanket that was softly settling over the land. Serenity caught her hand.

"Can we play, Mama?"

"Not now. But after breakfast we'll wrap up and play in the snow."

"Want to play NOW!"

"Now you're going back to bed, young lady." Christine said firmly. Serenity screeched and dashed across to the bed, scrambling under the covers. Erik blinked down at her and Christine shrugged.

"I didn't clarify whose bed."

"Oh, leave her." Erik said sleepily. Christine smiled and climbed back into bed, the warm little figure of Serenity between her parents, already dozing off.

"He isn't talking." Piangi told Christine. It was several hours after Hawkins' arrest and she was now at the castle, trying to clear up the mess that Hawkins had made of her country. She sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"Give it another try. If he still doesn't tell us anything, get some men searching. Start with his home, see if we can find any hints as to where Raoul might be."

"Yes, your highness. Also, the troops of Hirlos will be here by sundown."

"Good. Settle them in the guard dormitories, get anything you need from the castle to accommodate them." Christine said. Piangi saluted and left.

Christine turned back to the desk, trying to decide what was most urgent. Several buildings needed repairing, the physicians were ploughed under with injured citizens and half of the city was deserted with no sign of where the inhabitants had gone.

She sighed heavily. She wanted to be with Erik and Serenity and as long as Rymansia was still disrupted like this, she couldn't. Hawkins had better talk or she'd go down there and beat it out of him herself.

"Did Sleeping Beauty wake up?" Serenity asked Erik, looking closely at a picture of the princess. Erik nodded.

"Yes, when the prince kissed her."

"Oh. Doesn't she have a Mama to wake her up?"

"Her Mama couldn't wake her, because of the spell. Only the prince could wake her."

"Oh."

Serenity contemplated the situation.

"I don't think princesses are very fun. They just sleep a lot."

Raoul heard the door creak open. Harsh light hit his eyes and he closed them in agony as a dark figure stepped into the room. What more could they do to him? Would they finally grant him the mercy of death?

But instead of inflicting more pain on him, the figure knelt. Raoul peered at him and as his eyes accustomed to the light, he recognised the white mask.

"Erik…"

"Don't talk." Erik said, examining the injuries. Of which there were many. He stood. "Lean against me. I'm going to untie you."

He shifted Raoul so he had an arm around his neck before untying the ropes. Raoul's wrists were rubbed raw, the skin red and sore. Almost as soon as he was free of the ropes, Raoul fell against Erik, who only just managed to support him.

"I don't… Hawkins… you have to stop Hawkins…" Raoul said hoarsely.

"He's been taken care of. You just concentrate on getting out of here in one piece. Now stop talking."

Once outside, Erik considered the best way to transport Raoul to the castle. He had only brought one horse, not knowing what he would find. Now he considered Raoul. He suspected that many of the injuries were only flesh wounds. The broken leg, on the other hand, would need taking care of. Erik could deal with simple breaks but this looked as if it were snapped in at least two places.

"I'm going to put you on the horse and then lead you back into the city."

With a considerably amount of effort, he heaved Raoul onto the horse's back. Raoul gritted his teeth in agony and Erik took the reins, leading the horse back towards the city, using the outline of the castle as his guide. But first he would need to collect his daughter.

Erik stared at his daughter. If it WAS his daughter beneath all that dirt.

"Serenity Destler, what in heaven's name have you been doing?"

"Just playing."

"In mud?"

"I was digging." Serenity said proudly. That did not bode well. Erik steadied himself.

"Digging what, Serenity?"

"For flowers. Mama said she was going to plant flowers, so I dug her a hole to put them in."

Erik risked going to the kitchen window. He winced at the sight of Christine's cherished flowerbed.

"Serenity, you and I are going to have to talk about gardening one of these days." He said, rolling up his sleeves and heading to the backdoor. Serenity followed delightedly at the prospect at more digging.

Christine looked out of the window. It was nearing evening now. She should have been settling Serenity down for bed, reading her some more of the story, singing her a lullaby. She should be going downstairs to sit with Erik in the living room, to talk quietly and lovingly about everything and nothing, living without a care in the world.

She fought back tears. This wasn't fair! She had given this up. She had made her choice; she had chosen to leave Rymansia. Why was she being forced into this again?

"Mama!"

Christine smiled, hugging the two year old Serenity.

"Yes, darling?"

"'Yesha is bad cat." Serenity pouted. Christine smiled.

"Ayesha is a lovely cat."

"Scratched." Serenity said, pointing to a tiny scratch on her hand. Christine sighed.

"Why did she scratch you?"

"Pulled tail."

"Well, of course she'll scratch you if you pull her tail! It hurts her."

Serenity's pout grew considerably and Christine smiled.

"Oh, don't sulk, sweetheart. Why don't you help me make a cake for Papa?"

A single tear escaped and she hastily wiped it away for fear that someone should see. That would not do at all. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, composing herself. Which was lucky, as there was a knock at the study door.

"Come in." She called and a servant entered, looking excited.

"Your highness! He's here!"

"Who is here?" Christine asked tiredly.

"Raoul de Chagny and… and your husband." The servant breathed, delighted at being able to break this news.

Christine stared at her blankly for a moment and then pushed past, running to the entrance hall. Standing in the doorway were three people, watched curiously by most of the servants of the castle. Erik, holding up an unsteady and bleeding Raoul and the small figure of Serenity who instantly ran at Christine.

"Mama!"

Christine caught Serenity, lifting her up as several servants gasped and began to whisper amongst themselves. She moved forwards and covered her mouth in horror at the sight of Raoul. She instantly turned to a servant.

"Fetch Firmin immediately! Erik, take him to the living room for now." She helped him carry Raoul and they sat him on the sofa. Christine looked at her husband.

"What on earth are you doing here?"

"Did you really think that I would allow you to go running off with no assistance?" Erik asked sceptically. Christine lifted an eyebrow.

"I can tell you exactly what I think of it later. For now, let's get Raoul cleaned up."

Firmin arrived a few minutes later.

"My God!" He said, appalled at the state Raoul was. He looked at Erik and Christine, "Excuse us, please. It will be hard enough to fix this without an audience."

The Destler family left the living room and Christine instantly turned to Erik, slipping her arms around him.

"I'm so glad you're here…"

"But you just said-"

"I know. But I'm glad nonetheless." She smiled and then looked down at Serenity. She was sucking her thumb, watching her parents silently. Christine hugged her daughter tightly and Serenity sighed, but put up with it. Parents were often like this, they always needed hugging.

Christine looked back to Erik.

"Let's go to the study, I'll order some food and drinks."

"Mama, is this a castle?" Serenity asked curiously.

"Yes, it is."

"Like in Sleeping Beauty?"

"I… well, it is a little."

"Is there a princess here?"

"Serenity, why don't you have some milk and we'll tell you all about the castle?" Erik suggested, guiding her away. Christine thanked him silently and turned to a waiting servant.

"Some refreshments in the study please. And would you make sure that there's a spare room for my daughter?"

"Yes, your highness. Shall I inform the court that Prince Raoul has been found?"

"Yes and Captain Piangi."

She followed Erik and Serenity to the study, where she found Erik trying to explain to Serenity the Rymansian law and making it needlessly complicated. Serenity was clearly trying to follow his explanation.

"Uh… Christine, would you help?" He said. She smiled.

"Oh, but I'm having so much fun watching you try to explain."

"Christine." He said irritably.

"Fine." She sat down and pulled Serenity onto her lap. "Serenity, I'm a princess."

"Like Sleeping Beauty?"

"Yes. But I didn't want to be a princess so Papa and I went away."

"Are you a princess again now?" Serenity asked.

"For a little while. But soon we'll go home and then I won't be a princess anymore."

Serenity nodded and looked at Erik.

"Is Papa a prince?"

"Certainly not." Erik huffed and Christine laughed.

"No, Papa isn't a prince. Because princesses don't always marry princes."

"They do in stories." Serenity pointed out. Christine eyed Erik.

"See? I knew it was a bad idea to read her those!"

The door opened and a maid entered, carrying a large tray of cakes and tea. Serenity smiled at the maid who blinked at her in surprise.

"Is that a princess too?" Serenity asked Christine. The maid laughed and then clamped a hand over her mouth. Christine smiled at her.

"No, Serenity, she isn't a princess."

"Excuse me, your highness. Firmin is asking for you." Another servant appeared. Christine set Serenity onto the sofa and followed him out.

Firmin was by the living room door.

"Your highness. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"And you, Firmin. How is he?" Christine asked concernedly.

"His leg is badly broken. I will set that shortly. Much of the damage will heal by itself, scratches and bruises, and so on. He'll be a terrible sight for a few weeks but he's a strong young man. I would prefer to treat him in a bedroom though. I can give him to make him sleep and then work on his leg."

"Of course. I'll have someone take him upstairs immediately."

Firmin nodded and then smiled fondly at her.

"You have a child, your highness. I'm delighted for you." Christine smiled.

"Thank you, Firmin. Would you care to meet her?"

"I would love to."

"Come and have some tea in the study whilst the medicine is making Raoul fall asleep and I'll introduce you."

Serenity peeked around the living room door. She was supposed to be in bed, but the storm was so frightening. Mama and Papa were sat on the sofa together, talking quietly.

"It's been three years, Erik. I left him in charge, I don't want it to seem as though I were imposing after granting him that power."

"You won't be imposing, Christine. Raoul is your friend, our friend. You should write to him at least."

"That part of my life is over, Erik. I'm not royalty anymore." She looked up at Papa and smiled briefly. "I have everything I need here. Why bring up the past?"

There was a rumble do thunder and Serenity cried out, darting into the room. Her parents looked around and Papa picked her up.

"What is it, Serenity?"

"Don't like it!"

"The storm?" Serenity nodded, burying her face in Erik's shoulder. Mama smiled and kissed her head.

"Don't worry. We'll protect you."

Raoul didn't recognise where he was at first. He blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling and then looked around. But he knew the woman sat in the chair nearby, reading. She looked up and smiled.

"Hello Raoul."

"Christine…" He tried to sit up but she stopped him.

"Don't. You're still weak."

Raoul lay back on the pillows and looked at her.

"Hawkins?"

"Imprisoned. He'll be put on trial as soon as possible. How do you feel?"

"Terrible." He winced and eyed the heavy white cast on his leg. Christine followed his gaze.

"That's the worst of it. You've got plenty of cuts and bruises. Do you remember Erik finding you?"

"No… no, I just remember being tied in that place and… and this happening." Raoul gestured at the injuries.

Christine touched his hand and he clasped hers tightly.

"Christine, I can hardly believe that you are here."

"That would make two of us."

"And Erik is here?"

"Yes. And so is Serenity. Our daughter." Raoul blinked and mouthed wordlessly. Christine released his hand.

"I have to… there are things that I need to do."

"Of course."

Christine got to her feet and looked down at Raoul.

"Raoul… we will have to talk as soon as you are able."

"What about?"

"About Rymansia. But not yet. Just concentrate on getting well."

She was gone before he could speak. Leaning against the closed door, Christine closed her eyes. Rymansia could have been lost, could have been ruined. She trusted Raoul, she truly did. But now she found that she was reluctant to release her country back into his hands.

A/N: Whew, long chapter. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review! People mentioned that they'd like to see what happened during the missing five years so I put in the little flashbacks. I hope it doesn't break up the chapter too much.

Lotsa luv

Katie