Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please don't sue me.

A/N: I'm sorry if the last chapter seemed a little jumpy. I was having a hard time figuring out what I wanted to say. Hopefully this one will be better. Please enjoy and keep on reviewing!

Chapter 21: Love for the Broken Hearts

He found me a month later. I never expected him to come after me. I knew he had every right to be angry. The one thing he asked of me was that I never touch the mask or try to take it off. And I had tried. I knew I deserved the exile I was in. But, he came after me anyway.

I'd been in America for three months, making it about the end of July. It was hot and humid and I was busy playing waitress and cook at the little boarding house where I lived. I had felt bad asking for a job, but it seemed the landlord needed a cook because his previous one had just moved home to New York. So, I was hired. Thankfully my cooking skills had improved over the last two years. They improved even more as I got used to cooking for large groups of people.

As I was saying, I was busy playing waitress. There were about twenty men in the dinning room, most of them there to take a look at the Civil War damage. I had my back turned toward the door, but I heard it open.

"Be there in one second." I said over my shoulder as I handed one man a bowl of soup and another man a plate full of fish. They were laughing and one of them playfully reach out and swatted me. I just glared and moved on. Men were always doing stuff like that and I was getting used to it, unfortunately.

I turned to ask what I could get for the newcomer. I dropped the tray I was holding, sending two plates spinning across the room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me. I did a double take. Nothing. There was nothing there. I could have sworn I saw Erik standing before me, but he was gone.

"Are you okay, Elizabeth?" Mr. King, the landlord, called to me from the kitchen. "You look like you just saw a ghost." I told him I was fine. My imagination was just playing tricks on me, I told myself. Erik would never come for me. I glanced around trying to see who had walked in the door. I saw no one. Sighing, I realized it must have been the wind.

The rest of the day went by without incident. I was exhausted when I finally made it to my bed in the attic of the house. It wasn't the best room, getting rather hot at night, but it had an astonishing view of the ocean. Tonight, though, I was too tired to stare out my window. I collapsed into bed and fell asleep.

What awoke me, I will never know. All I do know is that once I woke up, I heard a voice singing. It was the most wonderful voice; it seemed to be beckoning me outside and I knew I had to follow it. I threw on my old cloak and crept out of the house. The voice surrounded me and I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Later, after reviewing the events, I realized a shadow had followed me the whole time. Erik had been in my room, singing to me, and now he was leading me somewhere private.

I wandered down to the beach. His voice led me across the sand of the beach and into a clump of trees on the edge. By now, he had somehow gotten around me and was in front, within the trees. I stumbled through the underbrush, which snagged on my dress, and came upon a small glade.

The spell his voice put over me was broken as soon as he stopped singing. He stood there before me, the cloak I had gotten him for one Christmas swirling around his ankles. I about collapsed. He was as handsome as he was the day I ran away. My heart almost stopped. I was still in love with him and I could no longer deny it to myself. We stared at each other for several seconds before either of us spoke. He broke the silence.

"Why did you leave?" He whispered, looking at me. I cringed under his stare, made worse by the mask, and felt one inch tall. I had left for no real reason and he knew it.

"I was scared." I defended lamely. His shoulders slumped and I wanted to kick myself. Every person in this world was afraid of him, of his deformity. I'd always claimed not to be one of them.

"I do not blame you. There is much you should fear in me. If you are happy here, I'll leave." He turned to disappear through the trees. I rushed toward him and grabbed his arm.

"No, don't leave. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know I was wrong. I know I should never have left. And I should never have tried to touch the mask. Forgive me. I left because I was ashamed. I…" I choked on my tears. "I broke your trust. It was the one thing you asked of me and I tried to do it. Oh, I am so sorry. Forgive me. Please, forgive me."

I broke down for the second time in three months. I just sobbed. Erik stood there and watched me. I don't know if he felt uncomfortable or if he thought if he held me I would become angry. Either way, I cried with only myself for comfort. When I finally stopped, I looked up to see tears falling down Erik's cheek. Gently, I reached up to wipe them away. He stiffened, not surprisingly, but once he saw my mission, he relaxed.

"Please, don't cry. You have no reason to cry. You haven't done anything wrong." I pleaded, knowing his crying would only make me cry harder. He clasped my wrist in his hand and held it against his face. His other hand reached out to trace the fading lines of the bruise.

"Haven't I?" He sighed, his hand following the curvature of my jaw. "I was angry. You are right, though, you should never have touched the mask. But that doesn't give me the right to hit you. Nothing will ever give me the right to hit you. It's you who must forgive me." Tears pooled in his eyes again and his hands dropped, releasing both my jaw and other hand.

"Erik, I've already forgiven you. You did nothing to be upset about. My jaw wasn't broken. It's me who has reason to beg pardon. I was the one who did the unthinkable. Will you forgive me?" That was the second time I'd had to ask for his forgiveness. Was I always to be domed to do the wrong thing in his presence? Thankfully not, but I did not know that.

"Yes, Elizabeth, I forgive you. You were frightened and carried away by your emotions. I don't blame you, only the circumstances. Elizabeth…" He stopped and turned to face the sea, a distant blue outline through the trees. All the night bugs seemed to have stopped their chirping and singing, as if in suspense. Wind whipped through the trees causing them to bend and sway. A wave crashed onto the shore, sending a group of sea gulls scurrying toward the moon. Suddenly revealed from behind a cloud, she shone silver light into the glade.

"What is it, Erik?" I questioned. My heart was in my throat and I could feel the familiar pressure of my chest tightening in nervousness. What was happening around me? The world was waiting. But waiting for what? He turned toward me, the moon highlighting the mask and bathing the dark figure in moonlight. He might have been some fairy prince come from the land of fairies to carry me off. A breath of wind caught his hair and made it dance.

"Elizabeth, I'm a composer of the most beautiful music. I'm a genius in all sense of the word. Even you come when I call with no questions." I blushed. "And yet, what I want to say I cannot say. The words stick in my throat like honey eaten too fast without a drink." He laughed dryly. "Tell me, what am I to do? The moon gives her consent to this night. Why is it that I hesitate and can't seem to find the right words?" I was utterly confused. I had no idea what he was talking about. My nerves were becoming tighter and tighter with each passing second. What was it that he wanted to tell me?

"I see I am confusing you. I'm sorry." He apologized. "I can't believe this is happening. I thought never to feel this again. But, here you are. Nothing like her and yet so much the same." His eyes turned tender and he stepped toward me. "Elizabeth, I'm in love with you." I felt all color drain from my face and my heart stop. He loved me? Impossible, right? I looked down at the ground trying to comprehend what he had just told me.

"You love me? I thought… I thought you would never love anyone after Christine." He shook his head.

"I thought so as well. But, here I am again laying my heart on the threshing floor, waiting for it to be torn apart again. But, I can no longer deny it. I'm in love with you. Before you say anything or tell me that which might send me to the grave, let me say this. I am still in love with Christine. My love for her is like a raging river which consumes all and will never go away. What I feel for you is different. It's like the ocean yonder. Calm and steady with only the barest of ripples. Elizabeth, can you in some way love me back?" Looking into his eyes, I knew he expected me to say no. His other love had rejected him. Why should I be any different?

I was different, however. It did not matter to me that he still loved Christine. I knew he would always love her. There are some loves that last a life time though they are never meant to be. I felt for him what he felt for Christine. I hesitated one moment before confessing.

"Erik, I love you. I've always loved you. From the moment I heard you play that night I've been hopelessly in love with you. I never thought you could feel the same way." His eyes seemed to brighten with what must have been relief. "I've always wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how you would take it."

"It was probably best you didn't tell me. I would most likely have yelled at you and then forbidden you to stay in the house." A mischievous light gleamed in his eyes. I think he was just joking about the forbidding me to stay part. But, I'm still not quite sure. "Are you sure you love me, Elizabeth? I am not the easiest person to love nor would I believe one such as you could love me."

"I do love you, Erik, more than anything. And I always will." We stepped toward each other and soon found we were locked in an embrace. Who initiated it, I will never know. We stood there, under the canopy of the moon and trees, as the wind swirled around. He drew back and traced his gloved fingers across my face. I stood there enjoying the moment. Who would ever have thought I'd find love in the 19th century?

"You are beautiful, Elizabeth." He whispered, voice a husky low. "You're like the moon, radiate and graceful. I'm so hopelessly in love with you." His next words were rather rash, but I suppose the moment kind of carried us both across the threshold of sensibility. "Ask me for anything, and it will be yours. I would give you the world if I could." I thought for a second about the question. I knew what I wanted. How would he react this time, though?

"Only one thing I want from you, besides your love. The mask is a hindrance. Please, let me see who you really are. You have nothing to fear. I love you. Love conquers all." He stiffened. I knew he didn't believe me. If love conquered all, he'd be with Christine rather than me.

"You don't know what you ask for. Why do you wish to break my heart? I promised you anything, no matter how painful. Do as you please." I slowly reached up and traced the edge of the mask. It shone in the brilliance of the moonlight. I slipped my fingers under the edge and lifted up gently. I could feel his body becoming tenser as I removed the mask. Holding the mask in on hand, I looked into the face many loathed.

Fear? No, a sort of disquiet feeling as I looked into the face I had seen so many times on a television screen. It soon passed as I saw that what I had found handsome about him was made more so by the deformity. It was not hideous. I touched his face with my hand. He was not ugly. And I was in love with him even more.

I timidly wrapped my arms around his neck, not knowing how he'd react. Erik wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed me to him. Doing my best to stand on tiptoe (it's hard when someone is holding you), I whispered into his ear.

"You're the most handsome man I have ever met. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I love you." As I slid back to my feet, he pressed his lips onto mine. The sensations were like nothing I'd ever felt before. I was carried to the edge of the universe and back. As our kiss deepened, the animals of the forest broke out into their usually chirpings and singing.