A/N - Dear reviewers! Thank you so much for all of your kind words. I am immensely pleased that you are enjoying this adventure as much as I am. I apologize that things have slowed down so much. Life is kicking my butt. I promise an update on Tuesdays and Thursdays until Twisted Fate is finished, at the very least! ED is going to drag out quite a bit longer, I'm afraid. This is much more of a 'short story' than that one promises to be. And then I have an idea for my own! modern day parody thing. Hah. At any rate...

It is very sad that ED will be a tragic story, but the end of this one is my redemption for that. Fluff is coming! Mwah.

echo - You alive? )

Oh, and ED will be updated in a bit, so check it out too!

"It's beautiful," Elizabeth admitted, a bit begrudgingly. The enormous building they were touring was indeed a beautiful estate. Large rooms were tastefully, if a bit plainly, decorated with obviously expensive décor. William was delighted to whisk her through, having left the realtor in their wake.

"This is the ballroom. Isn't it marvelous? Think of the parties we could have!" William was nearly giddy, and Elizabeth was more taken aback with such an emotion in her companion than with the promise of the house. It seemed a little big to Elizabeth, and foreign. Nothing in it seemed warm or welcoming. It certainly was not home, no matter how opulent. They ascended the stairs quickly, Elizabeth choosing to relinquish her hold upon his arm as he nearly ran up them. Her opposite hand reached out to trace the length of the railing. It was a beautiful wood, polished nicely.

"Oh, please forgive me Elizabeth. In my excitement I have forgotten my manners." Smiling broadly, William scooped her up to his side, placing her hand back upon the crook of his arm.

That seems to happen to you often, Elizabeth mused, albeit to herself.

The first room atop the stairwell that they entered was a library. Massive shelves lined the walls, and though they were empty, Elizabeth could imagine them full of books that William would never read.

Next they stepped into what would be, William proclaimed, their bedroom. A large four poster bed with white linens faced exactly opposite an ornate fireplace. William turned to make eye contact with is fiancé, smiling a bit too suggestively.

As Elizabeth gazed at the bed, she felt her stomach churn. How was she ever to go through with this? She could never share a bed with the horrid man upon her arm, no mater how handsome the entire world may think him. She despised him. Imagining his hands upon her body simply made her shudder.

"Elizabeth? Are you feeling ill? You look terribly pale."

Elizabeth seized the opportunity. Lifting the back of her hand to her forehead in a gesture that Nicholas would have laughed at, so overly dramatic was it, she murmured in a pitiful tone.

"I am not feeling well, William. Please take me home?"

"But Elizabeth!" William complained. "I had an entire evening planned for us. The Opera, Elizabeth!"

Even such a lure as that could not persuade Elizabeth, and within half an hour William had deposited Elizabeth back at the de Chagny estate. She had quickly sequestered herself into her room, ignoring both mother and father who came out to speak with her.

Elizabeth's Wedding Day

"What will this mean?" Nicholas asked quietly, as his father stalked ahead of him. He could see the broad shoulders ahead of him shake a bit, as laughter emanated from him.

"Boy, if you can't figure that one out, I cannot help you."

Nicholas fumed.

"Don't be crass, Father. I mean for us. I surely cannot marry the daughter of the woman you love, if for no other reason than her father would not permit it!"

Erik sighed, and turned in the dark tunnels to face his son. The flickering torchlight illuminated the handsome face, and Erik could not help but smile fondly at the sight of him. He had become rather accustomed to his presence, his company. To be loved as a Father was a gift that he would have never dreamed of. He would miss the boy as well.

"Nicholas, do you love her?"

"Of course!"

"Then you must pursue her. Have her. A lifetime without love is no life at all."

Nicholas felt a twinge of pity, and Erik glared at him. Nicholas averted his gaze, finding it unnerving that his father could read his expression so easily.

"A lifetime without the love of a mother or father is no life at all either. You know this as well."

Erik conceded his son's point with a dip of his head, and simply resumed their journey to the surface. What would become of them all?

"Come with us," Nicholas stated suddenly, piercing the quiet.

"Don't be ridiculous," Erik retorted. "You don't even know where you are going."

"You've placed the world in my hands. We can go anywhere!"

Erik laughed again at the enthusiasm and almost naivety of his son. The conversation continued until they reached the surface, and hesitated in the shadows of the very early morning.

"This cannot be right, father. Who will stand beside me? I have no groomsman. You should be with me on such a special day."

Erik smiled, tugging at the lapels of Nicholas' jacket to straighten it.

"I would not miss it, my son." The grand and ominous Phantom of the Opera averted his gaze as his eyes misted with emotion. "I will see, I promise you this."

Nicholas nodded, taking a wavering breath.

"What kind of husband will I be? I've only ever been a servant."

"Nicholas," Erik demanded. "Calm down. Don't forget to breathe. A woman needs love more than anything other. Be affectionate. Be gentle. Live each day as though she were all that mattered. Everything else will fall into place."

Nicholas smiled up at his father.

"Erik?"

Erik's head canted. Nicholas had not called him by his Christian name in weeks.

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Erik smiled.

"I love you too, son."

With that, the ghost ushered his son into the early morning, and disappeared into it's shadows. He had preparations of his own to make.