Chapter 13: All I Ask of You

A/n: don't u know what I am going to say-don't you? Fking disclaimer grumbles. I don't own POTO or anything retaining to It.pouts anyway, so we left off with Erik being unmasked and kissed by Christine…

When she finally retracted her lips from his, he was shaking, no, trembling. What Christine had done had left him in a complete state of shock. She looked lovingly upon him with her chocolate eyes and whispered, "I love you, Erik. I never stopped loving you." He took in a few shallow breaths and tried to turn away from her, but Christine tightened her grasp over his arms. Her voice, still in a quiet whisper that made even Erik strain to hear each word. "That night, when I first kissed you…I planned on staying. Not just to save Raoul, but something in my heart told me I couldn't leave you. I kept feeling that for some strange reason, I was actually upset that you had freed us. I wanted to stay. I hadn't known it just then, but I wanted to stay. Now I know, and I'm not letting go." She kissed him gently, letting that rushing sensation take control over both of their bodies once more.

"Christine I-" Erik croaked, choking back tears. Never before had he truly believed Christine loved him; all of him. But now, as she was gently caressing the distorted flesh, he felt worthwhile for once in his life; he mattered to someone. As he tried to speak the words that wouldn't come out she held up a finger against his lips. "There is no need for explanation, Angel."

Love me, that's all I ask of you.

She looked into the twin pools of green that were Erik's eyes. She noticed that depending on the light, his eyes were always a different color or shade. She really enjoyed the blues and greens, and the occasional gold that glimmered through them like a dancing candle flame. When she noticed Erik had caught sight of her observing, she turned a shade of pink.

Christine knew this was where she belonged; with him. She was startled from her deep thought by Erik's soothing voice. "Mademoiselle, would you grant me the delight of another singing lesson?" He smiled down at her.

"Missuer Phantom, it would be my honor." She curtsied playfully and took his hand as he led her to the organ.

All day they worked on multiple arias, all from different plays. Many were from his Don Juan Triumphant, but they also practiced on songs from Hannibal, Faust, and Il Muto.

The lesson ended around 8, when Erik sent her to the swan bed, so she could rest. It seemed as soon as her body touched the red silk sheets, Christine fell in to a deep sleep. He watched her for a while as she peacefully slept before retiring to an arm chair and dreaming of all the sweet romance that had occurred between them that night.

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The next morning, Christine had left quite early, quickly saying goodbye to Erik before their love became too close to intoxicating that she wouldn't have the will power to leave for the funeral. She promised to be back soon; probably the next day.

The funeral had been quite large, with every person the Vicomte had ever known, attending. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened, except for her run-in with Philippe Comte de Changy; Raoul's brother. Christine had met him several times when she was much younger, but hadn't seen him since then. He seemed to have aged horribly, either that, or the news of his brother's death had badly affected him.

She remembered him walking up to her and asking if she knew anything of the monster. Christine had been about to argue that Erik was not a monster, but a man; but she knew it would not make sense to say so, since as far as everyone else knew she had been happily engaged to Raoul until his accidental death. She denied any contact with the Phantom, but instead of being greeted by a reassured glance, Philippe glared at her and whispered hatefully so that only she could hear, "Raoul told me things, Mademoiselle Daae. You were with that thing, leaving my brother alone. I doubt that his death was accidental. You and your new fiancé probably planned Raoul's death right under his nose. Mark my words, Christine Daae; I will have revenge on you and your monster." He had stormed off angrily, muttering something about mirrors.

However, Christine knew that no matter how much anger filled the count, he would never be able to catch Erik. There were so many things even she didn't understand about him.

Madame Giry had often described Erik as, though only a man ( She had wanted it clear to Christine that Erik was no angel.), was a genius and a magician. She remembered her "mother" telling her something the night after Erik had first brought her into his lair. Christine, this man that you…love, he is a man of the unexpected. Though only a man, you can never expect anything, no matter how many times you've checked your plan to be perfect. Do not close a door on him and expect it to never open again…Do not kiss him and expect to be kissed back…you have been warned child, even I do not know all the secrets that lie inside his soul. And with that, she had placed a kiss on her cheek and walked away.

When she reached her mirror she found an envelope with a red letter seal on it. Erik, she thought to herself. But, unlike the common skull that he often placed on the notes to managers and such, this one was different. It was in the shape of a rose, but what really amazed her was that the stem was shaped to look like a letter "C". What a lucky girl I am. She carefully opened the letter, trying her best to avoid damaging the seal.

Angel,

I am sorry to say that I will not be joining you this afternoon. However, be free to make yourself comfortable until I return. I have fixed the mirror in order to make it easier for you to maneuver through.

Erik

Christine smiled to herself and, with the letter in hand, walked towards the mirror. She found Erik had made it much easier to slide across. She stepped down the familiar tunnels she had now memorized and finally reached the lake. She stepped in the gondola and began to push off. It turned out to be a lot harder than it looked. She put out her foot to step out, but fell onto the rocks of the shallow bank of the lake, gasping from pain.

With all the strength she could manage, she looked down at her stinging leg. It was a lot worse than she had expected, with a few large, deep gashes in her thigh and a bleeding ankle. "Angel, please! Help me!" She tried to scream, but she could barely manage a whisper. Christine lay there on the shore as the icy cold water washed on to her wounds, praying that Erik could come in time to save her. "Please…" she repeated her plea. After that the world around her began to spin, and everything went black.