9. When Will The Flames, At Last, Consume Us?

It was the day of execution for Erik. He had been put in handcuffs and put in a different cell which was near to the place where he was going to be killed. He only hoped Meg was there so he could see her one last time. Suddenly the door opened and Raoul and Christine de Chagny walked in.

"What the hell do you want?" Erik asked.

"We just wanted to say that there is no way you will get out of this one. The Phantom of the Opera may be able to get out of all his tricks at the Opera, but not now," Raoul sneered at Erik.

"I want to see Meg," he said, not paying any attention to what Raoul had just said. Raoul just snorted.

"You really think Meg wants to see you?" he asked. Erik was confused.

"What? Of course she would want to see me. I love her and she loves me," Erik said. Raoul sighed.

"I have had enough of this garbage that comes from you, Erik. You will be burned at the stake in an hour. You better be prepared," he threatened and held the door open for Christine to exit. He closely followed suit. Erik watched as they left. He got onto his knees and put his hands together. He prayed.

"Please God, I know I haven't been the best of people, but I pray you save me from my fate. It's not time for me to die. I am having a child with my wife. Please let me be there to see the new life of my child enter the world. I beg you. Amen!" he said, and then sat back against the stone wall, waiting for the time to come.

xxxxxx

Madam Giry and Meg were both getting ready to go to Erik's execution. Meg could not stop from crying. Her mother tried to comfort her best she could. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"It's almost time to go," Madeline, the ballet dancer, said to them. Madam Giry nodded to her. The door closed again and she turned to Meg, who was sitting upon the divan with her hands settled on her pregnant belly.

"Mama; is this really happening?" she asked, tears flooding her cheeks.

"I'm afraid so," Madam Giry said, trying to comfort her daughter. Meg broke down and sobbed into her mother's chest.

"Well come on, my daughter. We must go. We promise to be there for him, no matter what," Madam Giry told Meg. Meg nodded and pulled on her cloak. Madam Giry did the same.

"Erik knows I love him," Meg whispered. Madam Giry put her arm around her daughter.

"I know he does. He loves you too," she said. They hailed a carriage and they climbed in.

"To the execution of the Phantom of the Opera please," Madam Giry said. And the carriage set off for the execution.

xxxxxx

When the carriage arrived at the execution, Meg saw how much of a crowd had gathered to see Erik die. She began to weep again. They climbed out of the carriage. People were chanting "burn him" all over the place and Meg was afraid. Afraid that after this, she would die herself because of the loss of her husband. Madam Giry took her hand and they pushed through the crowd to the front. Suddenly booing came from the crowd as a door opened from the prison and Erik was dragged out, blindfolded and handcuffed, by two guards up to the platform so everyone in the crowd could see him. He was tied to a pillar and his blindfold was taken off. He let his eyes get used to the light before having a look around the crowd. He looked in every direction then his eyes sought Meg. Suddenly, he looked down and saw Meg and Madam Giry, teary eyed, looking up at him. Tears leaked from his eyes as he watched his wife in the crowd.

"Meg!" he shouted. Suddenly the crowd was hushed by Raoul de Chagny as he walked up onto the platform. The guards started loading the bails of hay and straw around his feet to set fire too. Raoul unrolled some sort of scroll and began to read off it aloud.

"Phantom of the Opera, you have been sentenced to burn at the stake. Your crimes include murder and robbery. These are both serious crimes which receive the death penalty. You are to burn until you are dead," Raoul said before rolling the scroll back up. Suddenly Raoul called Meg up onto the platform to say her last words to Erik.

Meg walked up onto the platform and walked to Erik. He wouldn't even look at her. She lifted his chin up and kissed him passionately on the lips. There were some disgusted murmurs in the crowd. Meg could taste the salt of tears while they kissed but it was hard to say whose they were. They broke apart and Meg threw her arms round him.

"I love you Erik. I won't forget you, ever. I'll name the baby after you," she said. She let him go and he knelt down, with his hands handcuffed behind the pillar, and kissed her stomach.

"Tell him his daddy will always be with him," Erik said. Meg kissed him once more then broke down into tears and went back down beside her mother. Erik looked at Madam Giry. She blew him a kiss and he bowed his head to her. They smiled at each other before Madam Giry broke down into tears also. Erik straightened up against the pillar, ready for his fate.

"Phantom, any last words?" Raoul asked. Erik nodded. He looked at Meg.

"I love you Meg. Take care of our son," he said. Then he turned to Raoul. "And YOU are a fop." The executioner came forward with a lighted torch ready to light the kindling at Erik's feet. Raoul stepped down from the platform. Erik watched as the executioner stepped forward.

Suddenly, a voice echoed above the crowd.

"STOP!" yelled Christine de Chagny over the crowd. There were gasps from the crowd. The executioner stopped with the fire mere inches from Erik's face. He had beads of sweat trickling down the uncovered half of his face. Christine came up to the platform, took a knife from the executioner's belt and cut the ropes that bound him to the pillar. She pulled him away from the executioner.

"He is innocent," she shouted. The crowd were murmuring in whispers. Meg ran up to the platform and threw herself on Erik. He hugged her and kissed her face all over. His hands went to her stomach. She smiled at him as tears poured down her face. She turned to Christine.

"I am sorry Meg. It was mostly Raoul's plan but he said he would kill me if I didn't go along with the execution," she said.

"Damn right," Raoul said, coming up behind them. Christine turned and found herself staring down the barrel of his revolver. He readied the gun so he could shoot.

"Goodbye Christine," he said but before he had a chance to pull the trigger, Erik tackled him and they both fell off the edge of the platform. In mid fall, the gun went off and when the hit the ground both men were still. No movement came from either of them. Meg screamed when she looked over the edge. There was a puddle of blood forming. But the question was, whose was it ?

How evil am I. What happens next! Only I know! I'll update soon, love you all x x x x x

Unseen-Presence:I know that they didn't burn people in those days but I just wanted a change. Thank you for informing me but I did look into it and lots of people have used hanging in their stories but I just wamted a change. But I hope you like my story anyway x x x

PhantomTeen26: Hiya Gordon, its nice to know that you like my story. I hope you liked this chapter. I wanted a bit of a catch to happen but I am nearly on the process of finishing. Thanks for all the reviews you gave me, love Keeny x x x x x x