Disclaimer: I (regretfully) own nothing Phantom. Leroux, Webber, and Kay all own it…lucky stiffs.
AN: Final chapter! I just hope that people get (or got) the alert for this story being updated, since the website ate all of my reviews and wouldn't e-mail them to me. So, I had to read all of my reviews (or what was posted) by clicking the "reviews" link near the title of my story. Anyway, yes, this is the end of the story. Sadly, I don't think I can do a sequel to this story right now, but you never know. I think I'll just wait for it to hit me and then write it. Well, keep an eye open for my future works, and I hope to see you all there when I post! Please leave a lovely review for me! Thanks!
Chapter 19: A Kind of Fairy Tale Ending:
Waking beside Erik had been a dream of hers for so long that she never expected it to actually happen. But now she was here in his arms, listening to him hum Don Juan's part in The Point of No Return from his opera, Don Juan. It was her favorite song, and Marie did all she could to keep her eyes closed, just so she could hear his voice in her ear and feel his breath on her face. It was perfect.
"Are you awake yet, my darling?" his voice asked once the song had finished. She could feel his fingers trace up and down her left shoulder in a gentle caress. "It's time to get up and tell everyone about what has occurred between us." A soft kiss was pressed to her forehead
Marie sighed. "Now?" she murmured as she snuggled closer to him, stroking the warm skin of his bare chest with her hand.
"Well…perhaps it can wait a little longer," he whispered as they fell asleep once more.
Standing in the middle of the Prima Donna's room, Marie was glad to have had the extra two hours of sleep Erik had allowed her. She had just finished getting a lecture from Christine, Raoul, and Meg, all three having told her it was foolish to have left for so long without telling anyone where she was going or when she would return. Now Madame Giry was settling into the full force of her own speech, and Marie was tired of it. Oh, how she wished she could just run to the wonderful arms of her husband, who stood hidden behind the tall mirror, waiting for her signal.
"Enough!" she snapped, effectively shutting everyone up while gaining their attention. "I left for a perfectly good reason, and that reason was so marry the man I love!" She proved her marriage by showing them her gold wedding band on her finger.
Jaws dropped. Christine looked torn between shock and joy, Raoul was doing a very good impersonation of a surprised fish, and Meg looked like she wanted to hug Marie and wish her congratulations. Madame Giry, however, looked as though she wanted to hurt someone, slowly and painfully.
"And who, may I ask, have you so suddenly wedded without consulting your friends and family?" the ballet mistress asked, her tone cold and demanding. "Were you married against your will?"
Marie knew she had to speak before Madame correctly guessed everything. "It was a surprise marriage for me as well, Madame, for I certainly did not expect the man to return my feelings," she replied. "But it was a wonderful surprise, nonetheless, and I will be happy to introduce him to you." The others nodded and Marie bit back a naughty grin, extremely eager to see their reactions to her husband. She merely smirked as she nodded towards the false mirror positioned on her right, its glass sliding away to allow the tall masked man into the room.
The reactions were expected: Christine cried out in terror as Raoul leapt up in order to protect her, Meg looked as though she were about to stop breathing, and Madame Giry clutched a folded fan in her hands as though to use it as a weapon. Marie simply rolled her eyes at the scene and turned to face Erik. Her husband looked very handsome in his formal opera attire, his silvery, silk vest the only bit of color besides white and black. Watching him in the flickering candlelight, Marie was glad that he was hers and no one else's.
"That's enough!" Erik snapped, his voice so full of power and confidence that he effectively stopped all noise in the room. Once it was silent, he nodded towards Marie.
"Everyone, this is my husband, Erik," she said, reaching out to take his left hand in both of hers. "But you know him best as the Phantom of the Opera or the Opera Ghost. And of course, he already knows all of you." Marie looked up at him and received a sly wink in return, causing her to fall into giggles.
"Marie, explain yourself!" Madame Giry cried, clearly angry with her foster daughter.
Erik pulled a chair out from the vanity and offered it to Marie, who accepted it gladly. It would be a long afternoon, and she had much to explain to them. So, starting at the beginning, she did.
Hours later, everyone still stood or sat in the diva's dressing room, and Marie's voice was growing hoarse from talking and answering questions. Despite her story and explanations, the others still did not look as though they believed her to be in her right mind. Granted, she had married the Opera Ghost, but the least they could do was try to believe her when she told them that Erik was a decent, caring man and that they loved one another!
"Marie, are you sure about this?" Christine asked, glancing over at the tall, dark man who stood to her sister's right, his hand on his 'wife's' shoulder. "What if he is trying to trick you, to trick all of us?"
Marie sighed. "Christine, despite what you might think about him or believe him capable of, Erik is a good man and would never be false about something such as love and marriage," she said, trying to keep herself from rubbing her temples. "He has had a hard, lonely life, one without much love and comfort, and I am happy and honored that he wants me to be the one to give those to him." She had not told them the details of Erik's past, but had instead given them a brief summary of the torment he had been through because of his facial differences.
Suddenly, Marie felt Erik's hands on her shoulders, massaging them to sooth away the pain forming in her head. Letting out a contented sigh, her eyes drifted half-shut as her husband's talented fingers eased away her headache. Marie felt him brush her neck once or twice in a teasing fashion, causing her to giggle slightly. Opening her eyes, she turned her head to gaze upon the man she loved, who gazed lovingly down at her in return.
Watching the two newlyweds together, Raoul didn't know what to think about the whole thing. The shock was wearing off, but the disbelief was still there…well, for most people. Madame Giry looked to be softening towards the situation and Meg appeared to be overjoyed at the romance between Marie and her groom. Even Christine looked as though she were becoming happier for her sister with each passing moment!
"I don't believe it," the Vicompt declared, crossing his arms as he stood over his seated fiancée. He turned his attention towards Madame Giry and Meg. "Do you mean to tell me that after all that he's done, from the embezzling to murder he's committed, that you are so willing to forgive and forget and let him marry her?"
Madame merely sighed. "To tell you the truth, monsieur, I am actually very pleased with the situation," she said, surprising everyone. "After all, I am the one who brought him here and helped him live his own life, long before Marie came, and I feel that he has finally achieved that which he deserves."
Moving forward, Antoinette Giry gave Marie a hug and kiss before placing a hand on the Phantom's shoulder. Meg took that as a signal of some sort and leapt forward, throwing herself against the young woman she had long considered an older sibling. Christine, however, remained frozen in her chair.
"Marie…"
Christine's frightened voice stopped all movement in the room. As though sensing her distress, the Phantom/Erik released his wife's shoulders and moved forward at a slow pace, as so as not to upset the young singer that he had inspired and guided. Holding his hands out in a gesture of peace, the Phantom stopped at Christine's feet and knelt before her.
"I know that I have caused you or your sister much fear and pain, Christine," he said in a soothing whisper. "I never meant to cause harm to either of you, and for that, I apologize. But I love Marie. I have loved her for quite some time, but have not admitted that to myself until recently. Until now, I had believed that since she never confessed such feelings for me in the past, she likely never would.
"I was proven wrong by the way she acted when she thought that I loved you instead. So, to prove my true intentions, I wrote Don Juan in the hopes that she would recognize my need for her love, kindness, and humor in my life. She still did not see my feelings, and so I kidnapped her last night in the hopes that she would marry me…and she did."
Here the Phantom smiled, and for once, Raoul believed him to be like other men, capable of and needing love and joy in his life. This man had finally found what he was searching his whole life for: a woman to love him for the man that he was, and the widely known musical genius that he wanted to be. She would be there to support him no matter what happened in their lives, and from the look in her eyes, she would love him the rest of her life.
Nodding, Raoul gave Erik a small, fragile smile, even as Christine did the same.
For Marie, the next several months were full of joy and love. Erik was quite possibly the most doting husband in the world. He was never satisfied with any gift he gave her until she told him that it was exactly the sort of thing she wanted. If she felt ill or her head ached from too many run-ins with the ballet rats, Erik was there to sooth her pains and worries away with a gentle touch and a glass of her favorite drink. He had even (secretly) moved into a larger bedroom suite with her just so he could be near her!
Then, one day, Erik gave her one of the biggest surprises of her life. Knowing that Marie missed being in the cave by the lake, Erik had decided to escort her down to his former home. There, she was shocked to discover that the entire place was deserted of all of its beauty and comforts. Erik had taken everything out of the underground home!
"But…" she stammered.
"It's in Italy," he explained, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her back up against his body. "In our new Italian villa in Venice."
Marie could only gasp and whirl around to give him a kiss and a hug. "Oh, I've always wanted to go to Italy!" she said. "And living near the Mediterranean will be the perfect place to raise the baby!"
"Baby?" Erik whispered as his wife hugged him tightly and babbled on about decorations and new outfits for the upcoming child.
After weeks of packing, planning travel arrangements, and saying tearful goodbyes to everyone at the Opera House, Marie Daae (secretly Marie Garnier) stepped into a carriage and waved to her friends. The ballet rats had forced her to promise to visit soon even as Christine had begged her to write at every moment she could spare until Marie and Erik could come to her wedding to Raoul. Meg pouted at not being able to go anywhere exciting, and was upset that her mother was going to accompany Marie all the way to her new home. It also frustrated the young blonde that Madame Giry would remain in Italy not just to be sure Marie was comfortable in her new home, but also to be sure that her child safely arrived in the world.
It was dark when the two women reached the sleeping compartment to which they were assigned on the train. A tall, dark figure in a white mask sat upon one of the red cushioned seats and wrapped Marie in a tight embrace as the train pulled out of the station, taking them away to their new lives.
"Papa, papa!" cried a small voice, startling the man out of his thoughts.
"Philippe, leave your father be! He needs to finish his work before Aunt Christine and Uncle Raoul arrive with your Christmas gifts!" There was a slight teasing tone to Marie's voice as she scolded her son.
Putting down his pen, Erik Garnier pushed his chair away from his desk and stood up, stretching himself before closing the book in front of him. It was a good tale, one which he hoped his children would love when they were old enough to read it.
"Papa, you promised to play with me!" another voice called through the keyhole in the door.
"I'm coming, Angelique," Erik called back to his daughter, smiling as he walked towards the door.
'Honestly, who would have thought that having twins would be so difficult?'
AN: Well, that's the end! Short but sweet, which is the way it should be. Thanks again to all of those who reviewed my story, and to those who merely read but didn't review…well, there's the little purple button waiting for ya! It's down there. (points) Anyway, I hope to see you all again when I start my next Phantom story, which will be up the moment I've got a lovely plot all thought out. Hope to see you again soon!
