The new day dawned bright and clear, and Erik woke in the comfortable bed and stretched, feeling lazy and uncharacteristically content. It had been years since he felt so relaxed, and he had Christine to thank for it. Her acceptance was working wonders in his attitude, and he felt almost optimistic now about life! Or he would, if he didn't have that nagging worry about Raoul and Christine's relationship in the back of his mind….

Christine had also slept well, and woke eager to see Erik again. It had been a long time since she had a true vacation from endless practice and performance at the opera house, and it felt good to be free from a schedule. She bounced out of bed, bathed and dressed herself in a simple house dress, then explored the cottage further as she waited for Erik to come for her. Paper and ink were available at a small writing table, and she hadn't forgotten the need to write Raoul, but would do that unpleasant task later today. She spent her time doodling instead, writing "Madame Erik Landry," "Madame Christine Landry," and "Monsieur and Madame Erik Landry" on the stationery. Like any teenage girl in love, she was dreaming of a wedding in her future.

Erik knocked, which made her giggle….after all, he had been watching her from behind the walls for years, why observe such proprieties now? She opened the door smiling her "good morning" to him, and he also smiled as he asked, "Ready for breakfast?" She noticed the mask firmly in place, and he hastily explained, "I didn't want to chance frightening our landlord if he was around." He held an arm out for her to take, and escorted her back across the pathway to the main house.

Henri and Jeanne had, at Erik's request, put in a supply of foodstuffs, and there was a spring house in the back which contained fresh milk, cheese and other items needing to be kept cool. They had a simple breakfast, Christine commenting that she must practice her cooking skills soon and see if she still remembered the few lessons she had had. Erik laid the mask aside in the living room before they sat down to the table, with a quick glance to see her reaction. She merely smiled at him calmly, and he relaxed again. Even in the morning light, his defects did not seem as bad to her as they apparently did to him….the girl wondered how he had come to view himself so harshly. In time, they could talk about that, too, but for now, he needed just to see that she continued to accept him unconditionally.

"So, my dear, what shall we do with ourselves today?" he inquired.

"What would you have done if you were here alone, Erik?" Christine asked, curious.

"I would still be brooding over my "triumph" at the opera premiere, and torturing myself over leaving you, I'm afraid," he said, frowning at the memory of how things had been planned. "But that," he now brightened, "did not happen! You are here, and I am not dreaming, am I, Christine?"

"No, this is most definitely not a dream!" she promised, coming to hug him. He held her tightly, kissed her hair, and then reluctantly let her go…..he was NOT going to start off the day fighting his physical desires. They had much to talk about, and his plan was to allow her the time to get to know him better before declaring his love and his intention to marry her, if she would have him. Raoul had rushed her into an engagement, and he would not make the same mistake, it wasn't fair to Christine.

That made him remember, "I suppose you need some time today to compose your letter to the count?" he asked. He hated to turn her thoughts in that direction, but it seemed necessary.

"Yes, I really should do that, and I suppose the sooner it is done, the better, though I'm dreading his reaction," she sighed. "What if he comes after me? He can be very quarrelsome when things aren't going his way." She had experienced that on a few occasions when she dared to cross him!

"We can have the letter delivered in such a way that he will not know where to find you, my dear. And if he should, I will defend you…..though we've already seen that he is the better swordsman. I'm afraid my swordplay has had about as much practice as your cooking!" Erik gave a short laugh.

"Why Erik, I do believe you've just made a joke!" she clapped her hands in glee. "You are human after all, aren't you, my angel?"

"More than you know, my dear! And I've been thinking….joining the human race again actually sounds like a good idea. I've been mostly alone for so long now that I doubted my ability to be a good companion, but you have been such pleasant company that I do feel quite civilized again. I've not been a total recluse all these years, but neither have I had someone with me for so long at a time." He was also thinking that Christine could not live in his world of darkness in the cellars of the opera, and so he had better accustom himself to daylight and a normal life if he wanted to be with her.

"So you think you could put up with me for a while, do you?" she teased. "I'm glad, because you won't be easily rid of me!" That earned her a short but sincere kiss, which he didn't hesitate to offer….another step in the right direction! He responded, "My sweet, I don't ever want to let you go! I'm sure of that now, but you take your time before making any such statements, do you hear me? I will not rush you, and there is still the matter of Raoul."

Christine's heart danced at his words, but she merely answered, "Oh, yes, back to him again. All right, if I write my letter, then we can both stop thinking about Raoul. I found paper and ink in my cottage, but I would rather stay here with you." He helped her to find supplies in the main house, and sat her at a small writing desk, while he placed himself at the piano, ostensibly working on a piece of music but actually watching her at her task. She seemed to have the letter already thought out, for she jotted it down quickly, then brought it over to him.

"Will you read it, and see if it is appropriate?" she requested, handing him the piece of stationery.

"If you do not feel I am violating your privacy, I would very much like to read it," said Erik, and she sat next to him on the piano bench and watched his face as he read her note to her ex-fiance'.

Dear Raoul,

The time has come to end the engagement that you and I rushed into so hastily. I apologize for not understanding my own heart, and plead my inexperience in matters of love, though that does not excuse me from fault. I did try to speak to you of my doubts, but you were not willing to listen, so I find I must resort to doing this in writing.

I think if you will reflect on it, you will realize how unsuited we are for each other. Your family was not happy with your choice of a lowly opera girl as a wife for a count, and I could not have been an asset to you in your society. You are handsome and talented, and will make a fine match soon, I am sure, but it will not be with me. I have chosen another path entirely.

I left the engagement ring you purchased for me with Madame Giry for safekeeping, and she will release it to you whenever you call on her. I am out of the city at the present, and ask to be excused from any further contact with you, which I feel is the best course of action. You have my best wishes for your future, and again, my sincere apology for not knowing my own mind fully when we began our relationship.

As always,

Christine Daae

"It is a very gracious letter, Christine, and you were most kind, to take so much of the blame upon yourself," Erik commented. "It is more than the count deserves from you." He would have been less gracious himself, but admired the girl's style and candor.

"Oh, I just know his ego….I thought if I said it this way he would be less likely to pursue me to pick a quarrel about it. He is so childish when he thinks he is being insulted!" she exclaimed, distaste turning the corners of her mouth down. "I can't bear an immature man!"

"Do you find me immature, Christine?" he had to ask.

"Why, Erik, why would you ever ask me that?" she puzzled.

"For one thing, because I have shamed myself by crying in front of you" he admitted to his most recent embarrassment.

"My dear, your tears were not childish, but most understandable after all you have endured in your lifetime!" she said, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking earnestly into his face. "You are a sensitive man, which I find one of your most endearing qualities. Can you understand that those tears were precious for me to witness?"

He thought for a moment, and then nodded. Would he ever really understand the way women thought! Probably not, but he appreciated her sympathy anyway.

She went on, determined to explain away his fears, "You said 'one thing'; what else do you think would make you seem immature?"

Might as well get this over with, he thought. "Well, I have manipulated you shamefully over the years, pretending to be the "angel of music" sent by your father. It started as an innocent way to help a lonely girl, but I'm afraid I took advantage of it as you blossomed into a lovely young woman. The worst was that time at your father's tomb." He paused, remembering how he had sung to her, trying to win her back from Raoul one last time. "Christine, this is no excuse, but I was half-crazed at that time, thinking I had lost you to the Count. I would have done almost anything if it would make you come back to me, including killing Raoul. I actually declared war on both of you as you rode away."

He went on, painfully, "I was wrong, and as I sat on the steps of your father's tomb afterwards, my mind began to cool, and I realized just how mad I had been to think I could lure you back. I sat there, with the cold, clean snow all around me, and pretended I was speaking to your father. I poured out my heart and listened to his imagined advice until it all was clear again…no matter how much I cared for you, I had to respect your choice, and let you go. That's when I began work on 'Don Juan Triumphant', which was to be an ending to our relationship and a new beginning for me. Does any of this make sense, Christine, or am I revolting you by bringing up painful memories?"

She had been listening intently, touched by his admission, and was quick to answer, "Yes, I understand, Erik, and it is obvious to me now that while your actions were sometimes blameworthy, your motives were pure. You weren't the only one at fault, for I turned my back on you after all the years of companionship and teaching. You were attempting to change that strange unearthly relationship into one more solid and real, and I rejected you when I found out you were a man. I could live in that fantasy world with my "Angel of Music", but I couldn't face a flesh-and-blood man, and it took me some time to figure out why."

She fell silent, face pink, and he prompted her, "Please share it with me, dear. This is at the heart of our peculiar relationship, and important to me."

"I was still a silly girl, Erik. I wanted the handsome prince on the white charger to come and sweep me away, I wanted the whole fantasy package wrapped up with a white bow, but I didn't realize that to be an adult meant much more than fairy tales. It meant choosing a man that I'm compatible with, and for me, that means someone who understands how important my music is to me. I'm not some pretty doll to sit on a shelf in an expensive dress and entertain princes and dignitaries. I am a flesh and blood woman, with passions and needs, and Raoul only wants the picture of a woman, not a real one." She sounded resentful of his treatment of her.

"When I realized that, just recently, it also became clear that there was only one man I had ever known, besides my father, who understood my music, who made me work hard to be somebody. That man scared me, because he was passionate and alive and complex…but it wasn't him I was actually afraid of, it was living up to what he would demand of me. That was when I began to know that it was you I wanted to be with, Erik. You are that man, with your genius for music and your dark nature, but it began to draw me to you as I recognized that it was my nature, also. That frightened me, too." Christine's face was flushed as she poured out her confidences, but she went on, wanting to finally share this truth with him.

"I was trying to figure out how to extricate myself from my engagement to Raoul when he ordered me to help 'trap' you, and that was the final straw. I was going to break with him the day after the performance anyway….you just made that easier for me. And then I was going to ask Madame Giry how to contact you, and you also made that happen sooner than I expected. Isn't it amazing how fate had us working to the same ends without knowing it?" Christine smiled at him, still sitting next to him on the piano seat. He had taken her hand, and looked somewhat relieved at her explanations.

"Christine, I'm glad you shared that with me….it makes me feel less selfish for dragging you out here. I also understand why we seem so connected now, when we'd been so far from an agreement before. It sounds like we have both done a lot of thinking, and some major growing up in the last few months." The wrinkles in his forehead had smoothed out as she talked, and he looked positively handsome now, so she stood and did a pirouette in the middle of the floor to express her exuberance.

"Oh, Erik, I'm so happy I can hardly hold it in!" she enthused.

He smiled more easily now. "So, have we gotten all of the past cleared up now? Or are there any dark secrets we still need to bring out into the open?" He figured he might as well ask, since they were relating so well now.

"None that I can think of! I'm sure there are things we don't know about each other, but we have time for that…..don't we?" suddenly a little unsure. At his nod, she sighed in relief and danced once more. "My only fear now is that you'll tire of me and send me away, Erik!"

"No chance of that, my dear, not until you want to go!"

She softly sang the words that kept echoing in her mind from his song, "Anywhere you go let me go too, Erik, that's all I ask of you." He heard her, but decided not to pursue that topic, not just yet….."