Author's note: Hi everyone! I really enjoyed all of your feedback on chapter twenty-one. I knew that pretty much everyone would get a kick out of Raoul dying. Here is chapter twenty-two. I hope that you guys enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Two: Aftermath

"Vicomte Raoul de Changy is dead."

Christine looked in horror at Raoul's body. Tears started to form in her eyes. Looking at her blood covered hands, Christine's tears started to fall freely.

"Erik, what have I done?"

He stood up and held her close to his body. "It will be alright Christine. It's over now. Raoul can't hurt you anymore."

Erik stroked her hair and kissed her forehead.

"I know that, but Erik, I killed him. He died by my hand. What am I going to do?"

"There's nothing that I can tell you that is going to make all this pain go away Christine. I can only be here for you, to help make the pain go away."

She looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "We should give him a proper burial. He deserves at least that."

"Alright Christine, if that's what you want. I'll make the arrangements," he replied. "For right now, I want you to go down to the lair and take a nice hot bath. I'll be down there shortly."

Guiding her towards the mirror, Erik reached over and slid the hidden door back. "Don't worry mon ange. Everything will be fine."

He kissed her forehead one last time and then guided her through the door. Erik watched her walk down the passageway until he couldn't see her any longer. Then, he closed the doorway and turned and looked at Raoul's body. "I have to clean this room up so she can live up here and not down in my lair. Christine doesn't deserve to live in darkness. She needs to live in the light," he said to himself.

Walking over to the body, he gently removed his sword from the Vicomte's chest and wiped the blade clean with a cloth he had in his pocket. He then called across the hall for Anne.

Anne walked into the room, took one look at Raoul's body and screamed.

Erik placed a hand over her mouth. "Be quiet! Do you want the entire opera house to come in here?" he hissed.

She shook her head. Slowly, Erik dropped his hand. "What has happened here Monsieur?" she asked.

"The Vicomte is dead Anne. I need to remove his body from this room and place it somewhere until Christine and I can give him a proper burial."

"How did he die?"

"I'll explain later. Right now I need you to help me. We need to take his body to the basement. We shall store it there for a couple of days until I can make the necessary arrangements."

She nodded. "I understand."

Together, they lifted Raoul's body and carried it through the mirror down to the first level of the depths underneath the opera house. Erik opened a door to a secret room the he had acquired after the fire. Placing the body on a table, Erik folded Raoul's hands on his chest and covered him with a sheet.

"Thank you for your help mam'selle."

"You're welcome," Anne replied. "If you don't mind me asking, where is Christine? Does she know about her husband's death?"

"Christine is down in my lair, resting. She was with the Vicomte when he died."

Erik guided Anne back to Christine's dressing room. "Go to your room and get some rest. I will call for you when we need you."

She nodded. "You know where to find me."

Christine stepped out of the bathtub and wrapped a fluffy white towel around her slender frame. Walking into the next room, she put on a dressing gown and placed the towel on a nearby chair. Lacing up her corset, she selected a simple black dress from her wardrobe and pinned her hair back.

Hearing sounds out in the main room, she made her way over to the lake in time to see Erik sailing up in the gondola. "I have taken care of everything Christine. We will hold the funeral in two days," he said as he stepped out of the small boat.

She nodded. "Thank you, for everything."

"Don't worry about it Christine. I will always be here to protect you. I think that you should get some rest. Come, I will make sure that you get to bed."

He took her hand and led her towards the massive swan bed. She climbed onto the soft bed and laid her head on the pillow. Erik turned to leave but was stopped by Christine's hand on his arm. "Lay with me? I don't want to be left alone," she pleaded.

"Of course."

Erik moved over to the other side and climbed onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her. She moved to face him. "I don't know how to thank you. I just can't believe what has happened in the past week."

"I understand. You are safe now. No one will ever hurt you again."

He kissed her softly. Christine was surprised at first, and then returned his kiss with a need that she had not felt before. She deepened the kiss, her hands moving across the strong muscles in his back. They broke apart and Erik looked into her eyes, searching them for an explanation.

It was quiet for a moment. Both of them lay there, looking into each other's eyes. Then, finally she spoke.

"Make love to me Erik."

Okay now! I hope that you guys enjoyed that chapter. I might be drawing this story to a close soon. I haven't decided yet. There's a part of me that wants to throw another twist into the story but I haven't decided yet. I will try to get another chapter up sometime this week. Hopefully, I won't go home and fall asleep like I did last night. Thanks again for all the wonderful feedback that I got on the last chapter. Hopefully I'll get more feedback on this chapter as well.

I remain your obedient author,
Phantomfan1911