Ok, ok, ok! (still gasping for breath after running from angry mob). You're as upset with Céline as I am, I get it! I will kindly remind you all that I'm a happy ending junkie, so don't worry! There's no way Monsieur DuChamps will leave this theatre alive! But in order to find the light at the end we'll have to pass through that dark tunnel first...so get out those flashlights and watch where you put your feet down! Enjoy! -x- Lotte.

The grandfather's clock in the foyer had just struck two and Palazzo Persico mirrored the mood of its inhabitants: dark and silent. On the upper floor only two people were awake, quietly attending their duties by the shy light of a single candle.

Céline had cried herself to sleep, until just after midnight Roger had suddenly been by her side to wake her. "Are you well enough to travel my love?" He had looked so genuinely concerned for her, bless him! He had cradled her cheek in his hand and she had leaned into it, gazing up at him with sleepy eyes.

"Travel? How do you mean? Tonight?" His eyes had turned almost apologetic and he had sighed softly, as if finding it difficult to continue.

"Correct me if I am wrong my darling, but it seems our presence here is not exactly… welcomed that much for the moment, is it? Your father made his feelings very clear tonight, he will never permit us to marry…as long as we remain under his protective guard that is. He will be more likely to withdraw his hospitality toward me entirely and send me on my way to Paris by myself before long. I cannot bear to be parted with you my darling, surely you must see that…surely you will feel the sane…"

Céline had turned pale, her breath leaving her at the thought of losing her beloved Roger. His words had made sense, Erik Alighieri was a resentful man and she could easily envision him throwing Roger out on the street while sending her to live in a convent to repent for her sins. No, that would not do, it would not do at all!

"Roger I'm so frightened…what are we to do? If I lose you it will be the end of me…I will have no one left in this world to love or care for me!"

"Hush my love, no such things need happen. No matter how hard others may try you and I shall not be parted, correct?" His confidence had inspired her, quickly drying her newly formed tears and smiling up at him in adoration.

"Very well, that's my girl. Now we need to act quickly. Pack one bag and one alone, carrying your most beloved possessions. You need not worry for clothes for I will buy you anything your heart could ever desire when we arrive back home in Paris as husband and wife…"

Her heart had stopped at his words. He was serious, he still wanted to marry her! And so after a few moments of intimacy he had returned to his room, leaving her to pack whatever she felt needed for their secret elopement.

She now looked around the room that had been her own for so many years. The bright colours of yellow and white her father had chosen for her so long ago, the fresh flowers her mother always brought her, the many collectables referring to her passion for the ballet, the teddy bears that had always made her feel safe against the dangers of the dark. She picked up one of them, stroking his head affectionately. "Are you ready to return with me to France, my dear Mouf Mouf? To go back home?"

Mouf Mouf was her oldest toy. Apparently her father, her real father, had bought him for her for her second birthday whilst on his way home from a long business trip. As his train had arrived at the Gare du Nord, it was the first thing he had found that would be suitable for his little girl and as he had told her of the bear's former home, she had replied with the only words she knew of trains: Mouf Mouf, the sound of their horn. To this day she still felt it to be the only remaining sign of her father's affection she owned, and thus dragged the poor being along to every single place she ever ventured to.

She lovingly placed the ageing bear atop of her other possessions and after scanning the room one last time, she closed her bag as if to close another chapter in her whirlwind life. Céline Alighieri, née de Chagny, would be no more. She would be Madame DuChamps, to live by Roger's side as his wife and one companion, never to feel lonely again. The pitiful little ballet rat would disappear into the shadows as if she had been nothing but a bad dream to a grown up, self assured woman.

"Are you ready my love? Our carriage will be waiting for us by the docks of the city walls, I've arranged for a boat to bring us there…" Roger stood by her door, eagerly awaiting her. She was about to follow him as her eye landed on the drawing Giulia had made her only days ago. How different her life had seemed only then! Quickly she opened her bag one last time, giving the drawing to Mouf Mouf for safe keeping, before turning and following her betrothed to where their boat awaited…

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The next morning Christine needed only to walk into her daughter's room to realise she was no longer there, and had no doubt of what had happened. She sank to the floor quietly, her tears falling without a sound. Raoul had taken his revenge upon her after all…