- - - Current time - - -

That was his last unfinished composition. It wasn't that Erik died- on the contrary, he started living and he rest of his pieces were completed. There was just something of his emotions he never could understand nor translate into music. The incomplete copy was a full 5-movement symphony consisting of 47 pages per part and requiring a full orchestra for performance. It needed a finale. Something as dramatic, beautiful, and infatuating as the rest of it but different from the other movements. The composer took his old work in his hands and reminisced over anything he could remember that involved Christine, hoping to complete the piece.

- - - Back to the past - - -

Months passed since Christine completely resided in the depths of the Populaire with Erik. She came above for rehearsals after things had calmed and played her roles more perfectly than before. True, there was a commotion when she first re-appeared after Don Juan and she was forced to make up a story about the events of its only performance. The stage floor was inspected and repaired- the managers couldn't afford to have an accident with their stars.

Meg was soon arranged to marry the Vicomte and Erik busied himself with finding a nearby, above-ground, home to show Christine. The ballerina asked her soprano friend to help with the wedding plans, granting Erik plenty of time to make his own plans for impressing Christine. He purchased a spacious home in the midst of Paris, very close to the Populaire, and was furnishing each room as ornately as those found in a palace.

Everything had to be done with a new mask he designed; it was so thin and skin-like that the sellers believed it to be his real face. The detailed mask also had some age-defining wrinkles that mirrored the normal side of his visage and made it appear ever more realistic. An added benefit to avoid curiosity towards his face was the demonstration of his wealth and willingness to pay for costlier items.

The Daroga inspected the home once it was completed, surprised at Erik's interior design skills and the energy he was spending on giving Christine a proper home. He also was glad that his friend's new home wasn't very far from his own and he would be able to regularly check in on the pair. Erik's progress in dealing with people had vastly improved.

With all of his secret projects and the items he planned to purchase, Erik made it a priority to make it back down to the underground home before Christine's rehearsals were finished. Inquiries for architectural work were made to secure a profession outside of pretending to be a spirit so Erik could make further income in a more honorable fashion. The masked man guided his dear soprano down through the tunnels every evening after her rehearsals then worked on building sketches to present while Christine occupied herself with books, sleep, or dining.

"Meg can't seem to decide if she wants white or pink roses in her bouquet, and she insists on a proper white gown like Queen Victoria's. Raoul is sending her to this well-recommended seamstress tomorrow for a gown and she's invited me along. Do you mind if I come back later tomorrow evening?" Christine asked.

"Not at all, my dear. Frolic with your friends as you please, for I cannot imagine how bored you must be of my company day by day." Erik shrugged, drawing a perfect curved roof of some conservatory building plan.

"You are very entertaining, Erik, and thank you for your consent. I only mentioned it so you wouldn't worry and so I could get back down since these pathways are so complicated. Anyways, what is it that you're writing or drawing there?"

"An architectural design for a new conservatory to be built in Marseille."

"How wonderful! You have two professions? I still know so little of you, Erik!"

"Ask me anything whenever you please, Christine. The answers may not be the most pleasing, but I will be completely honest with you."

"I admire your honorability."

"Its existence is only for you. I cannot stand anyone else."

"Perhaps you will think differently in the future."

The evening continued until the brunette grew sleepy and retired to bed, leaving Erik to his drawing. As soon as she closed the bedroom door, the masked man set down his sketch and went through his tunnels in a mad hurry to visit the other residence. There he kept all of the other trinkets he meant to woo Christine with in a month's time. It would be just enough time passage after Meg was married to the Vicomte before he attempted to make an official proposal to his beloved soprano.

It had become an almost nightly routine for him to visit the other home and inspect everything he'd bought or created. Multiple paintings adorned the walls, each of them painstakingly crafted by Erik himself. Some of them were based off his old charcoal sketches of Christine, others were still life pieces that involved music in one way or another. These he knew would be received positively, as the girl seemed to like his artwork.

The new music room was more organized: his pieces were neatly placed into labeled folders which lay on the cherry wood table and a sleek black grand piano was arranged in one corner. He created a special hanger for his violin to keep it on the wall and for easy access in case of those times he was struck with inspiration. Gilded porcelain figurines and vases were placed around each room as décor, contrasting well against the dark wood throughout the interior.

All of the gifts Erik found for his beloved ingenue were wrapped and placed within the drawing room. Here he had regal necklaces, watercolor paint sets, pearl or diamond-studded hair accessories, several fine gowns, books of pretty poems that Christine may enjoy, silk gloves, and sweetly fragrant perfumes. The masked man knew she would refuse it all, but he felt it necessary. A pristine white wedding gown was the only thing he had left to purchase; the ring he had possessed for several months and kept it hidden in his pockets or in one of the music rooms.

The process of purchasing the ring was arduous and the Daroga had almost lost his patient temper over Erik's behavior in that jewelry shop. It took him an hour alone to decide whether the expertly-cut diamond should be placed between pink tourmalines or deep blue sapphires. In the end, he chose a set of lighter sapphires that were comparable to the lovely color of Christine's eyes. All of the stones were perfectly inlaid within some sterling silver intricately-carved in the Victorian style. It had to be perfect.

Once he returned to the subterranean lair, Erik checked on the sleeping girl in her elegant bedroom. She looked peaceful and angelic, completely lacking any worries from the stressful rehearsals during the day.

"Goodnight, ma petite, I apologize for leaving you." He whispered, even though he knew she couldn't hear him.

Then the creeping feeling of fear punctured the sweetness of the moment; Erik was still afraid that the kind soprano would realize what kind of monstrous man she had stayed with for so long and vanish from his life. That fate would be worse than if he'd died in Persia with the sadistic royal family or if he'd bled out in that traveling circus. Having been shown Heaven, he wasn't ready for the condemnation that awaited him in Hell.