Chapter Forty-Seven: Amor Vincit Omnia
Vivienne had seen enough.
She released the spell, startling Erik so that he dropped the deadly vial.
The prince bolted upright, moving protectively in front of the casket.
"What are you doing here, witch?" he hissed menacingly, eyes burning with a protective fury.
The Enchantress just laughed softly, her voice light and silvery, like the tinkling of bells.
"Calm yourself, dear prince!" she chided lightly.
"I am not here to harm you or your beloved."
At the mention of Christine, Erik's eyes grew dark with sorrow as he turned slightly, glancing down at the body of the redhead.
"Mon Coeur..." he whispered, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb.
A single tear made its way out of the corner of his eye, trickling down his cheek.
Turning back around to face the Enchantresss, his jaw clenched.
"Why have you come, then?" he bit out, barely managing to keep himself under control.
In front of him was the cause of all of his suffering, the reason for his ange's death!
This... all of this... everything was her fault!
"I have come, Your Grace, to give you your final test!" the Enchantress replied firmly.
Erik's heart clenched with fear, well remembering the last test she had given him.
But before he could do or say anything, she continued.
"I have come seeking proof of your love for the girl."
Erik opened his mouth, offended, but she was once again interrupted.
"And I am satisfied. As such, you have earned a gift."
She waved a hand toward the casket and it vanished, Christine floating past Erik, who reached for her, panicked, toward the Enchantress.
Resting one hand upon the girl's breastbone and the other on her forehead, Vivienne chanted a long string of words in a strange, lilting tongue that Erik didn't recognize.
When she had finished, she took a single, short-stemmed green rose from her pocket and placed it directly over the redhead's still heart.
Erik watched in stunned disbelief as a golden mist emitted from her fingers and enveloped the rose, causing it to sparkle faintly as it slowly sank inside Christine's body.
Almost immediately, the redhead's pale cheeks gained color, returning to their normal healthy pink, and her chest began to rise and fall steadily.
Barely able to comprehend what he was seeing, Erik reached out his arms as the Enchantress sent his love floating back toward him and grasped hold of the redhead, clutching her tightly, desperately, to his chest, vowing never again to let her leave his arms.
Half-convinced that this was all just a dream, he touched her cheek, stunned to feel the warmth of life after almost a week of her being dead.
Placing two fingers under her nose, he felt the gentle puffs of air as she inhaled and exhaled rhythmically.
Carefully setting the redhead down on a beautifully-carved fainting couch which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, Erik suddenly found himself swaying heavily.
Then, everything went black.
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