A/N: Sorry for the late updates! I was completely lost on what to do and I suddenly found inspiration a couple nights ago. Thanks to all of my reviewers! I love you all greatly!

A special thanks to my Beta! You are amazing Anne!

Please review, length doesn't matter. I don't accept flames but constructive criticism is welcomed.

Enjoy!

As always I do not own the Phantom of the Opera and I am not making any form of profit from writing this.

Chapter Ten

"I fear that I have driven you away, my darling little Mollia. I cannot bear the thought of you leaving me, and yet, it is an all too real possibility. Personality traits are passed down from ancestor to descendant and your mother was a very deceitful and spoiled child, always fussing when something did not benefit her and believing that everything revolved around her voice and herself. I was stupid, I gave her everything, and when I expected love and gratitude in return--" tears began to choke Erik "--In return she tore out my heart and hand fed it to the wolves."

His fingers brushed a strand of hair from her face in a small and loving gesture. Her hair was not as her mother's was. Christine's was beautiful, but it was coarse and thick. Mollia's was soft and smooth in his hands. "It is hard for one to grow another heart that is capable of the same trust and love that its had once been capable of, especially if the mind is accustomed to torture and pain. You must understand that poor Erik means no harm to you. I wish not to poison your mind, to place a gloomy cloud over your heart. My only wish is love, and though I strongly believe that I can find that love in you, it will take time for my body and soul to truly believe such a notion. A notion that someone who is a clear gem in a world filled with rocks would be attracted to the most warped and demented rock there is." His tears had ended, and in their death, a little spark of hope began life. Hope that this beautiful creature sleeping on his divan would one day be able to love him unconditionally.

It wasn't the shifting of weight on the divan that woke her from her slumber, or the gentle hand on her cheek. It was the gentle voice that whispered by her ear. It was the words that flowed to her ears like the gentle lullaby that a mother sings to her small child as they drift off to sleep. She kept her eyes closed as the words penetrated her mind and nearly cried as she began to understand their meaning.

"Oh Erik, I will always be with you, and when you decide that you are healed from the ill effects of my mother's actions, I will be there to give you the compassion and companionship you have never known. I regret not one moment of the past, and I am ever so grateful that I have been led straight into your arms." Mollia's voice was smooth and each word was connected like notes in a song. Before he could react to Mollia's surprising response, she placed her lips against his.

His lips were not as cold as death like the ballet rats had told her mother years before. She stayed this way, eyes closed, until she felt his arms move behind her back. His fingers moved across her dress gently, and his lips pursed. Erik pulled back first with haste, standing.

"I… I… why?" His voice was like a child's whisper after discovering a secret He was curious and shocked, his mind unable to register what his body felt.

"I did it because I love you Erik. I will not sit by and watch you doubt my every action and accuse me of hating you when you have no reason to. My love is undying and will stay intact through any horrible thing that the world could possibly force us through. I want you to understand that if I were ever to leave you or you I, I would surely die, and my soul would never rest."

Her voice, which had begun just as quiet as Erik's, was powered with confidence and only grew lovelier as she spoke of her true feelings, but Erik was still unable to understand why--why she had kissed him, why she loved him. Why out of all of the beautiful men in the world, why was it him? Why would fate place someone so close mortal perfection with someone on the opposite end of the spectrum?

"Erik?" She was uncertain now, and the chilled flesh of her arms was not a result of the air. Cold, empty hearted fear filled her, fear that could break the most beautiful creature from the inside.

His footsteps resounded across the room, and Mollia watched him leave. They had proclaimed their love for one another and kissed, but he left without any verbal response. She was dumbstruck, and her body fell to the divan. She lay there for over an hour until she heard melancholy chords reverberate through Erik's door. She knew what it was: it was a requiem. Her feet beat the stone floor hard enough to sound as if the bones of her feet were splintering. By the time she had reached his door, the requiem had come to an end. The door was already open and there he was, hanging in the air, a chair kicked out from under him.

"Erik!" Her voice was shrill and panicked. She took hold of his legs, trying to elevate his body so that he could breathe.

"Please, Erik! Help me! You will not leave me! Damn you and your ignorance!" She cursed as she glanced around the room. His face was pale, his eyes closed. When she glanced away from his face, realizing that death was taking him slowly, she saw the glint of his sword. Oh what luck fate had bestowed upon her. She took it into her hands and used the chair to stand on. In one brief motion, the sword sliced through the rope as easy as a knife through butter. She cringed as his body hit the floor.

"Erik? Please, Erik, wake up! I wish to hear your wondrous voice, to see your beautiful face. Please! You must come back to me!"

She cried openly, sprawled next to him on the cold floor. She couldn't move him--he was too tall and too heavy--so she grabbed every blanket from the living room that she could find and jogged back into his room. They fell over his body slowly, much like a sheet does when tossed into the air. She felt like she was covering the body of a loved one, but her hope hadn't died completely. Although the floor was cold, she laid down next to him under the blankets and cried upon his chest, hearing no heart beat through her wrenching sobs. She didn't remember falling asleep until the darkness over her mind lifted and the feeling of two arms around her became startling.

"Erik!"