Author's notes:

Once again, thank you to my reviewers. I am most grateful that I am not alone on this journey!

Captain Oblivious: Life size Erik doll? I want one! Fragmented sentences are the bane of my existence, but alas, they rather match the thoughts of my wandering mind. Please forgive me…I've just lost myself in thought.

Glitter Queen of the Ice Show: Thank you. It was a beautiful dream in my mind…and I'm never quite sure how it comes out on "paper." I can hear the music in my head and everything as I write…I'm quite crazy you know! Thanks for reviewing!

AJNemo: Yes, the chapters are coming fast and furious, it seems I cannot stop the flow now that I've opened the floodgates. I'm sorry that it is hard to find, I don't know what I might be doing that keeps the story hidden!

Sapphire Tearz: Thank you for your kind words. I do like the sappy sweet stuff myself…so I assumed Christine might too!

Bexxy: Classy? What a wonderful thing to say….it made my steps lighter all night after reading your review! I too struggle over the Raoul/Christine, Erik/Christine issue. The more I watch the movie version (I'm sure it's nearly a hundred times by now) the more I see the love between Raoul and Christine, especially when he proposed on the roof….it makes it so hard to choose…I guess I sympathize with Christine…it was a tough one! I rather fancy the "right side of danger" so Erik won out!

Chapter 23 Down once more….lost, but found

Raoul was at the entrance to the tunnel behind the thick black drape. He was cold, wet, yet filled with determination that the search this time not come up empty. The muscles in his left arm screamed under the weight of the torch he now bore, reminding him of his exhaustion of the previous evening. He entered the tunnel, sword securely in his belt, pack slung over one shoulder, and the torch in his left hand. He wandered down to the point where he had taken the left tunnel, not the right. The left had proved to be fruitless, he would go right.

The tunnels were narrow; a morbid chill hung in the air. After traveling some time, going up and then down again, Raoul came to yet another split in the tunnel. First he went to the right, that ended abruptly. He returned to the fork, proceeding alternatively to the left. That tunnel plunged deep into the earth. A strange odor, somewhat like sulfur became stronger and stronger, making his eyes burn.

Finally Raoul came to an eerie lake of sorts. Lifting his torch high above his head he could see something resembling a murky lagoon. The water was green, covered with a thick, sickly scum. There were stones placed down the center, appearing to be a man-made walkway, if one were careful. Raoul ventured stone by stone, testing his weight on each before fully committing himself to it, lest this be yet another trap.

He could hear the trickle of water deeper into the cave beyond the water's edge. He moved toward the sound, the ground now slanting slightly upward. The deeper he went, the louder the sound became.

He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, was that light? Raoul's heart beat wildly as he raced toward where he thought he saw it. At the very back of the tunnel he found rocks, piled one atop the other. When he reached them, he looked up, and there was the source of the water and the light…a storm grate. Raoul propped his torch in a crack between two rocks. He quickly mounted the rocks, noticing that they were firmly placed, as if to support a climber.

Once at the top, he could feel something was on top of the grate, preventing it from letting too much light pass through. Raoul pushed on the grate, it lifted easily, not rusted in place like many others were. Raoul realized that it had not been long since it had last been used. Lifting it high enough to see what lie beyond it, to his surprise, he looked out not at a field or secret retreat, but at the alley behind the very shop he had been in this morning! "I am most certain that it is he who has been fed all these years….he's been feeding the devil…" Raoul muttered to himself.

Raoul lowered the grate, and carefully descended the frighteningly tall tower of rocks. Sitting in the quiet of the cave, in the glow of his torch, he sighed deeply. Though he'd felt dead yesterday, it was as if the process kept repeating itself over and over again…to be a member of the living…yet feeling wholly dead. There was no doubt remaining in his mind that the monster had escaped with his Christine…he was too late…much too late.

Raoul's mental self-bashing continued, his heart writhing in pain, his face contorted to reveal the internal struggle. If only he had not abandoned his search last night, he might have prevented their escape. If those buffoons had not wined and wanted for their whiskey, they might have been there… Raoul ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He didn't know where to go next. First he grabbed the torch and was about to put it out and climb the rocks to the street above. Then, thinking better of it, he decided he best go back the way he had come, in case the officer had actually sent his men in as he had promised.

Raoul began retracing his steps. Up and down, winding his way through the tunnels. He allowed himself to succumb to the chill he felt, shuddering at the feel of the damp clothes on his skin. His lips trembling, his teeth nearly chattering.

He tried to think of the happy times that he had shared with Christine. Those three precious months without interruption from the Phantom, where he had Christine completely to himself.

He remembered the two of them standing at the window of the jewelers where he had selected Christine's ring. The two embracing as he slipped it on her delicate finger. She had been so happy that day. He smiled to himself remembering how he felt to have finally found a woman to love for a lifetime. She was a pure creature, full of life and innocence. She would be a fine wife for any man, and he had been so happy that she had chosen to be his.

He was thankful he had known her father, it was a precious memory that the two of them shared. He recalled his funeral, and how he realized that their days together by the sea were over, as she would surely go to live with some distant relative. He thought he had lost his little Lottie forever.

Finding her again at the Opera Populaire had been a miracle, an answer to a prayer. He thought years ago that he would never see her again, or know how life had developed for her. Her voice mesmerized him from the first, and how he admired how she had grown into a beautiful young woman. The fact that she was not yet betrothed had surprised him, but he was grateful to have the opportunity to make her his….

Raoul hung his head…now that would never be. He would continue searching but he knew not where or how long he would have to search to find her, but he would continue to his dying breath if that is what fate required of him. Raoul's melancholy overwhelmed him. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. Not knowing what else he could do to occupy his mind as he traveled back to the surface, he began to sing. "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime, let me save you from your solitude….." His voice echoing off the walls as he let out all of his frustration and pain through his voice.

XXXX

Erik jumped, startling Christine. "What is it?" She asked, pulling the covers up under her chin. Erik was on his feet, quickly slipping on his pants and slipping his cloak over his shoulder. He ran to the table and quickly snuffed out what little flame was left on the candle. Christine gasped. "Erik, what is it?" His quick movements frightening her. "Shhh.." Erik whispered sharply.

He returned to Christine's side. She could feel the cold metal of the sheath of his sword about his waist. "Christine, we must be very quiet now. Do not worry. I will bring you some clothing, please put it on quietly, and prepare to depart quickly if we need to."

Erik left her side. She could hear him quietly rifling through her packed bag. She heard the tap of the shoes that he sat on the smooth stone floor. She felt the swish of breeze, she could only assume was from his cape as he turned around to return to her. Without a word, he handed her a dress and shoes. Christine quietly slipped from under the sheets, her skin greeted stiffly by the damp chill air of the cave. She began slipping into the garments, again with nor corset. She easily laced the dress up half-way, thinking it would have to be done later.

She felt the gentle, but quick hands on her back, knowing Erik remembered she could not do that part without assistance. Even in the urgent situation, he remembered such a thing, she smiled to herself. Christine carefully rose from the bed, trying not to make a noise as the hay reorganized itself without the weight of their frames on it. Then she drew in a sharp breath. She heard it too.

Erik reached out for her in the darkness, pulling her to him, draping his cloak around them both. He held her head to his chest, softly humming in her ear. In the dark a distant echo "Say you'll share with me one love one lifetime, Christine that's all I ask of you…."

It was Raoul! She shivered, clinging closer now to Erik's midsection. She had tried to push the memory of him from her mind, and here it was to torture her again. She could not bear what she had done to him…he had done nothing to deserve his dismissal. He had been kind, been true to her….loved her. She belonged to another now, and though she felt a pitiful sorrow for Raoul, there was no turning back….and she didn't want to.

The echo just kept repeating, growing louder and more sorrowful with each repetition. Erik pulled Christine up into his arms, much as a father would a frightened child. "Do not worry Christine…I believe he is alone…"

Christine could do nothing but nod her head in agreement on Erik's chest. Soon, the voice began to quiet, the echo becoming more distant until she could no longer hear it. Erik sat her down on the bed, retreating to finish dressing himself. She could hear Erik fumbling around in one of the boxes, pulling the lid from some sort of canister. Erik made his way to the table, pulling the nub of wax that remained in the holder. Sliding a new candle in, he struck a match lighting the wick. The room returned to its former soft glow.

There sat Christine, in a small pile on the bed. Her face streaked with tears. Erik turned away, swallowing hard, a pained expression on his face. "Did she regret leaving Raoul?" He thought to himself. She had given up so much to be with him…. He reached out putting one hand on the table, the other on the back of the chair, his back facing Christine. His breathing became labored as he fought back the urge to ask her. Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed that Christine rose from the bed and moved to his side.

"Erik?" He jumped slightly, not able to look at her. "Erik we must talk about this." "What is there to talk about…you have regrets…" Erik said in a low voice. Christine moved in front of him now, looking up into his eyes, reaching out to touch his face.

"Yes, only a foolish wife would try to lie to her husband now….I do have regrets…" She said looking down, and then up at him again. Erik tensed, his breath catching in his chest…he couldn't bare to think of what would she would say next.

Christine began "I do have regrets….Raoul was a good man, a gentleman, a kind friend…he showed no malice toward me, and allowed me to accept or reject his proposal…and I had…he deserved to have a willing young wife at his side…and I thought it would be me…I regret hurting him, betraying him."

Erik could barely stand now, he felt that tremendous sense of loss all over again, the blood draining from his face. The tragedy that he had witnessed as a young boy when his mother rejected him. He could not breathe. He would rather die than try to live through this…not after all that had transpired between them….

"Erik, that was not meant to be." Christine ran her hand along his chest, fondly caressing it. "You helped me to discover my true feelings…discover my true passion…allowed me to be me…loving me for only me." Erik glanced up for a fleeting second, seeing the sincerity in her eyes. "My soul longed for you…not for Raoul…my father gave us his blessing, we exchanged vows in the very shadow of his grave." Christine took Erik's face into her hands, looking resolutely into his eyes said, "YOU are my husband, and in that I have no regret. Erik….I love you."

Christine reached out and took Erik's hand into hers, kissing it, and then kissing the ring on her finger. She leaned into him, gently kissing first his left cheek, and then his right before kissing him tenderly on his trembling lips.

Erik felt the muscles in his back relax, the clench in his jaw releasing. No one else in his life made him feel that vulnerable….and yet….that loved. It was a painful pleasure, capable of heaving his emotions about as a small boat at the mercy of the ocean. She truly loved him. He would put all doubt behind them, learn to accept her love, without reservation or hesitation. For the first time in his life, he felt loved. Loved unconditionally as a whole person. He held her in his arms, HIS wife, his beautiful, precious Christine. Their separate pasts lay behind them, their future lay before them, and the present was in their hands, they were going to make the most of it.