Ella quickly slipped on the sturdiest shoes she could find, which unfortunately were little more than slippers. They weren't even remotely practical for winter weather, but it was the best she had. She put on the only cloak in the wardrobe before creeping out the door.

As silently as she could, Ella made her way down the hall. If she ran into a servant or woke anyone up, then her escape would be ruined and she would be locked away again. She wondered how Erik could be this sneaky all the time. She had only been doing this two minutes and she felt like she was on the verge of having a panic attack at the thought of being discovered.

She somehow managed to reach the door of the manor without incident. Carefully she opened it and slid outside. Just as Ella let out a breath of relief, the door began to creak and closed much more loudly than she would have liked, but the house remained still.

The moment the door was shut, she took off running for the forest. Ella wanted to put as much distance between her and this house before anyone woke up. As she reached the tree line and the shelter of the forest, Ella looked back. Her eyes widened as she saw lights appearing in the windows. She gasped when she realized that she left the door to the bedroom open. Obviously she had been discovered.

Her instincts took over then. Ella whirled back around and began running as though her life depended on it, and in a way, it did. If she was caught, it would be over and she would spend the rest of her life as Archer's prisoner.

Archer awoke to what sounded like a door closing. He sat up, stretched, and lazily wandered over to the window, wondering what time it was. His eyes widened when he saw a figure dart out the garden gate. It almost looked like…but it couldn't be…she was… she was supposed to be… He ran to Ella's room and saw the door wide open. "No!" he cried, before beginning to shout for his servants.

Ten minutes later, Archer was dressed and on his horse, frantically giving orders. "You three, go north! You two, go south! I'll go with you two and we'll search this way," he shouted, pointing in the direction that Ella had gone. "Hurry! We have to find her before she freezes!" The days might be beginning to feel like spring, but the nights were still bitterly cold.

He spurred his horse forward, heading into the forest that surrounded his estate. It was good for hunting animals, but it was going to be a challenge now that he was hunting for his fiancée. "Ella?" he called. "Ella where are you?"

Erik urged Cesar to go faster. He knew he was pushing the horse to his limits, but they had to get there in time. Archer was dragging Ella to America at sunrise, and based on the slowly lightening sky, there was only a few hours at most until dawn.

Reluctantly he stopped at a small forest stream to let Cesar catch his breath and drink. Erik paced frantically as Cesar's labored breathing began to slow back to normal. How was Ella? Was she okay? Had Archer hurt her? If he had, he would suffer the full wrath of the Phantom of the Opera, Erik thought, his hands clenching into fists.

He hadn't seen anything for miles, so he had no clue how close he was to Dubois' estate. If he was honest with himself, he knew that there was a chance that the directions he was following were wrong. After all, the woman who had told him where to go did work for the boy. But he had nothing else to go on. For now, Erik was just going to have to pray that he this was the right way and that he wasn't too late.

Once Cesar had recovered, Erik scratched him behind his ears. He didn't like doing this to the poor horse, but he had to reach Ella before Archer took her away. "We're nearly there," Erik murmured. "We have to be."

Ella's feet pounded against the ground as she ran. She paused for a few moments, gasping for air. The cold night air finally began to register, so she tried wrapping the cloak tighter around herself. Unfortunately, the wardrobe Archer had supplied for her was the newest fashion, which meant this outfit was made for balls and carriage rides, not for running through the woods. Her dress did nothing besides hinder her progress, and the cloak did very little to ease the cold, so within moments she was shivering.

Looking around, Ella realized she had no clue where she was, or even if she was going in the right direction. She had been so focused on running away, that she hadn't paid attention to where she was running away to. Not that it really mattered, seeing as she didn't know where the estate was anyway. Hopefully sooner or later, she could find a town, or a house, or something that could help her return to Paris.

A howl pierced the night. With a gasp of horror, she remembered Archer saying something about having a pair of bloodhounds that he used when he went hunting. And now he was hunting her. If he was using dogs to search for her, her chances of getting away were quickly vanishing. Ella took off at a full sprint, determined to try and make it.

Suddenly there was a massive black horse in front of her. Ella cried out in surprise and tripped in her efforts to stop. As she crashed to the ground, the horse reared up, and Ella half-hoped it would step on her. She wasn't that lucky, and a moment later, she heard the thud of the rider's boots hitting the forest floor. He walked over to her, and Ella was lifted up by a strong pair of arms.

It was over. They had found her. Ella was too exhausted to continue this fight. The stress was just too much for her to take any longer. Between the lack of food and sleep, she was too weak to even keep her eyes open anymore. "I'm sorry Erik," she whispered.

Much to her surprise, she actually heard his voice in the back of her mind. "Stay with me mon Ange. You're a fighter."

"I…I can't."

"Just hang on and I'll have you back in Paris before you know it."

As Ella drifted into the darkness, she had to tell Erik one more thing, even if he wasn't really here to hear it. "Erik, I love you."

His breath caught as he heard those words. She was obviously delirious, but still…she said them. He couldn't believe that she said them. He pulled her trembling frame against him so she could absorb some of his body heat after he had mounted his horse again. As Erik nudged Cesar back towards Paris, he could feel a smile creep across his features. He placed a quick kiss on her temple. "I love you too mon Ange."

Well, he FINALLY answered the question. It took a while didn't it? *waves hand* Nah...Only fifteen chapters! And is Archer going to give up? OF COURSE NOT! Although honestly, you guys are really vicious towards the dude. I was thinking you would be like "awww his heart's in the right place even if he is a bit stupid". Nope, you guys seem to want me to burn him at the stake or something. Unfortunately that's a little medieval for my taste so it isn't going to happen. Or is it? Read and Review!

~nibblesfan

P.S. And yes I seem to be updating almost every day, but I can't guarantee how long it'll last. But for now the writing gods have been kind, so enjoy it while it lasts!