Adrenaline was still pulsing through my veins. The song ended with a standing ovation. Erik exited stage right and I exited stage left. It was thrilling being on stage. The crowd's anticipation thrilled me to the core and its approval brought on the electricity.

"You were amazing Mother. I have never heard you sing like that before. It was beautiful. Did Father write it?" I had almost forgotten that Meg had taken Gustave away before my last performance. He had never seen me perform before.

"Indeed he did, Darling." Gustave and I walked to my dressing room. The room was full of bouquets of flowers from random admirers. One in particular stuck out to me. I walked toward the window sill where a lone vase sat. Inside of the vase sat a bundle on pure white orchids with splashes of a blood red. Beneath the vase sat a small white envelope. I opened the envelope and pulled out the white square of paper. In a delicate cursive hand were the words, "This is a Warning." The words stole my breath away and chilled me to the core. How was it that just when my life was becoming perfect, something awful happened. I picked the flowers up and threw them in the trash. I ripped up the letter and let the pieces sprinkle over the flowers.

Who sent those? It couldn't have been Raoul. He had left and returned to Paris. He was heartbroken, but he was still an honorable man, he was no man of threats. Raoul had grown within our last moments together. He wanted to change. He would never do such a thing.

Madame Giry and Meg had disappeared after the accident, but even with a hole in my side I could feel in my heart that Meg would never intentionally hurt me. She had a sudden lapse in judgment and sanity. Meg had suffered such an ordeal. She grew up with a ballet instructor as a mother. I could only imagine the constant criticism she would receive on a daily basis. She only wanted to be accepted and loved and she tried to find that in Erik, my Erik. But Erik could never see anyone else the way he saw me and it drove her to madness. But even still she was in her mother's care, recovering.

"Mother?" I turned to see Gustavé's confused expression. I composed myself and smiled back at him.

"Everything is fine darling. I'm allergic to that kind of flower, that is all." His muscles relaxed. "We should get home Darling, you need your rest. It is past your bedtime by now, I'm sure." His shoulders hunched forward.

"But Mother, Father said there was going to be a dinner after the performance tonight to celebrate you." I put my hands on his shoulders and guided him to the door.

"Yes, dear, a dinner too late for my ten year old child to attend."

"A few more months and I'll be eleven. Then I won't be sent off to bed while all of the adults get to have fancy dinners." I laughed at his words and guided him through the crowds backstage.

"Do you know where your father is Gustave?"

"He had to help Miss Fleck with something."

"Alright darling." Somehow we had made it through the crowds and slipped past the audience to the back of the theatre where the spiral staircase led up to our home. I led Gustave to the kitchen so he could fill himself on a small dinner. Once he finished he ran off to get ready for bed. I walked slowly towards his room. Where was Erik? Why had he just disappeared? I hadn't seen Erik since our practice earlier that day and even during the performance he refused to look up at me. But of course I couldn't keep my eyes off of him as he took his bow. His suit hugged his body perfectly. He was such a handsome man; it amazed me that I had never noticed before. I reached Gustavé's room as he was climbing into his bed. I walked over to him and sat on the floor. He laid down and I pulled the covers up to his chin.

"You were outstanding tonight, Gustave. Your father and I are so very proud of you. You are already turning into the genius your father is." He smiled.

"I only hope to be half as talented as you and Father. You guys took the audiences breath away tonight. For the past month or so I have been to every show, every day. That's about one hundred and forty shows, Mother, and I have never seen such a reaction before." I kissed his forehead.

"Well once they hear you I'm sure you'll stun them into silence through to the following month." He laughed but I could see his eyes filling with hope as the new dream graced his brain.

"Thank you, Mother."

"Goodnight, Gustave. I love you so much Darling."

"I love you too." I got up from my place on the floor and brushed my hands over the beautiful red dress. I walked out into the hallway and closed Gustavé's door tight behind me. I walked back down to where the stage sat. The audience was still trying to file their way out.

"You stole my breath away tonight." I turned around at the familiar voice. But there was no one near me. I groaned at Erik's absence. "Where are you Erik?!"

"Do you really think I can trust myself to be near you right now, in public? You are so beautiful that I know I would never be able to control myself." I blushed in modesty at his words. Well that explained why he had made sure to avoid me so thoroughly tonight.

"But Erik I need you with me. How could you ever expect me to be happy without my fiancée at my side?" There was a sudden gust of wind and then Erik's hands were on my shoulders as he slipped his jacket over my body. I could hear his sigh of pleasure when I mentioned the word fiancée. I grinned at my triumph and turned around to face him.

"Alright then. But please where my jacket and cover yourself. At least try to make these easier for me." I giggled at his words and wrapped my arms around him pulling him close. He returned the embrace but pulled away before I could try to kiss him. "Please try, Christine." I sighed. No physical contact with my Erik tonight. This was going to be difficult.

I followed suit. I greeted strangers and followed where Erik pulled me to. I thanked people for coming and was happy to fill my empty stomach with the meal that was served. I shook hands with everyone that came to greet me and blushed at all their compliments, making sure they knew that Erik was the one who taught me all I knew. I watched as the men and women's faces fell when I told them of my engagement. I couldn't help but get jealous of all the women who seemed to throw themselves at my fiancée. Erik didn't even seem to notice them, but he made sure not to look at me either. By the end of the night, the last few stragglers found their way home. Phantasma closed for the night. It would only be closed for a few hours before it opened once again for the first performance of tomorrow. The short time in between gave the performers a few hours to sleep.

Erik left me for a few moments to discuss clean up with one of the caterers. I made my way back to our home. My walk was sluggish from my obvious exhaustion. The comfort of my soothing bed was too tempting to pass up. I had finally reached the spiral staircase's first step.

"And where do you think you're going." I grinned and turned around to see Erik staring down at me his eyes gleaming with desire.

"Well I was thinking of sleeping. But now…" Erik's smile increased and soon his lips were on mine and his hands held me tightly to his chest. He made it so hard to focus. The gentle brush of his skin on mine and the aggressiveness of his lips against mine made my head swirl. He let go of me giving me just enough time to wiggle out of his reach and run up the staircase two at a time. I needed the feeling of his body more than I needed sleep. The brief encounter with him had set my nerves on edge and woke me from me exhaustion. I had one thing on my mind and that was him.

The moment I finally reached the parlor Erik's hands were all over my body and I wasn't one to argue. His hands groped for the dress's zipper, while his mouth ran down my cheekbone and neck. I tried to concentrate on his shirt's buttons but he just made it so damn difficult. Soon enough we gave up on being careful in preserving each other's clothing and the sounds of silk and cotton ripping filled the room's silence.

"Erik. Bedroom." It was hard to get a breath out in between his kisses but I seemed to have managed a few words. He pulled back and looked down at me.

"Agreed." He picked me up in his arms and made his way down the hallway being extra quiet as we passed Gustavé's door. He threw the doors open with one hand and kicked them closed with his foot, never letting my lips leave his. I pulled off the final remains of his shirt and let them drop to the ground. He laid me down on the bed I pulled off the dress.

"You know it is a real shame. I happened to like that dress." He looked up at me with a mischievous grin.

"Yes, well I could say the same for the multitude of shirts of mine you have ripped." I blushed in embarrassment for my lack of control that came with being near Erik for too long.

"It is the buttons. I don't like buttons. There are far too many and they make me frustrated. Don't get me wrong I love you in button-downs, they are just a nuisance to get off of you."

"Perhaps I should wear something else in occasions like this."

I couldn't stop the mumble that fell from my lips. "Perhaps you should wear nothing in occasions like this." But of course he heard and chuckled at my response. I could feel the heat rise below my skin. Only Erik could cause me to make a complete fool of myself. How did he have such effect on me that I lost all control? His hands slid down my side with such tenderness that our skin was just barely touching one another's. There was my answer. I was so physically attracted to him that my primal instincts would come to me and I would lose all of my class.

My hands pawed at his back begging him to come closer. He gave into my needs and pulled me closer. My fingertips slid up his back and around his shoulders resting on the edge of his mask. They slipped beneath and pulled the mask up over his head. With a flick of the wrist the mask landed on the other side of the room. It was moments like this where the mask irritated me. I didn't like seeing it hide his beauty. The mask was a symbol for the treatment my dear angel had received his whole life, things that should not be thought of at such a moment of love.

I brushed my lips against his uneven skin. He moaned in pleasure and let his hands knot into my hair. I sighed and ran my fingertips down his chest. He was so well built. He was strong but not muscular. He was pure perfection. His lips grazed my shoulder and his hands slipped beneath my back attempting to discover the back of my bra. My hands continued their journey downward until they rested on Erik belt buckle.

"You are so exquisite, Christine, like a fine marble statue."

"I was just thinking the same about you my love." I slipped his belt out from his pant loops and tossed it aside. Why did he have to wear so many layers? Just trying to undress him took half an hour, although some of that time was spent distracted by his never ending kisses and adventurous hands. It was hard to believe that after ten years my day dreams had turned to reality. After ten years we were finally able to lie in each other's arms once more. I pulled back from Erik's mouth for a moment. "Erik?"

"Yes my angel?"

"Did you-Well while we were apart- Were you- Did you…make love to anyone else?" He was thoughtful for a moment.

"That would imply that I had the ability to love anyone but you, my Christine." He pulled my chin up and kissed the tip of my nose.

"So you weren't ever with anyone else. You never kissed another woman or anything?"

"Well there were nights when Madame Giry attempted to set me up with other woman to help me get over you, but I never paid attention to them and made an excuse a few minutes into the date." I smiled satisfied with his answer, until a face popped into my mind.

"And Meg?"

"Now that's a curious subject. I have very little knowledge of what ran through that woman's mind. But I knew it wasn't good. But no she irritated and repulsed me. Christine, there is no other woman on this planet who could compete with your pure perfection. Why do you assume that I would be with anyone but you? How could you assume that I would want to be with anyone but you? I am holding a goddess in my arms right now, no simple minded human could ever replace you."

"You think too highly of me." Of course Erik wouldn't have been with anyone else. I was his one and only. He saw found me to be flawless but I was hardly perfect. He had stayed loyal to me. He had lived a lonely life for ten years. I had gotten married the very next morning after we had made love. Yes, Raoul and I had had sex. It wasn't nice or even satisfying but rather a chore that I had to do as a mother and wife.

"If you only saw what I saw."

"Erik, I'm not as good as you are. I cheated on Raoul the night before our wedding day. I lied through our entire marriage. I gave him false hope and imaginary love. I was cruel and selfish. I never should have gone through with the marriage. I didn't really love him anymore. I'm not even sure if I ever truly loved him. Yet I let him believe I did. I was physically there but mentally I dazed off thinking of you and what you were up to. I-" Erik wiped away my tears as they fell from my eyes. "How could I have married one man when every moment of our life together I spent it dreaming of you?"

"It is okay Christine. Raoul will learn to love and one day he will find a woman he loves as much as I love you. You two were never meant to be more than friends but Raoul is destined to find love, one day."

"I guess you are right. But I wasted so many of his years."

"It's okay Christine. Believe me, I know the effects love for you has on a man, it would take just as many years trying to get over you. One day he'll have what we have and he will not resent you for what you did because he would probably do the same." Erik hugged my head to his chest tightly. The beating of his heart calmed my nerves and silenced my tears.

"Thank you, Erik." He looked down at me in surprise.

"For what?"

"For not giving up on me."

"You say that as if I had a choice." I laughed at his response and kissed his lips. It amazed me how quickly the ferocious need for him returned.