Late that night, after I had already gone to bed, I heard footsteps in the hallway. I rose from my bed and opened my door to find Erik heading down the stairs as he used a walking staff to support his weight. Curious as to where he was going, I quickly changed and hurried after him. He was just opening the front door, when I softly called out to him.

"Erik?"

This startled him, for he turned around and seemed surprised when he saw me standing there.

"Christine, you should go back to bed."

"It's late." I said. "Where are you going?"

"I need some fresh air," he replied. "I shall return shortly."

"May I join you?"

Erik seemed taken back by my request, but eventually nodded. Before having us walk out the door, he motioned to the coat hanger that was beside it.

"Put on a cloak though, Christine, I don't want you to freeze out there."

Our walk was silent as we slowly strolled along the vacant lamp lit streets. We had walked at least a block in silence, when I decided to break it.

"How is your back?"

"Agonizing," Erik replied. "But I couldn't lay in that bed any longer."

This was a side of Paris that I had never seen before, for not only did it have such beautiful buildings, but it was much more peaceful than the area that was around the opera house. Erik led us to a bench that faced a small pond, and we took a seat beside one another. For a few moments we sat in silence, just taking in the soft glow of the streetlamp that was beside the bench we were currently sitting on and the sight of the frozen water of the pond.

"Have you thought about him?" Erik's stern voice finally questioned.

"If you are speaking about Raoul, the answer is no, I have not."

"You surprise me, Christine," Erik replied. "Before the masquerade, you ran into his arms, even after he tried to kill me. Ever since that ball, you've been acting as though he is your worst enemy. Why so, little dove?"

I sighed and looked down at my feet. Could I really tell Erik the truth?

"Could I ask you something?" my shy voice asked.

"You can ask me anything, Christine." he replied.

"Have you ever been in love?"

My question seemed to catch the phantom off guard, for he looked at me as his white mask glistened in the lamplight.

"Why must you ask such a question, when you know that I have only ever loved one person, and that person is you. Even after what happened at Christmas, Christine, I still cannot break myself of the constant need to be around you."

This was not helping my case a single bit, for his answer was not the answer I had been looking for.

"I cannot possibly be the only woman you have ever fallen in love with, Erik."

"Is that so, Christine?" his sarcastic voice replied. "I did not know that I had such a handsome face."

I rolled my eyes. "I need to know."

"No, Christine."

I groaned and leaned back against the bench.

"No one?"

"I am telling the truth, Christine! What woman could ever love me? I'm not sure why you are asking me such questions now, when you could have cared less when I poured my heart out to you just last week."

I didn't want to ask Erik such a question, but I knew that I was not going to be able to conceal it any longer.

"Have you...Have you..."I stumbled through my words, and this only caused Erik to become angry with me.

"Spit it out already, girl!"

"Have you ever been with a woman?"

"I'm with one right now." He replied.

I heavily sighed. "I didn't mean…"

"I know what you meant, Christine…" He sternly interrupted.

Then there was silence, and oh, how it was so awkward. Erik stared so deeply into the frozen water of the pond before putting his head down in shame.

"I have been on this earth for over forty years, Christine. I have done many things, and learned many skills during that time, but never have I ever gotten the pleasure of taking a woman to bed. Pathetic, is it not? What makes things worse is that I have also never kissed or been kissed either. A kiss, Christine...Oh, I only dream about what such an innocent thing must feel like. Probably the closest thing to heaven that anyone could ever feel."

My heart shattered for this man, so much, that I could only reach over and touch his gloved hand in a loving gesture.

"I only asked because I thought things would be different," I began."I always loved the kisses Raoul and I shared, and I believed that once we would have consummated our relationship, it would only make the love that we shared for one another even stronger."

I paused, thinking back to that night, only to shake my head in disgust.

"I felt nothing." I said. "I always believed that it would have been the most blissful thing in the world, and I felt absolutely nothing, Erik. I feel like such a horrible person."

Now that Erik knew, it was as if I had broken his heart all over again. He was silent, and didn't speak another word as we sat there.

"I cannot stay in Paris any longer, Christine." He said, removing his hand from my own.

"What are you talking about?"

"The opera house is gone, and I cannot possibly stay with the Daroga for the rest of my life. I am leaving Paris for good, and I believe that you should return to your precious lover."

Erik stood to his feet and tried to walk away, when I grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Why are you doing this?" I cried.

"I could ask you the same question, Christine!"

Erik turned to face me, and I could see tears streaming down his masked cheek.

"I cannot stay here a moment longer! You have hurt me long enough, and as much as it pains me, I believe that things would be better if I left Paris."

"Take me with you!"

The words left my lips before I could even think about what I had just said.Erik seemed taken back by my words. He just stood there looking at me with a confused expression, as if he didn't know why I had just said what I did.

"I couldn't possibly do that."

"And why not?" I asked. "There is nothing left for me here. The opera house is gone, so what am I to do?"

"Become the Viscountess you were always meant to be."

I shook my head. "I would be very unhappy without music. I want to sing, and I know that if I marry him, there would be no more music."

"I would be traveling abroad." Erik said. "A girl traveling with a strange man that is not her father or her husband would be improper. You are too old to be my daughter and... well, you know what happened at Christmas."

Erik turned away from me once more and began walking back towards Daroga's house. I walked behind Erik with my head down in shame, thinking about my life and how things would be if I married Raoul. Even when I returned to my room, the thought was still in the back of my mind. Wanting to speak with Erik, the following morning, I woke and approached his door, ready to knock, when I heard the voice of Daroga speaking with him from inside the room.

"You know you are always welcome here, Erik." Daroga stated.

"I am a wanted man, Daroga," Erik replied. "I couldn't possibly stay here and risk putting you and your son in danger. I will travel to the other side of the world and hope that perhaps I can be accepted."

"And what am I to do with Christine?"

"Notify her boy and have him come fetch her."

"You can't be serious, Erik?" Daroga replied.

"You said it yourself that she wanted to come with you. Why not take her? There is nothing left for her here."

"I will not drag Christine into a life of hell, Daroga. Christine deserves someone she can rely on, not an unreliable, deformed monster."

"Maybe if you took a look at yourself in the mirror, Erik, you would see the truth."

Silence filled the room, followed by footsteps coming towards the door. I stepped aside so that I would not be seen, only knocking on Erik's door once Daroga was gone.

"What now?" came Erik's angry voice.

"It's Christine," I said. "I wanted to speak with you."

"Come in."

Erik's voice softened, and I did as he said, closing the door behind me. Erik was sat at his desk, dressed in his robe and seeming as though he were still in a great deal of pain.

"What is it that I can do for you, Christine?" he questioned.

I stood on the other side of his desk, my heart racing a mile a minute from within my chest. I was frightened over what I was about to say to him, but there was no avoiding it, for it needed to be said.

"Where exactly are you going?" I asked.

"What?" Erik rubbed his aching temple, seeming as though he were not in the mood for questions.

"You mentioned that you were going abroad." I reminded him. "Where would that be, exactly?"

"Probably America," he replied. "Why?"

"The new world?" I questioned. "Why would you want to go there?"

Erik impatiently sighed. "Christine, is there something you want? I am growing impatient with these questions."

I took a deep breath, knowing that it was now or never."You said that in order to travel with you I would have to be your daughter or...or...your wife. Obviously, our age difference makes it impossible for anyone to believe that I am your daughter. It would be more believable if I was your wife."

Erik sat back in his chair and shook his head over and over again.

"No, Christine."

"And why not?" I argued. "You said it yourself that things between us would not change. You said that what we have now is what we would continue to be. If this is what it takes to leave Paris, then I will accept your proposal."

"And yet you still wear the ring your boy has given you around your neck."

My fingers reached up and clasped the cold chain that was around my neck. Gently, I removed it and placed the trinket down in front of Erik as a peace offering and a promise that I would never return to Raoul.

"Everything looks good on paper, Christine," Erik began. "You may agree to this now, but what happens when we are behind closed doors?"

"What do you mean?" I asked in a frightened tone of voice.

"We will be crossing the ocean in a room that will most likely have a single bed, Christine. What about that? Will you dare to sleep beside your monstrous husband? Or will such an act disgust you and make you regret your choice?"

I swallowed hard, knowing that it was something that I was going to have to do.

"If that is what I must do as your wife." I boldly replied.

"Ah, and what about my temper? You know that I am a terrible tyrant when I want to be. Will that make you regret your actions?"

It did, but I couldn't tell Erik the truth.Erik sighed, his voice sounding much kinder now, almost desperate.

"Christine, all I have ever wanted was a wife to take walks with and a companionto share my love of music with. We would have to be legally bound to one another forever, and it would kill me if you only did this to get out of Paris and not because you truly enjoy my company."

The truth; Erik was looking for the truth!

"I'd be lying if I told you that I could see myself spending the rest of my life with you, Erik. Then again, you are not the worst company in the world, nor are you the man of my dreams. Maybe we just have not spent enough time getting to know one another as people should. I'm sorry if my words have hurt you, but all I know is that I don't want to stay in Paris, but I don't want to lose you either."

There was a pause, and then Erik nodded. "All right, Christine."

Erik didn't seem happy, nor did he seem upset. Our agreement was left just as it was. That evening with only the clothes on my back, I took my leave with Erik. We left Daroga's home that night and headed in a direction I was not familiar with. Erik was dressed in his cloak and had a small bag of belongings in one hand, as well as what looked to be a violin case!

"What's that?" I questioned.

"You didn't think that I was going to let Gustave Daae's treasured violin burn down with the opera house, did you?"

Erik's kindness tore at my heartstrings, for my father's violin had not perished after all.

"Thank you, Erik."

"I'd rather you didn't, Christine."

We arrived at the cemetery where my father was buried, and I was shocked that Erik had brought us here. I was shocked, and Erik noticed this, for he immediately mentioned his reason for it.

"I thought you would have wanted to say goodbye to your father," he said. "And we have business to attend to inside the church."

My heart sank. Of course, we had business inside of the church, we had to marry one another. Erik disappeared into the church, and I stood there at my father's grave, not knowing exactly how to say goodbye.

"Things are better this way," I said to him."Erik is going to take better care of me, papa; much better than Raoul could have done. Please watch over me, papa, and never let me out of your sight."

When I was finished, I entered the small church, finding Erik standing at the alter with a priest. I took a deep breath and approached Erik, with a nervous smile.

"Christine," the priest began. "You are here to marry Erik under your own free will? Because you love this man with your whole heart?"

My heart was racing, and I didn't want to lie, but knew that I needed to do this in order to get away from Paris.

"Yes, father." I replied.

The priest turned to Erik and asked him the same question, to which he also answered yes to.

"Join hands." he said.

Erik's gloved hands were shaking as they interlaced with my own. I took a deep breath, and heard Erik do the same, knowing that we were about to become husband and wife.

"Do you, Christine, take Erik to be your husband. For richer, for poorer, through sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Erik's eyes looked desperately into my own, as if searching for any sign of my love, but there was none to give.

"I do, father."

"Erik has asked that I allow him to recite his own vows to you." the priest stated.

I was shocked. His own vows? Why? Why was he doing this?

"Erik, you don't..." I tried to intervene, but he interrupted me.

"Christine, since the moment I met you, I have loved you. I never loved anyone as much as I love you. You are the first person I think of in the morning, and the last before I go to sleep. I know this isn't how you would have imagined your wedding day, but I need you to know that I will never take you for granted, nor will I ever hurt you. From now, until my dying breath, I will devote my life to loving you. I take you tonight as my bride, and forever as my wife."

Never had anyone ever said something so kind to me before. In all the years I had known Raoul, never had he proclaimed his love to me in such a form. I smiled at Erik, as the priest officially pronounced us husband and wife.

"By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Kiss? Kiss! No, I couldn't! Erik looked at me with nervous eyes, and I did the same. We stood there for a few moments in shock, as if waiting for the other to make the first move. When I didn't, Erik took it upon himself to lift my hand and press his bloated lips to my cold flesh. It was an odd sensation, one that I had never felt before, as if dry leather had been rubbing against my knuckle.

We both signed our name upon the marriage certificate and were on our way, headed towards the ship that would take us to the new world. There was no turning back now, for Erik and I were bound for all eternity, and there was no changing that.

I'm back with another chapter. Things are really getting serious with these two. Thanks again for your reviews and favorites. Until next time, happy reading! Happy Birthday Phantom Broadway!