Erik is NOT Dead (Phantom of the Opera one-shots)

A Prince Charming or an Opera Ghost

I looked around me in shock. I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. I had promised to be the wife of a monster. What had I done? I sat down and laid my head in my hands. Erik had gone to go do something with Raoul and the Persian. I knew he was a man of his word so he wouldn't kill Raoul. He had what he wanted. Me.

I ran my hand though hair and shivered. The more I thought about it the more I realized it might not be too bad living here. It was a beautiful house with a nice few of the underground lake. Erik wouldn't ever hurt me. I knew he loved me. He loved me enough to kill to get me. He wasn't so bad when he wasn't angry.

Raoul was a Prince Charming and Erik was an Opera Ghost. I had chosen the Opera Ghost to save the Prince Charming. But maybe that was a good thing. I had been living in an imaginary world and it was time to move into the real world. The real world in which I was loved by a deformed man.

Sometime during the time that Erik was gone I started not to see Erik as a monster but a man who just wanted to be loved. As I heard the boat hitting the dock I made up my mind to be the best wife he could ever have. I would learn to love him in time.

I walked out of the house with a determined look in my eyes. He would not die without knowing what love was. I was expecting a look of triumph but that is not what I saw. He looked scared. He looked like a child who had done something wrong.

He walked up to me and I put my head forward as a way to show him that I accepted him. He lifted up his mask and his lips touched my forehead. I had expected them to be cold but they weren't. They were warm and living. I smiled slightly.

He pulled away and then collapsed to his knees. He sobbed and I couldn't help but cry with him. He sounded so broken.

He ripped off his mask and I didn't fear it. His face wasn't as bad as the first time I had seen it. I couldn't help myself when I said,

"Poor unhappy Erik!" And I took his skeletal hand in my own. This man needed so much love. It was about time he got it. In his hand was the ring I had lost. Suddenly he slipped it on my finger and said,

"There... Take it.... Take it for you and him... It shall be my wedding present... A present from you poor unhappy Erik... I know you love the boy... Don't cry any more!" I stared at him in shock. What on earth was he talking about? We were going to be married. I thought he loved me.

"Erik, what do you mean? I thought..." I trailed off. I was so confused. He then proceeded to tell me that he was just a dog who would die for me. That he was letting me go because I had shown him kindness. I had cried with him and he knew how much I loved Raoul. He then left to get Raoul. I couldn't think. Why was he letting me go? I had just come to terms with being his wife and now he was letting me go. I went to the Louie-Philipee room and wait for him to get back. Raoul burst through the door first and instantly hugged me. He kissed me and I barely returned it. Something told me this wasn't right.

I was still in a daze when Erik made me promise to return and bury him with the gold ring which I was to wear until that time. He gave me precise instructions about everything and then told me to leave. Something in me didn't want to leave. Something told me to stay and comfort him.

So I did a crazy thing. I leaned forward and kissed his forehead. With that I tried to tell him what I couldn't with my voice. I tried to tell him that I didn't want to leave him. My tears had stopped because I hadn't the strength to keep them going. Raoul took the boat and we left Erik, still sobbing, in the Louis-Philipee room. We crossed the lake and we started up through the cellars. My feet dragged and my stomach knotted. Something told me not to go.

I stopped and looked at Raoul. He stopped and looked back at me.

"Christine, what is wrong?" I bit my lip and said,