Disclaimer-I do not own Phantom of the opera. If I did there would be no sequel!!

Memoirs of a Countess

Paris-1917

As Christine de Chagney looked up at the building where she had spent a great deal of her life she felt all the memories flood her mind once more. She knew she had to do this. She could feel her time on this earth coming to an end, and if she did not come back here she would never know peace. Raoul was away for the day, and she thought now would be a good time to confront her past. He would surely be angry if he knew she had come here. He was one who always believed the past should remain buried. Well this particular part of her past had been buried for far too long. It had been almost 47 years ago to the day that she had left the opera with Raoul. 47 years in which she was still haunted. Erik. Even his name still spoken aloud could send a shiver down her spine, except that once that shiver would have been from fear, it was now from regret and sadness. She had been so young and naive back then, and whilst she could never regret her decision to marry Raoul, she often thought about what life would have been like if she had stayed with Erik. She had not understood back then, she had been filled with horror and fear of this murderer who was so obsessed with her. She had also be so angry at the realisation that her angel of music was no angel, but only a man. Now she knew, he had simply loved her. This man who had loved her so much he had died because of it, had only wanted to be loved for himself, but because of her that was never given to him. He had never known a moments love in his entire life. She knew this was the fault of the world they lived it. A world which expected perfection, and which was unable to accept anything or anyone who was anything less than this. It had been a few years before she had truly understood the extent of Erik's love for her, but when she had she had wept for days, having also realised that she could have loved him too.

"Erik," she whispered "I know you can't hear me, but just in case you can, if somehow you're still here somewhere, I would like to say that I love you. I think I always have, and I always will. Goodbye my angel. After all these years, I've finally realised, you were always my angel of music. Wherever you are, I hope you have managed to find some of the happiness that was denied you in this life."

With that she turned to leave but stopped as she swore she heard a voice carried by the wind, so similar to a voice she had heard so many times in her dreams.

"I love you too, Christine. Goodbye my love."

With that she stepped back into her carriage to go home, glancing back only once at the place she had feared of returning to for so long, finally content that she had made peace with the past and put all ghosts to rest.