A/N: last chappie!

Chapter 16: Forgiveness

"Christine?" Krystal murmured, kneeling next to Christine as she still lay on the window seat, her eyes open, staring ahead. "Christine, you need to eat."

"I'm not hungry, Krystal, thank you," Christine murmured, unmoving and not looking at the other girl.

"You haven't been hungry in two days," Krystal muttered.

"I'll just have some water," Christine replied.

"I'll bring a little something for you to eat," Krystal said, standing and heading toward the door.

She opened the door to the captain's cabin but gasped softly when she was met with an obstacle. Erik wasn't looking to his sister, however, he was looking inside the room to catch a glimpse of Christine before taking Krystal's hand and pulling her out of the room. Krystal quickly closed the door behind her before Erik continued dragging her toward the port railing and turned her to him.

"How is she?" he asked, immediately.

"She's not eating," Krystal instantly reported. "I can tell she's not sleeping well either."

"She has nightmares," Erik confirmed.

"She just lies there all day, Erik," she continued. "I was going to bring her some food to see if she would eat it. I can't very well force it down her throat, but I wish she wouldn't do this to herself."

"You and I both, sister," Erik sighed, running a hand through his hair before placing his hands on his sister's shoulders. "Thank you for watching over her while I take care of things around the ship. Go up to the helm and tell John I'll be in my cabin if he needs me."

Krystal nodded as Erik smiled reassuringly, pinching her chin lightly before letting her go and heading toward the cabin. He lightly knocked before opening the door and stepping in. Christine didn't move from where she lay on the window seat, making him sigh, softly before stepping in and shutting the door behind him. He slowly stepped toward her, taking off his sword and coat to set them on his desk before he sat on the edge of the window seat at her hips. Christine still didn't move as she stared ahead and he looked to her, lifting a hand to set it on her shoulder. His hand ran down her arm, soothingly and she still didn't move.

"Krystal tells me you're not eating, my love," he murmured, taking her hand into his and bring it to his face to lightly kiss it. "Do you plan to starve yourself to death?"

She said nothing as he lowered her hand again to stroke her hair from her face to gently caress her cheek.

"I hate seeing you so mournful, angel," he sighed. "You'll make yourself ill."

Christine remained silent, but she sat up, making Erik's eyes widen in surprise but he said nothing as she only sat next to him for a moment.

"Erik…" she whispered as Erik shifted to face her completely as she lifted her hands and stared at them, breathing, "There's blood on my hands. It won't wash off no matter what I do. No matter how hard I scrub, it won't wash off."

Her hands started trembling as she jerked with a sob then buried her face in her hands to sob, and Erik instantly pulled her into his arms to hold her close. He let her sob for another moment before she finally tried calming herself and he looked down at her.

"Let me see your hand," he murmured, lifting her hand again and examining it before letting it rest on his palm then he kissed her head, burying his face in her hair to whisper, "My hand has blood on it as well, my love. I understand how you feel, angel. You feel guilty, as do I whenever I take a life. I remember, vividly, every life I have taken. And I swear, I will keep you from feeling this way again."

"How do you get over it, Erik?" she asked, finally looking up at him. "How do you get over the guilt?"

Erik sighed and lifted his free hand to stroke her cheek as he replied, "I've tried to justify my actions, and almost every time has been for a reason. I'll not deny that innocents have been cut down by my blade, but I forgive myself for it."

"I cannot forgive myself, Erik," she shuddered, shaking her head as she bowed her head to lean her head on his shoulder. "I took the life of my childhood friend. A Naval officer! I could never forgive myself!"

"He was about to kill me, Christine," he reminded her. "He came at me with a dagger, had you not been so quick to defend me, I would be dead now. I'm certain you wouldn't want that."

"Of course not!" she shuddered, snuggling into him.

"You saved my life, angel," he murmured, pulling her closer still. "Meg, Antoinette, Gustave and even God would forgive you for it. If you forgive yourself, I promise that in time, you will not feel so guilty."

Christine sniffled and nodded that she understood, but said nothing as she lifted her head again to look up at him. He smiled reassuringly and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I only wish there was some way I could repay my debt to you," he breathed into her hair before looking down at her again, just in time for her lips to meet his. Erik's eyes widened in shock before he tenderly returned the kiss, lifting a hand to gently cup her cheek before she pulled away and he opened his eyes with a frown, but said nothing.

"Please," she breathed, "just for a few moments, help me forget everything. I know you're probably busy, but could you stay here with me, even if it's only a few minutes?"

"For you, my love, I'll stay here for eternity," Erik smiled, pressing a lingering kiss to her cheek before slowly standing from his seat. "I'll be back in one moment. Don't move."

Christine nodded as Erik hurriedly left the room to head up to the helm where John stood, directing a frown to his captain when he hastily approached.

"Captain?"

"John," Erik greeted, stepping next to him to speak low. "I trust everything is well on deck?"

"Aye, captain," John nodded, still frowning.

"Good," Erik nodded in return, slapping a hand to his first mate's shoulder, reporting, "I leave you in command for a while then. Keep us on course. I'll be in my cabin." He stepped even closer to mutter, "Call me only if it is extremely important, understood?"

John's frown suddenly disappeared and he nodded in understanding, answering, "Aye, captain."

"Good lad," Erik nodded, turning back to hurry down the stairs and into his cabin, shutting the door behind him and locking it. Christine had remained on the window seat, and he hurriedly approached her to sit and gather her in his arms again to hold her.

"Now…" he sighed, and they both looked to each other as he smiled, warmly, "Where were we?"

Evening...

John leaned forward on the helm, feeling his eyes start to close. He quickly stood and shook his head violently to keep himself awake. A giggle from behind him made him frown and turn to see Krystal leaning back on the pole of the mast behind him.

"When did you get there, lass?" he questioned through a smirk as she shoved off the wood and strolled toward him.

"Just in time to watch you try to keep awake," she retorted, stopping next to him as he turned ahead again and she asked, "Has my brother told you where we're going yet?"

"Apparently, we're headed for a place called Tortuga," he replied. "I've never been there myself, but I've heard some fascinating things about it."

"Oh, you'll love it there, John," Krystal smiled, mischievously, but before he could question her, she asked, "What did the Marines say when you told them of the Commodore's death?"

John's face became solemn and he sighed, looking ahead again as he replied, "I'd run into a captain that had served under him when they sailed after Miss Daaé. He gave his thanks and sent me on my way. I think they knew he was going mad."

"So they won't be coming after us?" Krystal frowned in wonder as she stepped closer to him. "That's strange. You would think that, even if Raoul de Chagny was mad, they would send someone after the men who killed him."

"I told them what happened, Krystal," John replied, making her look up at him with wide eyes filled with disbelief.

"What?"

"They asked me, and if I didn't tell the truth, I knew they would've beaten it out of me," John replied, calmly. "They would never pursue us knowing that Miss Daaé was here. Her father has prestige on Port Monarch and they dare not anger him. He may as well be the governor."

"So Christine Daaé gets away with murder," Krystal muttered.

"Self defense, lass," John reminded her.

"And had it been my brother who killed him, we would have a fleet coming after us now," she shot back. "Politics make me sick!"

"Why do you think we all joined this crew," he scoffed, making her chuckle.

"True," she nodded in agreement before looking up at the sky and sighing, "I hope Christine gets over this soon. I understand why she's being this way, but it's no good, for anyone if she continues."

"Captain will get her back to normal," John assured her. "You just wait and see, lass. She'll be right as rain in no time."

"Yeah," Krystal scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back on John's shoulder, making him smirk. "My brother can do anything. Elude enemies without leaving a trace, and appear out of thin air. I'd heard stories about him when I was going from port to port…ship to ship. You know what they called him, John?"

"Tell me, lass."

"The Phantom of the Sea."

A/N: a short last chapter, but there were just a few things to wrap up. thank you to all who read this and stuck through it to the end, even when I didn't update for so long! i encourage you to read my other Phantom and Pirate fics, as well as my other stories and tell me what you think. speaking of which, i ask one last time for this story...reviews?