Epilogue

3 Years in the Future

Erik sat on the veranda, watching the sun set, wondering if today would be the day he would finally get to see the famed "green flash" at sunset. Since he and Christine had made their way to this island of St. Barthelemy in the Caribbean Sea, he had heard much of this phenomenon, but had never witnessed it himself. Purportedly, at certain times, right as the sun slipped over the horizon, there would be an unexpected brilliant flash of green. Apparently, it happened rarely, which increased Erik's desire to witness it at least once.

As he waited, slowly sipping a snifter of brandy and watching the remnants of day slipping away, he thought of when he and Christine had fled France. It seemed like just yesterday, and it seemed like a long time ago as well. When he proposed the plan, he had initially worried that she would balk at leaving France, leaving all that she knew behind.

...

"I've been thinking" he said, "and I think I've come up with a plan."

Christine disengaged herself from the tangle of sheets, and sat up and attempted to pay attention.

"We can't stay here. Even if we could, I wouldn't." Erik shook his head. "This is no kind of life for you; you deserve so much more." And with that he launched into his plan for them to make their way to the coast and sail for the New World.

Let your mind start a journey to a strange new world

Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before

Let your soul take you where you long to be….

Only then can you belong to me

After outlining his plan, Erik waited anxiously for Christine's thoughts. Perhaps she wouldn't want to leave her home, perhaps she preferred to go to London and be on the stage there. There were a million possibilities that she might favor over his plan. As long as her plans included him, he would remain flexible.

Christine wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, slowly, deftly.

"When do we leave?"

That night, while Christine got some much needed sleep, Erik stole up to her room to get some of her clothes. It was a bit risky, but Erik believed that with the opera house in such a state of disarray, his chances of getting in and out, unseen, were good. She only needed a few things; they would buy more for their journey once they reached the coast. He just didn't want to risk her being recognized on the journey to the port city, and planned to stay inside the coach as much as possible for the trip there.

It was dark when he crept in and silently closed the door. He began stashing clothing items in a bag, being careful not to make it appear that anything was missing.

"Everyone thinks you're dead, you know" a girl's voice whispered from the corner. Erik barely stifled a gasp and whipped around facing the direction of the voice, his heart in his throat.

It was Meg.

She knew one of them would come back for Christine's things, and she had been silently waiting in Christine's room ever since saying goodbye to Raoul that morning.

Meg stepped out of the shadows and got her first, up-close look at The Phantom. She repeated herself, "Everyone thinks you're both dead. Raoul told everyone that you both drowned before he could save you."

Erik raised his eyebrows, speechless. Why would he do that?

"He understands now. I think he genuinely just wants her to be happy. He understands now that her happiness lies with you." Meg smiled. She dug in her pocket and pulled out something shimmering. It was a short strand of the crystals from the chandelier, which was now lying in ruins on the floor of the opera house. Meg had bent and fashioned the wire into a very delicate, beautiful bracelet.

She handed it to Erik. "Please tell Christine that her friend Meg will always love her, and will never forget her."

Erik nodded, his throat closing.

Meg took another step closer, coming face to face with Erik, their noses just inches apart. She looked him square in the eyes, and in a soft, menacing tone said, "And you, if you ever hurt her, you will deal with me."

And with that, she turned and silently left the room, as though she had never been there at all.

Erik stood there in stunned silence for a moment, absorbing all she had said. Then he too left. Smiling.

So he and Christine had left Paris, left France, left everything and everyone behind, and had never looked back. With the amount of money he had been extorting every month from the opera's owners, Erik had a small fortune stashed away. More than enough to make a new start anywhere they pleased.

Their first stop was to find a priest.

When they arrived in St. Barthelemy, Erik set out at once to build them a house, build them a life. He had succeeded at both.

…..

"Did it flash green today?"

Christine bent down from behind him and kissed his neck. The sun had dipped below the horizon, and evening was coming on with a gentle ocean breeze. She draped her arms down his chest, and caressed him through his shirt. Even after 3 years, her ministrations had the same effect as they had on their first night together. Erik had not yet become inured to the boredom of married life, in fact, it was all he could do to be out of her sight for more than a few hours at a time. After having suffered his entire life without experiencing a loving human touch, he found that he could not be long from Christine's side without it causing him no small measure of distress. Consequently, they happily spent almost every waking moment together.

Erik turned his face up to receive a kiss from his wife. He then took her hand and led her around to make her place in his lap, where she sat nestled into him, kissing his face and nuzzling his hair. His arms snugly around her, he placed his large hand across her stomach, and slowly, gently rubbed the small bump that was just now becoming visible.

"No, none today" he murmured, kissing her.

"Well in that case, let's go make some music of the night" she whispered, seductively.

The End

Meanwhile, outside a pub in Calais, France, in a very bad part of town…

Raoul was sent flying through the front window of the establishment, glass shattering and wood exploding into the street. His three attackers jumped through the window after him and began raining blows onto his struggling form. He regained his feet, and dispatched one of them by showing him the shortest route to a nearby brick wall, but there was little doubt he was going to be beaten to a bloody pulp by the other two in short order. The smaller of the two ruffians caught Raoul across the jaw, followed by a pummeling blow to the mid-section, and Raoul fell to his knees. Unexpectedly, both of the men joined him, eyes rolling back in their heads as they went all the way down to the ground, unconscious.

Wait. No. What? What just happened? Raoul blinked owlishly, trying to make sense of what was transpiring.

"I'd say you have the adventure part down, your Lordship. What you are lacking is a plan" grinned Meg.

Not The End (for these two)

Author's Note: So Erik and Christine get their Happily Ever After, and it looks as though Meg and Raoul might be bound for adventure (with a suitable plan, of course) Thank you everyone for reading this story! This was my first attempt at fanfic, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, I would love to know what you thought about it, so please leave me a review !