Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own the Phantom of the Opera. It belongs to Gaston Leroux (original novel) and Andrew Lloyd Webber (musical rendition). Please buy the book or tickets to see the live performance (I know I will one day when I have enough money).

A/N. I recently watched and fell in love with the Phantom of the Opera. I love everything about it, except for the ending.

Now, I don't approve of the Phantom's actions and threats, but I still believe that he deserved a happy ending.

Raoul is a nice guy (I know EC lovers love to villainize him) but I don't think he should've had Christine in the end. Christine is the saviour the Phantom needed, without her, he may never get a redemption.

So after days of thinking and reading EC fanfics, I've decided to come up with my own universe where all the characters from the musical got a happy ending.

And so, this story was born. I hope you guys enjoy it since I put a lot of effort and love (more than I did in my past stories) into writing.

Ch. 1: Childhood friends by the sea

"My scarf!" A young Christine Daae cried as a sudden gust of wind blew her new red scarf from her neck and towards the open sea.

Immediately, a young boy runs after the flying scarf.

"I got it!" He shouts as he dashes into the water to retrieve the scarf, floating a couple of metres away from shore.

"Raoul, be careful!" Christine cried.

The boy in the sea, Raoul, successfully grabs the scarf but another gust of wind causes a large wave to form, pushing the boy off his balance. He tumbles through the water.

Christine shouts for help. And less than a second later, another child enters the scene.

This child, a boy with scruffy dark blonde hair, takes to the water and begins swimming towards a struggling Raoul. He helps Raoul stand up and aids the two of them back to shore.

Soaking wet from head to toe, they made their way to Christine who accepted the wet scarf.

Without a second wasted, she led them back to her house where she called her father.

"Papa! Papa! Please bring down some towels!"

Monsieur Daae exits his practice room and upon seeing the two boys dripping wet on his foyer, rushed to bring them to the living room. He and Christine wrapped them in towels and poured hot water for both of them to drink.

"There, there. It's all ok now," Monsieur Daae comforted as he dried Raoul's hair. "How did this happen?"

"It's my fault, papa!" Christine confessed. "My scarf got blown to the sea and Raoul tried to get it and then…"

Christine trailed off, realizing that she never got the name of the boy who went to the sea to help Raoul.

The boy faced Christine and smiled as he introduced himself.

"Olivier...Olivier Koenig."

Christine and Raoul both looked at Olivier with grateful eyes. Raoul was the first to reach out to him with his hand. "I'm Raoul de Chagny."

"And I'm Christine Daae," Christine chimed in.

"I'm Gustave Daae," Christine's father added. "Where do you live, Olivier? I'll tell your parents about your predicament and for a change of clothes."

"NO! No thank you," Olivier suddenly burst. "I can get back home myself just fine. Thank you, Monsieur. And my apologies for yelling."

Monsieur Daae just smiled and nodded his head. "Ok. Raoul, shall I tell your parents to bring you some clothes?"

Raoul nodded and with that, Monsieur Daae left the three children together. Raoul struck up a conversation.

"Olivier, I have never seen you around before. Did you move recently?"

He nodded. "My father and I just came from Germany. He's always wanted to live a French lifestyle and wants me to grow up here. But it's hard getting adjusted. I've always had trouble making friends. So I was kind of scared approaching you two today, but when I saw you in trouble." Olivier turns to look at Raoul. "I couldn't just stand there and do nothing."

Before long, the three of them began chatting minutes away. They talked about their hobbies, what their parents did, what they like to do, and what they want to do in the future.

Soon, Monsieur Daae returned with Raoul's older brother, Phillippe, who brought a change of clothes.

That's when Olivier stood up to leave. "Sorry, but my father would be wondering where I'm at. He's been very strict ever since my mother died. I don't want to disappoint him."

Before Olivier could exit the front door though, Raoul and Christine shouted after him.

"Come here again tomorrow! Let's play together some more!"

The next few days passed by like a gentle summer breeze. The three children became quick friends. It was like they were made for each other.

Every day was a new adventure. A new forest trail to run through, a new hill to roll down, a new cliff to jump off of into the sea.

Raoul is glad to have another boy his age to play with. Christine was fun and sweet, but it can get awkward sometimes when it's just the two of them playing together. Quite a few times, they were fawned over by neighbours passing by for being "such an adorable young couple".

So with Olivier entering their group, it's a lot more like regular children playing innocently instead of two children being in love. However, Raoul would be lying if he didn't admit that he is slightly attracted to Christine.

On this bright sunny, but windy day, the three of them decide to go on a picnic at the bluffs. Christine was wearing a flowy white dress, billowing in the breeze. It made her look so angelic.

If it wasn't for Olivier's presence, Raoul would've turned a beet red by now.

"Come on, you two!" Christine shouted as she ran ahead with the picnic basket.

The wind got stronger as they ran up to the top of the grassy bluffs. Another strong gust of wind blew in from the sea. Christine held onto her scarf tightly, not wanting to make the same mistake as last time.

But this time, she neglected her hat.

The gale carried the bright ivory hat down the bluffs and towards a patch of tall grass. This time, Olivier chased after the fashion garment. Raoul and Christine watch as Olivier disappears into the tall grass.

A minute passed by and Olivier had not returned. Raoul stood up to go after their missing friend.

"Watch our stuff, Christine. And be careful, I'm going to see what happened to Olivier."

Christine nodded obediently as Raoul disappears into the tall grass too. "Olivier? Olivier!" Raoul shouts his friend's name.

Pushing through the tall grass, Raoul becomes more and more frightened. Visibility was next to zero, what if something horrible had happened? What if—

Suddenly Raoul stumbles into a small clearing within the tall grass. The clearing was due to a small but deep puddle most likely formed from rainwater. And on the other side of the puddle, knelt Olivier.

Or was it?

The boy kneeling in front of him was wearing Christine's ivory hat. But instead of the short scruffy dark blonde hair, he always had, his hair was golden like the sun and fell to his shoulders in messy waves. He looked up from his reflection in the puddle and at Raoul.

"Raoul…"

The boy's feminine features that Raoul always thought were unusual but quite appealing are more prominent than ever, along with his soft voice. And it's all becoming clear to Raoul.

The boy kneeling in front of him, his friend, was a girl.

Raoul finally found his voice again. "Olivier, you're a girl…"

The boy—no girl, nodded and took off Christine's hat. "I'm sorry, Raoul. You weren't supposed to see. I just wanted to try on the hat, I just…I don't know."

"Why? Why are you…" Raoul paused for a second to think of what words to say. "...like this?"

"My father," Olivier said dryly. She stood up and took out a toupee from her trenchcoat's pocket. It was the dark blonde scruffy hair Raoul was always used to seeing.

"He wanted a son. A male heir to carry on the Koenig name and our practice in law. But since mama died and my father became unable to have more children after a horse-riding accident, he can't have a son. So he raises me to be the son he always wanted. That's why we moved out of Germany, to start a new life in France."

Olivier ties her hair up and puts the toupee back on. Now she's a boy once again. Raoul is still in disbelief. But quickly snaps out of it when Christine shouts for their names.

Raoul shouts back to Christine. "I found Olivier! It's alright! We're coming back!"

Before he could take a step to leave, Olivier grabs his shoulder.

"Wait! Christine...she can't know. Raoul, please keep this a secret. Please. My father will be furious if he realizes others know about my predicament. I'm already a freak of nature, I don't want my father to be any more disappointed in me than he is."

Raoul gently took Olivier's hand and held it.

"Don't worry. I won't tell a soul, I promise. And what do you mean 'freak of nature'? You're fine, just the way you are. I mean, before today, you're the first male friend I ever had. I feel at ease around you, I like playing with you. That wasn't you pretending to be a boy, was it?"

Olivier's eyes welled with tears. No one has told her that before. Raoul was the first. The first person to make her feel like she's human. She smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, Raoul. Thank you."

Raoul couldn't stop thinking about Olivier and what he discovered that day. He wondered how long Olivier could keep up the act. How long her father intended for her to be a boy.

Christine, on the other hand, wanted to know more about Olivier and invited him over to her place for an afternoon.

Christine sets the tea table for herself and Olivier and her father. Soft violin music crept out of Monsieur Daae's practice room. Olivier widened his ears to listen more closely.

"Your father's music is beautiful." He complimented.

Christine beamed in pride as she prepared the tea.

"Yes, it is. In fact, his critics once told me that his playing is so magnificent that when he dies, angels will sing him a grand choral as a way to welcome him to heaven!"

Monsieur Daae emerges from his practice room to join the two children in their afternoon tea. He picks up Christine and swings her around.

"That may be so, mon Cherie, but I believe one day in the future, your voice will become something even more magnificent than my violin-playing. So magnificent that the angels will come down themselves to take you before your time is even up!"

"You sing, Christine?" Olivier asked curiously.

Christine shyly nods but Monsieur Daae was much more forward. He pushes her forward, becking her to sing.

"Come now, Christine. Why not perform the song we've been practicing for a while now? For your first audience, Olivier Koenig!"

With some words of encouragement and applause from Olivier, Christine got the courage to sing. Her father grabs his violin from the practice room as she begins warming up with vocal exercises.

Olivier sits closer while the two musicians prepare.

At last, Monsieur Daae starts to play the instrumental introduction. It took Olivier's breath away.

The richness of the sound, the smoothness of Monsieur Daae's fingers, the speed of the notes, it was enough to transform Olivier's world into a universe where only he and the Daae's exist.

Then Christine's voice enters. Her voice was sweet and gentle but held a power that kept Olivier under the deep spell Monsieur Daae put on him.

The song was a simplified aria from an old French opera. Olivier never heard the original version of the aria, but to him, this rendition by Christine and her father is the original.

All too soon, the song ends. Olivier leaps out of his chair and claps like he never did before. Monsieur Daae gently reminds Christine to take a bow before Olivier begins gushing over how magical the experience was for him.

"You're too nice," Christine said while blushing. "I can't compare to the Prima Donnas of the Paris opera houses."

"But I have never been to an opera before. So I feel so blessed to have a front seat to this performance!" Olivier couldn't stop smiling and looking back and forth from Monsieur Daae to Christine with wide eyes.

He continues to explain. "My father never lets me listen to music or go see plays, operas, concerts, or even dances. So this truly means a lot to me. Thank you for that. I mean it."

Monsieur Daae smiled at the young boy and knelt in front of him.

"Would you like to learn to sing as well?"

Sing? Olivier could never accept that. That would for sure give away his true identity before long. He shook his head sadly and looked down.

"Sorry, Monsieur. I don't think I have what it takes to sing."

"Don't say that! Anyone can learn. With enough practice and perseverance," Monsieur Daae reassured. "What about other instruments? Are you interested in learning?"

That made Olivier's head go up. His eyes landed on the beautiful hazelnut coloured violin held in Monsieur Daae's hand.

From the instant he heard the soft violin music coming from the practice room, Olivier fell in love with the sound the instrument produced. And fell in love even more upon seeing Monsieur Daae playing it so virtuously.

"Monsieur Daae, if it's not too much. I'd like to learn how to play the violin. And I—I'd like to learn it from you," Olivier stammers.

He anxiously waits for an answer. Monsieur Daae softly pats Olivier on the hand and looks at him directly in the eye.

"Alright. Let us begin."

Please favourite, follow, and review if you enjoyed. Feedback is always welcome.

This chapter is a bit short since it's just an introduction. Future chapters will be longer.

Until the next time we meet,

MiraLake