(A/N: Most of the Author's Note will be at the end. I want to thank each and every one of you, and it will take a while to write down all of the names. )
Epilogue
The carriage pulled into a long driveway. The new house was in a secluded part of the city, surrounded by trees like their last home was.
Erik was nervous, though he couldn't figure out why. He had a sneaking suspicion that Christine was up to something. She had a little quirky smile on her face that grew as the carriage stopped.
They got out, and Erik finally got his first look at their new home.
It was pretty, but not very impressive. It looked as though it had been empty for quite a while. It gave the impression that once it had been very beautiful—there was empty soil in the front where it looked as though an elaborate garden had been, and the walls gleamed underneath of the grit and dirt on them.
Christine came up and stood beside him. "It needs a little fixing up." She admitted, "But that wasn't why I picked it."
Erik nodded, and waited for her to explain.
She didn't, right away.
Instead, she opened the gate and walked down the pathway, smiling up at the house. "There is one master bedroom, and then a few other spare rooms. I figured we might need them, just in case." She turned and grinned at him, and he smiled back.
"But that still isn't what made me like it." She continued.
Erik followed her up the steps, and inside.
The rooms weren't quite empty. Whoever had lived here before left a lot of their furniture. Erik found himself staring at a few odd pieces…
Was that an alter?
"Christine—"
"Did you know, Erik, that this house was once a small community church?"
Erik frowned curiously at her. "No… I didn't."
Christine nodded almost absent-mindedly. "They renovated it into a house when a bigger church was made nearby. It's really pretty, don't you think? When it's cleaned up, it will look really nice. I think the last person who owned it turned the service room into the living room."
"It wasn't a very big church." Was Erik's only comment. He was confused at Christine's choice of a house. Though he really did like it, it was rather…strange.
Christine grinned at him, seeing his confusion in his eyes. She still eluded it, though. "No, it wasn't."
She took his hand and led him through the house, showing him all of the bedrooms and spare rooms. Erik had to agree that he did like it. It had a beautiful view, and very nice furnishings. Still, though, many of the other houses they had seen also had them. He couldn't figure out why she had picked this one in particular, especially since it had once been a church—not that he had anything against that…
"Christine," he said at last, when the finished touring the place, "I still don't think I understand why you picked this house in particular."
She smiled secretively. "There's still one last room…"
They were standing before the double doors to the service room that had been turned into a living room.
Erik gave her another odd look.
Christine met his gaze evenly, and then pushed the doors open.
Erik walked inside, and his breath caught in his throat.
For, on the opposite wall on the far side of the room, there was an organ.
Erik froze for a moment, and then turned to look at Christine, who was grinning from ear to ear now.
"Go on," she urged him, "Try it out."
Erik didn't need to be told twice. He hurried across the room with Christine at his heels.
He slid into place at the bench, and ran his fingers gently over the keys. "I haven't played since we left the Opera House." he said in sudden realization.
Christine nodded. "I know." She whispered.
Erik took a deep breath, placed his fingers into position, and began to play.
A glorious, sweet sound filled the room, vibrating from every timber.
Erik closed his eyes and let the music fill him, tears of joy coming to his eyes. He hadn't realized until now how much he missed his music.
Christine watched him play, heart pounding blissfully. He looked so happy now, and she was glad that she had picked this house. She knew he would like it.
When Erik finished playing, he dropped his hands, trembling slightly. After a moment, he looked back up at Christine.
"Thank you…" he whispered. "Thank you so much…"
Christine just smiled at him.
The two settled down there, and eventually they got married. Christine had her baby, and it was a girl. She named it Meg, after her best friend. Meg herself came to visit soon afterward, the moment that her mother announced that she could.
Christine had two more children. The second one was also a girl, but the third was a young boy. Erik insisted that he was called Christophe, and Christine consented. Even though he looked into it, it was a while before Erik ever found out what had happened to the five-year-old boy, Chaney.
But that is another story for another time. This one, A White Mask, has finally reached its end.
(A/N: Thank you everyone, for reading. I know that the epilogue was short, but epilogues typically are. I wrote as much as I thought should be there. I would now like to thank all of you for reading, and thank anyone who ever reviewed.
Especially kiss-of-cuteness, my very first reviewer, and to all of you who stuck with me to the end! You gave me the support I needed to continue writing, and I wish I could thank each and every one of you individually for different reasons. However, that would take up a lot of time that I don't have, so instead I will just list your names here. If you EVER reviewed before I finished, then I guarantee your name is on here. Hopefully spelled correctly…
A BIG HUGE thanks to:
Moonlightrosegoddess, RoseWithABlackRibbon, whatanoddgirl, kiss-of-cuteness, draegon-fire, ladystrider77, Dragon-miko, Mel, NorthAngel27, Littlecherub5, MOey, Aislin of the Shadows, Allie, Lauren, Dalamar Nightson, Dal Muln, possumgurl, hermia, jlauren1224, Graymoon74, Evil's Muse, queenofny, dueformiracle, sao, MurphPolo13, Brooke Kenobi, Lady Varissa, AleanShadow, Farsi, Jessica, ENTR'ACTE, Ravenmyst, MadameAngel, rio, bella39blue, fell4adeadguy, T'Res, Grace, Emily, annecordelia, AshleytheStrange, phtmangl1013, Gemxk, LifesVictory, phantombassonist, LadyWillow, Amber Stag, tactics, My Phantom Heart, nobody's little princess, littlelotte, bundles-o'-joy, The Real Christine Daae, Phoenixthemenace, reddancer, KButler, Bara Zeco, Avelera, shoradragon7, Blue Eyes At Night, POTO fan, phantomflutist, Mystery Guest, Jenn, Maaiker, The Dark One Reborn, pandagal, Han Futsu; Anti Normal, erik'sangel527, Angelic Lawyer, Noemy009, Kaya DC Pandora, SummerSong, Senses Fail, Jackalope Huntress, Softiful, LoneGunGirl88, Rosakara, ButterflyofLothlorien, Ceez, Phantomraver, The Cure, rykfiction, The Shrew, The Huntress, Hermia LaFaye, Librarian of the Deep, MJ-Skywalker, celtic-lyre, All Apologies, CrisPgirl, RAB, Immokk, Nightwish-sama, Lisa, DocOcksGirl31, CharmedLeoLvr, smgirl, Dreaming One, Becca, Padfootz-luvr, Pervy Elf Fancier, corrupted-innocent, phantoms lover, andiavas, Lady Tarja, phantomintheshadows, unknown, aries-chica56, MegChristine, Lady of Proserpine (or Hillary, lol), Sweet-Intoxication, CapnJacksBonnieLass, Belle Morte, Lusiki-Thanatos, IChooseTheScorpion, HPOTOV, Kire-evoli, Starr-Rider, Hannah Abby, Lesalanna, sharaku, cdog, LittleLotte05, Elenion-Ancalima, Phantomette, swiz, neo-lover72, mary, Amerial, Kessie, Red Leader, Reading Redhead, Hikaze Chimizu, xxvv, PrincessSaraSolo, Eatdrums, loveroftrapdoors, tiger, vixen519, DarkinsidetheLight, Darth Gilthoron, faerluthio, Phantom's Fallen Angel, Orelinde Sirfalas, Lemony Apple, Reccovende, Liz, Sugarcult Babe, Lackaz, GoddessofMusic, dancerofpointe, bulma-caz, moonjava, galebalesh, Vix17, Wookat, twinlady, automated, Little Atemu, Carolinus Took, No One Mourns the Wicked, Mill, Goddess of the Neon Rose, Kat, Sat-Isis/Suten Net, the polia, BlueSparx, Silver-Eyes, Pannero, Marie, Color Me In, Senna Wales, Erik'sTrueAngel, AingealFire, Aristophanes, SixSixSix, kissme, Passing Stranger, KensDragonet, dragons1, Sapphire Starlet, Miranda, ZeonChar, Tiniwiel, Johanna Gen, whispers of the night, SperryDee, OboetaOn, Phantom of the Past, malfoygranger4eva, starnat, Ara, Goddess of the broken, crazzymonkey, Sango-2099, IloveSnuffles805, EvilFairy27, AngelsExist, synaesthesia, Lily4eva, babymene17, ChristyWannabe, Angie38, Terra Rose, Elanor-Ainu, MusikPhan, dingue, Lioness-Rampant, Aisling-Siobhan, Kat, Beneathmyskin, Kontoki OperaGhost, PiccoloFrivolous, Danielle, Linhdog, Corby, Official Fan, Monroe-mary, LadyRedDeath, The Copper Arabian, gecko girl, RietroFan42, Rokimbo, ChildoftheWilderness, LoverofBalto, LiTTle LoTTe1991, Chesire Kit, angelofmusic45, Suki-Aiko Hirashima, Seaside Rose, Countess Alana, Foreveriseternallymine, Doomed Delight, Faust, oceansun, Songwind, Elianu, Maeve of the Nile, Laurz, SaraRainey, akutenshi666, Erik is a sex god, Kaya DC Pandora, deathlesscaress, jessiejoe826, DarkSarcasm, Ermine aka Tree, Fox Xanatos, AmberPhantom, Midnight Ransom, BelleEverwood, Emma, MegHarts, NiamhakaLadyHex, Rooklyn, eridani, Moi, Lizzie Black, SiriusFan9, La Foame, iceangelmkx, Brittany, Legolas-Obsessionist, Shannon, Mel, Cap'n of the Deep, Jessica, SS, lilinnnocentvivi, Songe, Chance, Angel, hiei1317, stine,
And… erm… is there anyone else? Anyone I might have forgotten? Oh, wait, I think I did… some k name… was it… kionra? no, but she used to spell it that way… OH! Right, KIANRA! Lol, sorry everyone, she's my best friend, thought I should explain. I bet you she went through that entire list of names, too
Anyway, thank you all for reading!
My new story, The Crimson Rose, (WHICH IS NOT A SEQUEL) will be up tomorrow morning.
I just can't do anything else tonight. I'm spent.
THANK YOU EVERYONE! GOODBYE!
…Hilary…