The Phantom's Daughter (Book 2)

Love Never Dies

"Mother!" Screamed Gustave as Christine fell to the ground, clutching her stomach.
"No. I- I didn't mean to hurt her" trembled Meg.
Erik ran to Christine's side, and Elise hobbled after him.
After taking a look at Christine's wound, Erik's face fell.
"Giry, go and get some help!" He ordered.
Madame Giry nodded and began to make her way off the pier.
No matter how fast the ambulance came, Elise knew that Christine couldn't be helped, for her injuries were too extreme. And she knew that her father was aware of the terrible truth deep down, but didn't want to admit it to himself.

Meg looked torn, as she didn't know whether to stay or go.
She no longer had the gun in her possession, but she had been the one to fire it.
If the police found out what had happened, Meg would be sentenced to life in prison.
Despite everything she had done, Elise didn't want imprisonment to be Meg's fate.
"Go with her Meg" insisted Elise, as she lowered herself to the ground, to take the weight off her leg.
"You're hurt" gasped Meg, when she saw the blood running down Elise's leg.
"I'll be alright. Go with your mother" replied Elise.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, now get going".
Meg bent down and gave Elise a quick hug before running off after her mother.

"Where's papa, he should be here. Where is he?" Sobbed Gustave, who was knelt by Christine's side.
"Your father- your real father-" started Christine.
Erik shook his head, "Don't".
Christine placed her hand around Erik's face.
"It's time that he learned the truth" she said softly.
"I don't think that's a good idea" admitted Elise.
Christine ignored Elise and turned back to her son.
"Your real father, is right here" she revealed.
Gustave looked over at Erik who hung his head in shame, unable to meet Gustave's stare.

"No. No, it's not true!" Shouted Gustave as he jumped to his feet and fled the pier.
"Gustave, come back" begged Christine, as she tried and failed to push herself up off the ground.
"Should I go after him?" Asked Elise.
"Normally I would say yes, but you aren't going anywhere, not on that leg" replied Erik.
Elise nodded her head and looked back at Christine, who was looking paler by the second.
"Hold me, please" begged Christine.
Erik obliged and placed his arms around Christine, holding her tight.
Elise wanted to give the couple space, but she couldn't tear herself away from Christine's side, not when she was dying.
Instead she ripped a piece off her dress, and tied it around her leg, stopping the bleeding.

"What do I do about the boy?" Questioned Erik.
"You must look after him now, you're all he has" answered Christine.
"Me? But he doesn't want me. And I wouldn't even know where to begin" admitted Erik.
"Listen to your heart, it will guide you and tell you what to do"
"I will give him all that I have. He will want for nothing, I promise"
"He needs nothing but your love, and I know that you have plently to give him"
"I promise he will be loved"
"I know you will not let me down".

"Come closer" whispered Christine, who's voice was sounding weaker every time she spoke.
Erik pulled her into his chest and pressed his cheek against the top of her head.
"Kiss me one last time" she begged.
Erik stroked her face, before pressing his lips against hers, as tears streamed down his face.
Elise too was crying, but she was crying silently, as she didn't want anyone to hear her.
"It's funny. I don't even know your name" admitted Christine.
Elise was taken aback for a moment, before she remembered that there weren't many people in the world who knew her fathers real name.
"It's Erik" he revealed.

"Erik... I love you" mumbled Christine.
"And I love you, with all my heart" cried Erik.
"Then remember that love never dies. I will always be with you, in your dreams... My angel of music" whispered Christine.
Her eyes fluttered before closing shut forever.
"Is- is she..." Elise faltered, unable to finish her sentence.
She could no longer see Christine's chest rising, so she knew that her old friend was no longer with them.
Elise had never lost someone before, as she had no memory of her mother, so could not mourn her.

Unable to stop herself, Elise cried out loud, as the pain was too unbearable to hold in any longer.
As he was too distraught, and overwhelmed by his own sorrow, Erik couldn't console Elise.
The sound of footsteps arriving on the pier, made Elise take her eyes off Christine's body.
Gustave had returned, but he was not alone, as he had Raoul by his side.
Erik saw the look on Raoul's face, so he placed Christine onto the floor, and walked away from her body, so that the Vicomte could hold his wife one last time.
As Erik made his way to the end of the pier, Elise became worried that he might jump off.
So she grabbed hold of the railings and pulled herself back into a standing position, before dragging herself along towards her father.

Erik had dropped to his knees on the edge of the pier, unable to stand any longer.
When Elise reached him, she placed her hand supportingly on his shoulder.
All her thoughts of leaving her father vanished, and Elise was ready to spend the rest of her life by his side, so that he was never alone. With Christine dead, Elise knew it was going to be difficult to stop her father from taking his own life, so that he could join her.
What Elise hadn't considered was that Gustave might prefer to be with Erik over Raoul.
The boy had left his mother's side and made his way towards them, without making a sound.

Once he had reached them, Gustave stretched out his hand towards Erik's mask.
Normally Erik would've tried to stop him, as he didn't like people seeing his face, but he had given up caring.
Gustave pulled off the mask, and stared at Erik's deformed face, showing that it no longer scared him.
Moved by his sons compassion and acceptance, Erik pulled Gustave into a hug, holding him tight for the very first time.

"Elise!".
The sound of her name being called, made Elise spin around, which is when she saw Jeff running up the pier towards her.
She began staggering towards him, and when they reached each other, they hugged the other person, tighter than they ever had before.
"I thought you were dead" admitted Jeff, as he stepped back to observe Elise.
"I'm fine, my leg was only grazed by the bullet" replied Elise.
"When I saw Madame Giry and Meg looking worried and talking about someone being shot, I thought it was you. I thought that I wasn't going to see you again. So I ran right here, to see if my fears were true".

"I wasn't the one they were talking about, it was Christine, our good old friend" revealed Elise as she looked back at Christine's body.
Jeff wiped a fallen tear from Elise's face.
"Are you O.K?" He asked.
"I don't think I'll ever be O.K again" admitted Elise.
"I will make you O.K again, I promise"
"I believe that you could do that. But I can't stay here with you"
"What! Why?".
Elise looked over her shoulder, back at her father and Gustave.
"I can't be with you, because he needs me" she explained.
"I thought you were going to put your life first from now on, and not your father's" replied Jeff.

"I am, but he is not the reason I can't stay with you. My brother needs me, so I can't just leave him" sighed Elise.
"Your brother?" Quizzed Jeff.
"His mother has just died, and I don't want to leave him alone with only my father for company. Madame Giry gave up everything to raise me, and I don't know what kind of person I would be now, without her. So, now I need to do the same for him" replied Elise.
Jeff placed his hands on Elise's face, "You can't just leave me".
Elise put her hands over Jeff's, "It's not something I want to do, but something I must".

"Will I ever see you again?" Asked Jeff.
"I don't want you to waste your life away, waiting for me" admitted Elise.
"I would wait an entire life time to see you again. There is no one else out there who can make me feel the way I feel with you" revealed Jeff.
"If you really feel that way, then I will come back to you"
"You will?"
"Once Gustave is older, and no longer needs me, I will return to you. But until then".
Elise pressed her lips against Jeff's, kissing him passionately.

When the kiss was over, Elise walked away from Jeff, and headed back towards Erik and Gustave.
Erik stood to his feet, and took hold of Elise and Gustave's hands.
"It's time for us to disappear again, isn't it?" Sighed Elise.
"Yes, it is. Are you ready to leave it all behind, and start again?" Asked Erik.
Elise took a deep breath before looking out at the sea in front of them and nodding her head, "I'm ready".