I was wondering about the letter, and await with some trepidation to see where that goes. Will he or won't he? Either way there will be new problems developing.

Those few words about the linen gag just...got to me. A very intense, disturbing reminder of his past and how the nights still affect him..it was a superb bit of writing.

I can understand Christine's reaction to performing. Loved the night with Erik and the discussion of trains and silver seashores. Rosette? Is that a talisman against procreation?

The vividness of this story always affects me; I want a blanket and hot cup of tea even though it's high summer here.

Looking forward to the next chapter as always!

Fantastic chapter! Every time I think you cannot bring more of Erik's humanity to the forefront of this story, you prove me wrong and amaze me. And the end - oh, poor Christine! From just the mention of his name, you can feel her deflation and puzzlement at his aloof behavior. I can't wait for the next chapter... I am so eager to see how - and even if - he tells her about his conscription. Great work!

i have just realized after reading 62 chapters that this was last updated in 2005, and oh my god nOOOO this story is so so gorgeous, i am loving it, and it is now most definitely in my top 5 favorite poto stories... your writing is amazing, so eloquent and so so beautiful, all the metaphors and such are so gorgeous and things like "with the music still in her eyes" just give me chills... this is such a gorgeous story and your characters are perfect, the development is amazing, and i am in love with everything about this story... i do really hope that this gets updated, as i would SO love to get to continue on this journey and see what happens!

I hope there's an update of this sooon! Pleeaaassse! I want more EC

This story is really truly beautiful! A masterpiece x

Hi will the next chapter be up soon?

The slowing dawning hope that things might be better was a pleasure to see, as well as Erik's determination to help support/feed his little group. Nice to see the character development there.

Loved the little scene in the cart where Christine is rubbing his cold hand, and then them kissing, and him feeling himself to be her man, and perfect.

Good ending scene with the "we" and the acceptance from the Girys.

Looking forward to the next chapter!

What can I say?! This story is so goood it makes me want to cry! I love it! When I see an update it's literally like Christmas :-) Erik and Christine are so perfect, I've always, in other stories, enjoyed the build up to them getting together & the angst, but I always lose interest when they get married & their dreams no longer matter & it all gets a bit stale. But you've made my dreams come true with the ExC relationship that I've always wanted to read. I love them and I'm rooting for them.

Those letters though, gah, I have a bad feeling about this :-(

Love, Danielle (aka Perkaboo) x

Wonderful and lovely are words I would use to describe this story I love it very much

I loved this chapter & I love this story, please update soon :-D

As always, I’m in awe of your writing and so pleased that this story has been updated. As a few others have said, you can almost feel the terror of what’s to come rippling away beneath the surface, and I think the fact that the characters spent all of the chapter in darkness added to this tension. I don’t feel that either of those letters contained good news and I’m very anxious to know who is writing to Erik and what they want from him. I did enjoy reading of Erik’s practical, if slightly morbid, method of conveyance - I love little quirks like that.

The scenes between Erik and Christine were a joy to read and as always were superbly written. It’s hard to write love without it coming off as fluffy or cheesy - but you nail it each time and make your Erik and Christine scenes my favourite to read. They ‘get’ each other and it comes across to well!

Thank you for a wonderful chapter.

Welcome back! This was well worth the wait. You wove the sense of contentment/love together so well with an almost eerie, ominous feeling. Almost as if there is an invisible demon breathing down the neck of all of these seemingly innocent conversations and embraces. I don’t have a good feeling about this letter at all. Could Guyon or Jean have mentioned Erik’s ‘expertise’ to someone in authority? Perhaps they need someone to do some dirty work and Erik’s name has been recommended. Hah, a far-flung guess there that’s almost probably miles off (I’ll remove my tin foil hat now).

Obviously I’m loving all the C and E love. They’re just too lovely sometimes, and it’s so nice to read after the last few chapters of angst (not that I don’t love the angst too). I wonder how long Erik will keep the music at bay, surely he realises he can’t ignore the call indefinitely? I have to give a special shout out to the carriage-hearse, surely only Erik would think of that, and a nice nod to the sort of thing Leroux Erik would do.

This really is my favourite story, I don’t mind how long the wait is between updates, I’ll always be here to read! :-)

This story is continually one of my favorites! I enjoy the sort of melancholy happiness of it

Gah! I adore this story it's under my skin and I just love all the characters. Your writing is enchanting - thank you for writing my favourite story ever :-)

Gah I love how much detail you work into each and every chapter! Most definitely worth the wait. Your Christine and Erik belong to one another so well. They GET each other as they should. I do hope Erik returns to his music. Who is he without his music? I guess he's trying to learn that, but I love it when their music comes alive through each other. I will patiently await your next update.