While Lotte is a die-hard member of the "Christine should have married the Phantom" group, she has written fanfic in favor of Raoul marrying Christine, and that is the only reason it's under Raoul-Lovers.
"You all right?" Raoul asked in concern, venting a little of his tension in a violent shove of the oars.
Christine nodded, though a trifle sadly. The underground was icy cold, dark, and damp, and all her concentration was on returning to the sunlight. Her cape, a grim reminder of the opera she had just sung as farewell, slid off her shoulders; stooping to pick it up, she saw a single red rose at her feet.
"Raoul, it�s lovely!" she exclaimed, wiping a tear off her face and holding the rose to her lips. "Why didn�t you just GIVE it to me? I nearly stepped on it!"
Raoul frowned slightly. "It isn�t from me, Little Lotte. Though," with a small laugh, "I would have given one to you if I wasn�t �at the end of my rope,� so to speak."
He meant to make Christine laugh at that small joke, but she looked about to cry. "It must be from the Angel of Music," she said.
"Christine, after ALL that happened, haven�t you yet come to think of him as a PHANTOM instead of an Angel? That Angel story is just a kid fairy tale!"
Christine smiled in a melancholy, half-hearted way as she twirled the rose in her hand. "He is ever the Angel of Music to me, dear."
Raoul leaped out of the boat and dragged it up onto the shore. He offered a hand to help her from the boat as he asked, "Are you going to sing any more operas?"
Christine nodded. "I think so. No point abandoning my career...though I can�t hope to progress without a teacher."
"I don�t want you going back to the Phantom, sweetie. I think Carlotta might teach you."
"Fat chance." Christine followed him up the dark tunnel. "Where are we going?"
"I left Madame Giry, several policemen, Meg, and quite a slough of people just up ahead. I believe even Andr� acme, though Firmin was too preoccupied screaming �We�re ruined!� to take notice of the party."
In a moment, they reached the mob. Christine was greeted with many applauds and a motherly hug from Mme. Giry. Andr� exclaimed his relief that their star wasn�t hurt, and Raoul�s brother began cheering.
"Christine!" cried Meg, running up from the shadows as the clamor died down. "You�re all right!"
"What�s that you�re holding?" asked a suddenly-pale Prima Donna.
Meg put the Phantom�s mask in Christine�s hand. "I found it on a throne. I think he meant you to have it."
Christine looked tearfully at the half-mask before turning it over. Written on the back in black ink was "To the Prima Donna, Christine Daa�, with much love from the Opera Ghost. Your song shall never die, Angel of Music."
Raoul, noticing the dejected grief that had spread over his lover�s face, said, "I don�t know about the rest of you, but I�m ready for some sunlight! Let�s get out of this dank place!"
Christine took his hand and they trudged uphill through the arcticly cold, wet air. Meg took Christine�s other hand and began chattering incessantly about trivial things until the poor, sad girl had nearly forgotten to be sorrowful.
"Are you sure it�s over, Monsieur?" asked Mademoiselle Giry in concern.
Raoul bit his lip anxiously. "Yes, I believe so. She�s a bit shaken up now, but that�ll pass. A little light, air, and warmth cut-off from this so-called �Angel� will fix her. Lotte�s tough."
"Such ties as this are hard to break, sir. There is no way of turning the tide."
"You said that once before," Raoul reminded.
"I still mean it."
"There�s hope for her yet."
"Destroy the mask. That�s the key."
"I will do no such thing without her consent!" cried Raoul, a trifle indignantly. "I haven�t married her yet, Mme. Giry. She�s still a free woman."
"And you are a free man with a duty to save her from impending disaster. She will go back again and again, perhaps. The Phantom won�t let go."
"Mademoiselle!" exclaimed Raoul. "I don�t quite like this Phantom fellow myself, but I don�t think he�s about to do such a thing as call her back!"
His loud words had caught Christine�s ear even above Meg�s chatter. Turning to him just as he glanced at her, she sand softly, "Say you�ll share with me one love..."
"One lifetime," Raoul added.
With no other cue, the entire mob including Mme. Giry and little Meg burst into singing "All I Ask of You". Christine and Raoul, in the center surrounded by policemen and even some of the audience held hands and sang almost independently of the chorusing mob. Just as the song ended, they reached a door. Raoul threw it open, and the garish light of Christine�s bedroom half-blinded her. All the people offered their congratulations and well-wishes; and one by one they left until just Christine and Raoul were left alone before her mirror which still hung open like a door.
Far away, from far below, came the lonely, abandoned sound of the Phantom�s voice. Christine listened, spell-bound, to the words: "You alone can make my song take flight... It�s over now, the music of the night!"
Raoul reached for the mirror and closed it on the darkness. "Say you�ll love me every waking moment," he pleaded softly.
"Say the word and I will follow you!" Christine added.
"Say you�ll share with me each night..." Raoul gently took the rose from her hand and slid it into her hair. "...Each morning..."
"Say you love me!" flashed Christine.
"You know I do!"
She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Love me, that�s all I ask of you."
In the long sweet moment that followed, Christine forgot the mask, and it fell from her fingers unheeded onto the floor.
