Linnéa Bergström

"I've always been yours. In body, in heart and in soul. But, tonight, I even give you my life and my love. Then, I am dead."

- Linnéa Bergström to The Phantom

Linnéa Delacroix (née Bergström; born 13 May 1879) is the main heroine of The Phantom trilogy. Being the orphaned daughter of the Swedish violinist and composer Amadeus Bergström, and opera singer Sofia Pilkvist, at the age of twelve, Linnéa was raised since then to be a ballerina in the Paris Opéra Garnier. Aside from being part of the dancers, Linnéa apprentices in forensic pathology under her maternal uncle, Dr. Fredrik Pilkvist, and works as a singer in La Serre Café at Palais-Royal with her beautiful voice where she enchants Arie Jadranko, which was later revealed to be the Phantom, her secret teacher who lured her with beautiful music.

At the beginning of the trilogy, Linnéa is secretly apprenticing under his uncle's forensic studies and autopsies, and the stories she heard in the Paris Opéra Garnier as a ballerina incited her, at the same time that she was being apprenticed by her so-called "angel" at the Opera House. Arie Jadranko was the one who've told her to apply as a chorus girl at list, giving her more of an opportunity to investigate the mysterious stories there. Since the start, Linnéa was torn apart by her love between the Phantom and her childhood sweetheart, Dominique Moreau.

In the third and final book, The Aria, it was revealed that she was unhappily married with Dominique and they had a son named Érik. Later on, it was revealed that she was first married to the Phantom who turns out to be her childhood friend, Adrien Delacroix, who've saved her against an old crazy beggar years ago, making her marriage with Dominique invalid.

Early life
Linnéa was born on 13 may 1879 to world-renowned violinist and composer Amadeus Bergström, and opera singer Sofia Pilkvist, in Stockholm, Sweden. When Linnéa's mother became pregnant with her, she stopped performing, whose health had been noted to started declining. When she was three years old, her mother died, forcing her father to raise her on his own. They left Sweden and immigrated to France where the center stage of the opera world is. When they've arrived to France, they were welcomed and invited to stay in the Delacroix villa by her parents' close friends, the Duke and Duchess of Cadore; wherein she befriended the Delacroix's son, Adrien Delacroix.

During their stay with the family, she grew close with Adrien. She admired his incredible talents in music and arts, and will always volunteer to sing whenever her father will tutor Adrien. Later on, her father mentioned that Adrien's intelligence surpassed that of his. As they grow closer, the Moreau family visited and Linnéa became acquainted with Dominique Moreau, who've requested to be always given a chance to visit the Delacroix villa so that they can play. It was revealed later on that Linnéa hated Dominique's closeness and insistence of attention; comparing him so different from Adrien's calm and soothing personality.

On 23 May 1885, during a game of hide-and-seek, Linnéa found Adrien playing the piano in the tunnels by following the sound of him playing. She said that his music lured her to him, and had been amazed by the tunnels being her first time to figure about it. Adrien invited her to explore and head to Opéra Garnier. Upon arriving in the Opéra, they've encountered an old hag whom Adrien had given money but insisted to take Linnéa's locket which was her only memory of her deceased mother. The old hag, furious, attacked them and Adrien protected her which caused Adrien's scar. They were later found by their fathers and saved.

The incident traumatized Linnéa to the core. It was mentioned that she blames herself with what happened and was haunted by nightmares of the incident. As the scar permanently damaged Adrien's face, Linnéa contracted a very high fever, causing her to lose her memories of Adrien upon recovery. Her father decided it best to leave the Delacroix villa, as all her connections with Adrien and Dominique disappeared.

She and her father then live along with her maternal uncle, Dr. Fredrik Pilkvist, who is a known forensic pathologist professor. In memory of her mother, her uncle kept his profession and researches a secret from her. On 1891, her father died, leaving her orphaned. Fearful for her safety, her uncle decided to enroll her as a ballerina and chorus girl in Opéra Garnier. During her stay in the Opéra Garnier, she started seeing dreams of a scarred young man and hearing the voice that others deemed to be the Opera Ghost. Since then, she received voice lessons from the lurking ghost.

Less than a year later, Linnéa found out her uncle's job and started showing interest on the same field as him. With a compromise with him, Linnéa started apprenticing under his tutelage, secretly learning forensic pathology and at the same time performing in the Opera, and working as a singer in La Serre Café in Palais-Royal.

Physical description
Linnéa was described to be an immensely beautiful young woman. Her Swedish features is prominent with her heart-shaped face and pale skin. She has luxurious long and wavy dark brown hair that reaches the small of her back, and matching round dark gray eyes. She has a petite body with toned arms and legs that had been due to her background as a ballerina. She was also known to appear sweet and innocent, and has a perfect posture that gives her aura a sense of elegance that matches a noble.

Personality
Linnéa is described to be innocent, carefree and sweet, but has a fierce and strong-willed nature. She values close friendships and often times favor logic and reason over emotional influences. Ever since the beginning of the trilogy, she is known to be an adventurer and has the interest for mysteries, especially crimes and ghost stories perk her than scare her compared to other women. It is evident when the Phantom was said to make his public first kill during a play she is in, instead of hiding and crying, she becomes much more interested. In nature, she is flexible, curious, secretive, and has great audacity, respecting the difference between her career in the opera as a singer and her secret studies in forensic pathology. She is an outspoken feminist and has a little tenacity for being rebellious.

Skills & abilities
Linnéa, as an opera singer, is said ti have a very beautiful voice. Her voice is defined to be lyrical to light colatura soprano, signifying that she has a wide vocal range which is unheard of for opera singers of her era, and caused her to be labeled as "The Soprano of the Century" and as "The Swedish Nightingale". It is this ability of hers that had been practiced and propelled for years with the teachings of her father and the extensive tutor of the Phantom. After all, people consider her as the Phantom's muse since only she can sing the songs he had written, despite others' trial to do so. In short, her singing goes beyond what others usually are accustomed of, giving her a unique position. She is also a beautiful dancer, being a well-trained ballerina.

With her secret field study with her apprenticeship under her uncle in regards to forensic pathology, Linnéa's deduction skill is impressive. She is known to be a fast-learner and remembers almost every necessary information that helps her be a great pathologist. However, she mentions that her needlework isn't as excellent as compared to her stitching a corpse after autopsy.

Romance
The Phantom=The Phantom, originally Adrien Delacroix, is Linnéa's childhood sweetheart and true love; later on, Linnéa's husband.

Linnéa first met the Phantom as Adrien Delacroix, the young heir of the Duchy of Cadore, at the time that her father and her arrived to France to live with the Delacroix family at the death of her mother. They instantly became close friends, with her being drawn to his music. She often sings for him as he plays the piano, both of them tutored by her father. However, when Adrien received his scar, one that Linnéa had witnessed, she contracted a very high fever where she lose all her memories of him; and even interchanging her childhood love of him to Dominique Moreau, which she later remembers.

They later reunited even prior the start of the trilogy as Adrien poses as the Phantom of the Opéra Garnier, giving him voice lesson in secret. Linnéa considers him as her Angel of Music. heir physically reunion is also before the start of the trilogy as he poses as Arie Jadranko, a magician at Palais-Royal which is just close to La Serre Café where Linnéa works as a singer. He encourages her to continue practicing and pursue her dream as the Prima Donna, which he later helped her achieved by scaring off the people in the Opera that they must follow their demands. Most of the killings are attributed to the Phantom, but Linnéa believes that it isn't his work, which had been proven later on to be the doings of Alphonse Moreau. However, there are some that had been the Phantom's kill in order to protect his life, and as well as Linnéa's.

Later on, when Linnéa physically met the Phantom, she is immediately drawn to him much more. She is the first and only one to see him without his mask on in the trilogy, and they start falling in love with one another. She later remembers him as Adrien and finds out that he'd been keeping her safe since the start with him having access with almost all people she is close to. Though they are force to separate because of the crimes being pinned against him, Linnéa's love remains solely to him.

After ten years of the incident in the Opéra Garnier, they reunite once again and it had been revealed that Adrien keeps updated with Linnéa, but fearful that people will continue hunting him despite him being cleared of the crimes. The Phantom is never known to be as Adrien Delacroix, only known by a few and Linnéa. In the end, it is revealed that they are originally married before being separated for ten years and that Érik is actually their son, and not Dominique's. At the end of the trilogy, the two live together, happy, contented and peaceful in Paris with their son, Érik, and three other children.
 * -|Dominique Moreau=Dominique Moreau is Linnéa's childhood friend, and first considered to be her soulmate due to her false memories.

The two first met during their childhood years at the Delacroix villa as he often visit as requested by his biological father, the Duke of Cadore. Since their first meeting, Dominique instantly became friends with her until Adrien Delacroix, the heir of the Duchy of Cadore and his older twin brother, was badly scarred and he was blamed. Linnéa contracted a very high fever and her memories of Adrien had been interchanged with that of Dominique. In short, every memory Linnéa remembers of Dominique was originally one she shares with Adrien.

After eleven years of being separated, they've been reunited upon Dominique seeing her debut solo performance. Though Dominique appeared to be in love with her, such affection was truly of obsession, that had been shown and revealed to her during their "invalid marriage" of ten years. Linnéa later left him for the Phantom, along with her son, Érik, who is truly the Phantom's son and not his.

Family
Amadeus Bergström= Amadeus Bergström was Linnéa's father who was a world-renowned violinist and composer. Linnéa was said to be very fond of him, and had been dependent of him for most of her life. Due to her mother's sudden death, Linnéa was much closer to her father. Her father, a skilled violinst himself will often play as she sings. When her mother died, the two of them headed to Paris where they stayed with the Delacroix. Her father is a close friend of the Duke and Duchess of Cadore that allowed them to live with them, until Adrien Delacroix, the young heir of the family received his scar and her father decided it best to leave after she contracted a very high fever that resulted for her to lose most of her memories about Adrien. They then stayed with her mother's brother, Dr. Frederik Pilkvist, until her father died due to illness. Even at his death, Linnéa continues to talk about him with genuine honesty and amazement; and she often lights a candle for him and her mother, silently conversing with them. Sofia Pilkvist is Linnéa's mother who was a popular Swedish soprano singer, accompanying her father in most of his performance. Little is known about Linnéa's mother as she had died when she had been young. However, Linnéa treasures the locket that her mother originally owns and had given to her as inheritance. Aside from it, she also have a portrait of both of her parents inside the locket and a pictured frame. According to her uncle, Dr. Frederik Pilkvist, Linnéa resembles her mother very much and has the same angelic song. Dr. Frederik Pilkvist is Linnéa's maternal uncle. She and her father lived with her since the accident that happened in the Delacroix villa, until her father died. Afterwards, with Dr. Frederik as her remaining relative, he enrolled her to the corps de ballet at the Opéra Garnier. The reason is one that she later learned, that his work as a forensic pathologist for the police may endanger her life. Linnéa became close with him due to her interest of his studies, and being her remaining relative, Dr. Frederik continues supporting her in her career as an opera singer. Erik Moreau, originally Érik Jadran Delacroix is Linnéa's son with Adrien Delacroix, the Phantom. However, for majority of his life, he believes that his father is Dominique Moreau, which is also later reveled to be his uncle. Due to the incident that separated his parents, her mother was forced to marry Dominique; unaware of her being pregnant of him.
 * -|Sofia Pilkvist=
 * -|Dr. Frederik Pilkvist=
 * -|Érik Delacroix=

Others
Immediate family=
 * -|Descendants=

Quotes
The Mask=
 * -|The Ghost=
 * -|The Aria=

Trivia
Etymology=
 * -|Character descriptions=
 * -|Author's notes=