When a mysterious young woman and her two children seek refuge with Erik, how will he help them when he is so lost himself? When danger seeks them out, will he prove himself at last?
~Take My Hand~
Main Characters:
Erik – mid '40s
Angelique (ahn-ja-LEEK) – around 30
Colette – (ko-LET) 12
Henri - (ahn-REE)9
Setting: 1874, Northeastern France
Prologue
Pain. So much main. Deep and penetrating, but cold. So cold. He could feel it even in his bones. Of all the hopelessness he had felt in his miserable life, this was the worst. To lose that which you had loved, or at least believed yourself to have loved, was a heartbreak almost unimaginable. Yet, with all this pain, he forgave her. He could only blame himself, not the innocent girl whom he had unfairly attempted to mold into someone she was not. As much as he missed her, he was starting to consider that maybe it was never really Christine he had loved, but the idea of her. Now that he thought about it, he supposed any other lovely young woman could just have easily become his obsession. Truly, as much as he detested the thought, any girl might have fallen into his trap if they were vulnerable enough.
He hated himself for having been so blind, and so selfish. Praying on young women. He had never meant to become a monster. Christine was right, it was his heart that had truly caused him, and others, so much horror. Perhaps if he had been kinder, more forgiving, maybe others would have seen the good in him. Yet his own mother had abandoned him and no infant could deserve that! He was so torn with every thought and emotion. He almost wanted to give up. To shrivel and die so he would not have to feel so cold and confused anymore.
The ache of loneliness and guilt ate at him until he felt nauseated. He was on the run, and though he had plenty of assets, it was still difficult and exhausting to flee from the law and your home. Regardless of how dark and dank his abode had been, it was still where he felt most comfortable. He was headed Northeast and he did not know if he would ever lay eyes on Paris again. Despite his pain, he had to smirk to himself: how ironic that the darkest of souls would have made the City of Light his home. Alas, farewell. He was leaving Paris and all of her bittersweet memories behind.