A/N: For those unfamiliar with my other PotO stories, Tilde (Mathilde) is the given name I use for Madame Giry. This snippet is set not long after the young Madame Giry brings Erik to live in the Opera House. As usual, Erik should be pictured as Leroux's version, while Madame Giry is Webber's from the 2004 movie.
Disclaimer: The Phantom of the Opera is the property of Gaston Leroux and Andrew Lloyd Webber. No copyright infringement is intended.
MC4A Fill Number: No Capes Required, Fill #3; Fem Power Challenge, Fill #3; Tiny Terror; In a Flash; New Fandom Smell
Representation(s): Madame Giry; Erik; Being a Friend; Religious Imagery; Prayer; Despair and Hope
Bonus Challenge(s): Second Verse (Terse, Mouth of Babes)
Word Count: 350
"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? ... If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall fall on me,' even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to you." Psalm 139:7, 11-12 (NKJV)
There is no light beneath the Opera. The Sun does not show her face there; she deigns only to shine on those she deems beautiful like herself. The handsome, the rich, and the noble may walk the streets of Paris under the radiance of her smile, but the rest—the poor, the ugly, and the wicked, whose crime is their existence—are permitted to see her face only through a dirty veil. And then there are the hideous and the damned, wretched creatures whom she disowns entirely, consigning them to the reign of the Night. Such are all who make their homes beneath the Palais Garnier: the spiders, the roaches, the rats—and he.
There is no God beneath the Opera. His realm is in the heavens above, not in the deepest bowels of the earth, and long though His arm may be, His hand does not reach down to help those struggling in the darkness. He has forgotten them, and they have forgotten Him. For he lives beneath the Opera, and he is the one they call the Devil's child. Why should God help him?
Tilde kneels in front of the little candle burning in the chapel beneath the Opera. Its tiny flame struggles against the weight of the darkness around it, and it stutters in a chill draft that makes Tilde pull her shawl close around her. Yet it does not go out.
"Our Father who art in Heaven," the child says, and her small, thin voice barely disturbs the heavy silence. She hesitates, as though uncertain how to go on, but when her voice comes again, it is strong, earnest. "Please help my friend Erik. He is hurt and sad and afraid, and he has never had anyone to love him. Please help me show him that he is not alone anymore. Through Christ our Lord, amen."
She crosses herself and stands, her bare feet cold on the stone floor. Another gust threatens her tiny light, but still the flame holds true. She takes the candle and sets off into the darkness in search of her friend.