Chapter 1:
Nerves consuming her, Ruby sat cross-legged on her small bed. It was her first night of working and, though she would never dream of admitting it to the other girls, she was absolutely terrified. Not that she was terrified of the upcoming act in and of itself, no, she had long gotten over that fear. It was the fear of who she would be going through it with. The fear of not doing something right and being thrown out onto the streets. She counted herself lucky to live in a brothel. She had a better lot in life then her counterparts who lived on the streets.
Ruby shivered and looked longing at the warm dressing gown, draped over a chair. She had been instructed by the Madame to wear a thin chemise and nothing more. At the moment, she was completely miserable and wanting nothing more than to pull something around her shoulders or climb under the covers but, she had been warned not to. She could do anything she pleased, except cover herself.
So, shaking from the cold, Ruby waited for the man to walk through the door who would take away any hope she might have ever had of being an honest woman.
Erik stalked through the dark, cold streets of Paris, his mind a swirling tempest. He knew he was getting desperate and despairing of hope when he sought the company of a harlot. Though he had committed many a heinous crime, he still prided himself on having some form of morals. He knew the border between right and wrong. After all, he had crossed it more than once and in more than one area.
He snarled at the wind which dared to dry to rip his mask and hat from him. He had made a promise to himself. He wouldn't touch the woman he was to spend time with. He would simple talk. Or, maybe not talk. Anything would be better than returning to the empty hole he lived in beneath the Opera House. Anything! Even the awkwardness he knew he would encounter once he set foot inside of the house of ill repute.
At last, the plain brick building came into view and he stopped for a moment, looking up at it.
"Erik is truly hopeless." He whispered to himself as he walked up the door and knocked. "Truly hopeless."
Ruby shuddered as she heard sounds through a thin wall that told her that another girl was earning her keep for the Madame. Ruby covered her ears and tried to block it from her mind. It wasn't helping to calm her nerves at all. Closing her eyes, she retreated into her memories. It had become a habit of hers. She remembered her father, her mother, her three sisters, and all the pleasant times they had experienced together.
She had been the youngest of all the children, spoiled and treasured by her parents. Lightly, she twirled a curl of her auburn hair around a finger, remembering her mother running a hair brush through her hair at night.
A tear glided down Ruby's painted cheek and she quickly dashed it away, hoping she hadn't messed up her makeup too much. Her eyes again drifted towards the warm dressing gown and she wondered if she would be able to slip it on while she waited and then slip it off before her client arrive?
Just as she was about to stand up and try her theory, she heard footsteps stopping in front her door. Her heart went into her throat and she held her breath as the door creaked open. The moon shown through a window off to her right and it illuminated the form that stooped as it entered.
The man, that was the only possibility, was very tall. He had to duck to enter the room. his broad shoulders matched his height but, if his clothes were any evidence of his weight and not just an illusion, he was exceptionally gaunt. the wide-brimmed fedora hat that was perched nicely upon his head, blocked him face. Ruby hadn't the slightest notion what kind of a face would go with such a build.
The man's face fixed upon hers and she swallowed slightly as she saw two burning yellow orbs connect with her midnight blue eyes. He said nothing to her but those burning orbs turned away from her and he reached up to his neck and unbuckled his black cloak, tossing it with a flourish over the same chair as her dressing gown. A moment later, the hat joined the cloak on the chair and he again turned to face her.
Ruby hadn't been imagining his emaciation. She couldn't call him lean, no, that lent the idea that the build became him. No, he was bony as a man denied sufficient food for many days. In the moonlight, she saw his face was deathly pale and unmoving. Even his lips were white. It confused Ruby for a moment before she realized (a shock it was!) that it wasn't a face she was seeing but a mask made of white porcelain. At that sight, her heart began to pound.
Erik's keen hearing picked up the throbbing of her heart and felt his own sink. Of course the girl was terrified. Everyone was terrified of him. Why should he expect someone who believed she was going to be required to see him unclothed and touching her in the most intimate ways to be any different?
He tried not to look at her; the thin chemise she was wearing was giving him thoughts that he should never think about any woman. They weren't thoughts a freak like himself should think. They were far more inappropriate when they passed through his mind. His eyes landed on the chair where he had unthinkingly tossed his cloak and saw a warm dressing gown draped over it.
Lightly tugging on his gloves to be sure that they were properly situated, he lightly picked up the robe and laid it beside the girl who hadn't moved a single inch from when he stepped through the door.
"Here." He whispered softly. "You must be freezing." Ruby looked up at him then at the dressing gown and snatch it up, wrapped it around her shoulders and smiling slightly as the warmth encompassed her. She tried not to think of the fact that most of the warmth came from the few words he had said. After seeing his appearance and his mask, she hadn't been able to form any theories on his voice or manner. From what she had just experienced, she liked both of them. His voice was pleasant and she felt almost relaxed around him. Perhaps this night wouldn't be so bad.
Once the dressing gown was around her, Erik permitted himself the pleasure of looking at her form. She wasn't slender but neither was she buxom. She was directly in between. Her face was beautiful and, he had to admit, almost innocent though both he and she knew better. Her long scarlet locks of hair and midnight blue eyes all combined to make the epitome of beauty. Her neck was graceful and easily glided down to narrow shoulders and an ample bosom which led to her pleasantly narrow waist and fanned out into what he had heard referred to as child-bearing hips. Her legs were long and after looking at her whole body with such a critical eye, he made sure to tear his eyes away from her, not an easy task to be sure.
"Thank you." She whispered as she looked at him, feeling his eyes sweep her form. She was confused though. Why would a man give her an addition garment to wear when he was just planning on removing it and anything else she was wearing? He only had so much time and she didn't understand why he would waste it on clothing removal.
Erik read her thoughts as clearly, they shown in her eyes. She was modest enough not to inquire but he knew he should put her mind at rest. No doubt she was very scared of having to share a bed with him. His treacherous mind imagined fear where there was none to be found.
"Erik will not share your bed." He said softly as he sat down on the chair where he had flung his cloak and set his cloak. "Erik only wants your company. He is very lonely."
Now Ruby was even more confused. Men didn't come to harlots for conversation and friendship. They came when their wives or mistresses weren't able to satisfy them or when they needed to release pent up frustration.
"I'm confused." She said, hoping perhaps he would explain his true intentions towards her.
Erik watched her pretty face twist as she watched him. of course she would be bewildered. It was a perfectly reasonable mental action for her. He folded his hands in his lap and looked at her with his devilish eyes.
"Erik has no one in his life." He said. It hurt his heart a little to actually say that. It made it more real than he had truly ever allowed it to be. "Erik wishes to have someone who be around him and not object to his presence. Someone that perhaps he can play his violin to." It was not very interesting to play his violin to the empty air. "Forgive him for wanting more than you are willing to give."
Ruby twirled a lock of hair around her finger and smiled slightly to herself as she thought about it. It sounded so very pleasant. She wouldn't have to prostitute her body for money, she would get a free concert, and she would be able to help a lonely man. The way his pleading yellow eyes looked at her, she knew she didn't have the mental strength to resist his desire.
"No." She said softly and his face fell instantly and she knew he had believed her response to be rejection. "You are not wanting more than I will give. I think it would be kind of nice. Just conversation, music, and normal things." She smiled at him and Erik nearly collapsed at the side of her bed and thanked her profusely. He had finally found someone who accepted him! Someone who was willing to spend time with him! He chose to forget that he would be paying her for her company and revealed in the pleasure of being wanted.
"Thank you." He whispered as his mask moved, giving Ruby the idea that he might just be smiling. She returned the ghost smile and wrapped her arms around her legs, setting her chin on her knees.
"I suppose we have passed the first level of friendship as we know each other's names. I assume your name is Erik and I also assume you know my name is Ruby." Though, it really wasn't her true name. It was her working name and the name that was quickly becoming who she was. Little Lunette was almost completely gone.
"You are correct about Erik's name and your assumption that he knows yours." He said softly as he watched her, the icy visage of the mask sending a shiver down her spine. What would possess a man to craft a mask with such a cold outlook on life. He must truly be very lonely and pessimistic.
"It's a nice name." She said, trying to think of something to say to him. He desired company but his manner didn't lend itself to conversation of any kind. Perhaps he was just out of practice. It was possible. After all, he had to have been lonely for a very long time to finally seek the company of a whore.
Erik smiled to himself, a warm feeling entering his chest. It was a pleasure he hadn't experienced before in his life. The awkwardness he had anticipated hadn't happened. There had been no embarrassment or shaming. She hadn't demanded to know why he was masked or anything about him. Her eyes were asking questions but she wasn't voicing any of them.
"Thank you." He whispered softly and savored the smile she gave back to him, her eyes glowing pleasantly. He was unsure what else to say. Which were proper questions to ask and which weren't? As he frantically searched his mind for something to say, the clock on the wall chimed and Ruby's face instantly fell.
"I fear your time is up." She whispered quietly and hung her head in sadness. She had actually been enjoying having him around. Even though he hadn't said a word, the silence had been pleasant.
He stood up and buckled his cloak back around his neck and set his fedora back on his head. With a sigh he turned to leave. He was loath to return to his dark house five stories under the earth. As he was about to turn the door handle, he stopped and looked back at her.
"May Erik return tomorrow night?" He asked, his eyes begging to allow him that pleasure. Ruby nodded. She wouldn't deny this lonely man friendship when she herself desired the same thing. Perhaps her life wouldn't be so unbearable.
"Yes, you may." She said softly. She couldn't see his face anymore after he had put on his hat but his glowing golden eyes seemed to lighten and an almost cheery feel entered them.
"Thank you." He whispered before leaving and closing the door behind him. Once he had departed, she stood up and slipped off the dressing gown in preparation for her next client. Somehow, she felt more content with her lot in life. She had something to look forward to. With that smile, she returned to her bed and resumed waiting for whoever would come in next.