"Higher! Higher!"
"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah"
"Sing!"
"Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!"
"Sing for me!"
"A-H--!"
The dark girl in the sack-like dress looked up at her teacher after finishing the aria.
"Good, Ariel." No more, no less.
The man…really, the boy, with half of his face covered with a linen mask, was sparing with words and praise. His young student yearned for his attention, and loved to hear him speak; the scarcity of his words made them all the more precious.
Ever since she had heard the majestic voice singing, deep and full, despite the singer's youth, the little girl had been entranced by its purity, its touch of the divine. She had followed it to its source, and discovered a boy, who she followed to his home, a small hut at the edge of the small town in which they lived, right outside of Rouen.
"Get out!" the thirteen-year-old boy had said.
"But I want you to teach me to sing like you!" cried the child of ten.
"You want me to teach you?" dubious.
"Yes, please."
The boy, Erik, so lonely, was so enchanted with this little girl that, for some reason, he agreed, saying simply, "Yes."
The girl, Ariel, squealed with delight and came back every week for lessons. Two years later, she was still returning, her voice was growing at a pace that could only be described at exponential. Despite his youth and voracious temper, Erik was a good teacher, both patient and kind.
That night, after the girl had pushed her voice to fill every corner of the small dwelling, she turned to leave. Suddenly pausing, she whirled around, her insatiable curiosity revealing itself.
"What's under your mask?"
She reached to pull it off, but before she managed to remove it, Erik slapped her hard across the face. The girl turned and ran, not daring to stop and look behind her.
The next day, Erik was gone.
Ariel stopped singing.
As much as I wish I did, I do not own Erik or any Leraux/ALW characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit, and throwing in a few people of my own for them to play with.