Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews it's good to be back! Hope everyone enjoys the next chapter! I still don't own Erik (Sighs) or any of the POTO characters.
When Erik awoke a few hours after telling Clorinda that he wanted to sleep in the first thing he noticed was the frost on the window. As he sat up and the cover's slid off of his body he quickly pulled them back over him because of the dreadful temperature in the room. As he breathed from out of his mouth he noticed that the room was so cold that he could see his own breath. As Erik looked around for Clorinda he didn't notice her anywhere and began to wonder where she had gone. She usually obeyed his demands and one of them was to never leave the room without telling him where she was headed. Quickly, he placed his bare feet down onto the ice cold cement floor and made his way over to the fire place to light it. The room that they lived in was drafty in the winter and dreadfully hot in the summer. It seemed that no matter what Erik did to try to control the temperature it did the complete opposite of what he wanted. Even when he lit the fire place it would take forever to heat up the room. After throwing a few logs onto the rack Erik a match and watched them go up in flames. Once he felt some heat escaping into the room, Erik sighed and walked over to the counter to prepare something to eat to await Clorinda's return from wherever she had gone.
After preparing himself a bowl of oatmeal Erik walked over to the fire place and had a seat on one of the many pillows set out to sit on. It seemed as if the second he took a seat the sound of the door opening occurred and in walked Clorinda. She took off her pink cloak and approached her father.
"You're up daddy."
Erik turned towards the girl and noticed that she was still wearing her shoes which were soaked with melting snow causing the floor to become wet.
"Shoes Clorinda, take them off. How many times have I told you about wearing your shoes in the house. Take them off and set them on the hearth so they can dry." replied Erik in a disappointed tone of voice. Clorinda immediately did what her father told her to do and sat her pink shoes down on the hearth. Erik then handed her a towel from off of the fire side and pointed to the wet floor.
"Wipe that mess up before someone slips and falls."
As Clorinda began to wipe up the melted snow that she had drug in she glanced over at her father who was sitting by the fire eating his breakfast.
"I'm sorry daddy."
"Clorinda, name the three and only three rules that I have when living in this room."
Clorinda finished wiping up the floor and hung the wet towel over the hearth before turning to face her father.
"To respect you at all times, to take your shoes off before walking past the door and to always tell you where I'm going."
"Yes and you broke two of them. First you leave without telling me where you were off to and then you walked in here with your wet shoes."
Clorinda sat beside her father and lowered her head in embarrassment. She could feel her father's eyes burning through her skull even though she wasn't even looking at him. She had been so good at following her father's rules but for some reason forgot all about them the moment he fell back asleep earlier in the morning.
"It will never happen again Daddy."
When Clorinda looked up again she was relieved to find that he had gone back to eating him oatmeal instead of staring at her with his haunting eyes. She had grown used to seeing her father without his mask on and preferred him to be that way. She knew how much his flesh meant to her mother. She was always concerned when he wore his mask because of his sensitive skin. When ever he wore his mask too long she would start to notice that his skin would turn a red irritated color. She also often worried about his arm because ever since he had injured it two years ago it hasn't been the same. She hated seeing him lifting logs because they were too heavy for his injured arm to handle. He wouldn't say anything but Clorinda knew just by the way he cringed when ever he lifted something up. She often tried to warn him, but she could never tell her father anything when it came to telling him what he should and shouldn't be doing.
"Where did you go?" asked Erik knocking Clorinda out of her daydream. Clorinda faced her father only to notice that he was facing her.
"I needed pencils for school and it was only a short walk to the store."
"Doesn't matter Clorinda, I would have taken you there myself if you would have waited. It's not that I don't trust you, it's that I don't trust anyone else. I promised your mother that I would take care of you and if something ever happened to you I would never forgive myself. You're all I have left Clorinda and I would never want to imagine life without you. Just promise me that you'll never leave again without telling me where you're off to."
"I promise daddy."
Erik rose from his seat and walked over to the counter to clean out his empty bowl. Afterwards he walked over to the old wardrobe closet that came with the room and opened it to get out his daily clothes. He knew that the weather was cold just by the frost on the windows causing him to search for the warmest clothes he owned. In the back there was a heavy black shirt and a pair of trousers to match it. As Erik sat down on his bed to unbutton his pajamas he noticed that Clorinda was sitting beside him. He had gotten used to her company and didn't mind where she was anymore. Once his shirt was off and he was bare chested he couldn't help but begin to feel Clorinda's small fingers running up and down his back gently. He turned to her and grabbed her hand lightly.
"You shouldn't be doing that." replied Erik letting her hand go. Clorinda had been running her fingers over the scars that were on his back. She had often wondered what each mark felt like and up until now hadn't had the courage to touch them. Erik sighed and lifted Clorinda's hand up to his lips and kissed it as if apologizing for what he had done.
"Forgive me Clorinda, it's just that you know how I feel about being touched."
"Daddy, where did you get the scars from?"
Erik through on his shirt and stood up to button it closed.
"You wouldn't understand Clorinda, nor do I wish to talk about it."
Once Erik had on his black shirt he grabbed his trousers from off of the bed and motioned Clorinda to leave the area.
"Do me a favor and go to the other end of the room so I can finished getting dressed. Afterwards we'll go out and perhaps skate."
Once Clorinda left the area, Erik removed his pajama trousers and slipped on the black ones that matched his shirt. Afterwards he slipped on a black cummerbund, something that he hadn't been able to start wearing again until about a year ago and then through on his jacket. Once he was fully dressed Erik placed on his white mask and wig before turning back towards Clorinda. As soon as she saw him her once happy face turned to a disappointing frown.
"Something wrong?" asked Erik helping her put on her cloak.
"I hate it when you look like that."
"Look like what?" asked Erik in confusion.
"When you don't look like yourself. I like you as your natural self Daddy, not when you're dressed up in a mask and wig. It's like you're a different person when I see you like this."
Erik smiled, and lifted Clorinda up when he ached in pain and set her back down on the floor. He grabbed his arm in pain and twisted it around easily trying to stop the pain that had struck him.
"Are you alright Daddy?"
"Yes, fine come on let's go."
Erik kneeled down on the floor, and motioned Clorinda to climb onto his shoulders. When she did, Erik grabbed her legs and held onto them as they left the room. Once they were outside to Erik's surprise it was snowing once again. The streets were crowded with people walking in and out of the shops making it hard to keep a steady pace.
"Where are we going daddy?" asked Clorinda.
"Why do we always have to have a destination? Why can't we just walk?"
"Because you're carrying me." laughed Clorinda as she held onto Erik's shoulders. Her father neither laughed nor continued the conversation as he continued to walk along the streets. Every time they would pass a shop Clorinda noticed that the people standing outside of them would stare at her father as if he were from another planet. Nothing made Clorinda more angry than watching people stare at her father. All she ever wanted was for someone to treat him like she does. Her father was too much of a good person to be treated as he does.
"I need to stop in the stationary shop for a minute." replied Erik as he walked towards the small shop at the corner of the street.
"What for?"
"For ink, I'm all out."
Ever since her mother had passed she noticed that Erik never used his fountain pen. It was as if he were afraid of destroying the last gift that his mother bought him. Instead he went back to using his quills, leaving the pen untouched atop of his piano. Once they were in the shop Clorinda hopped down from his shoulders and waited at the front of the shop as her father walked down the isle to grab his ink. Mark and Lupin; two if the boys from her school then entered and approached Clorinda.
"Hi Clorinda." replied Mark.
"What do you want?" asked Clorinda in a harsh tone. She had never liked the two boys because of the way they often treated the other children at her school. Mark and Lupin surrounded her as she tried to look for her father.
"Who are you here with?" asked Lupin sarcastically.
"My Father, now leave me alone."
Once Mark and Lupin looked over and spotted Erik they began to laugh uncontrollably.
"Is that him? What's wrong with him? What's with the mask?" asked Lupin sarcastically.
"That's none of your business and you better leave me alone before I call him over here."
Clorinda then pushed her way through the boys and approached her father who was standing at the counter paying for the ink.
Lupin kneeled down and began to take off his shoe lace and then went for mark's shoes.
"What are you doing?" asked Mark.
"You'll see." replied Lupin as he tied his shoe lace and Mark's together.
Erik finished paying for his ink and looked down at Clorinda who looked as if something bad had just happened.
"Something wrong Clorinda?" asked Erik seeing the frazilment upon her face.
"Just seen some kids that I don't like is all."
Erik looked over towards the front of the shop to see that there was no one standing there.
"There's no one there Clorinda."
Clorinda dropped the subject and walked behind her father as they approached the entrance. Everything happened so fast that Clorinda didn't have time to warn her father. As soon as Erik was stepping out of the shop she noticed a long shoe lace stretch across the doorway causing him to trip and fall onto the icy cobble ground. Clorinda quickly ran to her father's aid to see that it was Lupin and Mark who were holding the shoe lace across the door.
"Daddy, are you alright?" asked Clorinda trying to help him up. Erik motioned her to leave him alone as he struggled to his feet. When he was standing up once more Erik looked down at his knees to see that the fall had torn both pant legs. As he looked at his right hand he seen blood beginning to ooze out from it's scrape causing him to get angry. He approached the boys and corned them so that they couldn't run away.
"I demand to know why you did that!"
Both boys looked at Erik too terrified to answer.
"I demand to know, now!"
"It was just a joke Monsieur." replied Mark.
"Look at my face, and don't forget that if you ever trick me ever again I will come and terrify you both in your sleep. And understand that once you see me in your sleep you'll see my face until the day you die!" replied Erik as he pointed to his mask. Before letting the boys go, Erik grabbed both of their shirts and got into their faces.
"And one more thing, if I EVER see you two making my daughter feel terrible ever again I will hunt the both of you down and roast you on a spit."
After letting the boys go, Erik approached his daughter and motioned her to walk with him down the road. Their walk was silent and Clorinda couldn't help but notice that her father seemed angry. Two minutes ago he was so happy, the happiest that she had ever seen him since her mother had died and now he seemed as if he were back to his old self again. They stopped walking when they approached a frozen lake and Clorinda watched as he father stepped out onto it.
"Come on Clorinda, the water's stiff."
Clorinda took a seat on the cold snowy ground and shook her head as she watched her father skate around the ice.
"I don't want to skate."
Erik immediately stopped what he was doing and approached Clorinda who didn't move from the snow.
"You really shouldn't be sitting in the snow. Your bottom is going to get frost bite."
"I don't want to skate daddy, I just want to go home."
Erik had a seat beside her and looked over at his daughter who seemed sad.
"You begged me to take you ice skating and we're here. If you're upset about what happened back at the shop I understand but I'm fine."
"No you're not, your hand is bleeding and your trousers are torn."
"My hand is fine, and with a little thread I can fix my trousers Clorinda. I took care of those boys and they won't ever hurt me again I promise."
"But what if it's not boys next time, what if it's their father's? I don't want anything bad to happen to you daddy."
"You really don't want to skate now do you?"
When Clorinda shook her head no and buried her face into her knees, Erik stood up and lifted her onto his shoulders.
"Well if you're not going to skate I suggest that we get out of the cold and go have something to eat. Maybe after lunch you'll feel better and want to skate."
Erik carried her away from the lake and walked to a street that was full of small restaurants and walked into one that had lit candles in the window. Once inside he set his daughter down and waited to be seated.
"We're eating here for lunch?"
"Yes, something wrong?" asked Erik.
"No, it's just that we never eat out."
Erik laughed and scooped his daughter up into his arms once more.
"That's exactly what I said to your mother when she took me out to lunch. It was actually the last time I spent the day with her."
Once Erik and Clorinda were sat in a private booth that was in the corner of the restaurant they sat across from each other and picked up the menus. Clorinda looked at hers and tried to read out the entrees that she had to choose from but couldn't.
"What are you going to get?" asked Erik as he placed down his menu. Clorinda placed her head down and shrugged.
"Well haven't you read what they have to choose from?"
It took Clorinda a few seconds before she looked up with tears in her eyes and spoke.
"I can't…..I don't know how to read these words." Hearing his daughter's cries made him feel bad. He hated seeing her cry and was always more than happy to help her. He rose from his seat and sat beside her taking her in his lap and opened the menu in front of the both of them.
"This is where reading Peter Rabbit to me every night gets you. Now I'll help you Clorinda, but you have to promise me to read me something else besides that blasted book about bunnies in blue jackets."
Clorinda wiped her eyes and nodded at her father. He then took her hand and ran it over the first word on the menu.
"E.N.T.R.E.E that spells Entrée. Below it are your choices. The first word is spelled. V.E.G.E.T.A.B.L.E what does that spell?"
"Vegetable, like in Peter Rabbit." said Clorinda.
"Yes, exactly. The second word is spelled S.O.U.P. what does that spell?"
Clorinda paused and for the life of her didn't know what it was.
"I don't know daddy."
"Soup, it has one syllable but put that and vegetable together and you have how many syllables?"
"Four."
Erik smiled, and put down the menu.
"I think that will make us warm. Do you want it?"
"Yea but only if you're having it." replied Clorinda.
"Of course, and what do you want to drink?"
"Hot chocolate of course."
Erik sat his daughter back down and then got up to sit back down in his seat. Once their food came, Erik ate his soup as he watched Clorinda eat hers. He of course wasn't drinking hot chocolate like Clorinda, because he had ordered a glass of red wine instead. Years ago Christine had tried to get him to eat chocolate but he dreaded the taste of it's sweetness so stuck to his regular diet of meat and cheeses like usual. The soup that he was eating had to be the best that he had ever tasted. It's brown salty broth make the vegetables and beef taste ten times better making his insides warm once more after being out in the cold.
"You're being very quiet Clorinda, how's your soup?"
Clorinda only looked up for a brief second nodding as she shoved another spoon full of the soup into her mouth. Once they were both finished eating Erik grabbed his money for the bill and lied his napkin on his plate.
"I'm going to pay so you stay right here until I return."
Clorinda nodded and began to finish her hot chocolate as her father walked away to pay the bill. A few seconds later when he returned he held out her cloak and waited for her to put down the empty mug that was in her hands. When he did the front of her mouth was covered in chocolate causing Erik to smirk at her before taking her napkin in his hand and wiping it away.
"Your mouth is covered in chocolate Clorinda."
Once her face was clean again Erik helped Clorinda put on her cloak and walked with her out the door.
"Do you want to ice skate? It's still light out for a few more hours."
"No, I'd rather go home and sit with you by the fire."
"Ok, if that's what you want."
Once Erik and Clorinda made it back to their room Erik lit the fire once again and walked to his side of the room to change out of his torn trousers. Once he dressed himself in another pair, he put the torn ones aside and walked over to a basin of water to clean his scraped hand out. As soon as he put the soap into his hand he cringed at the burning sensation that occurred and rinsed it off before placing some ointment on it to heal. After wrapping some white bandage around it he walked back over to the fire place and had a seat beside Clorinda on some of the pillows that were placed there.
"Is your hand alright?" asked Clorinda.
"Yea I'm fine, you shouldn't worry about me."
Clorinda handed Erik an old book that was made of leather and curled up into his arms.
"Could you read some of Mother's journal to me?" Clorinda had always kept her mother's journal close by and loved when her father would read the entries to her out loud. She knew that sometimes her father hated doing it because most of them were about him but did it anyway because she loved hearing them. Clorinda wrapped a blanket around the both of them and watched as Erik opened the old journal and turned to a page that was in the middle of all the pages and read the entry out loud.
"December 31st 1871
Tonight the man I now know as Erik brought me down to his home beneath the opera house once more. Everything that he owns has a place and a meaning as to why it's there. From every candle stick down to the simplest things such as a quill has it's place in his home, his kingdom. His kingdom is the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on and how I sometimes wish that when day broke I could stay….stay with him forever and be his queen. Often my hours spent with him consist of nothing more than sitting beside him at his organ as he wrote his music in silence but I don't care. I know that he is what everyone knows as the "Opera Ghost" but I don't care. He has the voice of an angel, he is my angel and no one will ever take him away from me. He says that I am going to make him very proud one day and I often wonder what he means by it. Many of the workers at the Opera House including Madam Giry worry about me when I am with him. They sometimes think that every time I go down here with Erik will be my last time. He would never hurt me, he swears by it and I believe him. He has never ever touched me …..never has he ever hugged me or made any kind of contact with my body other than by taking my hand to prevent me from falling over something in his home. I believe every word that Erik speaks to me and nothing will ever change that. I know that my father has sent him to me….he is my angel of music."
Erik closed the journal and was about to place it down when Clorinda opened it back up to a random page pleading him to read another entry.
"No Clorinda, I can't. Reading this brings back horrible memories that I just can't cope with."
"Please daddy, just one more."
"Only if you read to me afterwards."
Clorinda nodded, and Erik began to read the next entry.
"August 5th 1872
As of tonight I have found out that I'm with child, but not just any child, Erik's child. I have been feeling Ill for days and Erik warned me that I was just having stage fright before our show but when I passed out on stage I knew that it was much more. When I was told about it just a few hours ago my heart leapt with joy. Months ago Erik was shot and was told that he was never going to be able to conceive but they were wrong. I had done something terrible months ago and went with Raoul for one night. I know that I shouldn't have done it but I was stupid and upset over a fight that Erik and I have had.
I know that this is his child, I can just sense it but even though I'm happy I am also upset. When I told Erik about him becoming a father he was so upset, he was afraid that this child was going to be born looking like him. I told him that no matter what I was going to love this child because we made it out of love. I love him with all my heart and I know that he'll be the best father ever."
Erik couldn't help but shed a few tears as he closed the journal and placed it down beside him.
"It's your turn now." replied Erik as he changed the subject and handed her a book to read him. Clorinda took the brown book with kitten on the front of it and read it out loud to her dad.
"THIS is a Pussy called Miss Moppet, she thinks she has heard a mouse. THIS is the Mouse peeping out behind the cupboard, and making fun of Miss Moppet. He is not afraid of a kitten. THIS is Miss Moppet jumping just too late; she misses the Mouse and hits her own head. SHE thinks it is a very hard cupboard!
THE Mouse watches Miss Moppet from the top of the cupboard. MISS MOPPET ties up her head in a duster, and sits before the fire. THE Mouse thinks she is looking very ill. He comes sliding down the bell pull. MISS MOPPET looks worse and worse. The Mouse comes a little nearer. MISS MOPPET holds her poor head in her paws, and looks at him through a hole in the duster. The Mouse comes very close AND then all of a sudden -- Miss Moppet jumps upon the Mouse! SHE ties him up in the duster, and tosses it about like a ball. HE has wriggled out and run away; and he is dancing a jig on the top of the cupboard!
THE END"
Erik smiled at his daughter and lifted her up and carried her to her bed. After he lied her down on the mattress and covered her up he sat down beside her and smiled.
"You read wonderfully tonight Clorinda."
"So did you daddy."
Erik blew out the candle that was at her bedside and kissed her goodnight,
"Sleep well my angel for tomorrow is Sunday and you know what that is."
"Yea I know, church."
"Right, now go to sleep."
Once Erik was over at his bedside he got into his pajamas and lied down on his bed taking Christine's picture in his hand. As he looked at her beauty in the flame light of the candle all he could think about was "why couldn't she be here now?" Before closing his eyes, Erik placed the picture down beside him and found himself reciting a familiar poem to her.
"Little Lottie, let her mind wander. Little Lottie thought and I fonder of dolls or goblins or shoes? Little Lottie thought of everything and nothing, her father promised her the angel of music, her father promised her, her father promised her….."
It was then that Erik fell asleep full of tears remembering Christine's sweet voice speaking in his ear just before sleep over took him……..
Thanks again everyone! I don't own BP or any of her stories…let me know what you think.
