I appreciate the reviews of Glacifly4POTO and Waggers12345. Thanks! It is great to get feedback and to know what others think of my story.

Home at last

It was sunrise when the carriage pulled up to the front door of the de Chagny mansion. The Comte got out of the carriage with his almost weightless son securely held in his arms. The movement woke Erik up who looked at his father, and then at the door of the mansion. His frail body started trembling involuntarily. His father switched him position, and Erik threw his small, dirty arms around his father's neck, buried his face in his father's shoulder, and wrapped his bonny legs around his father's waist.

Charles ran a hand over the mated hair of his son, and told him, "It's okay Erik, don't be afraid, we are home, no one will hurt you, I promise." He got no response from Erik, but the trembling slowly subsided. Erik had not eaten in 6 days, so naturally his stomach started grumbling loudly. The terrible hunger pains made him grunt, and shudder. If the Comte was not sure of what he should do next, the grumbling of his son's stomach made the decision for him. He carried young Erik into the dining room, and ordered the maid to serve them tea, and porridge.

The Comte sat Erik on a chair still wrapped in his cape from head to toe. The maid placed a bowl of porridge, and a cup of tea with cream, and sugar in front of the child. Once the maid left, Erik shook the cape off his face, and head. Then he pulled his skeletal arms out of the cape that fell off him revealing his thin, dirty form, with protruding ribs.

The boy could hardly believe that there was some decent food in front of him, he had mostly survived on bread, and water at the gypsies. Occasionally he had eaten some of the food thrown at him by the crowds, if it was not too spoiled, or dirty. But most of the time he was not that lucky. His father told him, "Eat Erik, eat my son." He did not have to be told twice. Forgetting about using utensils, he lifted the bowl of porridge to his mouth anxiously.

On the second floor Phillippe was steering in bed due to the noise. He was up, saw the sun was rising, and decided to go, and investigate the source of the noise. After putting his robe, and slippers on, he went down the stairs, and followed the voice of his father to the dining room.

The young Vicomte stood frozen at the arch that connected the dining room with a hallway. The scene before him was most strange, his father was sitting at his usual chair at the head of the table, to his left was sitting what appeared to be a shirtless child. He noticed his father talking to the child in calming tones. The child was raising a bowl to his mouth, and gulping the content desperately, as if the bowl was about to disappear. The body of the boy was very thin, he could see all of his ribs, his skin was incredibly filthy, and full of sores. Some of the sores had maggots crawling in them.

The gruesome scene, and the putrid smell, made Phillippe gag. The noise made the small child lower his bowl, and look directly at him. Golden eyes locked with green eyes. It took no time for the twins to recognize each other, but their reactions were completely different. Erik was so startled that he fell of the chair, and started scooting himself towards the wall on his bare bottom. Phillipe was practically running towards his twin, with open arms.

It appeared that Erik was trying to have the wall swallow him, and had his grimy hands over his face. Philippe paid no attention, the only important thing was that his twin was there. He kneeled on the floor near Erik, and threw his arms around his brother. The young Vicomte kept repeating "Erik" over and over, as if trying to convince himself that his beloved twin was really there. Forgotten was the revulsion, and the queasy stomach. In Phillippe's mind nothing about Erik could possibly be repulsive.

Erik was surprised when he felt the arms of his twin around him, the gagging sound, had convinced him that he would be rejected by Phillippe, but he quickly realized that it had only been an involuntary reaction to his smell. Erik knew he stunk, he could hardly stand his own smell, therefore he could not blame Philippe for gaging. Slowly he uncovered his face, and threw his frail arms around his twin brother, returning the hug.

The Comte was looking at the scene before him with tears in his eyes. The twins were embracing each other, and were repeating the name of one another over and over. After a few minutes Phillippe gained control of himself, and put his hands on the thin, bare shoulders of his brother appraising him. He noticed that Erik was practically naked, the only thing on him was a filthy rag covering his most private area.

Without hesitation the Vicomte took his robe off, and put it on his brother. Then he took his socks off, and gently put them on the abused, and ice cold feet of Erik. He lightly touched the bleeding ankles with a finger, and looking at his brother asked, "Where have you been Erik? who did this to you? They must pay for what they have done." Erik said in a low voice while looking at the floor in shame, "Stepmother sold me to gypsies, I have been kept in a cage, and displayed like an animal."

Philippe jumped to his feet, and said in an angry tone, "I knew that bitch was no good! I never believed that you would run away from us, neither did father…" He interrupted himself, as he realized that Erik was still sitting on the cold marble floor. The Vicomte offered his hands to his brother to help him to stand up, and Erik made a valiant effort to pull himself to his feet, but ended up losing his balance.

Fortunately, enough Phillippe was very strong for his age, and was able to catch an almost weightless Erik, stabilizing him by hugging him to his chest. That was the breaking point for Erik, who held on to his brother, and started sobbing into his chest. Philippe ran his hand over the filthy, matted hair of his twin, while saying, "Things will get better Erik, Papa and I will take care of you, and I am sure Papa will have the people that hurt you severely punished. You'll see, soon you'll be well again."

Finally, Charles intervened, taking Erik into his arms, he said, "Let's go to Erik's room, he should be in bed resting." Then thought about correcting Philippe for his language, but the boy was right his wife was a bitch. The trio made it to Erik's old room that was connected to Philippe's room. His father kept it for him through the years, sure that he would find his son. Charles was going to lay Erik in the clean bed that had just been made. However, Erik looked at him, and said pleadingly, "Please Papa, may I take a bath first? I have not had a bath, or been permitted to clean up in years, not since I was sold to the gypsies."

Charles Comte de Chagny thought about it, and it made sense, his boy had so many open sores on his body, that had to be cleaned to help them heal. Surely, the easiest way to clean the wounds would be to bathe Erik, who had layers of grim, on each inch of is body, making it hard to even determine his skin color. He told Phillipe, "Please son, go and ask your nanny to run a bath for Erik."

A few minutes later Phillippe came back with the family doctor, whom had just arrived at the request of the Comte. They found Charles sitting in a rocking chair with Erik in his arms, tightly wrapped in a blanket. The doctor looked at the bundle in the Comte's arms, and said, "Good morning Comte, how may I help you today?" The Comte said, "We have found my missing son, but he is in bad shape, and we need your expertise." The doctor smiled, and said, "Well congratulations are in order, put the child on the bed, so I may examine him."

Once on the bed Erik started to tremble in fear of the doctor, his twin brother sat near him, and held his hand. Erik gave him a thankful smile. The doctor said "There is no reason to be scared son, I have known you since the day you were born. I will not hurt you, but I do need to examine you to be able to help you." The eyes of Erik lighted up in recognition. He said, "Dr. Lamar, I remember you, and I trust you."

The doctor could see that Erik was in pain. He took the robe, the ragged loincloth, and the socks off Erik. He did a visual exam of Erik's front first, he also listened to his hearth, and palpated his abdomen. Then he helped him to turn over, that cause Erik to grunt in pain, and to bite his lips to stop himself from screaming. He examined the back of his body and listen to his lungs. The state of his back was worrisome, he had so many open wounds, clearly made by a whip, also a lot of scarring. After covering the child with a flannel sheet, he turned towards the Comte, and said, "First I need to remove the maggots from the wounds with pincers, afterwards he will need a bath, and then I will examine him again. Has he had something to eat?"

The Comte said, "Yes he had some tea, and porridge." The doctor said, "Removing the maggots is going to be painful. Please have a servant make him, some poppy flower tea." He handed some dry flowers in a bag to the nanny, who volunteered to make the tea. They waited for the tea, and Erik drank it with the help of the doctor, who observed his reaction, and did not start his job until Erik was lightly sedated, but still conscious."

To Phillippe's credit, he held Erik's hand, and talked to him for the next hour, while the Comte held the boy in his arms, and Dr. Lamar removed the maggots from Erik's sores. That familiar presence of his twin, and his father, helped Erik to stay calm. The physician also had to shave the boy's head, as he discovered lice in his hair. He ordered all the bedding, and clothes burned to prevent contagion.

The Comte carried Erik to the bathtub, where Sylvia the nanny of the twins was waiting, the good woman loved them as if they were her own, she cried when she saw Erik, and told him, "My child, what have they done to you? My baby! My little Erik. Your mother, bless her soul, would die again of sorrow if she saw you like this." Then she kissed his forehead, and started bathing the child, who was too tired, and sedated to respond. Phillippe again stayed with his brother in solidarity.

While Erik was being bathed, the doctor spoke to the Comte de Chagny who told him where, and in what living conditions he had found his son. The doctor said, "I am surprised that he is alive, his will to live is impressive. The maggots probably saved his life, by preventing infection, and gangrene to set in the wounds. We've noticed they are beneficial in wounded soldiers, and increase their chance of survival. He is severely malnourished, and dehydrated, he will need to get used to eating again, broths, porridge, tea with milk and sugar, should be all that he has for the next 3 days, if he is able to tolerate that diet, you can start giving him soups with meat or chicken, and vegetables in it. He needs the protein to heal. Also bread, and scrambled eggs, once he tolerates that diet for a few days, he can start eating normally. It is important to feed him at least 6 times a day until he puts on at least 10 pounds."

The maid came with tea, and pastries, and the doctor, and Comte moved to a small table by the window. The doctor continued, "Once he is clean, I am going to put ointment on his sores, and dress them. I will come back every day for the next week to treat the wounds, you should have him take a bath before I come. He will need bed rest for the next 2 weeks or so. I don't think that his life is in immediate danger, especially now that he is going to start getting proper nourishment, and care, but the road to recovery will be a long one. It is also highly likely that he is so weak that his body cannot even respond to infection with a fever. He will probably develop one in the next few days as his immune system gets stronger. It will be important to control it or it could kill him in his weakened state."

The night found Erik, and Philippe laying in Erik's large four poster bed. They had been apart for so long that they didn't want to be separated even to sleep. Erik for his part was happier than he could ever remember. He was clean, and smelled good for the first time in five years. His head, and skin were no longer itching. His sores were dressed, and the pain was diminishing, especially after his Papa gave him a second cup of poppy tea. His belly was full; he could not even remember a time when hunger was not his constant companion. He was dressed in a clean, and comfortable nightgown from Phillippe. He was lying in a clean, comfortable bed, and had plenty blankets to keep him warm. Most importantly he was back with his family where he was loved regardless of his deformity. He could feel the breath of his sleeping twin on his face, and nothing could be better than that.

Please Review.

I think I forgot to mention that English is my second language.