Thank you all so much for the love and support you've given me! It's been a VERY hectic time for me (big move, big break-up, yadda yadda) and each time I look back on all of the lovely comments I've gotten, it fuels me with the fire I need to continue on! This chapter gets everything put into motion; and everything that happens here happens for a reason. Keep in mind that even tho this is an adaption to Phantom of the Opera; Eric, the phantom is going to have minor personality differences, I'm simply giving him more dominance and possessiveness. He will still remain the dark phantom that we all know and love so don't worry.
The main ballroom was lit to its best! All around were the strange reflective faces hidden by extravagant masks of all shapes and sizes. She watched as bodies danced and flourished all around her in a heady sensation of intoxication. There was a deep concert playing somewhere in the background, the smell of food and strong perfume assaulted her nose in a wonderful concoction. She shouldn't be here right now, she should be back in her workshop mending costumes and detailing. Her mind was swimming in a sea of pleasure filled fog. Try as she might she couldn't muster up the sensibility to pull herself away from the party.
Like a small child once again she let herself be pulled into the mass of moving people. She laugh and they laughed. Faces, oh the faces, came in to and out of focus to her blurred vision; all of them seeming to be enjoying themselves in the strange pleasure that permeated the air. Who were these people? Why was there a ball going on? Had Christine performed tonight without her being aware? All of these questions went buzzing through her mind but none of them seemed to matter to her. What was wrong with her?!
As she continued to join on the festivities the music began to become louder, the dancing become more promiscuous, the fog became heavier. Faster and faster the room began to spin around her morphing the once joyous faces into monsters from the deepest darkest novels in her mind. It seemed as if the room would never stop spinning, as if SHE would never stop spinning along with it. Over and over their laughter began to assault her ears to which she desperately threw her gloved hands up to cover and hide from the insanity. The cackles and shrilled screams began to dim in ferocity. In a confused haze she glances wildly about her even as the sound became mute; the world continued about her.
She turned once more and there, through the crowd was a menacing presence. The black fog swayed and dodged between the bodies that seemed to become more distorted with each passing second. By now her heart beat was hammering her small rib cage into submission, her hands clamped over her ears began to shake. The fog that had clouded her mind just moments before disappeared so quickly she was almost tackled to the floor with the fear and adrenaline that spiked up in its place. The black fog approached at a slow pace. The aura coming off of it screamed at her to run away, to run as fast as she could or else. Or else what? Even if she wanted to run there was no way her weak legs would allow her to move more than a step. And still the fog approached. Closer. Closer.
Reflected in her large doe like eyes was the massive shapeless blackness. It towered over her smaller body like a giant storm ready to come crashing down on her and swallow everything that was her being. Fear now choked her throat making it impossible to breath; it was like whatever this thing was was sucking the very air out of the room. Suddenly her body began to shake violently! Her shoulders heaved back and forth with such strength it snapped her head back and forth. Whatever hold that had been on her vocal cords was now gone and from her mouth came fourth an ear piercing scream; and with that scream came the sound of shattering glass all around her..."Eve!" ... "EVE!"
All at once Eve's body jerked to life from her bed. She took deep gulps of air as if she had never breathed before. Her usual tight bun was now tossed wildly to the side of her head and her face was dripping sweat.
"Eve?! Oh thank the heavens you're awake, you were screaming something aweful in your dream", came the concerned voice of Neeta.
Swirls of colors and shadows came into focus slowly. The sounds of the quiet bording room that had been her home for so many years began to slowly comfort her racing heart. Her eyes darted everywhere, as if whatever dream she had been having would spring back to life if she didn't cover every inch of the room. When the threat was no longer nagging at the front of her mind, she focused on her friend who was perched on the side of her bed. It took her a moment to focus and fight back the terrible pain that drummed the edges of her skull.
"N, Neeta", she croaked out. Her throat was oddly dry.
"Yes, it's me Eve. You were having a night terror", she said bluntly. Her red flaming hair was in full force tonight. It's frizzy locks sprayed out around her delicate features in a ferocious mane of fire. It was comforting to her.
"Where, how did I get here?", Eve asked in a froggy voice.
Before she answered her Neeta removed herself from the bed and poured her friend a cup of water that was located by the bedroom door, it was refreshed once every day in the morning; so sadly it wasn't going to be exactly crystal crisp. She brought the rough cup back to Eve who greedily sucked down the luke-warm drink.
"Thank you", she said refreshed.
"Eve, I have no idea how you got back here", she started while setting the cup down and settling back down on the bed.
"I was in the back opera house, I was dancing...and then something happened...but that's all I remember...I think there was...no I don't remember anything Neeta" As she spoke her own post-adrenaline from her dream had her small body shaking.
"Oh Eve, you're shakin' like a leaf", Neeta went into full mother mode and began wrapping the crude comforter around Eve's shoulders and fluffing the pillow behind her back. "Whatever happened is in the past love, you're safe here in your bed. I went looking for you after dinner and when I couldn't find you I almost lost my mind. That was almost two hours ago! I searched this opera house high and low looking for you. I came back to your room in the last opes' to find ya and here you were sleepin' like a babe".
Eve sat there for a moment taking in all of the information Neeta was giving her. Nothing was making sense. She remembered dancing her life away in her spot. She remembered the triumph that had washed over her, but what happened after that? How did she get into bed? All of these questions buzzed about in her head making an awful storm flare up that did nothing to aid the already throbbing mess that was her head.
With an aggravated grunt of pain she laid her back against the fluffed pillows then let out a long sigh. She knew Neeta wanted all of the information right there and now but she did not have the strength to carry on a conversation at the moment; let alone the memories to recall. From beneath her long lashes she looked at her worried friend and gave a smile to the best of her abilities. "My dear friend, I wish I could tell you what happened but right now I feel as if Death himself is inside my mind".
A look of alarm flashed across Neeta's face but was quickly replaced by one of understanding. She shook her head sending the mass amounts of curls flying about reminding eve of tiny fire flecks that cracked from a warm fire on a cold night. "You should know I don't want to leave you in this state", she said while grabbing hold of Eve's hands.
"I know Neeta, but here in my room I am safe. I promise no adventures for me for a long time", she reassured while giving a weak squeeze.
With a heavy sigh to show her remorse Neeta leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her friends forehead before removing herself from the bed. Eve watched as she walked over to the door and giving one more glance back to make sure she hadn't suddenly disappeared in the second it took her to reach the door. Once sure that she hadn't left she gave a quick wave and then exited the room, shutting the door behind her.
All at once Eve removed her hands from the warm cover and clutched her skull while rolling over on to her side. The pounding was only now starting to wither away to a dull ache behind her eyes but lord did she wish it'd go away all together. Deciding against getting up and dealing with the mess that had become her life tonight, she covered herself up and closed her eyes. The best option for now was to get herself back to sleep and hope that tomorrow morning everything would straighten itself out.
...
The next morning had a pleasant normality about it. Eve had gotten up for the day without a pounding skull and a hunger that would rival even the hungriest of soldiers! Neeta had been her gentle wake up call and the two of them scurried off to catch breakfast. The two of them didn't talk much about what happened last night, mostly because the first time Neeta brought it up Eve had cast her a look of for-boding, so the conversation was left to the wind. There was of course a want to talk to Neeta about her triumph in her dance last night, how she had lost herself in whatever sense of freedom had entranced her, but she knew that if she even so much as uttered a bit of information to the little minx she'd have to spill the entire story; that was a road she wasn't ready to venture down.
After breakfast the two made their way to the workshop and began to tackle their daily tasks. Apparently over night work had piled almost sky-high for them. With a new production meant new costumes and old repairs to recycled garments. Neeta had taken her first steps into the workshop and immediately began complaining about her poor fingers and how she was sure Madame Giri was hell bent on punishing her for unknown crimes. Eve had reassured her friend that it wasn't going to be as bad as she thought because she had already been working on the next performances work load ahead of time.
As the two of them went to work there was something in the air around Eve. Her fingers worked just as well as before but with each stitch she put into the mass amounts of beautiful exotic fabrics she seemed to be stitching in the secrets and mysteries that plagued her. For hours she sat quietly musing over the thoughts in her brain, desperate to put the shattered pieces of her memories together of what happened after her own triumph. No matter how she scrambled to think it was as if her last memories were nothing but sheer fog constantly eluding her fingers and drifting away to some place dark. Somewhere she dared not venture.
Hours seemed to fly by for the girls who barley said a word to each-other. Neeta spent most of her time pacing around the shop doing more admiring than actual work. There were times when she had tried to raise a conversation from her friend but after the third time of realizing Eve wasn't currently in this world she gave up the task. She truly worried about her darling. Whatever had happened to her last night was taking a mental tole on the small woman. Her normal prim and proper attire was now slightly askew. The dress and skirts she wore today were not our of ordinary, simple colors that did little to stand her out from the lifeless maniquins that littered the room, her hands were not slowed by whatever had happened, but her her bun was not as tightly bound against the back of her head. In fact it was held loosely at the nape of her neck to which a few whispy baby hairs danced about at the cusps of her ears and neck. Even the normal gentle wondering look was replaced by something more dark and curious. She knew from years of friendship that something was weighing heavy in Eve's mind.
All was quiet within their working quarters. Neeta was pulling a pink scarf from a rack of many, and twirling it about herself while Eve was hunched over whatever needle point she was adding to a vest. As Neeta danced around the shop there came a knock at the door that pulled her attention away from her frolicking. "Come in", she called. There was no answer. A head full of flames tilted to the side in curiosty as she danced her way to the door. Perhaps they didn't hear her.
Pulling open the door she was met with nothing but empty space aside from a stage boy walking by with large beams of wood held upon his shoulder. Leaning her head out she looked up and down the hallway but saw no one who seemed as if they had just been knocking. For a moment she stood there in the empty door frame confused. As she was leaning back to close the door something on the threshold caught her attention. There laying among the dirty ground was a single rose with a note tied to it with a black ribbon.
"What the he-", she whispered while leaning down to retreive the strange gift. She closed the door absentmindedly while staring at the rose in her hand. Turning it around there was something written on the back of it.
At the strange silence that had settled around her, Eve brought her head up from her task and looked back at Neeta who was standing stock still in the middle of the room with a look of shock. "Neeta, who was it?", she asked.
When she didn't her Eve set her task down and rose from her spot to make her way to her silent friend. Neeta simply stood there with a rose in her hand and a note staring blankly up at her. "Neeta? What's that? Who is it from, one of your many love-sick puppies?", she teased. Her taunt was received with nothing. Not even a quick retort. "Neeta?".
What seemed like eternity passed before Neeta's eyes rose to look her dead in the eyes. Something about the look in her eyes made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. Whatever was written on the note could only be bad news. With slow hands Neeta passed the flower to her. "Me thinks this is for you, Eve", she whispered.
"My goodness Neeta did the Pope die?", she said smartly while taking the note from her.
The rose was very large in her tiny hands and the smell that permeated from it's peddles filled and warmed her mind. Never before had she smelled a rose quite like this one! From just the one single bud it smelled as if she were now in a room full of the intoxicating flower. With the smell of rose now taking over her mind she read the beautiful script in such a startling black ink; the crisp white parchment it was written upon seemed whiter than the holiest of snow.
'My tiny dancer,
I will come for you.
O.G.'
Over and over again she read the note. The first eight times seemed to simply skip over her memory. After another pass of the note something settled into her memory. The memories that had eluded her since last night; and had been plaguing her thoughts all day, came flashing brilliantly to the front of her consciousness. The fear, the curtain, the man in the mask all flashed through her eyes in such a gusto she didn't realize her free hand came rushing up to her mouth to shield her silent gasp. The man had been real! He had been there and he must have brought her back to her room after the tumble she'd taken!
Slowly her eyes lifted from the note to look at Neeta was still standing quietly in front of her.
"O.G..", She said.
Eve's eyes searched Neeta's eyes for any source of reality.
"O.G...the Opera Ghost, Eve. The opera ghost was just here...and it says he's coming for you. Oh Eve what did you do?", she gushed. In a fluid motion Neeta took the note from Eve's hands and tossed it carelessly to the side then grabbed her up in a bone-crushing hug. "What is happening here Eve?", she asked.
The state of shock had yet to release its claws from Eve. So many things were running through her mind. What did he want? What did she do? What was she going to do? Was this some sort of sick joke?
The sound of someone coming into the door jarred Neeta from her hug. Madame Giri came into the shop with the normal stiffness of a freshly pressed corset. Her hard eyes glanced around the messy room with a look of disinterest. Those hard eyes came to settle upon the women in their close encounters which merited a delicate eyebrow to arch in questioning. Neeta quickly took a step away from her friend and began to open her mouth but was quickly stopped by a single hand wave of the Madame.
"Evaungaline, I've come to inquire where you were for dinner last night", she said icely.
"She was here resting in her room. She said she wasn't feeling good on our way to dinner, Madame", Neeta answered. Secretly Eve thanked her for coming to her rescue. The note had her tongue tied up and her words eluding her.
"Is this true Evaungaline?", Giri's attention was now back on target.
Desperately searching for words Eve couldn't find, she settled with a simple head nod. The head tilt that came from Madame had her back peddling quickly and stumbling over her words. "Ah, y..y..yes Ma'am. I'm still not feeling quite alright today", she said messily. Her heart beat was hammering inside of her ribs so loudly she swore everyone in the room could hear it. She'd never lied to Madame Giri before! What if she saw through their rouse and punished both of them severely?!
The woman stood their for a moment with pursed lips. If she didn't believe the two of them it didn't seem to be that important to her at this moment. "Well, do see to it that your health is kept up Evaungaline, we can not afford to fall behind schedule because you decide not to take care of yourself", she started and turned to face Neeta head on. "As for you young lady, you and I have some business to discuss over last nights risque performance", and with that said she turned to leave.
Both Eve and Neeta gave each other a panicked look. She didn't want to be left alone in the shop knowing that the Opera Ghost could be near by!
"I promise I'll come running back to you. Do not leave this room, Eve", Neeta pleaded as she followed quickly on Giri's heels.
"But Neeta!", Eve started but was cut off when the two of them left the shop. A silent like death fell upon her. What was she to do now?
A heavy sigh racked her chest, heaving it up and then down in defeat. Her eyes skimmed over the, now empty, room only to land on the discarded rose that was now laying upon an old dress skirt on the floor. She walked over to the flower and crouched down; her skirts spilled out around her kicking up a bit of dust. Her tiny hand picked the delicate thing up and held it out in front of her. It was almost uncanny how calm she felt on the inside compared to the fear she had felt last night. The heart throb from just now with Madame Giri had calmed down a bit; but as she held the note from the Opera Ghost she couldn't muster up much more of an emotion than curiosity.
The Ghost had brought her back to her room instead of doing away with her body last night. He could have easily taken her life right then and there when she had been most vulnerable. Instead he delivered a flower to their door step, why? She stood from her crouched position and moved over to one of the many desks covered with a sewing machine and many many pins and spools.
With her attention on the flower in her hands she failed to notice the soft shuffle of clothing upon the racks behind her that blocked the darkness from view. The ribbon attached to the rose and note was pulled away and fell to the floor at her feet. She bent back down to retrieve the falling tie but before her fingers grasped the fabric she paused. From behind her she heard soft footsteps. What should had been fear but was a warm sensation of comfort rushed over her body. Electricity sparked inside of her chest once again raising the hairs on her arms. Quietly and slowly she turned her body upon her toes to see who or what was lurking behind her. When there was nothing in the room with her her breath rushed out in a mixture of relief and...disappointment? Was she honestly disappointed there was no one in here with her?!
"I'm losing my wits", she whispered to herself.
She stood up with the ribbon in one hand and the rose in the other. If she had any hope of getting her head back on her shoulders where it belonged she needed to stop losing her head over the silly opera ghost! Squaring her shoulders and shaking the feeling of warmth from herself she tossed the rose upon the desk and scoffed. "Opera Ghost indeed", she chided. Neeta may have warned her to stay within the shop but if she stayed here a moment longer she would soon drop off the edge of sanity and into a pit of insanity! She was well enough ahead in work to where she could take the rest of the day off and not be set back. She would come find Neeta later when Madame Giri had had enough of punishing her.
Grabbing up a handful of her skirt she twirled around and made a straight line for the door. With two more steps to go till she reached her freedom the sound of a deep voice instantly froze her to the spot. The sweet baritone of a man behind her flooded her ears, shattering the silence like a broken glass. That warm liquid sensation came rushing back into her body igniting every vein within her. The sensation was so strong and sudden her eyes closed and her body was rocked forward as if to make room for the over whelming feeling.
"Darling dancer you flee from me,
Away to the life you know,
Let me take you away,
Turn from them and come to me,
Her body burned from the inside out. Every atom of her being begged her muscles to obey and turn around to reveal to her what she already knew was there. The voice boomed around her drowning out all sense leaving her drowning in a pool of sheer ecstasy and sensuality. Slowly her body swayed back and forth but stayed where it was. As if by sheer subconscious will she did not turn around, she did not give into whatever emotions were taking over her body. If she turned around then all of the anxiety and imaginings of him would come to life and it would all be real. He was coming closer to her. She stood still. He was but a meer few steps from her and his voice was growing stronger and stronger inside of her. She continued to stay still.
A deep heat was building in the depths of her belly. It coiled and swirled about like a serpent had been placed inside of her and was threatening to burst forward and explode in a flare of fire and smoke. Seconds ticked by as she waited for what was going to happen, it was if she was stuck between wanting to run from the room and turn around to bring all of the darkness to light. Like the warm flickering fingers of a warm fire touching cold skin she felt two hands touch the small of her back, spreading heat in their wake as the snaked around her hips.
There would be no need to turn around. This was real. He was real. He was there, living and breathing, behind her. Still her eyes remained shut, tightly. His voice came to the soft shell of her left ear to which like a trained cat her head tilted to the side on its own accord. The strange hands made burning paths slowly up the rough material of her corset just under her breasts. Her rib cage had suddenly became a cage to her own feelings. The snake of burning desire traveled up from her belly and burned like liquid fire behind her chest, following his hands. Once again the beating of her heart was so intense she could promise that the man behind her could hear it.
His voice was casting a spell upon her body! The bun at the base of her neck acted as a small pillow, telling her that her head had become so slack that it was laying against something very hard and very warm behind her. Like a longing lover her small frame began to move and arch into the prowling hands while losing itself into the dark magic that had filled the room. His left hand remained its soft caressing of her ribs and sides while the other traveled low on her side; grasping her thing hip so tightly it caused a small gasp to burst from her lips. Her eyes came fluttering open but did little to actually see anything in front of her; there was a haze in front of them as if the room was suddenly full of a dense fog. And still his hands caressed her body.
The hand that stroked her ribs slowly made its way to the center of her chest and traveled up between her breasts to the delicate skin of her throat. His other hand snaked its way across her belly easily grasping onto the opposite hip that seemed to call out to be equally lavished upon. The song that had lured her senses into submission stopped and was replaced by him speaking something into her ear. Never had she let herself be in such close intimate counters with another human being. The hot breath that now played with the soft skin sent a shiver down her body; her nipples stiffened beneath the hard material and a soft moan escaped her lips.
"I have found you", he said.
Without another word spoken her body was whipped around suddenly sending her vision hand skirts into a flurry. Before she could focus she felt warm lips crushed against her own. It was a kiss like she'd never had before. It spoke of possession, darkness, danger, and of him. Strong hands clamped down upon both of her hips holding her in place; tightly against his much larger from dressed in all black. His lips conquered her own with smooth finesse; they demanded something of her she did not know how to return. His scent was mingled with the same intoxicating spell that the rose had had and it threatened to suffocate her! Inside her belly and chest the heat that been building up became so intense that her mind began to go blank. The lips that mastered her own refused to part from her and her lungs were beginning to burn just as much as her belly. He was going to steal her breath away!
The sudden fear of death washed over her like a cold rush. Something was terribly wrong here! What was she doing?! All at once her body was brought back to life with her realization. Lashing out with all of her might she pushed her small frame away from his body; the tight grip he had upon her slipped painfully away as she turned in a tizzy and made a leap for the door. From behind her she heard him call after her in a stern voice. "Evaungaline! You can not run from me. You will be mine!", he called. His promise was not one made of anger, it was such a soft demand that it caused her heart to skip a beat as the door was yanked open and fell into the hallway.
To her disdain there was no one there for her to all out to. Picking her skirts up she made a mad dash down the hallway towards the busier end of the building in hopes of getting herself as far away from the shop as she possibly could. Her lips were now swollen and pulsing from the phantom, it was a reminder to her to keep running until she was a safe enough distance away and the phantom had not followed her.
It was a moments run before she began to see a steady flow of people moving about preparing this and that for the next show. Her feet came to a slow halt to which she had to lean herself up against a wall to catch her breath. There were very few opportunity for her to go running through the hallways so her lungs were on fire from the sudden exercise. Her hands came down and supported her upper body upon her knees as her lungs greedily sucked in the air she had been deprived of and her mind spun once again. The phantom was real. He had been there, touching her body, and had stolen a violent kiss from her. Everything had gone terribly wrong! What exactly had just happened?
Wildly her eyes darted all around her. She was getting odd looks from everyone who passed by her with their work loads held in their arms as they went about their work. It was probably quite a scene to see her leaning there gasping on air for dear life. Dash their looks and their opinions! They hadn't just been harassed by a figment of their own imagination brought to life! There had been a ghost in her shop and he had taken it upon himself to touch her body...invade her personal space, and she hadn't ran away instantly...why?
Once her breath was leveled enough she stood up and leaned her head back against the cold wall that was supporting all of her weight. What was she going to do now? She could tell Madame Giri...tell her that there had been a ghost in her room that had physically assaulted her and touched her body...and was probably gone by now. The woman already thought she was sick; she'd probably blame it on her sickness and that she was "seeing things". Nevertheless even if that was what she said she needed to talk to somebody. Somebody of sound mind who could help her.
With her mind made up to talk to Madame Giri, she left her safety zone and took the long away around the opera house; avoiding all dark areas, deserted areas, and most of all her workshop. She needed sanity.