Me: Chapter Four of Love Without Sight, you are clear for launch. Remember, Phantom of the Opera is not actually owned by me…grrrrrr.
Erik: What's with the astronaut talk?
Me: It's mission control!
Charlotte: It's still creepy.
Me: Whatever. Just get back in the story before I get pissed off.
Erik: I think it's a bit late for that, Cailie.
Me: Get back in there! NOW!
Charlotte and Erik had tethered the horses back at the underground stables and were now moving smoothly across the lake. Charlotte surveyed the candlelit lake in wonder. "This is amazing. I feel like I'm back in Venice."
"You've been to Venice?" Erik asked.
"Yeah. My mom and I traveled Italy for a summer as my international debut. I've even sung at the Bellini Theatre in Sicily." Charlotte trailed off, lost in thoughts of Ella. "Look, could we talk about something else?"
"I've got a better idea. How about we sing? You start."
"Phantom of the Opera?"
"Why not? You sounded like you were having a bit of trouble there. That vocalizing is pretty hard." He made a conductor's gesture and she began.
"In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came . . . That voice which calls to me and speaks my name . . . And do I dream again? For now I find the Phantom of the Opera is there - inside my mind . . ."
Erik took over and his voice reminded Charlotte of the Michael Crawford recording…but a thousand times stronger, braver, and kinder. "Sing once again with me our strange duet . . . My power over you grows stronger yet . . . And though you turn from me, to glance behind, the Phantom of the Opera is there - inside your mind . . ."
"Those who have seen your face draw back in fear . . . I am the mask you wear . . ." Charlotte sang.
"It's me they hear . . ." He responded. They sang together, their voices seeming to blend into one flawless combination.
"Your/my spirit and your/my voice, in one combined: the Phantom of the Opera is there inside your/my mind . . ." They sang all the way to the lair, Charlotte's soul rising with every note.
"Welcome to the Mulheim home, Charlotte. Please make yourself comfortable." Erik said. Charlotte surveyed the messy, homey scene around her. A violin lay haphazardly on the electric powered piano next to the first Phantom's organ. Sheet music covered almost every available surface, along with several replicas of the stage from various operas, Hannibal, Il Muto, and Don Juan Triumphant among them. A soundboard, microphone, and mini TV sat above a mahogany desk where there was parchment, envelopes, red pens, several sticks of red sealing wax, and a seal engraved with a Phantom mask and a rose. She stepped into the bed room, where the silver swan bed, with its cushy red pillows looked so inviting, she wanted to flop down and sleep for a century. She noticed Erik was no longer with her. She reentered the main lair. "Erik, where'd you go?"
"I'm right here!" He jumped out from behind a black velvet curtain and seized her shoulders.
"Aaaaaaagh!" Charlotte jumped a foot in the air and landed on her back in the water. Her blue skirt fanned out in the water and her hair came loose from its careful braiding. "OH MY GOD!"
"I'm sorry, Charlotte. Here, lemme help you out." He held out his hand to help her out. Charlotte sensed an oppotunity to pull one of the oldest tricks in the book and took it. She seized his hand and yanked him into the lake. "Waagh!"
"That's what you get when you trust me." She grinned evilly, and dove into the water.
"Damn you!" Erik laughed. "Get back here!" Her head popped out of the water about ten feet from a metal grate before she dived under again. "Wait! Charlotte, no! That's the torture chamber!"
"Really?" She resurfaced. "Can I see what's in there? Can I, can I, can I? Please?"
"Maybe later. First, we should get out of these clothes."
"Pervert!" She smacked his arm.
"What? Nah. I just hate the feeling of wet denim, and I doubt that skirt is very comfortable." He stood and helped her out of the water for real.
"True enough." She pulled the sopping fabric away from her thigh.
"Well, there's clothing in the wardrobe. It's a little old fashioned, but I'm pretty sure it'll fit you. See you in a minute." He slipped back behind the black velvet curtain, she returned to the bedroom. Opening the closet door, she surveyed her options. Was that the same Aminta costume Christine had worn? The first Phantom had kept it? Yeesh. Oh, well, why not honor tradition? She pulled the white blouse, black bodice, and yellow skirt and went back into the main area. Erik was standing in the middle of the room, wearing only a dry pair of jeans, and playing the violin. He was playing a tune she recognized.
"Oh, I love 1776!" She clapped her hands in delight and sang. "And it's hi-hi-hi-diddle diddle. Goodbye to the fiddle, my strings are unstrung!"
He smiled and joined in with her. " Hi-hi-hi-hi!" He put down the violin, turned on the piano and started one of the preset tracks. "Clair de lune. May I have this dance, Mademoiselle de Chagny?"
"Of course, Monsieur Mulheim." She took his hand and he twirled her around the lair as they hummed along. Once the song finished, it switched to 'Ti Moune's Dance' from Once On This Island. Charlotte surrendered herslef to the music, breaking out into the choreography she'd learned in eigth grade as Ti Moune. She finished dancing and Erik caught her as a new song she didn't recognize started. The last thing she remembered before sleep claimed her was the caress of his cool fingers against her cheek, and the most perfect pair of lips she'd ever felt pressing gently against her own.
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I know that was a short chapter, but it's such a nice chapter ending.