I still don't own Erik or Nadir, Squelch or Christine – unfortunately!

Revenge Ch 4

Erik turned quickly, Punjab lasso in hand, at the sound not two steps behind him and was about to throttle the person who dared to follow so closely. "And just where do you think you're going? Shouldn't you be back entertaining your girl, Babette?"

"Well, now," replied Nadir, "That would be a problem, wouldn't it, since you have sent her off on some fools' errand to purchase clothing for a soon-to-be Vicomtesse, as if a person of such illustrious standing requires more accoutrements!"

"It was merely an attempt to get them out of harm's way. You haven't answered my question."

"You looked like you were about to do something interesting and I thought I'd just tag along."

"'tag along', eh? You may find yourself in water deeper than your meager height," Erik teased, referring to the fact that Nadir stood about six centimeters shorter than he did.

"I can swim," replied Nadir dryly.

to the fact that Nadir was all of two inches shorter than he was.

"No matter. I can swim " They stood at the door to Christine's dressing room, studying each other. Nadir seemed to be eager to join Erik in whatever enterprise he had in mind. At the same time, Erik felt that the coming confrontation that he sensed was between Raoul and himself and he was reluctant to get Nadir involved. But when had he ever been able to change Nadir's mind when he had it made up?

Erik sighed, "Stay behind me," and reached for the door knob, then pulled his hand back and gestured to Nadir to follow him. Around the corner, Erik pressed on a wall panel and they entered a narrow space between the walls. After several steps they came to a panel that Erik slid open to reveal the back side of a two-way mirror. They could clearly see Raoul in the room, along with five thugs positioned in strategic places. Erik gestured to the nearest thug and then indicated that he would go after Raoul as he appeared to have a gun. They stepped to either side of the mirror and pressed on the wall and stepped into the room. Nadir quickly took care of his thug and headed for the next, and then the next. Oddly, Raoul stayed put, just watching the action.

Erik turned to him, "Enjoying the view?"

"Immensely. Your hand-to-hand techniques are clever, worthy of study."

"I'm glad you approve. Too bad your time to learn is so limited." In a flash Erik was behind Raoul who then fired a shot at Nadir. Nadir dropped with a hole in his leg, but suddenly a cargo net dropped from the ceiling and wrapped itself around Erik. Erik fought against it frantically, but to no avail as the remaining pair of Raoul's men tightened it around Erik's ankles and around his arms. "You see? You aren't the only one who can set traps!" Raoul opened the mirror leading to the stairway down to Erik's lair. He grinned as he came close to Erik, "Wherever did you get that new mask? It's actually quite attractive, much too attractive for a freak like you!" and he yanked the prosthesis from Erik's face. "That's more like it!"

Erik snarled at Raoul, "What game are you playing at, Raoul?"

Raoul smiled evilly at Erik, "Revenge! We're here to help you find your way back to where you came from – HELL!" and he grabbed Erik's collar and shoved him hard enough to knock him off his bound feet. "I thought we might have a tour of your lair along the way!" and he jerked on the cord again, causing Erik to bounce down two of the steps. "You think you can fool everyone with that mask, masquerading as a person of worth, as a human being. I'll show the world what you really are – a monster, not worthy to be called 'human', the 'thing', the 'it'!" He then handed the cord to one of the thugs with instructions to pull him down to the first landing. Erik struggled against the bindings and managed to free his hands in order to protect his damaged face. Once he had stopped moving down the stairs he searched his pocket for a knife and reached for the cord they had tightened around him. Before Raoul could catch up to him he had cut through it so they could not pull him down anymore of the steps.

Erik knew he had to get out of that net or these men would kill him. He'd just cut through two more of the ropes of the net when a blow to his side knocked the wind out of him and caused him to drop the knife. He felt himself being rolled down more of the steps toward the lake before more blows rained down on him from different directions. If he could hold out until he reached the lake, the hole would be large enough to swim through and he would have a chance to get away.

Before he could roll out of the way, a very large brute of a man stomped on his leg. A sudden burst of pain and the feeling of something snapping told him his leg was most likely broken. Can a person swim with a broken leg? he wondered. He was about to find out as he rolled himself just a bit farther than his attackers had intended and he plunged into the cold waters of the lake. The sudden shock of the cold water caused him to stop breathing momentarily and he stopped struggling against the rope just long enough to sink beyond their sight, but then he pushed himself through the hole he'd made in the net and swam for a grate that he knew led to a small channel out to the river. But first he needed air. He came up just long enough to refill his lungs and to ascertain that his pursuers were searching in the other direction. For one of the few times in his life he prayed to God, prayed that the grate at the other end of this channel would not be locked, or choked with debris.

It seemed like an eternity before he broke the surface and allowed his aching lungs to breathe again. The pain in his side was excruciating and his right arm didn't seem to want to cooperate. He rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, floating on the water, to allow his breathing to return to normal when suddenly a hand grabbed him by the shoulder and started dragging him through the water. He didn't know how much more of this he could take and began battling with this new assailant until he heard the word "Doostam" through his water-logged ears. It was possibly the most beautiful word he had ever heard, and he relaxed in relief as he felt himself being dragged out of the water, only to feel pain in each part of his body as it was pulled onto dry land. His head, his shoulder, his right arm, his left side, his left leg. He opened his eyes to see Nadir looking intently at him. "Thanks be to Allah, you are alive!" But the pain grew to be too much and he passed out.

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"What do you mean he isn't there? He has to be! Where else could he have gone? Search it again!" Raoul demanded imperiously, sometimes pacing impatiently along the edge of Erik's lake, leaning on a fancy cane, sometimes stopping to sit on a wooden chair from Erik's kitchen.

"Monsieur le Vicomte," said one of the men who had been searching the lake, "we have searched the lake from one end to the other, even the very bottom, and have found nothing."

Raoul was fuming, grasping and releasing the top of his cane until his knuckles were white.

"The men are exhausted, Monsieur. Perhaps we should go home and rest and bring in some more men to search again tomorrow."

"Incompetent fools! What do you think I paid you for? To go home and sleep?" He stood from the chair where he'd been sitting, knocking it over, and stomped over to the edge of the lake leaning heavily on his cane. "He has to be here! You didn't even find the net?"

"No, Monsieur. Nothing."

"That's impossible!"

Another searcher suggested, "Monsieur? It is said that he is a powerful magician. Perhaps he performed a disappearing act?"

Raoul glared at him as if he would literally bite him in two. "Get out! All of you! Out!" He turned and threw the wooden chair into the water and was about to throw his cane, but thought better of it and turned and stormed up the stone stairway toward the surface.

"Incompetent imbeciles!" he muttered along the way.

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(Erik's POV)

I slowly became aware of pain – pain everywhere – and wanted it to go away, wanted to go back to sleep. Every movement caused more pain. Moaning seemed to help, the vibrations calming the sometimes shooting and stabbing pain. I jerked slightly when I felt a cold hand behind my head and a soft angelic voice say, "Here, drink this…" and a cool liquid was dribbled between my lips. I tried to see who or where I was, but there seemed to be a bandage across my eyes for I could not open them, nor could I move anything. A cold wet something was placed on my head and the voice told me, "Just sleep, Mon Ange, just sleep…" I heard soft voices murmuring something about performances and substitutes as I drifted back to sleep.

It seemed like moments later I again awoke, this time to Nadir's voice next to my ear, "Doostam, you need to drink this."

I tried to say that I had just had some of his concoction, but it came out sounding nothing like I'd intended, as if I had a mouth filled with cotton. But that didn't stop him, he just went ahead and trickled more of it into my mouth. "Such unwanted treatment one is subjected to when at the mercy of someone else, someone who thinks he knows better than you what you need!" I clamped my mouth shut against any more of the drug.

"Stop fighting it, Doostam. It has been hours since you had your last dose. It has been helping you to sleep so your body can heal. Now open your mouth so I can give you the last bit."

Reluctantly, I opened my mouth and he dribbled the last of the bitter draught into my mouth.

I was able to open my eyes a little and tried to look around but couldn't focus them, and this place smelled different. I didn't recognize it. "Where?" I managed to ask him.

"You're safe," he assured me. "Remember the house you bought for Babette? The one next to her bordello? She has converted it into a boarding house – for me, for Mr. Squelch, and a few others chosen for their abilities as security guards. Christine has also moved in."

I tried to glare at him, but my eyes wouldn't focus enough to pull it off, but he sensed my agitation at that last bit of news.

"Babette has set up her residence on the first floor, with a room and bath for Christine. We have also dug a tunnel connecting this house with her business next door, so if necessary either you or Christine can be moved back and forth to evade anyone searching for you. For performances, Christine is accompanied either by myself or Mr. Squelch to and from the opera house. We sometimes wear disguises and are careful to make numerous stops each way, selecting fabrics for dresses, purchasing undergarments as well as medicines and bandages for you, food, wine and other sundries, stopping for coffee or tea – enough to bore anyone attempting to follow us," he told me."It is all very proper. The cover story is that Babette has had a sudden desire to sing at the opera house, so Christine has begun giving her lessons."

"Fop?" I asked.

"You'll be pleased to know that he has been arrested and is waiting in jail for his arraignment in two weeks."

I closed my eyes and sank into the pillows, reassured that at least for now, Christine wouldn't have to deal with him.

"In the mean time, the three of us have been caring for you."

I slowly digested all this information before asking, "How long?"

"How long what? How long have you been here?"

All I could manage was to grunt in reply.

"It's been about two weeks."

I moaned. Two weeks? What of my opera? What of Nadir himself? I reached out with my arm and shakily tapped his leg.

"It's much better. Thank you for asking!" He must have turned away because his voice changed direction, "Oh! Here comes Christine now!"

I smiled as best I could when I saw her, or at least I think that was her. She gave me a kiss and told me, "I'm so glad to see you awake!"

"Any trouble?" Nadir asked.

She giggled and told me, "We have been wearing various disguises each time we go back and forth; today I was a cabin boy and Squelch was a ship's first mate. He made me carry all the groceries!"

The medication was taking over and I had trouble understanding her. It sounded like she said she had disguised herself as a little boy, but that didn't make any sense.

Of course, then I dreamed about her disguised as a little boy, with chocolate colored braids and wearing a sailor suit, licking on an enormous pinwheel sucker until an ogre grabbed her and tried to drown her. I struggled with him to let her go until Christine woke me up to get me to stop struggling with the bedclothes and the contraption they had my leg in, some sort of a sling.

"Darling? Erik? Erik! Stop. Erik, You're safe, I'm safe. Please, Mon Ange, shush-h." She took my uninjured hand between hers, then kissed my forehead. I opened my eyes and could see and feel her so close to me; I had to reach out to make sure she was real and she held my hand to her face and kissed my hand so gently, lovingly. It brought tears to my eyes to know that she was really here with me.

"Dream," I told her.

"I know, Dear. I know. Sh-h, now. It's all over." And she gently cradled my head in her arms."

"Sorry to be …. trouble," I told her with the tears at the edges of my eyes. "Such a burden."

She held me closer, "Oh! You're not! Not ever! You've been injured and need time to recover, for your body to heal. You could never be a burden!"

We stayed like that until I fell back to sleep, I suppose, because the next thing I knew I was looking at Babette. She had brought me some rich broth to drink. "You hungry?"

Aside from whatever these wonderful people had been dribbling down my throat, I hadn't eaten nor drunken anything since before Raoul's attack in my lair. The smell of that broth made my belly growl and my mouth water. "Yes!" I told her and tried to sit up.

"Whoa! Wait just a minute! Mr. Squelch is coming here to help you." Sure enough, he showed up and ever so gently raised up my shoulders and head so Babette could place some pillows behind me. I squeezed my eyes shut at the pain in my side, but it felt wonderful to be in a new position.

"Is that alright?" he asked me, afraid I would say 'No'.

I looked at him and tried to smile, "Yes, thank you. Change position… feels good!"

He smiled broadly and told me, "We brought some lambskins in for you to lie on because your, er, other side was getting sore… from staying in the same position all the time."

I reached down with my hand and sure enough, it was met with silky, curly lamb's wool. It felt so soft…

"Thank you…, Squelch! So thoughtful!"

Babette tucked a napkin under my chin and spoon-fed the broth to me. I was hungry and kept reaching for more but she pulled away, "Not so fast, Monsieur, Nadir says you have to take this slowly or your stomach will cramp up." So we chatted - she talked, I listened – about her business and her 'lessons' with Christine, and how she had begun a side business of sewing costumes for the theater. Like a young bird, I would frequently open my mouth for more of the broth. I could feel it rapidly filling my shrunken stomach, but, oh! It felt so good!

I could tell I was getting better; my injuries were hurting, but the pain wasn't overwhelming. I gradually stopped taking Nadir's draught, unless I felt the need. I had gone through morphine addiction once in my life and had no desire to deal with it again. Even though this wasn't simply morphine. It was mixed with opium and was called 'Laudanum'. It was said to be less addictive than 'pure' opium, but I wouldn't want to test that notion, it was still very addictive, if you allowed it to be. So I stopped taking regular doses of it. What helped me the most was being able to sleep without using the drugs. Having Christine sitting on the bed near me, holding my hand, or singing to me, or pulling a cot alongside of my bed and lying there next to me was all the sleep potion I needed. Usually.

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I had learned that the blow to my head had caused a concussion and that both of my eyes had been swollen shut, which probably explains why they were taking awhile to get back into focus. My speech had been gradually improving – finally! I felt so babyish not being able to speak properly, as if I were just beginning to learn to speak! Christine seemed to know when I was beginning to grow frustrated, even before I displayed any of my temper, and would tell me to stop trying and just hug me. She was so patient with me and I loved her so much and told her so as often as I could.

With Nadir's help and instruction, I began exercising my good leg in an attempt to keep it strong enough to support me once I was able to get out of bed. And he brooked no slacking. There were days I threw my pillows at him and yelled at him to get out. Once my broken ribs had healed enough I was regularly rolled onto my stomach for his so-called exercises, though I think he was borrowing some pages from the shah's torture chambers!

My first day up on my feet was the worst day ever. Learning to use the rudimentary crutches they provided was a challenge. My right shoulder had been dislocated somehow, and my ribs were still very sore on the other side. I tried using them more like canes and not pressing them into my underarms or against my sides. Not long after our therapy session, Nadir hurried into my room with Christine, Babette and Squelch.

"Raoul has escaped," announced Nadir. "We need to move you to another location, someplace beyond the reach of Raoul and his ilk."

Babette told us, "Well, I have been preparing a bordello in a suburb of Algiers. It would serve until Erik is stronger."

"'Erik' is here and can hear you! I am not an imbecile that needs to be protected from the truth!" he declared heatedly. They all stood waiting for Erik to finish. He turned to Babette, "Algiers? For what reason?"

"Well, the climate is good, they speak French, there are many soldiers there so business would be good…"

"And what of you, Christine?" He reached out and took her hand, gazing into her eyes with longing and concern. "We can't leave you here with Raoul on the loose."

Her gaze matched his as she reassured him, "Wherever you go, I will follow, Mon Ange, whether Raoul was loose or not, I could never bear to be apart from you!" He pulled her into an embrace, kissing her softly, "We will find a way to be married while we are there. Raoul will have no recourse to claim you after that."

Nadir cleared his throat. "I will purchase tickets. What will our cover story be?"

They all looked to Erik and he thought for a moment, "A deceased war veteran and his man and his former fiancée and her lady?"

They looked at each other, aghast, "Deceased?" asked Babette.

"Why not? I look like a corpse, I have been advertised as a living corpse, why not go all the way and portray one? Find a coffin that will fit me and have me sent to Algeria."

Nadir nodded, "Yes, Doostam, but that is a long time for you to ride in a coffin. Will it not be difficult for you?"

Christine held his arm, "Erik, we will travel with you to keep you company." He gave her an adoring look. This woman is so loving and devoted to him!

"You forget, Daroga, that I often slept in a coffin in my lair beneath the opera house."

"Yes, but you did make use of the bathroom from time to time. We will have to devise a plan for your comfort during the trip. Perhaps a jar that can be sealed and emptied each day?"

"And washed to prevent odors," added Babette. "Perhaps a jar with fresh flowers which we can dump out and give to Erik, leaving the flowers on top of the coffin? I can pose as the grieving ex-fiancée, riding with her intended."

Erik looked sadly at Christine, "Of course. That would be best."

They exchanged glances before nodding. "Nadir? You will need to get some engagement rings for the ladies when you go to purchase the tickets."

Nadir nodded and left to run his errands.

Christine took Erik's hand in hers. "Erik, I'm frightened. So many things could go wrong…."

Erik enfolded her in his good arm, "It will work out. You'll see, and we'll get to Algiers and we'll be married, and start a small theater perhaps."

"And maybe a small family as well?" she added.

Erik's look softened as he looked into her eyes that were so filled with love for him, he felt like he was drowning in them, and happy to be. Damned train schedules! If we could only have another hour together, another day… I'm not sure I can bear to be so close to this woman and not be able to claim her as my own until after we arrive at our destination. Such sweet agony this will be! As much as he wanted to, he dare not initiate anything now, and it was driving him a little mad. He kissed her, and she was surprised at the intensity of it, but responded with her own sweet yet demanding kisses before pulling away to dress in her black mourning dress.

Returning an hour later, Nadir found Christine ensconced in Erik's lap in one of the easy chairs. Nadir had taken a few minutes to change into a black morning coat and pants with a black band around his upper arm. He helped Erik into a blue-gray French private's uniform before reaching into his waist-coat pocket. He handed Erik a small package and took another similar package and went to Babette waiting in the next room. He found her dressed in black with a black veil over her face. He knew this was a disguise, yet he felt a pang, as if he was intruding when he took her hand and removed the veil. "Babette, this is not the way I had envisioned doing this, but the urgency of the situation demands expediency." He got down on his knees, "I'm sorry, but I don't know how this is done among you Christians, so I'll just ask you, would you consent to becoming my bride? I promise to love and honor you for as long as I live, and to treat you with dignity and respect."

Babette smiled with a tear in her eye, "Oh, Nadir, you have always treated me with more kindness than I have ever known in my life from anyone other than Erik. I would be honored to be your wife, Nadir Khan!"

He slid the ring onto her finger before taking her in his arms and kissing her soundly. "That will have to last awhile, I'm afraid." He went to help Erik get ready.

Erik took the proffered package and opened it to find a beautiful diamond ring, not too ostentatious, but tastefully done. He grinned at Christine and his eyes softened as he took her hands in his and hobbled away from the others. "I had hoped to do this in a romantic setting, apart from the others, but it seems that dream will have to be held up for a time."

"Erik," she said, gazing longingly into his beautiful aqua eyes, "the setting is immaterial, my love, as long as you love me as much as I love you. I could never love you more than I do right now."

Erik struggled with his balance for a bit before confessing, "It would also appear that I cannot get down on my knee due to this infernal cast on my leg …" He turned and dragged over one of the kitchen chairs they'd been using and knelt on it with his good leg before grinning proudly at Christine. "Where there's a will…"

She blushed and giggled, feeling like a school girl on her first date as he again took her hands in his, "Christine, we don't have much time here, but I need to tell you that you are my rock and my refuge…"

"Hurry up in there!" called Nadir. "Squelch said he knew where to get a coffin for you. He'll be here soon with the wagon!"

Erik blushed before continuing - wondering in the back of his mind where Squelch could have found a coffin that would be large enough for him in such a short time? – He shook his head, "Christine, I need you like I need air to breathe and ground upon which to walk, like the sun needs the sky. I love you, and I will always love you and cherish …"

"Erik!" Nadir shouted.

"Will you be my wife?"

"Of course I will, Mon Ange!" and she gave him a kiss that felt like she wanted to prolong it, but Nadir was now with them, grabbing their bags. Erik slipped the ring onto her finger and she hardly got to see it before covering it up with her gloves. "I love you!"

"Come on, Let's be ready to go when Squelch gets here, before anyone suspects that we're who we are and leaving the country." Christine helped Erik straighten his uniform. It was too short, of course, but many soldiers had ill-fitting uniforms. The trousers didn't matter, in fact the left pant leg had to be split to allow for the cast, but the sleeves were a different matter.

"Here, let me," said Babette stepping up to Erik. She began by slitting the back of the coat from collar to hem to allow him to move his arms more freely, then let out the hems of the cuffs so they would at least cover his wrists down to where his gloves would come." There! How's that?"

Erik stretched out his arms and flexed his left shoulder, "Much better. Thank you!"

"You're welcome! They do that in funeral parlors all the time!"

Just then Squelch arrived along with Erik's coffin from the opera house. Erik looked at it in surprise, "How did you get that out without being seen?"

Squelch got a conspiratorial grin on his face, raising one eyebrow, "I told them I was stealing it! And they helped me!" Erik shook his head, smiling as Nadir helped him get inside and get comfortable. "I told them I was taking it to America to use it for a side-show that I was building. They thought it would be a wonderful idea!"

"Perhaps when Raoul learns of it, he will go to America to search for you!" suggested Nadir. "He will be chasing wild geese, as the English would say."

"Once again you speak without understanding, Daroga. It is called a 'wild-goose-chase', where all the riders in a horse race chase the lead horse wherever he goes!"

"Either way, Doostam, he will be going away from us."

Christine stood silently, looking at Erik in the coffin. She hated seeing him in it. She had hated seeing it in his lair, but now that he was lying in it, it was almost more than she could take.

Erik looked at her, understanding her misgivings without her even giving voice to them and called her over, "Christine…"

She approached the coffin, slowly shaking her head, "Erik, I …"

He took her hand and drew her closer, "Christine, it's only for a little while. It's just like a play. Come here."

He pulled her even closer and she leaned over and gave him a hug and a kiss."We will ride with you. I will not leave you, Mon Ange," she said with tears in her eyes.

"I will be fine, Mon Ange. I'll see you once we are on the train." He wiped her tears before Nadir closed the coffin lid and turned the latches.

When Nadir noticed Christine looking at the latches with horror he reassured her that Erik was not locked in. "He has releases inside with which to open the lid, if needed. Only two of the seeming latches on the outside actually lock down the lid, and those are the ones for which he has the release inside. And he has enough air in there for three hours, four if he conserves his breathing."

It was a good thing that Erik was not overly claustrophobic, because it seemed as if the coffin lid was mere centimeters from his face. Then he remembered that Squelch said he had packed the coffin with extra cushioning to make him more comfortable. He decided that at the earliest opportunity he would have them remove some of the lining. It was more important to have air to breathe than cushions to lie upon – although the extra cushioning did feel good. But his discomfort would only have to be endured for a few days and it was easier to endure discomfort for a few days than to go without air for that long. He had endured worse, much worse.

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