I thought I'd surprise everyone and do another Erik chapter! Well half of one. I also realized that Erik's been coming across as kind of whiny and pathetic. Hehe…that will be no more.
Erik
Rage was not the first emotion that found itself moving throughout my body. Neither was anxiety. This surprised me. In the past, when something didn't go according to plan, I was found myself filled with a deep, terrible anger. I had a temper that no one could rival. Anxiety was always present in every aspect of my life. Would they find me? Would Christine finally find some rationality and begin to unconditionally loathe me? Ever since I ran away from my mother all those years ago, I've been anxious. It was normal for me. Now though, when I had good reason to be anxious, I was strangely calm. I knew I would rescue Antoinette. I would stop at nothing until I did.
Henri stared at me with anger glowing in his eyes. "This is your fault!" he accused. It was my fault. Antoinette Giry had put her livelihood on the line for me, and now she was paying for it. I didn't deserve such a loyal friend, but I would rescue her if it was the last thing I did.
"Hush!" Christine yelled at him. "Madame Giry knew the risks. She wanted to help Erik."
"She was foolish for doing so!" he retorted.
"How dare you disrespect her? Antoinette Giry is one of the most intelligent individuals I know," Christine argued back.
"Obviously not intelligent enough. Anyone with common sense would have given this creature to the police the first chance they got!"
"Well then obviously you're lacking a little in common sense as well! We are in your house!"
"That's only because I respected Ann's wishes!"
"Will you two both shut up?" I requested calmly. My mind was racing to form a quick but thorough plan. It was coming quickly to me how to rescue her. The answer was quite simple.
Christine looked at me expectantly. Henri looked outraged. "How dare you tell me to shut up?" he cried. Now rage filled me. I stood up in one fast, easy motion and had my hand around his neck, pinning his body down against the back of the couch.
Christine gasped but she stood back. I looked angrily into Henri's dark, brown eyes. He looked petrified of what I might do. "I will rescue Antoinette, but I can't do it with your ranting. If you want to help, you'll have to calm yourself."
He looked indignant. His eyes raced for some sort of reply. Then, seeming to find none, he sighed. "What's the plan?"
I grinned. It was totally insane and reckless. Christine would be furious, but she had to trust me. She didn't know my past; she didn't know the things I was truly capable of. I released my hand from Henri's neck. Straightening my shirt, I turned from Henri to Christine. "All they really want is me, right?" The question was really rhetorical, but Henri nodded. Christine remained silent. Her brown eyes were trying desperately to read me. "Well I'm going to give myself to them."
"What?" Henri exclaimed. I was surprised that he had been the first to react to my announcement. Christine sat down on the couch. Her eyes gave away nothing of what she was thinking. I could tell she was examining all possibilities. "If you get captured, Ann and mine's sacrifice will have been in vain!"
I glared at Henri. "You're an idiot," Christine said. At first, I thought she was talking to me, but her eyes were firmly planted on Henri. "Obviously, he has a part two to the plan."
I smiled at her. She was beautiful, talented, and intelligent. Plus she had a powerful fire hidden within her soul that made her capable of things I never would have deemed her capable of. Henri scoffed and paced to the other side of the room. "You both are mad," he cursed under his breath.
I was quite mad. Christine looked to me expectantly. "I'll leave a note telling them that I'll trade myself for the release of Antoinette. That's obviously an offer they won't be able to refuse. From the paper, I hear there is a rather large reward for my capture. However, I'll make sure that we meet on my terms and in a location of my choosing."
A sly smile came over Christine's face. "The opera house," she said realizing my plan.
Oh how I loved her. I nodded. "Are you mad? The opera house is in shambles!" Henri added angrily.
I smiled sinisterly at him. Of course I knew that the opera house was in terrible shape after the craziness that occurred there the night I stole Christine. "The cellars are not," I told him confidently.
Madame Giry
The cell I had been placed in was cold and wet. Water from the streets seeped onto the dirty, stone walls adding to the cold and also adding a torturous dripping noise that was sure to drive me mad. A few torches lit the stone hallway my cell was on, but it was still incredibly dark. The lack of light allowed terrifying shadows to dance across the moist walls. In the cell next to mine, there was an old drunk who was snoring as he slept off last night's drinking binge. Next to his cell, was a short, creepy man with a sinister look in his eyes. He was staring at me through the rusty bars. I could hardly see him in the darkness, but every now and then the fire from the candlelight illuminated devilishly in his eyes. I could also tell he was grinning.
"You're here because of that opera ghost," he sneered. His voice was cold and mocking. I couldn't be bothered to respond to him. "Are you the monster's little bitch?" he laughed. His words angered me beyond compare, but I would have to keep a cool temper. One could say whatever they wanted to a man like this and it wouldn't make a difference. I didn't even bother to look at him anymore.
There was no way of telling what time of day it was. They had taken me in the afternoon at my home. I had been talking some things over with Meg about Erik's whole situation. I needed her to run our household while I was tending to Erik's needs. The police then had burst through the door and taken me without ever even explaining why. Even still, they hadn't told me the exact charges. There was no proof that I had aided the opera ghost. Raoul didn't even know how much I had helped Erik. They had searched Henri's house last, but I made sure they found no trace of Erik there. The way they were holding me like this…it felt like it was not official. Were they trying to lure Erik out of hiding? There was a substantial award for his capture alive…or dead. Perhaps some officers were going outside the law to collect it. That would not work. Erik was too smart for that. I pitied anyone that went head to head with Erik. Raoul had tried, and had Erik not been a kind soul, Raoul would be dead.
I felt that it must have been late at night now. I was a pretty good judge of time. The wretched dripping of that water was driving me mad! Plus that sniveling convict couldn't keep his eyes off of me. Every so often he stuck his tongue out and pretended to be licking me. It was atrocious.
The sound of metal moving through the doorway distracted me from my revulsion. Someone was coming. A guard soon appeared in the hallways accompanied by the two officers that had arrested me. They looked very pleased with themselves. One of them was very young. He had pale blonde hair and grey eyes. His face was riddled with youthful blemishes on the skin. I certainly wasn't found of looking at him. The other appeared to be a bit older, perhaps my age. There was a twinge of grey in his brown beard and on his side burns. He had brown eyes. The composure and confidence in his stance told me that he was the one in charge.
"Antoinette Giry," he older one said in a degrading tone as the guard opened my cell. "You're in luck, you're fiendish friend wants a trade. You for him."
I was utterly astonished. Surely Erik could not be that foolish! I wouldn't have risked everything for him to be captured anyway. I could tell the guards wanted me to come out of the cell, but I indignantly stood in the corner, as far from the door as possible. "Well you should tell him that I'm perfectly fine where I am," I suggested stubbornly.
The younger officer laughed. The older one did not say a word, but he slowly walked in the cell carrying a large pair of rusty handcuffs. Roughly, he grabbed my hands and placed them on me. "This isn't a negotiation," he said coldly into my face. His breath smelled putrid. It smelled like rotten meat mixed with alcohol. He then pulled me by the handcuffs all the way out of the prison. They loaded me into an old carriage. Four other officers joined them. It was dark outside. The moon was shining bright, accompanied by the multitude of stars. Four guards set with me in the carriage, two others set on the driver's stool.
My wrists hurt horribly bad by the time they sat me down. I didn't look at the officers that sat with me, but I could feel their cold gaze on me as I massaged my aching wrists. Red welts had started to appear on my skin. Did they have to be so cruel? The carriage started to move swiftly.
"I guess the demon does care about her," one of the officers laughed. "I'm surprised something like that cares about anyone."
"I'm just surprised that he was able to keep his cock out of that pretty soprano long enough to see to this one."
"I know I couldn't keep my cock out of that pretty thing!" another one laughed.
"He's probably raping her as we speak!"
Their voices were so condescending. I hated hearing those terrible things about Erik and Christine. Erik was such a good man. Compared to these pitiful excuses for human flesh, he was a saint. I turned to look at the officer in front of me; he had been the one to make one of the cruel comments. He actually looked to be about Erik's age, and he was incredibly handsome. He had dark golden hair and light, hazel eyes. His skin was perfect. Oh if only the precious Erik had been blessed with such a face. This man was handsome, but he was more of a monster than Erik.
"What you looking at?" the man scoffed.
"I pitiful excuse for a human being. If you men are an example of the human race than I'd rather spend my time around monsters!" I scorned. A look of outrage came over the man in front of me. He hit me across the face so hard that my nose began to bleed and my vision went black for a moment. I held my arm up to my face to catch the blood. Then I looked back at the man, glaring at him. "Point proven," I spat. This time he hit me so hard everything went black.
When I awoke two of the other officers were pulling me out of the carriage. My head was throbbing uncontrollably. It was hard to see from the lack of light and the slight dizziness in my vision, but I quickly recognized we were outside the deserted Opera Populaire. What were we doing here? Most people kept their distance from here now for fear of the dreaded opera ghost. The police had searched the theatre from top to bottom, but no sign of Erik could be found .Eventually they moved to searching the rest of the city. Now the beautiful opera house was almost ghostlike itself. As we stood in front of the dark, looming structure I could easily feel the foreboding.
The guards practically dragged me through the doors. A terrible dizziness along with my dreadful stubbornness made it impossible for me to walk straight. Even if it caused me more pain, I would make every step more difficult for these terrible men. They dragged me all the way to Christine's old dressing room. We ran into no one in the dark halls. The men had brought some torches, but there was no other light in the giant building. The only sound was the echoing of our footsteps. Even the arrogant officers were now silent. I could sense their fear. They knew they were in the opera ghost's domain. Had Erik been the one to suggest making a trade here? Had the officers been stupid enough to accept it?
"Why on earth did you agree to make the deal here?" one of the officers whispered. I thought it was funny that they kept their voices down. If Erik was here, he heard everything. He would be able to sense their fear.
"He said it's the only place he would agree to…the only place we'd have a chance to get our hands on him and the substantial reward," the older guard explained. "As much as I love the old lady, she's worth nothing to us without him." Erik would eat them up and spit them out. They had no idea who they were dealing with.
"He's got the upper hand on us here though," another one of the officers whined. I was surprised. He actually had some intelligence.
"There's six of us and one of him," the older officer argued. A whole army could not defeat Erik in his domain. "Now shut up and move."
When we entered Christine's dressing room, I noticed the sliding mirror was open and the candles in the tunnel behind it had been lit. It was almost as if Erik were inviting them to go further. I knew of some of the traps Erik kept in this hall, but I'm not even sure I knew the half of them. They dragged me through the mirror frame and down the tunnel. I could sense their anxiety growing.
The group was about halfway down the long hallway when the man in front ran into something. I quickly realized it was a tripwire. A trap door opened up above him and a noose came down around his neck and snatched him up through the ceiling. It all happened so fast. One minute he was there and the next minute he was gone. He hadn't even had the time to scream. The door shut behind him, but the remaining officers and I could hear him struggling. Then the struggling stopped. I know smiling at the death of another was bad, but I couldn't help but grin. I had never seen the trip wire before. Erik had prepared for the officers.
"Armand!" the older officer called angrily. The anxiety in the group rose substantially. "Armand!" There was no answer.
"What the hell was that?" one of the younger officers demanded to the guy in charge.
"A trap," the older man replied grimly. "These tunnels are probably riddled with them. We'll have to watch our step more carefully. He then descended further down the tunnel. I had to admit he was brave going first.
I knew the tunnels decently well, but I hardly came down here. Erik had shown me a safe route past the first tunnel, but he hadn't taken me more than halfway down the spiral staircase when giving me the tour. He had said that was all I needed to know. When we reached the familiar spiral, stone staircase there were no more torches lit on the walls. I guess Erik wanted to keep his secrets hidden in the darkness. The officers took each step carefully. They also kept a death grip on me.
"Wait!" one of the guards with the torches cried when we went down a few steps. The older officer in front stopped exactly where he was.
"What is it Martin?" he asked. The young officer known as Martin carefully went to the front of the group. I recognized this to be the acne faced young man that had helped release me from my cell. He held his torch down to the ground to reveal the outline of a trap door on the stone ground. The older officer gulped. "Good eye." Martin nodded with a grin, obviously proud of himself. I rolled my eyes.
Martin then took the lead, but he suddenly disappeared with a scream and the splashing of water. There had been another trap door only a few feet ahead. The group ran to look down at Martin who yelled for help. He was in a dark pit of water. A metal grate had fallen down on top of him and was slowly closing down to trap him underneath the water. Again, I grinned.
"Martin!" the older officer cried out to him.
"Help me!" Martin pleaded. The grate now almost had him trapped under water.
The older officer looked around quickly. One of the younger ones looked panicked. He backed away from the trap door. "The Phantom of the Opera is going to kill us all," he sobbed.
"Shut up! We need a rope. Perhaps we could jump down and help," the older man said. Martin's cries had ceased. He was now completely trapped underwater. In the dim light I could see his body struggling desperately underneath the water line.
"Hell if I'm going down there," one of the younger men said definitively.
After a moment, Martin stopped moving. The group of officers went quiet. "He's dead," the older man announced sadly. "There's nothing more we can do."
"Oh God!" the other young man cried. He was now near the stone railing of the staircase. He leaned against it to hold himself up, but he hadn't seen what I had seen. That particular part of railing was a trap. It slid open like a door. Startled, the young man desperately struggled to keep his footing, but he soon fell down the middle of the staircase. The group ran to see him, staying away from the rail, but it was far too dark to see anything. He screams could be heard for a few seconds though, echoing through the dark. Then there was a terrible thud and his cries stopped.
All of the officers were speechless. I loved it. "Not so confident now are we?" I laughed. The older man looked outraged. He slapped me. Even though it hurt, I couldn't resist a smile. Their desperation brought me such joy.
"Make her lead!" The older man ordered. The officer that looked Erik's age was the one that kept his hold on me the entire time. He now held me out front with a pistol pointed at my back. I wasn't even nervous. Erik would know what to do.
We made our way to the bottom of the staircase and we were now staring at the crystal like lake. The torchlight shimmered in the water. Erik had even been kind enough to leave a boat and two oars out for us. It wasn't the gondola that I had been told about, but rather a boat that could fit us all. Across the lake there was a single fiery light glowing to signal the way. Even I was strangely frightened by the flickering light, and I knew Erik would not harm me. These officer's didn't have the luxury of knowing that.
"Do we trust it?" one of the younger men asked nervously. They all looked at the boat as if it were some sort of sleeping monster. I rolled my eyes and stepped confidently into the boat. I took a seat at the front and patted the spot next to me with a grin. The action put the men to shame. The older man snapped the torch out of another guy's hands and stood in the boat with me. It took a moment for the other two to gather up the courage to join us but finally they did.
Only the single torch lit our way as one of the younger officers rowed us along the water, across the lake. The torch only lit the vicinity of the boat. All around us was nothing but a deep darkness. Only the light of the flame before us lit the way. As we went further, an eerie fog appeared on the lake. The temperature also seemed to drop. I could now see my breath and the breath of those with me in the air. I had never been this far into the cellars before. I knew better than to pry in Erik's home.
Soon the boat hit land. With the small light of the torch in the officer's hand, and the light of the small flame on the land, I could see we were in Erik's real home. The lights from the flame danced on the golden frame of Erik's piano. I could also see music and other beautiful art scattering the area. The older officer pushed me to the front of the boat. "You get off first," he ordered.
I wasn't even a bit hesitant to leap on to the stone ground. I turned to look at the men behind me. They looked like frightened children. The older officer was the first to hesitantly disembark the boat. As he did so though, a strange wind blew through the area and extinguished all the light. The torch fizzled out and so did the flame that had been our beacon to this area. Then the phantom wind disappeared as if it had never been there. We were now left in complete darkness.
The younger men screamed like little girls when the light went out. Their breathing was heavy and panicked. Instinctively, I backed away from their cries. I felt that something terrible was about to happen to them, and I wanted to be nowhere in their vicinity. As I did so, there was the sound of a cape whooshing through the air. One of the man's cries vanished. There wasn't even the sound of a struggle.
"What the hell?" the older man demanded. The only remaining young man's cries grew louder. Then there was another swoosh of a cape, and his cries ended as well. I could hear the older man stepping nervously around the ground. From the sound of it, I could tell he was no more than ten feet away from me. "Show yourself dammit!" he commanded in desperation.
A terrifying, villainous laughter that I recognized as Erik's then erupted from across the lake. Then it seemed to move all the way behind us, where I knew the piano to be, in just seconds. Then it moved across the room and then back across the lake again before stopping as suddenly as it started. I could hear the desperate breath of the only remaining officer. This man was about to meet a gruesome death. Erik would show no mercy.
Silence followed the laughter. It was a petrifying silence. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. I wasn't fearful but in awe. Suddenly a small flame from a match illuminated the face of the older officer. Tears were in his eyes. In all my years I had never seen a man look so scared. He held the match around the room, but it did little to help. The darkness in here seemed to absorb all the light and only make the area appear darker. "Stop toying with me dammit and show yourself!" he ordered with a shaky voice.
He lit another match when the other one faded. From a few feet away, I saw the glow of the dying match along with his face, walking around the area. Then, in the small illuminated vicinity it gave, I saw Erik's white mask appear, his brilliant blue eyes glowing orange with the light of the match. The officer hardly had enough time to scream. Quickly, the light from the match disappeared leaving me in complete darkness. I heard the futile struggles of the officer, but then there was only silence.
"Erik?" I called into the dark abyss. There was no reply. "Erik?" Suddenly the entire area lit up at once. Dozens of candles flickered to life at the same time to reveal Erik's beautiful lair. It was so incredible in here. Spectacular paintings and drawings, mostly of Christine, covered the walls. Golden candelabras shimmered, their light reflected gorgeously off the lake. His piano was trimmed with gold and silver and was covered by so many candles it was like we were situated among the stars. Some people had come here when they hunted Erik, but I had never dared to venture into his lair. When the mob hunted for his blood, I had been too busy searching for a way to save him. Erik stood in the far corner of the magnificent cavern.
He was dressed in all black. His elegant, velvet cape was draped around his broad shoulders covering most of his body. The black hair of the wig was perfectly smoothed back. He stared at me with dark eyes. He looked absolutely murderous, but then his expression quickly changed to one of concern. He ran to my side and helped me to my feet.
"Oh my…" he exclaimed when he saw the blood on my face. He sat me down on a large thrown carved from wood and also trimmed with gold and silver. "Christine!" he called toward a door on the other side of the cavern. Moments later Christine came rushing out of the door with Henri at her heels.
She gasped when she saw me and immediately ran to my side. Carefully, she examined my nose and the wound that I felt on my forehead. "I'm fine," I assured. The wounds throbbed a little, but they were nothing serious. I also realized at this moment that there were no signs of the bodies of the officers. The boat was empty…there wasn't even blood. It was like they hadn't been here at all.
"I can't believe they would treat you like this…they were the police," Henri said, outraged.
"They may have been officers of the law, but they were not doing the work of the law. There would be no reason to hold Antoinette. No evidence links me to her," Erik explained. I couldn't believe he had taken all them out like it was nothing. I knew he was a force to be reckoned with, but seeing what he was truly capable of was astonishing.
"Their intention was to use me as bait to lure you out," I told him with the officers' cruel words still in my head. Wetting it from the lake, Christine grabbed a rag and began to wash the blood off my face.
"That makes sense," she said sadly. Her amber eyes were filled with concern.
"If people are willing to use you to get to me, we must assume no where you know is safe anymore," Erik announced. "That means the house is no longer safe."
"No one even knows someone's moved in there!" Henri argued.
"Someone knows, they came looking for us there last week," Christine snapped at him. She was so different now with Erik. It was like he had awoken a fire within her. She was no longer the sad little girl that wept for her father; she was a dangerous and beautiful woman. It was a strange transformation. Just a few nights ago, I knew she would have killed that doctor if it meant protecting Erik.
Henri sighed heavily. "Where are we supposed to go?" he asked, annoyed.
"We? Nowhere. I'm sure no one will come looking for you, Henri. Antoinette should try and lay low for awhile, but as I said there is no logical reason to arrest her. Christine and I will have to run though. We're no longer safe in your midst. Further contact will only put us and you in danger." Erik's voice was cold and calculating, but I knew he only meant well. He was trying to protect Henri and me.
Henri made no argument, but the three of them looked to me to see if I agreed. I simply nodded. I wanted to help Erik as much as I could, but I knew he was right. In the end, I had to look out for my own family before him. He was a dear friend that I loved and cared for, but Meg was my daughter and Henri was like a son to me. Their safety came first.
Erik nodded back at me. "Then it's settled." He then began to sweep around the room, quickly gathering various items and placing them in a bag.
Christine smiled weakly at me. Tears rimmed her amber eyes. She was like a daughter to me, and I knew I was like a mother to her. I would miss her terribly, but Erik would protect her with his life. Plus I knew not even he could convince her to stay behind. Who was I to try? I took her in my grasp and hugged her tight. My tears began to mat her brown curls. I could feel her sobs in my shoulder. Erik was obviously preparing to leave, and this might be the last time I would see this beautiful child…no woman again.
"I love you," I whispered to her. She withdrew from hug, and gazed up at me with wide, teary eyes. "You will always be a daughter to me."
"Thank you for everything," she cried as she hugged my once more. Even though I knew she was a woman, she still felt like that same child I'd brought to the opera house so many years ago. "I love you so much."
Erik was then behind her. A look of sadness was in his deep, blue eyes. Christine withdrew from hug, trying desperately to wipe her tears from her eyes. Erik, lovingly, helped her to her feet. "There's a pathway beneath this chair. I've marked the walls with arrows, but if you should get lost follow the breeze. The tunnels will lead to the street. I've unlocked the door at the end."
He helped Christine on to the gondola which was beside the other boat on the lake. He then turned back to me. Sadness was deeply evident in his eyes. "Thank you, Ann." He came and knelt in front of me. There were tears forming in his eyes now. "You were one of only a small few that showed kindness to me. I will never forget that." Then, to my surprise, he hugged me. Erik had never been one to show affection. Perhaps Christine was bringing out the more loving side of him as he was bringing out the more daring side in her.
When he withdrew from the hug, I lovingly wiped a tear from his cheek. I didn't need to tell him I loved him, and he didn't need to tell me. Erik was a man of pure intimacy. Love was in his every movement and gesture, and he knew from my actions how I loved him. He then stood up, respectfully nodded to Henry, and then hopped gracefully onto the gondola. Being too sad, neither looked back at me, but I watched them, with a heavy heart, slowly drift into the darkness of the cellars not knowing if I would ever see them again.
So yeah that's it for Madame Giry for awhile. I thought it would be best she left the story with a bang while making Erik look like the badass that he is. Please review! Encouragement is appreciated as well as constructive criticism.