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A/N: This chapter was fun to write. Hope you guys like the way the story is shaping up because here comes a big plot twist! Read and Review, please, it really does make my day better. Thanks for listening to my blabbing and ENJOY!
Chapter 6: Dark Pasts and Bright Futures
" Andrew? Andrew, come, your father is leaving." A boy of about 18 came walking down the stairs.
" Father, I pray for your safe journey and return. I shall miss you." A grunt of displeasurement was the only audible reply.
" Martha, my sweet, sweet Martha. I shall be counting the days until we are together again, my darling." Andrew's father kissed his mother full on the lips and wiped the tears from her dear face. After a few seconds he turned around to leave, where two servants held the doors of his estate open for him.
" Andrew, go escort your father to the carriage." she replied with a scowl of disapproval from his lack of respect.
" If she only knew." Andrew thought to himself as he walked out to catch up with his father. They both walked in silence to the carriage before his father interrupted the tranquil mood.
" Do not stand there and act as if you don't want me to go you ungrateful, spoiled boy."
Andrew couldn't say anything, but he wasn't in the least bit shocked at his behavior. He was surprised it had taken him this long to say something before he left.
" Answer me when I'm talking to you, God dammit!" he snarled as he struck Andrew across the face, leaving a hand imprint on the right side of his face. Andrew just took it, because he had his whole life. His father would beat him and tell his mother that he had been disobedient, when really it was because this man, his so-called "father," despised him. He had told Andrew every day of his life that he was such a disgrace to him. Andrew had just taught himself to not rely on that type of love and companionship from his parents, and to always put on a facade for his poor naive mother.
" Yes, sir. Godspeed and a safe return." Andrew muttered, not at all meaning it.
" And so help me if you go even one step into my private study, I can assure you not even God will be able to save you." And with that his father ascended into the carriage and took off down the long drive of their vast estate.
" Damn him to Hell!" Andrew thought viciously as he walked up the grand staircase as fast as he could, coming to a door at the end of the long hallway. He tried the handle but it was securely locked.
" Fool doesn't think I can pick a lock?" Andrew muttered as he took out one of his mother's bobby pins. After a few minutes of fiddling he was rewarded with a loud click and swung the door open carefully as if it was made of glass.
Andrew quickly began his search opening up drawers, carefully shifting papers and other entities so as not to disturb them.
" It has to be here. It wasn't in his pocket." he thought as he looked through all the drawers to find nothing and moved onto the massive bookcase. Carefully he shifted all the books until he came to Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein".
" Odd, why is this in the middle of his architecture books? Usually he kept every book in the right sections he delegated for them." He pondered. Taking the book off the shelf he noticed nothing out of the ordinary about it. Then he opened the old tattered book and was rewarded with not pages but a rectangular hole in their place.
" How clever, it has the same weight and appearance of a book but in reality is a safe." Andrew however wasn't too excited or amused to find this, he had seen so many other ways his father hid stuff from him that this actually paled in comparison.
Andrew looked at the only object in the makeshift book, the one he had been looking for. It was an odd, gold pocket watch, finely crafted and designed. The creator obviously must have spent countless nights working on the fine details alone. The way the dragons and angels were carved on each separate side gave an imaginary and surprisingly detailed picture of Heaven and Hell. He opened the watch carefully as if it were made of glass and found that across from the clock face was an old and faded picture.
It was his mother and father, holding hands and smiling at the camera; it made him sick to see such placid faces. After a few moments of examining the photograph he noticed a figure behind the two people. It was so small that you would have to know it was there or you would never find it again. It was a boy of about 15 if Andrew had to guess, sitting on the porch in the background. His eyes were so full of sadness it actually was hard to look at him without pity. For the most part he seemed to look normal, but then something caught Andrew's eye. You couldn't see the right side of his face. It was covered by a mask of some sort.
Hoping to get a better look at the picture Andrew removed it from its place and turned it over to inspect the other side. In a fancy scroll writing that he recognized as his mothers'; it read, " A Devil among Angels". What a crude comment! Andrew knew his parents to be shallow and by that message he had to think they said it because of the poor boy's mask.
Just as he was replacing the picture, the study door creaked open and the figure of his mother emanating from the frame.
" I'm dead" was all Andrew could think at that moment and it seemed as if everything around him was moving in a grueling pace.
" What," she paused to glare at him coldly, " are YOU DOING!" his mother shouted.
" I-I . . . " Andrew could seem to get the words out and his mind couldn't grasp the words he needed. " I just wanted to know" he finally got out coherently.
" You want to know, YOU want to KNOW?" she screamed at him.
" YES, tell me who this is." Andrew raged, his anger easily equaling his mother's.
" That . . . thing is the Devil, that's what he is. You never should have been in here, you brat. You do not need to know of this he is of no importance to you! Your best hope is to forget what you have seen now and never look back, ever. Do you understand me?" With that his mother slapped his face hard. Andrew was in complete shock, in all of his days his father had always been the one to beat him, his mother never lifted a finger until just then.
Before she could run out of the room Andrew asked in almost a whisper " Did you love him, whoever he was?"
He saw her eyes grow cold and distant, "No one could have loved such a monster." She replied icily and slammed the study door shut behind her.
Andrew awoke with cold sweat lingering on his pale body. He had been having this same dream for weeks after his father died and it was unnerving. He didn't understand what in the hell it meant.
Suddenly, he shot up, aware of his surroundings. He was in a huge dominating swan bed with blood red, satin sheets that felt so good to his aching body. He then noticed a young woman over in the corner of the room sleeping on a chair. He squinted to make out her delicate features. She had long honey blonde hair and a short, thin frame. " By God," he thought " it is that angel from the music shop, the one I had been following". This realization was alarming and he kept thinking that he was in a dangerous position being with the people that he was supposed to investigate.
He got out of the bed with all of the will power he possessed. That damn bed was so comfortable he never wanted to leave. Dressed and a little bit disoriented he opened the door of the room and stepped out into the hall, carefully shutting the door so he wouldn't wake up dear Meg. She had looked as if she had been up all night with him, and was exhausted he could tell from her deep and heavy sleep.
He caught a glimpse of light coming from one of the near rooms and decided it was his best choice. Opening the door, he found the Vicomte's fiancee, Christine, with the baby on her lap. Next to her was that man Erik, who was playing with the child, making both Christine and the baby to laugh.
At the moment he stepped in Christine greeted him with a warm smile, but the man to her left didn't look happy at all to see him.
" Oh my, you're awake. Where is Meg?" Christine smiled looking up at Andrew.
" Yes, Mlle. Meg was sleeping and I thought it best not to wake her. After all she has done for me I'm sure rest is what she needs. Not to be rude Mlle.?" Andrew lied covering up that he had no clue who these people were.
" Christine, you may call me Christine."
" Ah, such a lovely name Mlle." Erik turned a shade of red at that comment and start to fidget trying not to show his anger. Andrew however noticed and decided not to go any further in that subject, he didn't know how the man would react.
All was silent for a couple moments, with Erik glaring at Andrew. Andrew had never in his life felt nervous around anyone but he felt like Erik's gaze could see right through all of his lies. When Andrew went to turn his head to the little hallway that he had been hiding in, he noticed a little shimmer just a couple inches from the entrance and quickly checked his pockets.
" Monsieur, we did not stoop as low as to steal from your unconscious form." Erik spat, surprised at to why the young man before him was checking his pockets so frantically. And even more so when the young man ran over to the passage where Erik had brought him from.
Andrew picked up the object from the floor and shoved it into his pocket quickly, letting out a whoosh of air in relief.
" Pray tell Monsieur, do intend to walk out of my abode with one of my possessions, after we so generously saved your worthless life?" Erik sneered coldly.
" No, Monsieur you don't understand. This . . . ," Andrew pulled the trinket out of his pocket to show it to Erik, " is mine, and yes I thank you so dearly for the kindness you have shown me." Andrew retorted back with the same coolness that Erik was sure he would have to wrap his hands around the ungrateful little boy's neck. But suddenly he stopped, a cold fear crept down his spine to the ends of his toes and it took all of Erik's will power not to lunge at the trinket.
In Andrew's hands lay the Heaven and Hell adorned pocket watch. It glinted at Erik with a seeming malice that he could not stand much longer.
" Where in the Hell did you find that?" Erik asked calmly, but if anyone knew Erik like Christine did, Erik was less dangerous when he was shouting with all of his power.
" And do not call me Monsieur, for I know you know my name already. It would do you best not to lie to me again for the sake of your health." Erik sneered, leaving both Andrew and Christine with shock stricken faces.
A/N: Do YOU know what's going on? (he he he) Review for me please. I'm begging you on my hands and knees. Oh, yeah almost forgot,everybody seriously needs to read "You Are Not Alone" it is the best fic I have read so far. Also we must convince twistedmind that sheMUST write a sequel, lol !