Disclaimer: I sadly own nothing related to The Phantom of the Opera or The Illusionist. Only original characters belong to me.
AN: This is the last chapter of this story. Remember, I didn't intend on it being too long, sort of like the movie in length, and this is it. Hopefully everyone likes it and will review. Thanks to everyone who has read and enjoyed this story! I love you all!
Chapter 7: The Greatest Trick of All:
Pacing the length of his room, Erik stroked his chin and sighed. With a few bribes paid, and a few partied attended, he had managed to find out everything he could about Leah and her condition in the de Chagny home.
According to the household servants, Leah was being kept locked away inside, forbidden to leave the house by the Countess. The gossip being cast about by Christine was that Leah was very ill with influenza, or some other sort of sickness; of course, the servants knew better.
"Seems that Lady Christine discovered the Baroness had won the favors of a man the Countess wished as her lover," a young servant girl whispered to the cloaked and hooded Erik. "The Countess hates it when someone tries to take what she thinks is hers, so the Baroness has been locked away."
A manservant of the house confirmed the same thing. "It seems Lady Christine is blackmailing the Baroness, saying that she'll ruin the good reputation of Mistress Leah if she doesn't stay inside of her own will. Not to mention, the Countess swore to send the law after the man himself, claiming that he'd forced himself upon her."
His blood boiling, Erik paid both servants well, and returned to his rooms, his mind spinning with the information gathered. Leah, his beloved, was captive in that awful woman's house, and there was nothing he could do for her.
Well, at least not at the time.
As the days passed, it pained Erik to think that he could not visit Leah or contact her in the hopes of providing comfort and hope. He dared not send a letter, for she knew no one in Paris besides him and Christine, and it was likely the Countess went through every single bit of mail that went through her house.
Visiting was also out of the question. Christine probably had guards to watch the property, and those men likely had pistols and other deadly weaponry on them. No, a visit was too risky, and he wasn't going to do her any good if he were dead.
After combing through his information, Erik sat in his private rooms in his hotel and let his genius mind flow. It didn't take long to formulate a plan, and once he had worked out every scenario that could possibly go wrong, he went to work.
Christine looked at the letter in her hand and blinked. It was a message from The Phantom, and she was wondering if she had read it correctly.
A week ago, a letter had already come from the masked magician, saying that he was willing to accept her offer, but that he needed time to prepare for their first encounter.
Thrilled at his acceptance, Christine had granted him seven days, knowing that patience was required if she was to have the most out of this bargain. No doubt he was planning something special for their first rendezvous.
Now, with his time up, this letter had come, asking her to attend his performance tonight, and to bring her house guest, Leah von Pressentin. The reason why he wanted Christine there was clear: to impress her with his talents, maybe to flirt with her from the stage. But why would he want Leah to attend? It was ridiculous, and Christine had every intent of refusing his request for Leah's presence and merely go by herself.
However, common sense stopped her. Sooner or later, her excuses to society would become tiresome, and people would begin to suspect she was hiding something. If Leah did not make an appearance in public soon, everyone would think the Baroness was dying, or worse, they would start asking questions. Eventually, word of Leah's supposed illness would reach her family, and then her father would rush here to Paris, demanding to see his daughter. If there was one person Christine did not want standing over her with a look of anger on their face, it was the Baron. Well, besides Madame Giry, but she was far away in Russia with the tsar's family.
'No, I'll have to take Leah with me,' she thought with a sneer. 'I don't like it, and I don't understand why The Phantom wants her there, but I will take her.'
Perhaps he was just being polite, or he hadn't heard the rumors she had spread around, claiming Leah was extremely ill. Perhaps he wanted to be kind by asking her to his performance. Well, either way, Christine and her houseguest would be attending the evening's performance at the theater. And in attending the show together, at least Leah would be under her watchful eye, not alone in the house with the servants.
'Besides, I haven't been to the theater since I gave him my ultimatum,' Christine thought to herself. 'I do hope he has something new to perform.'
It could prove to be a very interesting evening.
It was maddening to be locked inside the house at all hours, but with books being smuggled to me by Paulette and the other maids, it wasn't too bad. Whenever Christine was out shopping in town or attending teas and parties, the servants drew the curtains in all the windows, let me out of my room, and let me wander about the house, if only for a few hours.
Apparently the staff did not agree with what their mistress was doing to me, and believed that it was terribly unfair of her to confine me to the house like this. The theory floating around the servant's quarters was that I had either stolen one of Christine's intended lovers, or that one of her lovers had fallen in love with me. They had no idea how close they were to the truth.
For well over a week, I was hidden this way. One may wonder why I obeyed Christine's commands; certainly my maid did. But what I did was not for the sake of my reputation in society; it was for Erik's safety. I could not let her harm him in any way, and as long as her anger was directed towards me, things remained quiet.
On my tenth day of imprisonment, I was shocked when Paulette came rushing in, just as my tea dishes were being taken away by another maid.
"Milady, the Countess has declared that you're to go with her to the theater tonight!" she exclaimed while rushing towards my wardrobe. "You must be dressed and ready by six o'clock!"
My mind still had not absorbed what she was telling me. "Christine actually wishes to take me to the theater?" I asked, wondering if I had heard correctly.
Paulette sighed and pulled out an elegant white dress with silver and gold ribbon trim around the neck, arms, and skirt. "Apparently so, Miss. Oh, how pale and drawn you look! It'll take a great deal of work to make you presentable, but I suppose that it'll play towards the rumors of you being ill."
Once I was dressed, Paulette pulled up my hair into a bun, threaded it with ribbons, and fitted a few bracelets around my wrists. Erik's locket still hung from my neck, but I wore another necklace over it, to keep it from view.
When I was ready, my helpful maid brought me a light supper, which I ate without tasting. As I pulled a shawl and cloak over my shoulders, I wondered what performance I would be seeing tonight at the theater. Paulette hadn't mentioned it, but no matter what it was, it had to be better than sitting alone and bored in my rooms.
It is needless to say that the carriage ride to our destination was rather silent. Well, silent on my part. Christine gave strict orders that I was not to do anything out of the ordinary, and was not to leave her side, or her sight. She gave no room for me to answer, so I merely stayed quiet, ignoring everything she said.
Disembarking from the carriage, I trailed behind Christine as she walked inside. She smiled, nodded, laughed, and chatted with those who approached her, most of them young men who came to flatter and flirt with her. I, on the other hand, received comments of how ill I looked, and that I should try and visit the sea for some fresh air and recuperation. I smiled politely and pretended to agree with them, if only so make them leave me alone all the quicker.
Finally, after moving through the throng of theater patrons, Christine and I were escorted to a box seat near the stage. The usher bowed and quickly left us alone, which was good, because a moment later, my heart stopped as I realized who we were going to see perform on stage.
It was Erik.
I only started breathing again when I felt a tight grip on my arm, and heard Christine whisper to me, "He is mine, Leah. As much as you would like to free your Erik from his employ, The Phantom is mine!"
Remaining stoic, I watched the performance, but felt something was odd about it. Perhaps it was because I had not seen him in ten days, and my imagination was toying with me.
"And now, I require a volunteer for my next trick," Erik announced in his rich voice.
Casting his eyes around the audience, he finally came to me. I could see him give me a significant look, clearly asking me to stand on the stage with him once more. How could I refuse him?
My hand lifted, and even though Christine was whispering for me to lower my hand, I kept it up, praying for at least a short time with the man I loved. He nodded and reached a hand out towards me, motioning for me to come forward. Still ignoring Christine's quiet command to sit back down, I followed the usher down to the stage and went to join the masked illusionist.
As I had walked towards him, I noticed that a large black box, big enough to hold a full-grown man, had been wheeled onstage. I smiled as Erik led me to the center of the stage, knowing it would be one of the oldest tricks in the book: the vanishing person.
"Ladies and gentlemen, observe," Erik said, opening the box in the front and knocking a firm hand against the back. "No hidden tricks or compartments." He held a hand out to me. "My lady, if you will?"
I took his hand and stepped inside, turning to face the audience. Before he shut me inside, Erik whispered, "Whatever you do, don't scream."
Puzzled, I merely smiled up at him and the audience before the front closed, surrounding me in darkness. Then, a moment later and without warning, the floor dropped away.
I couldn't help it; I screamed.
Quivering in anger, Christine kept her face expressionless as she watched Leah climb up the steps to the stage. How dare she do this?
From her seat, Christine rolled her eyes as a tall, large black box was wheeled onstage, and knew what trick would occur. It was that dull trick of making someone disappear. How mediocre of him to perform this!
Bored already, she relaxed in her chair and sighed, watching as Leah was put into the box, locked inside, and with a puff of smoke, 'disappeared.' There was a cry of surprise from within the box, but it quickly vanished, causing everyone in the audience to gasp and worry if the woman inside was alright. When it was opened to reveal that it was empty, the audience applauded.
"Thank you," The Phantom said to his patrons. "I promise to return her shortly. But first…"
A flock of exotic birds erupted from his cupped hands, showering everyone with a flurry of rainbow feathers as they flew overhead and up into the rafters. Christine smirked as a long red feather landed in her lap. She would have to put it into one of her hats later.
Fifteen minutes went by as The Phantom performed several more amazing feats, the tall black box remaining onstage the whole white. During this time, several audience members grew more and more worried, until, finally, one gentleman called out for him to return the young woman he had made disappear.
The Phantom smiled and turned around, looking fully prepared to bring Leah back, but was stopped when one of his assistants came out from backstage, whispering something frantically in his ear before bowing and slinking offstage.
Returning his attention to the audience, The Phantom bowed. "Apparently my little volunteer has, if you'll excuse the pun, vanished from where I sent her," he said with a smirk of amusement, inviting everyone to join in the joke.
Some laughed or giggled, but most looked concerned. Quick to assure them, The Phantom continued. "I will now send myself after her, in order to guarantee her safe return."
Flinging the box open, The Phantom stepped inside, turning to bow once more to the audience. Many applauded at this, which seemed to encourage him. With a flick of his wrist, the box closed behind him, and with a puff of smoke, he disappeared.
Minutes slipped by, and The Phantom did not reappear, nor did Leah. In spite of herself, Christine found herself growing worried, not for Leah, of course, but for The Phantom. Could the trick have gone wrong?
The audience was beginning to grow alarmed when an elderly man, clearly of Persian origins, came onto the stage. He motioned for everyone to sit and be calm, and when he had their attention, he delivered some very shocking news.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "I am afraid that The Phantom is no more. He has decided to make this his final performance, and has retired from the stage with a very special young woman, namely that of the lady taken here tonight. I hope you enjoyed the show. Good night."
With that, the entire place went dark, causing the women to scream and the men to shout out in surprise. When the place suddenly lit up once more, the Persian man was gone, as was the black box.
It took some time for her to recover from the shock of what she had seen and heard, but when she did, Christine raced out of her box, down to her carriage, and screeched for the driver to take her home. As she rode down the streets of Paris, passersby could hear her cries of fury and disbelief.
Six Months Later: England
Sighing, I slowly rose to my feet, smiling in spite of the burden I was carrying. Well, it wasn't a burden to me, but Erik thought it might take its toll on me.
"How is the garden, my angel?" he called from where he stood in the doorway. "The roses are lovely."
I smiled and patted a handkerchief over my sweating forehead. "Thank you, though I think that has more to do with the gardener than anything else."
We both laughed as Nadir emerged from the house, rolling his eyes. "My dearest child, you have no one to praise but yourself when it comes to caring for these flowers. I always knew you had a way with plants, through your governess and mother wouldn't hear of it. They disliked the idea of you playing in the dirt and ruining your fine dresses."
Chuckling, I placed a quick kiss on his cheek. He had helped Erik steal me away from Paris, coming from where he had retired in a small town in France to do so. It was Nadir who had suggested the vanishing act for the two of us, and it was he who had decided that I would likely need 'looking after' once this was done.
"It is what Madame Giry would want," he said. "If one of us cannot watch over you, the other must do so in their place." He smirked. "If only to keep you out of trouble."
After I had dropped down through the floor of the large box onstage, I had landed atop a mound of soft mattresses under the stage, where I was shocked to find Nadir waiting for me. He had smiled, offered me his hand, and very carefully led me out of the theater using passageways built under the stage.
Once outside, Nadir told me the rest of the plan. After Erik made his escape, my beloved and I were to be put inside a pair of coffins in the back of a cart, which would then smuggle the two of us out of Paris to one of the cemeteries not far from the city. There a carriage would be waiting to take us away. Nadir would follow soon after, to avoid suspicion.
Amazingly, the plot had worked. The coffin I had been put in was filled with soft cushions, and since I was not a very tall or plump person, I did not feel the place closing it, at least not much. Therefore, I was relatively comfortable as I heard Erik climb into the other coffin, and felt the cart pull away from the theater.
Thankfully, it wasn't very long until I found myself in a dark, heavily curtained carriage, Erik wrapping his arms around me possessively and protectively as we rode away. We soon took a train to the coast, where Nadir met us at the station.
However, our journey wasn't finished yet. Erik would not rest easy until we were safely out of the country, and so I found myself aboard a ship for the first time in my life, bound for England. It wasn't until we were firmly on English soil that Erik told me of the large house he had purchased several years ago, with the intent of retiring there one day.
"I must confess to have thought of you while buying it," he had said with a smile as we rode up the drive.
Looking at the front of the house, I could understand why. The wooden trellises were covered in white roses, my favorite flower. Even now, all of our rooms had vases full of the beautiful blossoms, and at our tiny wedding in an English church, I had held a bouquet of them while a wreath of delicate white rosebuds sat upon my head.
"And how is the little one doing?" Nadir asked, placing a hand on my stomach. "You won't be able to garden much longer, unless you plan on staying firmly rooted to the ground."
Erik chuckled as I stuck my tongue out at my former guard. My husband joined us and wrapped an arm around my waist. "Doing well, I hope," he said.
Nadir nodded. "Be sure to write your mother and father about that. They will want to know when to send gifts to their grandchild." Winking, he went back inside to start supper, leaving Erik and I alone together.
Erik shook his head. "I still cannot believe they approve of our marriage," he said.
Standing on my toes, I pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Well, they always liked you, and knew you would be the sort to treat me as a man should treat his wife. In his last letter, Papa told me that Madame Giry had acted out of bounds by sending you away without consulting them first. Papa also said he was sure something could have been worked out, but I suppose we'll never know."
My husband smiled and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Well, no matter," he whispered. "I rather think this worked out for the best. And at least we won't have to worry about Christine anymore."
Heaving a contented sigh, I leaned into his shoulder as he pulled me into an embrace. It was a perfect moment for me.
"Thank you, my angel," he murmured into my hair.
I looked up at him. "For what?"
A hand drifted from my back to my belly. "For helping me create the greatest magic of all," Erik whispered.
Stretching up on tip-toe, I kissed him. Yes, indeed. Life was perfect.
AN: The end! I know, short story, but I never wanted this fic to go on for very long. Hope you all enjoyed it and will review! Keep an eye out for more stories!