Chapter 10 – A Reality Check

Wherein things finally change… for the better?

Aura woke a bit late next morning, despite being anxious to get back to Erik. She had already told everyone the night before that she would be leaving, and finally had a chance to get to sleep after a very long and very extended tearful goodbye. She'd miss the wonderful life she could have had up here, but she also knew that life with Erik would be far better.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up with a musical yawn. Her yawn was quickly followed by a series of blinks, then a rub to her eyes. Something about her dressing room wasn't quite right, though she couldn't quite decide why. Maybe it was the disappearance of Carlotta's huge portrait (though she'd readily admit that she hardly missed it), or the disappearance of her own things as well (which she missed a good deal more). Then again, it could have been the different furniture, different wallpaper, different mirror, different dimensions, and practically an entire different room!

She jumped up, wide awake, and ran to the mirror in alarm. If the mirror was different… She pulled desperately at the silvered glass, but it refused to move. Surely Erik hadn't locked it since she left. He knew she would need it to go back. She turned back to it with determination, pulling and pushing and tugging at every angle she could think of, yet even with her incredible strength, it wouldn't budge.

She fell to the floor with a sob. The sharp mirror edges and the frame had pinched and scratched at her fingers, turning their tips deep red. Her reflection stared back at her in mockery of her nearly beautiful appearance, clearly displaying her quarter-disfigured face and the fresh stains on her dress. Even her hair was slightly out of place, possibly for the first time in her life! Perhaps it didn't matter that she couldn't return to Erik after all; how could he possibly love her now?

At last, she stood and regained her bearings. She might not be quite as beautiful as before, but that didn't mean she had to look hideous!

She darted about the now-unfamiliar room, gathering things that she might use. There were some thin bits of cloth she could use as make-shift bandages, and a couple of simple gloves to hide them. Strewn across a chair was a black shawl that covered most of the dress' stains quite beautifully. A pair of beautiful combs that lay on the table styled her hair in a particularly attractive manner and held up a gorgeous bit of sheer cloth that served as the perfect veil for her partially deformed face. There was even a pair of shoes nearby that, despite being just a touch large, went exquisitely with her new outfit.

At last, she stood before the mirror again, this time with a smile. Now she looked pretty again, and if she couldn't get to Erik through the mirror, then she'd just go a different way!

She stepped out into the hallway, and immediately felt disoriented all over again. Where was she? Had they remodeled the entire building overnight? She turned right, which she hoped would still take her to the foyer, and was just deciding that the place was still familiar after all when a slight young woman with golden hair hurried past her.

Aura quickly stopped and turned around. "Meg?" she called after the rushing form.

"I'm sorry, just a minute," said a small voice from behind her.

In confusion, Aura whirled around to see a small, dark girl rush past her. "What?" asked Aura, but the girl was already down the hall, apparently rushing after the first young woman.

"Christine!" called the girl. "What do you mean 'angel'? Christine? Get back here!"

Aura fell back against the wall, her mind a sudden whirlwind of confusion. What in the world was going on around here?

She shook her head and kept going. She'd make it back to Erik before long, and then none of this would matter anymore. She just had to find out how to get there!

After a good deal of exploring and hopeless dead ends, she began to search the outside of the building where she was finally met with success. She hurried down the dark tunnel, shivering slightly as the light slowly disappeared. At last, after a good many turns, she made it past the realm of any light at all, and it was at about this point that she ran into the first fork in the road.

Now, considering that the only thing that was visible anymore was black darkness, she quite literally ran into the fork in the road: or at least the wall that suddenly appeared at the end of the pathway. She pulled herself up, temporarily dazed, and felt around for the wall. Finding none on either side of her, she fell back to the ground in fresh disappointment. She promptly jumped back up, however, as she knew she simply had to get to Erik as soon as possible. She hastily chose the left path and hurried down it, being a bit more careful about unexpected surprises this time.

She soon found herself in the midst of a horrible labyrinth of turns and forks and branches and dead ends, and barely avoided a good many traps. Fortunately, however, her incredible good luck served her well, and it was only a few hours before she finally made it to the edge of the lake, still in one perfectly safe piece.

It was probably for this reason that she was so upset to discover that the boat wasn't at the shore. Surely she had left it there last night! But no, Erik certainly wouldn't want it left alone where just anyone could find it and take it across the lake, especially when she would be needing it to get back. He must have taken it back and was waiting for her to let him know she was there.

"Erik!" she called, her golden voice carrying easily across the lake and carrying its gorgeous echo back to her. "Erik!"

She jumped as she suddenly noticed a shadow out on the lake; it had frozen at the sound of her voice, which was probably why she had noticed it.

Aura ran to the shore. "Erik?!" she called excitedly.

"Yes?"

Aura jumped and darted away from the water. The voice had been right beside her… but no one was there! "I- I'm back," she said falteringly.

"Back?" the low voice inquired, once again right at her ear.

She looked around wildly, but saw nothing out of the ordinary besides that strange shadow. "Yes, I- I left just yesterday… don't you remember?"

"What did you leave?" The voice was getting colder.

"You," she said, barely above a whisper.

"Erik does not remember you," the voice replied, then added in a dark tone that made her shiver despite herself, "but I might."

"Wh-wh-who are you?" she faltered.

"No one of consequence to you." The voice suddenly switched sides. "I believe the real question is: Who are you?"

Aura tugged on her shawl, bemoaning the fact that it couldn't have been made warmer. "I- I'm Aura… That is, my name is Aurelie Felicienne Cholmondeley, but Aura's fine…"

"Indeed," returned the voice with a sharp sarcasm that quickly made her shut up. There was a long silence, then… "Why are you here?"

"To go back to Erik," she said quietly.

"Erik does not remember you," the voice said in a suddenly icy tone, "nor does he wish to see you."

"But he must!"

The voice suddenly retreated to the water, but only grew more threatening. "Go! This is not where you belong.

"But I told you…"

The distant shadow moved forward a bit, and she gasped as a pair of flaming eyes appeared. They bored into her, forcing her fully against the wall. "I will not warn you again!" This time the voice clearly came from the awful shadow, and from those horrible eyes!

"Erik…" she pleaded pitifully, and at once the eyes disappeared.

It took some time before she was willing to come back out from the rock wall. She saw no sign of Erik, but he must have done something if the eyes had disappeared at such a crucial time. She slowly moved toward the lake, and was thrilled to see that the boat was slowly moving toward her, almost as if it had been pushed.

It was then that she began to be aware of a sweet song carried by the most beautiful voice she had ever heard. She didn't recognize the song, or even know what sort of music it was; it was nothing like she had ever heard before, but she was fully entranced by it. If only she knew where it was coming from!

At last, unable to listen any longer without knowing its source, she threw aside the shawl and veil and threw herself into the icy lake. The water stunned her with its nearly impossible coldness, but she still forced herself to swim rather clumsily forward. She still couldn't decide where the music was coming from, but it was definitely out in the lake somewhere. She soon reached the drifting boat and somehow managed to get in, where she continued her increasingly desperate search. But first the voice would come from one place, then another, until at last she felt she had traveled in several days' worth of circles, and was far from even a distant trace of shore.

At last, she heard the voice move beside the boat. She leaned over, still shivering in her wet clothes. Come to me, the voice seemed to call, and she silently responded. I do… I come…Both arms reached out toward the water as she gazed downward in a hypnotic state.

The trance was sharply broken as a pair of strong arms splashed out of the water and pulled her in, too quickly for her to react. She was held under water for what seemed an impossible amount of time before finally being allowed to resurface. She gratefully gasped in the freezing air, even though she was still held in a steel grip by a pair of sinewy arms.

Her captor laughed, a harsh yet strangely beautiful laugh, and forced her to look into his burning eyes. She could see now that they were framed by a full black mask. "You wish to see Erik!"

Aura cringed at the crazed yet strangely composed sound of his voice, and quickly looked away.

"No! Do not look away!" he cried. "You wish to see Erik, and so you shall! Look and be satisfied!"

Aura looked back at the eyes, despite her growing sense of dread. If this was Erik…

"I see you expected something different," he continued, his sarcastic tone returning. "Perhaps you expected an archduke, or a wealthy gentleman." His gaze hardened. "Or perhaps you expected a fully handsome man who could sweep you off your feet for a good price."

She gasped. What was he saying?!

He laughed bitterly. "Well, I assure you that I am not handsome!"

Aura tried to scream, but even that failed her as he suddenly tore away the mask. Whatever she had expected to see under that mask, this was ten thousand times worse. It was too horrible to allow her to scream, too awful to allow her to faint, and too frightening to allow her to fight… She simply remained frozen in place, staring in horror at the sight in front of her.

He widened his mouth in a skeletal grin as his eyes darkened again. "Erik is not what you expected, is he?" he said with a terrible laugh. The sound of it resonated throughout the cavern, and nearly matched the face itself in its awfulness. "But you wished to see him, and he could not deny you your desire."

"Erik," Aura pleaded, unable to say anything else. "Erik…"

"Erik is right here," he said, the sarcasm harshly biting her like never before. "Erik is here, but perhaps he will show you mercy from his face." The last words were spat out in detest, and she finally felt the first twinge of pity for him.

"No, you… he doesn't need to," she said in a faltering voice.

"No… but the poor girl wishes it, and so Erik will give it to her." He grinned one last time, and his voice rose fiercely. "Do not fear; Erik will not be here much longer!"

Aura screamed in horror, but the strong arms had pushed her below the water again, and no sound ever came out. The eyes continued to watch her, and they were the last thing she saw before a watery blackness covered her vision forever.

Erik finally released his burden in mild exhaustion. It was rare that he went to so much trouble with his intruders, but then, this intruder was different. There was doubtless a reason behind her strange manner, but he didn't particularly care to know it.

He recovered his mask as he swam the short distance to shore. He really was a bit tired now after dealing with that intruder. He would have greatly preferred to go back home and rest for a bit, but he had no time for that now. He had nearly made himself late already, and Erik was never late!

He placed the mask back into its rightful position and began hurrying up the passageway. All thoughts of the strange Aura girl had already left his mind, replaced by someone of much greater importance. Even now, Christine would be waiting for him in her dressing room, and the Angel of Music must never keep her waiting!