Persephone Unchained
Chapter 10
Days passed by and Sophie and Erik settled into some semblance of a routine.
She would wake and dress and meet him in the living quarters of the cave. He would watch her eat or read or wind up one of his automatons. Then he would play one of his musical instruments.
Some days she watched him scratch his work down on a piece of blank paper as he added it to the ever growing pile. Other days he would curse aloud and crumple it, then toss it haphazardly to the floor among the others.
Sophie tried but ultimately could not decipher which songs would end up pleasing or annoying him. She simply could not distinguish between what he considered delightful or terrible. It all sounded unearthly and amazing to her untrained ears.
Each day ended with Sophie's beg for release, and with Erik's subsequent refusal. Sometimes his refusal was forceful. Other times it seemed filled with bitter sadness and remorse. Then they would sit together before the fire and finish off their bottle of wine from dinner. They would find something to converse about until the fire had burned low and Sophie headed off alone to her bed.
One day sophie awoke to the rumbling sounds of the purring cat who had decided, at some point in the night, to sleep on Sophie's head.
Her melancholic mood lifted as the cat leaned over and tickled her face with its whiskers and warm velvet nose. The cat snuffled in Sophie's ear in approval. Sophie smiled and slowly pulled her hair free of the cat, then rose from the bed to dress. The cat ignored her and curled up in the now vacant warm spot of the bed.
Sophie's eyes felt tired as she rubbed the sleep from them and she wondered how much time had passed. The lack of any way for her to track the passing time or of the day's as they changed into night was driving her slowly to the brink of madness.
How did he stand it?
She pulled a clean shift from the dresser and changed quickly. Her hands rummaged through the trunk until she pulled out a simpler indigo dress. Its high collar was edged with delicate indigo and burgundy ruffles. The front of the bodice and the long sleeves' cuffs were embroidered and similarly trimmed. The gown had a slimmer skirt that gathered mostly in the back. It was perfect as it looked far easier for her to walk in unlike the other dresses that had too much material in the skirts for her weakened leg. Sophie wasn't used to wearing such fine dresses and she found them to be overwhelming at time. She wondered briefly how she hadn't seen this dress before in the bottom of the trunk.
Loosening the laces on her corset she managed to slip it over her head then wiggle it into place and tighten it in the back. Her ribs no longer ached so she hazarded a guess that several days or maybe even a week had passed since she had fallen down the stage and into Erik's underground world.
Her eyes skipped over the pale blue matching petticoat but she simply donned the dress instead. No one would care if her skirt was not properly supported or fluffed out. There was no one to see her but Erik and a cat.
Sophie reached for her cane and exited her room.
Her eyes scanned the cave but she saw no sight of her masked companion in his usual haunting spots. Typically he was either at his desk or at the organ. She'd learned his patterns in the last few days. A quick walkthrough of the cave convinced her of his absence. She wondered briefly where he went whenever he left her. He did so only briefly and rarely. Her eyes flickered to the locked door on the far side of the cave.
Spying a setting of nuts and dried fruits in a bowl on the table she grabbed a small handful and munched on her breakfast as she wandered about the cave once more.
"Erik?" she called out. Her own voice echoed back to her from across the lake.
"Won't you come and join me for breakfast?" she asked.
There was no reply.
She hurried to his workstation. A cursory glance over its surface revealed it to be much the same as the last time that she had searched it. Sophie picked up small oddities and curiosities, checked them for any hidden secrets, then carefully replaced them exactly as she'd found them. In one of the desk drawers she found a stack of fresh paper and a pot of blood red ink with a matching quill. She grimaced at its vulgarity but set about her task quickly.
The Persian may not be bold enough to rescue her from her situation, but would he deny to conceal and carry a harmless letter to her family? She thought not. She felt desperate enough to attempt it.
Sophie sat at the desk and dipped the quill in the ink. It scratched against the paper and the noise set her teeth on edge.
My dearest Emma,
I am sorry to have left you and mamman so abruptly and with no word of what happened until now. I slipped on a patch of ice and broke my leg. How terribly clumsy I am! Know that I am safe and on the mend and that I am staying with a friend until I recover. I miss you dearly. Give mamman a kiss for me.
With all my love,
Sophie
P.S. Please do not forget to water my flowers for me until I return. The marigolds in the northwest corner under the lantern hook need your particular attention.
Sophie fanned the letter with her hand to encourage the ink to dry. She wiped the quill dry on a piece of scrap material. Her heart raced as she tucked the quill and ink pot back into the drawer.
The sound of faint steps echoing as they quickly approached made her jump and she hurried to fold the letter. Her thumb smeared a word in her haste but the letter remained legible. She folded it down into a small packet and unbuttoned the collar of her dress then stuffed it down her bodice and corset. Her heart pounded in her ears as buttoned her collar closed and returned the pot of ink and pen and shut the desk drawer. Sophie pulled the top most book from the stack on the desk and pretended to be reading.
Erik entered the room from somewhere behind her.
Sophie didn't dare turn around to see where he had come from. The edge of the letter scratched against her breast as she turned a page in the book as if she had just finished it. Her eyes scanned the page as if she was reading it but her mind comprehended nothing. Erik's footsteps synced with her heartbeat as he came towards her.
"Ah, Sophie, there you are. I have a surprise for you today."
She pasted what she hoped was a neutral expression upon her face, then turned and closed the book shut.
He moved closer towards her until he was standing just behind her.
"Oh I've interrupted your reading…." he started and then his voice trailed off.
Her breathing hitched as his eyes turned to read the title and his brow quirked.
"You're reading my book on gothic architecture and advanced stonemasonry techniques…" he said in a strange voice. "How do you find it, Sophie?"
She grimaced, "it's rather beyond me, I'm afraid."
His eyes bored into hers as he held her gaze. "Indeed… it's rather advanced even for a stonemason. I'd recommend the book of Shakespeare's sonnets instead for some light reading. I think you'd find it far more enjoyable."
"You're probably right," she murmured in agreement and pushed the heavy tome aside.
"But you're bleeding, Sophie," Erik stated in alarm.
Sophie glanced at the red smudge of ink on her thumb and stuck it promptly in her mouth. She sucked on it for a moment as she wiped the mark away with her tongue.
"A papercut is all," she lied. "I'm fine."
She used the cane to stand and smoothed her skirts. "You said that you had something for me?" she said to distract him.
"Yes, a surprise. Two, in fact. Madame Giry will be arriving shortly. She assists me with various tasks and takes the laundry out for cleaning. The other surprise is for after dinner."
They didn't have long to wait as shortly after making his announcement another person's steps echoed around the chamber. Erik ushered Sophie into the bedroom to gather up her dirty laundry. She suspected that it served as more of a distraction than anything else so that she wouldn't learn of the whereabouts of the phantom's secret entrance. But she let him usher her away anyways. Her wildly beating heart settled.
Sophie collected the old discarded clothing and carried it out of the room in one arm. Her cane tapped the ground ahead of her. As she rounded the curtained partition she spied a middle aged woman with graying hair pulled back from her face in a tight bun. The woman was dressed severely in all black and carried a cane much like her own.
The woman looked her up and down. Sophie fought the urge to fidget as the woman's mouth turned down at the corners.
"Oh, Erik… really? Nadir warned me as much. But I had hoped it wasn't true," the older woman scolded him.
Sophie's eyes widened. Where Monsieur Khan was kind and jovial, Madame Giry was stern and suspicious. What an interesting collection of… friends.
Erik scoffed. "Madame Giry, I will remind you not to meddle in my affairs. You and I both remember the consequences of that last time that you did not do as I asked," he replied with narrowed eyes.
Sophie stared at the two of them as they glared at each other. She wondered if all of Erik's acquaintances wanted to throttle him as much as the Persian and this woman seemed to. It certainly appeared that way to her right then. Madame Giry's expression was withering.
Placing the small pile of clothing on the dining table Sophie met the older woman's gaze. She watched as the woman looked her up and down. The woman's quick appraisal made her feel self-conscious. Sophie shifted in place and felt the edge of her note digging sharply into her skin.
Would this woman help her? She seemed unafraid of Erik. And she had defied him at least once before if Erik's accusation was to be believed. The note burned against her breast as if her deception was visible to everyone in the room. And the longer that it was in her possession, the more she risked its discovery.
"Madame Giry, is it?" she asked hesitantly.
"Oui," the woman responded succinctly.
"I wonder if you might help me gather a few more things. It is difficult for me to carry all of it with my leg, you see," she lied.
The woman glanced at Erik and at his nod of approval madame Giry followed Sophie into the bedroom. As the thick curtain fell behind them Sophie pulled an unworn gown from the trunk and placed it on the bed. The woman raised an eyebrow in silent question.
"Madame," Sophie whispered as the woman stepped forward, "I hope that I might trust you. I want to get word to my family that I am well. Can you help me with this task?"
"Child, do you really think that wise?" the woman asked.
"I am not asking you to betray his confidence, madame. I merely want to let my family know that I am alive so that they do not fear the worst."
The woman looked at the curtain for a moment then returned her gaze to Sophie. "Hurry, child," she whispered.
Sophie unbuttoned the collar of her gown and pulled the folded note from her corset. She placed it in the woman's hand and sent a silent prayer that it would reach Emma.
As she turned away she reached into the bottom of the oriental trunk and withdrew her coin purse with its meager contents. "If I could ask for one more favor, madame, I would ask you to deliver this with the note. Both should be given only to my sister Emma. She is five years old with brown, curly hair and brown eyes, and freckles over her nose. Please, under no terms may you give either the note or the coin purse to anyone else in the household. Please, that is very important."
The woman looked at the note and the coin purse in her hand. "There is no address," she stated matter of factly.
"I was afraid of its discovery," sophie explained quietly, "but I will tell you now." And then she leaned forward and whispered into the old woman's ear.