A/N: so this chapter was inspired by the portrait scene from Titanic since Erik is said to be a wonderful artist. Quick thanks to everyone reading and reviewing this story, means a lot to me :)
Chapter Twelve: The Portrait
"Erik!" Leila's voice travelled through the castle. Erik groaned and pulled the blanket over his face. It was around seven in the morning so he only got about four hours of sleep. "Erik!" She came down into the living room, seeing Erik lying on the couch with the blanket over his face. "Erik?"
"What?" He shot up, annoyed at her. "What is it?" He yelled at her.
"Where were you last night?" She folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot. He groaned, not in the mood for this.
"Out with Nadir." He answered, rubbing his tired eyes.
"Who else?" She asked. "And don't lie to me, I can smell her on you." He could hear the anger in her voice.
"I was also with Christine and her friend Meg, we were at her house. There, you happy now?" He fell back on the couch to get more sleep.
"I can't believe you're cheating on me with a mortal."
"I am not cheating!" He shot up again, furious now at her. "Yes I spend time with her but I'm not sleeping with her."
"What's so special about her?" He groaned as he lay back on the couch. "Answer me Erik!"
"That's it!" He tossed the blanket off of him and rolled off the couch. He started walking towards the door.
"Where are you going?" She yelled out to him.
"Away from you!" He yelled back and opened the double door of the castle. Slamming it behind him, he took a deep breathe. His eyes quickly adjusted to the brightness as he began to walk up a path that led to a cave. Entering the cool dark cave, he found Nadir standing by a candle with a stone in his hand.
"What brings you here?" He asked his friend as he continued his drawing on the wall.
"Leila." He answered. "I can't take this anymore; I should have never changed her."
"Can't you unchange her?"
"I don't know how to, my dad does and I don't feel like asking him." He sighed. "Hate it when he's right." Nadir chuckled a bit.
"Well we did warn you about her, but you didn't listen."
"Don't make me bite you." Erik threatened.
"I probably wouldn't taste good anyway." Nadir joked a bit. "Well how about we got for a hike?" He suggested. "It's a beautiful day out and I think you could use some fresh air." Erik agreed and they two headed out of the cave. They started off on a path that hikers often took when hiking around the area.
As they walked, Erik's senses went into full gear. He could hear the voices of the birds as they sang their beautiful songs. His skin picked up the warmth of the sun as his nose inhaled the smell of nature and also scents of the people.
"Enjoying nature?" Nadir asked as they made a quick stop to rest.
"Very much."
"So what are you going to do about Leila?" He asked Erik who let out a sigh.
"I don't know, probably should end it. Things aren't going to well, all we do now is argue and it's getting annoying."
"You still care for her, don't you?"
"Yes I do, but there's nothing there anymore. There's no passion and…" He was going to say something but decided not to.
"The passion is with Christine." Nadir said it instead. "When you mean end it, do you actually mean…?"
"No I'm not going to kill her. I might ask father if he could take her in, she'd get along with his brides." He suggested. "I'll go up a weekend and ask him."
"So does this mean you're going after Christine?" Nadir asked, quickly pulling out his phone to send a message to someone.
"I don't know, I mean I know there's something there between us... but I'm a monster and if she ever found out about me, I'd lose her for good."
"You never know, she could surprise you."
"Yeah I know. Come on, let's go." Erik said, not wanting to talk about this anymore. Nadir shook his head and followed Erik. He knew Erik hated talking about this kind of stuff and would always try to change the subject. They continued down the path until Erik picked up a familiar scent that he knew too well. Soon he heard his name being called and the two men turned around to see Meg and Christine walked up to them. As they approached, Erik's eyes looked over the woman who was stealing his heart.
Her curly hair was pulled back into a high pony tail, leaving her neck open to his hungry mouth. A light brown tank hugged the curves of her body while she wore loose khaki shorts with hiking boots. Even with no makeup on, she still looked beautiful to him. Her smile warmed his cold heart as she approached him, lighting up the already bright sky.
"Hey guys." Meg greeted them.
"Little Meg…" He greeted her and then looked at Christine. "…Little Lotte." Her smile grew at the sound of her new nickname.
"Aw see? He gave you a nickname and it's cute." Meg said. "So what brings you two out here?" She asked them.
"Erik needed some space from Leila." Nadir answered. "Trouble in paradise." Erik rolled his eyes.
"Thank you Nadir, I can always count of you."
"Sorry to hear that." Christine said with a hint of sadness in her voice. Erik knew that she felt bad; feeling like it was her fault.
"Walk with me?" He asked her, making her nodded. He led her to another path as Nadir and Meg watched them leave. The two high fived and decided to walk down the same path, leaving the others.
Erik chooses this path for a reason, it was a path that led to the castle and he only used it since people were too scared to come near the castle. Christine noticed they were walking closer to the castle and stopped, worried a bit. Erik stopped as well and turned to face her.
"Is it safe?" She asked him, remembering the stories that she heard about the castle.
"Don't worry Christine, it's perfectly safe." He answered. "Besides that castle-" He pointed to the towering building of stone. "-belongs to me." Her eyes widen and mouth dropped.
"You own Bram Castle?" He nodded. "You're rich?"
"I guess you could say that, but it used to be my father's until he left it to me." He explained.
"I can't believe that you live in a castle. But what about the stories?" She asked.
"You mean the stories of a monster that lives in the shadows of the castle and preys on innocent people?" Oh he knew those stories very well. "Well I guess you could call me a monster." He pointed to his mask. "And I sometimes live in the shadows of the castle."
"I don't think you're a monster, no matter what's behind the mask."
"If only that were true." She took his hand and entwined her fingers with his.
"It is true to me." A warm smile appeared on his face.
"Come, I want to show you something." He led her up a path, still holding her hand. They soon came up to a clearing that was up high on the hill that seemed to be a mountain to Christine. He had her face away from the castle and a gasp left her mouth. Her eyes gazed down at the view of the village that looked miles away from where they were. She could see the tops of the buildings that weren't covered up by the green trees. The cloudless sky helped brighten everything up.
"Erik…this is incredible. Is this what you see all the time?" She asked him, turning her face to look at him.
"Sometimes, but the view from my balcony is much better. Maybe I'll show you one day before you leave."
"You mean a tour of your castle?" He nodded. "I'd love that!" She squealed and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. Quickly realizing what she was doing, she pulled away. "Sorry about that."
"It's alright Christine, I…I'm ending things with Leila."
"Why?" She asked. He sighed, wondering if he should tell her the truth.
"Well…" He sat down on the grass, making her follow. He brought one of his knees to his chest as he used his arm to lean back on. "…there isn't anything there anymore, we just argue now; that's why I'm in the village all the time now."
"Did you ever love her?"
"No I didn't." He answered.
"Have you ever loved someone?" She asked him. His eyes looked down at the ground, thinking of an answer. "I'm sorry if I'm getting too personal." She apologized.
"Don't be sorry, I'm not use to having someone ask me these kinds of questions. And to answer your recent one…yes I have once. But that ended horrible."
"May I ask why?"
"She died…it was after she saw my face. You see I was born with a deformity which is why I wear this mask." He pointed to the mask on his face. "She couldn't accept me and my secret, so she killed herself."
"Oh Erik I'm so sorry."
"I don't need your pity Christine; I have gotten over it but it has made me a little colder when it comes to relationships and love."
"Then how come you're so warm to me?" She asked.
"Because you seem to accept me for whom I am inside." A smile came to her face. Without thinking, he slowly leaned in closer. Her eyes gently closed as her lips slightly parted.
"Christine!" They heard Meg's voice call out her name. Erik groaned and pulled away as Meg came into view. "There you guys are." Nadir came up behind her, panting.
"Sorry Erik, I accidently told her that you own the castle and she bolted up here." He said breathless after chasing her up the big hill.
"It's alright, just sleep with one eye open tonight." Christine giggled.
"Wow…look at his view." Meg looked out. "It's breathtaking."
"If you think this is breathtaking, you should see Erik's painting he did of this during a sunrise." Nadir stated.
"You draw?" Christine asked.
"Yep, have several painting in the castle on the wall. I managed to see a few with one sitting in the Louvre in Pairs." He answered.
"A musician and an artist." Meg commented.
"Can I see some of these paintings?" Christine asked.
"Sure, I have a few at the little museum in the village. Would you like to go there now?" He asked them and they nodded. They left the view and headed down the path away from the castle. Erik didn't realize that Leila was watching them from his balcony and heard every word. Her body filled with rage as she had watched him tell Christine that he was ending the relationship and the almost kiss. She hated him now and hated Christine even more. Letting out a growl, she stormed back inside.
The four of them arrived at the small museum and were greeted by the caretaker. He talked to Erik for a bit before showing them the room where a few paintings of the country were on display. Christine was speechless as she looked at them.
"These are beautiful Erik." They stood at a painting while Nadir and Meg looked at another one.
"Thank you."
"Do you just do landscapes?" She asked.
"At the moment yes, but I have done portraits before." He answered.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Will you draw me?" She asked him, hoping he would say yes.
"Of course." A smile came to her face. "Where would like it done?" He asked her. She thought for a moment. Suddenly the scene from Titanic came to her mind, making her cheeks blushed.
"Um…you decide since you're the artist." He thought for a moment now too. He wanted to capture her beauty, but how?
"Well how would you like me to capture your beauty?" She blushed at his words.
"Titanic!" Meg said out loud. Both of them looked at her. "What?"
"What does she mean by that?" Erik asked, looking back at Christine.
"In the movie, there's a scene where Jack was drawing Rose as a request from her." Christine explained.
"Ah I see, well would you like to do that then?" He asked, having never seen the movie.
"Um…she was nude during it."
"Oh…"
"Yeah…"
"I don't want you to do anything that you're uncomfortable doing." She thought for a second before coming up with an idea.
"Actually why not?" She felt like taking a risk. "I mean if you don't want to."
"No it's just... I've never drawn a person nude before."
"Well I've never posed nude before so it's a first for the both of us."
"Might as well experience it together." She nodded. "How about you come over to my place so Annette doesn't rip my head off?" He suggested.
"Good idea, show I bring anything?" She asked him.
"Just yourself, I have all the tools in my studio and I'll use one of the rooms as a background." He answered. "Come over close to sun down."
"But don't you need the sun for light?" He shook his head. "Already have a vision?" He nodded. "Well I look forward to seeing what it will be." Nadir walked over to them and tapped Erik on his shoulder.
"We have to meet up with Stefan and you know he hates having to wait." Erik rolled his eyes.
"Alright…I'll see you tomorrow then." He said as he left the museum with Nadir. Christine continued to look at the paintings with Meg. She couldn't believe how talented he was. The rest of the day went by slow for Christine. She was so nervous for tomorrow, yet excited. She was excited that she was going to be posing for Erik, but couldn't believe she was going to pose nude. She had never shown a man her body before and wondered what Erik might be thinking about this. She knew that he had seen a woman nude before, but not her.
The next day Christine was a bundle of nerves. She didn't get much sleep that night since she was thinking about the drawing. She showered in the morning, making sure she was clean and also shaved. She decided not to put on any makeup since Erik wanted to capture her natural beauty. Grabbing a pair of sweatpants and tank, she wanted to dress casual for this since she would be wearing nothing. She still couldn't believe that she was going to do this, but here she was. When it came time to head to Erik's place, she quickly told Annette and Meg that she was going to meet Erik for a Romanian lesson. Annette allowed her to go and she left to walk to the castle. As she passed people in the village, they gave her worried looks as she headed in the direction of the castle. Coming up to the towering building, she knocked on the double doors. Soon one of the opened and Erik appeared.
"Welcome." He greeted her. "Come in." He held the big wooden door wider for her to walk in. Her mouth dropped as she entered.
"Wow…" Her eyes scanned over the room that she was standing it. "Still can't believe you live here." He chuckled a bit.
"Come, I set up a room and have my supplies there already." He held out his hand which she took and he led her through the castle. They came to a wooden door and he opened it. Her mouth dropped as she stepped into the music room. The walls were decorated with instruments that hung there while a giant organ sat in the middle of the room. Hanging from the ceiling was a big chandelier while candles were placed all over the room. Two long bookshelves ran along one wall that stored scores of music. There were two couches at one end of the room where she could see the supplies were set up. She also saw a screen where she believed she could be changing. "You can change behind the screen; I have grabbed a robe for you to wear if you want."
"Thanks." He could hear the nervousness in her voice.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked her.
"Yes I'm sure." He nodded and allowed her to change behind the screen while he set up his tools. She quickly removed her clothes and put on the robe. She soon realized it was Erik's due to the size and it smelled like him. She tightened it around her body and stepped out to see him sitting by a big canvas with numerous paints, brushes and several pencils. "Um…where do you want me?" She asked him.
"The couch." He told her. She nodded and walked over to the couch in front of the canvas. He walked over to her and stood in front of her. "Alright, since this is like Titanic for you, you can lie down on the couch..." She nodded. Placing her hands on the tie, the robe loosened around her. She let the robe fall to the ground. Erik kept his eyes locked with hers, wanting her to feel comfortable. "Lie down on the bed-the couch." He corrected, mentally cursing his mind. She laid down on the couch, resting her head on the pillow.
"How do you want me?" She asked, unsure what to do. He came over and moved her left arm to rest above her head, along the arm of the couch. He placed her other arm near her face, having her hand gracefully placed on next to her forehead. Stepping back, he looked at her and took in her beauty. Walking over to the chair, he sat down on the chair and grabbed a pencil. He quickly told her a few instructions before starting.
Taking a deep breathe, his hand began to draw out her body. His eyes kept glancing back at her as he drew out her hand and arm. He soon came to draw her face, taking in every outline. As he drew her lips, his mind imagined his lips kissing them. His hand drew every strand of her curly brown hair that lay spread out on the pillows. Once her face and two arms were down, he moved to outline her body. Coming up to her breasts, he tried to focus his mind.
"Are you blushing Erik?" He smiled a bit, realizing he was blushing. A guilty smile came on his face, making her smile a bit.
"Troublemaker." He teased. He continued to draw the rest of her body, getting every curve and shape of it. He looked over the drawing, making sure it was perfect before moving on. Satisfied, he went to draw the background the he pictured to have her in. Once he was finished, he set the pencil down and quickly stretched his stiff muscles. Grabbing the paint, he began to mix colors to get to the shades he wants. Finding the right shade for her skin, he began to add color to the canvas. He could blend a bit to get different shades, making it more realistic. Once he finished coloring her body, he began to add color to her hair. With each brush stroke, he added a chocolate strand of paint to it. He added some brown at her center, blushing a bit again. Cleaning the brush, he mixed some colors again to get the shade of brown for her eyes. Once her eyes were finished, he made her lips a beautiful shade of pink, making him tempted to kiss her. He then moved to paint the background. "You can get dressed if you want while I finish up." He said to her, not taking his eyes off the canvas. Nodding, she got up and quickly put the robe on, covering her body. Walking over the screen, she quickly got dressed and walked back, holding the robe. Erik was still painting so she went to sit back on the couch. Her heart was bounding in her chest as her mind repaid what just happened. Several minutes passed and Erik finally finished. "Come here." She got up and went to look at the painting. He moved aside so she could see it better. Standing in front of it, she truly was speechless.
Instead of lying on a couch, Erik had made it so she was lying on a cloud in the sky with wings. The details of the wings and cloud were so perfect, but she could tell that his main focus was her. He brought out every beautiful thing about her; the color of her lips, the curly of each strand of hair, the passion in her eyes and the smoothness of her skin. He made her into an angel, a beautiful angel.
"Erik…it's wonderful." She looked at him. "You're truly a gifted man."
"The credit goes to you. I may be gifted, but to capture an angel in a painting is something truly wonderful."
"I'm no angel." She blushed at his words.
"Yes you are." A smile came to her face.
"Thank you." He returned her smile. Her eyes returned to the painting, still amazed by it. As she looked at it, she truly felt beautiful. Whenever she looked at herself in the mirror or in pictures, she would simply see a girl. But now looking at this painting that Erik created, she could see what he thought of her: an angel, a beautiful angel. And to Erik…she was an angel.
So looks like Erik is now single...Reviews are welcome :)
