A/N: I think I actually got death threats for the speedy update of this one...
:Hugs all of her reviewers anyway...even the ones who shook me about:
Thanks so much for all your encouragement on this. It really helps me and this story a lot.
Three cheers for CelticHeart!
Chapter 25
Elizabeth
"Lay her down. She's burning up, but she says she's freezing. Where is that doctor! Meg, go and look for her stepmother would you? Shhh Lizzy, just try to relax."
My body trembled violently as I tried to sit up and grab a throw from the end of my bed. I was so cold my teeth began to chatter. A hand pushed down lightly on my shoulders, edging me back into the bed. It was still difficult to breathe, and colors kept flashing over my closed eyelids. What's happening to me?
"Grab those blankets! Try and get her warm. It is all right Lizzy. The doctor is on his way."
Some voice kept coming close to my ear, the sound of it speeding up then slowing as the words reached me. Groaning I tried to shift my head away but another wave of darkness threatened to overpower me when I did so. Blearily, I tried to open my eyes.
The room was bright, every candle seemed to be lit. Shadows of people raced across the ceiling and walls and the low voices or shouts were driving me insane. Then my vison seemed to cloud over and I had to blink several times to regain it. A rapid flipping noise startled me and I edged over to the wall.
"I do not know what it is. Have you tried to get her to drink anything?" The tone was terribly slow and droning to me.
"No. Here child . . . " I felt a strong hand cup the back of my head, tilting my neck up until I was in a sitting position. The cold rim of a glass touched my lips and a chilled liquid passed through my chapped lips. I tried to contract my throat so I could swallow the bitter wine, but to my despair it wouldn't. Sputtering up the drink, I was held until my spasm passed then lain back down.
More rapid flipping. I shuddered with an unearthly cold that seemed to run in my very bones. A cool hand passed over my brow. It remained there for a few moments and I memorized the callous that ran over the palm and fingertips. It slid down my face until it lifted off at my chin. The flipping noise stopped, suddenly the whole room was deathly quiet.
My hand was lifted from under the covers and I fought for a moment to put my chilled fingers back under the warm blanket. The strong hand rested on my wrist, probing at a vein that weakly beat out my life's pulse.
With a tender motion my hand was replaced under the covers. The room seemed to hold its breath. A cold piece of metal was placed on my chest, and I nearly screamed at the shock of it.
"Breath as deeply as you can my dear." The voice, though still strangely slow to my ears, was comforting. I filled my lungs with as much air as I could, then released.
The metal moved over toward my shoulder. "Again."
So it went for a few more breaths that seemed to take more out of me then anything else had. Panting slightly at the exertion, the metal was removed. All was silent, and I tried to snuggle into the blankets once more.
"If I attempt to bleed her, we will lose her. She seems to have some contraction of Scarlet Fever. There is nothing to be done, I am afraid. It would be wise to send for her mother if she has one. If not . . . " The voice trailed off. I heard a small gasp from the other side of the room. It was a harsh sound that made me jump at its closeness.
"Is that all you can give us doctor?" The tone of this voice was higher pitched. Something about its coldness seemed familiar to me, but I couldn't place it.
"I am afraid so. She cannot drink or eat in her present state. And unless you can break the fever that has her then there is nothing to be done." He sounded sorrowful, but my comprehension had been slipping rapidly since Erik had held me. Erik, my mind repeated. What had he done? Why had he held me?
A slight stinging sensation on my cheek reminded me. He had slapped me, then everything went black.
A cold spell took me once more, and the blackness which had been hovering about my vision seemed to close in. I began to close my eyes slowly.
A loud crack of a door being tossed against a wall made me snap them back open. I turned my head toward the offending sound. Then my blankets were thrown off me, and I shivered uncontrollably. I tried to clutch them back, but I felt too weak.
Hands gripped my feet and rubbed harshly on them. The same rough treatment was given to my hands and legs. I didn't feel so cold now. Shifting my head heavily I saw my stepmother's worried eyes.
"Don't move Lizzy, just lie still. There's a good girl." She sounded calm, but I could sense her unease. "I'm not going to lose you too." The rubbing grew harder and I whimpered under the force.
I arched my back slightly and opened my eyes fully.
For the first time I could see clearly. All about my room stood people, some sitting in chairs others crowded about my bed. Meg and Madame Giry's steel grey eyes gazed down into mine. Renee and Peter stood over by the door, both looking on worriedly. Sophie was bouncing and clutching her hands near them. Madeline was rubbing with my stepmother, her black hair hanging about her face. Some of the stage hands who had been sitting with Renee and I were holding their hats and peering at me.
I tried a weak smile, but found that I lacked the strength. Breaths were coming more easily now and I could feel less of the cold that had wrapped itself about me. Now I felt hot, and a sweat began to break out on my forehead.
The same rough hand gripped my wrist again. I gazed up at the man who held my limp arm and looked at pocket watch. He had white whiskers on his face and small eye glasses clutched his nose. Feeling my stare, he looked down at me and smiled genuinely.
"Her pulse is regaining its normal speed."
He ran his hand to my fevered brow. With a sigh he let go and rubbed my arm vigorously along with my stepmother and sister.
"She is out of danger for the moment." He said to my stepmother, halting her hands with his. "I think she will make the night. Her fever has broken for the moment. She will be weak for a few days however. She will need a good strong broth in the morning. Right now she needs darkness and quiet."
I watched as he smiled at my stepmother who nodded at him.
"Thank you doctor, but are sure it is safe to leave her?" My stepmother asked, her hand reaching for mine.
"Quite. You can stay with her but I think she will do better if she is left alone. If I'm not mistaken, we will sound very odd to her at the moment. When a strong fever comes over someone, voices often sound strange." The doctor replied, his eyebrows arching in question at me.
I nodded in answer to his silent enquiry. Everyone did sound odd, but I wasn't sure if I wanted them to leave me so soon.
My stepmother rubbed my cheek lovingly. "Very well sir, if you think this is the best course. I will be back at the first light Lizzy."
When she stood the others filed out after her, a few kissing me on the cheek or squeezing my hand encouragingly. Madeline was the last to leave.
She gazed at me for a moment, then rushed at me. Her arms hugged me tightly yet remained gentle. Then without a word she rose and blew out the candles and shut the door behind her.
The darkness and silence of the room were indeed a welcome comfort to me. Using the last of my energy, I kicked the blankets off my legs and let my head sink into my pillow and a fitful sleep.
Erik
What have you done? I slammed my fist into the stone wall, drawing blood on my knuckles, but I was beyond caring at this point. I slowed my pace for a moment, my mind reliving that moment on the staircase.
I hadn't even realized that my hand had left my side until I hit her. She reeled for a moment, then when she looked at me her eyes had been filled with such a vicious anger that I lowered the fist that was about to hit her again. That instance seemed a lifetime to me.
Her teeth had clenched in her mouth, her jaw set furiously. But nothing compared to her eyes. They were a light green that shimmered in her anger, and for a moment I wondered why I had never noted their color before. I steeled myself for one of her cutting remarks, remembering the fury that had raced through me when she had insulted Christine.
That must have been the moment that the full weight of what I had done hit me. I had slapped a woman. Never before in my life had I even laid a hand on one of the opposite sex. I had shouted at Christine but I had never harmed her.
I had snapped out of my thoughts when I saw her expression change from one of rage to confusion. She had gasped slightly, as if she could not breathe. Then her feet stumbled dangerously close to the edge of the stairs. As much as I hated her at that moment, something in me blanched when she nearly teetered over the edge. Without thinking I reached for her.
I grabbed her more harshly then I needed too and she slammed into my chest. Her warm body against mine was a shock to my cold and carefully shielded heart. When she shivered uncontrollably against me, I clutched her to me.
What have you done?
I stroked her cheek and once again she felt hot to the touch. There was something terribly wrong with her.
I snapped my head up when I heard Marie Giry calling my name. Her eyes widened at the sight of the two of us. Then she must have caught sight of Elizabeth. Tossing her cane down she picked up her skirts and raced to us.
When she took Elizabeth from me, I resisted the wild urge to clutch her back to me. It was the first time I had touched someone in more than four years, and she hadn't tried to shove away. She had let me hold her. I had never dared to touch Christine in that way for fear that she would be repulsed.
I stared at Elizabeth's flushed face until Marie told me to go. Then self-preservation took over all my other mixed emotions. I fled. Like the sick coward that I was, I fled into the shadows.
Now here I was only a few feet from my home. I chucked grimly at the thought. What home? I would never know a place that I could call mine. I took another step forward, trying to push her hurt and venomous eyes out of my mind. But there they were, the green flashing up at me once more. Accusing me of being the self-centered monster that I was. What have you done? The small voice at the back of my mind chimed once more.
Suddenly my feet turned and for once I allowed myself to follow them. This time I knew that they would not lead me to Christine's room.
The vent that was outside Elizabeth's room was one of the newer ones and it was not difficult to hear everything that was happening in her now bustling bedroom. When Madeline finally moved, I could see her clearly. Something seemed to hit my gut with a bruising force when I saw her now pale face.
Her eyes were gazing about the room, but didn't appear to be taking much in. She wasn't trembling as hard as she had been but she looked frail. Her breathing seemed to be coming easily to her now and she gave a final effort to kick off some covers before the last candle dimmed into darkness.
My eyes quickly adjusted in the bleakness, a quality that had always come naturally to me. I could see her just as well as I had been in the dim light earlier. Her eyes hadn't closed yet and she shifted restlessly on the bed before finally giving into sleep.
I don't know how long I stood there before I finally pressed the switch that would make her wall give way into the room, but I didn't feel in the least bit tired from my vigil. Grabbing a chair and moving it over to her bedside, I continued to watch her, my eyes running over the cheek that I had hit.
Only when she shifted in her sleep, her brow furrowing and a low moan escaping her lips, did I dare to touch her. She was still burning hot and her face was damp with sweat. She jerked her head from my grasp and groaning slightly, opened her eyes.
I fought back the urge to flee when her eyes rested on me. For a moment she didn't seem to comprehend what she was seeing and then it all came back to her.
She took in a rattling breath and tried to push herself away from me, clutching a blanket to her. But the movement proved to be too much for her. With a low whimper her arm bent at the elbow and she fell back onto the bed.
Although trembling, she was still trying to hold herself up by her arms. She lowered her head. The cap that she always wore over her hair was gone now and I watched in near wonder as wave after wave of golden brown hair shielded her face. Then my attention fell to the tears that shimmered on the air before they hit the mattress.
Shaking her head, she tried to speak but each time she had to swallow thickly. I nearly reached out to her before her voice, thin and quiet began to speak. I halted my half-extended hand and listened.
"Why are you here? What do you want from me? Can't you see anything beyond this plan of yours? Sophie's only thirteen, she's too young. If she sings now for the opera, her voice will be damaged from overuse later on. Why can't you see that? Why can't you . . . " She wept then, her breath coming out in tearful gasps.
"Elizabeth . . . " I began but stopped when she looked up at me.
If her eyes had held a shimmering light green before it was nothing compared to the honey gold they shined now. The pain and confusion in her gaze stilled me.
Swallowing once more, she continued. "You have Sophie. This whole opera house is yours now so I suppose I shall be of no further use to you? Cabartte may still want me you know. That is if I survive this . . . " She stopped and her lips quivered slightly.
Her eyes traveled the room, then came back to me before they dropped their hold when she ducked her head once more. "I don't want to die . . . " She whispered, her voice barely reaching me.
I didn't know what to say. I had used her. I had used her whole family. But none of that had mattered, I would make this opera house succeed once more. But for what? Did I really think that Christine would come back? Christine . . .
Her hacking cough brought me back to her. Elizabeth. She was still crying, and I did the only thing I knew how to, hoping and praying that she wouldn't recoil from my touch. Reaching out my hand I lightly ran my fingers down her cheek. When she didn't pull away, I moved my whole hand on her small cheek, and to my shock she turned her face into it.
I was beyond stunned as she sobbed into my palm, her fevered skin resting so trustingly against mine. We remained that way for several moments, till her breathing calmed and her eyes drooped in sleep.
Removing my hand, I rose and stood over her still huddled form on the bed. She looked up at me then away. I watched as she tried to ease herself back onto her pillow. When the first attempt proved unsuccessful, I cradled her head in my hands and placed her on the soft linen. Her eyes began to close once more and she shifted deeper into the covers, her chill returning.
Before I flipped the switch that would take me to my home I turned back to her.
"I'm sorry Elizabeth." The words came out low and harshly, but they seemed to reach her. Stirring slightly, green eyes once more met mine. They seemed to echo forgiveness to me in their depths before her lids closed slowly. Nodding slightly to her now sleeping form, I turned and walked into the cold unforgiving passageway that led me home.