I LIED, LAST CHAPTER ISN'T THE FINISHING CHAPTER! I'm evil I know, but I realized that the vengeful Raoul thing wasn't exactly solved… so yeah here is the next chapter.
I was in the art studio working on a backdrop, when Erik came in.
"Hello, love." I told him, he came over and kissed me. I smiled, relishing in the feeling.
"Hello Constance. Have you any ideas for our wedding?" He asked. I shook my head. I actually did, but Erik would never do it… I had dreamed of getting married here in the Opera House since I had come to Paris. Maybe I should just mention it… I mentally scolded myself… But what was the harm in just saying something about it.
"You're thinking of something, I know that look." He said, making his way over to me. I blushed.
"You wouldn't do it…" I said. He smiled, taking my hand and pulling me to him, forcing me to look into those wonderful eyes of his.
"Tell me." He said, using that power that Christine said he had on me. I looked to the side. I looked around.
"Well… Ever since I came here I always thought that the grand foyer would be a wonderful place for a wedding, but considering the fact that I'm marrying you… I supposed that would be a bit difficult." I told him. Erik gave a frown.
"Anything for you. I was about to give up the whole Opera Ghost thing anyways. Now that the managers actually listen to me, perhaps I could earn money in a more… legal way. I'll speak with them." He said. I smiled broadly and threw my arms around his neck.
"Oh you're wonderful!" I told him enthusiastically. He laughed, pressing a kiss to my jaw. I pulled away from him and went back to my work casually as Erik went through the trap door behind the back drop. There was a knock at the door, I turned as the door opened.
"Miss O'Rally. I have some news…" It was Antony. I smiled
"What's that?" I asked.
"Well… do you remember when you fell while you were painting the prop for Don Juan Triumphant?" He asked, looking a little bit frightened…
"Yes?" I asked.
"Well the rope wasn't just old. I heard the stage hands that were responsible talking…." He said. I tilted my head.
"Continue." I said.
"…Well they were paid to wear it down. By the patron." He said. My jaw dropped. Temper flaring, I shook slightly.
"If you'll see your way out Antony, I need to go speak with Erik." I said, my voice wavering in the slightest. Antony left in a hurry. I turned and ran into the catacombs. I saw Erik disappear into another passage. I yelled his name and the hidden door slid back open and Erik reappeared.
"What is it Constance?" He asked, looking concerned as he walked over to me.
"Remember when I fell from the prop I was painting when we were getting ready for Don Juan Triumphant?" I told him. Erik gave me an odd look but nodded.
"Yes how could I forget?" He said.
"It was sabotage. Raoul paid some of the stage hands to wear down the rope so I would fall." I told him. Erik nearly faltered.
"That…. Idiot paid stage hands to do his dirty work, which was in an attempt to kill you! He has gone too far. Trying to take both women in which I have loved… I don't think so." He said, his voice low and husky. This was when one really needed to be afraid of him. This was when I was almost afraid of him. Erik caught himself, his eyes showing something almost like horror.
"Oh God, I've frightened you." Erik said, appalled by his sudden realization. "Please forgive me, I didn't mean to." He continued. I held my hand up gently.
"It's alright, I'm sure if you were to see me lose my temper you'd be frightened yourself. Come to think of it, I'm not entirely sure why I haven't blown up…" I said. Erik leaned against the wall, sliding down to the ground unceremoniously. Slipping into an angst much deeper than I had seen him in. That type of angst where one knows tears are useless, so they just stare.
"Every time there is something that makes my life worth living, someone sets out to destroy it. I'm not exaggerating. Every God forsaken time. It's this face…" He said quietly. Sometimes I forget. I don't know how I forget. He'd trusted me enough to willingly show me. I knelt.
"Think of it this way. Without that face, you would have never met me. Would you have become the wonderful genius you are now, if not for that face?" I told him
"You never now, we may have." He said, burying his face in the nape of my neck, reminding me much of a child.
"And for the same reason, we may not have, we don't know. Why would you have noticed an Irish backdrop painter who was never seen outside her studio?" I asked in return.
"I've always noticed your backdrops. They were all done so neatly. You have always cared about the product and that was obvious."
"Would you have noticed my art or the dancers in front of my art had you led a normal life." I asked Erik made a somewhat whiny noise in what I assumed was annoyance.
"It's impossible to tell." He said, finally giving in.
"Just like it's impossible to tell if we would have met if you were any different, make the best of a bad situation." I told him softly. I knew what happened to him could never be undone. He'd always feel the angst I just witnessed. If it was there with everything good happening around I, it would never go away. No matter what.
"So what do we do about the viscount?" I asked.
"There isn't much we can do, getting rid of Buquet was easy enough, he was a drunkard therefore his death was swept to the side as an accident. Raoul is a young well respect nobleman. Any death that falls upon him will be investigated. We may just have to disappear." Erik said, I frowned, closing my eyes. The idiot.
"I'm not going to just surrender. All my life, I've never turned belly up because I've been supposedly out matched. We're going to unveil him for the monster he is. If I had just given in when you had attacked me, where would we be? Certainly not here." I told him sternly.
"What about uncertainty with those types of situations, Constance?" Erik asked.
"Hush." I told him. Erik gave a soft laugh.
"We'll work everything out, I promise." I told him gently.
Sorry about the short chapter I have been SLAVING over it for WEEKS!