A/n: New chapter! Yay! I was glad I got this one done. I may have another one out before I leave.
Chapter 28
Erik's POV
It was dark besides the glow of the lantern in Nadir's hands. The darkness would not keep me from winning this fight. It was easy to melt into the shadows, something I had mastered long ago. Saville had no knowledge of this talent of mine, but he would soon see its full effect. We faced each other in the middle of the clearing at the top of the hill we had just ascended in the carriage. I could see Saville's determined expression and took up a defensive stance. "Who's going to make the first move, Phantom?" he asked, also taking up a defensive stance.
"I will." I said, charging towards him. He raised his fists to block, but I rushed right past him and into the shadows. Saville spun around to find me, but I was not where he thought I'd be.
"Funny." Saville scoffed. "Your tricks aren't going to get you anywhere, though." I watched from my hiding spot, not making a sound nor moving a muscle. Saville stood his ground and kept looking around, hoping to find where I was hiding. Slowly, I began to approach him. My feet made no sound as I creeped through the knee length grass. "I thought we were fighting. Not playing hide and seek."
When I was close enough, I wrapped an arm around his neck and squeezed it tightly. The other arm grabbed one of his arms and twisted it behind his back. He immediately reacted and clawed at the arm I had choking him. It would do him no use though. His life hung in my hands dangerously. I let him go a moment later and was surprised when he spun around, swinging a fist at me. I dodged and noted the aggravated look on his face. "I promise no more games from here on out." I said as he swung again and ducked beneath his punch.
As I started to come back up from ducking, I threw a punch at his stomach. He side stepped and I missed hitting him, something I didn't think possible. I moved to turn around, but found myself tackled to the ground. Saville sat on my chest and was viciously throwing his fists at my face. My arms came up to defend myself, but that did not stop him. His fists found their way around my arms and landed a few good hits. I could feel where his knuckle had split open my cheek and then noticed that my mask was long gone. It did not matter that it was missing. Saville would be brought to justice with or without it.
As soon as I saw an opening, I grabbed one of Saville's wrists and twisted it, hearing a satisfying crack . He let out a cry of pain and cradled it with his other hand. It was definitely broken. I took this as an opportunity and threw Saville off of me. He landed a foot or two away from me with a groan. I scrambled to my feet and approached him. "Give up, Saville. With one hand you're not going to be able to fight back." I held out my hand towards Nadir and he tossed me my lasso. Saville pushed himself up off of the ground with his one hand.
"You'd be surprised." Before I knew what was happening, Saville had lunged at me and I felt something slide through my side. I looked down to see red blossoming on my white shirt around the knife Saville had conjured from thin air. Saville pulled it out, a smug look on his face. "Never thought to check my boots, did you Phantom?" I watched the muscles in his arms contract as he moved to stab me again. He never got the chance to stab me a second time though.
I grabbed his hand holding the knife and squeezed it as hard as I could. The knife dropped to the ground, out of Saville's reach. My other hand had worked the lasso around his neck and when the knife fell to the ground, I tightened it. Stepping around behind him, I pulled it tighter hearing Saville struggling to breathe. "This is for torturing me." I tugged the lasso hard once. "This is for shooting the Vicomte." I tugged a second time, Saville making a choking sound. He dropped to his knees, trying to fight the darkness that had to be sweeping over his mind. "And this..." My vision started to sway a little from the blood loss. It would not do me any good to bleed out before I got to see Flora again. "This is for Flora." I tugged a third time, not as hard as the others, but Saville was already gone.
It was done. We had succeeded. Dropping the Punjab lasso, I covered the knife wound with my hands, doing my best to stay the bleeding. I turned to see Nadir and Raoul approaching, but they seemed far off. When I took a step forward, I lost my balance and fell forward, hitting the soft ground. There were shouts, but I could not distinguish who it was nor what they were saying. A second later, someone had pushed me onto my back and I was staring up at the night sky. Nadir's aged face appeared in my vision momentarily, his mouth moving but no sound coming from it. He moved and my eyes found a single star. It seemed to glow brighter and then dim slightly.
"Flora..." I breathed. The star twinkled before my eyes and then all went dark.
…
Jacques' POV
Shutting the door behind Maribelle, I turned around and sighed. My head was still spinning from what she had told me. Flora was under the protection of her household and was not supposed to have been here. If I had known that she was in danger by being here, I would have sent her home immediately. What bothered me more was that she had known this the entire time and did not say a word. I could not imagine what it was she was in danger of. Maribelle had not told me what it was she was in danger of, so I did not know. What I did know was that if any harm had befallen her on my account, I would not have been able to live with myself.
"Jacques?" Ivette stepped into the vestibule, her hands clutching at her skirt. She looked quite upset that Flora was gone. During Flora's stay, Ivette had come to think of Flora as a friend, if not a sister. "Why did Flora have to go? We were taking care of her. She could have stayed if she wanted to."
"We were taking care of her, but she needed to return to her own home. I can't tell you everything, but I knew that she would have stayed if she really wanted to." I was not able to tell my own sister why Flora had to go. If I did, she would worry too much about her. Maribelle instructed me not to say anything to anyone about Flora being here. I knew that I had to make Ivette promise to do the same thing. "Ivette, you need to promise me something. I need you..."
"I know, Jacques." she said, looking down at the ground. "I can't tell anyone about her. I heard that part."
"What else did you hear?" I questioned, worried that she knew why Flora left.
"Nothing else, I swear." She looked up at me. I could tell right away she was telling the truth. "Do... do you think we will ever get to see her again?"
That I did not know either, but I hoped the answer was yes. Not just for Ivette's peace of mind. I wanted to see Flora again when it was safe for her. I honestly hoped I hadn't seemed too cold when I announced Maribelle and asked why she hadn't let them know. Flora was a mystery wrapped in an enigma. She was under strict protection for an unknown reason. A reason that she had not brought up herself. I also knew Ivette had told her about our family, but Flora had not spoken a word about her family. Come to think of it, Maribelle had not mentioned that Flora's family was worried at all about her. It most likely had to do with Flora's protection and I hoped that I would someday be able to connect the dots
"I hope so, Ivette." I answered sadly. "I hope so." Ivette smiled, comforted by these words. Grabbing my hands in hers, she squeezed them softly.
"If she comes back, it was meant to be." With that said, she went back into the sitting room, leaving me confused. What did she mean by 'it was meant to be'?
A/n: Any guesses as to what Ivette meant? Saville is gone now, but will Erik recover? Stay tuned to hear if our ghost boy gets to see his love again.
