Back to the protagonists. Enjoy

Chapter 38

Erik's POV

The days before our wedding were stormy; therefore Christine and I eschewed what had become our daily ritual ever since my proposal to her, a walk in the rose garden. It had become a very special place for us. Most of the time we just sat there companionably, listening to the sounds of spring. The roses had burst into full bloom and fragrance like our once barren and wintery romance. I had never known more moments of tranquility in my entire life. Until recently just the sensation of leaving my lair during the daylight hours was merely an unattainable dream. Daylight offered me little protection from the elements both human, and otherwise, which would conspire to harm me and even kill me, if given the opportunity.

Even as a child my rare forays into the light were fraught with danger. My mother kept me imprisoned in the attic, a makeshift cell for a horror of a child. She insisted that it was for my own protection and perhaps it was, but it reinforced my view that the daylight was not my friend. After I ran away I received exposure to the daylight most of the time. My unmasked face was revealed to all, show after show, from dawn until dusk. The light served my master's whim to illuminate the hideousness of my features. He would force me to make terrible faces to emphasize my macabre appearance. If I did not comply and portray myself in my most terrible light, he would whip me until my body resembled my face. After I killed him, I fled into the bowels of the Opera house, with Antoinette's aid, only to give the light one last chance to claim me, by seeking out the world and what it could offer to me.

When I was lured to Persia, I was soon given the bitter task of murdering people. By day, I would descend into the basements of the Shah's prisons to dispense his justice. My face became the Shah's favorite tool to give one last taste of terror before they were mercifully permitted to die. If I came into their cell unmasked, they knew that they were living their last moments on earth. I could close my eyes and still see their terror as they were certain that I was the incarnation of the angel of death. When they beheld my face they would beg that they be put to death immediately to be spared any further terror from viewing me. The night time once again was my solace; my retreat from the pain of being viewed in such a manner and being the cause of so much distress. The last years in the Opera house sealed my fate as a creature of the night. I had lost all hope of ever claiming the light.

Imagine my delight then in simply enjoying the sunshine, its gentle rays caressing my bare face like a gentle lover, like the woman beside me, who would lean into me with her head in my lap staring up at my face with an adoring gaze. It was a far cry from those black days in Persia and those eyes of fear. If I could make time itself bend and keep those moments forever, I would do so. Of course I am only human and I do not have the strength to do that so time kept moving on.

Christine, Antoinette and Meg scurried into town with a fat wallet. Nadir and Christian accompanied them on their spree. I told Christine to buy what she pleased, money was no object for me and I wanted her day to be as special as it could be. The pleasantries of an upcoming wedding did much to improve the disposition of the girls with one another. The ice between them which had barely melted for the past six weeks suddenly disappeared. Meg realized that Christine was truly repentant of the past. Christine's glow of contentment was obvious for all to see. Christine could not remain angry at Meg any longer either, as it was clear that Meg had no designs upon me, but on my cousin. Christine could finally acknowledge that Meg was only trying to give me hope in the future, and that I might now be dead if she did not act in such a way. While she and I did feel the sparks of mutual attraction at the time, neither of us took the steps that would have changed the platonic foundation of our relationship.

When the women reappeared late in the afternoon, I could hear Meg and Christine giggling together, as they used to. Nadir, Christian and two servants were standing behind them, their arms laden in all sorts of clothing. Nadir gave me a helpless glance with his eyes rolling. Christian just gave me a knowing smile. Antoinette shot me a look of satisfaction. She was pleased to see the infectious allure of laughter and joy echo through the house. I don't think that she ever expected to see me so happy and content. She had been a witness to much of my misery, including several attempts at suicide. Meg was not the first to intercept me in that regard. Antoinette seemed to know when I had reached the limits of my past despair and sanity, and had been there to stop me from taking the final step. She would remind me that I was not completely without friends, and that if I took my life that there would be someone out there who would care a great deal. I could see the triumph in my old friend's gaze as if to tell me "See what you would have missed?" I smiled back at her silently conveying my gratitude to her for her continuing support over the years. I knew that at times I had been most unpleasant to deal with particularly during those last months when I had lost control over my actions. She and I had spent some time alone together over the past few weeks; we settled our differences which stemmed mostly from my behavior, and the untenable position that I had placed her in.

Christine came up to me and gave me a possessive hug and kiss, and told me. "I missed you ange. You should have come with us Strasbourg is such a beautiful city, and it was very festive today. You need to get out more."

I smiled at her, at the moment she seemed so young and carefree, like she used to be, before all of the sorry business between the boy and me took place "I will try at some point but I thought that you might want to purchase things on your own. Meg and Antoinette were the better choices." I looked at my two friends "I hope that you purchased some articles for yourselves. I want our wedding day to be joyous for all of you and I know how much you women love to adorn yourselves in finery. I want you all to feel like Duchesses, it makes me happy to pamper all of you."

It was the truth. For so many years, anyone who came in contact with me would come away from the experience less than pleased with the exchange. For the first time in my life I had the ability to make people feel good. I wanted to savor the sensation and absorb the laughter and pleasure.

Christine smiled at me and handed me a small box. "I bought you a gift angel. I did not think that it was fair that you were so generous with us and yet came away with nothing."

I held the small box in my hand and caressed the delicate gift wrap. I had seen many gifts being given and had even given gifts to others, but I had never received a gift from anyone in my life. I could feel my eyes moisten.

"Thank you Christine, I will cherish it forever." I told her softly.

"You haven't even seen it yet. Open it." She commanded.

I carefully unwrapped her gift, prolonging the moment. There was a velvet lined box, which I opened revealing two beautifully crafted fountain pens.

I looked at her thankfully and she smiled. "I hope that you will use them to compose more music for us Erik. I have noticed that you have not written anything since you finished Don Juan Triumphant. I want to inspire you to write more. I bought you some composition paper as well."

I sighed "I have been otherwise occupied lately. I am not sure that I should write any music for the time being, I cannot appear to be anything like the Phantom or I might be suspected as being him."

Nadir smiled "I used the time to check my mailbox in town." He pulled out some documents "In light of the new evidence provided by the Girys all charges against you have been dismissed. The management of the Opera Populaire has declined to prosecute you for either extortion or arson. Your generous repayment of the funds that you had extorted, and your large donation to repair the damage has seemingly dampened their desire to press charges against you. Piangi's death was ruled an accident, and his family has decided to accept your generous offer of compensation. The only charge remaining is one of breaking and entry, and assaulting the Vicomte. The police are not eager to prosecute, since you are no longer in Paris, and there was a strategically placed rumor that the Vicomte tried to kill you. You are therefore free to compose new operas should you choose to do so."

I looked at my Persian friend and smiled "You are as efficient as ever, Daroga. I am happier than ever that I rescued you from my maze."

He glanced at me with concern "There is one thing that I did discover, the Vicomte left Paris recently bound on a train heading east. My tail lost him, but since he does know where Mademoiselle Daae is, he might be heading here to see her."

I shrugged my shoulders dismissively "Christine has made her choice freely and under no duress from me this time. He can speak to her if it pleases him to do so, but she is now mine. In a couple of more days she will be my wife."

Christine put her hand in mine and squeezed it reassuringly. "The last time that I saw Raoul I made it perfectly clear that I did not want to resume our relationship. You have nothing to fear Erik; I love you, not Raoul."

I smiled back at her warmly "I know mon cherie, but he had difficulty accepting your decision when I was not in the picture. He may not be too receptive when he finds out that you are with me now. I did not help matters by branding him, although it seemed like a good idea at the time. I believe that my sanity was still a little bit at issue." I admitted sheepishly.

"Would you follow through on your threat of making him look more like you?" she asked fearfully.

"Perhaps, he should desire it, since he wants you so badly perhaps he might do better if he resembled me more." I teased. "You have seemed to develop a taste for my 'exotic looks'."

She looked at me and paled "You wouldn't do it Erik. Despite everything I do not want you to hurt him. He was once my friend. He is not a bad person. He just doesn't see who you really are. I am partly to blame for it."

"Do you suggest that I brand you to punish you?" I teased. "I will not harm the Vicomte, unless he tries to kill me or take you away from me against your will. I know what it is like to feel the pain of unrequited love. It pierces the heart and your soul leaving them both in pieces. He is suffering enough to satisfy my need for revenge." I told her.

She smiled at me "I knew that you were not as fierce as you led the world to believe. I should have never doubted that my kind and gentle teacher was capable of compassion."

"Kind and gentle; you make me sound weak." I chided. "If you knew the full extent of my past misdeeds you would not mistake me for being either kind or gentle. Isn't that right Daroga?"

Nadir replied "That was a long time ago, doostam, and you were young and inexperienced in our ways. You have grown a great deal since then. Your bitterness towards the past has no place in your future."

"You are correct as always Daroga." I observed. I looked at Christian in particular "We must cleanse the more recent past as well. We are all cognizant of what harm bitterness can create. Our misplaced anger from the past has led to many problems in the present. We must strive to end the conditions that have almost led to our mutual destruction."

"What do you think that she is up to? Do you think that she brought the Vicomte here?" Christian asked. We all knew who 'she' was."

"If he did indeed come here we have to assume that she had something to do with it. Perhaps she no longer trusts you." I told him.

"She never did trust me Erik; ours was an alliance of convenience. Even my father hates her now, despite the past. He only works with her because she knows too much."

As if on cue, a servant came in and announced to Christian in German "Your father is here sir, Freiherr Otto von Mulheim."

"Tell him to wait in the drawing room and I will be there shortly." Christian replied.

Christian rolled his eyes and gave Erik a wary glance, he observed to all of them, in French "What a perfect time for a family reunion. His presence here can mean only one thing; that our friend the Comtesse is up to her games. My father has been to Alsace only once before, when she last assessed that my commitment to the cause was wavering. Right before I killed your grandfather. What shall I do? Expel him from the Schloss? Pretend that you know nothing?"

I could see his composure slipping "Will he kill me on the spot? Or wait for a dimly lit corridor to do it?" I teased.

Christian looked at me grimly "It is not a laughing matter Erik; he is not likely to change allegiances even if I tell him the truth. To admit the obvious it would mean that everything that he has done has been directed at the wrong people. He is guilty of betraying his own family on behalf of a conniving witch."

Nadir stepped in "Perhaps I could help you to convince him. I am a former police chief and am well versed in dealing with these sorts of matters."

Christian looked at him indecisively "I don't know, the problem is that he is very ill and irrational, I am surprised that he has even traveled this far. He is in the late stages of syphilis. It is rather ironic given the fact that our family history is so involved with the god Apollo. The first recipient of the disease was said to be a shepherd named Sipylus. An Italian poet Girolamo Fracastoro wrote an epic poem where he claimed that Sipylus was given the disease by Apollo as a punishment for his defiance of the god. That would certainly be fitting in our situation."

I looked at my cousin in amusement "You are a wellspring of mythological knowledge. Your parents should not have named you Christian since you seem to have a penchant for all things classical and you are constantly injecting them during the most unlikely times."

He replied defensively "I am simply a student of history, particularly our family's history."

I silenced him "Really cousin, you must learn to be a little less serious, I was joking."

Everyone laughed, particularly Meg, at the irony of me the dark, brooding, Phantom teasing my light, golden cousin but Christian had grown a little more tentative around me since I found out what he had done.

"Go and see your father, and bring him here to us if he can be trusted not to be too disruptive." I told him, more seriously.

"I do not know." Christian admitted. "One of the reasons that I never returned to Konigswinter is because of his disposition. Ever since he contracted his illness he has been especially crazy and paranoid."

"How long has he been ill?" I asked gently.

"For a long time, he is in his late fifties, but I don't expect him to live much longer. Mentally he was alright for a while, even after he found out that he had the disease. The last time that I went back was a few years ago, and he was in bad shape." He told me.

"I'm sorry." I told him and in many ways I was being truthful. The man did destroy my chance of a normal childhood but I had blood on my hands as well. My sanity had been fragile on more than one occasion in my life. Although I would not be terribly sorry to see the man suffer and die, I did feel sorry about all that had happened.

I mused "I wonder what might have been if the two brothers had remained close; if the Comtesse had stayed in Auvergne, so many wasted lives. So much death and suffering."

Christian agreed "So much avoidable tragedy, all due to one crazy woman. She was the one who misguided both my father and I from the beginning. Let me explain what happened. Perhaps you will understand both of us better."

Christian's POV

I looked at my father's inauspicious arrival with trepidation. Erik barely trusted me as it was and to add my father into the mix could create an explosion more dangerous than a stick of dynamite. I could barely remember a time when my father was not unstable. I began to explain everything. I felt as if the entire room was my confessors, but since they knew much of it anyhow, little that I could say would come as a shock to them. I turned to them and explained:

"My father started life bitter and angry at the world for denying him his birthright as a Mulheim. My mother was from a very wealthy family, but she was just a daughter and therefore did not bring much wealth to my father. My maternal grandfather, Graf Heinrich von Falkenstein did not approve of my mother's marriage even if my father was a Baron.

My mother was bewitched by his golden Nordic looks, and begged her for her father's permission to marry him. The Graf refused for a while, but finally gave in to his favorite daughte'rs tears. He summoned my father to him and told him that while he would permit the marriage, he would not support them financially. He was hoping that my father would give up on the idea of marriage. He wrongfully believed that my father was strictly a fortune hunter. There were plenty of titled fortune hunters roaming around the social scene but my father was not one of them. He accepted the challenge and married my mother anyhow.

My father had a good head for business and was able to raise me in decent comfort. We wanted for nothing. My mother would tell me that there was a time when my father was very stable and content until a visitor from France changed everything.

December 17, 1846 Konigswinter (near Bonn) Germany

It was a cold winter's day right before Christmas. My father had gone out to find a Christmas tree and buy to some gifts to put in our home. He found the right one and carried it to the sleigh to bring back home. It was very cold out and he decided to have a beer and warm himself by the fire for a while. He had been sitting there for a few minutes by himself, when a woman in her forties came in and sat down. Despite her age the woman was very beautiful. She was much older than my father but he still admired her. She was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. She came over to him and introduced herself as the Comtesse de la Bois. She told him that she was on her way to Berlin from her home in Alsace.

Otto was surprised by the coincidence and told her "My father was Alsatian perhaps you knew him. He died when I was a child."

She smiled back "I am sure that I did, at least I hope so. Anyone who had such a handsome son must have been good looking in his own right. What was his name?"

"Baron Georges de Mulheim, his brother still lives there now, Baron Erik de Mulheim." He told her.

She smiled brightly "Of course I do. I knew both men very well. My husband was their best friend. At one time the three were inseparable until they began to fight over me. I tried to tell them to stop but they wouldn't listen, especially not Erik. He and your father almost fought a duel over me. They were very bitter towards one another but I am sure that you have heard about it." She told him. "It was your uncle who had your father disowned and forced him to leave Strasbourg. He has grown to be a very cruel man.

Otto shrugged "I know nothing about it. How could I? I was very young when my father died."

"Well, I did know that." She said "There is a rumor about your uncle that is going around Alsace. Many believe that it was your Uncle who murdered him. Not by his own hand of course, Erik is too sly to openly admit it but that he hired someone to do it for him."

"I don't believe you." Otto told her. "Why would he kill his own brother?"

"Check the police records you will find the truth in there. The police found the culprit and he made a full confession. In the meantime let me show you why they fought over me." She leaned into him. "If you are willing to accompany me upstairs to my room, you will not regret it. We French are exceptional in the art of love, and I am the most exceptional of all."

She looked at him seductively. She caressed him whispering
"Let me show you. Your wife is tucked away at home with your child. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I promise you."

"How did you know about my wife and child?" Otto asked suspiciously.

"I saw you with a Christmas tree, and toys. I am very observant, that is one reason that I am so expert in my favors. You are quite handsome, like all of your family. Your father was so handsome." she purred. "I am very lonely; my husband is coming to Berlin on a later train. I stopped here in Konigswinter to see an old friend.

Otto made one last effort to deny her, but she was very seductive. He decided to take what she offered, and for the one and only time in his marriage he betrayed my mother. By the time that they finished she dug her tendrils into his mind and convinced him that his uncle had killed his parents. The next day he checked the records, and found that she spoke the truth. The man confessed that he had been hired by a French Baron to kill his own brother and his family. Otto was quite angry at his uncle, and the fact that he got away with disowning and killing his parents. He vowed revenge.

The Comtesse suggested that he go after Erik's favorite son Charles in Normandy. "Your uncle took an innocent life when he killed your mother, so you should do the same. Make the old man know what it is like to lose a loved one." Still enraged, Otto decided that the punishment was just and went into Normandy to exact revenge. He found his cousin's project, and it was not too difficult to find a way to cause an accident. Charles would inspect his projects after his workmen would leave for the day. When they were gone Otto sabotaged part of the structure of the project and then stayed to watch the result. To his dismay a child wondered into the area that he had sabotaged. My father almost revealed his position to stop the child, but Charles saw the boy and the loosened masonry and rushed in to push the child aside. He saved the boy's life, but lost his own.

Father was never the same after that visit from the Comtesse. It was not much later when he found that he was infected with Syphilis. The disease made him paranoid. He became convinced that everything terrible that happened to our family was a result of his uncle's misdeeds. When your grandfather sent me for me, after losing his last child in the war; my father insisted that I take care of him at last. After I killed my great uncle, the Comtesse came to see me and told me that she knew everything that had been done by both my father and myself and had evidence against both of us. From that point on, we were her creatures to command. The only thing that has kept my father remotely sane over the years has been his belief that his uncle ruined his life and therefore deserved his fate. He does not really want to harm you but he will do the mad woman's bidding because he feels that he must. "

Everyone looked at me, each wearing the same look of anger, shock, and pity. I turned to Erik and his friend Nadir. "What would you have me do? I can understand why you would want to harm my father Erik."

Erik glanced at his friend "Any thoughts Daroga? Do I drive him from the Chateau, speak with him, kill him or forgive him?"

"Let me talk to him Erik, perhaps together we can sway him. A long time ago he was a good man before she ruined his life." I pleaded.

Erik looked at Nadir. "It is amazing that this woman has not received a reckoning before. Her list of victim grows each time we speak of her. I could almost feel sorry for the boy if he is coming to see her. She will destroy him too if given the chance to do so. As much as I despise him she should not be permitted to claim any more lives."

"She reminds me of the Khanum. She feeds on death, like a jackal feeds on a gazelle. The only way to beat her is to unite against her, and stay all together like a herd. The stronger of us must protect the weaker, even if we despise them. It may come down to you and me protecting Otto, or even the Vicomte, to defeat her aims. Could you do it even if it meant protecting your sworn enemy?" He asked Erik.

My cousin thought for a moment and gave his old friend a knowing smile. "It would be an interesting twist, if it were even possible, to enlist the Vicomte as an ally. He is a sanctimonious prig but he is not inherently evil like she is, just an insufferable baboon."

Nadir smiled "But even a monkey is capable of learning and changing Erik."

"We shall see, Nadir." He turned to me. "Bring your father here. It is time that we had another family reunion. I look forward to getting to know yet another Mulheim with a knack for killing."