Before I do the review replies, I have something to share with everyone. The Whispered Word, Lenore has a hater! Here is the review said hater left, and how I would have responded, had I been able to talk to Eww directly. (The parts of the review Eww left are between the "" "" marks.)
"" The following review has been submitted to: The Whispered Word, Lenore
Chapter: 52
From: Eww... () ""
Hmm. Interesting. Too afraid to give me your name, Eww? I also note that you didn't give me an email. Clearly you don't want a reply. Why could that be? Are you afraid that I might say mean things back to you? Or do you have some small measure of intelligence and realize this isn't worth a fight? If that's the case, I wish you'd had enough sense to not even bother reviewing, as that's the more polite thing to do if you don't like someone's fic. Oh well. I also notice that you aren't signed in to Perhaps you don't have an account. But if you do, you clearly don't want me reading your work or favorite stories and finding out what you think is a good fanfic. Moving on...
"" Okay... There are SO many things wrong with this fanfic. I haven't read the whole thing; only skimmed through it. ""
Wait, you're leaving a review after only skimming my story? I can tell you that my story has a vast amount of detail throughout, you can't possibly truly know or understand what's been going on if you only skimmed...
"" But that's enough to know that it's bad. By looking at the reviews, I've realized that nobody has said anything. So I'm stepping up. ""
Hm, maybe they didn't say anything because...le gasp! they like it and think it's good!! But hey, be my guest. I enjoy it when people prove how stupid they are.
"" Look... You have good grammar, so I'll give you props for that. Now onward. ""
Oh, well, thanks I guess. Never thought my grammar was all that great myself, but...
"" 1. Really, back in the time that The Phantom of the Opera was placed, it was,
as far as I know, very frowned-upon and improper to sleep in the same bed, even when you got married. ""
Ah, stupidity rears its humorous head! If you'd read the third paragraph in the first disclaimer in chapter 1, you'd know this doesn't take place in the time period Phantom is placed in. It takes place in present day. And, I do so love this admission "as far as I know". Clearly you don't know much. Yes, the high society and probably middle class would have slept in separate beds. But the lower class would definitely not worry about what's proper. The whole family might share a bed, depending on how poor they were.
"" 2. Lenore? LENORE?? Really, that is the most cliche name I have ever heard for back then. Yes, I like the name. Yes, I like Edgar Allan Poe's poems. But I've read too many fanfics set in this time where the girl's name is either Lenore or Lenora. ""
Firstly, once again, we're not in "this time" you refer to. Apparently it's become a cliche. Would you look at that? I wonder when it became a cliche. Because I started this story about two years ago. So if the cliche status came about sometime after that, maybe I'm responsible. Anyway, you say you like the name...so why are you complaining about it? I personally haven't encountered any other phanfics with the name Lenore or Lenora, but I'm a college student, and actually have a life, thus having things to do like go to class, do homework, hang out with friends. Obviously you have nothing better to do with your time than read fanfiction online. Maybe you should look into getting some friends...
"" 3. Let's just be honest... Erik loves ONLY Christine. That is NOT going to change. And, in the book and maybe in the movie, he dies three weeks after Christine leaves. He died out of his love for HER. ""
I've read the book, and seen the movie. I know that in the book, he dies 3 weeks after she leaves for his love of her. But, had you actually read the story rather than skimmed, you'd know I addressed that issue. Now, I think it's incredibly sad that you think Erik loved her. Personally, I'd say Erik was obsessed with her and worshipped her like a goddess. That's not really love in the sense you mean. A psychologist would probably love to debate the issue of whether or not Erik loved her or was obsessed, but I'm not going to get into that. Apparently, you believe that Erik couldn't possibly get over Christine and find it in his heart to love any one else. So glad to know that you have no faith in the idea that someone can learn to love, and live, again. If you wanted an Erik/Christine fic, why would you start reading one where Christine isn't listed as one of the principal characters?
"" 4. You're in college? Quite honestly, I'm rather surprised. You wrote sex in an uncomfortably descriptive manner. I mean, I know it's rated M, but it's everywhere. ""
Yes, I'm in college. How old are you? Probably you're simply a very literate high school student, or else you've never moved out of your parents' house. Uncomfortably descriptive sex scene? I'm so sorry that you felt uncomfortable. No one else seems to have. It's everywhere, you say. What, my story? No, I'm sure you mean that sex is everywhere. Is that my fault? I rate it M because I'd rather over-rate then under-rate. If I under-rate, the admins might delete it/get all up my ass about it. Which isn't something I have time to deal with. And, for your information, someone with a bachelor's degree in Creative Writing told me that my sex scene, especially with the "descriptions" I used, border on being 'X' rated.
"" 5. Hiroshi? Just... no. ""
Hiroshi is 'no', now. Maybe you should be a bit more specific, as this doesn't make much sense at all. If you simply didn't like Hiroshi, well, a lot of people don't. He's creepy, and hating him is rather the point, though he can be amusing at times. I mean, come on, he's Jack the Ripper. Oh, wait, you didn't read the story. You probably don't know that.
"" 6. The words "emo" and "meanie" were not known back then, so how come they
keep saying it? ""
Yeah, get in the same time period as the story, Eww.
"" I can't say much else, since I haven't read it. However, I do plan on reading it over the next few days. I won't review again, since that would just be stupid, and I'll probably be too disgusted to do so anyway. I'm sorry, but from what I've seen, this just isn't a good fanfic. At all. ""
In light of what you've said, maybe you should have read it before leaving a review. You want to read it, fine. Personally, if I didn't like it as much as you claim not to, I wouldn't read it at all. But waste your time, that's none of my concern. It's a shame you weren't too disgusted to review the first time... Well, everyone has a different definition of what is or is not a good fanfic. Maybe if you had a fanfiction account and let me know what it is, I could find out what you think is good. But until I get that opportunity, you can take your opinions about my story, put them in your nose, and snort them for all I care.
Now, interestingly enough, I got another review from Eww two minutes after the first:
"" From: Eww... Again ()
I have only just noticed that it takes place in present day.
I'm sorry. That just made it worse. ""
Now, this review came from Chapter 24. More chapter skimming apparently. But at least you finally realized what time period the story is set in, dear Eww. Oh, it made it worse for you? Poor thing. Maybe now you'll stop wasting my time and yours writing reviews for a story you don't like. You are quite clearly closed-minded, since you can't even give a shot to a phanfic written in present day. There are many people who actually like this story, about a consistent 150 readers. I'm on 24 favorite lists, and 29 alert lists. As long as there's one person out there who reads and likes this story, I'll keep posting it. If you were hoping to hurt my feelings and make me feel insecure about this fic, hoping that I would take it down because you "stepped up" and informed me how horrible you think it is...you've got another think coming, Eww. Just shove it up your ass and stop wasting my time.
Lady Taevyn: Sorry if you didn't like the séance, but I needed it…you'll see why at the beginning of this chapter.
Lethia: Yeah, surprisingly enough, Lenore went 11 months without any sex.
Black Hole Phoenix: Hell became holy the moment Ember shrieked 'what the holy hell?', lol. And yeah, Satan as a little girl is very amusing, isn't it? Yes, your influence prompted newfound appreciation in "Sound of the Underground." And sorry for all the names/euphemisms for Satan that you felt were smushed into one breath. I just get tired of using the same two or three names for satan over and over…cuz in America, we like to change things up a bit. Chevron 7, locked!
Timeflies: You know, you've got a good point. It is pretty surprising that Lenore's sane after all the weird things that've happened to her (and continue to happen to her)
MJ MOD: Hmm, I never thought about how Erik would feel if he knew Satan was comparing him to God. You'll find out who the person with the Irish accent is in this chapter, practically right away.
Hot4Gerry: Unfortunately, Satan gets all the credit for Lenore and Erik having children. No kinder, higher, sweeter power involved. Just nasty old Satan. And it's true that Erik doesn't want to lose Lenore when she dies, but there's no way for him to be saved now. And he won't take heaven away from her, so…
June Birdie: As to what happened to Rosalyn, she just retired. That's all.
Iamphantomgirl: While I have the option to delete the flames that Eww left, I'm not going to. It's not worth the two seconds it would take. Also, if there are others out there like Eww, maybe they'll see Eww's reviews before reading the story and save both their time and mine by not reading and leaving worthless, unhelpful reviews.
I'm sure you all know the spiel by now, I don't own Phantom, fic takes place about twenty years into the present, blah blah blah, REVIEW…
Erik scowled as he followed Lenore to the diva's suite. Spectacular. He would interfere with the séance, I should have known he'd show up. Perhaps Erik wouldn't have been so irritated if the séance had achieved the results he wanted. But since it hadn't, Erik was feeling rather vicious.
"Erik, lad, ye wouldn't be mad at me, eh?" the feminine voice asked. At a height of only five foot, the diminutive red headed male leaning against the wall in Erik's domain seemed little more than a young boy. In all actuality, Tristan was three thousand one hundred and eighty eight years old. He was the basis for the legend of Medb, or Queen Mab if you preferred Shakespeare's name for the rascal.
Not only did Tristan have a feminine voice, but he had a rather effeminate look which he truly enjoyed. Tristan was usually seen wearing women's clothes, and sometimes women's jewelry as well. Today's choice of garments included a white mini skirt, emerald green tank top, black thigh-high stockings, and black mary janes. A silver locket was just visible in the darkness, and Erik was almost certain he'd caught a glimpse of diamond earrings.
"You shouldn't meddle," Erik snarled.
"Ye ain't got to get into a snit o'er it, though," Tristan whined with his Irish accent. He gave his waist length red braid a tug that was his trademark unconscious gesture to state he was sad. His golden eyes stared morosely through the wall opposite him. (Tristan had no central vision whatsoever, and his peripheral vision was extremely poor, allowing him to see only vague blurred shadows out of the corners of his eyes.)
"It was none of your business," Erik informed the immortal who fell into step with him as they continued through the walls to the diva's suite.
"It's because I called ye me laddie, innit?" Tristan guessed. "Didn't want your little wife hearin' that, did ye? She's got nothin' to worry about, ye turned me down flat as I recall."
That was true enough; at the first meeting of the Circle that Erik had ever attended, Tristan had taken him aside and offered to be his lover, temporarily or permanently, whichever Erik desired. He had gone so far as to assure Erik that should Erik want to bring a girl into the relationship, Tristan would welcome it gladly. He had no qualms in sharing a lover. Erik had immediately and firmly refused the idea, and had yet to regret it.
"The offer still stands, though, if ye be wantin' to change your mind," Tristan purred.
"I'd say I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that would be lying," Erik dismissed the suggestion. (Every time Tristan visited Erik, he repeated his offer, and every time Erik turned him down. One would think Tristan could get it through his thick head that Erik wasn't interested.)
Upon reaching the diva's suite, Erik discovered that Evans had followed Lenore, profusely thanking her for being part of the séance, even though it had failed to achieve results.
"The next step will have to be an exorcism," Evans said regretfully, shaking his head over the prospect. "It's the only way to be sure everyone will be safe."
"I don't think an exorcism will do you any good," Lenore sighed. "If you ask me, the best course of action is to just do what he wants."
"He wants you fired," Evans informed her. "It doesn't make sense; you've got the best voice I've ever heard, and I always understood that's what he wanted of the cast."
"Maybe my voice is too similar to Christine's, and it's too painful for him to bear," Lenore suggested with a shrug as she helped Ember gather up toys and place them in the bag containing all the paraphernalia needed for an outing with the twins.
"Listen boy, just do what he asks," Ember advised. "Twenty two years I ran this Opera House, and Rosalyn and I did everything he asked. How much trouble did we have? Just one murder, in the first year, and that was because the ghost was jealous of another man paying attentions to my sister."
"And then he kidnapped your sister," Evans pointed out.
"Yes, and she died shortly thereafter," Ember reminded the boy. "Now, whether you believe the police that he was actually some drug lord who murdered her because she wouldn't financially support his trade or you believe the rumors that it truly was the ghost and he killed her for refusing to love him is your choice. But that was the only problem we ever had with the Phantom."
"Good night, Monsieur Evans," Lenore said sweetly, slinging the bag over her shoulder and picking up Thomas in his car seat. "Make sure you take our suggestions into consideration before you decide on an exorcism."
"Thanks for the help," Lenore said to Ember as they exited the Opera House. "Why can't they just do what he wants? Is it too much to ask?"
"Hell no," Ember answered. "They just want a little extra pocket money. Why bother paying for special insurance when you can keep that money for yourself? Who cares if your business falls to pieces when you've got an extra fifty thousand in the bank at the end of each month?"
"Let's just be thankful we weren't such moronic asses when we ran the opera house," Lenore mumbled.
"We? I believe Rosalyn and I did all the running; you were busy cavorting around in dark underground passages with a ghost," Ember reminded her sister.
"Well…that's not the point," Lenore giggled.
"You got the better end of that deal."
"Oh yeah, absolutely. Being told when to go to bed and get up, what to wear, what to eat, the numerous ways that my arguments were flawed…definitely the better end of the deal," Lenore retorted. "If anyone got the better end of that deal, it was Erik."
"I quite agree, chérie," Erik purred in her ear.
"Thank you for sneaking up on me," Lenore commented, shooting a dark glare at him over her shoulder. "Honestly, what if you scared me so bad, I dropped Thomas?"
"Let me hold the boy," demanded the feminine Irish voice from the séance. A red haired girl shorter than Lenore appeared to her left and fell into step beside her, staring straight ahead and waiting for a reply.
"And just who the hell are you?" Lenore inquired. So it wasn't Erik using ventriloquism to end the séance; but how could there possibly be another girl that Erik loved who isn't Christine? He would've told me if there was a lover between me and Christine…at least, I think he would've told me.
"Call me Tris," the girl suggested, a devious smile on her lips. "I be knowing Erik for many years now, lass. A lot longer than ye have."
"You're trying my patience, Tristan," Erik growled.
"I was just havin' a bit o' fun with her," Tristan whined.
"Wait, Tristan is a boy's name," Lenore said.
"No, it's unisex," Ember informed her.
"Tristan" – Lenore began.
"Tris," the red head interrupted her.
"Fine, Tris, are you male or female?"
"Female," Tristan stated.
"Male," Erik snarled. "He's a member of the Circle."
"Ye be spoilin' all my fun," Tristan whined at Erik, tugging his waist length braid.
"No offence, Tris, but…you look like a girl," Lenore told the immortal.
"Thank ye," Tris grinned. "Did ye know I be the legendary Queen Mab?"
"Um, no, not really. Erik doesn't talk about his family that much," Lenore shrugged.
"That's the way you like it, ma petite," Erik remarked.
"Too true," Lenore agreed.
"Can I see the boy?" Tris inquired, changing the subject.
"Are you going to leave without having seen the babies?" Lenore asked with a tired sigh.
"Is that a yes?"
"Yes, it's a yes," Lenore replied.
Everything went suddenly black, and she had a strange rested feeling, as if all the fatigue from taking care of the twins, opera rehearsals, and the séance had simply vanished. She was still walking forward of course, and it vaguely occurred to her that perhaps, due to being completely unable to see anything, she should halt.
"Oh, he's adorable, he'll be a handsome lad like his father," her voice sounded on her right, slightly above Lenore's current height. "Hand me the girl, won't ye?"
Lenore stopped dead in her tracks, utterly confused that her voice wasn't coming from her own mouth. Erik's hands suddenly gripped her shoulders and gently but firmly pushed her forward to get her walking again.
"Don't worry, chérie, Tristan won't keep your body for too long," Erik informed her. "As I'm sure you've noticed by now, Tristan is blind, so to see our children, he needs to switch consciousness with someone who can see."
"Why didn't he switch with you then?" Lenore mumbled angrily as Erik continued to guide her. After all, if Erik had known this was what Tristan intended, he should have at least warned her, if not taken the burden upon himself instead.
"Because he doesn't want to be me, he wants to be you," Erik explained. "Surely you realized during the séance that he has an attraction to me. Seeing as how you're my wife, he envies you, and had an opportunity to be you. In the physical sense at least."
Her vision returned just as suddenly as it had gone, and she blinked in confusion. She was now holding Sonata and Ember had taken Thomas. Clearly Tristan had switched babies with Ember so that he wouldn't have to bother being Ember for a few moments to take a look at Sonata.
"Erik, lad, ye've got such strong hands," Tristan purred. At which point Erik removed his hands from Tristan's shoulders, glowering at the short immortal.
Achaius labored over his last project, humming softly under his breath. William had been informed not to disturb him in any way, unless something dramatic happened to his quarry. When he finished, he set his project aside with a smile. Finally, everything was ready. Time had just run out, and he had completed all preparations for the mission. Tomorrow night, he would accomplish what he'd set out to do five months ago.
Tomorrow night…tomorrow is the anniversary of…of the day I lost…my sister. Ruth…I…
Achaius looked up into the hazel eyes of the young man sitting opposite him. "I didn't expect to see you today," he commented.
"I drop in when the mood suits me, as you well know," his visitor replied carelessly.
"You…you don't disapprove of what I'm doing, right? You won't try to stop me?" Achaius asked nervously.
"No, I came to encourage you. I think it's a splendid plan, and I'm all for it." The man smiled maliciously, a clear sign he was truly delighted with what Achaius had come up with. "Tomorrow night then, right?"
"Yes," Achaius confirmed. Tomorrow night, he would have precisely what he wanted.
"Why are you coming home with us?" Lenore snapped. "We don't have room in the car."
"No lyin' now, Lenore," Tristan chided. "Ye and me can share the front seat."
"Technically, yes. But it's kind of illegal to put two people in one seat."
"Don't worry. If we get pulled o'er, I'll be sure those police don't ticket us," Tristan assured her.
"It's immoral to mess with their minds," Lenore reprimanded.
"Erik, lad, I feel sorry for ye. She's no fun," Tristan remarked. "She always like this?"
"She's certainly not the first to condone immoral or illegal actions," Erik answered vaguely.
Tristan sighed. "And to think ye want her o'er me," he muttered. Tristan just couldn't understand it. There didn't seem to be any common grounds between Erik and Lenore. Erik was a murderer, which Lenore loathed and prohibited. Erik was malicious, Lenore was kind. It was a classic attraction of Darkness and Light. They were opposites, created to be together, generated to kill one another. Darkness would creep up on the Light, eating it up. Light would slowly bleed into the Darkness, burning it away. It was a relationship that never ended well.
Except this time, they wouldn't kill each other. Light would change the Darkness, no doubt of that, but could never kill Darkness. Simply because Darkness was, in this case, immortal. And so Light would perish, leaving Darkness in sorrow. And I'll be there to help ease the pain. Can't leave me laddie lonely.
"Why are you spending the night?" Lenore asked Tristan as the short immortal bounded up the stairs of her home.
"I like to see me laddie now and then," he answered jovially as he disappeared down the corridor.
"Is he going to stay until Christmas?" Lenore inquired of Erik.
"He'll most likely stay until after New Year's," Erik replied.
"Why did your family have to be so…bizarre?" Lenore complained as they headed upstairs with Ember and the twins.
"Because yours had to be normal," Erik said.
"I hope you don't mean 'normal' as an insult," Ember remarked.
"Take it in any way you like," Erik shrugged.
"Insulting your wife's family in front of a member of said family is extremely rude," Ember informed him. When he neglected to apologize for his discourteous manner, Ember shook her head with a sigh. "I don't know why you married him, Lenore."
"Well, he's rich, and the sex is great," Lenore responded. "What else does a woman need?"
Before Ember or Erik could speculate on the needs of a woman beyond money and good sex, Tulia appeared at the top of the stairs. "Master Tristan is in the nursery with a hammer and nails," Tulia said fretfully.
"Tristan, what are you doing?" Erik called.
"Putting horseshoes on the cradles," Tristan's voice replied nonchalantly.
"Why?" Lenore asked as they reached the top of the steps and headed for the nursery.
"To protect the infants from the fairies," he answered. "I may be the midwife o' the faeries, but that don't mean I can stop 'em from taking my sister's babes."
"I am not your sister," Lenore snapped, entering the nursery just as Tristan began attaching the first horseshoe to Thomas's cradle.
When Tristan finished nailing the first horseshoe to the cradle, there was a few moments of blessed silence, which Erik used to address Lenore's comment to Tristan about their relation.
"The Circle is considered to be Satan's children, which makes the immortals siblings. As Tristan is considered to be my brother, you're his sister-in-law. However, in his time, there was no such reference as sister-in-law to refer to one's brother's wife. By marriage, she was a member of the family, and thus was called 'sister'," Erik explained.
"Whatever," Lenore sighed as Tristan commenced making a racket by fastening the second horseshoe to Sonata's cradle.
Erik was in a foul mood the next morning. He had promised to attend that meeting of the Circle today, and he wasn't looking forward to it. His time would be better spent in the Opera House, pestering those obnoxious managers of his. But Satan was becoming dangerously jealous of Lenore, so Erik had to at least show up to the meeting for a few minutes to keep Lenore safe.
As if a meeting with the Circle wasn't enough, Tristan had given a spectacular contribution to Erik's agitation. Last night, while Tristan was finishing adorning the cradles with horseshoes, Lenore had subtly suggested a desire for intimacy. Shortly after Erik had laid Lenore down on the bed, while he was in the process of removing her garments, Tristan pranced into the bedroom, all but begging to be included in their activities.
When Erik refused to allow that, Tristan pouted a few seconds before slipping into the bed and stating that this was the most comfortable bed in the house, and as the oldest person present, it was where he intended to sleep, simply carry on with their lovemaking and ignore his presence. Which had effectively ruined the mood. Realizing they had opted to forego taking pleasure in one another's bodies, Tristan snuggled up to Lenore, saying that he liked having a sister to spend the night with.
Thus, Erik had spent the night in his study, knowing full well that Tristan would attempt to take advantage of Erik should he stay in bed. Tristan was one of the three immortals that Lenore would be safe with (the other two being Gershom and Lucas), so Erik could afford to leave her alone with him.
Standing beside the bed, Erik shook his head. Tristan was curled around Lenore, snoring loudly. Lenore was mumbling incomprehensibly in her sleep. Though he hated to wake her, she needed to be getting ready for work. He reached out and shook her gently.
"No touch. Bad panda monkeys," she grumbled, clearly failing to awake.
Trying again, Erik shook her a bit more roughly than before, which incidentally jarred Tristan a bit.
"Faeries planned it," he mumbled before returning to his snoring.
Erik rolled his eyes and walked to the end of the bed. He yanked the covers down to the bottom of the bed and the two occupants moaned in protest, snuggling closer to one another, if that was even possible, for the warmth.
"Chérie, you need to get up," Erik commanded.
"Don't want to," Lenore whimpered.
"You wouldn't have to if you hadn't become the diva at the Opera House. It is time to pay the consequences for your decision," Erik told her.
"But…oh, fine," she mumbled, yawning as she opened her eyes and began extracting herself from Tristan's hold.
"Don't go," Tristan whined, not wanting to lose the warmth Lenore provided.
"You need to be up too," Erik informed him. "The Circle's meeting today. Or did you forget?"
Tristan sighed. "I don't know why I be needin' to go," he complained. "I ain't never missed a meetin' yet, you'd think I could skip just once."
"You wouldn't want to mar a perfect record like that," Erik returned. "Especially after three thousand plus years."
"Not tryin' to make me feel old, are you laddie?" Tristan teased.
Erik shrugged and left the room to see that Ember was up and in the process of preparing to leave.
An hour later, Erik had dropped Lenore, Ember and the twins at the Opera House, left the car in the car park, and made his way with Tristan down to Hell for the utterly pointless meeting of the Circle.
"Erik, I didn't know you'd be joining us," Hiroshi remarked upon seeing Erik. "I thought you'd be busy with those delightfully torturous managers of yours."
"I'm only here in the interests of protecting my wife," Erik explained.
"Satan started threatening her then. I was worried it would come to that," Hiroshi muttered. "Well, your attendance should help pacify him somewhat. He's been very anxious since yesterday and it makes me worry that something's up. But he was probably just nervous you wouldn't show, right?"
"He's well aware I have no desire to be here," Erik shrugged.
"Roshi, you know where Lucas is?" Tristan asked. Lucas, though disgusted with Tristan's femininity, was always kind to Tristan, and usually had some little gift for him.
"Oh, couldn't make it. Prior engagement," Hiroshi answered. "He'll see you at Christmas though."
"I'm spendin' Christmas with me laddie," Tristan stated.
"Oh, I know. We all are," Hiroshi replied. "Well, except Khaldun, you know how anti human-world he is."
"Tell me I misheard that," Erik growled.
"Didn't we tell you? We've all decided to spend Christmas at your house this year."
Lenore was finding it difficult to hide her frustration. She had just finished this night's performance of Aida, and wished to return to the diva's suite immediately. But the press was dying for photographs and interviews, to discuss her triumphant return to the stage. Perhaps she wouldn't have minded so much if Erik had been in the building; he had promised to leave the meeting a few minutes into it, but according to Ember, Erik hadn't shown up by Intermission. Which meant he'd been at that damned meeting all day.
Maybe he likes going to those meetings. Maybe the only reason he stopped going when he met me was because he knew I wouldn't approve. But who in their right mind would enjoy going to Hell and talking about invading Heaven? Besides, Erik told me he doesn't care about Satan's war with God. It just doesn't make sense. There's no reason for him to have stuck around…unless maybe Satan said he'd kill me if Erik didn't stay for the whole thing. But the meeting should be over by now, it's almost eleven.
It wasn't until almost eleven thirty that Lenore managed to return to her dressing room. She neglected to slam the door shut behind her as the twins might be asleep. "Ember, has"-
She stopped mid-sentence, simply staring at the sight before her. Only one light was on in the room, a very dim one on an end table. Ember seemed to be fast asleep on couch next to the end table along the wall. Which would have been dismissed as nothing out of the ordinary if Thomas and Sonata didn't have what appeared to be Native American amulets around their necks. Sonata babbled happily, holding hers up for her mother to see. Thomas, on the other hand, was glaring off into a dark corner of the room.
"I've been waiting to meet you," a voice colder than death came from the corner. A boy about her height with pale blonde hair who seemed to be just out of his teens stepped into the light, his iron gray eyes fixed on Lenore intently. There was a hint of deep affection in those eyes, and it worried Lenore.
"Who are you? What did you do to Ember?"
"She's fine. She'll wake after I leave," the boy answered. "You…you look like…you look like Ruth."
"I'm not Ruth, I"-
"I know who you are," the boy interrupted her. "I was at your wedding. I'm Erik's brother, Lucas."
"Oh. So you came to give the twins those amulets to celebrate their birth," Lenore guessed. He may have gone about it a bit oddly, but he was an immortal and they tended to do things in any fashion other than normal.
"I have something for you as well."
"That's really not necessary."
"It is," Lucas said, stepping closer as he pulled a flask out of his pocket. The contents were dark and syrupy, and something told Lenore she most definitely didn't want it. "For you. You have to drink every drop." He removed the cork and held it out to her.
"No, really"-
"I insist!" he commanded sharply.
"What is it?" she asked, her hand twitching with a strange sudden impulse to accept the flask.
"You already know that," Lucas informed her, his iron gray eyes boring into hers. Despite how badly her hand seemed to want to take it, she wouldn't allow it. "Do you need me to pour it down your throat for you? Erik needed Hiroshi to help him, there's no shame in needing help."
Dear God, he's trying to turn me immortal!
"I know this chapter was shorter than usual, but this was a perfect place to stop and leave you all in suspense. Not to mention the fact that it's finals week here at college and I don't have time to write much more before I have to do some studying and/or packing," Tammy explained. "Also, I'm taking the spring semester off. Since I'll be at home, I won't have the unlimited internet access…I might not be able to get on very much at all, so there may be long periods of time between updates."
"You're absolutely terrible, creampuff," Hiroshi complained, referring to the fact that updates might become extremely slow.
"Oh shut up! If you would've helped do homework and projects, and helped study for tests, I would have been able to do more updates this semester, and then it wouldn't suck as much!" Tammy snarled, brandishing the shocky spork.
"I'm not doing your work."
"Then you're good for nothing and I should eliminate you!"
"Don't overreact, creampuff."
"SHOCKY SPORK! Anyways, readers, please leave reviews." That said, Tammy trudged off to try to get something college-related accomplished, leaving Hiroshi twitching and smoking on the floor next to the computer.
