Thank you to my most recent readers who left reviews MissFleck734, Marliesaur, Rising Phoenix-82 and You are Love. You are Love, I am honored that you are reading this and enjoying my story. Your stories are great, and TMara's as well. I urge anyone reading this to read their stories.
A special thanks as always to TMara, Kitkat, MarilynKC and of course my beta Judybear236. For those of you who feel that Judy needs to do a better job because of my typos etc., it is not her fault, most of the time it takes me a little bit to apply her fixes because I am too eager to get these chapters out to you. If you hate my typos you can wait a little and they might be gone.
Chapter 54
Once the women left, Erik walked over to Henri, who glanced at him despondently. Erik did not know what to say. A part of him was still hurt and angry at what Henri had thought of him, but Erik knew that everyone was right; he needed to move on. Even George had urged him to make peace with Henri from his sickbed. But that was George, he was always happy to provide his homespun advice, especially if he could frame it with some anecdote from his Civil War experience. He smiled at the thought of George tracking him down even in hell, when Erik's inevitable death would come. He was sure that George would impart some sort of war experience that he felt relevant to hell, like a blazing battle on a hot day. Perhaps he might even offer Erik some of his delicious barbeque, cornbread or grits to make his stay in hell just a little bit more comfortable. George was always telling him that 'good old American finger food was superior to anything that the French could make. Or perhaps, George would just introduce him to some of his old friends, or icons, like JEB Stuart or Robert E. Lee, or one of the other Southern heroes that he was always talking about. George always prominently displayed on his desk, a photograph of the younger version of him posing with General Lee, which had been taken on the eve of First Manassas, when he was still a raw young recruit. He would point it out to Erik, on each and every visit, as if he were showing it to Erik for the first time.
Erik cleared his throat for a moment, as if he were clearing his mind, for his confrontation with his brother. He was not used to making peace with people. Most people with whom he had conflicts in the past were no longer around to mend fences with, either because they were dead or had wisely fled Erik's wrath. For a moment the two brothers just stared at one other, their aqua eyes locked together. They both searched for a way to break the ice.
Henri was the first to speak. He realized that it was his own stubbornness that had started their problems with one another. "Listen Erik, I am sorry for everything that I said before. I was wrong to have accused you of harming our mother without hearing your side of it first. Lalie tells me all of the time that I need to restrain my volatile temper, but it can be kind of difficult."
Erik smirked "Kind of difficult? Why that is an understatement. If we do have one thing in common, it is that you and I share the same terrible temper. It is not one of the better traits that we inherited from our forebears. I have always had a hard time controlling my own outbursts. It has usually resulted in some sort of terrible price for me to pay, since I do not exactly endear myself to others, even when I am on my best behavior."
Henri looked at him in surprise "On the contrary, you are quite the gentleman. You have perfect manners, especially considering that you were so isolated, that you were not really raised to be a gentleman. It does prove that our mother was right, at least in one way. She always claimed that good breeding would usually prevail, even in the most adverse of circumstances. I have known of no one who has faced more obstacles than you, yet you retain your noble bearing. You truly have been blessed with a strong measure of dignity, despite the various indignities that have been heaped upon you. I admire that in you. Even when Tris forced you to remove your prosthetic face, you did not flinch. You removed it, but on your own terms. You turned an act meant to humiliate you into an admonishment to him. When you did that, I was very proud of you brother, truly I was."
Erik smiled at the compliment, but could feel the anger inside of him. No matter how badly he himself wanted to forgive Henri, it was still proving to be difficult. He swallowed the bile that arose in his throat and observed, "I did mean to admonish him. But, in truth, my action was a departure from my normal behavior. Usually I do not handle a forced unmasking in, as you called it 'a dignified manner', as I did today. More often than not, I have reacted quite badly. In the past, when my face was bared without my consent, I always could predict, and then dread, what would ensue. First, I would first hear the requisite screams, followed by looks of horror and terror, and then it would finish with the inevitable look of disgust and revulsion and disdain for me. As if it was somehow my fault that I appear to be so hideous." Erik's eyes blazed into Henri's fiercely as he continued, "It is quite a humiliation to know that, a mere glimpse of my face, is enough to inspire such fear and loathing of me in everyone. There is no worse feeling than to know that the moment that my protective covering is forcibly removed, that my very humanity is also torn away from me in the eyes of the beholder. My heart is ground straight in to the dust, along with my spirit. No matter what I have accomplished, in the end I am still reviled. Can you truly understand what it is like to be stamped with the title of beast, and not man? To never have the chance to feel normal?"
Henri lowered his head in shame "No. I cannot imagine the life that you have known."
"It is exactly the reason that what you both said, and did, amounted to such an extraordinary act of betrayal. Since you sought me out, already knowing who and what I am, I had not expected you to be like the others. To be at first accepted, and offered pledges of love, and then to be summarily rejected, is the worst form of betrayal and humiliation that I have ever been subjected to. Worse even then when Christine ripped off my mask in front of half of Paris. At least, at that time, she did not know any better; she was little older than a child. I would have been less disheartened if you had treated me in the normal fashion and just rejected me from the first. I would have realized from the first that you too viewed me, not as a man, but as a murderous beast."
"I am sorry Erik, I really am. I would do anything to both take back my harsh words, and to restore our relationship to what it was before all of it happened." Henri pleaded. "Please forgive me."
Erik shook his head "That is just it. Our relationship had not yet been truly formed, so what would that be? We had no foundation of trust between us. How can we go back to something that we had never achieved before? Who are we really to one another? Are we really brothers or just two men who share the same ancestry? As children I was never allowed to know you, nor were you allowed to know me. Tristan was right; he was more of a brother to you than I ever was, possibly more than I could ever be. You and he at least had a friendship, which is a relationship. You and I only have a nominal bond based on blood, not true affection. So what would we be going back to?"
Henri looked at him warily "Honestly, I don't know Erik. But I know that I do not want you and I to be strangers to one another. Our shared blood should matter to us, and we should be part of one another's lives. Tris and I were once close, but still he was not my brother. You are. Despite what I accused you of before, blood means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me. As you said before, I knew what you looked like before I set out to find you, and yet did not waver. Surely that must count for something positive. My accusations were not based on how you look, but on your reputation."
"And yet from the beginning of time brothers have hurt, and even killed one another. Look at Abel and Cain. A mere accident of blood does not always result in a convergence of interests, or even genuine affection. If it did, our parents would never have rejected me. We would be more to one another than simply men who share the same ancestors. As for my reputation, you yourself had discovered that much of it was overstated, yet still when the chips were down, you reverted to form." Erik challenged.
"Then let us overcome what divides us and get to know one another as brothers. George is not going anywhere anytime soon, and therefore neither are you. Let us use the time that we are brought together to truly get to know one another." Henri begged him. "I spent ten years looking for you and I do not want to lose you, based on a mistake that I made."
"Until the next time something suspicious happens and you decide to blame it on me, without even giving me a chance to prove you wrong?" Erik asked bitterly.
Henri looked at him imploringly "No, you must believe me. I will not make the same mistake twice. I promise that no matter how it might appear I will not act in that manner again. Please believe me Erik."
Erik examined him and could see that, at least in his own mind, Henri was telling the truth. Still he would not let him get off that easily without upbraiding him a little more. "Can you honestly say that you will not do so? Tris was a real scoundrel but he was right in one way, you have a tendency to be both self-righteous and judgmental. He has known you for all of your life and has seen this part of you. I have known you for only one day and now for me it is your defining bad quality. Well that, and the fact that you are quick to bend the truth when it seems to suit your own ends." Erik admonished.
Henri looked hurt, but then swallowed his temper. "You will not forgive me easily will you brother? I only 'bend the truth', as you call it, when I feel that a lie is more merciful to the recipient than the harsh reality of the truth." Henri added defensively."
"So perhaps you would like to tell me that I have a very handsome face. Is that truly a mercy when the reality is far different? What would happen if you did so and I believed you and then I went to look in a mirror? Would that be a mercy or a cruel deception? So you see what you consider to be a kindness can backfire, as it did today." Erik challenged.
Henri replied defensively "Perhaps to much of the world you are not handsome but to the people who matter you are. When I saw you and Christine together a few minutes ago she looked upon you as if you were the most handsome man that she ever saw. Did you expect me to tear you apart and remind her that the world finds you hideous?" He challenged.
Erik gave him a crooked smile "Well that is exactly what our dear mother did yesterday. At least she was honest. If nothing else, she was that. I never had to wonder what she really thought of me. But now I have to wonder about you." He added. "In that sense, did you really benefit any one by keeping Lalie and her parents in the dark about Tris' true nature?" Erik asked, pointedly. "Or from not telling Lalie the truth about your parentage."
"In hindsight no, but at the time I felt that it was the most decent path to take. Just like I did earlier by shouldering the blame for you." He insisted.
"And I appreciate your gesture and even understand the rationale, but in the end, it hardly matters to me whether or not either the Duc or the Duchesse approve of me." Erik told him. "I am used to disapprobation from most people."
"Well perhaps I couldn't live with it. I want them to like you, so that it is not a bone of contention between Lalie's parents and me. Besides, you claim that you don't care about their approval, yet you have lobbied hard to turn Lalie to your side, and very successfully. I tried to get her to give you a chance for days, yet it only took you a few hours to break down the same barriers." Henri told him.
Erik observed dryly "I believe that our mother unwittingly played a part in breaking the ice between us. But my attitude towards her is different than it is towards your in-laws. She is your wife and I wanted to develop a good relationship with my sister-in-law. I did not think it to be beneficial to have a poor relationship with her. Also, I was sincerely sorry for the pain that I caused." Erik told him. "It hurt me that you would believe that I would use some sort of magic to sway her feelings for me. While it is true that I could have done so by hypnosis, I respect her too much to hypnotize her. True regard comes from sincere feelings not false ones."
"I am sorry for that comment as well. I was simply hurt that my own wife sided against me. Perhaps when you are an old married man, as I am, you will feel the sting of having your own wife side against you in an argument and then you will understand." Henri told him.
Erik gave him a peculiar look "I do not need to give her a ring to have sustained that particular blow. You forget that Christine not only scorned my love, but like many did, including your wife, she deemed me a homicidal maniac?"
"Yet you forgave her, but you are bitter towards me?" Henri accused.
"No, I am no longer angry with you. I just need you to know that if you truly want to have a fraternal relationship with me, that I expect you to give me the benefit of the doubt and not assume the worst of me."
"I swear, on all that is holy, that I will give you the benefit of the doubt from here on out. Will you in turn give me another chance to prove myself to you? In the short time that I have known you I have really come to care about you and respect you. Surely you must see that?" He pleaded.
"There is no need to prostrate yourself for my benefit. I never intended on cutting you out of my life Henri. I simply needed you to see that I am a man like any other, with the same wants and needs as other men. So far, in our limited relationship, you have either placed me on a pedestal, or deemed me a monster. Perhaps in the end this incident will help our relationship, by putting me in a proper prospective from your point of view. You may finally see me as neither god, nor demon, but simply as a man. Perhaps I am equally at fault, because my expectations of you were unrealistic as well. I have little experience with relationships of any sort. I suppose that I should be grateful that you still wish to have a relationship with me, after both knowing my past crimes and being forced to view my face." Erik admitted.
"I could get used to viewing it, Erik. Even Lalie admitted that she had remembered it as being worse than what it was." Henri told him. "I would not call that side your better one, but I could accept it because it is yours."
"I suppose that I should be happy to hear that. I cannot say that it has mellowed with age. I will always have the face of a corpse on the one side." Erik observed wryly.
"Well, we both inherited the same hairline Erik, I don't have much more hair than you. Ever since you arrived Lalie has been telling me that I should emulate you and wear a wig." He told him with a sheepish smile. "She informed me that I should find out where you buy your suits, your hats and your wigs. She says that they make you look very elegant." Henri complained.
Erik smiled and teased him by playfully rubbing the top of his head. "Well she does have a point brother. It might make you look a little younger. But we de Rennes men are not defined by the thickness of our hair, but rather by the size of our both hearts and other 'instruments of love.'"
Henri laughed, "Well we do know how to please the women that we love don't we? I have three children to your one, but after viewing you and Christine together, I do expect that you will be catching up to us quickly."
"I suspect that you are right brother." Erik replied good-naturedly. "Which reminds me, I must shortly take my leave and fetch Christine to accompany me to Mabrelle's home. She knows the way and has promised to show me."
Henri offered, "I would be happy to show you, so we can give the girls more time to make their plans."
Erik replied smiling, "I think that Christine might have a better sense of where I want to go. I still am craving her company, especially after sustaining such a long drought. Before I go, I do have one question. Did you know that our mother supported a charity for deformed children and even volunteered there occasionally as well?"
Henri shook his head "I did not know that, but don't read too much into it. She supported a lot of charities over the years. It was part of her so-called Christian duties to our community. Our mother always did care about appearances. Strangely no one but her family ever knew how terrible that she really was. She was able to hide much behind that brittle smile of hers, and it was in our best interest as well to let the rest of the world deem her a moderate and Christian lady."
Erik replied, "That's what I would have suspected, but she surprised me with the choice of her charity. A part of me hoped that she had a shred of humanity inside of her, but I guess that it was not the case. I did not believe the doctor when he brought it up, but Lalie told me that he is an honest man."
"He is very honest Erik. But your hope was not entirely wrong. Our mother was a very complicated woman. I always suspected that somewhere down deep she was a different sort of person. I heard that in her youth she was quite light hearted and beautiful. She enchanted our father and many of the other local gentry. I always sensed that she felt some sort of regret even in her treatment of you, but perhaps it was only wishful thinking. She treated Elanna and I well, for the most part, as children. Elanna and her always fought like cats and dogs, but even she will tell you that she was a caring mother when it came to us. Anyhow she is gone now and I guess that it hardly matters. We cannot change the past, only the future." He reflected.
"I hope that you at least now know that you will always have a place in our family and in our affections." Henri told him.
"I appreciate that Henri, I really do. We hope that you and your family will have the chance to visit us in Madison sometime." Erik offered.
"I would like to see this place where you have found so much acceptance Erik. What will you do about the estate here?" Henri asked.
"I would ask that you continue to live here as if it were yours. I want nothing to change for you. This is your home, it was never mine." Erik told him.
"But will you come and spend some time here now that we have been reunited? Perhaps it will come to feel like home to you. This is where your roots are." Henri asked.
"If it would please you, we will visit from time to time. I would like Gustave, and any other children that we might have, to know what it is to be French. Even so my offer still stands, you may have both the title and the Chateau." Erik offered.
Henri looked away "No Erik, I will not do that. It is not right. The title will belong to your son."
"But never Gustave." Erik reminded him sadly. "Even if he were to decline his de Chagny inheritance, he will never be a de Rennes by title. It is ironic that the boy, who was once my greatest enemy, will always be the father of my son, at least on paper. Gustave will inherit his legacy not mine."
Henri looked at him "Yet the opposite holds true. Your son will always bear Raoul's family name and title, not a child of his own blood. I think that you got the better end of the stick. You got both the boy, and a loving bride. He received nothing but a premature death at the hands of his own brother. Even, with all our recent issues, neither one of us ever went that far. I would never harm you as Philippe did Raoul. It is unnatural to do so."
Erik smiled, and then reminded him "Yet, I saw your hand on your gun."
"Only because yours was on your blasted noose." Henri averred.
Erik replied, "It is called a Punjab lasso, not a noose, and it is a weapon of the highest quality. I never had any intention of using it on you. Besides, I wouldn't have needed it to wring your scrawny neck." He boasted. "As tempted as I was at the time to do so." He added.
"I hope that we can resolve our differences with a little less drama next time." Henri commented. "I am not sure that our ladies would like to see us at one another's throats."
"Nonsense, we never really had the chance to tumble like brothers often do. I guess that we were just trying to catch up." Erik teased.
"Perhaps we were behaving a bit childish by trying to make the other one give in." Henri admitted.
"The problem is that we are no longer children. From what I have seen children fight with fists, and kick and pull one another's hair." Erik observed."
Henri replied wryly "There is our excuse for our poor behavior. We had to elevate the ferocity of our fights because neither of us has enough hair left to pull. We were left with only our volatile tempers and our weapons of choice to rely on."
They both laughed together and then Erik took his leave. He felt as if his relationship with Henri was well on the mend. He knew that the women would be pleased. He was glad that the whole affair was out of the way, and that his mother would not spoil his relationship with Henri, even from the grave. He went to find Christine, so that she could take him to Mabrelle. He wanted to make sure that they would take their time walking there. Any time alone with his fiancé was pleasurable. 'My beloved Fiancé'. How he loved to think of her in that way. Better yet, soon she would be his 'wife'. His loins stirred just at the thought of pleasuring his future bride.
Erik found Christine, and the other two women, together in the morning room. To his dismay, they were consoling a weeping Lalie over the loss of her brother. He felt out of place, because even if it were in self defense, a part of him would carry some guilt for killing Lalie's brother. In truth, he did wonder whether he should have acted with more restraint. Would he always retain his killer's instinct or could he try to train himself to use his head before he acted. He did not regret killing Tris, the man was pure evil, but he regretted the pain that he caused in Lalie. He had made her suffer enough in the past. He did not want her to still view him as a murderer. It was also the first killing that he had done in the presence of Christine. Despite her words to the contrary did a part of her still fear the Phantom inside of him? Christine herself belayed his fears, by bestowing upon him, a very warm and radiant smile from the moment that she saw him. Lalie too greeted him warmly once again. She gave him a questioning gaze to ascertain whether or not he had made peace with Henri. He gave her an encouraging nod and smile, which conveyed to her that he had.
Once again, he went over to claim his bride. This time he wrapped his strong arms around her waist and pulled her to him. Overall he was feeling very elated despite what had happened earlier in the day. For once, he was glad that he had a prosthetic face. It helped to hide his real mood from those who might feel otherwise. He did not want to act inappropriate in the presence of those who were in morning. Unlike Henri, he would not mourn the loss of their mother in any way. He would never wear a black ribbon on his sleeve in her memory. She was no mother to him, only the vessel used to bring about his birth. Of course he understood, that for Henri, she was more than that. Terrible, or not, Maela had been a mother to both Henri and Elanna. He had a duty to mourn her, and he could rightfully mourn the loss of his best friend and brother-in-law as well. Lalie too had much cause for tears. She had just lost a brother. It was natural for her to mourn him, even if he had done some terrible things.
Erik's difficulty in maintaining an indifferent façade, lay in the fact that recent events had been kind to him. He had just realized his deepest dreams and desires. He could not help but to feel sublimely content at how matters had finally turned out. For the first time in his life he did not have to go through the motions of living. He felt alive and free and so very happy. There were no more shadows lurking about trying to destroy him. There was no longer any hate directed his way or from him. He was left with only love to flow both into him and out of him, like a purifying river current, carrying away the debris of a lifetime of broken hopes and dreams, and then renewing both his vigor and desire to live. He wanted to dance, and to shout out his happiness to the world. To prove to both the world, and to himself, that he, the hideous beast, found love after all.
He looked at Lalie apologetically, knowing that she was seeking comfort from Christine and Meg. Even though they had all been strangers only the day before, they now shared an intimate bond that had forever changed all of them. He wanted to do something to both elate Lalie's spirit and express his exuberance. He spied a piano in the corner of the room. It was the first time in a long time that he truly felt a strong urge to play it. He could feel the music stirring in his mind, and he knew that he would best relieve it by playing for them.
Before doing so Erik spoke to all three of them "I am sorry to interrupt you, but I was hoping that Christine could show me the path to Mabrelle's cottage. I would like to see her."
Christine looked at Lalie "Will you be alright if I go."
She nodded at Christine "I will be fine."
Lalie then turned to Erik, "So you made peace with Henri?"
Erik replied, "I think so. It will be a while before the damage can be undone but we agreed to try to get to know one another and build some sort of relationship, for as long as we remain here."
Lalie smiled warmly "Good, I am so glad. I do not want to see you at odds. We have already suffered too much loss this day as a family."
Erik looked at Lalie's reddened eyes and told her "Please, do not feel uncomfortable expressing your grief around me. While I admit that I cannot share the pain that you are experiencing, I am no stranger to pain and loss." He looked at Christine and smiled. "I was despondent for weeks, when I had thought that I lost Christine forever. No amount of cajoling by Nadir and Darius shook me from my doldrums. It was Gustave who finally pulled me out of it, and then of course, it was heaven itself when we found out that she still lived."
Lalie looked at him sadly "I am afraid that we will experience no such joy. Tris is gone for good."
A wave of guilt came over Erik once again "I'm sorry Lalie. Truly I am. Perhaps I should have not used such force. It was reflexive. I did not think."
Lalie shook her head "Do not feel guilty Erik, I do not blame you for what happened. The kind and handsome brother that I knew died with Therese. The Tris, that you saw, was a stranger to me. He was in my brother's body, but it was not he. What happened with Therese irreparably broke him, turned him into this monster." She looked away tearfully.
Erik replied in a silken voice "I, of all people, understand both his pain and yours Lalie. I too was a broken man who did terrible things that I might never have done, but for my intense pain. He is at peace now Lalie. He will not suffer pain any longer. I have longed for the same peace, for most of my life."
A ghost of a smile appeared on Lalie's face "Thank you Erik." I appreciate both your words and your concern, I really do."
"Thank you for giving me the chance to comfort you." Erik replied softly.
"I was just telling both Christine and Meg, that I would be going to my parents Chateau to help them oversee the burial arrangements for my brother. I feel that my mother will need me to help. I will be back by nightfall, for Henri's sake. I feel torn between the two families. Would you please help Henri arrange for your mother's burial, it might be hard for him to do? We will delay it until Elanna, Michel, and their children arrive from Algiers. The undertaker will already know what to do, but we would be grateful if you would speak to Father Pierre about the rest of it. I do not want my brother's victim, and him, to be buried in the same place and on the same day.
Erik replied smoothly "Of course Lalie, anything that you need."
She smiled at him gratefully but then looked away uncomfortable. "Also Erik, this is an indelicate matter. I am sorry, but I think it best if you did not attend Tris' funeral. I am asking the same of Henri as well. Under the circumstances, I think that it would be very awkward. I do not want to put any undue stress on my parents."
Erik gave her an understanding glance "Of course Lalie. I don't blame you."
"I meant what I said before. I do not hold you responsible for his death, but I don't think that it would be seemly." She told him.
"I believe that I will be otherwise occupied with my stricken friend that day. I will send Christine to represent me, so that we might honor your family's kinship with ours." Erik told her.
Lalie smiled "Thank you for understanding, Erik. "
"You are welcome," He replied. Erik put a hand on Christine's arm and then she put her hand in his own. He looked over at the piano longingly and asked Christine "Would you sing a requiem with me to comfort Lalie? It has been so long since we have done so? I feel that our voices fused together once again might ease Lalie's troubled mind. It has been far too long since we have done so, mon ange."
Christine looked at Erik almost shyly "I am afraid that I might disappoint you mon amour. My voice is woefully out of practice. It has been nine years since we have sung together."
Erik squeezed her hand "Nonsense. I am also out of practice, but I believe that together that our voices might still serve to comfort Lalie, just as I once comforted you, after your father died."
Christine smiled at him, radiantly, "Perhaps you are right Erik, we could try." She turned to Lalie, "Erik always knew how to comfort me with his voice. I was only a child and had just lost my father, who had meant everything to me. Erik came to me and helped me to overcome my grief. His voice is so powerful, and very soothing. It sounds as if it came from heaven itself. It was little wonder that I thought him to be an angel for all of those years. We would like to do the same for you if you don't mind."
Lalie looked at them and replied "Thank you. That would be lovely."
Christine and Erik went over to the piano and sat side by side on the bench. Erik began to play beautifully, as if he had never stopped, and played the Kyrie Eleison. Both Erik and Christine began to sing at first a little awkwardly but then their combined voices began to take on the ethereal quality that had always drawn them to one another.
"Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux
Perpetua luceat eis, te decet hymnus,
Deus in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum
In Jerusalem; exaudi
Orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux
Perpetua luceat eis.
Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison…"
As they sang together, a crowd began to form, both master and servant stopped and hastened over to hear, including Henri. Many had tears in their eyes as they listened to the couple sing. Their combined voices had, surprisingly, lost little in the years that had followed their separation. Both Lalie and Henri had never heard anything so exquisite in their lives. As Erik and Christine sang the ancient Latin liturgy, they could both feel their spirits soar, just as they once did. They both felt light and elevated to a higher realm of being, as they could both hear and feel the beauty of the sound that they made together. They forgot everyone, but each other, as each passing note empowered their feelings for one another even more. As they gazed into one another's eyes Christine could see that Erik's eyes blazed, as never before, with so much purity and light inside of them. All of the sadness that had always been omnipresent in his lustrous orbs had been wiped away, and replaced with warmth and joy. She could see nothing else but the beauty of those orbs, and of the soul that they reflected.
She could not bear to look away from him. She did not want to lose sight of what she had just seen, lest it be lost to her. In all her years of existence, she had never seen anyone, or anything, more beautiful than what Erik was to her at that moment. Not even Raoul's handsome face could match her vision of Erik's glory, and the purity of the love that existed in his expressive eyes. She cried joyous tears of rapture, knowing exactly what they had achieved together. She could see that he felt it too. When they were finished, Erik's hands slipped off of the piano keys and around her waist as he drew her close to him and gave her a searing kiss. The spell between them was broken by the sound of applause that permeated the bubble that had risen up around them. They realized once more that they were not alone and returned to the room from their own secret reality where they had taken one another.
Lalie turned to them still wiping the tears from her eyes. "Why that was beautiful. Thank you both of you. That was the most wondrous experience that I have ever had. You two together are sublime. Your voices were perfectly combined, and so powerful, as if they had been fused by heaven itself."
Christine blushed almost shyly "Thank you Lalie. I had forgotten how perfect that Erik and I really are together."
Erik smiled, and stated firmly, "I have never forgotten, nor can I. It is the reason that when Christine denied me that it felt as if I had been cast out by heaven itself. It is why, from the first, I knew that I could never find another like her. It is why the thought of losing her once drove me over the edge of my sanity."
Henri sighed thoughtfully "It is a shame that our mother did not hear the two of you sing, she might have changed her mind about you. Your song contains an ethereal quality that could only be divinely inspired. Thank you for sharing it with us. It was most extraordinary."
Erik replied wryly "I am not so sure that it would have changed anything. More likely she would have thought our voices to be the work of a demon determined to lure the listener into hell. But thank you for your kind words anyways, Christine and I both appreciate them." He turned to Lalie "I do hope that the song has had its desired effect, and that you feel better."
She smiled at him, "I most definitely do. Thank you for thinking to do so."
Christine smiled "It was our pleasure Lalie, really and truly. We both wanted to comfort you."
Lalie looked pensive and then turned to them, "I changed my mind from before. Erik, would you and Christine please sing the Requiem once again at my brother's funeral. I know that it is a lot for me to ask. I know what he almost did, and what you had to do. But I also know that your music would be a comfort for my parents during this hard time for them."
"If you would have me there despite everything. I will come if it will help see you through your pain. I want only to be your brother Lalie, nothing more." Erik told her softly.
"Thank you, Erik. I appreciate that." She told him. "I will inform Father Pierre of my wishes." She turned to Henri. "I guess that you might come as well. It would look odd if Erik came and not you."
Henri nodded in agreement with Lalie and then turned to Erik and met his gaze "I don't suppose that you would do the same for our mother?"
Erik replied, "I am sorry Henri, but I cannot bring myself to do so. My presence was abhorrent to her in life, and I see little reason to honor her in her death. I believe that if she could tell us, she would not want me there to mourn her death, when she rejected me so completely in life."
Henri shook his head sadly "Perhaps you are right. I only wish that it had been different."
"As do I Henri, but the past cannot be undone. I am sorry again. I hope that our sister will understand my feelings on this matter." Erik told him.
"She will understand." Henri assured him.
Erik looked at Christine "It is time for us to pay a call upon Mabrelle. I am afraid that I have done her a disservice by ignoring her for this long. She is after all the closest thing that I had to a mother when I was a child, since my own mother was conspicuously absent."
