New chapter folks! I have added a whole part at the end and I hope you like it. Things are moving for our favourite phantom.
Enjoy.
The night was dark and foggy which made the street's lights look like faltering ghosts floating in the air. His heels were resonating loudly against the cobblestones; some distant clamour could be heard but he was very much alone. He shivered under his thin jacket, winter had not yet left Paris and nights were still terribly cold. He walked past the Sorbonne and took a few moments to admire the impressive building, he had travelled across many countries in his younger years but had never taken the time to contemplate the beauties of French architecture.
He had lived under the surface for too long, it was time he tried to breathe some fresh air he thought, as he went through the Jardin des plantes. A few minutes later he had finally reached the Gare d'Austerlitz. The building was partially hidden by the thick fog which gave it an eerie aura. A shiver went down his spine, what was he about to do? Start a new life? How could he do such a thing after living in the darkness for so long? He had managed to escape, when he was around eighteen, to travel for almost ten years but when he came back to France, he had returned to the pitiful existence of a reclusive mad musician.
In the depth of his lair, he had rarely set a foot outside, too traumatised by the events that rushed his return to his birthplace. One day after he was back, Madame Giry had found him, frightened and pitiful, once again. And she had helped him, cleaned his wounds, once again. He should stop counting the times he had owed her his life, one day he should repay her he thought. But for the time being he needed to find a train. He sneaked through the huge entranced door, left ajar for the night, as guardians usually patrolled in the station. He made sure to stay hidden in the shadows when one of the guard strolled down the corridor whistling approximatively Verdi's Libiamo.
He ran swiftly to the platform. The ceiling of the station stood imposingly with its mixture of metal frame and glass; one could almost have spotted the stars if it were not as cloudy. That's what Erik thought as he lied on the top of the first carriage he had found. He had no idea where this train would bring him and he couldn't care less. At dawn he would start his journey towards the unknown, as a clandestine, once more…
He shot his eyes opened as the train whistled twice to announce his departure. He rolled over quickly and crouched closer to the frame of the carriage. He could hear the people shouting their goodbyes, holding or not their tears. He sighed, thinking that he could be one of this men bidding farewell to their beloved wives before leaving to care for their business in the country side. But he was not and will never be, because he was disfigured and broken and unable to let anyone near him. His heart was but an empty shell… He had thought himself incapable of feeling anything but hatred until… Until he saw this helpless little girl praying for her angel of music to come and protect her. He had not been able to resist the pull that made him answer to her prayer. That's how he became the faceless voice that trained her to become the grand soprano she had turned out to be. He had cared for her as a protector and a teacher. However, as the years passed, she bloomed into a beautiful creature and he could no longer deny the strange feeling that took hold of him each time he looked at her. He was attracted to her, as a man is toward a woman. Never had he felt that way before, he was always too busy killing and hating the others. But this girl, this unearthly beauty with the voice of an angel, he would never be worthy of her. And it turned out that he was not, she had denied him and fled away with her young and handsome Vicomte. How dared she? After all he had done for her…
But as he recalled what had taken place the previous year, she had all the reasons to run away from him and his dreadful temper… And she had kissed him, unmasked. She had not recoil from his ugly face covered in tears of shame and anger. And then she had left, he had released her in a moment of weakness. Had he been right to do so? Would she have fallen in love with him with the years if he had kept her in his world of never ending darkness? Would she had hated him and never let him touch her? The last option was more likely to have happened… How could have she? He was a monster. But he was a monster that wanted to live and to redeem his sins… Well, at least a small part of it as he would need more than a lifetime to repent from all the evil he had commit.
He laid for hours on top of the same carriage he had climbed in the middle of the night. His eyes stared blankly at the clouds that seemed to move along with him, his thoughts were philosophical and he regretted he had not asked Madame Giry for a book. Perhaps it was the cold that made his mind wander, he was indeed freezing. Fortunately, from time to time, he could feel, for a few seconds, some of the heat waves travelling from the locomotive.
The sun was high in the sky, noon was approaching and he had nothing to eat. His stomach was rumbling and he couldn't do anything to improve his condition. He could only hope they would stop soon in one of the cities on their way to Bordeaux. When the train had started to move away from Paris he had realised they were heading South West, that's how he guessed they must be going to Bordeaux.
During his time as the Opera Ghost he had overheard a tremendous amount of conversations between the elites of the society. That was how he would keep himself informed about the political state of the country, the wars and other major events. That was also when he learnt, about 6 years ago, that the late Napoleon III had been on board of the Paris-Austerlitz – Bordeaux Saint Jean train for the second time, during the whole 14 hours of the trip. He had only been there for a mere 5 hours and he was more bored than he had ever been in years. Indeed, as hope had miraculously found a way to his brain, he was not waiting for Death to take him away anymore. He just wanted to live as a new man and try to get rid of the thoughts of Christine that poisoned his mind and jeopardised his newfound and tenuous sense of sanity. He would never forget her, he loved her too much for that. He could try to hate her, but, again, he loved her too much for that. The only thing was to wait and pray that time would heal his open hearted wounds...
Each time the train stopped he dared not climbed down from his hideaway, fearing to be caught red handed by someone. So he waited, thankful that it was sunny and not raining. Fourteen agonising hours later he had arrived in Bordeaux. Night was there again and he could escape the station lost in a crowd of hundreds. He was happy he had kept a few francs to pay for food, he hated to steel. He was not tired so he walked for a couple of hours in the night, down to the small town of Bouliac. There, he found a small farmhouse and decided that he could sleep in the stables and leave before dawn. He found an empty stall and settled against the chaff before drowning into sleep once more.
Except that he didn't wake up at dawn and almost suffered a panic attack when he felt that he was being shaken by something – or someone.
He opened his eyes and reached out to the neck of his attacker, he stopped midway when he realised that the person who had woken him up was just an elderly frail woman. He stared at her in awe.
"And who do I have the honour to host in my humble stables? Was the chaff comfortable enough? I hope you have not come all this way to put an end to my lonely life?" She asked suspiciously.
"No madame, had I known I would oversleep I wouldn't have stayed here. I… I usually don't sleep much… I should leave, and, even if you didn't know about it beforehand, well, thank you for your hospitality." He answered politely while standing and getting rid of the remnant of chaff on his clothes.
"Wait, you look tall and healthy and I am in a terrible need of a hand to move my lemon trees outside now that the night frost has stopped. I usually send for someone in the village but if the village comes to me it's even better. As you can see, I live here by myself and I never recoil from the prospect of having company and as you sound like a proper gentleman I guess you won't refuse such an invitation from an old woman." Her malicious eyes lingered quickly over the masked part of his face making him very uncomfortable. Seeing his discomfort, she waved her hand in dismay and said: "I don't care you know, about the mask part… My late husband, you see, was a general, he served with our emperor, may he rest in peace, but one day he was injured and had to retire abruptly. His face was riddled with shrapnel from the cannon balls of the enemy. He had lost his left arm and was almost unable to use his left leg. I loved him anyway… But he is in peace now, and I am still here, taking care of my trees and my animals." She let a nervous laugh escape from her thin lips. "Do you want to see them by the way? I have two horses, three pigs, five hens, three cats, two dogs and well follow me and you'll meet them all!"
She turned away and Erik stared at her petite and stooped frame walk energetically towards the entrance of the stables. It was not how he had imagined the beginning of his new life but it would do he decided. So, he followed her outside.
Spring was everywhere. The April morning dew covered the beautiful green garden in a painted veil. Erik had been in this house for a month now, helping out the old lady and gradually recovering from a lifetime of abuses. Sometimes at night he cried himself to sleep, but on the morning when he met the eyes of the old woman, he felt a new strength growing within him.
He had learnt a lot about his host as she never stopped talking. Her name was Jeanne, Jeanne de Raincourt and she was a Marquise. He would never have guessed of her noble ascendance as she lived in a relative frugality, but the more he observed her the more he could discern the aura that graced her every move.
Jeanne loved to listen to him play the piano, it was one of the rare moment where she would compel to silence. His pain and unhappiness were obvious when she first spent a day with him, but after a month of outdoor work, sun and unceasing chats he started to show a softer side. She marvelled at his good manners and decided to teach him the ways of the noble gentlemen. In a month he had bloomed into a strong and gracious gentleman who could easily pass for a member of the socialite club. She had a plan for him, and as much as she loved having him around, staying in her house was not part of it.
She went out and walked toward the rose garden, it had been Erik favourite part of the small estate. She recalled as she called him out that it took him two long days to tell her his name.
"Erik! Come here and sit with me on the bench, we need to talk" He turned his head and smiled slightly at the sight of the long braided silver hair of the lady. He had found an unexpected peace since she had woken him up that morning, a month ago. Time had flied ever since, but he felt as he had lived more in that short lapse of time than he ever had before.
"You've been here for a month now, and it had been a wonderful month for me and I dare say for you too, you seem reborn my dear. All this anger, this sorrow, I can't spot them in your eyes when you take care of my horses or those roses. But you know you can't stay here for ever, you're still young and I am old. I have lived and you need to learn how to live…"
"I knew… I knew that I couldn't stay here forever, but I need more time I am not ready to face the others. I have never been ready and I am not likely to be in the next years, if I am ready at all in the future… This mask is all that matters to people and you know it! You told me how the nobles are judgemental and mean, I don't want that. If my life is to be peaceful and uneventful then so be it, I have had enough disasters in the past and I don't want any other…"
She patted his shoulder with a slight smile.
"I know, I know… But it's too easy to stay hidden, you need to challenge yourself. You told me you wanted to repay a lady that had helped you many time in your life, just do it then! Mmh? You know I am right don't you? I know of a place where I lived with my husband for many years when he was not in one of his stupid wars… It's about two hundred kilometres South, it was a really small city when I left about eight years ago, but it has never stopped growing. The Emperor had organised a palace to be built there for his wife, l'Impératrice Eugénie to have a bit of rest by the Ocean. Ever since it has become the place where nobility would get some fresh air and spend money in Casinos. You don't have to meddle with this people but I know you are ready to do it, yes, you are, believe me! I have made you a perfect gentleman…"
He let a bitter laugh of disbelief escape his lips but decided not to contradict her. He had had enough conflict and he didn't want to argue with her.
"Anyway… I have told you I was unable to have children and thus have no heir. I can't offer you much but I can give you my name and my house by the Ocean and…"
"No. You have already given me too much Jeanne. Your offer is too kind but I will have to refuse it." He said calmly.
"Nonsense! I was not asking your thoughts; you will take it Erik. You said you owed me? Well that's how you'll repay me: by taking this offer and living like a grown up man. It would make me very happy."
He stared at her dumbfounded, how can someone be that infuriating and generous at the same time. He was tempted to say yes as it could be the best opportunity to ever own something and above all have a name… Be someone. And not anyone, a nobleman. How could fate be that twisted when he had deserved the gallows he was given a house and an identity. He had to say yes, she was right. But before he had to tell her.
"Then I'll take it, but only because it can make you happy… I don't know how to thank you; you have made me indebted to someone once again. I don't deserve all that you give me. If only you knew what I had done in my past, I have never told you because I didn't want to see the only person that offered me hospitality turn her back on me. But you know I have done terrible things, I have killed many persons, some were not innocent, some were just in my way… I am a monster; I think you should know it before you give me all of those things."
She smiled sadly and told him: "I somehow knew that you had a complicated past, I also feel that you have never been loved properly. You have a big heart Erik, a heart that only wants to give but has never received anything so far… I want to give your heart a first demonstration of love and I am sure it will help you collect the missing pieces that will lead you to happiness. I don't care what you have done before, I was not there to see it and I only judge people for what they are when in my presence. You have helped me, look at the garden you have given this house a second life and this month with you as my guest was one of the happiest in a long time. It is me who should thank you for bearing my unceasing blabber."
"I…I" He was at a loss of words. In two sentences she had given him more than anybody else in his thirty-six years of existence. They continued to talk for a few minutes and they walked back to the house. He prepared a bag taking some clothes with him and a few tokens. He felt his heart heavy and realised he was sad to part from this woman. She waited for him and the stables.
"Take Éclair with you, this horse is only happy when mounted for hours and he seem to like you since you've been the only one to take him out in ages."
He smiled at the sight of the beautiful dark bay Akhal-Teke ready to be ridden. Jeanne came to his side and put her hands on his shoulders.
"I will miss you, but I know that it's for the best, write to me when you'll have settled in your new life. Now go."
After a quick hug that took him by surprise she turned her back and walk back to the main house.
He started his journey toward this city called Biarritz, where he was now the owner of a huge property.