Father Once Spoke of an Angel

By: Stealiana

Chapter 15: I Will Wait For You

Eric stood on the stage, looking upwards into the theater seating. The chandelier was dark; the only illumination came from the backstage work lights. The dim beams sparkled on the ornate chandelier, which glittered like eyes watching from the depths of the night. Despite its beauty, the light fixture was a concern for many patrons of the Opera House, ever since the old one had come crashing down on some unsuspecting soul. Erik had often retold the event, with a strange mixture of sadness and glee. The moment the chandelier plummeted had been a great triumph, but, if Erik's memory served him correctly, and in all likelihood it did, the Phantom's victory was at the price of a poor woman's life. Erik never really stated whether or not the death had been accidental - surely any human with a brain in their head could tell that such a gigantic piece of metal would be deadly if loosed. Yet, Eric had begun to believe it was entirely possible the Phantom had overlooked the potential casualties. There were times when Erik was so childish, like he didn't know any better. His fits of rage and his silent submission to make people happy had become less frequent as time passed, almost as if Eric and Christine had remolded his personality to an extent. Eric idly wondered how he had been when Christine Daaé had been around. Was the chandelier an aberration, or had the Phantom merely become tamer when the two children were placed under his care? If it was the latter, Eric brooded, then he had most certainly made an error when placing his life and Christine's in the care of a madman. But then again, responsibility and care giving had strange effects on people… it could make even the most immature grow up. And Eric would know - for he had learned what it meant to be responsible after Jacques's death. Well, if Erik had calmed because of he and Christine, then it was all for the best.

Christine's footsteps broke Eric's musings. He turned to watch her, noting her cranberry gown enhanced the fullness of her lips, and the blue of her irises. Her blonde hair cascaded about her shoulders, and her face wore an exhausted expression. Much like the one he had seen earlier, he realized.

Her eyes met his solemnly.

"Let's begin." She took a deep breath and smiled up at him. "And what, pray tell, is the occasion for such finery?" She bantered unenthusiastically.

"I leave tomorrow morning." He replied cautiously.

"You're… leaving?" She said, in the same tone she might have used to ask about the weather.

"What's wrong?" He asked wearily. This wasn't going to get anywhere…

"That's not your line." She tried to protest.

"I know. I answered your question, now you answer mine." His eyes remained glued to hers.

"That's a little unfair, don't you think?" She muttered.

"What's wrong?" Repeating the question only made her turn away, refusing to look at him. He persisted. "You're terrible at hiding it, and I would like to think I know you well enough to see when something is the matter." There was no response. He crossed his arms. "I can wait."

"He yelled at me." Eric felt a glimmer of hope ignite.

"Who?"

"Papa." Eric did not let his disappointment show through, but instead, prodded further.

"Why? He's been keeping his temper recently, he must have a good reason or…"

"He did." Christine cut Eric off, and she took a moment to gather the right words. "He… doesn't think I can do this."

"You're lying." Eric's eyes were narrowed, analyzing your face. "He wouldn't yell at you for that. What did you do?"

"What did I do?" She glared at him. "What do you mean, what did I do? You know as well as I that he can be so irrational and unreasonable sometimes, and he always jumps to conclusions about what you do and don't do and works himself into such a state that you can't even get through to him!"

"You're the one who is working yourself into a state."

"How can you say that?" Her indignation rang out through her objection.

"I'm telling it like it is." He snapped. "So unless you tell me the truth, I'm afraid I can't help you." Her mouth opened to contest his statement, but she could not. The gaze that had been burning through his face shifted to the floor.

"I missed his voice lesson."

"Why?"

"Can't you come up with anything better to say?"

"You're avoiding my question," he answered. "And you know it." She bit her lip, and nodded.

"I forgot the time and I missed it."

"What were you doing?"

"I… was out with Adrian." A stain of guilt had embedded itself in her voice, and she refused to look at him when she said it.

"Oh." Eric tried to sound nonchalant, tried to sound unemotional. He supposed it worked.

"And just because I missed one - only ONE! - Papa got angry and told me I was no good. He said I didn't deserve the part!" She stamped her foot, as if emphasizing the statement.

"Perhaps he was just hurt. He'll get over it." Eric soothed.

"No, no, he was very angry… he swore at me and he said… not to come back."

"I'm sure he didn't mean it…"

"He did." Christine insisted.

"Well then… what can you do to change his mind?" Christine was silent. "I think you can do whatever you set your mind to, you know. I have faith in you, alright?" Eric smiled as convincingly as he could. He wanted to touch her, but he was afraid he would not be able to take it.

"Eric, I don't know if I can…"

"Sh, that's no way to talk. I'll be right there every step of the way, whether you like it or not. You'll do fine. Look at me." His hand moved her chin, and he waited for her eyes to meet his. "You're going to be the most charming baron's daughter the audience has ever seen. All you have to do is pretend to be in love with me - and don't offend me by saying that's impossible!" He grinned sympathetically. She cracked a smile. Dare he test his good fortune?

"I've never let you down before… you can trust me." He didn't want to pull his hand away from her beautiful face. If only he could keep his thumb on the tip of her chin…

"Well, let's get started then." He moved away, standing tall and giving her a quick wink. The result was a genuine smile on her lips. She battered her eyelashes.

"And what, pray tell, is the occasion for such finery?" Her voice lilted, adding a delicious sarcasm to her words.

"I leave tomorrow morning." He said sadly, turning his head slightly away from her.

"You're… leaving?" The shock and distress in the voice made Eric's heart skip a beat. It was so… authentic.

"We received the order today. All the preparations have been made. Now, there is just to wait." He sighed quietly, letting his shoulders show his depression, but keeping his face emotionless.

"How easy for you to say." She cried out in despair. "You do not have to stay behind!" She took a step towards him, the movement coaxing him to look into her angelic face.

You can't stop the world from aging

I can't stop the days from passing

How can I forget everything that has been?

Eric had never heard her sing as if she was crying for help, pleading for mercy, begging to be set free of her internal torment. She was giving herself over wholly to the music, to the emotion, to the character. He moved forward to meet the wave of craving that had flooded his senses, clasping her hand in his as he began to sing.

Maybe where you look is not the answer

Why shouldn't we find another way?

Please don't think me selfish when I say

I want you to wait for my return

Leave the candle in the window to burn

Just wait for me as I will wait for you.

She looked at him with such sadness, as though he was asking for the impossible. Her face was brimming with a strange sort of vulnerability, as she took hold of his other hand during his plea for her love. It was as though she was truly considering the thought of swearing her heart to be his forever.

A noble promise from a true gentleman

But what if you arrive upon Death's Door?

Who then will I have cherished my heart for?

I could wait forever and more

If I knew my heart secure

An eternal promise for all the world to see

Her voice filled the empty theater with its desire, pulling on every string of his aching heart. He knelt on one knee, and looked up at her adoringly, letting every barrier down that he had constructed to prevent himself from feeling his adoration for her. As she finished the last line, he picked up the crescendo where she had left off, his voice crying out in a genuine plea.

I will wait forever and more

If I may keep your heart secure

So I ask you now if you will marry me?

She did not look shocked as he pulled the prop ring out of his pocket - he had thought she would be. The ornate gold band did not quite fit her finger, but she silently let him pretend it did. Her other hand was at her mouth, he assumed, as she was pretending to hold back tears of joy. But only pretending… He kissed her ring finger and the golden band, before looking up for the final line. But he was shocked to see that there were tears in her eyes; as she blinked, a wet streak was painted on her face. Together, their voices melded for the last segment.

Just wait for me, as I will wait for you.

He remained silent for a moment after the song had finished, still on one knee. How could he look away when she was standing there above him, the desire on her face directly solely at him - as though he mattered?

She dared not move, and oddly, she had no desire to. Only now it had dawned upon her the strength and power she possessed with the voice she had taken for granted. And the way he had sung… it was as though he wasn't playing anymore, this wasn't a childhood game. Something felt out of place, but comfortably so. Everything was comfortable around Eric, she realized. The peculiar conversations, the constant teasing, the small sacrifices here and there to evict a smile from her… and of course, there was Erik. Why had it never occurred to her before? She could never tell Adrian about Erik - speaking of the Opera Ghost to anyone was forbidden. And Papa was already angry with her…

But with Eric, there was no need to speak of it. He knew, he understood. It had been yet another small sacrifice the boy had made for her, so long ago. If she continued seeing Adrian, she would have to tell him sooner or later - and she wanted to! - or give up seeing Erik again. And then he would have been right. She would have chosen her young man in all his rich finery, instead of staying with the man who had nurtured her starved soul. She dared to call him Papa, when she was willing to fling away everything he had done! But how could she chose, if she loved them both...?

Eric saw the tears in her eyes gathering and quickening their pace down her cheeks. Was this his doing? His anguished heart commanded him to stand and so he did, holding her ringed hand in his and wiping away the tears with a handkerchief he had fished from his pocket. In her blue eyes there was such hopelessness and despair, that despite his conscience's reprehension, he drew her close and embraced her.

"What am I to do?" She whimpered into his shirt. "What am I to do!"

"Hush, you were wonderful, love," he murmured. "An angel…"

"How will I ever explain when Papa forbade us to talk about him?"

"You don't have to explain anything to anyone," he soothed.

"But I do! I have to tell him…" She looked up at him, begging for direction. "How can I tell him about Papa?" Eric tried to make sense of what she was saying. Explain Erik? To who? A thought dawned on him - that there was only one person she could be referring to.

"Yes," Eric finally responded. "You would have to explain it at some point… but, you would lose him. You are aware of that, yes? You would kill him." Her eyes grew so large; they drank in every word he uttered.

"But… he would have you…"

"Oh, Christine!" He embraced her again. "God bless your innocence!" He let her go, unwillingly, but this time he remembered his place. She was not his… and he could never hope for it to be otherwise.

"Christine, love, you must understand." He began. "Erik has lost so much already! You remember his stories; you know what his life is like. He is alone, he has no family, no love, simply us. We are all that is left for him! And you… you are what he lives for." Eric laughed, slightly saddened. "You have seen his face… and you did not turn away. He put everything beautiful he has in you, so that you may share it all with the world when he could not! To turn away now would be a crime so great in his mind that he would not be able to endure it." Her shoulders sank at the thought. "He does not care for me - I am merely a boy!" Erik's laughter was stifled by the silence of the room. "I have never seen his face. I have never tried to. We hold a healthy respect for one another, but that is all. For you, he was willing to be a father. To me… just an older brother, I suppose. He let me cry when I told him about Jacques. He let me cry and he said nothing. But when he thought I was asleep…" A faint smile grew on the young man's lips. "He sang a Requiem Mass."

"You do not make my choice any easier." Christine whispered. "I am tormented with the thought of betraying either of them. How can I turn away from those I love without another thought?"

"You can't." He said with finality. "Choose the love that forever springs eternal… the one who forgives you for being who you are. Take some time to think about it. You cannot choose in an hour. Give yourself some time."

"You always understand…" She mused softly. "Thank you."

He did not reply, simply watched her, and she gravitated toward his gaze. She felt his stare consuming her, as if his eyes were burning into her, but she could not, and did not want to, break the steady rapture of his dark orbs.

"What time is it?" She finally whispered.

"Does it matter?" The tone of his voice fairly begged her to just let the troubles of her mind float into nothing, as if the two of them were the only thing that mattered.

"I… I wish it didn't." She replied honestly, breaking the stare that had devoured them. "But… I already promised."

"I can forgive you this time for having a previous… engagement." He smiled at her softly, affectionately almost. "Just…" He paused, as if building the courage to continue. "Just… don't let it happen again?" It was a question - but the clouded haze of her eyes hid any shock if she understood the enormity of the underlying meaning. Her only response was silence as she hesitantly turned and left.

And he knew where she was going. To see Adrian.