A few weeks later, the Daroga came to see me. "I'm very proud of you
Erik," he said. "You've been taking this very well."
"I'm not your son Daroga. Your job is to be my conscience, not to be proud of me," I snapped. I was sitting at my piano, aimlessly poking at various keys. I soon realized I was playing a very staccato version of the wedding march. I quickly changed to playing the funeral march.
"Erik, you're depressed aren't you?"
"Do I look depressed to you Daroga? No, wait, don't answer that. I'm not depressed. I couldn't be happier. I don't think ever in my life have I been so...ecstatic," I drawled, the last part turning very sarcastic sounding. The Daroga glared at me. "Alright perhaps I'm slightly depressed. Only slightly though. You don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself."
"I know Erik," he said. "It's just that one of the last times you were depressed you did something drastic. I don't want that to happen again. And stop playing that!" I had been playing the funeral march over and over again. I sighed and stood up. I started walking towards the door of my lair.
"I'll be back shortly Daroga. You can wait for me or you can leave if you have more important things to do. I can't imagine what but you never know," I said putting on my cloak and hat.
"Erik where are you going?" he asked urgently.
"Relax Daroga, I'm just going for a walk," I told him. I sauntered down the halls and came out a passage that led to an alley behind a café. The sun was setting and there were few people out on the streets of Paris. Suddenly, I heard a woman screaming.
"Leave me alone! Get away from me!" she shrieked. "Oh God, someone help me!"
I started running towards the sound of her voice and came to another alley. At the very end of it was a young woman. She was pinned against the wall by a man not much older than me. She saw me and started screaming again. "Help me! Please help me!" she cried. I started down the alley and the man turned around.
"Get away! I found her first!" he bellowed.
"It doesn't look like she wants you touching her like that," I said calmly.
"I said get away! She's mine!" he roared.
"Please help me. Please don't let him hurt me," she begged. She was sobbing now and was still pinned against the wall. The man had one hand on her chest and one low on her waist. I slowly came even closer. My left hand instinctively slid down to my waist where I kept my lasso.
"Let the lady go," I instructed.
"Please..." she moaned.
"Shut up!" the man yelled and slapped her across the face. She screamed and started crying even harder.
"Let...the lady...go!" I ordered through gritted teeth.
"You want me to let her go? Fine!" he shouted and shoved her to the ground. She hit her head and lay very still. The man lunged at me and I was caught off guard. His fist connected with my left temple and we tumbled to the ground. I swung my foot hard into his side and got quickly back to my feet. He stood up as well. He threw another punch and I ducked, grabbed his head and brought my knee up to smash his head against. He staggered back and I punched at him. He grabbed my fist and his other fist came up and caught me on the chin. I fell against the wall and shook my head to clear my vision. I looked up and saw him charging towards me. I didn't have time to pull out the lasso so I sidestepped and he ran past me. I ran towards the end of the alley, pulled out my lasso and spun back around. It flew threw the air and caught him around the neck. I jerked my wrist and the rope twisted fatally. He was dead before he hit the ground. I yanked the lasso back to me and put it back at my waist. Over in the corner, the young woman groaned. I went and kneeled beside her.
Her eyes fluttered open. She gasped and looked around fearfully. "Where is he?" she whispered in terror.
"He won't bother you anymore," I assured her. She looked up at me in rapture then closed her eyes and passed out again. I picked her up and started back towards the alley behind the café. "Well, that was quite a walk," I muttered to myself and reentered the passageway to the labyrinth.
"I'm not your son Daroga. Your job is to be my conscience, not to be proud of me," I snapped. I was sitting at my piano, aimlessly poking at various keys. I soon realized I was playing a very staccato version of the wedding march. I quickly changed to playing the funeral march.
"Erik, you're depressed aren't you?"
"Do I look depressed to you Daroga? No, wait, don't answer that. I'm not depressed. I couldn't be happier. I don't think ever in my life have I been so...ecstatic," I drawled, the last part turning very sarcastic sounding. The Daroga glared at me. "Alright perhaps I'm slightly depressed. Only slightly though. You don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself."
"I know Erik," he said. "It's just that one of the last times you were depressed you did something drastic. I don't want that to happen again. And stop playing that!" I had been playing the funeral march over and over again. I sighed and stood up. I started walking towards the door of my lair.
"I'll be back shortly Daroga. You can wait for me or you can leave if you have more important things to do. I can't imagine what but you never know," I said putting on my cloak and hat.
"Erik where are you going?" he asked urgently.
"Relax Daroga, I'm just going for a walk," I told him. I sauntered down the halls and came out a passage that led to an alley behind a café. The sun was setting and there were few people out on the streets of Paris. Suddenly, I heard a woman screaming.
"Leave me alone! Get away from me!" she shrieked. "Oh God, someone help me!"
I started running towards the sound of her voice and came to another alley. At the very end of it was a young woman. She was pinned against the wall by a man not much older than me. She saw me and started screaming again. "Help me! Please help me!" she cried. I started down the alley and the man turned around.
"Get away! I found her first!" he bellowed.
"It doesn't look like she wants you touching her like that," I said calmly.
"I said get away! She's mine!" he roared.
"Please help me. Please don't let him hurt me," she begged. She was sobbing now and was still pinned against the wall. The man had one hand on her chest and one low on her waist. I slowly came even closer. My left hand instinctively slid down to my waist where I kept my lasso.
"Let the lady go," I instructed.
"Please..." she moaned.
"Shut up!" the man yelled and slapped her across the face. She screamed and started crying even harder.
"Let...the lady...go!" I ordered through gritted teeth.
"You want me to let her go? Fine!" he shouted and shoved her to the ground. She hit her head and lay very still. The man lunged at me and I was caught off guard. His fist connected with my left temple and we tumbled to the ground. I swung my foot hard into his side and got quickly back to my feet. He stood up as well. He threw another punch and I ducked, grabbed his head and brought my knee up to smash his head against. He staggered back and I punched at him. He grabbed my fist and his other fist came up and caught me on the chin. I fell against the wall and shook my head to clear my vision. I looked up and saw him charging towards me. I didn't have time to pull out the lasso so I sidestepped and he ran past me. I ran towards the end of the alley, pulled out my lasso and spun back around. It flew threw the air and caught him around the neck. I jerked my wrist and the rope twisted fatally. He was dead before he hit the ground. I yanked the lasso back to me and put it back at my waist. Over in the corner, the young woman groaned. I went and kneeled beside her.
Her eyes fluttered open. She gasped and looked around fearfully. "Where is he?" she whispered in terror.
"He won't bother you anymore," I assured her. She looked up at me in rapture then closed her eyes and passed out again. I picked her up and started back towards the alley behind the café. "Well, that was quite a walk," I muttered to myself and reentered the passageway to the labyrinth.