I'm glad people like the idea of the remote. It would be fantastic to have one, wouldn't it? Heheh...(hides magic remote behind back) I wish I had one... And I wish asterisks still worked on this website. Anyhow...
……………………………………………………
Raven was getting really conniving now. She was willing to try anything to get to Erik. This time, she was going to attempt to venture right into his house.
At least, she was going to try. As she was making her way down to the cellars a few days after the first attempt, she was intercepted by Meg Giry.
"You are Mademoiselle Raven, are you not?"
She stepped back a little. "Yes," she answered, more than a little confused. "Why?"
"My mother wishes to see you," Meg said, in her whispery voice. A few words out of her mouth made it plain why she was a dancer, not a singer. (A/N: Actually, Meg's voice on my POTO CD does have a pretty lilting tune to it, but it is a little whispery.) "Could you meet her down in the entryway?"
Raven was even more confused now. She had only been at the Opera for about a week, and she had never once met Madame Giry. Why would a stranger summon her? "Sure, but why...?" Meg was gone before Raven could finish her sentence. "Well, fine," sniffed Raven, and started down the stairs.
She had spent much of her free time wandering the Opera trying to get to know its twists and turns. She now knew the layout of most of the upper floors quite well, although she had not yet ventured onto the roof or the level just below it, for an ever so slight fear of heights. The cellars, however, remained almost as much of a mystery as they had the first night. Still, she knew every entrance to the cellars from the ground level.
Consequently, she made it to the entryway with no problems at all. Madame Giry was standing stiffly beside the doors of the auditorium, tapping her foot impatiently, as if she had been waiting hours. The black taffeta (A/N: It always struck me...I will never forget Madame Giry's outfit.) of her dress rustled with the motion of her leg, and the ratty feather on her bonnet bobbed and nodded comically.
"Ah, Mademoiselle Raven," she said superciliously, drawing herself up. "I do hope I have not interrupted anything?"
"Oh, no, not at all, Madame." Just a rendezvous with Erik of crucial timing. "What is it you wished to see me about?"
"This, mademoiselle." She held out a letter in a blank envelope. Pulling the slip of paper deliberately from its dwelling, she handed it to her, a stern look on her face.
God, what did I do to offend this woman? thought Raven incredulously. The answer to this question lay in the contents of the letter. Although she had never before seen it, she would know the clumsy red handwriting anywhere, from its mere description.
Madame Giry, it read,
I pray you will carry this message along to the chorus girl Raven. Please tell her that I have no interest in her offer, and that we must cut all relations to each other. She must stay out of my affairs. You of all people, Madame, know well that the consequences could be catastrophic otherwise for the young lady. Please give her my regards, and my warning.
O.G.
Raven was surprised at this. To go so far as to communicate through the keeper of his box – Erik must really want to keep her away from him.
"Thank you, Madame Giry," said Raven politely.
"You should not be harassing the ghost," said the dignified Mme. Giry. "What have you been trying to do, prying into the ghost's private affairs?"
"Nothing at all, really," said Raven lightly. "I'll keep this letter, if you don't mind," she said, turning away with hardly a goodbye, leaving Mme. Giry clutching the envelope.
And as Raven climbed the staircase, she couldn't help but feel a mild satisfaction in knowing that Erik had remembered her name.
.:Later that evening:.
Raven was ready for another trek into the Phantom's world. This time, she had a plan all thought out to get her not only across the lake, but also into Erik's house when she was sure he was there.
She had acquired two long pieces of rope, which she had tied together to make an extremely lengthy one. Taking it and her lantern, she set off for one of the entrances to the cellars of the Opera.
"No threat letter is going to stop me," she thought cheerily, with determination. And raising her hand to the level of her eyes once again, she descended into the dark abyss.
Raven had an exceptionally good memory, and easily recalled the location of each X landmark on every level of the cellars. In less than half as much time as it had taken the last time, she found herself at the edge of the lake.
The boat was waiting there as usual, when Erik was not at home. This went perfectly with Raven's plan, as it saved her a great lot of waiting, although she had to work quickly, with no idea of how long Erik had already been gone.
With only a brief flash of her lantern, Raven found the side of the boat. Taking a small nail, she took the end of her long cord and securely fastened it to the very end of the little boat's stern. The location of the nail was low enough so that Erik wouldn't notice it in the dark, but high enough so that the boat wouldn't spring a leak. Trailing the rope a short distance away, Raven hid herself and sat patiently to wait.
He didn't take long. Erik shortly returned, climbing into the boat with no apparent notice of nearby people. He began to steadily and swiftly propel himself forward with the pole.
As soon as the shadows had swallowed him, Raven slunk out of her hiding place, gradually releasing the rope and keeping it slack, so that she was connected with the boat as it sailed forward. The lake was apparently larger than she anticipated, for she hadn't stopped feeding it when it passed the knot where they tied together. Just as Raven began to worry that she'd run out of rope, it stopped. She waited a few minutes to see if it would continue, but all was still.
After a few minutes waiting for good measure, Raven began to slowly pull the rope back in, gently bringing the boat with it. At last, after reeling in yards of wet rope, the empty vessel grounded before Raven. Grinning widely, she unfastened the rope, placed it in the boat, and, getting in herself, began pushing the pole into the lake.
If you hear the siren, don't you dare listen, she told herself. Sing to yourself and blot out the sound. But no enchanting melodies floated up from the water's surface to ensnare trespassers. She simply sailed unhindered across the lake...
The black water all around her was beginning to make her uneasy. She tried to gauge how far she'd traveled by comparing it the length of the rope, but it was impossible. Nothing could be seen all around her, except for an ethereal glow emanating from...the lake itself, it seemed. At long last, Raven's trained eyes spotted a door, a shadowy door in a stone wall on the shore of the lake.
Raven pulled the vessel in, and walked up to the door. Lord knows it would be difficult to find, for one who wasn't looking for it. But it didn't look like it would be any great challenge to open – in fact, with his obvious usual lack of visitors, it probably wasn't even locked.
Raven tried the handle. It was locked.
Okay, so much for that theory, she thought. No matter...
She pulled a thin metal probe from an inside pocket of her coat and proceeded to pick the lock. She wasn't a trained hand at this skill, so it took a good ten minutes before the lock clicked and the handle gave. "Oops," muttered Raven as the door swung open.
She walked inside Erik's house, her hand at the level of her eyes yet again, trembling from head to toe. Candles were everywhere, and a large, impressive piano stood in a dark corner of the room. Raven couldn't help but wonder how he managed to get that into the lowest cellar of the Paris Opera. As she looked around the room, who should walk out of he door to her left but Erik? (A/N: I mean, duh, he's the only one who lives there.)
As much as Raven loved him, and as much as she didn't want to be afraid of him, she shrank back. Erik looked mad, and that was with the mask on.
"What are you doing here?" he positively snarled. "How did you get in here?"
Raven stayed calm, and pointed behind her with her with her free hand. "Door."
"What gives you the right to enter my house? Did not Madame Giry –"
Raven waved the letter she had received from the keeper of Box Five. "Got it right here. See, I told you I wasn't going to leave you alone until either you promised to talk to me and teach me music. Either that, or you kill me with the Punjab lasso."
"I have told you already that I have no intention of maintaining any connections with you whatsoever, mademoiselle! Leave this place at once, or I assure you, you will regret it!" Erik turned to stalk out of the room.
"Erik!!!"
At the unexpected sound of his name, he stopped, but still did not turn. "How do you know...my name?"
There were two possible answers to this question. One – Christine told me. Not being on close relations with Christine, that was out of the question. Also, Erik might not like that very much. Two – I come from the future, where there are books, movies, and musicals about you, people spell 'fan' with a 'ph,' and everyone knows your name. As that would make no sense in this day and age, that was out of the question as well. So she settled for something simpler, if not very believable: "I just...sensed it."
"It makes no difference." He sounded nervous, and was breathing deeply. He didn't seem to want to make any move, though, and started to leave. As her last resort, Raven began to sing.
Angel of Music, guide and guardian...Grant to me your glory! Angel of Music, hide no longer...Secret and strange Angel...
At long last, he faced her. Raven was crying silently now, and he walked up to her. "All I've ever wanted...was to know you...Please..."
Erik was a good person, and he seemed to be undergoing some indecision. At long last, he replied.
"I suppose...a few short lessons wouldn't hurt." Raven couldn't tell if he sounded grimly resigned or just gently kind. It didn't take a genius, however, to hear the happiness in her voice as she said, "Oh, thank you!"
"Don't tell Christine..." he murmured. "Meet me here tomorrow at midnight, after the performance. The boat will be waiting." He spun around, his cloak swirling round him, and disappeared into the door he had come through before.
Ecstatically, Raven sailed back across the lake, splashing much water inside, and positively twirled up through the trapdoors, not a care for the now harmless Punjab lasso.
……………………………………………………
:-) That was a lot of fun. Read and review!
