Chapter Two:Talk of the Fair


The gondola came up on the shore and Erik's eyes came to focus on the figure of the man that had rung the bell. It was not Nadir, that he was sure of that if nothing else.

The figure looked up at the sound of the boat coming upon the hard ground. He stood and smiled in the darkness. "Hello there!" Raoul greeted. "I do hope I'm not intruding. I assumed that no one would come if you were both busy."

Erik felt himself relax and he let out a breath he hadn't realized was being held. "We weren't expecting you."

"Well yes," Raoul answered with a chuckle, stepping closer to a man he had once feared and despised. "I came home a couple days early and came nearly strait here. Meg…" He blushed, ducking his head in the darkness. "Well I came strait here. Might I come in or would I be imposing?"

"Not at all." Erik tilted his head towards the boat, a silent command for the aristocrat to board. It was hard to believe that a little over a year before the same man had barged into the underground chamber and demanded Christine back. Now he entered with full invitation, coming to see a child hood friend and her husband. How times changed.

"Meg was practicing when I arrived," Raoul was saying. "Her mother all but chased me out. Tell me, did Madame Giry and Nadir…?"

Erik cocked an eyebrow as he steered the gondola down the passages. "I wouldn't know. I tend to let them keep their own affairs to themselves."

Raoul chuckled nervously. "Yes… Well…"

Silence reigned for the next few moments before the boat pulled up on the opposite shore, the two men met by an eager Christine. Her eyes lit up as all worry fled from them and was replaced with joy. "Raoul! Oh Meg will be ecstatic!"

He grinned at her and took her hand, bringing it to his lips but never quite letting them touch. "She was. I'm quite sorry, Christine, but I did make a stop before coming down here to see the two of you."

"As well you should have!" the diva responded with a smile. "Oh it is wonderful to see you, Raoul! How was your trip? Is London nice this time of year? Meg has spoken of nothing but you, you know."

"Has she really?"

"Oh yes!"

Erik rolled his eyes, sighed, and started towards the house in an otherwise silent manner. Christine laughed at this, grasping his hand before he walked too far. She held tightly to it. "Don't be rude, Erik!" she chastised lightly and tugged him closer, placed his captured hand over her heart, her two smaller hands holding it there.

A smile touched his lips as she did this. "Well then stop the gossip and hurry on in."

Ten minutes later they sat together in the main room - Christine and Erik together on the couch and Raoul in a chair – sipping tea as if they had all been lifelong friends and never once thought of each other as enemies. Well, to the untrained eye it might have looked that way…

Raoul, who had been in England on business since two days after the wedding, had returned early with a success on his young record and a mind to sweep Meg off her feet with the roses he had brought to her. Apparently he had been "asked" by Madame Giry to leave them for the young dancer, as she was practicing then. He had only caught a glimpse of her before being shuffled out and told to come back in a bit.

"I was thinking," the vicomte was saying, "about taking Meg to the fair."

"The fair?" Christine echoed as she sipped her tea.

Raoul nodded, eyes bright. "Yes! Did you not know they were in town? A group of Gypsies. A fair, a circus, or what have you, it looks entertaining. Perhaps the two of you could come along?"

Erik had tensed at the mention of the Gypsies being there in Paris, and Christine had not missed it. She reached over to him, looping her arm through hers in subtle contact that would not draw her old friend's attention. She opened her mouth to find a plausible excuse, but her husband beat her to it.

"I fear that I would not make a good companion out and about," he said stiffly.

Raoul's eyes widenedandturned towards the mask that covered half of the Phantom's face."I suppose it is a good thing that I hardly notice or think about it anymore," he mused quietly and sighed. "Perhaps in the evening, after the sun sets? I believe these things do stay open rather late. Christine, do you have an open night tonight?"

"Oh… I really… I… We..." she fumbled.

"My dear, would you like to go?" Erik asked softly. Christine turned her eyes to him, silent words passing.

"Do you remember the fair that came through when we were little, Christine?" Raoul asked, laughing. "Your papa took us and I do believe my brother nearly had apoplexy."

Christine smiled at this. "Yes… You came back all covered in mud and grime. Papa thought nothing of it. 'Little boys should be allowed to run and play and certainly to have a bit of fun!'" she said with the best impression she could muster of her beloved father.

Raoul smiled fondly. "Quite! So shall we?"

The diva's smile faded suddenly and she turned her eyes to Erik. He set his tea cup on the tray. "You appear to have pleasant memories of it."

"Have you never been?" Raoul asked, looking for half a moment that he might have realized that he'd hit upon something better left alone.

"Yes," Erik answered tightly. "Yes I have." He turned to his wife and gave her the best smile he could bring forth. It was on his lips, but it did not meet his eyes. "You have pleasant memories," he repeated, "and perhaps I should form some."

Christine knew he did not mean it. He was doing all he could to keep it hidden.

"It's settled then!" Raoul announced, still completely oblivious after all. "What night aren't you performing, Christine?"

"I'm still off… from the wedding…" she whispered, feeling as if she were betraying Erik as she did so. "I shan't be going back until week after next."

"Then tonight night then? Shall that work? I really don't know how long they'll be in town and if we wait too long they might leave."

Erik shrugged, an air of indifference cloaking him. "There's nothing I was planning to do this evening that can't be done later on."

"Good good!" Raoul said with a smile. "Well, the girls should be done, so I should be up to see Meg."

"Of course."


"You were the one to agree!" Christine all but yelled as she chased after him, his long stride causing her to have to quicken her pace. "Erik! Don't do this, please! Talk to me!"

He whirled around on her with such intensity that she stumbled back. "I agreed because your vicomte wouldn't let it drop!"

She sighed heavily, regaining her footing. "Erik, don't… Don't play the 'your vicomte' card! If you'd just talk to me! Why won't you?"

Every muscle was taught, his shoulder drawn back and his back straight. "Because they're my secrets, damn you! My past and my secrets and my fears!" He gasped as the last word left his mouth and he turned away from her.

"Oh Erik…" he heard her sigh, pain lacing her voice. Pain and pity and emotions he was sure he didn't know. She reached a hand out and touched his back, making him jump slightly and try to pull away. Her arms wrapped around his middle, stopping him. She lay her head between his shoulder blades, inhaling his scent. Her breath came out slowly and it seemed to calm him as he took her hands that were around his middle and brought them up to his lips, pressing her palms to them in a gentle kiss. She smiled and he sighed.

"My dear," he breathed, exhaustion filling those two words. "I'm sorry."

"As am I."

"And it is you that have no reason to be!" he exclaimed, turning towards her and pulling her closely. "My foolish fears…"

She placed a finger on his lips, hushing him. "Please, love, I do not think any of your fears are foolish. They always seem to have merit to them, but please, I cannot help you – as a good wife should, shouldn't she? – through them if you don't tell me. I know that, as horrible as it must have been, there is more to the story you began earlier."

"Yes," the Phantom whispered.

"Must I ask you through every step of it?" she grumbled into his shirt. She looked upward. "What is it, Erik? After all we've been through, do you still not trust me?"

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

Erik began to tremble slightly in her embrace and she looked up to see his eyes far away. She hugged him close, a sudden fear coming over her. She wasn't sure why, but it was there. Unwarranted. Unmerited. But there, never the less.


A/N: I opened up my email this morning and found 36 emails there. THIRTY SIX! I've never had that many emails! Not that had anything that I wanted in them, at any rate! And 35 were reviews! Hugs to all my lovely reviewers! I love you all!

LostSchizophrenic :Yes, well Erik is sympathizing with us as well, though he doesn't want to. To not be able to sleep is a terrible enough thing, but what if every time you closed your eyes a nightmare came at you? Makes me glad for my very normal lack of sleep.

Cmdr. Gabe E.:hugs: You are awesome! I had so many reviews from you this morning! And they were all so nice! Thank you thank you thank you! Haha! The coffin… I remember when I first read the original book I freaked out. "He sleeps in a coffin!" lol! But I love his comment to Christine in Kay's book. "It's a Persian Cat's Cradle." Hehe… Good Erik! Keep her calm! I would have freaked, maybe. Most of my details come from Kay's book as I like it better, but I'm glad you liked it :)

Golden Lyre:But I love cliffhangers… :sulks:

Jo:Thanks very much!

Lynx Ryder:The coffin's not my fault! I swear! It's in the original book and in Kay's! He slept in a coffin! Or, as I told someone else and as Erik describes it in Kay's novel, a "Perisan Cat's Cradle" which it's not, but it calmed Christine's hysterics down and made her laugh. I got rid of it as soon as possible lol. I'm terrible about reviewing b/c I'm like "must see the next chapter!" so I never review… :sigh: so you're much better than I.

Thanks

TS