Disclaimer: I don't own Erik
Count Orlok: Well, maybe Veronica and Malcolm are...:grins: as for Ariel's song it isn't supposed to be embarrassing, just revealing.
Phantom of Les Misrables: I'm glad you like my portrayal of Erik and my own brand of humor. Its always great to hear, thank you.
Miranda de la Costa: Whatever yo wish V.
xxXGoddessXofXdeadXloveXxx: Hey that's cool that you work at a day care center. At least we're both constantly working with kids. Thanks for the congratulations.
Nemi Jade: I appreciate it, and we all love Erik so lets get back to him.
Jilly: : raises an eyebrow: You think of my story while you study rocks...okay. You seem to have some telepathic power that I don't know about which lets you know parts of the story that are only in my head when you comment on it. Its been kinda of scary when you guess right about my plot twists. I'm actually already using ' When You Say You Love Me' in this story. This chapter has been written in my head, score and all since I posted the first chapter. So its weird how you seem to know parts of the ending. Oh well...hope you enjoy it anyway.
Note: DID ANYONE SEE THE OSCARS! First we get Emmy Rossum, Andrew Lloyd Webber, the music box and a guest appearance by Erik onstage during 'Learn to Be Lonely' and then we get Josh Groban! My only beef is that Beyonce Knowles was there the whole time. Where was Minnie Driver? And why did Erik help Beyonce down the stairs and disappear: starts to cry: I wanted to see more of him, no fair: sniffs: Anyway I hope this will make up for the length of my absence.
Chapter 22: The Love I Only Knew Part 2
Ariel came onto the stage and was suprise when she saw Erik with his head resting on the piano. She smiled and sat beside him on the bench and gently laid her head on his shoulder, light enough that it didn't wake him. A spotlight fell on the script and Ariel picked it up and started to leaf through it like she had before.
The manuscript quickly fell from her hands but Erik didn't stir. A wonderful smile broke out on Ariel's face and she covered her mouth with her hands as if to stop herself. " He loves me..." She whispered, the microphone laid against her cheek carried the half gasped words to every pair of ears in the theater. A feeling that was still new and fresh to Ariel began to break free. She didn't restrain it this time, but let it flow softly from her lips and form into words.
I peer through windows
Watch life go by
Dream of tomorrow
And wonder why
The past is holding me
Keeping life at bay
I wander lost in yesterday...
Ariel hugged herself as if to keep out the cold, making sure she kept Erik in sight while she sang.
Wanting to fly
But scared to try
Ariel stopped and smiled, letting her arms free to reach out to the man she loved but not to touch him. To wake him now would be to end this lovely dream, where life really was a song and only she could hear the words of her heart spill from her in melodious notes.
But if someone like you
Found someone like me
Then suddenly, nothing would ever be the same
My heart would take wing
And feel so alive
If someone like you found me...
So many secrets
I long to share
All I have needed
Is someone there
To help me see a world i've never seen before
A love to open every door
To set me free
So I can soar...
Ariel's arms spread out and up to the sky like wings as the note held long and clear. The satisfying note spread through her body like adrenaline and the song took her over.
Erik's breathe was fast in his chest though no one noticed the phantom's reaction to the song or could tell by any external signs if they were looking. Her voice filled him, taking his breathe away and replacing it with her own. The breathe she took was deep and as the music started to build so did her voice.
If someone like you
Found someone like me
Then suddenly, nothing would ever be the same
There'd be a new way to live
A new life to love
If someone like you found me...
Oh...if someone like you
Found someone like me
Then suddenly, nothing would ever be the same
My heart would take wing...
And i'd feel so ALIVE...!
Ariel's soul was free to the heavens in that word, when she came back to earth the end of the note trembled on her lips. She took a shaky breathe before the last few whispered lines escaped her. Ariel let her hands drop to her side and look at Erik once more.
If someone like you...
Loved me...
She picked up a blanket and draped it over Erik's shoulders.
Loved me...
Ariel then laid herself down at his feet, sighing before closing her eyes and singing the last line.
Loved...me...
The music stopped and the stage went black.
A roar of applause swept through the audience like a brush fire, almost jolting Ariel and Erik in shock. They had both forgotten that they were performing in front of about five hundred people.
Someone bent down to Ariel's ear. " Well they must approve." She tried not to smile when Anthony said that before taking his place by Veronica and Darius. A few minutes later the intro for 'Phantom' caused the couple to jump yet again. I don't think we have to play it that loud tomorrow night. Ariel thought through gritted teeth.
Now Ariel and Erik stood in the apartment set. The tension was even thicker then during the actual event. And for a good reason. This was Erik's unmasking and he had left it in the script. Ariel put her hand on Erik's undeformed cheek, what looked like a caress was actually a gesture to cover Erik's microphone that lay against his cheek like her own. He understood and touched her face in the same way, leaving them open to talk. Erik waited with a worried look on his face.
" Erik are you sure you want to do this?" She asked seriously.
Erik smiled. She was only worried about how he felt. Erik's heart swelled and he had to restrain himself from kissing her. Did she even know how the things she said made him feel?
" As long as your with me mon amie I can do anything." His thumb brushed across her lower lip, tracing the curve of her smile that he loved so much.
" But catch me in case I fall." He said teasingly and pulled his hand from her microphone. Ariel sighed and did the same, then Erik took her hands.
" I trust you." He repeated the words from only a few nights ago when her hands rested against his hair where the ribbon for the mask was. Ariel reached for the ribbon of the mask. The moment her hand touched it a collective gasp from the audience made her stop. She bit her lip and Erik let his forehead fall on her shoulder. They were trying not to laugh.
Ariel collected herself enough to take off his mask and caress the exposed skin. " I love you." Her words were followed by a collective sigh from the audience this time. What sounded like Erik sobbing was actually his failed attempt at keeping in laughter.
It would be too easy to drag this out. Erik thought. These people are sitting on the edges of their seats. Erik never gave a thought to the fact that his face was bare to all these people until he felt the cover of Ariel's body leave, revealing him.
The audience was silent.
The only sound to disturb the silence was Ariel's fey like laughter, Erik opened his eyes to take in the wonderful sight of her smile. When Ariel began her journey of kisses along his throat and face there was a sudden outburst of giddy laughter and sighs. Ariel told him how people would happily accept him in this time period and the audience was all too eager to echo it.
With more confidence then Erik had only been pretending to have up until that point, he translated his love for this woman through one single kiss.
Chapter 23: ' The Love I Only Knew' Part 3
It was during the party scene that Ariel felt Erik come up behind her. She closed her eyes. I could stay here in his arms forever. But the show must go on, Ariel thought as she pulled Erik with her for the mask exchange and speech.
Ariel walked Anthony and Giselle over to the piano, ushering the actor to sing. Attention was pulled onto Erik with a violin tucked under his chin, he brought the bow down over the strings and started a familiar song. When the first bars started playing everyone cheered in approval, lifting their glasses up in a toast. Anthony didn't look away from his wife as he took over Erik's violin solo with the piano, Anthony began to sing with the voice that made him one of the best phantom's at the 'Phantom's Lair Theater'.
When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary
When troubles come and my heart burdened be
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit a while with me.
Anthony closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. Giselle smiled and looped her arms around his neck as he continued to play and sing for her. His wifes head rested on his shoulder as his voice rose ever so gently.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up...to more then I can be.
Erik took up after the first chorus with the violin again. His expression was passionate as he played, even if it was a simple tune. Anthony took the opportunity to kiss his wife. Ariel watched them with a smile. They were a beautiful couple. Then her eyes fell on her own better half.
Erik opened his eyes long enough to look at Ariel and wink at her before throwing himself back into the music. It was the first time that Ariel fully realized who she was in love with. Until now she had never seen this part of the old Erik come through unless he sang or played. There was no need for the act, he was a normal man who had friends and a woman who loved him. The only reminder of who he used to be was the mask that outlined the brighter of his mis matched eyes.
Anthony started to sing again and this time everyone joined in. All their voices mingled together to make the theater company one. Even Ariel and Erik let their voices intertwine with everyone else.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up, to more then I can be.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains!
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas!
Everyone backed off the song so only Anthony's clear voice rang through the silence.
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders...
You raise me up, to more then I can be
You raise me up...to more then I can be...
Ariel was the first one to go up to the couple and hug them. She was really going to miss them.
" Don't worry about us, go get your guy." Giselle whispered to her when they hugged. Ariel beamed at her and kissed her friends cheek. She mouthed the words thank you before going over to Erik who was waiting for her. They were close to the end now, just one simple scene left.
The beginning of this scene was supposed to be punctuated by laughter, filled with Erik and Ariel's giddy happiness from the party. Or in Ariel's case last night, enough alcohol to make her act a little goofy.
To recreate the heady laughter Malcolm had found an extra phantom mask, probably his own and stood in the wings where the couple had a clear view of him. He talked to Darius and obviously said something offending because Malcolm was now being chased by the gay actor.
It proved to be an amusing spectators sport for the entire company and send Ariel into a fit of giggles. Erik smiled more at her reaction then the cause of her laughter.
" What?" She said through her giggles and Erik remembered that he was supposed to answer. " Nothing." He said shaking his head. " Nothing at all. I love you. That's all."
Ariel grinned. " That's all?" She asked. But Erik didn't answer her, he simply stared. She didn't know what to do for a moment. His eyes were so serious, so intense. Why wasn't he saying anything? Even the cast was a little worried, thinking either the phantom had forgotten what he'd told Ariel the night before or that he'd simply frozen onstage.
Ariel improvised. " Good." She said, kissing him. " Because I love you too." Erik didn't return the kiss, in fact he seemed a little shaky. Ariel decided it was time to get him off stage, the musical was finished anyway. But when she tried to pull him off stage with her Erik didn't move. What is going on? Ariel thought, she didn't want to embarrass Erik in any way.
She saw him take a deep breathe and his composure was back again. Slipping on as effortlessly as the mask he wore on his face. He made a faint hand gesture, something so discreet only a performer would have caught it. Music started to play. Ariel suddenly felt like running. Erik smirked, seeming to read her mind.
Before Ariel could cry out in protest Erik was behind her, holding her body against his gently. A arm around her waist, while he brushed her hair from her throat with his hand. Her eyes instinctively closed when he placed a kiss at the hollow of her throat. His voice a soft caress against her skin.
Like the sound of silence calling
I hear your voice and suddenly i'm falling
Lost in a dream
Like the echoes of our souls are meeting
You say those words, my heart stops beating
I wonder what it means
Erik pulled away and came around to face Ariel. A mischievous grin pulled at his mouth as he continued.
What could it be that comes over me
At times I can't move
At times I can hardly breathe...
He placed a hand over his chest as if the breathe had truly left him. A dramatic touch that made Ariel blush. There was a moment of silence as they simply stared at each other.
When you say you love me
The world goes still, so still inside and
When you say you love me
For a moment, there's no one else alive...
Erik spread out his arms as if to say nothing was real at the moment but the two of them. Ariel believed him.
You're the one i've always thought of
I don't know how but I feel sheltered in your love
You're where I belong.
And when you're with me and I close my eyes
There are times I swear I feel like I can FLY...
Erik threw his head back on the word fly, his arms out and his lithe body arched as if he would take flight. Ariel recognized it as the same stance she'd taken during her own love song. His voice filled the auditorium with its power and passion.
For a moment in time
Somewhere between
The heavens and earth
I'm frozen in time
Oh when you say those words
When you say you love me
The world goes still, so still inside and
When you say you love me
For a moment, there's no one else alive
Erik focused back on Ariel, coming closer. The emotion of his voice almost driving her back a step unconsciously. Erik laid a hand on either side of her face, his mis matched eyes filled with such determination and love.
And this journey that we're on
How far we've come and I
Celebrate every moment
When you say you love me
His voice dropped down and his smile was radiant, playful. A side of him that she loved as he showed her more of it.
That's all you have to say
I'll always feel this way...
When you say you love me
The world goes still, so still inside and
When you say you love me
In that moment, I know why i'm ALIVE...
When you say you love me...
Ariel even took a deep breathe when the last note came. He reached up to heaven. His chest rose and fell quickly as he regained his breathe, his face alight with joy. A weight seemed to have been lifted from his shoulders, the last stray debri of his past life. He was ready now.
Erik's feet were toe to toe with Ariel's. She had to tilt her head up to look in his eyes. He studied her for a moment, looking for something. Ariel smiled and that appeared to give him the strength to do what ever he meant to do.
He reached into his dress coat and from his breast pocket he retrieved a blooming white rose. How it had survived the entire musical without being crushed.
When you say you love me...
Do you know how I love you...
The last word died in a whisper as Erik gave her the rose. Ariel smiled and bent down to smell the flower. Her nose bumped against something hard that wasn't the petals of a soft rose. Ariel blinked and looked down the bud and she started to cry.
" Erik?" She gasped in suprise. A hand clasped her own as she stared down at what Erik had given her.
Erik for his part, said nothing. He didn't have to. For resting in the petals center, where he had once laid a rhinestone was now a black stone. It was Erik's own onyx ring. The only thing of value he had that he could call his own. Now he was giving it to her along with his heart, though Ariel had captured his heart from the first day they'd met.
" There is no simple answer, there's no simple question. Words fail us when it comes to matters of the heart. I don't expect an answer Ariel, just some sign that this is what you may want some day." Ariel could hear the pain in his words. He was trying to make it easier for her. But she knew that Erik was the one who would feel the worst of the blow if she decided against it.
She was silent and it was tearing Erik apart. All his planning and care to detail did him no good when everything fell on his loves next move, her next breathe, the bat of her eyes. Love was one thing, marriage was something completely different. Every person in the theater held their breathe along with Erik, no one knew what she would do.
Ariel finally looked up at Erik, and he saw his answer. The phantom's eyes widened in shock. How could this be!
Author's Note: This is the last regular chapter of ' Phantom's Lair Theater'. The next one will be the Epilogue and I know you're all ready to lynch me at the moment. But I need at least ten reviews before you guys get the actual ending. I think i'm in a position where I can ask that at least. This will be the last time you guys can ask me any questions that you want answered. So if you have a question about anything in the story or anything at all this will be the time to ask.
I went a bit Josh Groban crazy in this chapter I know, but this chapter was planned out before I even put up Erik's audition in chapter five. The first song was called 'Someone Like You' from Jekyll and Hyde. The first Josh Groban song was ' You Raise Me Up' and Erik's proposal song was 'When You Say You Loved Me.' I've been waiting to use that song all through this story.
I'm also announcing the Phantom's Lair Theater's Inner Circle, those of you who have been with me from the beginning.
Miranda de la Costa, Count Orlok, xxXGoddessXofXdeadXloveXxx, Agent Alexandra Paris, Nemi Jade and Jilly for seeming to know how the story was going to end when it was still in my head. I still love all my other reviewers to death, believe me you all hold a dear place in my heart. And I hope to hear from you all.
I hope you guys have enjoyed this story, so please review. I really want to hear from you all. Love you all.