The Truth Shall...Give You A Headache

Crash! The mirror lay in shattered fragments on the carpeted floor of the dressing-room. It would never be whole again, but that didn't matter. Raoul crunched over the broken glass unheeding, focused only on the goal ahead: to find and save Aminta. He knew she was here, and he knew how to find her. All he had to do now was get to her before it was too late. And this time, he would not be the one to fall into a deadly trap!

"It's him or me this time," Raoul vowed. "Him or me." He ran on, dodging traps, only just climbing out when the floor opened beneath him. He would not be deterred. He would find and save his daughter-for she was his daughter. He would never let Erik have her. What kind of life could he offer her anyway? No, even Aminta would have to see that this was for the best. It was for her own good.

The chill waters of the underground lake swelled and churned as he strove through, but on he went. Nothing would hinder him; nothing would stop him. He had to reach his daughter. Finally he heard something up ahead: organ music. Dark, foreboding organ music that pounded in his head as he approached. He tried to keep his advance quiet, but it was difficult in the deep water. Still, the music should have drowned out sounds of his approach. How Erik knew he was there, he would never know, but he was ready for him.

"Father!" cried Aminta, reaching out to him desperately.

'This is the Don Juan incident all over again,' thought Raoul. "Aminta, I'm here now," he said, reaching for her. Aminta tried to go to him, but Erik held her back.

"Now, doesn't this seem familiar?" Erik commented. "Where could I have seen this before?"

"Let her go!" demanded Raoul. "She's a child!"

"Oh yes!" said Erik as though hitting upon an idea. "This is almost exactly the situation that night so long ago when you stole Christine's love from me. Only this time, it's different."

"Damn right it is!" shouted Raoul in fury. "It was you who tried to steal Christine from me, for one thing."

"This time there is no choice of life or death," Erik continued, unperturbed. "We can't both have her, and I'm not about to share. I always was rather selfish, really. No, this time I decide. And I decide that Aminta is mine."

As if on cue, a Punjab lasso appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around Raoul's neck. He choked in surprise, Aminta's scream of fear shattering his heart. He reached for her desperately as his vision turned red, then darkened slowly to black. He tried to cry out, call her name, but couldn't make a sound. Only a sort of silent scream escaped his lips.

'Like a scream, but sort of silent, living off my nightmares…'

"Aminta!" he screamed, leaping out of the chair he had fallen asleep in as though being shocked by a live wire. Panting, gasping, he looked all around. Aminta wasn't there. No one was there. He was alone, completely alone. Even Christine had left, gone off somewhere. Slowly he caught his breath. His heart slowed to its normal pace. But he could not relax. Inexplicably agitated, he got up and started pacing. He couldn't stop thinking about the dream he had just had. Was there some message hidden in it? No, no, Aminta was a good judge of character. If Erik meant any malice towards her or her family, she would know. But still, the dream…frowning, he shook his head, trying to clear it.

"As much as I'd like to, I can't seriously believe that he would hurt her," he muttered. "Maybe that's what it's telling me, that I see him as something that he's not even though I want him to be because it makes everything easier…or maybe it's just a dream and nothing more. I don't know anymore." He sighed and stopped pacing when he reached the window. The night was warm but clear, the constellations clearly visible in the velvet sky. He smiled, remembering the nights he had spent lying on the grass with Aminta, teaching her the constellations and their names, and she teaching him the old myths that went with them. He smiled. Aminta had always been fascinated by astronomy. Everything had fascinated her once. Now it was only the mystical, the supernatural, and the impossible that could catch and hold her interest. Maybe that was why she loved Erik, because he encompassed all three whereas Raoul could touch none? He shook his head again. If he started thinking like this again, he'd drive himself mad. One thing was for certain, though. He had to see Aminta. He had to see her with him.

"Past the point of no return/The final threshold/The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn/We've passed the point of no return!"

Erik and Aminta's voices blended perfectly together as they sang. Erik, once Aminta had awakened, had offered to continue her voice lessons. Aminta readily agreed, surprising him by asking him to teach her "Point of No Return". Or maybe he wasn't all that surprised. She couldn't always tell with him. But it didn't really matter. Nothing did at the moment. All that mattered was the music. Erik and the music, or were they the same thing? She smiled to herself, listening to the last notes fading away into the stone. Erik sighed and let his hands drop to his sides.

"What's wrong?" asked Aminta.

"As much as I may not like it, we should probably return," he said. "Raoul will be missing you, even if Christine doesn't. Don't get the wrong idea about that; she most likely knows you're here with me." Aminta nodded.

"I don't care about Raoul right now," said Aminta. "S'matter of fact, I don't even want to set eyes on him until my arm is out of this sling."

"Really," replied Erik coolly. "And how long will that take, approximately?"

"The nurse said a few weeks," said Aminta. "Probably not more than two. But I usually heal faster than most people."

"I can see that," commented Erik. "There's hardly a mark where you were cut now."

"Oh, really? I hadn't even thought about it. In any case, I should probably have my arm free in about a week, week and a half maybe."

"It's going to be difficult not seeing Raoul for over a week when you live under the same roof."

"Do you honestly not realize what I'm saying, do you want me to ask you outright, or are you just teasing me?"

"I'm teasing you."

Aminta laughed freely, the sound echoing through the lair. Erik couldn't remember ever hearing laughter in his lair, not even his own. It was interesting. He smiled.

"Well, you should know by now that you're welcome down here," he told her.

"If I wasn't, you wouldn't've told me how to open the mirror," replied Aminta. "Though I am worried about Mother being worried."

"Let me take care of that," said Erik reassuringly. "And now, there's something I want to show you." He rose and gestured for her to follow him. Curious, she did. He stepped into the boat, and she followed suit.

"Don't sit down this time," he said. "Just hold on to me; I won't let you fall." Aminta nodded and did as he said. Erik made sure to keep both arms around her as he steered the boat out under the raised portcullis with a practiced ease. Not far from the great gate he stopped and turned the boat around.

"What are you doing?" asked Aminta curiously.

"Showing you something," replied Erik. "If you ever have need to come back here again on your own, you'll need to know how to open the gate. Look down here." He pointed to the glassy black water and she looked. "Do you see anything?"

Aminta frowned, as she did when she was concentrating on something. "It's hard to see, but it looks like one of the stones is slightly raised above the others. It looks like a trick of the light, though."

"It's supposed to," said Erik with a smile. "That stone opens the gate when pressed upon."

"Oh, so that's how you did it. I wondered. It's a very impressive illusion."

"Thank you. Now, I'd rather you not take my boat if I'm not here, but if you need it then use it by all means."

Aminta laughed, the sound reverberating freely through the stone.

The sound of Aminta's echoing laughter reached Raoul on the other side of the lake. He had managed, quite by accident, to find the trapdoor beneath the stage that would lead him down here. He paused, frowning. Why was Aminta laughing? Well, he could hardly have thought she'd actually be scared and praying that he'd come and rescue her. Truth be told, if they were to follow the formula of myth, Aminta would be the beautiful princess, but Erik would be her shining knight, not the mythical beast who kidnapped pretty maids and held them while the knight fought through many perils to save them. But then, where did that leave Raoul? Would he then be the king waiting for the knight's victorious return to the castle with the princess so the two could be wed? Somehow he felt that in Aminta's faerie-tale he would be the villain who locked the princess in the tower, trying to keep her from her knight.

Raoul ground his teeth in exasperation as he sloshed through the icy waters of the subterranean lake. The lake was a labyrinth, but he followed the sound of Aminta's laughter right to her. As he rounded a corner he heard splashing and mixed laughter: Aminta, laughing like a little girl, and Erik.

"I told you to hold on!" Erik was saying through his mirth. "There, stop moving! We're both going to fall."

Raoul came upon them then. The boat, in which they were both standing, a precarious position, was rocking dangerously. Aminta was holding fast to Erik with her good arm while he had one arm around her while holding the pole in his other hand and using it to steady the boat. They were both laughing hopelessly. Raoul didn't know if he made some sound to betray himself, but suddenly Erik looked up.

"Wait! I think, my dear, we have a guest!" he said, turning around carefully to face Raoul. Aminta looked over and immediately looked away when she saw Raoul.

"Aminta?" called Raoul.

"Erik, would you please tell the Vicomte that I do not wish to speak with him?" Aminta asked Erik, as though Raoul wasn't even there. Raoul winced.

"OK, well maybe I deserved that," he admitted, "but Aminta, I told you I am so sorry! I swear I never meant to-"

"You put a bullet in her shoulder," said Erik coldly, holding Aminta protectively. "I don't think you even knew what you meant to do. But Aminta does not wish to speak with you. Furthermore, she does not wish to have any sort of contact with you until her arm is out of its sling."

"WHAT?" roared Raoul. "That'll take weeks-weeks! What the devil does she intend to do until then? Where will she stay?"

"I think you already know," replied Erik with a somewhat triumphant smile.

"Absolutely not! Why, I'd sooner cut off my own ear than-"

"Then I suggest you have a lot of bandages handy when you do, and avoid doing so over a carpet. Bloodstains rarely come out." With that, he turned away and poled the boat expertly back under the portcullis, the iron gate lowering behind them. For a time, Raoul just stared after them.

'Well, you did deserve all that,' said a little voice in the back of his mind. 'You shot Aminta, after all. Besides, she's his daughter, not yours. He has every right to-'

"Oh, shut up," grumbled Raoul. He sneaked around the corner completely, watching what happened beyond the gate. Aminta and Erik were talking as Aminta sat down on the steps facing Erik. Out of the air, it seemed, Erik pulled a deck of cards and started amusing Aminta with card and sleight-of-hand tricks that made her laugh and clap.

'You could never do that,' said the little voice smugly. Grizzling, Raoul turned and sloshed away.

"Christine's going to love this," he muttered.