So, chapter ten. From now on, I'm going to be making some references to a controversial person- God. I am not very religious, however, many people in the 19th century were. So, if this at all offends you- you have been warned.
Thank you all SO MUCH for reviewing… I can't believe I actually reached a hundred:jumps for joy:
The lyrics are from the song Thank You, by Simple Plan. (Yes, I like Simple Plan and I'm proud!)
-So Thank You for showing me
That best friends cannot be trusted
And Thank You for lying to me
Your friendship, the good times we had
You can have them back
-Meg sat on her bed in her small room, feeling miserable. Christine's in there with Erik right now. You can't deny that he has… something. Not charm, but a sort of seductive power. Whatever it is, he's probably working it on her right now… Maybe they'll run off together. Christine will be lucky enough to find not one, but two men who are crazy about her.
"And no one cares about poor little Marguerite Giry, lying in the romantic gutter, waiting for the perfect man while all her friends are swept off their feet." She said aloud. Saying it did not make her feel better. Being spiteful did not suit her, but at the moment she did not care.
Last year it had all been about Christine and, she, the dutiful friend, had been there for emotional support when she was needed. And what was her reward for it? To be cast aside the moment her friend became a Vicomtesse!
Christine had taught Meg one thing, at least. You couldn't trust anyone. Not even your best friend.
A sharp rapping on the door interrupted her mental rant.
"Come in!" she called, somewhat irritably.
It was her mother. Meg instantly regretted the tone she had just used.
"What was that you said?" Mme Giry asked as she entered.
"Nothing Maman." Meg said sulkily.
Her mother sat down on the bed beside her and gave her a look. It was not a you'd-better-watch-your-tone-and-treat-your-elders-with-a-bit-more-respect look. It was not even an I-know-there's-something-going-on-and-don't-try-and-deny-it look. Under either of these looks Meg would have stubbornly tried to fight back tears and insist that nothing was wrong. The look Mme Giry bestowed upon her child was simply a mothering look that seemed to ask gently what was wrong. Instinctively, Meg told her everything, about being shunned by Christine, about always being shunted to the sidelines, and about her pining for a love of her own.
Her mother absorbed all this in silence. Then she spoke. "The problem, I believe, is that you are jealous of Christine."
Meg sprang up, furious. Her mother was wrong! How dare she come in here, win her trust and then lie to her? "I am not!" she exclaimed.
"Meg, calm yourself. You are acting like a child."
Meg, realizing this was true, sat back down, not without resentment.
"You two were as close as sisters when you were chorus girls together. Then Christine was put into the spotlight, while you remained in the shadows. As much as you were happy for her, it still must have hurt.
"Then Christine met the Vicomte, and throughout all her troubles with him and Erik, it is no wonder that she had no time for you. But it still hurt.
"When she married him, you thought that life would return to normal. But at least part of you must have known that it never would. She is a Vicomtesse now."
"So that excuses what she did to me, does it?" Meg asked angrily.
"It does not." Her mother said calmly. "I am not going to make excuses for Christine. I will say only this. Do you really believe that she would have cut you loose of her own accord?"
"But-" Meg stopped, and thought. "You think that her husband forced her to stop seeing me?"
"I do believe," her mother replied. "That the Vicomte de Chagny may have something to do with it."
"Oh…" Meg felt a bit of an idiot. "You won't tell anyone about this, will you?"
Her mother kissed her on the forehead. "Of course not, darling. Shall I leave you alone?"
"Yes, please." Meg said softly.
Mme Giry exited the room, shutting the door behind her.
-Meanwhile, in the guest room, Erik was shocked.
"You- you think you're not good enough for me?" he asked incredulously. He was still trying to cope with the fact that Christine had said that she loved him- what did this mean?
"I know I'm not!" she wailed despondently.
"But-" There were many things he wanted to say, (for one, the fact that it was he who was not worthy of her!) but none of them would come out. All that he could manage was a strained, "Why?"
She sniffed. "I'm a horrible person, I'm not worthy of anybody's love! I thought Raoul loved me- and look where I got with that! I mean, if I can make a mistake that huge- I don't deserve anybody- and certainly not you."
This logic had Erik somewhat confused. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Even if you don't take into account all the things I've done- all you've ever done is love me- and I was running around with Raoul all the time- and you're such a wonderful person."
Of all the things he had been called, "a wonderful person" was not on the list. "I'm not a wonderful person!" he protested. "I'm hardly even human. I'm a monster." He finished bitterly. Despair threatened to overwhelm him, she must be mistaken- she could not love him.
She shook her head. "Raoul's the monster. What you said before- about him being a monster on the inside- that was true. He's much more of a monster than you ever were."
He had once heard a saying- "hope springs eternal!" Not being an optimistic person, he had ignored it. But now it came to mind, and suddenly, as his heart gave a leap, he understood it.
He cleared his throat. "I know how to get you away from him," Erik reminded her.
"What does it involve?" she asked.
Briefly he outlined his plan- he would wait until she was well enough to travel, then they would flee Paris on horseback- together.
She looked hesitant. "Come back tomorrow." She said. "I'll think about it.
"Alright." He said. It wasn't an acceptance, but it wasn't a denial either.
Assuming that was his dismissal, he stood and headed for the door.
"Erik?" she called.
He turned, feeling hopeful. "Yes?" he asked.
She smiled at him. "Tomorrow then?"
Erik almost returned the smile but his lips just wouldn't do it. He nodded. "Tomorrow."
-On his way out, he encountered Madame Giry.
"How did it go?" she asked.
"I told her my plan, but she needs to think on it. She says she'll let me know by tomorrow." Erik said.
Mme Giry smiled at him. "I'll talk to her. She'll realize what's best." She hesitated. "You may not appreciate my saying this, but God will make it right in the end."
Erik shook his head. "If there is a God, He has been none to kind to me." He said firmly.
"All the more reason for Him to be kind to you now." She said.
Erik didn't know how to reply to that.
-Back in Christine's room, she was trying to make up her mind. What to do? Leave Paris with Erik, or stay and be prey for Raoul? There really was no contest- but her mind was far from made up. Maybe she deserved to suffer.
As she thought, the door opened. She looked up. Meg was standing there, looking apprehensive. She entered, closing the door softly behind her, and sat down in the chair that Erik had pulled up beside the bed.
Christine didn't know what to say to her, so she said nothing. However, the silence in the room soon became so stifling that she had to say something.
"I'm sorry." Said both of them at once.
They looked at each other, surprised.
"I didn't think you were going to apologize." Said Meg softly.
"I could make a few excuses for what I did, and all of them would be valid. But nothing excuses the pain I caused you." Christine replied.
"I feel like it's my fault." Meg said. "Do you remember how cruel the rumor mill at the Opera House was?" Christine nodded. "Well, there were rumors going around about the Vicomte- about how he treated the women he saw socially. I made sure you never heard them- I can't help but wonder if things would be different now if I hadn't."
Christine shook her head. "I would have believed what I wanted to believe about Raoul. Nothing anyone said would have changed my mind."
They were silent for a bit, each trying to sort out her befuddled thoughts. Then Meg spoke.
"When I found you lying on the doorstep- I felt horrid- I guess I never really stopped being your friend."
"I never stopped being you friend either." Christine replied.
The two women embraced with tears in their eyes.
-Sorry it took so long- I had writer's block, and I was working on some original stuff, and then the site was being a prick and wouldn't let me update- anyway.
Review please!
