C.Q.: Wonderful to hear of your incident. Lucky you. If I had been sitting beside a French guy who sorta resembled the Phantom, and had the same name, and just so happened to possibly be a rich scientist, I would…. Give him to Elsa. –grins innocently- But yes, very interesting, and you are very lucky. Perhaps Erik is immortal and lived out to stay in the Opera Garnier, and you just happened to be the person that half the people looking through Phantom Phics would loathe and be jealous of, eh? Who knows?
Oh and sank you Ridel! I heart the Vicomte… he's precious!
Ted: It's fiction… she can be confused.
Anywho… Chapter 14. YAY! Another chapter!
Elsa slowly crept her way down into the lair, being careful not to set off another trap or whatever. When she got to the lake, opposite the underground home, she looked off into the distance.
"Erik? Erik?" she called into the dark for him. She waited a few moments before she called his name again, "Erik! Er—" She halted as soon as she saw the tip of the gondola coming round the bend in the lake's path.
"I'm here, Elsa, don't worry," he said as he pushed the boat ashore, offering a hand to help her in. Elsa, of course, gladly took the invitation, stepping into the boat and sitting down in the front. They were off again within a matter of seconds.
"I was afraid you were angry with me or something. I haven't seen you in a week. You aren't mad, are you?" She looked up to the tall, dark, and handsome man. Right now, she was damning Danielle in her mind for making her have hesitations about this guy.
Erik gave a gentle chuckle and looked down at her, "No, not mad. I'm not mad at all. I just needed to think things through… I was going to come up later on tonight when your friend Danielle was asleep, but now it seems that I won't have the need too since you are here."
'Damn the impatient me!' Elsa yelled at herself in her thoughts, smiling up to Erik. "Were you going to come and talk to me about something?"
"It depended."
"On what?"
"If you were asleep or not. If you had been, I would have just stood there, watching over you as you slept, and if you had been awake, I would have surely talked to you."
Elsa let a happy sigh escape from her lips. Again, she cursed Danielle for making her hold back from this oh-so-romantic guy.
"I'm sorry I can not be as open with you as Raoul and Nicole are—"
"You already know about them?"
"Yes, of course, I am the Opera Ghost. You didn't even know I was watching you from the catwalks, did you?" He chuckled, pushing the gondola through the arched tunnels. "I was also watching them fence. I find it interesting, the way that they fight. The Vicomte has some new energy to him when he fights against her. Anyway, I know, and tomorrow all of Paris will know more than likely."
"Ah, yes, the newspapers. Certainly they will know about their dinner date tonight. I can see the head lines now," Elsa said as she brought her hand up as to display the words in the air, "Vicomte finds new lover after Populaire Prima Donna rejection."
"Oh yes, the newspapers, lovely things aren't they?" He then pushed the boat up onto the shore of the… lair… getting out first and then offering a hand to her, which of course she took the gesture. "I do wish that we don't have to sneak around your friends' backs. I do love you. I meant what I said the other night."
"Well, I was planning on telling Nicole at some point… I just don't know how I would tell Danny, or if I would want to. I don't want to crush her, you know?"
He nodded to her and sat down at his piano, his fingers beginning to graze across the keys. "Music of the Night?"
Elsa's eyes widened at this one. Was Erik asking her to sing for him? 'Obviously, dumb ass! Go for it!' was what one little voice said on her right shoulder. 'Oh lordy, don't embarrass yourself Severijn,' was what the other voice was saying on her left. The middle was the one that counts though, right? "Alright…"
And so they sang… together… how sweet, eh?
Meanwhile, back in that quaint little restaurant where Raoul had first brought the girls, he and Nicole were conversing over a wonderful dinner. So far, even though they had been banned from the place, the cook hadn't said a word to them. Perhaps he realized that Raoul was indeed the Vicomte of Paris and that he could have him put out of business.
They had both been sipping on champagne and wine all night, and were getting a tad tipsy, if not drunk. Nicole was especially bad when it came to drinking. She learned that on Saint Patrick's Day 2004.
"Does it bother you when I defeat you when we fence?" Nicole asked Raoul, looking up from her plate of noodles to him. She was all dolled up in a lovely dress again, something that would rarely ever be seen on her, but she couldn't lie; she enjoyed putting on that stuff sometimes.
"What do you mean 'bother me?' I love fencing with you," Raoul replied after swallowing the food that he was once chewing in his mouth.
"You know… doesn't it, like, hurt your ego or something?"
"Oh, that. No, not at all. It's actually helped me realize that I can't be the best at everything."
"Good, I didn't want to be all dominant towards you or anything."
"Dominant? You?" he snickered as he took another bite of his Duo de Magrets en Croûte de Sel and muttered under his breath, but loud enough for her to hear, "Perhaps I would like that."
A warm blush came to Nicole's cheeks as she just stared at him, jaw dropped just a little. Had the Vicomte of Paris just gotten kinky with her? No, never. "Sorry, but I'd never be the dominant type," she replied, shaking her head and returning to her meal.
After a few moments of silence, and finishing his meal, he let his hand creep across the table to hers, taking it gently. "I hope you are having a wonderful time in Paris. Before you came, and after Christine… dumped me, as you would say… I just never enjoyed being here anymore. It was like I was sick of Paris or something," as he spoke, he could tell that Nicole was ready to hide her face at any possible time due to the blush. "I think… I know I'm in love with you. And I am desperately hoping that you will say yes to my next request." He smiled to her as he dug in his coat pocket for something.
'Okay… he's holding my left hand, he's digging in his pocket for something, which is more than likely a ring, and he just said he was in love with me and how I've made him so happy,' Nicole was talking to herself in her head as she watched the viscount's movements. 'He can not be proposing to me! Not yet! I'm not ready to be married yet!'
He then brought a long and slender box from his coat pocket. "Would you be willing to let me court you?" He popped open the box and inside was a beautiful silver and diamond bracelet. Nicole gave out a sigh of relief as she smiled and nodded, agreeing to his question.
HA! You all thought I would be getting married to that guy? No, nineteen is a tad too young to be getting married, I think. So, what will happen now, eh? I still need a main conflict you guys… so please… keep suggestions up!