inkie pinkie I'm so happy you and your mom like my story. Tell her thanks for me please. How I go about publishing this is beyond me, but I'll seriously look into it. Thanks for all the support everyone it means so much to me. Huggles an Erik plushie Fox of the Nova gave me Thank you.
Also time/psycho and Moon Avenger need to be added to the Raoul Haters United Club
Chapter 42: No Longer a Legend
Mme. Giry had ordered a carriage for their return to the opera house and Erik climbed inside sitting near the window. She came and sat across from him. For most of the ride back Erik was silent and gazed now and again out the window of the carriage.
"This is so unlike you Erik. It almost seems as if you have changed in front of my very eyes. In so many situations you would be yelling my ear off by now. This silence you possess makes me question what makes your mind tick now a day."
He gazed at her a moment then lowered it again raising up his hand in unison. "I'm to be wed Mme. Giry."
"You're to wed Christine Daae? Her husband is dead by the power of your own two hands, yet she will look past this tragedy and continue to stay by your side. I am happy for you don't get me wrong my friend, but do you realize what she now must face?" Erik nodded. "She'll have to attend the funeral pretending to be his heart broken and abandoned widow. Then seeing as they had no heir to take on the family name there is the issue with the house and everything in it. Christine will have to go through all of that and find those eligible to purchase such a house."
"I'll help her. Do you think I would actually make her do that all alone? What kind of idiot do you think I am?" Erik snapped as the carriage pulled up to the steps leading into the Opera House.
Mme. Giry quickly paid the driver and raced after Erik, who had already made his way up the stairs and inside. She grabbed his arm and spun him around her eyes flashing. "Don't turn your back on me Erik. I thought you knew better than that. Will you allow me a chance to explain what I meant back in the carriage?"
He pushed her hand away from his arm. "Fine, but continue as we go down I want to finish this as soon as possible."
She nodded and followed after him as she calmly tried to explain. "I was not calling you an idiot of any sort back in the carriage. I was just trying to say that, because of this little incident many of the opera occupants will be upset and bring up suspicions. They will seek you out again."
"I don't care," his voice echoed off the stone walls as they descended into the darkness. "Lotte's right. Someday everyone will find out about us. Rather than suffer in this hell I've created I think it time we finally reveal ourselves to the occupants of the Opera House."
"Are you crazy? They will not be as forgiving as I am," she warned him.
"Ah, that won't be a problem. Who gave them jobs in the first place? I did. And if I am to reveal my true self and they find reason to run and hide I can just as easily take that job away from them. Many of these people are innocents trying to find a way in the world laid before them and I won't ruin it for all of them again if I can help it. They need to know who their manager really is. It may be shocking or maybe even horrifying, but if that is what I have to do to insure the well being of my family so be it. I'm not going to run anymore from the faces of people. My own granddaughter doesn't even fear me, actually she won't let anyone else hold her after my turn is complete. If a tiny baby or a ten year old girl running from her home isn't afraid of me why should the people of this Opera House fear me?"
"Oh, let's see you killed a few people, kidnapped the girl of Raoul's heart in front of his very eyes, and should I mention burning the Opera House to a crisp," Mme. Giry shouted as they reached the boat.
"I meant recent events, and you say I dwindle in the past too much. Now get in the boat if you don't mind."
She climbed in and sat down glaring at him. "Sometimes you can be so unpleasant to talk to. I think of why I even bother sometimes, but I see that if I hadn't you would have had no hope of making it anywhere in the world. I could have left you or turned you over to the police a good number of times, but did I?"
"No, you didn't," Erik said climbing in the boat and rowing them towards the lair. "Why do you enjoy teasing me with that? I'm frustrated and you just want to make it worse by pestering me with stories from the past. One of the days I'll have to dig up some dirt on…"
Before he could finish he saw for the first time what damage had been done the night before. Blood was in a few key spots on the floor and some was on the organ. He cursed silently, he had just polished it two days ago, but Pierre had been struck and he felt awful about the whole thing. The pool of blood and fluid, from when Lotte was stabbed, had dried outside the kitchen door, and next to it was Raoul's body.
The boat hit the shore and Erik was almost afraid to step out. Mme. Giry however stepped out and went over to the body. She touched the man's face with the back of her hand. "He's stone cold. How will we pull off a suicide if he doesn't look like he killed himself?"
Erik had finally gotten out of the boat and came to stand next to her. With a tug he managed to pull the blade out of the Vicomte's back with a slippery sloshing sound. He let it fall next to him with a clang. "This may prove to be some use to us, but I'm going to need a gun. And seeing as I had no need for one of those foul weapons I never kept one down here."
"There are ones up in the prop cabinets."
"Investigators will know it's a fake."
"Actually they're real and there are bullets down there too. But we can't leave him here."
"We'll take him to Christine's dressing room. It only seems right to have him shoot himself in a place that reminds him so much of her. But we're going to need blood and it needs to be somewhat fresh." They looked at each other. "Oh, let's not all jump up at once," he groaned.
"Let's get him upstairs first. Once situated we can come up with the perfect cover story and setting for the cause of death," Mme. Giry suggested.
Hesitantly Erik lifted Raoul into his arms, the cold body resting against his chest making him shiver. With Mme. Giry behind him he placed Raoul in the boat, helped her in, then took the pole from the wall and pushed off into the water. They reached the opposite shore and Erik was forced to pick up the ice cold body again. As soon as he got the mirror open he dumped the body on the ground happy to be rid of it.
"Erik's where your respect for the dead? I hope you don't throw me in my grave like that."
"Of course not. I'll push you."
A scream came from the doorway and Erik cursed as he soon realized he hadn't closed the door or even bothered to look before carelessly dumping the body on the floor. Mme. Giry however went to the door, grabbed the ballet girl, who had been standing there, and pulled her in closing and locking the door behind her.
Erik recognized her as the doctor's youngest daughter, Madeline. She looked terrified down at the body before looking up at him. She held onto Mme. Giry's hand whimpering in fear.
"What were you doing backstage Madeline?" Mme. Giry hissed at her.
"I forgot today was Sunday and thought I was late for lessons so I ran to the stage to find it was empty. I walked by the door and saw the body hit the floor. I'm sorry," Madeline exclaimed her eyes beginning to tear up.
Erik stood there his back as rigid as a board. It surprised him that he hadn't run away yet. This girl was one of the best dancers aside from Meg. He felt awful for frightening her and he decided it all right to trust her. "Madeline can you keep a secret for the time being?"
She stared at him her eyes wide with fear, but she slowly nodded. "I'll keep silent Monsieur. I promise I will speak to no one."
"Even though everyone here will know soon enough, but I am the true manager of this Opera House."
"You're not the manager; you're the Phantom of the Opera. Girls back at the school used to say so. Then there were the stories about you skipping town. There is no way this can be true."
Erik went into his pocket and pulled out the deed to the theatre. "I can assure you that I do own this theatre."
Madeline looked at the paper, then into Erik's eyes. They were cold, yet calm and she wondered about the man at his feet. "Did you kill Raoul de Chaney?"
"Yes, but no one will find out about that got it?" he growled coming towards her.
Madeline grabbed onto Mme. Giry's skirt and whimpered at the sight of the man at her feet. "Madame, please tell me this is just a dream and that I'll wake up soon."
"I'm sorry dear, but this is no dream. This man is not Monsieur Armand, but Monsieur Erik, the manager of our Opera House. And when you leave this room you will say nothing to anyone do you understand?"
Madeline nodded her head fiercely. "I won't. I promise you I won't."
"Then there is something we would like you to do for us. Go to the prop cabinets and fetch us some fake blood and a gun. If anyone asks you're getting them for the manager, which is actually true," Erik said with a laugh.
Madeline fled from the room closing the door behind her. Erik took hold of Raoul and positioned him so it looked like an act of suicide had taken place. Madeline quickly returned with the things they had asked for and had asked Mme. Giry if she could stay as she was too afraid to venture into the theatre alone.
Open the gun barrel Erik found an unused bullet and wedged it into Raoul's wound, and then placed the gun in the man's hand. Pouring the prop blood around the open wound on Raoul's front and back followed by making a nice size puddle of blood under the man's body. Then he corked the bottle and tucked it into his clock. "Madeline I have one last favor to ask of you. Mme. Giry and I are going to leave, but you won't know where and once we're gone I want you to go out there and announce that you found the dead man in this room. Don't say anything about us, because if you do I'll find out," he warned her.
She nodded and she turned away. She heard something open, but when she turned back to see that no one was in the room. Had she been dreaming this all along, but they had been there talking to her and had told her what to do. She glanced down at the scene before her and remembered Erik's warning. "Don't say anything about us, because if you do I'll find out."
"HELP! Oh, dear god there's a man dead in Madame Christine's dressing room. Help someone please," Madeline cried as she raced into the backstage area. People looked out at her confused and Lyle went up to her wrapping his arms around her.
"Where is the man Madeline?"
"In Christine de Chaney's dressing room. It's her husband."
Lyle got up the guts to go into the room holding Madeline close. "Don't worry I'll protect you." They stepped inside and Lyle's stomach churned from the sight of the man lying in his own blood on the floor. Madeline grabbed hold of him and sobbed. Another man came up behind them and Lyle ordered him to get the police.
Erik watched from behind the mirror pleased with Madeline's performance. She had proved a very useful part of his plan and now with Raoul completely out of the way Christine was finally his. His to love until death do they part.
I hope this satisfies everyone. The next chapter will be better I promise. I do have some creative writing to do so everyone will need to be patient until I finish that. My other things except my poems are also on hold for a little while. Sorry. Night all.