The weather around here is so tricky. I went on a hunt down in greater Mankato for anyplace that would have Susan Kay's Novel the Phantom, but I came up empty handed. But anyway the weather was sunny with no clouds, so it was hot, but it was windy, so I wanted a hoodie. Grrr. I got very uncomfortable, but I think this chapter will probably leave you ice cold, Brrrr. But you'll be warmed up once again.
Also there are some fierce insults that come from Erik's mouth and that is why I have a PG-13 warning, so just warning you. And I know in the last chapter I had the note say they would get the reply and then send those directions, but that would take to long, so I'm going to have it that they go right away.
Chapter 54: Hell Frozen Over
After a very restless two hour nap Erik sat up and looked over at the unoccupied spot next to him. The rose he had given Christine that morning was still resting on her pillow where she had left it. He climbed out of bed and went to the wardrobe. Something in his mind was telling him to bring a dress and a blanket for Christine and Meg. He wasn't exactly sure why, but it sounded like a good idea.
Tying his sword to his belt he wondered what Christine must be going through at his expense. Finally he grabbed the final item and tucked it away inside his cape, but he hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that. Though if it did he wasn't going to fear the urge to use it.
When he finally came out of the bedroom with a bag slung over his shoulder he was surprised to find Pierre resting on the couch with his shoulder bag and dressed in his jacket and boots.
"Pierre where exactly do you plan on going?" Erik questioned him as he made his way to the kitchen.
"I'm going with you. Lotte insisted I give you a hand and I'm not about to let her down."
"As much as I don't like the idea you're welcome to come along. Let me just stock up on some things and then we have to meet up with Lyle. By the way where are Lotte and Jacqueline?"
"Lotte went to bed awhile ago and Jacqueline has been asleep for a few hours now." Erik picked up a bottle of wine. "Oh, no need to pack that. I got you covered," Pierre said pointing to his bag.
"Well I have to get the money then. I just hate the fact that I have to give that and my life to those ungrateful piles of filth."
"It's either that or Christine. I know you don't want that."
Erik let out a shuddered sigh and went to the small safe hidden in the corner and put in the combination. When it opened he split the money into 3 piles before stuffing one pile into his bag. "Pierre, take this pile and stick it in your bag. Hopefully we can buy ourselves some time by saying we don't have all of it. Yet, I hope I'm not making a big mistake."
There was the sound of a door opening and Lotte stepped into the music room. She was dressed in a night gown and her eyes were red and swollen from crying. Pierre was busy putting his portion of the money into his bag so Erik crossed over to her.
"Did we wake you my dear?"
"No, I was half asleep and heard the two of you talking. I was hoping to see you before you left."
"I didn't want to trouble you, but I see now that there is no way around that. Come here."
Lotte came over and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Bring Mother back. And if you can please bring yourself back as well. It seems that Raoul has ruined our lives. He is such a…"
"Lotte now let's not use such language. A more sensible name for him that insists of using non-negative terms is fop."
"Fop! What does that mean?" Erik whispered the meaning into her ear. Lotte let out a giggle. "That would describe him all right. But Father I hate that I may never see you again because of the fop. He's trying to tear our family apart."
"I'm aware of this. But don't you worry anymore darling. I will not fall to them that easily. And I will bring Meg and your Mother back. Raoul won't be allowed to have her even in death."
Lotte leaned her head against his chest wishing none of this had happened. She had witnessed her Father cheating death before and she knew he could easily do it again, but she was having doubts. Shaking her head to clear away the thoughts she felt a hand against her cheek.
"I love you Father."
"And I love you Lotte. If you like while we're gone you can invite Madeline down to keep you company. I amuse she may need comfort as well."
"I'll keep that in mind." She pulled away from him and went over to Pierre, who hugged her tightly. "Be careful my love. I don't want Jacqueline to be without a father."
"She won't be I can assure you that."
"But what if she asks what has become of you? It would be wrong to lie to her."
"Tell her we had some business to take care of and will be back soon. Technically that isn't lying."
"But what if you or Father, don't come back?"
"Then tell her the truth. You can do it Lotte. You'll know what to say."
Erik grabbed the last pile of money. "Come along Pierre. We need to meet Lyle upstairs."
Pierre gave Lotte one last hug then followed Erik up the tunnel to Christine's dressing room. The entire stage was dark, but there was a faint glow coming from the direction of Mme. Giry's coffin. Standing within the glow were Madeline and Lyle.
"I was beginning to wonder if you were coming or not," Lyle said turning towards them. "Oh, Pierre you're coming on this mission too?"
"My wife insisted I help out. Not to say that I don't want to go, but I hate the thought of leaving them here unprotected. You don't think Raoul told them about the lair?" Pierre asked turning to Erik.
Erik thought it over and realized he was in a sticky situation. With Christine and Meg gone, Mme. Giry dead, and the three of them going to fight for Erik's survival there was no one left to protect the other occupants of the Opera House. Jacqueline and Lotte were in an even more dangerous position.
"Madeline, can Jacqueline and Lotte bunk with you till we get back? If they stay down in the lair it could be dangerous."
"Sure, it wouldn't be a problem at all."
"Pierre, we still have time so go down and get them."
Pierre nodded and disappeared into the dressing room. After about half an hour he emerged with Lotte carrying Jacqueline, who was sound asleep, behind him.
"I hope us staying with you isn't too much of a bother," Lotte said to Madeline with a timid smile.
"Oh, no problem at all. And I'm sure if you need anything it will all be underground right?"
Lotte nodded.
With a final goodbye the girls headed towards Madeline's room leaving the three men standing in the darkness. Erik handed Lyle the money and had him tuck it away in his bag. Contemplating what to do, they almost missed seeing a man approach them.
"Ahem! Are the three of you quite finished?" a short man asked them illuminated by the lantern in his hand. He was dressed in black pants, a white shirt, and a black trench coat. His lips were curled in anger and under his brown bangs his eyes were a light green color.
Erik looked up. "May we help you Monsieur?"
"The names Monty. I'm here to know what you're answer is sir. Do you agree to our terms or do you disagree?"
"I agree. As long as I get to see Christine before I'm put to death."
"That has all been arranged as long as you have the money."
"I do."
"Then who are these individuals?"
"I'm bringing them with me to assist the women back here after you let them go. The note said I could bring help with me, though I am well aware that you would outnumber us," Erik said with a snarl.
"Right you are. Now I see you have a sword there. Any reason why you may need that?"
"Protection."
"Fine then, but seeing as you agreed I'm to bring you to our warehouse, but to make sure you can't send for anyone else I've been instructed to blindfold each of you. Let's get you out to the carriage first."
Monty led them out to the carriage and Erik locked the back doors of the Opera House securely and tucked the key inside his pocket. Monty had busied himself with tying blindfolds around Pierre's and Lyle's eyes and helping them into the carriage.
"All right sir I need you to remove the mask so I can tie on your blindfold," Monty said as he turned to Erik.
"Give me the blindfold. I can do it myself."
"I'd much rather do it sir. Now just take off the mask and we can get on our way. For I'm sure your lady friend is dying to see you."
In frustration Erik took off the mask and tucked it into his cape. Monty reached up with the blindfold and tied it around his eyes. Then proceeded to help him into the carriage. Monty seated himself and the carriage jerked forward before moving down the road.
Lyle, Pierre, and Erik all held their bags close and sat in complete silence. Erik was however terrified sitting there without his mask on. He still had it, but without it on he felt powerless and naked. Yet, seeing Christine again was all that mattered and she loved him with or without the mask.
xxxxx
After what felt like forever the carriage came to a stop. The three of them were led inside and unknown to them they were separated. Erik was taking down one section of hallways while Lyle and Pierre were taken to the room occupied by Christine and Meg.
Erik however was taken into an office and forced into a chair. The blindfold was removed and Erik was about to pull out his mask when a wooden cane was slammed into the desk in front of him causing him to jump.
"Don't put the mask back on. I would much rather look upon the true face of the man I'm about to kill than one in disguise," Fletcher said promptly raising and slamming the cane into the desk once more.
"If it suits you I will leave it off, but you promised me I would get to see my wife before you're finished with me. I won't let you go back on your words."
"Oh, I'll keep my word Monsieur, but you must keep yours. Did you bring the money like I asked?"
Erik pulled out the third of the money and placed it on the desk. "There you have you precious money now let me see my wife!"
"Relax; you will see her in time. You'll have 24 hours in which to say goodbye. Once you're dead we'll let her and the rest of your friends go free. As we promised. But tell me what is in the bag?"
"Just two dresses and a blanket. The woman were only in ballet things and it's quite cold out. I don't want them to freeze."
"How thoughtful of you. Monty take him to the other room. No need to blindfold him this time. He'll see the way once again and only once again."
Erik was forced from his seat and practically dragged down the halls to a part of the warehouse that was dank, damp, and so cold his breath was long streams of vapor. Finally he was standing in front of a door and Monty had undid a number of locks and pulled it open. The room was pitch black. The man holding onto Erik gave him a shove throwing him to the floor.
"You yellow bellied sons of bitches let me out of here! You said you'd take me to Christine!" Erik screamed as he ran at the now closed door and slammed his fists into the iron.
"Erik! Stop it, Christine's here," Pierre shouted grabbing Erik's wrist. "Don't waste your energy. She needs help."
At the word help Erik spun around and allowed his eyes to readjust to the darkness once more. He made out the bed and the two bodies lying across it. He went over and laid a hand across Christine's cheek. Even though he was wearing gloves he could feel how cold she was.
"Damn then! Damn them all to the bowels of hell! They promised her no harm as long as I agreed to come. She's nearly frozen from the cold of this room. They are more heartless then I once was!" He shouted placing his hands on Christine's cheeks.
Gently he moved his hands along her front checking for any sign of life. Her body was covered in goose bumps and her lips were blue. She had a slight heartbeat and her chest raised and fell just a bit under her ballet clothes. She was so close to death even closer than he was.
"Get the dresses out of my bag. They're both frozen," he shouted feeling Meg's cheek which was just as cold. Lyle grabbed the bag and pulled out the two dresses handing the red one to Erik and held onto the other one, a simple long sleeved white one. "Take care of Meg. I'll take care of Christine. As painful as they may look leave on their corset, because it's may help in keeping them warm," Erik said as he pushed back the blanket and proceeded to change Christine out of her ballet clothes and into the dress.
When he finished he lifted her off the bed, so Pierre could get to Meg. He sat cross legged against the wall and sat Christine down in his lap. Pulling the extra blanket out of his bag he wrapped it around her and then wrapped the cape around them. He looked up and could see Lyle and Pierre sitting on the bed with Meg between them wrapped in the blanket trying to stay warm.
"How long are we going to be in here?" Pierre asked.
Erik sighed. "24 hours. I die tomorrow at midnight."
"I hope they don't plan to put you on display. That would be more horrible than death itself," Lyle said softly hoping to not anger the man now seated on the floor.
Erik looked upon Christine's face before kissing her forehead. "We will have to wait and see. Only time will tell.
xxxxx
Christine still felt cold, but for some reason there was a new sensation sweeping through her; warmth. But what was causing it she couldn't tell. She had been next to Meg on the bed sharing a single blanket for a good number of hours, but that hadn't produced as much heat as she felt now. She shifted a bit and opened her eyes to see Erik, without his mask, sitting above her asleep.
Slowly she reached up her hand, bringing it out from under the blanket and his cape, and touched it to the deformed side of his face. It was cold to the touch and just feeling the cold again made her shiver violently. "Erik!" she whispered, her hand sinking back under his cape and clutching his waistcoat.
Erik opened his eyes and gave a raspy cough. The temperature of the room had gotten to him and his head hurt, but the shake from Christine and her timid cry had aroused him from a deep slumber. He looked down at her and smiled. "Oh, Christine you're alive. I was so afraid the cold had taken you to far from me to rescue you, but you proved me wrong once again."
He reached a hand into the blanket and ran it up and down the length of her arm. She shuddered at his touch and grabbed hold of his wrist. He looked at her in surprise. "Not now Erik. It's much to cold for you to give me shivers, no matter how loving they may be. I must saw I'm more surprised to see you here alive. I thought they were going to take the money and do away with you like they had said."
"No, apparently I have until midnight to live." He pulled out his pocket watch. "I still have plenty of time until then. But how long have you been in this room?"
"Since they brought me here. Oh, Erik it was awful. I had demanded they let us out, but they said they would kill you the minute you stepped in the door if I didn't stop, so I did. Then Meg said she was angry with you, because she…"
"Angry with me? Tell me what she said."
Christine took the time to tell Erik what Meg had said and as she repeated each statement she saw him turn away and there was a distant look in his features. "Erik, she blamed those outbursts on anger. I really hope she didn't mean it, because I don't want you to die. I don't care by whose hand, but I don't want to die. I can't go on without you."
Erik turned to her and caressed her cheek. "You know that's not true. You'll live on and watch our granddaughter grow and be happy. In your prayers you'll tell me of her day and I'll be happy with all of you. If it's too painful for you to stay in the Opera House than by all means get a place in the country. Leave Paris and find that dream home. There is still enough money in the lair for that purpose."
"Hey can you say all this? If you go I'm going with you. Or if not I'll make sure you live. There is no way I can witness such a horrific event such as this," she said pressing herself closer to him.
Erik wrapped his arms tighter around her. "I guess you aren't going to give up on this are you?"
"How can I when you hold such power over me? Even if you were to die you would haunt my thoughts with your voice and so many things would remind me of you. All I want is for the both of us to live until we can no longer and let God take us when he so chooses. I've seen for myself Erik that you're so much stronger then those men. You have something they don't have."
"And what is that?"
"You have a heart. Even though they laughed at you and hated you; you never became one of them. You only killed, because you were confused and didn't understand the feelings going through your mind. Unlike them you're not power hungry or greedy. And even though you have a few flaws you try your hardest to make up for it. That's why I love you darling. Because you showed me that side of you that so few have had a chance to look upon."
A tear fell on Christine's cheek, but it wasn't hers. She heard Erik sniff and shift a bit under her. She sat up and nuzzled into the crook of his neck. There she proceed to place small kisses along his skin. The sniffs became small moans and it pleased her that she was making him feel better. She moved up farther when her lips brushed against his and he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Her whole body shivered and she moved a bit so that she was kneeling between his legs to make it easier to kiss him.
He pulled back a bit and caught his breath. "You're kissing me as if you'll never see me again."
"I shouldn't be thinking like this I know, but it's possible and I want to prove just how much I love you," Christine said and looked lovingly into his eyes. Then she looked at the bed to see that it was still occupied by Lyle, Pierre, and Meg. "If we get out of this alive. Take me and show me again that you love me. I miss it so much."
Her words seemed to blend together as he ran his hands up and over her hips. "I promise you I will. That would have been my plan for last night if all of this hadn't taken place. Do you remember what happened all those years ago?"
"I lost myself to you," she whispered into his ear. "I found your rose when I awoke that morning. It was such a sweet gift."
"I know how much you love them. I almost didn't want to leave you that morning, but the paperwork was screaming at me to get it done. I couldn't let it sit unfinished could I?"
"I guess not." She leaned her front against him and began kissing him again her hand trailing up the back of his neck and into his hair.
Suddenly the sound of the locks of the door being undone made them freeze up and Christine wrapped her arms around Erik's neck in fear. He pulled her close and kept his gaze on the door as it was suddenly pushed in so hard they could hear the stone wall crack.
Oh once again you must suffer the infernal cliffhanger. I am evil. Evil Laugh. I have homework to do tomorrow, technically today, so I needed to get this up. Hope you all like it. Happy Easter everyone and I hope the Easter Bunny leaves you all something special. I in particular leave you all Phantom decorated eggs. Enjoy.