Chapter Twenty One
Sorry about the wait! been a little buisy! but hang
in there cause we're nerely done!
Diana
Kirsty ran out of the building and threw her arms around me. we grabbed each other, yelling out things that a moment later neither of us remembered. Her eyes were dancing; the grin I remember so well was all over her face. "Oh Diana! I've missed you so much! I've had no one to talk to with you gone! Common, lets go inside, I'll clean you up, and you can tell me all about everything." I nodded, just to see her made me feel more like myself. I look back to see if he is still there. No, Erik is gone, so is most of the cast. I feel a slight panic, (what if he hasn't forgiven me? What if he's hurt? What is he planning? Where is he?)
"Diana!" I look at her; one of her hands has snagged mine. "Let's go inside Diana, before there is trouble out here. He did say the police might come." The opera house is chilly, but inside I feel so warm in these walls. The familiar furnishings and stairways seem to speak to me, I belong here, this is my home. We ran down the hallways, turning corners, almost trampling the stage director who, sadly, happened to be on the same stretch of hallway. What a feeling to run, I hadn't been able to run…
Then into my dressing room, Kirsty looked like this was as far as she intended to go. I was not. I needed to be home, needed to be safe.
"Diana, leave the mirror alone! You're going to break… it?" she stared into the secret passage and turned to me. "How many secrets have you been keeping from me!" I blinked, "I told you about this passage… didn't I?" Kirsty thought about it for a moment. "No I don't think so, I would have remembered one like this." Why on earth didn't I tell her about the one in my mirror? With a smile I pushed the mirror to its full length. Kirsty rose and walked over to me. "Wait, why did you open the mirror right now? Are we going down there!" I nod, her expression becomes curious. "Are we, are we going to where he lives?" she pokes her head in, and emerges back into my dressing room. "It's… its pretty dark down this passage…"
"Kirsty, don't tell me you're still afraid of the dark!" her eyes grow wide. "I never said that!" I smile lightly, her eyes remain fixed on the passage. "Then what's wrong? We will bring a lamp with us." Relief floods her face. "Ah… well, in that case!" I laugh and fetch a lamp from my dresser table. The floor is damp here in winter, spring, summer… the floor here is damp. Whenever moisture drips in from the ground these passages are slick. Several times we both end up slipping, whizzing down on our rears at crazy speeds, screaming all the way! And let me tell you, by the time we reach the lake shore we have received some truly impressive looks from those who work below the trapdoors! We were laughing so hard, I couldn't hear the horses nicker as we shot past them and into their hay. Kirsty turned to me, straw sticking from her hair. "I understand now!" she managed to gasp, "Why the stablemen put rough wool on their feat in the winter! It's so they don't break their necks like we're going to!"
I clasped my hands over my mouth to stifle the giggles, "We are not going to break our necks! But we may drown if we can't find the boat!" Once again her eyes went wide, "I've never been any farther than this… and most think this is to close for comfort!" we move further down the passage, the sound of dripping water grows louder, and for whatever reason, we have lapsed into silence. The boat in question is well hidden; it takes a longer search than usual to discover its hiding place. Kirsty seems entranced by the dark ripples as I steer us toward home, the soft sound of the pole on the lakes bottom is as soothing to my frayed nerves as incense. Home… I'm going home… we hit the opposite shore and tether the boat. "…Diana, there's nothing here. You know that, right?" I smile. "You wouldn't be the first person to say that." The block opens the small door, I press it. With subtle creaking the gate slides free and Erik's equivalent of a courtyard appears before us. I become faintly aware that Kirsty is crying out, but not in wonder, in fear? "Kirsty? What's wrong?"
She stares at the cracked gate, her face going pale. "Oh Diana… this, this is where it all happened…" I closed the wall behind us. "Where…what happened?" Her eyes meet mine. "Did anyone ever tell you the story of Christine the chorus girl?" I shook my head, "Only pieces… why does that matter?" Had I struck her I doubt she could have looked more shocked, her mouth moved, but no sound emerged. "Kirsty, are you alright! What's wrong! Tell me!" A deep breath, Kirsty took my hand and pulled me down to sit beside her. "I don't know why no one ever told you… I could have sworn that all of Paris knew…" my expression seemed to cause her to make up her mind. "Well, since no one else has told you, I will." she gets up, walked a little ways off, and starts to speak. "On the night that Don Juan Triumphant was to be preformed, the Viscount and the leading lady, Christine Daae', were planning to flee the opera and elope together. Things didn't go as planned…" Her eyes are dark, and set away from me. The way she speaks sends a chill of dread down my spine. "The Phantom joined the cast during the first act, killing the lead tenor, Piangi. The ghost killed him right on stage, behind a curtain hidden from view, no one heard Piangi cry for help, not once!"
"When it came time for Piangi to come out and sing his lines, the Ghost came out, and for a moment no one knew the difference. But only for a moment! The singer recognized the ghost immediately!" Her eyes met mine. "She continued with her lines, he followed the script, then suddenly, he started to sing a different song… rumor has it that it was the same song that Christine sang to the Viscount when they were planning to run away." In my minds eye, I could see this all happening, though the face of the woman was unknown to me. I shivered, Kirsty nodded, her face lighting with frightened excitement. "I even know the words! Something like… like…
She stopped, her eyes closing in silent horror. "I knew once, but I've forgotten. What matters is he never finished. I'm sure there was more to it… but I never got to hear it." I swallow hard, "Kirsty…why didn't he …" She shook her head, her eyes haunted in the shadows. "Because… before he could get any farther, she reached up…" her eyes pulled tightly shut, a sob dying in her throat. "She reached up… and tore of his mask!"
…My hands, are so cold, (Oh Erik… what was it like, your greatest fear… coming to pass in front of all those… what possessed you Erik! …Was it all for her?) I look up as Kirsty's shaking drew me back to reality, and it was then that I understood, I understood for the first time… "You were part of the cast then… you were there… Oh Kirsty…" If anything her shoulders shook harder, but she held up her hand to stop me, something inside compelling her to continue… "I remember… I remember it all like it happened yesterday… the entire cast and crew, the entire audience saw his face… that face… and those eyes! The police swarmed over the stage, and he grabbed her and they were gone, and they discovered Piangi's body… The company diva, La Carlotta, never recovered from seeing that… she fled back to Spain, rumor has it she's still in an asylum there."
Her eyes remain closed, as if afraid that looking will bring her back to the horror of it all, back into the story she forces out. She pulled in a breath," I didn't see this myself, but the story says Madam Giry told the Viscount where to find the Phantom, and the two confronted each other, …right where we're standing."
"Kirsty… I… I don't know what to say…" The silence in the air around us is growing stronger, the chill seems to have set in on me too, for we are both shivering now. "So now you see why I've had a hard time getting over the fact that he… he (Is) a killer Diana… and it scares me… that he can love you and act so human… while still…" I reach out and pull her to me, my eyes watering. "Kirsty… I know what you saw was horrible… but remember the other things you've seen, at my wedding, you were comfortable with him then! And he saved us from the thieves on the road!" she nods, moving forward as I pushed yet another stone, the block that reveals the door to my home. "You need to get to know him when his shield is down, I know as well as you… no, I don't. I've never seen him like that, but I believe it. He will not hurt you Kirsty, you'll see…I promise."
The fire was crackling merrily in the grate, licking hungrily over the logs and chips like a dancing leopard. The warmth filled me to the core, and I smiled with satisfaction. With careful steps, almost as if afraid I would tell her off, Kirsty's searched the room, mouth hanging agape. "Goodness Diana… this place… It almost seems like an underground treasure trove!" She seemed stunned by the plushy cushions and thick rugs of tiger fur, her eyes scanned the several glass shelves on which various bobbles rested. Erik had told me that they were keepsakes from his many journeys.
"I never asked the stories behind these things… maybe I should… he speaks so little about his past, it makes me worry…" Her eyes met mine, a mix of curiosity and caution. "You haven't asked him? Why not? If I was around him half as much as you are, and… if I wasn't still, well… nervous of him, this would be all we talked about I think." (Perhaps she's right…) the thought nagged at me, oh but I don't want to think about this right now…
"Ah, I see we have a visitor." His hand on my shoulder, I see that he is not looking at Kirsty, but at me. Worry burns deep in his eyes, turning their shade from rich amber to a tawny gold. "I wanted to be home, and I wanted Kirsty to come with me…is that all right Erik?"
Kirsty stands her ground, though she's shaking in the knees, Erik either doesn't notice, or pretends not to. He holds out his hand, gesturing to a chair. "Please sit, I do not have guests often, but by no means does that mean I lack common manners of a host." Nodding shakily, Kirsty sits, her eyes on mine. I send a reassuring glance, and draw Erik and myself down onto the couch across from her. His hand strays from my shoulder, tracing across my jaw line, the bruises over my cheek… part of me was so glad to feel his touch, part of me was cowering in shame. His inspection apparently finished, he shook his head, a curse in a foreign tongue stifled between his teeth.
"Is it bad?" I forced my head to turn to face his gaze, what is stranger? How ridged his form? Or how exasperated his expression! "…Diana, I do not believe you realize how ridiculous that comment was." Despite the almost cynical tone in his voice, his eyes are angry. "Yes, it is bad, permanent? No. Dangerous? I think not, but bad? Yes." He lifts my chin, fingers playing across swollen skin. "The damage is there, you will be sore for a while, somewhere in this opera I'm sure is a salve to bring down the swelling…" his tone became agitated, "Well with the way I stock things there ought to be… It will all heal Diana… you will not bear a mark."
A slight cough from Kirsty drew our attention, she was standing in the doorway, her expression one of slight embarrassment. "I don't mean to be abrupt, but maybe you should make sure all her other scrapes and bruises are alright?" Her expression was one of almost desperation; there is some other reason she wants to flee here… Erik nodded, seemingly understanding. "How very considerate, thank you. I hope, at a less awkward time you may drop by." She nodded softly, then turned and fled. I gave Erik a puzzled glance, in return I was taken aback when both his arms encircled me, his grip like steel. He holds me captive, caged against him so that I feel each slow breath he is taking to remain calm. His eyes meet mine, terror, there is terror in them. "He touched you, he struck you!" He gathers himself, the way I had felt before when his fears ride him hardest. "Erik, its all right, I'm here now…" He snarls, his eyes flash. "He dared to touch you! And where was I Diana? The one you believed would protect you? Where was I when he hit you! Where was I when… when he…" he buries his head in my throat, shuddering. Slowly… he grows still, and his arms become softer. Soft muffled sound, weeping… "Erik, are you ill? Tell me what hurts you, don't tell me you weep for me!" my hands seek out his face, removing the mask so I can wipe his tears, there is such a lost look in his eyes…
"Erik please! You know I can't stand to see you like this!" slowly, his eyes lose their glazed look, meeting mine with such intensity that I can hardly breath. "I thought you had died… that he had killed you, I was told…" his form shuddered. "Terrible, terrible things… I thought I had lost you forever, and now to see you, it's… as if you've come back from the dead…" His gentle fingers resume their inspection of my body, it feels so good… to be touched with tenderness, the tenderness he reserves for me. "…You are alright. physically, I don't feel any broken bones… the bruises will fade…" his hands moved up, pulling me back against him, his head above mine, breathing in the smell of my hair, tears still threatening to fall, but not in his eyes, in mine. "…Did he force you?"
I shake my head, "He never tried, I wouldn't have let him, and I would have died first!"
"Don't say that!"
His lips close over mine, hard, demanding submission and compliance, to ease his fears. We pull back eventually with regret. If only we didn't need to breathe… His hand once more moves down, laying flat against my swell. "…And, the child?"
I smiled, placing my hand over his. "Safe. Safe and well." I pull him close to me, melting my form against his. His lips on mine again, so full of tenderness… "Oh god, I've missed you Erik…"