"And, of course, you can see why I love the masquerade season," Erik said happily as he stepped from the passageway into Madame Giry's quarters. She beamed at him as he entered, because he looked absolutely gorgeous now that…well, now that his face was hidden. Mme. Giry smiled as best she could despite the horrible thoughts she was having about the sweet and talented man she had saved.
Erik made a show of escorting Meg into her mother's chamber, more for Meg than for her mother. Meg smiled at him, then looked at her mother, who was looking at them in a dreamy sort of way. She snapped out of the dreamy moment when Meg said, "Um, Mother, shouldn't we get going…?"
"Oh, yes, of course," Mme. Giry smiled at the two of them. "Christine is waiting for us!"
"Christine?" Erik asked the two of them. Neither responded. He pulled Meg back from the door just as Mme. Giry went into the open corridor. "Meg, you didn't tell me anyone was accompanying us this year! The least you could've done was warn me, like a few years ago when that boy was with us.."
"Erik, relax. Christine is a dancer here. She's very nice, and as long as you don't take off your mask, nothing will go wrong for us tonight." She smiled at him before mentally adding, '…nothing will go wrong. Tonight I will tell you how I feel….maybe.' He smiled back before offering his arm, which she took, and they followed Meg's mother to the stage. They were able to walk through the empty theatre without the usual battle of the stage crew. Erik paused in the center aisle of the house, looking up at the massive chandelier above them.
"I've never really seen it from this angle," he murmured, but he words echoed. Meg stopped to wait for him, as she was a few paces ahead of him, and she listened to him. She knew there was more. "I'm always on the balcony next to it, or in one of the boxes, or in the ropes above the stage…but never under it, like this." He tore his eyes away from the massive sparkling fixture above to meet Meg's eyes. He was quite serious as he said, "It's frightening to think that it could easily come crashing down one day. If one link of the supporting chain breaks, and…well…goodbye opera."
Meg nodded, not quite grasping what he was saying. 'Was it possible for something like that to happen?' she wondered. 'Would someone, could someone….why would anyone want the beautiful light fixture above to come down? No…no, of course not. That would be past the breaking point, and someone would stop them before they could even threaten something like that…right?' She shook these thoughts from her head. Erik beckoned her to the waiting carriage outside.
The drive to Meg's aunt's house was a lovely testament to the beauty of the French countryside. The wide open spaces, the tree lined drives to the private villas and the family-owned wineries…and, of course, this time of year you could see, hear, and even smell the parties going on for the Masquerade balls! How Meg wished she could stop at every party along the road they were traveling to meet all of the fascinating people of the countryside, but they were in a time frame: they had to get to her aunt's sprawling vacation home earlier than everyone else to help set up the decorations and play the part of welcoming hosts. Even if Mme. Giry and her daughter couldn't afford such a home, they could at least play the part of gracious hosts at Angelique's.
As soon as they were within hearing range of the main house, Angelique came running from the house, despite her still in a dressing gown and a silk robe. Her wet chestnut hair fell from the towel it was wrapped in as she ran, and it fluttered out behind her, the dripping wet locks leaving a sparkling trail of water on the packed dirt pathway.
"Hello, family!" she called as she finally came to a stop in front of the carriage doorway. Before anyone could say a word, she had the door open and was ushering them out into the cool air of sunset. "Marie, my lovely sister!" to Madame Giry as she gave her hands a squeeze; "Oh, Meg, you've gotten so tall and lovely! Your mother's dance teachings have paid off in your posture." to Meg with a kiss on the cheek; "Oh, Erik, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you outside of that dreadful opera house!" to Erik, but she merely smiled at him in her sensitive, caring way. Her eyes lingered on him for a second longer in a bittersweet way until she finally gave a big sigh.
"Now then….Meg, follow Janet to the east wing guest room so she can do your makeup," gesturing to a twentyish maid that appeared behind her. "That stage makeup, however lovely on stage, isn't appropriate for a party such as this." Meg nodded silently, but flashed a sly smile to her aunt as she followed Janet into the house. Agelique turned to her sister. "Marie, you can take control of the kitchen. You are much better controlling teenage girls in harsh conditions than I am. Oh, those girls are good for making small dinners, but for a GALA such as this…?" Marie also nodded silently and, like her daughter, smiled at her younger sister as she went into the house. Finally, turning to Erik, she said, "Dear, you can go wherever you wish. I know if I forbade you to enter a part of the house you'd find a way in there anyway, so go ahead and explore, like you usually do. We moved the piano to the front parlor…just for you." And with a wink, she turned, picked up her towel, and left Erik to himself. After all, he was her "son". He had been for the past seventeen years.
Erik was left alone under the orange-streaked sky of dusk as the sun fell behind the hills in the distance. After making certain he was alone, he sighed and took off his black silk mask. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, humming one of his unfinished tunes, imagining if he could see the sky like this every night, if he didn't live in the opera house. He'd be married, he supposed, to a beautiful singer…and live in the country when she wasn't singing, in a house like this. After all, even if he didn't live in the opera, he would be tied to it somehow. He couldn't live without the music of the opera in his life. In fact, he could barely imagine life outside it: it was a harsh dose of reality to see, at times like these, that the world wasn't made of wooden backgrounds, bright lamp light, and music…or, in his case, darkness, candlelight, and fearing the face in the mirror. Erik sighed again as he put his mask back on and went toward the house.
Erik headed to the front parlor and sat at the piano immediately. His eyes closed as his fingers brushed the keys, knowing every chord, ever note, as if the piano was a part of him. He played the first few bars of the same unfinished song he had been humming earlier, until the song ended where he had left it. But, instead of stopping, he let his hands wander the board, finishing the song for him as if they were the composers and not him. When he felt that the song would end, he opened his eyes to see a young woman, of about Meg's age, leaning up against the other side of the piano. She held her chin in her hands, her big eyes glassy and full of awe, and her curly brown hair framing her face perfectly. The room froze as he met her eyes, and the world melted away.
"That… that was beautiful," she finally said. As soon as he heard her voice, one thought overcame him: 'She is music.' Erik smiled at her, and she smiled back. "I'm Christine," she finally said, offering his hand. He took it gently and kissed it, never looking away from her eyes.
"I'm Erik, Marie's son. I live in the city near the opera."
She seemed a touch speechless as she said , "It's very nice to meet you, Erik. I'm spending the week here…because…Meg is my friend, and I am like her sister to your mother…."
And as Meg entered the room to show her love how beautiful she had become in a matter of hours, her heart broke to see the man she would gladly die for facing her best friend, in a gaze she knew all too well as love at first sight. He sent her an indifferent glance as he got up to walk with Christine through the house.
And Meg was left standing there, all alone. Erik, her escort, her love, the man she would do anything for…left her, for a girl he had been apprehensive about meeting in the first place, her best friend. She stood there in the archway for a moment, unaware of anything around her, before running into the back garden, where she spent the remainder of what was supposed to be the night of her life…all alone.