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7
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On their walk back to the ship, they passed by the grate-covering in the ground which opened to Erik's home. He stopped next to it and looked at the metal bars longingly. He didn't like this whole idea of being outside in the sunlight, able to be seen by anyone around him. He wanted to go back and work on his compositions in the darkness, unbothered by the common folk.
"Come away from there and let's get a move on," Jack instructed, nudging Erik away from the covering. He reached out an eager hand to the grate, but Jack pulled him and he was carried away from his beloved home.
They boarded the Black Pearl and Jack turned down a hall not previously seen by Erik on their first journey through the ship's innards. Reaching a set of doorways which resembled that of Jack's cabin doorway, Erik assumed that these could only be cabins as well. Jack stopped abruptly in front of one of the doors, shifted the wine bottles so that he could have a free hand, then lifted the hand to the wooden door to knock a delightful little melodic rhythm on it.
There was a moment of silence where they waited, then shuffled footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door. Suddenly, the door opened several inches and the girl who Erik was told was Elizabeth Swann, peeked an eye from the crack. She saw Jack and Erik standing in front of her door, let out a sigh, then backed her head away from the crack and opened the door just enough so that Jack and Erik could squeeze into the room. After they were inside, she quickly slammed the door shut behind her and stood with her back against it.
"I have to be very careful. I'm fitting my wedding dress with Belinda here," She gestured across the room at Belinda who held a measuring stick and a case of pins. "and I don't want Will walking in and ruining everything. It's very bad luck to be seen by a fiance in your wedding dress, you know."
"Yeah, it's also very bad luck to bring a woman on board, but no one ever says anything about that," Jack muttered under his breath.
"What's that?" Elizabeth asked, not having heard Jack's chauvinist comment.
Jack simply laughed and looked to Erik to share his comical sense with, but Erik was not paying attention, seeing Elizabeth's entire body now rather than just a small fragment of her face in the door crack, Erik felt his knees become weak and he took in a large breath of air. The dress! The dress she was wearing! It was the exact dress he had chosen for his lovely Christine when he had tried to make her become his bride. This coincidence was highly extraordinary!
Seeing Erik's poor disposition at the sight of her dress, she took on a look of bafflement. "Mr... Umm... Erik, is there something wrong?" She asked nervously. The man looked as though he were about to pass out.
Erik swallowed and narrowed his eyes in concentration. "No, mademoiselle," He said, pained. "No."
Jack looked over at Erik and patted him on the back. "Mate, you look as though you've just seen a ghost."
He let out a few more breaths, then decided he would be all right. Jack shrugged and turned his attention to Elizabeth, as did the girl to Jack. "I have your wine," Jack said with disappointment. He wanted a fun wedding but there would be no fun now that everyone would have to drink disgusting wine rather than invigorating rum.
Elizabeth looked from Jack's face to the bottles which he held. It had sounded like he had said wine... and those bottles in his hands... they appeared to be those of wine... but that could not be, could it? Would Jack Sparrow, lover of rum and hater of wine, actually follow through with her orders for once and bring the proper liquid refreshment for her wedding?
She approached him cautiously, wanting to take a better look at this so-called 'wine' that Jack had brought her. As she approached, Erik felt himself break into a cold sweat. She stood in front of Jack, only inches from Erik. If he only had the will power to control himself!
Jack raised a bottle in front of him for Elizabeth to see. She took it in her hands to inspect it. As she did so, a hand of Erik's lunged out and fell upon her upper arm. She looked up from her inspection to see this strange new guest with his hand upon the arm of an engaged woman. She eyed him curiously. "Sir, may I ask what you think you're doing?"
Erik bit his lip in frustration and embarrassment. He tried to draw in his hand, but his muscles were frozen and rendered unmovable. "I'm sorry, Ms. Swann," he said, bringing his eyes up to hers. "But it's a long story." He gathered all of his energy and finally pulled his hand from the smooth fabric of the dress, returning his arm at his side.
"Long story, indeed," Jack said rolling his eyes. "Perhaps Ms. Swann would be interested in hearing it sometime."
"Yes, maybe I should explain."
"Yes, perhaps I will hear your story at some point. But first we must discuss this wine!" She said, with much contentment in her voice. Apparently she had not been thrown off by Erik's uncalled-for feel in the least. She'd not even flinched. Erik decided now that there was definitely something wrong with these people.
"It's wine. What is to discuss?" Jack asked flatly.
"Oh, you're just tiresome," Elizabeth said to Jack, she thrust the bottle of wine she had been examining into his hands and turned away. She faced Erik and pulled him off to the side. "Tell me, Erik. Tell me how you ended up returning with wine. This is fantastic! I was sure that I'd be holding several jugs of rum, but this is a surprise, indeed."
Feeling highly uncomfortable this close to a girl who wore the same dress as once had his love, he looked down at his feet, nervous that his hands would disobey him once again and find themselves upon this unsuspecting girl. "Well. Jack was to buy rum, as you assumed, but the clerk at the store which we went to only spoke French. So I had to do the ordering, and knowing that it was wine that you had desired, wine is what I got."
"Oh, you wonderful man!" Elizabeth cried, throwing her arms around Erik and delivering him an embrace. His eyes bulged within their sockets, his face contorted into a look of utter horror. A female was touching him! Willingly! This was unheard of!
Jack observed them suspiciously from his spot, wondering what was going on. Elizabeth released Erik and smiled. "You must come to the reception."
"What?" He asked, recovering from his shock.
"The wedding tomorrow. I am inviting you. I simply must have you there. Please accept?"
This was horrible. He could not attend a wedding. It would bring back too many memories of the wedding with Christine that had never been able to occur. In his dismay, Erik shot a nervous glance at Jack. In reply, Jack shrugged, unable to help him.
Erik looked back at Elizabeth, felt a strong urge to touch her dress once again, and turned his eyes to the floor. "Uhh... well, mademoiselle... I... I'll be there," he said finally, regretting doing so as soon as the words escaped his lips. Though he did not think he'd be able to break 'the young girl's poor little heart' as Jack had said once before.
Elizabeth's smile grew. "Perfect! Just perfect!" She exclaimed. She took the bottles of wine from Jack and set them down on the floor next to a stool which atop its surface sat a box of various sewing materials, and turned back to the two men. "Now that we have this settled, I thank you gentlemen, but unfortunately I cannot talk any longer. I must finish this fitting, for Will is certain to come back soon and well... if he sees me like this there will be Hell to pay! So, if you would kindly leave..." She ushered the men to the door, then returned to a waiting Belinda so that they could finish their work.
Jack opened the door. "No! Not that wide!" Elizabeth shouted.
He looked back at her and saw her with her arms stretched up in the air, Belinda measuring all along her side. He offered a mocking laugh, thanked god that he was not a woman, then opened the door wider.
"Jack Sparrow!" Elizabeth yelled, though unable to move in her position, for she would ruin the measuring if she did.
"Captain!" He called back, pulled Erik along through the doorway and slammed the door shut with a bang behind them which shook the walls of the cabin. They walked through the hall, Jack laughing to himself all the way. Erik remained silent. He was too confused to say anything.
They returned to Jack's cabin. He approached the wall and looked through the small window opening. "Hmm... looks like it's getting dark," he commented.
Finally! Erik thought. He was tired of all of this unusual brightness and needed a break.
"Let me show you to your cabin. Now, I believe the one across from mine is empty. Poor bloke who used to occupy it... he got off rough. Got attacked by this giant swarm of sea turtles when we were in Spain. Never even saw it coming until it was too late." He tipped his hat towards the room and sniffed. "I'll miss you, Norton. You were one hell of a cook."
Erik turned to Jack. "My cabin? I thought maybe that I could... you know... spend the evening within my own domicile..."
"Oh, forget about that old hollow grave. You will spend tonight on my ship. You'll like it, I know you will. It's just so much fun to be rocked to sleep by the gentle waters of the sea. You'll sleep like a baby-- Oh... well you might get a little sea sick because you've never been on a ship before but aside from that, a baby's rest will be yours. You'll see."
Erik sighed. "Okay, I guess. But one night, and that's it. And I'm only doing this because of the wedding. After tomorrow... I don't know."
"Sure. Well, come across the hall with me. It's a nice ol' cabin I've got for you." They walked through the door and stopped across the hall and another door. Jack pulled out his key ring.
"Does every single door here really have to be locked?" Erik asked curiously.
"Yes. The people on this ship have sticky little fingers, they do. An unlocked door is an invitation to free items for anyone passing by." He placed the key in the lock and peered behind his shoulder at that moment to see one of his crew members standing in the doorway of his cabin, eyeing his things hopefully. He began into the cabin.
"Don't you even think about it, Quartetto!" Jack called. Erik turned around to see the man disappointedly turn out from Jack's cabin and leave down the hall which he had come, porting a glum expression and slumped shoulders.
Erik shrugged and turned back to see that Jack was gone and the door of the cabin was open. He walked through the doorway to gaze upon the innards of a cabin which greatly resembled that of Jack's. He pointed to a bed. "Well, this is where you will sleep. I hope it suits to your accommodations. If you are hungry, the kitchen and dining room are at the end of the hall and to the left. And... Erik, tell me something."
Erik looked up at Jack. "Tell you what?"
"Tell me why you were all frazzled over there with Ms. Swann. And why were you groping her? Did you not have your fill when we performed your 'Point Of No Return' song?" He asked with a laugh.
Erik did not laugh with Jack, he retained a serious expression. "Her dress," he said merely.
"What about it? Did it... tickle your fancy, as we say? Because if it did, you're going to have to back off; the girl's taken. Oh... no wait-- Don't tell me that you wanted to wear the dress yourself? Okay, what you were wearing before was bad enough, but a dress? Come on now, Erik. That's just unholy!"
"Oh, shut up," Erik said, tired of all of Jack's foolish remarks. "Her dress," He repeated. "It was the same as the one I had given to my dear Christine to wear for our wedding."
"Your wedding? You never said that you were engaged to her."
"I wasn't. Nevertheless, the wedding did not ever take place because... well you know... I gave her up. But that was the exact type of dress she had worn and seeing it today only brought back the painful memories of our time together and what might've been. I just can't control myself in the presence of things that remind me of my Christine... Oh my! The wedding! I am to go to that wedding tomorrow with the girl in that dress! What will I do? I don't want to ruin the wedding!"
"Calm down, mate. I'll keep your hands off of her. I'm good for things like that, you can count on me. Savvy?"
"Okay, Sparrow. Thanks... I guess."
"Ahh, don't mention it. You've been through a lot. Now If you need me for some reason, you know where to find me. I'll see you in the morning." And with that, he walked out the door and closed it behind him.
Erik was left alone in this strange cabin, not sure of what he was to do now. He didn't know what time it was... not that it really mattered. Normally he went to sleep in the early hours of the morning because he usually spent his nights in front of his organ. But tonight his ritual was off because his organ was not around for him to play. He missed his lair and could not wait to return, even if it meant abandoning these strange people who had never even questioned the mask on his face or what lay beneath. It was an interesting experience, but he definitely did not think he could make this into a lifestyle. It was just too extreme.
With no ideas on what to do, he approached the bed, slid off his too-small-toe-pinching boots and drew back the covers. Climbing into the bed and replacing the covers over his body, he felt very strange like this. Erik's bed was nothing like this one. His was soft, luxurious, comfortable. Plush! The one he lay within now was made of some sort of cheap fabric and the cushioning was not soft enough. And he supposed that this was one of the nicer beds on the ship! If this mattress was padded with cheap fabric, the other poor crew members must be sleeping on mattresses filled with straw! He shuddered at the thought for a moment, then stared up at the ceiling, feeling quite bored. He was nothing without his music.
He began to sing a soft melody to himself, in hopes that it would not only keep him occupied until he fell asleep, but as well in hopes that it would tide over his longing for rhythm.
"The darkness unwinds, it lands in my palm. It fits in my pocket, it's smooth and calm. I don't let it free, for then I shall see that without it I am lost..."
As he sang his eyes began to close as he drifted off to sleep. Before he was entirely drifted, though, a slight feeling of nausea ran through his body and a final thought emerged in his mind. Jack had mentioned something regarding seasickness, but Erik didn't really know what he had meant... If only he could be in his lair right now. If only...
He was visited by pleasant dreams filled with Christine Daae. One day she would be his.