The cold chill of stone on my back awoke me with a start. For a moment I thought that everything had been one terrible dream, but as I attempted to rub my face to assure myself that it had been a dream, I noticed that I could not move my hands. They were bound by shackles to the wall which made the fear in me so great that I had to scream. A cold laugh echoed into the empty hall and I immediately labeled it as belonging to Christophe. He strolled in arrogantly. I quickly looked around to assess my surroundings. Where had he put me? As if he read my thoughts, he stated.
"You, my dear, are in your families tomb. If there were more light in here, you could see the coffins that hold the remains of your mother and father…quaint isn't it?" I could not hold back the piercing scream that was hiding behind my lips. He winced but I al so saw a hint of menace cross his features. "Oh, yes, I am the devil aren't I?" I closed my eyes tightly as tears came in a rush as they had when I was leaving Erik. The bindings on my wrists held me tightly and I could do nothing as I heard Christophe approach me. In a flash his body was pressed against mine. He invaded my mouth once again and let his hands brush against every inch of my body. I felt so desecrated and defiled. My mother and father, who resided so very near had foreseen this. I apologized to them profusely in my thoughts. I thought of how they would react to seeing this and the idea filled me with fury. I clamped down onto his tongue once more.
"GOD WOMAN!" he screamed as he released me, cursing the entire time. I heard him leaving. For a moment, a sense triumph consumed my soul, until I heard his steps which meant he was returning. I braced myself for his touch upon my body, but was surprised when he simply stood about a foot away. Without warning, he reached out and took hold of my blouse and ripped it off of me. He continued to remove all of my clothes in such a fashion, while I huddled as much as I could into a ball and sobbed. I imagine it annoyed him that I had attempted to curl my body into as small as a target as possible and he smacked me with tremendous power across my face. I shrieked out in pain. He flashed me a nasty grin and held a horse whip out in front of him. I did not even attempt to conceal my horror. The whip felt like he had taken a razor blade to my flesh. Time after time he lashed me and each time felt worse. My sobs continued but the yelps that had first broken the rhythm of my weeping had long since been abandoned. Finally he stopped. I sighed in relief but then grew sick with each movement I tried to make. I retched on the floor while he laughed at my expense.
"I shall return…do not for one minute think that we have finished here."
I wanted to rejoice that he had left me, but found that I couldn't gather enough strength to even move out of my own vomit. So as I lay naked in my own vomit on the stone floor, sobbing, I imagined Erik's embrace under the velvet covers of his bed.
The following days passed slowly. Each evening being beaten, each night spend sick and each day on the brink of starvation. I had lost all hope for salvation or even life. I cursed myself for wanting death so badly the day the man attempted to rape me. This situation was much worse and I needed death now more than ever. Finally, one night after being savagely lashed, unconsciousness. My two faced companion took me into it's black abyss. I felt nothing nor thought of nothing. No dreams haunted me…no memories tantalized me. Nothing. When I awoke it was clear to me that I had been out for a long time. Christophe had been back once, but found me out cold. His whip lay forsaken in corner of the room. Imagining the look of anger on his face because I could not suffer being beaten if I weren't awake, was an easy thing to do. Awkwardly I noticed that I something was covering me and the vomit had been scrubbed from the floor. I wiggled until the covering fell off of my body and with a gasp noticed that it was a black cape. I searched the shadows frantically for the man that had helped me keep my sanity during this abuse. I waited in vain. He was not there. Perhaps it hadn't been him. I cried to myself softly and curled up under the cloak. It was then that I noticed something sticking out of a hidden pocket. I lifted and craned my body so that my hands could reach into the pocket. Tilting my head to look into my palm was a chore but when I finally did, what I saw was miraculous. I held in my fingers a note on old parchment paper and the head of a rose. I unfolded the parchment carefully.
It read:
I will return, my beloved.
Love,
Erik
I didn't doubt that he would. My angel had come to me and I was saved. I let sleep consume me and for the first time slept well. My dreams were blessed by the soft sound of his voice, singing me a song of salvation.
