by LiltingBanshee
Author´s note: Thanks to phantomann and des ires for your reviews:)
"Excuse me?" the girl raised an eyebrow at him with a puzzled look.
In his mind Christine had never grown older than the 16 year old she had been the night she left him, though he knew that in reality she would be older now.
As he looked at the girl in front of him he realized she was not a day over 16.
"Forgive me, I thought you were someone else" he apologized.
The girl offered him a wee smile" We are closed now Monsieur, but is there anything I can help you with?" she asked.
"I am looking for a job. I can play music if you need any musicians, but any kind of job would be fine" he said and winced at the desperate sound of it.
"Our manager is not out of his bed yet, but if you like you can come inside, it's awfully cold out there after the storm last night" she opened the door a little further to let him in and he gladly accepted the offer.
"Thank you Mademoiselle, my name is Erik" he smiled at her.
"Pleased to meet you Erik, my name is Adora" she said.
"That's a beautiful name" Erik said geniually.
"Thank you, my mother picked it…" she said and he noticed a sad look pass over her eyes.
"Is your mother working here as well?" he asked her.
"No, I have no parents. My mother is dead and my father threw me out of the house. I have been living here since I was 12 years old" she said quietly.
"I´m very sorry to hear that. So you work here all on your own?" he said sincerely.
"Yes, the manager takes good care of me" she said. "Would you like a cup of tea Erik? Or do you prefer liquor though it's early morning?"
He smiled at her. "Tea would be fine, if it's no trouble for you."
A few minutes later she placed a cup in front of him and sat down opposite him at the table he had chosen.
"So what is your job here Adora?" he asked her.
"I do mostly housekeeping work. I clean the bar and dance hall in the mornings and then help with the laundry and cleaning of rooms. Some nights I have to dance along with the other girls" she said.
"And do you also have to entertain costumers?" he asked with care.
"You mean the men? No, the manager says I'm too young for that. I'm only 15. As I said he takes good care of me and says I won't have to work like that until I turn 18" she explained.
Erik felt a strange sense of relief at knowing she didn't have to endure that at such a young age. He had come across many prostitutes in the streets who were even younger than Adora.
They sat in silence for a while until Adora put her cup down.
"You will have to excuse me Erik, I have to continue with my chores. Please sit here and relax. I´m sure the manager will be up soon" she said and got up.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" he kindly offered.
"Oh no, I'm used to doing this. You really look like you could use some rest" she said with a little smile.
He did need rest and not long after Adora had left to fetch a bucket of water to sweep the floor he felt his eyelids droop and was soon asleep over the table.
The sun was shining and the young woman sat on a blanket in a blossoming garden. Three older children were playing with her husband while she fed the little baby in her arms.
Suddenly the sky clouded over and the wind picked up. In a flash the children and man disappeared leaving the woman alone in the garden. She started crying helplessly for her lost family. He stretched out a hand to comfort her, but no matter what he did he could not reach her.
"Don´t cry Christine, I´m here."
"Christine…Christine…"
"Christine…"
"Erik! Erik wake up, you´re dreaming." Erik opened his eyes to see Adora standing there shaking his shoulder gently. There was a concerned look in her brown eyes and he felt bad for scaring her.
He attempted a smile and straightened his aching back.
"Erik I have just spoken to the manager. He is awake and will be down to speak to you shortly" she said softly.
"Thank you Adora" he said tiredly. She smiled and continued to wash off the tables.
He looked at her. She was strikingly beautiful. Fairly tall for a 15 year old and her skinny, too skinny in his opinion, body had already begun to show female forms. Her long dark brown curls came almost to her waist and were tied up with a random piece of fabric.
The gray dress she wore was old and torn, but it was probably best for the cleaning job.
She definitely did not belong in this place. She should not be a creature of the underworld.
As he studied her he could not find any faults on her body that would cause society to point fingers at her like it had at him for 46 years.
But an orphan was not better off than any other outcast. With a mother cold in her grave and a father who obviously had not loved her enough to provide for her she had probably had no other choice than to come here.
"Adora my darling, where is our guest?" a man's voice dragged him from his thoughts and he saw a little plumb black haired man decent from the stairs.
"Ah, it must be you" he said before either Adora or Erik had a chance to respond. He grabbed Erik's hand firmly and shook it.
"Hello Monsieur, welcome to the Moulin Rouge. I am Charles Zidler, the owner of this sinful place. My sweet little dove informed me that you were looking for work" the man said.
"Yes Monsieur Zidler. My name is Erik and I'm a musician. I master the organ, piano and violin should you need such a musician. If not, I should be happy to take any sort of work you can offer" he said.
"Well, we have recently lost our pianist to the dreaded consumption. That horrible disease is common among us lower class beings. Are you in good health Erik?" Zidler asked with concern.
"I believe I have stayed clear of the consumption so far Monsieur Zidler. Apart from a stiff back due to many restless night on cold sidewalks I should be in good health" Erik assured him.
"That's good to hear. If you are interested I shall let you join the band tonight on the piano. Relax and get a feel of the music. In the beginning I shall pay you 200 francs an month" Zidler said.
He had once been paid 20.000 francs a month, but 200 were better than none at all.
"I am only happy to accept your generous offer" he said thankfully.
"Great, that is settled then! I will see you tonight" Zidler said and turned to leave.
"Charles, I think Monsieur Erik would need a place to stay" Adora´s voice caught their attention.
"Well of course. We have a free room. Adora will show you upstairs" the man said with a smile and went to Adora.
He padded her cheek gently. "Will you prepare the room my dear? After that you can go and have a rest. I will need you in the dance routine tonight. Rosa had an unfortunate encounter with a costumer last night and will not be able to perform for a few days." Adora nodded and Zidler turned to Erik. " Very good, now you will have to excuse me, I have matters to attend to. I will see you tonight" with that he left the room.
"He is a joyful man" Erik said thoughtfully.
"He is a good man. He accepts all kinds of people regardless of whatever faults or issues they might have. I think you will like working for him" Adora said.
"It will be a new thing for me to work for someone I like" Erik said gloomingly.
"Have you worked for many bad employers?" Adora asked.
"My first employer, if you could even call him that, was a monster. Fortunately he got what he deserved. After that I provided for myself an rather controversial ways" he said.
"What do you mean controversial?" Adora asked curiously.
"That is something we shouldn't speak about" he said with a slight warning in his voice.
"I guess we all have out little secrets" she shrugged. "Come on Erik, I will take you upstairs to your room."
It wasn't much. A little room with a bed, a table and a little bowl for a light wash.
'There is bathing facilities further down the hall' Adora had informed him.
He sighed, it was good enough for him and much better than the cold cobblestones he used to sleep on. He had never really been used to beds, the only bed her had ever truly had a peaceful sleep in was the beautiful swan bed beneath the opera house.
The few times she had slept in that bed the sheets had carried the fresh smell of her body.
At those occasions he had curled up in the bed to inhale her scent and after that he had surrendered to a peaceful slumber.
Glancing around to make sure no one was there he carefully removed his mask and ran a hand over his tired face. He caught a look at himself in the tiny mirror on the wall and winced.
The scars were one thing, they had always been there, but the blood-shot eyes and dirty hair made him look even more like a monster.
"Straight out of hell" he muttered and threw the mask on the bed.
The once white mask had seen better days as well. He would have to clean it as well as he could. He really did not wish to look like he had just stepped out of the gutter on the first night of his new job.
He was startled out of his thought by a knock on the door.
"Just a minute" he shouted and desperately reached for his mask. He had only just put it on when Adora peeked into the room.
"I have prepared a bath for you Erik, I thought you might need one. I have also found some clothes that will fit you. If you give me the old ones I'll make sure to clean them.
He flashed her a grateful smile. "Thank you, you´re very kind."
She smiled shyly. "You better come before the water gets cold."
He followed her through the corridor to a room that was slightly bigger than his and contained two zinc tubs, one of them filled with heated water.
He gestured for her to turn around while he undressed and he couldn´t help but smile at the blush that crept into her cheeks as she turned her back to him.
When she heard him settle in the water she slowly turned around to retrieve the bundle of dirty clothes. Just before she left she reached for the mask.
"No" Erik said in a warning tone and turned his face away.
"But Erik, it's dirty" Adora tried.
"I will take care of it Adora. You must never touch the mask" he said sternly.
"I´m sorry, there is soap and a sponge here. I will see you later" Adora quickly left the room and he felt bad for speaking harshly to her, she had only wanted to help.
No, he could not risk anyone seeing his face. He was desperately clinging to the last straw of security he had. The Moulin Rouge would provide him with food, shelter and money. Whatever reason everyone else had for being here he was certain none of them could compare to a deformed murderer!
For that was what he was.
Buquet. Piangi. Two lives taken in the blindness of love. A desperate and foolish attempt to win her heart.
How could he ever have been stupid enough to think she would love him after that! She was a creature of innocence. She would never have ended her days in a cold dungeon by his side.
As if that was not enough he had killed again years later.
It was shortly after Antoinette´s death. He was grieving, but that was no excuse.
She couldn't have been more than 25 years old and for days after the incident he had wept for her blood on his hands.
He had been asleep, blind drunk from the cheap brandy he had used to drown his sorrows. Through his drunken slumber he had registered someone touching him. When he opened his eyes he had seen her, a filthy drunk whore, rummaging through his pockets in search of money. She had not found any, but she had found it. As he had seen the satisfied smirk on her face when she held up the sparkling diamante ring he had gone mad with rage. He doubted she had registered what had happened as he snapped her neck with his skilled hands and left her lifeless body there in the alley as he ran.
He started rubbing the sponge harder against his skin. That was all in the past now. He would forget and see what life in this place had to offer.