January 27, 2005- Hey again! Sorry I haven't posted in two days, I was getting writer's block! But Anyway, thanks for all of your reviews!
Leah Day-Thanks for your review, and I'm glad you liked it! I personally think that I'm not taking it too, and I cannot guarantee that I will be able to write longer chapters, but I will try to! And Erik hasn't notice that she was bleeding because she never had an episode in front of him. But please keep reviewing.
Sesshomaru's Angel-Thanks for reviewing! I am so glad that you like this story. I hope you aren't disappointed with this chapter!
Kalokeri- Thanks for reviewing, I hope this chapter answers your questions the way you wanted them to turn out!
Sumi-Chan The Great- Thanks for reviewing, I really do appreciate it!!!
ThyLaSlain- Thanks for reviewing, But I don't think I'll make them confess what they feel for each other just yet!
Seraphina- Thanks for reviewing, I hope you like it, and don't worry I don't plan to abandon it until I finish it!
The Pink Dragon- I'm glad you liked that little part and personally I think you sing very well!
Phantom Ange- I'm glad you liked the part when Erik voiced his anger at Christine, I thought it was only appropriate!
Chapter 8: Masquerade
As soon as Monsieur Andre closed the door, an alarm went off in Emily's head. Tonight was the night of the masquerade and she had no costume. She sighed and shook her head as she went over to the pieces of glass scattered on the floor. She carefully picked them up and threw them away. There was a knock on the door, and Emily got up to answer it. It was Christine. Emily closed her eyes. The scene that took place just a few moments ago played in her head. Erik whispering in Christine's ear, her tears. Emily and Erik's what would have been a kiss... She sighed at the thought of almost feeling Erik's lips on hers.
"Emily?" She opened her eyes and saw Christine smiling at her. Emily smiled back at her, but it quickly disappeared,
"Christine, I'm sorry about what happened..." The other woman's smiled disappeared temporarily but appeared once more,
"Don't worry about it, he had a right to yell at me...after everything we've been through." Emily nodded sadly. Christine changed the subject so she didn't make the situation any more depressing, "Now as I understand, you don't have a costume for the masquerade." Emily opened her mouth to say something but, Christine grabbed her arm and pulled her through the doorway and down the hall, "Come, we're going to go get you one. Plus, I need to get one too!" The two girls went down to the stables and got a horse and a carriage which took them deep into the city. The city was a bustling center in which people bid their neighbors and friends hello, and where there were drunk men stumbling out of the local pub. A rather elderly man came up to them obviously drunk,
"Why, Good morrow to ya Mesdames!" He stumbled as he tried to tip his hat. Christine grabbed Emily's arm tightly and whispered,
"Come on, let's get out of here." They ignored the man who began to laugh when he tripped over his own feet. They went to the store that read, "Madame Pierre's Costume Gallery, good for any occasion." They went inside and were immediately saw the lavish colors of the costumes. Emily and Christine began to go through the costumes one by one until a rather large woman came up to them,
"Bonjour mesdames, I am Madame Pierre. Can I help you ?" Christine nodded,
"Yes, we are looking for your finest costumes." The large woman nodded and then disappeared into the back of the store. A few minutes later she brought out dozens of costumes and laid them out. There was everything from vikings to princesses. The three women had fun sorting through them. Christine then pulled out a beautiful white dress with silver sparkles adorning it,
"Oh Emily, this would be perfect on you!" Madame Pierre nodded,
"That one is one of my favorites, that one is the angel costume. I have the wings in the back it comes with a beautiful mask too." The two women looked at Emily. Christine gave her the dress and Emily studied it. She loved it. She nodded with a smile on her face. Madame Pierre went to the back and brought out the wings. The wings were large and spread out as if ready to take flight. The mask was made of velvet and it matched the dress by having the silver sparkles. The woman gave her the wings and mask. Christine picked out her dress that was red and had gold glitter stripes going down the whole dress. She picked out the mask from the wall and then they went over to area where there were shoes. For their final stop they went over to the cashier where Madame Pierre rung them up. After she finished she put the items into separate bags and handed them to the girls,
"Thank you for your business, hope you see you again soon." The girls then left the store and went to the place where the carriage was waiting for them. They got in and rode back to the theater. The girls began to talk about the masquerade. Christine talked how she and Raoul were going as a prince and princess. She then looked at Emily,
"Is Erik coming?" Emily looked at her in surprise but Christine looked at her, "I know you have something going in between you two. Maybe this could be the step to push you two together." Emily sighed,
"I don't think he know about it, so I guess he's not coming." Christine looked at her sad friend. It was evident that she loved him. But, could he seriously love her? Christine wanted to say something that against her courting Erik. But, she didn't want to hurt Emily's feelings. Christine looked at the clock on the wall. It was six o'clock! She looked at Emily,
"We have an hour until the masquerade!" Emily nodded as Christine said her goodbye and ran out to go get ready. There was excitement in the halls as all the women of L'Opera Populaire were running around getting ready. Christine shut the door behind her and left Emily to get ready. She undressed and tightened her corset. She wet her hair in the sink and began to curl it. She began to put on her dress and then her wings. She went over to her closet and grabbed her pair of white shoes. She got her makeup and put some eye shadow, lipstick and body glitter. She then placed her mask on her face. Emily walked over to the mirror and did a final check. She smiled at herself in the mirror.
Perfect. She took deep breath and headed towards the door. When she opened it she heard music already playing, and people talking. She went to the ballroom and began to socialize with people. She watched people dance in their extravagant costumes, laughing at the good time they were having. Emily kept getting stares from the young boys who were unlucky to be dateless this beautiful night. She politely smiled at them as she continued to scan the place for the man she was looking for. While she was scanning, she was surprised to see that the place was full of guards with armed rifles.
"Mademoiselle, you do look ravishing tonight..." She looked up and saw Erik in a beautiful suit of black with a red flowing cape and matching belt. She smiled as she bowed,
"You don't look bad yourself." He grabbed her hand as his amber eyes burned into hers,
"Emily, would you give me the honor of dancing with you?" She blushed,
"Yes, I'd love to." She allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor. He put her hand in his, and put his other arm around her waist. They began to dance to the music, lost in their own world. She looked down at the floor as she scolded herself for staring at him.
Why am I starting to fall for him? She thought to herself,
He's still hurting from Christine abandoning him. He's my friend, nothing more...
Emily was so deep into her thoughts that she was surprised when the orchestra played the last note of the piece. There was polite applause as the musicians got off the stage to go on their break. Erik offered her his arm and after she accepted it, they walked outside and went to the balcony's rail. Emily leaned on the rail and admired the beautiful clear night.
"I've always loved the nighttime. It gives me a serene feeling deep inside of me." She looked up at Erik who looked back at her, "That's why I wrote the song I sang to you. It reminds me of the tranquility that is always omnipresent when that part of the day comes. You could say that it is my whole life..." He trailed off leaving Emily thinking of what he said. A cool breeze rustled the branches of the nearby trees. She began to rub her arms to keep herself warm. He took off his cape and wrapped it around her as she grabbed a better hold of the cape. She smiled at him,
"Merci." He nodded,
"Think of nothing of it." Then there was the sound of a woman screaming,
"Get your hands off of me!" Erik and Emily turned and looked at the struggling figures of James and Meg. They could see that James was obviously very drunk. He tried to pull Meg into his arms and kiss her, but she pushed him away each time. Emily's blood began to boil as she saw Meg in the position that she was in years ago. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She went over to James and pulled him off her, and slapped him across the face with all her mind. He turned around slowly and faced her. There was a savage look on his face. He pushed her to the floor making her fall with great force. In a flash, Emily saw Erik leap over her and lunge himself at James. The two men landed on the floor with a thud swinging their fists at each other. Meg ran over to Emily and helped her up,
"Are you hurt?" Emily shook her head,
"No, I'm fine" She looked on as Erik and James were still on the floor, each swing getting even more violent than the other. Erik got up quickly,
"Enough!" He pulled out his sword, "Tonight, your blood will spill!" James pulled out his own sword,
"On the contrary, Monsieur!" He swung his sword over his head and brought it down towards Erik's head.
Clang!
The metal of the swords hitting one another resonated. The men began to duel going back and forth exchanging thrusts and many other techniques that were blocked off by the other. The two women looked on nervously as they prayed that this spat would be over quickly. Suddenly James yelled out as he used all of his strength to slash Erik across the abdomen. Blood oozed from the fresh cut.
"Erik!" Emily screamed as she ran to him. He held out his hand to stop her from coming any closer. He placed his hand over the wounded area and poised himself to fight again. Emily began to panic,
Erik is hurt. If he keeps going like this, he's not going to survive this duel.
She saw a guard standing with his back facing the glass doors. She ran towards the door and slowly opened it. She went inside and turned to the guard,
Pardon, but may I borrow your rifle?" But before he could answer she grabbed the rifle and ran out the door. Meg ran to Emily. She eyed the rifle,
"Emily what are you doing?" She eyed her warily, but Emily kept her face straight,
"What I should have done many years ago." She loaded the rifle and aimed it at James, "Hey James!" she called out. The two men stopped dueling. James turned around and his eyes immediately filled with fear. She fired the first shot into his chest. The blood spurt out from his body. He looked down at the wound. He ran toward him. She shot him again, and again. She shot him a total of five times before he fell to the ground. His blood surrounded him into a big pool. He shook as he took great breaths to keep himself going. But after a breath that took monumental effort, his body became limp. Emily dropped the gun and ran over to Erik who was bleeding from his wounds. She held him in her arms. He looked at her as he groaned in pain. She ran her hand down the left side of his face. Meg kneeled down on the other side of Erik. She observed the two of them. They seem to love each other deeply. Then a big group of guards came and surrounded the three of them. They saw the body. One of them stepped forward,
"Which one of you have committed the murder?"
"The female with the raven hair. I saw her do it through one of the windows!" A familiar voice called out. Everyone turned around and saw Carlotta. She smiled as she walked towards them. She pointed at Emily, as she talked to the head guard, "Her name is Emily de les Anges. She shot him five times. No one is safe here until you take her away." The guards grabbed Emily and picked her up. They placed her hands behind her back and placed handcuffs on her. Erik struggled to get up,
"No! Leave her alone!" They began to take her away, as Erik heard one of the guards say,
"We'll put her in a cell for tonight, but tomorrow morning she will be hanged." He felt his heart breaking as he screamed out,
"EMILY!" She turned around and looked at him. She smiled at him and the guards pushed her through the door and she was gone. Erik began to sob as Meg held him in an embrace. A tear streaked down one of her cheeks as she was escorted to the back of the carriage. After a short ride to the station. They took off her handcuffs and they pushed her roughly into one of the cells and slammed the door. There was a click that signaled the locking of the door. Emily sat herself on the floor and began to sob.
A/N: So, what did you think? Will Emily actually be hanged in the morning? Is Erik ok? Well, you'll have to find out next chapter, won't you?"