January 30, 2005- Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated, I've had too much to keep up with! But hopefully this chapter won't disappoint any of my loyal fans. By the way the song in this chapter is called Come What May from the movie Moulin Rouge.I don't own it, nor any of the other POTO characters, just Emily and the late James.
daygonna- Thank you for reviewing my story, and I am glad that you like the pairing and the story. I hope you will continue reading it!
xxXGoddessXofXdeadXloveXxx- Oh wow, don't freak out! I've updated! Thanks for reviewing! By the way, I like your new penname!
Sumi-Chan The Great-Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like the story...and the dress!
Doomed Delight- Thank you for reviewing, I'm glad you like it! I hope you keep reading and reviewing my story!
Phantom Ange- Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad that you liked my recent chapter, I just thought that it was only proper since she went through his abuse, and I thought that it would be a nice little twist. Now, I'm waiting for you to update your story, my dear!
kalokeri- Thanks for reviewing, I hope you will enjoy this chapter even though it's not going to be what you expect!
Galasriniel- Thanks for reviewing! I am very happy that you are anxiously awaiting for my next installment. Hopefully you will not be disappointed!
And now onto...
Chapter 9: Actions Speak Volumes
There was rain falling down and it gave no sign of letting up anytime soon. Erik found himself walking down a field with luscious green blades of grass. He didn't know exactly why he was there, but he thought he could walk around and find someone who could tell him where he was. To his luck he found a group of people standing around a platform where there seemed to be three people who were standing on it. His curiosity got the best of him as he began to walk briskly towards the group of people. To his surprise he saw that the three people were a Reverend, an executioner, and...Emily! He wanted to call out to her but his voice failed him when he saw that there was a noose wrapped loosely around her neck. The Reverend looked at the people and he pointed at Emily as he lectured them with a stern voice, "See what happens when you reject God and you choose to go down the road of sin?"
"Hear, Hear!" were the cry of the people." He continued to point at Emily,
"This woman, has broken the Sixth Commandment, 'Thou shall not kill'!" There was more cries of agreement and Erik could feel panic rising within him,
She was only trying to save me! He cried out in his mind. He tried once more to get a word out, but he failed yet again. He looked at Emily. Her head was bent down and was all scraggly-looking and covered her face. Her hands were tied behind her back. He looked around at all the people standing in the crowd. They all wore black, and everyone's skin was as pale as snow. They never looked at one another, they just stared blankly ahead. He turned his attention back to the platform where the Reverend asked everyone to bow their heads. As if they were machines, everyone in the crowd bowed their heads except Erik who looked was looking for a way to save Emily. The Reverend asked The Lord to forgive Emily as she was about to descend down into Hell and that He would save her from the Devil himself. With a final amen from everyone, Erik saw the holy man nod at the executioner. To Erik's horror, he saw the executioner take out a black hood, to which he turned to Emily and said,
"Come on, get your head up!" She did as she was told, She looked up at the crowd and she saw Erik. Their eyes locked onto each other. He saw her give him a small smile as tears streamed down her cheeks. The black hood went over her head, and they tightened her noose. Erik began to try to run down through the people to get to Emily, but when he tried to put his hand on a man's shoulder, his hand went right through him. Erik jumped back in surprise. The whole crowd turned around to face him with nasty smirks on their faces. He then noticed that their right side of their faces were deformed...just like him. They began to talk in unison,
"You can't save her Erik, you two were never meant to be..." Erik drew out his sword,
"NO! I will save her, and then I'll get her out of here. Now, step aside or I'll spill everyone's blood!" He slashed at them, but he could not leave a single cut on them. They started closing in on him. He backed up and then began to run at full speed towards them. But before they could react, he jumped over them and landed in front of the platform. But, it was too late. The Reverend signaled for the executioner to pull the lever. Emily fell through the trap door that opened underneath her feet, leaving her dangling by her neck while her feet began to kick furiously. Erik prepared to jump onto the platform and when he did jump, someone grabbed his cape and pulled him down onto the ground. Erik's eyes widened in horror as he saw Emily's feet slowly stop kicking. The crowd of people with deformed faces closed in on him as he laid there in shock and agony. Emily was dead... His eyes closed as his body began to shake with a sob, "EMILY!"...
Erik sat up quickly in his bed, but regretted it the second the sharp pain awakened in his abdomen. Noticed that he was shirtless and that his wound was dressed. Suddenly he felt nauseated and leaned over the bedside and vomited. He wiped his mouth with his hand.He grabbed his mask that was next to him and put it on. The dream had seemed so real. He looked at his clock and noticed that it was five o'clock in the morning. Today would be the day that Emily would hang. He slowly got up and prepared to get into his clothes but a feminine voice stopped him, "And just where do you think you're going?" He quickly turned around and saw Meg, standing in the doorway. She had her hands on her hips like a mother does when her child has or is in the process of doing some mischief. His eyes narrowed,
"What does it look like? I'm going to go rescue her from that evil place." Meg looked at him in curiosity,
"Erik, you've been unconscious for three days." He looked at her in alarm as the words cut his heart deeply. Three days? Then that would mean...
She's gone. You, idiot, in your weakness you couldn't save her! He closed his eyes as he clenched his fists in anger. Meg saw his reaction and quickly reassured him,
"No Monsieur, she is well and she is home. Christine, Monsieur Viconte, and I went to get her the night she was arrested and taken to the jail. I told them that she had saved my life. They cleared the charges and we took her home. She's resting now, and you should do the same." Now that she mentioned it, he was feeling extremely tired. She helped him get into bed, and left him alone. A very heavy weight was lifted off of him. He closed his eyes as he tried to sleep once more. He was on the verge of going into a deep sleep until he heard the noise of footsteps. His eyes popped open. The sound got louder with each step. He winced as he got up. He staggered to his sword. He grabbed it and slowly poised himself to fight,
"Who's there? Show yourself!" His sword gleamed in the candlelight of his home. Christine stepped out of the shadows. He lowered his sword, "What are you doing here?" he asked bitterly, the events of four nights ago still present in his mind. Christine wrung her hands nervously,
"I wanted to check on you and see if you were comfortable." Erik crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her,
"Well, let's just see. I went to the masquerade, danced with one of my friends, her jealous ex-fiancée shows up. Not only did that happen, but as a bonus, I almost bleed to death due to a duel gone horribly wrong, Emily kills him, goes to jail, and now probably doesn't want to even associate with me." He smiled sarcastically at her, "Indeed, I am comfortable." Christine sighed sadly,
"Erik, I know that I can never mend the pain that I caused you in the past. But I can tell you this, I never regretted the choice I made by choosing Raoul over you. I followed my heart, and now I am incredibly happy." She walked over to him and took his hands in hers and whispered softly in his ear, "And you have the chance to be too." She smiled at him as the harshness in his eyes softened. She let his hands go, "Go to her. She's waiting for you." She left him there staring after her. But her last words echoed profoundly in his heart,
Go to her. She's waiting for you...
He staggered to his clothes and slowly began to put them on.
On one of the upper levels of the Opera theater and inside her dressing room, Emily laid on her bed, looking up at the ceiling and reliving the past days over and over again in her mind. Erik bleeding. Her shooting James. The sound of five gunshots. James dying. She put her hands on her face,
Murderer...
She looked up and saw that she was alone in the room. But the voice repeated itself again with anger and malice in its voice,
Murderer!
She covered her ears and began to rock back and forth, trying to comfort herself. She wanted to break free, but she knew that the voice would accompany her for the rest of her days,
You killed him...
"He got what he deserved!"
His blood is on your hands!
"Leave me alone!"
You will pay for it soon!
"No!" She began to cry as she threw her pillow onto the floor in rage. She felt the familiar pressure crawl up to her lungs and into her throat. She ran to her bathroom and began to cough up the blood that escaped from her mouth. She wiped her mouth and turned on the faucet. She washed her face with the cold water and dried it with a velvet towel. She walked out of the bathroom and stopped when she saw the familiar figure with the white mask,
"Erik..." He smiled and opened his mouth and the voice that she had fallen in love with came out,
Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
I want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I love more and more
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings
Telling me to give you everything
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I love you until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day
He walked up to her and held out his hands, which she took them and smiled at him while he continued,
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
He ran his hands up to her face as he looked into those capturing green eyes. She put her hands on both of his as she closed her eyes and fell into his world of music,
And there's no mountain too high
No river too wide
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather
And stars may collide
But I love you (I love you) until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day
Oh, come what may, come what may
I will love you, I will love you
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
He began to twirl her as they began to waltz around. There was laughter coming from both of them and after a while they slowed down as he drew her into his arms and he whispered the last words as he leaned in,
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day...
He kissed her passionately as she ran her fingers through his hair. When they parted she smiled as her eyes twinkled with happiness. She ran her hand down his right side of his face and stopped when she reached the tip of his mask. She took it off and tossed it lightly on her bed, and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I love you...." She whispered as she leaned in and kissed the deformed side of his mouth. He readjusted his head and covered her lips with his once more. The lovers then went over to her bed. Erik laid her down as he smiled and looked her in the eyes,
"Tonight will be a night you will never forget."
A/N: So, what did you think? I hoped you liked it! Here's a head up, the next chapter will hold a highly anticipated love scene. So be prepared if you don't really like them. I will try to be classy with it since some people tend to rush their fic and then go on forever with their raunchy sex scene. Please send me reviews, they are what keep me writing! And please send me any ideas you may have so that I can try to incorporate them in my fanfiction. See you next chapter!