OperaLover
2005-10-20
ch 41, signed

Nice! I was sort of hoping he would be able to distract her just a little-- not fair that she be the only one with that power... oh, well...

I think I'm actually beginning to get comfortable on these pins and needles...

REPLY:

I really just wanted to emphasize the female power that we possess through A'awynn – I think Erik needs a little domination now and then! Thanks for reviewing!

Passed Over
2005-10-20
ch 41, signed

Very good, I thought we were there, the big event, I am so glad you had them wait. But please, please, please make the wedding chapter long, I want details on the wedding, guests and such. When we get to the wedding night, please do not rush it. I hate to see the story end but I know it must.

I want to know when you start writing again, and it need not be about the phantom. I would like to see you do something with the characters in Dear Frankie, but I will read anything you write.

REPLY:

You bring tears to my eyes with your kind words. I plan to continue to write, I have thoughts for another "Phantom" story, but I have seriously considered writing around the "Dear Frankie" story. They left it wide open for interpretation!

Thanks for reviewing.

hunting4max
2005-10-20
ch 41, signed

sorry i haven't been reviewing; i've only been skim-reading the last couple of chapters. Not a big fan of borderline smut (no offense. i believe in too much information, even in matters concerning someone as gorgeous as Erik). update more often, please? it'll be good to see Erik completely blissfully happy.

REPLY:

I am truly sorry if I have offended you. I do try to keep things tasteful, that is why I have kept the consummation until they are married. I have stepped up the flirting a bit; I figured that at 29 and 33 years of age, they would be more intimate with each other. I will be posting the mature version of the final chapter directly following the PG-13 version, that will make it easier for those who want to read it. I hope that you will continue to read this story and any others that I decide to write. Your opinion is valued.

Pertie
2005-10-19
ch 41, signed

Erik "headed toward his corner of the world, alone for the last time". This statement said it all. Beautiful chapter, amazingly written. I'm speechless at the talent of our dear Authoress.

REPLY:

There are no words that describe what your reviews mean to me…you give me warm fuzzies! Thank you and keep reading and reviewing!

angelaura76
2005-10-19
ch 41, signed

HI,
happy to write to you again sorry but i've had an orrible week so now i've read your last three chaps at once...Chap. 39 i think it was a necessessary chap. in the healing process of Erik, acceptance of the past yes i think i can call it this way,or God understanding! Now chap. 40, Well you said it was a difficult chap to write, but believe me it wasn't easy to read either, the first part was so sweet with Erik and Lacey, then the hard work and in the end another little beat of sugar with Erik an A'awynn dancing and flirting. I think you have balanced the chap so well to don't let anyone angry or sad after the brutal story of Erik. For this i thank you very very much. See you soon Laura

REPLY:

I am pleased that you were able to make it through that chapter, it was very difficult to write. Thank you for your honesty and kind words. Thank you for your reviews.

"Yeah, I studied…I was the president of the law society…" Gerry Butler on being Gerry, (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno)

CHAPTER 42

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful, bringing with it the promise of a wonderful future. Erik rose early, choosing to postpone shaving and bathing until closer to the time of the wedding. Just knowing that A'awynn would be in this room with him tonight caused his body to swell in anticipation and his nerves to work overtime.

He wandered through the halls, hoping that breakfast was ready; he was famished! Food had always been a necessary evil with Erik. He had not seen the point in feeding his body; he was only delaying the inevitable by nourishing himself. Now, he found it to be a delight; and, his always too skinny body, had filled out in the most delectable of ways.

He rounded the corner to the dining room and found his father, Michél, Raoul and his brothers-in-law all sitting there waiting on him. He smirked at them, as all eyes seemed poised for his every word.

He quirked a single eyebrow, as he had fastened his mask to his face, "Is there something I can help all of you with?" Erik chided.

Alastair explained, "Son, we must get you out of the house. I have been informed – in no uncertain terms – that the groom is not to see the bride before the ceremony…therefore, I have been instructed to remove you from the premises."

Erik grinned at the animated looks he was receiving from the men; they all seemed to fear that he would reprimand them excessively for daring to interrupt his day. He must present a foreboding figure indeed, if grown men, including his father, feared his wrath. He laughed heartily at the thought.

"And just where, pray tell, are we to go?" Erik asked with a smile.

"Well, it is early yet." Raoul glanced down at his pocket watch and continued, "It is only 8:30 in the morning…we thought we would catch a game of golf at St. Andrews…" Raoul's inquiring eyes noticed the perplexed look on Erik's face, "Have you ever played before?" Raoul teased with a smile.

"Golf?" Erik barked; the look on his face was priceless.

Angus chuckled, "Yes, golf. You take a long wooden pole with a flattened edge at the end and hit a small ball several times until you reach the tiny hole that is the balls final resting place…you do this for eighteen holes."

Erik had never indulged himself in physical games that did not require stamina. He had climbed ropes, scurried across prop poles, swum long distances, and even jumped mid-air between dangling ropes while in the opera house; and he had done those merely for survival. Hitting a tiny ball many times with a long stick, only to put it in a tiny hole did not make a great deal of sense to Erik.

"Is this something we feel strongly about?" Erik stated with a comical smirk.

The men all laughed at Erik's hesitancy.

"Yes son, this is something we feel strongly about." Alastair could not help but laugh when he spoke; Erik was being so cryptic about playing a simple game.

"Do you find this amusing?" Erik droned, hoping that he looked completely put out.

Michél got up, moved to stand in front of Erik, and pleaded with him as one would with a tyrannical five-year-old, "Come now, sit and have some breakfast. Then, we will all take Erik out to play with the big boys." Michél could not contain the amusement in his voice and Erik rolled his eyes at the laughter that filled the room.

Erik enjoyed the bartering, good-natured fun that he was having with his family. He had never been close to any man, except Michél, and he found that he had been robbed of that simple joy also. Being able to joke crudely sometimes, and discuss subjects that women did not relate to, was a welcome reprieve from always minding his manners. The men did not seem to mind the occasional drop in his otherwise pristine character.

OOOOOOOOOO

Golf was an experience; one in which Erik was happy to have participated. Naturally, being strong and athletically built, Erik was a quick study and the other men found that he quickly dominated the skills and gave them all a run for their money.

Erik found that he enjoyed this seemingly pointless game. He had never done anything as remotely mundane, but it was surprisingly refreshing; and being outdoors made it even better.

Five hours later, the men returned and proceeded to their respective rooms to ready themselves for the ceremony; this would be a day that Scotland would never forget.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Erik bathed and shaved meticulously while his stomach tied in knots. He was a basket of nerves. He would become someone he was not familiar with today; Erik the husband and father. The idea of having two other beings dependent on him for happiness and guidance…well, it was unnerving. A'awynn was thankfully a strong woman in every aspect. She was strong of character and will and strong of conviction and duty; it would most likely be her guiding him more than the reverse.

He regarded his reflection in the mirror. Staring back at him was a man he had grown to like. He could look himself in the eye and not feel repulsed or disgusted. His eyes no longer had the distant, shallow look of a lost soul; they shined and twinkled like the eyes of a man whose life was as near perfect as any human's life could be while on the earth.

He pulled his mask off and expected to feel the old gnawing hatred eating away at his soul, but he stared at his deformity and found that it did not hold the same power over him that he had allowed it to hold in the past. He shaved the ravaged cheek, careful not to cut its tender flesh. He actually put his hand to his deformity and felt the softness of it. The Scottish sun and fresh air had done it some good. The irritation was no longer so prevalent and the soreness of the mask was less intense. He realized now, that the torture to his skin had never really been allowed to heal before the gypsy witch was forcing him to cover it. Not allowing the healing process to complete had only made the scars worse. In retrospect, Erik determined that the deformity was not nearly as disturbing as he had thought it was for all these years.

He took one last look at himself in the mirror. Yes, he could honestly say he was pleased with whom he was and his life was everything he ever dreamed it would be. He had left his regrets and painful memories at the foot of the cross - he never intended to pick them up again.

OOOOOOOOOOO

A'awynn was assessing her appearance also, but she was surrounded by a dozen pair of eyes. She had taken special measures with her hair, piling it in soft folds atop her head. Several curls of hair cascaded down each side of her face, brushing her cheeks with soft caresses.

Brianna had been on the verge of tears all day, and seeing the joy in A'awynn's face and the love reflected in her eyes was all it took. The two women embraced, knowing that this day had been destined years ago.

Brianna had told A'awynn of the betrothal that had been in place some 29 years ago. She told her of the friendship between the two families that had predestined the young couple to be together. Erik knew nothing of the past that had been written in the stars, but he would today…A'awynn had a few surprises of her own for the ceremony.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Erik stood at the edge of the hallway, ready to make his way to the gazebo to await the arrival of the bride. A foreign part of him argued that she should run away while she still had the chance, but the rational part of him knew that she would not.

The orchestra began to play and Erik was thunderstruck. The music was his; the songs he had written years ago were gracing the ears of Scottish nobility and guests from around Europe.

The conductor finished the first piece and turned to the gathering crowd and announced the composer. "That wonderful sonnet was entitled 'Mysteries by Starlight', and the composer is none other than our own Lord Erik Bryant Lauchlin."

The people applauded and immediately looked around to find him; he stayed in the shadows, relishing the joy his music was bringing to others.

The composer introduced the next song, "Our next choice was also written by him when he was a mere 12-years-old, 'Call of the Darkness' is a haunting piece with elegant sway and tone; incredible depth for so young a composer. May I say that his brilliance is such as I have never seen before."

Three other compositions were played with precision. All were songs that Erik had written before the age of twenty. The people gathered were not saying a word; they were enthralled by the music and the fact that a nobleman had written them.

The most intricate piece they played was an eerily moving song in E minor. "Chaos in Silence" was an expression in music of which Erik was extremely proud. He had written it during the time of his imminent distancing from Margarite after she married and was pregnant with Meg. He had felt abandoned, betrayed and lonely. The only comfort he experienced was the echoes of the opera house activity and the lull of the water on the lake.

It was during this time that the voices in his head were commanding his every move and he developed the personality of the Phantom. The chaos of those voices echoed off the silence of the self-imposed prison that he resided in. Soon thereafter, he began his reign of terror, which would last the greater part of the next twenty years.

Hearing these archaic melodies played for an audience and that audience applauding the genius of the work was almost euphoric. How had they obtained the music? He had given all these pieces to Raoul for use in his opera house. He would have to ask how they found their way half way across Europe and into the hands of the Glasgow Orchestra.

Raoul happened to glance at Erik as he passed him; the ecstasy on his face was evidence enough to Raoul that he had done the right thing in sending the music this way a couple of weeks ago. When he and Christine had cancelled their plans, he felt that the only thing left to do was get these masterpieces into the hands of the orchestra so that all of Scotland could hear the genius of Lord Erik Lauchlan.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

A'awynn cornered Christine before she left to walk the carpet and take Erik's hand.

"Are you ready Christine, I want everything to be perfect." A'awynn said nervously.

Christine squeezed her hand, "I'm ready A'awynn…when the time comes…he will hear your words."

A'awynn smiled at this young girl whose gift of voice would make the words she wrote to Erik soar on the wings of angels. A'awynn was no musician, so she had taken the words from her heart and given them to Christine, hoping the young girl could write music as well as sing it. She had not been disappointed.

She had not heard the melody, she wanted to be surprised; but the words came from her heart. Christine had been practicing the song for two days straight. She and Raoul had been over at Caldwell practicing while Erik and A'awynn were courting.

Christine knew it would be perfect…her best friend was marrying the woman of his dreams…it had to be perfect. She only prayed she made it through the performance without crying.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

When Erik ascended the garden path to stand in the gazebo before the audience, he was greeted with a standing ovation; the conductor of the orchestra came out of the pit and bowed to Erik, voicing his admiration, "You truly are a musical genius my lord. I hope to be able to perform more of your work." He bowed again and went back to the orchestra pit.

Erik bowed to the crowd, thanking them for their acceptance of his music. He had no idea how breathtakingly handsome he looked. Every woman in the audience was stunned by the overt maleness of him. His tall figure stood proud and distinguished in the white tuxedo with tails that A'awynn had picked out for him, even his shoes were white.

The purity of the clothes emphasized the handsomeness of his raven hair, which he had tied elegantly behind his head by a black ribbon, and his dark green eyes. He had obtained a brand new mask for the ceremony, it was still white, but it was more contoured so that it curved with his face better, making it more like his other cheek.

The bride's maid's began the slow trek down the slight hill toward the gazebo. They were in elegant black gowns speckled with baby pearls in the shape of white roses with white gloves and shawls that draped over their shoulders. Each one carried a bouquet of white roses tied with black ribbons.

Lacey preceded the bride as she tossed white rose petals on the black velvet carpet. Her gown was the exact opposite of the bride's maid's. It was white with black pearls shaped into black roses and she had a black shawl draped over her tiny shoulders. She was the most darling thing that Erik had ever seen and as she approached him, he reached out his hand and she took it with the biggest grin on her face. She stood his left as she waited on her mother.

When Lacey reached the gazebo and turned, the bridal march began and all eyes turned toward the peak of the hill as A'awynn reached the starting point, the sun behind her created a halo around her and Erik's breath denied him its use; what he saw descending toward him was a heavenly being, for only heaven could produce such perfection.

TBC

Chapter 43 preview – The Wedding