Author´s note: All reviews make me write a little faster. Some make me think. And some make me write completely random stuff like that: The next day Meg came down to Erik´s lair. "Why did you lock the mirror yesterday?", she asked. "I wanted to spend some time with Mary-S... I mean, with Ariane.", he replied. "I love her so much more than you. She´s just perfect." Hearing something Meg went on: "When you´re here with me, who´s playing the organ?". "The Vicomte, of course.", Erik said. "We´ve discovered how much we have in common. He´s almost like me, just without a mask.". Okay, that was a creative way of dealing with reviews. Admittedly it´s nonsense and would never happen like that. Still I hope you liked it. It included several things: 1) No, Ariane is not a Mary-Sue. I´m allergic to Mary-Sues. 2) Erik blocked the mirror because he wanted to spend some time alone to develop his plan. Completely alone - not with Ariane (that was a joke). 3) I loved the comment about Raoul resembling Erik.
13) Friend like me
Meg´s flight had ended just a few steps outside the restaurant. Christine found her standing next to one of the coaches, her fingers absent-mindedly running through the thick mane of a slender black horse. The coachman watched her with an amused grin. Christine threw him an extremely unfriendly glance, and he turned his head into the other direction at once.
She walked up to her friend and started stroking the horse as well. It snorted contentedly, and Christine smiled. The animal reminded her of César, a horse in the opera stables she was quite fond of ever since she had first seen it. Of course César was white, but their manes felt very similar. She had to visit the stables again soon.
A sniffing sound brought the present situation back to her mind. Looking at Meg, who desperately tried to hold back tears, she scolded herself for thinking about horses while her friend was miserable. "What happened?", she asked, almost in a whisper. Meg stared at her incredulously. "Didn´t you see it? He made me touch his… his thing!" Her voice had become louder and louder, so that the last word had been practically a shout. The coachman gave a snort of laughter. Another deadly glance from Christine made him leave his seat rather quickly.
"That´s terrible.", Christine muttered, putting an arm around the other girl´s shoulder. "Tell me about it!", Meg mumbled. "How could he do such a thing? Did he assume I´d enjoy it? But I haven´t even said I liked him." "Well, he drank far too much alcohol.", Christine stated, feeling a little guilty. Perhaps she should have told Raoul to stop him from emptying glass after glass. "I´m sure his behaviour is much better when he´s sober." She gave her a reassuming smile.
Meg returned her gaze to the horse. A single tear trickled down her face and into its mane. It was shining in the moonlight for a moment, then it was gone. "I wish it was like that.", she said in a small voice. "All right, this was the first time he has gone that far, but all in all it wasn´t very unusual for him." "Really?", Christine asked anxiously. The situation was much worse that she had expected. Up to now she had thought M.Devoiraux a fairly unpleasant man, but she hadn´t imagined he´d nearly abuse her friend in the middle of a public place. Meg nodded glumly.
"Could Raoul and you take me home in his coach if it´s not too much effort?", she wanted to know. "Certainly.", Christine replied kindly. "We´d never let you alone with this… man." She turned Meg around to face her. Examining her critically she commented: "Your eyes are only a bit red – in his state he won´t even notice it. Can we go back then?" "Yes.", Meg said.
They had almost reached the door when Meg made the other girl stop for a moment. "Please don´t tell Erik about this incident.", she whispered, tugging at her sleeve like a little child. Christine inhaled sharply. Once more it occurred to her that she could talk to Meg very well as long as she managed to repress any thought about the connection of her best friend to the man she loved as well. Trying to ignore the dull throbbing in her heart she merely asked: "Are you sure? He´d want to know it. Besides, he wouldn´t insist on you meeting this Pierre again.".
"But don´t you see?", Meg exclaimed. "If Erik hears about it, there will be no Pierre for me to meet again. Erik would kill him…" Her eyes were wide with fear. As much as she despised Pierre she didn´t want his blood to end up on Erik´s hands. "I don´t think he´d do that.", the other girl said gently. "Still… I won´t tell him. Better safe than sorry!"
They made their way back to the table in silence. The men still sat like when they had left them. Raoul had needed all his eloquence to keep Pierre from going after them. He seemed to be worried about Meg´s well-being. The shock about her simply rushing out of the room had made him a little more sober for a few seconds. "What´s the matter, my dear?", he asked. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Meg couldn´t help wondering whether the concern in his voice was real. However, she could not forget what he had done, even if he sounded sincere now.
"She was just feeling faint.", Christine explained, giving her friend´s shoulder a little squeeze. "She hadn´t eaten properly all day, due to the rehearsals, and then the alcohol… it was an unfortunate combination." "I see.", Pierre said slowly. "Well, I guess I shall bring you home at once." "No!", the three other called in unison. The man looked startled. "Why not?"
Raoul was the first to come up with an excuse. "We can do that for you. Christine, didn´t you need something from Meg anyway?" The girl nodded eagerly. "Yes, I… I threw my costume into Meg´s bag instead of my own this afternoon and she has accidentally taken it with her. But… one of the seams has burst, so I have to sew it tonight. Meg, if you wouldn´t mind giving it back to me…" "Of course not!", Meg said, almost too enthusiastically. "It is in my room. You can get it as soon as we´re there."
"Oh…", Pierre made. "All right. We´ll see each other tomorrow. Of course I´ll attend the rehearsal." "Of course…", Meg muttered. He wanted to stand up, but Raoul was faster. He had already left his seat and placed a hand on Pierre´s shoulder, gently pressing him down. He only had a vague idea of what had happened earlier, yet with one quick glance at Meg he noticed that she probably wouldn´t survive being kissed good bye. "Why don´t you stay here a little while and finish your wine?", he suggested.
He pulled out his purse, only to be stopped by Pierre. "I´ll pay.", he said simply, reaching for his glass, but only managing to grasp it on the second attempt. "It was such a pleasure to meet you." "Well… erm… thank you!", Raoul mumbled, not really knowing what else to reply. Noticing that the girls were already gone he turned to leave as well. Pierre held him back for a moment. "Make sure my little girl goes to bed soon!", he said. He seemed to have difficulties in getting the picture before his eyes into focus, and Raoul made a mental note to tell the waiter to bring another bottle of wine to the table. Maybe the man would become so drunk that he´d miss the rehearsal. The thought made him smile. Meg would be grateful.
Apparently Pierre had seen the smile for he added: "But I don´t mean your bed!". It was slightly ridiculous how he made an attempt to look threatening. "Do you think I didn´t see the glances you threw her all the time? You dreamed of taking both of them, didn´t you? I have to warn you, monsieur…" He came into a standing position at last, though he had to clutch the back of his chair for support. "Do with the other girl whatever you please, but Meg´s mine." "Of course.", Raoul said, hardly able to keep himself from laughing. The sight of the completely inebriated Pierre was lovely. He walked away, only briefly stopping to talk to the waiter, while Pierre sank down onto his chair again, proud that he had made his point clear.
Raoul entered the coach the two girls were already sitting in. Neither of them felt like speaking during their journey. "Would you like me to come in and stay a little while with you?", Christine asked as they reached Meg´s home. "No.", she replied, climbing out of the coach. She didn´t want to talk it all over. She forced herself to smile. "Thank you for everything! You too, Raoul!" "It was the least thing we could do.", he said seriously.
"You were wonderful tonight.", Christine whispered when they had said good bye to Meg and the coach was moving again. "I mean, she is my best friend, and for you… It was very friendly. If you can think of a way how I can repay you…" She snuggled up to him and rested her head against his shoulder while one of her hands moved down his chest. Raoul shook his head slightly. "Not in that way, Christine. You´d make me very happy if you could come home with me, so that we could talk." It almost sounded like a plea. Slowly the girl nodded.