Ok well this chapter's pretty short. But...oh well! Its sweet.
Oh I forgot to mention on my last note that Aria does belong to me, as do Hans, Cecile, Marianne, and any name you don't recognize.
A big thanks to my first reviewers! You made me feel so special. sniff
Chapter 6 A Journey to the Country
I entered the managers' room thru the trapdoor. They were gone, for now. I searched for the guest list, flipping thru it intently. Who were some of these people? Mr. and Mrs. Leroux, Mr. Cremete escorting Ms. Lilite,... the list dragged on. I found them finally.
Mr. and Mrs. Raoul De Changy. I smirked. I wondered vaguely how marriage was treating my angel. In deep thought, I mused, trying to imagine some way to make myself known to Christine. I had let her go, yes...but now she would be back in my territory, my domain, not her darling husband's. I was free to do as I willed. Footsteps sounded outside the door. I quickly placed the list exactly as it had been before and slipped into a tunnel.
"...treating you?" a voice resounded in the darkness. I recognized Nadir Khan, the Persian.
"Oh, fine, monsieur. You really shouldn't worry." Aria's voice replied.
"Erik is not one to toy with, miss."
How dare he! My temper flared. I warned him once! The bastard. I gritted my teeth. Was he trying to turn Aria against me?
"Mr. Khan, he's not really as terrible as everyone says!" Aria sighed exasperatedly.
Really?
"He's done many terrible things, mademoiselle."
"A man cannot be judged by his deeds alone."
Thank you, Aria. Thank you.
"True...just be careful, Aria."
"Yes, Nadir."
Nadir took off thru another tunnel and I caught up with Aria. "You're going to be later for rehearsals."
Aria smiled at me and shook her head. "They canceled rehearsals today. They've been drilling our voices so much we're all rather hoarse."
Indeed, she sounded rather strained. "Well don't talk so much. We cannot delay the first performance, and after all, the gala is tomorrow."
"Very true."
"What are you going to do today, then?"
Aria bit her lip. "I'm going to visit...the country. My old home."
"I see." I mused. A day without Aria. This would be different.
"Would you like join me?" she queried softly.
I halted in stunned amazement. Leave the Opera House? I had not put a toe out of the House since I had driven Christine to the graveyard. Just the thought sent paranoid shivers down my spine.
"We'd be going on side streets. And there aren't too many people where I'm headed." Aria stated cautiously.
I gulped and closed my eyes tightly. People. People staring at me. If my mask fell off...even Aria would scream in fear. Fear...fear...I was falling...
"...Erik..."
I groaned.
"Erik...wake up. It's just me."
Aria...people staring...mask off. MASK OFF! I bolted into a sitting position. Mask...
"Where's my mask!" I demanded.
Aria stared concernedly at me. We were still in the tunnel.
"Um...Erik...It's on your face."
I flushed and touched my mask, to be sure. "What happened?"
"I mentioned you coming with me to the country, and you fainted."
I felt really stupid now.
"I...guess that's a no?"
"No, no...I just..." I swallowed my pride and roughly told her my fears, my face burning in humiliation. Aria's eyes tendered. Thankfully she did not hug me, because I didn't know if I could handle that right now. Instead, she picked up my hand and rubbed it gently. "I'm sorry, Erik. I shouldn't've asked."
I checked my pocket watch. It was only 8:45 in the morning. "How would we be traveling?" I asked gruffly. I put on an air of disdain, but within I was in near panic. I touched the wall of the tunnel, hoping futilely for comfort. I really wanted to go with Aria...to see her world...but...I was scared. Plain and simple.
"By horse. I'm renting one from the Opera's stables, but if you want your own you're gonna have to pay yourself."
"That's fine." I said lightly.
Or we could share. The thought passed thru my mind with an excited burn. Aria's arms around me...
No. Two horses would be much better.
I met Aria behind the stables, which was largely uninhabited. After much debating, we decided I should wear a cloak with a hood to hide my mask. Aria swirled a cape round my shoulders and brought the hood up over my head. "Ready?" she asked quietly.
I nodded and mounted my steed, a large sorrel gelding. Aria informed me that it was called Knight. Aria leapt lightly on a small black mare, situated herself in the side seat saddle and we were off. My nervousness transferred to the horse, who skittered around, making me irritable.
Finally Aria rode up close to me. "Erik. Relax." She laid a soothing hand on my leg. I growled. I will not say I became less frightened, but having Aria close to me, reassuring me, did have its effects. And I could not stop thinking about that hand on my leg. When Aria was satisfied that I was calming, she moved off slightly, and we continued our pilgrimage.
It took us largely 2 hours to get out of the city. The farther we got from the hubbub, the better I began to feel, even if I was absent from the Opera House for a day. We met no one on the road, further easing my anxiety. I began to admire the nature around me, awed at all I had not observed for nearly 15 years. Truly, it had been at least 10 years since I had left the center of Paris. The fresh air made me feel alive and peaceful like never before. I snuck a look at Aria from the corner of my eye. I'd not seen her in very good light, except for on stage. My breath was blown away. She was...no. Christine, silly Erik, Christine. Aria's not like your angel. She cannot replace Christine. I beat myself mentally. But I could not help but enjoy the time I could have with Aria, out in the sun, which I also had missed. At first it had nearly blinded my eyes, who were used to dark corridors and dull stage lights.
Suddenly Aria turned, straight into the woods that followed alongside us. She motioned to me.
"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.
"The scenic route to my...old home." Pain shot across her face. If it pained her so I wondered why she had invited me. Just to get me out of the Opera House, perhaps? She was so thoughtful.
I frowned and observed the forest around me. The further we went in, the prettier it got. We breached a meadow and Aria frantically motioned for silence. I peered into the grassy meadow and gasped. A young female deer grazed cautiously, looking up every few seconds. A little fawn wobbled on delicate legs, its white spots covering its hind like speckled sunlight. I had never seen anything so...I couldn't even describe it. It was like a picture from a fairytale. I glanced at Aria, and we smiled to each other peacefully. The moment broke, as all things do, when Knight snorted, sending the deer sprinting away.
I turned back to Aria, feeling the tips of my lips turning up. "That was wonderful," I said softly.
Aria nodded. "I miss the country."
We dismounted and lead the horses thru the meadow, stretching our sore legs. The woods were full of little miracles, from butterflies flitting before my face to a singing bird showing off to us. As we walked on, Aria's face became slowly depressed and mournful. Here and there she patted a tree like an old friend. I could see another meadow dead ahead. "What's in this one?" I queried, gauging her expression carefully.
She masked it expertly and remained silent.
I bit back a gasp as we entered it. The burned remains of an elegant house littered the center of the clearing. I could see a cobble stoned road leading away from it. I gulped and turned to Aria. She stared at it with eyes unseeing, her mind drifting back into desperate memories, defiantly refusing to acknowledge that her home was destroyed.
It was a look I knew well...a look I knew I wore.
ď€ ď€ Moncharmin Andre and Richard Firmin sat in their office, brainstorming.
"He must go. We cannot cower before this monster any longer! Where is our pride? Our dignity?" Andre finally growled.
"But what can we do? When we disobey him the results are disaterous." Firmin sighed in resignation.
Neither of them accredited to the Opera Ghost that Opera Populaire was running far better than before. All they knew was they hated bowing before him.
"We need...we need...to lure him out into the open. Down in his tunnels, so everyone says there are, we do not stand a threat." Andre mused darkly.
"Indeed. He built them himself, after all...we need someone to tell us how they run...just incase." Firmin nodded in agreement.
Andre got a scheming smirk on his face. "Who better than our most generous Patron? No doubt, he's been down in the tunnels and he abhors the Ghost anyway...this could be his chance for final revenge and still work in our favor."
Firmin nodded again. "True, true. Is there anyone else that might understand him? Has he made friends with any other chorus girls?"
"If you recall, he pointed out the new chorus girl...what is her name...to play the part of Aphrodite. Perhaps...?" Andre said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.
There was a knock at the door and it burst open. Raoul Dechangy strode into the room, his bluish-gray eyes hard and glittering.
"What is the meaning of this!" He hissed, throwing a Gala invatation on the desk.
Andre and Firmin stood up and bowed in a mannerly way. "Good day Raoul. It is a pleasure to see you. Of course we would send you an invatation. You are our Patron, monsieur."
Raoul ground his teeth. "Do you think I could dare bring my wife here? Do you not know how much danger she would be in!"
"My dear man, let us explain. But first, we should find...a more secure place, if you get my meaning?"
Raoul nodded, and followed the managers to the roof. They chose a secluded corner and spoke in whispers.
"Are you, like us, tired of living under that tyrant?" Andre said smoothly.
Raoul nodded furiously. "As a Patron I have the duty of looking into and attending the Opera House, but I dare not while he lives."
"Exactly. We would like to rid of him, once and for all. We know that the site of Christine will draw him from his caves."
"I will not use Christine as bait. We tried that once, do you not remember?" Raoul snarled.
"Yes...but only once more," Firmin assured.
"Insanity! I will not risk it!" Raoul raged.
"Alright, alright. Please listen. Just come to the gala. That will be enough to stirr him up, and we will do the rest. We also think he has taken to another chorus girl...please report anything suspicious."
Raoul sighed and ran a hand thru his blond hair frustratedly. "Agreed. We will attend the gala, but no more."
The managers thanked him, and they went their seperate ways.
I lay in the grass, staring up at the blue sky. Aria sat next to me, but not too close. Knight and the mare grazed nearby, tied up with hobbles to keep them around. The grass was soft beneath my hands, its blades lovingly caressing my hand with whispery touches. I don't usually like getting my clothes dirty, but this place was irresistable. I looked to Aria. Her grieved aura had not changed since we left the chars of her home and returned to the previous meadow.
"Tell me, Aria." I said gently. "Tell me what happened. Tell me why you are sad."
I had dumped most of my painful past on her; the least I could do was to listen to her.
Aria rested fully against the grass next to me, her eyes drifting out of focus.
"I had 2 brothers and 2 sisters. My parents had a hard time of keeping track of the lot of us." She smiled a despairing sort of smile.
"I had always wanted to be part of the Opera...even if it's not the most dignified work for a girl."
My father wouldn't hear it. He loved teaching me to play the violin, but he would not stand to think of his little girl going away. My mother was dissapointed in my choice, but she sort of supported my dream by teaching me the proper way to sing. Oh, the arguements we had shook the house. I was the problem child. Pippa and Beth never caused as much trouble as I did. James and Fracis were Daddy's boys, for sure. They often did naughty things, but were smart enough not to be caught. I am not ashamed to say I was one of the three musketeers. My mother hated that I scuffled in the dirt with them."
I smiled. I could just see Aria coming home from a romp in the woods, face covered in dirt and her dress torn.
"The older I grew...the worse I got. I told my parents terrible things. I was nearly 19, and instead of doting on my suitors- yes, suitors. Even if I still acted like a boy I guess I was pretty enough to make up for that. Anyway, instead of that, I manipulated my parents. My dreams were filled with singing on a stage, or playing my violin for the orcestra, striding around like a true actress. My parents were fed up with me. They sent me to stay with my grandmama in London for 3 whole months. I hated them for it. I hated London. I did nothing but sulk. My grandmama had no interest in me, or I in her. She was a frail woman, and I was too spirited for her. Mama and Daddy were sure I would have forgiven them when I returned, but I didn't. The last fight we had..."
Aria stopped suddenly. Her lips quivered down, and I saw a tear escape from her tightly shut eyelids and trail into the grass. I swallowed thickly. I never had seen Aria cry before. The time she played her violin did no count...that wasn't an emotional cry. But this...
My hands twitched. I wanted to wipe the tears from her face and comfort her. But false words comfort no one. "Go on," I whispered gently.
She continued, her words broken up by sobs. "The last fight w-w-we had...it was h-horrible!" Her voice leapt out of control. "We all said things w-we didn't mean...In the end th-th-they left me by the fire. I shouted after them that I hated them all, and ran out the house. I let the fire keep going unattended. I got some clothes and other meaningful things- l-l-like my violin, barebacked my mare and rode as fast as I could away."
Aria's whole body shook in an effort not to cry. "When I ca-ca-came back, the whole house was in flames and I could hear them screaming. I tried...I t-t-tried... t-t-to save them...b-b-ut I coul-d-d-dn't!" Aria cried out. She turned away from me onto her side, refusing to let me see her tears. I did likewize, rotating so I could see her, rubbed Aria's shoulder tenderly. I murmured soft songs in her ears until her breath quieted and evened out in a doze...
I awoke with a start, meeting a breathless surprise. Aria's sleeping form was cupped by my body, her back resting against my chest. My heart galloped away as I realized my arms were wrapped tightly around her, keeping her snug near me. Our legs entwined; I gulped nervously. Oh, the feelings within me! Be still, my heart, be still. It was thumping so hard it would wake her. I closed my eyes before forcing myself to think of other things. Christine! Mon dieu, I was betraying her. I carefully tried to remove my arms without waking her. I finally slipped my hand to her waist, and I couldn't help myself; my fingers spread out, pressing lightly into her dress. I shuddered longingly and hastily snatched my hand back. Aria shifted and sighed. I saw her eyes flutter open. Lord...my other arm was still beneath her. Aria turned her head slowly. Her eyes widened in confusion whem she caught sight of me. I trembled and took my arm from under her, averting my gaze.
"Erik..." she muttered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean...to..."
I shook my head. "You cannot control your sleep. We should be...going."
Aria nodded vigorously. We ate a small meal of some food Aria had brought. The afternoon sun was still warm as we mounted and rode off. I forced my thoughts away from the occurance in the meadow. We were only friends, nothing more or less. Any man would had had a rush of desires in such a position! Instead, I turned to the Gala tomorrow. I schemed evilly on all the ways I could cause trouble. I wouldn't do like the last Gala...I would be subtle this time.
As we got closer to Paris, Aria stared at me. "Are you ok? You've been quiet this whole time. What are you planning up?"
I smiled mischeviously. "Ah...That would be telling."