1Cold hands ripped at Williams shoulders, wrenching him off of his prey in a single thrust. As the drunken man fell to his back he squinted up at the dark figure above him. Perhaps it was the wine, but his vision seemed to fail him. It seemed a shadow loomed over him. When the wraith moved, however, the sunlight reflected off of the unmasked portion of his face and William recognized the driver of the hansom. How dare such a peasant interfere! He growled viciously and struggled to his feet, quite nearly tackling the other man. Nicholas hit the ground roughly, the air forced from his lungs. He grasped at the neck of the man atop him, who meanwhile clamored for Nicholas face. His fingers found their purchase easily, and he began to squeeze. Within seconds William's face had turned a wicked shade of red, and then his lips began to pale. They were quite blue, and the bloodlust rushed through Nicholas with such force it left a decadent pleasure behind. Death was at his fingertips, his to control.
"No! Please!" An angel of mercy pleaded on the fools behalf, and Nicholas tried to focus upon that sound.
"Stop it!" A frightened voice appealed to him again, and Nicholas glanced toward Elizabeth. Suddenly the whole world returned around him in a crash, and he tossed William off of him quickly. The man gasped for air, choking and sputtering as he did so. Nicholas righted himself, and approached the woman whom William had assaulted. He offered her his hand, and she accepted with little hesitation. He pulled her to her feet.
"Are you alright, Mademoiselle?"
The voice was so familiar.
William, meanwhile, in his pride, had found a rather large rock to heave in Nicholas' direction. He was a terrible aim while drunk, however, and it struck the horses hoof instead. The frightened beast whinnied pitifully, and then darted away down the path.
"Fool!" Nicholas hissed, dealing William a blow to render him unconscious. He cast an apologetic glance towards Elizabeth, then took off in a sprint after the frightened horse. She was obviously wounded, as a trail of blood lingered in the dirt road behind - and she could not gallop as quickly as usual while attached to the hansom. These two factors worked to Nicholas' advantage and within moments he had caught up with the cab and halted it's reckless retreat.
Elizabeth was left frightened upon the side of the road with the unconscious form of the man who may as well be her betrothed. And her would be rapist. She trembled with anger, and spat on his heaped form for good measure. She would rather die than marry such a man. The slow sound of horses hooves distracted her from her inward tangent, and she glanced up. The assaulted horse limped horribly as it approached, and beside it - a young man. The heavy cloak was gone. Now she could see the handsome clothes he wore, and oddly - a dark mask shielding at least half of his face. The exposed half seemed so familiar, and she stared upwards at him as he approached.
"Last night," she whispered, as though she were dreaming. "It was you? But you looked so... "
"Filthy?" Nicholas offered simply.
"I was going to say different. Where is the hansom?"
"The horse cannot pull on this foot. We shall have to walk." Nicholas replied.
Elizabeth nodded, and glanced back to William on the roadside. "Thank you for your help. He is such an animal, I've always known - but I guess the drink only brings out his worst."
Nicholas inclined his head. "You're going to marry him?"
Elizabeth was surprised at his interest. He was, after all, only a cabby. She furrowed her brow. "No," she replied guardedly. "Why do you ask?"
Nicholas realized his mistake and cringed inwardly. He could not afford to show her his interest. Rejection from an angel would surely sting more than any ever had. "You deserve much better, Mademoiselle." His reply soothed Elizabeth's frayed nerves.
"You obviously ride well," Nicholas smirked, a teasing reference to their encounter the night before. "Can you lead her?" He offered the horses reins.
"Of course!" Elizabeth accepted them eagerly, stroking the frightened and pained horses majestic neck with a tenderness that did not go unnoticed. Nicholas begrudgingly lifted William from the ground and over his shoulders roughly, then nodded toward the city.
"You like horses?" He inquired, and she responded with animation. The entire trip had taken no more than fifteen minutes out of the city, but on foot with an injured horse and an unconscious man, it took over an hour for them to return. Elizabeth and Nicholas chatted excitedly about all manner of things. Music, literature, art, and of course horses. Elizabeth mentioned, with obvious longing, her desire to visit the opera. Nicholas seemed to drink in her every word as though it were ambrosia, and they both nearly forgot the reason they were on foot.
They neared the DeChagny estate.
"I would rather leave him here," Nicholas suddenly interrupted their pleasant conversation as he shifted the enormous burden atop his shoulders. "So that I may tend to the horse properly."
"Of course! If you will, bring him into the sitting room and my father will take care of the situation." Elizabeth left the horse with the help in the stable, and led him around the enormous grounds. They entered the magnificent home. It was busy with activity, maids bustling about trying to recover from the gala the night before. Nicholas felt so very small in such a opulent place, and terribly out of place. He followed the beauty before him as she led him through several rooms and finally motioned toward a chair. She pushed it's footstool closer, that he may drape the unconscious man upon it. She smiled to Nicholas in thanks, and was about to speak when she heard..
"Oh my! Elizabeth! What has happened? I thought you were gone a bit longer than I had imagined but really.. What happened to William?" Christine Daae DeChagny rushed into the room, looking past her daughter and companion toward the DeGent heir.
"Oh mama, it really was dreadful.." Elizabeth replied, turning to look at Nicholas. He was, however, gone.
Christine followed her daughters gaze, to the shadow that had slipped from the room and quickly disappeared out the door.
"Elizabeth," her mother said in trembling voice. "Did he wear a mask?"