Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I don't own POTO... All I own is an overactive imagination.
Summary: ErikRaoul slash fic.
Warning(s): homosexual content, slash!
Pairing(s): ErikRaoul
A/N: Insane huh… that was a quick update. I just wanted to make sure I was able to finish another chapter before work became too intensive again, which is going to happen come Monday (ahem, tomorrow).
Okay, intro to another new character. I just can't imagine Christine actually doing something physical and well, there's going to be a battle somewhere in the story and we need to add another character. Just to let you know I didn't want to do it and tried to think of different ways for this currently unknown event to happen, but it doesn't work without someone else. So, addition of another character.
Not much happens in this chapter, as you could probably guess from the title, but it has important plot points. Enjoy.
o.o.o.o
Pass Time: Quiet Before the Storm o-
o.o.o.o
By: Lucifer Rosemaunt
o.o.o.o
Last Time: Madame Giry asks Raoul questions hoping to get to the truth of what is transpiring between Erik and Raoul, but in asking about the organ he sent, she only raises questions in Raoul's mind. Meg asks Christine what happened the night Raoul's house caught fire, but Christine lies about everything. Meg goes off in search of her mom and enters the room that holds a sleeping Erik.
o.o.o.o
-.-
Madame Giry rushed into the open door expecting to hear Meg's scream any moment at seeing the Phantom of the Opera in her mother's room, but no sound came. Instead, Meg turned around and sat down.
Madame Giry looked around the room in confusion. Not only had Erik been asleep like the dead when she last left him, but he shouldn't even be able to move as of yet because of his broken ribs. She wondered how he had escaped detection. There was absolutely no sign that he was present or even that he was ever there. He was truly a phantom.
"Mama," Meg started. She didn't notice her mother's confusion. "I just don't know about Christine anymore."
"Hmm," Madame Giry looked at her daughter in interest and sat beside her, "Why so?"
"I asked her what happened at the Vicomte's house and I didn't believe a word she said."
"What did she say exactly?" Madame Giry asked.
Meg looked at her mother a little lost. "I don't think you're going to believe it either, Mama."
"Just tell me."
Meg nodded. "Christine said that she arrived to the Vicomte's house and he was very rude to her, not even inviting her in. Then he cursed her when she asked why he hadn't informed her that he was still in Paris."
Madame Giry could understand why her daughter didn't believe Christine's story. Though it was true that neither mother nor daughter knew the Vicomte extremely well, Christine's story was hardly believable considering the state she had been in when she left. The Vicomte had always been courteous and well bred. It seemed out of character.
"Then she said," Meg continued, "that the Vicomte caused the fire himself by throwing Christine's lantern at her. But the worse part is that she claims the Vicomte tried to hold her in the house so that they could die together and that she had to fight him off just to escape."
Madame Giry wanted to laugh. That part was insane. No wonder her daughter didn't believe it. Madame Giry absolutely knew it was a fabrication. Besides the fact that Henri had told her what had happened, Raoul had been the one to break the engagement and Christine had cried to both Madame Giry and Meg about her heartache. She highly doubted the Vicomte would want Christine back that much.
"What are we going to do about her?" Meg asked seriously concerned for her friend's well-being.
Madame Giry smiled gently to her daughter, "Do not worry about her. I need to find her, and I will. For now though, I want you to rest for the afternoon because tomorrow I will not be so lenient on you girls again."
Not completely convinced, Meg nonetheless nodded her head. She stood but didn't move, "What happened to the Vicomte? Was he still there?"
She couldn't help but look around the room at that. The Phantom was nearby and would hear the answer. If her suspicions were correct, she would not be able to tell her daughter that the Vicomte was inside the building. "The Vicomte is fine," Madame Giry soothed, "He has been picked up by friends and is well."
Finally appeased, Meg left the room.
Madame Giry remained sitting for a few minutes before standing up and walking straight to the full-length mirror in the room. She knew that it was the only passageway into the room, which meant it was the only way out of the room.
"Erik," she said quietly at the mirror.
Hearing no response, she tried again, louder, "Erik."
She was startled when the mirror suddenly slid open. She saw nothing into the darkness until a groan brought her eyes down toward the floor. Erik was sprawled on the floor, leaning at an awkward angle against the wall that was certain to hurt his ribs. He cradled his left wrist to his chest. He looked barely conscious, but managed to adjust himself so that his back leaned flat against the wall. He pushed himself up with some help from Madame Giry and made it back to the bed.
Once Erik was on the bed, Madame Giry asked, "How did you know it wasn't me who was entering the room?"
"It wasn't your footsteps, Madame," Erik replied with his eyes closed. His jaw was tense and he was mumbling to himself. From what Madame Giry caught of his words, it sounded like "I'm going to kill her."
"You're going to kill who?" Madame Giry asked.
Erik opened his eyes meeting hers with a calculating look. He didn't respond.
"You need to explain to me what exactly happened at the Chagny estate and why you were there," she demanded.
Erik's eyes narrowed with disdain, "I do not need to explain anything to you."
Madame Giry expecting the response, simply replied, "I saved your life."
Erik considered this for a moment before heatedly responding, "It would have been better to have let me die."
However, it's obvious to Madame Giry that his voice lacked the conviction for him to really mean it. She looked at him waiting.
Erik sighed irritated. He simply stated, "She is no longer my love, nor he my rival," before closing the subject by closing his eyes and presumably going back to sleep.
Madame Giry looked at Erik's still tense body as he 'slept' for a moment before leaving the room. She needed to find Christine and give her an entirely new punishment.
o.o.o.o
Henri returned to the room to find an expectant Vicomte lying in bed.
"So," Raoul opened up the conversation.
Answering without expression, Henri replied, "So."
"Don't give me that innocent look," Raoul accused and tried to sit up but the pressure on his hands stopped his effort. Instead, he crossed his arms.
Henri looked around the room and noticed a package he left at the table. "Oh, look what I found while out. I saw it and thought of you. I purchased it this morning."
Raoul looked at his butler then to the object in his hands and back to the butler. "A cane," he said neutrally.
"Yes, a cane."
"You realize I'm going to be able to walk again eventually," Raoul stared dubiously at the cane.
Henri replied seriously, "The doctor said you may never be able to fully walk normally again. You will have a limp."
Raoul felt the cold shock of harsh truth course through him. 'Never walk normally again. A limp.' The words echoed loudly in his head. Limps only became worse with age. By the time he's older, he'd be in a wheelchair for certain, earlier than he should like or mean to.
Seeing the devastated look in the Vicomte's eyes, Henri cleared his throat loudly.
Raoul shook his head from those depressing thoughts and looked at the cane with disdain.
"I hear it's quite the fashion nowadays," Henri stated just as seriously, but the look in his eyes told Raoul otherwise.
He looked at his butler in disbelief but couldn't stop the smile that formed.
"Either way, I highly doubt you will want to remain immobile for the duration it takes for your foot to fully heal."
Raoul sighed. That fact was entirely true, but he wasn't going to admit it to Henri. "I guess I shall just have to bear with it."
Henri placed the cane by the door.
Seeing him do so, Raoul asked, "What good is the cane going to do for me there?"
"You are not well enough to use it. Think of your hands."
Raising his hands above the blanket, Raoul looked at the bandages. Underneath he could feel some scabbing but mostly just an overall sting when flexing his hands or placing any pressure on it. "Negligible," he commented.
"Hardly," Henri retorted, "The cane also…"
"Wait," Raoul belatedly realized, "You've distracted me."
"And quite well if I say so myself," Henri lightly commented, allowing himself a small smile, "I have known you since you were a child, though sometimes I don't think you've grown."
Raoul pouts, "Must you still treat me as a child in front of company though?"
"Only when you act as one. You need to eat to become well again. How long have I tended to you?"
"Much too long, Henri," Raoul said dramatically placing his hand across his forehead, "Now, distract me again and I shall have to hurt you."
"I'm not distracting you, Sir. You are distracting yourself."
Raoul laughed at the comment before becoming serious once more, "What I want to know about is that organ."
"Organ?"
Raoul didn't look at all convinced.
Henri complied, "You wrote a note and told me to buy an organ, and as quickly as I could get it delivered to Madame Giry by the next day. So I did."
"An organ?" Raoul whispered to himself absentmindedly. There was only one person who needed an organ and it was Erik, but Raoul didn't remember ever telling Henri to do so. "When was this?"
"After the masquerade, Sir."
Raoul looked stricken, but he didn't respond so Henri continued, "You were in a daze when you arrived home, but it seemed as though you awoke from it when you asked this of us. So, we complied."
"Oh, no," Raoul groaned. He couldn't believe he'd done anything that night. He didn't remember it, but Henri wouldn't lie about something like that. Especially since Madame Giry had asked about it. He wrote a note and sent it to her. A note? Raoul cursed himself. In hopeful desperation, he asked, "Did you see what I wrote?"
"No, you placed it in an envelope with another letter and sealed it before we could have the chance. Not that we would, Vicomte," Henri looked at Raoul with interest. The boy was panicking over an organ.
"What! Another letter?" Raoul asked urgently, "What state was I in?"
"What do you mean?"
"Was I happy, sad, angry, or whatever when I was writing that note or even after it?"
Henri thought about it. "You only seemed calm. Now, try to calm yourself down right now before you hurt something."
"I am calm," Raoul practically yelled.
"You're a terrible liar."
Raoul took a couple of deep breaths. He was not calm, but how could he be? He couldn't remember what he wrote to Madame Giry, but then there was that second note to be more worried about. Surely enough he had written to the Phantom, but what would he have said. Was it confessions of love or words of hatred? Maybe, Raoul considered, that had been the catalyst to the Christine fiasco.
Henri then asked, "Does this have anything to do with the Phantom of the Opera?"
Raoul appeared a mix between shock and guilt. He momentarily considered what to answer before deciding on outright denial. "No, what gave you that idea?"
Henri looked at Raoul. He walked over to him and checked Raoul's temperature. Pleased that he wasn't too hot, he looked at the food and shook his head in disapproval.
"You need to eat."
Raoul relaxed a bit. He had not expected Henri not to respond to his answer.
Henri paused a moment, "Considering how you slept this morning, you'll probably sleep until morning. If not, you left enough food here for a snack. If you need…"
Raoul cut him off, "I can care for myself. You may do as you will."
Henri raised his eyebrow.
"But first," Raoul continued, "can you check on the estate? We will need a place to reside eventually and I do not currently wish to leave Paris. I do not think I will be well enough to do so myself. I trust you to handle that, please."
Henri nodded and headed out. Before closing the door, he popped his head back in and commented, "You're a terrible liar." He allowed a smirk to appear when Raoul began to blush.
o.o.o.o
Raoul lay on his bed. He was surprisingly exhausted. He had done nothing, but the conversations with Madame Giry and Henri had tired him out.
Still, his mind went back to the organ. He couldn't believe he'd sent an organ to Erik. He couldn't believe he'd written him a note, but more importantly, he couldn't believe that he couldn't remember what he'd written.
Raoul was frustrated. Frustrated was quite the understatement actually. He wanted to yell and scream, do anything just to alleviate the tension he felt.
He just knew that whatever it was in that letter would come back to haunt him. Considering his luck and how fate had been exceptionally cruel to him so far, he knew that letter had to be important.
Erik would confront him.
Raoul didn't know what to think of the man. There were so many impressions of him. Raoul wasn't certain who was the real one and which one to hope for. There was Phantom, the teacher of Christine. Phantom, the kidnapper of Christine. Phantom, the obsessor of Christine. Those were generally the personalities he didn't like from him. Then there was Phantom, the Angel of Music. Phantom, the brilliant composer. Those were the first impressions that made Raoul fall in love. Then there was Erik. Erik, the man. He was no phantom. Erik was brilliant, passionate, surprisingly compassionate, and devastatingly handsome (at least on the un-scarred portion of his face). No, Raoul amended; even with the deformity, the man was handsome. He knew he loved the man. Raoul smiled at the thought.
The smile disappeared though. Soon enough he'd have to face the Phantom. He'd face the Phantom that loved Christine and now had her, but more importantly, the Phantom that didn't love him.
Raoul stopped lying to himself. He had to if he wanted to remain sane. He couldn't do it anymore. It had been his plan to deny it once he was out of the room once he was better, but he knew he couldn't. He would have to face his emotions and face whatever was in store for him.
He tried to mentally prepare himself for the battle he knew what going to occur, but he just couldn't. He couldn't separate the Phantom from the man, and loving one meant automatically loving the other. Raoul instead prepared himself for more heartache and possibly more.
o.o.o.o
Christine hadn't moved since Meg had left. She sat down and thought of what really happened that night. She understood that it was her fault, but Raoul had been exceptionally cruel to her. She hadn't meant to burn down his house. She didn't even know what happened to him after it all. All she saw was that he stayed, but according to the rumors going around, the staff got out safely and was staying with some of the Chagny friends. That meant that Raoul was fine as well, right?
She sighed. Her anger for him hadn't actually left. Her regret was not so great to overcome it. The Vicomte had lied to her. Well, she didn't know for sure if he did, but he could have just as well left those rats on her nightstand. She did know for certain that he called her a monster, called her delusional, and called her insane. Those were hurtful words.
Raoul was probably just a scheming bastard trying to get back at her for leaving him (in her mind, she was the one that left him). He would probably try something now that his house had burned down. In fact, now that she thought about it again, she wasn't regretful.
"Christine?"
Christine squeaked in fright. Turning around, she saw that it was just one of the new singers in Faust, Robert (ahem, new character --). Some part of her thought it had been the Phantom. She laughed the thought aside. A larger part of her had actually thought it had been Raoul come to get his revenge. That idea was more likely than the previous one.
Robert had short brown hair, expressive brown eyes, and an incredible voice – nothing compared to the Phantom's, but admittedly, no one's voice could be that perfect. Robert was not only handsome he was nice. He was a bit showy, but who in the theatre wasn't?
She remembered flirting with him during the masquerade, and now that she was sober, she was glad that she did. He was very attractive.
"I'm sorry to frighten you," he stated with an apologetic smile and took a seat beside her.
Lightly laughing, Christine blushed and lowered her head demurely. She quickly thought of an appropriate response and replied with a frightened voice, "I thought it was the Phantom of the Opera."
He chided gently, "Remember what the managers said about being with others. You shouldn't be by yourself." Robert placed his arm around her shoulder, "Do not worry. I'll protect you from any harm."
Christine rolled her eyes. Robert was attractive, but too gullible in her opinion. She almost scoffed at his sentiment. The Phantom of the Opera was dead. He was also impertinent, placing his arm around her in such an offhand manner. However, she reconsidered, if the Vicomte were to try anything, it would be good to have some gentleman to have as protection.
She lifted her head up and with wide, innocent eyes looked at him, "Is that a promise, Monsieur?"
Christine congratulated herself when she saw him blush.
"Of course," Robert asserted. He grinned mischievously, "From this moment on, we shall be inseparable."
Christine giggled. So, she had found her protection. At least, he was handsome protection. If the Vicomte tried anything, Robert would be there to protect her.
Her happiness was short-lived though. At that moment, Madame Giry found her.
"Christine," she stated the warning evident in her voice. Even Robert flinched away at hearing it. He removed his arm from Christine's shoulder and stood up as Christine did as well.
Madame Giry was practically glaring at the girl. She noticed that Robert's arm had been around her shoulder and did not approved of it at all. Christine was quite the busy girl. She was also not pleased when Robert did not leave.
Robert noticed the glare move to him. "I am now Christine's personal chaperone so that the Phantom of the Opera will not get to her," he explained hurriedly.
Madame Giry considered this new information. She nodded her head in satisfaction. If someone else were with her, at least she couldn't do anything stupid. That of course is hoping that Robert was not stupid to begin with. She looked at him critically. Previously, he had seemed a sensible young man and Madame Giry hoped he was.
"I am giving Christine a punishment," she stated to him, "for breaking the last punishment she received. Twice."
Robert nodded. He looked at Christine dubiously. She had seemed a nice girl, but he was having his doubts. He couldn't go back on his word though and intended to keep her safe from harm. He hoped that he wouldn't get on Madame Giry's bad side as well though.
"Her last punishment had been to remain in her room unless she had rehearsal or a meal to attend. That punishment lasted less than a day," Madame Giry scowled at the girl. Christine wanted to hide from that look, but she knew it would only get her into more trouble, "That punishment is being altered. You are to report to rehearsals in the morning. If you are not on that stage before I arrive, then you will be staying later for chores yet to be decided by me. Once your rehearsals are complete, you will report to me immediately. You will remain with me for the rest of the afternoon until the ballet girls have finished practicing. Then you will help the sewers mend and adjust all the costumes. Not only those that you will be wearing but those which the others will be wearing. Once that task is complete, we will find you a new chore to assist. Then you will have dinner. If you were late in the morning, then you will complete that chore before going to your room to sleep."
Christine winced as she heard her punishment. She could not wake earlier than Madame Giry. She was sure to have more chores by the end of the day. It wasn't fair.
Madame Giry too did not completely appreciate the punishment. It meant that she would have to watch Christine for half of the day, but that was the only manner she could ensure that she would not get herself into mischief. She turned her attention to the young man, "As her chaperone, I expect you will need to be available throughout the day to ensure she not get lost or worse yet get caught by the Opera Ghost."
Robert nodded mutely. He wondered what Christine did to deserve such punishment, but he figured that this would give him an opportunity to win Christine's heart. So, he readily agreed.
"For the rest of the afternoon, I expect you to remain in your room," Madame Giry instructed Christine. To Robert, she added, "And I expect you to bring her. If you are to remain as her companion, you will remain outside her door unless you have a chaperone. It will not do to have a man in a woman's bedroom. Understand?"
Robert nodded, then took Christine's arm and practically dragged her along.
o.o.o.o
0.0.0.0
o.o.o.o
The next few days passed relatively uneventful as everyone needed to recuperate.
Christine was busy with chores, and true to his word, Robert was there by her side to chaperone her throughout the day.
Raoul slept most of the day away, biding his time before he could start to move again.
Erik lay perfectly still, also sleeping most of the day. It was quickly beginning to hurt less and less when he breathed. He knew he could heal rather quickly since not much could actually hurt him.
It was to be the quiet before the storm.
o.o.o.o
A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!
Okay, sorry about the verb tenses. It was really throwing me off because I've been writing in past tense right? Then when I was doing dialogue, it didn't sound write when I was writing in past tense, so I wrote it in present tense. Trust me, I'm completely confused, but really though. I changed it to past tense like it should be and it doesn't flow correctly, but a story should really only be in one tense. I tried to change it all but I doubt I did it completely. So, I apologize for the mistakes you find.
Yes, yes, you want some Erik/Raoul action right… well that's next chapter. Get ready for it, but we'll see what happens, right?
And then there's that infamous letter. We'll find out how it'll screw with Raoul later on… don't worry I haven't forgotten about it.
What else is there to say? I'm letting time go by so that Raoul and Erik can heal before I mess with them again.