Author's Note: Thank you once again to all my reviewers! Your kind words really mean a lot to me:) I hope I don't disappoint any of you with this chapter. I know the title of this chapter sounds a bit childish, but it's getting difficult blending Snow White and Phantom together. I'm wanting the darkness of Phantom, but still keep the innocence of Snow White, while writing with the feel of a fairy tale. Okay, I should stop rambling and get on with the story already. ;)
Oh! What a cute little chair. Why, there's seven little chairs. Must be seven little children. And from the look of this table, seven untidy little children.
Now, on with the fairy tale...I mean, story. :)
All was dark. The soft, sweet sound of a music box could be heard in the distance. Christine still felt sore from the journey she endured earlier that day, but she was no longer cold. Her eyes fluttered open and she realized she was lying in a luxurious bed, surrounded by dark reds and black velvet. A movement caught her attention and she lazily leaned her head to the side. She was just able to see beyond the black sheer canopy a monkey playing tiny, golden cymbals. A slow, sad lullaby Christine had been sleeping to.
She tugged on a large tassel above her head and the canopy gently lifted. Who has brought me to this beautiful fortress? she pondered, as she forgot about the music box altogether and began to look about the bedroom with amazement. It was beautiful, but was strangely decorated. Very few candles were lit, so the room was left in a dark, haunting glow, but Christine no longer felt scared as she did in the never-ending tunnels. The furniture were all of dark woods and foreign carpets laid on the ground underneath her feet. Hundreds of red roses consumed the entire room and left off a sweet, comforting scent in the thickair. A large armoire stood across the room and when Christine looked inside, she found men's clothing.
Christine bit her lip and began to worry. She was confused as to where she was or who exactly was her captor. She tried with difficulty remembering the events and what happened before she passed out, but everything was a blur. She remembered crying out for her father...and her angel. She remembered laying down on the ground in a helpless heap. That's when she found herself, instead of on the cold floor, in a bed...here. Someone saved her in that dark and dank hallway, but who?
Small feet carried her across the room as she reached for the knob of the door. Being as quiet as she could, she turned the knob and pushed the door open enough to look out. If her room was extraordinary looking, well, then the rest of the house was just plain abnormal! Instead of normal walls that served as protection for a family in a home, sharp jagged cave walls surrounded Christine on all four sides. The place was very large and sloped downward to meet a vast, glassy lake, the waves lapping at the shore.
But what Christine noticed beyond anything else was most unnerving. Candles upon dozens of candles aligned the walls, were placed on tables and even sat on the floor. Music scores were strewn everywhere, dangerously close to being burned from the fire. Ink bottles were toppled over many places and the liquid was intimidating the white parchment with its deadly black stain. Massive pipes were sticking out amidst piles of paper, which laid on top of what Christine assumed was the organ itself. A musician must live here! she thought excitedly. But, oh my, what a messy musician he must be! Christine giggled to herself slightly, absolutely horrified by the mess that laid before her. He must have left for the day, too busy to realize he left his home in such a state. This composer must have been the one who saved me, Christine decided.
Christine began to whistle a soft tune as she tidied up the mess before her. If I can't thank him in person, maybe he'll be grateful enough that I cleaned his home for him. It's the least I can do. Christine closely examined the music scores as she neatly stacked them in piles on top of the large desk. "What beautiful music!" Christine exclaimed aloud.
Hours passed before the entire task was complete, but Christine was satisfied with the finished product. The home, if you could call this odd place a home, looked much more lovely and cozy then before.
Christine slowly walked back to the bedroom. She realized there was nothing more that needed to be done. She would leave, but the lake was serving as a gate, preventing her from escaping, and where she had looked, there wasn't a boat anywhere. I guess I will wait for the composer to return, she sighed and laid back onto the bed, the day's work getting the best of her.
Reinmund carried a bright torch above his head, while another four men followed behind, but stopped suddenly when he came to two separate tunnels, one leading off in one direction, one heading in the other. "Now, which way was home again? Left or right?" The old man pondered this for a moment. "I'm pretty sure it was right."
"No, Reinmund! It was left, I just know it!" Julien announced, tripping over his own two feet and grabbing onto the man in front before crashing to the ground.
"Quiet, Julien! You'll anger the Master!" Reinmund advised the short, young man lying at his feet and the other who was the unfortunate victim to the fall. "Oh, dear." Phillippe blushed, before jumping to his feet.
"Don't tell me we're lost again. I want to get home already," Noé said, letting out a wide yawn.
"Quiet, all of you! We'll just go my way, which was left. No, I mean right. Yes, right. That has to be right." Reinmund continued, taking the right passageway.
All the men sighed a relief when they met a misty lake, little lights dancing in the water from the reflected candles. The men circled the water, taking the almost invisible tunnel which went around the perimeter of the lake.
"Oh, my. What happened to the master's desk? It's...organized now," Reinmund realized, taking a good look at the change.
The jolly old man in the back laughed to himself, his big belly jiggling up and down, "Perhaps the master has changed his ways and decided to tidy up a bit!"
Reinmund shook his head, "No, that's not it. The master wouldn't do such a thing. Someone else has definitely been here before us."
"And by the looks of it, it was a girl!" Julien said, pointing stupidly at the vase of roses placed on top of the desk. Phillippe blushed profusely.
Reinmund gulped. "Now, women...I mean men, this is no time to panic. There must have been a mistake..." All of the short men turned around suddenly at the sound of loud snoring, only to find Noé snoozing in the Master's chair. "Get off of there, you fool!" They all shouted and Noé snorted and woke up, gazing up at all of them sleepily.
"Look! The door to the Master's secret room is open!" Hilaire announced, pointing to the bedroom door, which was in fact, ajar. All men tiptoed towards the open door and peered inside. "Oh, the Master isn't going to like this at all!" Phillippe stuttered.
"Shush! We must be very quiet!" Reinmund said, a chubby finger over his lips. Once all men were inside, Julien gasped, "What a wonderful secret room!" He smiled stupidly.
"So, wait a minute, the Master's secret room is...his bedroom?" Reinmund looked at the other men and they all shrugged in response.
"Look!" Hilaire yelled and pointed towards the bed. All the rest of the men's eyes followed in the direction of Hilaire's finger. Something was underneath a large, thick red blanket, moving in a slow motion, until finally it started to sit up. A groan sounded from somewhere inside the beast and it began to reach forward.
Reinmund let out a high pitched screech, "Oh, no! It's the Red Death! Run, men!"
Author's Note: All right, first off, I'd like to say that I'm going to include these explanations at the end of my chapters still, even though one of my readers is unhappy with it. This chapter really needs one!
So, anyway, this chapter was based off the part in Snow White where she cleans the Seven Dwarves' home, then falls asleep in their bed. The seven men return and find their home cleaner than it usually (well, never) is. They then discover Snow White sleeping in their beds, but at first glance they think it's a ghost. Now, in my story, there is only going to be five men, not seven; Happy, Doc, Dopey, Bashful, and Sleepy. I didn't want someone competing with Erik, so I left Grumpy out, even though he's my favorite. ;) And I left Sneezy out because, well, he just really didn't fit in and it was starting to become too difficult taking care of so many different characters!
I really hope all of you enjoyed this chapter! I know it's a little short, but I really enjoyed writing it, especially the ending. Now, it's up to all of you to guess who is who? I think I made it a little obvious with one of them. :)