A Walk In the Yard
Christine smiled as the sun caressed her face, it was a beautiful day despite the cold. She turned to see Erik watching her. She offered him a smile and turned back to look at the snowy ground in front of her.
"Its really beautiful," she commented, "when everything is covered in snow like this…I've always loved the snow. Ever since I was a little girl."
"It is lovely," he agreed.
"When I was really little I used to have snow fights with my father. It was a lot of fun, and then we'd go inside and have hot cocoa."
"It sounds fun," Erik said softly.
"It was," Christine said, "until I got a face full of snow. Then I'd cry, and papa would rush over to make sure I was alright…I'm really grateful that you let me visit him last night. It was very kind of you."
"Everyone deserves to see their family," Erik reasoned
Christine smiled and continued to walk with Erik following behind her. She glanced back a few times to see if he was still there, he made no sound when he walked so it was difficult to tell otherwise. He was always there, walking quietly, eyes trained on the ground in front of him. She found it strange that he didn't even try to make conversation.
After a while Christine stopped and turned to look at Erik, who looked up as if puzzled as to why she had stopped. She looked around and took out a small handful of seed from her pocket. She spread some of it on the ground before her and several sparrows fluttered down from the trees to peck at it. She smiled and turned to Erik, who was standing a few feet behind her. She offered him a handful of the seed.
"I don't think that-"
"Here," Christine said, opening her palm and allowing the birds to eat out it, "its fun, try it."
Erik sighed and opened his hand, allowing Christine to pour the seed into his gloved hand. A small bird flittered over and landed in it, hopping forward tentatively to peck at the seed. Christine could swear that he was smiling beneath the mask.
She spread the rest of the seed on the ground and started to walk again, leaving Erik with the small flock of birds. That was when she got the idea and bent over to scoop up a handful of snow. It was perfect, she packed it together, forming a small ball in her hands. Erik had just thrown the rest of the seed and was turning to follow her again when the snow ball collided with his shoulder. Christine covered her mouth as she giggled, he looked stunned.
"I couldn't resist," Christine explained.
"No?" Erik asked, crouching and picking up his own handful, "well then, how could I be expected to resist?"
Christine gave a small gasp as she was showered with the cold wet snow. She had never expected him to fight back. She scooped up another handful and threw it at him. It bounced of his arm, causing him to drop the snowball that he had. He looked up and shot her a gentle glare and she ran to the nearest tree to hide behind.
The fight went on for a few minutes before Erik collapsed into the snow. Christine frowned slightly when he didn't move for a moment and then walked over to him. He cracked open his eyes to look at her, chest rising and falling as he panted.
"Are you alright?" Christine asked, suddenly feeling concerned.
"I am fine," he assured her, sitting up and brushing some of the snow that hadn't melted from his front.
"That's good," Christine said, sitting down beside him, "I thought maybe you were hurt."
"Just tired," Erik sighed.
"Oh…" Christine said, then flopped back into the snow and spread her arms and legs apart, "a snow angel."
Erik made a thoughtful noise in his throat, "Its very nice."
"You make one," Christine said.
Erik sighed and laid back in the snow and mimicked her before rolling off to the side, "There."
Christine smiled, "Come one, lets go inside. I'm soaked."
Erik nodded and followed her back into the castle. There they went to the library and lit a fire in the large hearth. Christine found a book amongst the shelves and sat down as close to the fire as she dared, inviting Erik to sit beside her before opening the book.
"Should I read it out loud?" she asked.
Erik nodded his head, "Yes, I would like that very much."
"Well I'll be," Antoinette said, looking at the scene before her.
"What?" Nadir asked, turning to see what she found so interesting, "well…this is very interesting."
"I'd say that they are getting along fairly well," Antoinette murmured, "wouldn't you?"
"I have never seen him act in such a manner," Nadir said thoughtfully.
"Neither have I…they came in soaking wet and he started the fire himself."
"Ah, there would be an explanation for that," Nadir said, "little Meg said that she saw them having a snow fight."
"A snow fight?" Antoinette repeated with a small laugh, "well, I'll be. I would never have thought…come, let us get supper started."
Nadir gave a small smile and nodded, "Yes, lets leave those two alone for a while."
Christine closed the book with a soft thud and laid it on the ground beside her. She gave a soft smile to Erik. Who was sitting beside her, seemingly half asleep. He didn't return the smile, but stood up groggily, stretching to get the small kinks out of his back and neck.
"I didn't have to read for so long," Christine said sheepishly, "you could have asked me to stop."
"It was fine," Erik said.
"Dinner is served," Meg said, entering the library.
Erik gave an almost irritated wave of his hand, "Very well."
Erik was a mystery to Christine. It was true that he could be kind and gentle, he demonstrated that on many occasions, and had even taken to asking her to sing for him. She accepted every time, glad to have the chance to hear his magnificent music and even more amazing voice. But no matter how kind he was, his ungovernable temper had the nasty habit of showing through, and he often became angry with the servants.
"He really isn't that bad," Meg said, after one of Erik's tantrums, "he just loses his temper from time to time."
"How can you say that?" Christine asked, "I don't think I've ever seen somebody with such conflicting emotions…he goes from extreme to another so quickly."
"Hmm, I guess so…truthfully his temper seems to be getting worse as of late. He's been awfully short with maman and Monsieur Khan."
"Oh?"
"Mmm hmm, haven't you noticed?"
"I guess so…I mean I don't see him with them a lot. But something does seem different, and I cannot put my finger on it. He's been missing meals lately."
"That isn't entirely odd," Meg assured her, "he doesn't eat a lot. I think he may be getting more comfortable with the idea of you living here, so he's letting you be a bit. You know, not keeping such a close eye on you."
"I guess…I think I'm going to go find him. Maybe he would like to go for a walk."
"I think he's in the music room…either that or the West Wing."
"If he's there then I won't bother him," Christine said with a small shiver, "I learned hat the hard way."
Christine left her room and made her way towards the music room. She didn't hear him playing, but that didn't mean he wasn't there. It seemed that he spent a lot of time in there writing music as well as playing the various instruments. So she knocked on the door and waited for a reply.
"Yes?" Erik asked sharply.
"I wondered if you would like to go for a walk," Christine said, deterred slightly by his tone, "but if you are busy then-"
"No," Erik interrupted, "I would like that very much, Christine."
Christine gave a small smile, unsure as to his temper. But she reminded herself that he never seemed to lose it with her. In fact, he was always a gentleman, if not slightly shy. The day was fairly warm, as spring was coming soon and Christine was glad for it. She was tired of the frigid air and constant snow.
"There will be flowers in the garden, won't there?" she asked, looking at the dormant rose bushes.
"Many flowers," Erik replied quietly.
"What sorts? I can see that there are rose bushes, but what else?"
"I do not know all of their names," Erik replied, leaning on the garden wall, "just that there are many of them."
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter what they are called. It must be beautiful though."
"Mmm," Erik said, frowning and touching his forehead, "quite…"
"Are you feeling alright?" Christine asked.
"Just a headache," Erik replied.
"We can go back inside if you aren't feeling well."
"Perhaps that would be best," Erik agreed.
