Disclaimer: All things tied to the amazingly sexy Phantom of the Opera are (regretfully) not mine.
AN: Things fast forward quite a bit in this chapter. I think that people have waited long enough for the movie to kick in, and it will in chapter 10. Enjoy the chapter, and please review!
Chapter 8: The Passing of Time & Disturbing Discoveries:
Years passed, and the friendship that had begun so unusually between Marie Daae and Erik had blossomed into something that neither one could ever imagine being without.
Although the idea of a man and woman becoming close friends was viewed as (at best) scandalous, the two of them didn't really care since no one knew about their friendship in the first place. Marie was happy to have found someone to entertain her rather than her entertaining them, as she frequently did with the ballet rats. Erik, meanwhile, was merely glad that she never ran away screaming whenever he removed his mask or (very rarely) lost his temper. He was also pleased to have found someone to share his music and his secret activity as the Phantom with.
During the passage of time, a set of traditions had gradually formed between the pair, and both were always looking forward to those special days they could celebrate together. Neither one knew (or really cared about) who, exactly, had come up with most of the traditions, but the usual birthday and Christmas gifts were always seen to by both parties from the very start. In actuality, traditions can be started even when one does not think about intentionally starting one.
One tradition they had was tea together. The first afternoon tea that Erik had practically dragged Marie to had evolved into something that now happened at least twice a week. Although it ran the risk of her being missed by the ballet rats and (even more frightening) by Madame Giry, Marie was willing to face all of that for a single mentally stimulating conversation with her friend. The little girls (who were quickly becoming older girls) where becoming a bit too silly and rather frustrating to be around, and the teas she had with Erik were a blessing to her mind and her nerves.
Another tradition that pleased them both was celebrating the anniversary of their acquaintance, a tradition which began spontaneously six months into their friendship. Erik, after returning Marie to her room one night after tea, had realized the amount of time that had passed since they had become friends, and had wanted to do something special in remembrance. Upon returning to his lair, Erik had been unable to think of anything beyond giving her flowers, which he had quickly rejected since he had already done so once before.
Instead, he decided to do something better and spend a bit of the money he had embezzled from the Opera managers. When the streets of Paris were dark and only a few shops were still open, Erik had decided to brave both the streets and the risk of public discovery to purchase something for his dear friend. He had quickly slipped inside an expensive-looking store filled with gifts to please a woman's eye. There, Erik purchased a lovely palm-sized porcelain jewelry box. Painted red and white roses covered the sides and top, and gold plating had been delicately placed along the edges of the piece.
When he had presented the gift to her, the surprise and joy in Marie's dark brown eyes had more than been worth being caught by someone. She had even hugged him, which had nearly stopped Erik's heart in his chest. He knew that she had never been given anything this fine and expensive, and had decided on the spot that he would, from then on, present her with beautiful gifts whenever there was a significant day in either their friendship or her life.
Sure enough, six months later, on the one-year anniversary of their friendship, Erik had made the shocking discovery that Marie had no jewelry of any sort. Upset that the jewelry box that he had purchased was going unused, Erik had bought his friend a delicate bracelet of three kinds of silver threads woven artfully together. Touched by the gesture, Marie had promised Erik that, even though she would have to hide the bracelet to prevent any suspicions of it from Madame Giry, she would treasure and wear it whenever she could before storing it in her rose-painted jewelry box. Erik had smiled and replied that, as long as either gift saw some use, he would be happy.
With that said and done, Marie, in turn, had done her best to produce gifts for him that she felt would fit his likes and personality. Unlike Erik and his seemingly endless finances, though, she did not have much money to spare, even though she had been paid for her services since she had begun work at the Opera House. Most of her hard-earned money was put aside for emergency use, and to provide her and Christine with clothes and other necessities. After all, Madame Giry alone could not be expected to pay for the needs of three young women, two of which were not really her daughters!
Instead, Marie had crafted gifts that she felt Erik could use, mostly embroidered handkerchiefs and shirts, and an occasional box of candy that she knew he would enjoy. On very special occasions or significant days, she would give him a decorated mask that he could wear when he felt like really scaring the ballet rats. These were mostly cloth masks with designs in either sparkling sequins or threads, all of it fit together to catch a wayward eye and to terrify the onlooker when they looked directly at the mask and its wearer. Since these were difficult for her to design and give, Erik was always delighted to receive them, and enjoyed a good laugh whenever he was successful in frightening an Opera House worker or performer.
When they weren't meeting for tea or to celebrate a special day related to their friendship, the two did their best to lead normal lives…well, as normal as one could get, being either an Opera Ghost or the close friend of one. In the mornings, Marie helped with many of the corps de ballet classes, since she knew all of the dancers from her own age down to the newest little girls. Her afternoons were spent in the back rooms, taking inventory of fabrics and materials for the opera costumes, since the costume mistresses refused to let the ballet mistress have her for too long. She would then go to her rooms, listen to Christine practice her singing while having a cup of warm milk, and say goodnight to her little sister before going to sleep.
Erik's day tended to be far more erratic, since he was able to do whatever he wished, whenever he felt like it. He composed and played music, created the intricate little models of the latest operas, and painted, drew, or wrote notes to various people within the Opera Populaire. If he was feeling sad or lonely, a quick trip to the flies above the stage while Marie was supervising the dancers easily brought a smile to his face.
Yes, life was good for the two friends, but there was one thing that had always plagued the back of Marie's mind, a question that she had longed to ask Erik from the very beginning of their friendship, but had never found the courage to do so. As time went on, she frequently found herself forgetting to ask until it was nothing but a faded wisp in the back of her memory, occasionally coming forth whenever something reminded her of its existence. Of course, by the time she recalled it, her day with Erik was over, and by the time they met again, the question was long forgotten.
Some things, however, cannot stay forgotten for very long, despite the passage of time. Occasionally, Fate has a way of bringing things to light, and it is not always pleasant.
Marie laughed as Christine opened her birthday gift. The party for Christine's 18th birthday had finished hours ago, but Marie had told her sister that she would receive her gift after the two of them were alone. Christine had pouted, but when Meg had run up to her and shoved a plate of sweets into her hands, the matter was quickly forgotten. Now, with the party over and the two of them alone in their rooms, Marie watched with an apprehensive eye as her sister tore the simple white paper wrapping from the small wooden box in a hurry to see what it was her sister had given her. A gasp and a loving glance from Christine was all that was needed to assure her love of the gift.
"A locket?" Christine gasped, unclasping it and quickly moving to kneel in front of her sister, so that she may put it on.
"Not just any locket," Marie said, her heart swelling with pride at her gift and love as she fastened the locket in place. "Look inside."
Christine quickly slid a thumbnail into a small groove in the side and clicked it open. Inside was a painting of their father, his lovely gray eyes staring out at them in love, hope, and happiness. Though Christine's back was to her, Marie knew from the sniffing sounds coming from her sister's face that she was holding back tears. A few moments later, after Christine had controlled herself, she turned around to face the only member of her family that she had left.
"The photo of Papa was getting faded, so I paid one of the set designers paint this for you, so that you can carry him next to your heart always," Marie said, smiling as she gently stroked her sister's face.
"Now he will be with me no matter where I am," Christine said in a delighted whisper. "I'll carry him with me even when my Angel of Music is not with me!"
The reference to Christine's childhood imaginary savior chilled Marie's blood in her veins. She had not thought about the "apparition" of her sister's creative mind since she had met Erik. Oddly enough, the topic had stopped coming up in conversations, even though Christine continued to sing to her older sister at night. Marie had simply thought that the lessons were coming from the vocalists around the Opera House, and since the "Angel of Music" no longer was mentioned, she had assumed that it had vanished when Christine had become accustomed to living at the Populaire.
'Apparently I was wrong,' she thought angrily as she kissed her sister goodnight and left for her own room for the evening.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. Hadn't Erik told her that he knew everything that went on in the Opera House? He had said that it was his business to spy on everyone and to see and hear everything that was happening, so perhaps he knew what was going on with this "Angel of Music" that still forced itself on Christine's mind. Erik was sure to know who was taking advantage of her sister, and he would be able to help her stop them. All she would have to do was remember to ask him as soon as she next saw him…
Erik bit back a curse as he overheard Christine speak about his existence as her Angel of Music. Years ago, after he had first befriended Marie, he had asked her naive younger sister to keep his existence as the Angel secret, primarily in hopes of Marie forgetting that the Angel had ever existed. All he had needed was for time to fade it from her memory, and everything would be perfect. He did not need Marie to discover that the man she trusted as a friend was leading her sister to believe he was an Angel sent by their dead father. If he were revealed as such, she would wish to never see or speak to him again, and Erik knew he could not bear to lose the only true friend he had ever had.
And now Christine had to innocently remind Marie of his existence. That simple reminder put his friendship with Marie in danger, and there was no way he could possibly lie to her if she were to ask him anything about it. Marie knew everything about him, from his childhood and the cage in the gypsy camp, to Madame Giry discovering him and bringing him to his sanctuary at the Opera House. He could not let her trust in him be betrayed by this one lie.
He made his resolve. If she asked him, he would answer…truthfully.
The next day, Marie went down to meet her friend for afternoon tea, as usual. However, today she was on a mission, and she would lay it in front of him before they were both too lost in good food and drink to even function properly. She had to do this for Christine's sanity and peace of mind, if nothing else, and to make sure that whoever was taking advantage of her would stop at once. It would break her sister's heart, but this fantasy of hers could not go on for much longer. They had been at the Opera House for over eleven years, and it was time for this game of make-believe to come to an end.
Slipping into the underground cavern, Marie heard Erik humming a tune as he prepared the tea settings. This would mean that he was in a good mood today; if the day had gone poorly, Erik would be busy ranting and cursing things in Latin and other foreign languages, which would make Marie thankful that she could not understand what he was saying. If he had been angry, Marie would have instantly turned and left, knowing that to speak to him at that point in time was a bad idea.
"Erik?" she called, and was thankful to receive an instantaneous response from the kitchen.
"Yes, petite ange?" he called, using the nickname he had given her.
'Little Angel indeed…because I am so short,' she thought smiling before recalling why she was here. "Erik, I need to speak with you before I have to leave again!"
Erik immediately poked his head out of the kitchen. "Leave?" he asked, green eyes turning sad.
Marie gave him a smile. "I would have told you sooner, but I did not know when I would be able to catch you," she said. "I'm afraid Madame Giry has a few new dance steps that she needs me to help the older dancers perform, so I will have to miss tea today."
Erik sighed, but his disappointment soon faded to understanding. She knew that, at times like this, he would have liked to use his power as the Ghost and say some choice words to the ballet mistress, but the last thing they needed was for Madame to come down here to yell and lecture to the two of them. Besides, this was not the first time that she would have to miss tea; most of the food would keep for a while anyway, and her position at the Opera House depended on her being where she was needed.
"Very well," he said with a sigh, waving his hand towards the comfortable sitting area that was situated in a room behind his organ.
She followed him in and quickly accepted a seat, extremely glad that Erik had asked her to decorate this room so that it was more homely and inviting for sitting in. It had previously been a storage room filled with stacks of paper, quills, ink, and sealing wax, but was now a nicely decorated room with a blue-and-silver theme. Even Erik had been happy with her taste in décor and the results of her efforts.
Once her friend had accepted a seat as well, Marie took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.
"Erik, I know that you know most, if not all, of the happenings within the Opera House," she said, her words slow and hesitant. "I need you to help me discover something that has been troubling me for years, and something I have not been able to discover the answers to on my own. I do not have the time to do this, nor the money to finance it, so you might say that you are my only hope."
Erik leaned forward in his chair. "Whatever you need, petite, I will do for you," he said, his eyes flashing with determination. "You have already done so much for me, the least I could do is return the favor. What is it you want me to accomplish for you?"
Marie took a deep breath. "My sister, Christine, has always had a vivid imagination," she began, looking down at her hands. "After our father passed away and Madame Giry brought us to the Populaire, Christine began tell me about an Angel of Music that she believed our father had sent down from Heaven to help her."
"A few years after she had first spoken of it, Christine seemed to lose interest in her imagined Angel until it got so she never spoke about it again. I thought that she had completely forgotten it, but it seems that Christine had merely stopped talking to me about it, as though she did not want me to know that it still existed." Marie sighed and began to rub her eyes with her hand.
"I need this to stop, Erik," she whispered, pulling her hand away from her eyes and looking up at her friend. "I think that someone may be taking advantage of Christine's innocent mind and I have to stop them. My sister is a sweet girl, but her mind is very much innocent of the evils outside the Opera House, and I fear that someone may be preying on that innocence."
Her brown eyes begged for his aid. "Will you help me?"
Erik's heart had stopped the moment that his friend had mentioned her sister and the Angel of Music in the same breath. It was too soon to tell Marie the truth, but he could not hide it from her forever; she was bound to find out somehow, and then it would be too late. If she should follow Christine to one of his meetings with her and heard the Angel of Music sing or speak, she would surely recognize his voice, and then things would be even worse than if he should tell her himself.
'Marie would likely put a stop to Christine's singing lessons,' said a panicked voice in his mind.
That could not happen. Christine had the voice of an angel, a voice that could make his music take flight, soaring on glorious wings into the minds and hearts of a captive opera audience. It was a talent that few possessed, and one that should not be let go easily. In many ways, she brought his music to life, and he could not let such a precious thing wither and die in front of him.
In his mind, Erik knew he could make Christine a star, one of the greatest that the Populaire had ever known, a star that could rival all of the greatest singers in Europe and the Americas! She had grown up marvelously, with brown curls that shone in any light and her lovely gray eyes that sparkled with an innocence that he found endearing. Marie had lost much of that innocence in caring for her sister and the ballet rats, but Christine seemed to have it in abundance.
It was time to make a choice, but he knew not which one to make. Whether he told her the truth or not, Marie was going to be furious with him for "toying" with her sister's mind and beliefs, and might even tell her sister what had actually been happening all those years. It would tear Erik's heart to shreds if one or both of the Daae girls ended their bond with him, and he didn't know if he would be able to hold onto his sanity if he lost the two most central people in his life in one stroke.
Sighing, Erik closed his eyes and prepared himself. For better or worse, the truth would have to be told, and it would have to be told now. It might break him, but he would beg for forgiveness and do anything he had to in order to keep both young women in his life.
He opened his mouth and took a deep breath.
AN: Uh, oh, cliffhanger! Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review, it let's me know how I'm doing and whether people are enjoying the story or not. Thanks!
