The Blood In My Veins
--The Circus…
Christine had awoken bright and early, her angelic curls fluttering in the wind as she made her tempered way towards the circus grounds. As she walked, her head held high, the gypsies who owned the disturbing establishment sneered at her proud form. One even had the gall to speak up and say,
"Prepare for life in a cage Madame!"
Her dainty steps led her straight towards Gustave's 'humble abode.' Reaching his side, she smiled faintly at his curled form. Christine's pale fingers reached through the bars and gently swept off the hair tussled upon his face. The emerald green eyes so similar to her own faintly shuddered before revealing themselves from beneath their weary lids. Instantly, a smile bloomed on the wounded and very thin boy and he weakly reached a hand up to grasp her own.
"Mommy…"
"My little Gustave, I pray that today you and I shall leave this horrid place together."
Gustave's smile widened and he wearily sat up to hold his mother closer. She embraced him for several moments before a very dark voice broke their hug.
"Very touching, now than, Miss Daae. Come with me and we shall set you up…"
Quickly placing a kiss to Gustave's forehead, Christine stood and followed the manager silently with a look of distain upon her face.
"Be ready to sing all day Miss Daae, and if you don't make enough money to triple your son's income than both of you shall be my star attraction…"
The manager's despicable and greedy smirk was almost enough to make Christine puke, but she kept herself under control by daydreaming about Erik and the boys laughing and playing together in a field of wild flowers. She hardly noticed when she was directed onto a small platform and ordered to sing. As she took a deep breath and prepared herself, she prayed to whatever god there was to let her voice set both her son and herself free.
--Still in the Managers' Office
Raoul was thoroughly pissed. Not only had the spoiled brat Son of the Phantom painted a giant donkey on his favorite shirt, but the little bastard was now doodling 'Jean was here' all over his face. To add insult to injury, he couldn't move and the punk continuously pointed this out. Unbeknownst to the young child, Raoul had long ago prepared for this kind of situation.
"You know Monsieur Viscount, a giant ass was one of the best drawings I could ever pick to suit you with. And the fact that-."
Jean's sentence was cut off by the powerful hand that grabbed his trachea. He choked and turned wide frightened eyes towards the dark form of a burly man. Another thinner man came around the large one and quickly cut through the rope keeping Raoul strapped to his seat.
"You seem to have forgotten you little bastard, I have my own personal army. Not to mention the fact that I never go anywhere without a plan of action. Now, where to put you…? Hmm, well I do believe torture is in order and then of course death, but well since we cannot stay here, let us leave shall we? Oh and Andre, Firman, thanks so much for sending for my army. I'll send over the money as soon as possible."
The bulkier of the two men whom still had a grasp on Jean moved to holding onto the collar of his shirt. As they exited the room Jean used all the strength in his lungs to shout.
"YOU BASTARDS! NO GOOD CHEAP ASS RATFINKS! SON OF BITCH MONSTROUS BUTT FACED JERKS! I'LL GET MY DAD I SWEAR IT! HE'LL SKIN THE TWO OF YOU LIKE THE PANSY-ASS BITCHES YOU ARE!"
Annoyed, Raoul signaled for the man to silence the boy and smirked when the man stopped, peeled off a sock and shoved it into Jean's mouth. The boy continued to shout, but naturally, the noise was muffled. The foursome left, a cackling Raoul the only noise besides Jean's silenced cries for help.
--At the Circus
Christine was exhausted. Her throat ached and her lungs felt as though they'd been rolled out with a rolling pin. Despite her pains though, her eyes twinkled with happiness as she took in the scene before her. The manager with all his greed had been outwitted by a thirty-four year old woman. Smirking, she took the tiny five-year-old hand presented to her.
"Well Miss Daae, it seems as though you've won the bargain."
"Yes Monsieur it defiantly seems that way. Now if you'll excuse me, Gustave and I shall be taking our leave."
Even Christine hadn't counted on making five times what Gustave had simply by singing. She had only sung for two hours before she made equal to what Gustave had first made. Honestly she wasn't expecting the manager to let her son and herself go, but the man was too wrapped up in his greed to notice that an opportunity of a lifetime was slipping through his fingers. Glad at the rare grasp at good luck, Christine let silent tears of joy trail down her cheeks as she pulled Gustave into her arms and walked towards the possibility of a new life.
--Somewhere Just Outside of France
Renée was nervous, well actually she was terrified. Raoul had returned with a small boy in his clutches and had ordered her not to question about it. Later in the evening, he had approached her while she sat reading a story to their three-year-old daughter. She had almost screamed in terror at the sight of blood covering his shirt, and his eyes were wide and had a frightening sheen to them that made her consider his sanity. He had ordered Fleur to go to bed and had roughly pulled Renée to her feet and led her to the cellar. Chained to the wall was the little boy Renée had seen earlier and she screamed when she saw him. Raoul suddenly clasped a hand to her mouth and angrily told her to shut up. The child's weary head suddenly snapped up, and Renée gasped at the sight of his amber eyes. She honestly had never seen eyes as beautiful as this boys'. Removing his hand, Raoul ordered her to take care of his injuries and left without so much as an explanation. In the musty darkness, Renée now sat before the poor boy and gently cleaned the deep cuts. He said not a word, but whimpered anytime she cleaned a particularly deep wound. Finally, Renée could take no more and spoke to the little boy in an effort to get him to tell her what was going on.
"My name's Madame DeChagny, can you tell me what your name is?"
The boy rolled his eyes and calmly leaned back before answering.
"I'm Jean Paul Destler."
"Oh…Um, can you tell me what happened to you? Did my husband rescue you?"
Jean rolled his eyes again and silently thought 'what a moron' before answering.
"That asshole didn't rescue me Madame that pansy was the one that did this to me."
"That-That can't be possible! Raoul is-."
"Raoul is an asshole and that's all there is to it! He's ruined my whole life, and when my Daddy gets his hands on him…well, let's just say Hell is gonna seem like paradise."
Tears were running down Jean's face as he leaned fully against the cold stonewalls and adjusted his position so that his aching limbs could rest from their uncomfortable chained feeling. Renée didn't know what to say and she wearily stood and quietly left the boy. She needed to get to the bottom of this, and she knew just who to inquire, Andre and Firman of the Opera Populaire.
End Chapter 19
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I worked hard on it and I hope to get some feedback. huggles Please Review and tell me what you think! New chapter will be submitted tomorrow!
