WEEEE!
'NOTHER UPDATE!
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I read 'Wicked' until it was an acceptable time to go to sleep. I had kept glancing over at the clock every few seconds, willing it to hurry up.
Finally the electronic numbers morphed into a one, a zero: zero, and zero.
I put the book down onto the bedside table and got up, changing into my pajamas before crawling into bed, clicking my lamp off.
I had already read so much that my eyes had seemed ready to shut any second, but now that I had gotten up and torn my eyes from the pages of the book, I wasn't so tired anymore.
I lay in the darkness for a few more moments, before getting up again to go to my stereo, putting in Josh Groban, a secret favorite of mine. I turned the volume down low, and got back into bed, catching strains of 'Alla Luce Del Sole.'
My eyes closed, and I hummed along with the track, slowly falling asleep…
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I opened my eyes, not too surprised to see Erik's looming shape in front of me, thundering music out of his precious organ.
I recognized part of 'Music of the Night' and hummed along with his playing, making him stop suddenly.
"Guess who's back?" I said, flashing a huge fake smile.
"Couldn't you tell I was busy?" he asked irritably, turning to face me, who still had the smile plastered on.
"Nope. Can't tell a thing of what's going on when I'm at home." I said, moseying over to the Organ and leaning against it, clearly starting to make Erik angry.
"Off." He said, indicating to my arm which was resting on a few sheets of music. After I moved it he asked "And what do you want, anyway?"
I smiled again. "Glad you asked, buddy." I said, sitting down next to him on the bench, clearly disturbing him by my sudden friendliness. "You see, I need to ask you something…" I started, but I was cut off.
"No, I will not help you return from the dead; although that would certainly clear my name…"
I made a buzzer sound. "Wrong. I need to know if Francois is still here in Paris."
Erik thought for a moment before saying, "No, I haven't seen him in a while."
I groaned. I had really hoped that I wouldn't have to resort to bringing the whole crowd back with me. "Well that's just great." I muttered.
"Why?"
"I was just going to murder him here, but now that he's back home… Oh my God…" I stopped, realizing the danger Ethan was in.
"Erik, I need your help again. And you're going to help whether you like it or not!"
"What?" he spluttered, but I ignored him, standing up.
"Erik, get me the hell out of this bat cave and up to the main floors. I've just got to see everyone." I demanded, pulling him after me, and shoving him over to the little boat dock.
It gave me a headstrong feeling that I was actually pushing Erik around, but it vanished immediately after he turned around and grabbed my wrists.
"You're not going to make me do anything I don't want to do." He snarled, then let go of me, pushing me away from him.
I stumbled, and then corrected myself.
"Fine… fine, I'll do it myself." I said, swiftly walking past him, and climbing into the boat. I was definitely not going to let him stop me from getting all the help I could get.
"Fine by me." He said, going back to his organ.
"Damn you." I said, struggling with the oar.
It was much harder than it looked, and I was on the verge of falling out of the damned gondola.
I slowly and painfully made my way to the other shore, cursing Erik and his stupid lake house. I rambled out of the boat and ran down the corridors, up the stairs, and to the end of the tunnels, where the dressing room was.
I looked through the glass, into the empty room before me.
I felt my fingers along the side of the gilded frame, feeling for the little latch. I got hold, and threw my weight against the mirror, making it budge just a little bit.
I stepped back, breathing a little heavier than normal, before I heaved myself at the cursed mirror again.
The thing jerked to the side, making a loud screech just as the door to the room opened, showing a Christine who, in a tenth of a second, drained of all color seeing me in the evidently long unused doorway.
"Christine, I need your help." I said, stepping into the room.
She backed against the door in fear.
"Oh for God's sake…" I muttered, sick of everyone being afraid of me. "Christine, I'm not here to haunt you for all eternity. In fact, I can't haunt you for the fact I'm not dead."
"Wha…what?" she stuttered, disbelieving.
"Well, ok, I guess you could say I was officially murdered, but not by Erik, the opera ghost or Angel of Music as you know him by. It was Francois. He only pretended to be my beau just to get close enough to me to kill me.
"Now wipe that have dazed look of your face and believe me, Christine, because I need all the help I can get. I'm from the future and… no, listen to me… I had been in a bad accident, and came here in spirit form. Well the night of Don Juan, I met Francois in the depths of the abyss and he, essentially, murdered me, making my spirit go back to the year 2006.
"Remember what I said now; so now its three years or so after I left here, at least in my home time and Francois is back and trying to kill my friends. I need you and Meg and Madame Giry and Richard and Fredrikk and everyone else who will come to help me get rid of Francois. Do you understand?"
She nodded, but slowly.
I sighed, leaning back against the mirror frame.
"You must think I've lost my mind…" I said softly, wondering if I could possibly pull this off.
"No… Fleur, I do. Even though it makes you sound like you belong in an asylum, I believe you. It makes perfect sense. Now come, we have to get everyone." She smiled and pulled me through the door, leading me to the ballet dormitories, where we burst through the door, silencing every voice in the room.
Apparently not only the Corps was there, but as was the Chorus, and they were all staring horrified at me.
"Christine! How could you bring this ghost in here?" One voice demanded. It sounded like Hannah, but I couldn't be sure, because the air was full of shouts about bringing the devil's worker in here.
"No, no! Listen to her! She isn't a ghost! If she were a ghost, would I be able to hold her hand and pull her along through these doors?" She cried, the loudest I had heard her speak, ever.
The noise suddenly stopped, all trying to form a new reason.
"She could be fooling us. The Devil has that power." Said a random voice and another cried loudly "She's a witch!"
The people yelled their agreement and I knew I had to step in now.
"Oh shut up! All of you! You're speaking of me as though I am lowly scum off the street and not an old friend of yours! I am not a ghost, and am certainly not a witch either!" I shouted, making the people fall silent again.
"I am not a ghost because I never died, and am certainly not a witch, seeing as it is un-Godly. Now although after I tell you my story you may think I deserve to be locked up in an asylum for good, I beg of you to listen anyway. I am in desperate need; otherwise I would have kept sanctity and quiet, not bothering to fight against these terrible accusations." I spat at them, hoping they felt ashamed for the way they treated me.
They kept their quiet, and I paused for just one moment, wondering if I would be burned at the stake for telling them this. But who cares, I've already come this far. To chicken out would mean having to face Francois forever and ever.
And so I started with the now familiar… "My true given name is Katey Anne Douglas. I was born October 9th, 1992…" and spun my story, telling them everything I had to Erik and Paul Franklin.
I finished in just a few minutes to a stunned silence.
"Please believe me, it's the only way you can help!" I said desperately.
"She's a witch. The devil's spawn!" Yelled someone from the back. It took me a moment to realize who screamed it…Fredrikk.
"Please, you must understand! I wouldn't have come if it wasn't a matter of utmost emergency!" I cried to the now roaring crowd.
"Get out, Devil's Child!" Screamed a girl, and suddenly I felt hands shoving at me, making me fall back out of the room, landing roughly on my back, rolling over before skidding to a stop on my stomach a few feet away.
Christine came after myself, and landed in the same manner as I. A few seconds later Meg rushed out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
"Fleur, I didn't believe that story as well as anyone else did, but because you're my friend, I can't abandon you in a time of need. Come on, we'll take you to mother." She said, pulling first me, and then Christine up, and pulling us down the corridor to Madame Giry's room.
We burst in, startling Madame Giry, who had been working on needle point.
"What in Heavens name…" She said, putting down her work and standing up, staring unashamedly at me.
"Madame Giry, I've come to ask you a favor." I said, and then for what felt like the thousandth time, I recited my story.
By the time I had finished, Madame Giry had placed her hand over her heart and said "Oh" several times, but now stood with a firm look on her face.
"Well, when do you need us there by?" She asked, and I smiled. She truly believed me.
"If possible, tomorrow." I said, and described my bedroom, so they knew what to think of before they fell asleep tonight.
"And now, I think it is time I got back home. I fear that I might have slept in so much that my mother and father will think I've fallen ill again." I said, hugging Madame Giry.
"We'll see you in a few hours. It is nearly dark here." She said, hugging back.
"Goodbye!" I said, pulling back, and hugging Christine and Meg each in turn.
I stepped back and closed my eyes, feeling myself seem to float away.
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Oh boy! Looks like Meg, Madame Giry and Christine are going to come and help get rid of Francois!
Please Review, as always!