Child of Freedom

Chapter 10- The Ultimate Betrayal

It was a good thing that I left a trail to follow, Pierre thought as he followed a trail of string. For some reason he always kept bits of string in his pockets, and they had finally come in handy.

Pierre followed the trail until he came to dead end. He shined the torch in his hands on the roof. Lynaea cooed softly from inside the covered basket that Pierre held swung along his arm.

Pierre put the basket down on the ground and pushed the stone covering away. Then he carried himself and the basket up through the opening. Carefully, he closed the covering so it wouldn't echo through the tunnels below.

As soon as the covering was in place, Pierre put out the torch and left it under a pew in the sanctuary of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Then he picked up the basket and left the building.

-

Jacques Didier was not happy. Not only had The Hidden One been found, by the most unlikely of people, who now had her tucked away somewhere where he couldn't find her, but he had also had to break the news to his Master, who wasn't in the least bit happy to hear it.

Jacques recalled the conversation with distaste. He had personally seen to it that his Master get the report. He had refused to allow anyone else to deliver the message.

When he arrived, his Master was wearing a bathrobe, sitting casually in a comfortable, plush, armchair. A maid was filing his nails.

"Jacques Didier reporting, Master," he said, standing up straight. His master shooed away the maid.

"Well," he said. "What do you have to report?"

"I'm sorry, Master," Jacques said. "But The Hidden One was, well, hidden from us. We have no idea where her captor is and that faithless cook went with her. I think he has a crush on her." He bowed his head. "Forgive me, Master."

His Master's eyes flashed. "You're sorry?" He asked, standing up.

Jacques cowered against the doorframe. "There wasn't anything I could do to stop her," he whimpered. "She found the baby, like the cook said, but then she gave it to a babysitter, and he hasn't seen it since, although I'm sure that that girl as it." He shook with fear.

His Master was a slight man with colorless, white eyes and dark skin. Anyone who didn't look too closely would think that there was something different, or wrong with him. But those who did look closely would see that the man was blind. The scary thing was, though, that his hearing was so well defined that he would know where you were in the room, even if you were behind something. The man's hair was black, and his bathrobe was brown.

"Perhaps that cook will come through, after all, Master," Jacques whimpered when his master didn't say anything.

"Perhaps," was all his Master said. His Master waved a hand, and Jacques backed out the room, and left the building.

Jacques was pulled out of his thoughts by the doorbell to his brother-in-law's house ringing. The butler then led in the cook, Pierre. On the cook's arm was a covered basket.

"What did you do, steal the kidnapper's lunch?" Jacques asked sarcastically.

"Very funny," Pierre returned with his own sarcasm. He held up the basket. "I've brought something that belongs to The Master." He set the basket down on a side table and lifted the cover top. Inside, a round, brown face and big brown eyes, topped with tufts of black hair greeted Jacques.

He exclaimed in delight at this turn of events, and picked up the sleepy baby. He held her in his arms and let her suck on his finger tiredly. His Master would be very pleased.

"And that's not all," Pierre added, taking a seat. "I also know where her kidnapper is hiding." He smiled.

Jacques looked him with surprise. His Master would be very pleased, indeed. "I can lead some men there right now, if you'd like." Pierre offered. Then he exclaimed. "Oh! I almost forgot. I know who the babysitter is, and he's probably dead by now." He smiled triumphantly. "He was previously known as, The Phantom of the Opera, or Opera Ghost, and his real name is Erik. He lives underneath the Notre Dame Cathedral."

"This is news," Jacques mused, putting the baby back in the basket. "I'm surprised at you. I thought for sure that you had run off with that little floozy." Pierre turned re at this comment, but didn't respond.

Jacques stood up. "First I must tell My Master the news and bring him The Hidden One," he said.

"Erik and Rebecca call her Lynaea," Pierre commented.

"But that is not her name, remember?" Jacques asked sternly.

"Yes Monsieur." Pierre bowed his head. Then he looked up. "Might I come with," he asked. "Seeing as how I was the one who found her and told you all of this?"

"Very well," Jacques replied. They left immediately and headed for the Master's home.

--

Jacques checked himself before he entered the room in which his Master sat. Then he entered, with Pierre following. Jacques held the basket that contained the Hidden One.

"What is it now?" His Master asked without hesitation.

Jacques held out the basket. His Master took it and looked inside. The look on his face was one of sheer relief. He picked up the baby and held her in his arms. She seemed to know who it was that held her, and reached out her chubby little arms to his face. He put his face near that of the baby's, and she giggled as he let her touch his nose, eyes, and mouth.

"Um, Master?" Jacques asked, embarrassed. He had never seen his Master act so... nicely to someone. Jacques realized it was a baby, but really it was very strange behavior for his Master.

For some reason, the fact that his Master had a heart didn't comfort him. It only made him more afraid. The reason being that, if wronged, his Master was capable of hatred, and from hatred comes revenge. Revenge from someone without a heart is painful; revenge from someone with a heart is agony.

His Master put the baby in a bassinet that sat near the open window and faced the two men.

"Who found her?" He asked immediately and angrily.

"I did, Monsieur," Pierre offered tentatively. The Master beckoned to a servant. The servant approached and bent his head to hear what His Master had to say. The servant nodded and led Pierre out of the room. Jacques was left alone with his Master.

"Did you learn the location of the kidnapper's whereabouts?" His Master asked him. Jacques nodded, but then remembered that his Master couldn't see.

"Yes," he said.

"Good," his Master nodded his head. "You will go with some guards and find the kidnapper and bring her here." His white eyes glinted. "I want her alive," he said.

"Yes, Master." Jacques replied.

"What about the other one?" He asked. "Pierre mentioned another one named Erik, who was the former Phantom of the Opera."

"Send him to prison for all I care," was his Master's reply. "But bring me that girl."

"Yes, Master," Jacques bowed to his Master and made his way outside. Pierre was waiting for him with a troop of men.

Pierre led them to the Notre Dame Cathedral and into the entrance to the tunnels. He led the way through the intricate maze, following the trail of string that he had left.

They came to an opening in the tunnels, where they heard someone sobbing and calling the name, Erik.

Jacques glanced at Pierre's face. It was pale against the light of the torch, mingled with the faint light that was streaming through the opening. With a tight mouth and a determined air, he stepped through the opening, and into the light.

A/N: Okay, the ending was a bit corny, but I did my best. And when I said, "into the light," I wasn't meaning that he was doing the right thing. I just meant that it was brighter through the opening. Alrighty then. Review and tell me what you think.