Hello! Please let me know what you think :)
Phanty belongs to Leroux and Lloyd Weber
"Erik..." As Nadir's eyes adjusted further he could not help but bring his hand to his mouth in shock. His chest tightened. It was his blood... and there was so much of it.
"Still can't stand the sight of me? I apologize. Apparently my mask isn't anywhere to be found."
"Is this the greeting I get, Erik? After all this time? Christine found me, you know that don't you? Because you told her to." Nadir walked up to the cage and held the bars. "She cares for you... only Allah knows why, but she does. You sent for me because you needed help. We don't have much time, Erik. Don't let your pride get in the way. Not now."
Erik looked down, the smirk slowly leaving his face.
"How is she?"
"She's worried."
Erik nodded slowly. He took a deep breath before shifting positions where he sat in attempt to find comfort; respite from the pain. He missed Christine... His... fiancé. The pain was worse than anything he was experiencing physically. He would give anything to hold her, to touch her... to kiss her. And he knew that he owed everything to Nadir for looking after her in his absence.
"I only jest, old man. I know that you are here because of Christine..."
"Old man! We are almost the same age!" Nadir spat.
"Yes but... you tend to act like an old man." Nadir peered into the cage, was that a smirk on his friends face? Of course. Erik was simply playing with him, playfully goading him just as he used to do.
"And you act like a child." He threw with a smirk.
"Yes..." Erik replied distantly.
Nadir changed positions, attempting to get a better view at the man inside the cage. "Erik... your face."
"Still not used to it by now, Daroga?" Erik asked, the cynicism returning to his voice.
"It isn't that you clod. I meant... the blood. Christine will worry if I tell her."
"Then do not tell her."
"Why do you provoke people?"
"Oh, naturally you assume that I asked for this?" He jeered, pointing to his face.
"I know you." Nadir stated flatly.
"Well..." Erik began, a hint of humour in his voice. "...It isn't as bad as it looks."
"Is that true?"
"No. It's quite bad. It was worth it though."
"What was?"
"Goading him." Erik said smugly. Nadir sighed in frustration.
"Why do you make things worse for yourself, Erik?"
"Worse? How could things get worse than this?"
Nadir was silent.
"They're going to try to... show me tomorrow." Erik said quietly. A hint of fear in his voice.
"Erik, listen..." Nadir moved as close to the bars as he possibly could. "I told Christine that I would try to see you... so that I could tell her that you were alright... But... we don't have a plan as of yet." He looked down. Erik nodded.
"... I feared as much."
"But... I have this." He took the pistol from within his jacket and held it out to Erik. Slowly, Erik rose from his corner, holding his side and grimacing as he did. He walked to Nadir and took the weapon.
"Not my weapon of choice... but thank you." He looked into Nadir's eyes sincerely. "I don't know when I will be able to use it. Even with the gun I will be surrounded by people who value their side-shows more than they value their horses..."
"That reminds me." Nadir began. "Christine recognised... Caesar? Is that his name? They have him as well."
"I had expected that. And it's some consolation to know that he will be faring better than I am."
"Oh..." Nadir produced a piece of bread from within his jacket and handed it to his friend through the bars. "And... Christine sent this. I am sorry that I couldn't bring more but..."
Erik took it immediately and carefully took a bite.
"No. It's alright. Thank you. Did... you bring any water?"
"No... I... I didn't think to. I'm sorry. Are they truly not feeding you?"
"No."
Nadir shifted uneasily.
"She said... to stay strong. And that she loves you."
Erik's breath caught in his chest. He smiled and looked down, tears beginning to cloud his vision.
"And will you... return the message?"
"Of course."
How he loved her... How he wished he could say it; but he could not. He could not weaken himself with such thoughts; they would only serve to distract him, make him vulnerable. He could not let that happen, not while he was in such a place, not while he was with such people...
"I know..." Nadir said quietly, as If reading his thoughts. "I will tell her."
"Nadir..." Erik began. He had used his first name... Nadir could not recall the last time he had heard that. "Do not let her see me. Not like that. Whatever you do... promise me."
"I... I promise." How was he to do that? Christine could be as stubborn as Erik... "Now... conceal that pistol. I don't have a plan yet but... we may need you to use that."
"I intend to." Erik replied with a smirk, staggering back to his corner and concealing it under a mass of hay he had collected to soften the bars of the cage. "You should go." He said, walking back to Nadir.
"Yes. I suppose so." He placed a hand on Erik's shoulder through the bars of the cage. "Stay strong, my friend..."
"I have lived this before. I can do it again." He looked down. "You... will tell her?"
"I will." Nadir knew exactly what Erik wanted said, and it was just like him to lack the ability to say it aloud when it mattered most. Nadir tightened his grip on Erik's shoulder. "I will get you out of here, Erik. I promise."
Erik smiled sadly before staggering back to his corner and sitting down.
"Thank you for coming, Daroga. Whatever happens, it was nice to see a friendly face."
Taking one last look at the man huddled in the corner of the cage, Nadir turned and left the caravan. With a heavy heart he locked the door behind him and made his way down the steps and onto the grass; preparing himself to talk to Christine, to explain what he had seen...
Suddenly the breath was knocked out of him as he was pushed up against the wall of the cabin, a knife to his throat.
"What were you doing in there?" A small, bearded man whispered harshly, only inches away from Nadir's face.
"I... just wanted to see him..." Nadir replied hastily. He cringed inwardly as he recalled the name painted on the top of Erik's caravan. "...The... The Devil's Child... I just wanted to see."
"Ah." He said, eyeing Nadir suspiciously.
"Yes. I had... heard rumors and I simply wanted to see for myself... I will pay, of course!"
"Yes..." The man began. "That'll be fifty sous. Double the usual price since you came uninvited."
Nadir handed the man his payment without question.
"I am very sorry once again, Monsieur."
"Perhaps... I don't believe you."
"Monsieur, I promise you that I..."
The man held his hand up, halting Nadir in his speech.
"Perhaps I don't believe you... but perhaps... Emile does not have to know what happened here."
Nadir looked at the man before him, dumbfounded by what he had just heard. Was he bluffing? Was he being set up?
"...I don't understand."
"You are a friend to him, I presume."
"Monsieur, I..."
"Claude. My name is Claude... I was there when your friend, Erik was taken." Claude released Nadir and took a small, apprehensive step backward. "In fact, I was the one assigned to find him. And I did my job well..."
"It was you!" Nadir took a step forward, angered at what he had heard. He was held at bay by Claude's knife which was now pointed at him. Nadir stayed where he was. "What am I to make of this?" he asked indignantly.
"Make of it what you will... but know that I mean your friend no harm. For what it's worth, I don't agree with what Emile is doing here, but I don't have any power to change it."
"So then... you will free him?"
"Shhh! Keep your voice down. This, I cannot do." Claude lowered his knife and gazed thoughtfully at Erik's caravan. "But I can aid you in... whatever you choose to do. Erik is to be shown tomorrow and there is nothing I can do about that. He will be shown, so Emile will be distracted. Meet me then."
"Where? How am I to know?"
"I will find you. Find his caravan and I will find you."
"How do I know that I can trust you?"
"You don't. But you don't have any other choice."
Nadir knew that Claude was right. He hadn't a scrap of a plan and therefore had no choice but to trust what the man was saying. If it was all farce, at least Erik had the pistol...
"I will see you tomorrow." Nadir said plainly.
"Good." Claude walked up to Erik's door and briefly checked whether Nadir had locked it properly. "Now go. If we are to meet tomorrow, you cannot be seen by anyone else tonight. Do you understand? If you are, the deal is off."
"I understand. Thank you, Claude."
With that, Claude disappeared into the darkness. Nadir turned in the opposite direction and started towards Christine and his concealed encampment.
Christine rushed up to him before he had even reached the tree line.
"What happened? How was he? Is he alive?!"
"Yes, yes. Hush." Nadir pulled her into the shadow of the greenery before continuing. "You mustn't be so careless, Christine. Someone may have seen you. They already know what you look like."
"How is he? Did you give him the pistol?"
"Yes. I gave it to him. He is alright. He is still strong..."
Christine smiled. Nadir looked at her and could not help but pity her ignorance. She had to know the truth. She had to know everything.
"... only... physically he..."
"He what..? What do you mean?"
"I mean... Erik was fine. He was fine. But... it was evident that he'd been beaten."
"God..." Christine's hands flew to her mouth at Nadir's words.
"But he was fine, Christine. He was his regular... unpleasant self." Nadir looked down as he spoke the words. Erik was himself... but he was not fine. Not at all. He knew him enough to be able to tell when he was concealing emotion; pain, anguish, love... fear... and it was clear that he was afraid and had partly lost hope, regardless of Christine's message and regardless of Nadir's presence.
Christine smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek. She hoped that as long as he knew she was there for him; waiting for him, loving him... he would be strong, he would be alright.
"Really?" She asked quietly.
"Yes. And... he told me to return your message; that he loves you."
"He is strong willed. You mustn't worry."
"That is what I worry about."
Nadir explained what had happened next; that he had been approached by Claude; the man who had tracked them down. In spite of Christine's protestations he was able to convince her that Claude was the only real hope they had.
"At least he has the pistol..." She said.
"Yes, but he will not be able to use it unless we assist him."
"What do you mean?"
"Well... there is still only one of him. And what good is killing your captor when he is the one holding the keys to your freedom?" He offered. Christine nodded in understanding.
"We need to think of something..."
"Well..." Nadir began, staring into the distance thoughtfully. "I have something that may work..."
Erik sat in the darkness, mouth agape. He had heard the whole conversation between Claude and Nadir. A gypsy wanted to help him? Unheard of! How could Nadir possibly trust such a person, and the very man who had tracked him down in the first place; stolen his freedom, stolen Christine, stolen his happiness? Of course, things could not get worse could they? Even if things did not go as planned with this Claude, they were unaware of Christine's whereabouts, weren't they? Unless... Nadir broke his word and Christine happened to make her way to the gypsy camp... He liked to think that Nadir still had some of his sense; his policemen's intuition left to guide him, but truthfully he did not know.
He sat, staring at the piece of bread he had been given; turning it over and over in his hands. He had to believe that there was hope; that Nadir would truly come to his aid as he had done in the past, or at least give him the opportunity to be able to escape himself. All he needed was to be left alone with Emile. No cage... no restraints. No weapons. But the chances of that were very slim. He threw the last piece of bread into his mouth, chewing carefully so as not to disturb the cuts on his face. He reached beneath him; retrieving the gun he had concealed earlier. He opened the chamber carefully. It was loaded; that was something to be thankful for. But how could he use it? Even if he had the opportunity to shoot Emile, where would that leave him? Where did he keep the key? Did he even have it on his person? He would need to use it once he was already outside the cage and who knew when that would be? Then there were Emile's loyal followers, each of them hated Erik as much as the next, if only out of support for their leader and he did not have enough bullets for them all. He could just see it; his pistol pointed at Emile, twenty more pointed at him; a standoff. How would he even get it out of the cage without it being seen? He could hardly conceal it in his pockets and he hadn't a jacket or cloak to speak of. No, it would simply sit in the cage with him... for as long as he was there, or until the opportune moment presented itself.
"Where were you?"
Claude spun around as he neared the large campfire. Emile was standing over him, eyeing him suspiciously. Half of his face was illuminated by the fire, causing the hollows of his eyes and cheek bones to look more menacing than usual.
"I... there was someone loitering around the caravans. A... foreign looking fellow. I told him to leave."
"What did he want?"
"Wanted a free viewing, of course." Claude replied, swallowing nervously.
"And did he receive one?"
"No. He didn't get near any of the attractions."
Emile stared down at him, intentionally intimidating him with his glare. He walked closer until he was mere inches away from Claude. Suddenly, he drew his mouth into a cynical smile and abruptly spoke.
"Good, then!" He said, slapping Claude on the back roughly. "That new one will be making us a lot of money from tomorrow. We don't want to be giving our free passes!"
"Yes." Claude laughed nervously.
"I owe it to you, my friend. Without you we would never have tracked him down. Don't think that I have forgotten. The spoils should be yours." With that, he turned and walked back toward the fire.
Claude exhaled a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. He hadn't stopped thinking about that day since it had passed; their faces... Christine's face as she was captured in front of Erik, who could not help her. Erik's face as she was struck to the ground before him; as they took from him everything that was important to him, the one thing that no doubt made his life bearable.
Without you...
Yes, the spoils were his... and so was the fault.
His... entirely his.
And so was the responsibility to make things right...
A short one, I know. But please review! :D
