The Crystal Rainbow

An Alternate Universe – Phantom of the Opera Story

Nyasia A. Maire

© 2007

DISCLAIMER: I do not hold the rights nor did I create any characters found in The Phantom of the Opera or Phantom, nor have I received monetary compensation for writing this story.

Laughter is the best release the body can provide
when the option of sex is not available.

A Fool's Book of Wisdom

Chapter Seven – Laughter

Once again, the three continued walking. However, the once strained silence had given way to a comfortable, companionable one.

"Strange that I find her offer oddly exciting. Normally, I would dismiss it out of hand and run as fast and as faraway as I could, but I am sorely tempted to take her up on her offer. I feel oddly comfortable around Helen. I find that I like her. She makes me feel as if I have known her for a very long time. And … I wonder … Oh dear! I wonder if Erik lives with her."

◊ ○ ◊ ○ ◊

As the sun began to rise over the treetops, the footsore threesome trudged along the dusty country lane on their way to the train station. Helen shrugged her pack from her shoulders and swung it gently onto the ground. She stretched her arms straight over her head and groaned.

"Merde! I need a short rest. I am most definitely getting too old to be walking all night and then, to add insult to injury, I have to carry my own pack. Erik, this is it! I just cannot do this any longer. After all these years of blistered feet, I have earned this luxury. I am really going to do it! First thing I am going to do when we get back home is write to Nadir and take him up on his offer. So, my young friend, you best start drawing up plans for a place for Edgar to stay because once we reach home, I refuse to walk another step."

Helen paused and cocked her head to look over her shoulder at a bemused Erik and a confused Christine.

"Hmmm …. Do you think they will allow him on the train? After all, I will only require him when there are no tracks leading to the place we need to go. And, it simply would not do to leave him boarded with strangers. I shudder at the thought of something untoward happening to him. What if someone were to mistreat him? Nadir would kill me. Erik? How do you think a Persian would murder someone? Disembowelment? No. Poison? Hmmm …. A definite possibility, but he probably would not allow me a quick death, would he? No. The Daroga would have to find a way that would allow him to take his time. A slow acting poison, perhaps … yes, he would draw out the torture, probably tie me down, slowly poisoning me, until the exquisite end."

The old woman's eyes had taken on an almost dreamy look and Christine could not decide if the look resulted from a memory or her imagination. Erik chuckled and Christine gasped.

"What the hell? Mon Dieu! Please let this be a very strange attempt at humor."

"Edgar? Nadir? Torture? Poison? Wait! Wait!"

The words issued from her mouth in a choked voice as Christine's mind spun. She vainly tried to stop the dizzying thoughts and grasp onto a single idea.

"I cannot deal with the idea of torture or murder, but … wait …."

Her mind calmed. She dismissed the notions of torture and murder as absurd, but found she could not rationalize the least horrifying idea of the bunch. She had heard the words come straight from their mouths. She had no choice, but to address the one concern she could not dismiss as ridiculous.

"Are you saying that you plan to buy someone? How could you?"

Christine blurted. Her voice a hiss as she turned her shocked eyes to Helen. For a moment, all three stood in the middle of the dirt road staring in stunned silence. Then, Erik began to snicker softly as Helen shook her head and closed her eyes.

"Fils d'une putain! I demand an answer! How dare you laugh?"

The young man's lone visible eyebrow rose as he heard the words the girl spoke and saw her outraged gaze rake over his tall, lean form. He shook his head, attempted to speak, but the sight of Christine's apparent fury pushed him past the point of no return. Erik began to laugh. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand, but it only served to muffle the sound of his laughter, not stifle it.

"I do not find this in the slightest bit amusing, Monsieur de Seul. And, you had best let me in on exactly why you find this so amusing or you shall find my boot up against your bony arse!"

His laughter ceased immediately and his hand dropped from his mouth. He stared at the girl as he bit his lip and, after a moment, frowned.

"No need to fling insults about my posterior, Mademoiselle. I do not laugh at you. I laugh over the cause of your concern. Perhaps, Helen, you should enlighten dear Mademoiselle Daae over what Edgar, in fact, is."

Both the young man and woman turned their attention to the older woman. Helen remained silent as she studied the two faces turned towards her. Christine stood with her hands on her hips, her cheeks flushed, her breathing quick and shallow. The girl seemed to stare directly at Helen, but the older woman noticed that her eyes darted furtively towards Erik. Erik, on the other hand, did not attempt to hide how his eyes slid along the girl's form. Helen saw that beneath his annoyance, his eyes burned with another unfamiliar emotion. She inwardly gasped as she felt the race of his blood through his veins and knew there was no mistaking how the man felt.

"Mon Dieu! What on earth is happening here? Am I really sensing their feelings correctly? How did this happen so quickly? Oh, Erik! I have often hoped for you to fall in love, but I do not know if Christine is a wise choice. She has had a difficult life thus far and her future does not look any easier. Well, I suppose we cannot choose the person with whom we fall in love. Especially, not when it is love at first sight. I only hope that the two of you realize you are in love before you break one another's hearts with your stubborn and obstinate ways. Well, time will tell."

Helen cleared her throat and began to speak softly.

"Christine, really! Please calm yourself! Do I look like a person that would peddle in human flesh? Does Erik? Edgar is not a person. Edgar is a mule."

The girl stood staring first at Helen, then at Erik and then back to Helen for almost an entire minute before the light of comprehension dawned in her eyes. The blush exploded across her cheeks in considerably less time, but Helen swore she could feel the heat of it from where she stood several steps away.

"A mule?" She stammered.

Erik nodded. Helen tilted her head and shrugged.

"I am afraid that is the truth of it. Edgar is one of Nadir's pack mules."

"Oh … oh, my dear! Oh! I am so sorry! I feel so stupid. Please, Helen, Erik. Can you accept my apology?"

"Good heavens, child!" Helen laughed. "There is nothing for which you need apologize. If you think about it for a moment, it is really quite amusing and if you knew Edgar, well …."

Christine's brow wrinkled in confusion.

"How can you know a mule?"

Erik caught Helen's eyes and winked, before answering Christine's inquiry.

"You will understand once you meet him."

The girl was less than pleased with his answer as she thought it a rather cryptic remark. Turning his attention to Helen again, he continued.

"I am quite certain that Edgar has more of a personality than Nadir does. He is certainly more charming, has impeccable taste, wonderful table manners, a lovely singing voice and is definitely much more accommodating than Nadir is. And, Edgar is definitely not anywhere near as stubborn as Nadir. I almost forgot. Edgar is highly intelligent, too."

Helen pursed her lips.

"Erik! Be nice! Nadir is not here to defend himself."

"Oh, Helen, I would never engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man. Even I am not that cruel!" He smirked.

The old woman slapped his forearm sharply and frowned. Erik pulled his arm away and rubbed at the spot she hit.

"Erik! We discussed this the last time Nadir paid us a visit and you promised to behave yourself when it came to him. You promised, remember?"

A smug grin slowly rolled across Erik's lips.

"Yes, well, I promised to behave whenever I am around Nadir." He looked around and shrugged. "I do not see him anywhere near me, so I am not breaking my word."

He turned to Christine with a look of feigned innocence, hoping to enlist her support.

"I am not going against my promise, am I?"

She shrugged, shook her head and turned to Helen.

"Is he always this obtuse and difficult? Or, is he putting forth the extra effort on my behalf?"

The two women giggled and Erik rolled his eyes.

"Come on, you two! We waste the daylight." The young man teased.

Helen groaned and bent to retrieve her pack. She slung it across her back and fell into step with Erik and Christine as they resumed their trek down the lane.

◊ ○ ◊ ○ ◊

As the three arrived at the train station, Christine's eyes moved from Helen to Erik and back again.

"She looks so tired and after all of the horrible things I heard people say about him at the chateau, I do not expect that dealing with a ticket vendor is a pleasant experience for Erik. I remember the difficult time my father used to have with them. Hmmm …. Seeing as I already caused such a ruckus over nothing, maybe I can show how sorry I am by offering to deal with the tickets. Ugh! I cannot believe I threatened to kick him! I have no idea what came over me. He just looked so smug …. Never mind that, Christine. Time to make amends and make your Papa proud. Offer to deal with the inquiries and purchase the tickets for all of us."

She ran her tongue around her dry lips and for a split second, she thought she saw Erik's eyes lock onto her lips. She nervously blinked and when her eyes opened, felt relief as she noted that the young man was not looking at her, but at Helen.

"I must have imagined it."

A strange mix of emotions surged through the girl. She felt both hurt and relief at the thought she had only imagined Erik's interest in her lips.

"Why on earth do I feel hurt?"

She shook her head to clear the unsettling thought and spoke.

"I can purchase the tickets. Erik, you should help Helen find a nice place to sit and wait for the train. I will check on the price of the tickets and then be right back."

The girl waved her hands in a shooing motion at her companions and hurried away to the ticket kiosk before either of her companions could reply. She made her inquiries, returned to inform her new friends about the cost, collected their portion of the fare and purchased passage for three by train to Paris. She rejoined her companions and they settled on two platform benches, which were directly across from one another and waited for the arrival of their train.

Helen and Erik sat side-by-side. On the bench opposite them, Christine sat alone. She removed her bag from her shoulder and stretched her aching muscles. As she was unused to walking great distances, Christine felt rather tired. With her hands placed slightly behind her on the bench, she leaned back just enough to make raising her head comfortable. She lifted her face to drink in the warmth of the rising sun. The sun's caress on her skin felt intoxicating and she began to drift away, wrapped in its warm, comforting embrace. She jolted awake as her arms relaxed and she began falling backwards. She shook her head to clear the fuzziness of sleep from her mind. In an attempt to pass the time and stave off the sandman's looming seduction, Christine's mind churned through topics about which her companions would wish to converse. She smiled as one came into her mind.

"Helen?"

The old woman sat with her hands folded upon her lap and head bowed. Upon hearing Christine's voice, she tilted her head up to peer at Christine with one pale blue eye.

"Yes, Christine? How can I assist you in quenching your insatiable curiosity? What would you like to know?"

Christine blushed and turned away, as she heard Erik's muffled snort of amusement.

"Well, after our conversation earlier, something just occurred to me. And, yes, I am curious. Who decided to name the mule, 'Edgar' and why? You must admit, that is an odd name for a mule. Is it not?"

As Christine had focused her attention on Helen, she was startled when Erik answered her.

"I named him."

She gaped at him for a moment, before realizing how foolish she must appear with her mouth hanging open.

"You …." She gulped and began again. "You did? Why?"

Green eyes met brown and for a moment, they lost themselves in the depths of the other's gaze. Erik broke the silence by clearing his throat.

"Well, the first time I saw the mule, his eyes reminded me of photographs I had seen of Edgar Allan Poe. The mule had the same sad, dark eyes, which seem so haunted. Also, the animal is strangely thoughtful in a serious way." He shrugged and the corners of his mouth curled slightly upwards. "He made me think of the man, so it just seemed the proper thing to name him."

Christine caught herself this time. She refused to allow herself to gape at the masked young man sitting calmly across from her. After a moment, she shook her head and chuckled. Erik raised an eyebrow.

"Why does this amuse you, Mademoiselle?"

"You seem just as serious as the animal about which you speak. Perhaps, you feel a kinship with him?" She smirked.

Erik stared at the beautiful young woman before him. Her eyes held his and he saw in their depths an interested mirth. Her eyes did not mock him or fear him.

"She admits to an insatiable curiosity, but asks nothing of my mask. I find myself feeling curious to know more about her. She must decide to accept Helen's offer! I find that the thought of losing her again makes me feel ill inside … losing her again? No, I cannot allow my mind to travel that path. Think of now, Erik. Not dreams. This woman is real. She is not the girl of your dreams. Now, answer her."

He graced Christine with a quirky smile and nodded his agreement.

"Perhaps I do feel related to Edgar. I have found that I seem to make an ass of myself quite often, especially recently."

He replied dryly. Now, it was Erik's turn to smirk as he watched Christine's lower jaw drop once more in shock. The young man found that he could no longer contain his laughter and he allowed it to burst forth. Christine continued to stare at him for a moment, before her shock gave way to unrestrained peels of amusement.

Helen nonchalantly observed the two young people as they at first verbally jousted with one another and then her eyes widened slightly as they collapsed into fits of laughter.

"Merde! This is becoming much more serious than I originally thought. I sense that they feel close to one another. It is almost as if they have met before, but that is not possible. Is it?"

Author's Note: My apologies for the delay, my life is more complicated than usual right now. Hopefully matters will rectify themselves soon, but do not worry. I will not abandon this story. I wrote everyday (believe it or not,) even if it was only a single word, I did write. Thanks for bearing with me! Fondest wishes, --ny