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.
The concept of reality is but a philosopher's supposition.
The true nature of reality exists only in the arms of a lover.
A Fool's Book of Wisdom
Chapter Ten – Reality
Helen bit her lip and gave Christine a sidelong glance, but the girl seemed lost in her own thoughts, completely unaware of her companions. The old woman returned her attention to Erik. She responded to Erik's inquiry by throwing her voice in the same manner that he had.
"Oui, Erik. I agree. We need to talk. More importantly, I must know what is happening between you and my niece. The emotions between the two of you were so strong that it dragged me into your dream. Really, Erik! You should be ashamed of yourself! How could you be so bold? You only met Christine last night, yet today you kiss her with such passion that had I not interfered, you would have made love to her. What is happening between the two of you? I do not ask this out of idle curiosity. Surely, you must understand my concerns. You must be forthcoming in your response, Erik. Please! The future of my line's heritage rests upon that young woman's shoulders. You must tell me, Erik. You must tell me everything!"
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The man's eyes narrowed in annoyance and sparks blazed in their amber depths. Taking a deep breath, he carefully considered his words before he responded to the woman he loved as a mother. Releasing the breath, he cast his voice allowing it to land quietly just next to the old woman's right ear.
"Helen, I realize that you have many unusual responsibilities and understand your point of view can oft times be called unique. However, I fail to see how the subject matter of my dream is any of your concern. I am not like you. I cannot control the course of my dreams. While I do understand that the actions I partook in my sleep were inappropriate, is it better to release my unconscious desires in my dreams or keep them bottled deep inside me. Madame, it was only a dream. What upsets you about this? And, should I not feel outraged that you violated the sanctity of my mind? You actually entered my dream, unlike Christine. The young woman sitting beside you now was not the being you witnessed in my dream. She was just a wish of mine that was about to come true …."
The old woman shifted impatiently on the cushioned seat.
"Do you truly believe that? In the course of my duties, I have looked into the dreams of others, as you are well aware and in all my years as the Keeper, never before have I witnessed such a detailed dream manifestation. Erik, you have dreams of people other than Christine, do you not?"
A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth and his forehead creased, unseating his mask slightly. He grimaced and quickly pressed the mask back into its proper place.
"You are well aware of the details of some of my dreams, Helen. You also, know how unpleasant they are. Why do you ask?"
She sighed and turned her sorrowful eyes to the floor.
"I do have a reason to ask you such a thing. Think about your dreams, garçon. How do your other dreams compare to this one? Do the people in your other dreams seem as real as Christine did in this one?"
"There are only two people, which do not scream or turn away from me in horror or disgust when they gaze upon my unmasked visage, one is you, Madame and the other is Christine. And, you are the only one to look upon me as a normal human in either wakefulness or in sleep. The Christine of my dreams knows me no other way than unmasked and simply accepts me as I am. So, to answer your question, no, no one else that populates my dreams seems as real to me as Christine does … not even you, Helen. Christine … well, she is, well, she is different because she is the perfect creation of my dreams. I wish she were real, but …."
His words ended in an awkward silence. Helen raised her eyes to meet Erik's and he lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. She grimaced and her voice once again wafted through the air to whisper quietly into Erik's ear.
"Oh! Erik, I am sorry! We have been together all these years and I should have known you better than to jump to unjust conclusions. I can only blame my hurtful words on the shock of seeing the two of you thusly engaged. I apologize for my poor reaction and hurtful accusations. I feel dreadful. Especially, now that I find it necessary to tell you something important and I am unsure how you will react to what I have to tell you. If you were not sitting, I would have to caution you to take a seat. However, since you are sitting, I must ask that you not leap from your seat and rush from this compartment when I tell you what you need to know. Can you remain here and be calm? I need to know before I can proceed. You must give me your word, Erik."
She paused and waited for his answer. Helen watched as Erik's eyes bore deeply into her own and then flicked almost wistfully over Christine's still form. His eyes swept back to meet those of the old woman and he dipped his head, granting Helen permission to proceed.
"Madame, I give you my word that I will not react in any way as to cause untoward attention to either of us. I do not wish to drive Christine away by frightening her. I understand her importance and will do nothing to jeopardize your relationship with her. Does that suffice?"
The underlying sadness did not leave the old woman's eyes, but the deep creases of her forehead lifted slightly, as did the corners of her mouth.
"Yes, Erik. I know I can trust you to hold to your word."
She quietly cleared her throat and allowed her eyes to move stealthily over the young woman next to her. Christine sat with her head turned to look out the window of the train, but Helen felt that the girl's mind was not seeing the passing countryside and that her thoughts were far away.
"Well, it seems that she already knows the truth of the matter. This complicates things further. I am confused. Christine is not a wanton creature. How is it that she allowed Erik to touch her in such a manner after such a short acquaintance? There is something more to this than meets the eye."
"Very well, Erik. First, I need to know something. Is this the first time you have dreamed of Christine?"
Helen felt her breath catch in her throat as she watched Erik's reaction. The smallest of squeaks issued from his mouth before he blinked and regained control. His voice resumed smoothly in her ear.
"No, it is not. The night she made her debut was a night of firsts for me. The first night I spent in your house and the first time someone held me was the first time I met an angel in my dreams. I met a small girl with the voice of an angel and the temper of a wild cat. We argued and I believe we flung the word, 'stupid' at one another. She appeared in my dreams quite frequently during the first year or two I lived with you. Then, suddenly, I dreamt of her no more. Seeing her walk into Monsieur le Comte de Chagny's kitchen was quite unnerving, but I thought I hid it well enough. Believe me, Helen, I am as surprised as you are by the happenings in the dream you interrupted. How could someone I never met appear in my dreams? The fact she exists as a real person is unreal enough, but then to discover she is your niece, well, that pushes things into the area of the surreal. You would think after everything I have seen during my time with you, I would be prepared for anything, but it is quite different watching something of this nature happen to others than experiencing it yourself …."
He shook his head, his eyes lingering for a moment on Christine before tearing them away.
"Helen, I have never asked you for help. I have always tried to take care of myself, but this is beyond my ken, so I have no choice. What is happening? What is it that you know that I do not?"
She met his eyes and calmly explained.
"Erik, you and Christine were not dreaming. Well, in the conventional sense, you were dreaming. Both of you were asleep. Both of you dreamed, but … instead of dreaming alone, the two of you shared your dream. I have never heard of this happening. In fact, if I had not witnessed it, I would have thought it impossible. Yet, the two of you met once upon a dream. And, while both of you slept, you interacted just as certainly as if you had met while walking down a path. If you were to ask Christine about any of the dreams, she will remember everything that happened in them. Just as you, remember them, Erik. Of course, the memories are from her perspective, so they will differ from your memories, Erik. But, is that not the way of things in life? The eternal triangle of sides … your side, the other's side and the truth. Perhaps, you now understand my shock when something pulled me into your latest dream. I knew you and Christine were real and not dream images. I did not know that you were unaware of this."
Helen grimaced and continued.
"Now, here is the thing that you really need to know. Christine always knew you were more than a dream and she is rather upset with you right now. I sense that she feels rejected. After all, if you had continued in the manner you were, well …. I will not speak of that now, but she does not understand why you do not acknowledge her. At first, I believe she tried to convince herself that you had forgotten her, but now she is confused, hurt and furious. If you would take the advice of an old woman, Erik, you must speak with her. I shall leave to make use of the wash closet and leave you to smooth out her ruffled vanity."
Her eyes narrowed and she lifted a brow as she felt Erik's body begin to stir. She looked down at her hands, which rested atop of her thighs and pursing her lips, lifted her index finger. She waggled the appendage and continued.
"Do not even attempt to talk your way out of this with me, Erik. You have no choice, but to speak with her. Think of it this way. You now have two people that do not find your unmasked features horrifying be they awake or be they in slumber. That in and of itself seems reason enough to work it out with the girl, not mentioning the rather passionate interlude I interrupted between the two of you. And, here is one last thing for you to consider, one of the reasons I found your tryst with Christine so alarming is the passion I felt between the two of you. Erik, that passion was not one-sided. It was shared."
She groaned and struggled to her feet, smiling at the girl beside her.
"I feel the need to stretch my legs and perhaps, answer the call of nature. Please excuse me."
Helen smiled broadly at the girl and Christine acknowledged the old woman with a distracted nod, never turning her head from the window. Helen shuffled to the compartment's door and as she slid it open, gave Erik a sharp kick in his shin.
"Talk to her, Erik! Now!"
The young man hissed as Helen flashed an innocent smile, stepped into the corridor and slid the door closed behind her.
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"I swear! One of these days she will push me too far!"
Erik grunted indignantly as he leaned down and rubbed his abused shin.
"I do not know why she seems to blame me for all of this. After all, Christine is the one with the power, not me. If anyone is at fault and I am not blaming anyone, it is Christine. Why do I need to be the one to talk to her? Helen should be the one explaining things to Christine not me. Fuck!"
His eyes drifted up and over to the young woman. She still stared unseeingly out the window and he sighed.
"Very well. It seems that she blames me as well, so it is time to face the music."
He purposefully cleared his throat and felt annoyed when she continued to ignore him. Erik stood and moved over to sit next to Christine. He slowly raised his hand and lightly tapped her on the shoulder, which caused her to jump. Christine looked at him in confusion and then swept her eyes around the compartment.
"Where is Helen?"
Erik resisted the urge to roll his eyes and kept his voice low as he answered her in an even tone.
"She decided to stretch her legs. Do not worry. She will return soon."
Christine blinked.
"Oh …."
She began to turn back to the window, but as Erik placed his hand on her forearm, she paused and her eyes locked upon the place he touched her.
"I believe we need to talk, Christine."
She bit her lip, raised her icy eyes to his and said nothing. Erik winced as her frigid gaze burned a hole into his soul.
"How can I break through this wall that lies between us?"
"Christine, please …."
She tilted her head.
"What is it that you want, Monsieur?"
Her voice sounded flat and distant. She tugged her arm from his grasp and began to gather her skirts to rise from her seat.
"No! I will not let you do this! You will hear me. Christine, please!"
Erik leapt from his seat and knelt before her. He roughly took each of her upper arms in his hands and pushed her back down into her seat. She struggled for a moment, but Erik refused to release her from his grip. Her eyes met his and he inwardly gasped at the fury they contained. Still, he maintained his hold on the young woman.
"Monsieur, if you do not release me, I shall be forced to scream …."
And, that was when Erik could stand it no more. He leaned forward, pressed his lips to hers and kissed her.
Author's Note: I suffer from a medical condition called, "Meniere's Disease." It has a wide variety of symptoms and one cannot truly receive a diagnosis of having this disease while alive. The doctors have simply ruled out everything else. One of the symptoms is devastating attacks of vertigo. Unfortunately, I awoke on Friday morning and found myself in the early stages of a major attack. Usually, I can weather through an attack in a day. Sometimes, I am truly lucky and it lasts five or six hours. However, this attack incapacitated me for most of the weekend. I am still in the gray fog it leaves behind. At least I know this is a sign that I will be back on my feet again tomorrow. Hope you like this chapter! Fondest wishes, --ny