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 perilous tides of deceit do rise,
beckoning precipitous fate with all of its lies.

A Fool's Book of Wisdom

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Peril

"Merde! Nadir! Leave Edgar the fuck alone and get your ass over here! There is a strange woman in my bed and I believe she is naked!"

The words of Robert Southey's "The Story of the Three Bears" ran unbidden through Sabratha's head.

"And when the Little, Small, Wee Bear came to look at his bed, there was the bolster in its place; and the pillow in its place upon the bolster; and upon the pillow was the little old Woman's ugly, dirty head – which was not in its place, for she had no business there. "Somebody has been lying in my bed and here she is!" said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice.¹"

And, Sabratha found herself laughing so hard that for the first time in millennia, she laughed so hard that she cried.

◊ ○ ◊ ○ ◊

A sharp, yet soft cry of pain escaped Christine's mouth as her body surrendered its innocence to Erik. She sucked in a hissing breath then released both the breath and the tense muscles of her body. With trembling hands, she took hold of Erik's shoulders, firmly grasped the taut body of the man above her and began to rock her body against him.

"Christine?"

His voice barely a whisper, she knew what he asked without him speaking the words. She answered him by pulling down on his shoulders and thrusting up with her hips. The momentary pain had been surprisingly intense, but her burning desire for something more soon overcame the brief discomfort. She burned for him. For months, they both denied their bodies this long awaited joining. The titillating torture of allowing Erik to touch her every day as he retrained her body was now at last at an end. They were one now.

"Always yours …."

"Forever mine …."

"Together …."

"For all time …."

Christine heard the words, but she was so lost in her desperate need to slake the fire, which raged through her body that she had no idea if she spoke or if Erik spoke them. And, she did not care.

"Oh, Erik! Oui!"

He allowed a relieved groan to slip free as her words shattered the last bonds of his restraint and he began to fulfill her need with his own urgent rhythm. His mouth moved down the delicate column of her throat and he nipped at her delicate flesh. Dragging his hands away from her breasts, he planted them on either side of her and held his torso above her.

"Look at me, Christine!"

His words were a plea, not a command. Gentle and beseeching. She opened her eyes and lifted them to his. Their eyes met. Flaming amber and burnt umber. They could not look away from each other. They had no wish to look away. Erik surrendered to his body's overwhelming need. His hard shaft pistoned into the welcoming wetness of her sheath with an ever increasing rapidity. Christine met each of his thrusts with powerful, fluid movements of her own. Still their eyes held fast, one to the other. And, in the depths of their eyes, a small flame sparked and a fire ignited. The fire kindled and burned brighter as time seemed to hold its breath and waited for the moment of their completion. They hovered at the brink of ecstasy, the joy of their coupling evident in the passionate duet of their gasps and sighs. At the moment of their release, the fire within their eyes seemed to explode, which caused a mystical shower of sparks visible only to the eyes of the lovers. The fiery bits of light danced about their heads before slowly drifting down to settle like snowflakes on their naked bodies entwined on the bed. They panted heavily and smiled dreamily. The flaming amber eyes now held flecks of burnt umber. The eyes of burnt umber held sparks of flaming amber.

"Je t'aime, Christine."

Je t'aime aussi, Erik."

The lovers sighed, sated and exhausted. Then, in the wondrous stillness of the chilly autumn night, the two held one another close, rolled onto their sides to face one another, kissed tenderly, smiled sleepily, closed their eyes and allowed Hypnos to lead them together into a corner of his realm prepared especially for them.

◊ ○ ◊ ○ ◊

Edgar allowed Nadir to lead him away from the window, but when Helen began to shout, the man dropped his hold on Edgar's lead rope and rushed to her side. The mule's lips curled in a bestial approximation of a smirk when he heard the indignant tone of Helen's voice.

"Poor thing! Today has brought some rather unexpected changes to her life, but the largest shock of the day still awaits her. For sitting on her bed is …. Well, someone she never thought of as a person. But, I allow my mind to wander and I do not have time to muse. I need to find help. As I no longer seem the center of their attention, there is no better time than the present, I suppose. Well, off I go!"

And, with surprisingly little sound, the beast with a soul that once belonged to a king, trotted away into the forest unnoticed. He wandered for quite some time, pausing only to lift his nose to scent the air. The trees became thicker, the forest floor dense with deadfall and the light dimmed by the impenetrable canopy of branches overhead. After stumbling over a tree stump hidden under a pile of moldering leaves, Edgar halted, flexing his forelock. He sighed with relief as he noted he had done no serious damage to his leg and then stood there panting for a moment as he tried to catch his breath.

"I need to slow down if I intend to catch the scent of the being that is the subject of my search. It would be just my luck to run past in my hurry and miss it altogether. Very well old boy … breathe in … breathe out. In. Out. That is much better. I just wish I could find some water … stop it! Concentrate! Time is short! Taste the air … can you catch the scent?"

Lifting his head high to clear the air of his own scent, he closed his eyes and breathed. He concentrated on each flavor carried on the breeze into his large, flaring nostrils. He was not certain what he sought, but for some reason unknown to him, he knew he would know it as soon as he smelled it. Long minutes passed and he began to despair. A gray squirrel, a red fox, a brown hare and the almost overwhelming scent of decaying autumn leaves surrounded him. Somewhere, far in the distance, the odor of wild boar and freshly dug truffles lightly teased his nose. It was the truffles, which caused a thrill of excitement to course through his body, although he was unsure as to the reason why. He inhaled deeply once more, curling his upper lip to hold the scent inside his nostrils and caught it. He tossed his head and gave an excited snort.

"Yes! That is it! I must follow that scent! Now, I can only pray that I am not too late!"

◊ ○ ◊ ○ ◊

"And, just what do you find so amusing? How dare you laugh at me? How dare you? This is my home … that is my bed! This is the one place that no one could …."

The woman bit her lip. Her fury clearly visible in her glowering eyes, her flushed face and in every inch of her trembling body. Helen whirled suddenly to Nadir.

"Lend me a hand." She demanded with narrowed eyes.

"I beg your pardon?" He stammered uncertainly.

"I need your help to climb through the window. You do not think that I will allow them out of my sight for even one moment. Do you?" As he continued to stare at her in stunned silence, she repeated angrily. "Well, do you? Now, come on, help me up!"

As if awakening from a trance, Nadir snapped into action. He laced his fingers together, bent down and offered his cupped palms to Helen. She rested a steadying hand on his shoulder, stepped up into his hands and then hoisted herself onto the windowsill. Her feet scrabbled against the wall for a moment in an attempt to lift the rest of her body into the room. She gasped in surprise as she felt two hands push against her bottom and lift her to safety. She sucked in a sharp breath when she felt a finger run quickly along the cleft of her womanhood. But, before she could respond to the touch, she found herself perched in the window. Before turning her attention to the couple in her room, she threw Nadir a heated glance and shook her head at him.

"Nadir …." She moaned softly.

He grinned and shrugged his shoulder.

"Sorry, my dear. When it comes to you, I find that I simply cannot help myself! Well, actually, I wish to help myself … to you!" He smirked. "Tend to the matter at hand and then we will have the rest of the night for us."

She swung her legs through the window and hopped down. Turning to gaze upon the strangers in her bedroom, she felt her fury disappear and a strange sense of familiarity tugged at her consciousness. Helen gave herself a slight shake to dispel the odd sensations crawling through her gut, but she suddenly realized these two were no strangers. Her voluminous dress felt twisted and she tugged at the bodice to right it. She smoothed down the skirt and took several calming breaths before she finally managed to speak.

"Who are you? Do I know you?"

Her words addressed both intruders, but Helen's eyes moved to and locked with those of the woman. Helen nervously ran her tongue over her dry lips, held her breath and waited for a response.

"Of course you know me, Helen. While I am certain we never had a proper introduction, we are well acquainted with one another. Perhaps, now is the appropriate time for me to tell you our names. The gentleman's name is Cadmus and my name is Sabratha. Although, I am sure that name is not familiar to you for you know me by another name. The name the curse forced me to bear … you know me as …."

"Diamanté."

Helen finished the woman's sentence with her own whispered word. Her hand flew to her wrist in a sudden panic.

"Mon Dieu! The bracelet is gone! Oh, bloody hell!"

Sabratha chuckled as she slid off the bed and knelt next to the bed. Helen watched in open mouthed surprise as the woman bent down, looked under the bed and then struggled for a moment before she retrieved something. She stood and faced Helen. The ethereal redhead raised her hand, which held the crystal bracelet.

"Oh. Is this the bracelet of which you speak?"

Helen stepped forward and quickly snatched the bracelet from the woman's outstretched hand. She held it tightly in her fist and closed her eyes. Her head seemed to roll and her body rocked slowly for a moment as if she stood on the deck of an ocean-going vessel and then her eyes snapped open. She unfurled her fingers from the treasure they encased and peered intently at the bracelet. A look that was a mixture of shock, horror, confusion and fear clouded her lovely face.

"It is the bracelet, but there is a special charm missing. There was a ruby heart. It hung right here." She pointed at the center of the bracelet's length. "But, it is not there now. And, well, and now the bracelet feels … empty."

The redheaded woman's lips curled slightly at Helen's words with a gentle look of compassion and sympathy in her eyes.

"Helen, the charm is no longer on the bracelet because it was me. The spell, which bound me to the bracelet, unraveled the moment Cadmus and I found each other. Please, do not mourn the loss of the bracelet, but celebrate my freedom."

Turning eyes of brilliant sapphire to meet eyes of soft hazel, Helen trembled and her shoulders slumped.

"I rejoice in your happiness, but you must understand what your freedom means, do you not? What price must we now pay? For, what will happen to Christine now that this bracelet no longer holds any power?"

Sabratha blinked in surprise and opened her mouth to speak, but the bedroom door suddenly burst open and a small, shadowed form stood in the doorway. The candles flickered and died in the room and the small fire crackling in the hearth dimmed. The dark shape swept into the room, moving towards Sabratha, but Cadmus moved protectively in front of her.

"No, Mara!"

An oily laughter slid from the inky blackness surrounding the woman.

"Very well. It matters not which I take, for I shall have what I desire in the end."

The roiling cloud of night veered sharply and enveloped Helen.

"No!" Nadir roared and began to scramble up onto the windowsill. But, before anyone could move a step, the sphere of shadow collapsed to the floor and the inky trails of darkness drained through the cracks in the floorboards.

An oppressive silence hung in the room as time seemed to stand still. The anguished cry of Nadir caused time to march along its path once more.

"No! Helen! No!"

But, it was too late. The place where Helen stood was empty. Helen was gone.

¹ "And when the Little, Small, Wee Bear came to look at his bed, there was the bolster in its place; and the pillow in its place upon the bolster; and upon the pillow was the little old Woman's ugly, dirty head – which was not in its place, for she had no business there. "Somebody has been lying in my bed and here she is!" said the Little, Small, Wee Bear, in his little, small, wee voice." – "The Story of the Three Bears" from "The Doctor" by Robert Southey, 1837.