# Part Twenty-five:
Lark smiled and nodded to herself, the man's requiem had been sung. "Not bad," she said quietly, "for not having sung that in three years." Laughing softly to herself, she looked around carefully in case someone was near the stage. She might look a bit different than before, but she wasn't taking any chances to have anyone see her and remember, 'the murderer'. Satisfied that no one was in the area, she turned around, and, not noticing the dark shadow behind the pillar, the girl picked up her skirts and walked off the stage.
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Erik could only stand behind his pillar, shocked. Lark could sing, never before had the girl's voice hinted that she could suddenly burst into melody. If he could help her get in tune, a little adjusting of the shoulders and…no. He stopped himself, he would not teach music or sing again; look where it had gotten before. He was jerked out of his thoughts by a clatter backstage and a "WAHH!" of surprise. He stopped for a moment, tense, and then rolled his eyes; he recognized the yell. Walking quickly over to the direction of the cry, Erik found himself looking at Lark face to face. Well, to be more precise, her face was upside down.
"WAHH!"
"AAH!"
They both cried out, but Erik was the only one able to stumble back and look at what was really happening. He stared at the odd sight before him. "Well, this…" he couldn't put it into words, "interesting." Lark scowled at him the best she could. For what he saw was really a peculiar sight. Lark was suspended off the ground with a rope around both of her ankles with a bit of her dress caught in as well, which was the only good thing for it kept her dress from flipping over her. "How did this happen?" he asked incredulously, trying to reach for the rope around her feet; it was a bit too tall for him.
Lark managed a weak smile and she shrugged. "I don't know, but can you hurry?" she pressed her hands against her head, "all the blood is flowing to my head," she confessed wearily. Erik nodded and started to look for something to stand on. "I'm still wondering how you got into this…" he muttered to himself, finding a box. Lark looked at his face and was surprised, and pleased, to find a small hint of a smile; an awkward one, but a smile none the less was around his eyes. She liked his smile, even from upside down and she technically couldn't see his face anyways. She guessed that he was smiling behind the mask, because his eyes were crinkled at their corners and his eyes were warm. "You need to smile more," she told him. He looked at her, eyes wiped back to cold and distant. "What?" A shout of people made them turn around. The workers were coming in.
Erik glared at her and stepped quickly on the box he had found and begun to loosen the cord around her. "Um, wait I think I'm going to…" she started. But Erik already loosened it enough and she fell to the ground with a thud. "Ouch!" Lark moaned, but there was no time for apologies. Quickly he snatched her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Thanks," she said dizzily. Erik didn't answer but pulled her along the backend of the stage and behind a curtain. "What are we doing…?" He shushed her, clamping a hand over her mouth and motioning with his head out at a group of stagehands and dancers.
Lark nodded to show that she saw them, Erik's hand came off her mouth and he led her down the halls, glancing back continuously to make sure that no one was following them. Reaching the mirror room, Erik paused and turned to the girl but then went back to opening the door and striding silently to the mirror, opening it. He let her go in first, and, closing the mirror/door behind them grabbed her shoulders and shook them. "Don't ever do that again!" he scolded fiercely, "Never go out without warning me!" Her eyes widened. "Oh, I thought I was forgetting something," she mused to herself. Erik sighed exasperated, releasing her shoulders. "Why do I bother?" he asked himself.
Lark watched Erik stalk down the dim hallway, back down to the house, muttering darkly under his breath. The girl was suddenly overcome with giggles as she raced after him. She didn't really know why, there wasn't anything to be laughing about but she had an unidentified feeling of happiness. Jogging up with him, Lark caught his hand and held it while pulling him gently forward down the halls laughing. Puzzlement came into Erik's eyes as he let the young girl led him behind her down the halls. Lark's face was beaming with happiness and her laugh was light and innocent as it echoed around the stone passageway.
She released his hand and he slowed down, watching her with confused eyes. "Chase me! Chase me!" she cried turning back to face him, smiling. Erik's head cocked sideways as he seemed frowned slightly. "Chase you?" he asked. She beamed at him, "Catch me, Erik!" Lark skipped ahead and turned back once to laugh at his bewildered expression that lay in his eyes. Erik seemed to frown more, eyes narrowing, but she stuck her tongue out at him and took off. And, even more strangely, Erik found himself chasing Lark around the catacombs. She was hard to keep up with, but he had a suspicion that the girl slowed for only a second to let him get closer, only to have her shriek excitedly as he almost caught her then they would run the same way all over again.
It was, Erik was surprised to find, fun.
Updated. XD
hopefully you all know what a requiem is, if not, then check the Reviews. A kind reader of mine had given the whole definition. (Thank you!)