Hey all. Time for another update. Don't know when the next one's going to be though, I've been sick for a little while (I have a fever right now but don't care) and it hasn't helped my writers block -:shakes fist at demon writer's block:-
Anyway, Yep, still don't own the original characters or, again, I would be swimming in my vast fortune and complimenting myself on my brilliance (j/k). Nope, credit goes to Gaston Leroux and ALW & Charles Hart (guy who wrote most of the lyrics). I'm only borrowing, making no profit, just writing for the sheer joy of writing (yay!), etc.
A hundred thank you's to reviewers!
DragonheartRAB: -:smiles appreciatively:- I'm glad you enjoy it. I'll try to continue being unique. Thank you!
twinlady: again,happy to have intrigued you. (haaa I still love that image too). Thank you!
Moo-Moo Sama: awww, I'm glad to see you like him. Thank you!
Victorian Dream: aw come on; it's not that bad to use chatspeak...normally...okay... perhaps it can lead to problems if you turn it in to your teacher or something :)... meh anyway. Thank you!
Lizzie Black: YES. Christine and Erik will meet again in this chapter! (I'm curious if you guys'll like how I chose to do it...) Thank you!
Killer Veggies: haaa funny name... (sorry, will refer back to the fever comment made above, not focusing right now). Umm...yep, it's night again so hereErik goes (In touch with the ground/ I'm on the hunt I'm after you/ "Hungry like the Wolf" Duran Duran). Thank you!
lazy.kender: phew, glad to see it didn't come out too awkward. Thank you!
phantomgoddess34: haaa, Philippe is so much fun to write too. That seems to be a common sentiment; I'll see if I can incarnate him so everyone can meet him. :)But this is all we have for now :( E/C-ness! Thank you!
Neori: Resisted the urge to e-mail you before updating. :) Thank you!
Midnight Tango: living off of fanfiction isn't so bad, is it? (except when people don't update, I know -:smirk:-). Glad you liked the image. Thank you!
Susie Q: Yeah, I hate it when FFN switches to read only, especially for so long. tee hee, yeah Erik's response was funny-ful. Thank you!
gavvie: yeah, I'm not sure if I want to ask about that last bit... :) Thank you!
I'm glad you guys really seem to like Philippe and you all rock my socks.
SIDE NOTE: There's a little background to a part here in a moment. The guy in the stocks is a friend of mine (No, not the same as the author Dan Brown) and he was bugging me one day so I decided to get in a little revenge since he was being a total prat.(devilish smirk)The girls he hears the story from are supposed to be myself and my buddy Kayla; Dan likes to tease us on how we're obsessed with Phantom (though he certainly has his own obsessions) so yeah...that's why I chose that name. It made me feel better and he sort of suggested it... sort of. :)
Anywho, so begins the next chunk at Christine's room at the inn. Hope you guys like it...
Enjoy!
Christine sat down heavily on her bed at the inn, exhausted after a day of shopping with Meg. Effervescent as she was, Christine spent most of the afternoon attempting to keep up with Meg's enthusiasm. Meg told her everything, from the many virtues of the Baron to the latest gossip in town.
"Truly the city is in uproar. There's talk of a crazed maniac, prowling around the streets."
"Crazed maniac? Really Meg, what would your mother say?"
"It's true!" she insisted. "There've been mysterious murders all over Paris. The police are baffled. All the victims have this really strange neck wound. It's almost like those legends, you know the vampires? It's so strange but I heard such creatures were supposed to be savage brutes but the bodies are all otherwise unharmed. Do you think it could be true? It's been going on for a few weeks now but no one seems to know anything about it. Maman won't let me out of the house at night anymore, afraid of dangerous men she says. Christine? Are you alright?"
Christine had lost track of the conversation but immediately reassured Meg that she was well. Meg needed no other invitation to resume her course of chatter. Thankfully she soon grew weary of the subject and found another piece of juicy gossip to spread. Christine nodded her head and smiled when necessary but mostly remained in her own thoughts.
Strange neck wounds…murders all over Paris…she shook her head violently. No. It could not be so. This killer was obviously experienced and caustic, why would he spare her? Her own words floated back into her conscious, "Thank you so much for your assistance, monsieur. I seem to have an angel looking after me tonight."
She shuddered again, remembering that terrifying moment and what cogitation had followed. Mayhap she did have an angel looking after her though of which sort she was uncertain. Closing her eyes, Christine reminded herself her angel was gone but no matter how many times she managed to convince herself, doubt would spring anew in her heart. No, she reasoned, Erik would have come to me by now. You saw his body, Christine. Move on.
Opening her eyes, she glanced at the clock and sighed; Meg had kept her out later than she'd intended. Absently running her hand over the scars on the base of her neck, she meandered to her armoire and began to ready herself for bed.
∞†∞
Philippe smirked at Erik once he finally satisfied his need for music. "Well, she was pleasant."
"I've never seen the Danielle Giry so skittish in my life," Erik admitted, shaking his head.
"Well, we're not exactly your average nightmare. Rather personal instead of some story or a rat scurrying in a dark room. But to another matter: are you still set on visiting Christine?"
Erik nodded, "Spare me the lectures and don't bother trying to talk me out of it."
"Wasn't going to. I was actually going to tell you to steal a kiss for me."
Erik sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Actually, on a more serious note, I was going to tell you to be careful. Don't reveal anything unless you're planning to keep her this time. Can't have any stories falling to the wrong ears."
"I've been dead for long enough to know how to keep up such pretenses."
"Let's make sure you stay that way. Shall we?"
Erik nodded as he led the way to the surface under the cloak of night.
Collecting his cape about himself, Erik swiftly transmuted into a bat and sought his victim. He came upon the town square and selected. A tall man, skinny but not gaunt, with dark hair stood with his head and hands in the stocks, asleep despite the uncomfortable positioning. From the combination of the light glow from distant streetlamps and his own sharp eyes, he read the sign above the man's head: DANIEL BROWN, ONCE COURT ATTENDENT ACCUSED OF REFUTING THE KING. MAY HE THINK MORE WISELY OF WHOM HE "CORRECTS."
Erik grinned. No, the gentry did not appreciate their own errors blatantly pointed out; perhaps the man lacked tact or was merely a touch of a prig. Regardless, he walked over to the wooden construction and fingered the lock briefly. Smiling to himself, he took the iron and easily snapped the piece off.
The man stirred at the loud clattering as Erik let the useless metal fall to the ground. While the man tried vainly to rub his eyes with restrained wrists, Erik flipped back the wooden block over the man's neck. Slowly righting himself, Daniel rubbed his neck and stretched, wincing at the sharp complaints of stiff muscles. Satisfied, he turned to look upon his rescuer. He assessed Erik quickly before starting lightly on the mask. Trying his best not to stare, he masked a yawn and spoke with a slight English accent, "Merci, Monsieur. To whom do I owe my gratitude?"
"Oh, I believe you know who I am," Erik replied, bemused.
"I do?"
"Come now, it's not every day a man meets a legend."
Though shaken, Daniel made his best attempt to seem nonchalant; he knew very well what stories followed his rescuer's strange appearance, having listened to hours of chattering from two of his friends, Cassandra and Elizabeth, obsessed with the story. But he refused to jump to conclusions. Before he could stop himself though, he blurted out, "Monsieur, why do you wear a mask?"
Erik's sapphire eyes shot daggers at the man for the briefest of moments until they switched to a lighter tone, causing Daniel to question if the glimmer of anger had been there in the first place.
"Forgive me, Monsieur. I shouldn't have asked after you've freed me."
"Not at all. You're certainly not the only," he winced trying to find the right word, "…curious…gentleman I've met though few have dared to ask outright."
"Please, forget I mentioned it."
"No, not at all. Let me show you." Erik grinned darkly, the smile not touching his eyes.
"No really, that's not necessary. Don't—" The man was in the middle of his sentence as Erik tore the mask from his face. Daniel paled instantly and took a weak step back, too stunned to speak or close his gaping mouth.
Erik glared contemptuously before continuing in a wicked voice, "Oh, perhaps I forgot to mention, those who look upon the face of Death are condemned to it. It will be the last thing you see."
Daniel tripped over the discarded lock and scrambled away from the slow steps of Erik though nothing could save him now.
Erik finished his meal with grim satisfaction.
Wiping his mouth clean, his thoughts reverted back to Christine once more; the night was young and time was momentarily on his side. Stepping over the body as if it were a hollow log, Erik made his way over to a convenient flower stand left for the night with only a few flowers remaining in the assorted baskets. Unfortunately, no red roses were left but a passable white rose with a twisted stem was soon wrapped with a black ribbon and placed in Erik's pocket.
Merging into the surrounding shadows, Erik raced fluidly through the dark alleyways to the inn Christine was staying at. Flowing over the books in the entryway, he found Christine's delicate script and made his way up to her room, sliding under the door.
Once on the other side, he reformed into a man and his breath caught in his throat. Her pale skin glowed in the moonlight and her chestnut locks glimmered ebony in the dark. Moving closer, he marveled at her innocent face, lost in a dream.
Sighing lightly with an adoring smile, Erik could not help but forgive her any indiscretion though he roughly forced such thoughts to the back of his mind. Setting the rose on the pillow next to her, he watched her sleep. Christine stirred lightly and Erik backed away, afraid that she would awaken.
Too weary to melt into shadow again, Erik made his way toward the window. He struggled briefly against the aged pane, trying to push the stubborn piece as quietly as possible. With a loud clunk, the window opened a mere crack. He glanced behind him as Christine stirred in her sleep. Returning to the window, it groaned gratingly as he pushed it further. Erik held his breath as Christine twisted once more in her dream. Just a little more… The gap was still not quite wide enough to allow him through; he could scarcely slip his long fingers in the gap. With another seemingly echoing rumbling squeak, the window budged another slight increment. He whipped around as she started rubbing her eyes.
The window was too narrow to pass under, as a bat or otherwise. He was too drained, despite the feast of young blood, to melt into the shadows. The door was too far away. Erik was left with two options. Christine stretched and yawned…just as Erik dove into her vanity.
Elegantly folding into a roll, Erik grimaced at the dull THUD as he hit the floor on the other side of the mirror, almost slamming into the bed's reflection.
Christine sat bolt upright and spoke to the empty room, "I didn't imagine that one. Who's there?"
Erik righted himself immediately and, after checking to ensure his mask was in proper alignment, shifted to the edge of the mirror's frame, just out of sight.
After fumbling with the gas lamp for a moment, light bloomed in the room as the lamp next to Christine's bed burst to life. She glanced around the room worriedly and her fingers gently fell to the rose on the pillow next to her. Curious, she held the rose in front of her and smiled lightly. Her grin faded quickly as two thoughts registered in her mind: first, the black ribbon was Erik's signature and second…someone had to have been in her room to leave it on her pillow. Still clutching the rose, she glanced around the room, not sure what she expected, or wanted, to find.
She checked the door first, still bolted shut. Christine inspected the window, still broken. Bighting her lower lip in confusion, she searched the closet and even under the bed. Erik watched as her reflection moved about the room, she was so close at times, nearly brushing his arm once, yet miles away; he resisted the urge to reach out to the image, berating himself for traitorous thoughts. But she was so close…
Christine eventually gave up, sighing despairingly, and sat in front of her vanity. She'd been having problems sleeping anyway; the night brought no fatigue only restlessness. She twirled the rose absently in her hand, doleful eyes reflecting bittersweet memories.
"Oh, Erik…" she murmured as she ran her fingers along the smooth satin ribbon and tears began to well up in her eyes. She never quite understood why fate had decreed that she would fall in love with Erik but there was little she could do to question it. Rising from her chair as she sought to remove traces of salt streaks from her face, Christine paced the room slowly, allowing her thoughts to wander. Erik continued to watch as her form vanished out of sight then back again as eerily and smoothly as a ghost. His ears perked up as he picked up a few notes of her mellifluous humming: it was an old tune they'd sung long ago.
He smiled to himself; this was too good an opportunity to miss. Taking a deep breath, Erik released his angelic voice to the same tune. "Flattering child you shall know me. See why in shadow I hide. Look at your face in the mirror." Christine's pacing form stopped and she stared wide-eyed at her own reflection, numbly sitting in front of the vanity.
Emerging from the edge of the frame, cape elegantly flowing after, he finished in a strong whisper: "I am there inside!"
Authoress normal Ramblings: Lol, sorry couldn't resist (both how Erik first said hello here and leaving it off there.)Umm...I think I'll get to writing more in case anyone decides to threaten me for that... :) I'll try to get the next chunk up within a week at the most (I think it'll be earlier but just in case...)
Take care, all.
Philippe and Erik plushies to reviewers! Love it or hate it, please let me know!