Hey everyone!
Sorry it's been a while since I've updated but I've only just finished writing this part today; college has been busy as all get out, what with orientation and hanging out with new people and all, but oh so much fun. Knox College is awesome! (yeah, we'll see if I still love it once the real homework starts -:smirk:-) I've also been working on an original fic and a one-shot for labyrinth but anyway...my excuses are sorta beside the point.
A thousand hugs to reviewers! Still not sure about that new rule restricting reviewer responses but I will say again that you guys rock my world and make me want to keep writing even when I feel like strangling my muse in my impatience. Thanks so much to everyone still sticking around, those of you who come back, and welcome all newcomers. (I Am the Angel of Music, you were right; I screwed up the fiance/fiancee a few times. thanks for catching that). Glad most of you enjoyed "Free Shot at the Fop" for that matter. :)
This chapter isn't quite as "action packed" so to say as the last was...especially since I was just really pleased with the last chapter...hopethis oneturns out okay anyway...
Madame Giry sat down to tea with her daughter and sipped nervously.
"Meg, I'm sure he'll be here any moment. Will you stop fidgeting? Relax, my dear."
Meg made an abashed grin but it seemed impossible to comply with such a request. "How can I relax? The Baron will be here soon."
As if caused by the remark, the doorbell rang and Meg instantly sprang from her chair. Then she seemed to reconsider and sat back down trying to appear nonchalant lest she gave herself away all too easily. Her mother sighed as she took another sip of her tea as the servant met their guest at the door. Moments later, even longer to the eager Meg who was smiling in an alluring fashion, Renald opened the door to the sitting room and allowed their guest in.
Meg's face fell slightly as she realized that it was not her suitor but she recovered quickly to give her best friend a hug. "Christine! So good to see you again."
Christine returned her friend's greeting, grateful that at least her journey had afforded her time with the Giry's. "I'm sorry to drop in on you."
"Nonsense," Mme Giry put in immediately. "You are always welcome here, Christine. You know that."
"But still…"
"No. I will hear no more of it. Perhaps if you stay long enough today, you can meet Meg's dear Baron, as we've taken to calling him."
Christine turned to Meg for confirmation and saw it plainly writ on her face. She smiled but continued sadly. "I'm afraid I can't stay for long. I only came to say goodbye. You see, Raoul came to town last night and—"
"Oh! Raoul's in town? I should love to see the Vicomte again," Meg piped in.
"Meg, why don't you run to the kitchen and see if you can find Aleis? Ask her for small snack, perhaps?" Mme Giry suggested, taking notice of the dark circles under Christine's eyes.
Meg readily complied with her mother's request and left the room, anything to kind her mind occupied. Mme Giry turned back to Christine, "Is something wrong, my dear?"
"Yes and no. I just had to get out of the hotel room. Raoul has been babbling nonsense and driving me insane all night since…" Christine left the rest of her thought uncompleted as she stared off in another direction.
"Since what, Christine?"
"I can't tell you that."
Mme Giry's eyebrows rose but she did not press her any further.
"Is everything alright between you and Raoul?" she asked tentatively.
"I suppose so. Everything is so confusing now."
"You suppose so?"
"Yes," Christine confirmed, again failing to elaborate as she averted her gaze, this time to her hands where she was wringing her fingers anxiously.
"You're not certain?" Mme Giry continued, still flummoxed. She recalled her manners and poured tea for her guest. Then an idea struck her, "Raoul isn't fooling around with other women is he, Christine? He wouldn't cheat on you, would he?"
Christine nearly dropped the offered cup as dark tea sloshed to the carpet. She made to immediately dive down and attack the stain but was halted by the hand of Mme Giry as she murmured her apologies. After she had again settled in her chair, robbed of the distraction, she replied, "no, not that I know of."
She shifted guiltily under Mme Giry's scrutinizing gaze. "Christine, you didn't do something, did you?"
Christine bit her lip and nodded slightly.
It was uncomfortably silent for a few moments until Meg came bursting through the door. "Aleis says she'll have something fresh here in a few minutes. Has the Baron arrived yet?" Both Mme Giry and Christine tried to act as if nothing was wrong and Meg was far too distracted to see through such fragile masks.
"No, not yet my dear. Do you think we would sit here talking to him without telling you?"
Meg looked slightly abashed yet continued to fidget like a five year old with a full bladder.
"For heaven's sake, Meg. At least make yourself useful and fetch Marie. Tell her we've had a bit of a spill."
As soon as Meg dashed out of the room, Mme Giry's eyes rounded on Christine, fixed in a well-perfected gaze that all children fear, the look that reads "you're not going anywhere until you explain."
Christine sighed. "I-I kissed another man."
"I'm surprised at you, Christine," Mme Giry chastised as gently as possible. "I thought you cared more about Raoul. Does he know?"
"I'm not sure. He might have guessed but I doubt he would blame me…"
"What do you mean? Who would make you just forget the consequences?"
"Erik." Christine immediately clamped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide as she tried to gauge Mme Giry's reaction.
Instead of rebuking her further, Mme Giry sat back in her chair with a stony expression etched into her face.
"I-is something wrong, Madame Giry?" Christine asked tentatively, unconsciously rubbing her neck.
The action was not lost on Mme Giry and she promptly inquired, "Did something happen to your neck, my dear?" Though Christine denied any discomfort, Mme Giry ground her teeth, well-knowing what had happened.
"I don't know how it happened. I've just missed him so much and—"
Mme Giry raised a hand to hush her; out in the hallway, Meg's light footsteps accompanied with her light voice chatting to the maid. In a rushed voice, Mme Giry whispered, "Don't explain to me. Perhaps you should be discussing this with Raoul. If Erik comes to see you again, let me know immediately. Do you understand?" Christine nodded, eyes widening once more. "Be careful, Christine."
Mme Giry sat back in her chair once more and Christine slowly followed suit, eyes still wary, as Meg burst through the door once more. After recovering herself once more, Christine mentioned, "I ought to be heading back to the inn to help finish packing and see everything loaded up. I don't think Raoul is going to be much help."
"What makes you say that, Christine?" Meg asked curiously.
"Oh, he had a long night last night. Travel and all."
"Are you sure you must leave now? If you stay another few minutes you'll be able to meet the Baron."
"I'd love to Meg. I really would but I need to be heading home. It's a long drive."
"Alright," Meg allowed, glumly. "But you are still invited to come with us to Rome in two weeks."
Christine sighed, knowing full well that any protests would be stomped down by Meg's kind and eager spirit. She left the Giry household leaving Madame Giry with murderous thoughts, Meg slightly disappointed (though it was quickly forgotten in her anticipation once more), and herself all the more confused…especially when she considered that Madame Giry accepted her word that Erik (or some form of him) lived on without any contest or hint of disbelief.
∞†∞
The next evening, Erik again transformed and followed Philippe without question or comment. Philippe himself was markedly silent and even resisted the urge to tease, concerned with the Circle's summons—something not to be taken lightly be anyone, least of all, two so recently sired—and mulling over the previous night's events for himself; he thought it rather amusing to see Raoul again though all other emotions on the matter were muddled.
Erik flew through the sky with a perfunctory attitude, too distracted to enjoy the thrill and simple bliss of the breeze fluttering though his fur and past his face. Christine was proving yet again to be a subject not easily forgotten. As he thought back on his first love, the woman who had given him his first kiss, he could play back every moment of his second kiss…
Then he had lost control. Each tiny movement she had made and all that she had said…no, he had no excuse for taking advantage of her exposed neck. Perhaps I should have found another man in the stocks beforehand, he mused bitterly. Everything was progressing better than he had ever allowed himself to believe possible yet he had ruined his chance once again with a lack of control. Erik knew his fate was sealed when her eyes lit with understanding; she was furious and justly so. Could she forgive this sort of crime?
"Yes, Erik. I love you. I'm yours."
She said she loved him; such words he never thought could be true for a creature such as himself.
"…I'm yours."
Erik breathed in sharply as realization struck him…then he grasped that he was no longer flying though the air but falling; the shock had broken his concentration and he was in human form once more, tumbling toward the earth. He somersaulted twice before stopping solidly, feet sprawled out before him. Was that an offer? Did I just complete the second criteria? What have I done?
From the overcast sky above, Philippe screeched before landing on his feet next to Erik, restored to his normal form. "I just don't understand it," he commented, disbelievingly. "How can you be graceful when you're falling out of the sky? I would have ended up with a mouthful of grass or in a creek with some vicious turtle gnawing at my fingers."
Erik said nothing as he stood and dusted himself off.
Philippe regarded Erik coolly. "You should have been able to keep form for another hour at least, anything you want to talk about?" he offered in a sincere voice.
"Not in particular." Erik's tone booked no room for argument as he began to walk down the road adjacent to the grassy hill on which he'd landed.
"Hey, where are you going?" Philippe called after Erik. "Off to grab a bite or something? Otherwise you're going the wrong way. And I don't think anyone in that village is going to have the right directions, not that you'd ever ask for them."
"Something to eat would be good," Erik replied, attempting to mask the results of his revelation as fatigue.
Philippe grinned. "Alright. What's your flavor tonight?"
Erik rolled his eyes half-heartedly and barely noticed his kill (a curious maiden who had the misfortune to be about too late in the evening unaccompanied), preferring to dwell in his thoughts and determined to make some sense of them. The pair retained silence as they took off into the sky once more, refreshed and satiated with new blood. Erik's mind began to wander off his cognitive path yet he still managed to return to the path he had so thoroughly carved with his repetitive mental footsteps.
After another indefinite amount of time, Philippe landed with a few fumbling steps onto the ground and resumed walking. "We'll need to conserve our energy for now, possibly look for a place to stay unless you'd like a rather severe sunburn."
"Philippe, where are we going?"
"I told you before, where the Circle always meets."
Erik sighed loudly, having little patience after a long night and finding little resolution with his thoughts. "So where does the Circle always meet?"
"Wherever it damn-well pleases."
"Can't you give me a straight answer?"
"You're just not asking the right questions."
Erik clenched and unclenched his fingers, making the leather of his gloves groan. "To what city and or country are we going to for this blasted meeting?" he asked through clenched teeth, his patience slipping further and further away.
"Ah, actually I really don't know." Philippe grinned back at the murderous glare blazing from Erik's eyes. "We just have to wait for a sign. It'll come soon enough."
"Brilliant, a sign," Erik muttered, still not at all pleased with the responses he was receiving. "I'd ask what sort of a sign but I doubt you'd give me the answers I'm looking for anyhow."
"Ah, you're learning fast." Philippe shrugged and resumed a cheeky smirk, "I had to make up for those few hours of relative quiet."
Though sincerely doubting Philippe's assertion, Erik said nothing. Philippe sat down in the grass. "By boat or by land, which way are those stuffy shirts going to send us? It's a tough call," Philippe stated as he sat down heavily on the grass. He glanced toward Erik who was still standing, mask reflecting the glow of the sliver of moon left in the sky, "May as well rest. We'll either need to find unquestioning transportation from that small port or likely down the road." He gestured to the landmarks with a careless hand.
"How can you be sure that we have not been going the wrong way for the past two nights?" Erik asked with an edge.
"Well they had to talk to me initially, now didn't they? Frankly I'm surprised that they didn't attempt to contact you as well, since the summons concerned both of us," Philippe mused. "Hmmm… strange."
Erik turned away from Philippe, glancing at the shapes formed in the clouds but not really focusing on anything.
The next moment, he was knocked flat on his back as an unseen force slammed into his conscious. He scrambled to right himself but was flung back once more as another series of images and sensations forced their way into his skull in a sudden and fierce surge. A bright flash without a source filled his vision and scorched a picture into his memory. He sat back on the grass, supporting himself with his arms.
"One hell of a sign, isn't it?"
Erik nodded dumbly, still willing his eyes to refocus and the afterimages to fade.
"So, where are we going?"
Erik closed his eyes and tried to order the images, searching for a definite landmark. A few of the pictures resembled structures he'd seen in his books of famous architecture. "We're going to Rome."
"Are you sure?"
Erik merely gave Philippe a gaze that read a scornful "yes, as if I would be wrong."
"Alright, by sea it is then. Don't know why they chose somewhere so far off. It's not like they couldn't manage anywhere closer, I'm sure. Meh, it's the Circle, maybe they just wanted to show off. It's hard to say."
"So how are we going to get there?"
"Find a boat where they won't ask too many questions and don't expect us to take tea with the captain out on deck. Somewhere less than respectable but more than rundown scoundrels, I mean the boat still has to float at least."
"By sea, though?"
"Well, there will be a considerable amount of flying but for the time being, let's account for some of the litter in the oceans and take a cruise. You can sail, though, can't you? If we happen to overeat?"
Erik shook his head again.
∞†∞
Authoress Ramblings: yep, we're headed off to Rome...or rather just sorta close to Rome...I have it mostly figured out, I think but I really ought to do some more research on it.
My hope is that we'll get to the first glance of the Circle next time... let's see where my muse decides to go...
This week's Erik & Philippe fan club (free membership to reviewers) activity: Signing lessons with Erik (be the diva of your dreams!) and Charm lessons with Philippe (who will likely just spend the time period chatting amiably away with those who show up).
Take care everyone! Until next time...