I feel like such a scummy authoress... I don't suppose I'm sorry could really over this one, but, uh... I'm so sorry! Ugh, no matter how hard I try to update soon, I end up taking forever! And it's been over a month! Argh:Slaps self: That doesn't quite cover it either. So why don't I just give you the chapter, eh? Hope you guys enjoy, and I'm sorry again.
Disclaimer: You know the drill. Don't own Phantom of the Opera.
Erik yawned with his eyes still closed and sat up, massaging his temples with one hand. He groaned and stretched, but realized a second too late that he was to close to the edge of the chaise lounge. With a supressed cry of surprise, he tumbled to the floor.
"Oh, you are awake." Alyssa wandered into the room, and in one seemingly frozen moment, Erik realized that his mask had fallen off. In a flash he covered the right side of his face and turned away, praying that she hadn't seen him.
"What's the matter?" Alyssa asked, slowly walking toward him. Her gaze lingered for a second on his shoulder, then turned to the floor. That was when she caught sight of his mask. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "I just... I didn't know." She closed her eyes and turned her head. "You can put it back on now. I'm not looking."
Still feeling rather tentative, Erik stole a glance at her before reaching for his mask. Seeing her with her hands over her eyes made him feel... different. She actually wasn't trying to look at his face, like everyone else in the world always was. It was a refreshing change.
"Thank you," he breathed, once his face was once again hidden behind his white mask. Alyssa spun back around and opened her eyes, then shrugged once in a typical teenager-like fashion. Erik asked her how long she had been awake.
"Maybe about half an hour or so," she answered, smoothing down her nightgown. "You okay, though? It looks like you fell off, not to put too fine a point on it."
"I think I'll be fine, mademoiselle." Catching the look in Alyssa's eyes, Erik corrected himself. "Alyssa, I mean. Thank you for being concerned."
Alyssa shrugged again. "It's not a big deal, really. You act like no one's ever asked you if you were alright before."
An awkward silence followed her words. Erik gazed away from her, and Alyssa wished she hadn't said that. She swiftly thought of a way to change the subject.
"This is, uh, lovely, by the way," she muttered, picking up the rose that Erik had given her the day before. "I didn't get a chance to thank you yesterday. Normally friends wouldn't give each other roses like this, but it's very pretty."
"What did you say, Alyssa?"
"Normally friends wouldn't give each other roses like thi-"
"Friends?" Erik was taken aback by how casually she said it, as though it just flowed off her tongue. Alyssa gave him an unusual look and nodded.
To make things easier, Alyssa decided to explain her point of view, a skill she'd learned from her grandmother and one she liked to practice. "See, Erik, I'm usually a pretty go-with-the-flow person. I can adapt to change pretty easily most of the time, and I don't try to question why things are. Everything just seems so complicated when you do that. So I try to just accept how things are. Maybe that's just because I'm lazy, but whatever.
"I might be a little difficult for me to get used to being friends with an older person, and most likely the same for you. But, of course, for you it would be a younger person. However, don't try to get all cold and tell me you don't need any people around or anything. Humans just aren't like that. So I'll ask you: Are you willing to try and get along? I am, but are you?"
She had said this all so fast and matter-of-factly that it took Erik a second to realize that she was done talking.
"I am more than willing, Alyssa," he spoke at last, sitting up a little straighter and staring her softly in the eyes. Alyssa smiled, and Erik gave a half-grin in return, a bit unfamiliar with the muscle movement it took.
"So what do you... do around here, Erik?" Alyssa questioned. "I mean, you can probably imagine that I've been just a teeny bit bored, no offence meant."
Erik thought about it for a second. "I'm not sure what kinds of things you like to do, but..." He stood and walked past her into his room. His music box sat on a small nightstand, but he only glanced at it before he knelt down and opened the drawer of the nightstand.
"I have this, if you would like it." Erik handed Alyssa what she recognized as a book. The letters on the front cover were so faded from years of use that she could not read them. Only when she opened the book did she identify it.
"The play write for Romeo and Juliet?" she asked. "Cool. Where'd you get it?"
"I came upon it a long time ago."
Alyssa laughed, even though she wasn't even sure why she did so. "Well, thanks. I say the play once, but I never read the script. Seems interesting." She paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "I don't suppose you'd have a copy of Black Beauty about you, though?"
"What? Black Beauty? I've never heard of it." Erik searched his memory, but the title didn't ring a bell.
Once again Alyssa laughed, and the resonating sound caused an unfamiliar sensation to sweep through Erik. "Oh, yeah. I forgot. That won't be out for another couple of years. Damn." Alyssa giggled at herself for forgetting. Erik, however, was curious.
He was pretty sure that she was talking about a book, and he wanted to stimulate some sort of conversation, so he asked her, "What is this 'Black Beauty' about?"
A small sigh told him that Alyssa was obviously passionate about it. "It's basically the story of a horse. He's got a kind master in the beginning, but then he gets sold, and his life just kinda goes downhill from there. He's abused and overworked and stuff, but it eventually gets happy again. It's a really, really good book, though. I've read it like twenty times."
"You like horses, mademoiselle?"
For once Alyssa overlooked the formal name. "Yeah. A lot. Like, a lot a lot." She stared off into space dreamily, looking to Erik as though she could see images of stallions galloping along the walls of his room.
Erik smiled and stood up again. He grabbed his cloak from on top of a small chest in the corner of his room. Handing it to Alyssa, he murmured, "Come with me," and proceeded to walk into the main room.
Puzzled, Alyssa wrapped his cloak around herself and followed him. He pulled back the curtain covering what Alyssa had thought was a mirror, but turned out to be a hidden passageway. She took a surprised step back, feeling as confused as ever.
"This is my labyrinth. Stay close, as it is obviously very easy to get lost in here," Erik warned. Alyssa bit back a sarcastic remark and took a couple steps closer to him. He grabbed a candle and began to walk into the corridor, with Alyssa less than a foot behind him.
After a few minutes of silent walking, Erik suddenly felt Alyssa's fingers snatch the back of his shirt. He turned sharply in shock and nearly dropped the candle in his hand. Of course, it didn't help that his movement caused melted wax from the candle to drip onto his hand.
"What is it?" he asked, gritting his teeth against the pain of the burned skin on his hand. He turned and saw that Alyssa was staring at the ground with wide eyes, even though she couldn't see it in the darkness.
"Some... something brushed against me," she breathed, shaking in fear. Seeing her looking as frightened as she was was a big surprise for Erik, who had almost expected her to be fearless, judging by the way she usually acted.
"Most likely it was just a rat, Alyssa," he murmured, eyeing what he could see of her in the candlelight. "There is nothing in here that will hurt you. ...I can always carry you, though, if it would ease your fear."
Alyssa shook her head, not noticing the way he emphasized his last word, but she clutched the spare material of his shirt and didn't let go as they walked on. It didn't take too long before they reached the particular corridor that Erik had been leading her towards. The candle parted the darkness as they took a few steps forward, and suddenly Alyssa gasped. There was a gorgeous black horse standing in the passageway, tethered to a bar.
"This is Cesar," Erik murmured, striding toward the black stallion. He reached out and put a hand on Cesar's neck, patting the soft coat. (A/N: Some people spell the horse's name "Cesar" and some spell it "Caesar." I'm just going with Leroux's spelling.)
"Cesar," Alyssa repeated, cautiously extending her fingers to give the horse a chance to get to know her. Once Cesar began to show signs of comfort, she started to smooth the hair of his mane.
Both Alyssa and Erik stood there in silence, stroking the horse and becoming lost in their thoughts. A smile graced Alyssa's lips, and after a long time she turned to look at Erik. Seeing her move in the corner of his eye, he turned, too.
"So how does he eat, and get exercise?" Alyssa questioned, tilting her head toward Cesar so Erik knew who she was talking about (though, admittedly, there wasn't anyone else she could have been talking about).
"I feed him," Erik answered, his voice sounding like a low growl. "I'm afraid he doesn't get much exercise, though."
A few nods were all the acknowledgement Alyssa gave him. It was a couple minutes before either spoke again.
"He's beautiful." Alyssa murmured at last.
"I'm sure he's happy to hear that." At Alyssa's laugh, Erik continued. "I think, Alyssa, that we may have to bring our visit to an end. The candle is burning out, and if we linger any longer we shall be making our way home in darkness."
Alyssa nodded again, and she reached out her hand and grasped the back of his sleeve. Saying goodbye to Cesar, which Alyssa seemed reluctant to do, took another minute.
"Come along, my dear," Erik prodded after a moment. He began to walk down the passageway, and Alyssa followed close behind him. She was so quiet that, at one point, though Erik could feel her hand holding his shirt, he found himself wondering if she was still really there.
That was such a beautiful horse, Alyssa thought, and... well, that was really nice of Erik to show him to me. We must have spent- what?- two hours there! Perhaps, Erik, you may be nothing like what I saw before... We shall have to see what lies underneath the mask. ...But don't worry, I won't look until you let me.
Erik couldn't think of much as he led her through the maze of his home. Of course, half of his mind was focused on the path to the boat, which was where he was headed, but curiously enough, the other half was busy concentrating on a particular spot on his arm. A certain spot where occasionally Alyssa's fingers came close enough for some of her body heat to seep through his sleeve and warm his skin...
Alrighty. I hope that was worth the wait, though admittedly :Reads over chapter: It was a bit slow. The next chapter will come soon and haha, it'll be full of good stuff. I promise! Depending on how fast I get it beta-d, I might be able to post it as soon as tomorrow or so! Please review and tell me how you liked it!