"Meg….Meg….MEG!" She felt cold and clammy, but could feel the light stinging strikes on her cheeks. She barely opened her eyes and could see Raoul and his sister's faint images in the fuzzy mist surrounding her eyes. "MEG!" Raoul's voice bringing her to full consciousness.
She inhaled sharply, opening her eyes wide. "I'm sorry…I must have…" she began stammering. "Here, let us sit her up on that bench," Raoul said to his sister. They helped Meg to her feet, and though she was a bit shaky, they were able to move the small distance to the bench just outside of full view of the dining room, and the scores of curious eyes that were watching. "Poor thing" Raoul heard one woman say in the background.
Raoul turned to the waiter with a nod. The man reappeared with a fresh glass of water and a damp cloth. "Here, take a sip of this" Raoul said holding the glass against Meg's lips. Meg sipped politely as her full mind returned to her. How in the world would she explain what happened? Raoul's sister was at her side, now compressing the cool cloth along the nape of her neck. "I think that shopping this afternoon is entirely out for you my dear!" she said, eliciting a laugh from the trio.
"I'm terribly sorry….perhaps I've caught a touch of the flu from Chr.." Meg caught herself; Raoul looking at her rather puzzled. "I'm not making any sense am I…babbling like a fool I am, perhaps I struck my head when I fell" Meg said nervously, grabbing the glass from Raoul, taking another sip.
He smiled at her, a strange look on his face. In her verbal slip, she had brought Christine into the room for Raoul. There she was in his mind, standing before him in the pale pink dress she'd worn to the masquerade. She was smiling at him, a rather angelic glow about her. She was extending her hand to him, beckoning him to dance, to hold her.
"Raoul!" his sister had been politely calling his name, but now was more insistent as he'd not been responding. He shook his head, the dream evaporating. "I'm sorry, I think I myself am quite tired. We've been rising very early each day to oversee the construction at the Opera House." Raoul was trying feebly to cover his obvious mental absence. All at once he realized why his sister had shouted. He now realized he'd pulled Meg up into his arms, resting her against his chest, hand behind her head, his other hand firmly about her waist. His eyes grew wide, "Meg! I'm sorry….how forward of me….here….let me assist you…" Raoul swiftly placing Meg on the bench beside him.
Several women from the dining room were peering around the large marble pillars, whispering in one another's ears. Raoul's sister was glaring at them in disgust, the small crowd quickly dissipated.
Meg quietly cleared her throat, pushing her long blonde curls away from her face, politely smiling at Raoul's sister, not being able to even glance in Raoul's direction. She didn't even want to admit it to herself, but she could not deny the flutters she felt in her stomach as Raoul scooped her up into his arms. His obvious retraction had been disappointing, but the moment in his arms had confirmed for Meg, that in spite of all the reasons that it should not be so, her attraction to Raoul was growing more and more. The very thought frightening her.
"Meg, perhaps we should retire to the powder room…so you might freshen up a bit," his sister said taking Meg by the hand. Meg nodded "yes, thank you," she managed. The pair rose, Meg feeling a bit shaky still, Raoul's sister slipped her arm under Meg's, and one arm around her shoulder, leading her off.
Raoul watched them walk off, disappearing behind the corner. He shook his head that now rested in his hands. "What on earth am I doing….for all practical purposes she is Christine's sister! He couldn't get Christine out of his mind…though he felt a strange tickle of anticipation each time he knew he would see Meg…and that feeling had nothing to do with Christine at all!"
He stood straightening his coat. He needed some fresh air to clear his head…regain his composure. Walking out the double set of French doors into the garden, he breathed in deeply. His mother had spent hours here too, soaking up a bit of sun on the warm afternoons. She'd talked about how it was good for the soul to commune with nature. That memory, and the warm breeze that swirled around him, began to calm him.
Just over his shoulder he could hear a familiar voice "well man, where are they now? Am I to take my lunch without them?" It was his father, irritated by the disgrace of coming to an empty table. A man of his position could never afford to be seen dining alone! Raoul inhaled once more before calling out "I'm out here father!"
His father turned on his heels, waving off the waiter indignantly. "Ah, there you are!" Raoul braced himself for the plethora of questions he would soon face. "Yes…I am over here." He turned preparing to shake his father's hand.
XXXXX
Sara and the rest of the staff were busily preparing vegetables, kneading bread, and roasting meat for lunch that would be served in the garden just after noon. The first woman started "so, what do you think he'll be like now? Perhaps the few months of sleep will have done well to ease his demeanor!" The women began to laugh.
They seldom had opportunity to wait on their employer, having lived many years in the house without him. While they'd dutifully taken care of the property, dusting rooms that were never used, primping gardens that were never walked in, they had longed to have a "household" to care for just as all of their friends had. While his absence had made their work a bit easier with no laundry or formal dinners to prepare, they felt a bit like they were stealing from a man they barely knew.
Their salary had always arrived on time, provisions for their needs always arrived by delivery, and an open account at several shops in town had provided whatever else had been missing. It was rather like living in a castle with no king. The last two months had been a bit different, laundry, meals and the like were plentiful, but still the king had slept so it wasn't quite the same. Now that he was awake, the house would change, and though they were grateful to finally be able to serve him, they all feared for his temper, as they remembered it well.
"Ladies," Sara began "I know that I am but a new addition to his staff, and I'd dare say I'm probably old enough to be most of your mother's, save a few" she nodded at several who were gray about the temples. "I think it most impolite that we speak of him this way. We can all be difficult from time-to-time, and yet we shun others when they are? We should respect his home, his family, and most importantly his privacy!" With that the gossiping subsided, a quiet came over the kitchen staff as they busily turned to their work. Sara felt a bit forward, but had come to feel rather protective of her new "family."
XXXXX
Christine had wandered down to the gardens, a sorrowful look on her face. "Ah, Christine!" Nadir rose to greet her. "We could hear the laughter out of the…" he stopped. "Christine?"
Madame Giry rose to her feet, taking Christine by the hand and leading her to a chair at the table. "Are you alright my dear?" Christine smiled graciously at Madame Giry, and Nadir. "Yes, quite, thank you." Nadir pulling out a chair first for Christine, and then Madame Giry, before joining them.
"We heard you laughing not an hour ago." Madame Giry said. "Yes, he'd laughed at the thought of his first cup of coffee in ages…" Christine trailed off.
Nadir spoke "and now?" Christine looked up from the small crack of rocks she'd been staring at "he wanted to be alone with the mirror." She said flashing a weak smile.
Nadir interjected "perhaps it is best that he spend some time searching it with his eyes. We have all grown accustomed to it, but for Erik….this is quite a change. This alteration will mean so many things for him. When he is fully healed….he will be able to stroll about just as any other man…" Nadir looked at the two women. "What we have not touched…what has not been altered…is what is deep within Erik….there….he is still the same."
Nadir looked at the trees in the distance, "I'm afraid….that part of him can never be repaired, perhaps pushed back to the recesses of his mind yes….but it will never leave him….that he will take to his very grave." Nadir looked sadly at Christine. "You'll learn….he will learn how to adapt…but it will take time. Erik is a survivor, this too shall be conquered. He's learned to live in the shadows…the shame…every day of his life he's been trying to hide something….and now his physical body shall be free, though his mind may be a prisoner of that darkness forever."
Nadir took Christine's hand into his. "If ever there was a bright hope for this man, it is you my dear. He loves you deeply, I can tell. It was only you that consoled him when he was fevered, only your touch quelled him when he struggled. Though he's not told me with his own lips, I know that you are his saving grace!"
Christine felt hot tears running down her face, though she smiled at Nadir, glancing over to Madame Giry. "He's no doubt angry with me….for what I've done….what I agreed to let the surgeon do…please tell me that I did not make a mistake in allowing this!"
Madame Giry rose and kneeled before Christine, taking her other hand. "My dear, you did what any loving wife would do…you saved him in the only way you knew how. Do not worry…though his temper will flare, though his words may be cutting, do not worry, he'll adjust to it in time. All he really needs now is to know that you love him….the man beneath the skin…just as you did before. That knowledge will bring him peace."
Madame Giry reassuringly patted Christine's hand. "Now Christine, let us take a stroll through these beautiful gardens. You need some fresh air." She rose, nodding to Nadir and back toward the house. Nadir nodded in acknowledgement. He would wait until they strolled a little ways before he'd pay his old friend his first conscious visit in quite some time.
XXXX
Erik turned his head. The acoustics of his home were a wonder even to him. When one has such an ear for sound and a love of architecture, it is easy to craft things in order to take full advantage of them. The carefully placed "sun room" where he now lay, had been positioned just perfectly above the gardens below. The line of trees just beyond them, created the perfect natural amphitheater. Though he'd only been able to see them, when the curtains fluttered high enough, he'd heard every word that was exchanged among them.
Erik sighed. He was angry. The anger threatened to crowd the love he felt for Christine, and the deep appreciation of all that surrounded him. As the Phantom, the Opera Ghost, his temper had only intensified his mystique. His tantrums were expected…normal. But now…as Erik the man, husband….father, he would have to mend his ways…assimilate…change…..to fit into their world.
He thought to himself he was fortunate to have three people in his life that cared about him. Genuinely cared. One could ask for little more. He had been a creature of solitude, and though he cherished what he now had, he longed for the hours of quiet reflection. It was there that he truly felt at home. This exposed world that the rest of the inhabitants occupied seemed all too foreign to him; like living on a distant planet, whose air, light, and soil, was not that of your own. He'd have to shift his thinking….learn to appreciate…learn to be patient….learn to live. He pursed his lips, trying to release the clench in his jaw. Change never came without pain….and pain had been the realm of his life …for as long as he had conscious thought.
Erik closed his eyes. He knew full well that in but a few moments Nadir would be in the room with him. What would he say to this man, this confidante, this dear friend? Nadir was as thick-skinned, strong headed as he, and no amount of reassurance would assuage the guilt that Nadir felt, Erik knew it.
Perhaps this complicated dance around emotion had become a game for them. The current situation would only further complicate it. None-the-less, Erik would be clever. Finding some way to reassure Nadir that he was mending well, and that he should have no fear of retaliation… Erik smirked to himself, perhaps a bit of levity was in order.
Author's Notes:
First, let me say, you have all been quite wonderful! I hope that someone brightens your day as much as your reviews do mine! I am having a wonderful time writing this story, and it pleases me that you are enjoying it!
Captain Oblivious: Perch on the roof? Pray do tell, have you ever seen the movie Dracula 2000! (It's an oldie, but hey, it has Gerard Butler in it! And…BONUS…he's in a cape in this movie too!) If not, rent it, because there is a scene where Dracula is perched on the roof over the city of New Orleans….that is the mental picture I got when I read your review…that would be a terrible fall…it would be a little like a mosh-pit during Mardis Gras! Anyway, I've digressed. Yes, they are happy….but can this tortured pair ever find true peace? Erik has never had a normal life….but maybe Sunday strolls (in public), playing a game of Cricket with his brood would help…one just never knows. He is patient on the outside yes, but the inner turmoil continues to brew…he is the brooding sort….and they shan't stay calm forever…rather like a sleeping volcano….
TruPhan: Welcome to the family! Thank you for your review. Yes, I quite agree, Erik will be an excellent father, although he will have to learn a bit of patience in order to do it well! I hope you enjoy the next chapters!
XCiel: Oh good. I'm glad the chapter helped make sense of my ramblings. Thanks for the review. I look forward to reading them every day. I hop on my computer in the morning just hoping to see if someone has read the new chaps! Hope you enjoy the next ones!
PhantomFan13: Thanks for the review. Yes, the story is a bit disturbing…rather like real life sometimes! I cannot tell you how it will turn out, alas, that would spoil the story! I hope you enjoy the next chapters.
Stormyrainedoncowgirl: Welcome to the family! You have a most interesting tag name! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. There is more to come…and things are just starting to heat up!