Chapter 80 Mortal Wounds
Christine sat fidgeting at the kitchen table. Madame Giry had fallen asleep leaning against the pantry door. She looked over at the woman who had been like a mother to her. She could hardly imagine loving or admiring another woman more than she did her. Had she not rescued her when her father died, who knows what would have become of her. Another one of the sad, nameless faces of the children in the orphanage no doubt. Madame Giry had treated Christine with as much love and concern as she had Meg. To love a child that is not your own is a great gift. Now, her own daughter might be in jeopardy, and yet she sat with Christine, worried for her. She rubbed her abdomen. She hoped she could be as good a mother as Madame Giry.
Christine stood up as she heard the sound of horses coming from a distance. The barking dogs always alerted her before one could even see the horses. She hoped fervently for the carriage to come over the crest. She walked out onto the porch, straining her eyes against the faint glare of the morning sun. Her heart caught in her throat. It was two horses, two single riders…no carriage. She went out onto the walk so that she could get a better look as the dogs escorted them into the yard. She could see it was Nadir, and the other man, slightly behind was…the doctor? Where was Erik? Christine started running toward them, pushing open the door of the gate, not caring that she had but slippers on her feet as she trampled through the sloshy snow.
"Christine, do take yourself back inside you'll catch a cold!" Nadir chastised her as he came to a halt at the edge of the gate. "Whatever is wrong dear, you look as if you've seen a ghost?" Nadir thought she might have had another dream, perhaps one involving more than Meg's mere rescue by Raoul.
Christine gasped "where's Erik?"
Nadir went white. He turned feverishly to the doctor commanding, "check the barn."
Christine lurched backwards, grabbing hold of the fence. "He's not, do not tell me that he and Raoul…." Christine felt dizzy.
Nadir dismounted his horse coming to her side. "He met me on the rode in the middle of the night. The doctor and I took the carriage back to the winter house….Erik took my horse and was to return here!"
The doctor was just coming out of the barn, shaking his head side to side. Nadir went rigid. "Christine, we've got to go looking for him. Tell Madame Giry to pack her trunk, she'll be heading back to Paris when we return. Meg is alright, but she's on her way back there now. I've much to explain when I get back, just see to it that Madame Giry is ready."
"Nadir, but what of Meg….is she….was I…." She called after him as he and the doctor headed back down the road that they'd just come in on. Christine ran back to the house. Madame Giry was still sleeping in her chair. Christine rushed to her side shaking her from her slumber.
"What is it child, are you alright?" Madame Giry said frantically trying to focus her eyes.
"Nadir returned, Meg is alright, but is on her way back to Paris. Nadir asks that you pack a trunk as you will be joining her there. You will leave as soon as he returns." With that Christine broke down into sobs, falling into Madame Giry's arms. "Christine, was Meg injured? What has happened to her, please tell me of it!"
Christine sobbed, "Nadir spoke quickly, he said Meg was well, but did not have time to explain….its Erik! He's gone missing! He met Nadir on the road, and exchanged horse for carriage…he should have been back hours ago!"
Madame Giry sat straight up. "We must look for him, we must…" Christine interrupted "Nadir and the doctor have already gone to look. Nadir made me promise that I'd see to it that you have your trunk packed when he returns, as you will be leaving immediately. I tried to ask him questions, but he left before I could." Madame Giry reached out her hand bracing Christine as she had turned pale.
"I feel faint mother…I knew he shouldn't have gone. I knew he wasn't well enough. He was so insistent." Christine sat down, putting her head between her knees trying not to faint. "I love him, I shouldn't have let him go…" She broke down, her body began to jerk at the deep gasping and sobbing that ravaged her.
The kitchen staff peeked out of their doors just off of the kitchen, and decided to stay in their rooms giving Madame Giry and Christine some privacy. All that is except for Sara.
"What is it dear, what troubles you so?" She said coming out to stand by the two women.
Christine reached out grabbing Sara around the shoulders. "Erik's gone missing!" She sobbed.
"Gone missing? Did he go out for a walk in his nightclothes?" Sara was baffled.
"No, he'd gone by carriage…it's difficult to explain….he'd gone to the winter house to look for Meg."
Sara was completely confused now, but set about comforting Christine anyway. She led her over to a chair. Madame Giry watched realizing that Christine was now in capable hands, she said "I'll go pack my trunk, no doubt Nadir will return soon, and I'll need to be prepared." Christine nodded to her.
Sara rubbed Christine's back, encouraging her to breathe. "You've not been well my dear, you need to calm down or you'll worsen your condition."
Christine had not told Sara of her condition, and had no intentions of doing so without Erik's permission. "You're right Sara." Christine tried breathing normally, although it was difficult.
"Now, do tell me why everyone has been up all night, rambling about."
Christine had come to trust Sara, and had a feeling that she could trust her with this too. "I'll try to explain" she said as Sara pulled up a chair next to hers. Christine told of the dream, Nadir's insistence on going to the winter house, Erik following him, Nadir returning, and then leaving again to find Erik. She was quite literally exhausted from reliving the events.
Sara sat rubbing her chin. "I do not know Erik as well as all of you, and perhaps it makes it easier for me to think differently."
"What do you mean?" Christine asked, wiping her face from the new round of tears that swelled as she told the story.
"I do not know Erik's habits, but I do know horses. If Erik was too ill to direct the horse, or had fallen off, or had been taken off the horse, the horse will return to what it knows." Sara said standing up to grab her cloak. "What do you mean Sara?" "We should look back at the winter house. If something happened, the horse would have returned there."
Christine turned her head watching as Sara put on her cloak fastening it at the clasp. "Why would a horse return there, this is its home?" Sara smiled at her, "I just have a sense of it Christine, you'll have to trust me."
Sara lifted her hood and walked toward the door. "I'll be back in no time dear, I'm taking my horse, and going to the winter house. If Nadir and the doctor are on their way there now, I should have company for the return trip!" With that Sara disappeared out the door and into the barn.
Before long Christine saw Sara galloping away on a medium sized brown horse. It wasn't the largest, or most capable steed in the stable, but it suited Sara just fine. Christine sat alone in the kitchen lost in thought. He said Meg was alright, but if she was alright, why did Madame Giry have to travel to Paris to be with her? She had been at the Winter house, but why? Was Raoul even there, or was that just a part of the sorted dream? Why had Nadir taken the carriage, and Erik the horse? Why had they not returned together? It was all rather complicated, and too many questions needed to be answered before she would calm herself. She plopped down once more in the chair by the window. Meg was safe, Madame Giry was leaving, and Erik was missing. She was thankful, sad, and terrified all at the same time.
Soon Madame Giry returned to her in the kitchen. Christine had been pacing the floor. "Do sit, where is Sara, I thought she'd be keeping you company?" Madame Giry had dressed in traveling clothes, her large bag packed now sat by the door.
"She went looking for him." Christine said staring off into the distance. "For Erik?" Madame Giry looked at her confused. "Yes, she's gone to the winter house…she had a feeling the horse would take him back there."
Madame Giry dropped herself into the chair next to Christine's. This had been a very long night. Too many people had left that house, far too few had returned. She looked at Christine and stood to embrace her. "Except for the nights after the fire at the Opera House when we feared you dead, this has been the longest night of my life!" She said, rubbing Christine's back. "It shall all be as it should be, we've little power to change it now, we must be patient."
Christine couldn't help but feel responsible. If she'd just kept her dream to herself, everyone would be waking up in their warm beds, everything would be normal….but what of Meg? No, she couldn't have ignored that feeling…it had been too strong. "Madame Giry, I am sorry for this mess…this entire mess. It has all come to pass because of me!"
"Shhhhh child, you had a dream, what else were you to do but tell us of it?"
"Not just this, not just this….:" she trailed off. "All of this has been because of me. Had I not come to live at the Opera Populaire, none of this would have happened. Erik would still be there. You and Meg would still be there, Nadir would be in Persia. All of this happened…because of me!" Christine started to sob again.
"Christine," Madame Giry said straightening her up into a sitting position, "you know better than anyone that fate cannot be changed. We cannot wish it away, or avoid it, we must simply embrace it. One cannot control what will happen, we simply do our best, and let God take care of the rest. If it was meant to be that all this should come to pass, who are we to judge that it should not be so?"
Christine knew the words were true, though they offered little comfort to her now. They sat holding each other in the kitchen as the morning sun shone through the eastern windows. It was morning….all things looked different in the morning.
XXXX
The horse rambled through the low shrubs down to the river. He'd not been watered or fed in a long while, and now instinct was taking over. He'd grown accustomed to the large slumping weight on his back, but had not been able to rid himself of it even by brushing against tree limbs. It neither clung to him, nor provided direction, it was a useless lump on his back. He nibbled on the grasses that were poking through the snow, and took a long drink from the riverbank before heading back up to the field. It was then that he heard it, barking, barking of dogs. The horse bolted nearly toppling its rider. Erik had secured himself well, and though he sagged from side to side as the horse ran, he was anchored securely in the stirrups. The horse easily out distanced the pack in a few minutes time, and they had given up. Off in the distance was the winter house. The horse looked up and made its way in that general direction.
XXXXX
Nadir and the doctor had been searching for nearly two hours. They'd searched all down by the riverbanks behind Courtland Manor. Had gone through every inch of pasture the horses normal were corralled in. They had been on the road and off the road a dozen times as they retraced the steps that the horse might have taken.
"Nadir, the day is getting long, and the horse has had no rest. Though I do not want to stop, I fear we must if ever so briefly, for the beast's sake."
Nadir found it irritating, he didn't care if the beasts died beneath them, he couldn't lose Erik now, and every hour that passed, the harder it would be to find him. He finally nodded, and the doctor dismounted and walked the horse over to the river for a drink. Nadir did the same.
"I don't understand it. We've retraced nearly back to where we parted ways, and yet no trace of him." The doctor said admonishingly.
Nadir was sick to his stomach. He should have insisted that one of the coachmen ride back with Erik, that he'd done something different, anything different rather than send out a wounded man on a horse. He doubted he'd been robbed, for no evidence of a scuffle was found on their way.
"He must had wandered off somewhere, perhaps he took my suggestion and is laying down." The doctor offered.
"What?" Nadir asked. "He was in much pain, and I gave him a shot to relieve him of some of the discomfort. I admonished him to lay down and rest if he became lightheaded."
"Why did you not mention this before? It is quite possible that he is lying down under some brush, or by a cave, or even perhaps waited behind the winter house for us to leave and went in to lie down. We've been searching all this time, and this just came to you now!"
The doctor was unaccustomed to being addressed in such a manner, but felt ill-prepared to defend himself given the turn of events.
Nadir mounted his horse again. "We've no time to waste watering the horses. Erik could be in grave danger while we sit. We will look at all the possible places he might seek shelter, on the way to and from the winter house. I do hope that Madame Giry is getting ready as we speak. I promised Raoul that we'd be no more than a day behind them, and I'd like to keep that promise!" The doctor mounted his horse again and they were off.
XXXX
Sara pushed on. It had been a long while since she'd ridden a horse this way, but it felt liberating. She'd been to the winter house only twice, and that was to retrieve items that had been stored there. It seemed so much work to maintain two residences, one for the two seasons, but it was not for her to say. She'd been scanning the horizon on both sides, looking for any sign of life, or of the horse. Having found none, she pressed on to the winter house. If she made it that far, and had found nothing, she would leave it up to the men to search, as it was far to dangerous for a woman to be out in the woods alone.
XXXXXX
The horse pushed his way through the gate, plodding up next to the house where it had rested before. He wandered around the yard, munching on whatever he could find. The horse brushed up against one of the larger shrubs that were along side the house, causing a large clump of melting snow to deposit itself directly on Erik. Erik startled at the sudden rush of cold on his skin. He was slumped over making it difficult to breathe. He tried opening his eyes barely making out his surroundings as he started to wake from the powerful medicine that had left his faculties quite altered. He could hear rustling and then heard a door open and close.
"Sir, are you alright….sir…..sir…" he felt a hand nudging his side. He groaned. "Let me help you down from that horse, you've been bleeding, there's blood on your lips, come inside." The young man pulled Erik's feet out of the stirrups, and unwound his cloak. He pulled Erik's arms out from beneath the saddle, and unwound the horse's reins. "How did you become so entwined?" the boy said disgustedly as he unwound everything that had held Erik so precariously to the beast. At last he was free, and nearly toppled over onto the boy as he struggled to get to his feet.
"Come inside, rest…I'll" the boy stopped. He didn't know quite what he would do for the man. It wasn't his house, he had no medical training, and he himself was an unwelcome guest there. Perhaps he'd leave the man and fetch someone from town on his way back to Paris. No one would be looking for him, so he could travel quite freely now in his brother's carriage.
Glass and broken wood, and ripped canvas crunched under foot as the boy brought Erik to rest on the couch. Erik still could not focus his eyes, but was thankful he was no longer on the horse. He felt sick to his stomach, and every inch of him ached wildly.
"Sir, have you a name sir?" Erik just mumbled inaudibly. The boy sat down next to him. Perhaps he could rob him, but what little could a man like this be carrying? He thought better of it, deciding instead to let the man have some peace. He himself was going to go upstairs and get some rest. No one would be coming back here anytime soon he thought to himself, so he'd best take advantage of the warm shelter while he could. The next days were likely to be difficult ones.
Erik lay passing in and out of consciousness as he fought to focus his eyes and clear the cloud from his mind. He had been on the horse, he remembered wrapping himself tightly to the beast not wanting to stop…he could remember nothing else after that until the last few minutes. It had indeed been unwise to continue, but he'd felt he had little choice. He had no idea where he was, or what boy had been speaking to him. He only knew he was alive, and not at all at home. They would no doubt be worrying, but he was in no condition to alter his present situation. He would rest until he could focus his eyes, and stand on his own. He would thank the young man for his hospitality and be on his way. That was the best he could manage for now.
XXXXXX
Sara had nearly lost her way, and had it not been for the landmark of the barn that had been falling down, she feared she would have been lost entirely. Just ahead was what she thought she remember of the winter house. It was surrounded by a large fenced yard, and she could see the shell of an elaborate garden in the back. "That has to be it, it has the large willow in the front." Sara said to herself.
She'd nearly set her mind on the fact that she would find nothing there, but at the very least, she'd be able to bring back some sort of information regarding the condition of the house, and if she'd found any evidence of what might have gone on last night. Christine and Madame Giry would certainly be most interested in anything she could tell them.
As she rounded the front of the house, she was at once confused, and relieved to see a horse standing out front. She thought its markings looked familiar, perhaps out of their own stable. If it was not Erik's horse, she was uncertain who would be there now. She took out her husband's pistol that she'd brought with her, and slowly made her way up the steps and to the door. The latch was not done, and it pushed open with ease.
"Hello?" Sara called out feebly, "is there anyone here?" She heard a groan off the left in what she remembered to be the parlor. She walked in further, gasping in horror at the large pool of blood beside the piano, the broken glass, the bits of fabric, and part of a torn corset, that lay strewn about on the floor. Something tragic had happened here, and it terrified her to see what might be producing the moaning she heard. She cocked her gun, ready to shoot if she needed to. She slowly crept around the corner, peering into the room.
There he was, sprawled out on the divan. "Thank heavens you are alive! They've been so worried for you!" Sara exclaimed rushing over to Erik's side. "Sara?" Erik recognized her voice through the haze.
"Yes, yes, it is me Monsier Courtland. I must get that cleaned up, your lip, your face, it's caked with dried blood, wherever did you get that scrape on your forehead?" Erik could only groan. Sara went to the kitchen to retrieve a washbasin and some linen.
"Courtland?" the boy, who had observed Sara's entrance and subsequent conversation muttered to himself. "I brought in the very man I've mind to kill? It is a good day!" He looked around the room. Surely a fireplace poker, an ornamental sword, something could be used. This family had killed his father. Surely that is why his brother had come to this house, had agreed to carry Meg, so as to learn of its location just the day before. There could be no mistake, that simply must be him.
He moved back toward the drawing room, scanning the shelves, the floors with his eyes. He could hear the woman in the kitchen rummaging through the cupboards. Then, his eyes caught site of it. "Perfect!" Sara had laid the gun aside on the table not five feet from Erik. He would have to be swift, but he was confident that he could secure the gun, fire the killing shot, and be out the door and on the horse before the woman could come from the kitchen. He could hear Erik groaning, trying to sit up. If he was to do it, he'd need to do it now.
The pace of his heart quickened, he could feel the blood and adrenaline racing through his veins. How fitting it seemed that his first kill would be to avenge the death of his father. He walked swiftly and quietly over to the table where the gun lay. Lifting it slowly he felt for the trigger and looked to be certain that the bullet was in the chamber. He needed to be nearly silent so he turned ever so slowly around now walking toward the man that lay on the couch. It was almost too easy to feel any victory in it. He was focused, and poised as he came to within feet of the man.
Erik was straining to focus his eyes. He could make out a form and he could see something in his hand. It was the cock of the gun that made Erik realize what was about to happen, he could do nothing to stop it. He heard the boy say "my father was Joseph, it is because of your family that he is now dead. It was your wife who shot him. She took something that I loved from me, now it is my turn to take something that she loves from her…blood for blood!"
He held up the pistol, pointing it at Erik's head. Closing his eyes he pulled the trigger. A large groan and then a thud. He felt something warm splatter on his cheek and on his shoe. He couldn't look, he simply turned and ran out of the house, mounted the horse that had been tied outside and rode away. He'd go off to retrieve the carriage in the woods. He'd leave the horse free there, he couldn't take the chance of being caught with it. As he road away, he wiped the splattered blood from his face on his sleeve. He wanted to be proud, but he was not, part of him ached at the thought of taking a life….even in the name of revenge.
Author's Notes:
Captain Oblivious: Yes, lemon jello, plump blueberry's floating in it like little blue angels, topped with Devonshire cream! Hey, if you have to be locked up in that suit, mind if I steal your dessert! Yikes, no sword, but I think I just saw you flash your fangs at me…..you haven't seen Dracula yet, and you're already acting the part! Yes, you're going to cry…sorry. Don't forget to watch the bonus feature on the DVD. You'll get to see Gerry getting ready for his role! I don't want to spoil the surprise, but let's just say I'd not mind being an employee of the costume department!
Meg and Raoul, love, or is it maybe a shared sympathy that masquerades as love due to the unmitigated tragedy? Perhaps they've been driven into each other's arms by a force as powerful as love…grief. Hmmmm…. Time will only tell if the love is true. I've often wondered what will happen if Raoul ever finds out what Meg has been hiding from him…maybe the secret will go with her to her grave…or maybe not.
Hope you enjoy the next chapters…you're probably going to want to lash out at me again…..thank heavens you're properly restrained in that straight jacket…..uh oh….I think I just saw someone changing their coats from white to black….I think you're in trouble now….. grabs dessert and makes a run for it
PhantomFan13: Yes, I own Timeline. I didn't mind seeing Gerry in that at all, he was a wonderful addition to the cast, although he didn't get as much screen time as I would have liked. He was a hero…and at least in this movie he got the girl! I didn't like seeing him lose his ear, but the look on his face when he realized that he was the knight that he'd found lying next to Lady Claire at the excavation site…well, that look was priceless. He'd found the love of his life….and that always makes me happy! The ending was sad because they were all parted, but at least they got to find out what happened to Merek, that he'd lived a long life and named his children after them! ;-)
Now back to POTO! Yes, it has the potential to get quite complicated. Everyone is out in the woods, traveling back and forth. Christine feels guilty for having started the whole mess. It sort of gives us a nudge to follow our gut instincts…if something feels wrong…it probably is. Now, with Christine's "gift" of dreams, her life will never be simple again…of course….being married to the Phantom…she probably never expected it to be! I'm glad you liked the chapters so far. I have to tell you that I jumped up and down writing them, so I'm happy to hear someone shares my sentiment! I hope you like the next ones, though I cannot promise that Erik will be safe!
AJNemo: Welcome home! Yes, the chapters have come fast and furious! I try for two a day, Monday through Friday, so a couple of weeks would bring on a flurry of new chaps. I am as faithful to a story as I am to my friends and family. I could not abandon it unless I'm hit by a truck! Hope you enjoy the chapters as you catch up with Christine and Erik!