"I am yours." I answered quietly. He lifted my hand and I looked at the ring. It was gold inlaid with pearls. Somehow, the smooth white of the pearls caught the barely-there candlelight and shone. "Don't take it off. Ever," his smooth voice commanded. I mutely nodded. What had I gotten myself into? The man was glorious, but he was not the Angel of Music. I had been deceived, lured below the opera to be seduced by a masked musician. Distantly, I wondered if I would ever be returned to Fourchette and my father. And what of Edward, Marie, Jacques and Meg? Or Whimsy, my faithful mare? As if he sensed my deceitful thoughts, the Angel began to hum. My mind went blank at the sound. He walked over to the couch where I had littered the outer layers of my clothing. Smoothly, he picked up the dress and brought it to his face to inhale deeply.
"What do you smell?" I asked, for when he sniffed, the music stopped and coherency once again returned. "You," the Angel answered. I blushed. Why did he make me feel as bashful as a little girl? "What is my scent?" I weakly murmured. Still clutching the fabric, he thoughtfully replied, "You smell of summer days spent at the sea. A very intoxicating combination." I walked over to him and smelled the skirt. Then I brought my wrist up and daintily sniffed. "I don't smell any scents of the summer." I said in confusion.
"Ah, but my senses are...enhanced from experience. Trust me, you smell heavenly." He placed the dress on the couch then pulled me into his arms. Then he brought his head down and kissed my neck, inhaling as he did. "Heavenly..." he murmured, as if in a daze. I was lost, and his touches made me dizzy. Distantly, I felt angry. Why could he control me so easily? To keep my wits about, I decided to distract myself. "What should I call you?" I managed to stutter. He pulled his icy lips away from my skin and answered, "Whatever you wish to call me." Summoning strength I did not know I possessed, I wrenched myself from his hard arms. He let me go. "Haven't you a name?"
He gave a nearly condescending laugh and said, "Oh I have many names, my love. On second thought, you shall still call me "Angel." In some ways, I am still your Angel of Music, and I shall continue to teach you and be your...guardian." I nodded. "And now, my dear, I regret to say we must dress you again." Angel picked up the the skirt and approached me. "But why?" I said in horror at having to dawn the confining trap again after just having taken it off. "You shan't stay in Fourchette forever. We must leave soon, but not yet. The residents are compiling a search party for you, it is believed that you were kidnapped on the night of your homecoming ball. So I shall return you, and you will not reveal my existence or our plans. I am still creating the means of our escape so that we can live in...peace? -for eternity. Do you understand, my love?" I did not understand. He gave me time to collect my thoughts.
"You are letting me go back home?" I finally asked. He nodded, then stood behind me with the skirt. I wearily stepped into it. He began to fasten and tie the laces, his fingers lingering on my back. "And I shall stay at home until you devise a plan to...take me away...so that we can live together?" My speech was slow and broken. With a final tie, he finished dressing me. The heavy bustle added pounds to my frame. I turned around to face him. "Yes, Belle, that is it." I narrowed my eyes at him in confusion. "Why not just go to my father and propose?" I vaguely remembered how the idea of my ball had infuriated me because I thought it had been just to put me into the marriage market. Now I was suggesting for a man to propose to my father. He laughed and drew me back to the present.
"Belle, I am not an average man. And our love defies the rules of society. I will not bend it to conform to the needs of others. There's only you and I and that is all that matters." His talk was daring but frightening. I did not want to be separated from the other people I loved. "When you are reunited with your father; you mustn't reveal my location." I nodded my consent, then asked, "What should I say, Angel?" He took my hand and led me through the dark halls. I could tell he was thinking. We arrived back at the main grotto-like room and he sat down at his organ. Listlessly, he tapped out a sweet song, obviously still deliberating. "Say whatever you wish. Everything I have thought of would not sound right coming from your mouth." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. His advice was not helpful in the least. It was still hard for me to feel so seduced, but yet alive, around a person whom I had formerly believed to be a mystical being. At times, he still felt much more then human. Gracefully, Angel rose from the bench and was at my side in an instant. "How did you reach me so fast?" I asked in wonder. He smirked and said, "I walked." I shook my head. He reached up and began smoothing my hair. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"Your hair is rather...mussed. I don't want to return you to your father looking wild." I shook my head again. Unless he had a large comb and rosewater in his hands, my huge curls would not be tamed.
"There," he said, sounding rather pleased. I walked over to a mirror in the corner. My dark red hair was still rather voluminous, but it wasn't as tangled. A black silk ribbon tied the top back, and some of the pearls and diamonds from the ball were still intact.
"I've decided. Besides being a brilliant musician, you are also a master hairdresser." I joked. He smiled, but his expression was guarded. "I must take you back now." I extended my hand towards him so he could lead me back. To my surprise, he took my hand, then took me up into his arms. I was embarrassed and a little angered. "Put me down this instant!" I cried. "No, love. Please, just close your eyes. It will be less frightening that way, and we must move fast. Under another circumstance, I would not carry you against your will." He began to run. He was moving so fast I could hardly see. Tears began to pool in my eyes from the wind his running created. It was not human. I obeyed him and shut my eyes. Perhaps he was actually an Angel, for no man could run that fast. "Why must we make hast?" I gasped. I was actually beginning to enjoy the speed. "Your father's search party will leave in seven minutes. I want you home before they leave the property." I closed my mouth. No logical argument would work, for if his lair was underneath the opera house, and the opera house was miles away from my estate, then obviously, we would not make it in time.
And yet, before I was ready for his exhilarating run to finish, we arrived at the woods around my father's lands. Slowly and carefully, Angel put me down to the ground. His hands still clutched my own shaking arms. I was still in the ballgown, though it was sufficiently tattered. I'm sure that even after Angel's arranging, that my hair was a mess too. Once I stopped quivering, oh it was embarrassing, he turned away from me to face the surrounding trees. "Don't go!" I cried in alarm. He faced me again with a smile on his dashing features. The mask remained on the right side of his perfect face, stark white and shining. I reached out and touched his smooth cheek. Flawless. Was he even real, or just a fantasy created by my dull life? He breathed into my palm. Oh, he was real. Angel gently leaned forward and kissed my lips. "Don't go," I faintly repeated.
He tapped my neck with one cold finger. "I must." Then he pulled away, murmured, "Soon, my love." and vanished. I was still leaning forward into the empty air, already wanting for his company. I glanced around for him a few more times, then began the long walk up to my father's manor. It would take me hours. To make things even more lovely, I had no clue what to say when I arrived at my home.