Good reviews make my world around.
And it's been a few days which means… time for an update! And if you're reading anything else of mine… Soon. I promise. I just get in moods. But soon.
So without further adieu…
Philippe the Comte de Chagny paced relentlessly back and forth across the carpet of his hotel room. The situation hadn't improved any and his two sisters, continually fretting and worrying, were only making it worse. There was no trace of his younger brother and a day had already gone by.
How had the little scamp managed to get away from him in the first place?
It was altogether too much responsibility, the Comte thought, to be placed on the head of a young man barely into his twenties. Both parents dead, the estate to manage and now this. He sighed and went to down another glass of brandy when a messenger entered the room with a telegraph on a plate.
"Sir?"
"What is it?" He asked irritably, finishing his alcohol. "You'd better have good news."
"I do sir. It seems that soon after you reported offering a reward, a performer from a local circus came forth saying that a man in his troupe found a blond child wandering in the woods not far from where your grace was walking yesterday. It is most likely him."
"Thank Heaven! This is a relief."
"However, sir, there is one slight detail."
Philippe's eye twitched.
"Detail?" He hissed through clenched teeth.
"Yes. They were rather hoping you would be more… generous, sir," the messenger informed, looking for a way to tactfully state the demands so as not to have the count decide to shoot… well, him.
"More generous?" He spat.
He then slammed his glass down so hard it utterly shattered.
Raoul's eyelashes fluttered and he made a small noise as Erik climbed out of the coffin and cold, chilly air rushed in where his warm body had previously been. It was already light outside and Erik allowed the sun just slightly into the room by means of a tiny shuttered window high up on the walls of the cart. The toddler rubbed his eyes at the modestly bright rays and yawned several times as Erik busied himself around the room.
"What'cha doin'?" He asked.
Erik breathed a quick sigh of relief that the boy hadn't woken up disoriented or in a panic.
"I'm getting ready for the day ahead," he replied.
"Oh," he said, sitting in the center of the coffin. He shivered slightly. "It's cold," he whined.
'Of course it is,' thought Erik, 'When your parents have no better sense than to dress you in unseasonably thin linens and then you tear them further walking around the woods.'
"Here," he said, reaching into a box and pulling out a thicker shirt. "Take this." He walked over to the coffin and tugged it over the young boy's head. "It's a little bit large, but you should be a little bit warmer."
Raoul smiled and clapped the two long sleeves together. Then, he stretched out his arms to the boy.
"Up!"
Erik smiled and lifted the boy out of the coffin, positioning him on his waist. Suddenly, there was a tiny rumbling sound and Raoul looked at him with his wide, blue eyes.
"Hungry too," he said apologetically.
"Tell you what," Erik said as he put him down, "Why don't you just stay put for a while and I'll go get us both something to eat, alright?"
The boy grinned.
"OK!"
"Now remember, stay put and don't try to leave the cart. Don't move the curtain aside or make too much noise… Trust me, you want to attract as little attention as possible. I'll be right back."
Raoul nodded enthusiastically, once again getting the feeling that it was best to listen and obey when Erik spoke. He toddled into a corner of the room and played with his sleeves, waiting for his companion to return.
Erik reached behind his head and finished securing the mask that he wore on a daily basis. He stuck to the shadows for the most part anyway, but he wanted to make sure that he was seen as little as possible. Anything less, even among these outcast wanderers, was an invitation to mockery.
He made his way quietly across the came until he came to the area of the camp where the gypsies were cooking. He planned to simply grab a few pieces of bread and some clean water, then leave. However, he felt a hand press against his shoulder and he cursed his carelessness under his breath.
"Little corpse…" the man who'd found Raoul the previous night began.
"What do you want?" He asked in a voice kept carefully emotionless.
"I wanted to ask you, how did our guest sleep last night?" He smiled a toothy, decayed smile that nearly caused the boy to shudder.
"Terribly," Erik lied, not missing a beat. "He froze in terror and then started to wail until I gagged him."
The man scoffed, and then held out a package wrapped in cloth.
"Here. Mustn't let our guest go hungry."
Erik deftly took the package from his hands then slipped away, taking more care about being seen. The man tried to spot him but couldn't. He frowned. He didn't trust that boy – if that's what you could call him, with a face like that – didn't trust him one bit.
He grunted then went into a nearby cart, slamming the door to it as he went. He didn't see, but he did have good cause to be worried about Erik – the boy was crouched nearly invisibly beneath the cart's single window. Erik suspected that since the boy was being given special treatment, something was afoot and he was determined to find out what.
"They found the brother, you know."
"What about the parents?"
"Dead. There's only the young Comte and two sisters."
"And? Is he going to pay?"
"Heh. He says that he's been generous enough and won't hear of adding a franc more."
"What! Absurd."
"We could get into legal trouble if we keep him."
"I say let them sweat a day or two, talk to the sisters, let them get worked up – you know how women are."
"You'd best not let this go too far."
"Don't worry. The brother will pay up."
"I'm not so sure…"
Erik didn't hear the rest of the conversation, as his whole demeanor had darkened and he was pulsating with rage. He rushed back to his own dark, shrouded cart and burst into to find Raoul playing with the large shirt, right where he'd left him. So the boy would be taken away if the brother paid… but he didn't want to pay more… his own brother and he wouldn't hand over a little extra…
"Erik!" Raoul chirped.
He managed a smile, closed the door and locked it securely, then sat down with Raoul to eat. He opened the package to find a couple small baguettes, cheese and a bottle of milk. He produced a knife and a couple of cups, slicing the cheese and pouring some of the milk into each yet significantly more into Raoul's.
As he watched the boy dipping his bread and eating the soggy mess along with a cheese slice every so often, he thought about what he'd overheard and a dialogue took place in his mind.
He wouldn't pay to have his own brother back, this innocent child.
It only makes sense that the brother won't give in to blackmail; they'd increase their demands; kidnappers would learn they could successfully extort money that way. Besides, he did offer some reward.
He'll grow up rich and spoiled.
And what have you to offer him?
He… he was kind to me! And now he'll be taken away…
Are you that selfish? To take him away from his family, just so that you can have the pleasure of his company? Besides, people change. He might too.
And aristocrat… a classic aristocrat, he'll be just like them.
You're making excuses.
I… I…
Raoul finished then and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.
"All done!"
"Good job," Erik replied.
He wiped the boy's mouth with the napkin in which the bread had been wrapped. Just as he finished, a heavy knocking at the door jolted him and sent the boy scurrying behind Erik.
"Corpse!" A thick, grumbling voice came from behind the locked door. "It's almost time for your first show and you'd better be ready."
"I know, I know," the teen grumbled.
With a smooth motion he picked up Raoul and took him to the opposite corner of the room. The boy watched as he moved each of the objects in the room further back then draped a piece of velvet across a bar that stretched across the cart, dividing it into two sections. Raoul stared at him curious.
"What's goin' on?"
"I have to perform," Erik said with a sigh. "You must stay in the back and remain very quiet. Do like you did when I went away before and don't let anyone suspect you're back here."
The boy nodded seriously and Erik paused, wondering if anything had changed with the boy's brother. His pervious thoughts surfaced once more… Shaking his head, he decided that it would be best to focus on the task at hand. He slipped into his performance clothing, a stark white shirt and black mask, then put his finger to his lips and nodded at Raoul, warning him to be quiet. He left the child and stepped into the strip of darkness between the two curtains.
The show began and as it did Erik started to sing. Behind the second curtain Raoul shivered without knowing exactly why. However, just as the song was reaching its climax, the air was filled with the screams of horror and shrieks of frightened delight that always accompanied the unmasking and Raoul could hear no more.
Erik returned after his performance was done and found the boy scrunched up in the far corner. He walked over and found that Raoul was shaking. He touched his arm.
"Raoul?"
He looked up at Erik and the teenager saw that his face was streaked with tears. At the same moment, they reached for one another and Erik held the boy close.
"What's wrong?"
"Th… they were… were laughing at you… and screaming… they're mean…"
Erik was speechless and didn't trust himself to move without crying.
A moment passed before he regained his voice.
"Yes… that's what I do, it's my job…"
"Why?" The boy cried. "That's awful! Why don't you punch them?"
"I can't Raoul, they're customers. Besides, there are bars that separate us."
"Then why do you stay here, with mean people? Am I gonna have to stay here and have people be mean to me all the time too? Why do you leave?"
In an instant, Erik's resolve hardened.
"No, you will not have to stay here. Neither of us will. Raoul," he said, looking the boy in the eye, "Your brother will not pay the ransom; he is not coming. But do not worry. I will take us away and we'll go somewhere where we won't ever be laughed at or ridiculed or spat at or abandoned. Do you trust me Raoul? I will take you there. Will you believe that and follow me, quietly and without complaint?
Will you stay with me?"
They locked eyes and the boy shivered for a moment. Then he mutely and solemnly nodded his head.
Raoul dashed to keep up with Erik; speed was of the essence if they wanted to get away unnoticed. In the distance, the heard the roar and revelry of those gathered around the campfires. Erik, dressed in black with a thick cape covering him, clutched the necessary goods he'd managed to steal from those in the camp with one hand and held Raoul's hand with the other. The slipped in the darkness to the stables where Erik took a handkerchief dipped in a solution, held it over his face and carefully lowered the comatose man to the floor.
They picked the darkest, swiftest horse and slipped on a bridle quickly. Erik mounted bareback, and then pulled Raoul up onto the beast, marveling at how quiet and behaved the boy was for him. Raoul slipped under the coat for warmth and wrapped his arms as far as he could around Erik, with his hands grasping Erik's shirt and his head resting against his back.
Together they rode into the night and were swallowed by the darkness.
And that's a wrap. Review – all comments, for good or for awesome, are appreciated.