To MJ MOD: Wolf spiders are everywhere in the world. They're just thought to be biggest in Australia. Actually, wolf spiders can get enormous, provided they have a food-rich environment. I'm sure the opera cellars are crawling with insects for the spiders to feed on, hence it was so huge. You said the bite isn't toxic, but I'm afraid that's not true. The wolf spider's bite is poisonous, but the poison isn't lethal to humans. However, the area of the bite will end up getting really ugly looking (I'd tell you to look up images of wolf spider bites, but the images I found were very disgusting and I felt rather sick after looking at them myself). An ulcer can develop and the flesh around the bite will die and kinda fall off. So, sucking out the venom is important. As for Lenore Serenity, she will not surrender her will to Erik (at least not yet), she's too much of a fighter for that. And as for Jack the Ripper taking notes for Satan…read on.
To LoveMe1010: Lenore is moping about the fact that she has no say in her wedding. Most girls would like to have some say in it, even if they're marrying THE most creative guy ever and he'll make this wedding perfect. She just wants him to consider her feelings and opinions on things, so she feels more like an equal partner in the relationship, really.
I'm sure you all know the spiel by now, I don't own Phantom, fic takes place about twenty years into the present, blah blah blah, REVIEW…
Hiroshi sighed. Earth can be so boring when you're not having sex or killing people. There was nothing worth his time on television, he'd read all the books in this hotel (it felt as if he'd read all the books in France), and he couldn't have a prostitute over before afternoon, as he found it trashy to have a bitch in the morning.
There was a knock on the door, and if it was a maid, she was in for a treat. Hiroshi rose and went to the door, not even bothering to look through the peephole and check first. He was quite surprised to see one of the bellhops, who pushed past him with a two suitcases and headed for the second bedroom.
"Uncle Jack! Awesome place you got here," a seventeen year old boy exclaimed, strutting into the suite and examining it with dark brown eyes. His black hair fell to his waist, and it was pulled back in one fat braid secured with a strip of black leather. Tight black leather pants left very little to the imagination and a white dress shirt was left unbuttoned to display a black wifebeater beneath. "It's cool you're letting me stay with you; Mom would've sent me to a military school if you didn't."
"It's no problem at all," Hiroshi replied. How kind of you to move in unexpectedly, Master. The bellhop returned from the second bedroom and looked expectantly at Hiroshi, who handed him a tip and sent the man on his way. As soon as the door was closed behind the bellhop, Hiroshi addressed Satan. "Men don't wear their hair like that anymore, you know."
"I know; it gets everyone's attention," Satan replied with a smirk. "It's easier to tempt people who notice you."
"So, dear 'nephew' of mine, what should I call you?"
"Kenneth. Ken or Kenny if you want," Satan said with a shrug. He never was very particular about names.
"Might I ask what brought on this little visit?"
"I'd just love to get to know 'cousin' Lenore, hear about her memories and all. And as it just so happens, I know for a fact that Erik's out shopping and she's all alone right now," Satan responded, sprawling out over the couch. "Maybe you should check up on her. After all, Michael never said anything about you staying away from her."
"That's very true, but I fail to see what's in it for me, other than a beating from Erik," Hiroshi pointed out, standing next to the sofa and looking down at the attractive teenage boy laying there.
"Just go down, ask her a few questions, maybe make her an offer on my behalf, and I'll show you just how loving of a nephew I can be," Satan stated with a very suggestive smirk.
"I might need a bit of a down payment, a little taste of my reward, to provide proper incentive," Hiroshi claimed.
Satan sat up, grabbed Hiroshi's shirt by the collar and pulled him down. Lips met and a tongue found its way into Hiroshi's mouth. He was then shoved back up and away with a chuckle from his master. "Don't be gone too long, Uncle. You wouldn't want me to get bored."
"Of course not, Kenneth," Hiroshi smiled, heading for the door.
Lenore lay under the covers, trying to read some of the Wheel of Time series without Erik. But it was excruciatingly difficult, knowing how beautiful these words could sound with his voice and not hearing that. She sighed and closed the book, setting it aside; he had said something about being interested in the story and wanting to finish it, so she could just wait until he came back. He was out picking up more food and choosing fabrics for "more appropriate garments".
As it was, she was currently wearing only her panties, as her right breast was swollen from the bite, which made wearing bras and the shirts Hiroshi had brought down very painful. (Those shirts were tailored for an excellent fit, but left no room for swelling, and Erik had almost had a fit when Lenore asked to wear one of his shirts. He claimed he preferred her in no shirt, he'd seen her breasts before, there's was no real need for a shirt if she was going to be in bed under the covers; since she was on bed rest and couldn't get out of bed to get herself any clothes, she really had no choice but to go without.)
Closing her eyes, Lenore sighed heavily. It was so quiet without Erik down here. Why doesn't he get a TV and wire the house for cable or something? Though I have no idea what good that would do; with my luck I'd find and become interested in a scary movie and then I'd be terrified and alone in a dark creepy basement. I wonder where Cristoph is…oh shit, he's dead by now. Well, he's gotta have a replacement, so why haven't I met another rat yet?
The bed shifted beneath her. Why can't he just call out "Honey, I'm home" or something of that nature when he gets back instead of creeping in here and trying to scare me to death? She opened her eyes, ready to scold Erik for his rude behavior and almost had a heart attack when she saw dark brown eyes mere inches from her own. Just as she was about to scream, a finger was pressed to her lips.
"Shush now kitten, there's nothing to be afraid of," Hiroshi said.
"What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack? I already died from heart problems once; I'd prefer not to die the same way twice," she snapped.
"I just noticed, kitten, that you don't seem to be wearing very much under those covers," Hiroshi commented, looking at her bare arms and shoulders.
Thank God I have the covers pulled up over my chest. "I'm wearing more than enough," she replied.
"You look cold."
"I'm fine."
"He's not taking very good care of you, leaving you alone and at least half naked," Hiroshi sighed, straddling her. "I suppose it's up to me to warm you up, hm?"
"I'm fine," Lenore repeated, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to intimidate him. "What are you doing here anyway? You weren't invited, don't you have any manners?"
"I didn't want you to be stuck down here all alone and bored," Hiroshi replied. "We should pass the time by playing a game. Would you like that?"
"Depends on what you mean by the word 'game'," Lenore responded.
"Questions and Answers should do nicely," Hiroshi continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Yes, I'll ask you a question, and you give me the most honest answer you can manage. And if you fail to answer, I get to kiss you."
I don't really have much choice. He's on top of me, so I can't get away or shoo him to the door. There's no one to hear me scream for help, and it's not like he's asking much of me. I can answer questions, not that difficult… "Only a kiss," she snarled. "Nothing else. Swear to Satan that it'll only be a kiss if I don't answer."
Putting his left hand over his heart and raising his right, Hiroshi took on a look of seriousness. "I swear to Satan that if you fail to answer, I'll do nothing more than kiss you."
"Alright, I'll play. But if you ask anything that I think is too personal, Erik will hear about it."
"First question: Are you still two people?" Hiroshi inquired.
"Erik says that Lenore Wolfe is gone," Lenore answered. "I only half agree; I don't hear her voice anymore, but I have all her memories and stuff."
"How did you get her to disappear? Was it merely one particular thought or action? Or was it a long struggle that took time?"
"I don't really know. Every time I ask, Erik suggests doing something to take my mind off 'pointless thoughts'."
"Do you think Erik had a hand in her disappearance then?"
"No…I don't think so…I hope not," Lenore said.
"What do you think brought your memories of First Life back?" Hiroshi asked.
"Are you down here working for Satan?" Lenore snapped, just now catching on to the most likely reason he was asking these questions. At first, it could've been Hiroshi's concern for his daughter's soul, but now it was quite clear that was not his purpose in asking all these questions.
"Tut tut," Hiroshi scolded. "You're not the questioner." He leaned down, closing the gap between their faces to less than an inch.
"What are you doing?" Lenore hissed.
"You failed to answer my last question, so I get a kiss," he purred.
Before she could protest, his lips covered her own. His tongue pressed against her lips, asking for entrance, but she would have none of that. He slid his tongue along her lips, applying a good deal of pressure, showing her that if she didn't let him in willingly, he intended to force his way in.
I'm not entirely defenseless, Jackass! She brought up her hand and slapped him hard. He jerked up, touching a hand to the cheek she had assaulted. "You got your kiss, ask your next question," she growled.
"I don't know why you reacted so violently," he complained, trying to look like a little boy who had been reprimanded and didn't know why.
"You tried to stick your tongue in my mouth!"
"Yes, because we're in France and thus a French kiss would be quite appropriate," Hiroshi explained. "You can't deny that frenching is a kiss, and you never specified a particular type of kiss as being unacceptable."
"Ask your next goddamn question!"
"Watch your language there, kitten. I'm certainly not one of God's biggest fans, but even I know you shouldn't damn him. Now, as for that question: What do you think brought back your memories of First Life?" he repeated. "And if you answer this question, you can have anything you want as a reward for your cooperation."
"That's not true; I can't have the pleasure of watching you die," she mumbled darkly.
Hiroshi gave an excited little gasp. "Failure to answer, another kiss for me," he all but squealed. He yanked the blanket down to her waist, while she shrieked and demanded to know what he was doing. "Aww, poor thing, that bite looks nasty, you shouldn't let Erik be so rough," he commented on seeing the spider bite. Before she could say anything or jerk the covers back up, Hiroshi placed a kiss on her navel, adding a little lick before coming back up.
"What the fuck was that?" she yelled as her fingers scrambled to grab the blankets and cover her chest.
"You said I could kiss you, remember? You never said where," Hiroshi pointed out.
"Okay, let's stop playing this game, this is incredibly disturbing. Most of me is entirely repulsed by you, and the rest of me is having a massive coronary over the fact that you're my father and you're kissing me in distinctly non-father ways!"
"Can't stop until you answer my question," Hiroshi said in a singsong voice.
"I really have no clue what brought back my memories, okay? The first time I experienced one was when you introduced me to Erik," she informed him.
"When you had that memory, did you get the feeling that you were, in a sense, two people in one body?"
"No, I didn't get that feeling until I saw my body," Lenore replied. "Now stop this, I don't want to play anymore."
"Are you attracted to me?" Hiroshi inquired.
"Get out of this house, or I swear to God I'll beat you beyond the point of death," she threatened. That's sick! He's a father figure to me, of course I don't feel attracted to him! The damn pervert.
"Oh, look, you've failed to answer again," Hiroshi said gleefully, grabbing the edge of the blankets and ripping them out of her hands, exposing her down to mid thigh. Squealing like a banshee and squirming for all she was worth, Lenore attempted to regain the covers, but failed miserably. "Hold still; it's only a kiss, darling," Hiroshi murmured, trying to pin her down so he could plant a kiss on a rather private area of her body.
Hiroshi was suddenly flung to the side, a dark blur pushing him off the bed and slamming him into the wall. Lenore yanked the blankets up over herself as her rescuer began to strangle Hiroshi.
"You do not touch what is mine," Erik hissed, glaring at the immortal in his grip.
"Oh, relax Erik; we were only playing a game. Right kitten?" Hiroshi said, trying to cover his discomfort with calm.
"Yes, we were," Lenore admitted. "But I told you to stop and you kept playing. Don't expect any help or sympathy from me."
"She said I could kiss her if she failed to answer a question," Hiroshi pathetically attempted to defend himself. Erik knew Lenore would never permit that. "She never said I couldn't kiss her anywhere but on the lips. It was fully legal by the rules of our game."
"I don't wish to hear your pathetic excuses, Hiroshi," Erik snarled. "Tell your beloved master to leave Lenore be, or else arrange an appointment with Michael to come and do his own dirty work, rather than sending in someone as incompetent as you."
"It's not an excuse, it's the truth," Hiroshi claimed, clawing at Erik's tightening fingers around his throat. "She said I could"-
"Silence!" Erik growled, cutting off Hiroshi's supply of air. "If you find yourself incapable of delivering that message to your master, I'll deliver it in a more…creative fashion. Make your choice." He loosened the grip on the immortal's neck.
"I'll tell him," Hiroshi said hoarsely, with enough sincerity that Erik knew the man would.
Dropping the man on the floor carelessly, Erik glowered down at him. "Now get out of my house and do not return unless I am present to chaperone your little 'games'."
Hiroshi leapt up and bolted for the door. Erik sighed; he'd have to go back out, the produce would be ruined now from being dropped to the floor when Erik heard Lenore's shrieks. And if anything had survived, ten to one Hiroshi had squashed it on his way out.
"Are you alright?" Erik asked her, going over to the bed to assess damage if the occasion should call for it.
"Yeah, I guess," Lenore replied.
"The nerve of that bastard, even daring to suggest you would allow him to kiss you," Erik muttered darkly.
"Well…" Lenore said, blushing slightly. "I did kinda say he could. I didn't know he meant it like that though."
Erik quirked an eyebrow at her. "You gave that perverted sex maniac permission to kiss you? How could you not realize he would take it to the extremes?" Erik demanded. "Did you forget you were engaged when you granted him permission?"
"No, I didn't forget," she responded, her right hand absently caressing the ring on her left finger. "But he said he was just going to ask questions and he would only kiss me if I didn't answer. It's not hard to answer questions, so I agreed."
"Obviously you found his last question very difficult to answer," Erik snapped.
"Actually, it was two," Lenore confessed, turning red.
Erik glared at her. How could she? When she was engaged to him and they were due to be married within a year? Not to mention she was supposed to love him. And here she was, letting another man (Jack the Ripper, no less!) kiss her. "And where did the first little love peck go, might I ask?"
"Um…well…I didn't answer the first question twice…"
"You mean to tell me that he placed two kisses upon your person before I returned?"
"Yeah, that'd be about right. One on the mouth, one on my stomach," she informed him, her eyes studiously avoiding his own.
"Well, did you learn a lesson from all of this?" Erik sighed.
"Always answer the question?"
"Don't play games with an imp like Hiroshi," Erik corrected. "He'll bend the rules as much as possible."
"Well, he never cheated when we played monopoly," Lenore mumbled.
"Somehow, I feel that there was very little personal gain for him in winning that game," he replied.
"Oh, there was," Lenore countered. "If I won, I got a raise in my allowance. I didn't win all the time, but it was certainly often enough for my purposes." A devious little smirk played upon her lips and Erik got the distinct impression that when she had desperately wanted some extra pocket money, she'd done a bit of cheating herself.
Erik shook his head and went to inspect what was left of the groceries. Sure enough, the majority of the produce was only fit for the rubbish bin now. After putting the rest of his purchases away and cleaning things up, Erik prepared to go out again. He rather liked this new mask he had. He'd worked on a very similar design when he'd thought Christine might marry him, but the acquisition of a nose had changed the design. When Hiroshi had returned with Lenore in her Second Life, Erik had decided to see if he could create a mask that made him look like any other man. He'd gone through several prototypes before getting it just right, but it was worth it. He'd never known how enjoyable society could be if you seemed to fit in.
Returning to the room to inform Lenore that he would be leaving once again, Erik had a thought. "Do you feel up to an outing, chérie?" he inquired of his darling little flower.
"I'd love to, but I really can't wear anything on the top half of my body and I have a feeling that would create quite a stir aboveground," Lenore replied.
"You could borrow one of my shirts, I suppose," Erik permitted.
"Oh, thank you so much," she replied sarcastically. Nevertheless, she got out of bed while Erik selected one of his shirts and a skirt of hers to match it.
Lenore stood arm-in-arm with Erik while he inspected the fruits of one stand. "No, I don't like grapefruit," she said when he reached for one.
"Did I ask if you like it?" he replied.
"I'm just making sure you're well informed."
"Well, consider the fact that the fruit might not be for you," Erik responded.
"Oh, well, buy as much as you like then." Lenore looked around, noting that Erik had purchased all the fruit and vegetables he said he needed already.
After purchasing a few grapefruits (he was extremely picky about the quality of each one), he obtained a bouquet of yellow roses, which were also not for her, before acquiring a cab and taking them out of Paris.
She didn't know where it was that they went, but the cab stopped in front of a rather large house. Erik led her to the door, ringing the bell. "Erik, where are we? Who lives here? How do you know anyone outside the Opera House?" Just then the door was opened, answering Lenore's questions with one look at the woman standing in the doorway. "Tori?"
Tori just stared at her for a minute, not that Lenore really blamed her. After all, I'm dead. "What the fuck?" Tori finally managed to spit out. Then her face turned dark as rage took over. "This isn't funny. I don't know who you are, but this is just cruel."
"Good day, Madam Parker. I've brought you some rather excellent grapefruits; I know how fond you are of them," Erik greeted her as if she hadn't just implied that Lenore's presence was some twisted joke.
Tori looked at him in confusion for a moment. "But you don't come out of the basement in the daytime," Tori replied.
"Can we come in or are we supposed to stand on your stoop all day?" Erik inquired.
"Well, I don't know. Who's the imposter?" Tori demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
"That's a long story," Lenore muttered.
"One that would be much better told inside," Erik added, pushing past Tori and dragging Lenore into the house after him. He took her to the living room and she began to wonder just how well acquainted he was with her brother that he knew the layout of the house.
Tori was right behind them, and she took the bag of grapefruits off to the kitchen, muttering about rude opera ghosts. Erik settled himself on the couch, but Lenore walked around the room, looking at the pictures on the walls.
Mark and Tori had two kids…God, time sure flies when you're living your Second Life. Their daughter looks about my age…well, my new age anyway…the boy's only a few years younger. Wow, I wonder if John and Kathleen have any kids.
Lenore dropped down onto the couch next to Erik, noticing the cat that had curled up in his lap while she was perusing the walls. She reached over to pet it and it hissed at her. "Why don't cats ever like me?" she mumbled.
"You're competition," Erik explained. "You're very much like a cat, chérie. You expect everyone's undivided attention, no matter what else may be going on. You also tend to be aloof. In essence, you're a humanoid cat. You've come into Palidan's territory and he finds you a threat. I'd consider it a compliment, personally. Cats very rarely decide a human is a rival."
Lenore watched Erik stroke Palidan's glossy coat and realized that she was actually slightly jealous of the attention the cat was receiving. You just watch yourself, cat. That's my immortal, and all snuggling rights and caresses are mine!
"Do you want anything?" Tori called out. "Tea? Hot chocolate?"
"Oh, I'd love"- Lenore began.
"We won't be staying long," Erik interrupted.
"Never mind," Lenore sighed.
Tori came back in and sat down in a chair, glaring at Lenore. "Alright, start explaining," she commanded.
An hour of interrogations and answers later, Tori was finally satisfied Lenore was who she claimed to be. "So your daughter Olivia is going out with this guy who's covered in tattoos and body piercing?" Lenore gasped. "Dear God, I doubt she's still a virgin."
"Well, are you still a virgin?" Tori replied.
"Um…this body is," Lenore said, a blush creeping over her face.
"I'll remedy that soon enough," Erik smirked.
"Erik! You can't say that in front of Tori," Lenore hissed, her blush intensifying. "Anyway, Tori, Erik and I are getting married. We haven't set the date yet, but…" Lenore trailed off.
"Oh, let me see the engagement ring," Tori demanded. Lenore held out her left hand and Tori took hold of it, examining the ring. "Whoa, this is gorgeous! He'll be paying this rock off for years."
"It's already paid for," Erik informed her.
"He spent forty thousand on it," Lenore whispered.
"Holy crap! Why the hell isn't he paying our mortgage then? You know, help out the wife's family," Tori suggested.
"I believe it's time we were going," Erik said casually, deftly removing the sleeping Palidan and standing up.
"I didn't know you were marrying Scrooge," Tori mumbled as the women rose.
"Neither did I," Lenore remarked. "It's quite the achievement though, very few people manage to marry a Charles Dickens character."
"Lucinda! Put your father's electric razor down!" Kathleen shouted to her four year old daughter. Her arms were full of clean towels that she was trying to put away, and she could see the little dark-haired devil trying to attack one of the cats with the razor. Not that the kid would ever reach the cat; the cord was too short.
Having finally gotten the towels in the linen closet, Kathleen rushed over, took the razor from Lucinda's hands, and switched it off. Then she put it up out of reach, wishing John had remembered to put it up that morning himself. He usually did, but every now and then he forgot. And Lucinda always capitalized on those occasions.
The doorbell rang, and Lucinda bolted for it. Running after her, Kathleen began to wonder why she and John had gone and had six kids. At ages fifteen, twelve, eight, six, and four, she had her hands full with the lot of them. Lucinda reached the door first and yanked it open.
"Uncle Ewik!" Lucinda squealed, jumping into his arms.
"How do you know my family so well?" the young woman with him inquired.
She looks just like Lenore…that's not possible, is it?
"I spend every Christmas with them," Erik told his companion. "Isn't that right, Lucinda?"
"Yes. He got me the pwetty dollhouse," Lucinda giggled.
"Kathleen! It's great to see you again," the woman said, coming in and hugging Kathleen tightly.
"Um, I'm sorry, I don't think I know you," Kathleen said politely, squirming out of the woman's grip.
"It's me, Lenore. Lenore Parker," the woman claimed.
"Girl, that's a horrible thing to say," Kathleen scolded. It had been hard enough on her when Lenore had died so suddenly. It wasn't fair at all; Lenore had come through that horrendous accident and then died of a rare heart disease.
"She's telling the truth," Erik stated casually.
"Who's she?" Lucinda asked Erik, twisting his cravat in her tiny hands.
"That's Aunt Lenore," Erik told the child.
Kathleen just stood there, her mouth all but hanging open. It's not possible. I mean, she's almost a carbon copy in looks, but…it's not the right voice, and if it really is Lenore, she'd be around forty by now. And definitely in a bad state of decay.
As was usual, the cats clustered around Erik's ankles, purring and mewing to be picked up, trying their absolute best to look as though they were starved for attention. When Lenore went to pet them, they slipped out from under her hands and disdainfully turned their tails to her.
"Lucinda, could you give these roses to your mother for me?" Erik asked the child, handing her the bouquet of yellow roses in his hand and setting the girl on the floor.
"Mommy, mommy, look what Ewik bwought you!" Lucinda squealed, hurrying over to her mother with the flowers. Kathleen was still staring at Lenore in shock. Lucinda tugged her mother's pant leg, "Mommy, look!" the girl demanded.
After the fifth attempt, the child finally managed to get her mother's attention. Kathleen numbly took the flowers, mechanically thanking Erik for the nice gesture. She invited them both in, despite the fact that they were already standing inside the house, and Erik led Lenore to the living room and took a seat on the sofa, the cats following him like a pack of groupies.
Kathleen left them there to put the roses in some water. Setting the vase on the kitchen table, it occurred to her to offer them drinks. "Would you like anything to drink? I've got Pepsi, Iced Tea, Milk, Water…" she trailed off, trying to remember what beverages the kids hadn't finished off that morning.
"Oh, I'd like a"- Lenore began to say.
"We won't be long," Erik interrupted Lenore.
"You know, I'm gonna die of thirst, and then you'll be sorry," Lenore snapped at Erik. "And why do these cats have to take up the whole sofa? There's no room left for me."
Kathleen entered the living room just in time to see Lenore scoop Nightmare off of Erik's lap. Nightmare was the alpha female of the pack, and would have none of this. Hissing, biting, and clawing for all she was worth, Nightmare attempted to get loose of Lenore. But Lenore managed to hang on to the wild cat, plopping herself down in Erik's lap and restraining the cat that struggled to be free of her grip.
"I'm sitting on his lap," Lenore informed the cat harshly. "If you don't want to sit on me, fine, but you're not evicting me from this spot. Got it?" Erik stroked Nightmare gently, and the cat, though obviously not pleased with Lenore's presence, settled down and purred appreciatively for Erik.
Kathleen spent the next half hour listening to their story and nodding, occasionally interrupting with a question or two. When they finally finished, she sat back and sighed. "Damn, that'd make a hell of a plot for a story," she said.
"I wanna heaw it again," Lucinda proclaimed, sitting on the floor with her coloring book and crayons.
"Lucinda, why don't you take Aunt Lenore upstairs to see your dollhouse?" Kathleen suggested.
"I'll lose my spot," Lenore moaned.
"Come on, you have to see it, it's pwetty," Lucinda insisted, grabbing Lenore's hand and trying to tug her up off of Erik's lap.
"Go on, chérie, I'll still be here for your lounging pleasure when you return," Erik promised her.
"Better be," she mumbled, standing up and letting the little girl lead her upstairs.
"Erik, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Kathleen inquired the moment the pair were out of earshot. He merely quirked an eyebrow at her, stroking Nightmare, who had curled up in his lap the moment Lenore's backside cleared his legs. "I mean, she seems like herself, but…she's different at the same time. You can't just see only the part of her you want to. You've got to acknowledge that other part of her, and make sure that you love it as much as you love the rest of her. Because if you don't, this relationship's got a one-way ticket to destruction."
"Of course I acknowledge both parts of her," Erik said defensively.
"But do you love that other part?"
There was a moment of near-silence, the only sound being that of the cats purring. "I find your question impertinent," Erik finally said, moving Nightmare off of his lap and standing up. "I'm afraid we'll have to be leaving now, Madam Parker."
Erik went to the foot of the stairs and called for Lenore. She was there in moments, Lucinda on her heels. "But Erik, we can't leave! I'm Mademoiselle Ariel Johnson, and I just sat down for tea!" Lenore complained.
"You can come back and play with Lucinda another day," Erik said, turning to Kathleen, who was glaring at him for not answering her question. "Perhaps we should get our little darlings together regularly for play dates."
"Aunt Lenowe is playing hide-and-seek, Uncle Ewik," Lucinda crowed from the top of the steps. Lenore had disappeared, it seemed. "I'll play too. Count to fifty thousand!"
"I don't have time to play games," he muttered under his breath as Lucinda rushed off to hide herself. "One, two, fifty thousand." Bounding up the stairs, he entered the first room on his right and thoroughly inspected it before taking the next room. Kathleen followed, an amused spectator and glad she wasn't the one who had to seek out the kids for once.
Erik found Lucinda first, hiding under Damien's bed. "Yay!" Lucinda squealed when she was found. "You'we betta than Mommy. Now let's find Aunt Lenowe."
Erik's not better than me, he's just motivated to find Lenore. I like playing hide-and-seek because it gives me a good five minutes of quiet to get some work done before I go pull you out of hiding to start all over again.
The next room was the bathroom, and after two thorough inspections, Erik went on to the next room. Kathleen, still in the hallway, caught movement out of the corner of her eye, but didn't turn her head in that direction. Lenore was creeping over to the bathroom from the left side of the hall. Lenore slipped into the bathroom a moment before Erik finished with the room they were currently in.
When he finished with the hallway, Erik's face was dark with annoyance. "Damn bitch," he snarled.
"What's that mean, Uncle Ewik?" Lucinda asked.
Did you have to swear in front of my four-year-old daughter?
"Well the first word is about being condemned, you'll have to have your mother explain that one to you. And the second word means a female dog," Erik explained. "But it's not a very nice thing to say, and you should never repeat it."
"But you just said it," Lucinda pointed out.
"Yes, and for that, I have to go to bed without any supper," Erik said seriously. "I've been very naughty, and I must be punished." An amused grin touched his features. "I might even get a spanking from Aunt Lenore for my bad behavior."
"Alright, let's keep looking for her," Kathleen said before the conversation turned any further in a direction she didn't want it take in front of Lucinda.
"Well, she's not downstairs," Erik mused.
"How do you know she didn't creep down while you were in another room?" Kathleen countered.
"Your fifth step down creaks, no matter how lightly one treads. I would have heard it if she'd gone down," Erik stated. "So, she must be up here somewhere."
They began the search of the rooms again, and Kathleen waited anxiously through the first two rooms to see Lenore go scurrying back to the other side of the hallway. But she never did. They came to the bathroom and Erik checked in the tub before opening the linen closet. Nothing seemed amiss to Kathleen.
Erik smirked and gestured to the front row of towels, which Kathleen now realized were in a bit of disorder. "Madam Parker, is that a spider in your closet?" Erik said, all but chuckling. "It's almost as large as the one that bit Lenore the other day."
A shriek sounded from behind the towels, which exploded out of the closet onto Erik as Lenore leapt from the shelf holding the towels. How did she manage to fit back there? Not to mention that the shelf held her weight. I mean, she's not fat, but she's at least around one hundred pounds. At least I know this shelf is sturdy now.
"KILL IT!" Lenore screeched, already at the top of the stairs in her quest to get as far from the spider as possible.
"I'm sorry about the mess I caused," Erik apologized, picking up the towels and putting them in Kathleen's arms as he went to follow Lenore.
"Yay! We'we playing again!" Lucinda proclaimed. "Aunt Lenowe's alweady hidden."
Erik let out an aggravated sigh. "She's hiding from a non-existent spider," he muttered. "Perhaps we should let the spider do the seeking."
"I'll be a spida fow Halloween!" Lucinda decided. "She's downstaiws, let's go, this spida needs help." The girl grabbed Erik's hand and tugged him to the stairs eagerly.
Lenore grinned to herself. It was fun to play hide-and-seek. She'd never really played any games like this as a child with Hiroshi (he really hadn't played anything with her until she was old enough to play the more challenging games), so it'd been forever since she'd had simple fun like this. This is the perfect hiding spot.
She was currently curled up inside the dryer, thankful that the door didn't have a window on it. Erik probably won't think of looking for me in here. Who'd think I could fit into a dryer? Twenty minutes later, she was suffering severe muscle pain from this awkward position and wishing that she hadn't chosen such a small space to begin with.
Just as she was about to get out and locate another hiding spot, the door swung open and Lucinda peered in, squealing excitedly when she saw Lenore's face. "We found you!" the girl proclaimed. "Uncle Ewik's the bestest at this game!"
"It took forever for you to find me," Lenore whined.
"I kept telling Lucinda we should check the basement, but she wanted to check the first two floors over twice before we tried down here," Erik replied.
"Erik…I think I'm stuck," Lenore stated when she couldn't seem to wriggle out of the dryer.
Erik squatted down so that his eyes were level with hers. A malicious grin touched his lips. "Now what would you do if I left you here like this?" he inquired.
"I'll have Kathleen call the fire department or someone to get me out and then stay here with Lucinda, hating you for the rest of my life," Lenore replied.
"Well, if that's all…" Erik trailed off. "I'd like my shirt back before I go, if you please."
"Jerk!" Lenore hissed. "Get me out or else I'm calling off the wedding."
"You know, if I leave you here until the wedding day, I'll know just where to find you," Erik mused.
"Oh, we'we playing wedding?" Lucinda asked.
"In about six months," Erik answered. "Would you like to be the flower girl?"
"I wanna be the bwide!"
"How sweet of you," Erik chuckled. "I'm sure you'd make a wonderful wife for me, but you're not old enough, darling."
"Okay. But next time we play wedding, I get to be the bwide," Lucinda declared.
"If you like," Erik said. "Now, could you do me a favor and get me a glass of water?" Lucinda scurried off to do his bidding.
"What's the water for?" Lenore asked.
"Getting rid of Lucinda for a moment," Erik replied. "Now, let's see…"
"Next time you wish to have a little game of cat and mouse, do give me fair warning," Erik requested as they took a cab back to the Opera House.
"I don't suppose I'll ever get to play the cat," Lenore sighed.
"If I was the mouse, the cat would be searching forever," Erik pointed out.
"So…it was nice to see Kathleen and Tori. Are we going to visit Mom tomorrow?" Lenore asked him.
"That remains to be seen," Erik sighed. He really didn't want to visit Madam Parker. The woman was annoying and pathetic.
"Come on, we've seen everyone else now. It's not fair for her to be the only one not to know," Lenore complained.
Erik closed his eyes and pictured the visit. It would be very unpleasant. They'd be lucky to get out of that house in two hours. I really don't want to visit that shrew, she's always so rude, blaming me for Lenore's death.
"You're not scared of my Mom, are you?" Lenore taunted.
"No; I find her annoying and if she wasn't related to you, I would take great pleasure in ending her miserable existence," Erik informed Lenore honestly.
Lenore smacked his arm and glared at him. "That was mean."
Erik merely shrugged. He didn't care if she didn't approve of that; she hadn't spent twenty one years being blamed for a death she had nothing to do with and had cut her deeply.
"Well, you can certainly be dressed up, but you can't be taken out," Lenore muttered.
"That's your opinion."
"And it's the only one that matters."
"I beg to differ, ma petite," Erik argued.
"You're begging me? How flattering," she responded with a mischievous grin.
"You take things far too literally," Erik snapped. He wasn't begging! The very idea was preposterous!
"I know. If I didn't take things so literally, I wouldn't have gotten into that game with Hiroshi." There was a brief silence. "Maybe we should go visit him," she giggled. "He's a father to me, after all, and we've visited everyone but Mom today."
"Absolutely not!" Erik growled.
"Why not? Did you get jealous when you saw him trying to kiss me?" she asked with a devious grin on her face.
"Jealous? Of that moronic bastard?" Erik scoffed.
"Oh, well, alright then, you won't mind if I talk about it. You know, he kisses by the book," Lenore commented casually.
"That's a ridiculous phrase! What book is it that Romeo, and apparently Hiroshi, kiss by? What book did they read that told them how to kiss in such a fashion?" Erik grumbled irritably.
"If I knew, I'd tell the world so that all men could be such good kissers."
"Perhaps you'd care to be dropped off outside his hotel?" Erik snarled grumpily.
"If you can't admit that you're jealous, then drop me off there and I'll let him have his way with me," Lenore shot back.
"Driver, change of course. We're dropping the mademoiselle off at the Hotel Scribe first," Erik called out.
Lenore produced a few odd sounds, but no actual words. When the cab stopped at the hotel, Lenore stared at him with her mouth hanging open for a moment before firmly closing it, glaring at him and sliding out of the cab. The moment her feet hit the pavement, she turned back and threw her engagement ring onto the seat next to him.
"Keep it until you can tell me that you were jealous," she hissed before slamming the door shut and storming into the hotel.
"Dude, this chapter sucked for me," Lenore griped.
"That's what you get for hitting me with a frying pan," the authoress snapped, giving Lenore a dark glare.
There were a few muffled sounds coming from the floor next to the authoress.
"Honestly, Jack, you know I can't understand a word you say when you have the muzzle on," the authoress sighed.
"Like he had any choice in the matter," Lenore muttered.
"You shush! Or the next chapter will go badly for you!" the authoress threatened. "Please review, everyone, I do so love hearing from you all."