Chapter Six
He left and had I not been so frightened of him, I would have followed. I wanted to leave. The hours passed quickly, and I wanted to attend my parents' funeral. And now…I never would.
I cursed at the man silently. Holding me here, bidding me to do his will… I wanted him to leave me alone, leave everyone alone, and leave altogether.
I sighed, sitting on the swan bed. I waited for the Phantom to return. Questions needed to be answered.
When I couldn't take it anymore and got up and walked out of the "room." I looked around once more, observing the organ and the mirrors. I turned and looked at the lake, moving towards it. Determination…is one of my weaknesses!
I stepped into the icy water, gasping and clenching my teeth. I wasn't ready for freezing water. I moved deeper in. My mind, being stronger than my heart, was yearning to leave this dreaded place.
When the water had reached my waist, I suddenly tripped becoming submerged in the water. I surfaced taking a breath of air and shivering. I closed my eyes, blinking water out, when a hand grabbed my arm. It lifted me into the boat and I fell against the Opera Ghost's legs, shivering terribly.
My cheeks were bright red and I sniffed. I opened my eyes, and water stung them as it dripped into my eyes.
"What were you doing?" he demanded.
I straightened up and looked up at him. I sniffed and said, "Trying to leave…"
He chuckled. "You won't escape without my help."
I looked down at my knees. My arms were wrapped around myself and I was still shivering. My jaw chattered, but I bid it to stop and it did.
The boat stopped and it was at the "shore" of the cave. The Phantom of the Opera stepped out and he took my hand, being a gentleman, and helping me out. Taking off his cloak, he wrapped it around me; trying to help me become warm (my drenched nightgown didn't help at all).
"Thank you. But please let me leave, Monsieur," I said, my voice shaking from my trembling body.
"No, you belong to me now," he said.
"I am not some bit of property you can claim," I said, a bit aggravated. "Please, monsieur. Let me go to my parents' funeral and after that…I will return and never leave again." I swallowed, and the words escaped my mouth, reluctantly.
He licked his lips and thought for a brief moment. "Very well," he said.
Tears fell down my face again. I didn't whimper, only stayed silent.
He stared at me and smiled a bit, trying to cheer me, I suppose. "Why do you weep?"
I sniffed and wiped tears from my eyes, before he could do so for me. "I have to return…" I admitted. "I want to stay in the opera house with Meg and Madame Giry and…" I almost said "my mother and father", but the dark memory came upon me. "Never mind…"
"You really want to return," he stated.
I nodded and looked up at him. My dull hazel eyes seemed darker and they glittered with tears in the dim light. "Please…"
He sighed and said, "No." He turned and sat at the organ.
"But why?"
"Need I remind you, you belong to me now…" he muttered.
"Never, you coward," I argued.
"'Coward'?" he echoed. "You dare call me a coward."
"Any place would be better than this."
"And in what ways, mademoiselle, am I a coward?"
"You kill without reason and you don't receive punishment for your crime; you hide from the world, frightened of them," I pointed out, my eyes narrowed a bit.
The Phantom was silent.
"And you continue your cowardice silence." I walked to the swan bedroom and fell onto the bed, dreaming of returning.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Emily," the melodic voice said, calling my name.
I lifted my head from the pillow on the bed. I had spent some time just thinking and it had the time pass rather quickly. "Yes?" I called back. I lifted myself to my feet and walked out to join him.
"Emily… I will allow you to return, if you sing for me," he requested.
I knitted my eyebrows worriedly. "I can't."
"You underestimate yourself," he replied.
"No. I can't. My mother had the talent, I don't."
"Your mother didn't have talent. Now, you do," he insisted.
I stared at the Phantom. "I- no."
He beckoned me to come to him and I obeyed. I walked to him and stood by his side as he sat at the organ. He began to play my mother's lullaby softly on the organ. "You recognize it?"
I stared at his hands as they danced lightly over the keys. "Yes… It's my mother's lullaby, Moonlight Grace."
"Please, Emily. Sing for me," he said quietly. He looked at me from underneath the white mask.
I took a breath and reluctantly opened my mouth. "The masquerade man, beneath the opera, sings to me quite softly. I bid his call waiting for his angel's voice again…" I will admit I had a rather decent voice, but nothing like my mother's.
"With practice," the Opera Ghost said, "you will be loved by people all over."
"Now please let me go," I said.
"Very well," he said. He lifted himself to his feet. He began towards the boat by the lake.
"Wait!" I stopped him. Putting my hand on his shoulder, gingerly, he turned to face me. "What's your name, monsieur?"
"My…my name?" he repeated. He seemed to be stunned by my question.
"Yes. You must have a name."
"I had a name once, but people insist I am not worthy of it. They now call me the Opera Ghost; the Phantom of the Opera, rather than my name," he said.
"But what is your name?" I asked. "You are a man, not a ghost nor a phantom- a man."
"Erik," he whispered.
I smiled a bit, hoping he wouldn't notice. "Erik…" I repeated, barely audible.
"Now, come, if you want to go back, that is," he said.
I didn't move, thinking he was just toying with my mind.
"Quickly," he said.
He wasn't joking. I rushed and stepped into the boat, carefully.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Thunder roared above our heads. Madame Giry and Meg had accompanied me to the funeral, still sorry for my loss. My black dress seemed to hide me amongst the darkness, but I was still visible, for my pale skin and rosy cheeks helped me stand out.
A small part of my longed for Erik to be here with me, but I pushed the thought away. My parents wouldn't wish me to fall for the man who was their murderer.
There murderer! What was I doing, thinking of his kindness? Right then and there I wished his black heart would crumble to pieces within my fingers. Don't worry Mother; Father. He will pay for what he did to you. He will pay… I vowed within my own thoughts.
I was paying much attention to the funeral, but only thinking of my last moments with my mother and father. My mother was always at the opera house, but my father…well, I almost never saw him. He was around when I was a little girl, but when I began to grow I saw him less and less. Before his death I only saw him about once every few months. My mother told me he had business to do, but I was always curious why he was never in the opera house. For the last week he had been staying in the opera house, due to his health, but then… Oh, I didn't want to think about it.
"Emily. Emily, come. The funeral's over," Meg's voice said, interrupting me in my thoughts.
"Oh… Yes, it is," I said, half-heartedly.
"Emily… Are you alright? You don't seem well," Meg said. She placed one of her hands on my forehead and gasped. "You're burning up! We'll return you quickly and mother will nurse you back to health in no time."
"No, Meg. I'm alright, really," I said. Now, I was trying to catch my breath. It seemed as if my throat was withering away into nothing. My breaths were harsh and rash each time.
"No, you're not," Meg said, frantically. "Mother. Mother, quickly! Emily isn't well."
"Meg, don't fret. I just need to sit down," I said, taking deep breaths every once in a while. That fall into the water must have ailed me.
Meg put her hands on my arm and began to lead me to the carriage.
Madame Giry bid a few people goodbye and rushed to Meg and I. "What's wrong?"
"Emily's burning up," Meg reported. She helped me into the carriage and I sat down, laying my head back.
"I'm…fine, Madame Giry," I said, clearly exhausted. "Rest is all need."
Madame Giry ran her hand down my cheek, comfortingly. "Yes," she whispered. She turned to her daughter. "Don't worry, Meg. I'll help Emily."
"Can I stay with her please, Mother? I can help her," Meg said.
Madame Giry nodded. "Very well, Meg."
Meg smiled a bit and turned to me. "We're almost there."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Madame Giry and Meg had me lie down in my bed. Meg quickly attended to me by putting a wet cloth on my forehead.
I breathed deeply. It was gradually becoming easier to breath, but not very quickly. I just needed to sleep…without him disturbing me.
The door burst open and Jude stood there, frantic.
Aurora rushed in and looked at Madame Giry. "What's wrong?"
"Mademoiselle Durand is ill. That is all," the aging woman said, simply.
Jude kneeled by my bedside and took my hand in his.
I chuckled and smiled weakly at him. "Mother would be furious."
"Yes I'm sure she would. We both know how protective she got when you were sick," he replied.
"Yes…" I whispered.
"How are you?"
"No better than I was at the funeral."
Aurora kneeled next to Jude and linked her arm with his. "Feel better Emily. And we'd like to tell you we will be wed here, in Paris."
I smiled a bit brighter. "That's wonderful, Aurora!" I coughed.
"Now, Monsieur DeLouis and Mademoiselle Demeen, it's best you leave. Emily needs her rest. You may visit her in the morning," Madame Giry commanded. Her voice was firm, but quiet giving it a gentle quality.
Jude nodded and I watched the couple leave.
"Emily, will you be alright here alone?" Meg asked.
"I'll be fine, Meg. I'm getting better already," I said, smiling a bit.
"Alright," she muttered and removed the cloth from my forehead.
Madame Giry pulled up the blankets a bit more and told me to rest. She and Meg left after that.
I was soon sound asleep, dreaming of a blissful land of just Jude, myself and my parents; nothing to cause us to worry or fret. But soon, clouds of gray and black formed above our heads and standing before us the Phantom of the Opera- Erik. He began to call me away from them and I tried to resist. I knew what lay ahead. Erik would not stop until I was his, but I wouldn't stop fighting; not until the world was rid of the masked murderer.
I sat upright in my bed, escaping the dream. I had been asleep for hours but it felt more like seconds. I laid my head back down, wishing for the sun to rise again. Evening and nighttime were once my favorite times of day, but since Erik entered my life, I had been afraid for time to pass and for the moon to come out. I only longed for the sun to frighten Erik away.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
I had been awake nearly all night. I was feeling better, only sleep deprived now.
When Madame Giry came to check on me she noticed me already awake. She did not question me on this, but she did about the Phantom.
"He stole you away the night before last, didn't he?" she asked. She handed me a glass of water.
I sipped from the glass and nodded. "Yes… I was so frightened, Madame Giry, but part of my heart leaped out to him," I explained. "Oh, what do I do? I don't want to return to that…that horrid place."
"Don't worry, Emily. If you obey him he will leave you alone," she said.
"Oh, no, Madame Giry. He wants me to stay with him…forever down there. He wants my heart and soul and mind. He wants me to be his."
"And do you want to be his?"
If my jaw weren't locked in place, it would have fallen. 'Did I want to be his?' What kind of a question was that? "Of course not. I want to stay here with you and Meg and Jude and Aurora."
"It's understandable, dear. Just please don't' worry."
"You say that every time! And what happens? He takes me, he tricks me, that snake," I argued.
She sighed. "I'll leave you with your thoughts…" She got up and left the room, shutting the door behind her.
The nerve of her! Telling me things that weren't true and asking me questions that she knew the answer to!
I got up, slipping behind the changing rack and changing into a lavender dress. I stood before the mirror brushing my hair out. I tied it back and walked out of my room, yawning.
Dancers, singers and the stage crew rushed around the stage, rehearsing or helping the others rehearse.
"Goodmorning, Mademoiselle!" a few voices said to me as they passed by.
I nodded, not returning their greeting. "A fine morning it is, indeed," I muttered to myself.
Madame Giry was busy instructing her dancers and Meg following her mother's orders.
Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur Andre observed the rehearsing from the sides of the stage and Monsieur Reyer, as taut as his string instruments, scolded a few violinists on their music.
I walked right by and into the foyer. I looked around and found Jude and Aurora laughing with each other, sitting upon the stairs.
"Emily!" Jude rushed over to me and gave me a hug.
The hug was surprising to me, but I returned it gladly. "Good morning, Jude."
"How are you feeling?" Aurora said, walking over.
"Much better. How are you both?"
"We're fine. Just worried about you," Jude answered.
"Good," I said, smiling,
"Emily. Has something been troubling you these past few weeks?" Jude asked.
I longed to say 'yes', but he wouldn't believe me. "No… I'm alright," I said, smiling. But I felt eyes upon me- eyes that weren't Jude's dark brown ones or eyes that were Aurora's pale blue ones- but eyes of fire that burned into my soul, my heart, calling to me.
"I, er, I have to go," I said quickly. I rushed off, hurrying past dancers.
"Hey!" a few of them yelled at me, as I pushed past them. I ran up the staircases and to the roof of the Opera Populair.
I looked around the roof. "Erik," I called softly. "Erik, where are you?" I wanted to see his face, hear his voice, feel the touch of his hands upon my cheek.
But the masked figure was nowhere to be found…
Author's Note: Chapters 5 & 6 are my favorites! What are your favorite chapters and lines from my fan-fiction? I'd love it if you answer! :) Hope you guys liked it!
-O.G. Knights