Author's Note: Alright, my dear readers. Another chapter posted. I do apologize about confessing I was wasted on the other chapter. It was true only because I was fired from my job. =( Yes, the economy sucks. This chapter is one to be really focused on. It has a lot of information in it that you would want to pay attention to. Anyways, thank you to Niikkii95 and Why Fireflies Flash for reviewing this story. And thank you to MissCaityGrace, Niikkii95 and Why Fireflies Flash for adding this story to their favorites. It means the world to me, it really does. I write for all of ya'll. Thank you so much. Now, on with the show!
Disclaimer: Blah blah blah... I don't own Phantom of the Opera... blah blah blah
Chapter Three: Unexpected Proposals
I was tapping my fingers on my free knee; the other knee, the not so lucky one, was falling asleep under the weight of my elbow and hand holding my head up. My head was hurting, spinning and I felt like throwing up. But, Erik decided to take his sweet and most precious time to get ready. Ready for what, you ask? Yes, well, journeying up to the streets of Paris, to my flat so that I may retrieve my valuables. The cashmere sweater and black skirt I wore, every day, was beginning to wither. The smooth stitched fabric was thinning under the wear and tear of every day use. Tiny holes were developing on the elbow and around the neck. I looked like an old miserable wench.
Erik was sitting at his organ, arranging music and placing them ever so carefully in small drawers of his desk, which were just next to the magnificent organ. He had only his white dress shirt open and his black slacks were looking as if they were slicking and sticking to his skin. I looked back to his white shirt again, squinting my eyes as if to get a better look. His shirt was covered with sweat, making it opaque and sort of translucent. His tanned olive skin was showing through and I finally let out a huff before throwing both of my hands down on the bed.
He turned his head a little to look at what I was annoyed at and his eyes connected with mine. He cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the music and making sure they were safe.
"We shall leave when I have finished this. Patience," he said, still facing the organ.
Patience. Yes, let us discuss this word for a moment. Patience is to be undeterred from madness and people who do not understand how to accept that things are going to be ridiculously slow because someone is afraid of venturing up to the streets of Paris.
I let out a small scream and stood up from the bed, slipping my ballet slippers on and grabbing a cape that was hanging from a standing long mirror. I wrapped it around myself, walking towards the door before a hand placed itself on my shoulder. A tight grip made me stop moving my hand towards the lock.
"I said, 'patience'." He looked down at me, his light green eyes now hard with a look of anger. His lips were pursed together, his jaw muscle twitching. The gorgeous left side of his face and the covered right side were now looking like one. The mask had an evil look to it and now that I saw him as annoyed as he was, the mask was a perfect fit to such a look.
"If you had only waited a few moments more, I would have been ready to leave." He reached over behind me and grabbed the lock and moved it from it's position. "But, such eagerness is quite attractive and I enjoy it very much." He gave a small smile before opening the door.
I turned and began the climb up the steps to the snow-clad streets. I felt the air nip at my face, little pricks of knives were enjoying turning my face red and numb. I shook all the feelings off and began to walk a few steps in the whiteness before looking back, watching Erik as he finally stepped up from the top stair.
I smiled, feeling my cheeks almost breaking. It felt as if they were frozen and once I contracted the muscles, they broke. Yes, I now have broken cheeks. I shook my head and laughed off that silly thought when I watched Erik near me, taking my cold body against his warm one.
Like a magnet, I was clinging for dear life to my heat source, refusing to let go under any circumstances. As he walked, his left foot first, my left foot would follow. Together we walked in unison until I turned left and he turned right, our two bodies separating. No longer having my heat source, I frantically looked back, watching as Erik gave a laugh.
I ran over, my feet becoming numb with each step I took. Another thing to put on my list when I reach my flat: get thicker shoes. I grabbed onto him, my arms circling his waist as we continued out walk through the snow.
…
We walked in silence. Cold, unyielding silence. The only sounds on the streets and the alleyways we walked were from our shoes crunching the snow. Every once in a while, I would sneeze; which, in turn, made my whole body jump and my hair fly every where. A hand would grab my arm, steadying me as I tried to gain my balance. I looked up at him and he looked away as soon as I did.
What was going on? I didn't think being so pushy to leave would make him this mad. "Thank you," I said to him, only to receive a small 'hmph' as acknowledgment. I straightened myself, fixed my raven black hair so it was falling down my back again and we continued walking.
An hour into the walk and my teeth chattering so loudly Erik grabbed my jaw for quiet, we reached the flat. There were many carriages out in the street in front of the building. I raised a brow and squinted my eyes to get a better look. 'POLICE', painted on the side of all the blue carriages with white paint.
Seven carriages, more like tiny prison cells with bad suspension. The large wooden wheels had a tiny coat of snow, but, what was weird, is that one carriage was white with gold trimming. A blue and white stripped flag lightly blew in the wind. My heart stopped beating. The tiny angels hanging on the side looked as if they were trying to fly; fly away more like it.
I shook my head. "This is not happening." I whispered. I saw as two horses were attached to the carriage; one black, the other, white.
"What is going on, mademoiselle?" His silk tenor voice sounded in my ear. His hot breath grazing down the back of my neck.
After the goosebumps settled, I turned to look at him.
"For you safety and mine, I think it would be best if you stay here. I have some," I paused, looking back to the unusual carriage. "Some business I have to take care of. Personal business."
I turned to leave but, a hand held my arm steadily. I looked up to the man.
He had a stern look on his face, something I have grown in love with. Even though I knew he was trying to keep a straight face, I knew a smile hid behind those gorgeous lips.
I reached up with my hands and grabbed his face, gently pulling him down to my level and kissing him. His lips, so warm against my numb and purple-looking ones. Even though the blood was flowing through my body at an alarming rate just being next to him, there was no feeling like touching him.
"I shall be back; please, do not worry." I gave him another kiss before turning and walking up the street. I gave another turn to look at Erik and he was gone. Not a single trace of him.
I turned back to the gray-coloured building in front of me, looking up at the four stories it displayed. It was showing the level on the top, with the grand windows, lit up. Figures walked back and forth between the windows and a woman's figure was clearly seen.
I shook my head again and let out a large and deep sigh. Oh God, why at this time did they have to be here? Why did she have to do this? So prude, so ridiculous in the way she handled things. I wonder what husband she's on now. Thirteen? Probably. It suits her; she shouldn't have treated me the way she did for all those years. Favoring Andrew and the others. Andrew, the eldest. Miriam, James, William, Francine, and Jacques. I sighed again. All that blood. I closed my eyes and tilted my head up, taking in deep breaths to calm me down. Those names, I can never forget them.
I didn't even realize I was at my door until a high-pitched scream broke my head. I looked in and saw only a figure running towards me before I was being toppled by weight unimaginable. Falling again. I think this was becoming some sort of new thing I was doing. But, instead of Erik's arms reaching out to catch me, the floor offered all it's glory and the hard and dirty floor greeted me.
My head slammed against the boards and a white light came and went as quickly as I had fallen. The knocking sound from my skull colliding with my head was making me hear things. Other sounds were taping out. Oh, sounded like footsteps. I felt the weight on top of me being lifted off, making breathing come easier. I coughed, feeling my shoulders being picked up, four hands on me and setting me on my feet lightly.
I touched the back of my head, feeling the growing bump. I winced at the pain and brought my hand down to check for blood.
"Oh, Nathalie! Where have you been?" Her voice broke all the others asking if I was okay.
I shook my head and walked inside the flat, looking for my black leather chair. I found it, holding her ass up. I grunted a little and walked over to the table. As I leaned against it, I noticed a man. Not in proper police uniform wear but, in a exaggerated suit of white and gold. I linked him to the carriage immediately.
"Who is he?" I asked rather unladylike. My eyebrows were brought down and I glared between the two.
His blonde hair tossed into a long ponytail. It went down and fell over his shoulder. He held his chest high and his left arm was hidden from my sight. I looked back to my mother, her green eyes filling with happiness as she looked at me. Her small frame was such an illusion. She held all the weight in her clothes and that gaudy green dress she had on didn't look as heavy as a horse.
"I've been away. What is it that you want? Are you here flaunting your new 'boy-toy'?" I mocked, my lips curling in disgust.
"Actually," he began, his thick accent coming out.
I believed I began mocking him right then and there when my mother stood up.
"Young lady, desist from your actions now! Do not act like that in front of-"
"In front of who, mother? You're fourteenth husband? Might I add that he is a tad bit younger than what you usually go for? Did all the other old, wrinkly men become too scarce? Too disgusting?"
"Actually," his voice interrupted.
"Is that all you know? Actually?"
The arguing continued and the police finally left. The three of us in a room together wasn't the best idea and another phone call to the police will most likely be returning to clean up a terrible gruesome scene.
"Enough! Every one just calm down and stop!" He yelled, his thick accent again louder than the two screeching women in the living room. His dark amber eyes protruding through his olive skin. Both of his arms were held up between the two of us, as if that could really prove a barrier between mother and daughter. A small thin scar traced the palm of his hand, beginning at his thumb and circling around down to the bottom of his palm. I looked back to my mother.
My mother and I glared each other down as we turned from each other, our eyes still following each others movements. My body turned away from her but, my face and my anger was directed towards her in the most amazing way.
"Now, I have not come all the way to this country to see two women quarrel! I came because I was given a chance to... love, you could say." He paused looking the two of us over.
I looked at him and ran my fingers through my hair. "If you think I am going to marry you after you've married my mother, I think you need to leave!" I shouted, crossing my arms over my chest.
"I am not married to her! Nor will I ever be! I am here to marry you!" He shouted at me, his white teeth glowing with contrast against his skin.
My heart stopped beating and it took all I could to walk back over to the table and lean against it for support. My hand leaned against the dark grain and I felt when the table began to push back from me falling against it.
"Marry me? Marry me?" My other hand gripped onto the cashmere sweater and as I felt the holes against the neckline, I remembered why I had came here.
"Nathalie Lydie André, you must marry him to save your family. My looks aren't as amazing as what they use to be and I can assure you that." My mother was now pleading, or pretending to beg. I didn't even have to turn my head to know she had both arms out, as if begging for me to run into her and hug her. Her green eyes trying to beg me to cry as she begins to think of some sad memory to help with the tears.
I turn my head and look at her. Yes, I am so right.
"What is your name, man?" I said, now regaining my composure and looking at the both of them.
"I am Pringkips Klaudios Stephanopoulos. Prince of the Greeks, here to marry the Doukas' daughter." His eyes glinted with something I had seen once before but, I ignored it.
"Prince Klaudios. How humble am I to be in your presence." I gave an over-the-top curtsey and brought myself back up fast and glared at him. My sarcasm was seen from a mile away and I heard him growl under his breath.
He returned the angered look and let his arms drop back down to his sides.
"Nathalie, an arranged marriage is the only way to bring your royal blood back to such an amazing country, such as Greece. And you are not happy here; you can't even keep a job. You've taken and borrowed so much money, you're probably in debt with the banks." My mother said, fixing her make-up and sitting back in the black leather chair as she composed herself again.
I looked at her and shook my head. "My money is my problem to deal with. You've spent all of yours and I do not understand why you don't marry the little Prince here." I spat out, walking away from the two and into the bedroom next to the living room, looking around for my suitcases.
"But Nathalie, your beauty is impeccable! And you're not getting any younger, might I add. One of these days, you can not have children and you'll dry up like a field in Africa!" I heard my mother's voice grow as she followed me into my bedroom, trying to trap me with her words. I was not going to fall for this again. I am a woman and she needs to see that.
"I know I'm beautiful! But, I am not marrying him!" I screamed at her, grabbing the two cream-coloured cases from under my wrought iron bed and dropping them on top of the mattress. I turned and walked to the dresser and began pulling out the drawers and taking out all the clothes I had and tossing them into the suitcases.
"Oh yeah? And who do you think you're going to marry? Someone much more handsome and much more wealthy than a Prince? Oh, Nathalie, how could you ever live with knowing you found someone better?" Her voice was cased in sarcastic venom and once I stood up and turned to face her, she backed down. The tiny woman looking up into her only child's eyes; the only child left.
"I have found someone else." I said as I turned away and walked to my vanity, grabbing all of the make up I could hold and dropping it into a small but deep purple bag. I laced it close and put it on top of the clothes in one of the suitcases. I walked over to the wall and began grabbing all the ballet slippers and the high-heeled booties.
"You've found someone else? How could you have found someone?" She asked, her voice following me and I realized she was standing behind me. "Is he handsome? Probably not; he's probably as ugly as the mud in the streets!"
I threw the shoes in the cases and made sure everything was in there, locking them close and grabbing the handles. I picked them up with all of my might and felt as if my arms were going to be ripped out.
"If you think your words are going to make me furious," I began without even looking at her until two hands grabbed my tiny ones and helped pick the suitcases up and into his hands. I whipped around and saw him with a smile creeping behind the lush pink lips. "You're absolutely right." I breathed out, watching as he held the heavy cargo in his hands like it weighed only a feather.
"Who are you?" My mother's shrill voice broke me out of my trance.
I looked at her and rolled my eyes.
"I am Monsieur Erik, pleased to meet such a lovely woman." His silky voice said, placing the cases down and grabbing her hand and, while giving a small bow, kissed the top of her hand.
I watched them and my mother looked as if she were going to faint. Erik's cape was gone and he was in the black suit he wore often. His black hair was still slicked back and his green eyes were only on her.
"Monsieur," my mother said, giving a tiny curtsey and looking at me, smiling and winking.
I scoffed and looked to Erik. "You have impeccable timing, Erik." I said, smiling and watching as he stood back up and reached out for my face, rubbing my cheek and warming it.
"Let us leave, love. The carriage is waiting and it does take quite a while to go home." He said with such class I thought I was going to faint from love.
I think I giggled too, blushing like a little girl. I knew that my face was the colour of blood and when I began to walk out of the room, I looked to Klaudios.
He was standing there next to the table and his hands were behind his back, his chest high but, his face low and all I could see from his lowered brow was his deep amber eyes burning a hole into me.
I shook my head and looked at Erik. He was looking at Klaudios and his brows lowered and I could have sworn I saw him bare his teeth. I grabbed Erik's arm and he regained his regal poise and continued walking, his eyes still on Klaudios as we left the flat and began our decent down the stairs.
It took us only a few seconds to leave and I looked to Erik and watched as he walked over to a black carriage with two black horses attached to it. I followed him cautiously, looking over the carriage and wondering where-
"It is from the the horse stables, Nathalie. I did not steal it." He interrupted my thoughts.
I was startled and shook my head. A huge blush broke over my features and smiled. "No! No, I was just wondering where it came from! I knew you didn't steal it!" I said, climbing up the steps to go inside it as Erik had already placed the luggage there.
He jumped up to the seat and controlled the horses reins, looking at me through a window that was behind him. I held my arms on the windowsill and smiled up at him, massaging his back and felt the tugging of the horses pulling the carriage. His hand grabbed mine and held it, squeezing my fingers slightly. I couldn't help but give the biggest smile.
"I love you, Erik." I whispered as I felt myself drift into a slumber I knew I wasn't going to come out of for the next few minutes. I wanted him to know. I wanted him to realize I do everything for him, and only him.
"I love you also, Nathalie. But, I must ask why that gentleman was there in your home. It looked like he didn't belong to your mother. He was far too young." He began, he looked at me and then looked away and back to the horses.
"My mother is trying to put me in an arranged marriage. He, I don't know, forget it. I'm not marrying, that's for sure." I said, now awake for this topic. I looked out the window and watched as the buildings were passing us, snow and ice covering them. It wasn't even Christmas yet and already the snow was beginning to come down hard.
I began to think of that word: marriage. What was it but a piece of paper binding you to someone and saying that you have to obey them for the rest of your life. A man was now given the power over you to make you do what he wants, make you cook, clean, have sex, birth children over and over again. I thought of my mother. How could she ever do that? I knew that Henry, the last husband I remember, being so sweet to my mother in front of guests but, when it came to being alone and in their room or whenever they thought I wasn't around, he would scream at her and the sound of his hand hitting her flesh made me cringe. What had she ever seen in him?
I shook my head and sighed, looking up at Erik. He had his mind concentrating on something and I was too afraid to ask.
"Mademoiselle, did you know him?" He asked me. He didn't look at me, never taking his eyes off the road.
"No, I have never seen him before in my life. He is from Greece, where my father is from though. My mother wanted to me to marry him so that my 'royal blood' could mean something." I said, turning my head away from him and looking back at the buildings and homes.
"Royal blood?" He asked, looking down at me. His green eyes were so vibrant even though it was so dark this night.
"Yes, I am the Duke's daughter. Marrying a Prince, like Klaudios, would ensure me life in wealth and happiness for his family."
"Would you really want that? To marry for money? For him?"
"Never! I do not like men like that! Who flaunt all of their wealth for the world to see! I make fun of men like that, and I detest all proposal's from men like him. I know that I am of royal blood but, that doesn't mean that I want to be shown off as such. It's nice to know that I am who I am and not having to deal with the things that the royal's do." I sighed, situating my legs because they were beginning to fall asleep.
"So, you wouldn't marry for money but, for happiness and love?" He asked, looking back to the horses as we rounded the corner so the Opera Populaire was now visible.
I didn't answer right away. I was looking up at the Opera and how amazing it looked in the middle of the night. The stars were glowing around it as if it were a lone candle in the night and they were little fireflies floating around it. "No, that is what I want: love and happiness. Nothing else. Money doesn't matter to me unlike my mother." I said as we stopped behind the large building.
"What are we doing here?" I asked, opening the door and looking at the grand building.
"This is where I live, Nathalie. I have always lived here." He said, smiling a tad and grabbing my two suitcases and walking over to the edge of the building. I followed and recognized the stairs. I looked up at Erik and out of nowhere, his lips were on mine, kissing me with such passion. I brought my hands up and caressed his face, relishing in the warmth of his lips and the hotness of his mouth.
Little did we know, we were being watched. And the man watching us would soon bring Hell into our lives.
A/N: Tell me how you liked or hated it! I wanna know! Thanks again, guys!