He knew he had to do it; he had to push her away. It wasn't his fight, he didn't want it. He wouldn't have anything to do with it or her. She knew too much. Besides, all he could think of was Christine, his only love. He would have no one else! It was her or nobody. He had to get away from Lee before it was too late. When she jumped off the edge, he knew she wasn't going to plummet to her death; she wouldn't give up that easily. But if one of the balconies on the side gave, she would die. He thought to himself, panicking a little.
"No!" He roared. Who cares if she did? The only reason he's here in the first place is because she stole his ring, and now, to get the rest of the money she had stashed. 500 francs was just enough to get out of Paris. Yes, that's all he wanted. Besides, that was impossible, plus, she knew what she was doing, didn't she?
He climbed down the ladder and proceeded to his room. Upon reaching his floor, he saw that Sabine's door was open, light spilling out of it. When he passed it, he found the room was completely torn apart. Without even thinking he rushed into the room.
"Madame?" He asked with a tinge of fear. The sofa in the room was shredded. A chest was turned upside down, the contents all over the floor. It didn't look like someone had forced their way in, almost as if they were invited. He opened another door and found the mattress in pieces, feathers everywhere, wood chopped to pieces. A small groan came from under the pile. Erik quickly dug through the mess, tossing things aside to get to the bottom. He found the old woman wheezing and coughing, blood staining her dress. She had been stabbed in the stomach.
"Madame, what happened?" He inspected the wound. Sabine had lost a lot of blood. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him for a second. Then they widened as she slowly remembered the events that had occurred.
"Please, monsieur," she grasped onto his cloak. "You must protect her, she's in grave danger! Please!" She pled, tears streaming down her face.
"She must not go after Pierre! Do you hear me?" He couldn't answer her.
"Promise me," she pulled him close, her voice hoarse. "Promise me, you won't let anyone hurt her, especially herself." Large tears were dropping from her eyes. He didn't answer. She began to panic.
"Please," her eyes slowly began to close. She let go of his cloak and slowly lied back. Then she was gone. He just stared at her, his mind not being able to process what had just occurred. Sabine was scared that Arabelle was going to hurt herself or get hurt, but he still just didn't understand. But something in his gut pushed him to fulfill the old woman's dying wish.
"I promise," he whispered quietly to her. "I promise."
"I hope you're listening, because I truly need your help." The church was empty except for her. The sun penetrated the stained glass windows, the magnificent rose window reflected on the altar. It was the closest feeling to home there was for her.
"Please," her folded hands lay against the back of the pew in front of her. She rested her head on them and closed her eyes.
"I miss you so much." A small tear ran down her cheek and landed on the stone floor. She looked at the small stain the tear made and wondered how many people had sat here and done the same. How many tears had stained this floor? People like me, maybe? She wondered.
"If you stop searching for the answer and wait, I'm sure it will come to you." A soft voice came next to her. A warm voice that she had listened to for so many years, she looked up and saw a smiling face staring at her.
"Father Klouse," she stood and he greeted her with a warm hug. "You always seem to know when I need help." She smiled when the embrace was broken and invited him to sit next to her.
"What seems to be the matter?" He looked at her with concern while she looked at her shoes.
"Next Tuesday will be sixteen years since his death," she cringed a little.
"Arabelle, I have known you since you were no more than twelve and that's long enough for me to be able to tell when you are not telling the whole truth," he sighed and gave her a half smile.
"I made some very stupid mistakes when I was young. And now, years later, not only I, but those closest to me are paying for them." She hung her head in shame. Father Klouse placed his hand lovingly on hers, trying to comfort her and ease her fears.
"You must accept what you did and ask for forgiveness,"
"But I have, many times," she protested.
"Not just God's forgiveness, but your own." He waited for her to respond, but she was silent.
"You must forgive yourself." He looked up at the windows. "God only forgives when you forgive yourself. You must confront your past mistakes and forgive yourself for them or-" he cut himself off, she looked straight at him, sorrow in her eyes.
"Or what?" She asked him, her eyes glazed with tears.
"Or you'll never be able to escape them; they will always haunt you. They can destroy you." He patted her hand and looked at her with concern.
"What you do does not matter to God. Being able to forgive yourself for them is what truly matters to Him. Your forgiveness is His forgiveness." He smiled at her.
"Thank you, Father." She gave him a weak smile. He squeezed her hand a little then stood to return to his work.
"I'm always here for you, my dear. I always have been." He gave her one last smile and then walked towards a woman waiting to take confession. She walked to the door and opened it a crack before looking back at him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to herself. "I just can't." He caught her gaze, sorrow filling his expression. He didn't need to hear her to know what she had said, what she was thinking. She knew this as well but turned and walked out, not wanting any further guidance.
When she entered the church, it had been nearly noon. But when she left, the sky was a mix of violet, a soft pink and orange. She heard the bells of the church ringing. She had spent nearly the entire day there, looking for a way to ease the weight on her chest. But the weight had only felt like it increased by the time she left.
"I miss you so much." She said silently to her father. Arabelle began her stroll back to the hotel, this time she took the straightway, not wanting to dawdle or be wandering around at night, especially since she hadn't bothered to hide herself today. A woman walking around Paris alone at night was like painting a red target on your head. She knew this, but had not experienced it. One of her old friends had learned this the hard way and was nearly raped. She walked a steady pace; trying to avoid allies she didn't know well.
Arabelle managed to make it back to the hotel right when the last of the sunlight faded. But when she entered the building, something didn't feel right. Slowly, she walked up the stairs, carefully inspecting everything. When she came to Sabine's floor, she felt a lurch in her stomach. Cautiously, she proceeded down the hallway. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the door was opened, but stopping immediately when she entered the room and found the place in ruins.
"Sabine?" She hollered and tore through the bedroom door. Her face filled with utter horror when she found Sabine's lifeless body lying in the middle of a giant pile of debris. She ran to it. Her eyes shot to the wound on her stomach.
"Sabine?" Her voice cracked when she said the old woman's name. "Sabine..." she pet the woman's cold head and brushed the stray hairs from her head.
"She's dead," Arabelle jumped at the sudden sound of someone else's voice besides her own. She looked towards the corner; Erik was sitting against the wall, his arms resting on his knees. He was hunched over, looking at the wall.
"What happened to her?" Arabelle demanded, pushing back tears.
"They must have been looking for this," he held up the ring. "She must have not told them what they wanted to hear." His voice seemed unfazed by the situation.
Arabelle found a blanket to cover Sabine with. She kissed her head and walked out. Arabelle felt lifeless. It wasn't until she closed the door to her room did she wake from her trance. She leaned against the door, tears slowly streamed down her face as her body sank to the floor. Her crying was silent, she didn't sob, she didn't curl herself up, no; she just sat there and let the tears roll. She only cried for ten minutes before the tears stopped coming.
Everything seemed to stop in time. She sat there, hardly moving, hardly thinking, for hours. Finally, she pulled herself up and turned on the kerosene lamp. She opened the trunk that lay dormant in the middle of the room and began to fill it with her clothes and the contents of her armoire. It was almost halfway filled when the light went out. She sighed in annoyance and walked over to the lamp and turned it back up. When she continued her packing, it went out again. She growled in frustration and threw the clothes in the trunk.
"Get out!" She said with venom in her voice.
"Stop packing," he responded flatly. The room is pitch black, she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face, let alone, him.
"No," she reached her arms out in front of her, deciding not to let the lack of light stop her. The armoire shook when she bumped into it. She opened a drawer, pulled out a few pieces of clothing, and then turned towards the trunk, ramming into something hard and solid.
"Stop," his voice forceful now. She doesn't answer; instead, she attempts to walk around him. He catches her wrist, her mouth curls into a snarl almost.
"Let go," her voice was low and angry. He doesn't loosen his grip, instead, he tightens it. She growls deep within her chest.
"No," he whispers in her ear. She didn't like being touched, especially in complete darkness. To prove a point, she attempted to thrust her elbow into his side. He caught her arm and grasped it tightly.
"Let me go!" She snarled and began to thrash. He released his grip and backed away.
"Don't give up," he said to her quietly.
"Get out!" She screeched. The light returned and the door closed shut. She huffed in anger and then continued packing. But deep down, she had a feeling that this time, he was truly gone. Little did she know, he was.
A/N: Hey guys, sorry this chapter was a little late. I've had a lot on my plate this past week and it's not going to let up anytime soon. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And since I don't like to leave anyone hanging, I'm posting seven today, too. I'm going on vacation on Friday and the earliest I'd be able to update would be next Tuesday night. So don't forget to check before you leave!
I'm sorry if you feel it's moving slow, it just needs to in order to get the story to develop the way I want it to. Anyways, thanks for reading, and please review!
Luce, Your Surly Mermaid!