Chapter Fourteen
Journey to the Cemetery

The snow was falling lightly once more, flakes landing on Eloise's eyelashes, making Gustave smile at her beauty. He was still as clueless as to where their relationship had gone, but was beyond thankful that he had someone to share his first visit to the cemetery with. Being the only cemetery within miles of the Opera house, he knew that his mother had been buried there as well. Raoul had made it a personal goal of his to have her buried there, and within a few days from her death, she was.

"Gustave," Eloise sounded nervous, "how did your father die?"
Gustave hesitated at first but took sighed and took a calming breath, "Three years ago, we had left Phantasma to visit France to see my mother's grave. One night, while I was sleeping, he disappeared. I looked around the entire city for him but he was nowhere to be found. I thought about contacting Raoul but when two months passed, I realized that maybe, Erik had died." Gustave took a shaky breath, "It wasn't until I heard a few people talking about finding a man in a mask dead in the river that I realized he had committed suicide. I didn't know why…"
"What?" Eloise found herself short of breath, "How could Erik do such a thing?"
"I never knew. I was so angry at him that I found his lair and tried to rebuild it. It took so much time I dropped out of school and once I burned my face – I gave up my old life." Gustave shook his head, "I wanted so badly for him to be remembered, and I couldn't do it. I felt like I failed in my family."
"No, don't say that!" Eloise begged. "Your father would have been proud of you no matter what you decided to do with your life. So would your mother." She breathed in the cold air, "Sometimes, life moves on without you, but you shouldn't stop living Gustave. You're a wonderful person; you just need to see that."
Gustave grinned and took Eloise's hand.

They were both now standing in the middle of the cemetery, tears streaming down their reddening cheeks. The trees were all rimed with ice; giving them hues of silver and blue beneath the star dusted sky. With only a few crows perched silently on the branches, they both began to notice how eerie the atmosphere was. A heavy layer of fog was beginning to move in, clouding their vision, and making the two hold onto each other with certain protectiveness.
"I don't understand," Eloise sighed, trying to fill the silence as they continued to through the cemetery, "why would he do that?" She shook her head and finally realized they had arrived. There was a thick blanket of snow on all the tomb stones, some of the smaller ones were completely submerged in it. Eloise felt her stomach churn; she never liked cemeteries.
"Where to start..." Gustave sighed, looking around carefully, "I can see my mother's last name…" He suddenly gasped, running with Eloise shortly behind him. A large grave at the end of the cemetery had Daae written on the top and surely, it belonged to a famous Swedish violinist and father, to Christine Daae.
"Gustave," Eloise began suddenly, but stopped herself, he needed some time to himself. . This was an important moment for Gustave; she didn't want to ruin it, even if she did hate sadness, particularly his.

Gustave realized his mother's tomb lay near his Grandfather's. He froze in his tracks and felt tears rush once more to his eyes, rolling silently down his cheeks as he wept and Eloise watched with a broken heart. This boy didn't deserve to be orphaned, Eloise thought. She was so miserable all the time but she had both her parents. She had an incredible opportunity to visit France. Gustave had nothing.The only thing he claimed to have was Eloise, and even she felt like a lousy addition to his life.

Without another word or tear, Gustave was suddenly gone and Eloise felt her heart beat faster once more. Where could he have gone in the dead of night? Had he really left her all alone in the cemetery?
"Gustave!" She called out; beginning to search frantically for his silhouette in every direction. She then began running; searching every grave in the cemetery for Erik's name, for surely Gustave would be there. After her tenth row of tombs, she bumped into him, falling on top of his chest. She could see his cold breath in the darkness, but he was quivering. Something wasn't right…
"What's wrong?" She quickly stood up and begged Gustave for an answer.
"I – I couldn't find Erik's grave, I searched the whole cemetery…"
"I couldn't find it either…" Eloise whispered, fearing what was to come next. "This is the only cemetery in Paris Gustave, are you sure he died in Paris?"
"I'm positive. He – he drowned in the River Seine. This is impossible! THEY BURIED HIM HERE!" Gustave screamed looking for some explanation. Eloise sank to her knees and began to tremble, especially after she sensed another person close by.
"Gustave," A voice called out, but Eloise knew this voice all too well. It was Raoul.
"Get behind me," Gustave ordered as she obeyed, trembling so violently now that her vision began to blur.
"What do you want?"
"For you to come back." He said bluntly. "This is no place for a child."
"You think so?" Gustave clenched his teeth and moved closer to him "Do not dwell in the past Raoul; you need to let me go."
"I can't, no, because if I don't take you back" Raoul seemed to acting stranger than usual, "– Erik will."
"What?" Eloise spit, fearing that he had finally slipped right out of sanity. "Erik is dead…"
"No you idiot," Raoul sighed, suddenly grabbing Eloise and pinning her to a tomb nearby. "You think I would care for any of this if he was dead?"
"She can't breathe Raoul! Let her go!" Gustave exclaimed, pulling Raoul back as he retrieved his gun.
"I told you to stay away from him, Eloise." He shot one shot bullet into the air and one directly at Eloise. It hit her in the shoulder as she let out a bloodcurdling scream. Gustave punched Raoul in the face and watched him wipe the blood from his nose, staining the ground beneath them. Gustave cupped Raoul's throat to another tomb watching his eyes glisten with fear. Memories of the bet he had so long ago made with Erik about Christine flooded his mind – this child was much like his father. Raoul suddenly hit Gustave in the head with his gun, sending him flying backwards. Eloise lay motionless on the ground, trying to make the others believe she was dead so they could leave without causing much more trouble.
"Eloise!" Gustave called out as Raoul dragged him away, his voice echoing in the silence and piercing her thoughts. "ELOISE!" He screamed again as she heard him cry. She had to stay absolutely still until they were gone, only then would she get help. She couldn't risk having Raoul know he hadn't succeeded in killing her; it was the only way to keep Gustave alive.