A/N: Ok, second instalment. I know they aren't extremely long, but I'm trying my best to write quickly (I don't exactly have the best track record for finishing things I started) But I'm already half way done the next chapter, which will be the last. So leave a review, tell me what you think. It's been hard for me to write the next chapter. But hey, challenges are what writing is about, right? ;)
It seems so completely preposterous that people can be changed completely, down to the very core of their being, yet the buildings and places around them stay constant and immutable. The stage on which I had made my debut, the mirror where I first heard the angel of music's voice echo powerfully through my mind, they all remained exactly where I left them. Each monument stood impervious, completely untouched by the power of human revelation. I knew the path to his cavern so well I'm sure I could have walked it blindfolded.
Expecting to be met with the same consistency I had experienced from the rest of the opera house I stood in stunned bewildered shock at the state of Erik's home. I'm not sure what I had expected to find. Perhaps I hoped to see him sitting there, absorbed by his organ, playing with that interminable beauty. The voice I could never deny, those graceful hands full of unimaginable dexterity. No, this was not the scene that awaited me. I knew him well enough to know he would never have expected Raoul and I to fulfill our promise. He had grown to always anticipate less than he deserved. A stab of truth filled my eyes with tears. My actions, more than anything, had taught him not to trust in hope.
The room was destroyed. Furniture lay on its side, scores of music savagely tossed and torn, left to lay strewn across the floor. I hadn't believed I could handle any more surprises, any more shock. I felt weary, emotionally and physically exhausted from the lack of sleep and joy present in my life. I really had no idea what I still had to face.
"Christine Daae…you came." I jumped at the sound of the familiar voice, Nadir, as Erik had called him. "And without your fiancé I see."
"Erik… Please…where is he?" I asked, my voice quavering. I feared for the first time that I might be to late. I gestured weakly to my dismantled surroundings. "Did he…did he do all of this?" I imagined his chest heaving violently at the exertion needed to decimate a room.
Nadir rose suddenly from the leather couch, I realised almost instantly that he was as emotionally haggard as I. The deep set lines in his forehead were much more evident, his eyes solemn and red with stress and grief. He had been crying. Oh god…It was already over.
"He did not think you would come, Mademoiselle. Raoul would not let you return, he was sure of this…I asked him to spare the organ, his music. He refuses to listen to me…he says he does not want any trace of himself left on this earth."
"Please…Take me to him." I knew my purpose; I was here for a reason. "I have to see him, I beg you, Where is he?"
"You of all people do not need to beg to see him," The Persian spoke softly, staring sadly at the ground. He shook his head, "you are the only person he would wish to see." He gestured silently to my room, the room that I had hid away in, lied huddled on the bed and experienced the wonder of his music so many times.
"The only room he could not destroy. I am uncertain if he's in a state to talk, I carried him to the bed after the last attack. I am sure you know as well as I that his end is near."
I felt our eyes meet, and I stared sadly at Nadir. This man, sad and old, ravaged by age and obvious unspoken terrors. I knew, somehow, he was one of the few people who had ever seen Erik the same way as I. Sharing kindness, friendship, and a strange unspoken bond of empathy and trust. I let my mind wander, wondering how these two exceedingly different human souls had crossed paths. Now I would never know. My chest heaved with remorse as I once again considered that inevitable truth, Erik would probably not last more than a few hours if Nadir's diagnosis was indeed valid.
A crunch of glass resonated beneath my heel as I started towards the closed door. A picture frame. I gazed in silence at the photograph I had once longed to stare at. Our similar faces betray our differences I thought sadly, guessing perfectly well who had been the one to start Erik's spiral into ultimate darkness. You deserted him. But I will not. I have not been fair to him…but I have changed for the better. As a rule, I was not a vengeful human being, yet I threw the picture to the floor with sudden contempt. A shattered pane of glass covered Madeleine's face, obscuring the beauty I had once been so fascinated with.
I entered the room, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. Every minute detail was exactly as I recalled. He lay spread on the bed, so peaceful to the naked eye. His chest rose smoothly, betraying the erratic heart underneath. Proceeding slowly towards the quiet form, I felt the inevitable tears blur my vision as a frantic flurry of indescribable emotions pounded through my veins. A deep longing, a need to reach out and comfort him, assure him that I was here. Always for him. A fear that had been so deeply rooted into my soul now was a childish thought of the past. Being his wife was enough, but I wanted to give him more.
"Erik…." My voice alone was enough to draw his eyes open. He seemed so struck with surprise, with a joy and love that I couldn't begin to imagine. I couldn't help but smile, no matter the situation.
"My dear, you came." His voice, although strained with illness, was as intoxicatingly lovely as ever. "I admit, I did not expect you would."
Erik, so polite even on his death bed, a gentleman to the end. Had I expected any less? I felt my hands slowly remove the mask, but no fear awaited me behind that white shield. His features drew me in, and I felt my heart stir as tears fell steadily down his face. I wanted to kiss every inch of him, wipe away the sadness he never deserved to suffer through. I would heal him; every cruel distressing experience he had suffered I would alleviate. All I had to do was be here for him.
"Nadir…" I spoke softly, afraid to leave his gaze for a moment. "Will you be our witness?"
"If you are unsure…I will not force you. You know I would not." Erik had slowly propped himself into a semi sitting position, betraying the weakness that I had feared would limit him to the bed. "Christine, I will not pretend that I don't want this. But decisions should not be made rashly. I, perhaps, am not the best example…you know your happiness is what I fear for." He frowned, shaking his head slightly, "A face like mine does not deserve love."
Oh how I wished to comfort him with every possible reassurance I could conjure. Such an array of beauty and sensitivity, yet he seemed so reluctant to truly accept my feelings. He had hoped, prayed desperately to a god he had tried to forget, yet years of poignant suffering had hardened him to true belief. No words could convey to him how truly wrong he was, I simply shook my head with furious disbelief.
Quietly, Nadir walked with gentle ease to the large armoire that had housed my numerous gowns. The infamous wedding dressed, I saw with a pang of guilt and self loathing, still hung hopefully among the array of untouched dresses.
"I knew the moment I saw you, mademoiselle Daae, you were the one this ring belonged to." He spoke softly, lightly stroking the velvet box.
The band was plain, simple and undeniably elegant in a perfectly understated way. Erik reached out slowly, with a deliberate sort of perseverance, to place the golden ring slowly on my finger. Beautiful moments were rare in his life; I would not be the one to rush through his final hours.
"Till death do us part…" I whispered sadly, knowing all to well the dismal reality behind the statement.
"I think we both know what won't be long now, my dear."
He was right of course, it would not be long. But I knew I had time, time to give him all that he deserved. Finally I was ready to jump off of the cliff I had feared so emphatically before. I could not swim, and now I would never have the time to learn. Still, I did not fear. Erik would never let me drown.
A/N: Ah, how lovely. I'm sorry if it's coming off a little too mushy, maybe a little love sick. This book really opened my eyes to real love, and I felt like my fan fiction should reflect those feelings. Erik's been hard to write, I can't seem to get his character right.