As her fathers and Meg spoke for the past good hour, Sorelli opted to stay in the waiting room outside, out of the way and silent though she was the topic of said discussion. She was used to it all her life and had countless techniques to keep herself amused. During long, awkward silences between family she would visualize about her mother's performances on Opera Populaire's stage, during a parent's absence she would vividly recount her visits to Paris' Grand Ferris Wheel when her life was stable, or drowning out an argument by flying into her imagination.
This time, however, her mind conjured countless detailed events of what could happen in the future. Phantasma's splendor, its' patterns of lights like strings of stars dancing around her, Manhattan's life sweeping around her like a whirlwind of noise but one thing she could not picture clearly was her new family. Try as she could, the only person she could picture bonding with, was Jules. Though they accepted her, what would happen with her father? His wife?
She felt hollowness begin to slowly consume her, almost lost in it. A warm hand on her shoulder pulled her back to life.
"Ellie?"
She looked up to see Jules, he had changed into a black felt button-up shirt with a white collar pulled out, black shorts and black slippers. His hair was visibly damp and he wore no mask, showing his deformity, which was a brighter red, most likely due to it being irritated by either soap or rubbing.
She leaned back and widened her eyes. "I'm sorry what did you say?"
"Ellie." Jules resounded with a grin before dropping himself to the seat beside her. "Siblings always have nicknames, so I gave one to you!"
She offered a small smile in return. "I guess that is common, Ellie sounds good." She then turned her eyes downward as she attempted to shorten his name. "Um… How about Jule?"
He rolled his eyes to turn his gaze away. "Sure…"
Sorelli sighed and drooped her shoulders. "Sorry, it's..."
"It's ok, 'Jules' is already short." He put his hands behind him, leaned on them and kicked his heels against the couch with a smile. "But I can still call you Ellie right?"
"Of course."
Jules let out a small giggle before his eyebrows rose and mouth drop, he swirled his head around, stopping at every door. "Are they still in the office?"
"Yes." Sorelli replied. "But your lawyer, Mr. Abbott, joined them a little while ago."
Jules turned to her and wiggled his eyebrows. "Wanna listen in? Grandma's resting back in her room."
"What?"
Jules slid off the couch and ran to the purple drapes that were controlled by a thick, black rope. He grabbed onto the rope and leaned back with it, with a click it began to move. Looking upward, the celling was several swirls all interconnected, but the ringlet that held the curtain began to move inside them, following it like trains on a track. With five more clicks he stopped, then pulled on it. A slight sound of grinding metal was heard before a panel slid open that was right next to the office.
Sorelli's jaw dropped when he finished. She gawked at him as if his deformity migrated to his other side.
"What? Didn't you have secret passages at your house?"
"… No."
He blinked before plainly stating: "Oh, well we do."
Jules quietly tip-toed into the side passage, pausing only to curl his finger towards himself while looking at Sorelli. Shaking off the initial awkwardness, she sighed and turned away.
"You go ahead, I'm fine…"
Jules stepped out with furrowed brows and a pouting lip. "Why not?"
Sorelli shook her head. "Because I don't like to…"
Jules scampered toward her and gently tugged her hand. "Come on Ellie, don't you want to find out what's going to happen to you?"
"No…" She gently brushed his hand away before walking to the wide window and hugging herself.
Jules frowned and inched forward. "Ellie? Did I hurt your feelings?"
"No, not at all," She turned to him, one hand tucked into the other. "I'd rather just, do whatever they ask. They know what's best after all, what's the point of getting worked up over something you can't change?"
Jules' eyes flicked downward, her tone was like an echo, this was something she had said a lot before. He swirled back around to the passage. "Alright Ellie, whatever you say…"
He tip-toed back into it and pressed a switch which closed the passage behind him and sent the rope clicking back into place. The inner corridors were made specially by Erik so he could have immediate access to every room in his penthouse and office, also placing hidden vents and specially made phones so he could hear in different parts of the house. Jules simply turned to the office vent, though three feet above him, shut his eyes so he could concentrate on it and pointed his ear to it.
"Just to be clear you are going to be completely liable for this child." Erik's lawyer, Mr. Abbott, a white haired man with a somewhat conical head, informed sullenly.
"I understand." Erik spoke, his voice slightly gravelly than usual.
"And just to be clear, should anything happen to you." The sound of fluttering paper was heard. "Meg shall receive half your fortune, as well as half your assets, with the other half of both split equally among your offspring?"
"Yes."
"And you Mrs. Y, should anything happen to you, forfeit your shares and split equally among your biological son, Jules, and your adoptive daughter, Sorelli?"
"Yes."
He cleared his throat. "Very well, the changes have been made and I shall return with an official court date in which to make official, Miss Sorelli's change of guardianship."
"And where shall I go before the Sanatorium?" Raoul asked.
"You're staying with Sorelli until she's officially adopted." Erik responded with a slightly uneven voice.
"But what if the Vicomte is cured?" Mr. Abbott inquired.
Raoul let out a noise that vaguely a chuckle or a scoff. "I'm afraid I don't have as much faith in myself as I would like, she will likely be a woman when I'm done…"
Jules felt a couple questions begin to form in his mind. Why was the inheritance a concern? What was a Sanatorium? Was Sorelli's other father sick? The pause in conversation indicated that Jules exit, pressing the switch once more he skittered out and leaped stomach first onto the couch before turning lax. Sorelli still stood at the window, staring at the endless lights of the city, turning only to see Jules but wordlessly looking back.
Mr. Abbott emerged and politely nodded to both Jules and Sorelli before going to the elevator. Erik and Meg walked out together, arms locked loosely, Erik's face was plain with small curves of worry, Meg smiling but her eyes were sunken slightly. Raoul followed, his stride weighted down.
Meg released her arm from Erik's to sit beside her son. "Are you alright Jules?" She asked, gently moving him so his head could rest on her lap.
"Yes mama, just hungry." He mumbled softly.
Raoul sauntered over to Sorelli and gently rested his hand in hers. He let out a few heavy breaths, like he was trying to relieve his emotion.
"We're nearly there, just need a judge to officiate it, then you'll stay with them and I'll head to the Sanitarium, he's…. Kindly paying."
Sorelli let out a breath and nodded.
"You'll be able to visit me."
"That's good…"
He looked down at her and then put his arm around her, pulling her into a hug. "Everything will be fine." He planted a kiss on her head.
Erik walked to them quietly. "There's an empty suite bellow us, you can stay there until I have your room built, I've called someone to take your things."
Sorelli's eyes locked onto her carpet bag. "I can't believe I've forgotten…" She mumbled in a trembling voice as she walked to it.
She dropped to her knees without hesitation, plied apart the opening and wrapped her arms around something. It appeared to be a small, white ceramic vase, plain painted red flowers, a tightly screwed on lid and a small oval picture of Christine in its' center. It took Erik only a glance to realize what it was. Meg bit her lip and gently coaxed Jules to wait for them in the dining room, which he obliged.
"I didn't want to leave her alone in Paris, at least grandpa has grandma… We couldn't afford to bury her there." Sorelli pressed it against herself and smiled, barely managing to hold back tears.
Erik looked down and approached her with an extending arm. He gently grazed his fingers among the resting place of his former beloved. Though he felt tears form, he was able to smile.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you… But thank you for teaching me… What real love meant…" He looked to Meg. "Thank you for letting me return the favor."