Hi everyone! I am so sorry that I haven't been able to update recently, unfortunately I am back at school now and everything is in full swing so that means that my updates are going to be less frequent.):
Thanks you so much for all of the lovely reviews, I am really happy that you all are enjoying this story so much! I'm really excited for some upcoming chapters that I have in mind, so be on the lookout for those! So here is chapter 11, I hope you all enjoy it and please review! Thanks!(:
Darkness filled the wooded forest as the two ran through the brush and timber, with the shining of the moon the singular source of light. Two strangers ran from the present that they were now facing, the future which was quickly approaching and the past which was haunting them both now more than ever.
Heart beating and breath in an intense pant, the girl sprinted as fast as she could dodging tree after tree. Her long white gown caught on anything and everything tearing at the sight. Her golden hair blew in the cool winter wind behind her. Hot tears stung her cheeks as she let out a distressed sob. They were coming to find her. He was coming to find her. She knew that no matter what she would be facing her past tonight, and the unforeseen fear that was her future.
Rounding a corner turning behind to see if they were coming yet, the man quickened his pace and ran as fast as he could through the dense forest. Sweat dripped down his neck as his chest heaved up and down in desperate attempts for air. His loose white shirt, which was now tattered and dirty, hung open showing the top of his muscular chest. His normal sleek jet black hair was now messy and damp with sweat. For the first time in a long time he realized that he was genuinely scared. No matter how fast he ran he inevitably knew that he could not out run what was soon to catch him.
The two were quite a distance apart but could hear the sound of one another's racing hearts. Although they were strangers to the face, they were not strangers to the soul.
Running on for quite some more time, the man believed he was finally free, but he was very wrong. Turning swiftly to see if anyone followed, his foot caught on a tree root and the tall man fell to the cool floor of the forest, letting out a disgruntled grunt. As he began to get back up he was brutally shoved back down. Quickly his hands were bound together and a cloth was tied around his mouth enabling him to speak. Fighting as hard as he could he kicked and thwarted about violently. Suddenly he was brought up onto his feet, that is when he saw the two men who captured him. With freedom in mind he began to fight back even more viciously then before.
As he continued his attempts something hard hit him over the head. His fighting stopped his breathing stopped for a moment and all thoughts of everything he was thinking at the moment slipped away. Everything was turning black, blacker than the darkness he already knew, when the darkness finally took over him he fell limply in the two capturers arms.
As the girl kept going she stopped suddenly. Something was wrong, she could tell, somebody was hurt. She had no idea who it could have been but someone in the same position she was in, was hurting. She began to run again. Tears fell from her eyes even faster than before. She was scared, scared for her, scared for the one hurting, and scared about what was going to happen.
Freedom was her only thought as she ran and without any warning, freedom was taken from her mind. Strong arms were tightly wrapped around her upper half restraining her arms and holding her back against a strong body. Screaming and pleading she wriggled relentlessly in her captures arms. Suddenly she was pushed face down onto the ground as the man holding her down tied her hands behind her back and tied a cloth around her mouth restricting her from any further screams. Being picked off her feet, she was back in the arms of this dangerous stranger. Fighting, kicking and letting out muffled screams, she fought as hard as possible but the man was still able to pick her up and carry her away.
When he stopped walking the capturer brutally threw the girl down onto cool wet grass. Instantly she shot up and tried to run away but she was brought back down to the ground and her arms were being held tightly so she wouldn't get up. Sobbing now the young girl looked around through blurry tear filled eyes and saw that they were in a clearing still within the woods. More importantly she saw two large men dragging in another man who seemed a lot taller than them.
The man in the two capturer's arms seemed broken beyond repair. His head drooped towards the ground, his shirt was tattered and ripped, and he looked completely exhausted and warn down. The two capturer's harshly through man onto the ground. The man shuffled to his feet but just like the girl, he was pushed down again.
The girls muffled sobs finally stopped as she watched this man. Suddenly he began to look up at the girl making direct eye contact with her. Gasping in disbelief she recognized this man; the dark hair, the golden eyes that had a longing for some unknown need, his tall figure. But something confused her, looking closely she saw scars upon his chest. They were all over him. Averting her eyes, she made contact with his again.
She knew this man and the man knew her as well. They were strangers who knew each other so well. All along they were in search of one thing and that was each other, but as the girl looked at him she was confused. Her eyes caught on the right side of his face. It looked to be covered in white porcelain. Why?
All of a sudden both their eyes brightened. Thrashing about the girl wanted nothing more than to get to this man. Suddenly the stranger behind her grabbed her long hair pulling her back as she let out a muffled yelp; her sobs began again. The man behind her leaned close to her ear and spoke. "Does the little girl want the monster?" The voice was so familiar to her; she shook violently at the sound of it. "Then by all means let's show her what she's looking for!"
With that she was picked off her feet and turned to face the man whose voice she knew. She couldn't see his face. All she could see were two bright blue eyes staring back at her. Two blue eyes that she knew, she knew them so well; the eyes of the past that finally caught her, the eyes which she could now never let her be free.
The cloth was ripped from her mouth and she was turned around in a split second. Now facing the man, as the porcelain was torn from his face and shattered on the ground.
The worlds of the two people crashed around them as all secrets were barred. From miles away all you could hear were the deathly screams of the two star crossed strangers.
Waking quickly, the two shot up instantaneously. Both were screaming as they woke from their dream like state, confused beyond belief as they recalled the story that just played on in their heads.
Reaching over and grabbing her bedside clock, May noted that the time was only 1:27 in the morning. Sweating profusely she threw the covers off of her and stood walking to her mirror. As the moonlight seeped in through her tiny window she witnessed the unnatural paleness of her skin and she began shaking all over from confusion and distress. She began to pace.
What in the world could that have possibly meant? Was it all because of what happened tonight? Oh and those eyes, those haunting blue eyes. No matter what she did she was not able to calm down; the dream scared her too much. Grabbing her cloak and throwing it over her shoulders, she quietly slipped out of her dorm and began to run towards the steps leading towards the roof of the opera house. She needed fresh air and that was the only way she was going to get it at this time of night.
Tonight was the first time in a long time Erik actually fell asleep in his bed. For a while he would fall asleep at the piano or in the study or would not sleep at all; after having this dream he immediately regretted falling asleep.
Sweat dripped down his bare chest as he sat in his bed nervously thinking over his dream. Pushing away his covers he stood pacing around his room trying to cool himself off and to simply calm down. What in God's name possessed me to have a dream like that? Who were those people and why did they capture me? Was that even me? Who was the girl? She could not have been Christine, or even Maygan in that matter. Or was it May? Damn my infernal imagination! He simply wasn't calming down. Acting quickly he threw on a white shirt and traded his night trousers for a regular jet black pair. Grabbing his cloak he ventured up to the surface of the opera house and into the cool night air.
Swinging the door open May ran out into the crisp autumn air. Running over to the edge of the roof she stood breathing in long deep calming breaths as she gazed over the sleeping city. With different emotions bubbling up inside she began to silently cry. Warm tears stung her red chilled cheeks as she thought of her dream and what it could have meant.
Gazing over the city Erik breathed in the calm night life below him. He couldn't focus on anything and wasn't able to calm himself down. With different thoughts and emotions running rapid inside of him, his ears suddenly became aware to a silent noise. Listening closer it sounded like a soft sob. Walking around the large angel sculpture he was concealed behind, his eyes caught on a rather tall figure. It was a woman, her long blonde hair looking amber in the moon light, and her soft face looking downward in distress. It was May.
Losing herself in her thoughts May gave a yelp of fright when a beautiful tenor voice bellowed out into the open air surrounding her.
"Mademoiselle, I believe it is far past your bedtime." May spun around to face the man behind her. It was Erik; upon seeing him she suddenly began to calm down. May stared into Erik's golden eyes that shown brightly in the darkness. She was still very confused and lost so she did not respond.
Gazing into her eyes Erik instantly knew that something was wrong. He began to walk towards her, when he was close enough he realized that the young girl in front of him had fear in her eyes, and her entire body shook.
"May your trembling, are you alright, did something happen?" Erik spoke with tenderness in his voice; he knew what it was like to be scared and did not want May to feel that way no matter what had happened.
Quickly wiping away her fallen tears May looked at him and gave a shy smile. "No, no nothing happened, I- um I'm alright."
Gazing deeper into her eyes, he could read her perfectly. "Bad dream?"
He guessed right. May gave a shy nod, "Yes." She responded softly.
"Me too," Erik's response puzzled May. For some reason she never considered Erik having dreams, she never really even considered him sleeping at all. Did he even have a bedroom, she wondered.
Pushing her puzzled thoughts beside, May glanced up at Erik, her eyes caught on his white mask again. Memories of her recent dream came flooding back; all of the running, the screaming, the thrashing played through her mind. She recalled the vicious blue eyes that sought hers then the golden saddened, beautiful eyes which beamed an indescribable longing. She glanced up at the mask again and all that she could see was shattered porcelain upon the cold ground of the forest, then suddenly the sounds of two screams rang through her ears causing her to cringe.
Erik watched her as May looked over him. She looked genuinely frightened and sad. He had no idea what was playing on inside her mind and wanted desperately to know but did not want to sadden her with recalling the thoughts.
Erik himself didn't even want to recall his own thoughts, but somehow he managed to. All he could see was the girl in the tattered white dress with blonde strayed curls running down her back. The distress and fear in her blue green eyes terrified him. Suddenly he recalled the feeling of something being ripped away, and then screaming. He heard nothing but painful hurt screams; One voice high and terrified, the other low and ashamed, both mixing together to make a horrifying melody of pain and hurt.
Trying to shake away the dream, both Erik and May returned to reality. Things were quiet between the two for a moment. Suddenly Erik glanced up into the open night sky and gave a slight smile to the heavens. May watched him and looked up as well.
Upon glancing up May saw why he was smiling. The stars were beautiful. So Many small shining orbs painted the night sky beautifully. Feeling happy and content May looked back at Erik and laughed lightly. She grabbed his arm and started pulling him along with her quickly. Erik stiffened under the light grasp the young girl had upon his arm.
"Come on." May said excitedly, she pulled Erik over to the base of a large statue and childishly laid down on her back in front of it. Erik glanced down at her with a quizzical expression on his face.
"May what are you doing?" He questioned with a light laugh.
"Just lie down, come on do it!" Sighing in defeat Erik lowered himself to the ground beside May and laid flat on his back next to her. Pausing for a moment they both said nothing. Turning his head to face May Erik smiled at how happy she suddenly looked and enjoyed seeing her like this. He turned his attention back to the sky.
"The stars are magnificent tonight, I've never seen so many." May spoke in a whimsical voice that made Erik grin in delight of how childlike she sounded.
Erik glanced over the night sky and at all the stars. "Hmm, I've seen more."
May turned to look at Erik "You have, you mean here?" She questioned excitedly.
Erik turned to face her. "Yes I have, but not here, these stars are nothing compared to the ones I have seen." He watched May's expression brighten.
"Where were you that you could have possibly seen more stars than here?" She questioned excitedly.
"Persia." He responded quickly.
"Persia?" May questioned back. With the sudden realization of what he had just said, he regretted it instantly. There was no possible way he could tell May about his horrific past, he needed to lie for the time being. He hated to lie and especially to May, but he had to for his own protection.
"Yes I resided there for a short amount of time, and I would spend many nights just trying to count all of the stars. There are so many that you can hardly see the black of the sky." May stared at him in wonder as he weaved his false tale. It was true that he did reside in Persia for a short time but his star gazing wasn't just for leisure purposes, the stars where his only companions during the long nights when he would be punished to withstand the frigid temperatures of the Persian nights as a cruel punishment from the Shah.
"Really, well what were you doing in Persia?"
"I was an architect; I would build grand buildings and houses for the Shah of Persia." That was not a complete lie. Erik was indeed an architect but he was forced to build horrific torture chambers and different traps. He shivered just thinking about the evil creations he had to make.
"That is amazing, maybe somewhere I can come to Persia with you and we can spend all hours of the night just counting the stars." Erik's heart broke as he listened to May's childish statement. Never in a million years would Erik ever even consider taking May or any one for that matter to Persia. He would never want her beautiful mind to be tainted with the cruel way of life they all lived there. She deserved beauty and sunlight, not the despair and pain that Persia offered.
May turned her attention back to the stars but Erik kept his eyes upon her as he spoke. "May you deserve to go to much greater places than that. Maybe one day I will be able to take you to the places you deserve to be, the places where the stars shine brighter than the sun itself, and the places where you can shine brighter than any star in the sky."
May glanced over at Erik. A light blush played across her soft cheeks. She felt butterflies in her stomach from what Erik had just stated but didn't know why they were there. Not knowing how to properly respond she simply smiled holding his gaze for a light moment. After a short time they both turned their attention back up to the sky.
A good amount of time passed as the two just gazed at the flickering stars. Suddenly Erik slowly sat up and broke the silence that expanded between the two of them. "Well it is very late and you have an audition coming up soon. I suggest it is time to return to bed." Erik stood up towering over the now sitting May.
Giving a slightly comical pout, May lifted up from her sitting position and faced Erik. "I guess you are right."
"May I walk you back to your dorm Miss. Daily?"
"Why certainly." She responded, letting out a slight giggle.
Luckily with the time of night being what it was Erik was able to safely see May back to her room without being spotted by any nosey ballet rat or stage hand.
Now standing before the door to May's room Erik gazed down at the young girl. "Now are you going to be alright the rest of the evening?"
"Yes I will be fine, Thank you for keeping me company tonight." She stated with a light blush.
"Thank you for keeping me company as well."
May turned to open the door; she stepped inside a bit then turned to face Erik again. "Well, goodnight Erik."
"Sweet dreams May." He joked. Before she could close the door Erik placed a strong hand upon it keeping it open. "Oh and before I forget, my favorite color is red, I too dislike Carlotta, I am more a dog person than a cat person, I read too much, I strongly despise Raoul De Chagny. Winter is my favorite season, I enjoy painting and drawing just like you, I strive to be a world known composer one day, I was the reason Joseph Bouquet dropped that bottle from the cat walks, sorry about that. Oh yes and I sleep with my socks on." A rather humorous silence spread between them. "Now goodnight Miss. Daily I shall be seeing you soon."
With that Erik turned on his heels and took a few steps before disappearing into the shadows. Shutting the door quickly, May leaned up against it giving a soft chuckle. He sleeps with his socks on! She adored ever secret he had just confined to her, even the one about her injury, but she was beyond happy he told her.
I hope you all enjoyed chapter 11! Please read and review!
Thank you all!(: