Ch. 3— Bearding the Lion
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Christine stood outside the door to Mr. D'Anton's room, her eyes closed and her jaw grit tight.
She could hear yelling from within, all on the part of one irate opera diva.
"Ms. Landress, please try to understand—"
"I DO NOT UNDERSTAND! THIS IS THE BEST YOU COULD DO FOR HIM?! THIS?!" Christine heard something break and peaked through the slightly opened door to see the diva sweep another framed photograph off the table nearest her to shatter on the floor.
"Carlotta." Mr. D'Anton grit through clenched teeth.
"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE, ERIK! A GROTESQUE NIGHTMARE!"
Today had been the day his bandages had come off for good, and Dr. Khan and Nurse Tomlin had invited his fiancé to be there for the 'great unraveling'.
Like many of the staff, Christine had been in awe of the diva when she'd arrived.
Dressed to the nines in gold satin trimmed in fur that molded to her curvaceous physique, black hair falling in voluptuous, glistening waves down her shoulders and back, her perfectly made up face stunningly beautiful to behold, the famous diva looked like she just stepped from a cover of Harper's Bazaar or from the red carpet of the Parisian Cinema.
They all of them, nurses, aides, and orderlies crowded outside the door to listen to her reaction.
Once the yelling had started however, everyone but Christine had found somewhere else to be, another duty to be tended.
As Christine watched, Nurse Tomlin whispered something into Dr. Khan's ear, and the elderly gentleman nodded. "Yes, I do agree a recess is in order. We will all of us take some time. Come, Ms. Landress, let me show you the gardens of the Jardin D'espoir. It is the gardens, after all, from where this sanitarium draws its name. And I would be happy to use this time to answer any questions you may still have."
With a venomous look towards the ruined visage of her fiancé, the diva nodded her assent, and the two left the room with heads bowed together, the diva whispering furiously at the older, dark-skinned physician.
"Ah, Christine. Good. You are still there."
Christine looked up into the tension-lined face of Nurse Tomlin. "Grab a dustpan and broom, won't you, and tidy up the floor a bit for the Lieutenant." Nurse Tomlin's face turned sour. "It seems there was quite the accident."
The head nurse turned back to face the man currently seated by the window as he stared sightlessly out into the sunshine-bright day. "Is there anything I can do for you, Lieuten—"
"Leave, hellcat!" Mr. D'Anton ordered, cutting her off. "That is all you can do for me."
The head nurse sighed and shook her head, shutting the door softly behind her.
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Tremulously, Christine knocked on his door, clutching the broom and dustpan to her like a sword and shield. God, but she was truly bearding the lion in his den. Drawing a breath for courage, she straightened her shoulders, and asked, "Mr. D'Anton, would you mind if I came in?"
There was no answer, and she opened the door just a crack to see if he was alright. The sight that met her eyes stopped her heart.
He was touching his ravaged, barely-healed face.
Christine pursed her lips together as she continued to stare. His hands were trembling, shaking as he blindly charted the devastated topography he found there, his sightless honey-hued eyes opened wide in shock.
And his expression! Oh, it broke her heart to see it: one of such utter disbelief on his poor, wretched face.
Her throat worked convulsively, giving a small, involuntary click, and his head shot up with a snap, his sightless eyes seeming to stare a hole straight through her before he quickly turned his face away. "Ms. Daae. To what do I owe the pleasure of this intrusion on my solitude?"
She gulped thickly and took an involuntary step back. "I—That is to say, Nurse Tomlin… errm, I—I was sent to clear the glass away."
"The hellcat sent you in here, did she?" He turned fully from her then so that his face was completely hidden from view. "Well, get on with it, girl, and be gone."
"Y—yes, sir."
Drawing a deep breath for courage, Christine clutched the broom and dustpan to her and entered the room.
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Erik tried to calm himself.
Carlotta's reaction had expressed it all, as his leading diva did have a tendency to do so well: gasping horror, absolute outrage, anger upon his behalf and at him.
And then ultimately, disgust.
True disgust for the man he now was—the face he now wore with his useless eyes and crippled body.
He heard the glass shards tinkle as they were being swept away, and he thought how apt that the hellcat would send her to him in this—his lowest hour. He drew another deep breath and focused intently on the smells of springtime, sunshine, and lavender… letting it clear his putrid thoughts.
Perhaps it wasn't as bad as it seemed? His diva's reactions did tend to leave something to be desired in terms of veracity. He closed his worthless eyes, his jaw grit tight as shards of glass continued to grate and tinkle across the floor.
He could ask her… ask the little nurse for her opinion on the matter. But if his face truly was as bad as Carlotta purported it to be….
Instinctively, he turned away from the sounds of her cleaning. Perhaps now he was hideously deformed?
God! What would that mean for his relationship with Carlotta? His standing in the Parisian community? His business for God's sakes?!
Surely, if it was as bad as all that, Khan would have let him know before now.
Surely…
He needed to talk with him. Immediately. Khan would know exactly what answers he needed and put a fine point on where Erik stood in relation to his recuperation.
He had been absent almost ten and a half months as it was: eight months enlisted and two and a half spent in confinement as he recovered. It was time to rejoin the human race, take up the mantle of his business again, and settle down to the realities of almost-married life.
The glass shards shattered once more as they hit the bottom of the rubbish bin.
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A/N: Oh, but Erik's fiancé is quite the witch with a capital 'B', isn't she? But then, of course, we know this owing solely to her name alone. And poor Erik, having to face such a realization with no one else present to comfort him… hmm, no one else except for one lonely, little nurse sweeping up the broken pieces…
I would dearly love to know your thoughts on my little tale, dear readers. Even if it's only a one word reply, I'll take it! :D
More soon.
Keep watch,
PFP