Look with your Heart

Coney Island

"So, this is going to be our home?" Lily asked, looking around. "It's quite nice, actually." Her hand was resting on her stomach as she looked around, poking her head into each room. Erik nodded, pleased with how his design had turned out. 

"Yes, it is," Erik murmured. It was in a rather secluded area in Coney Island, which he appreciated. The more they kept to themselves, the less rumors there would be. "Come on, love, let's go back downstairs." 

She smiled at him, though her eyes were somewhat sad. Erik sighed gently and kissed her forehead. The girl leaned into his touch for a few moments, then pulled back and began walking down the stairs. The others were gathered, sitting on the couch and chairs. Meg was cuddled close to her mother, and Sofia was laying her head against Nadir's shoulder. 

The couple also settled down on the couch. "So do any of us have to share a room?" Meg asked, tipping her head. "This place has so many rooms!"

"No, you don't have to, unless you want to," Erik chuckled with a sly smirk, looking over at Nadir, then Antoinette. His friend glared, turning pink, then looked away. 

"Erik, stop embarrassing him," Lily said, laughing softly. "If he and Maman wish to share a room, that's fine, I don't mind." Antoinette gave her daughter a grateful look, which Erik snickered at. Lily rolled her eyes and flicked him lightly. 

Sofia sighed softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "This is lovely, but could we talk about the letters again?" she asked. "I would like to figure out what's been going on." 

"How did she managed to get the letters to us?" Lily wondered. "We found ours on the nightstand when I woke up in the night. But how could she possibly get the note to us? It wasn't there before, I'm pretty sure."

"Maybe you're just really heavy sleepers," Nadir suggested, but Erik frowned.

The man shook his head. "No, remember Persia? I barely slept at all and if I did, I slept really light," he commented. "She'd have to be very, very quiet, practically silent, in order to get that on there." 

Lily frowned as she thought through the possibilities. "The chance that she could get to all of us, though?" she said softly. "I'd assume that she'd gone to the Populaire first, while you two were at dinner, or she had Pierre give them. Unless..." She trailed off and was silent again, eyebrows still furrowed.

The rest of the group was silent as they watched Lily work things through in her mind. "When I woke up," she began slowly, "I felt a bit...would loopy be a good word to use? And my head felt a bit foggy, and it only cleared up after I drank some tea." 

Erik's face paled. "Oh, no," he breathed. "It was some type of drug. I was thinking about it when I woke up, but then got distracted by the note! I'm certain that it was a drug. It was probably injected. Lily, dear, can I see your neck please?" 

She nodded and pulled her hair away. Erik came close and inspected her neck carefully before he found what he was looking for. 

"Right there," he pointed. "You wouldn't be able to see it unless you knew what you were looking for. Which is why none of us knew what had happened, plus we were too busy trying to figure things out and getting out of France. Whoever did this is very smart. They knew just the right amount to give to us so that we wouldn't wake up because of them, but enough that we would wake up after they were gone. Plus, they also knew that we would be too worried to think about it."

"But... How did they get to all of our homes?" Antoinette worried, wringing her hands. "Unless whoever it is has a lot of helpers." 

Lily paled slightly, and Erik rubbed her back soothingly. "I find this slightly disturbing," Lily announced, beginning to shift the decorative pillows around. 

"Okay, so we've learned that you and Sofia are cousins," Meg said, beginning to sum things up. "We each received notes with some type of threat in them. We learned that Pierre was helping your aunt, and that they might have more helpers, and that the person who injected the drug is very smart. But what would the purpose of driving us out of France be?" 

"Yes, that is one thing that doesn't make sense," Sofia agreed. "If she wants revenge on us, she could've easily done something to us all, but instead, she gave us a chance to flee." 

Erik lightly planted a kiss on Lily's forehead in reassurance as she curled close to him. "I think this is enough," he said quietly. "Now, if you'll excuse us." He picked Lily up bridal style and brought her upstairs to their new room.

Lily was silent as he sat on the bed with her in his lap. "Darling, what's going on in your mind?" Erik asked, running his hand through her dark brown hair. 

"I don't know," Lily admitted in a low voice. "Everything is just so confusing and frustrating." She gritted her teeth, then gave a single frustrated yell. Erik patiently waited for her to calm down for a few minutes, still brushing through her hair.

"You feeling better?" he asked, and Lily nodded. 

She sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just so..." She made a wild gesture with an arm.

"I know, ma chérie," he said, kissing her cheek. "It's better that you let it out, rather than bottling it all in." Lily rested her cheek on his shoulder, then yelped softly. 

"Apparently baby agrees with you," she giggled, placing a hand on her stomach. Erik chuckled softly as well, covering her petite hand with his larger one. 

They settled into silence, merely enjoying each other's company. Finally, Erik wondered out loud, "How am I so lucky to have you, mon amour?" Lily smiled and pulled back, gently placing her lips against his. She stroked his disfigured cheek gently as she kissed him, then leaned back.

"I am the lucky one, Erik," she said, silver eyes filled with love. "I am so lucky to have you in my life." He hummed softly, placing his lips on hers once again. Lily closed her eyes in contentment as she moved to rest her head on his shoulder once again.

"Do you plan on working again?" Lily asked him, taking his hand in hers. 

He sighed. "I don't know. I know that we have enough money to get along nicely right now, but that can't last forever. So, yes, I'm likely going to work as an architect once again. I've had a bit of a good reputation as one, because of the news." 

There was a soft meow as Dottie came in and scratched lightly at Lily's skirt. The girl laughed and picked up Dottie and placed her on her lap. Erik smiled and pet Dottie's head lightly, laughing when she purred softly. 

"You know I love you, right?" Erik murmured out of the blue, caressing Lily's hand. 

She smiled. "I know you do," Lily said. "And you know that I love you?" Erik chuckled softly and nodded, kissing her cheek. "Baby loves you too," she added, feeling a light kick. 

"I love both of you," he whispered. "So, so much."

Hello readers! So sorry for my unexpected break and that this chapter is so short, I ran out of inspiration for a while, but I'm back now! I also may not be able to post as much, since school recently started (ugh, high school), and I already have a lot of work to do. Thank you all so much for your patience, and Whitestar, thanks for not killing me :) I promise that I'm writing as fast as I can think (which actually might not be that fast, but whatever), but the next chapter has a few developments, which I'm really excited about ;) Alright, that's about it. Love you all! <3