The Prisoner (A Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 17

Renee's POV:

It was a peaceful life, I suppose. Seems odd to call living with a slightly insane musical genius in the catacombs of the Paris Opera "peaceful," but there was something calm and pleasurable about it. Every day I would work at repairing the dirty, nasty house. He would leave me sometimes to do his work around the opera, and other times he would simply ignore me and my dusting. But there were those moments, those... sparkling moments, where our eyes would meet, and my heart would skip a beat. (Hm, how very poetic.) Occasionally, he would ask me to sing, and he would accompany me in warm-ups and simple arias. Often he would start to harshly correct me, but would catch himself. Other times I would ask him to play for me, and he would play one of his gorgeous compositions. There were days that were... Less pleasurable than others. Days he would shut himself in his room, and bark profanities at anything that made a peep. But one day, one day he seemed especially... organized. I could say calm, or peaceful, but that air of grace and elegance never left him.

"Renee, I've been noticing that you haven't wanted to return to the surface since I took you to get your shoes."

He was standing over me as I patched an old rug, and I looked up at him. His voice had caution in it, but was as firm and present as ever. It hadn't ever really occurred to me that I could go back up. That I could visit people.

With a knowing voice he said, "You've gotten paler. You've gotten thinner, and you've got bags under your eyes. You work much too hard. It's not healthy, and your current state worries me."

"I worry you?"

"Yes."

"Then what do you suggest I do?"

"Go up."

I froze. I had no clue what I looked like, Erik didn't keep mirrors, and I assumed it had something to do with the mask. I could imagine, though. What he said was probably right. I hadn't done much but clean. I could barely even dance, for lack of space. I... was... miserable. I distracted myself with my work, but that didn't change the fact. I... wasn't... happy. But I couldn't go back up. He was probably still there. After all, it had only been a week or two...

Erik's POV:

I looked down on Renee as she sat on the ground. She couldn't stop shaking. I had prepared myself that my proposition could go one of two ways: She would be excited and want to leave right away, or... this. My heart broke as I realized the pain she was going through. Cautiously, I kneeled down and grabbed her shaking hands in mine. She gasped, and her eyes met mine.

"I didn't mean to startle-"

"No, no. You're fine, Erik." She said in a shaky voice. She forced a smile, and tried to take her hands from mine. I squeezed gently, and her eyes snapped to mine.

"I won't force you," I said. "Just think about it." I stood to go, but returned a few minutes later to make sure she was doing something, anything. As I had suspected, she hadn't moved.

Erik, you stupid fool! You have put her into thus distressed state!

Cautiously, I approached her. "Renee, are you still worried about that... that bastard?" I asked, not trying to mask the hatred in my voice. She slowly turned around, looked up, and faced me.

"Oh, but you don't know him, Erik! He is as persistent as the devil, and once he catches a whiff of something he wants, there's no stopping him."

Her voice made my blood boil. She wasn't despairing, or angry. She said it like she was stating a fact. Like she knew he would get her no matter what.

"But you already knew that, I suppose."

That's when it hit me. I knew what I should do. I knew so much about her, yet she knew barely anything of me. I knew I should tell her something, but I wasn't sure I wanted to. My past was terrifying, and should she leave me because of that...

"Renee, I feel you should know some more about me." The words were out of my mouth before I had even finished my train of thought. I held out a hand, which she took and stood up. She gripped mine softly as I led her to one of the two places she knew she was forbidden to go: my room. I opened the door way, and felt her pulling back.

"Erik, I thought I wasn't supposed to go in there..." she said. Her voice was cautious, but you could see the curiosity in her eyes.

"I'm allowing you to see it. Please."

She relaxed and let me lead her into my chamber. I watched her face as she examined my room. I saw her eyes widen at the intricate organ on one end, and she smiled at the bookshelves full of compositions and classic literature. Then, her eyes found the curtain at the far end.

"May I?"

Shakily I replied, "Yes." This was the hardest part for me. What lie behind that curtain would surely make her run, make her fearful. I watched as she tentatively pulled back the curtains, and as her hands went to her mouth in shock.

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So, I've not been here in a... while. Oops. However, I'm hoping either tonight or tomorrow the first chapter of To Dream A Dream, my modern day POTO fanfic. It'll be my second story up here, follow me for updates when it comes up, and add to your library for chapter updates! I'm really excited about this one, and I hope you guys'll like it.

As for this story, I'm finally over my writer's block! I knew where I wanted it to go, just couldn't figure out how to get it there. Hopefully I should be on a roll again, though! *crosses fingers*

Your obedient and busy servant,

~Rose