Music in the Dark

Chapter 13: Not a Muse

Aveline awoke invigorated. She felt like a completely different person, no longer plagued by the wine in her system. She sat up and stretched unhurriedly. The Phantom, his mask, and the food he had brought in for breakfast were all gone from the room. Next to her, on his nightstand, was a full glass of water and what appeared to be a silver pocket watch.

She picked it up and turned it in her hands. The outside was somewhat ornate, but not extraordinarily so. The chain had been removed, but it looked as though it was new. She pressed on the spring-loaded button, and the watch's face was instantly visible.

The face had a white background with clearly-defined Roman numerals in black to contrast. The two hands were silver, as well, and they showed a time of a few minutes after two. In a window cut out of the back of the clock face, there was artwork depicting a sun traversing the sky. She supposed that meant that it was afternoon and not the middle of the night.

On the back of the cover, there was a brief, engraved statement:

For the angel who aligned my stars...Merci. F.D.

Aveline's brows arched in mild surprise. It most definitely was NOT a new timepiece.

She set it back onto the table and picked up the water goblet. As she sipped, the Phantom returned to the room. His movements were quiet, until he noticed that she was sitting up in his bed.

"How are you, my dear? Are you hungry?"

Aveline shook her head, simultaneously wondering if she had skipped lunch or if their fluid sense of time meant that her breakfast had been later than it should have been.

Erik arrived at her bedside and sat upon the covers next to her. He removed the glass from her hands and placed it on the table.

"Do you wish to play?"

She thought about that, for a beat. She nodded slightly. "I think that might be a good idea, yes."

He picked her up, again, then, and she was prepared for him to do so.

"Am I to play you more scales?" she asked as they traveled.

"No, not today," his eyes stared straight ahead, concentrating on keeping them both upright. "I have an idea that I would like to test."

"What is that?"

"Let me set you down at the piano, and I will explain."

He did just that, tenderly lowering her to be seated on the cushioned bench. She waited for his explanation, as she warmed her hands with her breath and flexed all of her fingers.

"Tell me," he started. "Do you compose?"

Aveline hesitated, worried that her answer might lead to him mocking her in some way.

"I... like to...write little melodies, sometimes. To amuse myself. Or, on occasion, I will write alternative motifs for existing compositions."

The Phantom stood over her looked down at her, expressing appraisal and interest through his eyes into her own.

"In the weeks that you have been with me, have you written anything new?"

She flushed. "Not anything of substance..."

"I would like to be the judge of that, as your mentor," he said, as he sat beside her on the bench. "Play something original for me, please."

Her mind racked in panic, trying to accurately remember the theme she had, in the deepest recesses of her memory, memorized. Intimidated to play a new composition in front of a man whose music she had obsessed over, she closed her eyes and pretended not to feel his body against hers.