Mon Espion || Phantom of the Opera

Chapter 15 - Shattered Chandelier

A/N: By popular demand, I was asked to update Mon Espion as a Christmas present to you all. So here it is! If you celebrate, Merry Christmas! If not, hope you had a Merry Yule, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, or whatever it is you celebrate! :]

One week; it had been one full week of writing constant letters to Constance to admit his fault in the situation and that he was surely done with the former prima donna's trickery. To no avail, she did not reply to a single letter, his fingers trembling over the last moments he had seen her. Her lips soft and inviting, leaning towards his own deformed ones without so much as a hesitation or a scream of horror. Constance had been calm and inviting, allured by the façade he portrayed whenever he saw her. But his angel had come to visit him unsuspectingly, causing Constance to flee from the scene as she had done so many times before. Little did she know he was just as shocked as her over Christine's visit and was going to pretend he was not home for reasons he was unsure of. He truthfully wanted more time with her, to actually feel her lips against his own, a first true kiss.

But his angel had come to him! Oh his angel pleaded for him to appear before her, lingering him there as if a siren were luring him to his death, and perhaps Christine were doing the same as she lured him into the trap of her voice once more. But her actions spoke volumes compared to her words. She pleaded that she wanted to be near her angel and yet her actions spoke otherwise. Christine was still in love with the young patron of the opera house, his opera house! She was under his spell just as much as he was under her's. The way she smiled and danced with him in the halls of the opera house when they thought no one was watching, the way they planned a future together but in hushed whispers; she never wanted her angel, only him.

But Constance had. Constance had wanted to be near Erik and he was trying to set things right with her, now realizing his foolishness over his obsession with the singer. Erik sighed as the days went by without so much as a whisper about him. He had even snuck around the tunnels after a few days but had no sign of her. He checked her room but only found Christine cleaning up a picture of her own parents that had been shattered on the ground; no doubt a deed by Constance. He knew he should have comforted her when she was there, but he did not need to speak with her, as rare an occurrence that was. He checked the stage but it was filled with the singers practicing for Il Muto, the dancers on a day off which was another rare occurrence. Erik checked all of the places he thought she would go but could not find her, no matter how far he looked.

After four days of looking for her and waiting for her to respond to his letters, he returned back to his home on the lake to await the night of the performance. It was quite obvious to him that she did not wish to speak to him, let alone be in the presence of him, so he remained hidden in the catacombs. The days and nights blended together before the Daroga appeared in his home once more, letting Erik know it was opening night. Though Erik did not respond to Nadir, he did appreciate him informing the night of the performance. He waited until the Persian left his home before swiftly getting dressed and combing his hair. Regardless if Constance wanted to see him or not, he was going to be there for her first ballet performance at this opera house.

Erik then walked through the tunnels, quietly making his way to his beloved Box 5 where he knew he would be able to watch the performance with no interruptions. He tapped on the wall gently, the portion of it sliding over to reveal his scared pace. He stopped before he entered though, sensing a presence in his Box 5! There was a patron in his box! He stopped himself from entering; knowing if he did there would surely be a dead body in his box. Though that would make it so no one could sit in his seat again, he did not wish to kill tonight. Erik just wanted to watch the performance in peace.

He placed the wall back into place as he began his walk towards the rafters above the stage, walking alongside one of the walls that showcased the dancers and performers waiting for their various queues. He happened to have spot some pieces of luggage through a dim crack in one of the wood slates, causing a smile to form on his face. If the fop was going to ruin his performance by sitting in his box, perhaps he would ruin the performance everyone was itching to see. Slowly he pulled open the wooden slate, noticing Carlotta's luggage was right in front of him. His smile grew wider as he fumbled with his personal belongings within his vest, pulling out a small vile that held just the right touch to perfect Carlotta's upcoming performance. He slowly opened the bottle with his gloved hand, gently pouring in a generous amount of the substance from his vile. After that was empty, he retrieved his gloved hands back towards the wooden slate, only to have Meg rushing towards where he was hiding. In a panic, he brought his whole frame towards his person and made haste towards the higher rafts, wanting to get there quickly.