Mon Espion || Phantom of the Opera

Chapter 18 - The Awakening

A/N: I am so sorry this took two weeks to update. Life has been getting pretty hectic here. I do hope this chapter makes up for it though!

Constance could not recall what thoughts were exactly running through her head during the time she was under the deep sleep, but she knew the exact moment she was awake from the depths of her slumber. The feeling of a cool refreshing liquid went down her throat, causing it to tickle uncomfortably as she felt her body being lowered to a laying down position. She then yielded herself to open her eyes, to cough out her tickle, to move anything to ensure that she was awake and yet her body would not and could not move. What had happened to her to cause her to be this way? The softness from the cool silk sheets teased her skin, gently caressing her as she feigned with all of her strength to open her eyes. She felt more cloth being covered over her while struggling with her movements, all but her head being surrounded by the warmth that now engulfed her petite frame. Where was she and more importantly who was she with? She immediately heard a male sigh escaped someone's lips as if it were an answer to her question,  the familiar scent of dirt and musk invading her nostrils to identify the man she was laying before.

Him. The man who she last saw strangling Joseph Bouquet's body down upon her during her first grand performance as the prima ballerina. The man whom left her there to be crushed, humiliated and her career ruined. How long had it been since she had been asleep? Hours? Minutes? Perhaps days or even weeks? The rage began building within her, causing her heart beat to quicken as she felt beads of sweet produce down her forehead. She would make the Opera Ghost pay for keeping her prisoner within her own body, unable to respond harshly to the affection he was giving her. Unable to see his actions, she could only hear the swishing of his pant legs as he left her room, the sound becoming distant to the point she could no longer hear it. He had left her alone to fend for herself? If she could have sighed herself she would, though the action now seemed foreign to her as she felt her muscles stiffen from her lack of movement. She desperately wanted to move and to escape the grasp of the very man she wished to never see again, though she was unsure how to get out of his lair without his aid.

Without the desire to sleep, she waited there for what seemed like hours before she began imagining random scenarios of the event of her performance. She wondered who had cared or who had run away when they found Joseph's dead body on top of her unconscious one. She wondered if her parents had seen who had hurt her or better yet, if they knew where she was currently. Hell, did anyone know where she was? Did anyone truly care? A mild panic swept through her as she mentally scolded herself for thinking such thoughts, trying to calm herself down so as to continue being in a somewhat alerted state. If she was going to try and move her body, being in a panic state was not going to do her any good.

An indefinite amount of time passed, each second being counted as Constance was extremely bored. She wasn't sure how long it would take for her to wake up completely or if she were to remain in this vegetative state forever. Again, she calmed her panicked heart to the best of her ability as she then heard the familiar swooshing sound of fabric rubbing up against the other. His scent was overpowering as she heard his musical sigh once more, noting he was disappointed as to her not waking up from her slumber. In truth she was just as frustrated as he was that she was not back to normal. Constance desperately wanted to know how long she had been under and when she could return to the managers to ask about the status of her job. Another person's gasp was then heard, interrupting Constance's thoughts as she distinguished the gasp to come from a female. An older one in fact, one that had to belong to Madame Giry for Christine's voice was not as deep as hers.

"How long have you had her down here?" she heard Madame asking Erik, her tone full of concern as more sounds of fabric rubbing against itself came closer to her.