An Angels Opera

22

Elodie

The man had a bushy chestnut beard that reminded me of that of a tail on a cat. He was casually chatting with a woman who had just a hint of aging to her. She must've been his wife, or maybe some lover. Either way, I could care less.

Meg hadn't come out of her room for weeks. She would only accept a glass of water and a piece if bread, but even then she would only accept it with her delicate hands. I hadn't seen her cheerful features for too long and it was absolute torture.

I turned my gaze from the wimdow, and saw a familiar feline plodding towards me.

"Hello there, Ayesha."

The small creature purred gently, and leapt onto my lap. I held back the instinct to itchy eyes. I had a nasty allergy to cats.

I fought through my slowly swelling eyes, and stroked the sweet cat that lay on my lap. When Ayesha was here, Erik was probably there too so that he could keep this blasted cuteness away from me.

Wait. . .

"Erik, get your cat off of me."

Out from the shadows the masked man stepped, a stupid grin glued onto his face. His tie was clumsily ties, and his shirt was rumpled. That meant that he-

"DID YOU SLEEP WITH CHRISSY?!"

His eyes widened at my intuition, and he scooped Ayesha off my lap. "Settle yourself down, Elodie. All you need to know is that I got the message to Christine."

"Among other things. . ." I muttered, snickering. Sneezing as the cat fur reached my nostrils, I pulled out a chair for Erik.

Erik's face remained completely nutral as he sat down. "Did you ask Meg yet?"

I winced at the mention, "Um. . .no." His catlike eyes flashed, and he grabbed my shoulder roughly.

"You must get her to testify. If she doesn't, Christine will be trapped and I will be a walking target. Need I remind you that at any moment you could go to prison. "

I stood up, brushing his hand off me. "Okay, okay. I'll ask her right now. You can go tell Nadir about your little visit."

He rolled his eyes and disappeared from the room. I sighed and left my room.

The old spiral staircase creaked as I made my way up to Meg. Knocking on her door, I cracked the door open a bit.

Inside was the figure of a very emaciated woman. Her once shining gold hair, lay matted against her scalp. The once full cheeks of the girl I once knew had been hollowed out,revealing sharp cheekbones. Her eyes were dull and her shoulders hunched over.

"Meg?" I asked nervously. Without glancing up, her frail hand waved me in.

I followed the command, and sat myself down in front of her. "Meg, I'm going to ask you something that I'm not sure that you will want to do but it would help Christine and I very much."

Her hand motioned for me to continue, so I did. "I want you to go to the police with your story. They will understand, and Raoul will be sent to prison. Christine will be free, and I won't risk being sent to prison. I know that this is completely your choice, but I think that it will help you." I took a deep breath, preparing me for what I was about to say next.

"And I love you."

Megs head snapped up, and her sky blue eyes stared straight into my plain brown ones. I turned my eyes to the floor, and walked towards the door.

"I'll leave you to decide." I said, my voice shaking.

Just as my hand reached the door nob, a small one grabbed my arm with enough force to spin me around.

Meg's eyes were bright, and some color had returned to her cheeks. Without say a word, she pulled me in and kissed me.

Nadir

Erik had just told me about his night with Christine as I was dozing off.

"And then she told me that she loved me, and she kissed me! SHE KISSED ME, NADIR! Nadir?"

I looked back up at him, squinting. "That's very nice."

My fake listening skills were rewarded, and he cheerfully explained how he left her a letter.

Just then, the sound of a certain young woman reached my ear. "And then Christine shall be free! I bet we could move out to the countryside too! Wouldn't that be nice!"

I gasped, and bolted straight out of my seat. Elodie and Meg Giry were going down the stone steps into the room.

I let out a squeal, and jumped over to the pair. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! YOU TWO ARE- THANK YOU ALLAH!"

The couple stared at me like I was insane, but I continued to prance around the room in excitement. "I worked so hard foe this!" I explained, grabbing Erik  out of the chair and forcing him to dance with me.

Meanwhile, the women in the room were laughing off in the corner. "What?" I asked, grinning.

Elodie tried to respond, but her words just dissolved into laughter. Meg simply kept laughing.

Smiling from ear to ear, I plopped back down on the red armchair. Erik was hiding his smile masterfully as he guided Elodie and Meg to their seats.

"I suppose I should inquire on when you would like me to go to the police?" Meg said, her voice warm. I nodded, regaining my serious manner.

"Ah, yes! We would like you to go to the station as soon as possible. Erik here will probably die if he doesn't see Christine soon."

A very subtle red greeted the masked man's face, and Meg nodded dutifully.

"I shall go tonight.' She stated, standing up. Elodie's eyes widened, and she grabbed Meg's hand. "Are you sure?" She asked worriedly.

Meg nodded,"I need to get my best friend out of that devil's hands."

Erik grinned with delight. "Thank you, Mademoiselle. You have no idea how much this means."

Meg smiled sweetly, "It's my honor, Monsieur. I owe it to her."

She skipped out the room, Elodie following close behind.

Erik nearly pranced ovover to the wine. "I shall see my angel tonight!" He said joyfully.

I beamed, all was going smoothly. Soon Erik would have his fiance and I could go back to being. . .

I frowned, What was I going to be after this?