Her Beloved

Chapter 5

Its me.
Not Christine.
Not Scarlett.
Me.
My heart races. "This is not supposed to be me! Its supposed to be Christine! Oh my God how long has this been going on?! I'm excited as fuck that he loves me but like why?!" I hear humming at the other side of the lake. 'Okay, um... go back to bed!' I limp as fast as I can to my bed and thankfully there is paper and what looks like a pen near my bed so I grab it. Erik parks the gondola and comes to the swan bed. 'Fake draw' I start drawing an animal of some sort, and pretend that I dont know hes here. "Elise?" He says kind of quietly. I perk my head up and smile. "Hi Erik! Where were you?" I pull back the curtain some more. "I had...business... to attend to." 'I know damn well it wasnt business.' I nod and keep drawing. "Ok." He goes back to his organ but stops at the curtain. 'Please no.' It is open EVER SO SLIGHTLY. "Elise did you happen to get up while I was away?" He asks. "No not really. I got to up to pick up Ayesha. I called her name and she came out from that curtain." 'Buy it. Buy it. Buy it.' He growls a little and closes the curtain. Ayesha climbs down off my shoulders and sits next to me. "Pretty kitty..." I say in a whisper.

I look to Erik. He's sitting on the bench, tapping his fingers on the wood. 'Whats wrong with him?... He's probably pissed because I saw the mannequin...'I slowly get up and walk over to him. "Erik...?" He looks up at me and I squat down. "Is something wrong?" I say in a quiet voice. He doesnt answer. 'Say something to spark his interest.' "Erik, I think I should go back to work. Scarlett needs me, and if I stay any longer people are going to have suspicions." He looks at me. Eye to eye. 'Dont be distracted by him Elise.' "If you must." He gets up and goes to the gondola. I walk over to him, take his hand for support, then sit down. It's a silent way back and when we get to the mirror, I give him a hug. "Thank for everything Erik. I'll come back for lessons." He opens the mirror and I give him a kiss on the cheek once more before closing the mirror.

Its the late afternoon, and I slowly walk out to see no one in the halls. "Pierre? Scarlett?" Commotion in the kitchen. "Pierre where can she be?! Shes been gone for almost 2 days! We've checked her home, everywhere in the Opera House, and she's no where to be found! If she was leaving to go on holiday, she would have told us. If you love her, you should look for her!" Scarlett screams at Pierre. 'He loves me? Good God. Next thing I know hes a rich man or a count like that fop Raoul... this is just like a sappy romance movie...' "I don't know where she is but I will find her!" Pierre exclaims. All the people in the kitchen are in a fluster and the maids are as well.

"Um...Hello?" I say in a normal tone. The kitchen goes silent as they turn their heads to me in unison.
"You're back!" She tackles me with a hug and everyone crowds around me. "Hi Scarlett! Why are all of you so nervous and such? Im just a maid." I laugh and everyone stops. "Just a maid? Elise you are more than a maid! Youre an amazing singer and very well trained! A future Prima Donna!" 'what.' I freeze and yank Scarlett's hand. "Excuse us for a moment please." I pull her to the Prima Donna room and close the door. "What is going on here?! Who heard me singing? Who did this? I'm not ready! Oh god this has been an insane day already...This should not be happening..." I panic and she just laughs. "Jeez calm down! Ok lets review. So it turns out all the girls in the Opera house are falling over Pierre because he recently inherited outrageous amounts of money from his uncle." 'Am I psychic or what.' "Pierre told the managers that you can sing perfectly because he heard you when you cleaning a while ago, and he loves your voice. Apparently they have already gotten a letter from Erik saying that you must be placed as the Prima Donna. I flipped out because you were gone, but then again I knew where you were... Kind of. Pierre told me shortly after that he loves you and has for the past few years? I don't know either, so don't ask. Also they want you to sing for the managers and the conductor!"

I blink a few times from all this information and her sudden outburst. "Ok you might want to sit down so I can tell you what happened when I with Erik, so that you can be caught up as well." I pull out a chair for her and she sits. In over 45 minutes, I explain as much information as I possibly can. And of course after I tell her everything, she says to me "Did you guys kiss?" I hit her arm. "No! I wanted to though..." I grin at the thought. "Oh Scarlett by any chance, do you know when the masquerade is? I've lost track of time completely!" She pauses for a second. "I think in about a month." I sigh relief. "Ok good." 'I know exactly what to do at the masquerade if Erik comes.- 'Im gonna check on him, I feel bad for looking at the mannequin... it's very creepy but kinda cute maybe?' This creates some form of sudden urgency in my mind so I walk out the Prima Donna dressing room and try to make a lie to everyone still in that same area. "Excuse me everyone. I came to inform you I am feeling quite tired so I must retire in... My?...Dressing room for a while." I bow my head and turn to Pierre. "Thank you for your effort in finding me. You should know that I'll always come back." I smile, kiss his cheek and fast walk back into the dressing room. "He's cute but not for me." I whisper to myself. I creak open the door to Scarlett because she has just walked out. "Scarlett! Get me some sugar cubes in a cloth. I need them for Erik's horse."

She hesitates for a moment of confusion then quickly gets it and hands it to me. "Make good choices!" She says to me before I close the door. I smile and open the mirror, to venture down to my beloved. "Wait a candelabra!" I grab a lit one then head down. "Wow its really dark. I thought it would be a little lighter..." I shrug and trek down the pathway, stairs, another pathway, and then, "Caesar!" I run to him and pet his head. I pet his muzzle and give him a few sugar cubes. He snorts and I chuckle. "Good boy." I pat him on his neck then go to the side-walk next to the lake. I walk down quietly and see Erik is asleep on a chair. 'Once again. Dont. Squeal.' I smile and try to make it to the concrete without making a lot of noise. He groans in his sleep a little. 'Dreaming? Waking up?' I couldnt tell. I carefully make my way to the organ bench an-
"Elise?"