Till I Hear You Sing(Final Book)

Chapter 9- Something Has Changed Within Him.

Erik Destler

   I watched Christine as she played the piano and sang with Gustave.

      "One, two, three, four, five, seven, eight-"

       "Nine!" Gustave blurted, holding up nine fingers proudly.

       "Yes, very good, Gustave! Such a smart boy you are," Christine smiled gently, continuing to play the piano.

        "I know lots of things now, Mother! I like school. It is fun," Gustave grinned.

         "I'm sure it is. Have you met any friends?" She asked softly.

          "Not really. My classmates...well, they don't really like music very much. They are all very silly. I like them," he explained. It made me sad to hear Gustave speak like this.

What kind of disastrous monster keeps their child away from music?

"I'd never keep you away from music, Presley. You know that, don't you?" I asked to my little girl, who looked up at me and laughed- cackled might be a better word- like I had just told the most hilarious joke in mankind.

In a way, it was funny. It was funny to think that the phantom of the opera would ever ban their child from music.

"That goes for you too, Harmony. You can have as much music as you'd like," I added. Harmony looked at me for a moment, only to fall back to sleep. She was a simple child, always lost in her dreams.

"We should probably think about leaving soon. We have a long list of shopping to do," Christine spoke up.

"Indeed. I'll help Gustave get his coat on," I said. Christine nodded, walking over to me, and quickly pulling herself up on her toes to plant a kiss on my cheek. I grinned at her as she danced across the room to get the girls' coats.

Christine Daae

We arrived in town fairly quickly. It seemed that every ride into town got shorter, although that definitely was not the case. I walked with Gustave while Erik kept the girls occupied and, most importantly, happy.

"Look, Mother!" Gustave tugged gently on my coat, grasping my attention. He pointed to a cart full of bountiful bouquets. The flowers reminded me of Erik's and my wedding. I smiled, reminiscing in those memories. "Could we get some?"

"Well, I don't see why not! Here, take these, and buy as many as you can," I told him as I placed several coins into his hands. He nodded and walked happily off, fixing the hat upon his head. I walked over to a few carts of different fruits, placing some in my basket.

I felt eyes upon me. I looked up to see a man staring at me. He looked about the same age as me, maybe a few years older as Erik was. I couldn't quite tell. I spoke kindly, "You must be selling quite a lot today. You seem pleased to have another customer."

"I am much more pleased with the view," he chuckled, a devilish grin plastered on his face. I blushed.

"I suppose it's quite a nice day," I agreed, trying to find a way to ease out of the awkward atmosphere. "How much for the apples?"

"Consider it paid for. A young, single lady like you don't need to worry bout' payin' for nothin'," He smirked. He had some sort of accent, although I couldn't quite figure out what it was.

"Well, actually, I'm-"

"Christine, where's Gustave?" Erik's voice was behind me before I could finish. I turned around to face him. He looked upset, angry even, but I could only assume he was worried about Gustave.

"He was just buying some flowers, Dear. See, there he is," Gustave skipped over to us, grinning from ear to ear as he held a rather large bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"I suggest we go over to the bakery. I think we ate the last of our bread," Erik said in a strained tone. Now, I was concerned. What was going on with him? As we walked away from the carts, I could hear Erik mumble something, "Lousy Americans."

Erik Destler

I stood in anger as Christine spoke to the American fop. I held out girls closer to me. His words replayed in my mind, and a million scenarios played out in my head: I could kill him. My hand, in fact, was twitching, aching for my lasso. All other scenarios were too kind for the amount of anger I had towards this man.

"Consider it paid for. A young, single lady-" I stopped listening. How dare he? She was mine. She was only mine. I walked briskly over to Christine. She was still talking to his man?

"Christine, where's Gustave?" I asked, trying to calm my tone. She turned to me, surprise filling her eyes.

"He was just buying some flowers, Dear. See, there he is," she gestured to Gustave, who now had returned with a bouquet full of flowers. They reminded me of Christine's and my wedding.

Nevertheless, I was still livid. I wanted to get her out of there, away from the eyes of any man who dared to look at my wife.

"I suggest we go over to the bakery. I think we ate the last of our bread," I noted. Christine nodded, and we walked away from the man. I watched as she smiled at Gustave and spoke to him with love and affection.

I could understand how men fell to their knees around her. She was so graceful, so polite. Her posture was always perfect, due to my endless teachings, and she was the most loving woman I had ever met. She truly was the epitome of beauty.

Still, a part of me was angry. The fire wasn't truly doused. So, I let it go as best as I could, but I knew this would all come back at a later time, like all things did.

Surprise I'm back yay