Of Phantoms and Angels

XX. Down Once More

     3.

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     Lilienne ran lightly on her dancer's feet, her hands trailing across the cold, damp, cavernous walls, feeling her way along through the dark; she didn't know where she was going, nor where his traps might lay, but she knew one thing - she had to get to him.

     She ran, her eyes eventually beginning to adjust to the obscurity of his secret passageways.  She had not yet heard the chants of the Paris Opera echo behind her, and this kindled a small flame of hope in her - maybe she wasn't too late. 

     Suddenly, the ground dropped out from under her feet.  She let out a scream as the sensation of falling overtook her, and in an instant, a rush of cold water cut her cries short.  She came up sputtering, gasping for air as water flowed down her face and into her mouth.

     A loud clank that sounded from above her.  A low, metallic grinding followed, and she looked up where she floundered, the water streaming into her eyes.  Above her was a heavy metal grate, and it was coming closer by the second.  Ciel... it's going to drown me!

     "Erik..." she called.

     "Erik!"  The groaning of the mechanism drowned out her voice, which was already feeble from the effort of staying afloat.

     "Erik!  S'il vous plaît, aidez-moi!  Erik!!"

     By now, the grate was almost upon her.  Lilienne reached up and grabbed, the water rising slowly around her.

     "C'est moi!  C'est moi!  Fantôme, aide-moi!"  The water sloshed around her neck and splashed up her jaw.  "Erik!  Erik!  Fantôme de l'Opéra -"

     She inhaled sharply as the grate pushed her under, submerging her in her tomb.  A watery grave.  J'ai essayé si fort à te libérer.  Peut-être Christine choisira bien.  Erik, mon amour...

     Her last thoughts faded out of her mind.  Lilienne's chest felt tight, and her lungs screamed for air.  Her hands which held the grate felt weak.  Her head felt light.  The water felt like velvet around her, and it no longer seemed so cold.  It encroached upon her body, in her eyes, in her nose, in her mouth, dripping down her throat -

     There was a second loud clank, just like the first, the sound distorted under the water.  She could feel some force wrap itself around her, the water rush about her, and with great splash of water, she was heaved over the edge.

     Lilienne immediately began to cough the water out of her chest, replacing it with dank air.  She lay on the cold ground, sputtering for disgrace of her dignity.  She could hear, as he senses became less logged with lake water, another body breathing heavily close by.  She opened her eyes, the world around her blurry from the water that still flooded them - but she would recognize him anywhere.

     "Erik-" she croaked.

    "Tu ne devrais pas être ici," he cut her off, his deep voice resonating through the underground corridors with a new hoarseness she wasn't used to.

     "Je devais venir... tu ne sais pas que je devais... ?"

     She spoke, her own voice hoarse from screaming for her life and the amount of water she had swallowed.  She lifted herself onto her elbow, looking up at him as the water cleared from her eyes.  She saw him as he pulled into focus, still partially clad in his costume with the sleek trousers and the white shirt that opened to reveal his bare chest underneath.  What he wasn't wearing was his mask, and this was the first good look she'd gotten.

     "Fille stupide... tu ne devrais pas être ici," he repeated before turning and stalking back the way she assumed was his lair.

     "Ange, attends-"

     "Allez-vous en!  Retourne chez toi!"

     The echo of this last, rasping request was all that was left of him as he abandoned her in the tunnels.  Lilienne scrambled to her feet; she would not go home, not when he needed her.  Even if he didn't know he did.  She would not give up on him so easily - he needed to see, he needed to know.  She hurried, following the direction he had taken.

     It wasn't as far as she had thought.  It seemed to be only a few minutes of wandering before she stumbled into a part of the catacombs she recognized.  She reached a ledge, nothing but the vast, glassy lake below her - this was the place he tied his boat when he'd brought her back.  Slowly, Lilienne lowered herself onto the damp stone ground, hanging her slender legs off the edge.

     She slipped into the water that rose to her waist.  She felt her way carefully with her feet, following the way the Phantom's home. 

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A little shorter.  I hope it was just as good, though ~ J