My Angel of Music

What Answer Can I Give?

As I hurried away from the crowded market place, I heard Firmin's voice call out to me over the buzzing of my ears.  "Miss Daae, you are to meet with me and a lawyer at the Opera House tomorrow at noon!"  He shouted.  I glanced back at him to show that I understood, before practically running away.  Annabel struggled to keep up with my fast pace.  "Mama, please, slow down!"  She huffed.  I didn't respond.  I felt my face pale and a wave of dizziness swept over me.  I gritted my teeth and walked faster to the Opera House.  I needed to get home so I could process this.

***

Once we reached the lair, I told the children it was time for bed.  I placed Elsa in her new crib and laid Annabel down on a matteress I took from the ballet dorms.  She held her blanket tight and smiled sweetly up at me.  "Mama, will you sing me to sleep?" She whispered.  I swallowed and shook my head.  "No, darling.  Not tonight."  I muttered before sweeping out of the room.  

I immediatley went to my swan bed and fell upon it in a heap of sobs.  How was I supposed to testify against my Angel?  I couldn't!  But if I didn't, they would arrest me as well.  And then who would take care of th children?  I clutched the red silk covering between my shaking fingers and cried into them.  What could I do?  I could flee, or hide even.  No, that was out of the question.  I could not abandon my Angel like that.  I could just answer their questions truthfully and hope that they didn't have a good enough case.  But what if they did?  

Or I could lie.  I could answer their questions but do so in a way that fit Erik's situation best.  I sniveled and sat up.  Why couldn't everything be like it was?  Better yet, why couldn't Erik and I have met under normal circumstances.  Maybe at an opera.  He could have seen me perform and fall in love with me.  Then he could have come to my dressing room and ask me to supper.  And it would have went on from there.  If it all had happened like that, we wouldn't be here in this situation.  

But then again, we might not be here at all.  If he had never pretended to be my Angel of Music, I would have never fallen in love with him.  I sighed and shook my head.  There was no way to change the past, so why think of it?  I wiped away my tears and stood.  I shakily walked to Erik's dresser and opened one of the drawers.  Inside he had hidden a bottle of scotch, in which I was extremly grateful for.  I opened the half empty bottle and, without even getting a cup, took a large swig.

Fire burned down my throat and I winced at the taste.  It was awful, but at least it made me forget for a moment.  I sighed and raised the bottle to my lips once more.

***

I woke the next morning, my head pounding, and my throat burning.  I groaned and rolled on my side to shield my eyes from the candle light.  I breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of the bed.  It still smelled of him.  It was probably my imagination, but I welcomed it gladly.  Anything I could have of him outside those cold prison walls was welcomed.  I sighed into the pillow and smiled, even though my head felt like it had just been cracked open by a hammer.  

I grudgingly sat up and squinted at the light.  I glanced at the clock across the room.  It was almost noon!  I had to meet Monsieur Firmin and the lawyer in the Opera House office in just a few minutes!  I jumped out of bed and threw open the wardrobe doors.  I looked for something light colored, maybe pale pink.  Of course, I found the perfect one.  It was a light pink with small pearls on the corset.  I smiled to myself.  Erik must have spent a fortune on my clothes alone!

I wiggled into the almost-too-tight dress and ran a brush through my tangled hair.  I pinned it back into a serious bun, pinched my cheeks, and squirted a dash of perfume on my wrist.  I rushed into the children's room and ordered them to stay in that room.  For good measure I locked the door before hurrying out the lair.