I Remember (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter One- A Crisp Autumn Morning

Disclaimer: Erik belongs to Gaston Leroux, and this chapter is originally by Monique (I'm using her old profile name, that's the name I usually use regarding her.)

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping and pecking at my glass windows. It was a crisp autumn morning, dew on the fallen leaves, and a brightness that you only get this time of year. The leaves seem to have changed from green to bright yellow and red over the night. A pan-tone rainbow of oranges, yellows and reds interspersed with the last greens of summer. It was a wonderful sight. I quickly got dressed in a simple tan dress and hurried downstairs, only to be met by my mother who was lying on the couch, occasionally coughing and sneezing. “Mum, are you alright?” I asked worriedly.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she said softly. “It’s just a little cold, that’s all.”

“Okay!” I said. “Can I go horse-back riding?”

“Sure dear,” Mum said. “Just don’t go too far and please be back here before lunch.”

“I will, Mum!” I called as I raced out the door. I reach the stables and my mare, Snow White, neighed a greeting to me as I opened the door to her stall. “Good morning pretty girl…” I whispered. I saddled her and soon I was up in the saddle and racing below the red and yellow tree branches. Snow White and I raced from our cottage on the outskirts of Rouen down one of the many trails leading into the forest and beyond. I shut my eyes for the briefest moment and I heard Snow White let out a distressed whinny. My eyes were opened in a flash and Snow White reared on her back legs, her eyes turned fearfully on a snake that had slithered across the path. I toppled off of her and hit the ground with a painful thud. The snake itself was long gone, disappearing under the thick brush to avoid being trampled by the horse. Snow’s reins twisted in the branches of a sapling growing near the trail. I remained on the ground, shocked by the fall and hurt. My ankle felt like it was broken and I didn’t even want to count the number of bruises I would have. I drew my knees up to my chest and buried my face in my knees and let the tears fall down my cheeks.

I couldn’t have been there more than half an hour but I heard a small voice say “Miss?” I lifted my tear stained face and saw a boy. At least I assumed he was a boy, I couldn’t really tell though, because covering his face was a dirty brown sack with eye holes cut into it.

“Who… who are you?” I asked warily. In my few years of experience, people don’t usually go wandering around in the woods all alone.

“My name is Erik.” The boy said. He cocked his head and asked “Are you alright?”

“M-my horse threw me, I-I think I’m fine though, o-only a few b-bruises.” I tried to stand, only to crumble back down to the ground with a cry of pain. “I-I think I tw-twisted my ankle… it really hurts.” The boy looked at me; the holes in the sack met my golden eyes. When he didn’t say anything I asked “Why are you wearing that thing?”

The boy froze; I continued to gaze at him with curiosity. He looked to be a bit older than me, seven or eight years old. He was dressed in rags, like he was homeless, but he wasn’t skinny enough to be homeless. His dark hair was mangled and dirty, and he finally said “I have to wear it, Mommy yells when I don’t.” I carefully rose to balance on my one good foot and I noticed that he was a few inches taller than me. 

“But why?” I asked again.

“I’m a monster, and no one is supposed to know.” He said. He spoke amazingly well for a child of seven or eight. “I hide it behind the sack.”

“Can I see?” I asked; purely out of instinct.

“No!” he yelled. He turned and ran off, disappearing into the forest and leaving nothing but silence behind.

“Great.” I muttered to myself. “Now how am I going to get home?”

Snow White nickered at me and I smiled at her. “What did you think of him?” I asked her. She shook her head, as if she understood and was just as mystified as me.

I started hobbling over to Snow, leaning on her as I untangled her reins. Once she was untied I attempted to swing my leg over her, but all that did was cause my hurt ankle to smack into a tree trunk. A shot of pain ripped up my leg causing me to gasp and fall back off of Snow White. “Ow…” I sniffed, sitting on the ground.

“You can’t ride a horse with a sprained ankle; you’re just going to hurt it more.” A voice echoed from just behind my left ear.

I jumped and turned around but I saw no one. “Erik…? Where are you?!”

“Nowhere.” He answered, his voice echoing this time from off behind a tree.

“How are you doing that?”

“Ventriloquism.” He answered from somewhere above Snow’s back.

“Well stop it and come and talk to me like a normal person.” I said.

Erik emerged from behind the canopy of trees and said, “You have to keep all weight off of your ankle.”

“Well how am I supposed to lead a horse back to my house by noon?!” I cried.

“You’ll just have to be patient and trust me, okay?”

“Okay.” I said.

Erik took a few wary steps toward me and cautiously said “Okay, you have to let me support you while you walk.”

“Alright.” I said and I carefully put a hand on his shoulder. He held me up as I hobbled a few steps toward my house and slowly led Snow White behind me.

It was a long and painful task, but soon my house was in sight and I smiled. “Look, it’s right there!” I said happily. We made our way to the stables and Erik put Snow White in her stall. “Thank you, Erik!” he didn’t say anything and so I asked, “Would you like to come inside for lunch?”

“No thank you, I have to go home myself.” And with that he disappeared back into the forest without another word, leaving me mystified about the boy in the sack.