Before the Phantom

A Reunion (pt. 2)

   Erik braced himself for repulsion, or for Nadette to change her mind.  He stood silently for a few moments as the woman assessed him.  He was wondering if he should say something to her when his thoughts were interrupted by an oddly forceful impact.

Nadette's arms were wrapped around his torso, her head coming up to just above his shoulder. 

After the initial surprise of the embrace, Erik found himself smiling a timid smile, and gently returning the hug.

"It is good to see you, Nadette." He spoke gently.

Nadette pulled away to look at him, "And you as well! My! You're so much taller!"

"Well, it has been some time, Nadette. I am not thirteen anymore!" Erik grinned down at her.

"And I am not eight." She retorted.

"Come with me," Erik stretched out a gloved hand, "I want to show you something."

So, without hesitation, she took his hand and followed him all the way down into the cellar. The pair talked the whole way down, giggling at the memories of mud-covered afternoons and water fights by the creek.

"Oh, Erik," Nadette gasped when they arrived, "It's beautiful!"

"Welcome to my home." He said sheepishly.

"Did you do all of this?" She asked in awe. 

Candles were literally everywhere, and tapestries hung in multiple places around the room.  Sketches and sheet music littered nearly every surface, but it seemed as though that only added to the magical atmosphere.

"Yes."

Nadette turned to look at her friend, "You live here on your own?"

Erik once met her gaze, "Well, yes."

"You must get lonely sometimes." She smiled sadly at him.

Erik returned the smile, "Yes, sometimes I suppose, but I keep myself busy.  There are plenty of idiots in my theater to keep me entertained."

Nadette chuckled, "It seems you've just gained one more means of entertainment." She gestured to herself while Erik grinned.

"Oh yes.  You are the most entertaining of all of them.  And the easiest to blackmail."

"You wouldn't!"

"If I remember correctly, you stole your mother's button and never told her!  The managers would not want a thief in their company."

"You rascal!" Nadette exclaimed mockingly, then grew more quiet, "Erik, what happened?"

Erik too grew quiet, and gestured to a small table, where two chairs faced eachother.

He pulled out a chair for Nadette, and she thanked him, and then he sat across from her.

"That night, after I saw you last, my mother sent for a gypsy troupe who had been traveling through a town nearby. Before I knew it, I was being dragged from my room by one of them and thrown in a cage. In the struggle, the window was broken. I suppose that inspired Mother's story." He said bitterly.

"That is-"

"No, no I am not finished. I want to tell you. I was with the gypsies for nearly four years, Nadette. They gave me little food, and a sack instead of a mask. They would bring people in to my tent and my handler would enter my cage and beat me. The people laughed. They laughed then and they laughed harder when the gypsy tore away my mask. The Devil's Child is what they called me. No one showed me compassion through all that time." Erik's voice had begun to shake, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps it was the presence of his old friend, whose eyes shined with sympathy for him.

"One day," he began again, "A young ballet corps came to the circus. One of them, a young girl by the name of Antoinette - yes Nadette, the very same Madame Giry - helped me. She had stayed behind and witnessed my first kill. I killed the very man who had beat me, and used me. She brought me here," he gestured generally, "and here I have stayed. You must think me a monster."

"No." Nadette said immediately, her voice thick with emotion. "Never."

"But-"

"No! No, Erik you listen to me. What happened to you is not your fault. It is the fault of those who cannot see past the physical. You have done things I cannot condone, my friend, but far be it for me to judge you. You had your reasons." She spoke passionately, and with more sincerity than the masked man had heard in a long time.

She reached out to caress his face in comfort, and he flinched away out of habit, but she smiled at him, "My promise still stands, Erik. Do you remember? Never without your permission."

And so the man leaned in to her hand, and was surprised when warm tears began to fall down his unmasked cheek.