Taken: A Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction

Chapter 22: Empire of the Dead.

wow! it's been a while! i hope you guys like this, and it might have some continuity errors because i've forgotten literally everything that's happened so far. ugh! but i hope you enjoy. love y'all. <3

"Merde..." Lauren spins in a tizzy as she looks around for a path. Track marks from carriages have cleared a small path. "Ah ha!" She holds her belongings close to her as she walks down the path, hoping to find civilization anywhere.

The sun was beginning to rise, but it is still very dark. She stumbles over some stray branches from time to time, but mostly keeps her balance.

She clutches her suitcase as she continues to walk through the maze that is the woods. The sun was fully up now, and birds were chirping every where. Lauren looks around at her surroundings as she then sees a clearing from the path. A small town with some villagers lay a couple hundred yards in front of her. "Oh finally!" She exclaims to herself. Her footing picks up the pace as she is eager to find help. A small girl sees her coming from the woods, looking rather disheveled, and goes to find her mother. A woman comes out from a small cabin to see Lauren smiling at them. "Hello! I was looking for some help..." She stops and takes a breath. "Jesus these damn shoes..." She mumbles. The woman steps forward. "What is your name?" She asks as she offers her hand to Lauren.

"Oh! My apologies, I'm Lauren Dantes. I was just looking for some help to find a horse and maybe even some water." She chuckles. "Well alright. My name is Claudette, and this is my daughter, Cassandre." She gestures to the little girl standing shyly behind her a few feet away. "We have someone who can help you find a horse. Follow me." Claudette walks in front of her and Lauren follows. There was a few little stores and cabins as only a few dozen people live there. Claudette showed her a little house where she could put her things down for a little while, and drink some water. "Thank you so much. I've been walking for about 12 hours now..." She takes the cup from the woman's hands. "Why is that?" Lauren downs the water in a matter of seconds. "It's a long story..." The woman sits down on a wooden stool in front of her.

"I have time."

Lauren tells Claudette of all the trials and tribulations that led her to the village. The woman sat and listened intently as Lauren went on and on for hours. She then explained how she needed a horse to continue to her journey to find Erik.

"We have very fine horses here, I can bring you to the man who owns them." Claudette stretches and stands up, then offers her a hand for Lauren to follow. They exit the small cabin and make their way to the stables. They walk around for a few minutes and look at all the horses pounding their hooves and neighing. A speckled black and white horse catches her eye. "Who's this beauty?" The stable man comes over and pats the horse on its neck. "This is Rosaline." Lauren's heart skips a beat. Romeo and Juliet. "I'll take her." He takes the reigns of the horse, and unlocks the stable. "I'll get her saddled up for you." She nods to him in thanks.

After a few minutes, Rosaline trots out to her new owner. The saddle is put on, and Lauren hops up onto her horse after saying goodbye to everyone. "I'll visit, I promise." She smiles at her new friends and snaps the reins as she leaves the small village into the never ending forest...

The night came very quickly. The darkness unsettled Lauren, at an alarming rate. She had asked around in other villages she had passed if they saw a man in a dark cloak and possibly a mask and she followed all the leads she could get. A path that had been worn down by carriages and horse hooves had become more and more visible as she followed it. She looked up at the darkness that lay in front of her. Lanterns began to become visible as well, and some were lit. She slowed down to observe one of them. "They've just been lit... the wax has barely melted..." As she looks it up and down, something catches her eye. A rose is tied around the bottom of the lamp with black ribbon. She soon realizes that every single lamp has a fresh rose on it. "Erik..." She gives Rosaline a quick nudge and she runs down the path. Lauren's heart beat quickens as a house becomes clear. It was a dark brown and black and had an orange glow coming from inside of the windows. She ties Rosaline to a tree as she hops off to investigate.

"L'empire des morts." The Empire of the Dead.

"Jesus Christ..." She whispers to herself as she read. Her fist rose to knock on the large oak doors. Do it. Just knock. She hesitates...

Still hesitating.

And hesitating...

Ok, Lauren, just knock on the fucking door.

She knocks on the door twice and steps back a ways for caution. Nothing. A few minutes go by... nothing still.

Suddenly the lamps along the path go out. A carriage barrels through the path and Lauren hides in the trees and unties Rosaline to move her. The carriage stops and a figure hops off the horse and unloads bags from inside. The figure makes their way inside and shuts the door. "Could that be him...?" She runs to the front door and slips her way inside by opening the door very quietly. "Erik? Are you here?" Thats not Lauren saying that.

It's another young woman. "Oh no..." She whispers to herself as she hides amongst the trees. The woman sighs and groans. "Jesus Christ you're never here anymore..." She throws a basket full of goods onto the table and exits, slamming the door. She mounts her horse and heads back down the path. "Shit... how am I going to get in....?" She gasps as an idea came to her head. She takes a bobby pin out of her hair, and scurries over to the door. She bends it and twists it into the lock. Click. "Yes!" Lauren squeals. The door opens and before her is a very elegant house. It was mostly oak and while elegant, very modest. It doesn't look like he had been living here for long. Maybe a few weeks. Her heels click on the wooden floors as she goes into the kitchen. The basket was filled with fruit and some chocolate. "Erik doesn't even like chocolate..." She recalls the time she made him a chocolate cake and let's just say he didn't like it. Her eyes scan the room, until when she sees an envelope on the counter. She goes over and picks it up.  It reads, "Lauren." Her heart drops in her chest. "Wait what?" She opens the letter and it says the following.

To my dearest love,

     I know you're most likely wondering why I have left this here for you. I knew that you would eventually find me and escape from Phillip where ever he has taken you. I couldn't stay here for long. They found me, Lauren. I don't know how but they did. I tried to find you after I escaped from their grasps, but as you can see I didn't. My only hope is to return home. Come back to me my love. I'll be waiting for your return.

I love you.

Cordialement,

Erik.

Warm tears run down her face. "I have to go back to the opera house." She folds the letter and places it in her chest. She runs outside to Rosaline and jumps on, snapping the reigns.

"Let's go find him."