Why Have You Brought Me Here?

Chapter 9: Magical Lasso

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Sarah

Chapter 9: Magical Lasso

Juniper's POV:

The mirror was exposed. Who had been in here? What had been in here?

My knees buckled to the floor, and my hands frantically searched for my face. My eyes closed instantly, and I was alone in perpetual darkness. I don't know how long I was left there on the ground. Minutes, hours? The daylight which had once filled my room was now cascading into a calm gray. Nighttime was now my caller. As I regained my self-control, I carefully removed each hand from my face and stared brightly at the mirror.

What powers do you possess?

I glided over to my reflection and outlined the corners with my delicate fingers. Maybe I had pushed the corner too hard, for, when I used all of my strength, the mirror acted like a door and shifted to reveal a gleaming light.

It was a passageway.

I quickly closed the mirror's door as a familiar voice trailed behind the room's entrance.

"Juniper, are you in there?"

Meg.

"Yes, one moment please" I said as I draped another cloth over half of the mirror.

As I allowed her entry, her eyes flickered to what I had done.

"You covered the mirror" she stated, as if she had known why I had done so.

My voice trekked silently until she continued.

"Well, it's for the best, I suppose. Mirrors can tell you lies, you know. Anyways, that's beside the point. Where were you today? One moment you're measuring, and the next second you're gone."

I couldn't lie to Meg; she was my parental figure now. With a calm tone, I told her where I had been, who had taken me there, and what I had heard.

In disapproval, she simply left my room with no words of love or comfort. I was alone....again, and that night I fell asleep to the sound of my sobs.

As I awoke the next morning, it seemed as if Meg's attitude had changed overnight. She had forgiven me, and had awoken me with a hug and a kiss on the outskirts of my cheek.

"Good morning, love! Are you ready for another busy day? Well, certainly not a busy day for you, since your task is to handwrite 'thank you' messages for all the patrons."

An hour later, I was busy, frantically dipping my quill in ink as each message was being dictated to me. Though I had finished earlier than Meg had expected, the whole day had passed.  

That's the exact moment that Felicity approached me again.

"Juniper! I need to speak with you, it's quite urgent!"

With one stroke of my shoulder, Meg snatched me away and sent me to my room. As I left, she was having a rather callous and hostile conversation with Felicity. I had gotten her in trouble, and now I shall never know what she was going to say to me that night.

 As I reentered my room, the infamous breeze had brushed my body once again. He, whoever he was, was here.

Out of curiosity, I spoke. "Hello? Who's here?"

A beckoning chuckle escaped from the mirror. "Who do you wish it to be? I can be anyone you want, Juniper."

"How do you know my name? Who are you??"

"The Phantom of the Opera, the ghost of your dreams and your nightmares."

I muffled a scream with my hands as I bolted for the door.

His voice sounded as if it were behind me. "No, don't leave! Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you, I swear!"

I believed him for some strange reason. If he had wanted to hurt me, there were countless occasions in which to do so; the first night, or the second night.

"I was a friend of your mother, Christine."

I turned around graciously and searched for this phantom, this friend. He was no longer a stranger, for when he spoke my mother's name; he was a beacon of remembrance.

"May I see who I am speaking to?"

"Maybe one day you can. As for now, you shall sleep under my protection. Do you wish me to sing you to sleep" he asked as a gentle tone flowed through his wavering voice, the voice my mother had spoke of, the voice she had fallen in love with.

I slept peacefully that night. I only dreamt of music.

Phantom's POV:

I had sung her to sleep with the same melodies I used on her mother. I chucked grimly to myself. "Like mother, like daughter." So many parallels between the two, and yet, Juniper had more of me in her than I had expected. She was gutsy, but reserved; shy, yet boisterous. She was fearful, but seemed understanding.

Felicity had sworn on her life; and, if it weren't for Meg's interference, Felicity would have brought me Juniper. She had failed to keep her promise, and now owed me her own debt. Her life.

As my voice trailed through Felicity's room, she was all-too-certain of her fate. However, like her mother, Felicity would try to beat death; and, like her mother, she would ultimately fail.

"I'm so thrilled that you brought me Juniper," I said with venom-filled sarcasm. "It is a pity that you swore on your life. Either way, I have taken it upon myself to introduce her to the Phantom of the Opera."

I appeared before her, fully clothed and donned with mask and cloak.

She stammered with recognition. "I...I meant to seek her out. Meg interrupted my juncture and sent me to work! You must believe me, Erik! You must!"

"You failed."

Knowing her only defense was to fight, she filled each word with danger. "I don't care! You have her now, and you promised me Christine's voice! If you breech your side of the bargain, I shall tell all of Paris that the Phantom lives! They'll surely kill you then, you fool!"

I took a quickly paced step toward her.

"You won't be able to, my dear Felicity."

With mockery in her voice, she took a hastened step forward. "And why is that?"

Enunciating as clearly as I could, I drew toward her. "Because dead little girls can't speak." In one motion, I grabbed her neck and sifted it through the lasso. As she cried for help, I muffled it with my gloved hands. Her eyes stared into mine as she struggled, but turned cold and gray as the lively fire simmered to extinction.

Felicity was dead.