Chapter 6: Grounded

A family provides the foundation upon which the soul stands tall.
A soul without firm ground underfoot is doomed to fall.

A Fool's Book of Wisdom

Christine listened to the woman as she prattled on about nothing. The girl smiled and nodded, but her mind roiled with the turmoil she felt over the presence of Helen's masked companion. He had not spoken a word, yet, Christine felt his eyes burning into her as he watched her every move. Her mind split in two, one part seemed to pay attention to Helen and the stunned other part, focused intently upon the man sitting quietly at the table.

"Erik! I cannot believe this! Once, years ago, I waited for you to come to me. I sat and waited for you never doubting that you would come for me. Yet, each day dawned and found me without you by my side. And, one lonely morning, I heard a sound. It was the sound of splintering glass, but it was no mirror, which cracked, but my heart. And, each day you did not come to me, the fracture, which ran through my heart, grew ever wider and deeper. Until, at last, with the death of my father, my heart despaired and broke in two. Afterwards, I allowed myself to think of you as nothing more than a childish dream. You are a dream! Damn you! I needed you and you did not come! You did not come for me. How dare you come for me now..."

A gentle voice interrupted her raging thoughts and she blinked.

"I ... oh, pardon me, what did you say?"

Christine stammered and bit her lip as she felt hot color flood her cheeks.

"And, where is it that you would go in the middle of the night, Mademoiselle?"

The older woman softly inquired.

The young woman drew her body up to stand straight, tall and proud. Erik shuddered slightly in recognition of the wall he saw lowering before her bright, warm eyes. A wall, which when in place, left them cold and dull, as it imprisoned the spirit of his angel.

"While your implied concern for my welfare is appreciated, I fail to see how it is any concern of yours. My business is mine and mine alone, Madame."

Christine's smile appeared as brittle as frost on a window pane. Yet, the old woman seemed little affected by her words and continued speaking in her oddly lulling voice.

"Dearest child therein lays the fallacy of your words. We share this earth and, therefore, we share the responsibility to care for one another. Did no one teach you this lesson? We must be our brother's keeper, lest we fall into the hell of Cain. I simply seek assurance that you shall be safe upon the road you travel. Erik and I leave on the eve of the morrow and I thought that if our ways coincided, we might journey together. Where could the harm be in that?"

The ice melted from the girl's lips and she frowned slightly. Her eyes inadvertently slipped to Erik before darting away to stare into the darkness of the corridor. A voice spoke from within her heart and Christine strained to hear the words, but she could not decipher them and they remained elusively just beyond her mind's grasp. She shrugged slightly.

"There is no harm in that, Madame. Please excuse my rudeness, but I do not know either of you. I thought it is better to err on the side of caution, so with that in mind, I gave you my guarded answer. I travel to Paris, where I intend to audition for a part in the chorus at the Académie Nationale de Musique, Théâtre de l'Opéra." A small smile graced her mouth. "Otherwise known as the Palais Garnier. I wish to sing upon the stage. To sing there was a dream I shared with my Papa and now that I have grown into a woman, I plan to make that dream a reality. Where do your travels take the two of you?"

Helen's mouth softened into a toothy grin.

"Why, our destination is Paris as well, but first I believe introductions are clearly in order. I am Madame Helen de Blanc and my silent, young companion is Monsieur Erik de Seul."

The woman swept her arm towards the man at the table and he briefly inclined his head to acknowledge the introduction, but remained quietly seated at the table. Christine's eyes turned and met the young man's intense look. The moment their eyes locked, Christine felt a burning flare deep within the center of her chest, one, which threatened to overpower her mind. She quickly returned her gaze to the woman and found much to her dismay, her heart was pounding and her breath was ragged in her throat.

"My name is..."

Her voice croaked and she grimaced at the raw sound. Christine winced as she felt her cheeks burn crimson. She paused and cleared her throat.

"I am Christine Wolner and I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Madame. Monsieur."

She bobbed a slight curtsey before turning to retrieve her bag from the floor. Placing it on her shoulder, she graced the pair before her with an awkward and wooden smile.

"Now, if you will excuse me. I must be on my way. It was a pleasure meeting the both of you. Perhaps, one day, we shall meet again. Bonsoir."

Without waiting for a response, Christine turned and began to flee from the kitchen toward the comforting darkness outside the chateau. One step. Two steps. Just as she raised her foot to take a third, a familiarly beautiful voice called to her.

"Mademoiselle, wait!"

Her foot fell to the floor and while her mind screamed for her to run, her body refused to obey. She turned to find the young man standing just behind her.

"How could he move so quickly? How did he leave the table without making a sound? Oh! Erik! How I have missed you!"

She shook her head to clear that last thought from her mind then tilting her head to one side, she placed the hand not holding her bag, onto her hip.

"Well? You have something you wish to say to me, Monsieur?"

He licked his lips nervously and turned his pleading eyes to Helen. The older woman read the silent entreaty in his gaze. She took pity upon the young man and stepped into the conversation.

"What my young friend here wishes to say is that as all of us seem intent on traveling to Paris, why not travel there together? We planned to leave tomorrow evening, but since you seem determined to leave as soon as possible, if you do not object, we would be most pleased to alter our plans and accompany you on your journey tonight. While I am certain you are quite capable of taking care of yourself. Would it not be preferable and safer to travel amongst companions?"