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Ch.16: Family Matters (Part 2) |
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About the last entry: Kaname's hair is actually dark brown and Zero's the younger twin by two years. (They were born on the same day, two years apart from each other.) Also, the reason why I tugged my veil back into place is because I had made a vow to not let another man see my face until Melissa returned, and because I was mildly embarrassed that Kaname was using such flirtatious language with a woman he barely knew. Special note: I'm 16 now, as of 2/25/09!
I sat at my driftwood desk and began perusing the documents Kaname and Zero had given me. I found a biography of Gaston Leroux, a history of the Broadway show version of Phantom of the Opera, sheet music for songs from other theatre interpretations, and general information about the Phantom figure, but there was nothing I had not seen already. (I would have to come back to the sheet music though; it seemed interesting.)
Then, something shiny caught my eye. Buried underneath a stack of discarded papers was a locket on a golden chain. It was a ruby inlaid with a mother-of-pearl fairy on the front and on the back was a small inscription. I took out a magnifying glass and could just make out the words to a song that I knew. Here's what it said:
Child of the wilderness
Born into emptiness
Learn to be lonely.
Learn to find your way in darkness.
Who will be there for you?
Comfort and care for you?
Learn to be lonely.
Learn to be your one companion.
Never dream that out in the world,
There are arms to hold you.
You've always known your heart was on its own.
So laugh in your loneliness
Child of the wilderness.
Learn to be lonely.
Learn how to love life that is lived alone.
Learn to be lonely.
Life can be lived, life can be loved, alone.
I almost wanted to cry. I knew the words probably weren't meant for me, but they cut deep into my already broken heart. I had been abandoned by the one I loved for someone that I had called "friend" once. I felt neglected, unloved, tragically destined to be alone.
Jareth was already engaged so I knew our love wouldn't last. Sarah was a worthy woman, but I felt sad knowing that like the countless others that had tried to woo him before, I too would be discarded. (That makes two men that have dumped me!)
Flotsam came in to find me with my head in my hands, moaning like a lost soul. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Look there," I said indicating the locket and the magnifying glass on the desk. He picked them up, with tapered fingers, and squinted as he read aloud the words I had just looked at. (I hope he didn't see me put my head between my knees, but even then I wouldn't have cared. I felt like I was going to vomit from all the bad feelings swirling inside me.)
"Wait!" he exclaimed suddenly. I looked up from the folds of my black dress, dried my eyes, and stood up next to him. "To my son, Erik, demon spawn of thy mother's darkest desires."
I couldn't believe my ears, or my eyes, as the locket suddenly fastened itself around my neck in a flurry of golden lights. "It must be faery made," Flotsam observed, "since it seemed to move of it's own accord. I don't get why it fastened itself around your neck instead of mine, mistress. I was the last one to hold it."
I was pleased with his knowledge of faery jewelry. 'He's been studying the texts I've assigned,' I thought, 'thoroughly. Now I won't have to keep him in the dark when it comes to Jareth anymore!'
"That is strange indeed," I said, trying with no success to unfasten the locket from my neck. "I get the feeling there's something inside that will provide great insight into what I'm searching for. Flotsam, if you wouldn't mind?" (I indicated the little fastener on the front of the locket.)
He stepped, well more like slid, forward and set about opening the locket. I got a good look at his hair while he was undoing the fastener: an unordinary neon green and it smelled like the ocean at sunset. For some strange reason I found it most refreshing.
I heard a click and I knew he had gotten it undone. "What do you see?" I said looking up at the ceiling so he could have room to look.
"A small picture of a family," he said. "I see a father, a mother, and a small boy. The son looks like his mother for the most part, but he has his father's beautiful blue eyes, though I suspect they may be gray/green." (Nothing interesting or meaningful yet. I was beginning to think it was put there by accident and didn't mean anything.) "The son is also wearing a white mask on the right half of his face." (Now we had something! It seems we had come across a heirloom of the original Phantom.)
"Let me take a look," I said. He took the picture out of the locket so I could see it. I saw just what he described and also something he hadn't: the mother, even though she seemed human at first glance, had the faint outline of wings behind her. I gasped in disbelief; Erik had had a fae mother. Now I was really confused.
"What is it?" asked Flotsam, looking up at my gasp.
"I need you to guard my body."
"I do that already."
"No, I mean while my soul is in the Realm of Dreams. You should probably get Jareth in on this too. I need to go into a trance as quickly as possible."
 srs diva 2011 xxl · Mon Mar 02, 2009 @ 01:33am · 2 Comments |
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