Chapter 79

Anthony did not fail to notice that Raoul had said 'her' father and not 'their' father. He had heard what both Erik and Leroy had said about Nadir Khan being his father but he had not allowed himself to think about it. If Khan was his father where had he been all of his life? A father was there for you when you were growing up. He did not allow another man to care for him.

Gustave was his only father and he would not think about it any other way. Gustave had taught him to speak and read, ride a horse, shoot a pistol. He taught him how to be a gentleman and speak to women with respect. That was what a father was there for. Gustave had been the one to be there when Anthony got his heart broken for the first time. He had been there for him when he was little and Raoul had beaten him up pretty good after a day of wrestling and playing pirates. He was his father.

"Our father."

"Anthony, you heard Erik-"

"I am very much aware of what Monsieur Desslar-may he rest in peace-said that night, Raoul. But I will not hear it again. Gustave Daae is my father, just like he is Christine's, end of story."

Candlelight flickered in the silent room, the sound of rain beginning to patter against the roof and window. Nadir Khan sat hunched over the form of the unmoving man in front of him as he cleaned the wound in his chest. Occasionally the unmoving man would moan or utter an incoherent word, although Nadir knew all to well that the word was a name...a woman's name.

"Christine."

Nadir did not know how he had ever managed to get Erik out of the Delauney manor but it had happened. He had followed Christine, obviously too late, to find everyone gone and Erik lying on the floor next to a dead Leroy. He had thought for one terrible moment that Erik was dead but with much relief had found that he was indeed breathing, if barely. With strength he had not known he possessed he had managed to both carry and drag Erik out of the manor and to the carriage Nadir had come in.

He knew the only reason Christine would not be there was because she assumed him to be dead. He could only imagine what the young woman was feeling at that moment, thinking her husband gone forever. He had seen the way the two of them were around each other and he knew it could not be anything other than love. He would write her a letter but at the moment he was putting all of his willpower into trying to bring Erik back from the brink of death. He knew there was a fair chance that Erik would not make it and he knew that he could not let that happen.

He had found a nearby bordello and the mistress there had allowed them to have a room for a not too expensive price. Of course Nadir would have liked to have gone somewhere else but this was the closest place he could find and it would have to do for now, even if it did smell like cheap perfume and sweat. Erik had lost a significant amount of blood and had lost more when Nadir took the bullet out.

But he had managed to sew the wound after cleaning it and all he could do now was wait for the fever that he knew was going to wash over the man. He would do everything in his power to make sure that this man was alright. He had a woman who loved him and Nadir had once known that feeling. He would not let the Delauney's be an end to another fairy tale 

"Erik..."

His name was a broken plea on Christine's dry lips. Her voice was hoarse and she could no longer scream. She saw his face where ever she turned, she closed her eyes and he was there...she was slowly dying without him and she knew it. She did not remember the last time she had eaten and sleep was torment, Erik's murder constantly on her mind. She only wished that Death would be kind and take her away from this never-ending torture. She would give everything she was to be in Erik's embrace again, and if that had to be in the other life, so be it.

"Erik..."

His name was a broken plea on Christine's dry lips. Her voice was hoarse and she could no longer scream. She saw his face where ever she turned, she closed her eyes and he was there...she was slowly dying without him and she knew it. She did not remember the last time she had eaten and sleep was torment, Erik's murder constantly on her mind. She only wished that Death would be kind and take her away from this never-ending torture. She would give everything she was to be in Erik's embrace again, and if that had to be in the other life, so be it.

"Erik..."

She had never known that it was possible to fall in love with someone so deeply that death was better than living without him. Christine heard his voice whispering in her ear, telling her how much he loved her. Life no longer held any meaning for her...Her days were spent in a haze of screams and tears and she no longer knew how long it had been since she had lost her life...

"Erik..."

His last words to her were that he loved her. Even on the brink of death and he still told her how much he loved her. How did God every think that she would be able to make it without him? That was like asking fish to live without water, birds without the sky, flowers without the sun...it would never happen.

Sienna wiped the tears that had seemed to never cease over the past two days. With Erik's death the entire Daae family had changed. Christine had screamed at her to get out of the chambers when she had come to comfort her. She had thought Christine was her friend, but obviously Christine did not have the use for a friend any longer now that her husband was dead.

But what hurt the worst was Anthony turning his back on her. He did not speak to her and whenever she tried to comfort her he would shrug her away. He blamed himself for Erik's death and his sisters present condition. She loved him more than he should and he was hurting her. All she wanted to do was comfort him...love him.