The Shadow's Melody || The Phantom of the Opera || Book One

14. Birthday Wish

I smoothed out some wrinkles in my dress and swept off some stray snowflakes before taking the cupcake from her. There was no emotion in my voice when I thanked her and brought the gift to my nightstand.

I could feel her eyes on my back as I shifted things around to give me something to do while I waited for her to leave.

My body stiffened when I felt her hand on my shoulder, "Mélodie, please, I'm sorry. I did it because I wanted to protect you. That...man..." she nearly spit out the word, "is nothing but a-"

"You know nothing of that man, Violette. If you did you would know that he is just as human as you and me. He deserves to be treated like a human, not like a monster."

Violette dropped her hand to her side and I turned to face her. My once boisterous best friend stood before me with her head down, playing with her fingers, "I'm sorry, Mélodie."

I said nothing. There wasn't anything to say. She could never understand. Her eyes drifted up to mine, stopping at the necklace around my neck. She touched the crystal rose, "He buys you presents?"

I looked down to where her fingers graced my present, "Yes, he does." I looked up to her eyes that were still examining the sparkling pendant, "We love eachother, Violette. Can't you accept that?"

Her fingers dropped, her eyes not meeting mine. A moment later she left.

* * *

I giggled loudly as Erik picked me up and spun me around, snow bellowing out around us. Setting me down he placed a kiss on my lips, "Happy birthday, mon amour (my love)."

I smiled up at him, "Merci, mon ange (thank you, my angel)."

Erik stepped back far enough to look at the necklace he gave me, "It looks just as beautiful as I thought it would on you."

The smile wouldn't leave my face, "I love it, Erik. It's perfect."

He smiled and kissed me again. When he held me close my ribs protested causing him to pull back again, "Darling, I'm so sorry. I was trying to be careful."

My hand tried to sooth my side, "No it's alright. It doesn't hurt as bad as it did."

The cold air felt good on my bruise. The pain was almost completely gone, only the occasional soreness remained. And that was only when I forgot about it.

Erik tugged at my hands, bringing me over to the ledge, "I have a surprise for you." He moved aside and I saw two pieces of cake sitting on the ledge, "I hope you like chocolate."

I picked up the plate, grinning like a lunatic, "My favorite."

I gazed into the lighted candle stuck into my chocolate triangle. Closing my eyes I thought out my wish and wished as hard as I could before I blew out the candle.

Opening my eyes I saw Erik smiling at me, "What did you wish for?"

"Ah ah ah, Monsieur Phantom," I took the fork and brought a piece to my mouth, "Telling a wish prevents them from coming true."

He chuckled at me, both of us taking a bite of the delicious chocolate goodness. We ate in silence for a while, my mind beginning to wander. I missed my brother. He and I always engaged in a battle of icing. By the end of our icing fight we were covered almost head to toe in cake. Our mother would laugh, our father would scold us. That was much more enjoyable than the stuffy parties my mother would hold.

Snow started to fall onto the rooftop again, sticking to my curly hair. There was already a thick layer of white blanketing the roof and crunching beneath our feet.