From Shadows to Starlight

The Cave

“It’s a nice place.”

“Even nicer during the day, especially when you have people to talk to. They’re really very friendly.”

“Well.” Erik was getting mildly irritated again, but was glad she wasn’t asking any more questions about his past. He also noticed that she hadn’t yet said anything about his mask. He knew that she looked at it, and probably wondered why he wore it, but she had said nothing, and that rather surprised him. “As I’ve said, I prefer to be alone.”

“Do you really?” Alana asked.

Erik looked straight in front of him, trying to keep a level head. Of course he didn’t prefer to be alone. He hated it. Hated it more than anything in the whole world. He longed to be like Alana, free and able to walk about in the daylight and speak to anyone she wished. But he knew that no one he met would ever be able to think of him as a normal human being. All they would see was the mask on his face, and wonder about it, and maybe find out what was beneath it. And if they saw what he really was, they would hunt him down, and he would be locked up again.

“Monsieur Erik, are you all right?” Alana’s voice jerked him back from his thoughts.

He saw now that the sun was beginning to rise and felt panic coming on. “We need to stop.”

“Stop? But we’re in the middle of the woods! Can’t we wait until we come to a town?”

“No.” He pulled Raven to a halt, and gave the reins to Alana as he jumped off the seat.

“What on earth are you doing?” Alana was looking at him like he was insane. Which was how he happened to feel at the moment.

“Stay there!” he said. “I’ll return shortly.” And with that, he ran off into the forest.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alana was left alone, sitting in the cart, wondering what had come over her rescuer. She noticed that the sun was rising and that the light was getting stronger with every moment, and she remembered how Erik had shouted at her when she’d let the light into his house earlier, how he had covered his eyes to hide them from the brightness. He must have stopped so he could find a darker place to stay until night fell. But why would he do that? She’d never heard of a person who would only go out at night. At least, not a real person.

Alone, her mind worked feverishly, trying to come up with a reason for Erik’s odd behavior. All of them were absolutely preposterous, and she couldn’t make sense of them. But she heard footsteps approaching quickly, and suddenly Erik burst through the trees.

“Well I’m glad you’re back! What have you been doing?”

Erik didn’t answer, instead he hurriedly unhitched Raven, then grabbed a sack of supplies and a wooden case, which he set carefully on the ground.

“Come here, let me help you up,” he said quickly.

“What’s going…”

“Come on!” He almost shouted. What in the world had him so tense? Rather than risk him shouting at her again, Alana jumped off the seat and onto the ground. Erik helped her onto Raven’s back, then he handed her the sack and the wooden case.

“Be very careful with that case,” he warned her. Then he climbed up behind her, took Raven’s mane in his hands, and sent her into a full-on gallop.

Alana quickly seized a handful of the horse’s mane with one hand, holding on for dear life while trying to keep from dropping the sack and the case. They were riding through the woods with no path, Raven desperately trying to avoid fallen logs or any of the other obstacles on the forest floor. Leaves and branches struck both Alana and Erik in the face, leaving small but stinging cuts.

“What are we doing?” she had to shout over the sound of the horse’s hoof beats as they raced through the forest.

“We’re almost there!”

Alana saw the trees thin out, and that they were coming toward a sheer cliff wall. There was a small waterfall on one side of the cliff, emptying into a creek that ran past the wall and out of sight. Raven slowed and cantered through the water, sending water droplets spraying on all sides and all over Erik and Alana. Through the spray Alana glimpsed an opening in the cliff wall. A cave.

Raven slowed to a walk and entered the cave as the sun rose higher in the sky. She walked through a tunnel. It was dark inside the cave, but there were holes scattered in the cave ceiling, letting in just enough light for Alana to see. Once they were far enough from the entrance, Erik made Raven stop. He dismounted, took the sack and case from Alana, and helped her down from the horse’s back.

He sank to the floor and Alana leaned against the cave wall, both of them realizing how tired they were. Normally this was when Alana would be waking up. “Now what on earth was all that for?” she asked, annoyed. “What are we doing out here in this silly cave?”

Erik didn’t answer.

“Is it because you don’t want to be out in the sun?”

Still no answer.

“Why does it even matter?”

Still no answer. Alana thought for a moment, then exclaimed, “My God, you’re not a vampire, are you?”

Erik shot her a look that said…well, she wasn’t exactly sure what it meant, except that he was most definitely not a vampire.

“All right, that was a silly thing to say. But in all seriousness, why are you so afraid of being in the sunlight?”

He sighed, and seemed to be lost in thought for a little while. “I just…haven’t been out in the sun. Not for many, many years.”

Alana didn’t understand how he could stand living life always in the dark, or why the sun seemed to terrify him so much. “But why not?”

He sighed again and stopped to think. Then he said, “I have always worked at night. Ever since I was a small child. Going out in the sunlight now feels…” He searched for words but seemed unable to find them.

“I’m sure it would feel wonderful if you just became used to it.” Alana got to her feet. “Come with me!”

Erik didn’t move, so she ran over to him and took his hand. He immediately jerked it away.

“Come, Monsieur,” she pleaded. “Sunlight is good for you. It will make you feel better.”

“It will not,” Erik said. “And I’m fine.”

Alana knew there had to be other reasons for his not wanting to go out in the sun, but she didn’t want to upset him any more, so she decided to drop the subject. She yawned, and realized that she’d stayed awake all night and much of the day before. With that realization she became even more exhausted. “I’m tired,” she stated, yawning and stretching.

“So am I,” Erik said.

“Sleeping on the stone floor in this dress should be interesting,” said Alana, feeling a little irritable now that she was so tired.

“Here.” Erik took off his cape with an elegant swish and handed it over to her.

The cape was long and wide, thick and warm. The floor didn’t feel so hard at all now, and Alana was asleep in seconds.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Erik watched the girl sleep for a while, and envied her. He was exhausted, but sleep would not come. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her. And other old faces, ghosts of the past. Faces from the opera house, faces from the traveling fair, and other, even older faces. He saw his mother, drinking and shouting at him. But worst of all were the faces of the Vicomte de Chagny and his bride--the only woman Erik had ever loved and would ever loved. Their young, attractive faces grew twisted with hatred and spite, and they laughed at him, yelling out taunts and insults Then the faces disappeared, leaving only Christine. She was so, so present that Erik almost believed she was standing there with him. She no longer mocked him; she stood there, looking at him. She was weeping. The sight of her broke Erik’s heart. He got to his feet, wanting to wrap her in his arms and comfort her, but there was no one there. Nothing but the empty air.

He decided to go for a walk, hoping to clear his head.