Chapter Twenty-One: Joyaux Noël
Erik watched as Camillé stepped down the incline, sauntering down the stones with swaying hips and a mischievous grin on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her expression, a smirk slowly forming on his own. She was obviously planning something… or hiding something from him. As his eyes travelled down her arms, he could tell that she was holding something back from him. That was quite silly of her – nothing could be hidden from him, particularly when it was her hiding it. Surely by now she had learned better, though he was not complaining. His ways of getting things from her were quite enjoyable.
He turned back to his organ and his eyes travelled to his discarded porcelain mask. It was a reminder of just one of the many reasons he loved her – she loved him entirely, without restraint. That was something he would not trade for the world itself. She walked around behind him and wrapped one arm around his shoulders. Her lips brushed his cheek and pressed a kiss to it before kissing his temple. Erik leaned into the touch and turned his head with the intent to kiss her fully. Then her hand grasped his chin and turned his head away from her. His eyebrows raised in amused surprise as she pressed another kiss to the side of his face.
"Joyaux Noël, mon amour," Camillé whispered against his ear.
Then she brought her other arm in front of his face, holding a suspicious black box with pristine white ribbon wrapped around it and tied in a bow. Erik smiled before getting up from his bench, sliding out from behind it and going towards his storage closet behind the small red curtain. He pulled out another couple of small boxes and walked back over to her. The two presents were held out to her, one in each hand. She smiled as she took them from him and placed her present in his hands. Then she got on her tiptoes and kissed him. Erik let his present switch to one hand as the other arm wrapped around her small frame and placed a hand at the small of her back. He felt her smile through the kiss and he pulled away.
"Joyaux Noël, mon cœur," he responded, pulling her by the hand back up to her bedroom, where they sat on the bed as they had done a thousand times before.
Camillé crossed her legs and grinned up at him as he sat down across from her. It seemed that they always sat like this, with Erik sitting at the head of the swan bed and Camillé sitting somewhere in the middle with her legs crossed. He returned her smile and nodded at her presents.
"Open them first," he told her, and she shook her head.
"I think you ought to open yours first," she retorted.
Erik cocked his head sideways at her. "Oh, really?" he asked, and she nodded, "Alright then."
He tugged gently on the ribbon, untying the bow and releasing the binding around the box. Then he lightly lifted the top of the box, setting it to the side as he pulled out the rectangular… book? Yes, it was a book. He unwrapped the paper around it and felt the soft leather binding beneath his fingertips. He read the embossed silver lettering on the front of the book as he grazed his fingers over it; Book of Shadows. One of his eyebrows raised as he looked up at her, only greeted by a shrug and a smile. The book made no sound, but silently protested as he opened it to the first page.
'For my beloved savior in the shadows.'
Erik smirked as he looked up at her. "'Savior in the shadows?'" he questioned.
"Well, it is true," Camillé defended, shrugging again.
He merely shook his head with a smile as he turned his attention back to the book. The next page was turned and he read over the words before his eyes widened in realization. Then he turned the page… and the next page, and the next. Finally he looked up at her with widened eyes and a shocked expression on his face.
"Camillé, this is… are you truthfully giving me…"
"Yes, Erik," she responded with a gentle smile, "this is a book of my poetry. And yes, I am giving this to you. It contains all of my poetry since I came here. Not a single poem was left out. Not even the ones about you," she said with a small twinge of embarrassment.
He grinned at her and leaned over to kiss her gently. "There is no need to feel embarrassed, mon cœur."
"If you say so. So… do you like it?"
"Camillé, I more than simply like it. This is truthfully the most thoughtful gift you could have given me, and that you are willing to give me your poetry is truly a testament to your trust in me," he told her, looking over another poem in her book and skimming his eyes across the familiar words of Réalité with a smile.
She grinned and rocked back and forth, holding her knees like a child. "Look at the last page," she told him, and he did so.
His smile broadened as he saw the title. He read the poem slowly, savoring every word. In bliss, his eyes closed before he looked up at his beloved. She gently smiled at him, gazing into his eyes with pure adoration and love. Erik laid the book to the side as he pulled her to him and kissed her passionately. For the moment, the presents were forgotten as they wrapped their arms around each other and enjoyed the feeling of being completely enraptured in love.
_____/~~\______
'Somewhere Deep
Somewhere deep inside my heart,
Past the pain and scars and fear,
Nestled safe behind walls of dark:
My love for you is beating here.
The only light in deepest shade,
It warms my life in such sweet ways.
With you, and only you, I am safe,
And shall be so for all my days.
You saved me from the violent sea
That was my life before you came.
You lit my world, cast back the waves,
With one simple utterance of my name.
My trust is something hard to earn,
Yet I gave it up so willingly
In return for true love from a man
Who risked his own life to save me.
Somewhere deep inside my heart,
Forever is where you shall reside
And all my love I give to you
For you have bewitched me, heart and mind.
And I leave you with these final words;
J'ai t'aime toujours, et je t'aimerais toujours.'
_____/~~\________
Camillé sighed with a content moan as Erik finally pulled away from her. She smiled with closed eyes as they regained their breath. Her breathing hitched again as he pressed his lips to her jaw and kissed her lightly there. Then her hands went to his shirt and she pulled him closer still, pressing the two together. Abruptly, Erik stopped kissing her and sat up, backing off of her. She reflected for a second that she was much colder without him before she sat up and propped herself up on her elbows.
"What is wrong, mon amour?" she asked, and he smiled down at her.
"Nothing is wrong, you merely need to open your presents," he replied, and she cocked her head to the side.
She huffed. "But I was quite enjoying that."
A wide grin spread across his face. "As was I, but you have presents to open, Camillé."
She rolled her eyes like a child and sat up completely, picking up her first present, the longer of the two boxes. The lid was lifted carefully and she spied the present inside. A breath escaped without her knowledge and she looked up at Erik. All he did was smile and stand, moving behind her before kneeling again. He gently removed the necklace from the box and clasped it behind her, gently brushing his fingers against the skin of her neck. She shivered as she looked down at the beautiful pendant. The chain it was hanging on was silver, the clasp for the pendant itself made of the same metal. The rounded, shining moonstone hanging from it was almost ethereal in the candlelight. Camillé reached up and gently touched the pendant, marveling at its beauty.
"Erik… it… it is truly beautiful. Where did you find it, I have not found –"
He silenced her with a finger to her lips and a kiss to the side of her neck. "I will not tell you where I found it. I cannot have you buying these things for yourself – I intend to spoil you with these things. Let me enjoy spoiling you, mon cœur," he whispered, causing her to scoff slightly and he smiled against her neck. He pressed another kiss to it before kissing beside her ear. "Open the other box."
Her hand reached out and she grabbed hold of the smaller present, Erik's hands on her arms. She opened the hinged lid carefully before letting it snap closed. Her eyes widened and she stared at the box for a moment. He reached out and opened it for her, letting the ring glow in the light. Camillé leaned against his chest and let a breath escape her. His nimble fingers slipped the ring from the box and let it snap shut again, setting it to the side as he picked up her right hand.
"This ring is not to ask for your hand, Camillé," he assured her, and she relaxed slightly, "It is from me to you; to remind you."
"To remind me of what?"
He turned her towards him and slipped the ring on the ring finger of her right hand. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry, made with intertwining silver bands. The teardrop shaped stone on the center fit her hand perfectly, of the same stone as her necklace. She looked up from it and into his eyes, quickly becoming lost in the blue depths of the ocean there. He was still kneeling before her and took both of her hands into his.
"If I cannot have your hand in marriage now, then I shall settle for this," he said with a soft voice, "Camillé, I promise to you that for all of my life and even after I have left this world, I will love you. I promise that I will be there when you need me and protect you from all that threatens to harm you – with little exceptions, for I know that you can protect yourself," he added with a wink, making her chuckle lightly, "You are my world, and I promise that I will remind you of this every day of your life. I promise to never leave you and that my heart lies with you, and only you, forever. I love and adore you, Camillé. All of this, I promise you," he told her, and kissed the ring lightly, "This ring is to remind you of that promise."
She smiled up at him. "I don't think I could forget that promise if I tried," she beamed, and pulled his head down to hers.
Their lips met in a passionate kiss. They held to each other tightly, as if afraid that loosening their grip would cause the other to disappear. His lips pressed to hers eagerly, as if being away from them was a sin. She smiled against his lips and pulled her head away slightly.
"How did I ever be so lucky as to find you?"
He shook his head and grinned. "I do not know… nor do I know how I could have possibly been so blessed as to have you stumble into my home."
They laughed together and kissed again, their happiness enveloping them both in a warm glow. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and they stayed in that position for quite a long time, relishing their love and being together. Slowly, Erik pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers.
"Erik, je t'aime," she mentioned, and he smiled.
"Je t'aime, Camillé," he told her, before standing up and telling her to stay there.
_____/~~\______
He left for a short time into town, to get another part of her present. When he returned, he had a fair amount of snow on his shoulders and his hands wrapped around a package and… something else that she could not discern. She stood instantly and rushed over to him. Camillé took the package from him, setting it down on the organ. He looked up at her with worried expression as he held out the other thing in his hands. She gasped as she gently took it from him and cradled it in her arms. It mewed slightly as she held it close to her heart.
Erik explained that he had gone out to get some leather bound notebooks – the other part of her present, meant for her poetry. It was bitterly cold, and it was only because he was more adept at dealing with cold that he made it there without freezing. He had been in the back of the store retrieving what he wanted and laying down the money for it when he heard something meow. Quickly, he had turned around, only to find a beautiful pair of light blue eyes looking back at him pleadingly. The creature meowed again and he had left it, only for the kitten to follow him out of the store and into the icy weather. When it had meowed ever so pathetically, he had turned around. The kitten had gotten stuck in the snow and was begging him to save it. The way it looked at him pulled at his heartstrings, so he had picked up the fuzzy creature and taken it back home with him.
Camillé looked down at the kitten while he explained. She was quite an adorable Siamese, with soft cream fur on most of her body and warm brown paws and face. It was fortunate that Erik had saved the little creature, it would have died out there in the snow. She petted her head lightly and the kitten purred. The sound alone warmed Camillé's heart and she looked up at Erik with a pitiful expression as she sat down on the organ bench. He knew that look, and sighed.
"Why?" he asked, and she pouted.
"Look at her, Erik," she pleaded, "She's so small… she would die out there on her own. Please?"
He rubbed the place between his eyes. "Do we really have space for a cat?"
She gave him a half-serious glare. "She is tiny. She won't take up that much room."
They glared into each other's eyes in a battle of wills. In the end, a pathetic meow from the bundle of fur in Camillé's hands ended the argument.
"Fine," Erik sighed, slouching slightly and sitting down beside her, "We can keep her."
"Thank you, mon amour," Camillé smiled and looked down at the kitten, petting it gently, "What should we name her?"
They thought for a minute. A few bad names were suggested and denied – Treble (sounded too much like Trouble), Athena (Goddess of Hunting didn't seem right), Cinnamon (no animal should be named after food), the like – before they finally found one that worked. Erik had been thinking through names good for an animal and remembered his horse, Caesar, back in the stables. After a minute of thinking on the lines of ancient individuals, he ran across the story of Ayesha. It had been the name of a Timurid princess he had heard spoken of often during his time in Persia. When he suggested it, the kitten had looked up at him and meowed, purring very loudly. Camillé laughed and announced that if the cat liked it, then the cat should have it.
______/~~\______
They relaxed on the bed not much later, the kitten between them as they lay facing each other. Erik was petting Ayesha slowly and softly, for which she purred. Camillé smiled and looked up in Erik's eyes.
"You are very gentle with her," she whispered, and he smiled, still looking at the cat.
"I suppose I am. That should not surprise you," he mentioned.
She chuckled lightly. "No, I suppose it doesn't. You are gentle with me, after all. Sometimes, I swear you are too gentle with me."
He looked up into her eyes and leaned closer to her, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Be careful what you wish for, mon cœur."
~//~
Four days late: HAPPY NEW YEAR (and Merry Christmas, apparently.)
Vote, Comment, Joyaux Noel! ~
- Emmy