Erik woke up in a very good mood. After last night confession to Morgana and how she easily accepted his dark past, he felt a weight off his shoulder. She was indeed an intriguing woman who he couldn't wait to unsolved more of the mystery around her.
She was simply... too kind and caring. Erik wouldn't believe such a person existed unless meeting that person face to face and he still would have his suspicions but not anymore. That woman was living proof that angels did exist.
As he fixed his mask in front of the broken mirror, Daroga entered and didn't fail to notice his good mood.
"Good morning Nadir," he said as he made sure that his mask was placed properly on his face and that it was stable.
"Good morning Erik. I see you are in a scary good mood today. May I ask why?"
"Morgana visited yesterday"
"Oh and I presume she asked about Persia?" Erik gave a nod of his head as he turned to look at him. "And by not seeing anything broken and you slamming your fists on the organ I suppose she took it well"
"More than well. She even called me a fool for worrying and not wanting to tell her. She also asked me to teach her my tricks"
"That sounds sweet"
"In both magic and assassination"
"I take that back," Nadir said and Erik chuckled.
"I refused of course but I might teach her small illusion tricks. However, I was surprised by how well she took it... this woman just... I cannot understand her sometimes no matter how hard I try"
"I understand how you feel. Despite getting to know her, there is still so much mystery around her. One thing she does is holding back a lot when it comes to her past and I do wonder if that is connected to how she acts"
"You think that something happened that caused her to be so... kind?" Erik said, unsure if the word 'kind' was exactly what suited at this conversation.
"Maybe. I am just presuming. However, I will keep an eye on her and you as well"
At that Erik rolled his eyes and his mind went at the night he found out about Keegan's marks. It would explain why she was so kind with his mask and so patient but there were still so many questions hanging on the air about her.
"I understand on me but I doubt you need to keep an eye on her. If you need a new hobby, try something"
"I do have my hobbies, thank you very much but this is not what I mean Erik. You two in general, now that you have this secret relationship need to be kept under constant observation. Plus, I do want to make sure that everything is alright"
"Alright? What do you mean?" Erik asked as he stopped on his tracks and locked eyes with his friend.
Why not be alright? Morgana had a dreamy career and friends that surrounded her. Her brothers that loved her so much and him who loved her even more.
"On our way back from the dinner, we bumped on Populaire's patron, not a pleasant guy I assure you"
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At the mentioned of him, Erik's eyes turned cold and his jaw tightened; something Nadir knew he was doing when he was extremely angry. Angry to the point he would murder. It was the same face he had when he killed those people back then.
"What. Did. He Do?" he asked as he took slow steps towards the Persian.
Morgana had told him the story about how Lucas suspected Erik being alive and how he had insulted him; hence the slap and also that Erik had witnessed everything but apparently she never told him about the count's offers.
Nadir even wondered how Erik didn't know about their previous encounter but then again, he was only human. He couldn't be at all places at all times and witness everything and by judging how his friend has changed; he most likely didn't spy on the others anymore or at least as much as he used to.
"What did he do Nadir?!" Erik raised his voice, now a few steps away from the said man. It was then, Daroga realized he was silent for too long and that was something that Erik didn't like. He always took it for something wrong happening and the suspense of waiting didn't help on his anger either.
"Nothing. He simply asked her for dinner. However, he didn't seem to take a No for an answer despite Morgana's tries"
"That's it. He is a dead man" the masked man shouted as he rushed to grab his Punjab that was on top of his organ.
However, Nadir moved fats and grabbed his wrist; holding him back.
"No Erik. You promised me you wouldn't kill unless absolutely necessary. A promise you failed to keep last time", the said man tried to pull back but the Persian had a tight grip on him. "Listen to me, Erik!"
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Erik struggled against his hold and was about to fight back when Daroga did something he usually doesn't do. He raised his voice and in seconds, Erik was on the ground, his face against the cold floor while his arm twisted behind his back.
His friend had one knee on his back and held his hand with an iron grip; a sneaky move that Erik could have countered if he hadn't dropped his guard and wasn't so focused on grabbing his Punjab.
"Listen to me, Erik. You are a wanted man throughout the whole of France. People might have you for dead but there is still a bounty on your head. On top of that, you finally crawled out from that hole you dug yourself 5 years ago. Do not throw everything aside now for a spoiled rich boy"
Erik took deep breaths as Nadir's words replayed in his mind. Slowly, his anger faded away and he was back to his normal self. Seeing it in his eyes, Nadir released him and took a step back.
"Morgana is a grown woman and she knows how to handle this. It is also a dinner Erik, a dinner. If you truly love her, you will let her handle it herself"
"But-"
"No buts! This is the mistake you did last time with Christine"
"Don't say her name!"
"I will, damn I will! This is what you did last time! You took every action into your own hands and didn't let her deal it as she wanted! Now, you are on the edge on the line and none of us wants to see you hanging from a rope!"
The two men panted as their waves of anger clashed along with their voices. However, Nadir was right at everything he said. He had done the fatal mistake of interfering too much, which gave him such bad name to Christine and he was also wanted dead.
"Fine. Looks like the Paris won't lose a useless member of its rich society", he said as he sat on his organ and pressed on the keys, creating a haunting sound. His good mood ruined and his anger was still there; on Nadir, on the count and even on Morgana.
She was the one who had hid it from him all along and dealt with the rich boy all on her own.
"Promise me you won't do anything stupid Erik or this time, even I won't be able to save you from the hangers," Nadir said after a few minutes of haunting organ music.
"I promise," Erik said rather coldly without looking at him.
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Sunday morning and as usual, Morgana made her way towards Erik's lair. She wanted to see him, to spend some time with him before her date or she wouldn't survive. That was certain.
She walked into the lair and found Erik in front of his organ as usual but something was wrong. He wasn't playing but instead was looking at his reflection on the organ, deep in thoughts.
"Erik?" Morgana called his name and he turned his head to look at her, his eyes cold.
"Why you didn't tell me?" he asked, his voice cold and it was obvious that he was trying not to shout.
"Tell you about what?" she asked as she stopped a little away from him, confused look on her face.
"About that boy! That insolent boy who you go dinner with tonight!", he shouted as he pushed the candle holder that was on his organ and it fell on the ground, breaking in half. "Nadir told me how he keeps pressuring you for dinner! Is this where you disappeared the other night?!"
"Eri-"
"I don't want any excuses!" he shouted as he pushed the papers and the ink holder off his organ and to the ground "Why didn't you tell me?! How dare you betray me like that Morgana! How dare you let that man touch you in any way!"
"It was a kiss on the hand, Erik! He is showing his manners!" she shouted, her voice echoing in the cave.
"First is the hand, then the mouth and the next time you will be sleeping with him!"
"Do you even listen to yourself at the moment?! Then you ask why I didn't tell you!"
"Don't bring this back to me!" he shouted, now his words making no sense since his anger took over him. He marched to her and tried to grab her hand but Morgana easily ducked down and to the side.
That seemed to anger him more and she turned to look at her only for Morgana to have already grabbed the fallen candle holder and graceful as a deer, she jumped on the stool and slammed it on the back of Erik's head.
There was a loud 'thud' as the man lost all senses and collapsed on the ground. A sigh escaped her lips and Morgana hanged her head for a moment as she let her weapon fall to the ground. She walked to Erik and knelt to check his pulse.
Nadir's words echoed in her mind and she shook her head. Both he and Giry were right about his anger but that didn't change how Morgana felt for the masked man. He was hurt, betrayed in the past by a woman so she didn't blame him.
Plus, his anger over such a small subject proved how much he also cared for her.
She managed to lift Erik and placed one of his hands around her neck before slowly making her way towards the closest room she could find. It was a bedroom that Erik kept the door closed with a beautiful swan-shaped bed and red velvet sheets.
She placed him on the bed and took off his boots before sitting on the ground.
Gosh, he is heavy; she thought and sat there for a moment, observing him.
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Erik opened his eyes and a groan escaped his lips. He blinked a few times to clear his vision before looking around. He wasn't in his room... no, he was in Christine's room.
How did I find myself here? The last thing I remember is...
Erik grabbed his head as he stood up slowly. His hand went to the back of his head and closed his eyes as he remembered; the argument, the shouting and something hitting him at the back of his neck.
Morgana, he thought and chuckles slightly at the peculiar but effective idea to knock him unconscious. He was thankful she did as fear spread through his heart at his thought of hurting his red angel.
As his mind cleared and the pain started to fade away, Erik was able to hear the faint sound of a violin playing. Making sure that his mask was still on, he left out a sigh of relief that she hadn't taken it off and he stood up.
He opened the door and walked to the main room of his lair only to spot Morgana in front of the lake. She had her back turned on him and she was holding his bow. He stopped and listened at the music.
It was faint and not something he recognized. Hearing closely, he realized that it was only a few notes creating the faintest and smallest symphony they could. She seemed to repeat those few notes which struck into his curiosity.
Suddenly she stopped and used the back of her hand to wipe her eyes.
Is she crying? But why? Did I... Did I hurt her?
At the last thought, Erik was about to hate himself if he indeed hurt her during his anger. However, when she turned he noticed that she was untouched.
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Morgana explored the lair. She finally had the chance to see the room, Erik's room and even the bathroom. She liked how it was similar to a house but with no windows but who needs windows when you have a lake of your own?
After her little exploring, she cleaned the floor and picked up the sheets of music had dropped in his anger. After that was done, Morgana looked around to see what she could keep herself busy with while Erik was still knocked out.
She had plenty of time since Keegan once again was dragged to the mass by their elder brother.
Her eyes landed on a black violin, hidden in the corner and she slowly approached the instrument. Blowing away the dust, she took a good look at it before grabbing a matching black bow and headed to the lake.
Once there, she brought the violin below her chin and played a few notes. She hissed slightly as the notes came anything but smooth. It had been so many years since she held a violin. She kept trying until she found the hang of it.
Once this happened, she played a few notes again and again. It wasn't something fancy but it was the only thing she knew to play. As she kept repeating the same notes, again and again, memories replayed in her mind and a single tear rolled down her cheek.
She wiped it away with the back of her hand and decided she had played enough. She turned her body only to freeze once she spotted a now awake Erik looking at her from the top of the few steps.