Easter Vigil (open/all/casual)

[Raoul de Chagny]

Raoul was about to retort that on the contrary, he did mean to harm his fiancée, but he stopped in thought. Maybe he was telling the truth…if this was indeed Erik, would he not have killed him by now? After all, he had had plenty of time to come up with a plan of ending his life, and he would have caught him unaware. Why would he keep trying to deny that he was his mortal enemy?

Seeing no sense in continuing this any further, he nodded. “Alright. For the moment I will give you the benefit of the doubt. But I swear to you, if you hurt her in any way, I will make your pathetic life a waking nightmare before finally ending it. Is that clear?”

[Christine Daaé]

((I suggest we may want to wait for Meg to post next, before the next reading starts, as Raoul and Lavalais are now in a position to return to the chapel.))

Christine looked over the small congregation before her. There was still no sign of her fiancé, nor of Monsieur Lavalais among them. Why did things have to end up this way? They had no quarrel with one another – this she knew! – but men would be men... Glancing back down at the holy scriptures before her, she began to read.

“In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness, he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

And god said “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night: and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and for years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. Gog made the two great lights – the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule night and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw it was good.

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all of the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

God blessed them, and God said to them “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plan yielding seed that there is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have of them for food. And to every beast on the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life,I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all of the work that he had done.

Thus ends the reading.... I apologize. Normally there would be a... a musical response, but...” She bit her lip. “I'm... I'm not so certain that there shall be any of the planned music any more....”

And with that. She bowed her head an stepped down from the podium.

[Erik Lavalais]

Erik nodded at the man before him. "Clear as crystal." And with that, Erik turned on his heel and went back into the chapel, hurriedly, he made his way to the organ, flipping through the music and looking at Christine for some help as to where they were.

He felt TERRIBLE that he'd had to leave to deal with that instead of keeping his promise to help with the mass...He thought perhaps he'd have to find a way to make it up to her. And now, he could feel the sting of eyes on him...He didn't like it. He was being judged, he could sense it. That little scuffle with the de Chagny boy would surely mean he'd be the subject of a few rumours....just the thought of it made him sweat! He hated how people could be so cruel with their thoughts sometimes....But perhaps he was just being paranoid.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine's eyes lite up a little when she saw the light from the hall outside penetrate through the doorway and into the little darkened chapel as the door was opened. She watched Monsieur Lavalais enter and make his way to the organ. “On second though,” she said, addressing the conversation as she watched him, “I ask you to kindly wait for a moment...”

She quickly went to the organ to meet him and offered a brief smile. “Here,” she whispered, taking the music from him and flipping to the correct page before handing it back to him. “Please forgive my fiancé. He's only trying to protect me...”

[Raoul de Chagny]

Raoul kept his icy blue eyes fixed on the man as he responded to him affirmatively and reentered the chapel. He watched for a few moments before opening the door and following him, shutting it behind him. He challenged whatever stares that came his way by glaring back as intimidatingly as he could muster—it was the same look he gave to any particularly unruly recruits that happened to be under his command in the navy.

He then returned to his seat, deep in thought. If that man wasn’t Erik, who was he? And if he was Erik, what kind of stunt was he trying to pull? He saw no sense in his trying to deceive everyone around him. If Christine didn’t believe he was Erik, then was she correct? It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, but he did have some sort of a power over her.

[Raoul Edouard de Chagny]

Edouard had his book open to the correct reading, the second one, and as Christine finished her reading, he waited for a signal as to when she wanted him to come up. Just then the tall man entered the chapel and walked up to Christine. They consulted for a bit.

Edouard was on the edge of his seat, watching her intently, not wanting to miss his cue. He was a bit nervous, as he had never read anything in church before. He put his arm about Emilie's back for a bit of comfort. He pointed out the reading he was to do to her. "I shall be reading next, but I must wait for a cue from Christine. But now it looked as if the tall man might play the organ for a musical response. He waited again, on the edge of his pew.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine left Monsieur Lavalais to play (now that she had shown him the position in the mass), and then quietly went over to Monsieur Edouard, leaning to whisper in his ear. “Once he finishes this hymn, you may go up and read the second lesson. Thank you so much for volunteering.” She stood again, giving a small smile, and then went to go sit down beside her fiancé, her smile fading ever so slightly.

What had gotten into him? She had not seen him so distrusting of her judgment since that time when he visited her and Mama Valérius, and first caught sight of the ring that Érik had given to her. “Monsieur de Chagny,” she said coolly and softly “What exactly were you thinking?”

[Erik Lavalais]

Erik played the hymn that Christine had pointed out to him, feeling mortally embarrassed that he'd had to leave the chapel in the first place. On Easter of all days! Surely the Lord would not be too happy about that...But the boy...he'd been so insistent about having a fight with Erik that he didn't know what else he could've done! It was irksome that he'd had to go through trouble just so he could play the organ at a mass...

And who exactly did that boy think he was anyway? He most certainly was NOT Erik's commander. Erik was master of himself. No one else had authority over him. And the boy had been so keen to fight. He was brash, run by his emotions...perhaps one day, Erik could use that to his advantage. He could've chuckled to himself a little, but he was busy playing, and that would seem strange. So instead, he smiled to himself, finishing up his hymn.

[Raoul de Chagny]

Raoul glanced at his fiancée briefly as she sat down next to him, but kept looking ahead even as she spoke to him. He waited a few moments before answering, his voice soft but biting, “I was thinking that I didn’t want to lose you. I was making sure I wouldn’t ever lose you again—because it’s happened before and I’ve had my heart ripped out from my chest, and I’m afraid I can’t live through that again. Besides, darling, I promised you I would protect you from him and I was simply keeping my vow.”

He waited another minute or so before speaking again, still keeping his voice low. “I know you may not realize this but I love you more than life itself, and even if he wasn’t Erik I wanted to be sure you were safe. Because if you weren’t, if I lost you…I don’t know what I would do. But I’m sorry, dear, that my love is something you’re embarrassed of.” he added icily.

[ladybarbossa]

Sitting there in the pew calmly and quietly as any good church goer would be when in the House of God. Her curiosity was struck as she watched the other masked man make his way back to the Organ. Another man like her Angel? And yet... different. This other masked man wore a full face mask. How strange and very curious.

Barely a glance as she noticed Raoul Edouard's arm about her and smiled slightly then looked at him. He appeared nervous and she smiled a little more in hops to help boost his courage and touched his hand with a slight squeeze. Before she could say that he will do fine, the golden hair Christine came to speak with him. Trying not to over hear but she did. When the younger girl left, the Vicomtesse looked at her Husband with a smile as she leaned closer to him and whispered warmly, "You will do just fine."

Sitting there as her attention turned to Monsieur Lavalais as he played. His handiwork was beautiful. It was an obvious magic touch that these "phantoms" had with music. Peace in the Chapel at last as the music played. She glanced back at Lenoir for a brief moment in hopes that her Husband would be more forgiving of the man who helped and shaped her. Forgiveness was so very important.

God was good.

[Raoul Edouard de Chagny]

When the tall masked man finished playing the hymn on the organ, Edouard made his way up to the podium as Christine had bade him to do. He cleared his throat and spoke. "This is a reading from Exodus 14:10-15:1. Israel's Deliverance at the Red Sea."

As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, 'Let us along and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” But Moses said to the people,. “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.”

The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and a pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right ad on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the LORD tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the Egyptians. So the people feared the LORD and believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses. Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider has he thrown into the sea.”

Edouard finished the reading and went on to the response: Let us pray.

O God, whose wonderful deeds of old shine forth even to our own day, you once delivered by the power of your mighty arm your chosen people from slavery under Pharaoh, to be a sign for us of the salvation of all nations by the water of Baptism: Grant that all the peoples of the earth may be numbered among the offspring of Abraham, and rejoice in the inheritance of Israel; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Edouard finished, bowed his head and returned to his pew.

[Christine Daaé]

Christine listened silently for a moment as Raoul spoke. His tone was rather cold. She hated hearing him like that. It reminded her too much of early on in the misadventures with Érik, back when he had thought her to be playing him a fool when she had first tried to warn him to stay away. It wasn't nearly that bad, but it did strike her in that similar manner. She closer her eyes for a moment, turning away, and pressed her lips together, then took a breath and looked back to him again.

“There is no need to use that tone with me, dear. I asked you a simple question.” She was sure to keep her voice low, not wanting it to cause a stir. “You're not going to lose me; I promise you that. But please... Please try to understand.... This vigil is very important to me. You know that.... I wanted it to be like we were back in Paris – at home – even for only a little while...” A small smile managed to work its way to her lips. “This was supposed to be our first Easter together as husband and wife... And even if our plans had been delayed, I still wanted to be able to look back and to remember it that way... to be able to spend this most holy day with the one I love more dearly than anyone else in this world, while in the presence of the Lord... I'm not embarrassed by your love, dear. It's quite the opposite, actually.”

She wiped away a tear before it fell. It was like at the masked ball, when he told her that she was lying when she told him that she loved him... Did he still doubt it? “Your love has been the only thing that has kept me here this long. You must know that, Raoul. Please... Please believe that.... Even if it were him, if you had gone out alone like that, he would have killed you. It would have been safer for us to stay together. Do you think that I want to lose you either? Raoul, I know for a fact that I am not strong enough to keep going on without you here. Please don't leave me in a situation where I might have to...”

She stared down pensively at her lap for a moment before returning her gaze to him. “There is a way to tell the two apart, actually... Remember what I told you of him when I had first seem him without his mask? All the hair he has are a few long, dark locks... He wears a wig to cover it up often times, but his wig is short. Monsieur Lavalais' hair is much longer... I know that you were concerned, and quite justifiably so, but Monsieur Lavalais has always been quite good to me here at the manor, even when I perhaps did not deserve his kindness... I made the same mistake the first tie that I saw hi, actually... Oh, never mind. That's not important now, but I assure you that they are two very different people despite their looks.”

She took his hand up in her own and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “Promise me that you'll be able to behave yourself for the rest of the mass? We do not go picking fights in church,” She added this last part with a bit of a playful smirk. Even if they were grown now, she still felt sometimes like they were little children, playing their games in Perros-Guirec. Suddenly she paled. “Oh o.... I forgot the post-reading prayer....” she said, raising her hands to her face in embarrassment. “Oh dear...”

[Erik Lenoir]

Erik waited a bit, unsure if he should go up for the reading. Christine still seemed to be speaking to her fiancé and, while he didn't wish to make a mistake, he felt he needed to read the assigned reading, even if it was out of place. He thought he was supposed to speak right after Edouard. It had been such a long time since he had attended church that he wasn't sure really. It was the reading from Ezechiel about the dry bones. Rather appropriate for him to read.

Erik rose from his pew and walked to the front pulpit. He cleared his throat and began:

This is a reading from the book of Ezekiel, Chapter 3, verses 1-14

Erik's voice was pleasant and it carried well. He started the reading, without glancing up. If he was making a mistake, he didn't want to know about it until he was finished.

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, 'Mortal, can these bones live?' I answered, 'O Lord God, you know.' Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know I am the Lord.'

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on then, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath:- Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.' I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, 'Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” Therefore prophesy and I will say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.

"The Hymn will be number 508 - Breathe on me, Breath of God."

After this, Erik read, Let us pray. Almighty God, by the Passover of your Son you have brought us out of sin into righteousness and out of death into life: Grant to those who are sealed by your Holy Spirit the will and power to proclaim you to all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Erik looked up as he finished the reading and returned to his seat. He was glad it was over. He was perspiring a bit.

//OOC: Sorry this has taken so long. I hope I did it correctly. It has been a while and I sort of forgot how we were doing it. We should try to finish up the Easter thread before Christimas, LOL. And if I did it wrong, please tell me and I can edit.//

[Christine Daaé]

((Yes XD probably a good thing. And it's perfectly fine BTW proboards has decided not to show all of the vigil in Blondie's prayer book now, so I'll post OoC in each of my posts here what should come next, whether it's a response, reading, song, etc. Right now, people need to just repeat the response prayer except for Meggy. Lavalais plays the hymn. It doesn't have to be the one listed. That was just the one in the service I used for the prayer book.))

Christine listened to Lenoir as he read the second reading, about Ezekiel and the valley of the dry bones. She was very glad that Edouard had offered his assistance, and had gotten Lenoir to help as well. With more people involved and helping with the readings and such, the mass should go much more quickly and smoothly... assuming that there were no more unneeded disputes.

Monsieur Lavalais played wonderfully and she couldn't help but to find herself smiling as she listened to the hymn. It was a very lovely tune, and he played it excellently. She was also glad that he had agreed to assist, and that he and Raoul had finally come back to the Vigil. When the hymn ended. She said the prayer aloud along with Lenoir as he read it.

“Almighty God, by the Passover of your Son you have brought us out of sin into righteousness and out of death into life: Grant to those who are sealed by your Holy Spirit the will and power to proclaim you to all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

[Erik Lavalais]

Erik played the music as was appropriate, but his mind was HARDLY on the service. He couldn't focus, not while there were pressing problems to worry about. That BOY that had confronted him...What business was it of his if Erik wanted to socialize with Christine? He looked over to see the two sitting together. He felt...angry. Whenever he spied the two of them brushing fingers or exchanging a couple of words, he felt a stirring of rage. He wished...he wished that it were himself in place of the boy. What he wouldn't give for someone to look at him like that...What he wouldn't give for someone to hold his hand, or touch the cheek of his mask...He wanted it. Craved it. And that spoiled little brat got everything that Erik wanted.

Erik tried to stifle the thoughts. He shouldn't think like that, especially not in the house of the Lord. But...it just made him feel as though he could leap over the pews and end the boy right there. But that would certainly make things VERY bad for him. And secure him a place in hell.

But wasn't it worth an afterlife in hell to spend a lifetime with an angel...? NO, what was he thinking?! Ending someone's life, a boy that he didn't even know? He couldn't think that way...but he wanted to. It made him feel better, when he thought that way. Well...as long as he kept it to himself...perhaps it would fade.