Flower Duet ((OPEN))

[Roselin A. Soulle]

Roselin was walking with her earphones plugged into her ears, and blasting out a song by Sky Sailing called A Little Opera Goes a Long Way (its a real song). She hummed happily along with it as she kind of skipped and walked. Today, she was wearing a t-shirt with thin blue and green stripes with simple black shorts that when just above her knees. She also wore dark silver flip flops, blue and green and silver bracelets on her left wrist, and a navy blue, yarn knit hat/cap that just barely sat on the to and back of her head.

Roselin was enjoying the warm, summer, Saturday morning. Morning birds and sparrows were chirping about her in the trees but she had her Ipod playing to loudly to hear them. There was a slight cool breeze, just as she liked it. If someone where to be watching her walking, they would think that she was just going for a walk but no, she indeed had a destination. And with her happy little attitude and the way she was walking so happily, they would have never guessed her destination. For her destination was quite a spooky one, or at least that's how many people saw the place as. In fact, she was heading right for the so called, haunted, manor.

Once Roselin had gotten quite close to the manor, she paused and looked up at the already towering and leering manor. Its seemed a bit more... haunting looking now that she was coming here alone and not with her best friend. She shook her head, she wouldn't be ran off quite so easily, the adventure was just beginning! She confidently continued to walk towards it, the manor's height seemingly getting taller and more massive as she neared it. She then reached the gardens and by this time, the song had changed to one that quite fit her surrounding area, the Flower Duet. Roselin smiled and walked into the dead garden area. As she did, she immediately noticed that there was some new growth in the garden which hadn't been there before when she last went here with her best friend Kimberly. Interesting.

Roselin sat down on a stone bench that had dead vines wrapped around the legs of the bench. She paused her music and turned it off and put the Ipod in her short's pocket. She looked around her, the warm rising sun gave a warm, summery orange glow about everything. She breathed in and sighed out with a smile and listened to the birds that she could actually hear now. The last time she had been here had been with her friend, this was her first time since. Roselin began to hum a little happy tune as she sat there pleasantly, looking at the overwhelming and large manor. She still had yet to go in there. Even though she promised herself that she would some day. Maybe soon... maybe today if she had the courage. Well... she had the courage now! She still wanted to see a ghost for the first time. But for just a bit now, she was content sitting there in the cool morning breeze. Though, it would have been nice if there was someone to converse with or be with right now.

[Erik Lenoir]

Erik had come out in the garden very early this lovely Saturday morning. The cool breeze was light and played with the ends of his long black cape. He pulled his fedora down over his eyes to keep out the sun which was not bad in the morning, but still bothered his eyes a bit. The birds were singing quite merrily. He had wished to see what the ladies had done with the garden. The cultured plants had all been dead and the only thing growing had been the massive weeds overcoming everything. Thistles especially had been everywhere and they could stab a person with their long sharp and needle thin spines.

As he walked about, he noticed much of it had been cleared away and that there was even a path made through part of the gardens, of white stones. He passed the stone bench where he had first met Christine Emilie and spoken with her at the Manor. There were rose bushes about to burst into blooms any day now. Red, white, pink, yellow...they came in every colour, although his favourite was red. Beautiful, smelling the sweetest of any of the roses and it signified love. He passed the place where the ladies had planted some daffodills, hyacinth and jonquils. They were just coming up and the bleeding hearts were already there, their tiny pink hearts signifying sorrow. The fleur de lis would be blooming soon, and fill the garden with their fresh fragrance.

Erik moved away from the bench and the path and wandered about in back of the mansion, near the greenhouse. Some of the plants in the greenhouse had been touched too. Not everything, but he could see that someone had been giving the plants care.

Erik came around again, to the side of the mansion and as he turned the path to go to the front of the building again, he heard birds singing. Then he saw someone sitting on the stone bench, dressed very strangely. It was a blonde girl, a child really. From a distance she looked very young. As he approached he could see her clothing was odd, similar to that which he had seen on some of the people in the village. A villager? Here? He didn't think anyone would want to come here. He knew the mansion had the reputation of being haunted. And it probably was, from some of his experiences.

Erik's footfalls made no noise as he walked slowly on the white stone path. He kept gazing at the child as he approached. She was small and thin and rather pretty. As he came closer, Erik said, "Bon matin, Mademoiselle..." He took off his hat with a flourish and bowed slightly. "Comment ça vas?"

[Roselin A. Soulle]

Roselin was enjoying listening to the birds happily chirping about her and the wonderful smell of the new blooming flowers around her. Even though it was semi-lonely. But she was getting use to it. She had to get use to it since she was the outcast at her school. Her teachers thought her a very bright and outstanding student. But to her class mates... she was just the girl who talked to much.

As she sat there wondering if she should have brought her hat or not, suddenly a voice reached her ears. She twisted her top half around to look at who had been speaking to her though the voice had been slightly... familiar. Her eyes widened and her mouth slightly went ajar as man bowed down, taking of his hat and bowing to her. She hadn't seen his face in time before he bowed down but she had seen the mask. She took a quick moment to think about the voice and try to place it with all the other masked men she had seen.... on t.v. or the computer of course.

No... it couldn't be! "Uh.... Bon matin... Monsieur...."She spoke back to him, repeating the first few words he had spoken to her. She didn't understand the last few words he he had said... making her very much wish that she had learned French! For one of the rare times in her life... she felt slightly speechless. There was a masked man.... with a hat..... and cape.... and mask greeting her in French! And the man resembled greatly the Michel Crawford version from Andrew Loyd Webber's stage version of Phantom of the Opera! Now either this guy was a great look alike or.... no it couldn't really be Michel Crawford, this guy looked much more young then he would now! And this guy was in costume! What for though?

"I am... I am Roselin Autumn Soulle... but you could just call me Roselin. You do speak English right? I don't really speak any other languages... or at least not at all fluently. I learned very little of French though... but not enough to converse.... um yeah. Hi. She spoke, luckily clearly and not all that fast. Already her social butterfly was showing from her already quite long greeting. Then after a moment of pause from her, she began her long franchise of questions. "So whats your name? You seriously look like Michel Crawford when he was younger! Which is actually quite funny because when he was younger he did the Phantom of the Opera which you resemble greatly of. Why are you as the Phantom of the Opera anyways? You look so awesome though! Are you Michel Crawford's look alike or something? I didn't know any famous people would come here or anything. Oh my gosh I am probably talking to much already, I am so sorry.... um yeah... but really. Whats your name?" She spoke fairly quickly but finally the last question was slow and very easy to understand. She had a bright smile across her face, though at the moment, it looked more like an embarrassed smile and her eyes were wide as he looked at him with much curiosity.

[Erik Lenoir]

Erik had only time to speak those first few words when the blonde girl started in with a barrage of her own, most of what did not make any sense to Erik. When she finally stopped speaking, he was confused. "I can speak English, my dear. I see that your French is a bit lacking. Well, no matter. I just asked you how you were..." His voice was a pleasing tenor and his English had a decidedly British flavour to it, with only the trace of a French accent.

"Your name is Roselin...a lovely name. And my name is Erik. Who did you say I resembled? Someone named Michael Crawford? I don't know who that is, my dear. I can't imagine that I resemble anyone, really." The girl didn't seem to be put off at all by his looks, mask or the way he was dressed. He had had that same reaction in the village, he realized. Perhaps he resembled someone else. But how could he? It was impossible.

"And what are you saying...this person did the Phantom of the Opera...what are you talking about?" Then Erik thought about the play that he and Christine had seen in the village and he started to blush. This Crawford person she was speaking about, must be an actor and since that play, that awful play that talked about all the secrets of his life and Christine's life....it must be someone familiar with the play...

"That play...you've seen that play that the school put on in the village...the one that..." Oh lord, he thought, must I go into this with this child? "And I look like a younger version of someone...you must have seen that play one too many times," said Erik. He was beginning to get irritated with the girl, although he didn't really understand much of what she was saying. Yes, he understood the English words and what they meant, but he didn't understand her whole point.

"Roselin," he said carefully. "Why are you here? It's a way from the village. I've been there... is that where you're from?" The girl's questions annoyed Erik a bit, but the fact that she thought he was "awesome" was interesting, and the fact that she thought him someone "famous." "May I sit next to you, Roselin?" he asked. "Now tell me about yourself and why you came here..." Awesome was all right, but famous, not really...

[Roselin A. Soulle]

Roselin nearly squealed when he said that he could speak English was only ever so slightly offended that her French was lacking, but it was true and she had admitted it herself. He then had called her name lovely. His voice resembled so much of the Phantom's voice, it made her want to giggle with glee! Oh what a stupid fan girl she was, but she couldn't help it.

She then nearly gasped when he spoke that his name was Erik! What a coincidence. She nodded to confirm that it Michael Crawford she had associated him with. She nearly gasped again when he said that he didn't know who that was, and that he couldn't imagine resembling him or anyone. Suppose that it was possible that people went about their lives not knowing certain actors and such and yet greatly resembling them, but still, it quite astounded her! Oh and when he had called her 'my dear', she blushed ever so slightly, having never been called that. What a gentleman!

He then started to talk about the Phantom of the Opera... about Mr. Crawford preforming it and of him looking much like his younger self. Roselin nearly laughed when he had said that she must have seen the play one too many times. It was nearly true, though she never had seen it in person since Michael Crawford preformed Phantom of the Opera before she was even born, but she had seen other people preform it and only on the internet on her laptop. Then when.... Erik... said her name, she gave him her full attention. Why was she here, he had asked. He then asked to sit next to her and she thought her heart was nearly going to burst! She nodded and scooted over slightly to let him sit down. He then asked her and her reason for being here.

She began to talk once more, a bit more calmly, though she didn't feel at all more calm. This was the best adventure she had ever had in ages! And the fun had just only started too! "Its nice to meet you Erik. And yeah, Michael Crawford is a performer who did Phantom of the Opera. Its a stage performance that's been going on for about the past twenty five years. Though there have been tons other versions as well. And no.. sadly I didn't go see the play my school put on. I wanted to be in it but... sadly I didn't get the part I wanted so I couldn't be in it. And yes, I probably have seen the play one too many times." She laughed a bit and smiled brightly then went on. "And yeah, I came from the village. I was born there. I am kind of surprised my school put on that performance actually, I didn't think they would find someone to be able to play Erik well enough." She laughed again then went back on track before she drifted off to far again.

"I am here because me and my friend, Kimberly, use to come here. We actually use to visit the manor a lot but we never knew anyone lived here or anything. In fact, when we did, the news was of because the owner had died. Me and my friend use to just hang out her and talk and stuff, though we never actually have gone inside. I bet it's really neat inside though. Anyway, I came here just to sort of relax and stuff. The last time I came here was with my friend but at the beginning of the month she moved away... so now I don't really have much to do this summer but hang out and stuff. I hope I am not bothering anyone by being here..." She spoke looking hopeful to the masked man. Roselin did sound rather calm on the outside but on the inside, she was going absolutely bonkers! How many phangirl's get to have a man named Erik, dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, ask them to sit down next to them and actually converse with them?!

[Erik Lenoir]

Erik was both delighted and puzzled at the girl who seemed so enthusiastic and unafraid of him. She seemed to know about the Phantom of the Opera play. In fact she said she had wanted to be in the play. That was certainly a strange thing to say.

Erik didn't really want to talk about that play, about the frightening fact that so many of his secrets were known and now being told in story and song...where? Only this village? Erik wondered.

Erik wasn't interested in this Crawford fellow, probably someone who had acted in this play about Erik's life. What was astonishing was that Roselin claimed that the play had been going on for twenty-five years! That made no sense, for the events had taken place only in the last year of Erik's life. Then he remembered the village. They claimed to be living in the year 2012. Was that even possible? But when he considered the strange dress of the people, the futuristic carriages, the odd appliances as in the kitchen, he couldn't help but wonder if it might be true.

Then Roselin said there were other versions...what could that possibly mean? "Other versions? What do you mean? Other versions of my story? I assume, considering that you have seen the play or at least know what it concerns, that you know about this..." Erik pointed to his mask. "And why I wear it..." He was very confused that the girl was not afraid. Even his own mother had been afraid when she looked upon his as a child...

One odd thing was that this little girl seemed to know more about what had gone on in the mansion than any of the people who lived here, including himself. "Roselin, can you tell me anything about the mansion itself or its former owner? I have been trying to find out information for months, and so far have only learned a few stray facts. What can you tell me about this person who owned it?"

Then on a whim, Erik decided to invite her inside to see the place. It seemed she had only seen the outside. "Would you care to come inside with me? I can show you a few rooms, if you really want to see..."

Roselin seemed so pleased just to be talking with Erik. It was a decidedly different experience for him.

[Roselin A. Soulle]

Roselin looked at Erik as he had questioned about the other versions. He then went on about her know about his mask and why he wares it. Yes, she knew why the Phantom wore a mask and what it hid. And he had said 'other versions of my story', did he really think he was the phantom? Though, he really did look exactly like him from the stage version... but it was just a play, right? Roselin was gullible but was she that gullible?

She had nodded though, to confirm that she did know why he wore his mask. Many people did. Especially phangirls like herself. He then asked if she knew anything of the former owner and that he had been trying to find out for... months? Did that mean that there was a guy dressed up as the Phantom of the Opera running around here... for months? And she never knew?! How was this even possible? He then... asked her if he would like to go inside with him! And even show her a few rooms! Usually, she shouldn't or wouldn't go inside strange places she had never been in before with men that she didn't know but... she couldn't let up this opportunity!

Roselin smiled widely, nearly from ear to ear! "I would love to go inside!" She said quite excitedly. If this guy... Erik really had been around here for months, imagine the tour around the place she could get! Though, she wouldn't push it, it was just great enough that she got to go inside at all! Surely if any other phangirl or even her best friend knew about this adventure she was having, they would surly all be jealous! And surely going into the manor that is claimed to be haunted with a man who is dressed as a character who himself is haunting as he is called the phantom wouldn't be anything like going into a van for some candy from an old guy, right? Roselin began to talk, as she does almost all the time when around people.

"No one really knew much about the owner I think, at least not many. I think the guy didn't really come out at all, I never saw him myself. Before not to long ago, I didn't think anyone had been living in the place for over a hundred years. But I guess I was wrong, nothing new." She laughed slightly then went on. "I think some people thought he was hiding something... I heard a rumor some time ago that he was building something here and adding onto the manor because supposedly a group of kids saw him driving to the manor with a bunch of building stuff in his car like tons of rugs and wood and stuff. Most of the stuff I know about the guy is from roomers. Guess the guy kept to himself pretty well. I think its possible that he may have started the roomers that the manor is haunted, though I guess the looks of this place could have done it too. But that roomer is probably older than me, everyone has been thinking that its haunted since before I was even born."

Roselin then paused and thought a moment. "And about those other versions... about Phantom of the Opera.... their not all exactly of....your story.... though there is a movie that is.... but a lot of the other versions are more of their own stories and characters. They're all quite similar but most of them are really different. Some of them are way way way different, like dark grey to every vibrant color imaginable, different. But I like most of them anyways... though some of the versions are just so ridicules and bad that its not even funny. But most of them are pretty good." She spoke while still beaming from ear to ear as she rambled off about the Phantom of the Opera versions. Really, that was kind of just a short summery of her thoughts on the different versions. If she were to go into great detail, they would be there all day because she could go on and on and on about it. Though truth be told, she could go on and on and on about any subject that would be given to her. Its just in her nature to be since she was a talker.

[Erik Lenoir]

Roselin most definitely was talkative, to say the least. But she most definitely knew something that none of the others knew. First of all, she spoke of the different versions of Phantom of the Opera. Erik thought for a moment and it was really the same conclusion that he himself had come to when he had met other Eriks, Christines and Raouls. Perhaps it was true, but how could anyone know.. How could anyone know what Erik's life had been like? Even the other Eriks, with their similarities, did not know everything about himself.

Roselin seemed to know everything about the Phantom. It was uncanny. She said she knew what was under his mask. He could hardly believe that a child like she was would not be frightened by his face. It was too incredible. He led her through the garden and into the house. He meant to find out as much information as he could. She may be able to enlighten him, even though she rambled on about the different stories. Some of what she said did not make sense to Erik.

Erik took her down the long dusty corridors in the mansion and made several turns. He thought she might be hungry and so he walked toward the lovely dining room and the kitchen. He opened one of the carved wooden doors and held it for her. He watched her enter. This was an impressive room to see on one's first foray into the mansion. Done in shades of green, it had a fresh, clean feel to it, even though it was Victorian and as such, had many objects within its walls. The green marble fireplace was impressive, as were the matching winged chairs and settee done in brocades, and the Oriental rug with its shades of green and pink. The wallpaper matched. There was a china cabinet, an upright piano and a long case clock in the room,. The crystal chandliers sparkled. It was electrified, but the tulip shaped sconces on the wall were still gas lights. Lovely springlike paintings graced the walls. The most obvious piece of furniture was a large carved wooden table covered with a lace table cloth. A candlabra sat in the middle of the table.

Erik pulled out a chair for Roselin. "Are you hungry?" he asked. I can get you something to eat. There is plenty in the kitchen."
He stood for a moment and said, "I wish to hear more about this fellow who owned the house. And more about your village. And I must know everything that you know about me...

[Roselin A. Soulle]

Roselin was entranced by the beauty inside the manor, sure it was pretty dusty, but it was still quite pretty compared to normal houses and buildings she had been in. And she was so excited that she got to be in the place that no one in town were brave enough to go in! People always said that they had walked by and stuff but not even half of them knew that there was a garden like she knew.

Erik then had taken her to a dining room. Her face lit up more than it had been before as her mouth gaped open slightly and she stared in awe at the beautiful dining room. It was ten times better than the boring dining room in her house which was just a plain, wooden, rectangular table with a few chairs around it and the room painted a dull yellow with grey tile floor and a few windows. But this room... this room was wonderful with a great Victorian theme with chandeliers and a piano and a fireplace! She took great delight in being in the room.

Roselin smiled as he pulled out a chair for her and had asked if she was hungry. He was quite a gentlemen, she thought, one of the things on her list that she wanted for her future love of her life. Not that this guy was the love of her life, even though it was awesome that he looked like the stage version of Phantom of the Opera, he was much to old for her. "Thank you," She mumbled slightly as took a seat in the chair he had pulled out for her. "I am not all that hungry but it would be great if I could have a glass of orange juice if you have any or water, thank you." She spoke politely to him. It was very nice of him to have offered, however, she had eaten breakfast before she left but the walk here did make her a little thirsty.

Erik had then spoke about wanting to hear more on the owner of the house and of the village. And then there was a sudden glint in her eyes as he said that he must know everything she knew about him. Everything she knew about his version of Phantom of the Opera eh? "Sorry but I don't really know more about the guy who owned the house. Most of it was just rumors that I had heard. Though I do know that the person had owned the place for a very long time, don't know how long though. And about my village? Well there really isn't anything special about it. Just kind of your average town I suppose. Though I guess our town isn't quite up to date as other towns are. But its pretty nice here anyways. The internet isn't all that great either. None of us really have greatly updated stuff, though I do have my Ipod though its not all that of a big deal to have any more. And not many, if any, famous people come here."

Roselin then paused for a moment, everything she knew about his Phantom of the Opera.... where could she begin? "Well, I know that in your version, you were in some sort of freak show thing when you were younger and they treated you really horribly. Then I think you had killed the guy there because you probably finally got so fed up with all the abuse and stuff. Madam Giry was there and she too was younger, and had helped you escape to the opera house. Your an architect as well as a musician as well. And then as you grew older and stuff, Christine also came to the opera there as well since her father had died. She became the ballet girl and sometime during that time, you had started to give her lessons, though I don't think the play ever said when or how. And then once you guys had become grown ups and stuff, she finally had her chance to sing after Carlotta was nearly killed by a falling back drop, though she kind of deserved it because she can't sing when she so very clearly thought that she could, and got to sing 'Think of Me'. I think it was a very pretty song." She added.

"Then afterwards you kidnapped her and took her to your awesome domain full of candles and stuff. Then during her stay there, curiosity got the best of her, as it does often to me though I would never do such a thing, and ripped off your mask. Though really, your face isn't all that bad, but in the play you freaked out pretty badly. Oh sorry... you didn't really ask me about the play but more what about I know of you. Really, I could say all that happened in the play, I memorized it pretty well. Well, I kind of know it inside and out. I know that your character is a very misunderstood person by all the other people in the play. You had also called yourself a demon and stuff, but really, I think the phantom is great and if people would have just been better to him and weren't so scared of him, he would have been a pretty open and friendly guy. In this time period, anyone who knows the Phantom of the Opera versions like I do, most of them absolutely love Erik. I think he's the best character out of all of them too. I mean.... your the architect, the magician, and the musician! A genius too. And you had to hide... under the opera house.... hidden from people.... I don't think its right that he had to of though. If only people would see the personality and talents of a person rather than their appearance." Roselin spoke a bit irritatedly with her last few words.

Roselin didn't really realize that she had been talking so much and as she did, she couldn't make up her mind from saying him, to you, to the character. But she stopped with those last few words though surely if he had asked her to, she could continue and if Erik asked, she could summarize the whole play for him! Which she had started to do anyways on accident. And she could even took up the whole day talking about the other versions as well. She also knew the movie a bit better than she did the play, so she had hoped that after she finished speaking that she hadn't mixed anything up between the two, even though they were mostly the same, there were things that were slightly different and she didn't wish to get any of it confused together at all. Roselin absolutely hated when she accidentally got different versions mixed up. Though she did her best to keep them all separated and orderly in her head. She would have included things like the fact that he had written Don Juan Triumphant and had preformed it with Christine after killing Piangi. But she thought that him being a composer would go into him being a musician and that Don Juan Triumphant was a given with the performance of the stage version and in the movie version. As Roselin had sat there and talked and talked and talked, she sat with her back strait, her fingers slightly drumming against the top of her thy with one of her hands while using the other to move about her while she talked, and swung her legs back and forth like most kids do.

[Erik Lenoir]

Oddly, this little girl seemed to know quite a bit more than many of the other inhabitants of the mansion did. A villager...it was too bad that when the young Vicomte and Erik had taken a walk to the village that it had ended so badly for Erik. He had gone there tnot only o see what it was like, but also to speak to any of the villagers who could give him information.

And now here was a villager, a child really, but she seemed to know so much about him personally that it was eerie. Yet, she knew other things that were important too, about the house and it's former owner, although she did not have too much information about it really. And she tended to ramble on...

She seemed excited to be in the mansion and indeed, in Erik's presence, which he felt was undoubtedly strange. And she mentioned other versions of Phantom of the Opera. It sounded odd to Erik, and yet, it made a bit of sense. Why was there a proliferation of Eriks, Christines and Raouls in the mansion, not to mention Megs and Carlottas? Indeed there was something to different versions except that Erik hadn't yet found out what it was. But he would of course, in time.

Roselin seemed quite taken with t he dining room adn Erik was pleased. He liked the room quite a bit himself. He pulled the chair out for Roselin and she seemed quite delighted. She only asked for a glass of orange juice or water. "Let me find you some juice, Roselin. I will bring it here, are you sure you don't want anything else?:" He entered the kitchen and poured the juice, then checked the icebox which usually had some new delight in it every day. He saw ice cream in the freezer and was interested to see it in a round container claiming it was chocolate s'mores, whatever that was. He dished some of the treat out and brought it back to Roselin with the juice.

Roselin then told him she didn't know anymore about the "guy who owned the house." She said that there wasn't much else she knew then what she had already said. She said though, that the man who owned the house had owned it for a very long time. She said she knew rumours, that was all. "What type of rumours, my dear? " asked Erik.

And Roselin gave him a barrage of words, and using some very odd words. What does internet mean, my dear? Or an ipod? I have never heard those words..."

Then as Roselin began to speak about Erik's version of Phantom of the Opera, he listened with amazement. He began to blush when she spoke of the freak show. He hated it when anyone even ssaid the wrod in reference to him, balthough of couse, this was different. The girl was certainly not calling him a freak by any means.But still the blood rushed to his face. She spoke of Giry, and Carlotta, and that Erik was an architect and musician. The she mentioned Christine, the ballet girl and Erik could stand it no longer. When Roselin said that he had kidnapped Christine, he arose from the chair in a bit of anger. "Kidnapped?" he repeated, but then sat down again, realizinga that the child had nothing to do with this...it must be common opinion that the villagers thought that Erik may have kidnapped Christine. He supposed it was the perception of it...and she mentioned the mask, and that she had seen under it.

"You weren't afraid when you saw my face unmasked, Roselin?" asked Erik, amazed. "I can hardly believe it... you think the Phantom is great? Great?" Erik blinked, in confusion. Roselin called Erik a genius and she seemed to feel bad that Erik had to live underneath the opear houe. She was very sympathetic. He had rarely met anyone sympathetic...she said that people should see the personality and talents of a perason...

Erik was extremely surprised that this young girl would feel so kindly toward him. It was an amazing reaction, and from a child, no less. And she even mentioned him killing Piangi. "You know about Piangi?" asked Erik. "Don't tell anyone, please. It's not something I wish for others to know. It'was an accident..." said Erik, lying to the girl. He hoped she would believe him.

[Roselin A. Soulle]

Roselin's eyes grew wide when she saw the ice cream. And what was worse yet was that she could tell what kind it was, s'more! And even worse was that chocolate was her weakness! Though really, it was quite a few children's weakness as well. She bit her lip some, she had just ate breakfast and she had only asked for the juice. Oh how pathetically conflicted she could be over a simple sugary... yummy... treat.

Erik then asked her what rumors she had heard of. Roselin's mind raced with a billion rumors she had heard, though probably not even half of them were true. "Well, there are rumors that the person might have been building something or adding onto the manor a while back last year. Added stuff like really nice elevators and automatic lighting and stuff. The person must have been a technician or something at one point in their life. There was also once a rumor that the guy would go out in the middle of the night and steal young children and lock them in the basement and never open it back up again. Though that one I know for a fact, is a lie." She spoke confidently.

He had also asked what internet and Ipod meant. Her mouth went ever so slightly ajar. Yes, the phantom of the opera, if he were real, wouldn't know what either of those things either. "Well, the internet is just a world wide thing on the computer. You can log in information and stuff. Erm... its sort of hard to explain without you ever having been on it or anything... and as for an Ipod..." Roselin pulled out the blue and silver Ipod from her pocket and kind of held it out to him for him to see it. "I can listen to music and down load music from the internet and computer. I can also watch videos on it which I could also download from the internet and computer." Roselin said smiling. Yes, those were the three most important inventions in her life for the past five years. Ipod, computer, internet.

"Oh and don't worry about the Piangi thing. It's not something I would spread around anyways." Roselin smiled. Besides, anyone who has seen the Phantom of the opera on stage or in the 2004 movie from Andrew Loyd Webber would know that Erik killed Piangi. But no one really cared all that greatly, he wasn't a huge character in it or anything. "And no... I wasn't at all afraid when I saw your face unmasked. And yes, the Phantom is great." She smiled and laughed a bit. For some odd reason, she was enjoying his slight shock from hearing this. It was almost as if she were really telling the real Erik that he was awesome. And she loved the feeling! "I don't understand why Christine would even think about going of with Raoul. Is Raoul the amazing architect, musician, and genius? No, I don't think so. But, I guess that might just be me." She shrugged slightly. Well... her and every other Erik phangirl out there.

Then Roselin thought for a moment. "By the way.... I suppose your kind of right about that kidnap thing. I suppose you didn't really kidnap her. She went with you willingly.... even though she was kind of hypnotized to." She giggled a bit. Roselin was really enjoying conversing with Erik. It was almost like she was talking to the real thing from the play. And she thought of him as a kind of.... friend almost. Hes the only one since Kimberly that could listen to her talk so much. And he even listens to her ramble on about the Phantom of the Opera! Not many... in fact, she was sure that no one in her town would ever listen to her ramble on. Even more so about Phantom of the Opera. A big part of that too is because not many, if any of them, know so much about the different versions like she does. Oh how any phangirl would love to be in her shoes right now! Talking to a man named Erik who dresses, acts, and sounds much like the stage Erik. And of course, not literally in her shoes. Roselin was rather happy to be in the situation she was in.

[Erik Lenoir]

Roselin seemed extremely happy when Erik brought her the ice cream. It was more of a treat for children or teens. He couldn't quite figure out which one whe was. She looked so young and he had not much experience with children. He wondered why the ice cream was there. There were no children in the manor, at least he thought there weren't...

Roselin seemed as if she and her conscience were having a conflict over the ice cream. "Go ahead, my dear. Eat it. I won't tell anyone." He smiled. He was rather enjoying her, although she brought up all sorts of odd words and of course her unusual opinions on the Phantom story... He wondered if the odd words simply didn't translate into French...

The girl mentioned that someone had, of late, installed elevators and automatic lighting only last year. Erik nodded. He wondered when she said the man had a reputation of stealing children at night and locking them in the basement and keeping them there forever. She said she thought it was a lie. "How do you know it's a lie, Roselin? Do you have evidence?" She seemed so confident. But if the fellow had stolen children, and to what purpose, he didn't want to ask, perhaps his purpose had enlarged into bringing all of the newer inhanbitants into the mansion and keeping them...again, to what purpose?

The girl tried valiantly to explain to him what internet and ipod were, but failed miserably. If this were indeed the future, what were they teaching children? As she went on, her explanation added more unusual words and her definitions became extremely muddled in Erik's head. "Perhaps you can show me sometime, how these devices work, Roselin. Perhaps I shall understant better..." Erik didn't like it that such a young girl was experienced in some type of technology that he did not understand. Erik prided himself on his knowledge. Then the girl pulled a blue and silver, very tiny, gadget from her pocket. She stated that she listened to music on the device. "How is that possible?" said Erik in astonishment, as he looked from the odd little gadget to Roselin. This must be the future and the future was indeed strange!

Then Roselin mantioned that the Piangi thing was nothing to be worried about. In fact, everyone who had seen the stage play or the movie would know that Erik killed Piangi. Erik shuddered at the thought, then said, "You aren't put off by the fact that I killed someone?" Then he thought a moment." Then he thought a moment. "And what, my dear girl, is a movie?"

Then Roselin went into all the reasons that she felt Christine should have stayed with the Phantom. "You think Christine should have stayed with me? I am amazed! Why I just had a terrible fight several weeks ago with one of the de Chagnys...over Christine, it was! He was quite rude to me and threw..." here Erik gave Roselin a haughty look as if he were the one always in the right... "a few blows at me. Of course I threw some back...it wnded a bit badly..." Erik's voice trailed off, for he didn't want to explain and he had already said too much.

Erik paled to a lighter colour than his natural colour. She knew about the fact that he had hypnotized Christine! "Roselin, I had to do something...I wanted to speak to her alone...to sing to her...to have her sing to me...but I had to take her away from the things that weren't important, so she could see me, to hear my music and to be my music...." Erik was getting slightly carried away as he thought about Christine. He started making some graceful hand and arm gestures as he spoke, the gestures he had used to lure Christine to him, to his music, in her mesmerized state..." The he came back to reality and saw Roselin. "I am sure you understand what I mean..." he said, his words falling a bit flat at the end...

[Roselin A. Soulle]

Roselin smiled a bit when he told her to go ahead and that he wouldn't tell anyone. There was something just.... silly... about a man named Erik dressed up as the Phantom of the Opera, telling her she could eat some s'more ice cream. And though she had been telling herself that she shouldn't since it was still morning and she had just had breakfast, she gave into her childish cravings and began to enjoy the sweet treat.

He then had asked her how she knew that the rumor about him stealing children was a lie. "Actually, I do kind of have evidence. For as long as I can remember, the kids around here who disappear are usually found again because they were runaways. And as for the kids who were not found... I highly doubt the owner of this place would just randomly take them and kill them. What purpose would that serve? Especially if they seemed more busy on building and adding on to this place." Roselin was totally convinced that the guy hadn't kidnapped anyone, until there is someone that says that they have been, but she had yet to hear such a thing.

Roselin smiled and giggled slightly, noting that her explanation hadn't quite come out as well as she would have hoped. And she felt quite amused by his astonishment over her Ipod. "I am not greatly sure how it works, I have never taken the time to look into it." She muttered slightly. Roselin placed it on the table next to her ice cream, which she was already one third of a way finished. Erik then had asked that she hadn't been put off that he had killed someone and then had asked.... what was a movie?! His last question nearly made her jaw drop. Movies had been around for a looooong time. But suppose, since Erik was acting as the Phantom and in the Phantom's time, they had yet to create movies, his questions was pretty accurate.

"Well.... it was just the play I saw so it hadn't really happened. But no.... I in no way like or enjoy death or murders. Its just... kind of common knowledge that he... you... had killed him. Well, common knowledge to those whom have seen the play and stuff." She then paused for a moment. How was she going to explain what a movie was? "And a movie is... okay. Movies started out as black and white, silent films. They were colorless images taken very quickly with a movie camera. And when all the pictures were put together and played quickly, it made moving images and pictures called movies. But that was quite a long time ago. It developed into black and white, sound films which were much better quality since the movie cameras were able to take the pictures even more quickly, in fact, to the point were it is impossible to see one picture going to the next. The many of the black and white movies are considered classics."

"Then the black and white sound movies turned into technicolor movies, aka: colored movies. Which is what we have today. But even that's sort of changing now because people have come up with 3-D T.V.s. 3-D t.v is just three dimensional t.v. which means that some places of the images look like their popping out, though the really arn't. And there are these blue and red lens glasses that makes it look like its popping out of the screen. Though that's what they have kind of changed now. The glasses now have clear lens and like I said, they have made special t.v.s that go with the special glasses." Roselin paused for a moment. "And T.V.s are television sets which are square boxes that you can turn on and see the images play on." She added, just in case he was going to ask what a t.v. was. Roselin knew that she probably made that explanation a little more lengthy then it needed to be but she couldn't help it. She was never good at really summarizing things, her talkative nature wouldn't allow it. Plus, it was a bit difficult to try and explain what a movie was to someone who was playing a character that living in a time period before movies.

Roselin then smiled and laughed a bit when he said that he was amazed that she thought that Christine should have stayed with him. But then it was a bit odd when he had said that just a few weeks ago, he had fought with one of the de Chagnys over Christine. And then she watched as she could almost see his face turn even more pale then it had been before and listened as he tried to explain his mesmerizing Christine. And then his words ending with 'I am sure you understand what I mean'. Roselin was silent for a moment and then began to laugh. She couldn't help herself. "Oh de Chagnys, they are quite hard headed, no? And oh, I do understand. No need for an explanation." By this time, she had stopped laughing but she continued to smile widely. Roselin had no idea what he was talking about with Raoul. She wondered what he meant about one of the de Chagnys, was there more than one here? In fact, she hadn't been aware that there was one here at all! And truth be told, when Erik had began to make the gestures that would have lured and hypnotized Christine, he slightly was beginning to hypnotize Roselin herself! Just to see it be kind of copied exactly, and him dressed up and sounding like the Phantom, and it being kind of done to her, it was almost.... real like.

[Erik Lenoir]

Erik watched Roselin eating the ice cream and it gave him pleasure to see her enjoying it so much. He had not been around children much in his life, ,even as a child himself, and the ones he had encountered had been either frightened of him or made fun of him. This girl was so different; she actually liked him. It was all very odd, but enjoyable.

Of course the girl had no real evidence one way or another for the former mansion owner having stolen children and kept them locked up, possibly killing them. He didn't think she knew a real fact, mostly just hearsay, idle rumours. Erik knew about rumours all right. And he could do a bit of investigation in the cellar himself. However one point was interesting...

"You say they were constantly building and adding on to the mansion? That sounds as if it could very well be true, even now. I have seen rooms in places where there weren't any the day before and some of them change from being lovely and clean to being dilapidated and ruined in only a matter of hours, yea, even minutes."

Roselin could of course, not explain adequately the purpose of the gadget she called the Ipod or what she deemed movies, although, he had an idea of what movies might be. "Roselin...I think I know where some movies may be in the house...could I show you and you can tell me if that is what you deem movies? When you are finished with your ice cream of course."

Roselin's explanation of what movies were was extremely long and complicated and showed Erik that while she certainly knew what they were, she could hardly explain them. They seemed to have some history of which she seemed to have hardly a grasp, but it gave him some clues. The words she came up with were new and confusing to him, but he was determined to research them and find out as much as he could, since it apparently was something modern and a technology of which he had not heard. TV, movies, Ipod, DTV, special glasses for viewing, all these new terms ... he wished to understand them all.

When Roselin spoke of Christine, Erik's thoughts went back to her and he unconsciously imitated what he had done to her in the lair, forcing her to sing for him, trying to get her to leave everything behind for his kingdom of darkness...then Erik suddenly came back to reality and saw what he was doing to Roselin. He was mesmerizing her too, and without meaning to. She was obviously very open to suggestion. He wished that Christine had been so malleable...

"Roselin," he said quietly, "are you all right? I was hoping to show you some of the rooms in the mansion to see what you think. And I would like you to see these moving pictures also. I did not know what to think of them when I came upon them, actually my first day in the mansion."

[Roselin A. Soulle]

((If you can, tell Ciera that I made a new thread for her in the garden with Carriere? And tell everyone that I am sorry I haven't been able to chat on the chat box lately? My internet wont load that chat box anymore. Thank ya ^^))

Roselin was nearly done with her ice cream which she had been enjoying so much. She listened to him as he spoke of the adding onto the manor. And then oddly, he said that it was still being worked on. That wasn't something she had ever heard about. "Well that's strange... it couldn't be the last owner of this place who has made those recent changes though. Word was that they had died about the end of last year." Maybe they really hadn't died, she wondered.

Erik then had said that there were possibly some movies in the manor and that he could show them to her after she was finished with her ice cream. Oh she liked that idea very much! Oh how funny and ironic it would be if they watched Phantom of the Opera! Roselin finished up her delicious s'more ice cream. It had been a while since she had such a treat like that. Her father often didn't leave her enough money to get anything more than some dinner or lunch. Not enough for little treats such as the one she just had. She was also just finishing up her glass of nice, cool, orange juice when she had began to watch his hands more closely, bad mistake.

She put down her empty drinking glass on the table and felt like she had lost herself for a moment. There was something so real about all of it... so real that she had some how lost herself in it and for a moment, didn't even know she was herself. All she heard was his voice and all she saw was him. Roselin had never been mesmerized before, and it was quite the experience! Not that she knew at the moment that she was being hypnotized. He then had stopped and had spoken her name. For a moment, she hadn't even realized it. But then the mostly blank expression she had put on from being mesmerized disappeared and she had a bright smile on once more. "I am fine thanks... I would love to see some more rooms and to see the movies." She said happily.

For a moment, Roselin tried to remember what had just happened to her just moments ago. She remembered she had been watching his hands and listening to his voice. And then suddenly, mostly blackness and then still the echoing of his voice, and still being able to see his hand dance about. Then she realized... that had been what he had been doing to Christine. Her eyes then lit up and widened slightly with curiosity and wonder. How was it that this guy was able to do it, so easily just as the Phantom had? Was that how Christine had felt and it had been like when she had been mesmerized? Had Roselin really just been mesmerized by Erik? Was it possible that she was the only phangirl ever to be mesmerized by an Erik? That would be so cool! she thought. Then again, if one guy was able to learn how to mesmerize like the Phantom did, it probably wouldn't be to hard to find that other guys could mesmerize girls the same way too.