Only Madness Knows My Name (Claude Delacroix)

[Claude Delacroix]

So, she has feelings for two men? A lot like that Christine, he mused to himself. This was starting to get interesting. But for now, he had to keep up the charade. "Do not fret, my dear. I am sure the Lord is trying to tell you something. All you need to do is listen to your heart." He placed the palm of his right hand upon her chest, just above her cleavage.

All Claude did was listen to Teressa as she spoke about the two men in her life. He listened, then looked at her body, then listened some more... His mind was wandering and he pulled his hand away from her. "Just listen to your heart. It will guide you through this, my child."

[Teressa Lavalais]

"I certainly hope you're right, Monsieur Delacroix." Teressa smiled up at the man. She was no longer nervous around him, and she figured that the aura that she felt earlier must have been paranoia because of her previous experiences with men. Surely she had nothing to fear from Monsieur Delacroix.

"I have never dealt with this type of situation before...actually, I've never really fallen in love before, so this whole romantic thing is so foreign to me I can hardly keep up. I feel at some point, I am going to have to break either Monsieur Lenoir's or Monsieur Destler's heart, and I cannot bear to do that...Not after all they've both done for me..." Teressa pursed her lips. She was talking far too much, but he'd invited her to, hadn't he? Well, if she talked to the point of obnoxiousness, he'd stop her. "Although....I am hardly sure if Monsieur Lenoir even has feelings for me at all...But Monsieur Destler has already made his feelings QUITE clear. He's kissed me twice already; once, it was a complete surprise..."

[Claude Delacroix]

Claude could feel the air around them change. He knew she was becoming more comfortable with him around and that made things all the better. He could not help but think that now she was about to have THREE men falling for her.

....... Destler?! She was falling for HIS old servant?! Ha! This was too good to be true, he thought. A slight smirk crossed his face as he listened. Lenoir? Strange, he had not seen this man around the manor. Not yet, anyway. He quirked an eyebrow when she said that Destler had kissed her! It was hardly even possible for him to envision the very man he had cursed actually getting even that close to another woman's lips without her fainting.

[Teressa Lavalais]

"But you see, I just don't know what to do....I've never experienced anything even remotely romantic in my life and then suddenly, it's all thrust upon me one on top of the other...." Teressa sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm talking too much..."

She looked up at Delacroix. He had a little smirk on his face, but it was understandable. She probably looked quite comical in her distress. She sighed again, looking at the ground with a little shake of her head. "You must excuse me for my naiveté...I must seem a fool..."

[Claude Delacroix]

Claude stopped and took the girl by her hands, gently leading her to a bench a short ways away. "Sit, please," He said, gesturing towards the seat as he reclined back and looked at her. "And, no, you are not talking too much. In fact, I have no objection if you wish to continue on. I have no other obligations at the moment, so you may speak as freely as you wish."

He shook his head and gently raised a hand to caress her cheek. His nails gently scraped at her soft, warm flesh as he kept his eyes locked on hers. "No, no, my child. You are no more a fool than any other person in a situation such as your own. I only pr-..." He couldn't get the word out. It was such a task for him to even say it. "I only... Pray that you find some solace."

[Teressa Lavalais]

Teressa sat with Delacroix, turning to face him and brushing the last of her stray hairs out of her face. "Thank you Monsieur Delacroix. To be honest, I never thought that I'd be able to talk to anyone about this. It's truly a relief..." She grinned at him, flashing him her best smile. But then a new thought hit her and her smile faltered.

"Monsieur Delacroix...I believe that soon I shall have to make a choice between the two men who wish to court me...I don't know how I'll possibly make such a choice...Could you provide me with any guidance...?" She felt like a child, asking for help. She blushed, the red in her cheeks spreading across her face until it was visible beyond the cover of her domino mask.

[Claude Delacroix]

Claude watched as Teressa's beautiful smile started to fade a little. What was she thinking? "Something the matter, dear?" He asked. His thoughts of the girl prevented him from delving into her very mind. Why was this happening to him? It felt so strange. Could HE, the Devil, be-... Falling in love? No! It wasn't possible, was it? He shook his head to clear his mind.

"You say that monsieur Lenoir had not expressed feelings for you. And that the other man, this Destler, has done so. Does your heart guide you more towards one than the other? It seems that that is what you must consider, my child. Who do you want to be with more? Then, and only then, will you know which is the better suitor." He smiled and gently patted her hand. "Is there anything else you wish or shall I leave you to your dancing?"

[Teressa Lavalais]

"To be honest, Monsieur Delacroix, I can hardly think with this sort of situation going on." Teressa watched his hands as he consoled her. Funny, how such a simple gesture could make her feel so much better. She appreciated the contact...his hands were warm, so different from Erik's...She liked the feeling. It made her feel more human. When he mentioned leaving, Teressa looked back up at him.

"You're leaving already?" She had a bit of a pout in her face. She didn't really want him to leave, she finally had someone to talk to who was actually doing something constructive and giving her advice! But if he had to go...if he had to go she wouldn't object.

[Claude Delacroix]

"I understand, dear," Claude said soothingly, hoping his slightly sympathetic tone would calm her even more. He tried to make sure his hands were warm, not their usual deathly cold. His nails still scraped at her hands slightly, but not so much as to hurt her… He didn't seem to want to harm Teressa. In fact, his original thought of causing her tortuous agony had completely vanished. There was something about her, something that drew him towards her even more. He wanted to hold her close, embrace her, even… Kiss her.

He paused, a tinge of that same something stirred again inside him and he turned back towards her. She didn't want him to leave? Most who had met him seemed as though they could not wait for him to go, to be rid of him. But she wanted him to stay here? With her in the ballroom? "N-No," He stammered. "If you wish, I can stay." He was quite taken aback but tried not to seem so surprised- though he was. Quite surprised.

[Teressa Lavalais]

Teressa smiled with a little bit of triumph. He'd stay. Perhaps he'd distract her while she worked out her warm-ups? Good...she hated stretches, they were so boring. Slipping her hands from his, she returned to the centre of the ballroom and turned to him.

"So, Monsieur Delacroix, where do you work? I don't believe you said." Teressa lowered into a split and worked on her arms, pushing first the left arm behind her head, then the right. She had to be perfectly spry and flexible to do the routines the Shah loved so much, and these exercises were a;ways necessary.

"I'm a dancer for the Shah of Persia...although, I suppose you could already tell?" She laughed, a rare thing for her in this place. She hadn't laughed since she'd found Erik again. That was a couple of months ago..."It's been a few months, he'll be livid with me unless I come up with a routine more spectacular than anything he's seen from me."

[Claude Delacroix]

The thing smiled back at her. And for once it was a genuine smile, not his usual trickster grin or smirk of sadistic delight. But a real smile. Claude moved back when Teressa let go of his hands to start her stretches. He leaned back against the wall, his hands in his pockets as he watched.

"Nowhere. Well, not exactly." He tried to dodge the question as he watched her stretch. Gracious, was she flexible! He raised one eyebrow as she watched her effortlessly slide into a split, twisting her arms as she stretched and flexed her joints. "… I go from place to place and help many along the way. I do not really belong to any 'church', so to speak but I do perform ceremonies and the like."

It suddenly occurred to him that he was no longer speaking in his multiple perspective; why was that? It must have to do with this enchanting woman, it had to. What other explanation could it be? But why was this happening so suddenly to him? Could she be bringing out his angelic side, that part of him he thought had burned when he had been cast into the depths of Hell? Was she bringing him out of that darkness?

[Teressa Lavalais]

"How long have you been a priest?" Teressa bent forward and placed her hands on the floor, sliding her legs up and supporting her weight on her fingertips. She pushed herself into a handstand, then spread out her fingers. Suddenly she lifted one hand and spread her legs out a little. The cloth of the skirt that had been clinging to her skin didn't cling to her anymore, and it slipped down her legs to drape over her.

She lowered herself back to one hand and into a back bend, then slid into a laying position on the floor, lifting her legs one after the other and flexing her toes. Teressa looked over at Claude with a little smile.

[Claude Delacroix]

"Oh, for a while. It's been tiring. I would like to retire but, alas, it will be many, many years before-… That… Will….." His voice trailed off as he watched Teressa. His eyes nearly glazed over as he watched the lovely girl bend and contort herself, standing on her hands and moving about with the most delicate and graceful movements… She was the most stunning woman Claude had ever seen.

He was a bit taken aback by the smile Teressa gave him. It was a genuine bit of kindness anyone had ever shown him. He was the Devil after all, but he dared not tell this lovely woman that. To his own surprise, he did not wish to frighten her at all.

[Teressa Lavalais]

Teressa flipped around and pushed herself to her feet before starting her stretches again. "You can retire from being a priest? Interesting." She looked up at her hands, which snaked through the air as she went. Then, taking a run, she jumped into the air and pirouetted as fast and high as she could. It was utter elation, like she was flying. It always made her happier to hear the rush of air past her head. To know that she was gracefully flying through the air, free from the limitations of gravity.

She laughed as she flew across the floor and through the air. It was always wonderful. Without a partner, she'd learned to throw herself far across her dance floor. Then, in a whirl, she was out of the air and on the ground again, stretching her legs while she turned to listen to Monsieur Delacroix.

[Claude Delacroix]

'Take here, taste her! Taste her, take her, master!
She is fresh, she is ripe, she is beautiful! Bring us her stomach!
Bring us her blood!
Bring us her heart!

Claude groaned and shook his head as he desperately tried to clear away the voices of the manor. He enjoyed their presence but not here, not now! He felt no ill will towards Teressa and he wished to keep it that way! He growled softly and bared his teeth in a hiss of pain. "She is ours!" He hissed softly back to the demons. He had to keep them in line; he was THEIR master, after all, and he had to hold back the monsters from doing more harm than they were allowed. "She will be ours! We shall not harm her, and she shall not be sacrificed for our sake should we have anything to do with it!"

"Forgive us, master.
Forgive us,
Forgive us,
We did not know.
Yes, our lord.
Yes, yes, forgive us."