To Those Without Pity

"I was talking about…what: coming to the end of it; yes. So. There it is. You asked, after all. That's the happiest moment. When it's all done. When we stop. When we can stop." -Edward Albee, "Three Tall Women"

"We, the jury, find the defendant guilty," he said in a clear tone, and Christine felt her heart stop dead in her chest. All breath had left her and her body began to tremble as the consequences of these words began to hit her. Still, she had to force herself to listen as the juror began to speak, pushing aside the murmurs of the spectators that enveloped her.

"Guilty of murdering the Viscount de Chagny in self defense," he continued on, but the words were of little comfort. "And on the charges regarding the kidnapping of Christine Daaé, we find the defendant not guilty." At this, she tried to look at Erik, but his face was turned full away from her. As usual, his body revealed nothing.

The court fell under a spell of stillness as the juror sat down, all waiting to hear the official sentence. "I sentence the defendant to lifetime imprisonment, as befits his crime," the judge said evenly, and Christine's mouth went dry. For the first time, she looked to Philippe, who had lost a bit of his steam. He looked quietly pleased, nevertheless, for a lessened victory was still better than a defeat. He seemed to feel her gaze, for his eyes flickered towards hers chillingly, a vindictive smile playing on his lips. Without a second thought, she forced herself to look away, unwilling to betray her misery.

She forgot about Chagny the moment Erik stood up, though. He had spent the entire trial avoiding her glances and looking purposefully away from her, but his eyes were undeniably on her now. He didn't appear frightened or even upset, but there was something significant in his stare. It wasn't a reassuring expression, or even a plead for forgiveness, and for several moments she could not pinpoint what he was trying to tell her. But then, for a fleeting second at most, his eyes seemed to say that this was not the end. They told her to wait for him, and that there was hope to be had. But the expression had disappeared quicker than it had emerged, and she was left wondering whether her eyes had merely played tricks on her.

And then he was gone—out the door in handcuffs— and Nadir was approaching her with a despondent look on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Christine," he told her as people began to stand and make their way out. The room was a flutter of murmurs, each person more shocked than the next at hearing the outcome, but she focused intentionally on Nadir. "I thought for sure—…"

"You mustn't worry," Christine said, and she found herself shocked at the calmness of her voice. Her heart was beating out of her chest, after all, and her mind was racing with doubts. And yet her words made his face relax slightly, and she mustered a small smile.

"You're right," he said slowly. "It is fortunate that he is not being put to death. And we can try to overturn the decision as soon as—…" he continued on quickly, but she held up a hand.

"No," she said with a slow shake of her head. "Everything will be fine." And before she knew what she was doing, her feet were leading her out of the courtroom and out into the night. She felt Nadir follow after a moment, and she led him outside where a crowd had gathered to watch the prisoner's carriage roll away. She could see Erik's shadow within the carriage, and she felt her heart drop as uncertainties ate away at her once again. But when his golden eyes turned and created pinpricks of light within the carriage, it all seemed to make sense.

This is not the end. Wait for me. There is hope to be had.

"What do you mean, he escaped?" I ignored Philippe's words and looked pensively at Prideux, truly bewildered by the entire situation. Surely this wasn't Erik's master plan, for if he had "escaped," Philippe would simply hunt him down once again and indict him for running from the law.

"Apparently the guard didn't notice his absence until they reached the jail," Prideux began, but Philippe scoffed loudly.

"You're telling me the guard who was in the carriage with him didn't notice his absence?" he demanded, his eyes flashing with a relentless rage.

"Monsieur de Chagny, if you would shut your mouth and listen for a moment, you would realize that this is not as bad as you think it is," Prideux snapped in aggravation, and Philippe laughed condescendingly.

"How could this possibly—" he began, but Prideux spoke over him before he could get far.

"He was found, dead." My breath stopped at this, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Philippe gaping at Prideux in shock. "We sent the dogs after him, and he went into the river in order to get them off his scent. He must have drowned, because we found his body washed up on the riverbank this morning." At this point, Prideux looked at me and I attempted to regain my composure. "I would like you to come and identify the body."

"I am coming as well," Philippe demanded, and we both looked at him suddenly.

"Very well," Prideux spoke quietly, and he led us down to the coroner's office. I didn't notice how my body was shaking until I was forced to trek down the stairs, where I had to grab the railing in order to steady myself. Erik had survived every trial that life had thrown at him, both physical and mental, and yet he was defeated by a river? The thought made me sick, for I had always imagined a more noble death for someone like him.

I almost couldn't look when Prideux pulled back the sheet that shrouded the corpse, but I could feel his eyes on me. And so despite my state, I looked down boldly and took in the man on the table before me. But when I saw him, I couldn't hide the brief confusion on my face, and my head snapped up to Prideux. His eyes were boring into mine, and I could see Philippe looking rapidly between us.

"Is this Erik?" Prideux asked evenly, and I looked back down again, my lips pressed together tightly.

"It is," I replied, willing my voice to reveal nothing.

"How do you know for sure?" Philippe demanded, and Prideux turned to him, curiosity of his own written in his features. "He's so bloated with the water—you can barely tell it's a human!"

It was true. Each limb had blown up like a balloon, yet there was no mistaking his marred face. But while Philippe might never notice, I certainly saw that the injury that afflicted this man's face was far too new. Perhaps he had been burned within the last few hours, maybe a day ago, but it appeared far from weathered.

"I would never mistake Erik," I told Philippe firmly, but he looked utterly unconvinced.

"You think I'd trust someone like you? I demand that we send out a search party!" he yelled out to Prideux pointedly.

"Monsieur de Chagny," he replied coldly, his eyes narrowing on the Count with malice. "I will not waste one more minute of my time on this case. I have his body before you, and if you do not believe it, then I can do nothing more for you." Philippe opened his mouth once more, but Prideux wouldn't allow him to speak. "And if I find out that you have attempted to act independently without the prior sanction of the Préfecture de Police, I will indict you for obstructing justice." He paused at this, his eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly. "Not to mention that you will personally piss me the hell off."

Philippe didn't respond at first, but after several moments, he turned and marched back up the stairs in a huff. When we heard the door slam at the top of the stairs, Prideux slowly pulled the sheet back over the body without a word. He raised his eyes to mine, and we stared at each other for a few moments; I wanted to thank him, or at least acknowledge his deed, but before I could, he nodded solemnly and followed Philippe up the stairs. Yes, there didn't seem to be a need to state the obvious fact that resounded between us.

For we both knew that the man underneath the sheet was not Erik.

I did not go to the house immediately, knowing that Philippe was almost certainly watching my every move. I didn't think the Count would take action, truly, for I believe he knew that there was no hope of winning. After all, each of his prior resources had disappeared, and now Erik could, quite literally, be anywhere in the world. Yes, even he seemed to see the futility in going after someone who could so easily disappear into thin air.

After a month or so had passed and Philippe had made no move to find Erik, I found myself a carriage and made the trek back to Boscherville. The trip seemed so very familiar, and as the carriage rolled to a stop at the top of the gravel driveway, it seemed too easy to imagine the two of them within the house. Perhaps they were making music together or enjoying a quiet lunch, or perhaps they were strolling outside. But when I came up to the door, such thoughts flew my mind.

There, gripped between the frame and the door, sat a folded note. I felt myself smile instinctively before I had even touched it, for it was so very like him to leave me one of his notes. Still, I couldn't control my shaking hand as I reached for it and tugged it from the door's grasp. And there was his messy scrawl, so extraordinarily familiar to my eyes, and all at once, relief spread through my veins.

My friend,

I hope that you are free of your reasonable doubt. I assure you that we'll find you on some future day, and we can share tea once again. My Russian will be waiting for you, as always.

-O.G.

P.S. Please thank Prideux for me. His cleverness may even surpass my own.

My lips spread into a smile, and I even let out a small chuckle as I finished reading. With that, I stowed the note in my pocket and made my way back into the carriage in order to make the journey back to Paris. I dropped the windows, letting the breeze hit my face as the carriage ambled down the drive, the house disappearing slowly from view. The air was still crisp, yet the sun was shining brightly through the towering trees, melting the last remnants of snow that had accumulated over the past few nights.

Spring was coming at last.

I give you the end of To Those Without Pity! I hope the ending was to your liking! I can't thank you all enough for reading, and I want to send out a particularly huge thank you to some reviewers whose constant feedback kept me going. A few of these champions include Kittie Darkhart, emeraldphan, Crystal Twilight, Nade-Naberrie, iheartmoony7, Panserik, Phantom Serenity, Bookgirl13, and everyone else who took the time to shoot me a review! Thank you endlessly, and I hope you all enjoyed this final installment!

Until next time,

Christine