by J. Smith
The girl no longer looked anything like a mental patient. She had chosen a long sleeved mint green day dress, with white lace lining at the collar and the cuffs. The wraparound neckline, though properly demure, revealed a bit of the creamy skin which stretched over her collarbone. While the dress was a bit large on her, as Erik had feared it might be, she remedied that problem by tying the waist tightly with its darker green sash, and the bodice accentuated her curved form quite nicely. Her hair, now clean and still slightly damp, fell in reddish blond curls at her shoulders, and while there was a distinct look of self consciousness in her aqua blue eyes, in truth, the girl's transformation took Erik's breath away.
“You look lovely, Mademoiselle!” Omid declared loud enough to make the girl flinch. His attention was now fully upon her, and he beamed at her brightly, a smile spread wide over his face.
“Much improved,” Erik grunted, quickly averting his eyes to the floor when he saw her gaze shift to him.
“Thanks,” she managed to mutter over her own discomfort at being dressed so foreignly.
“Are you hungry?” Erik asked, desperately trying to divert the attention from the girl's newly attractive appearance.
“I could happily eat,” Omid heartily replied. “I had a light lunch.”
Erik glared at the Daroga once again. “It seems that it will be three for dinner, then,” He huffed with a tight smile. Jenna watched him quietly as he quickly exited to the kitchen to prepare the meal.
“Come, Mademoiselle,” Erik heard the Persian's voice trailing behind him. “Don't mind him and his moods. Sit before the fire and chat with me while we wait.”
“So what does she like? Is she a reader? Does she have an interest in a particular type of music?” the doctor asked Jenna's charge nurse curiously. He was still encouraged by the movements he had seen Jenna make the night before, and he wanted to capitalize on any progress she might be making toward consciousness. He realized, however, that her boyfriend—ex-boyfriend, he reminded himself—was going to be of no help. When she was admitted, her family history had revealed that her mother was dead and father unknown. She had no brothers or sisters, and her only family was an aunt who lived several hours away. If anyone was going to work with Jenna and try to draw her back, it was going to have to be him.
He'd lain in bed the night before, cursing himself once again for not having gotten to know her when he’d had the chance. He realized, however, that if he was going to make any kind of meaningful connections with her now, he had to learn as much about her as he could. He had gone in early that morning, hoping to visit with her for a while before starting rounds, but the nurses had been bathing her. So instead, he went to speak with Jenna's charge nurse, to learn a little more about her before his shift began.
“Well,” the older woman answered thoughtfully, “I know she liked animals. She had this big yellow cat she talked about all the time. And reading…yes, she often had her nose in a book in the break room. And she definitely loved music. She was always talking about some concert or another that she wanted to see. “
“So…rock and roll? Pop? Classical?” he fished for more information.
“Oh, definitely contemporary stuff. But I think she liked some Broadway stuff too. I remember her complaining one night about Jake not wanting to take her to some musical she wanted to see.”
He made a non-committal humming sound. It didn't surprise him one bit that Jake refused to take her to a show on Broadway. What a fool! A delicious dinner at one of the city's finest restaurants, followed by a Broadway show seemed like the perfect night out with a woman like Jenna. Of course, they would cap the evening with stopping by a street vendor so he could buy her a rose after the show. Then they would walk home hand in hand in the moonlight, or maybe enjoy a carriage ride around the park.
“Doctor…”
“I'm sorry, yes?” he looked at her, blinking, when he realized the nurse had been talking to him.
“You seem to be taking quite an interest in Jenna,” she said in a leading fashion. “I didn't realize you two were close.”
Close? He thought ruefully to himself. If we'd been close, I wouldn't have to ask these questions. I would have made it my business to know her every interest, fulfill her every desire. If we had been close, she wouldn't have come home to find me entertaining another woman in our bed. She would have been the only woman for me, and instead of crashing into the Hudson, she would have spent that night wrapped safely in my arms.
He shook his head quickly back and forth to clear his mind. What was he thinking!? This was not about dating Jenna. This was about helping her come out of a coma. Nothing more. He had not been close to Jenna. He had never even had the courage to introduce himself to her. He doubted she even knew his name.
“I don't really know her, Miss Miller,” he responded professionally to the charge nurse. “But right now, I'm her doctor and I intend to see her get well.” Because right now, he thought, he was all she had.
He smiled politely and thanked the woman for her help before going on his way.
“That was delicious, Erik,” Omid said, standing after he had finished his bowl of soup and hunk of bread. “A real pleasure.”
“The pleasure was all yours, Daroga, I assure you,” Erik said with a crooked smirk.
Omid rolled his eyes, and made his way to Jenna. “Mademoiselle, do try have a good evening,” he said, giving a little bow, “present company notwithstanding.”
Jenna chuckled a little as she caught Erik glower at Omid. In truth, Erik could not wait for the Persian to go. His endless prattling during dinner was getting on Erik's final nerve. In fact, as soon as he had gotten over the shock of the mental patient looking, well, less like a mental patient, his mind had wandered back to his earlier trip above and his intended voice lessons with Christine. He had hoped to have a quiet evening, to work out the perfect way by which to approach Christine as her Angel of Music, but the Daroga's nonsensical chatter with the girl and her responding laughter was distracting him from his ruminations and making it quite impossible for him to think. Besides, he had another errand he had to do before he could rest tonight, and he was eager to get to it.
Jenna helped Erik clear the table after the Persian had taken his leave. “Omid was right, Erik,” she commented to him sweetly. “The soup was very good.”
“Thank you, Mademoiselle,” Erik practically mumbled, looking down, not used to receiving praise. “It was a very simple recipe.” He took the dishes from Jenna's hands.
“Erik, can't I help you do the dishes? After all, you cooked.”
“I would rather you rest your ankle, Mademoiselle,” he answered, still looking down. “Putting too much weight on it too soon is not a good idea. Perhaps you should settle yourself in the sitting room with a book and I can brew a cup of tea while I am scrubbing the dishes.”
“Um, alright, Erik,” Jenna said, “If you're sure.”
“I am, Mademoiselle.”
Jenna retreated to the sitting room and chose one of Erik's many volumes from his over filled shelf. She made herself comfortable on the settee and began to settle into her book.
“Mademoiselle,” Erik said softly, as he entered the room once the dishes were scrubbed. He handed Jenna her cup of tea. “Is there anything else that you require?”
“Well…no…” Jenna responded, looking up from where she was seated on the settee. “I'm fine, Erik.” She was about to ask if he would join her when Erik nodded and walked into his bedroom. When he emerged a few moments later, he was wearing his cloak, and was carrying a wide brimmed black hat in his hand.
“Are you going out?” Jenna asked in alarm, when she saw him.
“Yes, Mademoiselle.” Erik answered, again not meeting her eye. “I have a matter to which I must attend. Please try not to drown while I am gone.” He began to turn toward the lake. “I doubt the Daroga will return tonight.”
“Erik, can I come with you?” Jenna called before he could get very far. This could be
her chance—if not to break away, at least to see where they were located.
Erik turned finally to look at her. He had avoided meeting the girl's eyes, since she had emerged from the washroom, but he did now, and could not help but notice the trepidation in her gaze. “Mademoiselle, is there a problem?” Erik asked, in a soft, whispery voice.
“No. It's just…” Jenna began, wringing her hands nervously. “I don't want to be alone again—in the dark.”
Erik looked at her. There were plenty of candles lit in his home, not to mention the fire in the hearth. One could not truly call his chamber, as it was right now, dark. But Erik understood that darkness could take many forms, and for all of the girl's independence and bravado, she was in strange surroundings, and she was scared. Erik knew the feeling all too well. There had never been anyone in his life to consider his feelings about being alone in the dark, but that did not mean he had to treat this girl as callously as he had always been treated. After a moment, Erik silently returned to his bedroom, and this time when he emerged, he was carrying a second black cloak. “Let us go, Mademoiselle. It's late.” He tossed the cloak to her and continued walking toward his boat. Jenna quickly reached out and caught the mantle, wrapping it around herself as she hurried to catch up. “Is your ankle going to be alright to do some walking, Mademoiselle?” Erik asked, not looking at her, but getting into the vessel and reaching for the oars.
“I think I'll be fine,” She answered, trying to favor her aching ankle just a bit.
Erik did hold his hand out to steady her when she climbed into the boat. One fall in the lake was quite enough for the day. She grasped onto his hand without hesitation and took a seat on the bench across from him. He began to row as soon as Jenna was settled. Before long, the house by the lake was no longer in sight, and the two traveled down dark passageways that twisted this way and that. “There are many things that you should know about my home, Mademoiselle.” Erik confessed to her, as they wound quietly down the lake, his lantern casting eerie shadows on the rocky walls as they went. “But the most important thing to remember is that, if you do not know exactly where you are going, you could get terribly lost…or hurt.” Erik's eyes met hers with a flicker of warning, and Jenna seemed to understand his cautionary message.
“Erik, where are we going tonight?” she asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between them when her curiosity finally got the best of her.
“Tonight, Mademoiselle,” Erik responded, and Jenna thought she could almost see the curl of a smile on his face and a glint in his eyes that pierced through the darkness. “We are going hunting. For toads.”
8THE FROG PRINCE
Erik and Jenna traversed the lake in the little boat, following its twists and turns, the lantern hung at the front of the boat casting a misty glow on the water's surface. When they came to a wall, Jenna saw Erik reach his arm briefly out of the boat and touch the surface of the stone. Instantly, the barrier moved aside, releasing them into the fresh night air and scores of twinkling stars above.
“How did you do that?” Jenna asked in an awed whisper, a look of amazement on her face.
Erik glanced at her, a crooked smile spreading over his features, and said, “I have my ways, Mademoiselle.”
They took the boat a short way further where they docked by a small wooden post that had been embedded into the lakeshore. After securing the boat, Erik helped Jenna out of the vessel, making certain that she was steady on her feet, before leading the way down a winding dirt path to a wooded marsh.
“Why exactly are we hunting toads, Erik?” Jenna asked as they got deeper into the woods.
“Because there is a…woman…above,” Erik began, saying the word woman as if it left a bad taste in his mouth, “who is in the habit of mistaking poor seamstresses for the webbed-foot amphibians.” He continued onward, reaching out before him, pulling branches out of their path. “I simply thought to give her some examples of what a toad actually looks like, to enlighten her on the difference between the two.”
Jenna looked at him silently for a moment, then smiled. She noticed the mischievous glint in Erik's eye, and she liked it.
As they continued on their way, Jenna felt emboldened to ask him a question that had been on her mind. “Erik, when you say above, what does that mean, exactly?”
Erik stopped where he stood and turned back to look at her, before saying, “Mademoiselle, you may have noticed that my home has no windows.”
Jenna nodded, admitting, “I had actually been wondering about that.”
“Hmmm …” Erik regarded her a moment more. “Inquisitive thing, aren't we,” he asked, and Jenna saw his eyebrow raise. “Well, it has no windows because it is underground.” He turned at that point to continue on their journey. Jenna tried to ask exactly what ground it was under, hoping to glean their true location in a roundabout manner, but Erik moved quickly and she had to follow, for she had no desire to be lost in the woods without him.
Finally, they arrived at a small pond, the shore of which was covered in moss and riddled with tall grasses and overgrown reeds. Jenna could hear the low hum of flying insects all around her and the deep croaks of frogs. Erik held his forefinger up to his mouth as he looked at her intently in the dark.
“Now remember, Mademoiselle—and this is very important,” Erik instructed with a solemn expression, looking directly at her. “You must hide the lantern within your cloak. Remove it only when I give the signal, and be sure to shine it right in their eyes. Keep it steady until I tell you to conceal it again. The light will stun them and make it easier to get them in the net.” He lifted his left hand, extending his first finger, and warned, “And most of all, you must be silent. They have keen hearing, and we do not wish to frighten them away.” Erik continued to look at her with an expectant expression until Jenna nodded once to indicate understanding. He reached inside his cloak and produced a small black sack, crouching down to moisten it in the water. He took a few more silent strides until he apparently spotted something of interest. Kneeling low, he withdrew a long handled net from his cloak and looked back at Jenna, who was watching his skulking movements with fascination. He pointed toward what she could only assume was his prey of choice, and she removed the lantern from her cloak, shining it in the direction he indicated. She beheld the scene before her as he quickly thrust his net forward and, with an expert flick of his wrist, entangled the frog beneath the mesh. He stretched his other arm out silently, lifting the frog from its perch on the rock and gently placing him in the sack. When the deed was done, Erik glanced back at Jenna with a wickedly satisfied gleam in his eye, and she found that she was breathless as she hid the light of her lantern so that he could obscure himself once more as he searched out new quarry.
Time and again, the scene was repeated, and with each attempt, another toad was added to Erik's sizable collection. Jenna felt utter delight at his every conquest. He was amazing to watch, with his leonine grace and hunting skills—the absolute portrait of stealth and dexterity. Part of what held Jenna's rapt attention was his obvious thrill in the chase. He seemed to become more and more energized with each new acquisition, his eyes glowing with some internal light. From the way Jenna could feel the blood racing in her veins, she knew his excitement was contagious.
After a time, Erik dipped the bag again into the water, to ensure the soggy comfort of his newly captured friends and began to tie off the drawstrings, when he heard a loud, rumbly ribbit. He looked up at the noise, and Jenna could just make out his eyes narrowing as he peered across the pond to detect the source of the sound. A huge bullfrog was perched on a water lily leaf, near the center of the pond. Jenna caught the flicker in Erik's eye, as he began to move, once again, toward the water. Even though she had been admonished at the start to be silent, she reached for his arm, whispering, “Erik, no. Don't get greedy. He's too far, and we have enough.”
Erik rolled his eyes and waved off her concern, as he signaled for her to make ready with the lantern.
Jenna tried once again to make her case. “Erik,” her whisper was now more urgent, hoping that he would listen, “You'll never reach him!”
Erik's blazing eyes met her gaze directly as he whispered, “Watch me!”
Once again, he positioned himself on the loamy ground near the pond. At his signal, and with extreme perturbation, Jenna exposed the lantern in the hopes of stunning the bullfrog into place. Erik got low and stretched the arm that held his net, hoping to reach the frog. But it was too far in, and he had to extend his torso over the water in order to span the distance. Confident that the frog was stupefied by the light, Erik brought down his net, only to have the frog, at the very last second, jump straight at him with a thunderous croak. Erik lost his precarious balance and landed in the shallow water with a loud splash.
Jenna immediately set the lantern down and ran to help Erik out of the pond. She extended her hand as he struggled to right himself from such an embarrassing position. When he turned to face her, she tried to hold her laughter, she truly did, but when she saw him—hair wet and tousled, white shirt filthy with mud, and the disgruntled expression on his dirty and disheveled face, she couldn't help herself. She let loose with a snort of laughter, which only intensified as Erik looked straight at her and blew an unruly lock of hair out of his eyes with an upwardly directed puff.
“I'm sorry, Erik,” she expressed her contrition between fits of giggles, “I really am. I just…”
“Told me so,” he supplied in an annoyed tone of voice.
Jenna took a deep breath and her giggles calmed, although she still wore an amused smile upon her face. “I was not going to say that.”