The Man Clad in Black: Book Two

Questioning - Chapter 4

Francois had taken you to an emptied-out room, in the middle of which resided an enormous table with quite a few papers on it... Three chairs in total sat at the table - two on one side and one on the other.

"You were a dancer during the time of the chandelier crash, no?"

You have a slight nod... While you didn't want to give away anything on where Erik could be, you would give him the facts that wouldn't matter to reveal his location.

"Yes, Monsieur."

Peter wrote that down. He had a quill and some paper, and it was clear that he was taking notes on everything that you said.

"My partner was a man named Antoine... He was truly a friend to me, Monsieur."

"I see," Francois said with a small nod. His hands folded and rested on the table. "I believe we spoke to him earlier... He said you did not practice with him often, no?"

"No, Monsieur," you said. To emphasize the fact that you were being honest, you shook your head... If this is what he already knew, there was no point in fighting it.

However, that didn't mean you had no excuse.

"Why would that be?"

"For starters, I still had to work," you nodded. That was a true statement. Most of the cast members were there full-time, although because you had grown to love your job with Matthew and the other employees, you didn't want to quite what you thought would be a one-time thing. "And on top of that, I needed rest to have energy for rehearsals the next day."

That was also true. You probably needed the rest, but that didn't exactly stop you from going after Erik.

What a dance that was.

"I see..." Francois said.

He ran through another range of questions, all of which were quite easy for you to answer, and you soon found yourself granted permission to leave.

"The only reason I am asking these questions, [Y/N], is because it is mandatory," Francois said with a nod. "I just need as much information as I can get before we can truly start our investigation. By no means to I think that you were involved..."

That's awkward.

"Yes, Monsieur," you said, standing up as you began to head to the door. "Have a wonderful rest of your evening."

As you went outside of the room, you noticed Matthew and Chosen sitting against the wall outside, and they immediately got up once they caught sight of you.

"What did they ask?" was the first thing to come out of the both of their mouths.

"Just about my past year," you said with a nod. You were a little tired, as you had been kept awake for quite a while now, so you probably weren't going to speak much...

Thank goodness Francois and Peter were there to keep the both of them occupied.

As the detectives made their way back outside of the room, both Chosen and Matthew's eyes wandered over.

The two detectives were murmuring amongst themselves, although they paused the moment they noticed your two close friends. Francois expressionless face was soon taken over by a smile... While both Chosen and Matthew returned it, it was clear to you that Francois was just being nice, and that it was just a brief act of kindness.

He was going to continue on his way, although Matthew was quick to stop him.

"I don't think I've had the pleasure," he said with a smile. "Matthew André."

Francois eyed the boy up and down, and he gave a slight nod after a moment or two.

"Ah, yes," Francois commented. "Son of one of the managers, I presume?"

Matthew paused for a moment before giving a small nod... It was almost as if his bubble of pride had just popped. Francois, seeing Matthew's not entertained expression, immediately dropped the subject.

"Yes, I see," he muttered. He glanced over at you, and as he noticed that you (while looking utterly exhausted) immediately came next to Matthew... While you thought it was out of common courtesy, Francois seemed to get the wrong vibe... As have many other people in the past.

"You're a lucky man, Matthew," he said with a smile.

"What?" Matthew asked quickly... Just as the other ballerinas had bombarded you with questions the first time you and Matthew had gone out together, Francois already assumed that the two of you were a couple.

Matthew quickly caught onto what he thought.

"Oh, no, we're not at all like... Like that," he said. You were practically half-asleep, although nodded softly.

"Don't worry, Monsieur - it happens a lot," you said with a smile... You yawned before rubbing your eyes a little, and you immediately decided to go back to your room. "I think I'm going to get some rest..."

"That's a good idea," Francois said. "I believe I should be doing the same... Good night, everyone. It was a pleasure meeting you."

Everyone exchanged their "good nights" and whatnot, and you finally found yourself head in back to your room.

It wasn't surprising that Erik was already waiting there for you.

"Where were you?" was the very first thing he asked when you closed the door. You let out a sigh as you took off your shoes, then making your way over to Erik and wrapping him in an enormous hug... Goodness, it was so nice to be in his arms again.

"I was held up for questioning," you muttered. You felt Erik's hand gently caress your hair, and just like his presence had done for you, it seemed as if you being there with him melted away all of your problems.

"I see," Erik said softly. He pulled away from your embrace to stare down at you, and the very moment he saw your face, he realized how exhausted you were. "They seem to have worn you out... Off to bed you go, then."

Just like that, Erik swept you off of your feet and held you like a bride, then moving to lay you down on the bed gently.

"I could have just walked," you said with a small smile.

As Erik knelt by your side, he tucked your hair away from out of your face, and gave you a gentle smile as he caresses your cheek lightly.

"And?" he asked with a small chuckle. "I chose to carry you instead."

"I can see that," you smiled.

After a few moments of Erik's gentle touch, you were nearly asleep when you noticed him beginning to leave...

"Are you not going to sleep with me again?" you asked, your eyes fluttering open again. Erik paused as he glanced back at you.

"I would love to," he muttered. "Although I believe that it will be difficult for you to do much of anything tomorrow if I stay with you... And I need you to have all of the energy you can."

"Oh? Why?" you asked groggily.

"Tomorrow, we start training."

A/N: Hey! Again, this is a bit of a filler, but this will all be important! What did you think - both about the return of Matthew and about detective Francois? Anything? And sorry if this isn't as good as I normally am - I'm running on adrenaline and studying for tomorrow's finals... Wish me luck, and I'll see you soon!