Chapter Fifteen-Dear Old Friends/"I Can See All the Beauty Underneath..."

Chapter Fifteen

Dear Old Friends/

"I Can See All the Beauty Underneath..."

     Melanie had her skirt held much to high as she was power walking through the theatre.

"Honestly!" she cried to Phillip, who was lagging behind his fiance. "I have to find the stage manager, the dressing rooms, the musical director-!"

"I know, I know dear. Perhaps I could go-"

"There, see, there's the director. Philly, dear, go speak to him while I find the stage manager."

"Yes dear," Phillip sighed as he stalked toward the stranger.

"Excuse me," Melanie yelled across the stage, running now, trying hard to keep her violet bonnet on her head. "Excuse me, Miss? Would you mind?"

The young girl turned and sighed. Her hair was a springy blonde, no doubt the work of peroxide. Her eyes were black and her skin was tan and dry. When the black eyes set place on the blue eyes and red lips, the mouth of the tan girl went into and 'o' form.

"Heaven help me, could it be? No, it couldn't possibly..."

Melanie smiled, confused. "Sorry, do I...?"

"Yes, I think you do!" the blonde girl smiled.

"Have we...?"

"Go on, take a guess!"

"Wait, it can't be...Is it-?"

"Yes!"

Melanie laughed as Spencer, Morgan, Hotchner, and Emily walked in. "Oh my God! I can't believe it's you!"

The tan girl sighed. "Look at you, Melanie, regal as a queen and beautiful!"

"Char, and you as well! I could...hardly tell it's you!"

"My dear old friend, can't believe your here, my friend."

Melanie cried,"After all this time..."

"So glad you came!"

"You look...sublime!"

"You look the same!"

"My sweet old friend never thought we'd meet old friend!"

Melanie smiled,"And you a star?"

Charlotte glanced at the ring on Melly's finger. "And you a wife!"

"Isn't life a splendid thing? And here we are..."

"To see the sights?"

"And sing," Melanie sighed.

Charlotte Graywald stared, confused. "T-to sing?"

"Well, we've come on FBI business. I'm sorry, speaking of I have to find my fiance-"

"Wait! Who hired you to sing here?!"

At this time, it was Phillip Dufour was running into and old friend-His foster mother. Upon Phillip's last visit, the two hadn't left friends...

"You!" Phillip cried.

"It can't be you!" Madame Graywald sneered, tossing her black braid behind her shoulder. It blended into the black mourning dress she'd been wearing ever since her husband left her.

"Is this a jest?"

"How can this be?"

"We've come to work," Phillip sneered, trying to tower over his Mother.

"At whose request?"

"The contracts here."

"I want to see!" Phillip handed the Madame the note and as soon as it was in her hands it was on the floor. She gripped her head."My God, the price..."

Phillip smiled. "It's rather high."

"Why, it's absurd!"

"Oh yes, I know. Inform your boss, that by the by, the fee goes up, or else we go."

"My dear old friend, here's how things appear, old friend. He who pays the bill-"

"Times two or three."

The Madame sneered,"Be sure he will."

"And Handsomely!"

"And dear old friend now that we are clear, old friend. That's all very well, but till your gone, you'll wait upon my bosses whim!"

Phillip laughed," Oh yes, your boss. And who is that?"

"Its him," and as the Madame said that, all blood drained from the Comte's face as his legs wobbled.

Charlotte collected herself as she once again approached Melanie. "Sorry, did I hear you right? Here to sing?"

Melanie nodded,"Tomorrow night."

"I'm afraid there must be some mistake. You can't be performing!"

"Why?"

"Mainly dear, 'cause so am I! I'm in fact the star for heaven's sake! What are you to sing?"

"Just one little thing, and Aerie."

"No..."

"Please, you needn't fret. I'm sure you will get your due."

"Him?!" Phillip cried.

"That's what I said!"

"You work for him?"

"Now so do you!"

"And my poor wife...we thought he left...she'll be appalled!"

"Unless she knew..."

     Melanie spotted her fiance across the theatre, and began to smile until she caught his stricken expression.

"Darling...please, are you alright?" Melanie asked, but Phillip grabbed Melanie's arm hard pulling her down.

"Tell me, that music, whose was it's creator?"

"Darling....please don't squeeze so tight..."

"Somethings going on here. I'll deal with you later," he sneered, throwing Melanie quite far.

Charlotte ran up to her birth mother. "Did you know?" she cried.

"How could I know!" replied the elder. "Why would them come?"

"Why won't they go?"

Madame Greywald smiled fakely to the pair."Well, as your host-"

"As an artiste!" Charlotte cried.

Melanie looked sideways at Phillip,"What a surprise..."

"To say the least!"

Greywald warned again:"You mustn't stay!"

Melanie looked confused,"Why would I leave?"

Phillip sighed,"Why are we here?"

"Don't play naive!" Charlotte yelled.

"Well," Melanie sighed," I can't conceal, try though I may, the way I feel, so why pretend? I'm sure it's clear to such a dear old friend!"

Charlotte smiled insincerely. "Honey, break a leg!"

Phillip tipped his hat,"Madame, good day."

The widow curtsied,"Enjoy your stay."

As did Melanie,"Hope it extends."

Annette and Charlotte sneered, but together chorused:"So glad you're here, our lovely dear old friends."

"Phillip, dear!" Annette cried as he was walking off,"Don't forget that you landed your nephew with us. I don't intend to keep the orphan forever dear."

"Is he here?" Phillip hissed.

"Yes. Dressing room 9. Melanie must know where it is. Right dear?"

Melanie didn't look at the widow when she replied,"Yes, Madame. I'll go fetch Gustave, then."

***

"Thank you, errr..." Hotchner looked at the tall freak for a name to call him.

He smiled his toothy, yellow smile. "Dr. Gangle," he sighed in his shrill voice. He had brought the whole behavioral analysis unit to a dark room, with several television sets.

"Thank you,...Dr. Gangle."

"Quite welcome, sir. Anything to get the songbird out of our hair."

"If you don't mind my asking," Rossi said,"What happened here that you and your two friends dislike Melanie so?"

The freaks face darkened further, to a time of no happiness. He grey face was lifeless. "We do not speak of what occurred here on Coney. Coney is an island of sin, something she had a problem with. Regardless, every time the blue-eyed beauty is around, something is bound to go wrong. She messes with people...changes things. Coney isn't made for you to change. She's too different."

"The other freaks except her," Reid said, then wondered if he could've have chosen he words more carefully.

"They are fools," sighed Gangle. He turned his attention to the monitors. "Every place here, has a camera on it. Any one can do anything on Coney. No one will judge. This tapes are for history and nostalgic purposes. You need the past of Melanie correct? When she first met the master...that was interesting. She was 13...here." Gangle popped a tape into one monitor, turning the others off, and Spencer saw young Melanie age thirteen, trailing the three dark freaks down a dark hallway, in the same dress she had worn yesterday. The white tulle with the lace and the ballet slippers. She was taller now. There she was shorter, more rounded. Her face was heart shaped instead of long. But it was Melanie...Melanie...

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Gangle was much younger then than he was now, and staring at the young girl before him, he had no idea how much pain she would cause him and his way of life.

"Come along and follow us," he sighed. Fleck joined in.

"Come and follow faster..."

"Come along and follow us. Come and meet the Master..."

Squelch too, was among the trio.

"Hurry up and follow us, hurry if you dare to. Soon the dark will swallow us...follow if you dare to..."

    Melanie looked around in the tomb she had been brought into. There was a large black desk in the corner, covered in cob webs and sheet music. An organ, harp, pianoforte. Violins were set up in the corner of every size.

"Is this where the master lives?" she asked.

"This is where he works," Gangle said, taking care of getting in the girl's face, trying to scare her.

"Step lively, child," Fleck cried.

Squelch pushed her along,"he is waiting."

     Fleck pulled on the coat tails of the Master and he turned to face her, half his face covered in his white mask. She pointed to the young blonde girl, who was taking care to observe the inside of the pianoforte. She observed the thousand candles of which only four or so were lit.

"What is this place?" she mumbled, not aware that the freaks had left, not aware that she had been left in in the room with a strange man who wouldn't only become her master, but her teacher and closest thing to a father she'd had since her birth father's death. She didn't know he was a murderer then and she wouldn't know for quite some time. But Melanie had time.

"This is my realm," sighed her master,"of illusion's domain. Where music and beauty and art are first rate. Go look around, while I finish my work."

Melanie swallowed, staring at the man with the mask. She pointed to the pianoforte. She hadn't played for quite some time...not since the day her father died. But she had forgotten that day while she was in this moment. "May I?" she asked. He nodded. While she played for sometime, he stopped his writing and looked up.

"What's this?" he asked. Melanie blushed, but stared at the ivory keys longingly.

"Just a song in my head..."

"Go on," he said, sitting on the bench next to her. She continued with the piece.

"I think it's beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful notes. Beautiful beautiful sounds. Don't you agree? It's beautiful..."

"This girl..."

"So very beautiful..."

"This music..."

"Music that comes on control."

"She plays like me..."

"Haunting and lovely and bold..."

"You're just 13 years old..." he sang. He knelled, getting eye level with Melanie, and Melanie saw that his eyes were blue, like hers. She almost reached out, to touch his face, but refrained. She would never recall what she saw that day that made her wish to do that, but she would always remember the longing to comfort the soul in front of her.

    He asked Melanie,"Have you ever yearned to go past the world you think you know? Been enthralled to the call of the beauty underneath? Have you let it draw you in past the place where dreams begin? Felt the full breathless pull of the beauty underneath?

     When the dark unfolds it's wings, do you sense the strangest things? Things you know you can't confess, things you thirst for none the less?"

"Yes," Melanie whispered, gripping his shoulders.

"Do you find your self beguiled by the dangerous and wild? Do you feed on the need for the beauty underneath? Have you felt your sense surge and surrender to the urge? Have been hooked as you looked at the beauty underneath? When you stare behind the night, can you glimpse its primal might? Might you hunger to posses, hunger that you can't repress?"

"Yes...It seems so beautiful...so strange yet beautiful...every things just as you say..."

The master turned as away as he thought,"But she's so beautiful...so very beautiful...what I suspect cannot be...and yet somehow, we both see the very same way...."

   Melanie jumped up and tugged on his jacket as she hungrily asked,"Is their music in your head? Have you followed where it lead? And be graced with a taste of the beauty underneath? Does it fill your very sense? Is it terribly intense? Tell me you need it to, need the beauty underneath..."

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     For two more hours they each poured questions at each other, and Spencer noticed just before the end why Gangle looked away. The master trusted Melanie enough to remove his mask, and what was underneath was shocking.

     Spencer could think of any skin disease that would cause skin to look like that. It was scarring or burning. It was just...distorted and deformed...HORRIBLY. Melanie saw this, and she didn't run or get sick or whatever most peoples actions would've been. Melanie took her small hand and ran it down his face. She slowly leaned down and kissed him, right below his eye. He slowly began to cry as Melanie wrapped his arms around him.

"Turn it off..."Hotchner whispered, no longer able to look. Gangle obliged.

"How did she do that?" Emily whispered. She was green and staring at Reid for an answer.

"There's too much good in her."

"Beware," Gangle warned,"She may not be what she seems. What she did...could never be forgiven."