Erik's POV
When I woke, my whole body burned with a pain I could only describe as if someone were jabbing me with needles over and over again. My sight was blurry, but from what I could see, there was a wardrobe on the other side of the room, stone walls surrounding me, and I was in a bed. Yes, it was warm, but I was freezing. I lifted my hand to my face, noticing that I could feel a chill against my distorted flesh. My hand might have been heavy, but I gasped when I noticed that my mask and wig were missing.
"Don't worry about such things, man…" I looked towards the door to find Nadir walking in. "It's safely laying on the night table."
Not believing him, I looked over and to my relief, found that both, wig and mask were laying there.
"You needed to breath easier. That damn contraption was cutting off all your air."
Nadir placed a cool compress against my forehead, making the chill in my body ten times worse.
"You've contracted a nasty fever, Erik. Probably from your wound becoming infected."
He threw another blanket on the bed and tucked the ends beneath the mattress to keep in the warmth.
"Just keep holding on, Erik." he reminded me. "I'm going to find you a doctor soon enough."
There was a few moments of silence, and then, the sound of knocking at the door. I gasped in fright, believing that someone had seen Nadir drag me here. Nadir, on the other hand didn't seem to be frightened at all. He simply walked away, leaving me alone. I lay there, listening to the commotion coming from downstairs…
"I hope you didn't have any trouble finding me." came Nadir's voice.
"No, not at all."
I knew that voice! It was Christine's! But what was she doing here? I heard them coming up the stairs now…and oh, my mask! She would never accept me without it. I was too weak to reach for my mask, but that didn't stop me from trying to hide. I pressed my deformed side into the pillow, so that only my good side was showing, closing my eyes to make it seem as though I were asleep.
"….He woke a little while ago. Though, he's still not out of the woods just yet."
They were in the room now, I could sense them. I even felt my angel's soft fingers brushing against my neck.
"He's so hot…"
"Yes, terrible fever this one…If you wouldn't mind staying with him, Christine, I shall go try and make arrangements for him to see a doctor."
"I can stay." she said. "But only for a little bit. I told Raoul I was going to the cemetery to pray for my father. If I'm gone more than an hour or so, he'll come looking for me."
"I shall be back as soon as I can."
"Has he been up and alert?"
"Only once, but I wasn't able to get a thing out of him. Just keep his head cool and his body comfortable. If he wakes, try to get some liquid in him…"
When I heard the door close, I opened my eyes, barely being able to keep them open.
"Erik," my angel's voice cooed my name…oh, how it sounded like a soft whisper.
She was looking down on me with a concerned look upon her face, her fingers lightly brushing my blonde wisps of hair.
"Mon ange, why don't we get you onto your back. You would feel much better."
Yes, laying here on my side was not comfortable, but it was keeping my hideous face hidden from her eyes. I knew she could no bear the sight of me, for she screamed in horror the first time she saw me. My angel's hands moved beneath my neck to try and move me, but I groaned, in hopes that she would stop.
"Erik, what's wrong?"
I looked towards my mask, causing her eyes to wander to the article as well.
"Erik, it's all right." she promised me. "Your face holds no horror to me now. You couldn't possibly be comfortable wearing such a thing in your condition."
Her soft hands moved beneath my neck once more.
"Let me help you."
I was moved onto my back her expression never changing once my face was entirely exposed to her. On the night table, there was a pitcher of ice water placed there. Christine worked quickly in pouring me a glass and working her way beneath my head to hold it up in order for me to take a drink. How my throat felt like desert sand, parched and dry… Though, my entire body was freezing as if I had been running around naked in a snowstorm. But how wonderful it was to have Christine standing before me, holding up my head and taking care of me as if I were her sick offspring. Yes, there were times in the past when I have cared for her when she had taken ill, but never her taking care of me… No one had ever cared for poor Erik when he was ill, not even his own mother. It was rather pleasurable, actually…
"Did you have enough?" she kindly asked.
I nodded and she placed my head back down on my pillow. I was exhausted from shivering, my angel rubbing the blankets close to my body in an attempt to warm me.
"Nadir will be back soon enough, Erik. You just have to keep holding on a little longer."
I wasn't sure how much longer I could possibly hold on. My side was burning so terribly, that each movement I made only caused it to throb harder. Christine took a damp cloth and began to run it along my forehead and neck. The chill from the water caused me to shiver worse than I was, but she assured me that it would break away my fever. I was too tired to care, and therefore, I closed my eyes. I must have fallen into a deep sleep, for when I woke, I heard voices coming from the other end of the room…both voices belonging to Nadir and Christine.
"We have to bring Erik to him." Nadir said. "He refuses to come see Erik here."
"Monsieur Khan, I cannot help you." Christine argued. "Raoul would know something is up if he found me gone tonight. For Erik's safety, I think it's best if I sat this one out."
"Miss Christine, I cannot do this on my own. Someone needs to sit with Erik during the carriage ride to the doctor. You would be helping Erik greatly if you agreed to do this. Just tell Raoul that you're going to bed early and sneak out."
"Nadir, really, I can't."
"I'll make sure you're back to the estate by one thirty at the latest. Please, Christine, for your angel's sake…"
There was a long pause, and then Christine's heavy sigh.
"All right, Nadir. But if I agree to help you, it cannot be told to the doctor who will be treating Erik. If my name were to get out-"
"It won't, Christine." Nadir assured. "I promise you."
For a while more, I laid in silence, my head spinning with the need to sleep off this terrible fever. When I felt the blankets being pulled away, I looked up and saw Nadir standing over me with a pile of clothes in his hand.
"Come on, Erik," his hand swung beneath my neck and scooped my body up, lifting me from off the mattress. "It's time to get dressed."
I was shivering so badly without the blankets. Not only that, but I was also wearing nothing but my undergarments, making the air of his room feel like an artic breeze against my flesh.
"Shit…"
I heard Nadir mumble the words in a worried tone, my eyes looking downward at my bandage to notice that it was stained in a crimson red. Nadir worked quickly at slipping my arms into the sleeves of a clean shirt, frantically buttoning it up.
"You're burning up, man…Worse than a few hours ago.."
Nadir was working on getting a pair of trousers up my waist, my body heavy and worthless.
"Help me, Erik…Work with me a little…"
But I couldn't. When I was dressed, he laid me down to get the door. A few moments later, I heard Christine's voice, and then, her worried gasp.
"The carriage is outside." Nadir exclaimed.
"Let's make sure he's covered…"
Christine placed a cloak around my body, lifting my arm to swing it behind her head. She stood me up, Nadir grabbing hold of my other side in order to walk me to the door. I was so weak that I couldn't even raise my head. Once inside the carriage, they laid me down across the bench-like seat, Christine placing my head in her lap. I was shivering so much, that Christine wrapped her hands around my body in order to warm me. Oh, what a feeling it was to feel her hands against me.
"You can do it, Erik…" she said. "Just a little longer…"
Once Nadir was inside, the carriage was off to where ever it was that I was being taken to. The bumping from the potholes in the road caused discomfort to my body, my eyes growing tired as each moment passed.
"Don't let him sleep." Nadir warned Christine. "He'll go into shock."
Yes, I tried my hardest to close my eyes, but every time I did so, Christine would lightly slap my cheek in order to stop it. I was bleeding again, for I could feel the sticky substance wetting the shirt I wore beneath the cloak that was wrapped around me. To keep me awake, my angel began to sing, her voice grabbing my attention. She was singing something so lovely, a song I had sung to her when she was ill. When the carriage finally stopped, I was lifted up, and dragged into some strange looking door. My heart was beating faster than ever now, my sight going blurry as each second passed. Voices drained out, all except for the sound of my heartbeat. There was now a stranger standing over me, a man I had never seen before. His hands worked away at my shirt, my eyes beginning to become heavy, heavier than ever before. When his hands skimmed over my wound, I cringed in agony, his fingers like fire against my flesh. And then, I blacked out…
When my eyes fluttered open again, everything hurt. The stranger was working on my wound, wrapping it with new bandages. When he was finished, he buttoned my shirt back up and began working on filling up a syringe with some sort of medicine.
"This is for your pain…" his deep voice assured, sticking the needle into my buttock. It hurt, but warmth soon filled my body and my pain faded. When Nadir was called back into the room, he approached me, lightly slapping my cheek and smiling.
"I knew you wouldn't leave me early, my friend…"
"Two doses a day." the stranger warned. "Plenty of bed rest and clean dressings after each bath."
"I'll be sure to do so…"
Nadir tried to hand the stranger a wad of money, but he wouldn't accept it.
"That won't be necessary. Just keep it and get him out of here before anyone sees you…"
Nadir thanked the man one last time before helping me up. My stitches were pulled tight by my body's shifting, causing terrible discomfort in my side. I was only on my feet for a few seconds before being laid back down inside the carriage again. My angel was there, running her fingers through my wisps of hair.
"You're doing great, Erik…"
When Nadir climbed back inside the carriage, he shut the door and looked at Christine.
"His fever should come down in a few days. The doctor said he'll be all right."
The next thing I knew, I was back inside Nadir's house and being carried up the stairs.
"How much longer do we have until you have to be home?" Nadir asked Christine as he placed me down on the mattress.
"About an hour or so."
"I'm a man of my word, Christine." he assured. "I'll have you back by one."
"I know, Nadir."
"Perhaps we should bathe him. The doctor said we must keep him clean. Truth of it all being, that I'm not certain when he was last washed. He's beginning to smell a bit ripe from the fever."
"I'll do it." Christine replied. "Why don't you go downstairs and make him something warm to drink. It will help with his fever."
"All right then. Go into the other room and fill a basin with warm, soapy water. I'm going to undress him."
The last thing I wanted was for Christine to see me naked. My flesh was covered in scars, hideous and repugnant scars. I didn't want her to think of me as a monster, and I knew such a sight would do just that. I tried to fight Nadir when he was unbuttoning my shirt, but he stopped me.
"Erik, you need to relax, man. I'll be sure you're kept in your undergarments. I'll change you into a fresh pair."
And that's exactly what he did. After changing me into a new pair of undergarments, he laid me down, just as Christine was coming back into the room. Her eyes gazed over my body, gasping at the sight of my scars.
"Not a pretty sight, is it, Christine?" Nadir remarked. "A world of cruelty."
With that, Nadir left the room, leaving Christine and I alone. Her eyes turned towards the basin of water, her hands dipping a sponge into the liquid, wringing it out before wiping it along the side of my neck.
"You were very brave tonight." Christine softy washed from my neck down to my shoulders, the warm water soothing my cold body. "This will make you feel comfortable. Nadir is going to bring you something to help you sleep."
Christine ran the sponge down my chest and over each leg, taking care in handling my body as if handling glass.
"Thank you…" I couldn't bear to say much, but I needed to thank her. My angel had snuck out in order to help me. Christine's smile grew, her hands moving to my mask.
"Christine, n…no…" I softly pleaded.
"I don't want you to get an infection, Erik."
She gently pulled away my mask, her hands working on cleaning my deformity as if handling fragile glass.
"I never asked you, Erik." she began. "But does your face pain you?"
"N….not much…On..only when…when I-"
I couldn't even finish, for I hadn't the strength.
"Forgive me, Erik. I shouldn't be trying to have a conversation with you, especially after your rough night. I've never seen so many scars before…"
I softly moaned, as if trying to switch the subject. My angel must have known, for she switched conversations.
"All clean…" she happily replied, covering me up with my blankets and tucking me in.
"You are warm enough?"
I nodded, Christine's hands fluffing up the pillow behind my head.
"My…ring…"
I had forgotten about the ring I had given her during don juan. It was no longer on her finger… Before she could answer, Nadir came walking in with a steaming cup in hand. He walked over to my bed and lifted my head to able me to drink it.
"Drink up, Erik…"
I was so tired, that I didn't even care that the hot drink tasted like blueberries. All I wanted to do was sleep.
"Every drop…"
I drank until the drink was fully gone, Nadir placing my head back down on the pillow.
"That should help you sleep."
"Oh, Nadir, it's getting late…"
"Right…"
Nadir patted the covers before heading to the door. Christine placed on her cloak and approached my bed, leaning over me and pressing a kiss to my cheek… A kiss! Oh god, a kiss! Never had I ever experienced a kiss before in my entire life! Oh, what a wonderful feeling it was. What even brought tears to my eyes was when she reached inside of her blouse and pulled out a silver chain that was hanging around her neck, but that wasn't everything! It had a ring dangling in the center…but not just any ring, MY RING!
"Get some sleep."
And then she left….Nadir accompanied her out of my room and back home. Oh, my angel, my everything…. Perhaps there was some hope for me after all! And with that, I fell asleep…hoping to wake and see my angel here beside me once again!
And here is chapter 2...Erik pulled through! Please review!
