I do not own anything Phantom. Please review, go to my profile and if you have questions contact me. Thank-you to my beta. Enjoy the story!

Words to Know

HASHEM means G-d. It is one of the "nicknames."

Aneni means Answer in Hebrew

G-d is not a typo.

Chapter 4 How Ester Felt

Chavia felt the masked man's stare upon her and shivered. She opened her eyes
only when she heard footsteps descending and the bedroom door closing
softly. She whispered the first morning blessing in Hebrew. "Thank you living
eternal G-d for returning my soul back to me with your love and your abundant
compassion. Your faithfulness is everlasting." Tears stung her eyes as she
spoke the last word.. Jewish law said that after waking a person should
ritually wash their hands, but she could not perform the commandment
here. In this place she felt disconnected from everything. If it wasn't for HASHEM, G-d, she would be completely alone. Nothing was familiar to her here with the
exception of the masked man's voice, which she hated to admit (and would never
admit out loud) soothed her and made it easier to sleep. She quickly got out
of bed. Her pale face filled with curiosity when she discovered what was on
the foot of the bed, a white gown with three roses lying on top. One was red,
another white and another yellow.

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Erik paced in the living room only steps from Chavia's bedroom, his heart
consumed with worry for this young beauty. He could hear her soft cries.
"Aneni, Aneni HASHEM." He understood her Hebrew and in this instance it
shattered his heart like glass every time it made its way to his ears. Of
course she did not realize he understood her Hebrew. Aneni
, Aneni, HASHEM" she repeated over and over. Answer, Answer HASHEM. He didn't
know how much longer he could listen to her cry without running to her.

She needs to eat" he thought as he walked to the kitchen and retrieved
two apples, he returned to the closed bedroom door and knocked softly, to his
shock and delight, she quickly opened the door. Her head was raised and her
spellbinding eyes met his.

"Good morning," he said.

"Good morning, Sir," she replied softly, fear entering her voice. She had
decided that it was always best to speak in German while in this man's
presence

"There is no need to be so formal.

"Isn't there?"

"No," he said as he held out the apples to her.

"No thank you, Sir. I can not eat that."

I forbid you to fast now. There is nothing un- kosher about an apple. You
must eat. I am not working to save you, so that you can starve yourself. You
will eat and then you will change into the dress I left for you."

"What will you do to me if I refuse to comply?" Erik hated hearing fear in
her voice but he didn't let it show. One day soon he decided she would learn
he was not the monster he appeared to be. He could not blame her at this point
for fearing him. She did not trust that a man wearing the uniform of the enemy
wanted to save her life.

"There will be no refusal; you will comply with my wishes. I know this
because I will watch you do it." Chavia swallowed the lump that had formed in
her throat.

"if I take the apples and promise to eat them, will you leave the room while I change?" Erik slowly nodded.

"Yes, if I see you eat," he said after a brief pause. Chavia took the apples,
careful not to touch the masked man's hands. She hated taking anything from
him, being at his mercy. She wanted her life back, her parents back,
her, synagogue, her friends. She wanted to go home. Quickly she whispered the
blessing for the fruit of the tree and ate the apples. She could feel her
cheeks grow hot as fire. The masked man's stare was so intense! She looked
down at the floor and only looked up when she was sure he left the room
again and closed the door behind him. Moments later she approached the foot of the bed. She moved the roes to the side and gently held up the gown to
herself, inspecting it carefully. To her astonishment and relief it was perfectly
modest. The skirt of the gown which, was of regulation length, flowed
gracefully down to her ankles; the sleeves were long and covered her
elbows.
The neckline of it was just high enough to see a necklace if she chose
to wear one. She had never seen such an enchanting dress. She always dressed modestly,
as Jewish law required, but never could she afford a dress so beautiful! It
was exactly the way she dreamed her wedding dress would look. This is not my
wedding dress; I will not be married to him! He can do a lot of things but he
can not marry me! It's not legal"no matter what, no matter whom he hires to
perform this mockery! She thought to herself, furious that for one
instant she could think of this garment as her wedding gown! She despised herself for
noticing how good the dress felt against her skin.

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Erik's breathe caught as he saw Chavia, his bride, emerge from her room with
her dark brown curls pinned up. He had never seen or known beauty until
he saw her. .It was she who set the standards for beauty and went beyond them more and more every single day. He hoped she liked the dress. It had been hard to get silk and it was even harder to place on the skirt, going downward the tear-drop peals he had
managed to acquire. He smiled, his heart engulfed with pride. The dress she
wore was made for her and it showed. He had gotten her every
measurement right.

"You take my breathe away, my beloved, the masked man said. "Take
these." He handed her some documents. Chavia said nothing, but was positive he
could hear her breathing heart. I am not your beloved is what she
wanted to tell him again. She felt her hand instinctively move and grab on to the
papers. "Your name is Christine; that is what I and everyone else will
call you until this mess of a war is over. You must no longer be known as or
answer to Chavia. Your name is and will be Christine. The papers you have in
your hand are yours. If anyone asks to see your papers these are the ones
you present them. It is my prediction that this will not happen after
today. You must listen to me carefully at all times because my instructions will
keep you alive." The masked man talked and talked for what seemed like a
lifetime, giving her directions. She felt herself nodding her head when he asked
if she understood. She felt herself walking. Everything after the word alive
was a blur. She felt as though she were watching someone else's nightmare.

Before she could process what was happening, she was standing next to
the masked man as he told one of his high-ranking Nazi friends in a big
office that she agreed to be Erik's wife and Erik agreed to be her husband. As she
stood there she thought back to Ester. I'm terrified; I want to save my life
but fear I will die that I am in the most dangerous place living among
enemies, "marrying" a powerful stranger. This must be how Ester felt as
she became the wife of King Ahasuerus. All these thoughts ran through her
mind as a Nazi declared that she and the masked man were married! Suddenly she
felt she had a clearer understanding of the Scroll of Easter that all Jews were
commanded to hear every Purim. She prayed no one noticed her
fear-induced trembling. She felt a wave of nausea hit her when she saw the title and
the author of a book the masked man's friend slipped into his hand as a
wedding gift. I can imagine how Queen Ester felt, but there is a huge
difference! Ester took on the job of helping to save her people from death. Ester and I
are from the same people, we are both Jewish women. But by being the "wife" of
this masked man known as Erik I am not helping to save my people from murder,
I am only helping to save only myself .