Christine's POV

"Come along, Christine," Nadir packed up our horses and led them to the building Erik was currently at. Once there, he pulled a patched up bag off of Cesar's back and headed inside with me following him. We found Erik lying in his bed and still seeming completely lifeless. As soon as we entered, his eyes darted to the two of us.

"Time to get moving, Erik…"

"Erik is not dressed."

Nadir held up the sack. "I brought you your belongings and a clean pair of clothes."

"It seems as though Christine is dressed in them," Erik scoffed, noticing that I was dressed in a pair of his clothes.

"Well, Christine couldn't have come along dressed in one of her gowns, Erik. Winter is still upon us and she would have froze."

I began to pull out Erik's shirt from the bag, when he interrupted me.

"Erik does not know why Christine is in here…"

"We're both going to help you dress," Nadir replied. "It's going to take two people to dress you and get you on Cesar's back…"

"Erik is not an invalid!" he growled. "He can dress himself."

"You're going to need help standing up."

"Then Nadir can stay! But Christine, she must leave the room."

Knowing that Erik always got his way, Nadir took the shirt from my hand and motioned me towards the door.

"I'll call you in when he's dressed."

I nodded and left the room, taking a seat on a bench that was right outside the door.

Erik's POV

"All right, Erik, up you go…"

Nadir lifted me up by my arm, shifting me into a sitting position. It had been days since I had been able to sit up straight, but even now, as I was doing just that, my body ached with an unbearable pain.

"Easy, you fool…" I growled as my feet began to make way to the floor. My right leg was bandaged and splinted, making it nearly impossible to bend. Nadir attempted to unbutton my night shirt, when I grabbed his hand and tossed it away.

"Enough…Erik is capable of buttoning his shirt."

Nadir threw the clean shirt into my lap and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Very well then, Erik, have it your way. You know, your stubbornness is going to get you killed one day. It wouldn't hurt to let someone help you once in a while."

When the shirt was over my shoulders, I buttoned it up and reached for my trousers.

"Oh no," Nadir assured, taking the black slacks out of my hand. "You're not bending down."

Yes, I would have argued, but the man was right. There was no way I would be able to lift each leg and place them into a pair of trousers. Nadir, on the other hand, bent down and placed each of my feet into the garment, lightly tugging on each pant leg to pull it up above each ankle. When he touched my injured leg, I groaned in pain, fisting the bed sheet within my grasp to cut off the screams that wanted to emerge from my lips.

"Almost done…"

From there, Nadir handed me a staff of some sort and told me to lean on it. Being on my feet was one of the most agonizing things I ever had to experience, for in order to stand, I had to not only lean on the staff, but I also had to hold onto Nadir. I felt like an old man with the way Nadir had to walk me around, but after placing on my shoes and coat, the man helped me outside.

"Nadir, Erik can't stand to stay on his feet another moment."

The air was cold, and my insides shivered…The doctor had instructed Nadir to keep me warm in order to prevent my illness from worsening.

"Christine, come here…"

Nadir called over Christine and told her to lightly haul me up towards the saddle while he directed my injured leg over Cesar's back. It was painful…Oh, it was so painful. Even when my leg was in place, it still racked with an unbearable agony. I hadn't expected Christine to be riding on the same horse as me, but when she hopped up behind me, I was sort of relieved, for I could lean against her and for support.

"Here, Erik," she said, wrapping a thick blanket around my body. "Nadir said to give you this. You need to stay warm."

The moment Cesar began to gallop, my agony worsened. My leg repeatedly hit the saddle, causing extreme jolts of pain to shoot up to my thigh. I cried…Oh, how I cried, but crying got me nowhere but exhausted. For hours, I dealt with the unbearable pain, feeling as though I were going to pass out at times. I didn't want to lean against Christine, but after hours of traveling, I couldn't hold myself up any longer.

"Erik, are you all right?" Christine asked as my body went ridged against her own. When I didn't say a word, I felt her hand against my cheek, and then, heard a small gasp.

"Nadir, Erik's cheek is burning up."

"We're almost to a safe spot," I heard Nadir assure. "Once we're out of harm's way, we will stop for the night. Just keep him comfortable…"

We were no longer in Paris, for the buildings had been replaced with trees and grass. There was no one around, making it seem as though we were the only three left on earth. When we finally stopped, Christine spent a few more minutes on that saddle with me…Oh, how I wanted to argue with her, but instead, I kept quiet to save my strength…

Christine's POV

"Come along, Christine…" Nadir helped me down off of Cesar's back before reaching for Erik's lifeless body. "We need to get him into the tent I have set up for him."

There were three tents set out beside one another. We moved Erik into the tent that was on the far end, a tent that was filled with blankets and pillows. We laid Erik down on a quilt that was placed along the floor of the tent. Afterwards, Nadir propped up Erik's hurt leg on some pillows.

"Your tent is the one that's right beside this one. I'm going to start a fire and heat up some towels."

"Towels?"

"For his leg…Heat will do it some good. I'll make some soup too."

"What should I do?"

"Stay in here with him and make sure he's comfortable. The doctor said that he has to be kept warm or else his illness is going to get worse."

Erik's POV

When I awoke, I was in pain, but at the same time, I felt someone massaging my ankle. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that I was lying in a tent of some sort, and my body was covered in a ton of blankets. I groaned as fingers kneaded into my sore ankle.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Erik…"

I swallowed hard and gazed at my feet where Christine was settled. She was sitting there rubbing my sore ankle. Oh, why was she doing this? I had set the girl free, and yet, she was here, with me…Why? Why was she here?

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Like I'm in hell…"

"Are you warm, at least?"

"A little cold…"

Christine didn't hesitate a single moment in unfolding a few more blankets and placing them over my body.

"I think you have a fever…" she said. "Your flesh is really hot."

"Then why is Erik so cold?"

"Nadir is making you something to eat. We're going to stay here tonight."

"Why is Christine here? Why isn't she with her boy and getting married? That's where Christine should be."

"I…I couldn't marry him, Erik."

"And yet, Christine would rather spend her days like a nomad."

"I don't know what I want anymore, Erik. All I know is that I would have been miserable living with Raoul. He wouldn't have let me sing…A vicountess doesn't spend her time singing. Forgive me for treating you so horrible these past few months."

I pressed my head against my pillow and sighed.

"Erik has always been treated with disrespect, so having one more person treating him in such a way was nothing he wasn't used to."

"You look uncomfortable," Christine said, scooting closer to me. "Maybe this would make you feel better."

The woman reached out for my mask, when I grabbed her hand to stop her.

"No, Christine…No! No…"

"Erik, why…what's gotten into you?"

"The last time Christine saw Erik's face, she screamed. If Erik had to relive that scream again, his heart would explode within his chest. No, Christine…No…"

"Erik, I was wrong to do that. But please trust me when I tell you that I would never do that again."

Once more, she reached out for my mask, when once again, I stopped her.

"No, Christine…Please don't. Don't do this to me."

Just then, Nadir entered carrying a bowl and a few towels. When he noticed Christine attempting to remove my mask, he switched the subject.

"Christine, I placed a few blankets in your tent. Why don't you go set up your bed for the evening? Afterwards, I have your dinner sitting out over the fire."

"Thank you, Nadir…"

Christine looked at me one final time, before making her way out of the tent.

"She has a good heart, Erik," Nadir said, placing a few warm towels over my bandaged leg. "You don't have to treat her so cruelly."

"Christine was trying to remove Erik's mask. Last time Christine saw Erik's face, she screamed. Erik can't possibly imagine hearing it again. It breaks his heart…"

"She's trying to good, man…How does that feel?" Nadir asked, motioning to the towels that he had placed across my leg.

"Better, thank you..."

"Christine said that you're a little hot." Nadir placed his hand over my forehead, only to slightly gasp. "Oh, and she's right. Maybe some soup will warm up your insides…"

I couldn't hold the bowl myself, and therefore, Nadir began to spoon feed me.

"We'll check on you tomorrow, Erik. If you're not feeling any better, perhaps we'll stay here a little longer."

"Thank you, Nadir…"

When I was finished eating, Nadir removed my mask and placed it on a pillow that was laying beside me.

"Nadir, Erik does not want his mask off of his face…"

"I'll keep Christine busy for the rest of the night. I'll make sure that she stays out of here. Get your rest, man…"

Nadir patted me on the shoulder and tucked me in.

"Sleep well, man."

And when Nadir left, I pressed my eyes closed and drifted off to sleep…

Christine's POV

When I finished my dinner and made up my bed, I found that I could not sleep. Therefore, I tiptoed across the campsite and entered Erik's tent to check on him. When I was inside, I expected to see Erik lying awake, but instead, I found his mask lying on a pillow, and his body turned to the side, blocking me from seeing his deformity. Checking his fever, I placed my hand gently on his cheek, still feeling his risen temperature. I felt horrible for him, for the man was in more agony than ever before. I rubbed his shoulder and pulled the blankets up to his neck.

"You poor man…" I cooed. "I hope you feel better in the morning."

Leaving him be, I gazed towards the mask that was lying on the pillow…Feeling curious, I lifted it up and ran my fingers over the chilled porcelain. Finally, I turned it to its side to look at the inside of it, only to notice that it was stained in a red substance…I never realized that wearing the garment agitated his flesh, for stained inside of this mask was blood. This brought tears to my eyes, for in the past, I never cared…But not anymore…From this day forward, I would care.

"Mon ange…what kind of life have you known?"

And there you have it, the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it! As a reward for having to wait so long becuase my internet was out, I shall post up the next chapter by thursday. Please reivew!