Author's Note: Hey everyone! The next chapter of Gemini! Thief of His Heart has been updated as well, so go check that out! I can never thank N.S.L. Jewelles enough for all of her help and support, she truly is amazing! Enjoy!

Chapter Eleven: Repaying Christine

"Truly, Christine, have you lost all of your sense!?" she muttered to herself, wincing as she took another painful step. Oh, yes, she had most assuredly lost her mind. There was no other explanation as to why she would be walking through the woods in the dark of night when the wounds on her back were far from healed. Christine had tried several times to come up with a logical reason as to why she was going to the cottage. It was a risk, to be sure. If Charles or Raoul found out that she was missing, there would be hell to pay. However, both men had gone away to take care of some things that they had not disclosed with anyone, and would not be back for a few days in the least. That gave her a little time, anyways. Katerina had not come looking for her since the incident, and she was thankful she did not have to endure that woman's presence.

A strong breeze was coming off from the ocean, and Christine unconciously shivered. Perhaps she should have dressed for the weather. Her thin chemise and cloak were hardly suitable for the cold winds. But when she reached the cottage there should be a warm fire blazing, and that would warm her chilled bones. The cottage. The cottage meant Erik. Why was she going to Erik? He was a strong man, surely he could care for himself until she was fully healed? Yet something was drawing her towards him. Maybe the reason she was willing to brave such peril was because she could no longer stand being confined to a bed, nothing to do and no one to talk to. Meg tried her best to keep her company, but the young woman had her own chores she needed to get done, so that left her little free time.

Charles and Raoul seemed to visit her every oppertunity they were given. Christine had thought that surely men of their status had plenty to keep them occupied, and yet they were in her rooms for hours at a time. She never really knew what to say to them when they were with her, so they did most of the talking. They would tell her tales about their many adventures, and it was enough to quell her boredom for a time. But she needed to leave the chateau. Needed to feel like she was not forever trapped in a place she did not want to be. At night she dreamed of Katerina coming to her, the beautiful features of her face contorted with hate. Needless to say, her hand was much heavier with the whip than the last time, and the blows were enough to kill her. Every time these thoughts entered her peaceful slumber, she woke up in a cold sweat, tears pooling in her eyes unbidden.

Whenever she was in Erik's presence he gave her little time to think about anything but him. She needed this distraction, and would use the fact that she was worried about him to explain her arrival there. He did not need to know about what drove her away from her own home. However, if she kept walking and limping the way she was, there was going to be no way that he didn't find out. It was rather obvious she was injured, but when she faced him she would hold her head up and ignore the pain searing her back. She thought back to all that Meg had said about the broken warrior. She had known that he would be beyond angry with Meg's arrival there, but it had been the only way! She had been appalled to hear of the way he treated her friend, but knew that Meg was lucky to have gotten out alive. Erik could have killed her just to spite Christine.

She had promised him that she would keep his secret. That she would not tell anyone where he was. Yet it seemed like the first oppertunity she was given that was exactly what she did. He could very well wish her dead for betraying the little bit of trust he had given her. Well, he would simply have to deal with it! There had been no way to get to him on her own, and Meg was so frightened of him she would never say anything of his whereabouts.

A sound caught Christine's attention, drawing her out of her musings. She peered in the darkness ahead of her, every nerve ending in her body on edge. It sounded like someone or something was charging toward her through the trees. Her breath caught as the noise drew closer. Whatever it was it was obviously on a mission, because the noise did not falter at all. Glancing behind her, she wondered if she should go back to the chateau. Her body needed rest, though, and the cottage was closer than the chateau. But fear clutched at her chest, and her breathing grew short. Sending up a fevernt prayer, Christine went about trying to find someplace to hide.

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Clenching his jaw to fight out the cold, Erik continued his path through the woods. He had no clear destination in mind, because he did not know where Christine took up residence. Surely there must be a chateau nearby? But it was so damn dark! He could barely even make out his own hand waving in front of his face. He probably would not see the chateau until he ran straight into its bricks! Why was he making this journey to begin with? He had told himself again and again that he was going to stay out of any business that concerned Christine. He did not wish to become close to her, that would only make things more complicated. Something in the back of his mind kept telling him that something was wrong, something was not right with that woman. He knew she would not betray his trust by sending that woman to him unless she had no other way to get those things to him. How did he know she would not betray him? He had no bloody idea, but he knew that she had no reason as of yet to give up his whereabouts. She knew not who he was, to her he could be a simple lowly peasant.

So what was keeping her away from him for so long? It had been another four days since that other woman had come to him. What was detaining Christine? Was she alright? She better be, he would not tolerate anything else from her. Normally he would not simply storm up to a place without some sort of plan. Erik's mind was drawing a blank with plans. His face was uncovered and that meant almost assuredly that he would never be let into the gates willingly. If he somehow managed to find his way inside, what would he do next? He did not know where Christine' chambers were, or if she even had any. Noble or servant, he had nto been able to decide as of yet. What would he tell her when she questioned his arrival there? God, he had never been so unprepared for anything in his life! And all because of a woman! His father was right, they were more trouble than they were worth. The only reason he was going through so much trouble for this particular female was because he found her intriguing. Intriguing. Erik snorted. He wanted her in his bed, there was nothing intriguing about that!

He was never been denied a woman's touch, not when he was at home. Females feared him so would willingly bed him for fear of making him angry. If only they knew that it was his handsome, flawless brother that they should really be concerned about. Just because his face looked like a monster did not mean he would kill them like Lucifer would. He could only imagine what his dear brother would do with a woman like Christine. By the time he was finished with her there would be nothing of who she originally was left. Erik's fist clenched. Over his dead body. There was no way he would let-

Growling in anger, Erik felt himself stumble backwards and land on his rear. Whatever, or whomever he stumbled into screeched in startled fear. He heard a loud thump, and knew that whatever it was had fallen just as ungraciously as he had. Propping himself up onto his hands, he peered into the darkness to try and make out what was scrambling to get up in front of him. He heard a soft moan of pain, and knew it had to be a woman. What was a woman doing out in the woods so late at night, and what did she-

"Christine?"

He had no idea if it was her before him, but she was the only one that made sense. Erik ignored the tightening in his chest when he heard her whimper again.

"E-Erik?"

She gasped when there was a sudden quick movement and suddenly his strong grip was on her arm. Ignoring any of her protests, Erik yanked her to her feet and began to drag her with him, back towards the cottage. This woman had much explaining to do. By God, she would not leave that cottage until he heard every last word she had to say. But why was she coming to him so late? The sun had set hours ago. What was going on that she had to send someone else to give him things instead of herself? Oh, yes, he wanted answered. She would not deny him what he wanted to know. Christine protested the rough way he was handling her, and every so often he would hear a soft moan or a whimper. He knew he was not being that rough, so he ignored her tiny outcries of pain.

When they reached the cottage Erik thrust open the door and pushed Christine in ahead of him. She stumbled and landed roughly onto her knees. Slamming the door behind him he glared at the woman before him. She did not try and rise, in fact, her shoulders were shaking as if...as if she was crying. Silently his eyes roamed over her, looking for details he must have missed in the dark. She was wearing a dark cloak that shrouded her completely but...it looked as if it were sticking to her back from moistness. Frowning, he took a step toward her. Christine collapsed onto her side and gave a soft cry. With her face turned to the side he did not have very much trouble realizing she was sobbing, and she had her eyes shut tightly in pain. Muttering several explicit curses, Erik hunkered down next to her and gently removed the cloak that draped over her.

"N-no!" she pleaded, trying to move away from him. He put a strong hand down on her shoulder, stopping her from moving any further. She wore a thin white chemise beneath the cloak, and Erik did not even have time to appreciate the sight laid out before him. Immediately his eyes landed on her back, taking in the sight of so much blood with some surprise. The pure color of her chemise was stained with the dark liquid and he glanced up, meeting Christine's gaze. What had happened? She bit her lip and looked away from him, trying to cover herself up. Muttering a stern 'no', he gathered her into his arms and carried her the short distance to where his furs lay spread out. Setting her gently onto it, his hands went to the neck of her chemise, and with a slight tug, the matterial shredded in his hands.

"What are you doing?!?" she gasped, frantically trying to cover her suddenly nude body. Why was the woman so stubborn? Could she not see that he was trying to help her? She stilled, however, when she found that his eyes were not roaming over her ludely, but were fixated on the lashes on her back. Many of them had reopened, and blood and pus oozed out.

"What happened?" he growled, his voice leaving little room for anything but an answer. Trembling at his intense gaze, she shook her head and curled herself more deeply into the furs. "Christine, what-"

"Erik...it hurts," she whispered. He stared at her for several long moments, realizing how hard it was for her to admit her pain to him. She did not want him to think she was weak. He did not know why, but he knew it to be the case. Nodding his head curtly, he stood and went about gathering bandages, boiling water, and stoking the fire to warm the cottage. When he returned to her he sat down beside her and dipped a cloth into the warm water. Biting her lip, she turned away from him as he gently began to wash the blood and pus from her skin. It was strange, but even though he was not paying attention to her nakedness, she was very aware of it.

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A few hours later...

Erik silently pulled a fur gently over Christine's chilled body. She had said nothing while Erik worked to help mend the broken flesh of her back. She would not meet his gaze, and he wondered what she was thinking. Who would dare do such a thing to her? What could such a quiet, innocent woman do to deserve such treatment? He had the deep urge to kill whomever laid a hand on her, and he did not quite know where the feeling came from. Why was he concerned about her to such an extent? Maybe because she looked so helpless at the moment. When the fur was completely over her she curled herself into a ball, and remained silent.

As he stared at her, looking so helpless, guilt began to wash over him at the way he had manhandled her upon first finding out it was her. She had communicated her distress through her moans and whimpers, but he had ignored them. Many of the wounds on her back had to of reopened because of the way he had dragged her through the woods. Had he made it his new mission to terrorize innocent females? Especially females that had already saved his life? When would he learn to not let his temper get the better of him? He had been so angry about her sending that woman that he had wanted answers no matter what he had to do to get them. This answered his unanswered questions as to why she had not been able to come to him herself. Someone had beaten her.

A fierce growl erupted in his throat, and his fists and jaw clenched in rage. He would see to it that whomever decided to raise their hand against Christine would have him to answer to. He would not let this down lightly. Maybe this is just my way to repay her for what she has already done for me by saving my life. Erik's subconcious came up with this excuse because he had no other explanation as to why he was so angry at her mistreatment. He had seen this thing dozens of times when Lucifer or his father decided to punish any of their servants. Often times things worse than this were done to the women sent to warm Lucifer's bed. He enjoyed pain, and took great delight in hurting those physically weaker than himself. Even then Erik had taken no pleasure in the sight, and now it seemed a little too personal. He knew this woman-if not well-and he knew she could never do anything to deserve such punishment.

"Do not get up or try to move about, your wounds will never heal properly if they keep reopening," he said. There was a no-nonsense tone to his voice. He would not tolerate her trying to move when it would only do her harm. She did not answer him and he sighed. "You do not plan on telling me what happened, do you?"

This time she did turn to look at him, her brilliant blue gaze meeting his. For a moment she simply stared at him, her eyes moving over his mangled face. Erik had the urge to cover himself but knew it to be pointless. By some grace of God she did not care about his face. She never flinched or looked at him in disgust. Besides that, he knew right now she was not even taking in the sight of the mangled flesh. The wheels of her mind were working and he could only imagine how much trouble that intelligence of hers had gotten her into.

"If I asked you what happened to leave you broken on the beach, would you answer that question?" she wondered. He knew she had him there. He had divulged no information to her about what had happened to him or his life, so she would obviously not say anything either. But see, what she did not know was that Erik planned on finding out everything on his own. He now had a vendetta against anyone that had hurt her.

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Christine listened to Erik moving about the cottage. Her eyes were extremely heavy, her entire body needing sleep. Her mind, however, was reeling. She would have to stay in this cottage until her wounds were healed, because Erik would never allow her to leave. She had no idea how long she had before Raoul and Charles returned to the chateau. For right now they were the only ones that would truly look for her. Katerina, she was sure, would not seek her out right now. It was obvious she was trying to get back into the Chagny's good graces. But when those two men returned, and they found her gone, would they search for her? She had a very bad feeling that yes, they would look for her. Would they start with the woods? What would happen if they found Erik? What, more importantly, would they do if they found them alone together? She could only imagine all the trouble staying here would get her. But what was she supposed to do? This warrior was strong, and he could force her to stay here if he felt like he had to.

She was more suprised with the fact that he seemed so willing to help her in her time of need. He had been rather cold to her in certain aspects. She had expected him to send her back to where ever she had come from the moment he had seen her wounds. But he had surprised her with a tenderness that she had not known he had. Perhaps he was not nearly as cold and heartless as he would have her believe. It was a nice thought. It meant he was more human that she had originally thought.

Then there was the idea that she was completely naked and vulnerable. He had been in the same state not to long ago, but he would have never had to worry about her taking advantage of her. Did she have to worry that he would? He had said he would be willing to ravage her if it were what she wanted, but now? Had this lust changed? Christine found her cheeks flooding in embarrassment. Why was she thinking such thoughts? They were not ladylike at all! If he knew what she was thinking she could only imagine his reaction! More color stained her cheeks.

"Are you thinking about me without clothing, little one?"

Christine's head snapped around to stare at Erik in surprise. Had he been reading her thoughts? For a moment her eyes ran over his body unbidden, for the first time realizing that he was indeed wearing the trousers she had sent him. They lay stretched taunt over his thick legs and hung rather low on his hips. He wore no tunic, his chest bare for her gaze. Well, yes, he did look more appealing without clothes hindering his body-again heat suffused her cheeks, and a small smirk lifted the corner of Erik's mouth. Well, she refused to do anything for his ego!

"Why would I be thinking such a thing? What I saw was not very impressive anyways," she murmured, turning away from him. She managed, however, to see the smirk on his face disappear at her words. Christine had to contain her satisfied smile. If he knew the course of her thinking a few moments ago he would have kept that smirk. But he never had to know that she had admired him without his clothing. The mere thought was scandalous!

"It did not seem that way when you were eating me with your eyes moments ago, my lady," he said, knowing she did not find his body repulsive. She shrugged and kept her head turned away from him.

"Think whatever you wish..."

She gasped in stunned surprise when he was suddenly crouched beside her, her chin in his massive hand. He took great care not to jostle her in any way, but his grip never faltered. For a moment words failed Christine. His eyes roamed over the features of her face in a leisurely exploration. Once again her breath caught when he allowed his gaze to travel lower, where the fur stopped just above her breasts. Again all the blood rushed to her face and she felt her body grow uncomfortably warm. He seemed to notice and his smirk returned. Letting go of her chin he backed away from her, going to tend to the fire as if nothing had happened.

For several long moments she stared at the wide expanse of his back. Why was she reacting to him in such a way? She had never blushed so much in a man's presence before, nor had her body ever become quite so hot. This was not good, not good at all. If she was forced to stay here how was she ever going to survive when his gaze bore into her in such a way? When thinking about his body had her thinking things that any well bred woman would never dream about!? Oh, yes, she needed to get out of her as quickly as she was able.

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