Ok, so I wanted to warn everyone before they read this chapter. This chapter is rated M for something I will not leak out... Let's just say that this chapter shows the Shah's true colors. He's a sick man with some sick ideas of entertainment. With that being said, read on my Phans. Just wanted to warn those who don't like reading nasty stuff. But, as I've said before, this story is a dark take on Erik's life... Happy reading!

Erik's POV

The next morning before work, I played my violin to ease the pain and memories of the previous evening.

"Erik?"

When I heard Christine's voice, I stopped playing and put down the violin. Oh, how could I ever face her again?

"Erik, what you did last night…"

"It was the actions of a monster," I began. "No respectable man would ever do what I did."

"You were just trying to protect me, Erik. It's been a long time since our childhood, but I want things to be like they used to be. I want to spend endless nights talking to you from beneath the blanket forts you used to make us. I want to get lost in your stories again…Is that so much to ask? We're married, and even though a husband isn't supposed to love his wife like a man should over here, I want you to."

"You're not mad at me for last night?"

Christine shook her head. "I don't want to fight with you anymore, Erik. Can we please treat each other like we used to? There was a time where we used to be inseparable…"

"On one condition," I said.

"Anything…"

"From now on, when you're angry, don't call me master… I know that you have to do so when we're out in public, but not here, Christine."

"All right…"

I packed my instrument away and stood to my feet. "I have to work now, Christine. When I come home, we will have a few of these long awaited conversations."

The palace extension was nearly finished. All that was left was just a small portion that I needed to redo. I had only been working an hour, when I noticed the workers giving me evil looks. I knew that they were curious about my face, for their eyes were fixated on my mask.

"Erik of Egypt?"

I was caught off guard when I heard my name being called.

"Yes?"

There was a guard standing before me now.

"The Shah wishes to see you…"

Knowing that I needed to follow the guard, I ignored the men who were eying me up and left my post.

"Ah, Erik of Egypt, I have come to invite you to dine with me…"

The Shah was already sat at his small dining room table when I arrived. There had been a spot made up for me, and when a guard pulled out a chair, I was ordered to sit.

"So, Erik of Egypt, I hear that my palace is nearly finished. Is that true?"

Wine was now being poured into my empty glass and I picked it up to take a sip. The liquor was strong, but tasty all the same.

"Your palace will be done within a few days time, your highness."

"I expect you to give my mother a tour once she arrives. She will be living in that part of the palace."

"Yes, your highness…"

"I have a treat for you, Erik of Egypt…"

The Shah snapped his fingers, causing my Christine to come walking in. Oh, why was she here! She was a lot safer in my flat!

"I have decided upon inviting your slave to feed you your lunch. That is her duty, none the less… Isn't that right, Christine?"

"Yes, your highness…"

The Shah handed Christine some grapes and ordered her to feed them to me. Oh, I would not stand to have her being treated like a dog.

"Your highness, as much as I love my slave, I prefer to feed myself my meals. I have other uses for her."

"Other uses? Word around the palace is that you enjoy other pleasures."

"I don't know what you're talking about, your highness…"

"Rumor is that you let men take advantage of you when you were younger."

I had been holding my glass of wine, but when I heard this, I nearly dropped it. How had he heard? I only told this to…NADIR! That bastard! He had betrayed me…

"So, is that why you haven't made your marriage official? You enjoy the pleasures of men instead of women?"

"No," I cried. "Never…I am not like that, not one bit."

"Then why? Why haven't you consummated your bloody marriage! I have given you chance after chance to make it official and yet, you have disobeyed me! Punishment is in order for you, Erik of Egypt!"

"No!"

"You will learn to obey me! Was your whipping not enough for you to understand that I am the sun and stars around here and what I say goes!"

Two guards grabbed my wife and dragged her away as she kicked and screamed. I tried to run after her, but I was also grabbed and hauled away as well.

"We are going to settle this right now."

I wasn't sure where I was being taken, but I could hear people…lots and lots of people. Suddenly, the doors to the palace swung open and we were met with a crowd of people. They were standing around as if waiting for something to happen. My Christine was in the center, her robe torn as she stood there sobbing and attempting to cover herself with her arms. This was all my fault… If only I had consummated our marriage last night! I was thrown to my knees, the dust flying up from all around me.

"I think I know why you refuse to take your living and breathing wife as your own, Erik of Egypt." The Shah began.

The Shah knelt down to my height and reached out for my mask. I tried to flinch, really, I did, but I was no match against this monster. He tilted my mask up just enough to see my bloated lips and rotting flesh of my cheek.

"You look like a corpse…" The Shah concluded. "And sadly, Erik of Egypt, corpses only fuck corpses…"

"Don't hurt her…" I cried. "Don't hurt my slave…"

"Hurt your slave? You're married to her, Erik of Egypt. She has done nothing wrong…"

Suddenly, the Shah snapped his fingers and another body was tossed down beside me. I was afraid to look, but when my eyes gained enough courage to take a peek, I noticed it was the corpse of a dead girl, but not just any girl, the whore who had denied me. Oh, she smelled horrible and by the way her body had decayed, she must have been dead for a week or more.

"Now, Erik of Egypt, you have one of two choices. You can choose to either take your slave in front of everyone, or, take this corpse and show your true colors."

I looked up at Christine to find that she had tears in her eyes. How could I possibly choose something so horrible! I had to either make love to this corpse or make love to her… Both choices were humiliating, but one would only humiliate me. I didn't want to touch this corpse, but if I chose Christine, she would be humiliated as well. No… I cared for this girl very much, that being the reason why I refused to take her as my own in front of the city. I would save her all the pain and suffering by taking her place.

"Choose quickly!" the Shah snapped as I felt a whip come down along my back.

"Master…" Christine tried to speak, but my trousers were already being torn away from me by a few guards. The entire city was staring at my naked and scarred bottom now. Since I was looking at Christine, the Shah must have thought I had chosen her, for the guards were grabbing her now.

"No!" I cried. "Not her…I don't want her."

The Shah was laughing now, laughing because he was going to get the show he wanted.

"I knew I was right…"

"I don't want…"

"I don't care what you want! Get on with it, Corpse!"

Both my mind and body shut down at that point, for I was forced to make love to a dead body. I vomited three times as the town laughed at me. I tried to pull away many times, but the guards kept pushing me down.

"Not until you finish, corpse lover!"

This was my first time with any woman and I was thankful that I didn't last more than a few minutes. Christine was screaming and crying while the city was laughing at me… Even the Shah was laughing as if this were the funniest thing he had ever witnessed.

"All right, enough with this…"

When I heard Nadir's voice, I looked up to find him walking forward with his sword drawn.

"If you treat your master mason like this, your highness, how do you expect your palace to get done in time? You've had your fun with him, now enough is enough."

The Persian pulled me from the corpse and handed me my trousers. I was covered in my own vomit and the city was still watching me.

"Have it your way, Khan… Take him to his room. Oh, that was truly entertaining. I knew he was into corpses…literally…"

I wouldn't speak to anyone that evening, not even Khan… He washed my shocked body and put me to bed. He tried to speak with me, but I was in so much shock that I couldn't even speak. When he was gone, I shook from beneath the blankets as I tried to think about something other than what I had been forced to do with that rotting corpse. Like the old days, I made a tent out of my blankets, a tent to bury my ashamed body in.

"Erik?"

When I heard Christine's soft voice a while later, I pressed my eyes closed and began to sob. Not her…Oh, how embarrassing! How could she possibly want to be married to me now? After what I had chosen to do?

"You're hiding like old times…" she whispered. "You only hid like this when you were upset."

A few seconds later, I felt the blankets of my fort moving, only to spot her crawling in beside me.

"Y…You didn't have to do that for me today, Erik. I…I know that you chose the corpse to save me from a life long period of embarrassment."

When I didn't answer her, she wrapped her arm around my torso and cried into my back…I could feel her tears soaking into my shirt.

"Thank you, Erik…"

"You know, Christine, I don't wish to talk about this anymore. Just knowing that I gave my virginity to a corpse makes my stomach churn. I…I don't want to live anymore."

"Don't say that, Erik… Please don't say that. I want you to stay with me forever. We're married now and I plan on keeping that vow, no matter how long it takes us to get used to it."

I turned around so that I was facing Christine and rested my head on my pillow. The tears that were seeping through my mask were instantly wiped away by her angelic fingers…Oh, this girl was something else.

"Tomorrow is another day… Maybe, just maybe, we'll sail across the sea, put it out of mind… Leave this place behind."

It was like a prayer…a soft yet angelic prayer. Leave this place behind? There was nothing that I wanted more than to leave Persia, for it was a nightmare anymore.

"Wh…Where would we go?" I choked. "There isn't a place in this world that would accept me. I've been to many places in my lifetime and I'm not accepted anywhere."

"Anywhere with you is the greatest place in the world, Erik…Now, let's not talk about what happened to you anymore. Let's just try to sleep…"

Christine snuggled down beside me and closed her eyes. It made me happy, but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel my blood running red. I wasn't sure if we would ever leave Persia, but one thing was for sure, I wouldn't be leaving without killing the Shah…

Ok, so this chapter was a little gruesome, but I warned you. At least Christine is a little understanding...Please review!