To all of you who have reviewed, read or favored this story, I thank you. There is no better feeling a writer can receive than when they know people are reading and staying connected with their story. I am touched.

It appears the super couple is on the path to ultimate fluff. I only hope Isabella doesn't cause disaster, at least not for a while.

Erik was up early the next morning and got ready for the day. He made his way to the music room and was surprised to see Tobias at the piano casually playing a melody. He slowly approached his pupil and sat down next to him on the bench.

"You should know better by now. Proper posture is just as critical as knowing what notes to play to make the melody sound as perfectly as it does in your mind."

"Professor!" Tobias was startled and got up in a panic, only to sit back down due to his confusion. "I was just…. I know it wasn't my best but I wasn't playing to impress. I thought I was alone with my thoughts."

"Tobias, when one plays or sings they must do it perfectly each time. It doesn't matter if no one is listening. Do it for the appreciation of the music or not at all."

"I know, Professor. I… My mind was somewhere else. I have no excuse."

Erik looked at the boy and smiled as he touched his shoulder. "Might it be on someone else, my boy?"

Tobias kept his head steady and sighed. "I don't know what changed. I thought both of us going to Italy would be wonderful and don't get me wrong, I love my classes and the teachers but Viviane seems to want more."

"More? How so?"

"She's so consumed with what she is wearing and who she is socializing with. Why can't she just be into her studies like I am?"

"Tobias, Viviane needs other interactions and stimulations. She needs friends."

"She has me! What more does she need?"

Erik couldn't help but think back to a time when Christine was a little girl and all she wanted was his time and their lessons. However as she started to grow up, he saw that he kept having to share her time with Megan and others at the Opera House. Although she always told him she enjoyed their time together, she needed interaction with others too.

"Tobias, Viviane is full of life and curiosity. While she must study in school and do well, she also needs more than just music."

"More than music?"

"Strange but true. She also needs other people to interact with."

"You mean other boys?" He groaned.

"Well, no not…."

"Professor, I knew she was pretty this whole time. I don't have to be able to see to know that. Now, she is surrounded by all these other people, boys, girls and most of them don't have our handicap. It's like she thinks she can just forget who she is and everyone she used to know."

"She hasn't seemed to have forgotten Aaron or Bets or Christine or myself."

"I meant me." He said in a whisper.

"Why do you think she has forgotten you? Don't you spend time together?"

"When we study but she wants to go out and spend time at a café or visit with the other students and …."

"You don't?"

"It all seems to be a distraction. Then we heard that there was going to be a formal dance and Professor, you would think she had received an invitation to sing at the Paris Opera House! All she did was go on and on about the dance."

"Tobias, if you saw how much it mattered to her, why didn't you ask to take her?"

"I….I was afraid she would say no. Afraid she would rather have had someone new and exciting take her."

"So are you going to the dance at least?"

He shook his head. "It's too late. Anyone I was even remotely interested in going with has an escort and besides…."

"Besides what?"

"What would it matter if I only want to be there with Viviane?"

"Have you told her any of this?" Erik didn't have to hear Tobias' response to know the answer. "Tobias, I hear so much of myself in your story."

"You do?"

"I was afraid to tell Christine the truth about my feelings for her. I was so afraid that I forced her to give up things she should not have, all in my hope to keep her with me out of necessity. The truth was that it drove her away. I assumed she wouldn't want the real me, so I pretended for much too long. I was convinced that she would never take me as myself, unless I tricked her. By then my self-esteem was so low, that even when she did choose me, I didn't believe it and sent her away." He trembled at how he almost lost her. "By the grace of a God I am still trying to understand, he brought us back together. It took honesty and trust and mainly talking but once we did, we both realized that we never wanted to reject or turn away from the other. We only wanted to be together."

"Together? Professor, you can't think that Viviane and I are…. That I am in love with…"

"Aren't you?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Viviane knocked on Christine's door and when she heard Christine's warm greeting she wrapped her arms around her waist.

"I am so glad you are up early. I have been dying to talk to you. I am so glad you can talk again too!" She giggled.

"As am I, my dear. Come inside. We still have some time before we are to meet the boys."

Viviane huffed. "Christine that is why I wanted to see you this morning. I don't know what has changed in Tobias but he is so different ever since we saw you and the Professor last." She grinned. "Saw… It never ends, does it?"

Christine took Viviane's hand and sat her down on the bed. "What has changed?"

"Everything! We use to do everything together. Even once we first arrived at school, we explored it all together and we met other people. It was fun. Mind you, we worked hard but we shared so much. I don't know what happened but lately, all he wants to do is study and he always picks a fight whenever I suggest we go out or spend some time with the other students. I've met some wonderful girlfriends and they have taught me about my hair and how to dress. I would think Tobias would be happy for me or pay me a complement."

"But dear, he can't see you. How would he know?"

Viviane sighed. "A girl likes to know how she looks. I mean, I tell him about all the effort I am putting into it and I describe my hair and dress in detail. Why won't he even acknowledge my efforts? Then there are other students there who can see and some of them are boys….. They notice me…. It's nice to have the attention."

"I see."

Viviane giggled. "I'm glad you do."

Christine couldn't believe how Viviane's experience with Tobias reminded her of Erik and their past. "Viviane, it is only natural to want to look pretty and have a boy notice you. However, you have always been pretty."

"But Tobias doesn't know that. I suppose he will never know that, so how can he comment on it?" She asked the question more to herself than to Christine.

"Have you talked to him about this?"

"I tried. I mean, I thought I could get him to take me to the school's formal dance. I had it in my mind that he would ask me and then, I would tell him how I felt but he never asked me! Meanwhile, Giulio asked me and I said yes. Oh Christine, I thought Tobias would get jealous and tell me he wanted to be the one to take me but he didn't. He just became even more withdrawn and mean."

"Is Giulio handsome?"

Viviane made a face. "What kind of a question is that? I can't see."

"I know you can't see physical beauty but you do know what real beauty is, my dear. Don't you remember when you felt Professor Erik's face?"

She smiled. "Yes."

"And if you care for Tobias, you must think he is handsome, no?"

"Of course, he's handsome. He is my best friend or at least was."

"You know, in a way, your story reminds me of Erik and me."

"How so?"

"Well, there was a long time when I was growing up that I thought he was the moon and stars. I was hopelessly in love with him but at the time, I didn't think he was real."

"What do you mean?"

Christine realized she better edit pieces of her story. "He was my maestro and therefore I couldn't even fathom a personal relationship." That and I believed him to be a celestial being.

"Oh. That makes sense, plus he's older too."

"Yes, although I never cared about that."

"How did you two get together in the end? Did you tell him?"

"Not for a long time. We both felt the same but each of us went about showing it in the wrong way. I reacted badly and I thought the best way for me to be happy was to forget him, so I started seeing another man,"

"Did it make the Professor jealous?"

"Very but he became angry and he thought I rejected him. Then one night, I told him I would stay with him, only he told me to leave. I felt so rejected, I thought he could never want me again after all the pain I had caused him."

"But you found one another again here at the conservatory, right?"

"Yes." She smiled. "I found him and it took time to build trust and communication but we soon revealed all of our old feelings and were elated when we found that each of us still wanted the other."

"Christine, why are you telling me all this? I'm not in love like that. I just want Tobias to notice me and appreciate me and spend time with me."

"Why do you think you want all those things, sweetheart?"

Viviane was about to give an answer when she discovered that what she was going to say wasn't the truth at all. "Oh my word, Christine…. I am! I am in love with Tobias!" Her face suddenly dropped. "What am I going to do? He wants nothing to do with me?"

"Are you so sure?"

"Huh?"

"Ask him and find out."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Erik and Tobias were standing in the music room, putting some music on the stands, when Christine entered.

"Gentlemen, I wonder if we could postpone our lesson until tomorrow. It appears that….."

Viviane made her way in and the minute she entered Tobias could smell her perfume. "Viviane?"

"Tobias, how did you know….."

"I smelled you… Err.. I mean…. You always smell like apricots." He smiled.

She blushed. "Can we talk?"

"Maybe later Viviane but I think we should talk first."

She shook her head but then just agreed with him. "I'd like that."

Meanwhile, Christine walked over to Erik's side and placed her hand on his heart. He leaned in to whisper, "I think they will be occupied for the remained of the day."

"Me too."

"Let's give them some privacy. Besides, we have a riding date, remember?"

She clutched his lapel. "I have been looking forward to our time alone all day long."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Erik and Christine raced out into the open fields. While neither had previously discussed where they would stop and rest, it appeared that both were subconsciously heading toward the exact same location where they had made camp once before. It was where Erik had taken his mask off and allowed Christine to really see him, for the first time since the night of Don Juan. It was where she saw his heart pure and whole. The moment they came to it, they both stopped and looked at the other. No words were needed.

Erik dismounted and then went over to help Christine off. Their eyes locked and he tenderly kissed her hand. She proceeded to untie a few items from her horse, as Erik allowed both animals to be free to graze for a while.

Christine took a blanket and spread it across the floor and pulled out two throw pillows she had taken along for this very purpose. Before Erik sat down, he paused and took his flesh mask off. She smiled widely when she saw him do this on his own, without having to encourage him to do so. As soon as he sat down beside her, she practically threw herself into his embrace.

"I can't think of anything else I would ever need." He whispered in his smooth, velvety voice and kissed the top of her head.

"Well, there may be one or two things that would make this moment sublime."

"Oh? What is stirring in that beautiful head of yours, my love?"

She motioned to the untouched sack. "Open it, angel."

Erik looked at the sack and then with his unoccupied hand, he brought it closer to them, so he wouldn't have to let go of Christine. He then looked inside and then back at her with a wicked grin. "You minx."

She giggled. "Why do you say that? I thought we both could enjoy some wine and a few biscotti or two. After all, Bets made them first thing this morning and I know how long you have gone without any."

"Bets' biscotti!" He opened the bag to allow himself to smell the delicious aroma that was coming from inside.

"I see what can easily distract you, precious." She grinned.

He poured the wine into two glasses that his angel had craftily wrapped inside the sack and handed one to her. "You….."

"What?" She smiled.

"Even in my wildest dreams of us, Christine I never imagined how good it could be. That you would be so willing to share such intimacies and plan outings such as this."

"Erik, you yourself wanted a wife to go for walks with on Sundays. Surely you….."

"No." He spoke softly. "I never dared to dream too much. A walk to show you off or be able to walk free amongst other human beings and not always be condemned to a lair but not this. I never wanted to lose sight of what I was or dream too far."

"Angel, we have shared many romantic, intimate moments together." She then caressed his malformed cheek. "You know how I want us to explore and share many more. Much more….."

Erik nodded slowly. "Indeed. Which brings us to the real reason why we are here, no?"

"Angel, I am ready to listen, if you are ready to tell me. Don't be frightened. You can tell me anything and I will not stop loving you for it. I simply couldn't, even if I tried. You are a part of my very soul. Living without you now, would be the worst punishment I could ever do to myself." She touched his knee. "And I don't believe in torturing oneself nor will I deprive myself of my heart's desire."

Erik kissed her lips tenderly and then nodded in agreement. "It's difficult to know where to begin exactly but after I left Giovanni, I really had no clear plan in sight. I knew I had to leave Italy and so I took the little money I had earned while working for him and returned to France. I tried to get work as an architect but with my still being so young and no one to recommend me, I had to start from the bottom again. I looked for work as a mason but one look at my mask and suddenly no one was hiring. Pretty soon, my empty belly forced me into performing the tricks I had learned from the gypsies. I performed magic and picked pockets again. On rare occasions I even sang but this time, I left my mask on and allowed the spectators' imaginations to guess what horrors lay beneath."

Christine kissed both his cheeks. "How did you meet Nadir?"

"After a year or so, I noticed a foreign man coming back quite frequently to my camp site. One night, he stayed after all the others had gone and I flat out told him that no amount of money would get me to take my mask off." He grinned. "Especially, when he had none left to give. I had picked pocketed his wallet an hour beforehand, leaving him with nothing."

"Erik!"

He shrugged his shoulder. "Pesky Persian. He was lucky I had waited so long." He took a sip of wine. "However the laugh was soon on me. He told me that he actually had been sent to find me. His employer had heard of a mysterious magic man, who could sing like an angel yet looked like an aging corpse. He told me that his employer had a proposition for me and wanted me to follow him back to Persia." Erik watched Christine for a moment before continuing.

"I was…. Intrigued and strongly flattered. Who was I but some mere freak that suddenly caught the attention of a Shah? I didn't see why I would be of any use to him but Nadir was persistent and I had nothing keeping me in France. Annie was married and it was clear her husband did not welcome my presence in their lives or Megan's, so I agreed." His mind went back to those early days when the land was so exotic and beautiful.

"Persia can be a heaven….. Or a hell. The Shah is the one man responsible for making it more one then other. Well, him and his mother."

"Were you ever happy there, my angel?"

"At first, I was so overwhelmed with its beauty and there were some amazing buildings and designs. What the Shah originally wanted me for, I will never know because after a few inquiries about some of the designs I would see, he tested my knowledge with a few of his top architects. They found my education and skills to be impressive and soon…" He paused and closed his eyes.

"Angel?"

"I was so accepted. No one even questioned my mask! All of a sudden the Shah was asking for my advice. I was being invited to court. I never seemed to be alone. The acceptance was addicting and soon I found myself doing things to ensure I wouldn't lose it."

Erik got up and began to pace. "I feel I need to keep moving to tell the next part."

Christine only nodded to show her support.

"Time went on and the Shah's mother had a very peculiar sense of humor. She enjoyed it when people were tortured in sport or for disobedience and soon she tasked me with the challenge of creating something new and different. I was conflicted. I had never created something for a sinister purpose yet she kept going on and on about how my talents would be indispensable to her son, if I proved myself. My need for acceptance and status caused hundreds of men and women to lose their lives."

He was afraid to look at Christine so he kept going. "I built toture chambers that were disguised as meditating domes; I created a chamber of mirrors that would cause anyone to be cut to pieces if they went in the wrong direction. I did not order them to their deaths but I created the tools to do so. I never stopped. Each torture chamber got bigger and more heinous. It didn't matter to me as long as I kept receiving the praise and the feeling as if I finally belonged."

He covered his face and kneeled onto the ground, causing Christine to jump up and fly to his side. "Erik, shhhh…. It's alright. Don't you see? You were being manipulated. They knew acceptance was your weakness. They forced you….."

"I did it willingly. I kept doing it."

"Then if you enjoyed it so much, why did you stop? Why did you leave?"

He looked at her wearily. "One night, there was a knock on my door. The Shah wanted to present me with a gift for all my hard work. He sent me a woman."

Christine held her breath.

"The girl was very young and you could tell she was scared. Although no one saw my real face, the mask and my position caused rumors and I later learned the Shah encouraged people to fear my gruesome face."

"I was tempted. There she was, mine for the taking. In Persia women are….. They are considered property and while I abhorred the treatment, I was fascinated that for a brief moment, I could finally have what so many men took for granted. I tried to calm her. I told her that it would be alright and that she might even enjoy it. Yet she screamed. She screamed and I never even touched her, Christine! I told her I wouldn't hurt her but she got on the floor and begged me to keep my mask on. She said I could rape her but to please spare her from having to see my face…."

Christine eyes were filling up with tears.

"When she said that….When she used the word rape, I immediately thought of my time with the gypsies and knew I could never do something like that, ever! However, instead of letting her go, I became angry that she was willing to allow such an act to occur, providing I kept my face concealed. Defying her body didn't bother her but having to see my face did. I carelessly grabbed her up from the floor, opened my door and threw her into the hallway. I told the guards she was not to my liking and I never wanted to see her again."

"What… What happened then?"

Ashamed, he kept his head down. "I cried myself to sleep. The next morning, the Shah told me I had disgraced him for returning his gift and demanded to know why I would insult him. I simply told him that she was not to my liking and in the future, I would determine who would be."

He looked at Christine in fear. "Later that night, I heard that someone was going to be punished. I was expected to go and ensure the chamber was secure." He swallowed hard. "It was her. The Shah had condemned her to death because I wouldn't sleep with her. She screamed for hours before the cuts from the glass finally killed her."

He got up once more. "Oh, Christine I haven't told that part of my past to anyone. Hearing it out loud…..How can I expect you to still love me?"

"That was not your fault! It was terrible and tragic but my God, Erik you were not the reason she died. You didn't want to force her to be with you. You showed mercy."

"Mercy? Are you mad? I condemned her to die! If I had cared so much, I should have lied and pretended we had slept together. At least her life would have been spared. Instead, I didn't stop to think of the consequences of what would happen to her. All I cared about was my own rejection!"

"Erik, can't you hear yourself? You said you were not thinking clearly. For had you been, you would have lied to protect her."

"And that's an excuse?"

"Angel, you are human. Yes, you have so many wonderful gifts but you are just a man. Men have flaws, so do women. We both know of mine. You were broken and scared and in desperate need of acceptance. Suddenly, you are thrown into a world of wealth and power and in the company of people who do not care who they hurt or use. They saw your weakness and they used it to their advantage."

"Christine…."

"Is that why you left?"

"After that night, I knew I had to leave. Nadir had been trying to warn me for months but I wouldn't listen to him. If I hadn't been so self-absorbed with my own needs, I would have seen his own troubles with the Shah. You see, his son became ill and needed care."

"His son?"

Erik nodded. "Reza was his name. Nadir was naturally worried as his wife had died a year or so beforehand. The Shah claimed he was neglecting his duties."

"Oh Erik….."

"Due to my time with the gypsies, I was able to see that Reza would not get better, only worse. I told Nadir that the illness would cause the boy to deteriorate." Erik closed his eyes as he remembered the fight they had when he first told him.

"He threw me out but a day later, he came to see me and asked to tell him everything I knew about the disease. There was no rhyme or reason as to why this happened but I told Nadir that the longer it progressed, the more he would be in pain and that didn't even take into consideration that soon he would be unable to walk or see." He took a deep breath. "He agreed that Reza should not have to go through such agony only….."

"Erik?"

"He couldn't do it." Erik shook his head and then said it quickly. "He asked me to kill his son."

"My God…."

Erik knew in that moment it was all over. How could she ever forgive this? "Christine, whatever you now think of me, just know that he did not suffer. He simply fell into a deep sleep. Nadir couldn't do it and the child was innocent. I was already a monster so…"

"Erik, do you think I blame you? What you did was not in malice or in vengeance; it was an act of love. Does Nadir have any idea what he asked of you? Look at yourself, you obviously were guilt-ridden, you still are. Are those the feelings of a merciless killer? You are a compassionate, loving man. You did it out of love for that sweet child and out of love for your friend. You took up his burden. Erik, you are no monster."

Tears fell down his cheeks. "Angel…."

"My Erik, long ago, I asked what kind of life you had known. Now I know. I know and those days are over. From now on, you will only know love."

He wiped his eyes. "You… You never asked how I left Persia."

She was holding him tightly. "How, my angel?"

The Shah wouldn't let anyone leave, unless they were in a box. I had wanted to leave ever since the night that girl was sent to death but after I received Annie's letter telling me her husband had died. I knew she and Megan needed me."

"What did you do?"

"I left Persia in a box, I just never informed the Shah that I wasn't dead." He laughed. "Nadir risked his life for me."

"He owed you."

"No, my dear. It wasn't like that. We were friends." Erik made a face. "Damn, I just admitted it to another person."

She giggled. "He is lucky to call you friend."

"To have a friend, you must be a friend and for whatever reason that pesky Persian is determined to keep me." He looked down.

"I know the reason." She lifted his chin up to look at her. "Do you want to go back?"

"Actually angel, would you mind if I rode by myself for a while?"

She kissed him softly. "Take all the time you need, precious. "

"Are you sure you will be alright going back on your own?"

"As long as you promise me one thing." She placed her hand on his heart.

"What is it?" He placed his hand over hers.

"Come home soon because I love you."

"Still?"

"Forever."