Christine's POV

The look upon my angel's face when I wished him a happy birthday was priceless. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he sat there looking me in the eyes.

"No one has ever wished Erik a happy birthday." He cried. "No one,"

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and sobbed. I placed his gift down and wrapped my arms around his body, lightly squeezing him.

"Oh, Erik, please don't cry. I want tonight to be a happy night. I want you to have a happy birthday."

Erik grasped hold of my hands and pressed tiny kisses to them.

"Oh, Christine has made today the best day in his entire life…" he paused. "Well, second best day. The first is when you and I were married."

"When we were staying at your house, Erik," I began. "I read your mother's diary. The reason I know your birthday, is because she wrote about it in one of her logs."

"It was only once, Christine, and yet, it was the most miserable day of my entire life. Not only did I cut myself on glass after she showed me my reflection, but on that same day, I realized that no one would ever love me."

"I love you, Erik," I assured, pressing a kiss to his tear stained cheek. "I love you more than anything in the world. Which is why I got you this."

I then placed the wrapped up violin into Erik's lap. His eyes widened at the very sight of it, more tears beginning to fall down his cheeks.

"Christine, you have given me the most special gift in the world. Wishing me a happy birthday was enough. You didn't have to get me anything, especially since our funds are tight right now."

"I saved for a few pays, Erik. This gift didn't come out of our weekly funds."

Erik ran his fingers over the newspaper that was wrapped around his present.

"As kind as it is, Christine, I can't accept this gift."

"Nonsense, Erik. Everyone deserves a birthday present. As poor as my father was, he always managed to buy me my favorite candy bar."

"But this is larger than a candy bar, Christine."

I nodded. "Yes, but I wanted to get this for you, Erik. Now please, just open your gift."

My Erik smiled and began peeling away the paper like an excited child on Christmas morning. He peeled away each piece of paper, getting closer to the gift. When it was completely unwrapped, he stared at the black case as if he didn't know what to say...

"You bought me a case?" he questioned.

Once more, I had to giggle, because Erik certainly wasn't the smartest when it came to gifts. Yes, he was a genius, but his smarts came with music and mathematics, not guessing presents.

"Open it," I said with a smile.

My angel placed the case down in front of him and opened the top, his eyes widening the moment he saw the violin sitting there in front of him.

"Christine…" he paused, more tears pouring down his cheeks. My angel pulled the violin gently from its case and examined every crevice of its tattered surface.

"Do you like it, Erik?"

Erik pressed the violin to his chest, as if he were hugging it.

"It's been so long since I've had a violin. This…this means a lot to me."

"You'll be interested to know that it once belonged to a famous violinist from Germany. When I went to the music shop, the owner told me that a relative pawned it to him…"

"It certainly wasn't taken care of." Erik stated, running his fingers over the varnish.

"Can you repair it?"

Erik nodded. "It's fixable. It might take me a while, but with a fresh coat of varnish and some polish, she'll be as good as new."

"Well then, will you play for me?"

Erik smiled and placed the end of it beneath his chin.

"It's been so long," he murmured, placing the bow against the tarnished strings.

"Play something for me, like you used to do when I was a little girl."

Erik closed his eyes and began to play. The tune was soft, yet slow and I knew Erik was making sure that he didn't work the violin too hard, fearing that the strings would break. The song was beautiful and most likely straight out of Erik's mind. The most important thing was that I had made him happy, happy and whole again.

"That was wonderful, Erik."

My angel placed the instrument down in the case and smiled back at me, more tears falling from his face.

"I love you, Christine," he pleaded. "So, so much."

It was then, that my husband wrapped his arms around me and laid us down on the blankets we had spread out. His lips pressed against my flesh, as his hands ran over my body. I loved him…More than anything in the world.

"Oh, Christine,"

I ran my hands down to his trousers and groped him, causing an erotic sigh to escape his lips.

"Oh, I need you, Christine. So, so much."

"Me too…" I breathlessly gasped, tearing away his shirt.

I kissed every inch of him. I kissed his scars, his shoulders, his chest, his belly…Everything I could get my lips on. Erik did the same, and when we couldn't take another moment of being without one another, my angel joined us.

"Oh, Erik…" I cried out his name over and over again as he pleasured me. His lips kissed my neck hard as he thrust into me with an animalistic need. Yes, when we first started making love it was awkward and strange, but now that we knew each other's bodies, it was always amazing. When we were finished, my husband and I fell asleep within one another's arms, my lips pressing small kisses to his bare and scarred chest.

"I love you, Erik," I cooed as I slipped away to sleep.

But my Erik was already soundly asleep to reply…

Erik's POV

I jolted upright in bed, gasping for air like a madman. I had a nightmare…Oh, and a horrible one. Usually, my nightmares consisted of my days with the gypsies, but tonight, my nightmare consisted of Persia, and the abuse I took from the Shah's wife. I dreamt about the time she locked me away in one of my torture chambers that I had built just for her own amusement. The mirrors had caused so much heat to consume my surrounding, that I nearly died. On the other side, she sat laughing away, telling me to beg her for my life. I have never begged for anything, and I refused to beg her for my life! When I had been with the gypsies, I always begged my master to stop whenever he would pin me down and do horrible things to me, but he called me weak and would continue. From that moment on, I realized that one should not beg for anything. If something hurts, hold in the pain, if something is bothering you, keep it locked away…Those were things that always made my marriage a disaster, but I couldn't help it, for I have lived a hard life.

My angel was still sleeping soundly beside me, and oh, what an angel she was. Knowing that I would have trouble falling back asleep, I pulled up my trousers and slipped on my shirt, keeping it unbuttoned as I left our tent. I wasn't sure how late it was, but took a seat on a log that was set around our campfire.

"Ah, the king has risen from his hall of chambermaids."

I turned around to spot Nadir walking towards me with a stack of wood in hands. He placed it down beside the fire and began to place a few logs into the dying flames.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" I growled, running my fingers through my sparse locks of hair.

"What?" he chuckled. "Just because you're in a tent, doesn't necessarily mean that the fire won't cast shadows in the dark. I saw what you and Christine were doing in there. Your shadows painted a pretty clear image."

Yes, I would have yelled at the man, but I wasn't in the mood. If there was anything I hated about Nadir, it was his horrible and dry humor. Well, two could play at this game.

"Jealous are we?" I questioned.

"Oh, come now, Erik," he growled. "You're being rather sore this evening. That's the last thing I expect to come out of your mouth."

"I know how strange it must be to see someone such as myself making love to a beautiful woman."

"Erik, I was only jesting when I mentioned what I saw. Do you really think I would have stayed around and watched the shadows casted among your tent? I'm more decent than that…I took a walk to give you and your wife some privacy."

"Oh, you mean just like the time I was sent those numerous virgins in Persia? I'm sure you took a walk on those nights as well."

Nadir took a seat beside me. "Erik,"

"No, Persian! I know you were peeking into my room each and every single time a virgin was sent to me. Why? Why did you find it necessary to watch me? Was it because you wanted to witness a monster taking a virgin beneath him by force? I know you wanted to see how I would react around a woman….I know it would have fascinated you to see how my virgin body would react…"

"Erik, I had to do my best to protect you back then. I owed you one for taking away Reza's pain, and therefore, I wanted to protect you. You lied to me on several occasions, and denying any gift given to you by anyone in the palace was considered an insult. I wanted to see if you really were enjoying your gifts like you were supposed to be doing. You told me that you were, but I didn't believe you, so I had to see for myself."

I pressed my eyes closed and hugged my knees to my chest, remembering their faces each and every single time I tore away my mask.

"I couldn't, Nadir. They screamed in my face after gazing upon my hideous appearance."

"You could have enjoyed them with your mask on."

"Oh, yes," I snarled. "Because it would have been so comfortable to wear it while trying to please myself…Come on, Nadir…You know how uncomfortable it is to wear my mask."

I wasn't wearing it now, and Nadir was looking at me as if it didn't bother him.

"I've seen your face countless times, Erik. It's something one has to get used to seeing. Yes, it isn't beautiful, but it is you…You still caused yourself pain by showing those girls your face."

"I had to…Oh, Nadir, I only wanted to make love to a woman who could smile upon my hideous features. Some wished for death, Nadir…Do you know how it made me feel to know that someone would rather die a painful death than to bed me?"

Just thinking about it caused tears to rush to my eyes.

"And then, to be forced before the Shah's court to face my punishment…Oh, Nadir, I tried to heed your warnings, tried to outsmart the Khanuman, but it didn't work."

"She was catching on, Erik," Nadir patted my back. "She knew you were rejecting her gifts. And on that final night, you thought you outsmarted her by cutting yourself and bleeding on the sheets. You thought that was going to solve all your problems."

"And yet, you let them torture me…" I growled. "Do you think I wanted to be brought before the court and stripped of all my clothing? Do you think I wanted to see one of the virgins dead and laying in front of the court…"

"Erik, stop this…"

"Do you think I wanted to be forced to penetrate her dead, cold and lifeless form…Oh, my stomach is churning just thinking about it!"

"Erik, there was nothing I could do…I would have been killed if I would have stopped it."

"And do you remember what the Khanuman said to me!" I cried. "What did she say, Nadir? You should know, because you were standing over me when it happened."

"She said…she said that you were rejecting her gifts, because…because..."

"Because why!"

"Because a corpse only makes love to a corpse…"

"Yes, Nadir…That is why our friendship has never been the same. How can I ever trust you again, after you let those fools force me to penetrate a corpse… The Khanum thought it was so amusing…"

"And yet, the following night there was a price on your head, and I was the one sent out to end your life…I warned you and put you on a boat, Erik…I saved you."

"One last act of pity was all that was!"

I rose to my feet and headed to the tent, when Nadir stopped me.

"Erik, you shouldn't be acting like this. You have a concussion."

"I'm perfectly well, thank you…" I scowled. "Goodnight, Nadir…"

And with that, I plopped down beside my angel and closed my eyes. The following morning, Nadir and I said two words to one another while we packed up. Yes, my head was still bothering me, but one thing was certain, I wasn't getting back up on that horse. My back couldn't take another spout of bouncing up and down for endless hours. Therefore, I decided to walk with the reigns of Christine's horse in hand.

"Are you sure you're going to be all right to walk, Erik?" Christine asked me. "It is unbearably hot today…"

"I'll be all right, Christine." I assured. "You need to stay up there for the baby's sake."

"I think it's a girl," Christine said, after a while.

"And what makes you say that?" I asked, leaning against my walking stick as we journeyed behind Nadir's horse.

"Well, maybe it's a boy…I'm not really sure. What do you think, Erik?"

"Too early to tell, I think." I said. "But the sex of the child is the least of my worries, Christine. As long as it's healthy, that's all that matters. After what happened last time, I don't think we should be discussing this."

"But why, Erik?" she whined. "I'm sure everything will work out with this child."

"Yes, and look what I did to your daughter, Christine."

"Erik…"

"Enough!" I growled. "Enough, please…"

I didn't mean to yell at her, but some of last night's anger between Nadir and I was still alive inside of me. Oh, why couldn't I just be happy over this child like Christine was? I guess it was because my life was filled with disappointment…Everything that has taken place in my life was always filled with sorrow and horrible outturns. I guess I was expecting the same with this child.

We trudged on for most of the day, the sun beating down upon my back with a wrath that weakened me. Even in Persia, the sun wasn't kind to the likes of me. Even though I was wearing a white shirt, my flesh still ached and burned as if I were bare.

"Erik, perhaps you should take a break?" my Christine suggested. "You need to drink something."

"I'm all right, Christine," I assured. "We're going to stop soon enough. The sun is nearly setting, love."

When Nadir's horse came to a halt, I stepped beside him and wondered why we were stopping. This surely wasn't a good enough place to camp for the night.

"And just why are we stopping?" I barked.

"The mud…"

In front of us, was a lake of mud. It couldn't have been any deeper than one's knees, making the trek across simple.

"And what about the mud?" I questioned. "It won't even come up to the horse's ankles. Even so, we could try to walk around it."

"The path around the mud is too narrow, Erik, believe me. The horses would topple over."

"I'll lead us across then." I replied, taking both of the horse's reigns into my hand.

"Erik, that isn't a good idea."

I held up my walking stick.

"I have my staff, Nadir. I'll put it in front of me before I take each step. How else are we going to get across? The horses need to be guided through…"

Without another word, I stepped into the mud, having it coming up to my knees. I trudged along, slowly leading the horses behind me. I knew they didn't like it, but what choice did they have? Before taking each step, I placed the end of my staff on the exact spot where I was going to step next, making sure that it was safe.

"Almost there…" I said, trudging my way through the mud. There were only a few steps left before I would be back on dry land again, but the next step I took was my last. I maneuvered my left leg to my next step, preparing myself to lift my right leg, when something clung to my left ankle. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was so tight and so sharp! I wailed out in pain, attempting to move my leg, but I was trapped.

"Erik, what's wrong!" Christine cried, attempting to hop off of her horse.

"Don't!" I warned. "Stay there…"

"Erik, can you move?" Nadir jumped down from his horse and rushed to my aid.

"I'm caught…" I cringed, the searing agony continuing to dig at my ankle. "It feels like wire."

When Nadir attempted to lift my leg, I felt whatever was attached to my leg, continuing to dig deeper into my flesh.

"Stop, stop…" I gasped. "You're going to sever my foot…"

"Try to stick your hands down there and release your leg…"

I did just that, sinking my hand down to my ankle, feeling around until I came across what was attached to my leg. I was right, it was a wire, lassoed around my ankle, but it had dug itself so deep into my flesh that it was nearly impossible to pull off. No, I was trapped by some sort of snare. This trap had been set up for a reason, whether that reason was to catch me, or someone else, I wasn't sure, but one thing was certain, I wasn't escaping this one easily…


DUN DUN DUN! Please review!