"Your Grace, if there has been any issue with my service, any at all, you only needed to ask…"

Christine sat back, watching Lady Giry with some measure of surprise. She had flustered the woman, if the red cheeks and near babbling were any indications. It was strange, the woman had always seemed unflappable.

Christine waited for a break in the babbling. "There has been no issue with your service. Simply that it is time I took command of my own castle. I intended to come to you before this, but then there was the misscarriage." She waved her hand vaguely. "It's my duty, you know, as Erik's wife to manage the castle."

Despite the recent good behavior of the servants (That had something to do with Erik, if the way he avoided her questions were any indication.), it was still her duty. Besides, while she had the servants obedience, their hearts were still lost to her.

Lady Giry looked at her, her face pale. "I have worked here fifteen years."

"I know." Christine reached across the table to pat the hand of the woman. "You are not being banished, Lady Giry. Erik wants you to replace the leader in his wool industries. He has proven untrustworthy."

Aside from the leaking roof, further checking had proven he had been docking the pay of the workers for his own gain. He would be dismissed the moment Lady Giry arrived, should she accept the calling.

"His wool-" Lady Giry murmured, her hands twisting in her lap. "His fortune. How he made his fortune. He wishes to trust me with that?"

Christine smiled. "Yes."

"What of my husband?" An edge of fear crept in her voice.

"He will go with you. He will handle policing the area." Christinesaid quickly. "Your children, of course, go with you. I hope Meg will stay, but it is up to her."

Lady Giry nodded, her hands clasped in her lap, and she seemed to regain some measure of control over herself. "Yes, of course. And when will this change take place?"

"Erik will announce it tomorrow, I expect within a few weeks."

Lady Giry nodded. "Of course."

Christinenodded. "In addition, I should let you know that your pay will be increased. And that there is a tidy little manor down by the wool production line where you are welcome to stay."

Suddenly, the woman laughed sharply. "I am retiring." She shook her head, still smiling. "Retiring with honor. Alas." She stood. "Does Nadir know yet?"

"I have not told him, but I believe he suspects." Christine admitted.

Lady Giry curtsied. "I will go to him, then. If you would excuse me…?"

Christine blinked, Lady Giry had never asked for permission to leave before. "Y-yes. You may go."

Lady Giry walked out, the door shutting behind her with a thump.

Christine slumped back in her chair, breathing a sigh of relief. Then she stood, shook out her skirts, and went to find her own husband.

Lady Giry left with honor, kisses and hugs from the members of the staff. She left with tears streaking down her cheeks, but a smile lighting her face.

Meg had decided to stay behind with Christine, though that boy that she liked probably also had something to do with it, Christine thought. But no matter the reason, Meg was welcome in her life.

Christine herself had felt her heart grow heavy while watching Lady Giry ride away. And then forgot it promptly in all the work that came with her leaving.

There were dinners to plan for visiting noblemen, castles to clean, stores to access. Harvest would begin soon as fall crept in and Christine would have to help manage the supplies.

Breakfast was her only peace during the day. Curling up to her husband to discuss the troubles of yesterday and the plans of the day before them.

Then was the whirl of dealing with the day, a quick pause for lunch, then off to work again. Her voice grew hoarse, her feet ached and her mind buzzed with all she had done.

There was always something. Erik was hosting a smaller tournament. A stable had collapsed and needed to be rebuilt. Petitioners looking for help, for jobs. Artisans wishing for sponsors. Christine spent two weeks fiercely bargaining with three merchants to buy the supplies they needed for the coming winter. To top it all off she had to manage Meg, who had a tendency to try and sneak away to her knight love. That should have been a full time job in and of itself.

Then it was dark, and she stumbled into bed with Erik, curling up in his arms before starting all over again. She hardly ever slept alone anymore, she had become far too used to being in his arms during her mourning.

Sundays were a relief, a moment to breath and recenter herself. To put herself before God, to promise herself to be better, to not snap so much when her mind was all a spinning.

Then only to be swept up in the work of the week again. A month passed by, two months.

Suddenly it was autumn again, and the large yearly tournament was only a month away. Christine nearly tripped over her own skirt one day, realizing she had been married to Erik for a year and a half. How long it had been! And how very far away Lady Valerious felt. Though the money for a nursemaid and medicines were still faithfully sent twice a year, they felt like numbers in a ledger. Not the Godsend they might have been two years ago. Merely another expense in a long, long line of numbers.

It still made her dizzy to think of how much money she was managing. So much, and if she were to make a mistake… But she hadn't yet. She dearly hoped she never would.

And through it all, there were still moments of love with Erik. A brush of hands as they passed one another in the halls. Quick kisses behind doors. A knowing look across a courtyard. And love, nights of love they spent together. Nights that brought her hope for a child again.

It occurred to Christine one Sunday as she prayed, that she was happy. Not just content. Not just busy, but happy. Happy to be alive. To find joy in the struggle of each day. To laugh and love in Erik's arms. Her heart was filled to bursting, for once all the world felt right.

So much joy, so much happiness. There was only one blight.

Erik would not allow her to move into his room with him.

"But there's no point in me having my own room." Christine protested. "I only use it for storage, it's practically Meg's room now. It's so silly to have separate rooms, an extravagance, really. Please, darling-"

But Erik only shook his head. She knew why. It was the only place he could remove his mask without fear. Even she was careful to knock before she entered. If she moved in with him, it would cut that off.

And then her heart would ache a little, for as much as she loved her husband, for how long she had been married to him, he still wouldn't trust her enough to remove his mask around her.

It was a hurt he had, a deep scar she could not seem to heal.

It mattered not how much she caressed him, loved him, made love to him. It was either darkness, or the mask. It wasn't too terrible to deal with, closing her eyes so he could kiss her. Kissing his jaw rather than his cheek. Waiting for him to put it on before he opened the door to her.

It was more the principle of the matter, than anything else. He had married her, made her his wife till death parted them. She was his wife, his bosom companion, his life. And he wouldn't trust her enough to show her his face.

It wasn't as if she was unused to deformities! She had grown up in a traveling group, for heaven's sake. She had played with one legged children, made friends with those with splotches over their faces. Heavens, one of her favorite pastimes as a child was to sit in the lap of a man with a face burned away and listen to tales of fairies and goblins.

And yes, she had gone into the marriage knowing he would wear. But she had hoped he would soften… that she could convince him. Well, it hadn't happened yet.

But she shouldn't complain. Not when she had so much. Not when she was so blessed with a loving husband, riches and a high position. Every day she was grateful to God for sending Erik to her.

Maybe he just needed more time, Christine simply would have to be patient. Maybe it would take ten years for him to get over this, but she would wait.

Though, come to think of it, there was very little else she could do.

Guess this story is getting monthly updates now. *shrugs* It IS winding down, though I have NO idea how many more chapters that will take.

Also, guessed who watched Jim Henson's Labyrinth for the first time? Guess who I ship? Three tries and the first two don't count. Though I don't think that's hard to guess if you took a casual glance at my favorite stories recently.

Soooo now I've fallen down a rabbit hole and am writing a labyrinth fanfcition on the side of this one, though I am NOT going to abandon this one. That's kind of a promise I made to myself I would never do. I HATE it when authors don't finish their fanfictions, (Though a graceful "Listen man, I gotta stop for XYZ and this is what I was planning to do etc" is always appreciated.) I never post a fanfiction until I have a significant amount written and I have a plot mapped out in my head.

I'm motivating myself to finish this fanfiction by not allowing myself to post the Labyrinth one until this is done. Lemme know if any of you would be interested in that!

In the meantime, thank you everyone for reading and appreciating this story! It's been really fun to research and write, and I'm so glad you're enjoying it. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Reviews make authors happy. :)