Thank you to Mominator124, phanrose, SloaneDestler, Child of Dreams, Teen543, Pensez-a-Erik, FleshofMidnight, RubenesqueRomantic, LoveMei000, peanutpup, Pip and CO, and lindaweng for the lovely reviews!

Note: In Chapter 81: "The Proposal" Erik says his name is "Just Erik." However, I had mentioned previously that he took the last name Perrault when Christine asked him his full name. I edited chapter 81 so that, although he still tells Nadir he has no last name, he explains to the reader that he would take Marie's last name if he were to claim one - but doesn't tell Nadir this out of spite (because Nadir was cryptic with HIM up to that point). Just thought I'd inform you all of my revision!

Enjoy!


Erik

Chapter 83

The Experiment

I was fortunate that Ayesha was more than willing to either be held or walk beside me on the journey from Moscow to Tehran, as I very much did not want to cage her in order to transport her.

I was also fortunate that the Daroga appeared happy to read his books or talk in Persian to his personal servant, Darius, a quiet young man who didn't much like meeting my eye. I didn't want to talk much. I wanted to get where we were going as swiftly as possible.

One definite benefit of travelling with a member of the Persian royal court was that we stayed in the grandest inns available. Eyes were narrowed at me, lips thinned, but the Daroga assured them that I was with him, and there was no need to fret.

Of course, conversations did occur between us.

On a warm evening, riding in a coach and passing through Krasnodar, Darius had fallen asleep beside Nadir. I noticed the nodding of his head, steady and rhythmic, until he finally rested his tired mind against the wall of the coach. The Daroga caught my eye, and we both found ourselves smirking.

"He is a loyal servant," Nadir told me quietly. "Sometimes I wonder if I work him too hard."

"Then don't work him so hard. Simple." I stroked Ayesha as she lay on my lap. She purred.

"You think everything is that easy, it seems."

"Nothing is easy."

He paused, then regarded me strangely. I wanted to look away. "No," he said slowly, "nothing is."

I looked at Darius again. I had never been able to sleep through the sounds of talking. I envied heavy sleepers like him. Perhaps he truly was worked that hard by the Daroga. By the severe expression Nadir nearly always held, I imagined the Daroga worked hard as well.

"What is your job, exactly?" I asked him then.

"In Tehran?"

"Yes."

"I oversee police and guards. Above all, I ensure the safety of the Shah."

"I see," I responded. "And doesn't the Shah fear for his safety while you are away?"

"He is under the assumption that my absence for a short amount of time will not make a difference. He still has his guards."

"And will it make a difference?"

"Are you asking if he in more danger now that I am not there? Possibly. But I have spies looking for suspicious activity. Normally, they report to me - but I have tasked the captain of the guard with checking for letters of importance left by my spies in my study. The captain will be dismissed of these particular duties once I return."

I raised a brow. "Does the Shah know of your spies?"

"He believes that I've enlisted some of the guards and servants. That is what the captain believes as well. That I have a secret select group of men and women interwoven with staff, listening and watching. I think, actually, that this is the common belief throughout the palace - throughout Tehran.

The way he said "the common belief" made it very much sound as though this were not the case.

But before I could question him on that fact, he spoke again:

"And you, Erik. What do you do? Other than sing and do magic. Do you have any other special skills?"

"I am an excellent thief."

Nadir glanced down at his pocket momentarily before saying, "Good to know."

"And I have a love for engineering."

He cocked his head. "Engineering?"

"Yes. Building things. Making things work."

"Inventions."

"Yes."

"Have you ever invented anything?"

"No, but I have drafts of inventions,' I said, suddenly...gleeful, almost, at finally being able to express this part of me, out loud, after so long. "I have ideas for automatons and self-regulating machines. I've come up with the idea of a little doll that can play violin on its own. I've-"

"I've studied a bit of engineering myself," he interrupted. "I never could quite get the hang of it. But one idea I had - just a hypothetical one, you see, don't be alarmed - is the idea of a mechanical torture chamber."

I frowned. "I see."

He paused, looking at my troubled expression, and then laughed softly. "Again, don't be alarmed. It is only an idea - and one, really, that I've only considered due to my occupation. Torture is not out of the question for the chief of police, you see, especially when the Shah demands it."

"Does he demand torture often?"

"Oh yes."

A feeling of unease grew within me. I wondered momentarily what, exactly, I had signed up for.

As Nadir continued watching me, I saw his mind working. Cogs turning. Ideas forming.

"Erik," he said slowly, "if you were to invent a torture chamber, one that truly caused the most pain, how would you do it?" He paused. "Hypothetically speaking, of course."

I instinctually leaned back, away from him. "A rather disturbing question, don't you think?"

He smiled. "A thought experiment."

All right. Fine.

I suppose I had nothing better to do.

If I had to create a torture chamber, what would I include in it? What did I consider painful? What is one thing that sent shivers of grief and rage and disgust down my spine, at the mere sight of it?

"Mirrors," I said, looking away from him. "It would have mirrors."