Walking around in the markets was almost a sensory assault for Erik. Vibrant colors of fabric, aromas of spices and food, the noise of people and merchants. No one seemed to pay mind to the pair though. He had covered his masked face with the fabric or his turban. Isa on the other hand seemed to be enjoying it at least. They had stopped at a merchant that was selling jewelry. She picked up a silver pendant with an evil eye in its center.

"Is there anything you would like to get or-"

"No, I'm alright, I cant buy anything. I just wanted to look around." She shook her head and smiled. Erik nodded in response. They moved from stall to stall rather quickly. At one point she had to hold on to Erik's sleeve to keep up with him. Soon they were just walking down the river side. Having made it out of the crowded markets.

"So where are you from?"

"I was born outside of a village in Rouen, France." He responded simply.

"Come on, you got to tell me more than that." She teased. She knew she sounded like a child. "What was your family like, what about your mother?" at the mention of his mother he went stiff. His mood had made a change.

"You only asked where I was from." He paused. "My mother, she hated me. Mainly for my condition I was born with And well she was always… cold towards me."

"What about your father, I'm sure he was good to you? Her tone was less light.

"He passed away before I was born. What about your mother? What was it … Mykonos, what was that like?" He attempted to change the subject.

"Mykonos is an island off of Greece, and I grew up in the slums. I didn't grow up on the mainland. My mother was kind. She made friends with everyone easily."

"You said was, has she passed?"

Isa nodded quickly. "She was murdered. She had been a prostitute. My father was never in my life before then. But after that he took me in and brought me here."

"What was your father like?"

She went silent for a moment. "He's the one who cut me up and threw me into the river." She had said it so bluntly he hardly caught it.

"Forgive me, what did you say?" Erik turned fully to her. She could see the concern in his yellow eyes.

Isa felt like she was going to faint if she were to say more, but there was no going back on her words. She had to, she needed to say it. "I… My father tried to kill me, Erik."

—

The door slammed open as Isa and Erik were asleep. Making them both jump awake. Erik had let isa take the bed for the night, he lay back against a wall. Isa had been buried in a warm nest of blankets. Groggily, she lifted her head to see it was her stepmother, who was clearly incensed with whatever at the moment. She looked to Erik to find if he knew what was going on.

"Isa, get up." Angelique barked, her voice full of venom.

"What time is it?"

"Just do as I say!"

Isa quickly did as she said and followed her out and back into that windowless room again. In the middle of the room sits a bed. Isa stood there confused for a moment, as soon as she turned to angelique she was seized by her scalp, crying out in pain she was thrown on to the bed. Where she was held down by two other hands. The hand made quick work of tying her wrists. No matter how much she fought back, there was no use. Panic and fear made her cry out.

"Shut up." Angelique slapped something across her legs. Isa gasped in pain and shock. Looking up to see a belt in her tight grasp.

"Why, what did I do?" Isa pleaded.

"How could you betray him like that?" Her voice sounded appalled as if Isa committed some heinous crime in front of her, it only confused Isa more.

"What?" Isa's breath became more erratic.

"How could you break Nadir out? How can you betray your brother like that?"

"Nadir loved Judas! I loved him!" Isa's dress was pulled up to expose her legs

"And yet you helped both men responsible for his death." She started whipping Isa's legs, which made her yelp in pain.

"Nadir let that freak go. Why couldn't my son get the same treatment?" Angelique sobbed. "Why did that monster deserve to escape when my son didn't?" Angelique cried out. Her hysterics forced her to double over on her knees.

Isa's legs stung with red irritated welts. She tried her best not to cry out in front of her captor, letting out silent sobs.

"Why couldn't it have been you?"

For a long moment Isa just stared up at the ceiling. Grief mixed with pain clouded her answer from her. She swallowed even though her throat was dry.

"Angelique, I don't know. But I do know he would have not wanted any of this."

"You know absolutely nothing about my son, bastard." Angelique seemed to have been zapped of all of her energy in her outburst. Dropping the belt on to the floor. Her face told of a broken down woman. The gray in her hair had begun to show as well as wrinkles near her mouth and eyes. It all told of her true age. Her expression would tell anyone that she was a broken and angry woman. Her hazel eyes looked over Isa's legs.

"Alexi, give me your knife."

The man's eyes widened for a moment. "Madam please, she's had enough-"

"Give me the knife!" She screeched. And Alexi finally complied. Isa's face opened with horror with what she was about to do, shaking her head no as if it would dissuade her captor from what she was about to do.

It did not.

—

It had been an hour when Isa was finally returned to the cellar. An hour of screaming and burning tears. She had been thrown in as she was painfully limping. Erik immediately got up and rushed to her aid. Scooping her up. He could feel how much she was shaking and the blood seeping through the skirt of the cheap dress.

"Isa what happened?" brushing some of the hair from out of her face. He stalled himself for a moment from lifting up her dress to look at the source of the blood. "Forgive me." He lifted up the skirt to the knee and on her right leg it wrote 'whore's daughter'.

Erik immediately got up and searched the room for some sort of bandages. It hurt to hear her cry like that. Finally coming across clean linens, brining over the water basin as well to clean the cuts.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, her eyes trained on the ceiling.

"Don't." he shook his head as he examined them. They looked as if they needed stitches but those were most likely not going to be available. He gently cleaned the wounds of blood and grime, wrapping it tightly. He studied the welts as well.

Soon, it was over and Isa was reduced to a shivering and hiccupping mess. He wrapped a blanket around her. She again was allowed to occupy the bed, and he opted to stay close to her.

"What did they do, Isa?"

"It's not as bad as you think. They just hit me with a belt and cut me, that is all." She did not seem to want to explain further.

"Isa, I've been through things that I wish on no other. It's alright to talk about it."

"And I don't want to." Isa's irritation rising.

Erik seemed to take this in, it did not seem to be wise to fight her at the moment. He took in a breath. "Alright." He went silent for a moment. "Isa, give me your hand." She looked at him in suspicion but complied. He took hers and realized she was slightly shaking. He gave her a comforting squeeze.

He took in a breath and began to hum, that hum turned into words Isa did not know. And then those words turned into a song.

To Isa, the words coming out of his throat did not seem to be human, it was always too ethereal. Something that a prophet would hear from the angels that were sent by god. She could feel the pain and panic seep out of her body. Slowly she felt her body relax and become more drowsy, until she was met with sleep again.