Meg: I awoke quickly, packing my items and walking over to Erik. He was already awake, but I had a feeling he had not slept at all that night. His rather peculiar actions last night had prompted me to let him speak his mind.

Obviously whatever I was doing was upsetting him. I had never meant to push him away, only to bring him closer. I had forgotten, in pursuit of my own happiness, about Erik's feelings.

The week had gone by and I felt as if I had wasted it. Such a wonderful time, and now we were leaving. Neither of us knew where we were headed, but we moved along to reach my mother. After that, I supposed the wind would guide us.

Erik wouldn't speak to me for a few moments, and I did not pressure him. Yet, when the silence felt too suffocating, I had to say, "Erik." Right at that moment Erik said, "Meg." I stopped to let him go on.

He looked at me and said, "No, you can tell me first."

I bit my lip and tried to think of what to say. "Erik, I'm sorry if I've been pushing myself on you too hard. I do realize that you need your space. I never meant to intrude, I just. I wanted to let you know that I do care about you."

Erik nodded as he petted his horse's mane. "I realize you have feelings for me Meg. I do as well. But there are so many things that come between us. I'm far older than you, and a bit unstable. Your mother would never allow it either. And quite honestly, I think you deserve someone better."

I sighed as we trudged along. "But I don't want someone better. I just want you."

Erik continued to pet his horse and never looked me in the eye. "How would you like to go back to France, and find a little apartment. I could support you and your mother, like an Uncle, kind of. In time you'll find a handsome, young man and settle down. Perhaps your children could continue your love of Ballet."

I felt my insides burning as Erik brushed me away.

I couldn't believe that one moment he could be kissing me and the next, telling me to go off and find someone else! "Where can I find a man that knows so much as you do, and has so many talents, and can do so many tricks? Where can I find a man so passionate and romantic that he'll never give up his love, even when she's married and shacked up with another man's baby!" I practically screamed at him, I was fuming so hard I wanted to knock him off his horse.

"Megan, that was unacceptable." He told me crisp and sharp.

I replied, "Your unacceptable." Erik suddenly glared at me, and the feirce anger in his eyes shocked me.

I gripped my reins tighter as Erik's voice seethed into my skin, biting at my pores. "You don't understand how I feel. All it seems you are thinking of is your own damn wants. I never asked to be here, with you or with Ann. I wanted Christine, and now she's gone. You have a blatant disregard of this loss. I can't simply skip over one girl and move to the next. I'm not that kind of man.

Women, and men, and even children, hate me. Can you understand Hate Megan? Can you understand how hard it is to move through life knowing you'll never be accepted, or even regarded? It is a wonder you have any interest at all in me, considering how easily you moved from one man to the next at that Opera. When our time is over, you'll find another man, but will I ever find another woman?"

Erik suddenly raced ahead of me and I lost his visage in the distance. I myself stopped my horse and fell off her, leaning against her foreleg as I cried.

Erik: I raced my horse as fast as I could, never stopping to see if Meg would follow. I didn't want her to follow, in fact I did not want to be near her. She obviously couldn't understand my feelings, and only cared about her own.

I had never felt so lost and empty as when Meg screamed at me. A friend, or at least I thought she had been. She treated Christine as if she were a dog, some little lap dog that I continued to pet. Meg only wanted me to forget Christine and move on to her.

It was impossible, and downright inconceivable.

I had loved Christine for many years, and only now realized I had had feelings for Meg in the past few months. It was like comparing a branch to a log. All I wanted was for Meg to talk to me, like we had in the past, or listen as she so often did.

I had never had anyone listen to me like her before, but now she was ignoring me and only talking about her emotions. It was impossible to get a word of reason in. I began to slow my horse as I realized Meg was nowhere within sight.

"Damn." I muttered as I turned Aries around.

I trotted him at a slow pace to rest him, but soon I realized he needed a full break. It would be impossible to reach her without some fast form of transportation. I let my horse drink from his water canister as I called out, "Meg!"

The forest only echoed it back. "Megan! Answer me!" Again all I received was an echo. I began to panic, wondering where in hell that child could have gone. I grabbed Aries, ignoring his protested snort, and kicked my heels.

We raced back the other way, but there was no sign of Meg. I saw where the hooves of many horses had stamped upon the ground, but it was impossible to distinguish which one was Brise's. I screamed again, but no one answered.

I raced back to the campsite, but no one could say they had seen a young blonde woman. The people along the trail were tedious and useless, and I felt Aries's exhaustion.

I lept off him, leaving him in the middle of the road to rest, while I plunged into the foliage on the side of the trail.

Meg: I thought of how I had treated Erik in the past week, clinging to him as if I were a leech. He was a man who valued privacy, and I had invaded that. It was hard to explain my feelings to a man who only thought one woman had those feelings.

Of course I didn't expect him to give up Christine, but I had hoped he would place her memory in a safe place and build new memories with me.

I supposed it was a childish whim. Erik would never be more to me than a good friend, and I figured it was best to just shut up and listen to him. Perhaps there was a nice Swiss man I could start dating, someone to take my mind off the one man I had ever actually felt for.

It was true, I went from people to people, collecting boyfriends as a person collects stamps.

But with Erik I had felt a certain pull, something that made me think, if we were together I would never want another man.

I guess that was how Erik felt about Christine. If so, she was a lucky woman. Vicompte's and Phantom's chasing after her, and all I ever got was a perverted dwarf peeking up my skirt.

Now, however, that Phantom had run off, because of my precarious affections. I had to reach up to him before we both got lost, but when I pulled myself up on the saddle I wondered if Erik had simple ran away, and was never coming back.

How would I explain that to my mother? She might even paddle me, for being so dumb as to lose him.

Erik: Walking into the tall grass and swatting at the mosquitos I began to wonder if Meg hadn't simply continued onward, to reach her mother.

Certainly she wouldn't wonder off the trail just for spite. But then again, I never knew what Meg was going to do. I raced back to the spot I had left Aries, only to find the damn horse asleep. I kicked the dirt, screamed for Meg, and finally sat beside him.

Suddenly I heard a scream, and I realized Meg was calling me.

I raced down the dirt path to find the child as panic stricken as I. "Megan Giry, where in the hell have you been?"

I raced to her, grabbing her off the horse and looking at her. "I was right where you left me when you decided to run off!" She retorted.

I wanted to shake my fist in her face, but rather I held her close, hugging her tight. If Antoinette had known I'd lost her only daughter she would have killed me on the spot. I couldn't have even faced the woman, I'd have had to start living in the forest.

Meg was squirming and I let go, looking at her. "Megan, I was panicked. I thought I had lost you. Please, please don't ever frighten me like that."

Meg replied, "It was you who left me. Erik, are you alright?"

I realized I had a tear streaming down my eye and I replied, "Fine, just fine." I turned but she pulled at my arm.

"Erik, I'm sorry for being so irritating. I understand you need time to adjust. I apologize for my behavior." I looked down into Meg's sweet eyes and told her, "I need you to be the way you are. Without you, my thoughts would be consumed with Christine."

I lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes. Gently I reached down and kissed her lips, a soft, tender caresses.

She smiled as she turned to her horse. I walked over to Aries and woke him.

Although he was tired we had a long way to go, and Ann would now be mad, not because of her lost daughter, but because of her late daughter.