Shade: Hey guys, I'm home again! YAHOO! OK, so this chapter is kinda short, but it sets up for the one after it, k? And due to the alert I received, I cannot do shoutouts; but after the chapter is another authoress's note telling you that. And from now on, forgive me if I update slowly, school is starting and I am certain AP English is going to be demanding, along with Honors Social Studies . . . you get the point. But for now, sink your teeth into this and my somewhat cliffie of doom.

"And me, with you beside you

To guard you and to guide you . . ." –All I Ask of You

Chapter 29: In Vino Veritas

Finally, peace . . .

My mind no longer dwelt within a world of forsaken goods and failure. Instead, I was feeling more loved than I ever believed I could be . . . and the memories of Jean were fading. The scars would always remain, but the feeling of how it happened had been blurred out by far more pleasant memories of utter and complete love, written by three months of passion.

Perhaps it was clichéd to say that I had gotten what I had wanted for years . . . a husband who loved me as much as I loved him. Regardless of clichés, I was here, lying beside the personification of what I have wanted since childhood, though I must say that I never imagined he would share in my pain as well as Erik does.

My Erik . . .

He stirred in his sleep, locking me tighter in the sinewy ropes that served as his arms. I breathed in his sweet smell and pressed my head against his chest, counting the number of heartbeats that met my ears. Slowly, his arms pulled me closer until I wrapped one of my legs around his, my body unable to press against him any further.

"Erik, even in your sleep you overwhelm me," I mumbled to myself, laughing quietly.

"Who was it that deemed me in slumber?" he asked, his hand moving from my back to my leg, his fingers taking great liberty in exploring the length of it.

I smiled up at him, laughing slightly at his glassy eyes. It was obvious that I had awakened him with my observation. I flushed. "I guess I was wrong."

"No harm done," he purred in my ear. I knew he wanted me to take me again. The thought was quite warming, that he still made love to me as if it were our first time . . . each time. For a reason I could not decipher, he craved the sensations that entailed giving me pleasure, instead of receiving it himself. Perhaps it still shocked him that he had such a power in him, though I had let him know that his power was very great indeed. Yet, as I looked at him, I realized that a painful thought still haunted my mind; one that desperately needed direct closure. I hoped he wouldn't think me foolish . . .

"Erik, I must ask you something. And please, be brutally honest." I pushed against his chest, forcing there to be some space separating us. His bright blue eyes narrowed in confusion and he crushed his lips together.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" He put a hand on my cheek, attempting to comfort me.

I bit my lip and sat up, covering my chest with the red blanket, even though it served no purpose whatsoever. "Erik, would you prefer if . . ." I paused. "If one time, you wanted me with my wig on. I wouldn't be offended if you missed running your fingers through a mane of hair."

"But you have hair, darling," he said, taking one of my few strands between his fingers.

"Well . . . yes, but no lock falls farther than the bottom of my ear. If you have ever felt the need to take me with my wig on, please be honest and tell me." Now that I had instigated it, I almost dreaded the answer he would give. I don't exactly know why I did, but it stirred the serpent of denial within me and caused it to rear its ugly head. I found myself biting my lip.

Erik paused and looked at me blankly, as if making sure I did not instigate a playful jest. Resting his head on his hands, he looked up at me. "Nasrin, do you miss touching and kissing the symmetrical face of a normal man?" He pointed to his sagging eye and disfigured red skin, which spread back and prevented the growth of a lot of hair.

"Of course not!" I said instantly. "Because your face made you the man I fell in love with. I would never want that to change, no matter what. But that doesn't mean-" He held up his hand to silence me and looked at me through incredulous eyes.

"Nasrin, my answer just spilled effortlessly from your lips. Of course I do not want you to put that thing on. I like the feel of your scalp against my hand; to me it is beautiful. Does that answer your question to your liking?"

I smiled and resumed snuggling up to him, laughing to myself as he eagerly embraced me. He kissed the top of my head chastely and nuzzled into me.

"Would you like something to eat, Nasrin? I am quite hungry myself." He rolled away from me and sat up, stretching his back.

I heard his stomach roar and I knew mine did as well. "Yes, I'll come with you." I stood up, covering myself with my normal turquoise skirt and top. Feeling as though I needed to stretch, I bent backwards, grimacing as my back vocalized a chorus of loud cracks. I was not nearly as flexible as I once was, most likely my inability to bend farther was caused by not practicing dancing every day . . . or at all, for that matter of recent. However, I no longer felt it necessary. Perhaps I would never truly need to dance again. I needed to prove nothing to him; he knew all he needed to know about me . . . save for-

"Nasrin," Erik cooed, entering the room once more. He smiled and offered me a black box laced in satin. As soon as he approached me, he opened the box, revealing to me a beautiful, shimmering diamond ring.

"Pardon me if I'm confused," I said, cocking my head. He kneeled down before me, looking up at me with such uncertainty that I became sincerely unnerved.

"Nasrin, will you marry me?" he asked softly.

I kneeled down and put my hands on his face. "Erik, after all the times I have told you that I loved you, that I have given myself to you completely, and I have sacrificed myself to be with you, you are so unsure of the answer. Did all of your blood flow from your brain to your manhood?"

He gave a half-hearted laugh. "No I know, my love. But you were given to me as a gift. I want you to accept that which would bind us together of your own volition, you see? I believe you should have a choice. I just need finality. Would you have this? Even after all I have done?"

I eagerly took the ring from the box and allowed it to slide onto my finger. "Of course I will." I felt the cool metal send chills through my hand and I smiled widely.

Erik took me in his arms and smiled as well, a small laugh bubbling in his throat. "Come, we must eat."

"Yes, you very well can't make love on an empty stomach, can you?" I asked him, slyly nibbling on his ear. He laughed in my ear and led me into the main room, sitting me down in a velvet chair. I eagerly leaned my head back, feeling the smooth fabric against my scalp.

"Here. I bought you your favorite wine: La Vie de la Danseuse Persique. I know how much you love it. And, I remember that today is the two year marker of when you were given to me."

I paused, thinking it over for a moment. Then, my face crinkled into a smile. "Why yes, it is. I had no idea it had been so long a time. Though, looking back at the girl who called you an 'ignorant, insolent, labyrinth-dwelling hermit' it does seem like years ago."

I grabbed a glass and poured us both generous helpings of the wine. It's blood dark liquid swirled in the chalice with scarlet bubbles gathering against the crystal sides. I smiled and held up my glass to his, striking the crystal together and forming an echoing pact of devotion.

"To our bond, may it never lesson with time," he proposed, sipping the wine gently.

"To our bond," I repeated, taking a small sip of the wine. Immediately, my stomach lurched and nausea choked me. I gagged and dropped the chalice, not even hearing it shatter upon impact. I grabbed my stomach in a fruitless desire to quell my stomach, but I fell forward, fighting the urge to vomit.

"Nasrin!" Erik cried, catching me as I pitched forward. My eyes watered and my head swam. I grabbed at him and allowed him to hold me tightly. It seemed to ease my sickness and my head fell against his neck. "What was that? Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm just . . . I have always loved that wine. But right when it hit my stomach . . . not good," I whimpered, still holding fast to my stomach.

"Should we take you to Madame Giry?" Erik asked quietly, lifting me up in his arms bridal style. "Would she know what is the matter?"

"Yes," I mumbled. As another wave of nausea crashed over me, I wrenched from his arms, ran to the lake, and dry heaved, not having anything in my stomach to regurgitate. I began to feel dizzy and even more nauseous as the smells of the lair became sharper, more unbearable. Mold and grime suffocated the smell of roses and surged into my nose, causing more tears to trickle from my eyes.

"Easy, Nasrin. Take it easy. You'll be all right," Erik said frantically as he picked me up and lay me gently in the boat. "I'll bring you to Madame Giry. She should be able to help, or at least be able to take you to a hospital, should it, God forbid, come to that."

I sat up in the boat as Erik rowed off, feeling soothed by the motion of the boat. "It could be nothing urgent. Perhaps I just have a slight brush of a cold. Please don't over exert yourself. For all you know it could be nothing."

He glared down at me angrily. "Nasrin, you are a healthy, energetic woman. It isn't right that you should fall ill now. We have not eaten anything out of the ordinary."

"Good point," I cooed. "Not to mention that we have spent most of the last two months in your bed, so it was not as if I was somewhere foreign."

He flushed and looked away. Perhaps the prospect that he had constantly given in to his carnal desires had him still slightly embarrassed. I quieted myself immediately, not wanting to discomfort him further.

When the boat docked, he scooped me up in his arms, holding my head fast to his neck. I could hear his heart thunder from his pulse and a wrench twisted in my heart for keeping the truth from him.

"We're almost there," he said, his voice sharp with fright. When we reached Christine's mirror, he rapped on the glass angrily and with a determination I hadn't seen in a while.

"Madame Giry!" he called, seeing her tidy up the room from beyond the glass I sighed against Erik's neck, reassuring him of my health.

"Yes, Erik. I knew you were still alive below. What's wrong?" she answered, never looking up from rearranging the flowers in the room.

"Nasrin is sick; can you help her?" Erik asked, working the mechanism that opened the glass. He stepped through it, gently rocking me to soothe my stomach.

"AH! Great God, you could have given me some warning!" she gasped, turning away for a moment. It was then I realized that neither Erik nor I had on our facades. I covered my head with my hands and Erik stepped quickly back into the shadows.

"Forgive me, Madame. But if you can stomach our true selves for a moment, please do. Nasrin is ill and I don't know what plagues her." He spoke in a hiss through gritted teeth and I touched his face reassuringly, nuzzling into his neck.

"Of course, many apologies, Monsieur et Madame. You startled me is all." Giry turned slowly to face the mirror.

Erik walked through into the light as Giry locked the door, preventing foreign intervention. He gently laid me down on Christine's old bed and stepped away as Giry approached me, her eyes enigmatic.

"What seems to bother you, Madame?" She put her hand on my forehead; feeling for a temperature that I knew did not exist.

"I feel nauseous with strong sensitivity to scent. I get dizzy and have unexplainable urges to vomit." I quickly put my hand on my stomach as I fought back another desire to heave.

Giry smiled warmly and hugged me gently. "You just answered your own question, my dear. I believe you know what has caused this."

"What do you mean?" Erik asked, shifting his balance on his feet.

"Erik, what Nasrin is going through is very normal. I went through it myself as well." I saw him narrow his eyes and look down at me, a black interrogation forming in his eyes. I broke eye contact immediately, feeling myself become faint. The time to tell him was growing closer as each of my heartbeats thrummed in my chest.

"Is it normal for a woman to fall ill without any exposure to disease?" Erik asked quietly.

By Allah this man is ignorant of the truth.

"Erik . . . your wife is not sick," Giry stated poignantly. "Nasrin, tell your husband what you already know. Tell him what you have been hiding."

"Nasrin . . ." Erik started, his eyes boring into mine as his tone sharpened with severity.

I gulped, my eyes fighting to tear from his; however, I found his figure so intense that I was bound to burn in his scrutiny. I swallowed my fear and choked out, "Erik . . . my darling . . . I am with child."

A/N: The title of this chapter is Latin for the phrase: In wine there is truth.

A/N: Sorry I can't do shout outs this time! Apparently there is some rule against it and I don't want this to be taken off the internet. If you have any questions or comments, my AIM sn is in my profile at the end, so if I'm on, just say hi, k? (as well as who you are of course) Just a general thank you goes out to everyone who's reviewed so far! And there are thirty-two chapters and an epilogue in this story, ok? Just because they had sex doesn't mean I'll just end it right there. They've still got a long story worth telling. Oh yeah, and LadyOfLegends gets Erik until my next update. YAY! Bye for now!