Chapter Twenty-Five – The Noble House of Khan

Persia 1875

Christine

When we stop that first night at a little tavern, I realize the extent of Hamir's use of my body. Erik was kind enough to pay for two rooms, one for himself and one for Lalitha, Lakhi and I, and they grant me the privilege of using the washroom first. I sink into the small tub, having filled it with lukewarm water; I could not get it any hotter. Once in the water, I look myself over from top to bottom.

There are small bruises on the sides of my breasts and on my neck there are small red marks. My hips are bruised as well, the tender skin beginning to turn purplish in some spots. The greatest horrors of all are the smears of dried blood on the insides of my thighs. I never really felt it there, but now that I look at myself, I don't understand how I could've overlooked it. My whole body from my breasts down is sore, the muscles tight, the skin bruised.

I must move on, and I start by washing myself thoroughly with the cloth provided taking extra care on my extremely tender body. Once I am through, my skin is rubbed raw, as though I can't get the dirtiness to leave. Then I proceed to wash my hair and face, but even that doesn't seem to get rid of the overwhelming sense of being unclean.

When I finally emerge from the washroom, I see that Lalitha and Lakhi have ventured to the little shop on the ground floor of the inn and have purchased, with Erik's money, I have no doubt, some new clothes for me, including a light dress and sandals, and nightdresses for the three of us. I hug the both of them tightly in thanks and we all change for the night, tucking ourselves into our small beds and falling asleep.

Later…

It's pitch black in the room when I wake up suddenly. Hamir's face in the darkness, cackling at me… Hurriedly, I turn on the small lamp on the table to the side of my bed and crawl out of the covers, walking to the door and venturing out into the hall, hoping to take a walk to calm my buzzing nerves.

As I walk past Erik's room, I see nothing but blackness and I know that he is asleep. Then I hear whispering, and I peer into the room through the crack between the door and its frame. My eyes fall upon Erik sitting at the desk in the room, his elbows on the surface, his head resting upon his hands. Moving a little closer, I can hear his words.

"The Phantom never looses his touch, I suppose. I just wish she didn't have to find out about the others, only about that fool rapist of hers. I bite my lip and take a step closer to hear more when the floorboard creaks, breaking Erik from his reverie. In an instant he is on his feet and at the door before I can even move. "Christine?" He looks at me quizzically, and I stumble across my explanation.

"I was just taking a walk and…and…and I didn't mean to…to spy, but I…" I curse myself silently as he walks away, a forlorn look on his face and in his movements. "I don't hate you!" I bravely call after him. Erik stops in his tracks and turns around to look at me.

"What?" he asks, taking a tentative step towards the door again.

"I…I…I don't hate you," I start, taking deep calming breaths, "for killing them." Erik looks at me sadly for a few moments, then turns and sits back down in the desk chair. Taking a deep breath, I walk over towards him, place the lamp on the desk and walk around behind Erik, placing my hands on his bare shoulders soothingly. "You saved my life, Erik," I say, moving my hands back and forth just slightly on his shoulders. "How can I hate you for that?"

He doesn't speak for a few moments, and then says, "You hated me for it years ago. I gave you everything and you couldn't respect…" I crouch down beside the chair, my right hand still on his left shoulder.

"Erik, I don't want us to fight," I interject, "especially about the past. It's behind us and we have to worry about the present." I take his hand in my own and squeeze gently. "There will be a time and a place to work the past out."

"There was a time and place years ago, Christine," he says forcefully, standing up, "and you chose to hide behind that vicomte of yours so you wouldn't have to face it. And now…" he trails off a little, "if you don't want to talk about something, don't bring it up."

"You brought it up!" I say in retaliation. "Why would I have brought it up if I knew it would return you to the man who nearly ruined my life?" The words don't hit me for a few seconds, and then I clasp my hand over my mouth. "Erik, I…"

"Don't say you're sorry," he replies coldly. "Monsters don't accept apologies." I bow my head silently and adamantly stare at the ground. After a few moments of awkward silence, I pick up the lamp and take leave of the room. Now you've done it, Christine. Now you've done it.

Later…

"We're here," Erik announces as we walk up to a small house in the countryside of Persia, all of us but him stumbling from sore feet and tiredness. Erik has not spoken to me since that night at the inn and I'm beginning to feel abandoned by the one person I thought would never abandon me.

My thoughts are cut short by Erik's knocking on the door and shouting to the residents, "Daroga, you open up the damn door this instant!" Daroga? He couldn't possibly mean…

The door swings open to reveal none other than the man who I met on the road to Sardes, the one who saved me from…well, it doesn't really matter any more. "Erik!" the Daroga shouts, taking Erik's hand and shaking it firmly. "Come inside, please," he says kindly, stepping inside and motioning for us to enter the house. I hesitate for a moment, but a familiar voice convinces me otherwise.

"Father, what's all the noise?" At the end of the hall is none other than Reza, looking much better since I had last seen him, and I cannot contain myself.

"Reza!" I cry like a gleeful child, running into the house towards him.

"Christine!" he replies happily, using my real name as opposed to the name he knew me by. Reza opens his arms to me and I take the invitation, suddenly feeling myself being lifted in the air and twirled around in his arms. After placing me on the ground again, he hugs me tightly and whispers in my ear, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," I reply, kissing his cheek amicably. Realizing suddenly that the other four people in the house are staring at us, I turn around and say, "Lalitha, Lakhi, you know Reza?" The sisters nod, exchanging glances and I have no doubt that they assume that Reza and myself are more than friends, which we are certainly not.

Reza steps by me and extends his hand to Erik. "Good to see you back," he says in a casual but friendly tone.

"Glad to see you looking better," Erik replies, smiling a little. Both his gaze and my own fall upon the Daroga staring at the two girls in the doorway and Erik quickly introduces them, though he thankfully does not explain why they are with us.

"Girls," the Daroga says, "there are some open rooms upstairs; make yourselves at home." The three of us nod to him and hurry up the stairs to seek comfort.

Erik

"Erik, you are completely out of your element trying to deal with this," Nadir says evenly. "She's a grown woman now and she's been through a lot. Give her time." He takes a bottle of brandy out of the cabinet along with three glasses and pours some for the two of us and Reza.

"Daroga, she's hiding from everything – we need to find a way to get through to her," I reply a little too harshly as he hands me the glass. I take a swig of the liquor, trying desperately to let it calm my nerves.

"No," Reza says, taking a sip out of his own glass, "you need to get through to her. If things are as you say they are, then you are the only one who can stop it. There's no more to it than that."

"My son's right, Erik," the Daroga responds, "and don't you even think about a rebuttal to that." Taking another sip of brandy, I think back on the words I've thought about so often; You are her Angel of Music. Only you can bring her back. I am not one to admit that I am wrong, but Reza's statement is completely in truth.

"But what am I to do?" I question. "The fact is that she's not like she used to be. I can't just…"

"If you even think about trying to seduce her like you say you did last time, Erik, I swear I will kill you," Nadir interrupts. "You've pulled enough of your Phantom tricks to last anyone a lifetime and you don't need to go pulling them on her after all she's been through."

"But she'll never…" I start to retaliate when Reza stops me.

"If you give it time, things will heal on their own," Reza says like a true politician. "Until then, you have to treat her with respect and honor her." I open my mouth to speak, but I am again stopped, this time by Nadir.

"We're not saying to be her slave, Erik. We're just telling you that maybe it's time you treated her like the woman she is and not the little chorus girl you wooed. She's a woman with a past now, Erik, and you have to honor that, too. She's wounded and she's hurting and you can't act as though this whole rape fiasco didn't happen." Reza nods his head to his father in agreement. "She'll never forgive you if you avoid the truth."

"But I love her, Nadir! How am I supposed to beat around that bush?" I confess, a little shocked at myself.

"Give it time," Reza reaffirms his father's previous statement. "Things will fall into place if you just give her breathing room. You don't have to dote on her because you love her or because she's been through some terrible things, you just have to treat her as an equal. She'll be grateful for it, I promise you."

"The boy speaks truth," Nadir says, raising his glass towards Reza. I know that sometimes fathers will say things like that in support of their sons, hoping that they will follow in their own footsteps, but he's truly right. Unfortunately, that night at the inn is going to haunt me and whatever relationship there is between Christine and me. You're not a monster. I am not a monster.