Before you read, I'd like to make a little announcement to you all…

This morning, I logged onto FFN and checked Stats, as I always do…last week I was on the Author Favorites and Author Alerts list of 8 people…now I am on 18 favorites and 19 alerts. I was extremely flattered by this, but I was so excited when I saw that this story, Dried-Up Roses, had surpassed 10,000 hits and had received 191 reviews, is on 46 favorites lists, 68 alerts lists and is in 2 C2's.

I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who has helped make this story so much fun for me to write. It's not over yet (don't worry), but it is drawing to a close and I think I have an ending worked out, though I don't know how many more chapters there are until its conclusion (maybe 3 or 4…maybe less, maybe more).

Again, thank you so much for all of your support, criticism, compliments, helpfulness, suggestions, love, hate, frustration, relief…the list goes on. I love you all so much and I will be very sad to see this story end. I do hope that you will all go on to read whatever comes next for me, mostly because I love receiving your reviews and comments.

Thanks again, and with much love,

N.S.L. Jewelles

Chapter Twenty-Seven – The Eye of the Beholder

Persia 1875

Erik

"It was mine. I…" Letting out an inhuman roar, I cover my head and fall down to my knees. The door opens with a slam and I see Christine and Reza in the doorway. She runs to me and puts a tender hand on my shoulder, but I shove her back and Reza's arms cradle her fall.

"To think I trusted you!" I shout at them, not knowing who it is more directed to. "I trusted you both!"

"Erik, what are you…" Christine starts, but then looks up at Reza from her position in his arms and scrambles to stand up. "You don't think…oh God." Her face goes ghostly pale and her eyes widen.

"Surprised I caught on, are you?" I say accusatorily, straightening up and walking purposefully towards Christine, who grab's Reza's arm in some mixture of fright and worry. "It wasn't so hard to figure it out, really." I pause momentarily, then add, "I do hope that you two and your little curse are happy together," before moving to walk down the hallway.

Christine

As I watch Erik turn to walk away I look up at Reza, scared. "Go," he encourages, placing a hand in the small of my back and directing me. Not looking back, I hurry after Erik, hobbling a little from the nausea.

"Erik!" I call after him, running to catch up as he walks from the house into the Persian noon. "Erik, wait!" He stops a few yards from the doorway, turning back to look at me. "It's not Reza's child, Erik," I say, out of breath even though I didn't run that much.

"Is that so?" he muses sarcastically, walking back towards me and stops to look down at me, staring me straight in the eyes. "Then whose is it? Nadir's? That would be something." His voice is full of bitterness, and it sends shivers up and down my spine.

I take a deep breath and ask him, "Who else's could it be, do you think?" matching his sarcasm with my own. Staring into his gray-green eyes with my own brown ones, I feel as though I'm trying to telepathically tell him the truth.

Suddenly, I see realization wash over his visible features, and his eye surrounded by the white mask goes wide with the other. For a few long moments we just stare at each other, his look boring into me. "We'll…take care of it then," he says solemnly, walking past me into the house.

"Take care of it! Erik, what do you…" I answer, racing after him.

"It's not fair to you or the child to let this go on, Christine! I wouldn't want you to have to deal with seeing his face every day!" My mouth hangs open slightly in disbelief.

"Who cares about what you want for me?" I shout back, angry. "It's my child and I will choose what to do!" Erik's eyes flare and he grabs my arms and lifts me up so I am face to face with him.

"So you'd be willing to wake up to your rapist's face every day 'til you die instead of get rid of a babe before it's even a human?" he snarls, his features taught and full of malice. "You want to have a child that is his and live knowing that you didn't want it in the first place? Well?" The silence is overwhelming, and I find myself holding back tears, trying to act maturely. I bite my lip and Erik says, "Afraid to cry but unafraid to live with your rapist's child." He places me harshly on the ground and storms away up the stairs.

"I'll do it!" I shout to his back, stuttering a little, and he turns around. "I'll do it."

Later…

I lie on the small mattress, shaking all over while Erik and Reza talk to the physician in hushed tones. Lalitha and Lakhi are away in another room, both of them frightened from the whole idea of it. Erik breaks away from his conversation, leaving Reza and the physician, and comes over to my side, taking my hand. "You're all right?" I nod, though even I myself don't believe it. "Please, Christine, you need to tell me that you're going to be okay."

"I am," I reply nervously, smiling slightly. Overcome, I throw my arms around Erik's neck, surprising him, I'm sure. "I'm so scared, Erik," I confess, whimpering into his shoulder. He doesn't say anything, merely strokes my back and hair, letting me cry.

"Sir, I really must get on with it," the physician says, and I pull away from Erik, staring up at the doctor with fear in my eyes. "Oh, don't worry at all, milady. You will just need to drink something for me and then I'll be here to clean you up afterwards." I stare up at Erik, afraid again. "There will be pain, I'm afraid, but it will be over quickly, I promise."

Erik stands abruptly and says forcefully, "If you hurt her, I swear I'll…" Reza puts a calming hand on his arm, partially trying to restrain him. He turns back to me. "Do you want us to stay, mon ange?" Unable to speak, I nod in agreement and Erik resumes his position by my side, holding my hand comfortingly. The physician draws a little vial out of his coat and hands it to Reza, who comes to my other side and hands it to me.

"Drink this, Christine." Just wanting it to be over, I quickly down the liquid and nearly choke on its horrible taste. Reza brushes some hair out of my eyes and hands the vial back to the physician. "So now we wait?" he asks him.

"Now we wait," the physician agrees, and I try not to cry, realizing what I've just done. It is not your child, Christine. It's Hamir's child. I gasp as a sudden pain takes me, starting at the base of my spine, tingling all over. Tightening my grip on Erik's hand I fear that I'll cut off circulation. I feel Reza lift me up a little bit and register the physician placing some cloths beneath me from my hips to my knees.

Letting out a little whimper, I wriggle on the bed, trying to find a more comfortable position. My eyes closed tight, I hear Erik whispering to me in French, murmuring soft words that I can't really make sense of, but they are soothing all the same.

All at once, I let out a loud cry of pain and I feel very, very wet between my legs. Reza produces a wet cloth from somewhere and rests it gently on my forehead, and
Erik continues his whispered musings. Somehow, through it all, everything is calm and peaceful, and now all I can hope for is the pain to subside.

Opening my eyes slightly, I see Erik on one side of me and Reza on the other, and I come to a realization; I am so lucky to have these men in my life. Everything I've gone through up until this moment has made me all the more fortunate to have Erik and Reza, not to mention Nadir, and of course Lalitha and Lakhi. It's at moments like these that I wish I still had Meg and Antoinette and Gaston with me, but there are some things that just aren't possible. Nevertheless, I am so lucky.