A/N: Thank you beta FP33 & Erik'sTrueangel for editing as always.

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The next day, Erik had tried to stand up and move around. Even though his limbs felt heavy from being immobile for several hellish days, Erik was still determined to get out of the cottage, away from the prison of his bed, and immersed himself in the fresh air of the spring season.

Erik stood outside with his eyes closed, feeling the wondrous elements all around him. Oh, how he loved the warmth of the vibrant sun upon his skin. The subtle scent of new grass combining with the sweet fragrance of wild flowers on the meadow nearby gave him a blissful delight, a sensation which he had almost forgotten for many years. Springtime had long been considered a symbol of rebirth and rejuvenation, as well as love, hope and growth. It was a concept that was common and taken for granted by the people of his society, but it had always remained peculiar to Erik, because it was the only thing he had been yearning and searching for most of his life. Somehow, he felt that being shipwrecked and casted onto this remote island, away from his people, was not as terrible as it should have seemed.

Slowly opening his eyes and scanning the area around him, the cottage where he had stayed was surrounded by tall trees, rocks and shrubs, with an extensive bed of colorful flowers many lengths ahead. In front of the house, there was a dusty pathway, winding through the flowered meadow. Erik followed down the path, walking between the blossoms, and assessing the setting around him.

The soil beneath his feet was a little damp, possibly due to the ferocious storm a few days ago. But what fascinated him was the beauty of the flower beds in front of his own eyes. Purple thistles, blue cornflowers, red poppies, tall asters and many other species lay scattered among the grass, smiling elegantly to the vast blue sky.

The scene before his eyes reminded him of his mother, Lord Isaac's wife, who loved flowers very much. When his mother was alive, she used to have a garden with a variety of blossoms, and that was how Erik had come to learn the names of different species.

The weather was beautiful with white clouds bouncing across the heaven like dancing sheep. While Erik marveled at the splendid scenery, a soft wind blew past, waving the fertile grass and the magnificent flowers, as if it was greeting him a warm welcome. He wistfully stared upwards, reveling in the delight of nature, as the sun bathed his face in its golden rays of glory.

Birds chirped and trilled on the trees nearby, like a sweet melody to his ears. Every movement of the winged creatures was so natural, perfectly reflected in their tune. Their music was like a cheerful opera, flowing in the air and bringing a sense of peace to Erik. And for the very first time in a very, very long while, the masked man felt thankful for being alive.

Suddenly, a commotion pulled Erik out of his reverie, and took his attention toward something a short distance ahead, as he tried to gaze at its direction. A sight of a familiar pristine stallion and its rider cantered across the meadow, coming in the cottage's direction… his direction.

Even before the female and her horse became closer, Erik immediately knew the identity of the rider, and it made his heart bounce with excitement. Finally, his opportunity had arrived, and he began to walk forward towards her.

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Christine had stayed outside with her horse Claudius the rest of the night, avoiding Erik as much as possible. She was mad at him for his volatile behavior, but at the same times found him very intriguing, for whatever reasons she could not fathom. Why, why? Christine could hardly understand herself now. After all, it was her decision to rescue him and nurse him back to his health, despite her mother's warning.

While he was unconscious, Christine had observed him, and found him very mysterious and captivating. The man seemed to house a lot of secrets that she was dying to discover. When he woke, and spoke to her, somehow she felt that deep inside he tried to hide his true self, masking his outward expression with a menacing façade to instill fear in others. Was it something he had been doing for his entire life? What was his reason for doing that?

And when she dressed his wound while he was awake, she noticed his body was so tense, radiating great surprise, as if no one had ever dared to come close and touch him the way she had. Countless emotions displayed on his face, causing her to blush and ponder even more questions. Where was his family? Did he really even have one? Was he married…?

Last but not least, when he realized she had unmasked him, he had thrown a livid fit. His tone was filled with anger and hurt, but at the same time, there was a glint of sorrow within the depth of his gray eyes, begging her to overlook his hideousness and see the difference in him instead. Astonishingly, she had then sensed his terrible, haunting loneliness and it was such an intense sentiment present in him. Though knowing he would not appreciate pity from her, she became almost speechless and decided to walk away from him.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Christine wondered what she should do next with this man. She had been living a peaceful life on this island with her adopted parents, then along came this handsome stranger. And regardless of his coarse characteristic, his body drew her to him like a magnetic attraction that she could not resist. It was baffling that she found herself wishing to be near him again, despite his temper. Feeling as if being defeated, she admitted to herself that she did care for him, in some odd sense of the word, and decided to ride her horse back to the cottage to check on Erik.

On her way back home, her mind was filled with questions and concerns regarding him. Was he awake now? What was he doing? And most importantly, what would she say to him?

When Christine and her horse reached to the meadow near her home, she caught a glimpse of someone standing in the middle of the field. Her mom was not that tall, and this island was pretty much deserted. Could it be…?

As the two people approached each other, silence surrounded them as neither side spoke a word. The sound of the stallion slowly trotting to a halt was the only thing that disturbed the air.

"Christine..." Her name rolled off his tongue so fluidly. Christine was stunned, for this was the first time, he had spoken to her with a soft voice, very enticing and velvety. Yet, she could not bring herself to say a word.

"Christine..." Erik said her name again, this time with increasing volume but still remained hypnotic.

What made him change so quickly? Was he not furious at her yesterday for taking off his mask? Confused, Christine turned her horse around, intending to get away from him, but Erik moved in front of her horse to stop her.

"Christine...Please don't go. I know my behavior towards you was atrocious, and you must hate me for it. You saved my life and cared for me, yet I screamed at you and did not appreciate you…"

Still feeling vexed at his behavior the day before, Christine commanded her horse to go around him, ignoring him and not giving him a chance to finish.

But Erik did not give up nor did he intend to. In fact, he was not known to be the kind of man who would accept defeat so easily. Once he had set his mind on anything, he would go to the full extent to achieve it - not to mention Christine was merely a woman, yet a special one in his eyes. But he really needed to apologize to her and win her trust and friendship. She was an amazing woman and he would not let her go.

Though not fully recovering, Erik did his best to stride as fast as he could to halt her path, causing her horse to whinny in irritation and jerk his tail quickly from side to side.

"Please, don't do this. I am sorry for my rather rude outburst yesterday. What I said to you was insensitive and completely out of line. And I don't feel proud of it. I want to say I'm sorry and I hope you will forgive me." His eyes shined with sincerity and his tone was dead serious. Erik truly meant what he said.

Christine jumped down from her horse so she could stand at the same level with this man, looking directly into his eyes. "Why Erik? What caused you to suddenly change your opinion of me?" she enquired, her voice close to a whisper.

"Your mother told me that you've been staying by my side the entire time to nurse me, while you could have let me die. I felt that I owed you my gratitude and an apology. Please Christine, don't go away… I really wanted to speak to you"

After listening to his justification, Christine turned her face in another direction, walking a couple steps away from him. She closed her eyes and contemplated for a moment. What kind of woman did he think she was? How could he imagine that she would let him die? Regardless of their unpleasant encounter at the beach, Erik was still a man of flesh, and since he was in a dire situation, Christine could never have ignored him and let his life drift away in front of her own eyes.

"I thought you'd already realized that when you woke up," she said, not looking back at him.

"I should have but I did not. No one has ever shown kindness to me before." As Erik said it, he shook his head slightly. Not even his parents, brother, or even his wife, Gabrielle. "I grew up in isolation and hatred, and all due to my disfigurement which you have already seen. My life had been a fiasco, Christine. Compassion and mercy have always been alien to me."

Christine turned to look at him. His eyes spoke the true depth of his words, while his expression was undisguised. She was correct in her assumption about him and she could spend a lifetime asking all the questions she wished to know of him. Yet, Christine knew better, and held her urge, now was not the right time to enquire. Before she could say a word, Erik continued:

"Look, Christine. I did not tell you this in order to garnish pity from you. No one's perfect. We all mess up now and then and wish we could go back in time to reverse the action. I really meant what I said. I am sorry and I want to thank you for all you have done for me over the past few days. Without you, I would not be walking this earth today."

Christine came closer, with one of her hands hesitantly reaching out to touch his masked face. He did not flinch or recoil. The visible side of his face was that of an angel, strength and power, with sensual lips; his gray eyes were steady on her face, watching with a stillness and awaiting a response.

"I forgive you," she softly replied. "As long as you promise me the incident yesterday will not be repeated."

"And you must also promise to never remove my mask again."

"I've already promised you that."

Silence took place between them, as Erik gently grabbed both of Christine's hands and held them close to his chest. She had accepted his apology and the next thing he would hope to achieve was her companionship. Actions spoke louder than words, as they continued to tenderly gaze into each other's eyes. The incident that occurred the day before seemed to be forgotten, and deep inside, Christine also wished to become his friend. Perhaps she could also bring him comfort and help him ease the pain from the demons of his past.

A cool ocean breeze blew by, dancing around the couple, as if it not only approved of their friendship, but something else as well… something more divine, and perhaps one day in the future, they would be able to understand it.

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A/N: What do you think of their reconciliation? Please review.

Let's find out how their friendship blossoms into love in the next chapters. Are you excited? Because i am...

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Erik's Love: Yes, i agreed. And thank you Jameela for teaching Erik a lesson, which made him feel bad afterward.