Chapter 5
Erik had been traveling with Christine and her father, and so far it was pure bliss for Erik.
Every day Gustave and Erik played the violin, even though Erik preferred the piano.
Much to Gustave's joy, Erik and Christine seemed to be joined at the hip, but for him it was not surprising.
Erik was slowly teaching Christine how to play the piano and ways to improve her voice.
Gustave could already see the changes in her singing, and he knew one day Erik would make her a prima donna. Just like her mother, he thought.
Erik, Christine, and Gustave had been staying in a little cottage in Germany. Erik painted pictures of it often, and sometimes pictures of Christine.
One day, Christine and Erik were walking through a forest when they saw a boy being mugged!
"Erik, what should we do?" Christine asked. "We can't just leave him there!"
Erik was already on it. He walked up to the teenage thugs and said, "Leave him alone, you idiots!"
They just pushed Erik down and made catcalls at Christine, and that really made Erik mad!
Erik, in his anger, pulled off his mask and as soon as the boys saw him, they ran, screaming in terror!
Erik and Christine ran up to the boy who was barely awake. He had a bloody nose and black eye.
Christine and Erik noticed first, though, that he was an odd-skinned boy with jade eyes and a funny looking hat on his head.
The boy took one look at Erik and said, "Nice face, kid, though I doubt I look any better. Thanks for the help."
As Erik tried to help him stand, he asked, "What's your name?"
The boy looked at him and smiled. "Nadir. Nadir Khan."
They slowly helped him limp to the cottage and when Gustave saw them, he gasped.
"What happened here? Who is this and why is he bleeding?"
Nadir chose this moment to black out.
When he came to, he found Erik sitting by his bedside, his mask replaced. A tall glass of water and a delicious-looking bowl of broth were by his bedside.
Christine and Gustave entered the room. Erik sat up in surprise and shouted, "I WAS NOT ASLEEP!"
Gustave and Christine cracked up and Erik gave Nadir a look that said, "Let's pretend that didn't happen."
"Now, young man," Gustave said kindly, "my children told me you were mugged and it seems they broke your arm."
Nadir now noticed the bulging cast on his left elbow.
Gustave sat on the end of the bed and continued. "If you don't mind my asking, where are your parents?"
Nadir looked at the three concerned faces and said, "My mother is back home in Persia and my father has been locked up here in Germany. That's why I am here, to find him and bring him home!"
"Well, you are welcome to stay here, if you do not have a place to stay." Gustave smiled.
"No, no," Nadir mumbled. "I am staying with my aunt Kiara until I find Father."
"Well at least let me inform her that you were hurt and are staying with me and my family for the moment," Gustave offered.
"All right." Nadir smiled. "Thank you...Uh, what's your name?"
"Gustave," he said, smiling. "And this is my lovely daughter Christine and my talented boy, Erik."
They both smiled and said, "How do you do?"
"Now," Gustave said, addressing Erik and Christine. "I want you to watch him carefully and make sure he is comfortable."
Gustave left to find Nadir's aunt and Christine went to her room.
"So," Nadir began, "You're not his real son, are you?"
Erik looked surprised. "Is it that obvious? I mean, I know I am deformed, but I thought no one would realize."
"It's pretty obvious," Nadir confirmed. He pointed to a picture of Christine's mother on the wall. "I am guessing that is Christine's mother, because the resemblance is noticeable, and you look nothing like her or Gustave."
"Yes, that's her mother," Erik replied. "Gustave told me she died of tuberculosis and that he did not want Christine to know yet, being so young."
"I understand," Nadir said as Christine walked back into the room, smiling, and she asked Nadir, "How old are you?"
Nadir smiled and said, "I will be thirteen this September. Why do you want to know?"
"Because I thought maybe me and Erik could play you a lullaby, so you could sleep," she said.
"That would be nice. Thank you," Nadir said and Erik pulled out his violin from the corner and Christine began to sing:
"I'm as mild and as meek as a mouse
When I hear a command I obey.
But I know of a spot in my house
where no one can stand in my way.
In my own little corner, in my own little chair
I can be whatever I want to be.
On the wings of my fancy I can fly anywhere
and the world will open its arms to me.
I'm a young Norwegian princess or a milkmaid
I'm the greatest prima donna in Milan
I'm an heiress who has always had her silk made
By her own flock of silkworms in Japan
I'm a girl men go mad for, love's a game I can play with
cool and confident kind of air.
Just as long as I stay in my own little corner
All alone in my own little chair, In my chair.
Christine and Erik closed the door quietly, smiling as Nadir snored rather loudly and they tried not to laugh.
Okay, I added Nadir into the mix just to see where it would take the story, and I made him a lot older than Erik because I thought due to the fact he was wiser than Erik in Kay's book that he would be a lot older than Erik. My thanks to Brandy in Cinderella for the song "In My Own Little Corner." Please R&R