Erik POV

Who was this girl? Why did she want me to go with her? No one had ever shown me this much kindness before, why her? The moment she grabbed my hand and led me away from the horrible nightmare that I was forced to live everyday and everynight, I knew that I had been visited by an angel and that I was being shown mercy at last. This girl was an angel. She wasn't white and she didn't have wings, but I knew that her soul was heavenly.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this girl was quite beautiful. She had long ringlets that extended to her waist, large brown autumn tinted eyes, pale skin, and rosebud lips. Whenever she spoke to me, I realized I would stutter and mess up on almost every word. I knew that I probably didn't even deserve to be speaking to such a beautiful person as her, but she was the one that gave me the invitation to speak and I was more than glad to accept.

When she asked me if I knew a way out of the campsite, I could do nothing more than cackle in my mind at her silly statement. Of course I knew a way out! I had been plotting my escape for well over nine years. When I led her over to the horses, I realized how close she was behind me and my heart began to beat at a rapid rate. I dared not turn around.

We finally arrived at the horses after stealthily making our way towards them. When I held the reins up to her, her eyes became completely filled with fear and she slowly nodded her head. Realizing that I had noticed the fear in her eyes, she completely changed and assured me that she would be okay.

Before she grabbed the reins, she quickly turned her eyes towards something, then looked back at me. Before I could even ask what she was looking at I turned around and she was holding out a pair of clothes towards me with a big grin on her face. She pushed me towards the bushes and told me to go change. That was when I realized that I was wearing rags. Yes, I was covered somewhat, but I still resembled that of a scrawny rat. Embarrassed of how I looked, I quickly went into the bushes to avoid having her see my flushed face.

As I examined the clothes she gave me, I realized that it was the clothes of one of the persian boys that worked here. There were a pair of trousers, an off white long sleeved collar shirt, a waistcoat, and boots. I quickly changed and came out to see what she thought of the clothes. She giggled when she saw me. My face immediately went red.

"You look so much more mature! At least you're out those rags!" she teased. "Now I think you're ready to ride don't you think?"

I couldn't say anything because my face was so flushed. I gave a timid nod. That was when I realized I didn't know this girl's name. Before walking over to the horses, I quickly turned towards her.

"I-I'm not t-trying to sound r-rude or anything, but, what is your n-name." I asked sheepishly.

"Christine." she said smiling towards me. "And yours?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

"Erik." I said with a slight smile on my face.

"Nice to meet you Erik." she said before proceeding to walk over to the horses.

I could tell that there was something unusual about the way she mounted herself on the horse. There were already saddles placed on the horses, making riding them much easier. I was wondering what was causing her to act such an odd way.

"I can't do this." she said putting her head lower, almost ashamed. I was so curious as to why she felt ashamed. I could help but laugh. She looked up and started to blush. "What are you laughing at!?"

"You could've told me sooner." and without hesitation, I dismounted from my horse, walked over towards her and held out my hand to her. "Y-you can ride with me." I said trying to sound courteous. I didn't know what I was doing. How on earth would I be able to ride a horse with a girl?

I actually notice her face brighten up as she accepted my offer. Placing her hand into mine, I guided her over to my horse and lightly grabbed her by her waist and mounted her on. I felt so nervous as I lifted her up, but knew I had to remain calm in order for her to trust me.

After placing her on, I jumped up and landed right behind her. I placed both arms around her as I securely grabbed the reins. My heart began to beat as felt her back lean in into my chest. I was hoping that she couldn't feel the pounding of my chest. I began to feel lightheaded as I tried to process all of this at once.

"A-are you ready?" I asked her trying to sound brave.

She nodded and I guided the horse into a slow walk trying to escape the campsite unnoticed. Before I knew it, we were far enough out of the campsite and I began to put the horse into a trot. We continued on the path south, trying to get as far away from the camp as possible.

As we were riding I began to think. Something came into my mind that I was completely oblivious of before. Where did Christine live? How did she even find her way to the circus attraction?!

"Christine?" I asked worryingly. "Where are you from and how did you find your way here?

"I come from an Opera House in Paris. I am apart of the Opera Populaire ballet. Our teacher, Madame Giry took us as a group to go visit the circus. When I arrived, it was nothing like I had imagined it to be. It was strange. They had two headed toads and rare breeds of snakes. That wasn't until I came upon you that I realized this wasn't a circus, but a torturous place. I wasn't meant to leave with my group, but when I saw you, I knew I just couldn't let you stay here in a place like this. You didn't deserve it. I knew you needed a better life than this. That was when I decided to help you escape."

The last words she said to me spoke left me stuck in a trance. Someone actually cared about me? Never in my entire life had anyone care about me. Not even my own mother. She scorned me as a child. She never looked upon my face. That was why she gave me this mask. The Persians robbed me of my mask when my mother sold me to them. I was taught growing up that I could and will never be loved. I knew that Christine would never truly love or care about me. At least she showed pity.

"You need to find a way back home then, don't you?"