Christine's POV

For the first time in a long time, I had a bed and food in my stomach. Nadir brought me to his caravan and introduced me to his wife Reha. She was a beautiful Persian woman with jet black hair and a thick accent. Nadir offered me a room in his caravan, and at first I was afraid of revealing my true woman identity to Reha, but Nadir sat both the boy and Reha down and explained to them how important it was to keep the fact that I was a woman a secret.

"And who would I tell, my moon and stars?" Reha asked. "You know that the master and I don't speak. He is a cruel man, one who will regret his actions sooner or later."

"You don't have to worry about me, Christine," the boy said with a smile. "I won't tell on you."

The weight of the world was instantly lifted off my shoulders, and for the first night in a long time, I actually slept well. Just lying in a comfortable bed felt wonderful, for it had been years since I last slept in one. The following morning, I was awoken by someone pouncing on me. I opened my eyes to find the boy jumping up and down on the end of my bed. I giggled and sat up to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

"Breakfast is ready, Christine!" he happily cried. "Hurry before it gets cold."

"You're an early riser, I see…"

"I have chores to do," he said, taking a seat on the end of my bed. "My job is to make sure all the horses are fed and brushed. If I'm not done feeding the horses by sunrise, the master gets awfully angry with me."

"He's forbidden you to have a name…"

The boy shook his head. "I told you why… He despises gypsies."

"Well, if you could have a name, what would it be?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know many names. The master once told me that my parents probably never named me because they didn't want me."

I never would have believed my angel to be so cruel, especially to an innocent child.

"Well, you need a name."

"The master forbid it, and whatever he says goes. If he found out I had a name, he would probably kick me out of the camp."

"Well, my identity is a secret, is it not? Your name could be our little secret as well. We will only use it when we're alone. Mothers are supposed to pick a name for their child, and since you don't have one, I'll name you Gustave."

The child smiled wide. "I don't know what a Gustave is, but I like the sound of it."

I giggled. "You remind me of my father…That was his name. He had a kind heart, and you saved my life."

I had only known this child a short time, but I knew he and I would become best friends. After dressing in a pair of trousers and one of Nadir's shirts, I dug into my breakfast and helped Reha clean up the dishes like a woman was supposed to do. The woman was quiet, for she barely spoke, even when we were standing beside one another. Nadir and Gustave had left the caravan to tend to the animals and she and I were the only ones still inside.

"Nadir seems to like it here," I said, breaking the uncomfortable silence within the room.

"It is not much, but it is home… The master may be cruel, but he does his part to ensure that everyone is taken care of. Your secret is safe with us, I just wouldn't give away any clues to him. A man is only as good as his word, and the master always stays true to his. He dislikes women and outsiders of all kinds."

I never took my angel as a woman hater, for he was once good friends with Madame Giry…Or so I thought.

"Why does he hate women?"

Reha shrugged her shoulders. "I have asked my moon and stars that very question, but I never get anything more than a few excuses from him. My moon and stars told me that there is a darkness beneath the mask he wears and that same darkness frightens all women away. When I asked my moon and stars why it frightens the women away, he told me that I should pray that I never find out. That is all I know of him. That, and he gets ill a lot. I try to lend a hand when I can, but whenever I get in his way, he yells at me. His temper is one of the Devil's, Christine."

I wasn't sure what had caused my angel to turn so violent, but I promised myself that I would stay out of his sight, if only to protect myself. Once breakfast was over and the dishes were cleaned, I ventured outside to explore the camp. Everyone was outside of their caravans getting ready to move to the next town. This was indeed a traveling freak show, for never had I seen so many performers ranging in all shapes and sizes. There were fat women, bearded ladies, dwarf jugglers and tattooed men. They all stared at me as I walked by each caravan, making me utterly uncomfortable. Knowing that it was best to stick close to Nadir's caravan, I headed back and prepared myself for the long journey that was ahead of me. I knew tonight I was going to have to work and earn my keep in the camp, and I planned on doing so as the boy I was dressed as. I had to act manly in order to keep up my character, no matter what I had to do in order to stay that way. I didn't want to live out the rest of my life as a boy, but I guess things could be worse.

Erik's POV

I had not been feeling well, not at all had I been feeling well. After the confrontation with Nadir about the new ticket boy, I began to feel queasy and spent the remainder of the night with my head in a chamber pot. By the next morning, I was too ill to move from my bed. When Nadir found me, he made me some tea and reassured me that he would drive my caravan today so that I could spend the day resting. But how could anyone rest while the caravan was swaying back and forth? For a while I tried to close my eyes and ignore the swaying, but soon, my weak stomach began remembering the cage on wheels and how it felt to travel from town to town inside of it. That's when my body gave up and soon, my head was once again in the chamber pot that was beneath my bed.

"The camp is setting up," I heard Nadir tell me once we arrived at our next destination. "How are you holding up, Erik?"

I lifted my head up from the chamber pot and plopped back against my pillow. When Nadir saw how weak I was, he ran into my tiny kitchen and fetched a damp cloth to clean me up with.

"Erik, if the traveling is getting to you, we could always find a city to stay permanently in. It's just something to think about. I'm sure some of your workers would love the idea of setting down some roots and building themselves a home."

"Say those words again, Persian, and I'll show you some roots, the roots of my fist. We travel because we're not welcome in one city for more than a few hours. We travel, because it's our only means of survival."

"I'd rather stay in one town for the rest of our lives than see you sick every day because you can't handle the road."

"I can handle it just fine!" I never liked shouting, for it gave me a headache, but this man was driving me mad.

"Your frustrated, Erik," Nadir reminded me. "A man your age needs a release once in a while. Mostly every female employee here is single and willing. All you have to do is try."

I cringed at the thought of not only what Nadir was implying, but also the thought of me attempting to court the fat lady or one of the bearded ladies.

"Persian, I would rather die a virgin than go to bed with one of them."

"You're always moaning about your face and how it frightens away the beautiful. At least with one of your employees you both wouldn't have to feel ashamed of yourselves. You'd be both equally scarred."

I rubbed my aching forehead and motioned towards the door to my caravan. "Get out, Persian and leave me to rest. Your ideas disgust me."

"Well, if not one of them, every town has a brothel. You know almost every town we've ever traveled through has one… They're there for a reason, and you of all people should use it to your advantage."

"And what advantage is that?"

"That you need to release your lifetime worth of tension before you do something you'll regret down the road. Your temper is bad enough without you having to put something extra in it. I've gone to many brothels back in Persia, and they work. They don't ask questions, you just tell them what to do and they do it. When you're finished, you pay them and leave without having to get emotionally attached."

"They would see my mask and go running for their lives, Khan. No money in the world would be enough for one of them to willingly go to bed with me."

"Erik, they're whores, not queens. That's what they're there for… If every man in the world was a handsome prince, they'd be out of business."

"So you're saying that they cater to the ugly… Thanks, Persian, that really makes me feel good inside."

"You know what I mean, Erik. You don't have to do it if you don't want to, but I highly recommend it. You've never tried it, so how do you know what would happen or if you wouldn't like it? Everyone should experience the joys of the flesh at least once in their lifetime. You don't even touch yourself."

"And I have a good reason for that, Persian. Now leave me be…"

Nadir sighed. "Suit yourself, Erik. I have things that need to be done before tonight's performance. If you're not feeling well enough to teach Christian the ropes of being the ticket master, I could do the honors."

"You will do no such thing. The only thing I want you to do is to tell that bastard that he is to be at the ticket booth before sundown. I'll be there… You can bet me on that, Khan. I'll be there no matter what. Even if I have to strap a bucket to my neck to stop myself from vomiting all over my clothes, mark my words, I will be there…"

When Nadir was gone, I leaned over once more and vomited into the chamber pot that was beneath my bed. Nadir was right, my stomach couldn't handle the heavy traveling that we did every day, but anything was better than being back in Paris and around her… I didn't like to think about her much, for every time I did so, my heart would break all over again. Maybe Nadir was right… Maybe it was time that I stopped living in the past and began living in the present. Never had I ever gone to a brothel before, nor had I ever experienced the joys of the flesh. Every man needed it, and I needed it more than anyone in the world. Perhaps one trip to such a place after tonight's show wouldn't hurt…No, maybe, just maybe it would help me in more ways than one. Perhaps it would cure me of the plague that has been eating away at both my mind and heart, perhaps it would rid me of all thoughts and memories of Christine.

Well, there is an exciting chapter coming up! Please review!