Erik's POV

By the time I returned to the camp, the grounds were empty and the performers cleaning up from another night of hard work. I walked through my camp, making sure the trash was cleaned up and the props were properly put away.

"Let's pick it up, people!" I growled, kicking a few empty popcorn bags with my foot. "Let's get this garbage cleaned up!"

My employees froze and looked over their shoulders while I shouted at them to pick up the pace. Keeping my promise to the new boy, I approached the ticket booth and was disappointed to see him still standing inside it. I was hoping to return and find him gone or doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. It would have been my reason to fire him, and yet, here he was, still standing there like I had told him to do. I was already aggravated from the night I had experienced and was in no mood for chitchat. I snatched the bucket of tickets from the booth and then, the bucket of money that was sitting beside it.

"You best hope you counted correctly tonight, boy," I began. "Otherwise, you will be homeless come morning."

"I counted correctly, monsieur. You had thirty women, twenty children and fifty men. I can count."

Oh, no one talked back to me and got away with it! I spun back to face the boy and gave him an evil expression.

"I don't like you very much, boy… I don't know why the boy and Nadir do, but just remember that I don't. Therefore, I would tread softly. Talk to me like that again and I won't think twice about sending you packing."

"Where have you been tonight, monsieur? You smell like perfume and women."

Oh, I wouldn't stand for this! No one talked to me like that, no one!

"If you cherish your life, you best go back to your caravan while you have the chance. You don't know me, boy…I've done things in my life that I wouldn't have a problem doing again. Murder is one of them, in case you were wondering."

This seemed to shut the child up and with that being said, I returned to my caravan and changed into my robe. Nights in the camp were so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. I was sitting there at my desk minding my own business when I heard a knock at my door. I wasn't sure what time it was so I pulled out my pocket watch and noticed that it was nearly one in the morning.

"What is it?" I called out. "It's extremely late."

"It's Nadir, Erik…"

I rolled my eyes. Oh, what did this man want and at this hour?

"Go away, Persian. I'm busy."

"This will only take a few seconds."

Knowing that I wasn't going to get the man to go away, I called out for him to enter.

"I couldn't sleep," he said once he entered.

"And you knew I would be up…Thanks for coming to disturb me."

Nadir took a seat on the end of my desk, and I looked up at him, surprised that he actually had the nerve to sit on my desk.

"What?" he questioned. "Do you have a problem?"

"Get your dirty ass off my desk. You're crinkling my papers."

Nadir got off my desk and stood there while I counted the tickets and money I had made tonight.

"How many times are you going to count your money from tonight?" Nadir groaned. "Are you surprised that the boy did well?"

"Not surprised, just disappointed."

"And what's this?" Nadir questioned. "For a man that has lost his purity, he sure is cranky. What? Was it not what you expected or did you not even go in?"

"I went," I sighed. "And no, it was not what I was expecting."

"Erik, I don't understand. Perhaps you got a woman who was inexperienced."

"No, she was experienced."

"How do you know?"

I closed my eyes and groaned. "Oh, Nadir, I just know. What she did to me wasn't the part that disappointed me, it's what came afterwards."

"What?"

"When we finished, she crawled right off me and left the room like a whore."

"Because she was, Erik…"

"Nadir, I shouldn't have went… I shouldn't have laid with that woman. How could I have been so desperate? That wasn't what I wanted… I didn't want to finish and be left alone. It was meaningless."

"Well, Erik, I'm sorry to say that when you sleep with a whore, you don't get to indulge in sweet passionate conversations afterwards. But look on the bright side, you got to experience it."

Nadir patted me on the back and made his way to the door.

"I'm surprised you're not tired seeing that you made love to a woman tonight."

"Why would I be tired?"

"Because when I make love to my wife, I sleep like a baby afterwards."

"You're hurting my sensitive hearing, Persian. I don't want to hear about you and that woman. Get out of my caravan before I kick you out myself."

"Goodnight, Erik, get some sleep."

When the man left, I worked until I eventually fell asleep over my work. I wasn't sure why, but the thought of sleeping in my bed gave me horrible nightmares. Though, sleeping over my work wasn't gentle on my shoulders, for I knew once I woke, my back would be in excruciating pain.

Christine's POV
My first night of work had been anything but easy. The crowds were a hassle at times, especially when everyone was throwing money my way. I was afraid of messing up and being thrown out, but by the night's end, it seemed as though I still had a job. I was just lying in the bed Reha had made up for me, when Nadir came walking in later that night. After locking up, he turned and noticed that I was still awake.

"Why are you awake, Christine?" he whispered. "It's late."

"I'm tired, I just can't sleep."

Nadir smiled. "If you're worried about Erik firing you in the morning you don't have to worry about that. He seems astonished that you did everything right tonight."

I smiled. "Well, at least I surprised him."

Nadir took a seat on the side of my bed and tucked me in. "You should rest now. In the morning we will be traveling again and you need to be well rested."

"How is he, Nadir?"

"How is who?"

"My angel…Erik. How is he these days? He seems lonely at times and tonight he seemed aggravated and he smelled strange."

"Strange? What do you mean?"

"He smelled like perfume and women. He never smelled like that before."

"He wouldn't like me discussing this stuff with you, Christine. Just close your eyes and try not to think about it. The most important thing is that you still have a home and a job."

After Nadir tucked me in, I closed my eyes and fell into a dreamless slumber. I slept until the early hours of the morning, waking before Nadir and Reha were up. It was my hunger that woke me and after slipping on a pair of trousers and a shirt, I slipped outside into the cold winter morning. Deciding to venture out into the forest, I did so, in hopes that I would find some sort of food to eat for breakfast. There wasn't much near here, just a few bushes and a small stream of frozen water. Though, once I was at the edge of the stream, I came across a bush filled with black colored berries. The moment I saw them, I immediately got the idea to crush them up and spread the jam on a piece of bread. It would be just like the breakfasts my papa used to make when we were on the road. I couldn't pick the berries fast enough and carried them back to Nadir's caravan and began crushing them up in a tiny bowl. Afterwards, I spread the black jam out over a piece of bread Reha had baked the day before and indulged myself into the delicious meal. I would have offered some to Nadir and Gustave, but I had finished all of the jam and by the time Nadir woke, it was too late to pick more berries. Once I was finished with my meal, it was time to pack up and leave to venture into the next town.

Nadir's POV

During our journeys from town to town, I often kept an eye on Erik, seeing that he was always ill. Just from the way he was seated on his caravan, I knew if he was well enough to drive or not. Today, he seemed well enough to sit up on his own, for he barely moved during the journey. It was Christine that I eyed closely, for she was walking with Gustave and seemed a little pale this morning. Not only that, but her cheeks were as red as a beat and she seemed bent over. Our next town was fairly close from where we had been the night before, and once we arrived, I took the girl into my caravan.

"Christine, what's wrong?" I asked, placing my hand against her forehead. "You're burning up."

As soon as Reha heard me say those exact words, she came rushing to my side and began removing the girl's jacket. Though, in the process of removing it, a black berry fell out of one of the pockets. I paid no mind to it at first, only acknowledging it, when Reha gasped and picked it up.

"Nadir, look…Deadly nightshade berries."

I knew the berry all too well, for I had seen many of these deadly bushes on our journeys over the years. They looked delicious on the outside, but if consumed, they could kill a person within in days.

"Christine, did you eat these?"

Christine was barely focusing on the berry I was holding up to her face. What I wasn't expecting was to see her nod.

"Nadir, she will die without medicine. The berries will kill her."

We were far from anywhere supplying modern medicine… The only one with medicine strong enough to save Christine was Erik. Each day, he took a medicine to keep his pain at bay, one that worked wonders for those who have consumed poison. The only problem with that was getting past Erik. He didn't like to share anything, especially his medicine. I knew he wouldn't give a new employee any medicine, especially one that he despised. Christine had come to this camp disguised as a boy, but I knew that disguise had to end tonight.

"Reha, keep Christine warm. I'm going to get her some medicine…"

Reha knew what I meant, for she grabbed my arm to hold me back. "My love, no… Don't do this. If this girl is truly who you say she is, the master will not save her."

"As a boy, no, he won't…But as herself, there is a possibility."

"He will throw her out of the camp…What then? Without her disguise, the master will throw her out."

"And if we don't take a chance, she will die, Reha. Erik has the only medicine that will save her, and so, we must try. It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"The master will punish you for lying to him… He will punish the boy for lying as well."

"He once told me that he loved this girl more than anything in the world, Reha. I'm not sure if that love is still there, but if there is a small amount left, then that tiny amount might be all we need to save her. There had once been a time when he would have done anything for her. Let's hope he still feels the same way."

And with that being said, I left my caravan in search of Erik, praying to Allah above that he was in an understanding and caring mood.