Nadir's POV

My heart was beating a mile a minute as I stood there at the door to Erik's caravan. Oh, he was going to be so angry when I told him the truth about Christine. I knocked and waited for him to answer… A few moments passed without a single answer, so I knocked again.

"Erik? Erik, I know you're in there…Answer me, it's an emergency."

When I didn't get an answer again, I took it upon myself to enter his caravan. I was surprised to find Erik fast asleep over his desk, his chest covering a pile of paperwork that he had been working on. Yes, I could have just gone in his medicine cabinet and took what I needed, but that wouldn't have been the right thing to do. No, instead, I gently rubbed his shoulders to get him to wake, finding that he was slowly beginning to stir.

"Hmmm…What? What is it?"

The man lifted his head and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He was delirious at first, not saying anything until he saw me standing there.

"What? What the hell are you doing in here, Persian? And why did you wake me? You know I barely get any sleep."

"It's urgent, Erik."

"What? Is the camp on fire?"

"No, it's not."

"Well, are we being raided by gypsies?"

Once more, I shook my head. "No, Erik."

"Well, then it's not urgent is it?"

"It's the boy, Christian."

"Oh, did he finally steal from us? If he did, I will happily hunt him down and make the bastard pay."

"No, Erik, he's really sick."

Erik stood from his desk and began cleaning up his paperwork as if he didn't even care.

"Erik, did you hear me? Christian is sick… Deathly sick."

"Well, the cold isn't made out for some people."

"It's not the cold. Earlier this morning he consumed a patch of deadly nightshade berries."

"Only a child would be foolish enough to eat those things. Oh, well, I guess the best thing to do is to dig a hole out back and toss his body into it."

"What? Erik, you can't mean that."

"Oh, but I do, Persian. Anyone who consumes those things is dead within a few hours. Do as I said and dig a hole out back. I don't care if he's dead or not, put him in the hole before he poisons the entire camp."

"Erik, the boy isn't dead yet…"

"Well take a gun and put him out of his misery…"

"Erik, you have medicine that will save the boy."

Erik gave me a disgusted look, seeming shocked that I even brought his medicine into the conversation.

"Persian, you know that I need my medicine… I only get enough to help me. If I give some to that worthless boy then I will have to go on suffering through night terrors and pain until we reach a town that supplies it. Don't think that I am going to willingly suffer in order to save the life of one worthless boy."

I was hoping that I was going to be able to get Erik's consent to use his medicine without having to reveal Christine's true identity, but it seemed as though I was going to have to do so.

"Erik, there is something you should know."

"No, Persian, you need to know that I am not about to hand my medicine over to just any worthless child. This wasn't an act of God, it was an act of stupidity. Anyone should know that you don't just walk into the woods and eat anything that looks edible."

"Erik, I need to show you something. I…I need you to come with me."

At first Erik didn't want to follow me, but I convinced him to do so. I walked him over to my caravan and opened the door. Reha was standing in the kitchen seeming worried and believe it or not, I was worried about how Erik was going to react to this.

"I don't know what you wanted me to see, Persian, but you're wasting my time…"

Erik entered the caravan and the moment he gazed at the bed that had Christine lying on it, his eyes went wide. He stood there looking at her deathly ill body sprawled out on the sheets before looking at me and dragging me out of the caravan. Once outside, he slammed me against the caravan and placed his hand at my throat.

"How did she get here?"

"Erik, that is the boy… Christine disguised herself as a boy so you wouldn't notice her."

"And you kept that from me? You, of all people hid this from me? You were my most trusted associate, and yet, how can I ever trust you again?"

"She needed help, Erik! Raoul died and his family tried pinning the murder on her. She's been on the run. It's cold and she would have died without our help."

Erik let me go and starting pacing in a small circle.

"Erik, she needs help or else she's going to die."

"And why should I help her? She didn't care that I was hanging in those woods all those years ago! I could have died and she didn't care! What comes around goes around, Persian!"

"Erik, what's happened to you? Years ago, you would have done anything for that girl. What changes your mind now?"

"Because she didn't care about me, Persian! Dig a hole and put her in it… I don't want to look at her any longer. Get rid of her and do it now…"

Erik was storming away from me, when he paused and turned to face me again.

"No… Forget what I said. I have a better idea. I will help her, but in return she will become my prisoner."

"Erik, you're going about this all the wrong way."

"A life for a life, Persian. I will save her life, but in return, I will own it."

"Erik…"

"My mind is made up! Go ahead and take the medicine she needs."

Erik's POV

In the past, all I had ever wanted was Christine to love me. She refused and ran away, telling me that she would never love me. Well, now the tables have turned and I was the one placing her life into my hands. She would pay for this kindness by giving me her soul for all eternity. She would not leave the camp ever, and along with that, she would never be able to see any other man but me. If she didn't want to be with me, then I was perfectly fine with that, but she would be forbidden to love any other man. I gave Nadir the medicine he required, knowing that I would suffer once I ran out. I was getting extremely low on my dosage and knew that sooner or later I was going to have to find a town that supplied it. The only problem with my medicine was that only cities supplied it and we usually traveled to small towns or villages. Not only that, but the medicine needed to be administered through your arm with a syringe. I only had a few of them left as well, but syringes were easier to find in a town than my medicine.

"You look as though you hadn't slept in days," Nadir said one afternoon a few days after finding out about Christine. The truth was that I hadn't slept and I wasn't sure why. My camp was setting up for the night's show and I was looking over a map of Europe.

"I haven't, Persian… Though, I'm perfectly fine. I don't need sleep very often. I haven't heard anything out of you about Christine, so she must be doing better."

"She just woke up a few hours ago. Her fever is down and she's been able to speak a few sentences."

"Yes, if not for my medicine, she would have been in the ground three towns ago. She will be really sick for the next week or so, but afterwards, I'm sure she will be up and about like her old self in no time."

"I'm working tonight," Nadir said. "Actually, both Reha and I are working tonight. Perhaps you should drop by and look after her? She is, after all, your patient. You plan on keeping her a prisoner of the camp when she's able to get around on her own."

"Don't be sarcastic with me, Persian. She deserves what she's about to get. I let her use my medicine and I'm keeping a roof over her head. Call it what you want, but she will be mine."

"You can't force her to love you."

"I didn't say anything about love, you fool… She doesn't have to love me, but she will stay here for the rest of her life. I own her just like I own everyone else in this camp. She's my property…"

"A person is not a piece of property. One day I know you will come to understand it."

"I do know that, but Christine will learn her place here…"

Christine's POV

I was sure I was going to die, but I woke a few days after consuming the berries and felt ten times better. Yes, I was still sick, but I was no longer on death's door. I wasn't sure what town we were in, but I didn't care, for Nadir and Reha were both taking care of me. Though, there came a night one evening when they both had to work and leave me in the caravan alone. I thought nothing of it, for I knew I was going to just lay there in the dark. For a while, I closed my eyes and rested until I heard footsteps approaching the bed. When I opened my eyes, I gasped in fright, for there, standing at the end of my bed was my angel of music. He was just standing over me with his hands folded gracefully behind his back.

"Ah, so the little angel has finally woken up."

"I don't know what you're talking about, monsieur." I said.

The man rolled his eyes. "I think the formalities are over, Christian… Or should I say, Christine."

My heart ceased within my chest! How did he know? I was about to say something when I suddenly remembered that I was not dressed in my trousers and coat. No, I was lying there in one of Reha's nightgowns.

"Surprised are you? Well, Christine, I'm not."

"Nadir…"

"Nadir, what?" he growled. "Nadir is the one who told me about your true identity. How else do you think you survived? No, Nadir tried at first, but when I refused to give my medicine to a new employee, he spilled the beans in hopes that I would feel horrible about killing you."

"Y…You gave me medicine?"

"Indeed… I have a medicine that I take that does wonders for poison."

I wasn't sure if I should have thanked him, but to play it safe, I continued to lie there in silence.

"Everything comes with a price, Christine," he continued. "And the price that you will pay for me saving you is your soul."

"My what?"

"You will now and forever be my prisoner. You will not leave the camp, and you will not look at any other man but me. Are we clear?"

"You can't do this to me!" I cried. "I will run away the first chance I get. I am not your prisoner, nor am I a piece of property."

I never expected my angel to come at me and grab the collar of my shirt, but he did just that and it frightened me beyond belief.

"You don't have to love me, Christine, but you are my prisoner, are we clear? You will earn your keep around this camp just like everyone else. If you want to run, you can try to do so, but mark my words, girl, when I find you, I will shackle you like a wild animal."

And when he pushed me back against my pillows, I knew that running would get me nowhere, for my angel never broke a promise, especially one to me. If he told me he was going to chain me up like an animal, then I knew he would do just that. No, I was now a prisoner of his camp, and I knew there was nothing to be done about it.

Well what is Christine going to do? Thanks everyone for reviewing! I shall keep updating every few days!