Christine's POV

I wanted to get away before either of us were caught, but Gustave insisted that we help Erik. He was lying there face down in the snow and most likely on death's door. I could have gotten on the horse's back and rode off, but unfortunately, I had a conscious. Instead of leaving, Gustave and I tossed his body on the horse's back like a sack of potatoes and walked back to camp. When we arrived, Nadir was waiting for us and ready to pounce the moment he spotted Erik's lifeless body slumped over the saddle.

"Allah!" he cried, hurrying to our sides to inspect Erik's body. "Allah, what happened? What did you do to him?!"

I never seen Nadir so upset before. The man called a few of the performers over to help them get Erik down and into his caravan. Knowing that this was our chance to escape, I took the reins and grabbed Gustave's hand.

"Come on," I said. "Let's go…"

I had only taken two steps, when I was grabbed from behind and pulled around to face Nadir.

"And just where do you think you're going? You have some explaining to do!"

I tugged my arm away from the man's grasp. "I don't have to explain a single thing to you! I have a conscious and brought that monster back to you. I could have left him lying there in the snow, but I didn't. I'm leaving… I refuse to stay here as his prisoner, chained up like an animal."

"You wouldn't last a week out there on your own, Christine. It's winter… The next town is miles and miles away. You'd freeze to death, or someone worse than Erik would find you. There are worst things in the woods than Erik, Christine. There are thieves, gypsies, and bandits that would rape and torture you."

"Your words do not scare me, Nadir… I will be fine on my own."

"And what's this?" Nadir questioned, looking down at my hand that was clasped around the boy's. "You just thought you were going to leave and take the child with you?"

"But I want to go too," Gustave cried. "I don't want to live here anymore. I want a mother and a family."

"By Allah I am your family… This entire camp is your family. You're being an ungrateful brat! If Erik wanted to, he could have left you to die. But out of the goodness of his heart, he let you stay. Therefore, you're forbidden to leave here until you're old enough to take care of yourself! Now run off to my caravan and I don't want to see you for the rest of the night!"

When the boy refused to move, Nadir raised his fist into the air, causing the child to gasp and do as he was told.

"If you want to leave, Christine, then do it…. Do it now! But you will not be dragging an innocent child with you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go stop Erik's bleeding before he dies of blood loss."

"I hope he dies! I hope he dies the most painful death anyone could ever suffer! He deserves it!"

I was screaming this at the top of my lungs, causing Nadir to grab the collar of my jacket and pull me close to him.

"And why does he deserve it, Christine? How did he obtain those injuries? I know you didn't do that to him… Could it be that your ran off and were found by a gypsy? Could it be that Erik found you before the gypsy could rape you and saved your life? I don't know of any monsters that would have jumped in the way to save a little nothing like you… No, if Erik were a monster, he would have stood there and watched the bastard slit your throat and take you from all ends."

With that being said, Nadir threw me down in the snow and nodded.

"That's what I thought, Christine. Now get out of here…. If I ever see you again, I won't think twice about sending our strong man after you…"

When Nadir was gone, I stood to my feet and headed towards the horse Erik had been riding. I couldn't get on his back fast enough… All I wanted was to be far away from here and away from both Nadir and Erik.

"Where are you going?"

When I heard that small, familiar voice, I turned to find Gustave standing by a tree. The child looked so lonely, and as much as I just wanted to ride off and ignore him, I couldn't.

"I have to get out of here, Gustave. I can't stay another minute…"

"But why? Why do you have to leave? If you leave, I won't have anymore friends…. Please stay, Christine. You could stay with Nadir in his caravan."

I shook my head. "I won't be chained up again as his prisoner."

"He saved your life, and then you saved his… A life for a life… Maybe if you ask him kindly, he won't chain you up again."

"I don't want to take that risk… I'm leaving and there is nothing you can do about it."

I began to trot off into the woods, when I heard the boy crying… I tried to block out its heartbreaking sound, but I couldn't. Knowing that I would forever be haunted by the boy's cries, I turned around and hopped off the horse. When the boy realized that I was going to stay, he ran into my arms and tightly embraced me.

"You're going to stay forever?"

"Forever is a long time, especially with that monster…."

"What if he doesn't live, Christine? You won't have to be chained up if he doesn't live… Do you think he's going to make it?"

I shook my head. "I…I don't think so."

"But then what would happen to the camp? What would happen if he died?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, Gustave…I don't know."

Little did I know that just a few feet away, the answer to that question had yet to be answered.

Nadir's POV

I paced the floor at the end of Erik's bed as our camp doctor, Dr. Gangle worked on him. It didn't seem too promising, for his sheets were soaked with blood and the man had yet to regain consciousness. I was beginning to lose my temper with Dr. Gangle when I saw him struggling to stitch the open wound on Erik's stomach.

"He's gushing blood for Allah sake!" I growled. "Can't you go a little faster?!"

"I'm going as quickly as I can. He's barely breathing and if I apply too much pressure to his chest, who knows what might happen."

Erik was turning a light blue color, his body shivering uncontrollably.

"Look at him!" I cried. "He's going into hypothermic shock! Get the rest of his clothes off him!"

"I need to stop his bleeding… You do it!"

I was growing angrier by the minute and sprung into action, stripping him of his wet trousers and boots. Afterwards, I hurried out of his caravan and into mine, grabbing every spare blanket I had in the closet. I was like a madman, hurrying back to Erik's caravan and covering his lower body with them. By then, Dr. Gangle was bandaging Erik's wounds.

"So? Is he going to be all right?"

"I wouldn't have high hopes for him," the man said. "His heart is weak and with injuries like these, he's going to need a strong heart to get him through it. On top of that, there was no medicine to disinfect the wounds."

"What do you mean there was no medicine?"

"We're out!" he growled. "You can thank our boss for that. He only got us enough medicines to last a few weeks instead of three months. He never thinks that something like this is going to happen, well, now look at him. Here we are two weeks into our journey and we're out of medicine!"

I hurried over to Erik's map of the country and began looking at the trails he had marked down on it. On the map, Erik had every town marked and what was available for purchase there. We wouldn't be hitting the next village that supplied medicine for at least three more weeks."

"If his wounds become infected, he will die."

"So you just sewed him up without disinfecting his wounds?!"

"I used water from the nearby stream. It will have to do until we get to the next town."

"The next town that supplies medicine and honey is three weeks away!"

"That is not my problem, Nadir. He's the owner of the fair… He makes up the rules and does all the purchasing. Perhaps he could tell you what to do…"

Dr. Gangle was being sarcastic with me and I didn't appreciate it. The man packed up his bag of supplies and placed the small remaining amount of bandages on the bedside table.

"Change his bandages twice a day to keep his wounds from getting infected… Though, I'm guessing there is only enough for the next three days."

We had to do something, otherwise, Erik wasn't going to survive the week. I dressed the lifeless man in the warmest robe he had and covered him with five quilts. His shivering had stopped, but his face was deathly pale. Knowing that he would feel better without having to wear his mask, I pulled the garment off his face and placed it on the side table.

"What were you doing out there, Erik? Once again, you've done everything for her and she was going to leave you lying there in the snow."

I was just checking Erik's temperature, when I saw a shadow pass by the caravan. I quickly turned and approached the tiny window to look outside, finding Christine tying Erik's horse back up to his caravan. What was she doing? I thought she was going to leave… I pulled open the door and watched her for a few moments, afraid that she was aiming to steal either Erik's caravan or the cushions from his bench.

"I thought I told you to get out of here!" I snapped.

Christine gasped and looked my way. "Well, I decided not to go…"

"And why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because the boy begged me to stay. I'm going to attempt to persuade him to not chain me up."

"You may not have to, Christine…. His chances of survival are slim, thanks to your stupidity."

"It wasn't my fault…"

I raised my eyebrow, causing the girl to sigh.

"All right, maybe it was my fault, but he added to my decision to run."

"Perhaps you could help…"

I motioned the girl to approach the door. She obeyed and stood there before me, waiting for me to tell her what to do.

"His mask is off, Christine… Does that frighten you?"

"No more than being chained up like an animal."

"Good. I need sleep, for now I am the one in charge. Will you continue tossing logs over the hearth in his kitchen to keep the caravan warm?"

The girl seemed nervous at first, but finally nodded. I let her pass and closed the door behind her.

"If you're tired you can lay down in your room. Just promise to check on him a few times tonight and keep the fire going in the hearth."

"I will."

"If you need anything, Christine, just come to my caravan and wake me up. I'll swing by early tomorrow morning to change his bandages."

I was extremely tires and upset over the fact that we didn't have anymore medicine.

"Something wrong?"

"Yes, I have to figure out a way to get Erik medicine before the week is out. Our next village that supplies medical supplies is three weeks away."

"I'm sure you will think of something, Nadir…"

I nodded and headed to the door. "Take care of him, Christine…"

Christine looked at the bed and nodded. "I will."

I wasn't sure if Erik would live until tomorrow, but if he did, I swore to myself that I would find a way to get Erik the medicine he needed.

I don't know..If I was Erik I would have just left Christine there alone. Now look what happened? Well maybe Erik isn't that evil after all. Please review!