Erik's POV

My head was spinning and my body was hot. I opened my eyes and found myself lying in my bed, my caravan in complete darkness, save for the few rays of the early morning sunlight that was attempting to peak in through the window drapes. I attempted to sit up, but my body began to ache, causing the memories of last night to come rushing back to me. Christine had run away with the boy, and I had chased after her. Yes, I could have let the man rape and kill them both, but I jumped in to save her. Everything came rushing back to me, but what I couldn't figure out was how I had gotten home. I remembered fighting the man and getting stabbed… I even remembered falling face down in the snow. But what I couldn't remember was how I had gotten back and why I was bandaged up. I plopped down against my pillow and closed my eyes, only opening them when I heard my door opening.

"Did he stir much last night?" I heard Nadir ask. I wasn't sure who he was talking to until I heard Christine's voice answer him.

"Not really. I checked on him a few times and ran a damp cloth over his head."

"All right. I'll take over for a while, Christine. If you want to go stretch your legs, you can take a walk."

When I heard the door open again, I opened my eyes and spotted Nadir rummaging around the kitchen. When he turned to walk towards my bed, and saw my eyes open, he hurried.

"Ah, Erik, you're awake."

I tried to speak, but found that I was too weak to do so.

"Erik, you need to relax. You need medicine and I intend to get you it. Christine hasn't left, in fact, she stayed with you last night."

I pushed myself to talk, knowing that I wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer.

"Nadir…No…Don't leave the camp."

"I have to, Erik. You need honey to disinfect your wounds, and we have not a drop. We are weeks away from a town supplying it, and without it, you'll die. I'm going to ride off to the nearest town on your map with medical supplies. I should be back in two day's time… In the meantime, I'm going to leave Christine in charge of taking care of you."

"No…I don't want her in here! I don't ever want to see her again."

"Well, until I return, she's going to be the one caring for you. You best hope I return, otherwise, your wounds will become infected and then, you will die."

Before leaving, Nadir placed a cool compress against my head and made sure the blankets were tucked tightly around me.

"Get some rest, friend…"

"Don't leave…" I begged. "I'd rather suffer through pain than to be left alone with this camp and her…"

"She could have left you face down in the snow, Erik. But instead of leaving you for dead, she brought you back to your caravan. Even after that, she didn't leave…Be nice to her."

And when Nadir left, I never felt more alone than I was right now.

Christine's POV

After leaving Erik's caravan, Nadir gathered up the camp and explained what was going on to everyone. He told everyone about Erik's deathly condition and how he had to leave to find medicine for him. He left Dr. Gangle in charge and told us to go on like everything was normal. Nadir still wanted the shows to go on and told us to travel to the next town tomorrow morning.

"I'll meet you in Siberia in three days time."

I waited until Nadir was finished with his meeting and heading for his horse. Once he was on his back, I approached him.

"You really are leaving us…"

"Only for a few days."

"Don't leave me alone with him, Nadir…" I begged. "Without you here Erik will be mean and angry with me. What if he kicks me out? I'll never be able to care for him without you here."

"I spoke with him, Christine. Yes, he was angry at first, but he's going to be out of it anyway. Without the medicine he will die. What you need to do is feed him and make sure that his wounds aren't bleeding. I'm going to go as fast as I can."

When Nadir was gone, I headed back to Erik's caravan, only to have Gustave come running up to me.

"Are you going to leave now?"

I shook my head. "I can't leave… I have to look over Erik."

"You're going to take care of him?"

I nodded. "I have no other choice. Nadir put me in charge."

"I heard some of the other employees saying that they don't think Erik is going to live. Without medicine he will die."

"Nadir is going to find him medicine. I'm sure he's going to be back in a few days."

"I…I have to go get the animals ready for tonight's show," Gustave said. "I'll come back later and check on you."

I was nervous about stepping back inside Erik's caravan, but I was glad to find him asleep. I made my way into the tiny kitchen and started a pot of soup. When the broth was heated up, I carried a bowl of it to Erik's bedside and took a seat beside him. The moment I sat down, his eyes opened and he groaned in agony.

"I…I made you lunch."

The man closed his eyes again and opened his mouth to take in the soup. I knew he was extremely weak, that being the reason why he wasn't fighting me. He only ate three spoonful's, but that was better than nothing.

"I have to check your wounds, but I'll check them a little later. I'll let you sleep now… Nadir said you need to get your rest."

And after rising to my feet, the man closed his eyes and slipped away to sleep.

Erik's POV

I didn't want to trust Christine with feeding me soup, but I had no choice. At first, I thought she would toss it in my face, but instead, she just fed me. I wasn't sure if I was going to wake, but I did… It was dark now, making it apparent that it was night. I looked around the dark caravan and saw nothing… A few seconds later, the door to my caravan opened and Christine came walking in carrying a few logs and was covered in freshly fallen snow. She removed her cloak and headed to the hearth to start a small fire to heat up my small home.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

I shook my head and closed my eyes again.

"You're so pale…" When I felt her hand touch my hot forehead, I opened my eyes again and flinched. I didn't appreciate her touching me.

"I'm sorry, I was just checking your fever. If you don't want to eat that's all right, but I do have to check your bandages."

When she attempted to pull back the blankets, I flinched once more and grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"I need to check your bandages… Do you want to get an infection?"

I was feeling a little rested, that being the reason why I forced myself to sit up. I could see that it frightened her to see me having a little energy within me.

"I don't want you to touch me, girl!" I growled. "I don't even know why you're in here… This is my home! You wanted to run away from me, and yet, here you are…"

"I could have left you lying there in the snow… You would have died if I didn't help you."

"Well that's what you wanted, wasn't it? You wanted to get away from me and being dead would have helped you do so."

"Gus…I mean the boy begged me not to leave you. When I saw you lying there in the snow, I knew I couldn't. I brought you back here and attempted to leave…but….but…"

"But what? You know how I loath pity."

"Nadir opened my eyes to the dangers that would come my way if I left alone. He went off to find you medicine and asked me to watch over you."

The fire had lit up the room and I could see that her leg no longer had a shackle hooked around it. She was free! She was walking around my camp and caravan as a free woman!

"Where's your shackle?" I growled. "I refuse to lie here with you walking around my caravan like a free woman."

"I am a free woman. I'm not an item, monsieur! You can't just chain me up and expect me to stay with you."

"I saved your life last night…. I could have let that man rape and kill you, but I didn't… I had the decency to risk my life to save yours. You owe me your life… When I get well again I will see to it that you get another shackle placed around your ankle…"

"And what about your life? I saved your life too, did I not? After you fell down in the snow I brought you back here. A life for a life… I am no more yours than you are mine… If you ask nicely I might stay here and work for you as a free woman, but not as your prisoner."

I was about to answer the girl, but I didn't have the strength to do so. I plopped back against my pillow and closed my eyes, my heart pounding against my ears. When Christine saw this, she came rushing towards me and began checking my bandages. I would have stopped her but I didn't have the strength to do so.

"Your wound is bleeding again," she said out loud. "And it's gushing a strange colored gook."

Christine looked around on my night table and then began rummaging through the drawers.

"Wh…What are you doing?"

"Your wound is infected… I was looking for some clean bandages and a knife."

I groaned into my pillow as continued to watch Christine run around the caravan. She came back with a few things in her arms and placed them on the bed. There was a lit candle on the night table and Christine was now holding the blade over its orange flame.

"This is going to hurt…"

"Wh…What are you doing!" I growled. "Get that thing away from me…"

Christine placed a rag into my mouth and told me to bite down on it. With that being said, she took the red glowing blade and moved it towards my stomach. My heart began to race as she placed the hot blade against my wound, causing me to scream. Her hand held my body down against the mattress as the horrible smell of burning flesh filled the caravan. Even after she pulled the blade away from my wound my body still felt the aftershock of being burned. She placed a cold wet cloth against my stomach, causing me to nearly black out from the pain.

"I'm sorry…" she said. "I…I had no other choice. You would have died from an infection. I…I needed to clean your wound."

When Christine noticed how deathly I looked, she gathered to her feet and hurried out the door, returning with some water from the nearby stream. The chill in the water soothed my pain if only for a few moments. I knew if Nadir didn't return soon with medicine I was going to die a horrible death. If my wound reopened, I knew I wouldn't survive another wound closing like the one I had just received. Christine would be back in shackles, and when I recovered, I would see to it that she was.

"I'll sit here with you," she said, holding the cold cloth against my wound.

The pain was so bad that I eventually blacked out, not knowing if I was going to wake again…