Christine's POV

It was the middle of the night of our second day without Nadir and Erik had not waken in over twelve hours. I constantly checked on him to make sure that he was still breathing and felt a sense of relief when I realized that he was. The problem was that his wound looked so infected, even after I sealed it with the hot blade. His fever had risen, and I knew if it rose any higher, he would most likely die. Feeling worried, I set out in search of Dr. Gangle, hoping that he would be able to help. Though, when he arrived and saw Erik's condition, he told me that he probably wouldn't survive the night.

"He's in God's hands now," the man replied. "There is nothing left to be done unless Nadir gets back with the medicine he went for."

I prayed, prayed to God and my papa to watch over Erik. He was a cruel man, but behind that cruelness, there was also a heart. He cared, even though he had a strange way of showing it. We traveled all through the night to reach the destination where we were supposed to meet up with Nadir. Even on our third day, Nadir was late… He was supposed to be back before sunrise and the man had yet to return. Trying to keep Erik's fever from rising was nearly impossible…. Erik was nearly on his last breath, when the man finally arrived. He came hurrying into Erik's caravan late that night carrying a sack filled with medicine and bandages.

"I thought you got lost!" I cried, jumping to my feet.

Nadir was wet from the snow but didn't hesitate a single second in pulling a jar of honey from his sack.

"Oh, Christine, he looks dead already…"

Nadir pressed the palm of his hand against Erik's burning forehead.

"He'll die tonight if we don't do something," I said. "He nearly died a few hours after you left."

Nadir worked quickly at spreading some of the honey across his wound and wrapped it in fresh bandages. When he was patched up, Nadir got down on his knees and began praying in his own language.

"Do you think this is going to work?" I asked.

Nadir finished praying and stood to his feet. "He is strong, Christine. Erik has always been a fighter… You know, his mother wanted to let him starve as a baby. She thought that by not touching him, he would find his way back to heaven. Erik fought as a baby… He cried so much that his mother was forced to feed to him. When he got a little older, he caught consumption one winter. His mother left him to die in the attic, but still, he did not die. When he was captured by a clan of gypsies after running away from home, he fought for seven years to free himself from them. Then, he found his way to Persia… He fought harder than ever to stay alive. He fought even harder when the mob attacked him. You see, Christine, Erik has always been a fighter and I know that he always will be."

Nadir patted me on the back. "Get some sleep, child. I will take the next shift."

I was extremely tired from watching over him the past few days. Therefore, I headed to my room and immediately fell asleep, hoping that when I woke, Erik would be out of harm's way.

When I stirred the following morning, the first thing I noticed was the sun trying to brighten up my room. I tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but I couldn't, for it was too bright. I was a little disoriented at first, but after sitting up, the first thing that came to mind was Erik… I gasped and hurried out to his bedroom, nearly panicking when I noticed that his bed was completely empty. No… He couldn't have died.

"No…" I cried out loud and began looking through his blankets, not wanting to believe that he was gone.

"What in God's name are you doing to my bed?"

When I heard a familiar voice, I spun around and saw Erik standing in the doorway with one hand clutching his bandaged wound. He was here! He was really here!

"I…I thought you…that you didn't survive the night."

"Stupid girl, I had to relieve myself out back. I have been holding it in for three days. Sick or not, a man does have to piss once in a while."

The man stumbled back towards his bed and when I attempted to help, he held up his hand in protest.

"Don't touch me. I can do it on my own…"

When he was seated, I noticed that he was pulling aside his bandages. I couldn't see much, but it seemed that his wound wasn't as red as it once had been.

"I'll give you some more honey and some clean bandages."

"While you're at it, Nadir brought me some more medicine for my pain. I think he told me he was going to sit it on the kitchen counter."

I obeyed Erik's wishes and brought him everything he needed, but never touched him. While he was fixing himself up, I headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, bringing it over to him when it was ready. He had been leaning down bandaging his wound, when I interrupted him.

"Here you are," I said, holding a cup of tea out to him.

The moment the man looked up, he gasped in fear and scooted away. I knew he would never trust me with hot tea again after what I had done to him.

"Get that away from me, girl!"

I placed the steaming cup on the night table and backed away.

"I wasn't going to toss it in your face. You can trust me…"

"I can do no such thing. Not after what you did to me…"

"If I wanted to hurt you I could have done it already."

"You're plotting something in that evil mind of yours, Christine. Just let me eat in peace and go to the stream to fetch me some fresh water to bath in."

Knowing that he would get angry with me if I didn't leave the caravan, I grabbed a pail and headed towards the stream.

Erik's POV

I didn't expect to live through the night, but I did… Recovering was the hardest part of surviving, but each day I was able to do something more than I could the day before. We had finally gotten through the winter, and just as the snow melted, so did my pain. Spring had finally arrived and the winter was over. Christine had gone to stay with Nadir and the boy in his caravan to give me the privacy I needed. After leaving Russia, we made our way to France, knowing that the beautiful spring weather would lure in more people at night. Though, I knew if Christine intended to stay, she was not only getting the shackle placed back on her leg, but she would also have to pull her own weight in the camp just like everyone else.

One morning after finishing with my paperwork, I headed outside in search of the woman. I found her sitting near Nadir's caravan with the boy. She was laughing and playing with the child…Playing with him in the same way a mother would play with her son. She had the boy in her arms and was blowing on his stomach, causing him to laugh and attempt to wiggle his way from her grasp. My mother was never like this with me… She was a woman filled with hate for me, and every day she made sure she showed it. When I was standing right over her, I cleared my throat to acknowledge that I was there. The first one to notice me was the boy, for he immediately stopped laughing and pulled away from Christine.

"Is this a circus?" I growled.

The boy shook his head. "No, sir…"

"Then stop horsing around and get to work! Those animals aren't going to get ready on their own now are they?"

The boy ran towards the one elephant I owned, leaving Christine and I alone.

"You don't have to be so mean to him," she began. "He's only a child. He deserves to have a childhood too you know…"

"My camp is a place where work is to be done. Horseplay is not allowed…. And what is this?"

I motioned to Christine who was just sitting there while everyone else was getting ready for the show.

"You sit here as if you're on holiday…. There are things that need to be done, and just like everyone else including that gypsy boy, you too will have to pull your weight around here."

"I never said that I wouldn't, Erik…"

"No, girl, to me, I will be known as "Sir." No one is allowed to call me by my birth name. Now… As I recall, the last time we had this conversation, you had a shackle around your leg."

"I'm not a prisoner, Sir…" She sarcastically replied. "If you want me to work for you, I will, but not shackled like one of your animals."

"As if I would trust you not to run. You've done so twice already and the last time you did so, it left me on death's door."

"I saved your life did I not? Don't I deserve something?"

This girl was trying my patience, so much that I was about to snap her neck.

"You're testing me, girl… You should know what happens when I lose my temper. I'm about to do just that."

"I'm not asking for much," she said, rising to her feet. "Just let me come and go in this camp as I please. I will leave you alone and do as I'm told, this I promise. And when I make a promise, I don't break it. I promise not to run anymore… If I wanted to run away I would have done so already while you were dying. Lock me up again and I won't be able to keep that promise."

Knowing that I did owe the girl something, I nodded. "All right. You're on probation. Trust must be earned in my camp."

When the girl wasn't looking, I quickly snapped the shackle back around her leg. Though, it was just a shackle without the chain.

"Hey, you said…"

"I said trust has to be earned… You say you won't run away… I don't believe you. Therefore, you're not chained, the shackle is just a reminder… A reminder of what will happen should you attempt to do so again. I'll take that heavy shackle off your leg when you can prove to me that I can trust you. With that being said, you're back in the ticket booth tonight."

I was just walking away, when I heard Christine yell out to me once more.

"You are a disgusting and horrible person…"

I froze and spun around to face the girl once more.

"And what makes you any different, Christine? Tell me…. Because I remember quite well, you letting that mob chase me into the woods and do what they wanted to me. I thought for the longest time that you had saved me, but I was wrong. Then, you refuse to stay with me and you married that fop… Now look where you're at. Right back here with me. What goes around comes around, Christine."

"You can force me to stay, but I will never give you the time of day again. I hate you…"

"You and everyone else in this world, girl… I'm glad you decided to join the club."

What Christine and I once had was something only one would find in a book… But that chapter ended, and now, a new one had begun, one that was closer to reality than ever before. For I knew as long as I lived on this earth no woman would ever look on me and love.