Erik's POV

I didn't sleep well during the first or second night of my holiday. Sleep was something that was never kind to me, and part of the reason why I was always tired. After tossing and turning for nearly three hours, I decided to get up. It was still extremely early and with no one around, it was the perfect opportunity to take a bath in the nearby stream. In the winter we were all forced to sponge bathe with heated water, but in the spring and summer we were able to bathe in the stream. After gathering up a towel and my small bar of soap, I left my caravan and hopped up onto Cesar's back. It was a short trot to the secluded source of water, and once I was there, I looked around at least four times to make sure that I was alone before stripping off all my clothes. The water was chilly from the rain, but nothing that I couldn't handle. The cold never really bothered me, for when I was a child, I was kept in a frigid attic, and then, I was locked in a cage with barely any clothing during the winter. Even when I lived at the opera house, the damp lair never bothered me. There had been several times when Christine complained about the chill, but it wasn't something that ever disturbed me.

I swam to the bottom of the deep stream, coming back up feeling refreshed. After washing every inch of me, I reached for my towel and wrapped it around my body. Cesar was grazing a few feet away from me, and deciding to let him enjoy himself, I took a seat at the edge of the stream and watched the Minos swim by. A few moments later I heard splashing and looked around. Curious, I stood and threw on my shirt, ready to head back to camp at the first sight of danger. I pulled my trousers up over my boney hips and approached a large bush that was blocking my view from the other side of the stream. I moved some of the branches aside to see what had caused the splash and what I saw stopped my heart. There, in the water, was Christine… She was humming and swimming about and she was completely naked! I tried to turn away, I tried to tell myself that it wasn't right, but I had never wanted to see any girl naked…any girl but her. She was all I had ever wanted… I shook my head and came back to reality, the reality where I hated her for leaving me to die. But there was a small voice begging me to continue looking at her perfect body. Knowing that I had to stop looking, I took my step to leave and slipped on the mud that was beneath my bare feet. I stumbled back into the bush and wound up sliding down the small hill and into the stream with my clothes on. I fought against the water, and it was apparent that I had frightened Christine for the moment my body splashed into the water, she went flying out of it. I gasped for breath and stood up, finding the girl peeking out from behind a large bush.

"Erik?" she questioned. "What are you doing here? And why were you behind that bush?"

I got out of the water and unbuttoned my wet shirt. "Might I ask you the same question?"

"I was bathing," she cried. "But that still doesn't explain what you're doing here."

"I was bathing too… I heard a splash and came to investigate it."

When I noticed that she was still standing naked behind the bush, I reached for her towel and tossed it to her.

"Cover yourself, girl…"

The girl wrapped her body up in the towel and came to sit down beside me.

"And what about you?" she said, motioning to my soaked clothes and towel. "You're soaking wet and your towel is drenched."

"I can dry off and get new clothes back in my caravan."

I looked at Christine and noticed that she was looking at my scarred chest. I pulled my shirt closed and stood to my feet.

"I'm not a sideshow, Christine…"

"I don't think that you are…"

"Well Christine, my eyes are up here," I growled, motioning to my eyes. "Not on my chest…"

"I'm sorry," she mewed. "I didn't mean to gawk at you."

"Do you know what the mob did to me, Christine?"

The girl looked down at her feet. "No…"

I opened my shirt and pulled the lining of my trousers down just enough for her to see my emaciated side.

"Do you see this?"

Her eyes slowly moved up towards the scar and her jaw slightly dropped.

"Oh, do you think it's that bad, Christine? You haven't seen the half of it. They tortured me… And you didn't come back. Do you think that was the first time I've ever had anything bad happen to me before? I've lived a life of hell…"

Christine didn't say a word, and that's when I dropped my shirt so that my entire canvas was exposed. Christine's eyes widened the moment I turned so that she could see my destroyed back.

"That's why I can't sleep, Christine… That's why the world shuns me… That is why you shun me."

With that being said, I placed my shirt back on and headed back to Cesar. After hopping up on his back, I headed back to my caravan to change. Once I was changed into dry clothes, I took my wet ones outside to hang over the line to dry.

I had wanted to train Christine's voice, but it seemed as though our holiday was over. When Christine returned to Nadir's caravan, she went inside and never looked my way again. I was glad, for now I could have the holiday I wanted. I was finally alone at last, and yet, I never felt so lonely as I did for the next five days.

Christine's POV

I barely survived the next five days by myself. There weren't any towns nearby, therefore, food was limited. I had to make jam from berries and I even made a loaf of bread. Erik had told me he was going fishing, but when he returned, he didn't offer me any of the fish he had caught. I knew the man had a grudge against me, and he had good reason for it. What I didn't expect to see were the millions of scars he had covering his entire body. Never had I ever seen something so hideous… Each scar was different… Like a snowflake, no two were alike. I was supposed to train with him, but I couldn't, not after the confrontation we had at the stream. When Nadir and the rest of the camp returned from their holiday, I was glad, for we were able to continue traveling once more. When we arrived in the next village, Reha asked me to accompany her into town to purchase some supplies. Agreeing, I grabbed my cloak and followed Reha into town.

"How did you and Nadir enjoy the holiday?" I asked as we walked through the crowded bazaar.

"It was nice to get away from work if only for a week. You stayed at the caravan… How was your week?"

"Terrible," I said. "It was lonely and when I tried to get company from the likes of him, it turned sour."

Reha shook her head. "Of all people, Christine, he is the worst person to seek company from."

"I know… He was cruel and he didn't care if I starved to death."

"When the master got sick one winter, I tried to help him, but he didn't want my help. He despises me because I married Nadir. He despises Nadir because he married me… He despises himself because he's alone."

"And there is good reason for it."

"Nadir refuses to tell me why, but do you know why he wears a mask?"

I nodded. "He…He has a horrible disfigurement. He was born with it. It used to bother me, but I've seen it so many times that anymore, it's just natural."

"A disfigurement?"

"Don't tell anyone that I told you. If Erik finds out, there is no telling what he might do to me."

"I promise…"

We continued through the bazaar and were just paying for our groceries, when Reha turned to me and said something I never expected to hear.

"I…I asked Nadir when we would start having children. I…I want some, you know… Nadir and I have been married a few years now, and I want to have a baby more than anything in the world."

"So, why haven't you had one?"

"Nadir told me that Erik would become angry if we brought a child into the world."

"Why? It's a traveling fair."

"Nadir told me that Erik would get so mad that he might kick us out of the camp."

"How could he do such a thing?"

"Christine, do…do you think you could speak to him?"

"With Erik? About what?"

"Please… Ask him what he thinks about children. I…I need to know what he would do if one of his employees turned up pregnant."

I didn't want to confront Erik, but Reha had put a roof over my head. I owed this to her. Yes, she could speak with Erik, but they didn't get along. Therefore, I agreed…

"I…I will talk to Erik, Reha."

"Thank you, Christine…"

Later that night, I approached Erik's caravan while the show was going on. The caravan was in complete darkness, making me wonder if he were even home. I raised my fist to knock upon the door, but decided to walk in to see if he were there. I stepped inside the dark realm and saw Erik slumped over his work. I approached his desk and stood there watching him sleep over his papers. He looked so uncomfortable, for his face was pain stricken.

"Erik?" I softly called his name, but didn't get a reply. I then took it upon myself and placed my hands upon his back. The moment I did so, his eyes opened and he quickly sat up.

"Erik, I'm sorry…"

The man rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "What are you doing in here?"

"The door was unlocked… I… I wanted to talk to you."

The man stood up and placed his hands behind him to stretch his back.

"What? Can't you see that I was sleeping?"

"I'm sorry…I…I thought that we were going to have a voice lesson tonight," I lied. "We haven't started yet."

"I guess we could have one tonight," he said, reaching for a few papers. "Now that I'm up and wide awake."

"Before we start, I have a question for you."

The man didn't answer me, therefore, I continued. "I was wondering why you don't have any other children working in the fair?…Well, except for the gypsy boy."

"Children are a waste of time and money," he snapped. "And most of the employees are not young."

"Is it because you forbid them to have children?"

I now had Erik's attention, for he looked up from his paper work.

"How could I forbid someone to bear a child? My employees are mostly in their forties and happy spending their lives performing with their husbands and wives."

"Well, what about Reha?"

"What about that witch?"

"She's still young, and she's married to Nadir. Who's to say that she won't have children?"

Erik slammed his papers down and crossed his arms over his chest.

"That witch knows better than to bring any bastards into this world. She knows better…"

"What do you have against Reha? She's very kind and speaks good things about you."

Erik grabbed the collar of my shirt and pushed me against the wall.

"If you ever speak about her again while in my presence, I won't think twice about kicking you both out."

Erik let go of my shirt and picked up his papers once more.

"Now, shall we get on with the voice lesson?"

I wasn't sure why he hated Reha and children, but I was going to find out the reason why if it was the last thing I did.