Christine's POV

It was late that evening when everything calmed down. Reha was shaken up, but Nadir calmed her down. He made us tea and afterwards we forgot about the fight that had just broken out between Nadir and Erik. Deciding to leave Nadir and his wife be, I headed outside and found Erik trotting off on his horse. Curious as to where he was going at such a late hour, I began to follow behind him unnoticed. I wasn't sure if Nadir had hurt him, but I needed to speak with him. I followed Erik for a long time, hiding behind a tree when we approached a house. I watched the man hop down from his horse and stand there staring at the run down home. The windows were boarded up and the weeds were overtaking the wooden shingles. The man stood there petting his horse and not taking any steps into the home. What was this place and why was he here?

Erik took one step inside the yard and put down his head… From there, he attempted to take another step, but broke down and quickly ran back to his stallion. Whatever this place was, Erik was afraid of it. I watched as the man embraced his horse and hopped back up on his saddle. I took one last look at the home and watched as Erik trotted off into the distance. Curious over what this home was, I stepped inside the rusted gate and walked up to the front door. The latch was unlocked and I pushed open the heavy door, stepping inside. There was a lantern with a few matches lying beside it and I used one to light the wick inside the old object. When the room was illuminated, I was met with furniture that was covered in dusty sheets. It was apparent that this place was most certainly a home…or at least it used to be. I moved about the room, looking for a hallway, but came face to face with a winding staircase. I carefully walked up the stairs and opened the first door I saw. It was another room with a large bed and a few other pieces of furniture that were covered by sheets. Curious, I pulled a sheet from one of them, the dust flying about the room the moment I did so. It was a table with framed pictures placed about it. I picked up a framed picture of a beautiful woman and smiled… She was a young woman, one with long flowing hair and piercing eyes… But these eyes were so familiar, for I couldn't help but feel as though I had seen these eyes a million times before. I placed the picture back down and looked over the others that were placed on the table. There were a few more of the woman, but then, there was a picture of her and a man standing beside one another. He was tall and handsome with dark hair… Did Erik know this couple?

I was suddenly caught off guard when I heard a loud bang come from down the hall. I gasped and ran out of the room with my lantern in hand.

"Who's there?" I cried, waiting for a reply. I waited for the longest time, but when I didn't get one, I headed down the hall to the last door. I reached out for the door knob and turned it, finding that it was jammed. I violently shook it, hoping to get it to open. When it didn't, I gave the door a swift kick, causing it to creak open. I held the lantern up to light my way, finding that there was another staircase behind the door. I wasn't sure about continuing my journey up the stairs, for there was a sad feeling taking over my body… it was as if something bad had happened in here. I took a deep breath and headed up the stairs. When I was at the top of the stairs, what I saw broke my heart… Something bad did indeed happen in this attic bedroom, for there on the floor was no bed… No, there was a pile of filthy hay with a patched up blanket lying beside it. There were stains on the hardwood floor, red stains that had seeped into the wood. There was no closet or desk for clothes… No, whoever lived up in this room had been treated like a cruel animal. Not wanting to stay another moment, I headed outside and ran into the woods. It was dark and I didn't know how to get back. I ran…I ran quickly, not knowing where I was going to end up. I saw an opening and headed towards it… Though, when I was in the opening, I came face to face with Erik. I ran right out in front of his horse and spooked the animal. It stood up on its hind legs and caused Erik to fall off. The man plopped to the ground and gasped for breath… I calmed the animal down and ran to Erik to help him up. When the man saw that it had been me to scare his horse, he pushed me out of the way and struggled to his feet.

"W…What is wrong with you?" he wheezed. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"No, I saw you leaving the camp and I followed you."

"You followed me? How long have you been following me?"

"Not long… I'm…I'm lost."

"You're lost? Well, that's what you get for following me like a little spy."

Erik hopped up on his horse once again and began to trot off.

"Don't leave me out here all alone, Erik!"

"I should, seeing that you stood up for that woman tonight. I should kick you out of the camp for pulling that little stunt."

I ran up to the man and continued to beg him for a ride back to camp.

"I thought you were going to hurt her. I was only protecting the woman…Please, Erik, be reasonable."

Erik's POV

"Be reasonable? Be reasonable?" I snapped. "I believe I am more than reasonable, Christine. But when you take the side of another that is something I do not tolerate."

Christine continued to plead with me, and that's when I stopped and held out my hand to help her up on my saddle. I lifted the woman and placed her behind me. It was silent for a few moments until the woman broke that silence with a question that stopped my heart.

"I…followed you to the house in the woods. What was that place, Erik?"

"That's none of your concern, woman… And I forbid you to ask me about it again."

"I went inside… I…I saw something in the attic, something horrible. There were blood stains on the floor, lots and lots of stains."

Earlier I had wanted to go inside, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. No, I froze and remembered the horrible things that had happened to me in that horrid place. My mother used to abuse me for fun. She used to stab me and make me suffer in the attic bedroom. Sometimes she even chained me to the wall so I couldn't bother her. Christine was bringing the memories back to me with just bringing up what she saw.

"Enough!" I cried. "I don't want to hear about that place…"

Christine paused, her arms wrapping tightly around my waist.

"Erik, was that place your home? The home you grew up in?"

It was then that I knocked Christine off my horse. She screamed and fell to the ground, and I jumped down as well.

"I told you never to bring that place up again! And what do you do? You go behind my back and do it anyway? I told you that I didn't want to talk about that house of horrors!"

But it was too late, for I could hear my mother screaming at me from within my head. Memories of her abusing me came rushing back and I couldn't do anything but close my eyes until it passed.

"Erik? Erik, what's wrong?"

When the voice of my mother faded, I was left staring at Christine. She was lying on the ground looking up at me. I didn't like to show my emotions, but I couldn't help it. I fell to my knees and began to sob in my hands.

"Oh, Christine, I couldn't go inside that place again. I tried… I tried to face my fears but I couldn't. I got one step inside the yard and I heard my mother yelling at me. "You better not be in the kitchen! You better get your disgusting ass back in the attic where it belongs!"

Christine struggled to her feet and approached me. The woman should have slapped me for what I had just done to her, but no, she was standing beside me and attempting to comfort me.

"Oh, Erik, what kind of life have you known?"

I wiped my tears and stood to my feet with her help. She wrapped her arms around me and for the first time in my life I sobbed into her hair.

"I could help you…" She began.

"No one can help me, Christine. I…I don't sleep…"

"Sometimes, Erik, talking can help a lot. If you keep your nightmares and problems cooped up inside, it won't help."

"I'm so tired…" I cried. "I haven't slept in days…I can't…"

It was late and I knew in a few hours we would have to pack up. We were moving to a new town in the morning and I knew I would do so with exhaustion.

"Come on, Erik, let's get back and rest up."

The ride back was silent and when we arrived at the camp, both Christine and I went inside. Just the sight of my bed made me sick in the stomach. On that very bed was where I experienced most of my nightmares.

"I'll make us something to drink," Christine said, approaching the kitchen.

I took a seat at my table and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Here," Christine said, placing a steaming cup down in front of me. "I made you something to help you sleep."

"A drink is not going to cure me of my nightmares."

"No," she said, taking a seat beside me. "But talking will."

"I…I never had anyone to talk to before. Then again, I don't enjoy telling others of the horrors that happened to me. I…I've been through more pain than ten people should in an entire lifetime."

Christine reached her hand across the table and embraced my own, causing me to gasp. As soon as her hand touched mine, a bolt of warmth shot through my body.

"Nothing that is discussed between us will ever leave this caravan, all right?"

I wasn't sure why, but for the first time in my life, I felt as though I could trust this woman. I felt as though I could tell her anything and she would carry it to the grave before telling another soul.

"We won't talk about the horrors," she said. "My papa used to tell me that dreams are pictures that are put together from the day's conversations. My papa used to tell me that if we talked about flying monkeys before bed we would dream about flying monkeys."

"So?"

"So, if we talked about the horrors of your past, then you will have dreams about it. Therefore, I think we should speak with music."

"Music?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, music… Come on…"

The girl dragged me to the piano and forced me to sit down in front of the keys.

"Play," she said.

"But I'm exhausted."

"The more reason on why you should play…"

I was so tired that I couldn't even concentrate, but I did as the woman asked. When I started playing, all I could think about was my mother, but as the music continued to fill the room, she faded away and left me with warmth and happiness. Perhaps music was the best medicine after all.