Christine's POV

All I ever wanted to do was sing for an audience and Erik was preventing me from continuing my career. I picked up the costumes I had been mending and stormed out of the tent with Erik chasing after me.

"Christine, wait…" he growled. "I only want the best for you. I want to protect you."

"You never cared about protecting me before, monsieur," I said. "So why start now? Back in Paris you placed me on stage no matter what was going on. And yet, you are afraid to let me sing."

"Because I don't want anything to happen to my camp. I don't want to place my employees in danger, especially you."

I wasn't believing Erik for a single moment. I knew there had to be more to this than he was telling me.

"I miss the stage, Erik," I cried. "I miss it more than you could ever know."

And with that being said, I stormed off to my caravan. Once there, I locked up for the evening and undressed, finding Gustave already there waiting for me. Since Reha had gotten pregnant, I had offered my home to Gustave, promising him that he could stay with me for as long as he wished. Ever since that night, Gustave had been sleeping in the spare bed. I didn't mind, for the boy and I had become close and having him there with me was like being back at the Opera House with Meg… Oh, how I missed her. Some nights she and I would crawl into bed with one another and tell each other funny stories until the sun came up.

"Another night gone," I said out loud as I plopped onto my bed. Gustave sat up from his bed and smiled.

"There were a lot of people tonight," he said. "But tomorrow we don't have to work. It's a holiday for us."

"What do you mean? It's not a holiday…."

"Not for everyone outside of the camp, but for us, it's a tradition. It's the anniversary of the camp's birth…Every year on the thirty first of October, the master gives us the night off and we spend it dancing and celebrating."

"So it's like a birthday party?" I questioned.

Gustave nodded. "Yes, there is lots of food, music and dancing. It's a very special night…Then, the single employees dance with the other single employees. That's how they eventually become husband and wives."

It broke my heart when I realized that Erik hadn't asked me to the party. But why?

"So, who are you going to go with?" the boy asked. "It's only traditional that you go with someone. I went with Liyla last year…She's seven."

I shrugged my shoulders, for the only one I wanted to go with was Erik.

"Does the master ever attend?"

Gustave shook his head. "No, he doesn't attend. He doesn't like to make merry…I don't think I've ever seen him there."

"I…I was hoping that he was going to ask me."

"Don't be silly, Christine. Why would you want to go with him? He surely wouldn't be any fun."

"I…I just thought that he would make a nice dance partner."

"I'll dance with you…"

I smiled and tucked the boy in for the night. "And I'm sure you will be a wonderful dancer."

Erik's POV

Nothing was more frustrating than returning to my caravan to find Nadir standing in my office. I growled and motioned towards the door.

"I told you a thousand times about coming in here when I'm not home, Persian. You're not welcome here."

"Ah, miserable as usual," he mocked. "I'm guessing that you haven't asked Christine to the party tomorrow have you?"

"And why would I? I don't even go myself, so why would I ask her not to go as well?"

"A few hours of food and dancing won't kill you, Erik. It's a tradition… If you intend to continue courting Christine, I suggest you ask her to the party before somebody else does first. Sitting around here isn't going to get the two of you any closer."

"Do me a favor, Persian and return home to your expecting wife."

"That I will… I never believed that sex could be even better with a pregnant woman."

"Persian, my sensitive ears! Get out of here before I kick you out myself."

When the man was finally gone, I looked across the camp and spotted Christine's caravan in darkness. I sighed, for the Persian was right. If I was going to make Christine mine once more, I knew that I needed to ask her to the party.

"Christine, would you like to go to the party with me tonight?" I practiced what I was going to say, but it didn't sound right. No, I couldn't get the words to come out sounding like they should. I needed to do better, and I knew that this certainly wouldn't do. The next day, I stayed hidden from my employees, locked away in my caravan attempting to conjure a plan on how I was going to ask Christine to the party. Deciding to surprise her, I waited until nightfall. The party started as soon as the stars came out, the camp coming alive with loud music and the smell of delicious food cooking over a bonfire. I headed out in search of Christine, finding her sitting with a few of my other employees at a table. They were eating and laughing like people at a party would be doing. I took a deep breath and approached the table, finding that the girl looked too beautiful for words. She was dressed in a lovely red dress, her curls placed up into a bun… Oh, she was just as beautiful as she was all those years ago.

I approached the table and cleared my throat, causing my employees to look my way. They didn't say a word…No, they simply scattered like roaches, leaving just Christine and the boy sitting beside one another.

"You can sit if you wish," the boy began.

"I can sit if I wish?" I mocked. "And since when did you become the new owner of this camp? I will do as I please because I am the master of this traveling fair, boy. Now, if you don't mind, I would like a moment alone with Ms. Daae…"

The boy seemed confused, for he looked at me as if I had three heads.

"That means scram… What is this? A date? You're just a boy and believe it or not, Ms. Daae is old enough to be your mother. Go find a nice gypsy girl your age to have a date with."

The boy ran off, leaving Christine and I alone. Finally…Alone at last.

"May I sit down?"

Christine nodded. "Yes, you may."

"Honestly, what was that boy thinking? A date with you?"

"He is harmless, Erik. Besides, I didn't have anyone else to go with seeing that you never asked me to go with you."

"I don't enjoy attending these things," I began. "I have better things to do than to show my face around my employees and pretend to enjoy something that I clearly despise."

"Which is?"

"Social gatherings. I don't enjoy watching others be happy when I myself am not."

"It doesn't take much to be happy, Erik. If you wanted, I could make you happy right now."

"And I don't see how that is going to happen, but I will challenge you."

Christine stood and held out her hand to me. I was afraid to take it at first for I wasn't sure what she wanted to do next. Though, a few moments later, my gloved hand was reaching for hers and she led me towards the center of the camp where everyone was dancing to a slow paced melody. Never could I have ever imagined that I would be dancing with Christine, but here I was, swaying my hips beside her own. Behind me the bonfire was burning, the flames setting the mood for our beautiful dance. We were like gypsies celebrating a birth or a marriage, and yet, it was just a pointless party that my employees threw every year.

"You are a wonderful dancer, Erik," Christine mewed. "I never imagined it could be like this."

"I…I know," I stammered. "Me either."

"Well, if you're still unhappy, I can stop," she joked. "We don't have to continue."

"But I want to," I said. "I don't want to stop dancing with you, not now, not ever…"

The song had long since stopped and yet, here we were still dancing to our own melody. We didn't need music to dance, for our bodies found music in each other.

"It's time for the traditional game!" I heard Mr. Squelch yell.

Christine and I stopped dancing and the girl seemed interested in the game that had been announced. Though, I knew all too well what this game involved, that being the reason why I pulled Christine away from the crowd.

"I do like games," she said. "Why did you pull us away?"

"Because it's not a game I wish to play."

Christine and I were standing to the side watching as my employees set up their game. It wasn't a game for the faint of heart, for it was one adults played with their spouses and dates. A bunch of dirty things would be written down on pieces of paper and then, placed into a hat. The object of the game was to do whatever was written on the piece of paper with your significant other. It was a way to end the night, a way for everyone to return to their caravans. Mr. Squelch was currently passing around the hat, and people were picking pieces of paper from it.

"What's written on the paper?" Christine asked.

"A task, one that you're supposed to do with your date."

"Like what?"

"Anything from a hug or a kiss…Sometimes other things."

"Other things?"

I swallowed hard. "Different sexual positions."

Christine gasped and I felt her body grow stiff.

"What if you pick a piece of paper and don't want to do what's on it?"

"That's the point of the game, Christine. You have to do it, otherwise you're not supposed to play the game."

The hat was then passed to me and I quickly passed it to Christine, not wanting to participate in the horrible game. Though, when it landed in Christine's hands, I saw her reach inside and pick up a sheet of the folded paper before passing it to another employee. Oh, how I could kill her for doing this!

"Christine, we barely know one another, and yet you pulled us into the game. You don't know what's written on that sheet of paper! It could be anything!"

"I…I wanted to play the game," she said. "I wanted to do something fun."

"Yes, it's only fun if it's something harmless. I've seen some of the things that have been written on those pieces of paper."

I snatched the paper from her hand and attempted to crumple it even more.

"Wait…" she cried. "Why don't we just go back to your caravan and open it? Aren't you at least one bit curious as to what's written on it?"

"No, Christine, I'm horrified about what's written on it. Either way we can't turn back now… No, we need to go to my caravan and wait until everyone is asleep before you go running back to your caravan. If someone found out that we joined in the game and didn't follow the rules it could cause a fight."

I pulled the girl to my caravan and once we were inside I placed the piece of paper on my desk.

"You're not going to open it?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, I have no intention."

I was just turning my back to it, when I saw Christine grab the paper and unfold it.

"Christine, no! Stop…"

But it was too late… Christine had seen what was written on the paper, and now, I could see it too. And what we both saw immediately stopped my heart, for I knew deep down that I was not about to do what was written on that sheet of paper. No, not tonight or any other night. Not only that, but Christine seemed just as terrified as I was about the game's challenge…

What could it be? Sorry to leave you hanging! Been busy the last few days with getting my new story published. Should be out soon! Then you can all run to amazon and grab yourself a copy. Please review!