Erik and Gaia moved into their home on the first day of spring. The masked man had not only built the home from the ground up, but had furnished it entirely on his own. The winery at the back of the property would take some time to covert to a bed and breakfast, but for now the couple was more than happy to move into their little home on the vineyard. The grapes sprouted with the first rain, and together Erik and Gaia began making their own wine, storing it in barrels in the basement to ferment so they could enjoy it in the years to come.
Gaia adored the home. It was everything she had ever dreamed of and more. With two floors and a basement, it had ample room for two people with room to grow into should they decide to have a family someday. For now the extra rooms each served their own purpose; one was a guest room in case Gaia's sisters decided to visit, one was a library, another was a study where the piano Gaia had given her husband for their wedding had gone. The kitchen was large enough for Erik to keep his wife company while she cooked without her feeling crowded, and the dining room was intimate enough for them to enjoy their meals by each other's side.
It had been several months since Gaia was last ill, much to both of their relief. Every day that went by in which Gaia maintained her health became a reason to celebrate. They resumed their nightly lovemaking, sometimes in their bed, other times in the bath, or even as open as the sitting room or the library, since they only rarely had visitors, and only during the day.
Every day Erik fell more and more in love with his wife, and Gaia more in love with her husband. There was only one thing that bothered her. "Erik?" She asked quietly one Sunday morning, enjoying a lazy morning in bed with her husband.
"Yes my love?"
"Why don't you ever take off your mask?" She asked, turning to face her husband curiously. "I've seen your face before."
Erik frowned some. "Old habits are hard to break," he explained.
"I know… but Erik, I love you. You know I would never be afraid of you, don't you?"
The masked man didn't answer. Gaia sat up in bed and looked down at him. "Well, don't you?
"I don't know that, no," Erik admitted shamefully, and Gaia frowned deeply.
"Don't be foolish. What reason have you ever given me to fear you?"
"I saw the look in your eyes when you first saw me," he told her quietly. Gaia hadn't realized he had been awake all that time ago, and frowned; she had indeed been frightened of his face initially, though her reaction still guilted her. "And I hurt you once…"
"Well Erik, how did you expect me to react? It's not as if you warned me. Your face… isn't easy to look at, my love. I can't deny that. But it isn't your face I'm in love with, it's the brilliant mind behind it," She promised quietly. "And as for hurting me, I don't hold you accountable for that and you shouldn't either. You grabbed my wrist, no harm was done. Saving my life more than makes up for that.
Erik frowned thoughtfully. "Why are you so curious about my face?"
"Because it's part of who you are. It's the only thing I feel like you're still hiding from me. We'll be married for a year and a half this Saturday, did you know that?"
"I did."
"A year and a half, and I still haven't made love with you completely bare," Gaia pointed out. "You've seen all of me, I still haven't seen all of you."
"I don't know what I would do if you were afraid of me…" he admitted so quietly Gaia could hardly hear him. She kissed her husband deeply.
"It's a senseless fear, Erik. It's only a face."
"If it's only a face why must you see?" He tried, desperately attempting to talk her out of her curiosity. But he had married a stubborn woman, and her stubbornness won over.
"Because it's your face, Erik. The face of the man I love. By default it's a beautiful face," she reasoned, kissing him again and without so much as a warning pulling off his mask as she pulled away. Gaia's logic was simple; distract him and make the move quick, like the prick of a needle. The pain would only last a moment, she reasoned, until Erik could see for himself she was not afraid. Once he was proven wrong they would make love, have lunch, and enjoy the remainder of their day as lazy as their usual Sundays.
This was not how the scene played out. Erik panicked the moment the mask left his face, immediately covering his face with his hands and moaning in anguish. Everything about the man changed in a heartbeat. Erik's confidence and charisma, his nearly animal magnetism and sensuality were all gone the instant the leather left his skin. He nearly fell from the bed in a desperate attempt to get away from her, blinded by his hands over his face and his eyes closed tightly against his own ugliness.
"Erik!" Gaia cried out in horror at his reaction, reaching out for him as he moved out of the bed and as far from her as possible.
"You bitch!" He seethed in agony. "Why did you have to do that? Why did you take my face?" Erik moaned, and Gaia sobbed.
"I'm sorry Erik, I didn't think-"
"Of course you didn't think!" He spat angrily from the corner her cowered in like a frightened animal. "Women never think!"
"You don't have to be so horrible, Erik," she told him, crying. "I didn't do anything wrong."
In Erik's twenty years of life, no good had ever come from removing his mask. Every single time the mask left his face, the results were disastrous; His face showed him monsters in the mirror, caused his mother to scream and beat him senseless, caused countless thrill seeking Europeans to shout and faint and jab him with sticks as he cowered in a cage. Even when he had won his freedom from a cage, he dreaded the point in his performance when he would be forced to remove his mask and look at the terror his naked face caused. The negativity of his face was so deeply ingrained in him now, it was a fear he would probably never be rid of.
"Didn't do anything wrong? You took Erik's face!" Erik spat from his corner, torn between staying in its safety and lashing out at her.
Gaia's heart sank to the pit of her stomach. "…Erik you're scaring me."
"Erik is scaring you?" He snapped, uncovering his face and standing in his full glory. At 6'3", Erik was immensely tall for any man of the day, and was slim but well framed because of the hard labor of his career. Erik had intimidation down to an art, and was as masterful at it as he was at the rest of his crafts. "After you swore you would never be afraid? That you loved Erik?"
Gaia was crying now, backing out of the bed and against the wall to put as much space between her and her husband as possible. She shook with fear, both at the sight of him and at his behavior; his face alone would not have terrified her, but even the most handsome man holding himself in such a way would have frightened her.
"I do love you, Erik, I swear on my life… but you're scaring me. Erik why are you acting like this-"
Before Gaia knew what was happening, Erik leapt on top of and over the bed to have at her, striking her so hard across the face Gaia saw stars and tasted blood. Her whole body reeled as she drifted out of consciousness for a moment, the wall behind her the only thing keeping her from collapsing at the blow. When she finally regained full consciousness, she collapsed out of anguish rather than pain; Erik was nowhere to be seen, but the mask was still there on the bed. What in God's name had happened?