"KATJA!" Erik screamed, throwing the door open. If anything happened to Katja or anyone tried to hurt her, he was going to build a hidden house for them five stories beneath the ground and he was to keep her there where she would be out of harm's way forever.
She appeared in the doorway, clearly shocked by his abrupt entrance. "Erik? What are you doing home already? What's wrong?"
Erik ran to her and grabbed her shoulders, looking her up and down. She seemed perfectly fine. "Rehearsal ended early," he replied slowly. He looked out the window, still distracted by the scream. The horse was still there. Katja was okay, so who screamed? And who on earth did the horse belong to?
"What's wrong Erik?" Katja repeated, putting her hand on his arm.
"I heard someone scream," he explained. "I thought it was you."
Her face flushed. "That's because it was me."
"Are you alright?" he demanded, his attention immediately snapping back to her. "What happened?"
"It was my fault," a new voice chimed in. Erik turned and saw Fredrick. "I decided to make a spontaneous visit to see how Katja was doing on her own. She didn't answer the door when I knocked. The door was unlocked so I let myself in to make sure she was okay. Apparently she didn't hear me and I frightened her."
Katja stepped into Erik's embrace. "I'm so sorry for worrying you Erik. Fredrick startled me, but I shouldn't have screamed."
"It's alright," Erik whispered, holding her tightly against his chest. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You're safe. That's all that matters to me."
"At least now I know that you're not afraid to jump into a fight to protect my sister," Fredrick added.
"If I weren't, I wouldn't have rescued her from the gypsies in the first place," Erik countered. "Katja's safety is my first and foremost priority and always will be."
"One of the gypsies found us in Paris, and you should have seen Erik. He wasn't afraid to fight to protect me. By the end, the gypsy was terrified of him."
"As long as you're safe, I suppose that's all that matters," her brother responded. Erik nodded in agreement.
"So that's your horse then?" Erik asked Fredrick, turning back to the animal outside the window.
"Ja," he replied. "Das ist mein Pferd, Zimt."
"Zimt...You named your horse Cinnamon?" Erik questioned.
"Very good. Your German is greatly improved," Fredrick said approvingly. "And actually I didn't name him; my wife named him that because of his color. I don't take him out often when I'm just around town, but today he needed the exercise."
"I need to look into getting a horse," Erik sighed. "I can't put that off forever. Not with a child on the way."
"What about Cesar?" Katja asked.
Fredrick's brow furrowed. "Cesar?"
"Cesar was my stallion," Erik explained. "One of my friends in Paris was looking after him until I returned, but now I don't plan on it anytime soon."
"We could go to Paris to get him," his wife suggested. "And you could see Nadir again."
Erik ran his fingers through his hair. "Katja, I couldn't even get a few days off for a honeymoon. I can't take the time to travel to Paris. It's just not possible right now."
"Well I could go," Katja continued.
"Absolutely not!" Erik cried. "Paris was dangerous enough when I was with you. Imagine what could happen if you were alone in the city without me to save you."
"We could write Nadir. I'm sure he'd meet me at the train station. I'd only be gone a week at most. I can handle it."
"No Katja." Erik's tone was firm and left no room for further arguments. "I promised your father that I would keep you safe. Letting you go to Paris on your own would go directly against that promise. Especially now that we have the baby to worry about too. I'll just have to find us another horse here."
She didn't look happy, but she let the argument drop. Fredrick looked slightly uncomfortable standing there. "I better go," he finally said. "My wife will be wondering what happened to me."
Katja hugged her brother tightly. "Thank you for coming, even if you did scare me."
"Next time I'll just knock much louder," her brother replied with a smirk. She pressed a kiss to Fredrick's cheek. "Goodbye Katja."
"Goodbye Fredrick. Say hello to Brigitte, Vati, and Tanja for me."
"Don't worry, I will."
Once her brother left, Katja turned to her husband. "You know, I'm not completely helpless. I think I could manage a quick trip to Paris."
"I told you once before, I will defend you until my dying breath, but when you're on your own, I can't guarantee your safety," Erik reminded her. "Anything could happen to you out there. And you have to consider the baby's health too. A trip like that could potentially be devastating to our child."
Katja was momentarily stunned. She couldn't remember Erik ever actually saying 'our child' out loud before. It had always been 'the baby'. It was the first time he really seemed to acknowledge that it was his child that was growing in her belly. That fact alone made her realize that he really was afraid of her going to Paris. "Alright," she said, giving in. "If you don't want me to go, I will stay here with you."
"Thank you," Erik whispered, holding her tightly and burying his face in her hair. "Thank you."
Later that night, the couple was side by side at the piano, their fingers flying over the keys together to create a beautiful piece of music, although Katja knew that most of it was due to Erik. She rested her head on his shoulder, just happy to be with him.
A sound caught her attention. She glanced out the window and was shocked by what she saw. Katja leaped up from the bench and rushed to get a better look. "What is it?" Erik asked, following close behind.
"There's a big black horse out there."
Erik stood behind her, his arm around her waist. "Why?" His eyes widened. "That almost looks like…but it can't be…"
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Erik rushed over and threw open the door. "I told you that you would find another reason to stay in Germany," Nadir said smugly.
FALSE ALARM! And a quick update for you on top of it all. Katja's safe, and Nadir's back to boot! Some of you guys were asking about him. So impatient, tsk tsk. I hope this answers some of your questions for now. Right now we get to find out what Nadir's been up to and wait for the baby, and potentially, the gypsies. But for now, we're playing the waiting game. Read and Review!
~nibblesfan
German Translations
Das ist mein Pferd, Zimt-That is my horse, Cinnamon.