After the Scorpion

They had no servants, so Erik had to go and fetch the midwife. He helped Christine into her bed and gave her a wet washcloth to bite into. He raced over to the neighbors and could barely gasp that they needed to go watch her. By the time his horse reached the midwife's house, Erik was coughing and his chest was constricting in pain. He banged on the door and collapsed on the porch. When the midwife saw him she knew immediately that Christine's baby was coming. She ordered her two servants to bring Erik in the house and care for him until he was well enough to go back. They carried Erik into the bedroom as he coughed more blood. It was as if his heart was trying to escape from his body. He twisted in pain and tried to scream to them not to remove his mask, but he was hurting too much. The servants soothed his hair and gave him some type of herbal remedy.
Before he could drink it one of the servants reached out and took off his mask, only trying to make him more comfortable. They both screamed and the sound echoed in Erik's pain addled head. The servants ran out of the room and out of the house, leaving Erik alone in his misery. Meanwhile, Christine was screaming in pain as her baby made its way into the world. She cried as the midwife and the neighbors encouraged her. Just as Christine was writhing in anguish, Erik was also writhing in agony. He felt the need to cough but his chest was too tight to allow anything. He screamed in torment just as Christine screamed in shock. The baby slid out and the midwife announced a healthy, normal boy. Erik closed his eyes over a mile away as his life faded. They found him the next morning and broke the news to Christine. Her sobs woke the baby, and they cried together in misery. She took her son in her arms and brought him out to the garden. They would bury Erik here, in this sanctuary he'd created. She looked back at the house, their wonderful home that now stood forlorn and empty. She knew he had created several secret passages and rooms, yet he never told her the secrets. Perhaps when their son was old enough he would discover his father's illusions, and the memory of Erik would live on. Christine held her face to the sun, and smiled.
He was at peace now, a peace he could never really find here on earth. The least she had done was given him two years of delight and contentment, and now she had her son to raise. Their son, Jason Erik Daae.