This edited collection, containing a broad selection of case studies from across the Arab world, examines how urbanization is causing language change in major Arab cities.

In Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux wrote of a kiss and the mingled tears that changed the mind of a madman. But with the absence of that single gesture, when Christine turns the Scorpion her life is forever altered. Bound by the vows she made before God and faced with new challenges that accompany being Erik's wife, she must learn how to let go of her past and embrace the future she has chosen with a man she simply cannot hate.

On one cold winter's eve, two broken souls meet through unfortunate circumstances. Tragically deformed and disillusioned toward the world of his fellow men, Erik must learn compassion for the young woman in his care. Christine must overcome the fear the streets of Paris have instilled within her upon the death of her guardian. Sometimes healing can only be found in the arms of another. -X- Her eyes welled once more and she shook her head slowly. "No. It is..." She sniffled loudly, putting aside her bowl and wrapping her arms around herself tightly. "There are cruel men who like to..." She...

Bonnie is but a little thing when she is forced to bear witness to the cruel separation of the prince's mother from her beloved son and his future kingdom. Too young and earnest to realise her error, she offers the prince comfort in the form of a listening ear and hugs the best in all the world. Of lowly birth and little means, Bonnie tends quietly to her scullery work in the kitchens to keep her own mother well and happy, enduring the cruel temper of Cook, yet never forsaking her friendship and growing affections for the lonely prince. Though the passing of years and the suffering of heavy...

Extortion. Abduction. Murder. Themes not unknown within the pages of Gaston Leroux's original telling of The Phantom of the Opera. But what if the Ghost's eccentric haunting took place within the confines of the modern justice system? Christine Daae is a waitress struggling to make ends meet when a call to jury duty comes as a most inconvenient summons. Though reluctant to participate as income is sparse and shifts at the restaurant hard to come by, she is intrigued by the defendant; a badly deformed man accused of blackmail and homicide. Interaction between defendant and juror is prohibited,...

For years, Christine Daae has lived a lonely and sheltered life, clinging to memories of happier days when her father lived, and her role at the opera house meant more than simply muddling through. The one token she has left of him she keeps securely on her finger, until a moment of carelessness leads her not to the cherished wedding ring, but to a terrifying murder beneath the stage. The killer is masked, his true identity unknown, and Christine is the only one to have witnessed his activities and lived to contact the authorities. Her testimony is crucial in the lawmen's efforts to track...

Dishonourable. Unwanted. Outsider. Such are the slurs cast upon Rykkon, however undeserved. As the only village healer, his people cannot cast him out entirely, but there is little comfort in such a life when he has long known that no mate from his clan would willingly join with him. It is a lonely fate, but one Rykkon has learned to accept. That is, until one tense exchange between his people and the humans brings him an offer he simply cannot ignore. The humans are not their slaves. Nor their property. Nor of any great concern. But neither are they free. It is by the provisions of the...