Terpintinemind: Thanks so much for the positive reinforcement! I'm really happy to have consistent reviewers.

Elvinscarf: Thanks for another great review! Don't hesitate to tell me if there is something in particular that you want to see in the story. This story is for all of you guys!

I am so very lucky! The hotel I'm staying at on vacation has a library with two computers in it. Yay! I can update! I know that it's taking me a long time to post, but I will try to have the fifth chapter up soon. Thanks for all of the readers out there! Without you, this story wouldn't be possible!

My breath caught sharply in my throat at his words. I forgot about the intense pain that his unrelenting grip had been causing me, and stared momentarily into his depthless eyes. Malice shown brightly, but what I could only describe as adoration glowed subtlely underneath. Forcing myself to breath once again, I decided to play on this emotion.

"You're hurting me." The meekness in my tone was enough for him to release his grip on me almost immediately. I sank to the ground, my body still in a state of temporary shock.

"I'm sorry." There was a sympathetic tone to his voice that was foreign to me. Slowly, I raised my gaze to meet his. The malice in his eyes had now been replaced with a sympathy that looked almost natural to his features. I blinked, and the malice returned with more force than on the last occasion. "But, I told you not to play with things that you wouldn't understand! Why can't you all understand that this is not some playhouse?" He swept his hand around the room, indicating everything that was present there. "This is a place of art, of passion…of beauty." His words died away with a sadness that touched my heart. Still on the floor, I gazed around the theatre, attempting to see it as he once had. Oh the beauty that it must have exuded! To see this beauty become marred with time, and to live in the memories of what once was would be heartbreaking for anyone with a sound mind!

"But you would NEVER understand this!" The sudden harshness of his words made me jump. "You are just like all of the others! You come into this place expecting a grand adventure. All you find is crumbling marble and stairways coated with the spider's web. In your disappointment, you make up stories; stories of untruth and fantasy. These stories tell of what was once here, or what one thinks was once here; but in fact you could NEVER capture the beauty that once resided here. You must have lived it to capture it. This is why you, my dear, have no business intruding on a place like this. You are not WORTHY of its beauty!"

I was taken aback by his words. They were filled with such passion, but also so much hatred for one who he believed did not understand.

"Teach me of the beauty of this place. Maybe then I can understand it." I had no clear notion of what I thought I was doing. Clearly, I believed this to be a game that someone was playing with me. Surely, this all couldn't be real. I saw a brief change in his features as he considered my words. Slowly, he began to shake his head.

"No, no! It has been far too short of a time for me to take on another apprentice now. Christine would NEVER forgive me for this intrusion on our special relationship." He seemed to mumble this last part to himself. I caught every word of his ramblings; my mind immediately flying to the tragic story of Christine Daaé, famous soprano and the sole interest of the Phantom of the Opera. If he was who he claimed to be, it had been roughly 130 years since she had fled for the last time from his grasp. How could this time not be adequate enough for him to take on another student?

"How long has it been since your last apprentice left?" The words left my mouth before I could think twice about their meaning. He shot me a suspicious look before answering.

"Ten years," the bitterness in his voice was unmistakable. His response immediately piqued my curiosity. Ten years? How could it have been just ten years since the famous fire that had closed this opera house down permanently? Knowing in my right mind that time travel was next to impossible, I felt compelled to correct him. A shiver raced down my spine as I attempted to do so.

"It has been more than ten years, sir. The fire that claimed the opera populare happened almost 130 years ago."

LOL! I'm so evil; leaving you with another cliffie like that! There are some supernatural elements involved here, but not anything like what you're probably anticipating. I will have chapter five posted soon, and then you will be one step closer to figuring out what mysterious secret the Phantom is hiding. Please review! Au revior for now!