A/N: A few things to settle. There are a lot of complaints about confusion…DO NOT WORRY. It will all…well, mostly all…be explained in the next few chapters.

I do not own the song Denise sings…it is from the Opera Othello, by Giuseppe Verdi. I also do not own the 'Italian lullaby'. That is actually the Italian parts of the song 'The Prayer', sung by Charlotte Church and Josh Groban (I don't know who wrote it). I also do not own the song Erik sings, that is owned by Vampiress787.

See first chapter for other disclaimers.

This chapter was VERY hard to write. It took me three days to write it…and I'm homeschooled, so that's quite a bit of time. Much more time then I'm used to it taking. But it's a lot harder to remember what happened at that point of the game, since it was so long ago. So hard, in fact, that I may not write this at all. I'll try a few more chapters and see how it goes.

Also: I asked in the first chapter, but no one has answered yet: Since you can get away with things in roleplaying that you can't in fanfiction, there are a lot of…erm…'out of the ordinary' things that may happen. If you'd rather I edit some of the more unbelievable things out, please let me know. If you'd rather I keep them in, please let me know.

A lot happens in this chapter, and it was hard to write…so please, PLEASE let me know what you think (in other words, I'm begging for reviews)!

Enjoy.

At first, the only thing she was aware of was darkness. But then she was able to use her other senses. Smell; She could smell a candle burning, and a strange, musky scent, like a damp cellar would have. Taste; She tasted a familiar bitter taste in her agonizingly dry mouth. Hearing; she could hear herself breathing slowly, and the sound of the candle flickering. Feel; She could feel something soft against her back, and something silky above her, and she also felt a horrible throbbing in her head. She could feel that outside a strange cocoon of warmth around her body it was unpleasantly cold. And finally, Sight: She could see fabric draped across the white four-poster bed she was in…a canopy. There was a small night-stand beside her, which held nothing atop it. But, worst of all: As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see - a little further- metal bars. A cage. She was trapped in a cage…again.

Certainly, it was much larger then the last one…it was the size of a fairly well-sized bedroom…but a cage is a cage, no matter how large.

"NO!" Denise cried and she flew out of the bed. She paused, looking down. She wasn't wearing the black dress she had been wearing earlier…now she was in a simple white nightgown…

She rushed to the cold metal bars and placed her hands around two, and began shaking them. There was the door, but it was locked!

"No!" she cried again, her throat burning from the roughness of her cry. "Let me go! You cannot do this! You cannot-"

"Ah, but I think that I can." Came an icy, detached voice. The voice itself was breathtaking in beauty, but the way it was used to speak caused Denise's heart to race…it was evil and cruel and insane.

The Phantom of the Opera stepped out of the shadows. Denise had always held a sort of morbid interest with the Phantom…she had tried to track his history down (never having believed him to be a real Phantom), and she had done rather well. Perhaps it was because she felt she could identify with him, with him losing Christine Daaé to the handsome Raoul de Changy, and her losing Simon Sully to perfect Rosemary Noel…

But now, as he stood there, a tall, dark figure in a pure black dress-suit, full black mask, and glowing red eyes…she was petrified. She felt as though her heart had stopped, and she could feel her whole body shaking with terror.

"P-please…" she swallowed hard as she tried to get control of her mouth and her mind. "Let me go."

"No." was his simple answer. Suddenly, something inside her exploded. All her rage of the past year suddenly demanded to be released. She took a step back and took a deep breath.

"NO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME! YOU CANNOT…" she fought back the tears that were threatening to fall. "YOU CANNOT CAGE ME! What is wrong with you? I AM NOT SOME KIND OF ANIMAL!" Her throat was now raw.

"Oh, but I can cage you, my Canary-bird." He spat the last words.

"Canar-" Denise began in confusion.

"Sing"

"What?"

"Sing!"

Denise took another step back, this time in fear.

"No." she said, her voice shaking. He stepped up closer to the bars, until he was nearly touching them. He was silent for what seemed an eternity. Denise could feel her heart pounding…should she say something?

"…No?" he asked slowly, in a tone of voice that sent a shiver down Denise's spine and made her blood turn cold.

"I am not a bird! I am a human bei-"

"Silence!" he spat. Denise jumped, but did not speak. "You will do as you are told, or…"

"Or…?" she asked fearfully.

"Or all those you love will be dead."

Denise stopped breathing. Simon's face flashed through her mind, then John's, and then…Rosemary…

"No." she whimpered, as the tears spilled down her face. "Please, no."

"Sing." He commanded.

Denise swallowed hard. She wouldn't accept this-she wouldn't! It wasn't happening...

The door to the cage swung open, and then shut behind the Phantom. She hadn't even seen him slip in.

"Stand straight!" he demanded. She stood straighter…almost impossibly straight. "Now…sing."

She thought fast…what song could she sing? The only song that came to her mind was a song from the current Opera, Othello. The song Desdemona sung, moments before her husband killed her. Denise took a deep breath, and sung in a hollow voice:

"I am sad, very sad.
My mother had a poor maidservant,
Beautiful and in love;
Her name was
Barbara. She loved
A man who later abandoned her; she used to sing
A song: 'The Willow Song.' "

She paused a moment, watching the Phantom as he walked slowly around her, observing her posture. She nearly screamed as he pushed her shoulders even further back, but one look into his blood-red eyes and she knew she had to keep singing.

" 'She wept, singing,
On the lonely heath,
The sad girl wept.
O Willow! Willow! Willow!
She sat, hanging
Her head on her-"

"STOP!" he exclaimed. Denise quickly stepped away from him. "You are not singing correctly."

"I…" she objected, but then, looking into his eyes, she stopped.

"Sing like this." He spoke, and then he began to sing in a chilling, haunting voice:

"Now in the dark as you wait,

You see the light, will you wake?

In dreams that give you pain,

You seek the truth through all the shame.

Drip like venom, drip like poison,

Is the passion that I have stolen.

So sing you now, and sing you true,

Or it will be the death of you."

There was a brief moment of silence, and then he spoke,

"Sing with heart. Now, sing it correctly."

She swallowed hard, and tried to collect herself. She gripped her hands together to try to stop them from shaking, but it was no use…her entire body was shaking.

She opened her mouth, and began again,

"I am sad, very sad.
My mother had a poor maidservant,
Beautiful and in love;
Her name was
Barbara. She loved
A man who later abandoned her; she used to sing
A song: 'The Willow Song.' "

He began to walk around her again, and he pulled her shoulders even further back and pushed his other hand against her back, forcing it to be painfully straight. More tears came to her eyes.

" 'She wept, singing,
On the lonely heath,
The sad girl wept.
O Willow! Willow! Willow!
She sat, hanging
Her head on her breast!
O Willow! Willow! Willow!
Let us sing! the funereal willow
Shall be my garland.' "

He placed a hand under her chin and forced her to raise her head. She choked back a cry of revulsion and continued,

" 'The birds came flying down from the dark branches
Toward that sweet song,
And her eyes wept so much, so much
They would have moved stones to pity.' "

He continued to walk around her, still 'fixing' her posture. Her muscles were screaming in pain of the unusual position.

'He was born for his glory, I to love him and to die.
Let us sing!
Willow! Willow! Willow!' "

"…better." He growled. They stood there in silence a moment, then he turned and walked to the door of the cage. Quicker then she could follow, he unlocked the door, stepped out, closed the door, and locked it. Then he stepped into the darkness. A moment later, she could hear a door open and close.

"No!" she cried. She listened intently for a moment, but heard nothing. She collapsed to the floor, sobbing.

How long had it been? Ten minutes, two hours, a day? She'd been lying there on that bed, staring at the ceiling, since she had managed to pull herself off the floor. She wished she knew how long it had been…maybe that would help.

What would help even more was if she knew how long she would be trapped there. What if he decided to keep her there forever? How could she survive? Would she? And what would John do about her disappearance? Of course, she knew her father would make a big deal about trying to find her…but he wouldn't really care. Rosemary might try a little, but she would mostly be relieved. John would really be the only one looking, and really wanting to find her…but then, he did have Elizabeth to keep his mind off things…after all, he wasn't in love with Denise. He'd try for a little while, but then he might decide she had just tried to escape.

But she'd find a way out. After all, she had escaped last time. And, if Christine Daaé could escape the Phantom of the Opera, then certainly…

That was when she realized: Christine Daaé had only been able to escape the Phantom because Raoul de Changy hadn't given up on her.

Denise had no Raoul. Simon had helped her escape before, but now he had Rosemary. Now, he didn't love her. She had no one who would care enough to go down and rescue her. She was trapped with no one to save her! The reality of the situation fell on her, and she began to cry again. She was tapped in a cage, caged by a madman.

She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew she could hear the cage door closing. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up. There stood the Phantom…except now, something was different.

Something about him was…gentler?…and now, instead of black, he wore a white mask. And now…now his eyes were gold, instead of red. He opened his mouth,

"Come." He said. Somehow, even his voice was different. It didn't hold that cruel quality, though for some reason it still made Denise's stomach knot. "There is something I want to show you."

She hesitantly slipped out of the warm covers. She looked down at herself; she was in a blue night-gown now.

"I…" the complaint died on her lips as she watched him unlock the door and open it, then motion for her to walk out ahead of him. She approached the door, terrified and hopeful.

He stopped her from walking out by placing a hand on her shoulder. He took out a piece of white cloth and put it over her eyes. Panic surged her body. She tried to make herself run, but at the same time, she knew she wouldn't get far. She clenched her fists instead as he tied the blindfold into place.

He placed a hand on her back and gently pushed Denise out ahead of him. Then she felt him walk around her to her right side, and he took hold of her arm and began leading her away. As they walked, she closed her eyes and counted the steps and turns, committing them to memory.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten…left. One two, three, four, five, six…right. One, two, three, four, five, six… right. One, two, three, four, five… left. One, two, three, four…left. One, two, three, four…right. One, two, three…right.

After a few more steps, they stopped. She heard a door open to her right, and she was then led into the room. He entered behind her, then shut the door, and began to untie the blindfold. When she felt the fabric fall from her eyes she opened them, then she gasped in shock.

She was in an average-sized room, which would have looked like a little girl's room if it weren't for a small pond in the center of it. Scattered about were child's playthings…dolls, dollhouses, a white rocking-horse, a rolling hoop, a 'Game of Graces' set, and even a carriage off to one side. It had everything…everything she didn't have as a child.

"This is all yours…" the Phantom said from behind her. Then he added, in a quivering voice, "…I am not all monster."

Denise's heart pounded in fear, and she suddenly felt ill. He was more insane then she had ever believed! Somehow, this version of him, this…calm, gentle, attentive him was more frightening then the cruel him.

He placed the blindfold over her eyes again.

"There is something else I want to show you." He said softly. Denise choked back a whimper and nodded. What was next?

He led her out of the room and they continued down the hall.

Left, one, two, three, four…left. One, two, three, four, five…right. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…left. One, two, three…right. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven…they stopped again.

She felt him untie the knot, and she opened her eyes again once he had removed the blindfold. She was in a much larger room now…a room which very much deserved the title 'Sitting Room'. There was a fireplace and a few candles lit here and there. There was no divan or chairs, only large cushions that had been placed on the floor in a seemingly random matter. To her right there was a door, and in front of her two doors. To her left there was another door, and but directly to the left of her, against the wall, was a very large organ.

"Please…make yourself at home." The Phantom said. Denise did not move an inch, but stood there, fearing that if she moved something dreadful would happen...that if she touched something it would make everything that was happening all the more real. Besides, she didn't want to 'make herself at home' in the house of a madman that was holding her prisoner.

The Phantom walked past her and sat at the organ.

"This is how you should sing…" he said. He began to play a few notes, and then he began to sing:

"La luce che tu dai,

Nel cuore restera,

A ricordarci che,

L'eterna stella sei,

Nella mia preghiera,

Quanta fede c'e,
Sogniamo un mondo senza piu violenza. "

Denise swayed as he began to sing. It was a soft, Italian lullaby. In his voice was a large array of emotions, and such softness and breathtaking, awe-inspiring beauty…Denise gave a longing sigh. She wished she could truly sing like that.

"Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza,
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino,
Simbolo di pace e di fraternita.

La forza che ci dai,
E'il desiderio che,

Ognuno trovi amore,

Intorno e dentro a se,

E la fede che,
Hai acceso in noi,
Sento che ci salvera."

He moved on to another song after that. And then another, and then another. She must have stood there for hours, just listening to him sing. After what must have been at least four hours, he stopped. He suddenly seemed to remember her. Denise certainly had the opportunity to remember herself, and curse herself for not trying to get away earlier.

"…You must sing with soul," he said softly, "or there is no point in singing at all."

Oh, how she hated him! He made her remember what she had tried to forget. He caged her, called her an animal, and forced her to sing. The least God could have done was given him a devil's voice to go with his face! But no…this monster could sing better then anyone she had ever heard.

She stared straight ahead as she heard him stand and approach her. Her fists were clenched and shaking, and it wasn't until he took her by the wrist and made her raise and open her hand that she realized that her nails had dug so much into her palms that she was bleeding.

"You shouldn't do that." He chastised her. He walked away from her and past the organ, through an unseen door. Now was her opportunity…but which door? And what if he caught her? Or what if she was trapped in the fabled 'Torture Chamber'? Would he even let her out, or would he simply let her die of her own foolishness?

That doesn't matter! Death is better then being trapped here! A voice said in the back of her mind. She agreed.

She was about to try the door directly across from her, when he stepped out. She had been too late.

He walked up to her once more, this time holding out a tea cup.

"It'll settle you down." He promised. She hesitantly took the cup into her shaking, bleeding hands. She smelled it, and almost smiled. Lemon tea…her favorite. But there was something strange about it…

Pushing the last thought aside, she took a tentative sip, and then swallowed most of it down quickly. It burned her throat, but she was dying of thirst…and it was settling her down.

"What…" her voice failed, and she tried again. "What time is it?"

"Does that really matter? Here, it is always night." The Phantom informed her. Denise nodded.

"I suppose it doesn't matter…I just want to know…please."

There was a moment of silence, and then,

"It is Six O Clock."

"…oh. Thank you." She said, and then swallowed the rest. She didn't like the way he was looking at her…she did not like it at all.

Suddenly, the world went black.

RubyMoon's Secret Place

RubyMoon: Okay, so Erik isn't as scary as I had hoped. Its much more scary when you're fully in Denise's character, and your heart races when hers does, and you're scared like she is, and you're friend is doing this incredibly creepy/insane voice for Erik. …and she's female. : weird face : ANYWAY! Please, do review. Ja Ne!