Adellade stood in front of the house. She swallowed and stepped up to the front door, pushing it open on creaking hinges. Most of the furniture had been abandoned, the color having faded away a long time ago.

The door closed behind her and she gasped, turning in fright.

A sound caught her ear and she paused, knowing she shouldn't follow the noise, yet compelled to find the source. She found herself walking upstairs and toward the door at the end of the hall.

She stared at the music box in the center of the room, watching as it continued to play the melody, the sound echoing throughout. She hesitantly stepped forward and knelt down, picking up the box to inspect it.

"You shouldn't touch that," a voice quietly whispered. "She doesn't like it when things are changed."

She turned, seeing a small boy standing at the corner of the room. His clothes were much too large for his skinny frame. What she noticed most of all was the mask he wore and the frightened look in his eyes.

"It's alright." She sat down and turned the music box, holding it out to him as it began playing once more. "See?"

"You shouldn't be here. She doesn't like it when people are here."

"It's only a music box. There's no one in this house except for us."

"She'll come and find us."

"I'll protect you," she promised. "Do you want to sit over here and listen?"

He slowly stepped over to her and sat down on the floor, watching as the music box played the same song over and over again.

The boy screamed and she turned, seeing the woman standing there.

"What do you think you're doing?" Madeline screeched at him.

"No! Let him go!" Adellade stood. "It was my fault! Not his!"

"You want to show mercy to him? To this thing?"

"Let him go, Madeline! He did nothing wrong!"

"You truly believe that? Then perhaps I ought to punish you as well!"

She tossed the boy toward Adellade and they stumbled back, heavy metal bars slamming around them, forming a cage.

"Are you alright?" She asked, grabbing his shoulders. "Erik? Are you alright?"

He looked up at her, the mask falling away to reveal Gustave's face instead.

Adellade woke, gasping for breath, trying to banish the nightmare from her mind.

"You should've known better," Madeline's voice whispered around her.

"Gustave...he did nothing wrong…." She sniffed, wiping away tears. "It wasn't his fault."

"He is the son of the monster! I warned you what he would do to you! He's poisoned your mind, Adellade-twisted it around. He's the one who turned you against me! He's done the same to Christine and the boy! Just as he did to you all those years ago."

"No! Erik-Erik is good. He is good and he would never hurt me! Never!"

"Then what about those days with the gypsies? Or Mazenderan? Or have you forgotten who it was who led you to my flat that day? The day you killed your own mother!"

"I did it to protect him! From you!"

"And since when has he protected you?" She gasped, feeling Madeline's hands on her shoulders. "He was the one who led you to the gypsies that day! If he had truly cared about you he would've left you alone with your mother where you belonged."

"No." She shook her head and stood, walking away from the bed. "You're lying."

"And if you had stayed with your mother none of this would've ever happened. You would be happily married to a good man with a good family. No nightmares, no monsters, and no fear."

"Christine-Gustave-they would never be here."

"He's twisted your mind to care only for his happiness. What about yours, hm? What happiness have you had since he first took you away with him? What happiness have you had that he hasn't destroyed?"

"I-"

"See? You need your mother now, my dear. And he even took that away from you. You need someone to give you the happiness you deserve. The happiness that you should've had all those years ago…."

"No." She shook her head and covered her ears. "I won't listen to you! You're dead! You're dead and gone! I won't be drawn in by your promises, Madeline! Erik is my brother and I won't hurt him!"

"You think so?"

Adellade gasped as she was turned toward the mirror, seeing Madeline behind her.

"I know so."

"Is that true?" Madeline walked her forward. "Or has he distorted your view so much you can no longer see what everyone else sees? A poor girl so twisted and deformed just like him. I suppose I only have myself to blame, after all. I should've done so much more to keep you away from him-to keep you away from all the monsters he brought with him…. The gypsies…. The Shah of Persia…."

"Erik is good," she insisted.

"Haven't you ever wondered what your life would've been with me? Without him? How much happier you would be?"

"No. You're wrong."

"Am I? Look at what he's done to you, after all. Look at what he's turned you into."

"You're wrong."

"At what sort of life he gave you. One full of nothing more than nightmares and monsters and fear…."

"You're wrong!" She shouted. "Now go away and leave me alone!"

Adellade slammed her fist into the mirror, cracking the glass. She slid toward the floor, curling up on the ground, closing her eyes, trying to stop the tears that fell down her cheeks.

XXXXX

Erik nudged the door open and walked inside. He trusted Adellade, but he knew that there were moments when she would rather do anything but sleep. Not to mention how horrid she had looked the last time he had seen her. He couldn't help but worry.

He frowned, hearing something. He followed the noise and opened the door. He saw her on the floor crying, the blood coming from the cuts in her hand, the cracked mirror…. Erik sighed and walked over to where she was. He knelt down and gently touched her shoulder.

"Adellade? You've hurt yourself."

She looked up at him, tears staining her cheeks. She sniffed and wrapped her arms around him, crying into his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him.

"It's alright. It's alright." He gently picked her up and carried her to the other room. "We need to clean this."

He sat her in a chair and went to gather supplies from the kitchen. He began cleaning the wound, inspecting it for pieces of glass from the mirror. Erik glanced up at her, seeing a few tears roll down her cheeks still.

"What was the nightmare?" he asked.

"Madeline," she whispered, a fresh stream of tears falling down her face.

He bandaged her hand and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. "It's alright, Adellade. It's over now. It's over. It was only a nightmare. Nothing more."