AN: Thank you all for your support. Please review.

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"The Devil's Child," Raoul stated. "It means that-

"I am well aware of the implications," Erik interrupted, turning away from the man to enter the room to retrieve the masque. Thoughts of his time in the gypsy camp were something that he was able to ignore for the most part. Now, he was being forced to relive it. They wanted the "Devil's Child" back. How could it be that they wanted him back? And, how was it possible for Raoul, of all people, to know of that part of his life?

Eloise did not know entirely what was going on. When Erik had gone to answer the insistent banging at the door, she had stood up to straighten out her simple dress. Her emotions had been ruling her before he had pulled away, and she had been acting in a way that was not proper. Still, she had not wanted to stop. Erik had been responding to her, and his touch made her feel good. She truly was becoming a wretched woman-a fallen woman sleeping with a man she had only just met.

"What's going on?" Eloise questioned as the Phantom put his masque back in place. She was unsure of herself now. How were they to act towards one another now? She had initiated the intimacy.

Raoul provided the answer, coming to stand beside his once enemy, "The gypsies have taken Christine. I found a ransom letter in the guest room. They want the Devil's Child back in return for her."

"The Devil's Child?" Eloise questioned, laughing slightly. "That is an old wives' tale. There is no truth to it. The tale is solely a way to warn-"

"It is all too real," Erik interrupted, his voice sounding off to the others in the room. He found himself going back to those black memories of his childhood in the camp. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked between the two. "You are not the only one here who spent time with the gypsies, though you were likely treated much better. You were a part of the camp, a member. The Devil's Child was an act. It made much money for the camp, until he escaped."

"You?" Eloise questioned. Was that why he wore the masque? Had they harmed him as a part of an act? She knew that the older head gypsies had used to do that. Human oddities were an easy way to make money. Everyone was fascinated by them. Of course, that was before she had come to the camp. Markus, her head gypsy, had not acted that way. He had not tortured anyone who would perform for the camp. Still, she remembered something from when she was young. Markus' father had been one to practice the old ways.

"Yes," Raoul answered for the Phantom. He had heard from Giry how poorly the Ghost had been treated while in the camp, though he did not know everything. The stiff actions and the way he spoke confirmed this. Though Raoul was not a fan of the Opera Ghost, he was not one to advocate torture. "Do you think they would harm Christine?"

Erik nodded. "Anything is possible. If they associate her with me-which they clearly do, they will do whatever possible to bring me back. That can very well be torture, rape, whatever you can imagine. They are under the impression that your wife is something of importance in my life." He glanced at the letter once again, noting the signature. An annoyed laugh escaped him. "Oh, it truly is a very small world." He held out the letter to Eloise. "Markus."

Eloise took the letter to read it over. It was clearly Markus' handwriting. This did not make sense to her, though. Markus was not one to use violence. Never had she heard him speak about the Devil Child. Could it be that violence had been practiced prior to her time in the camp? She looked back up at the man in the masque. "I don't understand this. Markus was never violent. His father had practiced the old ways of the acts."

"And the father's name was?" Erik questioned, already having a feeling that he knew.

"Javert, I think," Eloise answered.

"And the world grows even smaller," he commented, looking away from her as memories of his past became all the more prevalent in his mind.

"Where would they be now?" Raoul questioned. He had not thought about Christine being tortured or raped. If she were to be raped, she would be a fallen woman. His family would never accept that. She needed to be rescued before that happened.

"Aicha vorm Wald, Bayern," Eloise replied.

"Germany?" Raoul questioned, surprised. "It will take us so long to get there."

"What would you like her to do, fop?" Erik replied angrily. He turned to face the man, glaring at him. "She cannot control where they travel. You are asking me to save your wife and return to a world of torture. Do not complain of time and travel." The memories of his time in the camp were in the forefront of his mind. It had been the lowest point in his life, and now he was about to return to it all because of this boy. "Tell me, Raoul, why should I bother to save her? She is nothing to me."

"You loved her," Raoul replied, taking a few steps back. It was clear that the Phantom was not happy at the moment. There was no telling what he would do.

"You took her away. Now, she is in a gypsy camp; the threat of torture and rape is very real for her every damn day. Do you think the men will be kind with her body as they satisfy their needs? They are not easy with a child's body. Why be gentle with an adult?" Erik answered, his voice rising with his increasing anger.

"Oh God," Eloise commented, realizing what he meant.

The noble, however, did not catch on. "What are you talking about? A child? What does that-"

"Personal experience, boy," Erik replied, taking a step towards the noble. Before the other had the chance to react, the Phantom spun the man around and forced him against the wall. He stood uncomfortably close to De Chagny. "The Devil's Child was not spared rape by the men," he whispered into Raoul's ear. "I was not spared by them," he shouted and shoved de Chagny away. "I escaped only after killing Javert. I was but a child, forced to commit murder to escape further rape. You are asking me to return to that. My simple touch now made your skin crawl. Imagine it all around you, violating you. That is the world your wife is trapped in. That is what awaits us in the camp. Tell me why I should go back to my personal Hell and save her!"

"Erik," Eloise interjected as she slowly made her way to stand in front of him. She took his hands in her own, trying to find some means to calm him. The pain and anger was clear in his eyes as he stared down at her. "You will not be there alone. No one will harm you this time. If we can save Christine from her fate, I think that we should." She continued so only he could hear, "You have seen how rape has affected me."

Her touch soothed his seething mind slightly. At the very least, her touch brought back memories of what they had been doing before de Chagny showed up. Those memories were much better than the ones of torture and rape that were running rampant in his mind. Her words made their way through his damaged mind. She was right. Christine did not deserve to be raped.

He sighed and looked past her to the noble. "We will leave in the morning. Now, please, I ask you to leave this room for the remainder of the night."

"Thank you," he answered. He turned to leave the room, but he paused at the door. The noble turned back to look at the Phantom. He wanted to say something, but he did not know what. The fate that the Ghost had suffered at such a young age was unimaginable. "She's right," he stated quietly. "You won't be alone this time. I will help you."

Erik merely nodded and watched the boy go. He did not want to discuss things further with the fop tonight. Raoul would not be of much use in a fight. Still, he did have money and was popularly known. That could be used to their advantage. The gypsies craved money. It was their weakness.

Eloise didn't know what to say. His history-at least part of it-had been revealed to her. It was horrible. How had a child managed to survive such torture? She put her arms around him, trying to find some way to express herself. He stiffened at her touch.

The former Opera Ghost pulled away from the woman. To stay in this room with her tonight would not end well. His tortured mind was eating away what little stability he was holding onto at the moment. He needed to be alone for some length of time-at the bare minimum, the rest of the night. "I will be of no good for you tonight," he stated, thinking about how they had been acting before Raoul had shown up. "Our actions from earlier…I should not have acted in such a way. You should sleep. I will be in the music room if you need me."

"Erik," she called after him as he turned and left the room. She quickly followed after him, needing to comfort him in some way. When she caught up to the former Opera Ghost, Eloise stood in front of him to block his way. "I enjoyed it," she stated quietly, glancing at the floor briefly before looking back up at the mismatched eyes. "Come to bed with me."

The temptation was high. It could be so easy to purge the memories from his mind through a night with this woman in front of him. It was not something he could do. It would do no good for either of them. He tried to walk away from her, but she held her position firm in front of him. "I cannot," he replied, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Please, do not make me do this."

"Then allow me to stay with you in the music room," Eloise returned, placing one of her hands over his. It was only his touch that would not bring back bad memories of her attack. "Please?"

He sighed. How was it that she was able to do this, bend him to her will? It seemed as if women all had this strange ability. "As you wish," he replied.

xxx

She did not know where she was. She had been taken from the train station, but that was the last thing that she could remember. All she knew now was that she was in a cage. Her arms were bound behind her back. Her ankles were bound as well. A short chain kept the bindings locked to one another. Due to this, she was unable to do anything but remain kneeling all day.

Once a day someone would come to feed her a piece of bread and give her water, but that was all. No one would help her. She remained in the same clothing every day. No one helped her to relieve herself. A corner of the cage was used for that. Her health was quickly becoming worse. At the very least, she had heard someone of authority say that she was not to be harmed. She was "to remain intact until the Devil's Child came to rescue her.

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AN: I am taking bits and pieces from the back story of the Phantom from Gaston Leroux and Susan Kay. If you have any suggestions for the plot, please let me know.