Abel ran into the room. He and the other members of Ax were on a mission in an old house. People living around it claimed they heard noises coming from it, and could see an apparition of a young woman in the windows. Abel had burst into this particular room because of that "apparition."
"Hello? Is anybody here?" He said, his voice firm, but gentle. He squinted through the dust he had stirred up. The room seemed untouched, at least an inch of dust lingering on the many strange objects on shelves and tables in the room. In the far corner, he could see a bed. Carefully, he tiptoed over to it. It looked undisturbed, but Abel knew better. There was no dust on it. He slipped off his glove and touched the bedspread. It felt warm. He silently smiled to himself. 'This is no apparition we're dealing with.' At this, his teammate stepped into the room. Hugue de Watteau, the Sword Dancer.
"What have you found, Abel?" He stood perfectly still in one place, taking care not to step around too much in the dust. His grace was definitely remarkable.
Abel smiled. "I don't think that this is any ghost, Father de Watteau." He turned around. He opened his mouth to say something more, but stopped as he caught something out of the corner of his eye. A flicker of white material nad a lock of shining red-tinted hair passed across the wood of the door frame. "Be very quiet." He said and walked to the door, slipping into the hallway to follow the "apparition".
The hall ended, with one room on the left. Fathers Nightroad and de Watteau were joined by Fathers Iqus and Leon. Softly, Abel pushed on the wood of the door, finding it open. The three men looked in, (Tres, being an android, didn't care.) and saw and empty room. There was a window, and beside it...
"Amazing..." Leon stared. Beside the window, sitting calmly in a solitary chair was a young woman dressed in white, her black hair glimmered with blood red. She stared out the window, the moonlight illuminating her every feature, though she looked away from them.
They all stepped in, closing the door behind them after Leon pulled Tres in. There were a few moments of silence as the men stared, unbelieving what they saw. Soon, Abel spoke up. "Uh... excuse me? Miss?" His voice was a squeak.
The woman didn't respond. She turned her head and faced the men. Her face was delicate, but what surprised them the most was her eyes. Her skin was a pale as the moonlight itself. But her eyes... they were blood red and they shone, even facing away from the light. Her expression was sad, but her eyes flamed with something more intense. Her lips formed a sorrowful smile and she faded into the air, disappearing.
"What? W-where did she go?!?" Abel turned around, only to see the young woman walking down the hall away from them. "How...? Come. We have to follow her." Silently, they followed her. She disappeared into another room and they followed her.
She walked to a shelf littered with many more strange objects, much like the ones in the bedroom. Abel watched her as she reached out for one. She chose one. It was a small sphere, about the size of a marble, with many spikes protruding from it. On these spikes were rings. She evaluated it for a moment or two and slipped one of her slender fingers into it. There was a faint click as she pulled it. She turned to face the men and gently tossed it to Abel, because he was in front. All four men looked on with interest.
The object's many spikes began shifting. The marble-sized sphere began to expand as the spkies and rings drew in. From inside of the contraption, a song started playing. It was soft and sweet, like an old waltz. Within the orb of spikes and walls, a light began to shine. Two small dancers twirled together in time to the music. They watched, enthralled, until the song ended. The spikes and rings returned to their former state and the object assumed its unmoving state. The men looked up, only to find the woman gone again.
Leon sighed. "Who the hell is this chick?"
Abel looked at the contraption in his hand. "Exactly my question..." The four men walked out of the room in search of the mysterious woman again.
They walked along. Suddenly, Tres stopped.
"What's wrong?" Abel looked back at Tres. The android stood still, completely unmoving.
Leon looked around. "Do you hear music or is it just me?"
Hugue closed his eyes. "It's the song from the... uh, thing." He opened one eye. "It's coming from that room." He pointed up. Indeed, there was a door open on the balcony level.
The men walked to it. From inside, a piano played. The stepped in to see the woman sitting with her back to the door. Abel stared. Something seemed so familiar about this woman...
"Please stop disappearing. It's very frustrating." He said. The woman didn't respond. Abel turned to face his equally exasperated advocates. They looked at him, and shook their heads. This woman certainly was and odd one, that they agreed wholeheartedly. But why was she here alone? Who is she?
The four men stood in a line, blocking the door. Not in an agressive manner, just to make sure she didn't leave.
Abel took off his glasses and cleaned the thin layer of dust off of them on his jacket sleeve. Putting them back on, he looked up. "Who are you, if I may ask?"
The woman kept playing, keeping her back to them. "Wouldn't you like to know." Her voice was lilting, almost musical. Abel felt a sugar-rush like shudder travel up and down his spine when she spoke. He shook his head, snapping himself out of his mind's thoughts.
"I meant to say, what is your name?"
The woman shook her long hair so it all lay on her back, shaking like blood stained black snakes. "I'm nobody."
Abel looked at her. "That's an unusual name."
The woman let out a soft laugh. "I mean, I am no one. I have no real worth to anyone today or yesterday or tomorrow. I am nobody, in the sense that I'm a nonconformant. I'm alone. No one knows my name but myself and I intend to keep it that way." Her sweet voice melded with the piano as she played on. She hit a last key and turned on the piano bench to face the men on the other side of the room. She tilted her head to the side and gave them a faint smile, her blood-red eyes shining like rubies.
Abel walked to her and knelt down, touching her shoulder. "You don't have to shield yourself from us. We're not going to hurt you."
The woman turned her face away from Abel and stood up. "That's what all men say." She walked to the window, staring out into the dark horizon. The moon still shone, seeming brighter on the second floor of the house.
Abel leaned on the piano bench. "You're not a ghost, are you?" He said this slowly, feeling her pain reverberate around the room.
"I'm just as good as one." The woman stroked the windowpane. "I'm forgotten in this world..." She turned to face the men again. "I've been forgotten in this world for so long. I've..." she paused and walked to Abel. She knelt down next to him, stroking his cheek. "I've forgotten myself what it means... to be alive. Truly alive..." She looked away. "But my pains are no matter to you." Her voice was sad.
Hugue stepped forward. "Please, tell us your name."
the woman looked at him. "As I said, I intend to keep that a secret." She rolled her left shoulder. "Now, if I may ask, what is your purpose here?"
Abel looked up at her. "Our sole purpose is to find out who you are and why you're here."
The woman laughed. "And how do you propose to do that?"
"We're going to have to ask you a few questions, but that's all." Abel stood up.
The woman nodded. "That sounds fair enough. Come. I won't say another word until you're settled down. I suspect you've traveled a long way." She gently pushed past the men and opened the door. They looked at each other and followed her into yet another room of the strange house.
I don't care if you don't like it, but if you have any ideas or just comments that'd be great!