Please excuse any misspellings.
Disclaimer: I have used the names and descriptions of characters used in Sailor Moon. I do not own Sailor Moon. This is a fanfic, though the storyline is mostly my idea. I have also twisted some situations from the show to fit my own story. I hope you all like it.
The Ghosts of Serenity Manor
Sailor Moon Fanfic By LadyPrin
Darien Chiba slowly walked up the side of the road, enjoying the fresh crisp air the Tokyo atmosphere had to offer.
He walked under the shade of the Cherry Blossom trees that lined the road on either side. The blossoms were blooming and their fragrance was sweet upon the air.
In this part of Tokyo, traffic was slow. Thus peace reigned most of the time.
A slight breeze was blowing this morning, making Darien's short black hair rustle with the rhythm of the leaves.
His dark blue eyes took in every detail of the neighborhood, including the For Sale sign on his left.
It said:
For Sale
Serenity Manor
It then had an arrow pointing up the street that split off of the main road beside it.
Darien looked down the street, but all he could see were trees and emerald green grass.
He had never heard of Serenity Manor, but from the looks of things it was a pretty secluded house.
Well, Darien was looking for a house anyway, so he decided to have a look at Serenity Manor.
He walked up the asphalt road for a couple of miles until he came to a grand old house.
It was three stories high, made out of solid red brick, and had a black shingled roof.
About four cars were parked in the driveway.
Darien looked around the peaceful piece of property, and immediately grew a liking for it.
As he walked up to the house he heard voices coming from around the back. So he followed them around to the back of the house.
When he got to the back, he took a moment to look around.
There was a little square patch of garden directly in front of him.
On the left corner furthest from him stood a fairly tall peach tree. Its flowers were just dying and the peaches were just beginning to grow.
In front of the tree stood a black wrought iron bench that could seat two people easily.
A little ways in front of the bench stood a water fountain. It wasn't very big, but a fairly small child could climb into it and have a grand old time. The statue that stood in the middle of the fountain was a little woodland sprite made out of concrete. It looked comical with its overly big head, and hands. Its grin was wide as water shot up out of its pointy hat. Darien didn't think it belonged in the garden.
His eyes shifted to the clumps of flowers that popped up here and there. Their colors ranged from the deepest red and spaciest orange, to the lightest blue Darien had ever seen. It almost looked silver. The flowers were looking a bit overgrown, but nothing a little gardening wouldn't take care of.
Bushes were planted all around the edge of the garden like a small green wall. There was an open space in that wall on the right side as Darien looked at it, that allowed a little path to the bench through the garden. Though Darien lost site of the path 'cause of the overgrown flowers.
The building was bigger than he thought it had been upon first sight. It surrounded the garden on three sides, making a little town square like space.
On the sides by the house were walkways, that had little overhangs to shade the people who walked under them from the sun.
Speaking of people. . .
On Darien's right side, he saw a group of five people. A middle aged couple, a women who looked like a reporter, a young women who looked in need of a new hairdo, and a women with long black hair who looked like the leader of the group.
After a couple seconds of observing them, Darien figured out that the long black haired girl was the leader of the tour of the house. She was also very close to strangling the women with bad hair.
Darien started walking very quickly toward the group.
As he got closer he started to hear bits of the conversation.
"If we don't get a bid on this house before midnight tonight, a construction company will buy it, level it, and build a mall on it." The black haired women was saying to the group through gritted teeth.
"Personally, I can't say that's a bad idea." The women with the bad hair. She sounded very snobbish. "A mall would certainly be better than this old broken down house. Plus maybe the ghosts would be riled up enough than to make an appearance."
As the others around her agreed, the black haired women glared at her.
"Hey there!" Darien called to the group.
The black haired women glanced at him. The glare was still in her eyes, though Darien knew it wasn't for him.
"Is this place for sale?" He directed the question at the black haired women. Though he knew what the answer was already, he tried to give her a chance to calm down.
And luckily for her, she saw it for what it was.
"Yes, it is." She said as she started walking toward him.
Darien saw her taking a deep breath, as the group behind her started talking about ghosts.
When the women reached him, she was all calm.
"Hi, my name is Rei Hino I'm showing the house today. Yes, Serenity Manor is for sale, but only 'till midnight tonight. Otherwise a construction company will buy it, level it, and build a mall on it."
As she took a breath here, Darien got a word in.
"This place is too beautiful to be torn down."
"Yes, exactly!" Rei said enthusiastically. She seemed so happy at finding someone who shared her view of the lovely house. "Sadly, though, the only people who came here today only want to hear the ghost stories surrounding this house, and see if they can get a ghost encounter."
Rei looked at him with speculating eyes.
"Maybe you can tell me all that later. Right now I've got a question."
Rei looked at him happily.
"Yes?"
"What is with the sprite on the fountain? It's not original is it?"
Rei laughed slightly.
"No, that wasn't the original piece. Nobody knows what happened to the original piece. When the last owners moved in, there wasn't a statue on there. So they just added that for a bit of humor."
"Well, it needs to go." Darien said. "That's the only thing that needs to go that I can see."
"Well, it needs some major renovations inside." Rei commented. "But nothing too serious."
"How much is the house?" Darien asked.
"Personally, after all the trouble I've gone through, I'd just lower it to ten cents! But it's twenty-five thousand dollars. That includes the house, the property, the furniture, the paintings, and the ghosts if there is any."
There was a sudden shout from the group of people.
"Hey, girl! There's a cold spot here!" The women with antenna-like hair shouted to Rei.
Rei's eyes went dim.
"Yes, there's always been one there!" She yelled back without turning.
As excited chatter broke out, Rei spoke to Darien.
"If you look carefully you'll find a large, square, skylight in the ceiling of the overhanging roof, right in front of the fourth pillar down." Rei explained to him. "Underneath it, there's nothing but cold air. Everybody feels it, but nobody can fix it, or even figure what's causing it. Which is partly the reason for the ghost stories."
"Well, that will be a relief on a hot day, if nothing else." Darien joked.
Rei laughed.
It was then that Darien made the decision.
"I'll buy it." He stated.
Rei stared at him.
"But you haven't even taken a look around the inside of the building!" Rei exclaimed.
"I don't feel I need to." Darien said as he looked around the peaceful garden.
Peaceful, except for that group of people.
"If I right you a check now, can we get those people out of here?" He whispered to Rei with a smile. "They're freaking me out."
"You right the check, I'll call the owners, if they approve, that group is out of here!" Rei answered enthusiastically.
So it was done. Darien wrote the check, and Rei called up the owners on her red cell phone. The owners approved and the deal was done.
Rei put the check carefully away in her purse, a slow grin growing on her face.
She took a deep breath then turned to the group of people still milling around the pillars.
"Okay people, this place has just been sold! Time for you all to go home now!" Rei yelled to them.
With a lot of groaning from the group, and urging from Rei, they finally left.
"Okay!" Rei said happily when the last car drove out of sight. "Come on in to your new house, have a cup of coffee with me and I'll tell you the history behind this house."
Darien followed her into the house. As they walked toward the kitchen, Darien looked at the very old antique furnishings which were moth eaten and in need of restoration. He also looked at the paintings that hung along the walls. The paintings were in slightly better shape then the other decorations of the house. Though the paint was peeling, and the frames were flaking.
There was two in particular that drew Darien's attention.
One must've been a painting of a man, but Darien couldn't see the face 'cause someone had slashed it. Probably with a knife. All he saw was the clothes. Army type clothes.
The second was a painting of a beautiful young girl, sitting in a chair.
She had long golden hair that was pinned up in the back. It was so long that it was painted right down to the bottom of the painting and looked like it kept on going.
She had piercing blue eyes that stared out of the painting. Darien felt like they could actually see him. That feeling spooked him alittle.
She wore a white dress decorated with pearls and gold fringe.
She was sitting in a chair by window. It was dark, and the full moon and stars shinned brightly. Or would've shinned brightly had the paint not been fading.
Rei quietly came up beside him.
"I see that you've noticed the two most interesting objects in the whole house." She stated.
"Who are they?" Darien asked, glancing at her.
"Andrew and Serena Serenity. The only siblings of the Duchess and Duke Serenity. The very first owners of this manor." Rei answered.
"Why is Andrew's picture cut up so?"
"You really don't know the history behind this house? Or the stories?" Rei asked looking at him with those violet colored eyes.
"I just moved here. I know nothing." Darien said.
"It's a sad history.
Andrew was born three years before Serena. He was her older brother and from the moment she was born, he took his duty seriously. He protected her from everything. Sometimes he was even over protective, but she took it well.
She was kind and sweet. She didn't have a mean bone in her body.
When she was thirteen, she fell in love with a man named Endymion. He wasn't very rich or respected very much. He was four years older than she was.
Serena's parents weren't happy about it. They said she was too young for love, that she didn't know what love was.
She kept seeing him anyway, so her parents put Andrew in charge of protecting her. Though they needn't of bothered. He'd already elected himself to do that.
For once Andrew tried not to be over protective. If Serena was really in love, he didn't want to be the one to break her heart by acting rashly. So he got to know Endymion.
Over time he came to like him. They're parents relaxed when Andrew told them Endymion was a gentleman, and that Serena wasn't in danger of being hurt, emotionally or physically. But they still didn't think it was true love. They still didn't think Endymion and Serena's obsession with each other would last long.
But last it did.
Then the war came.
Andrew was eighteen at the time, so he joined the army. Endymion by his side.
Serena didn't want either of them to go, but especially not Endymion.
They both promised to be back.
Endymion sealed his promise with an engagement ring.
The war was over by the time Serena was sixteen.
It was the night of her birthday when Andrew and Endymion would arrive home. Serena couldn't wait. Her parent's by this time had finally come to realize that their daughter was truly in love. So they gave their consent for the marriage.
The party was in full swing by the time the coach arrived.
Serena ran out to meet them, but it was only Andrew who had returned.
Endymion had been killed in battle on the last day of the war.
Serena was heartbroken.
She ran up to her bedroom and cried for hours. By the time she came down all the visitors had left, and everyone was in bed for the night. She slipped out the back door into the garden outside.
No one really knows what happened that night. Just that when her mother came looking for her the next morning, she found Serena stabbed to death under the overhanging, by the fourth pillar down.
There was an immediate up roar.
Andrew was blamed for the murder. No one could come up with a motive, but he had had blood on his shirt when he had woken up that morning, and he couldn't remember what how it got there, or what he had done after he had come home that night. So no one even questioned his guilt. Not even his parents.
What had made his parent's heart turn cold against him, no one knows. But it did.
Thus he was hanged two days later.
A week later an article appeared in the newspaper. It was a little poem, submitted by an anonymous author.
Do you see her standing there, do you feel her in the air, a shadow of her former self, and heir to an immense wealth, lost to us by hearts betrayal, on the night she was most frail, while her heart was still beating, crimson tears she was bleeding, a terrible thing that night was done, and for murder and innocent man was hung.
That caused an uproar as well, but the authorities didn't want to have to admit they had hung the wrong man and there was no proof that he was the wrong man. So they easily squashed any questions and doubts.
A few months later, both the Duke and the Duchess died. People say from broken hearts.
The house was sold soon after, but it never stayed in one family.
People said that late at night, on nights with a full moon, around midnight, if you go out under the overhang right under that skylight you'll see Serena's ghost.
Nobody, but a few people have actually seen this ghost, but the story got around quickly and won't die itself. Now a days, people come here hoping to see a ghost, not the house or garden." Rei finished.
They were silent for a moment, looking at the pictures.
"Speaking of garden, that bench was Endymion and Serena's favorite place to be." Rei added.
"Was there ever a painting of Endymion?" Darien asked.
"No. Endymion's family couldn't afford a painter, and the Serenity's never thought much of him to have a portrait done until it was too late." Rei answered.
Darien sniffed the air.
"Something smells good." He stated.
"Oh, the coffee's done. Want some?" Rei asked.
"Yes, thank you." Darien said.
He followed her into the kitchen, only after glancing back at the paintings once more.
Dear Aunt's Michelle and Amora,
I hope your enjoying your stay in Paris. You're shopping alot aren't you? (I feel for you Amora. I really do. I know you'd much rather be motorcycle racing then shopping.)
Has Michelle seen that music place she wanted to see? I hope so, and that she liked it as much as she thought she would.
It's been a week since I've moved into the Manor and I'm settling in nicely. So far no sign of a ghost, but then again, there hasn't been a full moon yet. There will be tonight, so I'll let you know if I see her then.
I've already started renovating the place. So far, I've got the furniture being restored, as well as the paintings. I'll be starting on the walls next.
Oh, remember that little sprite statue thing I told you about? The one on the water fountain? I've gotten rid of it. I did it first thing. The little creature gave me the willies. (Yes Aunt Amora, I'm finally using your favorite expression.)
I've come to know Rei better, and she's a really nice gal. (No Aunties, bells will not be ringing in the future, so dump that thought immediately.) She's taken me to eat at her favorite hang out. The Crown Arcade. It's part arcade, part cafe. The owner is nice too, as is his son, who's around my age. His son runs the place mostly, but I haven't really gotten to know him yet. I've even forgotten his name now. (Yes Michelle, I will be working on making friends with him soon. Don't worry.)
Rei has also found me a gardener. Her name is Lita and it seems she has a green thumb. In just a week she's gotten the flowers and bushes all trimmed and pruned and whatever else she does to them. You both know I'm hopeless when it comes to plants. (Yes, Amora I know you are thinking about those poor potted plants I once had lined up on the window back home. If I remember correctly you called it 'Death Row'.)
Anyway, I've got to go now. I'm leaving for my first day of work in Tokyo. Wish me luck!
Love you both,
Darien
Darien clicked the 'Send' button, closed his Inbox down, grabbed his coat which was hanging on the back of his chair, and trotted out the door.
He decided to walk to work rather than drive. It wasn't very far away, walking would do him good, and he wanted the fresh air.
He was half way between the house and the road when he saw some one standing a little ways up the road.
It was a man and he looked like he was having a conversation with thin air. He kept looking to his side when he talked.
As Darien approached he saw that the man had short blond hair and blue eyes. He realized it was the son of the Arcade owner. He still couldn't remember his name.
It started with an A. . . . what was it. . . . oh! Andrew. The same name as Serenity's brother!
Darien had started calling Serena by her last name. Serenity was much prettier sounding.
He came within hearing distance of Andrew and called his name.
Andrew started. It was obvious that he hadn't seen or heard Darien approaching.
"Uh, Mr. Chiba right?" Andrew asked.
"Yes." Darien replied.
"Oh, hi then." Andrew looked back toward the Manor.
"Whach'a doing here?" Darien asked as he came to stand beside Andrew.
"Oh, um, I was just thinking about how great it was that somebody had bought the place so it hadn't been stripped down." Andrew said. "What are you doing here?"
"I live here." Darien replied.
Andrew looked startled again.
"You do? Oh."
"Say, why don't you come over this afternoon for a cup of coffee?" Darien offered.
"Really?" Andrew asked again.
Darien sighed.
"If you keep looking startled all the time, your face will freeze like that." He said. "Or at least that's what my Aunts keep telling me anyway. Yeah, why don't you come over? If you want, I can give you a tour of the Manor."
"I'd like that very much!" Andrew replied, excitement in his eyes. "I've always wanted a tour of the place, but I never had the time when they were giving tours when the place was for sale."
"Great! See you around five?"
"Five it is!" Andrew confirmed.
Darien was seated in his new office sorting out papers, when a young man came up and layed his arms over the short wall of the cubicle.
"Hey dude! Welcome to your first day of work at Gorham's Real-estate." He said.
He had sleepy looking eyes, and short red hair that stood up on end like a bird had nested in it for the night. He was dressed in a gray suit, but looked like he was supposed to be dressed in a skater boy's outfit instead.
"Thank you, sir." Darien replied.
"Not sir, I hate that. Call me Neph! Short for Nephrite." He said grinning and stuck his hand over the wall.
Darien shook it, and couldn't help grinning himself.
"Okay Neph--" Darien started to say, but was cut off in mid sentence by someone shouting.
"Oh, boy. Not good." Nephrite said quietly pulling back. "That's the boss. He's been mad like this for a week."
"Why?" Darien asked in a whisper.
"His brother owns a construction company. That construction company was going to make the biggest deal of its life. They were going to buy Serenity Manor and level it and build a mall on it. But some dude bought it before they could, making them lose alot of money. Our boss's brother told him about it a week ago, and he's been ranting and raving non stop since."
Darien paled.
"I bought Serenity Manor." Darien stated quietly.
Neph looked at him sharply.
"Then you're Darien Chiba?" Neph asked.
Darien pointed at his nameplate on his desk to confirm it was his name.
"Well, then try to stay low, don't draw his attention, and pray he didn't see your picture. It was all over the newspapers."
Neph looked over the wall for a moment.
"Good luck dude!" He quickly said as he ducked back into his own cubicle.
That meant only one thing. The boss was on his way toward Darien's cubicle.
Darien tried to look busy, but he sweated profusely.
'How mad was the boss?' He wondered.
Mad enough to fire him if he found out that he had bought the Manor, and had unintentionally made his brother lose a bunch of money. . .
He hoped not. . .
Darien trudged home feeling slightly dejected.
As it turned out, yes the boss was mad enough to fire him when he wouldn't sell the Manor to his brother's company.
'Oh well.' He thought as he trudged up the driveway. 'I didn't need a job anyway. I just liked doing it. It's not like I need money or anything.'
A few minutes later as he opened the door to the house and stepped in, he thought.
'Fired on my first day of work. Must be some kind of lame record.'
Then he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head that was so hard, it knocked him out.
When he came to he was sitting in the kitchen by the wall. His hands were tied behind his back and his head hurt like crazy.
He looked around him and found a young teenage boy sitting in front of him holding a gun that was pointed straight at him.
"Okay, hold it buster!" Darien cried when he saw the gun.
His sudden outburst startled the boy so bad he pulled the trigger by accident. Luckily when he jumped his hand jerked the gun toward the ceiling. The bullet sounded like it went through two layers of flooring before it hit the ceiling.
The boy dropped the gun and stared at it.
Silence reigned for a moment.
It was broken by the bullet falling to the kitchen floor with a tink.
"Where's your bathroom?" The boy asked.
"Up the stairs in the living room and two doors down that hall." Darien replied.
"Thank you." The boy said and ran for the bathroom. Probably to throw up.
Darien decided to test his bonds, and realized something that made him laugh.
The poor kid didn't know how to tie knots too well.
The knots came undone without much effort.
Darien let the rope fall to the floor, and picked up the gun. After he turned the safety on, he through it in the trash.
Then he preceded to make coffee.
When the boy returned he was surprised to see Darien pouring out two cups of coffee like as if he hadn't just been tied up a moment before.
"So, how do you like your coffee?" Darien asked. "Do you even drink coffee?"
"Black." The boy said automatically.
Then he blinked.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" He asked with the sound of a boy with wounded dignity.
"Not really no." Darien shook his head as he passed the cup over to the boy's side of the counter. "Have a seat."
The boy hesitated.
"I didn't call the cops or anything if that's what you're worried about." Darien said sipping his coffee.
The boy came over and flopped down heavily on a stool. After a moment of staring at the coffee, he took a gulp.
Darien could see from the expressions that rapidly crossed his face, he didn't like it that way.
So when the boy managed to swallow it, Darien took the cup back, added three spoonfuls of sugar, and a dash of milk and returned the cup.
The boy looked resigned as he drank the sweetened coffee. This time without making faces.
"So, what did you want?" Darien asked as he took a seat.
"I'm a thief! Generations of my family have been thieves! The greatest thieves of all time!" The boy said proudly. "I was trying to see if I could steal any money or valuables. The problem is, I've never used a gun before, and I don't know what's valuable here."
"Well, you won't find any money here." Darien assured him. "I keep all my money in the bank. And I'm sorry but I need all the money I've got. I'm planning on restoring this house and I don't have a job anymore."
"Sorry to hear that." The boy replied. "By the way, how did you get free?"
"You don't tie knots very well."
The boy pounded a fist on the counter. He regretted it as it hurt. He cradled his wounded hand in his arm as he said: "I'm never any good at tying knots! Never have been!"
"Sorry to hear that." Darien stated.
"No your not." The boy replied wistfully.
After a moment of silence.
"You're right. I'm not." Darien confirmed.
The door bell rang.
"I was expecting company." Darien said as he went to answer the door.
When he came back Andrew was with him.
"Sorry, I'm late, but some kid sold me a fake watch." Andrew said as he came into the kitchen.
The boy turned around half way, then with his eyes the size of dinner plates he whipped back around and pretended to be more interested in his coffee than anything else.
Both Andrew and Darien saw that.
Andrew took a good look at the dark brown hair that the boy held back in a short ponytail at the back of his neck, and at the crumpled looking jeans and black concert t-shirt.
"You know the kid who sold me the fake watch?" Andrew asked Darien.
"Hey! I'm not a kid! I'm nineteen!" The boy replied.
"You're still a kid in my book until you reach twenty." Andrew replied. Then he turned back to Darien. "I must warn you, if he tries to sell you anything, try to resist. They're probably fake too."
He took a seat next to the boy as Darien poured him a cup of coffee and then returned to his seat on the opposite side of the counter.
"So who are you anyway?" Andrew asked him.
"My name's Jedite. Please call me Jed." The boy answered.
"You wouldn't happen to be related to a Nephrite would you?" Darien asked casually.
"Yeah, he's my big brother." Jed replied. "He's trying to make it in the world as respectable. . . He's doing pretty well at it too."
Darien and Andrew smiled.
"So, how'd he sell you a fake watch?" Darien asked.
"I bumped into him in front of the Crown Arcade." Andrew explained. "I wasn't looking for a watch, but the kid starting giving me this sale's pitch that I only somewhat recall. Before I knew it I had a watch. Only an hour later I found out it was fake."
"I was trying to plan a robbery and I was afraid that you were suspicious so I tried to distract you by pretending to be selling a watch. I didn't mean to give you a fake one, but I guess I grabbed Grandpa's fake one rather than my own real one. Sorry. I can't refund your money either, I spent it on lunch."
"It's okay, what would I do with twenty extra bucks anyway?" Andrew asked cheerily. Then he looked sharply at the Jed. "What do you mean, you were planning a robbery?"
"Uh, um. . . crap. . ." Jed muttered as he hunkered down over his mostly gone coffee.
"Guess what?" Darien said cheerfully, drawing both their attentions away from each other. "I went to work this morning only to find out that my boss's brother owned the company that wanted to buy this house, level it and build a mall on it. I got fired for it. I spent the rest of the time of day wondering around town. When I came home I get hit over the head by a kid who's trying to uphold the family tradition of thievery. He does a pretty poor job of it. He can't tie knots, he's not good with guns, and he doesn't even know what he should steal. Now we're sitting here having a nice conversation over coffee and it seems Jed would have a more fruitful career as a sales person rather than a thief."
"Yeah, that'd be a more promising career. He could probably sell you the shell off the back of a turtle, if he could figure out what you would use one for." Andrew joked.
"A very pretty bowl. Great for a center piece, especially if you trim the rim with gold leaf." Jed told him.
"Don't tell me you actually sold somebody a shell off a turtle?" Andrew asked shocked.
"No. My Grandpa once stole the shell off a turtle. He trimmed the rim with gold leaf and gave it to my Grandma who used it for a fruit bowl. Of course he felt sorry for the turtle afterward. So he had a stained glass shell substitute made and using his skills as a thief put it on the back of the turtle. He checked up on that turtle a few weeks later by Internet. Though nobody could figure out how that new shell had gotten on the turtle, or where the old one had gone, that turtle was a popular attraction with the female turtles. Funny thing is, the turtle with the glass shell, was a female itself. Grandpa thinks they like that turtle for its shell cause they can see themselves in it." Jed explained.
Everybody was silent for a few minutes.
"Okay dokie." Darien said as he raised his cup to his mouth.
He glanced at Andrew and saw his eyes flick toward his left.
"Are you okay Andrew?" Darien asked.
"I'm fine. Why?" Andrew asked.
"You're looking over shoulder." Darien replied.
"I was just. . . admiring the paintings." Andrew hurriedly replied.
"Oh, thank you." Darien replied peacefully. "Oh, I just realized something. There are no paintings in the kitchen."
"There isn't?" Andrew asked.
He turned around to look at the walls, but sure enough no paintings.
"That's funny. He says there used to be paintings here. Mainly of horses. Serenity loved horses, almost as much as she loved cats." Andrew muttered softly to himself.
Darien and Jed glanced at each other.
"Who says?" They asked together.
"Uh?" Andrew whipped back around.
"Who says?" They repeated.
"Um, uh, nobody." Andrew stuttered.
Then he jerked his head to his left again, and shuddered like a sudden gust of cold air had hit him.
"Andrew what's wrong?" Darien asked firmly putting down his coffee cup.
Andrew glanced nervously at them then sighed.
"Um, you know Serenity's brother?" He asked.
"Yeah, he had the same name as you. Andrew. Why?" Darien asked.
"I see his ghost." Andrew replied.
Silence.
"How'd that come to happen?" Darien asked sipping his coffee again.
Andrew looked to his left again.
"Alright, alright! I'm about to tell them!" He said briskly.
He turned to the others.
"Awhile back, I went into this old antique store. I was looking around and found a bunch of old keys. I thought that my girlfriend could use them to sew onto a skirt. She's the kind who does weird stuff like that. Anyway, there was a man standing in front of the table by the keys. I didn't pay much attention to him, but I did say excuse me when I walked around him. I took the basket of keys and went to the counter to check out. Unknown to me the man followed me. I turned around to walk to the door, and he was behind me. I thought nothing of it as I said excuse me again and I went around him once more. I walked a few steps toward the door when the man behind the counter called me. He said that I had better get a check up, I was losing my mind as there was nobody in the store except for him and me. I looked at the man again and noticed he looked exactly like me, and that he was slightly transparent. He was gazing at me with such intensity that it gave me goose bumps. I left the store quickly.
As I was walking home, I kept glancing over my shoulders. He was still following me and every now and then going through someone, making them shiver with cold.
I'm going to tell you the short version of what happened from there.
He followed me home, and in the privacy of my bedroom, I got the story. He was the ghost of Serena Serenity's brother. Andrew. Turns out I am a decedent of his. Which is why I can see him. Though neither of us can figure out why I look exactly like him.
Anyway, he said he was innocent, that he hadn't killed his sister, but that he knew who did. He wasn't going to move on until he had cleared his name and brought justice to his sister. He said that there was a key in that basket of keys I had bought that would unlock a chest in his old bedroom. Inside that chest would be the answer to everything.
So I had to decide how to get into Serenity Manor. I wasn't able to when they were giving tours of the place when it was for sale. So I was really happy when you asked me over for a tour, Darien. I thought it was a great chance to see if the key really would open a chest, if there was still a chest up there. Of course Andrew's ghost came with me. He's right here beside me getting so agitated I can barely stand it." Andrew explained.
Darien and Jed glanced over at the ares of air that Andrew indicated. Andrew couldn't tell if they believed him or not.
"Well, let's not keep him waiting anymore." Darien said finally, as he set his coffee down. "Come on Jed."
Jed quickly gulped down the rest of his coffee, gave a slight belch to release the air he had gulped down with it, and followed them with a quick apology.
They walked up the stairs to the second floor and entered the last door on the left side of the hall.
"Rei said this used to be Andrew's room." Dairen said. "Obviously, people have remodeled it more times then I can count."
"It doesn't matter." Andrew replied. "The chest was hidden."
He went over to the window which had a window seat built into it.
He looked at it carefully for a moment, then took hold of the top and pulled.
Nothing happened.
He pulled again, more forcefully.
Still nothing.
Darien and Jed came over and braced themselves on either side of Andrew.
With their combined strength the lid finally gave way and opened. Popping out dozens of nails in the process.
"It wasn't nailed down when Great Andrew was here." Andrew said, slightly panting.
"Great Andrew?" Darien asked.
"I don't know in what way exactly I am related to him, so I just called him Great Andrew so as not to get him mixed up with myself." He explained.
They opened the lid fully and sure enough, there was a small chest.
The wood was slightly decaying from decades it had spent hidden.
Andrew pulled it out carefully.
"Wait a minute while I turn on the lights." Darien said.
The sun had set while they had been talking in the kitchen.
After the light was turned on, they all sat down on the floor as Andrew pulled the slightly tarnished silver colored key out of his pocket and opened the chest.
Inside of it was papers, a small journal, and a small package wrapped tightly in brown cloth.
Andrew looked up for a moment, then looked back down at the chest.
He pulled out the journal.
"He says to look at the journal first." He explained.
The journal had a lock of its own on it.
"He says the key to open the chest shall open the book." Andrew said.
It did.
Andrew opened it and laid it flat on top of both hands.
Wind came out of no where, and turned the pages to the last entry that was dated April 2ed and they began to read.
This is my last entry in this journal, for tomorrow I am to be hung.
My sister was murdered two days ago, and they blame me.
For awhile I couldn't remember what I did most of that night, but now I do.
I had arrived home alone on my sisters sixteenth birthday. It hurt me deeply to have to be the one to tell dear Serena that her beloved fiance was killed in battle on the last day of the war, but I couldn't let her find out from a stranger. I had to tell her myself.
She took it really hard. I hadn't expected anything less. She ran to her room, and we could could hear her crying and wailing for hours afterward.
The party was broken up then, and the guests went home, but one person stayed.
His name was Jasper. A distant cousin to Serena and I. I never liked him, I admit it. He had always had his eye on Serena ever since he first met the family some years ago. Serena never gave him any reason to think she liked him more than just a friend, but I could tell he had. . . improper thoughts about her. As far as I'm concerned, it is really improper to marry a relative of yours no matter how distant.
But it seems he was having those thoughts. Serena had told me that he had asked for her hand once already. She had turned him down, for she was in love with Endymion by that time.
But Jasper never really let go.
I stayed awake that night, well after everyone had gone to bed.
I waited until I heard Serena's soft footsteps walking down the stairs. I slowly walked after her. I knew that she would need comforted. I had always been there to comfort her, up until Endymion had come into her life. Then it had been his responsibility to comfort her, but now that Endymion was no longer with her, the responsibility had come back to me.
I found her under the skylight under the overhang. She had us make that skylight so she could stand in the moon's silvery light. For at midnight the moon was directly lined with it.
She was bathed in its light then. Her tears glinted silver.
She didn't know I was there, and before I could go to her, Jasper went to her instead.
I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but I could tell Serena didn't like it. I did hear her tell him to go away. He didn't.
I should've gone to her right then and there. Maybe I could've prevented it! Maybe not. . .
Everything happened in slow motion to me.
She had turned her back to him, to look back at the moon. Jasper pulled a dagger from his belt. He called to her, she turned around. I yelled and ran to them, but I didn't make it in time.
Jasper stabbed her in the chest, right in the heart.
She fell slowly, her reddened eyes wide, her mouth shaped in a round oh of surprise.
I caught her as she fell. I held her to me, my tears falling onto her face and mingling with her own.
She was dead before I caught her.
I was too busy crying over my sisters body to remember that Jasper was still there.
He hit me on the back of the head with something, I think it was the statuette of an angel that we had on the fountain. I blacked out.
I came to in my own bed, with no recollection of what happened. I had blood on my shirt, and couldn't figure out why.
That's when I found out my sister was dead, and everybody blamed me for it, cause I had blood on my shirt.
Jasper acted like the perfect comforter. He comforted mother and father and everyone else, but I could tell he didn't mean any of it.
Now here I sit in my prison cell awaiting my own death.
But there is one more thing I must do before then.
In an hour I will be able to see my son for the last time. My wife Rita an my son Micheal, I know they don't believe I did it, but what can they do? I have something in mind.
I will give a poem that I wrote just now to Rita, and have her publish it anonymously in the newspaper after my death. And I will give this journal, and the key to it, to Micheal. I'll have him go to my bedroom, find the chest that I keep hidden there, and put this journal into it. I will also have him put my sisters favorite necklace in there too, for safe keeping. It was a gift to her from Endymion, and should still be theirs alone.
I hope that someone will find this book eventually, and learn the real truth.
And I hope my sister will forgive me for not being close enough to save her, when she needed me the most.
End Journal Entry,
Andrew Serenity
"So that's what really happened." Darien whispered.
Andrew listened to the ghost for a moment, then picked up the package wrapped in cloth.
He slowly unwrapped it to find a necklace strung with pearls, with a big diamond pendent hanging from the middle.
Everyone in the room gasped with awe.
"I didn't know Endymion had the money for that. I mean, Rei said he and his family was poor." Darien stated.
"Great Andrew said that it was a family heirloom, that was passed down to Endymion, and that Endymion gave to Serena." Andrew informed him as he carefully wrapped it back up.
"Oh, what time is it?" Darien exclaimed.
Andrew looked at his watch, then realized it was fake.
"I don't know." Andrew said, glancing at Jed, who blushed slightly with embarrassment.
Darien went down to the kitchen and looked at the clock on the wall. Five minutes to midnight.
"People say that Serena's ghost appears at midnight on nights with full moons. Right under that skylight where she was murdered." Darien explained. "Since you can see ghosts, at least ones that you are related to, maybe you can see her even if we don't."
They quickly made their way to the overhang outside.
Standing a little ways from the pillar so as to stay out of the moons light, they waited with baited breath.
Slowly the moons silvery light spilled through the square skylight, and as it fell through the air, it illuminated a girl of sixteen. She was transparent, and she had blood all over her chest and nightgown, but apart from that she looked just exactly as the painting had shown her.
She looked up at the moon and stared.
Then she whipped around to stare at them.
She mouthed words, but no one could hear them.
She backed up as someone else appeared in the moonlight beside her.
He must have been her brother, for he looked just like Andrew did, only he wore an army uniform.
He held his hand out to her and she took it. Then they hugged each other.
"They're finally reunited." Jed said in a whisper.
They parted and Serena said something to him. They talked for a moment, then Andrew disappeared out of the light.
The living Andrew listened to the air for a moment.
"That is his sister." He explained to everyone. "But she is trapped. Ever since she was murdered her spirit has been trapped in that patch of moonlight. She can only be seen by the living when the moons light shines upon her."
He listened a bit more.
"She can only be free'd when the light shines upon her too." He continued hurriedly. "She can only be free'd by. . . What?" He asked in disbelief.
Then he took out of his pocket the wrapped up necklace.
He unwrapped it and held it up.
"You mean this?" He asked the Great Andrew.
Then he looked to Serenity's ghost who was nodding energetically to him.
"Okay then." Andrew said with a shrug.
He turned to the others.
"She can only be free'd if someone throws this necklace at the moonlight. It should shatter the spirit prison that holds her." He explained.
"Then by all means, throw!" Jed and Darien cried.
"The moons light will be gone a few minutes." Darien warned.
Andrew leaned back, like as if he was going to throw it like a real baseball pitcher, when he was suddenly lifted off his feet and thrown back. He skidded to a stop some feet away, but he still held the necklace.
"What the heck happened?" He cried.
"I don't know!" Darien answered.
No one noticed that Jed had suddenly gone white, and was staring at the thin air just in front of Darien.
"Darien, watch out!" He yelled abruptly.
Before Darien could ask what to watch out for, he was thrown just like Andrew was only in the opposite direction. He skidded to a stop just before his head banged against the wall of the house.
"Stop it!" Jed cried at the air. "Stop it Jasper!"
Yes, Jasper's ghost was on the scene, and only Jed could see him.
Now we see the scene through the ghosts eyes.
Through the eyes of Jasper, Andrew, and Serenity.
"What are you doing here Jasper?" Andrew cried.
"Preventing something. . ." Jasper stated.
He stared at Jed for a moment as the boy backed up slowly.
"You can see me?" He asked. "How?"
"I don't know!" Jed yelled.
"No matter." Jasper said as he turned to Andrew.
He flew at Andrew.
A ghost can touch another ghost as if they were a solid thing. For they both are made from the same element. A ghost can also make themselves transparent to other ghosts, which is what Andrew did.
Jasper went right through him. He tried punching Andrew a few more times before he realized that he couldn't touch him as a ghost.
"Oh well." Jasper said. "Beating you up would just be a bonus I didn't expect to have in the first place. You weren't the reason I came here to begin with. I just came here to prevent Serenity from being free'd. And in order to do that, I must have a human body."
Jasper looked directly at Jed.
"No, Jasper! Don't!" Andrew cried.
Jasper charged Jed, and Jed, seeing him coming, ran for it.
He didn't make it.
Jasper flew right into him.
Jed was still for a moment, then turned to look at the living Andrew who watched him with confusion.
"Jed what's wrong?" He asked.
Jed smiled evilly then charged him.
Andrew scrambled to get up.
The spirit Andrew flew into him.
Now Andrew the spirit possessed the living Andrew, and the spirit of Jasper possessed the living Jed.
That's when the fight broke out.
Serenity watched horrified as the two spirits battled each other in the living bodies.
Darien, still laying where he had landed before, watched shocked and confused.
Then he hurriedly stood up, to try to break up the fight.
He came up behind Jed, wrapped his arms around his chest and picked him up. Jed struggled for a moment, then went limp, as Jasper exited his body.
"Ugh." Jed muttered. "I feel horrible."
Darien sat him down again.
"What the heck is going on you two?" He asked.
Jed suddenly remembered what had happened.
"A spirit battle!" He cried. "Jasper doesn't want Serenity released! He's trying to get the necklace, but he needs a living person to get it! He possessed me, but the spirit Andrew possessed the living Andrew to fight him off!"
That was as far as he got in his explanation.
Something hit Darien again, and he once more sailed through the air to this time hit the wall.
He fought hard to stay conscious, as Jasper once more entered Jed's body and the battle raged on.
No one, living or otherwise, noticed that a new ghost was on the scene.
He walked over to Darien, looked him over, then entered him.
Darien's eyes snapped open, and he stood up quickly.
Black armor, like the kind worn in the medieval days, appeared on him.
He walked toward the fighting pair.
They only noticed him when he called to Andrew.
"Andrew! Throw me the Moonstone!" He cried.
Andrew paused for a moment. Then a look of understanding entered his face, and he made to throw the necklace to Darien. Jed made a leap to try to catch it. Only, Andrew had never thrown it.
Andrew still held the necklace, and as Jed leaped into the air, Andrew threw it low to Darien.
Darien caught it, and once in his hand, the Moonstone pendent changed, into a gleaming sword.
Jasper, realizing he'd been out done, left Jed's body and tried to run for it.
Even in a human body the ghost in Darien was quicker.
Darien lept forward and swung the sword at the escaping Jasper.
Any normal sword would've passed right through a ghost, but as Jasper knew, this sword was not normal.
It was made from a magical mineral called Moonstone, which can only be found on the moon itself.
It hit Jasper, and silently he exploded into tiny little particles which then disappeared altogether.
"Endymion!" Andrew called, for yes, it was Endymion within Darien's body. "Serenity!" Andrew cried, pointing at her.
Darien turned to look at Serenity.
The moons light was fading as was Serenity herself.
Darien was now standing in the garden. He looked above the roof of the house, up at the moon. Then he reached out a hand in a motion like he could grab the moon itself. Then, as if by his will alone he could move the moon, he moved his hand backward in a command for the moon to reverse itself.
It obeyed. If you're the moon, you have to obey the Prince of the Moon, don't you?
As the moon moved back across the sky, its light filtered back through the skylight.
Serenity was there watching him.
A couple minutes later, Darien let go of his hold on the moon, and ran up to the wall of Serenity's spirit prison.
The spirit Andrew left the living Andrew then, and both Andrew's and Jed watched in fascination as Darien raised his sword and struck the wall of moonlight.
It shattered into a million pieces and was no more.
Serenity let out a shout of joy as Endymion's spirit left Darien's body and went to her.
He embraced her as Darien looked around in confusion. Darien glanced down at the armor he wore and the sword he held.
The armor disappeared, and the sword shrank until it was nothing but a diamond hanging on a strand of pearls once more.
Darien glanced at the couple embracing in the moons light, as the living Andrew and Jed came up beside him.
The spirit Andrew joined Endymion and Serenity in the moonlight, so all three living humans could see them all.
Darien was slightly shocked.
Endymion looked just like him. Except that he wore the same black armor Darien had worn a minute ago, and that he was slightly transparent, as all ghosts seemed to be.
"Thank you everyone!" Serenity cried happily, the blood on her chest and night gown was now gone. "Thank you for helping my brother and my beloved rescue me!"
"I thank you Andrew, for believing me when I told you the truth." The spirit Andrew said. "And thank you Darien and Jed, for going along with him, weather you believed him or not."
"It was fun." Darien replied.
"Speak for yourself!" Jed replied comically, as he over-exaggeratingly rubbed the places where the living Andrew had punched him, when they were both possessed.
Darien, Serenity, Endymion, and both Andrew's laughed at his antics.
"Sorry about that kid!" The living Andrew apologized.
"Couldn't be helped." The spirit Andrew finished.
"Why could I see Jasper when no one else could?" Jed asked.
"You must be a descended of his too." The spirit Andrew replied. "He did get married and have children later on in his life. Though neither his wife nor his children liked him."
"And why does Endymion look like me?" Darien asked. "As far as I know you didn't have any decedents of your own."
"I didn't. The only woman for me was Serenity, but I died before we were wed. She died soon after. No, you aren't a decedent of mine. You are a creation of mine." Endymion replied.
"Uh?" They all asked.
Endymion chuckled.
"I'm the Prince of the Moon, as hard as it is to believe. As such, I have certain powers, even as a ghost. I was here when Serenity was killed, but she was imprisoned before I could do anything. I knew the power of the Moonstone necklace I had given Serenity would free her, but as a ghost I couldn't touch it. I'm transparent. The only one I would trust to touch it, would be Andrew, but he was imprisoned himself, and later killed. So I did the only thing I could do. I had you born Darien. I've controlled most events that happened in your life. I made it where you had to come to Tokyo, where you had to find Serenity Manor, where you had to buy it. From there, events unrolled themselves. I knew that you would find ghosts interesting at least, and wouldn't turn down the chance to see one."
"Since I'm your 'creation', am I about to disappear now, since I've served my purpose?" Darien asked worriedly.
"No." Endymion reassured him. "Though I made it where you were born, you are still a human being. From here on, your life is yours to live."
"The moonlight is fading." Serenity muttered.
"What am I to do with this?" Darien asked, holding up the necklace.
"Keep it." Serenity said. "As ghosts we no longer need it, but know this. Magic still resides in that stone. Once you find your true love, the magic will activate itself once more. When she wears the necklace, the magic will protect her. The only reason it didn't protect me was because the pearls holding it broke when Endymion died, though I didn't know the reason until later. So it was up in my room awaiting repair when I was killed."
"We must go now." Endymion said. "Once again, thank you. For everything."
With that the ghosts of Serenity Manor faded from view.
That was how the ghosts were free'd. Amora, Michelle you should've seen it! It was amazing!
Of course we were hurting like heck afterward. From Andrew and Jed beating up on each other, and me being thrown against the wall.
I asked Andrew and Jed to stay over for the night and they gladly obliged. Andrew slept on the newly restored couch, and Jed slept on a bunch of blankets on the floor.
The next morning when I was going into the kitchen to make coffee (yes, I'm a coffee junkie. I'm proud of it!) I found that Jed was up, but Andrew was still sleeping. We were going to let him sleep, and we did, but we heard him say something in his sleep that we're still teasing him about. He was mumbling, "Don't hurt the cake! Don't hurt the cake! Take the money, but don't hurt the cake!" We found it amusing that he would be more worried about robbers hurting a piece of cake then hurting people. I told him that I wouldn't tell his father about it, but I didn't want to be at the Arcade if robbers did decide to rob it.
It's been a week since then, and the Manor is mostly restored. No more bullet hole in the second and third floors.
I had a new fountain statue made, and it should arrive today. I've invited Andrew, Rei, Lita, Nephrite, and Jed over to see it installed.
The doorbell just rang, I've got to go! I'll send a picture via email once I've got the statues up.
Love you both!
Darien
Darien clicked the 'Send' button, and went to the door.
"Hey Darien!" Lita said cheerily. "I'm here! Is the statue here yet?"
"Not yet. Should be any minute." Dairen said, stepping outside.
"You haven't told me what the statue will look like, but I hope it'll go good with the garden!" Lita exclaimed excitedly.
"Hey Dare!"Jed called as he and his brother Neph jogged up the sidewalk.
"Hey guys!" Darien called back.
He looked behind them, and saw Andrew walking beside a young woman with waist length blond hair.
When Andrew and the women joined them, Andrew introduced her as Mina.
"Meet my girlfriend!" He said proudly. Then, slightly embarrassed, he said: "The Cake."
Mina laughed as Jed and Darien exchanged glances.
"It's his nickname for me! I call him Cookie! It's what happens when you spend so much time in a cafe. You start calling each other names of sweets." Mina explained, her light blue eyes twinkled excitedly.
"Oh." Was all Darien and Jed could say.
Lita was gushing about how sweet the nicknames were, making Andrew blush more red.
Then Lita made a comment about Mina's skirt. It had keys sown all over it.
That's when Rei came up to the group. She was also with a young woman with long blond hair, and light blue eyes. Only this woman's hair, even when put up in a ponytail as it was now, fell to her ankles. She reminded Darien of someone, though he couldn't figure out who yet.
Darien introduced Rei to Jed and Neph. Rei and Neph looked at each other with raised eyebrows and a smile on their lips. Everyone could tell they were attracted to each other.
Then Mina bounded up to the new arrival.
"Serena it's so good of you to come!" Mina said happily as she hugged the woman.
"Glad to be here!" Serena replied as she hugged back. "I've always wanted to see the house."
Darien, Jed and Andrew glanced at each other. Serenity, that's who she reminded them of. She looked exactly like her, and had the same first name!
"Everyone! Meet my twin sister Serena!" Mina announced.
"I didn't know you had a sister." Andrew replied.
"She doesn't hang around the cafe. She mostly likes to sit at home, and try to write novels. So far it hasn't been going too well." Mina explained.
"Mina!" Serena wined.
"Well, it has-" Mina started.
"Meow!" Came a voice from Serena's big handbag.
"Oh, sorry Luna, Artemis. I forgot about you two." Serena apologized.
Out jumped two cats. The first one was a black female, the second was a white male.
They immediately bounded off into the garden.
"I hope you don't mind?" Serena asked Darien.
"Not at all!" Darien replied cheerily.
That's when the delivery truck pulled up.
After alot of hustle and bustle, alot of commotion, and alot of bruised feet and hands, the statue was finally in place.
The others stood back to look at it as Darien plugged in the water pump.
It was beautiful. Instead of an angel, or a forest sprite, it was a statue of Endymion and Serenity. In exactly the same position as they had been when they had embraced each other the week before. They were made of concrete, except for Serenity's hair and Endymion's sword. Both of those were made of hollow glass. Water was pumped up through tubes in the concrete statues, until they flowed out of Endymion's sword, and Serenity's hair into the fountain bowl below them. Serenity's hair was sculpted into a heart shaped ring that surrounded the couple.
"It's beautiful!" Serena whispered in awe.
The others agreed. Even the delivery men.
"Just wait until the next full moon." Darien replied. "It'll look even more beautiful with the water looking silver in the moonlight instead of just blue."
After the delivery men had left, Darien invited them all into the house for soda drinks and snacks.
Everyone went inside, except for Serena.
She stood in the garden looking at the fountain.
Darien came up beside her.
"Do you see that necklace the woman is wearing around her neck?" He asked her.
"What necklace?" She asked. She looked closer, and saw it. "Wow! You really stuck to detail!"
"I used this one as a model for the statue one." Darien informed her as he held out the real Moonstone necklace.
"It's beautiful!" She whispered as she took it in her hands.
It glowed white briefly. When the light died down, the gem had become a crystal flower. Pulsing slowly with dim white light.
"What happened?" She asked.
"It's magic has been awakened." Darien replied.
She looked at him with wide eyes.
"It's yours now. Why don't you put it on?" He asked her with a smile.
She looked at him for a moment, then raised the necklace and tried to tie it around her neck. She was having difficulty, so Darien helped her.
"You look beautiful." Darien commented.
"Thank you, I think." Serena replied.
"Mina said you wrote novels?" Darien asked.
"I'm trying. So far I haven't come up with any material that publishers think will sell." Serena shrugged.
"I have a story that I think would sell real good, but I'm no good at writing. Would you like to write it for me?" Darien asked.
"You mean like a partnership?" Serena asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, I tell you the story, you write it down, we'll see if we can't get it published. If no publisher will publish it, we'll self publish it." Darien assured her.
"Okay, I like that idea!" Serena agreed. "Come up with a title yet?"
"I was thinking, The Ghosts of Serenity Manor." Darien replied.
"Sounds good to me!" Serena said.
As Serena and Darien went inside to discuss the book, the two cats, Luna and Artemis, jumped up on the edge of the fountain. Then they proceeded to stare at the bench under the peach tree.
"The cats can see us, Endy." Serenity said softly.
"Cats always did have keener eyesight than humans have." Endymion replied.
Serenity and Endymion sat on the bench, holding each other.
Serenity laied her head against his chest.
"They will make a good couple, don't you think?" She asked him.
"Serena and Darien? I think they will." Endymion replied. "That Rei and Neph look like they might become a couple too." He added with a smile.
Serenity giggled.
"The statues very pretty isn't it?" She asked.
"Yes. It's a much better statue than that angel, or sprite ever was." Endymion agreed. "Darien has a good imagination, I never would've thought to make a statue like that."
They were silent for awhile, enjoying the moment.
"Do you think our story would make for a good book?" Serenity asked.
"I think so. It has all the makings of a good book. Love, tragedy, betrayal,ghosts, magic, a happy ending, and moonlight. What more could you ask for? And do you know who will be there all the time as the book is written?" Endymion asked.
"Darien and Serena?" Serenity asked.
"Ha ha! Besides them." Endymion hinted.
Serenity thought for a moment.
"Who?" She finally asked.
"The real ghosts of Serenity Manor." Endymion replied.
The cats started to wash themselves as the laughter of Serenity and Endymion rang through the garden. No human who was alive could hear it, but had there been anybody in the garden, they would've felt it.
As a slight cool breeze, that sounded dimly of chimes.