A Christmas Carol For You
1. Once upon a Christmas Eve
AN: I really don´t own anything from this little literature-attempt, neither characters nor plot. Only my own christmas spirit :D
Enjoy this silly Christmas tale
Death is our last destination, dark chamber we dread to enter, place where nothing is certain. No one really wants to dissapear forever and sink into that pool of darkness. Loneliness. Dead people are lonely folk and Clovis Marley was now one of them.
He was as dead as broken Ipod, far beyond repair. Yes, he was dead, had nice, splendidly short funeral under dark and chilling winter sky ..."And how cheap funeral it was, too" said old clergyman with a sigh when they finally burried him allowing worms to finish their job.
„What´s wrong with that?" asked the undertaker and signed the register of Mr. Clovis Marley´s burial. „He´s dead. He surely doesn´t care about such trivia anymore." And faint smile crossed his wrinkled face.
„Stop this nonsense already. This is a place of mourning, not your little chit-chats." said young man in black suit, that matched his charcoal hair and sent deadly glare to both men. They frowned a little, but only for a short while. Undertaker bursted into laughter and old clergyman almost inaudible chuckled.
„Mourning? Not a chance, my young lad. It´s Christmas Eve and besides...In fact, I really don´t want to pity this guy´s passing."
Clergyman only nodded. „You are his sole mourner, Mr. Lampescrooge."
„What are you trying to say? He was great businessman, always responsible, when he was alive nobody from our borrowers ever missed a payment. True is that his many hobbies were a little ehm money-consuming but I can´t really blame him for that."
Yes late Mr. Marley was faithful business partner to our very much alive Mr. Lampescrooge. He was also his half-brother, but this fact carried just a little importance in Mr. Lelouch Lampescrooge´s eyes. He never felt anything for his brother, or this is what he truly stubbornly believed. Indeed, he was a splendind businessman, horrible painter, and now dinner for worms, that´s all. His story ends here, fairy-tale is done and Lampescrooge was a bit too certain that he´ll never have to see him again.
One year later
Once upon a time, on another Christmas Eve, old young Mr. Lampescrooge sat in his office, which he called Counting-house, amethyst eyes stuck on computer screen and there he counted, counted with raising rage his earnings. And costs..."I hate costs. Everything is so expensive, everyone is so greedy nowadays. Damn crisis. Heavens, how I hate this century. Cratchit! Hand me Financial Times, I need to check out our portfolio."
He reached his hand towards his employee´s desk in nonchalant and theatrical manner and waited. No response. Lelouch waited a bit longer. Still no response.
"Suzaku Cratchit! You are wasting my precious time and moreover my even more precious money!" He stood, chair which he occupied cried in relief, and looked upon his clerk. Suddenly he frowned and bit his lower lip. Young boy, about the same age as Mr. Lampescrooge peacefully slept there, head on his crossed hands, crossed hands on messy papers, messy papers on old desk from secondhand furniture store. Lelouch picked a ruler from his drawer and hit Suzaku on his head with all his might (Cratchit was in fact lucky, because his employer´s might was that of a dying fly).
"Wake up, Sleeping Ugly!"
"I…I am so sorry, Mr. Lampescrooge I just had a little nap. Last night was pretty rough."
"I don´t care about your sex life, I need to do the accounting and I need to finish it until today´s midnight. In the name of Lelouch Ebenezer Lampescrooge I forbid you to sleep!"
"For how long?"
"Let´s see. What about forever! Now be quiet and continue working, please."
Brown-haired youth nodded obediently and wrote down some numbers. After a short while of counting, Suzaku´s fingers started to tremble.
„Shit another mistake." mumbled he to himself.
„Saying something, Cratchit?"
„No just...cake!"
„What?"
„I´m really looking forward for my dear Euphemia´s christmas cake. She´s splendind cook. You should try her christmas pudding."
„Eh...Humbug!"
Then the door opened and tiny cheerful voice filled Lelouch´s silent and calm office-hard- working atmosphere.
„A merry Christmas, brother!
He rolled his eyes and forced smile appeared on his pale face. Ironically his face looked older and sadder and more pale and more bloodthirsty like before when he was frowning and apparently annoyed. On the other hand his sister´s eyes shone, her cheeks were healthy and red like two apples and she was laughing, laughing merrily. „Christmas lunatic." tought young Mr. Lampescrooge for himself, but said nothing. Instead he crossed his legs and waited for his sister to stop laughing.
„I´m here to greet you. And Mr. Cratchit too."
„Hi then, Nunna. Now if you don´t mind... "
„Oh yes I do mind. Why are you always so morose? It´s Christmas Eve, you stupid! You should cheer, sing and dance..."
„Why should I rejoyce, my oh so dear sister? I live surrounded by idiots, I cannot depend on anybody, I cannot trust anybody. Christmas? So what? It´s the same damn ordinary day just like yesterday. Do you want to hear about Christmas spirit? Here it is. I´ll tell you. There is a time in the year when all people suddenly lose their minds, make depts in every store they stuck their filthy noses in, run and bump to each other and yell and cry and all this mess just because they want to make others happy. That´s holy calm Christmas spirit for you. There is just one good thing about this Christmas fever. People like me can make a really fine profit. Businessmen, dear sister are the only ones, who are truly happy during Christmas time."
„Oh brother, you should go into Parliament with such speeches. But you don´t look very happy."
„Don´t I? Say Cratchit...Don´t my face look happy to your pitiful eyes?"
Only answer he got was Suzaku´s loud snore, since he fell asleep once again. Nunnaly smiled and tapped her brother on his cheeks.
„There, there, don´t be angry and come to dine with us."
„No time. I´ll come some other day."
„But it´s Christmas Eve!" cried Nunnaly so loud, that she finally woke up Suzaku, who fell out of his also-second-hand-furniture-store-purchased-chair and hurt himself for second time this day..
„I am sorry." Sighed Lelouch and opened his Financial Times on page 24. „Oh no that EU crisis is becoming deeper day by day. I hope it won´t reach Brittania´s markets. Perhaps I should shorten Cratchit´s salary, just in case."He was so preoccupied by his dark financial forcasts, that he stopped paying attention to his sister´s talk. After all it was just one big Humbug for him. Nothing more, nothing less.
„I think I found a love of my life. And...and I want you to see him."
„That´s fine." Hmm Chinese Electronics is facing bankruptcy. They are one of the biggest and most influential companies in mine sector, so...I am sure I can use this in my advantage...somehow. Just think...
„I think he may be my future husband...You have to meet him."
„That´s fine." Just think...If mine company offers some help to theirs. No I have to be cautious. Maybe I should purchase more gold. Gold always is (or at least always been, since this god-damn days) a bird in the hand...
„Well merry Christmas to you, brother. I love you."
„That´s fine."
Finally the hour of shutting up the office came and both of our hard-working businessmen left home. Suzaku cannot wait to see his beloved wife again and Lelouch cannot wait to eat his dinner soup all alone again." I hope it´s still edible...after all I cooked it seven days ago. But times are bad, we have to think economically."
He still lived in apartment where he used to live with his deceased partner, but recently he occupied only two dusty dark chambers of once big and sunny place. The rest was hired out to some girl, who never really shows up and Lelouch had a suspicion, that she may be in fact some undercover maffia member. Or just some whore. Even her name was suspicious. C.C. Wtf is that? Maffia indeed. But she payed well, therefore he never complained.
So our Mr. Lampescrooge ate his melancholy (and very likely toxic) dinner in his melancholy kitchen, read some management books and books about manipulating people and prepared to bed. Just when he turned off the lights, a horrible noise like scream but much more hoarse and much more pitiful than any other scream he heard before resounded through his apartment. Young Mr. Lampescrooge was rather brave, but let´s be honest and admit that in the very moment that sound started resounding, he tried to hide under his bed. Quite meaningless attempt since his bed had no hiding places beneath it, so he only hit his forehead in the process.
„Oh shit, that hurts!" cried he into the dark.
„Don´t be vulgar, huhuuuu my little brother." said weary voice. Lelouch yelped and this time he tried to hide behind the curtains, but you know one cannot escape from the cold embrace of ghosts.
„I know you." said Lelouch, his whole body trembling.
„Ooof course you do. After all uuhuuu you were the one who killed me." said the ghost, his blonde hair floating in the air, his form almost transparent,in fact young Mr. scrooge could see his bookcase right trough him.
„Very nice story, Clovis...You and your wild imagination. We were brothers, weren´t we?" said Lelouch and laughed nervously. „Are you here to haunt me?"
Ghost took a little transparent notepad from his transparent pocket and started to browse through it´s transparent pages.
„Nope. You aren´t on my schedule for today. I have to haunt uuhuuu one poor family in Congo."
„Why Congo? Don´t they have enough problems already?"
„Do you feel sympathy, my dear brother?...Uuu I never question my authorities. Uuuhuuu and I never questioned you. You were my brother and despite our love you betrayed me."
„Do you have to sound like a ghost?"
„Ordersss. And it´s fun."
„Cut if out, please."
„Tell me then...why did you kill me?"
Ghost clinched his fists and suddenly his expression changed. He looked broken, and longing. „Now I have to linger in this world, being nothing more than a memory, mere illusion. Nobody really sees me, only I am here to be a witness of their sorrows. I cannot rest, since I died in vain. Before I could understand, before I could see the sadness I made while living. Sadness you are making. Tell my, why did you condemned me to such a fate?"
Lelouch´s cheeks blushed then he wiped a crop of sweat from his brows and said harshly.
„Y...you made depts. Many of them. Because of your stupid dream to becoming a painter! What did you think? That I´ll let it as it is? You would ruin us!"
„I see." Said the ghost thoughtfully, one finger placed on his lips.
"But you were a good businessman."
Ghost of his brother and partner laughed bitterly.
"I won´t forgive you, but…I don´t have to do so either. You know, we ghosts like to hold a grudge. It´s our last connection to the living world, which was stolen from us. True, it´s a bitter bond, but a bond at least.
But today I am here to warn you, little bro. You will be haunted by three spirits. On this time of rolling year, when life and death intersect, you will be haunted by three spirits. This is your only hope to save your tiny little soul. You don´t want to end up like me, don't you? Chained to this world by your sins…This holy night you´ll be haunted by three spirits. I loved you, brother. You know, ghosts like to say such a things before leaving. I love you, Goodbye, Farewell, Don't forget et cetera. Remember what has passed betweeen us. And I really loved you. Perhaps it´s not a lie. Perhaps ghosts cannot lie."
Dark-haired boy shook his head. He was speechless. After so many years when he always knew what to say, after so many years of words-mastership, he was left totally speechless. Ghost vanished like a mist above the chimney, leaving behind intoxicating scent of freshly used oil paints.
"Humbug. Perhaps I really shouldn´t eat that soup." said Lelouch shortly before he fainted, falling on his bed with a loud thud.