I'm sorry! I know it's been a while, at least at the pace I normally update. But I've been testing and teachers are giving final. Blech! By the summer I should be back up to speed. Please review!
Chapter 2- A witch?
"Surprise!" Madoka seemed pleased with herself as Mai stared at Naru and Lin as they examined the paintings. Mai turned to look at Madoka with a white face as the woman continued to smile.
"H-how…did they….get here?!" Mai finally managed not noticing how Naru turned to lookat her.
"And your pronunciation still reeks, Mai." Mai turned to glare at the man before turning back to Madoka, still waiting of an explanation of how her boss, her handsome boss mind you, and his assistant got to England and to the house she was staying in. Madoka seemed to realize the girl was very serious.
"Alright, alright, I'm guilty! When I called the first time and you told me about the strange circumstances I called Naru. I would rather not tell you the names he called me for not coming over here and dragging you out the minute I hung up after calling you to see how you were." Mai shot a look at Naru who had his back turned on her. If she hadn't known better she would have sworn that he had been worried about her.
"Anyway, I go to my office this morning and who do I find there waiting for me? These two. No forewarning, no nothing. Now, Kim said we could stay here with you and she told me where our rooms are, so Lin and I will take the bags upstairs!" before Mai could get a word in edgewise Lin and Madoka were gone leaving Mai alone with Naru in the main hallway.
"It seems I can't trust you to not get in trouble. Even half way across the world you seem to have a thing for trouble." Naru said and Mai could feel her anger rising and targeting the young man.
"What right do you have to follow me? You gave me a vacation so I took it, it did not include you following me to my choice of destination!" Mai said as quietly as she could, which wasn't very quiet as her anger was beginning to boil over.
"And you would rather be eaten?" he said calmly and Mai snapped. Before she knew what she had done, one of her shoes was missing from her foot and had hit Naru on the head and was currently lying beside his own feet. He looked rather startled that he had been attacked by a flying shoe.
"I would rather be eaten than have you watching over my shoulder the whole stinking time!" she snapped at him and they stood there glaring at each other until Madoka and Lin reentered the room and the adults glanced at the angry teens before at each other.
"I told you it was a bad idea." Lin said and Madoka rolled her eyes before smiling at the man.
"You say that every time!" she said brightly and Lin raised an eyebrow.
"The last time you had an idea we were all almost killed by a demon that was obsessed with blood." he pointed out and Madoka laughed nervously.
"Okay, one time. But from what Mai told me she needed serious help and you and Naru were the only people she knew in Japan that could drop everything and come here. Just don't tell her it was my idea to bring you out here. And it probably would not be a good idea to tell her you were involved." Madoka said and Lin gave her a look that clearly said he had no intentions of telling Mai.
"You jerk!!" Madoka and Kim looked over at where Mai and Naru were arguing in a corner of the library. Naru seemed to be set on doing something else and Mai was giving up a good fight to make sure he didn't do whatever he wanted to do.
"Do they always do this?" Kim asked Madoka as the older woman flipped through the book Mai had been looking at the night before. She glanced over at the couple and sighed before nodding.
"When I first went to check on Naru…he and Mai argued. The only time they don't argue is when Naru does something stupid." Madoka said and Kim hid her mouth behind her hand. She couldn't imagine Naru would do something stupid but she could imagine that if Naru got hurt Mai would be upset.
"Argh!!" Mai stomped over to where Madoka and Kim were sitting. They could both see the flush on her cheeks but most prominently they could see the tears Mai was rubbing at desperately. Madoka sighed before pulling out the case file she had placed in her purse.
"Alright, let's go over the information I was able to get." Madoka said with a smile and Mai managed to smile back in response before looking away as Naru and Lin came over and stood next to Madoka's chair.
Mai wasn't really sure why she was upset. She and Naru had been arguing over him staying. She had told him that she didn't want him there. He had come back with she really had no choice. She had told him he was insensitive. He had informed her he already knew that and that she needed to grow up.
"Let's see, about two hundred years ago, the Lunar family made this an orphanage for children orphaned due to the plague. Many people thought the master, or mistress in this case, was 'magical'…a witch." Madoka read and Mai forgot why she was angry at Naru, at least for the time being.
"People accused her of turning her younger brother into a monster because he upset her by marrying someone of lower class. That was when the first reporting of a werewolf happened at this house. But this is where things get really weird." Madoka looked at Kim and Kim nodded obviously knowing what the other woman was going to say.
"Everyone except Madeline's, who was the 'witch', oldest son disappeared. He flew the country because everyone was accusing him of killing his family and the orphans, especially the orphans. Amazing how when someone dies or disappears they were the greatest thing in the world and I'm sure the children were great. But these people that were acting so upset about their disappearance were the same ones that had been calling their caregiver a witch.
"But anyway, after the second World War our family returned from Spain, where they had been hiding." Kim said and Mai thought back to the attack last night. She realized that ghostly wail could have belonged to Madeline.
"That's all good but what does it have to do with Kim's aunt?" Mai asked and Madoka sighed.
"I don't know but I think it's time you talked to her about it, Mai. After all you are Kim's friend and it might be easier for you to get answers out of her than me or Naru." Madoka said and Mai sent a look at Naru, deciding to give one last jab. She wasn't in a forgiving mood.
"Yeah at least I treat people with some sort of respect!" she made sure she was looking at Naru before turning and leaving the library. Madoka shrugged at Kim and the college student hurried after her friend.
"Mai, wait up! Hang on!" Kim caught up to her friend as Mai started up the steps. The younger girl finally stopped and Kim saw that Mai was trying not to cry again. Kim hugged Mai and waited until her friend calmed down.
"Come on, I think my aunt is in a pleasant mood today. She's wanted to meet you ever since I got back from Japan last year." Kim said and Mai smiled. She followed Kim to her aunt's room and they entered after knocking.
The whole room was dark and the curtains were drawn. The only light in the room was filtering in from the window from the now setting sun. Mai could see a silhouette through the curtains on the bed and she wondered how the woman could see them through the curtain and the dark.
"Aunt Rena, how are you feeling?" Kim asked as they stopped beside the bed and stood there. Mai could see the woman shift as though she were surprised that they had actually entered her room.
"Kim, dear…I'm feeling better. I don't feel hungry today." her aunt's voice sounded hoarse from all the screaming that Kim had told Mai that the woman did. Mai wanted to help her badly. She just didn't know how to help the woman.
"Well, I told you my friend Mai was visiting. She came here as my cheering section so I won't flunk my finals and she wanted to meet you." Kim explained and the woman behind the curtain chuckled and Mai looked at Kim who shrugged and mouthed 'Her moods change a lot.'
"Very well." the woman said and Mai felt some of the tension leave her body as Kim urged her to introduce herself.
"Hello, Mrs. Lunar. I'm Mai Taniyama; it's nice to meet you. Kim has told me all sorts of things about you." Mai said and she heard the woman chuckle again.
"I'm sure. Well, welcome to our home, Mai. I hope you enjoy your stay but stay away from any passages you may find." Rena paused for a moment and Mai wondered if the woman was going to just stop talking to them. "Things are not what they seem."
"Aunt Rena, are you alright?" Kim asked and the woman stayed quiet before a low growl came from the bed and Mai recognized as it was the same growl she had heard both times before.
"Out. NOW!" Kim looked at Mai and they quickly left as they had no desire to be eaten by an angry werewolf. The closed the door and leaned against it as they tried to calm their pounding hearts.
"She's worse than teenage girls when it comes to mood swings!" Mai cried and Kim nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I know. I just wish I knew what was wrong!" Kim was upset and Mai could tell that the girl was very worried about her aunt. Mai sighed before she noticed a statue of a gargoyle that looked as though it were staring at her.
"Kim, why is there a gargoyle statue on that wall?" Mai asked and Kim looked at the statue before frowning and looking at Mai.
"Well, when our family returned I guess the main guy like gargoyles, a lot. He's the guy that in the painting has a gargoyle behind him. He's also the only one that doesn't have a family crest and he never officially declared himself a Lunar. He didn't live very long after moving back." Kim said and Mai couldn't shake off the feeling that the gargoyle was staring at her. She was actually happy to see Naru sitting at the desk in the library with his laptop.
"There you are Mai! Hey, where's Kim?" Madoka asked when she realized that Mai's friend wasn't with her.
"She said her great-aunt wanted to talk to her. So I came on back, why? Did you find something else?" Mai asked curiously and Madoka frowned before nodding and handing the paper in her hand to Mai.
"Yeah. I did research with Naru on all the Lunars until about 1500 and this family had some serious problems. Each member died before they reached thirty except for Madeline, she turned thirty and about six days later she and all the orphans disappeared for no reason." Madoka said and Mai frowned.
"Well, I think Kim's aunt is turning into the werewolf. She got mad when we were up there for some reason or the other and she started growling. I recognized it as the growl I heard when I first got here and when it attacked the door...but…how do we find out what's wrong?" Mai asked and Madoka smiled.
"You could always act like dog food." she suggested and the three other people in the room looked at her like she was crazy and she shrugged.
Mai looked around and realized she was in the main hall, only it looked different and she realized why. Most of the paintings were gone and she had a sudden feeling that she was dreaming. Suddenly a lot of children figures and a female adult figure appeared and Mai took a step back before she realized that she was standing on the stairs. She watched as the woman and children danced around.
"That's right, Josh, just hop as you step." the woman, who Mai realized had to be Madeline, took a boy's hand and they hopped back and forth, everyone was laughing. Mai felt tears in her eyes as she realized that these people were just ghosts and weren't alive even though it seemed as though they were and very happy.
"No one just disappears." Mai jumped at the sound of Naru's voice behind her and she turned to look at the man standing on the steps behind her. She nodded before turning back around and suddenly the ghosts disappeared and replaced by someone in a black cloak.
"To close." they said, Mai couldn't tell if it was male or female before suddenly the same dog appeared before the figure and growled before it disappeared and the female disappeared as well.
"What did she mean…'to close'?" Mai turned as Naru suddenly appeared at her side. He frowned for a moment before turning to look at her and smiling gently at her and reaching out to stroke her face.
"This is your case, Mai. I don't know the answer anyway. But I do know this is very dangerous and I would rather you return to Japan." he said and Mai smiled before shaking her head.
"I can't. Kim's aunt needs our help and I can't abandon her!" Mai said and she could see Naru sigh before a growl caught their attention and they turned to look and Mai could feel her heart pounding as the werewolf was looking straight at them. She fell back as Naru pushed her behind him.
"Wake up, Mai!" he cried and gave her another shove and she screamed as she fell through the steps before everything went black.
Mai sat up in her bed startled. She felt her heart beating at a thousand miles per hour. She had almost been killed by a werewolf in her dreams. She prayed that the dream Naru would be alright. She sat there with a pounding heart before a cackle caught her attention and she jumped slightly before jumping out of her bed and bolting out her door.
She felt fear grip her as the same cloaked figure from her dream disappeared into Rena's room. Mai tiptoed to Rena's room and listened with bated breath. She heard a low growl and she jumped back and felt something pressing against her back and she whirled around to see that she had backed into the gargoyle.
'That creepy statue!' she thought. She didn't know why but she had a feeling that the statue had something to do with whatever was going on. She reached out and gasped as the statue turned with the pressure of her hand. She looked over her shoulder and saw that no one was behind her. She frowned before turning the gargoyle every which way and she gasped as she heard something scraping.
She whirled around and between her and Rena's bedroom doors a secret door had opened. She looked around before entering the passageway. She squeaked as the door began to close. She put her hands against the door and held it open. She saw with the light of the hallway that there was a handle on the other side. She slipped out and watched as the door close and the gargoyle returned to it's original position.
'I guess that's what Rena meant when she said to stay away from the passageways but what's going on? Why is Rena afraid of them?' Mai asked herself before she went back into her room.
Mai walked down the steps and was surprised when she saw Madoka open the front door of the house and standing there was a slightly elderly couple. Mai saw Kim at the bottom of the stairs and the woman smiled at her.
"Madoka…what's going on?" Mai asked as she joined the woman at the front door. Madoka smiled at Mai before chuckling.
"These are Naru's parents. They found out he was here so they came to visit. I would do a normal introduction but they are in a hurry, so excuse us!" Madoka and the couple quickly disappeared into the library and Mai frowned before looking at Kim who shrugged without a word.
Mai told Kim about what she had discovered last night. Kim looked interested before they went up to her room and grabbed a couple of flashlights before they went to the gargoyle. It took nearly thirty minutes before they got the combination right and the door finally opened.
"Whoa…when you said secret passageway this was not what I was expecting." Kim said as she shone her light into the hallway. Mai shrugged as she tried not to shiver at the creepy aura the hallway was giving off.
"You found it so you go first." Kim said and Mai rolled her eyes before slowly descending the steps using her flashlight to see the path she was walking on. She finally reached the bottom and waited for Kim to join her in the passageway.
"Kim, have you ever seen something like this before?" Mai asked as they walked down the passageway before reaching the end. Mai frowned as there was a door and etched into it was a half a gargoyle with one eye.
"No…and trust me I would have remembered if I stumbled into a secret passageway when I was little." Kim replied as she also studied the door before directing her beam to the words underneath the half a gargoyle.
"'For the one wrongfully accused…any whose this and do not let others now…may you be cursed for the rest of your life.' I wonder if this is what your aunt when she said to stay away from passages. No wonder your aunt was freaked out but…" Mai trailed off and looked at Kim who nodded.
"That doesn't explain why she is acting so weird. Maybe we should go tell to Madoka about this." Kim suggested and Mai nodded before following Kim up the stairs. They both froze as they heard a low growling. They looked behind them but nothing was there and then Mai realized the growling was coming from the other side of one of the walls and Mai put her ear against the wall and motioned for Kim to join her.
"No! I don't want you to come home! JUST STAY THERE!" both girls jumped as they heard Rena's voice and something slamming down. They hurried out of the passageway and watched as it closed.
Mai followed Kim to the library, frowning as everything began to grow dizzy. They entered the library and Kim quickly told the three people there what they had found and Mai noticed drowsily that Naru's parents left. Mai put a hand to her head as everything started to spin before she fell.
"And we heard my aunt arguing-" Kim was cut off by a loud thump and everyone turned around and their eyes widened as they saw Mai lying on the ground.
"Mai!" Naru was the first one to her and he reached out to touch her before Lin's voice stopped him.
"Naru, the thermal camera we set up is showing Mai as blue." Lin said and Naru touched Mai and his eyes went wide at the coolness of Mai's skin.
"MAI!!"
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