Me: I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE IN FOREVER!

Naru: If you're sorry then just update more.

Me: I know, but college stuff comes up…..

Mai: Just do your best.

Me: YES MA'AM!

Gene: Silver doesn't own Ghost Hunt. Please R&R!

Luella's POV:

It was yet another peaceful day at the Castle and I was enjoying a new book that Martin had given me the other day. Currently I was residing in the library sitting on the window seat, enjoying the breeze and view along with the story. Though, this is all just a distraction until the girl that saved Noll woke up. I desperately wanted to see her and thank her. However I did see her once when she first came to the castle. It wasn't a good look, and she was bloody and bruised, but she reminded me of someone. Though she reminded me up I had no clue, but hopefully seeing her again would remind me of who it was.

"So this is where you disappeared to." A familiar voice said, pulling me away from my story. I looked up and saw one of my best friends.

"Madoka, what's going on?" I asked, addressing the pink haired woman as I closed my book. She smiled brightly at me and joined me on the window seat. There was a sparkle in her eye that made me smile, for whenever it showed up it meant that there was big news, gossip, or new story to tell.

"The girl who was brought here by Noll woke up." She whispered with wide eyes. My own eyes widened at this information as a smile broke out across my face.

"Then let's go see her!" I cheered, hopping off my seat only to be stopped by her putting her hands on my own.

"There's more." She stated, instantly making me sit back down and listen to what the woman had to say. I did the hand sign for her to continue and she nodded enthusiastically. "Apparently, she nicknamed Noll, Naru for being a narcissist and somehow got him to not only accept it, but respond as well." She laughed, causing me to break out into hysteria as well.

That child was always the one to shy away from people and nicknames. The only people he ever made exceptions for where his family and mentors which called him Noll. No one else can call him that, and it was always Oliver to everyone else. So not only had this girl given him a very true and humorous nickname, but also had gotten him to be comfortable enough to respond to it and not blow it off.

"A-a-and that's not all." She struggled to say, coming down from her laughing high. "She also got him to talk to her about himself in exchange for a cup of tea." This one took me my great surprise. Noll never talked about himself. Not to Madoka or Lin or Martin or myself or any marriage suitors. The only person he would talk to would be his twin Gene, but even then it's a rare occurrence and we barely know anything. The fact that she could do that meant that she had promise, and hopefully, maybe if Martin agrees with me, a possible marriage candidate. After all I do want grandchildren.

"Is there anything else?" I questioned, wanting to know everything I could about the girl who has shown some moonlight in my son's darkened life. She took a moment and thought about it. After a while she began to shake her head no, but then a light went off in her jaw dropped.

"She's also supposed to go against Lin in the duel." She whispered, making my eyes widened once again.

"What, but she's not even heal yet!" I exclaimed, popping out of my seat once more. She simply shrugged her shoulders as a worried look filled my eyes.

"I know, but apparently she request the duel and refuses to back out here" she stated, making my interests in her spike immensely. It was then that a thought came to me and made a smile bloom upon my lips.

"How would you like to watch the duel my dear?" I asked, smiling even more as a mischievous glint was seen in her eyes. She nodded her head and stood with me, taking my hand.

"Shall he be off my lady?" She asked, offering me her right arm. I merely laughed and nodded, taking her arm and then walking out of the library and to the garden. Excitement bubbled up from within me. Ever since I first heard that she was a swordswoman she became an interest of mine. I began to wonder what type of fighter she was. Would she be a strategist, or a random fighter? Maybe she was an attack now, think later kind of gal. Also, would her weapon of choice be? A spear is good for distance and a ball and chain is good for close combat, but then again a sword would be better for more control. Though there was only one woman who would be able to use a sword to its fullest.

'Oh Bara, if only you could be here to see this. Maybe you could guide this girl if you deemed her with a warrior spirit.' I thought, feeling the familiar pain of sadness that always came from thinking of my dear deceased friend. She was a remarkable queen, wise woman, fearless leader, courageous warrior, and most of all a wonderful, caring friend.

Memories of my younger days flooded my mind and all the times that she, Madoka, and I, with the occasion of other Royals from different lands, would play, go on adventures, run from the nursemaids, go to balls, and train. We had grown together and ruled together, that is until he came into the picture and murdered her. At the memory of this my hands balled up into fists and anger started to take over and the excitement, but it quickly dissipated as I found myself under the gazebo in her garden.

"This will be perfect to watch the fight from." Madoka said, sitting down at the table that was in the middle of the said gazebo. I took a seat next to her, and was slightly surprised to see that there was afternoon tea and snacks already set up, indicating that she had been planning this for a majority of the day. My brow raised at this as a smile appeared on my lips along with hers.

"So tell me, how long did you know that she woke up?" I asked, taking a sip from my tea and hummed in approval as I found it to be my favorite rose blend. She smiled sheepishly at me and confirmed my suspicions.

"Well, maybe an hour or so. Oh, also before I forget, the girl is using her gear." She said, hints of sadness within her tone and in the corners of her eyes, but it quickly went away and the previous excitement burst back into them. "Look, here, Lin and Oliver!" She exclaimed, pointing to the clearing with the boys were now. They didn't seem to notice us, even though Madoka's voice rang throughout the garden. It was either that, or they were just ignoring us. Most likely it was the second option, but I'm going to go with the first so that a needless argument doesn't start between my son and I. Barely a moment passed, and in came Gene escorting Ms. Mai.

From where I was at I couldn't see too many details about her. What I could see though was that she had short brown hair. Also she was much shorter than Gene and seemed to possibly be around my height, though maybe a little shorter. It would also seem that my dear friend's old gear fit her like a glove and gave her an air of strength that Bara always had when she sparred, dueled, or fought. A verbal exchange went on between Noll and the girl. At the end of it Yasu, the son of the Duke of Hi that was currently under our protection, presented her with a sword. It was clear as day that it wasn't a sword from our land, so it most likely came from the soldier that she had defeated. Hesitantly she took it within her hand and tested it out for a bit.

In the beginning she was a little clumsy, but as the seconds ticked by her control and grace tripled to the level of a well trained soldier. Soon the duel started, and she was beaten to the ground quickly and swiftly. Although she did put up a good fight, it was to be expected for she was going up against our captain of the guard. I sighed in disappointment at the short show and turned away ready to leave with Madoka when the clanking of swords could once again be heard. My head snapped over in interest and was surprised to see the girl and Lin fighting once again. Like the before he was pushing her back, but for some reason her movements and style of fighting had changed.

Before she attacked blindly while still keeping the basic skills of combat, and while of those were graceful, they were also bulky and used more energy and strength then necessary, making it so that Lin could dodgy easily. Ahis also made it so that she was weaker without him having to lift a finger. However, this time she moved as little as possible and only used enough strength to block his attack. Lin managed to have her back up to a bunch, but when he went for the final swing she not only dodged, but she back flipped and landed steadily on the marble bench.

I chuckled a bit, as I watched Lin fall into the rose bush and lose his weapon. As usual though he left it and turned to her, never one to let the enemy out of his sight. He lunged at her and then what happened next was all a blur. All that I saw was Lin go flying into the pond and the girl jumping to the ground and taking her sword out from the bench. From there she walked into the pond and proceeded to place the tip against his neck once he came up. Unknowing to me, I had gotten up from my seat and moved closer, standing only a few mere meters from the two while all that was going on.

"So, are woman as weak as he thought they were Lin-san?" She asked. This was the first time I heard her voice. It held power and strength which matched her posture. Unfortunately I couldn't see her face, but just looking at her back and stands it hit a bell in my mind. Applause filled the air, and was provided by Gene and Yasu as they looked upon the girl with awe and respect.

"Amazing Mai, that was simply amazing!" Gene cried, immensely impressed by the young woman.

"Lin, I believe you owe this woman an apology." Yasu added, being his trickster self and adjusting his glasses. As predicted, Lin only huffed at this and looked away, however and the girl pressed the blade closer to his neck which rewarded her with a glare from him. Tension filled the garden as they stared each other down. It was so intense that it made the hairs on my arms stand on end. Finally, Lin sighed and broke his gaze away from her.

"Woman aren't as strong as men, but you Takigawa-san I'm not like most woman." With that said, in a matter of moments her sword was put away in its sheath that was placed upon her belt, and her hand was extended for him to take. He stared at her for a moment, but soon enough he took her hand and stood from the pond.

"Looks like Mai got you Lin." Gene stated, clapping him on the shoulder. Lin glared at this, but didn't say anything for he knew more was to come.

"How does it feel to be beaten by a woman?" Yasu questioned only to get the same glare that Gene was getting.

"Leave him alone, unless you two men would like to face me?" The girl questioned, cutting them off before they could say anything else.Both boys grew quiet quite instantly and made me smirk at their reaction. Lin sighed at this and then proceeded to leave the garden, only to be stopped by Noll.

"Maybe she could become part of the guard." He stated, catching me off guard. This also seemed to be the same for Lin, worry he paused and then looked Noll right in the eyes.

"Don't push it. She may have beaten me in a play duel, but the battlefield is a different story completely."

"Then I guess I'll just have to try that much more I to prove myself." She stated, turning to face Lin and giving me the first real look at her. My breath caught in my throat as the wind swirled around me and then the girl. Her eyes were large cinnamon orbs, and within and held the determination and strength of warriors passed. The suit she had on fit her just as well as his previous owner. The shape stayed the same, from the height, to the form, right on down to the foot size. Everything was perfect. Unlike the previous owner though, her hair was short and there were no amber earrings that dangled by her cheeks. Otherwise it was as if she were here, as if it were-

"It can't be, I thought you were dead?"

Mai's POV:

My head whipped to where the voice came from and I was surprised to see a slightly older woman a few yards away from me. She had curly blonde hair tied up into a bun with streaks of gray highlighting certain sections. A sparkling blue clip held it all together and was the exact shade of her eyes. They, for some reason, reminded me of Naru's, except they were a few shades lighter. The color stood out due to the rose colored dress she wore that flowed all around her. It was a traditional dress, lots of lace and layered ruffles with a big bow in back, but it was even more extravagant dude to the floral print that danced across the fabric. Jewelry decorated her ears, neckline, and wrist as similar blue stones shone and added a regal feel to her.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" Gene asked, answering the question of who the woman was. His mother didn't answer him. In fact, it was almost as if he didn't say anything at all, for she continued to stare at me as if there was nothing else in the world.

"Luella!" Another woman cried, drawing her attention away from me and onto her friend. "Luella, what are you –"

"Look Madoka, it's her. She looks just like her!" The blonde woman exclaimed, latching onto the woman who had just came.

Her appearance was similar to the first regarding her attire, except hers wasn't as pronounced. She was wearing a lovely lavender gown that showed off her neckline and fell off her shoulders. It was sleeker than the blonde stress, and didn't have the ruffles either. Instead, there was a part in the front, revealing a soft ivory colored fabric that meshed nicely with the lavender tone. It also displayed her wavy pink hair in an elegant way. At first she looked at her friend as if she was crazy, but then her brown eyes made their way to me and widened on the spot. Her pink painted lips formed the perfect 'o' as her jaw became slack.

"Impossible." She whispered shaking her head slowly. Before they could say anything else, or for me to ask what they meant, Naru stepped in between us and cleared his throat.

"Mother, Madoka, this is Mai Takigawa. She was the one who helped protect me. Mai, this is my mother Luella and mentor Madoka." He stated, pointing to the blonde and then the pinkette. I bowed to both of them and lowered my head in respect.

"It's a pleasure to meet you My Lady." I stated, remembering all that I had learned when greeting nobles. Bou-nii had taught me in case it ever happened, and boy was I ever glad that he did.

"I see, so you're not her." Luella said, a hint of sadness entering her voice. I raised my head to see if she was alright, to find a small smile on her face, and a sad, reminiscing look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but you just look like a good friend of ours. She died quite some time ago, so it was a bit of a shock to see you."

"I see, I'm sorry for your loss." I stated, not quite sure what to say to her. The pinkette, Madoka, nodded and a smile broke out across her face.

"It's a pleasure to meet you though. In all my years of knowing Lin and then being his wife I've never seen him taken down that fast even if it was a play fight." She said happily, wrapping her arms around Lin's. My eyes widened at this fact as my stare went from the overly cheerful woman and then to the emotionless and sexist man, trying to figure out how these two polar opposites were not only together, but also married. She must have picked up on my confusion for she burst out laughing which in turn made her husband shake his head at her.

"Um-" I began, not quite sure what to say in the situation. Luckily for me Luella placed a hand on my on injured shoulder and saved me from the confusion.

"Don't worry, everyone reacts like that. They grew up together here when they came from their respective countries. It was only a matter of time until they got together, even if they are light and shade." She stated, giggling at them as Madoka cuddled closer to him while he looked away fighting a blush, but not really caring. A small smile tugged at my lips at this. They may have been opposites, but the feelings they shared with one another were clearly shown. "Now then, let's go inside and get you something to eat." She added, taking my arm and leading me away from everyone.

"Wai-wha-?!" I began, unable to form a proper word, let alone thought, as I was dragged off. Instinctively, my hands latched onto the first thing they could, which just so happened to be Naru. Luella looks back at us and laughed, but didn't pause in her actions. Instead, she simply continued onward, and really made me wonder what I had gotten myself into.

Me: So I finally did something in someone else's POV.

Naru: At least you're attempting to learn.

Me: Yep!

Mai: Yay!

Gene: Good job.

Me: Thanks. Now then to work on the next chapter. Please Review everyone it'll make me type faster since I have nothing school related at the moment! XD