Chapter 4: Separation

I shouldn't have yelled at him, Shelby thought as she aimlessly wandered the mansion. He doesn't control the weather. It's not like he wanted it to rain.

The mansion was a drafty as it was dusty and cobwebbed. She was definitely glad that she received comfortable pajamas. After poking around the coat closet in the room, she had found a tartan-colored robe. It was proving to be very warm. The slippers also kept her feet warm from the old, chilly stone floor.

"I should probably take note of what needs to be renovated," she murmured to herself, carefully looking at the walls and floors as she walked down the stairs to the entrance hall. "The walls will obviously need new insulation if they are insulated at all. The cleaning company will have fun with all the cobwebs and dust. The portraits will need to be restored. If Mister Lander doesn't want to take them all, we could donate them to an art museum. We'll have to add some carpet in some of the rooms to make them more comfortable. We might have to replace the cracked parts of the floor, or we could just fill in the cracks. I'll have to discuss this with Dad."

Speaking of which, she should probably go and apologize to him for yelling. Well, she didn't walk too far from the rooms. As she made her way back up the stairs, she came across a pretty blue-haired woman dressed in a maid's outfit—a long black dress, a white apron, and a white bonnet. She was carrying a basket full of white linens. Shelby almost crashed into her as she walked to her dad's room.

"Sorry," she said, moving out of the woman's way.

As soon as Shelby reached the door of her dad's room, she knocked on the door and waited for a few seconds. When she got no answer, she opened the door and stuck her head in. He wasn't in the room, she noticed, feeling a bit suspicious. The bathroom was unoccupied too. The door to it was open and the light was off. She briefly remembered him telling her that he was going to talk to Mister Lander, but he didn't say where he was going or when he would be back.

She backed out of the room and shut the door, nibbling on her bottom lip, nervously. Honestly, how long could it take to discuss something? As she turned to walk to her room, she noticed the blue-haired maid staring at her with astonished blue eyes. She was looking at Shelby like she had seen a ghost. To her credit, though, she didn't drop the laundry basket.

"Excuse me," Shelby called out to her, making the woman flinch. "Have you seen my dad?"

The maid slowly backed away but then turned and ran down the hall. Abandoning thoughts of snuggling up in bed, Shelby left her bedroom door and took off after the woman, breathlessly asking her to wait. Shelby was never a good runner. She felt her lungs starting to burn and her legs aching when she reached the foyer staircase that led her back to the entrance hall.

When she walked down the stairs, she noticed that the maid was gone. Maybe she went through a door that was for employees only, Shelby's logical side argued. Looking around, it felt like the other woman wasn't there to begin with, which would be impossible because Shelby saw her. Why did she run?

Sighing, Shelby turned around to walk back up the stairs but nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Xehanort standing right behind her with an impassive look on his lined tanned face.

"Jesus…" she gasped, placing a hand to her chest to calm down her now-racing heart. "Xehanort, it's only you. You nearly gave me a heart attack." She felt more relieved than scared or irritated, though. She was glad she had found someone.

"My apologies, miss," he said in a soft, calm tone. "May I help you with something?"

"I was just looking for my dad," she replied, feeling a bit calmer now. "Do you know where he is?"

"I led him to the library," answered the old man. "Right through there." He gestured towards a hall that was over her right shoulder. "There are a pair of doors that will lead you there."

"Thanks, Xehanort," she said with a relieved grin.

"Of course, miss," he said in a respectful voice, bowing to her.

She could feel him watching her as she dashed down the hall to those doors.

…

As soon as she opened the doors, she was struck by how big and grand the library was. The walls were lined with shelves full of more books than she had ever seen in her life. It took her breath away. Her fingers itched to touch them and read through them all. Dazed, she wandered over to the desk to see a cup full of amber liquid and saw a burgundy-colored settee facing a fireplace, which was alit with a warm, inviting fire. She guessed that her dad must have been sitting in the chair.

She smiled fondly and approached the couch. "Dad, let's not fight anymore," she said softly as though she was afraid that a librarian would scold her for talking too loud. "Let's go to bed and figure it all out tomorrow."

The person sitting on the couch stood up and faced her, giving Shelby a second almost heart attack. It wasn't her dad. It was Mister Lander, wearing an old-fashioned red and navy blue robe and pajama set and curious look on his handsome face. His bright blue eyes lit up when he saw her, and she backed up, blushing, and knocked a pile of books over.

"I'm…sorry," she stammered out, bending down to catch the books that fell over. "I-I thought you were my father."

"Allow me," said Mister Lander in that warm, rich voice that made her feel a bit self-conscious. "Xehanort hates when I leave things lying around." He picked up the books and placed them on the desk.

Shelby nodded and helped gather up some of the other books. "I've noticed that he's very proper," she remarked shyly, placing the books on desk next to the other pile.

"Once you get to know him, though, that's not the case." She could feel his eyes on her, so she plucked up her courage to look at him. "He's actually very kind," continued Mister Lander, his blue eyes gazing into her brown ones. "He's like a grandfather to me."

Shelby managed a small smile, warming at the prospect of Xehanort being a kind man deep down, but she still felt a nagging feeling about something. "Mister Lander—" she started but he cut her off.

"Please, call me Terra," he said in a gentle tone that made her blush go to the roots of her hair.

"Terra," she amended, shyly averting her eyes from his to admire the books on the shelves. "This house is so beautiful. It's been in your family for years. Why do you want to sell it?" After she asked that, she locked eyes to his, trying to decipher the truth from those beautiful eyes. Those blue orbs told a story.

Terra's face seemed to darken with sadness. "These walls are filled with so many memories," he replied in a distant tone, looking a bit distracted. "Some of them painful."

Shelby nodded in understanding, knowing full well about painful memories. "I see," she whispered, nibbling on her bottom lip.

Suddenly, Terra walked over to her, making her tilt her head back to look up at him. "I think for you to truly understand, I really must show you." He offered her his arm like he was an old Hollywood star.

Shelby hesitated, worried about what her father would think if she touched a strange, older man so familiarly. Terra seemed to read her mind because he hastened to assure her. "Don't worry. There's nothing to be afraid of."

She could hear the gentle sincerity in his voice and read the kindness in his face, and slid her arm through his, placing her hand on the crook of his elbow. She flushed when she noticed how strong and warm his arm felt. She briefly wondered what his embrace would feel like. The thought made her heart skip a beat. Immediately, she chastised herself. Fool! This is a client, not a boy from school. Control yourself!

"Come, let me show you the green house." His voice broke her out of her thoughts, and he led her from the library to the entrance hall.

As they walked across the stone floor down another hall on the right side of the house, Terra began telling her about the home's history, something she always enjoyed hearing when it came to old houses. "Although it might be a bit worn and faded from its original grandeur, this house was once filled with many things." He paused to open a door, revealing a darkened room filled with a variety of planets, before he continued his narrative. "So much life. Full of parties, dancing, laughter, and above all, hope."

His descriptions made Shelby picture a ball scene from that old movie "Gone With the Wind". She pictured beautiful women and handsome men dancing reels and eating various treats from tables positioned near the walls. The thought made her wish that she could attend a ball like that. While she wasn't much of a dancer, she had always wanted to wear a pretty gown and meet a fine gentleman.

"Sounds lovely," she admitted in a dreamy whisper.

"It really was," agreed Terra, giving her an almost longing look that made her feel a bit uncomfortable. It made her wish that she was wearing more than nightclothes. "Being a Lander meant you were denied nothing. The world was yours."

Despite his earnest words, she could detect a melancholy undertone to what he was saying. Her gentle girl heart went out to him. "What happened here, Terra?" she asked, her voice losing its dreamy quality.

"She did," the man replied in a tone full of strange, undecipherable passion.

"Who?" pressed Shelby, needing to know more.

"Gaia," answered Terra. The way he said her name made it sound like this mystery woman was the answer to everything. "Hers is the story that haunts these walls."

…

Upstairs, Marissa was pacing back and forth in hers and Riley's room, trying to get through to her mom on her cellphone.

"Still no reception," she pouted, her bottom lip jutting out. "Must be the stupid storm."

"Do you think the rain will stop soon?" asked Riley. He was already in bed with the covers pulled up over him.

"How should I know?" snapped Marissa, in an uncharacteristically sharp tone. "I'm not the weatherman." Frustrated, she walked into the bathroom, shut the door, and continued to try calling her mom.

A moment after she left, the drapes around the window billowed out gently, as if pushed by a soft breeze. But the window was closed. A chill went down Riley's spine and he got out of bed to investigate. He looked around the room and saw that there was no reason for there to be a breeze. The room looked really old, as if it hadn't been redecorated since it was built, but it did have a cozy atmosphere despite the weird breeze that made the drapes move.

A music box he hadn't noticed before suddenly began to play. The chimes played an eerily haunting melody that made more chills go down his spine and his heart ache with pain. In the music box, there were two mechanical figures in masquerade costumes and masks began to spin in an imitation of a dance. The sight was strangely mesmerizing. Riley couldn't take his eyes off the figurines.

A strange heartbeat sounded as a brilliant sparkle of white light formed just inside the window. It began to spin, growing into a ball of pulsating light. Then, it floated across the room towards Riley, who saw it through the small mirror in the music box.

His eyes went wide as he began to quiver with fear. A cold sweat broke out all over his body and his mouth went dry. He couldn't even scream. His heart seemed to stop in his chest. The ball of light hovered close to him, and he was unable to run, frozen in place.

"M-Marissa!" he finally screamed when he was able to find his voice again.

The bathroom door slammed open, and Marissa came running out. At the sight of the ball of light, she froze and dropped her cellphone. She started shivering. It felt like all the heat was sucked out of the room.

"What is it?" she asked in a numb voice, staring at the orb.

Riley ran over to her and grabbed onto her arm. "It's a ghost ball," he whispered, still trembling in fear.

Marissa could feel the small hairs on the back of her neck go up. The hair on her arms were going up too, like she stuck her finger into the electric socket. Until that point, she didn't believe in ghosts. Now, though, she didn't know what she believed anymore. The ball seemed to move towards the door. It seemed to gesture to them.

"I think it wants us to follow it," she whispered, turning towards Riley but not taking her eyes off the orb.

She began to walk towards it, but Riley pulled her back. "I think your crazy," he hissed, eyes wide with fear.

"It does," she insisted, pulling him along with her. "It wants us to follow it."

Riley let her go and she started following the orb. It only took him a few seconds to consider it. He grabbed his backpack off the dresser and ran after her.

"Hey, Marissa!" he shouted, dashing out of the room. "Wait up!"

The kids didn't know it at the time, but they were going to be in for a night that they would never forget.