"Well, it's a good thing Amelia is here, isn't it?" Gourry said as he glanced at Amelia, who was already chanting, before he went back to surveying their library where the ghosts were happily wreaking havoc. "She can get rid of them, right?"
"Something tells me that if it was that easy, it would have already been taken care of." Lina said as Amelia stopped chanting.
"You're right about that, Miss Lina." Amelia said, "There's a portal in this house."
"A what?" Gourry asked.
"It's like a door to the afterlife." Zelgadis explained.
"That doesn't sound like something that's good to have in your house!" Gourry exclaimed, "Lina, we have to ask the Queen for a mansion that isn't haunted!"
"Idiot!" Lina screeched, "And tell the Eternal Queen and all of Zefiel City that we can't handle a stupid haunting!? What kind of a stupid idea is that!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Gourry," Amelia said, "It's not something we can fall into and kill ourselves by walking through. It just means that the souls of everyone who has died within a certain radius will travel here to go through the portal, which is why exorcisms won't work, because they banish beings to places with portals…which would be here."
"Is there any way to close it?" Lina asked.
"Portals are created when a terrible tragedy happens, and to close it we would have to find the ghost who opened it and appease her."
"Her?" Gourry asked.
"The Sad Lady." Lina muttered.
"How do you know it was her?" Gourry asked.
"Alona, the maid, mentioned her. If all of the other ghosts are just passing through it wouldn't make sense to name them. And since the Sad Lady has a name…"
"And she definitely wants you to feel her pain." Amelia added.
Before Lina could reply she felt a sudden icy breeze wash over her and she started to shudder, and it took a quick glance at the group to realize she was not the only one. More alarming was when she could see her breath when she exhaled and Gourry observed, "The children have stopped playing."
Lina looked into the library and found that all of the ghost children were now standing eerily still as they looked at the living, their eyes black sockets standing in stark contrast to their sheet white bodies as they grinned expectantly. And then the singing started. It was like listening to a soprano singing from beneath a lake, the sound filtering awkwardly through the water, and coming out distorted. Lina's hair about stood on end and Amelia let out a squeak as they looked around to find where the song was coming from. Gourry's mouth fell open as he pointed down the hallway towards a tall, hooded, shadowy figure who was holding a lantern as she slowly glided towards them. Gourry pulled Lina to the side, and it was a good thing, because she hadn't noticed that the children were starting to float towards the Hooded Ghost, as though they were drawn to her like moths. Zel cried out as one walked through him.
"Damn, that was…" Zel said as he shook his head in distaste as the rest of the group continued to stare at the Hooded Ghost, who was still singing her creepy song. For some reason, Lina felt hypnotized by the words, which were just on the border of comprehension. She felt if she concentrated a little bit harder she could decipher the lyrics.
"Is that the Sad Lady?" Gourry asked, and Lina blinked.
"No." Lina said, but before she could justify her explanation they all cried out as the Hooded Ghost started to move towards them.
The group pressed themselves against the wall to give the entourage as much room as possible as they paraded by them in some sort of macabre spectacle. Lina's stomach flipped as the Hooded Ghost slowly walked past them and turned to face them, revealing a skeletal face within the hood. And then, somehow, she favored them with a most disquieting smile, and Lina decided then and there that if there was one thing skeletons should never do, it was smile! Lina felt as though her heart were about to leap out of her chest, but finally the Hooded Ghost turned to face forward again as she walked past them, and that was when Lina noticed that the children weren't the only lost souls following in her wake. There was also an assortment of elderly people, now dead, as well as a few young people sporting hideous wounds or rashes. Travelers on their way to the portal? A thought popped into Lina's mind.
"If we want to know where the portal is, we'd better follow them." Lina said.
"Why do we want to know that!" Gourry asked, his voice at an interesting octave.
"Because," Lina said as she glanced at Amelia, "It may be difficult to close a portal, but what about containing it?"
"Well, it will exhaust my capacity for a day, but it's not as if we're on the road right now. I can do it." Amelia said.
Lina started to follow the procession, and everyone else started to follow her. "So if it's contained, what does that mean?" Gourry asked through chattering teeth, but Lina didn't wonder if he was losing his backbone. She was shivering so much that she felt as though her skeleton would burst through her skin!
"Just what it sounds like," Lina said. In truth, she welcomed the conversation. Walking behind a group of the recently deceased and listening to the Hooded Ghost's ethereal song gave her too much of a preview of what walking to her final destination would be like. "The Sad Lady won't be able to leave the area she is contained in. Neither will other ghosts, so we won't have to engage in this nocturnal adventure every night."
"I can also make the only entrance to the portal through a wall that faces outside and boost that signal a bit, so the ghosts won't get lost in the house." Amelia added, and then she shrieked a little as a ghost with his eye gauged out passed beside her to join them.
Zelgadis shook his head as he said as they approached the staircase and started to make their way down it, "This better not be a trap."
"Why would a ghost set a trap for us?" Lina asked.
"Why would a ghost continue to haunt the living rather than move on to the awesome and amazing afterlife, where justice shines everywhere?!" Amelia added, even though her teeth were chattering.
"You sound a bit eager to go there." Lina commented as she took a sharp intake of breath as another ghost joined the group.
"No! No," Amelia squeaked as they went down the stairs, "There's no rush."
"I really hope that this doesn't end in the basement." Gourry said as they reached the ground floor and continued to a door underneath the staircase.
"Oh, how hokey can this get?" Lina asked in exasperation as they approached it.
"Everything ends in the basement." Zelgadis commented dryly as Lina opened the door that the ghosts had merely walked through.
Amelia let out a moan as she saw the dusty stone staircase the ghosts were gliding down. "Oh, buckle up!" Lina snapped as they started walking down it, though she did jump high as the door slammed behind them with an ominous finality.
The Hooded Ghost continued to sing her morbid song as the other ghosts provided light with their translucent, glowing bodies. "Hopefully the portal will be down here." Lina said, "And that's when we'll need Amelia to work her magic."
The ghosts finally seemed to reach solid ground, and soon Lina saw the stone floor of the basement in front of them, along with a collection of dusty, old, discarded and broken items. "Any chance that there could be hidden treasure in all this junk?" Lina mused as she started to examine a broken chair.
"She gets a manor, a title, a stipend, and still she seeks treasure." Zelgadis muttered. "Your future bride is insatiable."
"Says the man who married into wealth!" Lina snapped.
"Are you really going to explore this place?" Amelia asked as she started rubbing her hands over her arms to keep warm, "It gives me the creeps!"
"Sure," Lina said, "In daylight, with no ghosts. There are bound to be tons of hidden rooms and passages that might hold something important. It's my manor and I'm going to know everything about it!"
A loud clatter rang out, as the Hooded Ghost suddenly fixed them with another stare as she cackled manically, causing the group to jump and cry out, before they all suddenly vanished, leaving the basement pitch dark. "What the…" Lina started.
"Hush!" Gourry said.
Faintly, the sound of a new type of music teased their ears, that of a music box in a minor key. "Oh, it's just some junk that got knocked over." Lina said.
"Who grabbed my arm!?" Amelia cried out.
"Oh, LIGHTING!" Lina called at the same time Zelgadis did, bathing the basement in the comforting glow of their spells.
"But the music…" Gourry persisted as Amelia said, "I swear, someone is grabbing my arm!"
"Here!" Lina said as she reached down and picked up a music box. Once the satisfaction of finding the source wore off, Lina had to admit that the clown playing the cymbals was a bit creepy. She turned it off and sat it down.
"Where did the ghosts go?" Amelia asked as she continued to stare at her left arm.
"Did they go through the portal?" Gourry asked.
"No," Amelia said decidedly. "Now that I'm down here, I'm rather sure that the portal isn't here. Just like I am sure that someone is grabbing my arm and that we're not alone down here."
Lina paled, "Oh no she didn't."
"What?" Gourry asked.
"Trap us in the basement?" Zelgadis mused.
"Dammit!" Lina cried as she turned and started running up the stairs, only to fall back against Gourry, knocking both of them over, as a gust of wind sent her flying back down.
"Are you alright?" Amelia asked as she moved towards them, and then she cried out as some unseen force started dragging her away from the group.
"Amelia!" Zelgadis cried out as he dove and grabbed her other hand and attempted to pull her back.
Gourry drew his sword and brought it down in the direction where Amelia was being pulled to, and she cried out in relief as the invisible thing let go of her arm and she got back to her feet and put her arms around Zelgadis.
"Okay, I've had enough." Lina said as she set her eyes back on the stairs, "And if this Sad Lady thinks that's going to stop me she has another thing coming! RAY WING!"
"I'm confused." Gourry said as he sat next to her in the bubble of the Ray Wing while Amelia and Zel sped behind them.
"The ghosts decided to trap us in the basement so we can't trap them in a small room!" Lina explained.
"Wow, these are some smart ghosts."
"I'll say." Lina replied as she stopped in front of the door, canceled her spell, and pushed it. Only it did not budge. "Oh, we're locked in!"
"Here." Gourry said as Amelia and Zel came up behind him and he threw his shoulder against the door with all his strength, and once again it did not budge.
Lina moaned as Gourry rubbed his shoulder, "If I didn't want to get out of here so badly I would laugh."
"I guess we'll find out now if Lina would break down her own door or wait here all night until the help arrives." Zelgadis commented wryly.
"Oh, I can afford a new one!" Lina said. "Gourry!"
"Right," Gourry said as he drew the Blast Sword.
"I meant to ask earlier, what's that?" Zelgadis asked.
"A new magical sword we picked up on our travels." Lina explained as Gourry cut a large square into the door, large enough for even him to get through.
Lina wasted no time in stepping into the foyer, followed by the others. "Any clue as to where they are?" Lina asked.
"Give me a minute." Amelia said as she closed her eyes and concentrated. Then she looked towards a hallway that Lina had not had time to explore yet. "This way."
The group started to follow Amelia as they went down the hallway, and Lina noted that they were entering a part of the manor that was not as nice. Was this the servant's quarters? Or perhaps this was where they would send their students? Or perhaps this was a forgotten wing because the ghost activity was just too much.
As soon as the thought hit Lina a gust of wind blew through the hallway, knocking the portraits from the walls and throwing cobwebs on their face. "Damn spiders!" Zelgadis spat as he brushed them from his clothing, and then all of them yelped as the carpet was pulled from underneath them, sending them flat on their backs.
"Only my rear is bruised." Gourry said as he stood up.
"And my pride." Lina added as she rubbed her butt, "I think this means we're getting warmer."
The sounds of moans started to emanate from the rooms, and Lina yelled, "Do you expect this to scare us away!?"
"This way!" Amelia said as she pointed at a door to the right.
The group started to run towards it, but it was locked. "Gourry." Lina said.
Gourry was about to bring his sword down when Amelia said, "Stop!"
"Why?"
"We don't want to damage the door we will use to contain them in!" She explained, "The portal is in here!"
A bloodcurdling wailing sound rang through the hallways as the Sad Lady, glowing green and her face contorted in rage, pushed herself through the door. Gourry tried to slice at her with the sword, but she vanished. Meanwhile, Amelia started chanting.
Zelgadis pulled Amelia back just as a painting flew off the wall and towards her and shattered against the opposite wall instead. Gourry and Zel were soon busy slicing flying objects with their swords as Amelia continued chanting what turned out to be a very long spell. Lina readied her arms for spell casting, but was stopped as a different scene filled her vision, one of a quaint old town with small, round houses built of sticks. The Sad Lady, wearing an undyed woolen dressed, stared out into the horizon, her arms protectively around two muddy children as she saw a procession of soldiers riding horses approaching them bearing the flag of Zeferia. Lina squinted as she looked at the royal crest. It had been a long time since she'd studied Zeferian history, but she was fairly sure it was the crest of Queen Carliena, the woman who had consolidated the warring tribes into the country that Zeferia now was.
As abruptly as it started, the vision ended. Lina blinked as she saw a field of debris headed her way, but Gourry jumped in front of her and sliced it to bits. "Get out!" The Sad Lady screamed, the sound reverberating through the house menacingly as it shook as though caught in an earthquake.
Amelia reached into her robe and grabbed a fistful of something that looked like dirt and threw it into the room, "Contain!"
Everyone stood frozen to the spot as the shaking and the wind ceased, and gradually the temperature rose to a more comfortable level. Amelia smiled. "Done."
Lina surveyed the hallway, which looked decimated, and observed, "Oh, I am so glad I have a maid to clean this up! Anyway, anyone hungry?"
"Yeah." They said as they started walking to the kitchen.
"Hey Lina, any idea what that room was used for?" Gourry asked.
"No. I'll check it out at daybreak. If I had to guess, given the condition of the rest of that wing, nothing much. Too many strange occurrences likely scared people away from it." Lina replied.
"So I guess you just won't be using that room." Zelgadis commented, and Lina laughed maliciously. "What's so funny?"
"Are you crazy?" Lina replied, "I have big plans for that room!"
"Huh?" Amelia said.
"Well this is supposed to be a school to teach people to slay mazoku, right." Lina said as she walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard where the cook said she had left some sandwiches for them.
"Yeah." Amelia replied as Lina set them on a counter and grabbed one.
"Well, what better way to see if someone is brave enough to hold it together against Shabranigdu than by locking them in that room with the Sad Lady for a night?" Lina explained as she took a bite out of her sandwich.
"What!?" the others said.
"That's cruel!" Gourry observed as he shook his head.
Lina cackled ominously as she said as she took a drink of milk, "Oh, but I have big plans for that room! This will be wonderful!"
"So I guess you're not going to want me to close that portal." Amelia said as she grabbed her own sandwich.
"There's no rush." Lina said, "I'm going to have to sort out the brave from the weak somehow. And better here than on the battlefield."
AN: I did not plan for this to happen, but it worked out well, as I managed to finish this chapter during the Halloween season! Once again, that was not planned. I just desperately wanted to finish another fic I was writing, and then for the first time since having kids I've reconnected with my social group, so I've been unusually busy. Hope you enjoyed, or at least indulged in my love of ghost stories, and I've got a good start on how Lina and Gourry's wedding plans hit a kink in the next chapter when they meet a much scarier foe than the Sad Lady and Luna combined! Happy Halloween!