Chapter Five :
Another ghost, another riddle
So, we have to look for the Comtesse Danaria, and see if she can help us. Sure, that sounds simple enough, but how in the world do you contact the ghost of nobility, when you don't know the etiquette?
For some odd reason, the poem in my pocket is driving me nuts, as if I missed something because I haven't read it. I take it out, curious, and unfold it. In dark, bold print, the words stare up at me.
"Walk for me, run for me,
Travel however you can.
Come for me, follow me,
My soul's in demand."
"What's that?" Davis and Tai are looking over my shoulder. I shrug, and hold it out to the redhead first. He looks it over, then passes it to Tai. When it makes it back into my hands, they're both looking at me in confusion.
"It's the paper I just got, back there." I take out the first one, and compare the two. The same handwriting, the same style of rhythm and rhyming. "It's another piece of the one Ken and I found." Davis looks up at me oddly, and I realize that I spoke his name softly, gently. I look away, unable to meet the suspicion in his dark eyes.
Yes, Davis, I love your boyfriend. Deal with it. "We need to keep going." Tai taps my shoulder gently, and I look at him. His eyes are sympathetic, but determined to go on.
"You're right." I put the paper away, next to the metal disk, and start along the hallway again. I'm curious, really. How is another dead woman supposed to help us find Ken? What could she know that the other two didn't? Our footsteps echo on the bare, wooden floor.
After several minutes, we come across a thick door, much like the one to the other tower. I look at Tai and Davis, who shrug helplessly, then tug on the door handle. It opens smoothly, revealing the dark recesses of an unlit tower. Not only am I expected to go onto a ledge sixty feet from the ground, but now I'm expected to do it in the dark. Like this wasn't hard enough before.
We step into the tower, aware that the stairs could be anywhere. I search quickly for the handrail, and grip it tightly. The doorway looks like some mystical gate, leading back into the sane world. Something clicks, and a small flames shoots up to my left. Tai's holding a cigarette lighter aloft, it's small light illuminating the immediate vicinity.
"Look." Davis is pointing at the wall opposite us, and I turn, expecting to see another crack with a poem in it. Instead, the entire wall is taken up with writing, spreading across in thinly scrawled letters. "You read it, Matt."
"What happens,
When you give up gold:
Making the chance
To never grow old?
"Would it cause a problem
To refuse to die;
Or teaching an animal
Without wings to fly?"
"That's pretty." Davis gazes at the words, as if mesmerized. "I wonder who wrote that."
"I did." He looks back at the door, and we see a woman standing there, a gown draped over her figure like a nineteenth century queen. "It was the last thing I wrote. I'm glad that you like it."
"Comtesse Danaria." I bow slightly. It's the only thing I can remember hearing about royal courts. Everyone bows in respect, much like they do in Japan. I see a smile spread across her lightly tanned features, her blue eyes crinkling in mirth.
"Thank you, kind sir." Her blonde hair is swept upon her head, ringlets hanging down. She's a contrast to the dark Ms. Pendragon, and it's hard to remember that she's a ghost. "How may I help you three?"
We look at each other, uncertain where to start. We want Ken. We need to save him. We don't know how. Why was he taken, and how do we get him back? Is he still okay? Or has something really bad happened to him? She looks at Tai, then at me.
"Why do you want him back?" Um, well...he's Ken? She shakes her head gently, as if trying to garner the patience to deal with a child. "What reason do you have to go forward? Why is he important to you? What do you gain?"
I look at Davis, and say the first thing that pops into my head. "He's our friend, and Davis' boyfriend. It wouldn't be right for any of us to leave him." I can see Tai turn to stare at Davis, who is staring at me in turn. I shrug sheepishly, and admit that he had told me. "He thought I knew."
The Comtesse is watching this all, very interested. She turns to Davis. "For this boy, what would you do? You would fight?" Davis nods. "You would risk your life?" He nods again. "But, he is still only your friend. Nothing more, unlike the blonde here would like to think, despite what your Ken said himself. You are only friends." He nods again, looking at me guiltily.
"I was hoping to make TK jealous." I look at him, his dark eyes embarrassed. Probably because he just admitted to liking my little brother. What else could get screwed up. The guy I like lied about dating another guy, one that wants to go out with my brother, who thinks it would be great if Ken and I got together. Yeah. Right.
"For love you would do many things. But you cannot beat the demon's game, simply because this Ken is only a friend. One who loves him must save him, and you are not the one. I'm sorry, but until true love comes calling, I cannot help you." She starts to fade away, growing transparent as she crosses back across the threshold into the hallway.
Tai looks at me, and nudges my arm. I look at him helplessly for a moment, then hear Davis call out. "Wait! If someone here loves him, and I mean really loves him." He glares at me pointedly. "Then you can help, right? That doesn't necessarily mean that a person would have to admit to it, right? And even if neither of us truly care for him like that, you can tell us. If we screw up, or fail, it won't be your fault. Just pass the message on to us. If we fail, then it's our fault, right?" He's looking at her eagerly, his dark eyes pleading, his hands gripped together in front of him.
She floats forward again, her dress skimming the floor without disturbing the dust. With narrowed eyes, she glances over each of us, and finally settles on Davis. "That would be okay, I think. Be warned. Only one whose love is strong for this boy will win. If there is a doubt in the heart, failure is imminent."
"How, then?" I look at her, cold blue against calculating. She smiles slightly, her eyes crinkling in the corner. In her eyes, I can see the knowledge that I haven't admitted vocally. She knows how I feel, but doubts my strength. I remember what I said to Lisa when we first arrived, about her ancestor's love not being strong enough.
"By fulfilling the promise that Martin failed to complete. A vow for a vow/a lifetime of love/Forsaken in trial/but protected above. When the demon kidnapped the bride, an angel came, and offered a way out should the groom fail. Centuries away from the life that they knew, another couple would be chosen to correct their mistakes. She asked for more than he was strong enough to handle. But he offered more than she thought he could give. They failed each other, despite what the legend says."
"So, she asked for a lot, and when she realized that he would actually have to live up to his vows, lost faith in him?" Tai's frowning at her, and I'm glad that I'm not the one that asked. She looks at him, her eyes a mirror to the sadness in Lisa's.
"Love is only as strong as the people who give and receive it. If they are weak, the bond they share will break. Only those who have faith can save each other."
"There really is no guarantee that the person who loves Ken will be able to win this, is there? It's really only a chance, that they could succeed, isn't it?" I want her to deny it, but the look in her eyes has become sad again, and we both know I spoke the truth. "They'd not only be taking the chance that they loved him enough, but that he loved them, as well." She nods, and I look at Tai.
He shakes his head, and looks away. I don't risk a glance at Davis. It's bad enough that I'm going to fail. I don't need to see the doom in his eyes as well. I look back at the Comtesse, and see Lisa behind her.
"What do I have to do?"