Daphne: "I am going to make this short, because I have something important
to do…"
Sakura: Calling from downstairs "Daphne, are you ready yet? Tomoyo and Eriol are expecting us in half an hour!
Daphne: "Coming mom! Ok, to make this quick, CCS does not belong to me, it belongs to Clamp! I really hope that you like this chapter and that you will R+R!!!!!! I look around to make sure that I am not missing anything *mumbles* "I know that there was something…Oh yah! KERO!"
Kero: "What?"
Daphne: "Would you please write up the story today? I really have to go…"
Syaoran: "Daphne! Get a move on!"
Daphne: I blow a kiss to Kero and then run out of the room "Coming!"
Kero: Makes sure that Daphne is really gone "He, he! She should know better than to leave me alone with her stories! Anyway, please enjoy the story!
~*~*~*~
Palace of the Wolves
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 5.
"We're going to do *WHAT*?!" Touya cried, looking at the group as if they were crazy. Nora, knowing that they were loosing the battle, got an idea. She shoved Meiling forward.
"Meiling, why don't you tell him?" Nora asked slyly. Everyone quickly stifled their giggles.
"I…um, we…are going to the third floor…to search for ghosts." Meiling stuttered. His face softened when the nervous girl spoke, but then his gaze rested on a pale Sakura.
"You shouldn't put Sakura through this, Gaki! She is terrified of ghosts!" He argued weakly, eyeing Meiling.
"Touya, are you afraid?" Sakura asked. Touya looked at her in astonishment.
"Of course I'm not!" He answered. Sakura smiled shakily.
"Then I'm not either. Come on." She said, still shaking a little. Syaoran came up beside her and took her hand. Nora looked around at the group and then nodded.
"Good. Now, we are going to split up into four groups. Tomoyo and Eriol, you two will go to the East Wing and search the right-hand side rooms. Touya and Meiling will search the left-hand side. Here are your candles, since we don't have electricity up there." Nora handed Touya and Eriol two tall candelabras, with candles all ready in them. Then she handed them each a set of matches.
"Sakura, Syaoran, Naoko and I will search the West Wing. We will meet you back in the library in an hour. I you see anything, send one of your group for the others. Any questions?" Nora asked, looking around. Everybody shook their heads, and then went to their assigned posts.
"Sakura and I will check the rooms to the left of the hall, and you two check the rooms on the right. If you see anything, one of us will stay, while the other three go and find the others." Syaoran instructed, taking a lit candelabra in one hand, and Sakura's hand in his other. Nora and Naoko nodded an affirmative, and then started their search.
~*~*~*~
*Touya/Meiling's POV*
"Do you have any idea where we are?" Meiling asked, looking around the large, dusty room. Touya shook his head and looked down at his partner.
"Wait! I see something! How cute! It is one of Syaoran's old toy cars!" Meiling said, picking up the tiny car. Touya grinned.
"I had no idea the gaki played with cars!" He chuckled.
"He used to. He must have left this here during one of his stays and then forgotten about it. We should take it back to him." Meiling said, starting to leave the room.
"Wait! We have to search every room! And I for one do not want to see the gaki anytime before I have to. You are much better company than him!" Touya stated, his cheeks growing a bit red. Meiling turned red, but she didn't argue. She wanted to spend some quality time searching for clues, and maybe a little something else. (a/n: Duh! She wants to search *Touya!* He, he! I'm evil, I know!)
~*~*~*~
*Eriol/Tomoyo POV*
"They have been in that one room an awful long time, don't you think?" Eriol asked Tomoyo, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Tomoyo grinned.
"And I caught it all on tape!" She whispered, holding out her video-camera. Eriol sweat dropped and the turned away from the door where they had been spying on Touya and Meiling.
"I think that we had better start our search, or they will get suspicious." He whispered back, opening the door of the first room. It was large, dusty and empty. It had large windows at one end of it, which were covered with dusty old curtains. Tomoyo went over to one of them and pushed it open.
"*Acho!* "Oh, look at the view, Eriol!" She cried, looking out the window. This window overlooked the courtyard and was perfectly situated to look straight into the windows of the West wing.
"I wonder what is going on over there." He mussed. Tomoyo shrugged her shoulders. Then they both caught sight of a light entering a room at the end of the wing. It stayed there for quite a while, not doing anything, but Eriol sensed that one of the people in the room had left.
"That would be Nora and Naoko. I wonder how it is going for them." He murmured, his eyes searching for some answers, but getting none.
"Eriol, Tomoyo! Touya, Meiling! Hurry! Nora's found something!" Came three excited voices.
~*~*~*~
*Sakura/Syaoran POV*
"Hoe! Syaoran, this is scary!" Sakura whimpered, her eyes roaming around the shadows of the room they were in. Syaoran smiled softly, and pulled Sakura into a tight hug.
"Don't worry, my Ying-fa. I won't let anything hurt you.
"What does Ying-fa mean?" Sakura asked, here eyes searching his. A blush rose to his cheeks.
"It means 'Cherry Blossom' in Chinese." He answered. Sakura nodded and then gave a sigh.
"We had better hurry. I want to get this done as soon as possible!" She whispered, reluctantly tearing herself from his arms and taking the candelabra. He smiled at her, and then they started to leave the room.
"Sakura! Syaoran! Wait! Ellanora sensed something and she wants me to gather everyone and bring them to the room! Hurry! I think that it is important!" Naoko whisper/cried, fear etching itself in her features. Syaoran and Sakura could tell that something was wrong, because Naoko was rarely ever frightened. They gave quick nods, and then the three of them hurried off to find the other four.
~*~*~*~
*Ellanora/Naoko POV*
"Let's start at the end of the hallway, instead of the start. That way, we can work ourselves back." Naoko suggested. Nora nodded and they made their way to the end of the hall. Nora reached for the door handle, but the door flew open on its own, almost as if someone had opened it from the inside. Immediately, a blast of icy cold air hit the girls. The air smelled musty and was full of dust. Nora and Naoko made their way into the room, both sneezing and choking for breath. When they finally regained their sight, they found themselves in a well furnished room, full of dusty furniture and toys.
"This looks like an old playroom." Nora whispered, cautiously entering the room.
"Maybe these are Syaoran's things?" Naoko asked hopefully. Nora shook her head.
"I don't think so…these toys look much too old. Besides…I don't think that Syaoran played with many home-made things." Nora answered, looking nervous. Naoko shivered.
"I see what you mean. These things seem to be home made…" She trailed off, looking around the room. A sudden blast of cold air wrenched the dusty old curtains out of place and blew them about. Naoko gave a small shriek, as the temperature in the room plummeted.
"Naoko, go get the others. Hurry." Nora commanded calmly. Naoko gave a terrified nod and ran out of the room. As soon as she was gone, the room returned to normal.
~*~*~*~
*Normal POV*
Nora looked around the now normal room, and gave a sigh.
"Why do I get the feeling that we've been tricked." She groaned. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. With a gasp of fear, she turned, only to find herself staring into a face that she didn't recognize.
"Boo." It said. Ellanora stifled a shriek with her hand, and dropped weakly into a chair behind her; only to land on something soft.
"This is interesting!" The thing whispered, and Nora felt arms twine around her waist. She gave a desperate moan, but it caught in her throat. Right there in front of her stood one white, see-through boy, and she was sitting in the lap of another!
"Now, Landon!" The one holding Nora commanded. The one that had scared her turned lazily and waved his hand at the door, which slammed shut and locked. Nora gave a terrified gasp, but could not move. The boy holding her, grinned. He looked to be about fifteen years old.
"I see that we have our first victim!" He chuckled darkly. With one mighty tug, Nora pulled out of his grasp, only to fall into the arms of the other boy, who was about twelve.
"Tryon! You're frightening her, you numb-skull!" The boy gently helped Nora regain her balance and then glared at his companion in the chair.
"Who…who are you?" Nora whispered, her voice unable to go any higher.
"Why, we are the masters of this house!" The sitting boy stated, looking proud.
"You mean, we used to be, before they moved in!" The standing one reminded his friend. "I am Landon, and that annoying donkey-brain over there is my older brother, Tryon." He explained. The boy in the chair simply smirked.
"You're not ghosts, my friends and I know that already…but what are you? And how can you be solid one minute, and air the next?" Nora asked, her fear of these brothers ebbing-off quickly.
"That, madam, is something that even we don't know. We do know that we are somewhere between ghosts and humans, though." The sitting one said. Nora glared at him.
"If I didn't know better, I would think that you were a poltergeist!" She snapped, making the younger brother, Landon, laugh.
"Perhaps he is, but I'm not. I hate scaring people." Landon said.
"Baby!" Tryon complained, sulking. If looks could kill, he would have been more than dead, with both his brother's and Nora's glares combined.
"Then that dream we all had! It was real! That really happened to you…you have a lot of explaining to do." She hissed, poking Tryon in the chest. He gave a dark chuckle.
"All will be revealed to you in due time. But for now, you must keep your mouth shut!" He said, standing up and coming at her threateningly. Nora gave a soft scream, but instead of backing away, she rushed towards him and punched him in the stomach.
"Ohfffff!" He groaned, leaning over and holding the bruised area.
"Try to touch me again, and it will be in a *lower* place next time!" She hissed. Landon laughed.
"You are lucky you caught him in his solid stage. If he had been in his other, you would have gone right through him!" The younger boy chuckled. Nora grinned.
"That will teach him to threaten me!" She crowed. Suddenly, there came a pounding at the door.
"Nora?! Nora answer me! Are you all right?" Came Syaoran's panicky voice. Nora looked at the two brothers and nodded.
"I will not tell anyone, but you have to promise that you will come and tell me what is going on, later tonight!" She whispered, going over to the door.
"Fine. We will meet you in your room at twelve 'o' clock tonight." Landon confirmed.
"Don't bring anyone else, and make sure that you are decently dressed when we come." Tryon said, in a mocking voice. Nora made a face at him.
"I will make sure to be wearing only my 'Victoria's Secret' under-wear! Is that formal enough for you?" She hissed. Tryon blushed and glared at her, while Landon laughed. Then with a small rush of wind, the brother's disappeared.
"Nora?! NORA!!!!" Came a chorus of voices. Nora gave a deep sigh, and then pretended to struggle with the door-handle.
"Syaoran? Sakura? Naoko? Is that you?! I can't get out! A gust of wind blew the door shut, and it locked on me! There's no key!" Nora cried, stating half the truth. There was no key, and a gust of wind had blown the door shut.
"Hold on! I'll use the 'Lock Card'!" Came Sakura's voice. There was a flash of light from the other side of the door, and almost immediately, the door crashed open. A small gust of wind exited the room, and Nora stumbled outside into her brother's waiting arms.
Eriol looked up, aware that there was more to the story than Nora had been telling them. Syaoran and Sakura also seemed to be aware, but they were more worried about whether or not Ellanora was all right.
"What happened in there?" He questioned, knowing that no one else would. Something flashed in her eyes, but it disappeared just as fast.
"Nothing. I just got locked in and got really scared." She said, burying her head in Syaoran's shoulder. Eriol was not convinced, but said nothing.
"Let's go back downstairs. I think that we have had enough adventure for one day." Touya said, leading the group down the stairs. Nora looked back one last time, and thought she saw Landon and Tryon, but when she looked again, there was nothing there.
'I will have a lot of explaining to do, if this ever gets out!' She thought.
"Naoko, Touya, I think that with all that has happened, it is best if you move into this Wing. Naoko, your room is next to Nora's, and Touya, your room will be the first room to the left, next to Meiling's. Now, if you are all settled, I will leave to alone for the evening!" Yelan said, walking away from the small group to people.
"Come on, Naoko! Sakura, Tomoyo, Meiling, let's show Naoko her new room!" Nora cried, grabbing Naoko's hand and pulling her into the bedroom. The other three girls followed, while the two boys showed Touya his room. When the tours were through, they decided to go to bed.
"Good night, everyone!" Nora cried, hugging her brother and running into her room. Everyone stared after her in shock.
"She seems a little…eager, to get to bed, don't you think?" Eriol asked suspiciously. He had been trying to read Nora's mind all day, but something was blocking him out, keeping him from doing it. He had mentioned this to the others, and they all agreed to keep an eye on Nora for a while.
"Something happened in that room, this afternoon, that she is not telling us about." Eriol commented. "Someone should keep an eye on her tonight, to make sure that nothing is wrong. Naoko, would you do the honors?" He asked, looking at the girl. Naoko nodded her head, and then smiled nervously.
"I will keep the door between our room cracked open. I am a really light sleeper, so I should wake up to any noises." She commented, going into her room. The others then said their 'good nights' and went to bed.
~*~*~*~
*Naoko's POV*
At about five minutes after midnight, I woke up with a start. I strained my ears and heard voices coming from Ellanora's room. At first I thought that it was just Tomoyo or Sakura, or Meiling in her room, but then I realized that the other two voices were male.
"Bingo!" I whispered, and crept out of bed. I tip-toed over to the door separating my room from Nora's and put my ear up to the crack that I had left earlier that evening. I still couldn't hear anything, because they seemed to be taking extra precautions *not* to be heard. Giving a sigh of defeat, I peeked through the crack.
What I saw there in her room made me stifle a scream and clutch to the doorway in horror. Nora was sitting on her bed, calmly as can be, talking to someone in a chair beside the bed. That someone was the thing that made me scream. It was a ghost! Or…what looked like a ghost. It was see through, like a ghost, but there was something different about it at the same time. And Nora seemed quite comfortable talking with it…Wait! Hadn't I heard *three* voices? Where was the third person?
"Got ya!"
~*~*~*~
*Normal POV*
Nora glanced nervously at her clock, sighed, and laid back against her pillows. It was almost midnight, and still there was no sign of the brothers. She had set up two chairs beside her bed for them, because frankly, she didn't want that Tryon kid to sit on her precious bed.
"Come on! I'm kind of tired, here!" She whined, leaning forward and throwing up her hands. With a sigh of defeat, she started to lean back again, only to hit something soft and warm for the second time that day.
"Looking for me?" Came Tryon's obnoxious voice. Nora groaned and turned to look him in the eyes.
"Isn't one punch in the stomach enough for you?" She hissed, pulling out of his grasp. He gave one of his dark chuckles, got off the bed, and plopped down in the only unoccupied chair. Landon was already sitting in the other one. He shot his brother a disgusted look, and then turned back to Ellanora.
"Now, you know our names, but we don't know yours. I mean, we have heard two versions. There is Ellie, and Nora, but what is your full name?" Landon asked softly. Nora grinned.
"It is Ellanora. But 'Nora' is a whole lot shorter, and I like it better than 'Ellie'." She stated. Tryon snorted.
"It sounds like something that you would name your cow or something!" He taunted. Before he could even blink, Nora fulfilled her threat from earlier that day. Tryon fell out of the chair, holding his privet, and Landon had to bury his head in the chair-arm, so his laughter could not be heard. Nora grinned happily, and quietly rubbed her hands together.
"I warned you, but noooo! You just had to go and get me mad. I will warn you ahead of time, next time you do that, you will be sore all over!" She threatened. Tryon shot her a deathly glare, but quickly moved into the shadows near the far wall. Nora gave a content sigh.
"Now I know where to go if he is bullying me!" Landon chuckled. Nora grinned.
"Even through I haven't lived in China for long, I have trained in Martial Arts most of my life. It was mother's wish, even though no one knew about me." Nora explained. Landon nodded, and began to speak, but he was interrupted by Tryon.
"Got ya!" Tryon hissed, grabbing someone.
"Agh!" Came a strangled scream. Nora turned pale as she recognized it. Naoko!
"I thought that you weren't going to tell anyone!" Tryon hissed, glaring daggers at Nora. Nora glared right back.
"I didn't!" She whispered, tugging her friend from Tryon's clutches and leading Naoko over to the bed.
"Nora…what is happening? Who…what are they?" Naoko asked, eyeing the brothers suspiciously. Tryon simply glared at her, and Landon stared at her, speechless.
"What were you doing, Naoko! I thought I told you that everything was fine!" Nora whispered. Naoko frowned at her.
"You said that, but no one believed you, and for good reason!" Naoko said, looking pointedly at the brothers. "They asked me to keep an eye on you, to make sure that you were really all right. Unfortunately, I don't really know exactly what to tell them. This is kind of bizarre." Naoko commented. Nora sighed.
"She was going to find out eventually. Why not now?" Landon asked, finally getting his voice back. Naoko glanced at the boy, and looked surprised.
"So it is true! Ghosts really are see-through and kind of white looking." She said in an awed voice.
"We are not ghosts! We are…" Tryon started to snap, but then he faltered, not really able to say what he was. Nora grinned slyly.
"Tryon is the one that I have dubbed 'Poltergeist', and Landon is something in-between a ghost and a human. It is really hard to tell what they are." She said. Tryon glared at her.
"You are going to pay for that remark!" He hissed. Nora grinned at him.
"What are you going to do? Glare me to death?" She countered. Landon held up a hand.
"Enough! Tryon, I think that it is about time we explained to these poor girls just how we came to be here. If you haven't forgotten, we do need their help." The younger boy said, sitting back down in his chair. Tryon mumbled something about 'mental' and 'females', but sat down in his chair, still glaring at Nora.
"A long time ago…" Landon started.
~*~*~*~
D.L:
Kero: "He, he! Cliffhanger! And I am not even going to tell you if the others find out!" Gives an evil chuckle *mumbles* "And Daphne was going to tell everything in this chapter! Oh, well! Her mistake is my next chapter!" Looks back at the screen and sees that it is still on "Anyway! I hope that you enjoyed my version of the story. I left myself out because I am too important to be in this chapter. It was too girlie!"
Tryon: His head pops out of the screen and he gives an evil laugh "You mean that you were to scared of me, to show your puny face!"
Kero: *Sweat drop* He pushes Tryon's head back into the story "Sorry about that! Anyway, please R+R for me!"
Daphne: I come into the room and see Kero at the computer "Kero, I'm home!"
Kero: "Yah, yah!" Quickly turns off the computer.
Sakura: Calling from downstairs "Daphne, are you ready yet? Tomoyo and Eriol are expecting us in half an hour!
Daphne: "Coming mom! Ok, to make this quick, CCS does not belong to me, it belongs to Clamp! I really hope that you like this chapter and that you will R+R!!!!!! I look around to make sure that I am not missing anything *mumbles* "I know that there was something…Oh yah! KERO!"
Kero: "What?"
Daphne: "Would you please write up the story today? I really have to go…"
Syaoran: "Daphne! Get a move on!"
Daphne: I blow a kiss to Kero and then run out of the room "Coming!"
Kero: Makes sure that Daphne is really gone "He, he! She should know better than to leave me alone with her stories! Anyway, please enjoy the story!
~*~*~*~
Palace of the Wolves
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 5.
"We're going to do *WHAT*?!" Touya cried, looking at the group as if they were crazy. Nora, knowing that they were loosing the battle, got an idea. She shoved Meiling forward.
"Meiling, why don't you tell him?" Nora asked slyly. Everyone quickly stifled their giggles.
"I…um, we…are going to the third floor…to search for ghosts." Meiling stuttered. His face softened when the nervous girl spoke, but then his gaze rested on a pale Sakura.
"You shouldn't put Sakura through this, Gaki! She is terrified of ghosts!" He argued weakly, eyeing Meiling.
"Touya, are you afraid?" Sakura asked. Touya looked at her in astonishment.
"Of course I'm not!" He answered. Sakura smiled shakily.
"Then I'm not either. Come on." She said, still shaking a little. Syaoran came up beside her and took her hand. Nora looked around at the group and then nodded.
"Good. Now, we are going to split up into four groups. Tomoyo and Eriol, you two will go to the East Wing and search the right-hand side rooms. Touya and Meiling will search the left-hand side. Here are your candles, since we don't have electricity up there." Nora handed Touya and Eriol two tall candelabras, with candles all ready in them. Then she handed them each a set of matches.
"Sakura, Syaoran, Naoko and I will search the West Wing. We will meet you back in the library in an hour. I you see anything, send one of your group for the others. Any questions?" Nora asked, looking around. Everybody shook their heads, and then went to their assigned posts.
"Sakura and I will check the rooms to the left of the hall, and you two check the rooms on the right. If you see anything, one of us will stay, while the other three go and find the others." Syaoran instructed, taking a lit candelabra in one hand, and Sakura's hand in his other. Nora and Naoko nodded an affirmative, and then started their search.
~*~*~*~
*Touya/Meiling's POV*
"Do you have any idea where we are?" Meiling asked, looking around the large, dusty room. Touya shook his head and looked down at his partner.
"Wait! I see something! How cute! It is one of Syaoran's old toy cars!" Meiling said, picking up the tiny car. Touya grinned.
"I had no idea the gaki played with cars!" He chuckled.
"He used to. He must have left this here during one of his stays and then forgotten about it. We should take it back to him." Meiling said, starting to leave the room.
"Wait! We have to search every room! And I for one do not want to see the gaki anytime before I have to. You are much better company than him!" Touya stated, his cheeks growing a bit red. Meiling turned red, but she didn't argue. She wanted to spend some quality time searching for clues, and maybe a little something else. (a/n: Duh! She wants to search *Touya!* He, he! I'm evil, I know!)
~*~*~*~
*Eriol/Tomoyo POV*
"They have been in that one room an awful long time, don't you think?" Eriol asked Tomoyo, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Tomoyo grinned.
"And I caught it all on tape!" She whispered, holding out her video-camera. Eriol sweat dropped and the turned away from the door where they had been spying on Touya and Meiling.
"I think that we had better start our search, or they will get suspicious." He whispered back, opening the door of the first room. It was large, dusty and empty. It had large windows at one end of it, which were covered with dusty old curtains. Tomoyo went over to one of them and pushed it open.
"*Acho!* "Oh, look at the view, Eriol!" She cried, looking out the window. This window overlooked the courtyard and was perfectly situated to look straight into the windows of the West wing.
"I wonder what is going on over there." He mussed. Tomoyo shrugged her shoulders. Then they both caught sight of a light entering a room at the end of the wing. It stayed there for quite a while, not doing anything, but Eriol sensed that one of the people in the room had left.
"That would be Nora and Naoko. I wonder how it is going for them." He murmured, his eyes searching for some answers, but getting none.
"Eriol, Tomoyo! Touya, Meiling! Hurry! Nora's found something!" Came three excited voices.
~*~*~*~
*Sakura/Syaoran POV*
"Hoe! Syaoran, this is scary!" Sakura whimpered, her eyes roaming around the shadows of the room they were in. Syaoran smiled softly, and pulled Sakura into a tight hug.
"Don't worry, my Ying-fa. I won't let anything hurt you.
"What does Ying-fa mean?" Sakura asked, here eyes searching his. A blush rose to his cheeks.
"It means 'Cherry Blossom' in Chinese." He answered. Sakura nodded and then gave a sigh.
"We had better hurry. I want to get this done as soon as possible!" She whispered, reluctantly tearing herself from his arms and taking the candelabra. He smiled at her, and then they started to leave the room.
"Sakura! Syaoran! Wait! Ellanora sensed something and she wants me to gather everyone and bring them to the room! Hurry! I think that it is important!" Naoko whisper/cried, fear etching itself in her features. Syaoran and Sakura could tell that something was wrong, because Naoko was rarely ever frightened. They gave quick nods, and then the three of them hurried off to find the other four.
~*~*~*~
*Ellanora/Naoko POV*
"Let's start at the end of the hallway, instead of the start. That way, we can work ourselves back." Naoko suggested. Nora nodded and they made their way to the end of the hall. Nora reached for the door handle, but the door flew open on its own, almost as if someone had opened it from the inside. Immediately, a blast of icy cold air hit the girls. The air smelled musty and was full of dust. Nora and Naoko made their way into the room, both sneezing and choking for breath. When they finally regained their sight, they found themselves in a well furnished room, full of dusty furniture and toys.
"This looks like an old playroom." Nora whispered, cautiously entering the room.
"Maybe these are Syaoran's things?" Naoko asked hopefully. Nora shook her head.
"I don't think so…these toys look much too old. Besides…I don't think that Syaoran played with many home-made things." Nora answered, looking nervous. Naoko shivered.
"I see what you mean. These things seem to be home made…" She trailed off, looking around the room. A sudden blast of cold air wrenched the dusty old curtains out of place and blew them about. Naoko gave a small shriek, as the temperature in the room plummeted.
"Naoko, go get the others. Hurry." Nora commanded calmly. Naoko gave a terrified nod and ran out of the room. As soon as she was gone, the room returned to normal.
~*~*~*~
*Normal POV*
Nora looked around the now normal room, and gave a sigh.
"Why do I get the feeling that we've been tricked." She groaned. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. With a gasp of fear, she turned, only to find herself staring into a face that she didn't recognize.
"Boo." It said. Ellanora stifled a shriek with her hand, and dropped weakly into a chair behind her; only to land on something soft.
"This is interesting!" The thing whispered, and Nora felt arms twine around her waist. She gave a desperate moan, but it caught in her throat. Right there in front of her stood one white, see-through boy, and she was sitting in the lap of another!
"Now, Landon!" The one holding Nora commanded. The one that had scared her turned lazily and waved his hand at the door, which slammed shut and locked. Nora gave a terrified gasp, but could not move. The boy holding her, grinned. He looked to be about fifteen years old.
"I see that we have our first victim!" He chuckled darkly. With one mighty tug, Nora pulled out of his grasp, only to fall into the arms of the other boy, who was about twelve.
"Tryon! You're frightening her, you numb-skull!" The boy gently helped Nora regain her balance and then glared at his companion in the chair.
"Who…who are you?" Nora whispered, her voice unable to go any higher.
"Why, we are the masters of this house!" The sitting boy stated, looking proud.
"You mean, we used to be, before they moved in!" The standing one reminded his friend. "I am Landon, and that annoying donkey-brain over there is my older brother, Tryon." He explained. The boy in the chair simply smirked.
"You're not ghosts, my friends and I know that already…but what are you? And how can you be solid one minute, and air the next?" Nora asked, her fear of these brothers ebbing-off quickly.
"That, madam, is something that even we don't know. We do know that we are somewhere between ghosts and humans, though." The sitting one said. Nora glared at him.
"If I didn't know better, I would think that you were a poltergeist!" She snapped, making the younger brother, Landon, laugh.
"Perhaps he is, but I'm not. I hate scaring people." Landon said.
"Baby!" Tryon complained, sulking. If looks could kill, he would have been more than dead, with both his brother's and Nora's glares combined.
"Then that dream we all had! It was real! That really happened to you…you have a lot of explaining to do." She hissed, poking Tryon in the chest. He gave a dark chuckle.
"All will be revealed to you in due time. But for now, you must keep your mouth shut!" He said, standing up and coming at her threateningly. Nora gave a soft scream, but instead of backing away, she rushed towards him and punched him in the stomach.
"Ohfffff!" He groaned, leaning over and holding the bruised area.
"Try to touch me again, and it will be in a *lower* place next time!" She hissed. Landon laughed.
"You are lucky you caught him in his solid stage. If he had been in his other, you would have gone right through him!" The younger boy chuckled. Nora grinned.
"That will teach him to threaten me!" She crowed. Suddenly, there came a pounding at the door.
"Nora?! Nora answer me! Are you all right?" Came Syaoran's panicky voice. Nora looked at the two brothers and nodded.
"I will not tell anyone, but you have to promise that you will come and tell me what is going on, later tonight!" She whispered, going over to the door.
"Fine. We will meet you in your room at twelve 'o' clock tonight." Landon confirmed.
"Don't bring anyone else, and make sure that you are decently dressed when we come." Tryon said, in a mocking voice. Nora made a face at him.
"I will make sure to be wearing only my 'Victoria's Secret' under-wear! Is that formal enough for you?" She hissed. Tryon blushed and glared at her, while Landon laughed. Then with a small rush of wind, the brother's disappeared.
"Nora?! NORA!!!!" Came a chorus of voices. Nora gave a deep sigh, and then pretended to struggle with the door-handle.
"Syaoran? Sakura? Naoko? Is that you?! I can't get out! A gust of wind blew the door shut, and it locked on me! There's no key!" Nora cried, stating half the truth. There was no key, and a gust of wind had blown the door shut.
"Hold on! I'll use the 'Lock Card'!" Came Sakura's voice. There was a flash of light from the other side of the door, and almost immediately, the door crashed open. A small gust of wind exited the room, and Nora stumbled outside into her brother's waiting arms.
Eriol looked up, aware that there was more to the story than Nora had been telling them. Syaoran and Sakura also seemed to be aware, but they were more worried about whether or not Ellanora was all right.
"What happened in there?" He questioned, knowing that no one else would. Something flashed in her eyes, but it disappeared just as fast.
"Nothing. I just got locked in and got really scared." She said, burying her head in Syaoran's shoulder. Eriol was not convinced, but said nothing.
"Let's go back downstairs. I think that we have had enough adventure for one day." Touya said, leading the group down the stairs. Nora looked back one last time, and thought she saw Landon and Tryon, but when she looked again, there was nothing there.
'I will have a lot of explaining to do, if this ever gets out!' She thought.
"Naoko, Touya, I think that with all that has happened, it is best if you move into this Wing. Naoko, your room is next to Nora's, and Touya, your room will be the first room to the left, next to Meiling's. Now, if you are all settled, I will leave to alone for the evening!" Yelan said, walking away from the small group to people.
"Come on, Naoko! Sakura, Tomoyo, Meiling, let's show Naoko her new room!" Nora cried, grabbing Naoko's hand and pulling her into the bedroom. The other three girls followed, while the two boys showed Touya his room. When the tours were through, they decided to go to bed.
"Good night, everyone!" Nora cried, hugging her brother and running into her room. Everyone stared after her in shock.
"She seems a little…eager, to get to bed, don't you think?" Eriol asked suspiciously. He had been trying to read Nora's mind all day, but something was blocking him out, keeping him from doing it. He had mentioned this to the others, and they all agreed to keep an eye on Nora for a while.
"Something happened in that room, this afternoon, that she is not telling us about." Eriol commented. "Someone should keep an eye on her tonight, to make sure that nothing is wrong. Naoko, would you do the honors?" He asked, looking at the girl. Naoko nodded her head, and then smiled nervously.
"I will keep the door between our room cracked open. I am a really light sleeper, so I should wake up to any noises." She commented, going into her room. The others then said their 'good nights' and went to bed.
~*~*~*~
*Naoko's POV*
At about five minutes after midnight, I woke up with a start. I strained my ears and heard voices coming from Ellanora's room. At first I thought that it was just Tomoyo or Sakura, or Meiling in her room, but then I realized that the other two voices were male.
"Bingo!" I whispered, and crept out of bed. I tip-toed over to the door separating my room from Nora's and put my ear up to the crack that I had left earlier that evening. I still couldn't hear anything, because they seemed to be taking extra precautions *not* to be heard. Giving a sigh of defeat, I peeked through the crack.
What I saw there in her room made me stifle a scream and clutch to the doorway in horror. Nora was sitting on her bed, calmly as can be, talking to someone in a chair beside the bed. That someone was the thing that made me scream. It was a ghost! Or…what looked like a ghost. It was see through, like a ghost, but there was something different about it at the same time. And Nora seemed quite comfortable talking with it…Wait! Hadn't I heard *three* voices? Where was the third person?
"Got ya!"
~*~*~*~
*Normal POV*
Nora glanced nervously at her clock, sighed, and laid back against her pillows. It was almost midnight, and still there was no sign of the brothers. She had set up two chairs beside her bed for them, because frankly, she didn't want that Tryon kid to sit on her precious bed.
"Come on! I'm kind of tired, here!" She whined, leaning forward and throwing up her hands. With a sigh of defeat, she started to lean back again, only to hit something soft and warm for the second time that day.
"Looking for me?" Came Tryon's obnoxious voice. Nora groaned and turned to look him in the eyes.
"Isn't one punch in the stomach enough for you?" She hissed, pulling out of his grasp. He gave one of his dark chuckles, got off the bed, and plopped down in the only unoccupied chair. Landon was already sitting in the other one. He shot his brother a disgusted look, and then turned back to Ellanora.
"Now, you know our names, but we don't know yours. I mean, we have heard two versions. There is Ellie, and Nora, but what is your full name?" Landon asked softly. Nora grinned.
"It is Ellanora. But 'Nora' is a whole lot shorter, and I like it better than 'Ellie'." She stated. Tryon snorted.
"It sounds like something that you would name your cow or something!" He taunted. Before he could even blink, Nora fulfilled her threat from earlier that day. Tryon fell out of the chair, holding his privet, and Landon had to bury his head in the chair-arm, so his laughter could not be heard. Nora grinned happily, and quietly rubbed her hands together.
"I warned you, but noooo! You just had to go and get me mad. I will warn you ahead of time, next time you do that, you will be sore all over!" She threatened. Tryon shot her a deathly glare, but quickly moved into the shadows near the far wall. Nora gave a content sigh.
"Now I know where to go if he is bullying me!" Landon chuckled. Nora grinned.
"Even through I haven't lived in China for long, I have trained in Martial Arts most of my life. It was mother's wish, even though no one knew about me." Nora explained. Landon nodded, and began to speak, but he was interrupted by Tryon.
"Got ya!" Tryon hissed, grabbing someone.
"Agh!" Came a strangled scream. Nora turned pale as she recognized it. Naoko!
"I thought that you weren't going to tell anyone!" Tryon hissed, glaring daggers at Nora. Nora glared right back.
"I didn't!" She whispered, tugging her friend from Tryon's clutches and leading Naoko over to the bed.
"Nora…what is happening? Who…what are they?" Naoko asked, eyeing the brothers suspiciously. Tryon simply glared at her, and Landon stared at her, speechless.
"What were you doing, Naoko! I thought I told you that everything was fine!" Nora whispered. Naoko frowned at her.
"You said that, but no one believed you, and for good reason!" Naoko said, looking pointedly at the brothers. "They asked me to keep an eye on you, to make sure that you were really all right. Unfortunately, I don't really know exactly what to tell them. This is kind of bizarre." Naoko commented. Nora sighed.
"She was going to find out eventually. Why not now?" Landon asked, finally getting his voice back. Naoko glanced at the boy, and looked surprised.
"So it is true! Ghosts really are see-through and kind of white looking." She said in an awed voice.
"We are not ghosts! We are…" Tryon started to snap, but then he faltered, not really able to say what he was. Nora grinned slyly.
"Tryon is the one that I have dubbed 'Poltergeist', and Landon is something in-between a ghost and a human. It is really hard to tell what they are." She said. Tryon glared at her.
"You are going to pay for that remark!" He hissed. Nora grinned at him.
"What are you going to do? Glare me to death?" She countered. Landon held up a hand.
"Enough! Tryon, I think that it is about time we explained to these poor girls just how we came to be here. If you haven't forgotten, we do need their help." The younger boy said, sitting back down in his chair. Tryon mumbled something about 'mental' and 'females', but sat down in his chair, still glaring at Nora.
"A long time ago…" Landon started.
~*~*~*~
D.L:
Kero: "He, he! Cliffhanger! And I am not even going to tell you if the others find out!" Gives an evil chuckle *mumbles* "And Daphne was going to tell everything in this chapter! Oh, well! Her mistake is my next chapter!" Looks back at the screen and sees that it is still on "Anyway! I hope that you enjoyed my version of the story. I left myself out because I am too important to be in this chapter. It was too girlie!"
Tryon: His head pops out of the screen and he gives an evil laugh "You mean that you were to scared of me, to show your puny face!"
Kero: *Sweat drop* He pushes Tryon's head back into the story "Sorry about that! Anyway, please R+R for me!"
Daphne: I come into the room and see Kero at the computer "Kero, I'm home!"
Kero: "Yah, yah!" Quickly turns off the computer.