Chapter 4
Zel made his way back to the mansion, as confused as he'd ever be.
What had just happened at the stone circle? What were those ghosts doing? What happened to that immense power they had summoned? And where in the nine hells did those ghosts and that power disappear to?!
Zel racked his brains, trying to find a logical explanation. What could've happened? What supernatural force could have created such a catastrophic scene?
Then it hit him like a hurricane.
Is it possible that scene was a re-enactment....?
A re-enactment? Of what?
This revelation was enough to stop Zel walking. The chimera paused as he assessed the facts:
This village was inhabited by ghosts right? And there seemed to be a terrible fate befallen said village - hence the presence of it's otherworldly residents and it's desolate appearance.
Zel thought back over the encounters since he came across this mansion. He chanced upon that child, who led him to a clearing......And then he followed those monks out to the stone circle.....
Of course! Zel thumped a fist into his hand, in revelation. Of course! It's now become so clear! These encounters with these apparitions showed that they seemed keen to establish some form of communication! In fact, these ghosts seemed intent on showing the chimera something!
But what?
Were they trying to show him, the intruder; the outsider; the living; exactly what was the disaster that tore this village asunder?
That's a theory.....
Zel sighed and continued on his way. He wasn't liking this village at all. The place practically reeked of unease. The ruins, the mist and the village's enigmatic inhabitants....
Zel sighed again and headed closer and closer towards the mansion. It would appear that he would have to, unfortunately, spend the night here. And that ruined mansion seems like the best option for shelter.....
Whether he liked it or not.
Zelgadis made his way into the mansion via the ruined door. Slowly he picked his way through the rubbish that was strewn across the floor of the entrance hall. Zel's face screwed up in disgust at the stench emitting from the garbage occupying the mansion. How long had it been since someone was last in this mansion?!
In spite of the dreadful presence of the garbage, Zelgadis slowly allowed time for his eyes to adjust to the dark....
.....It was there and then that he again caught sight of that mirror.
The mirror. The same mirror that greeted his initial arrival into this mansion. The same mirror that housed an apparition of an old man.....
Driven on curiosity, Zelgadis marched over to the mirror, to examine it. Did he really see an old man within it's reflective surface.....?
Zel examined the mirror with great intent, his inquisitive yet ever vigilant eyes traversed the complete surface, searching for signs, a sign, anything! Anything that proves....
Suddenly, without warning, a cool breeze made it's way from the depths of the mansion, through the entrance hall and out through the front door.
Zelgadis closed his eyes from the breeze, as his cape billowed around him. Odd. What was a breeze such as this doing in this mansion.....?
Suddenly Zel gasped! His eyes widened in horror and he took a step backwards, his brain finding it difficult to believe what Zel's eyes were seeing.
Zelgadis certainly found something within the mirror but not what he was expecting!
What was in the mirror was certainly NOT an apparition or anything of that sort. Instead there were six letters, written within the dust that coated the mirror's reflective surface. Six letters, displaying quite clearly the message of:
GET OUT.
Zel gasped at this enigmatic threat. What was this? How did that get there? Who did this?
Obviously someone didn't want him there in this mansion. But who?
Was this another of the ghost's attempts of communication....?
Were they trying to head him in the right direction by directing him away from this mansion?
Were they trying to be helpful.....
....or were they just being threatening....?
But no matter what, a warning is warning. And one that must be heeded.
Zelgadis turned away and headed out of the mansion.
If there were any answers then he most likely wouldn't find any there.
Elsewhere, Amelia was growing increasingly bewildered.
And frightened.
She was certain that she heard the sound of children laughing in this cellar. But where were they? What were they doing here in this deserted village? How did they get in here? How the hell did they manage to enter this cellar when both the entry doors were locked?
Did they lock her in here?
Suddenly Amelia got a cold shiver down her spine. She suddenly felt the presence of another.....
The princess slowly raised her head.....
And found herself staring into the eyes of a young girl.
Amelia blinked in astonishment, her jaw hanging open. The young girl just smiled.
"Hi there!" the girl said.
Her voice was as sweet as a nightingale song and anything but threatening.
But this did nothing to let Amelia's guard down.
Amelia's eyes hardened.
"Who are you?" the princess demanded.
The girl didn't answer immediately. Instead she smiled a smile so ever-sweet. If this girl was bothered by Amelia's suspicious glare, she certainly didn't show it.
"I'm Celia!" she beamed.
Amelia nodded her consent. But she didn't ease her suspicions.
"Now" Amelia began. "What are you doing here?"
The girl called Celia didn't answer. Instead she thrust her open hand forward, as if in a friendly manner.
"Would you like to join us?" she said, in a ever-friendly manner.
Amelia blinked in confusion, forgetting all about her question completely.
"Us?"
Suddenly Amelia's ears once again picked up the sound of children laughing. Only now it sounded much louder.....
....and much closer.....
Amelia's eyes hardened.
"How did you get in here?" she asked of Celia.
The girl didn't answer. Instead she collapsed into a giggle fit and ran off, to disappear into the darkened depths of the cellar.
Amelia's brain was now a storm of confusion. Who was this girl? Where did she come from? How did she get here in this cellar....?
Was she the one who locked the doors?
Or was this the work of another ghost?
Well, there was only way to find out.
Amelia got to her feet and took off after the girl.
The princess didn't have far to look. By now, the sound of the laughing children was now as loud as ever. So these children can't be too far away.....
Suddenly the laughing came to a grinding halt. Amelia's pursuit then came to an immediate standstill. Her eyes then darted all around the dark cellar, trying to find the fleeing Celia. Her ears also tuned in to pick up any noises within this....
Wait a minute.
What was that?
Hold on.
There it was again!
Amelia slowly made her way across the dirt floor of the cellar, her ears receptive and keen.
She could've sworn she had heard the sound of whispering and giggling....
Suddenly she flicked her head around....
....And soon found herself staring face to face with a group of smiling children.
Amelia's eyes widened. She was expecting children to be in this cellar....
But not like THIS!
The children were all smiling at the princess, all right. But these smiles were more like sadistic grins. And the eyes! The children's eyes sparkled with malevolence. They looked all ready for Amelia. Ready for her to show up....
Amelia blinked in horror. What the hell was this? What on earth were these children? They were certainly not anything she had seen before on this world.....
One of the girls stepped away from the group. Amelia immediately recognised her as Celia. But now the girl's smile was anything but welcoming.
"Would you like to play with us?" Celia inquired in a voice that resembled that of raven's screech.
Amelia was horrified by this ghastly gaggle of children. Yet she still managed to shake her head.
"Come on!" Celia argued. Then, on her lead, all of the children thrust their hands forward.
Pleading, inviting, , demanding the princess join their collective.
But Amelia wasn't having any of this. In a flash she spun around on her heel and sprinted away from the children, away from their evil faces, away from their claws. Riding on the wings of pure terror, Amelia sprinted across the cellar and towards the coal doors. Nothing held her back, not even a locked door - what mattered was escaping this accursed cellar and the village. Without slowing down, Amelia charged through the locked doors, with a terrific crash and a shower of splinters. Fear gave her strength - the strength she needed to smash through any obstacles that lay in her path of escape.
The princess now found herself out on the street of the village. The night had passed and dawn was breaking. The first few ray's of daylight were creeping into the ruins. But Amelia didn't have time to stop and notice. Instead she kept running. She needed to escape this village. She wanted to escape this village and it's ghostly populace. She wanted to escape this village and forget all about it's existence.....
There was just one little problem.
The mist hadn't gone away.
It was still drifting it's way, holding the village in it's grasp and still as thick as ever. Consequently Amelia found herself charging a blind path through the mist. She couldn't see where she was going. But what did it matter? She just wanted OUT of these ruins. HOW was not important. Besides, if she kept fighting her way through this thick mist she would find a way out eventually. Right?
Wrong.
No matter how much Amelia denied it, she was going nowhere. Her vision was so obscured that she had no hope of escaping. When she thought she was heading out, she was just going around in circles.
And heading deeper into the ruins.
Eventually Amelia's eyes widened with joy. There, through the mist, she could make out the outlines of trees. Trees! She must be at the borderline of the village and the forest! She's home free! Success! The princess raced towards the trees, riding high on the prospect of freedom.
Amelia entered the clump of trees, convinced it would provide the route to take her home. Once she had entered the clump, everything in Amelia's sight now became clearer. Here the trees provided some shelter from the mist, so it thinned out. Amelia smiled. Yes, she must be at the borderline, and growing further and further away from that village. Victory!
Now if only she could find a way back to Saillune.....
Wait!
Suddenly Amelia's train of thought was interrupted by a voice. A voice that resounded within the depths of her head.
Amelia spun around. What? What was this voice? Where.....?
Amelia got her answers much sooner then she expected. For, another entered the scene. There, emerging from the trees, was.....
Amelia's jaw dropped at the sight of the newcomer. Her hands began shaking and her eyes swelled with fear.
There, moving towards the princess was a familiar sight of the ghost girl she had met yesterday.
Amelia was then struck by a horrible realisation. She hadn't left the village at all! She was again in the same clump of trees she had chanced upon the day before!
Amelia held her palms to her mouth. What was going on? She was STILL in this nightmare? When will it end?!?
Amelia would've fled from the advancing ghost.....
....if it wasn't for the voice resounding itself in her head for a second time.
Wait!
Amelia spun around to again face the ghost. It was there and then that she saw the lips of the ghost girl move.
Wait!
Amelia blinked. Something wasn't quite right here. She could hear the ghost's lips move and, at the same time, she could hear a voice within her head....
Wait a minute. Was this the ghost's idea of communication?!
Amelia held her hands in front of her in a defiant pose. This ghost may be trying to talk.....
But sometimes you just can't be too careful.
"What do you want?" Amelia demanded.
I want to talk.
Amelia said nothing but continued her defiance stance.
Again the ghost mouthed silent words and again Amelia heard it's voice in her head....
We need your help.
Amelia blinked. Help? This ghost needed her help?
Suddenly Amelia could feel power erupting inside her. A power forged into her since her day of birth. A power that demanded her to help people. A power of a Champion of Justice.....
Amelia eased her defiant pose and relaxed towards the ghost.
You need my help?" she asked.
Yes. We all do.
"We?"
I am not the only ghost in this village, nor by choice.
Amelia sighed. Yeah, she knew all about the OTHER ghosts.
Hang on.....
"By choice? What do you mean?"
The natural order has been disrupted. It is from this chaos that order must be re-established. the ghost replied.
Amelia's expression immediately went into one of confusion. Eh? What on earth was this ghost trying to tell her? The princess really couldn't make head or tail out of the ghost's cryptic clues.
The ghost didn't answer. Instead it drew forth a single hand. A shivered hand, a dead hand, a crooked hand, a ghostly hand. It was this hand that pointed past Amelia and back towards the village. It was this hand that pointed back to the ruins and towards one piece of the ruin in particular.
It was a statue. A statue that was still standing, untouched by the devastation that claimed the rest of the village. It stood tall and proud, like a beacon shining bright and radiant in amongst the ruined village.
Amelia blinked in terrified astonishment.
"What?" she cried. "You want me to return to the village?!"
The ghost nodded.
Amelia's eyes hardened. No way! There was no way she was going back to village! This ghost was demanding the impossible!!!
But her duties as a Champion of Justice compelled her to stay.
"So, what do you want me to do?" Amelia asked.
The ghost didn't answer. Instead she let out a laugh. A hollow laugh. A ghastly laugh. A laugh from the grave. A laugh that reverberated throughout Amelia's head.
Suddenly fear overtook Amelia's psyche. Immediately she turned around and fled from the ghost. Riding on the wings of fear, the princess fled the clump of trees and ran back into the ruins. She didn't care where she was running to. Nor did she have plans on stopping. What mattered was getting away from that ghost!
Riding on a fear of ghosts, Amelia's flight was blind. So much so, she ran straight into a something hard and solid.
Amelia was struck so hard from the impact that she got knocked off her feet and fell onto the hard cobblestones of the street.
Although struck with pain from the collision, Amelia sat up nursing her head. What on earth did she run into.....?
She looked up....
...And soon found herself staring into the eyes of Zelgadis....
Chapter 5
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