A/N: I'm coming back to horror again, as no one is reviewing my story: "Seasons". Does it suck that much? Probably does. ANYWAY, this story is going to be in 3 chapters, and is based around "The Others" which I saw a few months back. It's the only creepy-house-horror I know. Hope you like it!

I haven't checked this story before I published it. There's probably tens and thousands of mistakes.

-_-;;

Candles In The Dark

By Birdie

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise and it's original author. Don't sue, you won't get anything decent.

Zechs stood straight in the entrance hall, awaiting orders. He checked his uniform again, brushing an invisible dust-ball off his clean, crease-free black jacket. He was the new servant and if he wanted to keep this job, he'd have to make a good impression to his masters.

The blonde looked around, wanting to kill some time before his masters arrived. The hall was dark, with high ceilings and heavy beams. He didn't realise they still made mansions like these: it was very old fashioned (but none the less, extremely classy). He turned around 360 degrees, trying to keep his neat boots as quiet as possible.

It's too dark in here......

Zechs sighed, looking at his gloved hands. He could hardly see any of the features because all the curtains were closed. He would give anything to open those heavy blinds, but he couldn't because he was not told to. A servant must do what he or she is told.

"Ah! You must be Zechs Merquise!" came a stern voice at the door. High heeled shoes came clattering over. Zechs turned quickly and saw his master's wife. Actually, there was no master: the lady was said to be a widow, and that she once had a husband called Treize Khushrenada

"Good morning, my lady." Zechs said politely.

The lady eyed him up and down. She admired his handsome facial features, and noted how well he was dressed.

"You're much better than the last one," she told him as she lead him into the dining room. "Some guy who looked like a catfish, called Howard or something. Dreadful man, couldn't keep to the uniform. Had to wear those disgusting Hawaiian shirts..." the lady sighed, flipping her shoulder-length brown hair over her shoulder. She showed Zechs the dining room, telling him that he was responsible for serving them, but the cleaning is up to Iria.

The lady opened the door to the kitchen, in it there stood a young women who was doing some washing up. The young women stopped to curtsy her mistress. "Good morning, Lady Une." She said gracefully.

Lady Une nodded. "Good morning, Iria." She introduced Iria to Zechs and vice-versa. Iria was in charge of cleaning the downstairs. Beside Iria was an old man. His name was Ron Shirin and he was supposedly the cook of the house.

Lady Une also pointed through the window to another young woman with brown hair and blue eyes. She was the gardener: Catherine. Catherine, Shirin and Iria were the only three servants in this house other than Zechs.

"You will be in charge of cleaning the upstairs," lady Une told Zechs as they walked up the stairs. "And every night at 7 o'clock you are responsible for serving us at dinner." She looked around her before continuing. "You get up everyday at 5am to put the fire and bring the tea up to me. I am in the room with the cross on the door." Zechs had to be careful where he was going because it was so dark.

I really wish someone would open the curtains......

Zechs hard looked at the door in front of them: it was a door with the cross on it. He turned to Lady Une. "Shall I open the curtain every morning too, ma'am?" he asked.

Lady Une looked horrified. "No!" she cried. She calmed down and said quite normally. "No, that won't be needed." She looked at Zechs with a hard look on her face. "Don't forget," she said to him. "You're the only servant allowed up here. If anything strange happen, you must tell me immediately." She was just about to turn and leave him to clean up when Zechs called.

"Ma'am, can I use a candle while I work?" he asked.

Lady Une turned to him and shrugged. "I don't see why not." She said simply, and walked down the stairs.

~*~

Zechs started to wash the floor. He got his faithful mop and bucket and started to cleaning. In the light of the tiny candle, he could see the dust and the boot-prints slowly going away. Zechs suddenly realised something. He went down on his knees and stared at the boot-prints.

They're...children's......

Suddenly, out of the corner of his right eye, he could see a flicker of candlelight. He turned to his own candle, but that was on the left of him. He frowned, and when he turned to right again, the candle was still there.

"Lady Une?" he called to the candle direction. There was no answer. Leaving his work for the moment, Zechs picked up his own candle and started to walk to the other. He walked past lots of rooms, and he had to turn a corner before he got to place. It was quite a small room, with a simple bed and a dressing-table. On the table there was a tiny, almost burnt-to-the-bottom candle, just flickering. Zechs frowned, and looked around the room; there was no one there.

Zechs shrugged it off. Maybe the mistress lit it some nights ago and forgot to put it out. It was a big house, so remembering where everything is put is quite hard. Zechs looked at the window, which was covered by heavy curtains. He set his own candle down on the table next to the little one, walked slowly up to the window and drew the blinds. Sunlight came rushing in, lighting the entire room up. Zechs smiled, it felt wonderful to see the sun again. He wondered why the mistress would want to keep the curtains closed.

"Zechs? Where are you?" called a voice. It was Lady Une.

Zechs gulped: he had stayed off-task for too long. He grabbed his candle and ran out, back to his work place where Lady Une could be seen, her arms folded and an angry look on her face.

"Where have you been?" she asked, glaring at him.

Zechs stood as straight as he could. "I...I was going to blow out a candle in a room over there..." he wished he hadn't said that, because he didn't manage to blow it out. His hand waved in that direction, and as he turned, he saw no light: the candle was already blew out. "And...that was it." he managed to let out in the end.

Lady Une looked in the direction the blonde man was pointing to. She gasped. "I thought I told you not to open the curtains!!" she cried in anger and adrenaline.

Zechs gulped again. He followed his mistress to the little room, and she closed the heavy drapes quickly. "Do not define my order again." She ordered, before walking away quickly. Zechs watched her leave, and when she was gone, he opened the curtains again. He didn't really care about Lady Une. Bitch.

The blonde looked around in the sunlight, turning back the corridor. It was so dark, and he could hardly make out the wooden doors and the block around the corner. It was so gloomy, so depressing. Zechs liked the light so much better, and he sighed with content, flipping his blonde hair back over his shoulder.

"I like the light, don't you?" came a little whisper behind Zechs.

Zechs turned around quickly. He realised there was a little girl behind him, about 10 years old, with short red hair. She wore a simple shirt and a khaki shorts, and she beamed at him with her bright eyes. Zechs stared at her. "When did you come in?" he asked, shocked.

She smiled. "I've always been here," she whispered. "But I'm very quiet, my mother told me I should always be quiet. But I think I can talk to you, can't I?"

Zechs nodded slowly. "Okay......" he mumbled slowly. "I have work to do. Would you like to help me?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, but my mother told me I shouldn't leave this room."

The blonde smiled. "You're such a good girl," he complimented, patting her on the head. He bid her goodbye and left to do his housework. Before he turned the corner, he ran back and asked: "What's your name, little girl?"

She gestured for him to come closer, before pulling Zechs down and whispering into his ear: "I am Marimeia!"

Zechs thought about the name for a while. "My name is Zechs," he said finally. "Goodbye Marimeia!" and went back to do his work.

~*~

The sun set at around 5 o'clock, which is the time the sun usually sets in winter. By the time it was 11 o'clock, the outside world was a pitch of black. Zechs looked dreamily out the window, but all he could see was the little blaze of fire inside the gardener's shed.

"Let me tell you, Zechs..." Ron Shirin began.

Here we go...... Zechs thought darkly. The one thing he disliked more than closed curtains was old people blabbering on and on. But he didn't say anything.

Ron looked around him, as if he was on the look-out for someone who was stalking him. He lowered his voice, and whispered: "This place, is cursed!"

Zechs stared at the old man in front of him. "Excuse me?" he asked.

Ron nodded aimlessly. "There are spirits here. Ghosts everywhere."

The blonde sweat-dropped slightly. There was no such things as ghosts and spirits, they were only things used to scare little children. Zechs was not a little child anymore.

The blonde man sighed and closed the curtain. He should get to sleep soon: it would be another day tomorrow. Besides, it'll shut Ron Shirin up.

~*~

It was sunrise, and everyone was still in bed. Everyone except Zechs. He walked into the massive garden, and inhaled deeply. The world smelled of newly-cut grass and there was a mist surrounding the trees. He could see the tulips around the hedges, but anything beyond that cannot be seen. But the sun was shining, and it lit up the dew on the grass beneath Zechs' feet.

"Hello Zechs!" Marimeia whispered, tugging Zechs' sleeve.

Zechs smiled as he looked down at the little redhead. "Good morning, Marimeia! You're up early!"

Marimeia smiled. "I like the light," she turned towards the sun. "The light reminds me I'm still alive!"

Zechs frowned. "What do you mean by that?" he asked her.

Her smile widened. "Dead people fear the light, right?" she said softly. "Like ghosts and spirits and vampires. They all come out at night. Pain is also what you know that keeps you alive."

The blonde man's frown grew. "Who told you that?" Zechs asked suspiciously.

Marimeia took Zech's hand gently. "Come here." She whispered. She led him quietly up the stairs, turning corner after corner after corner. Zechs was surprised she knew her way around this old, dark mansion. They can to a door, which Marimeia opened. Inside was so dark that Zechs could not see Marimeia anymore. But he held onto her hand and knew she was near. Marimeia's hand slipped away from his slowly. As far as he knew, Zechs stood alone in the pitch-black room.

Suddenly, the door behind him closed with a bang. Zechs jumped in fright, not knowing that was going on. He looked around him quickly, but could see nothing. He felt his heart beat unnaturally fast.

"Marimeia?" he called. "Where are you?"

There was no answer. The blonde hugged himself, breathing through his mouth to get enough oxygen for his fast-working body. What was going on; some kind of sick joke?!

Suddenly, the curtains were pulled open. Sunlight rushed into the room, so bright that Zechs had to shield his eyes from it. Marimeia stood at the window, her body creating a silhouette in the light. She pointed past Zechs.

"Look Zechs," she whispered. "That is my father."

Zechs turned, and saw a man standing there. A man he never knew existed. He sat in a chair, reading quietly, ignoring the rest of the world. The sunshine shone on his face, creating a ghostly appearance. His ginger hair looked much lighter in the sunlight.

He looked up and smiled at Zechs. "Good morning," he greeted. His voice was richly deep and extremely formal. "My name is Treize Khushrenada. Who are you?"

Zechs' jaw dropped. He stared at the man in front of him in awe. He tried to saw something, but nothing came out. "I-I-I..." he spluttered. He inhaled. "I-I'm Zechs M-Merquise, sir..."

Treize smiled. "Hello Zechs!" he beamed, putting his book on his knees.

Zechs said nothing, but continued to stare at him.

Isn't Treize Khushrenada suppose to be dead......?

To Be Continued—

A/N: Mwuahahahahahaha! A cliff-hanger! For some reason, I feel like a Treize/Zechs slash coming on. Am a slash-writer at heart, so anyone who would like a slash, please tell me in a review! (Lemon, anyone? Only joking, I'll have to hit the rating up then).

Please review if you liked it! And speaking of reviews……

Jays Arravan: This is done by one person: me, anonymous-birdie. Reaper does Fate Allowed. Thank you for saying my stories were "masterfully done". Thank you also for the extra power. ^_^

PrincessCat: thanks for understanding. Well, I've taken my time. Here's some more of my stories.

Cyberdistroyer: school's not that bad. Can you still review, or are you tied up with work? I tried to find The Thir13enth Ghost, but the library didn't have it. -_-;; so much for that.

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