Candles In The Dark
Chapter Three
By Birdie
The next day, Zechs went back to work, like usual. He ignored what Treize told him last night, about the ghosts. Zechs told himself over and over again that it was nothing. He wanted to believe that, but he was shaking like a leaf in the wind.
They're show up when they need to, so what? I'll be waiting for them...
He took his candle upstairs, bringing along a box of extra matches and an extra candle too. He continued to clean out the bedroom, as if nothing was happening. He stripped the bed and dusted the table. He finished one room and moved onto another. Then another.
Not a mysterious thing happened all day.
Zechs sighed, pushing open the door to get his cleaning equipment before going down to the kitchen.
He walked across the room, and picked up his cloth. Suddenly, the door slammed behind him.
"Huh?" Zechs muttered to himself. He went to the door and tried to open it; but it would not budge.
Must be jammed... he thought to himself, frowning. He turned the knob furiously, but nothing happened. It was stuck.
"Get...out..." came a voice. It was all around, in no particular direction. It was low and eerie, quiet and serious.
Zechs jumped, screamed and pressed his back to the wall. OH MY GOD, WHAT WAS THAT?!
"Leave...this...place..." the voice continued.
Zechs felt his legs turn to jelly. "Who are you?!" he called. "What do you want?!"
"We want you to leave...we want our house back......" it continue. "Go now...tell the woman to pack her bags and go...tell her the keepers of this house has spoken......"
The door opened; Zechs fell out. He landed on his back, staring at the ceiling. His eyes wide, his face was pale. He seemed breathless, but then again, anyone would be after such an ordeal.
Why is this happening to me......?!
Zechs took a deep breath in, jumped up and ran as fast as he could to his mistress.
"Lady Une!!" he cried, running down the stairs. His mistress was in parlour, reading a book.
"What is it Zechs?" she asked. "You look pale."
The blonde looked her in the eye. "You must leave." He ordered.
"Excuse me?"
"These people called 'the keepers of this house' told me to tell you to pack you bags and leave!" he tried to explain.
Lady Une frowned. "What does that mean? I'M the keeper of this house!!"
Zechs shrugged, shaking his head. "Not to them!"
The woman's frown deepened. She lowered her voice and muttered. "Could it be...them...?"
Zechs felt Goosebumps form all over his body. "Who?"
His mistress took off her glasses and bid him to come over. "Zechs, I feel you should know the truth about this estate."
Zechs slowly walked over and sat down on the chair opposite her. He watched her sign, the colour began to drain from her face too.
"Long, long time ago," she told him. "There were people living before me...in this house. They were the masters, rich and grand, and they held a party which will last all weekend." She paused, thinking of the rest before carrying on. "I...no, me and my spouses, Treize and Marimeia, we went to a party they held. It was all good fun, we had music, dancing, singing. Well, Marimeia was not there, as she was suppose to be in bed upstairs a long time ago. I told her if she could not sleep, she must be quiet when she played with her toys, or spoke to anyone like the servants."
Ah, so that's why she speaks in a little voice... Zechs realised.
"Most of us then were pretty drunk," she continued. "And the master spilled wine over the carpets. But suddenly, Marimeia accidentally pushed a candle onto the floor, I think she was coming downstairs for a glass of water. It caught the wine, and the house went ablaze."
The blonde man said nothing to all this, but listened attentively.
"The masters of this house were all burnt to death, their remains were found. Their daughter and her friend's remains were unfound, though. Marimeia and Treize, well......" Lady Une let out a sob. "I don't know what happened to them. They must have died in the fire, and to this day, I keep on thinking of them, wondering how they're getting on in the afterlife......."
"Treize and Marimeia are alive!" Zechs cried, standing up. "They live in a little room upstairs! I can show you if you need to see them!!"
Lady Une's face stared at him. She shook her head slowly. "No, they're dead. I've searched for them for 5 years, but nothing..."
"No! They're still alive! Like you and me!" Zechs tried to explain. "I promise you, they are!"
Her eyes never left his. Slowly, she stood up to her full height, and gestured to the open door. "Show me then." She whispered.
But all of a suddenly, the door slammed shut. The lamps went out. The room was completely black. A sudden breeze swept over the two people inside the room. But they weren't the only two people.
"I told you...get out......" came the same, eerie voice Zechs heard last time.
"Who are you?!" Lady Une cried. She spun around, trying to see where she was, but darkness was all around. She could hardly make out the furniture around her. She quickly went to the light and switched it on, but nothing happened.
"We are the masters......" it replied. "We own this house...leave immediately."
Zechs looked around him too, but could not see anything. Suddenly, he remember what Marimeia told him again.
"Dead people fear the light, right?" she had told him in a soft voice.
If that's the case......
Zechs ran to the side of the room, grabbed the curtains and pulled it open in one swift movement. Light came flooding into the room, stunning Zechs' eyes at such a sudden change of lighting so much that he had to keep them shut. But he ran and pulled the other curtains open too. Light was now everywhere, reflecting on every surface, bouncing off the walls the way light does in straight lines. The blonde kept his eyes closed still, fearing what will happen if and when he opens them.
He heard a scream. It came from Lady Une. Zechs tore his eyes open, and he gasped at the person who was the ghost.
She was leering over Lady Une, her hands around the woman's neck, squeezing it with all her might. The attacker's dark blonde hair was clinging onto her sweaty face, and her maroon school-dress was dirtied with dust. In her pockets were many candles and matches.
It was one of the two girls he met in the hallway.
Zechs ran and tackled her away from his mistress. He pinned her to the ground and stared at her. "What do you want?!" he asked, surprised that his voice was not shaking.
She stared into his eyes with hatred and anger. "I want my house back!!" she yelled. Her voice was no longer strange and eerie, but loud and sharp. She pushed Zechs away from her. Her strength amazed him.
"This house is mine!" Lady Une declared, helping Zechs up. "You will not get it!" she paused. "Relena Darlian!" she added.
(a/n: Didn't want to use Peacecraft. Sounds cheesy. I think that's her other surname, but I'm not too sure. It was in an art-book, but there were actually two spelling. Yeah, really useful(!)...)
The girl seemed surprised to have her name said. But she chuckled in a low voice. "I'm glad you remember my name, madam. Do you remember my parents too?" her voice was filled with fake amusement. "The masters of this house? Before everything burnt away?" she walked a little closer.
"You took this away from us," she continued. She didn't seem to be walking: it was more like gliding. Each step she took was so light and so graceful, it was like she was floating on air. The dress brushed the ground lightly. "I am the true heir of the Darlian household. Not you. I'm taking my house back!!"
"But you're dead!!!" Zechs yelled, trying to knock some sense into her. "How can a dead person hold the right to a house?"
"I am not dead!" she corrected angrily. "I am alive!" she pointed her finger at Lady Une. "SHE'S the one's that's dead!"
The mistress' face paled. She stared at Relena. "No, you're wrong..." she muttered, shaking her head slowly. But she did not seem to be certain.
"How can we know for certain?" Zechs asked, looking at both women.
Suddenly, the brown-hair lady spoke up in a faraway voice. "The dead can see the living, yet the living cannot see the dead. The dead sees the dead. The living sees the living." She looked at Relena. "Can you see me?" she asked.
Relena nodded, slowly. Une repeated the name question to Zechs, who also nodded.
"Do you fear the light?" she asked, as it is said the dead fear the light.
Both Relena and Zechs shook their heads. Lady Une went quiet, saying nothing for quite some time.
"Then we must seek Treize and Marimeia, they will know." She said finally.
The three of them went through the halls and up the stairs. The servants greeted them, and they stared at Relena, not knowing who she was. Ron Shirin went into a "this place is haunted" frenzy, which was ignored by all.
They walked up through the upstairs corridor. It was dark, but Relena took out a candle and lit it. The three could see each other's faces, but that was all.
"This is all your fault," the dark-blonde girl hissed to the older woman. "If you opened some curtains, we wouldn't be in this mess."
Lady Une glared at her, opening her mouth to snap back, but they had reached the place. Relena's candle accidentally went out as she was breathing heavily on it. Zechs pushed opened the door, and they saw Treize and Marimeia, sitting on the floor, playing with the little girl's rag doll.
Lady Une's mouth fell open when she saw her daughter. "Marimeia..." she whispered, tears in her eyes.
"What is it, Zechs?" Treize asked, puzzled. Marimeia looked at him in the same way.
"Marimeia, don't you see me?" Lady Une cried. She was now crying, almost having an emotional breakdown.
"Or me?" Relena asked. "Don't you remember me, Marimeia? We use to play together on the swings at the back of the house?"
"Do you see anyone?" Zechs asked, his voice was low. He stared into Treize's eyes, then into Marimeia's.
Relena pulled out a candle and a match. She stepped into the darkness and lit it.
The little girl frowned and stared at the candle. "I see a candle," she whispered to Zechs. "But the only person I can only see you." She stopped, and asked him, her voice was filled with fear. "Do you think it's the ghosts?"
Lady Une let out a scream of fright, but the ginger-hair man and his daughter did not hear it.
The dead can see the living, yet the living cannot see the dead. The dead sees the dead. The living sees the living.
Relena blew out her candle, and disappeared into the darkness.
The End
A/N: well, hope you like that! I think I may be started up another new story because no one is reading my stuff. Which means it may be some time before I update again. Yes, yes, I know I keep saying that then starting another chapter straight away, but if it gets reviews, I might just continue with it.
I'm running out of ideas for my next horror chapter. I'm also running out of useable Gundam Wing characters. I'm going to use Catherine (who didn't do ANYTHING in the story. Sorry about that), Dorothy (who was just mentioned) and Hilde. I guess I have people like the scientists, Quinze, Tubarov and Silvia left, but I don't feel like using them (for reasons).
Thanks to the new reviewer: Eternal*Sailor*Darkness, and PrincessCat for putting the same review in 4 times! ^_^
Chapter Three
By Birdie
The next day, Zechs went back to work, like usual. He ignored what Treize told him last night, about the ghosts. Zechs told himself over and over again that it was nothing. He wanted to believe that, but he was shaking like a leaf in the wind.
They're show up when they need to, so what? I'll be waiting for them...
He took his candle upstairs, bringing along a box of extra matches and an extra candle too. He continued to clean out the bedroom, as if nothing was happening. He stripped the bed and dusted the table. He finished one room and moved onto another. Then another.
Not a mysterious thing happened all day.
Zechs sighed, pushing open the door to get his cleaning equipment before going down to the kitchen.
He walked across the room, and picked up his cloth. Suddenly, the door slammed behind him.
"Huh?" Zechs muttered to himself. He went to the door and tried to open it; but it would not budge.
Must be jammed... he thought to himself, frowning. He turned the knob furiously, but nothing happened. It was stuck.
"Get...out..." came a voice. It was all around, in no particular direction. It was low and eerie, quiet and serious.
Zechs jumped, screamed and pressed his back to the wall. OH MY GOD, WHAT WAS THAT?!
"Leave...this...place..." the voice continued.
Zechs felt his legs turn to jelly. "Who are you?!" he called. "What do you want?!"
"We want you to leave...we want our house back......" it continue. "Go now...tell the woman to pack her bags and go...tell her the keepers of this house has spoken......"
The door opened; Zechs fell out. He landed on his back, staring at the ceiling. His eyes wide, his face was pale. He seemed breathless, but then again, anyone would be after such an ordeal.
Why is this happening to me......?!
Zechs took a deep breath in, jumped up and ran as fast as he could to his mistress.
"Lady Une!!" he cried, running down the stairs. His mistress was in parlour, reading a book.
"What is it Zechs?" she asked. "You look pale."
The blonde looked her in the eye. "You must leave." He ordered.
"Excuse me?"
"These people called 'the keepers of this house' told me to tell you to pack you bags and leave!" he tried to explain.
Lady Une frowned. "What does that mean? I'M the keeper of this house!!"
Zechs shrugged, shaking his head. "Not to them!"
The woman's frown deepened. She lowered her voice and muttered. "Could it be...them...?"
Zechs felt Goosebumps form all over his body. "Who?"
His mistress took off her glasses and bid him to come over. "Zechs, I feel you should know the truth about this estate."
Zechs slowly walked over and sat down on the chair opposite her. He watched her sign, the colour began to drain from her face too.
"Long, long time ago," she told him. "There were people living before me...in this house. They were the masters, rich and grand, and they held a party which will last all weekend." She paused, thinking of the rest before carrying on. "I...no, me and my spouses, Treize and Marimeia, we went to a party they held. It was all good fun, we had music, dancing, singing. Well, Marimeia was not there, as she was suppose to be in bed upstairs a long time ago. I told her if she could not sleep, she must be quiet when she played with her toys, or spoke to anyone like the servants."
Ah, so that's why she speaks in a little voice... Zechs realised.
"Most of us then were pretty drunk," she continued. "And the master spilled wine over the carpets. But suddenly, Marimeia accidentally pushed a candle onto the floor, I think she was coming downstairs for a glass of water. It caught the wine, and the house went ablaze."
The blonde man said nothing to all this, but listened attentively.
"The masters of this house were all burnt to death, their remains were found. Their daughter and her friend's remains were unfound, though. Marimeia and Treize, well......" Lady Une let out a sob. "I don't know what happened to them. They must have died in the fire, and to this day, I keep on thinking of them, wondering how they're getting on in the afterlife......."
"Treize and Marimeia are alive!" Zechs cried, standing up. "They live in a little room upstairs! I can show you if you need to see them!!"
Lady Une's face stared at him. She shook her head slowly. "No, they're dead. I've searched for them for 5 years, but nothing..."
"No! They're still alive! Like you and me!" Zechs tried to explain. "I promise you, they are!"
Her eyes never left his. Slowly, she stood up to her full height, and gestured to the open door. "Show me then." She whispered.
But all of a suddenly, the door slammed shut. The lamps went out. The room was completely black. A sudden breeze swept over the two people inside the room. But they weren't the only two people.
"I told you...get out......" came the same, eerie voice Zechs heard last time.
"Who are you?!" Lady Une cried. She spun around, trying to see where she was, but darkness was all around. She could hardly make out the furniture around her. She quickly went to the light and switched it on, but nothing happened.
"We are the masters......" it replied. "We own this house...leave immediately."
Zechs looked around him too, but could not see anything. Suddenly, he remember what Marimeia told him again.
"Dead people fear the light, right?" she had told him in a soft voice.
If that's the case......
Zechs ran to the side of the room, grabbed the curtains and pulled it open in one swift movement. Light came flooding into the room, stunning Zechs' eyes at such a sudden change of lighting so much that he had to keep them shut. But he ran and pulled the other curtains open too. Light was now everywhere, reflecting on every surface, bouncing off the walls the way light does in straight lines. The blonde kept his eyes closed still, fearing what will happen if and when he opens them.
He heard a scream. It came from Lady Une. Zechs tore his eyes open, and he gasped at the person who was the ghost.
She was leering over Lady Une, her hands around the woman's neck, squeezing it with all her might. The attacker's dark blonde hair was clinging onto her sweaty face, and her maroon school-dress was dirtied with dust. In her pockets were many candles and matches.
It was one of the two girls he met in the hallway.
Zechs ran and tackled her away from his mistress. He pinned her to the ground and stared at her. "What do you want?!" he asked, surprised that his voice was not shaking.
She stared into his eyes with hatred and anger. "I want my house back!!" she yelled. Her voice was no longer strange and eerie, but loud and sharp. She pushed Zechs away from her. Her strength amazed him.
"This house is mine!" Lady Une declared, helping Zechs up. "You will not get it!" she paused. "Relena Darlian!" she added.
(a/n: Didn't want to use Peacecraft. Sounds cheesy. I think that's her other surname, but I'm not too sure. It was in an art-book, but there were actually two spelling. Yeah, really useful(!)...)
The girl seemed surprised to have her name said. But she chuckled in a low voice. "I'm glad you remember my name, madam. Do you remember my parents too?" her voice was filled with fake amusement. "The masters of this house? Before everything burnt away?" she walked a little closer.
"You took this away from us," she continued. She didn't seem to be walking: it was more like gliding. Each step she took was so light and so graceful, it was like she was floating on air. The dress brushed the ground lightly. "I am the true heir of the Darlian household. Not you. I'm taking my house back!!"
"But you're dead!!!" Zechs yelled, trying to knock some sense into her. "How can a dead person hold the right to a house?"
"I am not dead!" she corrected angrily. "I am alive!" she pointed her finger at Lady Une. "SHE'S the one's that's dead!"
The mistress' face paled. She stared at Relena. "No, you're wrong..." she muttered, shaking her head slowly. But she did not seem to be certain.
"How can we know for certain?" Zechs asked, looking at both women.
Suddenly, the brown-hair lady spoke up in a faraway voice. "The dead can see the living, yet the living cannot see the dead. The dead sees the dead. The living sees the living." She looked at Relena. "Can you see me?" she asked.
Relena nodded, slowly. Une repeated the name question to Zechs, who also nodded.
"Do you fear the light?" she asked, as it is said the dead fear the light.
Both Relena and Zechs shook their heads. Lady Une went quiet, saying nothing for quite some time.
"Then we must seek Treize and Marimeia, they will know." She said finally.
The three of them went through the halls and up the stairs. The servants greeted them, and they stared at Relena, not knowing who she was. Ron Shirin went into a "this place is haunted" frenzy, which was ignored by all.
They walked up through the upstairs corridor. It was dark, but Relena took out a candle and lit it. The three could see each other's faces, but that was all.
"This is all your fault," the dark-blonde girl hissed to the older woman. "If you opened some curtains, we wouldn't be in this mess."
Lady Une glared at her, opening her mouth to snap back, but they had reached the place. Relena's candle accidentally went out as she was breathing heavily on it. Zechs pushed opened the door, and they saw Treize and Marimeia, sitting on the floor, playing with the little girl's rag doll.
Lady Une's mouth fell open when she saw her daughter. "Marimeia..." she whispered, tears in her eyes.
"What is it, Zechs?" Treize asked, puzzled. Marimeia looked at him in the same way.
"Marimeia, don't you see me?" Lady Une cried. She was now crying, almost having an emotional breakdown.
"Or me?" Relena asked. "Don't you remember me, Marimeia? We use to play together on the swings at the back of the house?"
"Do you see anyone?" Zechs asked, his voice was low. He stared into Treize's eyes, then into Marimeia's.
Relena pulled out a candle and a match. She stepped into the darkness and lit it.
The little girl frowned and stared at the candle. "I see a candle," she whispered to Zechs. "But the only person I can only see you." She stopped, and asked him, her voice was filled with fear. "Do you think it's the ghosts?"
Lady Une let out a scream of fright, but the ginger-hair man and his daughter did not hear it.
The dead can see the living, yet the living cannot see the dead. The dead sees the dead. The living sees the living.
Relena blew out her candle, and disappeared into the darkness.
The End
A/N: well, hope you like that! I think I may be started up another new story because no one is reading my stuff. Which means it may be some time before I update again. Yes, yes, I know I keep saying that then starting another chapter straight away, but if it gets reviews, I might just continue with it.
I'm running out of ideas for my next horror chapter. I'm also running out of useable Gundam Wing characters. I'm going to use Catherine (who didn't do ANYTHING in the story. Sorry about that), Dorothy (who was just mentioned) and Hilde. I guess I have people like the scientists, Quinze, Tubarov and Silvia left, but I don't feel like using them (for reasons).
Thanks to the new reviewer: Eternal*Sailor*Darkness, and PrincessCat for putting the same review in 4 times! ^_^