Disclaimer: Put plainly, I don't own Neopets. Now you can't sue.
Author's Note: So it hasn't been a blue moon, but dang I came close! I plan to finish this over Christmas break if Science Fair doesn't get in the way...
Chapter 14
Celtic
"Good morning Kate!" Celtic greeted me as I pushed open the door to the shop that morning, setting off the bell. 'Kaymara's bell...' I thought as I listened to the ring die down. "Skip left awhile ago but he should be back soon." Celtic said as she adjusted some of the oddly colored, bottled liquids on the shelf behind the counter. I nodded even though she still busied herself with the shelved items and had her back to me. I walked among the shelves while I waited for Skip, reading off labels to myself. Then I felt stupid. I wanted to ask Skip about my house; if Celtic was the elder of the two wouldn't she know something. After mentally slapping myself for wasted time (even though I really wanted to spend some time with Skip), I walked back over to the counter.
"Celtic?" I asked when I noticed she wasn't there. Then I saw her come from the back room, arms full of bottles, apparently she was rearranging the back shelf entirely because only now I noticed the empty spaces. "Oh, can I help with that?" I offered the starry Shoyru. Celtic beamed at me but shook her head.
"No help needed, I do this often enough not to need it." Then she set the potions on the floor and stood up. That's when I heard a bell ring. On instinct, I looked at the door, expecting to see Skip. He wasn't there. Frankly, I was very confused. I could have sworn I heard the door chime. I turned to ask Celtic if she had heard the ring when I spotted the black cord around her neck; and for some reason I felt as if I already knew what form the pendent took. Then I told myself it was preposterous. Kaymara spent three years looking for it if she hadn't found it yet, no one would. Then I heard a chime again.
"Hey Kate!" Skip said, coming through the door. "I got worried when I didn't catch you yesterday." Celtic laughed a bit as she worked.
"Yeah, worried he was. Then I told him off for thinking you didn't have a life!" Celtic said. I smiled a bit at the sad irony in her words. I really didn't have a life... Then I remembered the point in coming here.
"Hey, thanks for caring Skip." I said, causing him to lightly smile, "Oh, and Skip I have a few questions about my house..." Again Celtic butted in this time leaning on the counter and I felt sick when I saw dangling at her throat Kaymara's bell. As shiny and silvery as she had described it in her diary. I even sadly noticed the small engraving that Kaymara said Mother had had put on it. 'From my dear Kaymara' it read.
"That spooky old place? Your folks are something moving into that place I'll say." She said nodding her head and ignoring Skip's frown, "My mom used to work there, but after the place caught fire she was out of a job. Lucky to survive the blaze too, the newspaper said, that five of the servants, the mistress and her two daughters died in it. I think the master of the house would have gotten turned into a crisp as well if he hadn't died about two years earlier." That explained a lot, but what I didn't need to hear was the part about my dad. I think that if the fire didn't get Mother, grief would have. I watched as Celtic gave an innocent smile as Skip glared at her and picked up where she left off.
"Mom got really sick after that though, and well, died. I think it was better that way because about a week after the fire, pets that used to serve there started either disappearing or were found dead in their homes. A few are still alive but if you ever visit one of them, be careful what you say about that mansion. Awfully paranoid."
"You mean you've visited one of them?" I asked Skip, excited. Maybe if I found these people before my sister I could save them from an untimely death. It was Celtic hat nodded to my question though.
"After I told Skip of my encounter with one of Mom's colleagues, he's been avoiding Mrs. Wockyan. She was all a twitter and jumpy when I came in with the cookies Mom had baked her. When I mentioned the mansion catastrophe she practically turned to stone and then had some sort of break down on me. Poor Pteri..." Celtic said, shaking her head.
"Hey, but why talk about such dreary things?" Skip asked after a moment of silence. "Come on Kate, there's a tram from the Central to Terror Mountain at two today, wanna go?" I smiled and nodded my head. I'd worry about this whole thing at home...or at least try to save it until home.