Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom Manor. It is copyright to Disney. Several characters in this story are my own creations. I think you can guess which ones. And I've said it before and I'll say it again, I greatly admire Aquarain Wolf's work. By the way, when are you going to continue the sequel to your 1000 and 1001 Grim Grinning Ghost fic?
I have made Madame Leota's poem a bit longer.
Chapter 4: Madame Leota's Flashback
Zeke looked about him. He was a in a dark room, with pillars rising to the arch ceiling, topped by menacing griffin gargoyles. Draped curtains hung around the room, and Zeke to see yellow storm clouds slipping by the windows. At the centre of the room rested a dusty table covered by a web-like tablecloth. A series of tarot cards were scattered across the table's surface and in the middle of the table was a large misty crystal ball.
Zeke approached the ball wondering why it was misty within. As he stared into its depths, a woman's face suddenly appeared and stared back, causing Zeke to fall to the floor in shock.
The woman's head was pale and was ghostly. Her hair was wild and a purplish blue. Her eyes seemed distant and the green mist that swirled around her made her look very mysterious. She suddenly opened her mouth a flood of words spilt out.
"Goblins and ghoulies, creatures of fright! We summon you now, to dance through the night!" she cried.
The table suddenly floated up from the ground and danced about in midair.
"Spirits and phantoms on your proud stallions, escort the beautiful bride through the night!" she continued. "Warlocks and witches, answer this call, your presence is wanted… at this ghostly ball."
A strong wind blew into the room and Zeke blocked it with his hand.
"From midnight to the first day of light, we will waltz together with the ghastly elite," continued the woman, the green mist within the crystal ball spinning about like an imprisoned tornado.
"Evil lurks throughout this house, nothing can escape, neither bird nor mouse. The Phantom hides in the black, the clock's hands turn back!"
The final words the woman said caught Zeke's interest.
"Join the spirits now in nuptial doom! A ravishing bride, a vanishing groom!"
"Whoa, what was that?" asked Zeke.
The woman stopped her incantations and looked at Zeke.
"I said: Join the spirits now in nuptial doom! A ravishing bride! A vanishing groom!" replied the woman.
"Hmmm… interesting," said Zeke.
"You seek answers, Mr. Ravenswood," said the woman.
"Yes I do. Hang on, how do you know my name?" said Zeke.
"I know a lot more about you. I am Madame Leota, seer of all and voice to the spirits," said the woman.
"Pleasure. Now you said something about nuptial doom?" said Zeke. "But doesn't that mean that if Melanie and her groom got married, then the manor would have been in jeopardy?"
"That I cannot answer. I was once not in this ball you know. I was killed and imprisoned in this chamber by the Phantom!" said Madame Leota. "In this house once lived beauty, but on a wedding day there was a mutiny."
"Go on," said Zeke.
"A great evil named The Phantom was on the loose. He invaded the manor and hung Melanie's lover, by a noose. She wanders the halls, waiting for her love, not knowing he is hanging up above. The Phantom has cursed the house and town, now everything is old, decaying and brown," said Madame Leota.
"Can you please talk in normal English!" cried Zeke, looking a little frustrated.
"Look, this is how I speak!" shouted Madame Leota.
"Alright, you're coming with me!" cried Zeke and he approached Leota and picked up the crystal ball she was in.
"Hey! What are you doing? Put me down!" shrieked Madame Leota as Zeke carried her towards a door.
"You're coming with me. We're gonna find some clues to solve this mystery!" said Zeke.
"Please don't drop me! I'm very fragile!" said Madame Leota, worringly looking at the ground.
The two found themselves on a balcony, which overlooked the once-magnificent ballroom of the Phantom Manor. Even though it was now decrepit and old, it still was magnificent in a way. It was dark in the ballroom, but Zeke could make out several objects including a long stretching dining table with a moldy wedding cake on it and a massive pipe organ built on the far left of the ballroom.
"Is this what happened on the wedding day?" asked Zeke to Leota.
"Allow me to show you. I have a gift of showing past events," said Madame Leota.
The ballroom was suddenly covered in a sepia-coloured tone. The ballroom was lit beautifully and was now amazing. The chandelier was lit with millions of candles and there was a loud, but wonderful tune from the pipe organ. The room was now full of socialising people. Not ghosts but living people. The moldy wedding cake on the dining table was now perfect. Guests were filing into the room via some doors, and servants were taking wedding presents from them and placing them in the expanding pile. Then, the room went quiet as the organist started playing the Bridal March and a beautiful voice echoed through the room. Coming down the staircase, dressed in an elegant dress was Melanie, a bouquet of roses in her hand.
An elderly woman wearing a large green hat stood up a placed her hands to her face, admiring Melanie's beauty.
"Oh, Melanie, you look wonderful!" cried the woman.
Melanie smiled as she made her way down the steps.
Zeke looked to Madame Leota.
"Can they see us?" he asked.
"No. They can neither see nor hear us," said Madame Leota. "Now watch."
As Melanie was about to reach the half-way step on the stairway, the lights on the chandelier all went out and a drunken man swinging precariously on the chandelier looked at it curiously. A sudden horrendous laughter erupted from the window and everyone gasped as they saw a mysterious figure dressed in a cloak and top hat materialised in a window.
"This wedding will not take place!" shouted the man and a spray of lightning bolts erupted from his hands and electrocuted everyone in the room, except Melanie.
Within seconds, the electricity vanished and everyone dropped dead. Melanie's grandmother fell to the floor, as did the ballroom dancers and anyone else standing. The drunken man fell from the chandelier and landed with a loud thud on the dining table, shattering plates and glasses. The organist slumped onto the organ keys. Melanie hurried down the stairs to her dead grandmother.
"No!" sobbed Melanie.
The man, who Zeke guessed was the Phantom laughing menacingly and then disappeared. There was a sudden flash of light and Zeke and Leota returned to present time. Madame Leota suddenly commanded Zeke to duck down. Zeke leapt downwards and nearly dropped Leota.
"Why are we hiding?" asked Zeke.
"The ghosts are materialising!" said Madame Leota.
She was right. All of a sudden, the ballroom was lit again and the wedding scene was right before Zeke's eyes. The Phantom stood in the shattered window, laughing evilly. Melanie stood on the staircase, tears rolling down her face, sang mournfully.
The dining table had shattered plates and overturned glasses scattered across it and the moldy wedding cake was untouched. Ghostly guests, including Melanie's grandmother sat at the table, socialising constantly, worried that they would be destroyed by the Phantom. An old lady ghost sat in an armchair by a fireplace, the hearth occupied with green flames. A happy-looking chap sat on the fireplace, his arm around a bust. A sea captain stood near the old lady, spontaneously looking about the room through his telescope. The drunken ghost swung precariously from the large chandelier, a cane hooked around the chandelier, so that he wouldn't fall.
Beside the table on the left, four ghostly couples swirled and twirled forever, not stopping to catch their breath. They waltzed to the organ, which played the same melody Melanie was singing. The organist crouched over the organ, his hair in a withering ponytail and he had a grim face. Millions of wraiths flew out of the organ's pipes and disappeared into midair.
"Come, let's get out of here. We must go to Melanie's boudoir," said Madame Leota.
Zeke took one quick glance at Melanie before dashing off into the darkness.
The two entered a fairly more beautiful room than any they'd encountered already. It was one of the few beautiful rooms left in the house. Green wallpaper with flower patterns surrounded the room and a fireplace burned with an orange glow. But a music box played the same tune that Zeke had heard in Melanie sing throughout the manor and from the organ.
Then, Zeke noticed a figure sitting before a large mirror that was misty, making it look like a giant skull. The figure was none other than Melanie, still in her wearing dress. But when Zeke looked at her face, he discovered that it was now aged and wrinkled.
"What happened?" asked Zeke and he placed Madame Leota on a table.
"She was only 21 when she was to be married, 35 years passed and Melanie aged," said Leota. "It was seconds after this moment that Melanie was surprised by the Phantom and she fled down to the wine cellar, but she tripped over and was stabbed by some crystal spires and she died."
"If the Phantom was here right now, I'd rip his head off!" shouted Zeke.
"Please…" spoke a soft voice.
Zeke looked over to Melanie, who was looking back at him. Her green eyes were flooded in tears.
"Please, discover who the Phantom is, so I can find my love," begged Melanie, extending a hand towards Zeke.
Zeke got to his knees and placed Melanie's aging hand between his and he stared determinedly into her eyes.
"I promise you, I will solve this mystery, break the curse and set you free!" said Zeke, sounding like a great statesmen giving out a speech that would go down in history.
Melanie sobbed joyfully and hugged Zeke, before unexpectedly dematerialising.
"Thankyou…" said Melanie, as she disappeared.
Character Cards
Madame Leota: A gypsy woman imprisoned within a crystal ball by the Phantom. She is a guide to Zeke throughout the remainder of the story and will help him uncover the truth and identity of the Phantom. She is fairly powerful and can make objects float or show past events in the manor.