Disclaimers: Ah...nothing belongs to me. Except this fic. But I think i've said that already.

Filia meets the resident 'ghost'. Let the haunting begin!

Restless Spirit
Chapter 3 - Seeing is Believing

            When Filia awoke to the sound of the clock chiming, it was eight o'clock.  The sun set low in the horizon, the brilliant colors illuminating the surface of the water; the sky a canvas of the master Painter.  Dark clouds threatened to overtake this display of beauty, and Filia felt herself shiver as she sleepily gazed at this breathtaking scene.  It was yet another reminder of why she had moved there. 

            She yawned and stretched, looking around at the darkened room with mild curiosity.  She'd had the strangest dream, one that she had no idea where it came from.  A pair of eyes lurking in the shadows…a silent figure crouched in the corner, his countenance dark and sinister, yet, somehow…sad.  His intentions were no good, of that she was sure.  He had watched her sleep…

            She cringed at that thought, but tried to dismiss it.  There was no one in the corner, no hidden figure lurking in the shadows.  No glowing eyes in the darkness.  No one but herself and the quiet ticking of the clock on the mantle.  Unfortunately, she didn't feel quite as alone as she wanted to.  The memory of that menacing presence in her dreams was almost impossible to shake.

            She chided herself for being so silly.  Her dream was most likely the effect of Mr. Calloway's words from earlier that day; the cowardly, superstitious little man.  Of course, Val had claimed to see someone in the window…but that was also questionable.  Val was an impressionable little boy despite his intelligence for such a young age.  He tended to take an idea and run with it, whether it was a good idea or not.  He also exaggerated a lot, which was a good reason for to not quite believe him. 

            Filia sighed.  Ghost or no ghost, she wasn't going to allow such superstitious nonsense to enter her mind and ruin her first day in her new home.

            However, that was easier said than done.  A shift in the shadows made her heart lurch in her chest.  A sudden rustle in the curtains caused by a rush of wind through the open window made her nearly jump out of her chair.  She clutched a hand to her chest and mentally ordered herself to calm down. 

            Then the door opened with a loud 'click' behind her, and that was it.

            "AAAIIIEEEE!!!"

            She clamped a hand over her mouth, but not fast enough to stop herself from letting loose with a startled, shrill scream.  She instantly felt foolish when she saw whom the unknown intruder was, cowering against the wall across from her doorway with a horrified expression on his face.  She couldn't decide which of them looked more startled…most likely her trembling intruder, now sitting on his rear, looking very much like he was going to start crying.

            "Jacob, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, rushing to her fallen, shocked servant and offering her hand to help him to his feet.

            "I didn't mean ta give ye a fright, Miss," he quickly apologized, handing her the empty money purse with a dejected expression.  "I jes wanted ta tell ye that I fixed your tea…"  His lower lip trembled as he fumbled nervously with his hat.

            Filia sighed wearily.  "Thank you, Jacob.  I'm not angry, I promise."

            "Aye, Miss," he answered, looking relieved.  "Did ye sleep well?"

            "I did, thank you."  Filia bit her lip.  "I had a terribly strange dream, and that's why I was so startled when you opened the door.  But it's no matter.  I was just being silly…"

            Jacob nodded like he understood, but Filia could tell that he really didn't.  He stared fixedly at the floor, clearly unable to think of anything to say, and she regarded him with an amused, gentle smile.  Then a thought struck her, and she dared to ask him.

            "Jacob," she began.

            "Yes, Miss?"

            She bit her lip again.  "I…was wondering.  Did you notice anything…out of the ordinary, today?"

            He thought for a moment, tapping his forefinger against his chin almost comically.  "Aye, now thet ye mention it, I did notice thet the lights keep flickerin' every now and then.  But I was assumin' thet the 'lectric weren't so good in this place.  Me an' George'll be fixin' it fer ye tomorrow mornin'.  'Tis gonna storm tonight."

            Filia smiled, feeling somewhat relieved.  "Yes, I think that will be good.  Thank you, Jacob.  Now, shall we have some tea?"

            ***

            Later that night, after finally getting Val to take a bath and wash the sticky dried ice cream off of his hands and face, she managed to get the still-wide-awake and rambunctious child tucked into bed.  Lying next to Val was their cat, Silver, regarding Val with an amused expression.  Val was still chattering on, clearly unwilling to let Filia go until she'd heard all about his day.

            "And we saw this really shiny red car in town, Filia-mum!  It was simply beautiful, and I told Jacob that you could probably get one.  Then you and I could go driving down to the beach instead of walking.  Have you been down to the beach yet?  It's ever so nice.  The water was so cold, I about froze my feet off!  Jacob and George wouldn't get in but they told me not to wade in, just stick my feet in.  I want to go swimming tomorrow, can I?  Please?"

            Filia shook her head, smiling.  "It's too cold to swim, dear.  You'll have to wait until summer."  Laughing at the sour expression on Val's face, she added, "Summer is just a hop-skip-and a jump away, Val.  It'll be here before you know it, and you'll be complaining for cool weather yet again."

            Val shook his head vigorously.  "No, no, no, I want to have hot weather forever so I can swim!  I'm so glad we moved here, Filia-mum.  It's nice here."

            "Yes it is," Filia agreed.  "Now close your eyes and go to sleep.  Perhaps you'll dream of the ocean."

            Reluctantly, Val nuzzled the pillow and increased his deathgrip on his teddybear.  "Uh uh, I'd rather see the ocean now," he mumbled, but it wasn't two seconds later his eyelids drifted shut.  Filia smiled and ruffled his hair slightly.  "Delightful boy, you are," she whispered.  "Sleep well."

            She flicked off the light and closed the door behind her, wondering what, indeed, she would do now.  She wasn't very tired, having taken a much longer nap than she'd intended to earlier.  Outside, lightning flashed, followed by a deep roll of thunder that nearly made her jump out of her skin.  She gasped, clutching her heart.  She'd never cared for thunderstorms, but they'd never made her jumpy like this.

            To make matters worse, the lights began to flicker again.  She eyed them, wondering briefly if it was really a problem with the electricity, or something else…

            "Get ahold of yourself," she said aloud, trying to calm her nerves.  "It's just the storm."

            She made her way downstairs, passing George and Jacob on their way up.  "Going to bed, boys?" she asked them.

            "Aye, Miss," Jacob replied for both of them.  Filia had soon discovered that Jacob answered for his brother quite often.  George rarely spoke unless practically forced to.  She'd long since given up trying to bring the burly young man out of his shell.

            Filia smiled.  "Well, then, goodnight boys.  Sleep well." 

            "Thank ye, Miss."

            The two continued up the stairs, Jacob whispering to George something that she couldn't make out.  She grinned, thinking again that they were quite amusing in their own way.  They'd come a long way from the boys that they were when she'd taken them in.  They had been filthy, bruised from numerous beatings from either their parents or random street fights, and terribly jumpy, looking around with wide eyes as though they'd take off running any second.  Flighty as birds.  She'd had to work hard to get them to trust her fully, but they'd always given her the utmost respect.  Jacob, constantly apologizing.  George, who said nothing but would bow his head ever so slightly as though she were royalty.  This annoyed her at first, but she quickly realized that they were scared to death of her kicking them out.  No matter how much she might try to assure them that she would never make them leave, they wouldn't hear it.  They were still afraid.

            She sighed, lost in her thoughts about her two unlikely servants, and almost walked past the kitchen door.  She was unable to stop herself from giggling.  "Wake up, Filia, you're starting to look like a fool," she said aloud.  There was another crash of thunder, and she jumped again, feeling even more foolish. 

            She rummaged through the cupboards, looking for the package of cookies that Val had been eating earlier.  After finding them, she nibbled on one as she placed the teapot on the iron stove.  The fire had gone out, and she was beginning to feel the chill that had crept into the room.  She found the pack of matches on the shelves next to the stove and lit one.  However, just before she could throw it into the mess of wood and ash, it went out.

            Curious.

            She glared at the match reproachfully, and lit another one, only to have it do the same thing again.  Getting thoroughly frustrated, she looked around to see where the draft of air could be coming from.  No, the windows were all shut, and even the kitchen door was closed.  Though the air was chilly, there was no possible way for the match to blow out.  But it had.

            Glancing around once more, she deduced that the matches had been faulty ones, and struck another one.  This time, she lowered the match into the stove, praying that she wouldn't get her hand burnt off, and a millisecond before the flame touched the bark of the wood, it went out. 

            She had felt it that time.  An unmistakable puff of air, exactly like someone blowing a candle out; cold and drafty, in her direction.  In her mind's eye she could almost see someone standing behind her, laughing at her, his eyes twinkling maliciously, most likely hoping that he'd scared her good enough to get her to leave.

            Was she truly that dense?  She was fuming at this point, her face red, and her eyes seeming to flare just as red as her temper.  Huffily, she stood up and turned, only to see the wall and no one standing behind her.

            Gathering her courage, and trying to ignore the thought of being thoroughly humiliated if someone found her talking to herself, she said aloud, "I know you're here."  Pause.  Nothing.  "I say, I know you're here.  If you're going to haunt me, have some dignity, will you, and allow me to have a bit of tea first."

            Silence.

            For a moment, Filia wanted to berate herself for even allowing such foolish notions, but that thought was quickly driven away when a soft, amused voice spoke out of the darkness:

            "Light your match, then.  Go on."

            Filia felt as though the air had been knocked out of her.  Shaking tremendously, she clenched her jaw and said through gritted teeth, "How can I if you keep blowing it out?"

            Again, with a little more force, the voice said, "Light the match!"

            She complied quickly with no further questions. 

            Once the fire was going strong, she turned shakily around, and nearly screamed when she saw the darkened figure silhouetted against the flash of lightning.  She also nearly knocked over her lamp when she backed up against the counter, her eyes wide.  "So y-you're the…ghost…" she said. 

            "You could say that," he replied silkily, and she could see his smile gleaming in the shadows.  Not to mention his eyes…those eyes seemed to contain a light of their own.  The rest of his face was hidden by dark shadows.

            "Well, what are you then if you're not a ghost?" Filia asked, somehow surprised at her boldness.  She wasn't even sure if he was really there; perhaps she was dreaming.  So she pinched herself, and winced.  No, she wasn't dreaming…

            "Ghost is sufficient enough of a word," he said.  "You, on the other hand, seem to have a hard time believing I'm here."

            "Ghosts don't exist," she said, feeling somewhat stupid.

            He laughed then, clear and strong, and she thought she could detect a note of bitterness there.  "I don't exist, do I?  I always thought that seeing was believing…apparently not for you." 

            "I don't know if what I'm seeing isn't an illusion," she replied stiffly.  "I could be having a hallucination, caused by my fear of the storm and what Mr. Calloway told me earlier about there being a ghost in this house."

            "Calloway is a fool," he snarled.  "But at least he believes that I exist.  He has never even seen me, but he heard my voice and that was enough for him."

            His eyes then narrowed dangerously as he stared at her, the whites of his teeth gleaming in the flash of lightning, and for a moment she could almost see the outline of his face, framed by long, dark, stringy hair.  She suppressed a shiver, and defiantly met his gaze. 

"You, my dear, will soon find that my presence will be more than enough for you to believe," he whispered.  And then he was gone, leaving Filia to her confused thoughts and a loudly whistling teapot.

Oi! I got another chapter written. Lovely ^_^ I now have mostly the entire plot planned out, so hopefully it will get written faster, eh? Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, at least.