EDIT: So I decided to finally get off my lazy butt and change the conversations up so they're easier to read. No more hard to understand Shakespeare! :D Anyway, I hope this makes it a little easier to understand, and I'll probably be cutting scenes out and adding things in so, haha :P Have fun with the edited version.

Honestly, now I have no idea what I was thinking. While I was reading over this, I realized why some people got mad *bows deeply begging for forgiveness* I hope this makes up for it.

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I will tell you ahead of time, I will not include all the scenes in the play they are basically acting out. There is a very big possibility that I will talk about all the skipped scenes, but I may miss a few so please don't kill me if I do. I know that when they talk it'll be hard to understand, but if you've read the play before or haven't I'm hoping the character's action will be sufficient enough explanation. And yes, I'm not saying the play's name on purpose. If you figure out which one it get I'll give you a virtual cookie :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any works by Shakespeare. All quotes and conversations belong to Shakespeare.

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Chapter 7: Out of Character

When light returned to my vision I was standing in base, but none of the original furniture was there. The monitors and electronics were also gone. Old fashioned furniture lined the room. A deep cherry wood desk was by the window. Its surface was well-worn. Two old couches were placed around an old coffee table accompanied by a high-backed sitting chair. On the side table a book labeled "A Midsummer Night's Dream" lay open, face-down.

I sat on one of the couches in an old Victorian-style dress in a crème color. Naru sat beside me in his usual black suit, holding my hand and looking high and mighty, per usual. In a greyish suit Yasu sat in the high-backed armchair. On a couch across from Naru and me, Lin sat in his usual suit glaring at us.

Outside the room I could hear a man and a woman talking. Their voices sounded vaguely familiar. The voices got closer and I had to cover a gasp when I saw who walked in.

Naru's parents walked through the door in long, formal looking robes. I caught the tail end of their conversation. "…with extravagant festivals, public festivities, and celebration."

Lin stood up. "Long live Martin, our renowned duke," he said. He bowed to Martin.

Martin held up his hand. "Thanks, Lin. What's up?"

Lin stood up and gestured to me. "I'm here to complain about my daughter Mai.—Step forward, Yasuhara.-"

Yasu stood and stepped up beside Lin. I watched the proceedings with growing confusion, wondering exactly what was wrong with my friends and when I had become Lin's daughter.

"Martin, I have given Yasu permission to marry her, but this man… —Come forward, Oliver.-" Lin gestured to Naru who stood, but did not step forward.

"But this man has put a spell on her." He pointed an accusing finger at Naru, glaring burning daggers at him. "You, Oliver, you've given her poems and exchanged tokens of 'love', enchanting her imagination with trinkets and toys, singing and locks of your hair, but you've only pretended to love her! You're trying to steal her heart, making her stubborn and harsh instead of obedient (like she should be)." He muttered the last part, glaring down at his clenched fist. He jerked his head up and continued on with his tirade.

I'd tuned out by now, trying oh so hard to figure out what the hell was going on. This was really not normal for anyone. Well, maybe Yasu seeing as he loved to be dramatic, but not the others, especially Lin.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Mai? Think carefully. Your father should be like a god to you seeing as he is the one who gave you your beauty." He smiled over at Lin who nodded at the compliment. He returned his gaze back to me a second later, all serious once more. "Realize that you're like a wax figurine to him, he can decide to keep you intact or disfigure you. Yasuhara is a worthy gentleman," Martin asked, explaining to me something that I was slowly starting to believe was true.

I shook my head. I jumped up, my temper flaring though I didn't yell. "So is Oliver."

Martin nodded. "You're right, but your father wishes you to marry Yasuhara, not Oliver. In this situation, you must consider Yasuhara the better man." He shrugged like it was out of his hand, watching me expectantly.

I frowned. I wanted to scoff something about how Yasu was still a boy, but instead, I said, "I wish Father could see them how I see them." I glared hard at Lin.

"Actually, you have to see them as Lin sees them," Martin corrected.

I made a noise in the back of my throat between a snort and a growl. See through his eyes? Like that was ever going to happen. "Pardon me, but I don't know what makes you think that I can do that, and I don't know exactly what will happen if I speak my mind to you. It may damage my reputation. But please, go ahead and tell me what will happen to me if I refuse to marry Yasu," I said holding a hand over my mouth as if I were doing anything, but asking for forgiveness.

"You'll either be executed or never see another man. Think carefully, and consider how young you are. Do you really want to be a nun the rest of your life? A virgin priest may be rewarded in heaven, but a married woman is happier here."

I tuned out once more, not needing to hear Martin's speech about virgin and married woman. It held no interest for me. Instead, I studied Naru, Yasu, Lin and Martin, trying to figure out what had gone wrong with this picture. My mind struggled against the bonds that were being placed on it, trying to constrict me to my role.

Martin concluded his speech bluntly, staring at me with slightly annoyed eyes.

I stared him down, and was vehement with my answer. "You know, I'd rather be a nun than give up my virginity to someone I don't love," I spat at him, enjoying as the jaws of three out of four of the men tightened.

Martin sighed out his tensions. "Take some time to think. By the next moon –the day I will finally marry Luella- be ready to either be executed, marry Yasuhara, or to take your vows as a nun," Martin ordered.

"Come now, Mai, just give in, and Oliver, stop acting like she'd yours because she'd not. I've got more of a right to her than you do," Yasu said, staring at the two of us. Just to annoy him a little bit more and as an act of defiance, I slid my hand into Naru's. I glared back at him, hating how he considered me his property.

Naru smirked. "You have her father's love, Yasu. Why don't you marry him and I'll marry Mai?" he asked patronizingly.

Lin burst out, "You're right, Oliver, he does have my love and that's exactly why I'm giving him my daughter. She's mine, and I'm giving her to Yasu."

Naru turned to Martin and said earnestly, "Sir, I'm just as noble and rich as he is. I love Mai more than he does. I am just as good as he is, if not better. And Mai loves me—which is more important than all those other things I'm bragging about. Why shouldn't I be able to marry her? Yasu courted Nedar's daughter, Masako, and made her fall in love with him. Masako loves devoutly. She adores this horrible and unfaithful man." Now it was his turn to point an accusing finger at Yasu.

Martin nodded. "I have to admit I've heard something about that, and meant to ask Yasuhara about it, but I was too busy other things that it slipped my mind." He sighed again, scratching the back of his head. "Anyway, Yasuhara, Lin, come with me. I want to say a few things to you in private. As for you, Mai, get ready to do as your father wishes, because otherwise the law says that you must die or become a nun, and there's nothing I can do about that." He shrugged his shoulders apologetically once more before turning to Luella. "Luella, how are you, my love?"

Glancing over his shoulder, he said, "Yasuhara and Lin, come with us. I want you to do some things for our wedding, and I also want to discuss something that concerns you both." I had a feeling that that last part must have had something to do with what Luella and he were talking about before they came in.

Lin bowed again. "Of course, sir."

Naru and I glared at the three men, leaving before they could take a step. I gave a shaky sigh and ran my hand through my hair. It was put up in a messy bun, but I didn't care about it getting pulled out.

Naru looked at me with worried eyes. "What's the matter? You look pale," he asked, touching my cheek gently and he pulled me to a gentle stop.

I glanced at the ground woefully, tears filling my eyes. "Oh, I'm sure they'll go back to being red once I start crying," I told him.

"Oh! Listen, in books they say that true love always faces obstacles. Either the lovers have different social standings-," he started to say, cupping my face.

"Oh, what an obstacle that would be! Imagine being too high on the social ladder, and falling in love with someone beneath you," I said sarcastically, scrubbing at my eyes. If I thought about it that was Naru and me. He was a rich paranormal researcher and I was a struggling high school student. How ironic that was.

"Or they were very different ages-," he listed next.

"How awful! Being too old to marry someone young," I cried, throwing my hand against my forehead dramatically.

"Or their friends and parents said no-," he said with an almost grin.

I wasn't crying anymore. I was just annoyed now as I said, "What hell, to have your love life determined by someone else!" That was what this seemed to be, whatever this was.

"Or their love might be ruined by war, death, or sickness, making what they had only last an instant. Their time together might be fleeting, lasting only the space of a heartbeat. Before you know it, it's gone. That's how intense things like love are quickly destroyed," he said, holding my arms down to my side so I wouldn't punch something.

All the fight went out of me and I started to calm down as those thoughts started to filter through my mind. "I guess it's a rule of fate for something to always go wrong for true lovers. If it's a normal part of love, I guess we'll just have to be patient," I told him.

Naru grinned and nodded his head. "That's the right attitude. I have an aunt who is a widow, who's very rich and doesn't have any children. She lives about twenty miles from here, and she thinks of me as a son. I could marry you there where the strict laws of Athens can't touch us. So here's the plan. You'll sneak out of your father's house tomorrow and meet me in the forest a few miles out of town. You remember the place, I met you there once with Masako to celebrate May Day. I'll wait for you there," he told me with an excited lilt to his voice.

"Oliver, I swear I'll be there tomorrow. I give you my word, I will meet you there tomorrow," I said, sealing the promise with a kiss.

When I finally broke away, Naru said, "Keep your promise, my love." He glanced down the hallway and smiled. "Oh look, here comes Masako."

Masako walked down the hallway, coming over to us. She also wore a Victorian-style dress, but in a baby blue color. "Hi, beautiful Masako! Where you off to?" I asked as she came up next to me.

Masako looked at me with an odd look to her eyes. "Did you just call me 'beautiful'? Take it back. You're the beautiful one as far as Yasu is concerned. Oh, you're so lucky! Your eyes are like stars, and your voice is more musical than a lark's song is to a shepherd in the springtime. Sickness is contagious - I wish beauty were contagious too! I would catch your good looks before I left. If the world was mine, I'd give it all up -everything except Yasu- to be you," she sighed solemnly, "Teach me how you look the way you do and how you made Yasu fall in love with you."

She must have been lying through her teeth, she'd never think so highly of me. As far as I knew, she thought I was a piece of dirt on her shoe. The only thing was that I didn't think she was lying about the stuff about Yasu. This was a brewing recipe for disaster. I kind of wanted to hit her because she was being so oh-pity-me. That wasn't Masako's cup of tea.

"I frown at him, and curse him, and yet he still gives me love. The more I hate, the more he follows me," I grumbled, almost growling.

"The more I love him, the more he hates me," Masako said woefully, looking like a lost puppy. It wasn't hard to imagine her with drooping ears and a tail.

"Oh, Masako, it's not my fault that he's a thick headed bastard and acts the way he does."

She looked at me accusingly. "That's true, it's your beauty's fault. I wish I had a fault like that!"

I tried to comfort her. "Don't worry, he won't be able to see my face much longer. Oliver and I are running away," I told her, giddy for the plan to begin soon.

Naru jumped on the comforting train as well, though by now it sounded more like gloating that anything. Like we were rubbing her face in our happiness. "Masako, we'll tell you about our secret plan. Tomorrow night we plan to sneak out of Athens."

I nodded with a wide smile. "In the woods where you and I used to lounge around -that's where we're going to meet. From there, we're going to turn our backs on Athens. We'll look for new friends and keep the company of strangers," I told her excitedly, "Bye, Masako. Pray for us, and I hope you win over Yasu!"

I turned to Naru, pressing a finger into his chest. "Keep your promise, Oliver. We need to stay away from each other until midnight tomorrow."

Naru smiled. "I will, Mai," he told me. I grinned and ran off before either of them could say anymore.

"Bye, Masako. I hope Yasu comes to love you as much as you love him!" he called, trotting down the hallway in the opposite direction that I had disappeared.

Masako waved, smiling. Her smile dropped away as soon as Naru had disappeared. "It's amazing how much happier some people are than others! People throughout Athens think I'm as beautiful as Mai. But so what? Yasu doesn't think so, and that's all that matters. He refuses to admit..." She trailed off in a barely audible mutter, biting her thumb nail and trailing slowly after me.

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Hope this chapter wasn't too horrible. If you need translations and can figure out the play them got to "spark notes" this helped me a lot while I was reading this play. I couldn't stop laughing throughout most of this. There are so many OOC characters now xD. Does anyone know if I'll get in trouble for using the quotes and conversations from the play? Please tell me if I will so I can change it. I really don't want to get in trouble for plagiarism. Please review with comments and information on that please.