The sun had barely risen in the ashen gray skies when she awoke, blinking twice and rubbing her eyes sleepily before glancing to her side, noticing only faint light from behind the filmy drapes that hung across her frosty windows.
She could see her breathe in the air, and the air was cold and crisp around her, nearly crackling with energy as she sat up, shivering, grabbing the comforters and wrapping it around her thin shoulders.
"Miss Mabel?"
Mabel glanced up to see her best friend and maid, Sylvia, standing at the heavy oaken doors of her room, holding what appeared to be a silver tray with a cup of steaming tea.
Sylvia approached the bed on which Mabel resided at the almost dismissive wave she received, and set the platter down on the beside table, taking up a small fur lined cape and setting it on the child's shoulder.
"You'll make yourself sick if you sit like that in this weather, Miss Mabel, please try to take care of yourself more."
Mabel didn't give any form of response as she leaned over and picked up the fine china cup and started sipping the tea, her eyes unfocused. Sylvia took this as an initiative to start talking, as she combed her young mistress's hair and started to dress her.
Finally, the brown-haired maid stopped fussing over the seemingly emotionless child that sat and watched with silver blue eyes, and straightened up, holding the silver platter in her hands, now with an empty cup.
"Has something been bothering you, ojou-sama? You are awfully quiet this morn." Her concern reflected in her stormy green eyes, as Sylvia watched Mabel's reaction quite closely.
Mabel shook her head.
"No… I just had a strange dream. You can go along now, and prepare for our journey."
Sylvia nodded respectfully before leaving the room, the door making a gentle sound as it swooshed shut. At the young maid's absence, Mabel stood up from her chair, and moved into the area in front of her mirror.
They were preparing to go and visit a distant relative of Mabel's, at her own personal invitation, of course. Mabel knew and heard of the boy, of how emotionless and mature he seemed for such a young child, and what horrors he had encountered in his short life.
Mabel knew that people like him preferred being left alone, and not having too much company around him, but after the recent happenings of her own home, Mabel was all too eager to leave the darkening mansion and its overhanging gloom.
"Its not that I want to bother him," Mabel announced aloud, "I just want to get out of here, and there is no one else I can turn to."
Perhaps that was not the entire truth. There were indeed other people she could turn to. The reality was that the boy made her curious. She wanted to know about him and see him. Her fist clenched.
"I won't be intruding," she said resolutely, moving in front of the mirror so she could see her own ice cold eyes, "I'll ask to stay awhile, and I'll never be in his way."
"Of course you won't."
Mabel jumped at the sound of a new voice, an unfamiliar one a that, and whirled around, her raven hair whipping at her face as she looked around to see the intruder.
"Who's there?" she demanded, "Answer me now!"
the new voice, a smooth and sweet one, giggled.
"Don't sound so panicked, ojou-sama. Just think of me as your new friend. I won't hurt you, I just have one small request to ask of you. Please, won't you say yes?" the voice appeared to be coming from the ceiling, but when Mabel looked up, nothing was there but darkness.
"I might," she said, her voice trembling, "If you present yourself right now. I refuse to talk to voices with no bodies!"
the voice sighed.
"Oh, alright… if I am frightening you THAT much, I might as well come down. Please move to the right a little, my lady, I wouldn't want to land on you." Mabel moved cautiously to the right just as the voice instructed, waiting perhaps to see someone drop off the ceiling, but was shocked when a young boy shimmered into view next to her.
the boy appeared to be about her age, give or take, with sparkling lake blue eyes and a sweet smile, his figure slight and almost feminine. Taller than her by several inches. He grinned, and Mabel cringed.
"Don't be afraid, ojou-sama! I mean no harm! I only wanted to request your help, if you please…"
Mabel glanced around wearily, before moving back towards her bed, now smooth and wrinkled free – when has Sylvia come in and fixed it…?
"Oh, she didn't," the boy continued, floating steadily next to her, "I did that. I figured that if you were to help me, the least I could do is become one of your faithful servants." His eyes sparkled at her. finally, Mabel sighed, biting her lips and turning to face him, her arms crossing as she glared.
"Stop!" she yelled, "Stop that! Stop answering my thoughts! You'll answer when I tell you to, and only then! You are my servant, then, are you not? Servants don't talk unless they are spoken to!"
Mabel wasn't normally a harsh person. In fact, she was usually sweet and kind, albeit, a bit childish, but never harsh. Yet, the boy's eyes sparkled at her with new light.
"I am your servant?" he asked, "Does that mean you accept?"
Mabel paused lightly, before muttering, "that was a slip of the lips. But depending on your request, I might decide to help. Yet, you are in my house, are you not? If you are in my house, then you must be one of the servants."
The boy looked hurt.
"Wouldn't you consider me to be… say, a family member?" he asked, "I can be your older brother. Call me oniichan!"
Mabel turned her head slightly, staring out the windows, the windows of which the curtains had finally been drawn, noticing the trace of the sun as it rose in the sky.
"I don't have family," she said finally, "So you can't be my older brother. But pray, tell me your name. and can you be anything less ghostly? I'll not have a poltergeist following me around like such."
The boy grinned, and floated to her bed, sitting down.
"Sure I have a name," he said, "My name is Jack, and it certainly is great becoming your acquaintance."