(I do not own Soul Eater, Soul Eater NOT!, or any other related names. All rights belong to Manga Entertainment, Madman Entertainment, Square Enix, and Atsushi Okubo)
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- Chapter Three -
The First of the Ghosts
12:59 in the evening.
Silence was all Arachne heard in her bedchambers, save for the tick-tock sound that came from her grandfather clock that stood next to the left side of the fireplace. She laid perfectly still on the mattress of her bed, but even as she kept her eyes closed and tried her very best to fall asleep, for her recent encounter with Shaula's ghost could not escape from her mind, causing her to groan. However, what made her nervous heart beat in her chest was what Shaula had said before departing. She was going to be visited by three ghosts. For Arachne, this did not sound like she was going to have a pleasant experience. But then, her eyes shot wide open when her grandfather clock suddenly rang. Ding dong, dong ding! Dong ding, ding dong! Arachne immediately shot up and now sat on her bed. Because her eyes were now adjusted to the darkness, she could better see her grandfather clock. A gasp escaped her mouth when she saw that the big hand was on the twelve and the little hand was on the...
Expect the first ghost at one o'clock, she thought. She then grabbed her blanket and pulled them close to her, preparing for what she assumed would be the worst. She lightly flinched when she saw a small light flicker at the edge of her bed. It was almost bright enough to be a candle. But then, the light grew brighter and rose up to the point where it had become blinding. Arachne covered her eyes from the striking light, but eventually, the light died down, allowing her to see again. What she saw caught her by surprise. What she saw at the edge of her bed was a tall man, who appeared to be a little bit older than she was. On the ghost's white-haired head was a white top hat, and he was dressed in a frilled ruff and a well-fitting white tuxedo-like suit. In his hands was a cane, and a glowing golden aura surrounded him. Arachne eyed him guardedly.
"Are you the first of the ghosts that was foretold to me?" she asked hesitantly. The figure smiled pleasantly and nodded his head.
"Indeed, I am," the ghost responded, in a mighty-sounding voice. "For you see, I am the Ghost of Christmas Past." Arachne furrowed her brows curiously.
"Long past?" she enquired. The ghost shook his head.
"No, my dear lady," it stated. "My role is to show you the Christmas's of your past. The previous times of your younger years." Looking at him and considering him for a moment, Arachne stroke her chin.
"Um, Mr. Ghost," she began, but stopped when he waved his hand off at her and his smile grew bigger.
"Please, my dear lady, just call me..." he paused for second, "...Excalibur."
"Um, alright then, Excalibur." Arachne said, looking at him oddly. "You know, you were not what I was expecting to look..." She stopped for an instant. Excalibur's smile turned into a frown and looked at her with an offended face.
"Hmph! Listen, Arachne," the ghost said, "if people were measured by kindness, you would look no better than a single lump of coal." Arachne rested her hands on her lap and rolled her eyes at the ghost's little rant. She then let out a small yawn.
"Kindness is of little use in this world," she stated after laying back down on her bed and trying to sleep. Excalibur's smile returned, and he let out a light chuckle.
"You did not always believe that," he retorted, and then gestured for her. "Come on, Arachne. It is time to go."
"Then go," she grunted annoyedly. Excalibur suddenly grabbed the edge of her blanket and pulled it with all his might, now leaving Arachne uncovered. Arachne jolted back up and looked at him like had just committed a terrible crime. With a single snap of his fingers, the bedroom window slid all the way open. A massive puff of cold air assaulted the room and Arachne shivered when it touched her bare skinned arms and face. Arachne looked at Excalibur very much surprised.
"What are you doing?" she yelped.
"We are going to visit your past!" he stated with a smile. "You might as well hop out of bed this instant, because I am not leaving until you come." Arachne slumped her head and easily but carefully crawled off the bed and stood. She went and quickly grabbed her bathrobe from the coat hanger and put it on. After that, she then tied the bathrobe belt around her waist. After she walked up to Excalibur and then turned to the window. She gazed back at the ghost with an aghast look.
"Are you crazy?" she said. "I cannot fly! I am just human."
"Just hold onto my hand," Excalibur instructed, "and you will be alright."
With that, Arachne latched onto Excalibur's white-gloved hand, and then suddenly, the two became almost a float into the air. With a dramatic flick of his arm, Excalibur pointed his cane to the open window. A dreadful feeling told Arachne what that meant, and she held onto the ghost's hand tightly. In a split second, the two flew through the window and out into the skyline of Death City. Arachne yelled and hollered whenever it appeared like they were about to crash into a nearby building. Every time, she shouted, "Look out for that chimney!" or "Be careful!" or "Are you trying to kill us?!" Eventually, the two flew a little higher until the city was now far below them. Arachne made the mistake in looking down. She climbed up Excalibur's arm, shaking in fright and breath heaving heavily. Excalibur let out an amused chuckle.
"What's the matter, Arachne," he asked. "I thought you enjoyed looking down on the world." After saying that, Excalibur pointed his cane up at the sky and a single light shot out of the end. As the light reached near the sky above, it suddenly exploded like a firework, becoming as blindly bright as the sun itself. Arachne averted her gaze to avoid from having her eye sockets burn up. In a short while, Excalibur spoke.
"It's alright, Arachne," he said. "It's safe to look now."
After Arachne did so, she was surprised by what she saw. The sun was out and shining brightly over the sky, and to Arachne's further surprise, they longer loomed over Death City, but a different place entirely. Though granted the air was still frightfully cold, but astonishingly only a little bit. Once after the two made it back down below into the city streets, Arachne knelt to the grown and bowed her head so low until her forehead touched the grass-covered floor. Repeatedly, she thanked God that she was back on earth safe and sound. After she was done, she stood back up to her feet and gazed around at this suddenly new location.
"Where are we?" asked Arachne confusingly, turning to Excalibur, who only smiled in response.
"Salem, Oregon," Excalibur answered in a factual tone. "December 23rd, in the Year of Our Lord, 1997."
This caught Arachne completely off guard as sudden memories flashed through her mind. Oregon? 1997? Excalibur pointed to the direction behind Arachne. Arachne turned around and what she saw made her gasp and cover her mouth with both hands, her eyes now wide as could be. The building that which they were in front of was three floors high, all made of red bricks and over a dozen windows. The building expanded to be about almost two hundred yards long, taking up a large portion of the property. Excalibur held his hands behind his back, along with his cane.
"Do you remember this place?" the ghost asked.
"Remember it?" she said, her voice nearly trembling with emotional happiness, a genuine feeling that she had not felt in a very long time. "This use to be my old boarding school!" Unexpectedly, the school bell rang loudly, and about a minute or two later, the front doors burst wide open and a large majority of the student body poured out into the front yard, dressed in warm coats and jackets and carrying their backpacks and finished schoolwork. Arachne stood in the schoolyard, watching her former schoolmates, young girls and boys who had been her friends. There were two young girls among the large crowd whom Arachne instantly recognized.
"I know those two girls!" Arachne exclaimed excitedly. "That is Arisa and Lisa! And look over there! That is Joe Buttataki! And, and Azusa Yumi! Was that Mira Naigus I just spotted?" She immediately tried to greet them, but to her surprise, they did not respond. And so, Arachne turned to Excalibur puzzled.
"How come they did not notice us?"
"These are but shadows of past events that had happened years ago," Excalibur explained. "They can neither see nor hear us. They have no knowledge of our presence whatsoever." Arachne at first frowned, but smiled again when she turned to see all the students, dressed in matching outfits, who all either walked home from school, or waited for their parents to pick them up. They were all going home for Christmas, this Arachne realized. She let out a soft sigh and looked at all her former schoolmates with fondness in her gray eyes and smiled a delightful smile.
"These were all my friends," she muttered. "Look how young and happy they all were. I cannot believe that it has been this long." Her bottom lip began to tremble, and a small tear suddenly went down her left cheek. She quickly wiped it away with her hand. Excalibur noticed this, but Arachne simply shrugged it off.
"Oh, it is nothing," she lied. "I just have something in my eye, that is all." Excalibur looked at her with an incredulous smile, but decided to let it go.
"Do you know the way around here?" asked Excalibur.
"Know the way?" Arachne inquired and smiled brightly, after placing both her hands on her hips. "I know this place like the back of my hand!"
Once after entering inside the school and into the hallway that was lined with lockers, more memories flooded Arachne's brain. Happy memories of good times that she had not thought of in years. She remembered how much she loved this school. Sure, it was just like any other school in the world. But from Arachne's point of view, it was like going to Yale or Harvard. As the pair continued to traverse through the hallway, they both heard a small voice coming from one classroom located to their right. The door was left completely wide open. The two walked inside and examined the classroom. The ceiling was more than twelve feet high, with rows upon rows of chairs with their desks. The top half of the walls were painted white, while the bottom half were made of a solid wood.
Arachne gazed around at the barren classroom until she noticed a small child who sat secluded in the far-left corner at the other end of the classroom. Even from far away, Arachne could easily examine the appearance the child. The youngster appeared to be approximately fifteen-year-old girl, wearing a dark-gray dress and black ballet shoes, and had black hair tied in a single bun with two strands hanging down on each side of her face. Quietly, the young girl sang to O Coma All Ye Faithful with a sad look on her face. When the girl got to,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
...
she stopped, hesitating for a moment, and then found herself unable to finish the rest of the song. The girl shut her eyes tight as painfilled tears came pouring down her face. A couple times she sniffled and tried to wipe the tears away. Unfortunately, the terrible feeling was too great, and with the knowledge that no one was around to watch, the girl buried her tear-covered face into her desk and openly cried. Arachne watched helplessly, looking down at the young child with a sad and sympathetic expression. She saw how solitary the young girl was, with no one around to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be alright. She looked lonely and alone, as if she did not have a single friend in the world.
"Do you know who this is?" Excalibur asked. But Arachne believed that the ghost already knew what the answer was.
"Yes," she responded with a sinking heart. "This unhappy and deserted child... was me."
"Why were you so sad?" the ghost asked. Without turning to Excalibur, the older Gorgon sister explained her story.
"After my mother had died, my father, wanting to fill in the empty space, remarried," she described. Her hand tightened into balls of fists and she felt her anger rise. "My stepmother... She was a horrid woman; foul, unkind, revolting, she treated Medusa and I like we were stray dogs, whenever father was not around. When she found the perfect opportunity, she took it, and sent me off here to this school. I have not seen my family since. And because of her, I was not allowed to go home for Christmas like all the other children. It had almost been a year ago."
"That must have been terribly hard," Excalibur said with a sad expression of his own. Arachne turned around and shot the ghost her ever so familiar scowl.
"Life is hard," she coldly stated. For a moment, Excalibur remained silent until he finally said,
"Come, let us see another Christmas."
With a wave of the ghost's hand the entire classroom had quickly changed, aging within six years in mere few seconds. Arachne watched as the child before her transformed into that of a young adult woman at the age of twenty. She realized that it was now December 23rd, in the year 2003. She watched as her younger self wondered around the classroom until she stopped and let out a sad sigh, to which she thought would be another Christmas all by herself, and with no one else to celebrate it with. But then, a knocking came from the door. She turned around and saw someone that she had not seen in a long while. A familiar face that she had long hoped to see again.
Medusa Gorgon, who was now sixteen years of age at this point in time, stood inside the classroom, leaning back against the opened door with a big smile on her face. Arachne watched as her younger self beamed with glee, ran across the classroom, and gave her long-missed sister a big hug. She then planted kiss after kiss around Medusa's face, on her nose, her forehead, and her cheeks. Medusa laughed and held her arms up in protest.
"Alright, alright, I give up!" she exclaimed happily. In the end, the two finally calmed down from their excitement and looked at each other for a moment.
"My goodness, look at you!" Arachne said, astonished by her younger sister's aged appearance.
"Me?" Medusa said with a giggle. "Look at you! You've now got a bod that'll drive men crazy!" Her words rang true, for Arachne had almost become quite the attractive young lady since she was sent away. After that, the twenty-year-old Arachne placed both of her hands on her sister's face and then lightly ruffled her blonde hair. She swore she felt like she was going to cry.
"Oh, Medusa," she muttered, her bottom lip trembling and embraced her once again. "I've missed you so much." After releasing her, Arachne eyed her sister curiously.
"What are you doing here?" Medusa smiled big.
"I'm here to take you home," she declared. Arachne froze for a moment.
"... Home?"
"Yes, big sister. Home."
"But... But..." Medusa placed both of her hands onto Arachne's shoulders.
"You don't have to worry about Clara anymore," she said. Arachne lightly flinched at the mention of their stepmother's name. "When dad found out about what happened, he completely cut her off and sent her away. She won't trouble us anymore, Arachne." The older Gorgon sister blinked a few times and an excited feeling came over her.
"You mean..." It was here that Medusa could not hold back the joy inside her any longer.
"Yes, big sister!" she nearly exclaimed with an emotional smile. "You're coming home for Christmas! Tonight!"
Truly, Arachne could not describe just how jubilant she felt upon hearing those words escape her sister's mouth. The very words that she had waited to hear for a long time. Finally, she could be with her family and be happy again. No more would she be isolated from those she cared about. Before she could say another word, she heard a strange noise coming from below. On the floor next to Medusa was what looked like a baby basket, where a purple blanket covered the top. Arachne looked at it confusingly, but her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the sound of a baby cooing inside.
"Um, Medusa," she asked curiously. "You mind telling me what–" Medusa then bent down, lifted up the baby basket, and gently placed it on top of the cleared teacher's desk. She looked up at Arachne and nervously smiled.
"Arachne Gorgon," the second oldest of the Gorgon sisters said, "I would like to introduce you to the newest addition to our family." She then lifted the purple blanket, revealing a small infant laying down, holding a teddy bear closely in its arms, and nibbling on the left ear. The baby appeared to have a tuff of pink hair and big adorable bug eyes, and was covered from the waste by another blanket. The baby stared up at Arachne for a short jiffy and smiled big.
"Arachne, this is Crona Gorgon." For a moment, Medusa nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "He's... well... my son." The twenty-year-old Arachne looked at her sister and gave her a confused look.
"Your son?" she spoke. "Wait, then that means– Medusa, you didn't." A deep blush appeared on Medusa's face, and she twiddled her fingers nervously.
"Well," she said, unsure of what else to say. "We teenagers do stupid things sometimes." Young Arachne placed both hands on her hips and gave her sister a stinky look.
"That still doesn't excuse such behavior, Medusa Gorgon," she nagged. Medusa snorted and smiled.
"Okay, now you're starting to sound like dad," Arachne turned back to the baby and smiled. She cradled a single finger against the infant's cheek. The baby looked up at her and let out a giggle.
"Hello, little Crona," Arachne cooed. "I'm your auntie." Arachne stood by and continued to watch her younger self and Medusa play with the baby a little bit. After a while, Medusa lifted the baby basket and the two sisters walked out of the classroom, through the hallway, and outside into the schoolyard. Arachne and Excalibur went on over to the school window, and watched the two siblings get into the car, start up the engine, and drove off into the distance until they could no longer be seen. Arachne let out a light sigh at the happy memory, while Excalibur stood by her.
"I do not think you realize just how lucky you are to have a loving sister like Medusa," the ghost said. Arachne nodded her head.
"Truly, I am very lucky," she muttered. "But this was before I saw Shaula again. She too had grown since the last I saw her. Eventually, Shaula and I became almost inseparable after I came home."
"If I may, did you ever find out who Crona's father was?" Excalibur asked curiously. Arachne shook her head with a frown.
"We still do not like to talk about it," she stated. "But, let us just say that he took his things and skipped town, the moment he found out Medusa was pregnant." Excalibur grimaced as well.
"If you ask me," Arachne continued, "he was not worthy of an amazing woman like her," Excalibur concord.
"Indeed," he said. "Just as much as you are not worthy of her as well." Arachne turned to the ghost with a confused expression, but once after realizing what he had meant by those words, she hung her head low with a sheepish aspect.
"What say we see another Christmas?"
And just like that, Excalibur snapped his fingers and they were both whisked away from the classroom, and suddenly set them both in the middle of what looked like a rollicking party. Recognition immediately swept through her brain; it was Christmas Day, in the year 2008. She and her family had just moved into Death City about only a year ago. The room they were now in was large, covered in Christmas decorations. Everybody was either dancing, or chatting away while drinking glasses of Christmas punch, eggnog, or hot chocolate. The food table was lined with all kinds of food you could think of for a Christmas party like this. Everybody was dressed in festive-looking sweaters and shirts, all while wearing Santa hats and/or plastic reindeer antlers.
It was here that Arachne saw Medusa, now twenty-one, and of course their little teenaged sister Shaula, among the rabble. But then, she also saw herself again, now a maturing young adult pushing twenty-five years of age. But sadly, even at this happy moment in her life, Arachne's younger self was not having any fun, but instead worried more about how much the party was costing. This was just a very small aspect of the greed that would devour her in the forthcoming future. One other aspect, Arachne noticed, was that her younger self's bust had slightly grown these past five years. Curious, Arachne gazed down at her own breasts and was surprised to see just how well developed they've gotten over the years as she grew older. Excalibur noticed her expression and chuckled.
"Yes, my dear," he commented. "Even at the age of twenty-five, you were quite the beautiful young woman."
At this, she blushed bashfully.
"Well..." she nervously said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Yes, quite true. And because of this, almost every man in the party tried to win my hand. In the end, however, all of them failed."
"Yes, they all did," Excalibur agreed. "Save for one."
Arachne was confused by what the ghost meant, but once he pointed at a certain direction towards a certain individual, remembrance came through. It was here that Arachne saw that she had not seen in so long. Free Leidolf, a handsome young man that she had known for quite a while since after she and her family first arrived in Death City. Free was about a year older than Arachne, and a little taller too. He had quite the physical build, with tanned skin, short black hair, and a pencil-thin stubble that went across his chin and jawline. He was dressed in a black and white striped sweater, a pair of light-blue Levis, and brown shoes. Arachne watched as her younger self and he begin to talk and then talked some more. Eventually, he held out his hand to her. Hesitating for a moment, she accepted his offer and the two walked into another part of the room, alone by themselves. Arachne and Excalibur followed them to watch carefully at the scene that was happening before them. Both Free and the younger Arachne stood by themselves at the doorway.
"Tell me," Excalibur said. "What was it about him that you liked?"
"Free was different from all the rest," Arachne answered. "He was not like the other men I've met before. I do not know, I just cannot explain it. There was something about him that made me feel... happy." Free laid down his cup of punch onto a nearby glass table and held Arachne's hands.
"Arachne," Free spoke in a rich baritone voice. "I've known you for about a few months now, ever since you first came to Death City and... well, there is something I really want to get off my chest." Young Arachne considered Free's eyes and waited for him to finish.
"Yes...?" she urged. He looked away slightly bashfully.
"Well, it's just that... I have feelings for you," Free went on. "And I'm not gonna pretend that you don't feel the same way. But... Arachne... I... I just want to tell you that... I think... I love you." Young Arachne covered her mouth in surprise and looked at him like he had lobsters crawling out of his ears. Her face began to turn red and tears welled up in her eyes. In a heartbeat, she buried her face into his strong chest and embrace him.
"Oh, Free," she cried. "You don't know how long I've waited for you to say that." As she now gazed lovingly into Free's eyes, they both looked up and noticed a simple mistletoe hanging just above them. They looked back at each other and smiled. Not wanting to drag it out any longer, Arachne and Free leaned forward and kissed for the first time. One partygoer noticed this and yelled to the top of his lungs.
"Hey everyone, look!" he shouted. "They're making out!" Everyone around the party laughed and clapped and then whistled. Arachne and Free quickly broke the kiss and the two started to feel awkward and bashful, Free rubbing the back of his neck while Arachne simply grabbed her left arm. Everyone continued to clap and congratulate the two new couples.
"At a boy, Free, you lucky dog!" one said.
"Come on, encore!" another shouted. "Give us another one!" And so, Free and Arachne glanced at each other, smiled, shrugged their shoulders and then kissed deeply this time. All of the partygoers roared and clapped even louder. Arachne stood by with Excalibur, watching the entire scene with a joyful countenance after sighing dreamily.
"I had never fallen in love with a more brilliant man than him," she murmured.
"Indeed," Excalibur agreed. But then, he grimaced. "But in two years time, you learned to love something else." Before Arachne could ask him what he meant, the ghost whisked them away once more until they were now in another location. Arachne gazed around and saw that they were now in some kind of woods-like park, surrounded by leafless trees and small hills, a few clearings, tiny roads and a wooden bench here and there. As expected, Arachne turned to Excalibur for answered.
"Where are we now?" she asked.
"Christmas Day," he informed. "In the year 2010."
"Why yes... I remember now. Before passing away, father wrote Shaula, Medusa, and I into his will, handing over and splitting all of his inheritance fifty-fifty to the three of us. But, please tell me, why are we here in the park?"
"I believe you already know the answer to that, my dear Arachne," Excalibur said in a low tone. Arachne's eyes slowly widened at the realization.
"No, please," she begged. "Please, do not show me this Christmas."
Before she could protest even further, Excalibur held up his hand to silence her. He then pointed with his cane at a different direction, something that which he wanted Arachne to see. What she saw was a young couple easily walking down the path and eventually sat onto one of the benches. As Arachne got closer, she saw that it was Free and her young self, only slightly older from the passing two years they had been together. To Arachne's terrible prediction, the two sat silently on the bench with unhappy faces. And to Arachne's anguish, this was the time when she had become infected by her own greed and avarice.
"You fear the world too much, Arachne," Free stated with an exhalation. "All of your hopes have combined into one single hope of becoming wealthier than you already were. Money has become the one thing you only care about." Twenty-seven-year-old Arachne rolled her eyes.
"And what of it?" she said. "Perhaps now I had grown wiser than before. Learning to be mindful of how much I have spent. To be better than what I use to be?" Free looked away and paused for a moment.
"You've changed, Arachne," he said. "Everything about you has changed." Arachne looked at her boyfriend with an offended face.
"I have not changed towards you," she protested. Free gave her a stone-faced look.
"Oh really," he said, unconvinced by her words. "You claim that there is room in your heart for me, but recently I have yet to see it. You haven't called, haven't wrote. I tried doing to same, but you never answered my calls or wrote back to me. You haven't spoken to me in weeks. When was the last time you said I love you?"
"Okay then, I love you," Free shook his head.
"That doesn't count," Arachne rubbed the side of her temple.
"What do you want me to say, Free?" she groaned. "Do I have to fall down on my knees and worship the ground you walk on? Free, you know well as I do that I do love you." Free shut his eyes and lowered his head, trying his utmost best to hide the hurt that was buried in him.
"You did once," he murmured. "But it seems love has become a little hard to come by these days. Don't try and deny it, Arachne, I know the truth. I can see it in your eyes. I mean very little to you now, and all you can think about is your family goldmine. Not to mention you rarely ever celebrate Christmas anymore. When I came by this morning, there was not a single decoration in your house, not an essence of cheer and happiness." Arachne crossed her arms and huffed.
"Christmas has become quite costly this time around," she said. "And besides, it is nothing but a waste of my time."
"You didn't always think that," Free retorted. "You used to love Christmas. You used to adore everything about the holiday. You loved the company around you, the food, the laughter, the music, and the feeling it always brought. Why aren't you doing that now?"
"I have a family fortune to watch over," she excused. "Another dollar I spend makes me another minute poorer. Like I said, I have become wiser with my money. And I do not intend on losing it. And besides, I finally realize the truth, that Christmas is nothing but a holiday for gullible fools who live on consumerism and wasting valuable money on overpriced gifts and trinkets. Holidays that promote excessive spending should all be outlawed." Free looked at her disbelievingly, scoffed, and then shook his head.
"I don't believe what I'm hearing," Free said. "It's like I don't know you anymore. You really have changed, Arachne." Silence followed for a moment. Arachne straightened her back up and held her nose up eye in a snobbish manner.
"Are we just about done here?" she asked frustratingly. Free's frown deepened and exhaled a breath through his nose.
"Yes, I think we are done," he said, before standing back up and turning his back to her. "In fact, ...I think it would be a lot better if we were to split."
"What?" Arachne asked, surprised. "Free, you cannot be serious!"
"I am," he said. "I'm sorry, Arachne. I really am. But you're no longer the same woman I fell in love with. I just don't know you anymore." At this, Free bit the bottom of his lip and swallowed hard. After a moment of silence, he lightly turned his head to her direction.
"Goodbye, Arachne," he declared. "I hope you find some happiness in the life you've chosen." Without another word, Free walked into the opposite direction while the twenty-seven-year-old Arachne silently remained on the bench, unmoving, hanging her head low in growing sadness. Arachne stared down at her younger self in disbelief, her mouth almost hanging agape. Her hands tightened into fists.
"What are you doing?" she chided. "Don't just sit there, go after him!" Nothing. Arachne's anger-filled sorrow intensified.
"Go after him!" she yelled. Again, nothing. As her younger self remained on the bench, Arachne, feeling desperate and no longer caring if Free could see her or not, ran to meet up with him, who seemed to have stopped for a moment.
"Free, please!" she cried, her voice filling up with raw emotion. "I'm sorry! I truly am, wholeheartedly sorry! I know you cannot hear me, but if you did, I want you to know that I do love you! You will always have a special place in my heart, Free! And I will carry that love with me to my grave!"
Arachne suddenly let out a stunned gasp and covered her mouth at what she saw next. Free held in the palm of his hand, a small engagement ring with a heart-shaped purple diamond. He wordlessly stared down at it with sad eyes, and a single tear dripped down from his left eye and fell onto the ring. Free turned his hand into a fist, tightly holding onto the ring and placed it back into his coat pocket and continued to walk away. Arachne stood there completely frozen, utterly flabbergasted at what she had just seen. After all this time, she had never even once known about this, that this could have been the day Free asked her hand in marriage.
It could have been the happiest day in her entire life, if not the greatest. But because she was so blinded by her own greed and self-interest, she had squandered her chance at having more happiness. The chance to be with the one who loved her, much to her realization. With this new thought in mind, the painful feeling of regret consumed Arachne, and she fell to the floor on both her knees, letting the tears trickle down her face and pounding her fists to the ground, as if she were a spoiled child. Why? Just why did she let this happen? Just why did it have to be this way? How could she have been so foolish? Those words flooded her head as she continued to cry to her heavy heart's content. Excalibur appeared next to her and looked down at her with a puckered brow.
"You loved your wealth more than that brilliant man, who would've given you the entire world," he said almost harshly, "and you lost him forever."
"Excalibur, please, I cannot stand it!" she practically bellowed, wiping away the tears that poured from her eyes. "I cannot stand these memories! Please, take me home!"
"I will," he assured. "But first, there are a couple of things you should see before so. For all of the money that which you had gained. Now, you will be shown what you had lost."
With the snap of his fingers, Excalibur and Arachne were magically transported and found themselves in a nice-looking house. The ceiling was about seven feet tall, and there was a large television set in one corner. A medium-sized Christmas tree was located right next to the TV, and there were presents, large and small, circling around it. There was also a nice fire that glowed brightly in the fireplace. Above said fireplace was a large clock that read 7:15 in the evening. Arachne was confused and asked Excalibur where they were. Suddenly emerging from the front door was a young woman, who appeared to be somewhere around in his early-twenties, had long purple hair, and big yellow eyes. She was dressed in a comfortable black coat, a purple sweater, and some tight-fitting, dark-blue jeans. Hanging down from her right hand was a large brown bag.
"I'm home!" she called out. Immediately, emerging from downstairs came two children, both being about three years old, and following them behind was a grown man - Free, who appeared to be now well around in his thirties. It was all coming to together now in Arachne's mind. It was December 24th, 2013. These were Free's children, twin boys, whose names she remembered were Flair and Bree. And the purple-haired woman was his wife. What was her name again? That's right. Blair. Her name was Blair.
"Mommy's home!" One of the children exclaimed excitedly. Blair bent down and gave her two kids hugs and kisses.
"How are my little love bugs?" she asked happily.
"Great, mommy," Flair said, a big smile plastered on his little face.
"What's that, mommy?" the Bree asked, pointing to the bag in his mother's hands.
"Oh, you boys will have to wait until tomorrow," Blair said with a Cheshire smile. The twins jumped happily, as they both knew that tomorrow was in fact Christmas.
"You two better head on back to bed," Free said, for the first time since Blair came home, "Or else Santa might forget about us." With that, Flair and Bree immediately darted down the hallway and back upstairs. With them gone, Free turned back to Blair and smiled.
"Hey, babe," he muttered, before planting a firm kiss on her lips. Blair returned the affection.
"How did they do?" she asked.
"Oh, they were good," he answered. "They behaved very well." After moving on over to the kitchen and placing the large bag on top of the counter, Blair returned back to Free and grabbed him by the hands, and guided him towards the fireplace. Free became suspicions.
"Hey, what's going on here?" he asked with a smile.
"I've got something to tell you," she said. The two lovers knelt down by the fireplace and Blair continued to hold her husband's hands. She looked intently into his dark eyes.
"I saw an old friend of yours today," she stated.
"An old friend?" Free asked confusingly. Blair nodded and told him to guess. After a moment of thinking, Free asked if it was Joe Buttataki, but Blair said no. He asked if it was Eruka Frog, but again, Blair said no.
"Well, who was it then?" Free asked, giving up. But Blair urged him to guess once more. After thinking about it long and hard this time, the answer finally came to him. But Arachne could tell that from the look on his face, it did not seem happy.
"Arachne?" Free muttered.
"Yep," Blair said, nodding her head. "I passed by her mansion window, just this late afternoon. I couldn't help but notice her sitting by herself in her private library." Blair's happy face slowly began to morph into a saddened frown.
"I, uh," she paused for a moment and then gently shook her head. "I heard that her sister, Shaula, had recently passed away. And there Arachne sat. All by her lonesome... She is... She is quite alone in the world." Free let out a soft exhale and lightly hung his head low.
"Poor Arachne," he uttered sadly. A large lump got stuck in Arachne's throat, and her hands began to tremble. She glanced back to Excalibur, who remained where he was silently since they first arrived.
"Excalibur," she said. "Please, take me home. I do not wish to see see anymore."
"One last more," he stated. A dreadful feeling swiftly came over her when he said that, feeling that told her what he meant.
"No..." she protested fearfully. "Excalibur, please no! Anything but that!"
Sadly, her words fell on deaf ears as the ghost whisked them both away from park and placed them into the middle of a large church filled with many people that lined all the pews, among them being herself, Medusa – who now had a large band-aid covering her left eyebrow, and a now ten-year-old Crona, who all sat wordlessly in mourn. Arachne didn't even have to ask Excalibur where they were, for she sincerely knew where they were. This was the day that became the final nail in the coffin for Arachne. And speaking of coffins, Arachne whisked around and saw the very thing she did not want to see. A casket laid at the end of the church alter, and what she saw shook her to the core. The dead and yet peaceful-looking body of Shaula Gorgon. Arachne turned away, more tears threatening to come out and her bottom lip trembling.
"This was the last straw for you, wasn't it?" asked Excalibur. "The very day that firmly cemented your hatred against Christmas."
"S-She was always a good sister," Arachne whimpered. "So pure, and so innocent. Her sweet smile was enough to make me happy. She was one of the only few friends I had left."
"Tell me, in your own words," Excalibur inquired. "How exactly did she die?" A couple times, Arachne sniffled and wiped away more of the tears that stained her face.
"She was on her way home for Christmas," she began. "Got into a terrible car accident. Slipped on some black ice. She was immediately rushed to the hospital, but she was announced dead on arrival. Medusa and Crona were with her when it happened." Excalibur turned to see Medusa, who still sat in one of the pews with Crona and her older sister.
"Well, that explains the band-aid," he said.
"That was how she got that nick on her left eyebrow." Arachne explained.
"Do you blame her for the accident?"
"No" Arachne simply said. "It was all Shaula's idea to drive. She had gotten her official license that day, and she wanted to surprise me."
"It was a miracle that Medusa and Crona survived," Excalibur stated. "You should consider yourself thankful that they are still alive even to the present day."
"And it cost me one loving sister in the end!" Arachne snapped. "Shaula was a sweet and blameless girl! She did not deserve to die!" She turned her gaze back over to the still and peaceful-looking dead body of Shaula. "If only I could have done something to prevent this from happening." With that, she then fell at the ghost's feet and cried some more, only this time, she did not bother to wipe away the tears, instead, she let them drip to the floor.
"Oh, I beg of you, Excalibur, please take me home! I cannot stand these painful memories anymore!" Without even snapping his fingers or another wave of his hand. The church disappeared into an empty blackened void. Slowly, the bottom half of the ghost's body dissipated into little twinkling yellow lights, almost as if he was turning into a swarm of fire sparks. Before disappearing for good, Excalibur uttered his last words.
"Remember, Arachne, you fashioned these memories yourself." And just like that, the ghost disappeared, leaving the miserable Arachne all by herself.
Good heavens above! I don't think I've ever written something this emotional before, not to mention that it has been a while since I wrote a chapter almost this long. I don't exactly remember the number, but it's close. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to hearing what you all think in your reviews.
I must tell you all though, my original idea was for Arachne to visit her childhood orphanage instead of a boarding school. I don't know why I did not use it, maybe it was because I forgot about it, and leaned more on the original Christmas Carol story. My bad.
Nice that I picked Excalibur as the Ghost of Christmas Past, eh? I owe it to jogonzaleza88 for giving me the idea. Thanks a lot, man. ;) And to make it fun, I made Excalibur human, not the oddball creature from the anime/manga. Oh, and I'm still waiting for you to get the references. Just in case you all forgot or don't know, there are almost numerous references from previous Christmas Carol adaptations throughout this story. If you all happen to spot them, please tell me in the form a review.
Until then, have a splendid day.