Hello, all! I decided to join Invisobang this year! AND I WROTE A TEN CHAPTER FIC IN JUST SIX MONTHS! [celebratory applause here, thank you, thank you, you're too kind]
My partners in crime for this project were Weshney and FoxyTeah, and holy shiiiiiiit. Idk what this story would have been without them. Weaker and less interesting for sure. We had so many ideas and references being shared we had to create a server on discord to keep it all organized xD They were a big help beta reading this first chapter too. They are a fantastic duo, they made this whole experience so much fun.
On with the story!
Chapter 1
A Fairytale Beginning
"Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale." - Lila DiPasqua
In the swirling emptiness known as the Ghost Zone, a loan mare sliced through the void, her elegant hooves stepping on nothing but air. Her gait mimicked the excited prancing of a living animal as she chased ribbons of ambient ectoplasm around and around a floating island. Uncontrolled by reins, whip, or coachman, she flew free for what was likely the first time in her afterlife. Cries issued from the carriage following in her wake, its living occupants at the mercy of the Nameless horse.
Complete your task.
She tossed her head and flew down the steep hillside of the island, vanishing from sight beyond a line of staggered rooftops. Moments later, her carriage-yoked figure could be seen ascending a cobbled road that switch-backed through the heart of the bourg and the forest, no longer flying but trotting sedately on glowing white hooves, black tail flagged high.
Her human passengers had settled, placated by solid ground as they wound their way up to the palace gates and then to a courtyard within.
Chin braced on his hand, Phantom watched his guests arrive. They were the first humans to set foot on this floating island, where various monarchies had ruled over ghost kind for millennia. Many more would soon follow. Boys and girls Phantom's age, their parents and families, chaperones, courtiers seeking political alliances…
The Nameless horse followed the round-about path leading to the main entryway, coming to an obedient and practiced halt before the semi-circular staircase to the palace. She pranced in place, tossed her head, and seemed for all the world to be enjoying her undying existence. The human passengers, on the other hand, looked far less enthused as they stumbled down from the carriage.
Phantom smirked. There was some entertainment to be derived from watching the spectacle, he couldn't deny that.
His smile faded as a young woman his age stepped out in an elegantly embroidered gown. She took her father's hand, but multiple layers of skirts combined with an awed gaze (that insisted on looking everywhere except at the ground) conspired against a graceful exit. The result had her tripping over the dress on her second step down.
Phantom tensed. Power surged from his core, an automatic response that would teleport him to the girl's aid should injury befall her.
An unnecessary precaution; her father's arms intercepted the fall. He supported her as she regained her footing and kept a steadying hand on her arm until she indicated with a nod that she was fine. Still, Phantom only relaxed when the human began smoothing down her ballgown, appearing shaken but uninjured.
As a much older woman climbed down next, gingerly taking the father's support, the girl wandered aside, gazing upon Phantom's palace in wonder until she came too close to the horse. The mare whickered, and the girl absently reached out a hand to stroke her neck.
Predictably, that was the moment the Nameless ghost lost her imprint on the seeming of a roan mare and reverted to that of an undead skeleton.
The teenager jerked her hand away and released such a scream Phantom could hear it high in his tower. The Nameless disregarded the scream and tried to bump its boney nose against her palm as if nothing had changed, but the girl shied away. No matter what the Nameless tried, the human only saw a viridescent skeleton, and so the Nameless never regained its hold on the roan mare.
The rest of the girl's party flocked to her side and ushered her up the semi-circular staircase, casting fearful glances at the undead horse. They swiftly entered the palace and were soon lost to sight. Without even a shake of the head, the Nameless pulled its burden to the stables, obedient and dull as all others of its kind, no longer bursting with energy.
It wasn't a good sign.
The occupants of the second, third, and fourth carriage were much the same, but the fifth delivered the first boy Phantom's age. Phantom watched on, curious. He didn't truly have a preference; a human husband would serve as his consort just as well as a human wife, but he had been told that human men were braver than women—
That boy caught one sight of the horse's transparent, glowing body and ran inside long before ever seeing her true, Nameless self.
Phantom sighed.
He tried to memorize the boy's face as someone to avoid, but as more and more carriages arrived, he ruefully acknowledged he wouldn't be able to remember every suitor afraid of the skeletal, Nameless ghosts who made up the bulk of his kingdom. Something about the creatures triggered a severe aversion in the living, not unlike the revulsion felt by his kind.
No other humans screeched or outright ran away, but all were clearly uneasy within the ambience of the Ghost Zone. They gawked at either Phantom's palace or the multicolored will-o-the-wisps that had followed them from the woods, in complete awe of a world so alien to their own. Having only seen the human realm once himself, Phantom could understand their amazement. Their world was beautiful, filled with fascinating colors and creatures…but it was also mind-numbingly dull compared to his own.
"I knew I would find His Majesty up here," Dora said from inside the tower.
Phantom warily glanced down the stairs of his windowed nook. His mentor and trusted friend curtsied, a mischievous grin lighting her green face. She looked up at him through long lashes, red eyes sparkling in the torchlight. Phantom had darkened the room to discourage intrusion, a trick he had learned for this ball and the humans who could not sense his will, but Dora always found him in the end.
"Hello, Lady Dora," Phantom replied cautiously. "Did you hunt me down so you could haul me into the clutches of my manservant?"
Dora floated up the stairs. "Me? Force the king to do something sensible? I should think not. But I would like to find Regi and let him know where you are hiding as payback for when you ditched the end-of-war celebration. You knew very well the feast was held in your honor."
Phantom snorted air from his nose. "There's no running away from this party."
"No, there is not." Dora delicately pressed her dress to her legs and sat on the stone plinth beside Phantom. "We need this treaty with the humans before our people collide, but that is not why you cannot run, is it?"
Phantom glanced out the window again, his lips twitching into an unwilling smile.
"You like them," Dora teased, driving her elbow into his side. "If the humans had not offered this treaty, you would have proposed one of your own sooner or later. You would have traveled to their realm and delivered the proposal yourself."
"I would not!" Phantom protested. "Not—not like this, at least. I'm still not convinced marriage is a good idea. If I fall for one of them, only to hurt them when we bond, I'd…it would…"
Dora nudged their shoulders together. "Admit you are excited and then let yourself feel guilty."
Phantom smiled bleakly. "Am I excited? I feel a little sick, honestly…"
Dora pulled her braid over her shoulder, the blond hair delicately woven with blue flowers. "I understand. When I was alive, I climbed up the parapets so I might watch my suitors arriving. I thought if I could see them before the ball, I might spot the one who would make my heart soar."
Phantom's gaze traveled to the humans down below, watching as another girl his age stepped from her carriage. "Did it work?"
"No. You cannot tell by a human's appearance what their spirit is like. The most beautiful human could have the soul of a viper."
"And they lack a core that would otherwise broadcast their signatures," Phantom said slowly, "so I still will not know who they really are until I kiss them during our dance."
"Correct."
Phantom leaned toward her and whispered, "They are nice to look upon, though, are they not?"
Dora shoved him away. "Your Majesty!"
"Their skin!" Phantom insisted, grinning. "Their hair! Their eyes! They are such vibrant creatures, yet they don't glow at all! They are fascinating, don't you think?"
"Have you spotted one you would like to test?" she asked.
"A few," Phantom admitted. "Mostly the girls. The boys look a little mundane by comparison."
"It's the gowns," Dora said, sighing dreamily. "They are eye-catching."
Phantom nodded. Another girl exited her carriage, and Phantom's core gave a flustered little pang at her beauty. Long ringlets of black hair framed teal eyes as she gazed up at Phantom's castle, a dazzling white smile bright against her bronze skin. She didn't look afraid at all, she looked excited .
"Do you know who that is?" Phantom asked, placing his hands on the window as he leaned forward.
Dora pulled Phantom back by his shoulder so she might lean across his lap and peer out the window herself. A few seconds passed as she stared down at the beautiful girl, likely comparing her to the descriptions she had been given. Finally, she sighed and drew back to her side of the plinth.
"I believe her name is Paulina. She is a highborn with close ties to a neighboring human kingdom, a daughter to one of their younger princesses. Be careful, Your Majesty. Reports warn she is skilled at manipulation."
Phantom nodded, watching until Paulina ascended the staircase, entered his palace, and was lost to sight. She didn't look crafty. She looked like she was stepping into a dream. Her happy, excited grin stuck in Phantom's mind, and he promised himself he would look for her during the ball.
"I may need someone crafty at my side, for I could certainly use the help."
"Perhaps as a member of your inner circle, then?" Dora suggested. "But not as your wife. Whom you share your core with should be one you trust completely. They will have great influence over you."
Phantom sighed and turned away from the window. With the glow of the stonework dimmed and the torches burning muted along the walls, he couldn't see into the room that housed his vantage nook. Even still, the flickering green embers that danced above their fuel source beckoned Phantom's thoughts. The flames were cold and fed off concentrated spheres of energy, merely an imitation of fire in much the same way Phantom and his people reflected the living.
Ghosts were beings of cold whereas humans emitted heat. The coming together of their peoples was sure to be dangerous, and yet the council had pushed for Phantom's approval regarding the humans' treaty—a treaty sealed by marriage between him and a single mortal human. There were benefits to such a joining, if it worked, but…
"Am I doing the right thing, Dora?" Phantom whispered. "My core has yet to fully stabilize after my coronation. The energy it puts out while I wear the crown is sometimes so strong even I fear I cannot contain it. To find a human that can withstand such power and interest me as a partner seems like too much to hope for."
Dora leaned against Phantom's shoulder and pressed a sisterly kiss to his temple. "Stranger things have happened, Your Majesty. I once caught this peasant boy stealing my brother's horse from the stables; do you know what became of him?"
Phantom's lips twitched. "He did something foolish?"
"He declared he would dethrone the king."
Phantom laughed. "Ah, yes. As witless as they come."
"Indeed. A small boy covered in mud and horse manure, wielding nothing more than a dagger. I thought him quite mad. But now he sits beside me, the new sovereign ruler of the Infinite Realms, High King of the Undying."
Phantom looked down at his hands. Empty now. Clean. No longer wielding a dagger or certain of anything anymore. "He didn't do it without help…"
Dora slipped her fingers into his empty hand. "No, he didn't. And while there is a new challenge testing him, he won't face it alone. This I swear."
Phantom met her eyes and smiled. "Dora...thank you."
She squeezed his hand. "We got ourselves into this mess together. Never forget that, My King, for I sure won't forget nor forgive the one who put me in charge of our landed nobility."
Phantom laughed. "You were perfectly suited for that role!"
Dora sniffed daintily. "Yes, of course. And I enjoy putting my brother in his place after spending so many centuries beneath his heel. But really, Phantom. How could you do this to me?"
Phantom snickered.
"Let us gossip about your arriving suitors," Dora said eagerly. "No more dark thoughts about who will or will not survive marriage to you. They are putting on a show for us. We should enjoy the spectacle. There will be more than enough to stress about during the ball. A little levity will alleviate the burden you carry, at least to some degree."
"What about Regi?" Phantom asked as he allowed Dora to turn him back to the window.
"Oh," Dora brushed her fingers over her braid again, "I'm afraid he is searching every bush in the gardens. A pretty ghost girl informed him you like to hide down there, and he was too naive to recognize she wasn't as innocent as she projected."
Phantom smiled and shook his head. "What would I do without you?"
"Fail," she said brightly. "Now hush. We need to find your fairytale-perfect match."
Phantom rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Sure. Let's hope for a second miracle. How unlikely could that be?"
They were flying.
Danny stared outside their carriage in awe right alongside his parents, albeit for entirely different reasons. Jack and Maddie were whispering excitedly about studying the alien world they rode through, but Danny's mind was occupied simply taking in the bizarre sights. Between the floating islands, glowing streams, and flying denizens, there wasn't any one place his eyes could rest without soon being drawn elsewhere.
The only two not enjoying the ride were Vlad and Jazz.
"It is vital that you be chosen," Vlad said for what had to be the umpteenth time.
"There are other girls attending the ball, Uncle," Jazz said miserably. "The treaty does not ride on my shoulders alone."
"Yes, it does," Vlad insisted. "If I had had my way, your hand would have been part of the negotiations from the start. That fool of a boy was too set on having a choice in his bride to recognize the benefits of having one preselected for him. Our noble faction is all too eager to throw their daughters at his feet, and if they succeed in turning his eyes elsewhere, maintaining control of my kingdom will be next to impossible with the bride's family leveraging the entire Ghost Zone against me."
"Yes, Uncle," Jazz said more quietly.
Danny snorted as loudly as he could. "In other words, Uncle Vladdy here failed to force a fledgling king into line, so he's expecting you to fix it for him."
Jazz's small smile was thanks enough for Danny, but Vlad's glare warned he was playing with fire.
"Consider yourself fortunate to be attending this ball at all, Daniel," he said stiffly. "Your presence is useless to me."
"I want him here," Jazz said. Her voice was still quiet, but it had gained a hint of steel. In this, at least, she would not bow to Vlad's will.
Vlad waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Yes, yes, as moral support and all that. But really, Daniel, could you not at least try to woo one of the ladies? Ghost, human, I don't care which. At least ask one to dance. Certain gossip is beginning to circulate again."
Danny gained a faint warmth in his cheeks. "I haven't done anything. I haven't—I haven't seen Valor in months, and you got rid of Brian before I could even say anything to him, never mind do anything indecent."
"That you are inclined to do something with a stableboy is unseemly enough to make tongues wag thanks to your heritage," Vlad's glare cut to Jack, "but if anyone truly knew how far you deviate from proper society, a little tongue wagging would be the least of our worries. No, the gossip has sprouted up again because you refused lunch with Lady Wilson's daughter."
Danny sulked lower in his seat. He returned his attention to the world outside his window, choosing to stare at a frozen island in the far distance rather than meet Vlad's reproachful glare. "Sorry," he muttered. "She's not my type."
"Daniel…" Vlad growled.
"Sam will be attending the ball," Jazz said quickly. "You can dance with her, Danny."
Vlad scoffed. "Lady Manson is an unsuitable match. You are too closely related on your mother's side."
Danny rolled his eyes. "We would be dancing as friends, Vlad. You know. Like how there's nothing more than friendship between you and my mother?"
Vlad flashed Danny a cold, disdainful frown.
Maddie slid open her fan to hide a smile.
"Oh yeah!" Jack crowed. "You remember all the trouble the three of us used to get into, don't you, Vladdy? We were as thick as Danny and his friends!"
Vlad's cold eyes remained on Danny, Jack's cheerful voice doing little to cut the tension in the carriage. Danny gulped and leaned into his father's side as if his bulk could hide him from view.
"Jazz, Sweetie," Maddie spoke up as she reached for Jazz's hand, "you don't have to do anything you don't want to. Tell that Ghost King he can just find someone else."
"Maddie…" Vlad whined, pained. "The stability of our kingdom is more important than some child-born fear of matrimony."
The conversation returned to its original starting point, circling back around to the topic they had been arguing, discussing, and tormenting Jazz with for days now, ever since the invitation arrived at their door. Danny blocked it out as best he could and watched the Ghost Zone. It looked creepy, what with the dead trees, lack of sunlight, and moaning ghosts flowing over their carriage, but it was better than listening to Uncle Vlad.
Once upon a time, Danny had liked and trusted his uncle. Once upon a time, Danny had actually felt safe confiding his secret in someone who would often call him 'son' when Jack wasn't around. Danny had only been fourteen at the time, just three years ago, but those three years had done much to reveal Vlad's cruelty.
Vlad's willingness to ignore Jazz's fear for the sake of political gain—his own, no matter how much he tried to tie the stability of the kingdom into it—was just one more reason among many for Danny to dislike the man.
In times past, Danny had done everything short of setting Jazz's suitors on fire to save her from betrothal, but ghosts were a little more resilient. They wouldn't become offended, and would probablythey would just receive some kind of sadistic, ghostly glee from Danny's pranks. There was little he could do to help Jazz escape being their uncle's pawn sacrifice on this chessboard.
Besides, Vlad was right about one thing, asshole or not. The stakes were a little too high this time for Danny to risk deeply offending the Ghost King. He didn't want to spark a war, he just wanted to save his sister.
Amid the bleakness of the Ghost Zone, a radiant aura steadily blossomed into view, catching Danny's attention. He squinted, trying to detect the distant source. Their flying carriage continued ever forward on its invisible path, winding around islands but drawing closer to the gentle light with each passing minute.
Mist, he soon realized. Luminescent white fog obscured an island floating above them, but the speed of their flight soon brought them near enough for the outermost edges of the cloud to dissipate.
As the distance closed, he recognized a grand curtain wall enclosing the island's borders, followed by a village sprawling along a tall, rocky slope, each building ascending the hill like roosting birds. At the knoll's peak, emerging above the trees and fog, towered an estate unlike any Danny had ever seen, and his eyes went wide.
They may have been approaching the floating hillock from below, but there was no mistaking what could only be the Ghost King's palace.
Had Danny not already been so focused on the world outside, his eyes would still have been drawn to it. Like a beacon, the citadel's white stone walls glowed brighter than the rest of the world, pushing back the ominous effects of the Ghost Zone in a nimbus of gentle light.
A river flowed down the hill from the inner bailey, forking at various points throughout the village and cascading over the sides of the island in a magnificent spray. The resulting cloud that blanketed the island's base was nearly as brilliant as the architecture above, and as their horse flew the carriage through the densest part of the mist, Danny stuck his hand out to catch a few of its droplets. Drawing his arm back in, he stared in quiet awe at a faint glow clinging to his glove and outer sleeve.
He had expected the Ghost King's home to be eerie, like every other feature they had passed, but instead, as the carriage rose above the edge of the island, Danny glimpsed flourishing vegetation. Grass— blue grass—grew between the village houses while what looked like navy blue evergreens towered over the curtain wall. Both climbed the hillside leading up to the palace, interspersed by deciduous trees with softer, teal-colored canopies.
In contrast to the barren soil, withered forests, and wailing denizens he had seen thus far, the people and plants on this island were thriving . Here, there was life—of a sort.
It was… pretty.
The horse flew through the gates of the curtain wall and landed on a paved road within the village, its steel-shod hooves clacking against the smooth bricks. A soft thump rocked the carriage as it, too, met the stone. The horse trotted forward, the large, spoked wheels of the wagon jouncing along behind just as they would in the human world.
Otherworldly villagers spared the carriage and its occupants curious glances before going about their business. Danny was shocked to see just how… normal they were . Men and women gossiped in groups, bartered at stalls, and—in one instance where Danny's eyes lingered until they were out of sight—exchanged gifts in what was clearly an act of courtship. Laughter issued from inside what looked to be a tavern. Two men sat outside a brightly colored house, playing a game of chess.
Their oddly colored skin, glowing countenance, and inconsistent features marked them as inhuman, but the ghosts themselves acted much like the commoners back home. Well, with the exception of their mode of travel—most floated above the ground, legless, and seemed to think gravity nothing more than a suggestion.
As Danny's family rode up the inclining road, the strong aroma of fresh rising dough drew Danny's eyes to a bakery. His jaw dropped. Actual bread and sweet bakes were set enticingly in front of the window as if to lure customers in from the street. He hadn't realized ghosts could eat, never mind that it was something they might enjoy. It actually looked like the bread back home, too, its crust a warm, golden brown.
Children bearing wildflowers flew past the carriage and entered the bakery with squeals of excitement. A sharp pang shot through Danny's heart; they were so young, and yet they were already ghosts. Before he could dwell on it for too long the youths flew out the door again, sans flowers, each carrying a sweet roll or a pastry either halfway to their mouth or already chewing on their first bites. More giggling and happy chatter followed in their wake as they floated down the street in the opposite direction.
Clearly, the weight of their death didn't affect them nearly as much as it did Danny.
They soon left the village behind and continued climbing the hill that would carry them to the palace. Trees replaced the multi-hued houses, obscuring the fortress and creating a secluded atmosphere beneath their boughs. Danny was surprised to see their purple trunks and leaves glowed a gentle white light in the gloom. Flashing will-o-the-wisps danced amid the branches, pink and green fire seeming to flicker in and out of sight.
This really is like a fairytale, Danny thought, awed.
Finally, they topped the hill, and the palace rose up before them. Danny placed his hands on the window frame and leaned his head out the opening, gazing upon the wondrous architecture stretching out before him in wide-eyed fascination. He lived in one, he knew what to expect from royalty, but there were oddities he never could have anticipated.
The fortress' moon-like luminescence was the most obvious and heartwarming, but as they pulled closer, Danny could see that the walls were a single slab of stone rather than multiple bricks stacked one atop the other. A thin layer of frost decorated its outer shell in intricate designs, further emphasizing its beauty as the ice swirled along glowing stone. Was it the frost that made it shine so bright in the dark?
A rough hand grabbed Danny's shoulder and tugged him back inside before he could study it further.
"Really, Daniel," Vlad huffed. "You are as bad as your—"
"Oh!" Jack shoved between them and leaned excitedly out the window. "Maddie! Look! Look! The palace glows too!"
Danny abandoned his window seat to his parents and scooted around to join Jazz on the left side of the carriage, taking their father's former seat. Vlad focused his criticism on Jack's behavior—a useless endeavor—allowing Danny the distraction needed to grab his sister's hand. She squeezed his fingers so tight he winced.
"It will be okay," he whispered.
Jazz nodded, but her grip didn't ease.
"It can't be any worse than that time Vlad tried to marry you off to that widower whose wife had just died."
"Danny," Jazz said, "stop helping."
"I'm just saying, at least he's my age."
Jazz made an indelicate snort. "Wonderful. Just what I wanted. A husband younger than I."
"He may not choose you," Danny pointed out for the hundredth time. "Especially if you show off how much of a nosy know-it-all you are. It won't matter how pretty your dress is or what sort of influence you have as the king's niece. Once the Ghost King knows how irritating you can be, it's all over."
"Wonderful," Jazz muttered. "Thanks, Little Brother, that's exactly what I want to hear before a ball."
Despite the sarcasm, her grip eased just a fraction.
"I can always try setting him on fire," Danny offered, smiling. "If your special brand of crazy isn't enough to scare him off, the rest of us can manage. Our family isn't exactly, uh…welcoming. To his kind."
"We are not letting Mom and Dad start a war with the ghosts over me," Jazz said firmly.
"Yeah, well. If he tries marrying you, I'll be the one leading the charge."
"Danny ," Jazz scolded, but her hand squeezed and then relaxed in his.
The carriage rounded to a stop below the stairs. Vlad tried to instruct Jack to wait for the coachman, but Jack threw open the doors and charged out before he could finish speaking. Not completely without manners, Jack stretched out a hand to his wife whilst bouncing on the balls of his feet. Maddie accepted her excited husband's aid with a warm smile. Vlad scowled at their interlocked hands as she stepped down, but after a moment he just sighed and climbed down as well, his fashion more stately than Danny's parents. Once on the ground, he reached back for Jazz.
Jazz and Danny shared one last look, a quick squeeze of their hands, and then Jazz stood and allowed Vlad to escort her out.
Danny waited for his family to move toward the staircase before stepping from the carriage himself. Vlad had his hands full wrangling Danny's parents into proper behavior, so Danny took the rare moment out from beneath his uncle's disapproving eye to admire the building and world around him, turning in a slow circle as he gazed above.
The palace was large, larger than Sam's, but perhaps not as big as Vlad's. Not entirely surprising since there was limited space on the hill's peak. Rather than growing outward into a long rectangle as Vlad's citadel did, the building stretched upward, towers and conical roofs reaching high above the courtyard to the point they blended typical castle architecture with that of a palace.
The ghosts had draped their heraldry over the walls; Danny studied the crest in minor confusion. He had expected some fantastical creature like a dragon, or something ominous and death-related such as a ribcage or a decaying tree.
The fabric of the heraldry was black bordered in white with a brilliant star-like design burning at its center. The Ghost King had chosen something simple rather than the usual shield…and that was all. No other designs. Danny was starting to feel disappointed when a ripple in the heavy fabric caught his eye. Movement flashed within the white star and an aura of light flowed outward on the tapestry.
Danny jerked back, startled, but not so alarmed as when a hard object nudged his lower back. He jumped and tried to twist around midair, but his feet got tangled, toppling him to the gravel path with a yelp. The skeleton creature that had spooked him whickered, the sound so similar to a laugh Danny felt his ears burn. He glanced around quickly, hoping no one had seen. Luckily, that seemed to be the case; even his family had gone, likely already inside the palace.
So long as his clothes remained undamaged no one would have to know of his clumsy fall, especially Vlad. Danny rose to his feet and dusted off his pants, surreptitiously checking for signs the gravel had cut the fabric before sighing in relief.
The ghost horse nickered and pushed its bony nose against Danny's chest. Danny laughed nervously and placed a tentative hand on the creature's skull, petting his palm over what would have been its forelock had the animal still had flesh. Discovering a moving horse skeleton didn't surprise him after everything Danny had witnessed thus far, but he couldn't deny it unnerved him.
"Hey," Danny said, "did no one ever tell you it's not nice to scare people?"
The skeleton stared blankly back, its empty eye sockets making Danny shudder.
"What happened to your body?" he asked to fill the silence. "You were a roan mare when I climbed into your carriage." He glanced up at the aforementioned ride, but the coachman's seat was empty. "And…" Danny continued, uneasy, "you had a driver…"
"He was no longer needed," a soft voice whispered in Danny's ears. "I knew the way."
Danny stiffened, eyes going wide.
The ghost horse nudged his chest again. "Sugar?"
"Um…"
Danny fumbled at his belt. When the roan mare had first arrived at his home, he had fed her a couple while admiring her glowing, splotched coat. Slipping a hand into his pouch, he pulled out the last sugar cube and held it out, palm up, to the same horse, trying his best to ignore how it no longer looked familiar.
The skeleton stretched out its skull, but before its exposed teeth made contact with Danny's hand, the bony form vanished, and in its place was the roan mare…only different. Its brown and white-splotched coat still glowed, but its body was transparent, well-defined muscle flickering in and out of sight overtop its green, calcific frame. The lips that nibbled the cube off Danny's hand were definitely solid, though.
Danny stared at the creature in wonder—and a little fear—as it chewed its treat. "Wow," he whispered, "do not let my parents see you do that." He slid his hand up the ghost's long nose and brushed aside its reappeared forelock. "Are all the horses like you, or are you special?"
"We are a herd."
That didn't really answer the question, but Danny assumed that meant they were the same. "Oh. Okay. Do you have a name?"
The horse turned its head and gazed at him with a single, soulful brown eye. An eye that faded until all that remained staring at Danny was the empty eye socket. Danny shivered.
"No," the animal said. "Will you name me?"
"Uh… is there significance to naming you?" Danny ran a gloved hand up the back of his neck. "It would be bad for everyone if you followed me home."
"It will help me shape my identity."
"Oh," Danny said, uncertain.
"She seeks to become stable," a smooth voice said behind him. "A name will aid her core's development."
Danny spun and backed away quickly, pressing against the skeleton horse. Someone Danny's age had snuck up behind him. Danny's heart raced, pounding against his ribs out of fear. The teenager's healthy tan nearly lulled Danny into a false sense of security—no blues, greens or grays undertoned the stranger's skin, setting him apart from those in the village below.
And yet…
His hair was a white so pure it belonged to the depths of winter, the vibrant green of his eyes rivaling a tree frog Danny had once seen while pulling water from the well. Even his skin, lively as it was, glowed. No human looked that radiant…that...ethereal.
The ghost had gotten so close without Danny noticing.
However, he didn't appear to be a soldier come to threaten Danny into the castle. Rather, the simple dark tunic he wore implied a different station. And while his snowy locks and sharp features might have made him look more beautiful than any number of girls Danny had been forced to meet, it was the plainness of his attire and the short length of his hair that assured Danny he was likely dealing with a servant.
Danny's heart began thumping for an entirely different reason. Servants were safe, especially those of lower-class. The lower the status, the less they cared about impressing Vlad.
Danny felt his posture ease. He smiled and ignored the warmth spreading over his cheeks. "You startled me, but that seems to be something you ghosts naturally excel at."
After a moment's hesitation, the newcomer smiled back. "So it would seem."
"Is there something you needed?"
"I saw you fall," the boy explained. "Are you hurt?" His green eyes traveled down Danny's body, scanning for injuries.
"Oh!" Danny lifted away from the horse's chest. The animal nosed at his hair, worsening his blush. "I, uh, I had hoped no one saw that."
"I doubt anyone else did." The other teenager gestured in a vague direction, indicating either a tower in the distance or the bushes below it. "I wanted to remain out of sight, but after I saw your fall…" He stopped and cleared his throat. "Humans are said to be fragile."
The statement surprised a laugh from Danny. "Whoever told you that doesn't know humans very well. But, uh, falls like that aren't a big deal for me. Seriously. I have had way worse."
The boy nodded, expression giving nothing away. He proceeded to circle around Danny, steps careful and deliberate. Any other time Danny would have found his slow care funny, but he was in an alien world, cornered by two inhuman creatures. The overt movements gave Danny a chance to track his actions. In this case, it allowed Danny to turn and keep his eyes on the unknown ghost as he circled around to the horse's side.
The equine bunted the stranger's shoulder with her nose, eliciting a warm smile. He whispered quietly as he inspected the harness and traces binding his fellow ghost to the carriage, completely absorbed in the task. Her transparent body vanished part way through, but the boy's hands moved as gently over green bones as they had over fur, stroking the proud arch of her neck.
His complete acceptance of the horse's skeletal form helped ease Danny's own fear, the affection in the other teen's eyes catching at Danny's chest. He hadn't even noticed the stiffness in the boy's expression and body language until that moment, but Danny could see a clear difference as he watched. The servant's shoulders were relaxing, his eyes softening.
He's a stableboy , Danny realized. His own heart softened in kind. It was interesting to meet a ghost with the same job as the domestics back home, but if the horses here could talk, multiple stablehands would certainly be necessary to meet all their demands. He must have been waiting for me to leave so he could lead the mare away .
Danny opened his mouth to apologize for taking so long, but the servant spoke before the first word left Danny's lips.
"Will you name her?" the boy asked.
His jaw snapped shut with a click. He looked between the stableboy and the skeletal horse, neither one of whom seemed to be paying him much attention. "Are you sure you don't want to name her? You seem to like her."
"I like all my horses." The stableboy brushed his hand down the rough, bony neck one last time before reluctantly pulling away. "But I am forbidden from naming them."
"Why?"
Those glowing green eyes returned to Danny's face. The boy was only an inch or two taller than himself, but ghosts were powerful and strange. This one was likely strong enough to pick Danny up and throw him across the courtyard. That should have been concerning. That should have been Danny's cue to play it safe.
Instead, Danny felt his heart rate speed up again. His stomach fluttered, nervous and excited for totally unsafe reasons.
"Do you really wish to know?" the stranger asked. "Or are you making conversation?"
That was a weird thing for a stablehand to ask, but Danny supposed there were other duties to complete. "I really want to know," he answered. The horse skull swiveled toward Danny, offering him a reason to disengage from the intense eye contact. He touched its—her—muzzle, letting the exposed jaw sit in his palm the way he would with a living horse. "You asked me for a name; I won't just walk away when you need me, pretty one."
The transparent roan mare returned, allowing Danny to see her long ears perk up. She nuzzled his palm with soft lips. He smiled, feeling oddly affectionate for an animal he had just met. Glancing at the stableboy, he felt another blush overtake his cheeks as he found the teen still watching him. He quickly returned his attention to the horse.
"When this mare first arrived to collect me and my family from our estate," Danny said, forcing himself to sound casual, "she looked just as a living animal would, albeit a glowing one. I couldn't see her bones through her skin like this."
"Ah, yes. It was decided the horses that were to escort the living to this island should look as… normal… as possible to prevent frightening our guests before they had even stepped foot in our realm."
Danny glanced at the ghost from the corner of his eye. "Didn't want to frighten us, eh? And is that why you look almost human right now? So as not to frighten me?"
He did not miss the way the other boy stiffened, obviously caught. Danny hummed an accusatory note, and green eyes widened, eyebrows lifting toward a snowy hairline. "What makes you say that?"
"I saw other ghosts as we rode through the village," Danny offered in lieu of an explanation. "A few were pale, almost like a faded human, but most had blue or green skin. None were tan or looked as, uh, alive as you do."
Those glowing eyes gained an unnerving focus as the ghost titled his head to the side, studying Danny.
"If that offends you, I apologize," Danny added quickly. "I only ask because I would choose to see you as you are, rather than be comforted by an illusion."
A hint of hesitation; a slight glance away. "You have been startled twice now."
"Startled," he agreed, "not afraid. At least, not so scared I'm unable to see beyond that fear. You obviously don't mean me any harm. I'm not that much of a milksop."
The ghost nodded slowly. He didn't seem convinced, even by Danny's teasing smirk, but the healthy color of his skin began to fade. Steadfastly latching onto the unchanging green of his irises and contracted pupils, Danny did his best to ignore the dull gray-sage eating away at the other boy's peachy skin.
His neutral mask became harder to maintain as twin horns sprouted from the spirit's brow and curled back along his white hair. Danny swallowed and couldn't resist staring. It was fortunate his kingdom wasn't religious, for he could foresee demonic accusations being levied against their new allies. For Danny's part, he tried to admire the aesthetic beauty of the sinuous horns for what they were, not what they represented.
The base of the protrusions were as black as the boy's eyebrows, but the spiked points were the same pristine shade as a December rabbit, harmonizing with his hair. Danny followed the ebony portion until it began to fade, belatedly noticing that the keratin, itself, wasn't actually white but was instead decorated in delicate, fern-like hoarfrost. Just like the walls of the palace, the ends were not a different color; they were simply coated in ice.
The boy cleared his throat. "Should I disguise myself again?"
"N-no," Danny stammered. He coughed, face growing hot. "It's—you look—"
Strange? Fascinating? Danny wasn't sure what he was feeling besides flustered. No matter what, though, he couldn't tell another boy he was—
Danny's eyes dipped away, shoulders hunching slightly toward his burning ears.
—more than a little exciting.
"You look like a ghost," he finished awkwardly.
The spirit grinned, revealing a set of prominent canines on his upper and lower jaw. "How fortunate for me."
"Can, uh. Can all ghosts change their appearance like that?"
"It depends. Our cores form in unique ways. Except for the Nameless." The servant looked at the horse, his eyes sad. "They are…stuck. Unable to change, unable to move forward. One Nameless is the same as another, it is said. That's why she keeps reverting to a skeletal form; she has no sense of self."
"'Nameless'," Danny repeated to himself. He brushed his hand down the mare's neck and met those soulful brown eyes as she turned to regard him again. "No, you shouldn't be without a name, Girl. It's not fair for anyone to be stuck with a… bare-bones personality." Danny didn't smile, but it was a near thing when he saw the other teen's expression at the pun. "Still, I need to know what sort of trouble I'm causing. A little mayhem might be necessary to keep those stuffy nobles in line, but I don't want anyone to get hurt , including the mare I name."
The stranger nodded, recapturing Danny's attention as the boy's snow-tipped horns dipped, shedding sparkling ice-crystals. "A wiser choice than I may have taken." He smiled as if at a personal joke. "I tend to act without thought."
Danny chuckled ruefully. "I'm not much better. I have simply been lectured about the importance of this treaty too often for rash action. What happens if I name her? And why is it forbidden?"
"Forbidden for me, not you." The boy glanced into the far distance, staring at something only he could see. "Walk with me to the stables. I will explain along the way."
Danny assumed that meant another carriage was arriving and they needed to move aside. Checking the stairs leading to the entrance of the palace, he hesitated.
He had already wasted too much time out here.
Vlad would chew him out for sure, but more than that, concern for Jazz gave him pause. She was already anxious for the ball; it would only add to her stress if Danny disappeared without a word.
On the other hand, Jazz wouldn't have to dance with the king for another two hours or so. That was plenty of time for a short chat with a handsome stableboy. Better yet, Danny would gain a nice story worth sharing. Such a harmless reward might lift the gloom clinging to Jazz's shoulders, if only for a while. Vlad shouldn't be too troublesome; he would have his hands full keeping Jack and Maddie from climbing the walls.
Danny turned back to the ghostly pair and signaled his acquiescence with a nod. "Lead the way."
The tumblr version of Foxyteah's stunning coverart can be found foxyteah/727853485350076416/whats-up-heres-another-invisobang-entry-this
And Foxyteah's wonderful window scene can be found foxyteah/727854003554271232/heres-is-my-second-invisobang-entry-for-the-fic
Weshney's art will come later in the story :3
Thank you so much for reading!