The group did a quick walkthrough of the first floor of the mansion together. For a place that had been abandoned for over a decade, it was in shockingly nice condition and well maintained. But they supposed that was expected for a place the real estate group was actively trying to sell. One suggestion they might have would be to get rid of all the old antique furniture covered in white sheets. That alone could make people think of ghosts.
As they’d been told, nothing of interest happened when they were together as a crowd, so they split up. Xard took the attic, not for any particular reason other than no one else was excited to take it, and he didn’t have any preference.
What was surprising, though, was how quickly the haunting started now that he was alone. Like the rest of the house, the attic was chock full of old furniture and junk. It seemed the real estate agency wanted to sell it as is instead of going through the headache of sorting what could possibly be worthwhile to keep or put up for auction.
Little by little, things started to shift in the room. A chair moved a few inches. An old map unfurled for a moment then scrunched up into a ball and went flying across the room. Drawers of a dresser opened in succession, and then clothes and other knick knacks went jumping out of it. Lastly, an old bicycle suddenly stood up on its own and began riding riderless slowly around the room.
All these hauntings didn’t seem aggressive at all. Instead, it looked like the ghost, or whatever it could be, was just bored and killing time.
“Reminds you of the old junkyard we used to play at, doesn’t it?” Xard heard a voice coming from the bike. The area around it shimmered and Warig, the friend he’d murdered, sat atop the bike’s seat. The rumors really were true after all. For Fiends, those they killed were brought back in this mansion.
“But you’ve moved on from that, haven’t you?” Warig vanished from the bike, and it crashed into some boxes. He then reappeared sitting on an old television that started producing static from his presence. “It’s been what, two years? I hardly even recognize you.”
“The hair’s an obvious change, but you’re certainly not the Xard I remember—a boy just coasting along, barely a dream to his name. But I was right there with you, wasn’t I? Wasting away our youths in that damned junkyard. Well, at least I was trying to do something about it.”
“By selling drugs to kids, you mean?” Xard wasn’t going to give this damnable spirit an inch of his regret.
“By trying to make our lives better! By any means necessary,” the ghost was suddenly screaming in Xard’s face before backing up a bit. “But it seems you didn’t appreciate my efforts. And here I thought you loved me.”
That actually did make Xard uncomfortable. His spine tensed up and his stomach felt heavy. “You knew?” he couldn’t resist asking.
“Hmph, I always thought there was something weird with you,” Warig started drifting around, almost listlessly. “What really made me start thinking was when we found that box of porn. It was odd enough when you didn’t want to look at it, but it was even weirder when you got annoyed that I’d look at them. Then I started piecing it together, and it became obvious after a while.”
“And honestly, even though I’m not gay, it still flattered me. Made me work even harder for us to find a way out of that zjikhole, away from our families who didn’t care about us. And despite all I did, you just moved right along.”
“Got fancy new powers that led to you joining that group. Got a new dream, a new home, a place where you belong. Got a new crush, what was his name? Grim something? But now you’re up there flying high, forgetting everything you left behind, everyone.”
“I suppose in a way, I should be happy. After all, you only got this far in life because of me. Because of my sacrifice, that’s what set you on this path. And that’s just what it means to be a best friend, to be there for someone, even when they stab you in the back!”
Xard felt a smidgen of pressure at his backside and whirled his head, unimpressed. The ghost of Warig was trying to stab a flagpole through his back, but Xard had turned on his Curse long ago.
“You never were great at trying to trick me, Warig. Except for that one big lie, you never got the jump on me, but even that one was because of my own delusions and refusal to accept it. I was the one choosing to ignore the warning signs.” Xard slammed his fist into the middle of the ghost’s chest, but it went right through, disappearing into the incorporeal form.
“And yeah I have moved on. I blamed myself for a long time, that I could have led you down a different path. But the person I loved never existed. I was just projecting my feelings onto the guy closest to me. We may have been best friends, but I don’t owe you a damn thing. You dug your own grave!” A blast of energy exuded from Xard’s hand, vaporizing the specter into nothingness.
The Fiend didn’t know if this meant the ghost was gone for good, but Warig didn’t immediately return. If that was all the dead man was capable of, he really didn’t have anything to worry about.
◆◆◆
Rusa wandered the second floor for quite some time before anything finally happened. In most rooms, she didn’t get so much as a whiff of anything supernatural. Only in the master bedroom did she finally meet her mother, Fassis Sulatrive, former queen of Archlave. “I gave birth to you on a bed just like this.”
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“Well, actually, I never even finished the job, did I?” the dead queen appeared on the bed, floating the covers over herself and looking like a sick patient. Rusa went and sat in a chair next to the bed, properly getting a look at her mother for the first time. She’d mostly seen portraits, and some old pictures in a few albums, but none of her mother later in life. This specter was still dressed in a gallant gown with her crown still on her head.
“So you’re my daughter then?” the woman gave Rusa a once over. “Has it really been so long since my own death? You’re already a grown woman.”
“Uhh, no, it’s only been about two years,” her daughter corrected her. “I’m just a bit different, I guess you could say.”
“Ah, right, one of those Fiend things you talk about with your friends,” Fassis looked away as if she’d lost interest. “So how is Archlave faring?”
“Umm, alright I suppose,” Rusa made her best guess. “I haven’t looked into it in a while, but father seemed to be doing a decent job leading the country last I’d heard.”
“Hmph, that oaf could barely lead himself to the bathroom in the middle of the night,” Rusa’s mother vanished from the bed and reappeared at the window. “I was the true ruler of Archlave! Your father was little more than a figurehead in that sexist society, but everyone worshiped the floor he walked on.”
“Just because I wasn’t born of noble blood, just because I was the one who married into the royal family, just because I was a woman. My opinion didn’t matter in the court. No one took me seriously. Even though it was my hard work, my doctrines, my trade agreements that allowed Archlave to prosper. I just couldn’t be the one to write them. No, I had to whisper them into your father’s ear.”
“Because of me, Archlave became the trading hub of the seas! Every merchant ship docks at our ports, every bit of commerce pays our tariffs, every island thriving because I allowed them to! And what did I get? Resentment, threats, our most loyal subjects talking about me with venom in their words, cursing my name. I should have let the nation fall apart, but I did it all because of my love for that island.”
“But what about the people?” Rusa had to ask. “I heard that you ruined so many lives in the pursuit of your goals. Even though the economy boomed, too many were left starving. Meanwhile, you adorned our castle with priceless lavishments that we didn’t even need.”
“Necessary sacrifices and due rewards,” her mother quickly dismissed her words. “When you are queen, you will quickly understand the importance of both. You can not climb to the top without using others as your steps. That is just the way of the world.”
“Hmph, if I ever even become queen,” the idea was now turning bitter in Rusa’s mind, not that she ever particularly wanted the responsibility to begin with. “Or if we even make it that long. These assassins are becoming a pain to deal with. We even encountered one on the way here, not that they were difficult to handle.”
“You would dare let Archlave fall into another’s hands?!” The ghost jumped in front of Rusa’s face, and her icy hands gripped the girl’s shoulders.
“Huh, what, no?!” she was baffled that her mother would jump to that conclusion. “We’re working hard to find out who’s behind this, and we’ll definitely stop them. They just don’t want a Fiend as their ruler, and I can’t say I blame them. Honestly, it’s never really felt like that’s the path I should follow.”
“Hmph, rebellious,” Queen Fassis let go and drifted away. “I was the same at your age. Well, the age you are now. I was only sent to the palace by my family just because I knew how to fake a smile more than the rest of my village. It was a longshot, and I expected to be sent home very quickly. Imagine my surprise when your father picked me over all the other suitresses.”
“I actually rejected him at first. Not because I didn’t like him, but because it didn’t feel real. But he persisted, filled my head with fantasies and big talk of the nation we could build together. Yet the moment the crown touched his head, he threw away all his promises and dreams—content to stay the course and live in his father’s shadow.”
“But I had already been sold on the future, so I wasn’t going to be cheated. If your father was too spineless, I’d just have to guide his hand. My dreams came true. Well, until…” Fassis’ eyes drifted over towards Rusa. “I was looking forward to raising my heir properly—the person who’d succeed me and rule the Archlave dynasty.”
“It’s a shame that I… that we never got the chance. So I can understand your hesitance, but you will learn in time. Archlave was everything to me, as it will be for you. Perhaps you just need to spend more time there, to really learn to love it, to understand your heritage. You’ve been away from home for far too long, Feyjrusa.”
“Well, it’s not Archlave I had any issue with,” Rusa admitted. “Even after seeing most of the world, it will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s beautiful, and it’s my home. I always believed that I would return there someday, but maybe not as its ruler.”
“I’m really not like everyone else, not even like other Fiends. I’m immortal. No matter how many times I’m reincarnated, even if someone kills me, I’ll never die, just reborn again. And each time I do, my personality changes. Even if I’m committed to ruling Archlave in one life, who knows what I’ll be like in the next. The citizens don’t deserve that.”
“Immortal body you say…” The look in the queen’s eyes changed. The next thing Rusa knew, icy hands were reaching into her chest. “I didn’t give my life so that my heir could shirk her duties and insult my legacy! If you won’t use the powers I gave you to further my dream, then I’ll just take it for myself and rule Archlave forever!”
Rusa’s Curse kicked in immediately since her life was in danger. Hell, it felt worse than that. Her mothers hands were clasped around her heart, squeezing the life out of her. She wasn’t quite sure if it would work like Fassis expected, or if it’d just kill them both.
The overdrive of her brain let her block out the pain and focus on her surroundings. She didn’t have a lot of time before whatever fate had in store for her. But now she had 315-times that window to figure something out.
She had to get away from her mother as quickly as possible. If she ran towards the door, that would just push them together anymore. Given the intangible nature of the queen’s form, Rusa doubted she could fight back. That only left one avenue of escape.
The Fiend lurched back in her chair, sending it tumbling backwards. Rusa kept the momentum and went careening through the window, shattering the glass, and sending her crashing down into the hedge below. She then deactivated her Curse so it wouldn’t take as long to scramble away, but reactivated it to hunt down her mother again. The ghost, though, was nowhere to be found.