Ghosts of the past

Maria's dad decided that, for a little while at least, she'd stay only at the dorms.

"But what about you?" Maria asked.

Her dad put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"Don't worry about me. I'll find a new place to live. I just think you'll be a lot safer protected by all the enchantments of the campus." Maria thought about Mr. Brown and the things he did only to reach for her memories. She didn't really feel that safe in the campus.

"But why can't I come with you?"

Her dad grimaced. For a moment, they both stood in silence, Maria awaiting her answer.

"I am going to stay at the White Manor. If you come with me, you will probably get dragged into a lot of familial intrigue that I'd like to shelter you from. It's much better for you to stay on campus."

There was a lot of back and forth on that decision, but in the end, Maria reluctantly agreed to stay in the water dorms.

The next day, she arrived at the Academy, eager to talk to Nin and Mya about the ominous message, when she heard someone say:

"Wait!"

Maria turned around, watching a very frazzled Yuna run towards her. To her surprise, Isabelle wasn't behind her. As Yuna reached her, Maria noticed Yuna's tired look and the bags under her eyes, even as she put on a smile.

"There you are!" Yuna said.

Yuna hugged her tight, as if she hadn't just ignored Maria for the past week.

"Yuna..? What's this about?"

Yuna let go, cheeks flushed.

"Ah, well... I just wanted to say I was sorry for, you know..." she spun her hands around, trying to find the right words.

"Literally abandoning me for Isabelle after she tried to betray me and then come to me twice to try and mend something that's going to be broken forever?" Arms crossed, Maria looked at her angrily. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes at the thought of that horrible week. The wound was still fresh.

Yuna grimaced. "I'm... really sorry you felt abandoned, I was just trying to... to get my friends to make up and I didn't realize just how much I was hurting you... I hope that at least us two can still be friends?" Her voice raised up an octave at that last question, betraying her nervousness.

Maria took a breath, trying to calm herself, but with all the horrible feelings that she'd experienced last night combined with everything that she had felt last week... she started crying.

"Oh, dear... I'm- I didn't mean to-" Yuna caught Maria in another hug.

"I just- I-" Maria tried to talk, but her throat seized up and her sobs wouldn't let her speak.

And there was still silence in her mind. Maria felt so... helpless. She knew the voices were mean and angry and petty, but... they had left a void Maria didn't know how to fill.

After a minute or so, Maria finally started to calm down and Yuna offered her a napkin. Calm enough to talk, Maria said:

"I still value our friendship, Yuna. I... guess we could meet again, but... no Isabelle.” Maria's voice turned hard at that. It was the one thing she felt sure about right now. “No more apologies from her."

A ghost of a smile fluttered on Yuna's lips.

"Of course." Yuna said, her voice breaking. "Do you... want to walk to class together?" And then her voice became more steady. "I got Charms. What about you?" It felt like she had put on a mask. Maria didn't like the stark and rapid change. It seemed... unnatural.

"Herbology." Maria lied, as the class she had was much closer to Yuna's than she would have liked.

"Ah, ok. Have fun then." Yuna added before walking away, not so much as a glance back.

"Yeah... you too." Maria answered, wandering if Yuna had heard her at all.

---

"So you've gotten yourself stuck between a crazy spying D and a killer." Nin face palmed. "How do you get in these situations?"

"Nin, the dagger was clean! It was a threat, but that's not the same as murder!"

"So you're staying with us for now, right? If I were you, I’d pick spying D over threatening rusty dagger any day." Mya asked, cradling her pillow.

"I mean, yeah, it's safer this way."

"What about your father?” She gasped: “Is he going to get murdered?”

"No! Of course not! There is no murderer! He said he's moving." Maria sighed. "Apparently he's going to stay at the White Manor."

Mya's eyes sparkled: "You mean that fancy biiig house in town with all the pillars? How come he didn't take you with him? Must be amazing to live inside of there."

"Apparently, there's a lot" and Maria grimaced at that "of family drama."

"Can't be worse than back home." Chimed in Nin.

"Nin!" Shouted Mya. "I told you! No more jokes like that! It's not funny!"

"Sure sure" Nin held her hands up placatingly, a small wistful smile on her lips. It made Maria wonder just how life was at home for Nin. She hadn't left the dorms at all and it didn't seem like she wanted to leave for Winter's Crest either. She made a mental note to ask her another time. Maria already had a lot to deal with, she didn't feel ready to help with someone else's problems.

----

It had been a while since Noah had visited the White mansion. Coming back to it, the pride that he had felt every time when he saw the ornamented marble columns and walls was gone, replaced by disdain and unease. After all, he hadn't been welcome here in a very long time.

The heavy wooden door opened and the grandiose entrance hall opened up in front of him. Noah’s parents, hair grayed by the passing years, stood in the doorway, not as stern as they used to be. A flicker of a smile passed his dad’s lips as he opened his arms wide and welcomed him inside:

“Welcome back home, son.”

Noah couldn’t help but grimace at that. They had thrown him out of this “home” when he married as if one mistake had degraded him so much that he wasn’t family anymore. And now that Noah’s wife wasn’t there and his daughter was a fated savior of the continent, Mr. White suddenly called him “son” and welcomed him back. But he needed shelter. His- no, their home wasn’t safe anymore. So he bit his tongue, smiled and played the part of the long lost “son” returning “home”.

As he came inside, memories of that beautiful, fateful night came flooding back.

-

There was a ball that took place that night. The weather outside was cold and bitter, but the inside of the ballroom was cozy. People dressed in charming suits, wearing extravagant hats were dancing with ladies dressed in sparkling ball gowns, who were almost drowning in all the accessories and make up they had put on for the occasion. It was Winter's Crest after all, and everybody wanted to celebrate it.

As he spun around with yet another elite lady, he thought about just how fake this party was. People were charming and beautiful on the outside, yes, but the inside felt bland. Hollow. Carefully trimmed to match a shape. A shape that each lady that danced with him hoped would match the key to his heart.

That's when a noise, unlike the soft string quartet, the pitter patter of dancing and the grey noise of small talk echoed out in the ballroom. The sound of something shattering.

Noah quickly excused himself and went to see what the sudden disturbance had been. It was his manor after all and he would be the one to inherit this grand estate.

There was already a circle of onlookers forming and as he came towards the crowd, they parted, letting him through.

In the middle was a young woman, her servant dress dirty with streaks of sauce. At her feet was a large shattered porcelain tray, the food splattered all over the floor. And in front of her was a snobbish middle aged gentleman, who was berating her for being so inconsiderate as to leave a stain on his priceless shirt.

The girl was in tears. Apologizing over and over, she had bent down, trying to clean up the mess on the floor. A sharp hiss of pain stopped her fearful stammering and a trickle of blood was added to the mix as she had tried to grab a particularly sharp shard. That's when the angry gentleman grabbed her and demanded payment for his "ruined" shirt. He looked at the servant with lust in his eyes and that's when Noah intervened.

He gave that man a few gold pieces to replace his shirt and demanded that he be escorted outside, because "a charming man such as yourself shouldn't be made to enjoy this party in such a disheveled state". The tearful servant apologized for the mess again, so he grabbed her by the shoulders and walked outside the ballroom, to the surprise of all the onlookers. As he exited, Noah looked and saw that some other servants were in the process of cleaning up the mess.

The girl was trembling. She must have been terrified that he'd punish her for disturbing the evening and shattering an important tray. Or make her do something a lot worse, like what that man had tried to do to her.

Finally out of the ballroom and into the cooler entrance hall, Noah turned her around and asked:

"Are you alright?"

Confusion appeared on her face, before she nodded her head. "Yes, Master."

"Your hand is bleeding." he said.

She looked at her hands, dirty and bleeding, leaving stains upon the cold stone floor. Her eyes widened.

"I am really sorry for making the floor dirty again, Master!" She got out a used rag and vigorously wiped her hands in it, before wrapping her bleeding hand in it. "I will clean up this place spotless before the guests leave, I promise, Master!"

"I am more worried about your hand than the floor." he took the rag covered hand in his own, the cotton rag harsh between his soft fingers.

"Does it hurt?"

She kept her eyes fixed on him and he realized she wasn't enjoying the attention. He let go of her injured hand and she relaxed.

"Sorry. I didn't realize I was making you uncomfortable."

Her look changed, and her stormy grey eyes fixed him with surprise. She opened her mouth, at a loss for words for something as simple as an apology. She quickly shook it off and said:

"I will take care of my hand, Master, and I'll be back to clean this up in a few minutes." She took a few steps towards the servants' door, before she turned around, a slight smile on her lips. "Thank you for your concern, Master."

"One more thing before you go." He said.

She stood and waited as he continued: "Please, just call me Noah from now on."

She frowned at that, as if the mere thought of it was wrong, then opened the door and went inside, leaving him alone in the hall.

After the party was over, the entrance hall was as spotless as before.

-

"Noah," said Harrison Brown, the newly minted principal of the Academy, "you can't marry her."

They were in the principal’s new office, where he had called Noah in order to solve some organizational stuff and for him to get a helpful vision of his own future. Satisfied with what he'd gotten, he had been prepared to see Noah out, but then Noah had made his confession: he wanted to marry Eliza, the servant he had met that night.

"Harry, I love her. I would give everything to have her."

"Which will happen as soon as you marry her." He had been playing with a fountain pen from his desk, which he now pointed sharply at him. "You will lose your inheritance, you will lose your place at the manor and, most importantly, you will lose your family. Don't be stupid, Noah."

He was right, of course. The rational part of Noah’s mind knew that. But his emotions were telling a different story. Noah’s parents were more stern than loving, He was an only child, so no sibling would miss him. And for her, he'd happily live in a rotten wooden shack. Those were things he could lose for love.

Harry must have seen his look, because he let the pen down and sighed heavily.

"Alright, I see that I can't change your mind. Let's compromise then. Give this a think for two years-"

"Two years?!"

"Listen to me." Harry replied sternly "If you don't change your mind in two years' time, I won't stop you. It should give you enough time to sift through those turbulent emotions and, should push come to shove, it should also be enough time to get some money to buy what you need once your parents inevitably kick you out."

"Sheesh, that's harsh, Harry."

"But true, and you need to face that truth." He extended his hand towards Noah, palm open. "Work for me, Noah, and I'll help you get enough money to live a peaceful, modest life in two years' time. What do you say, old friend?"

Noah shook his hand. "Deal."

In two years, him and Eliza were happily married, in a humble small apartment in Aetheria and he was still working for Harry. Up until the vision came and turned his life sideways once more.

Edit: I am going into the finals these next 4 weeks, normally there shouldn't be problems because I have a few stocked chapters, but they might be a bit more difficult to write from now on.