Ghostly Whisper

"I lived in a lonely palace with my father, the king of this country, and my sister, a helpless, blind girl who could barely walk on her own. My father was never a nice man, and he became especially cruel after the death of my mother. He would always yell at me if I was ever to late to the dinner table, or bark at my sister whenever she would accidentally stumble into a wall. I hated him for that. It was hard enough for me to be around him before, but the way he started treating my sister after my mother's death made me develop a strong resentment that only grew with every day that passed. I had no other friends besides her. But she was the only friend I ever needed. My sister had been blind since birth. And not only that, but she had been born with a condition in her body that, at times, made her have leg failure. It took her five years to even learn how to walk, and even then, she fell down a lot.

"I spent every second I could with my sister. We were all each other had in that lonely palace. My father didn't like us to go outside, or at least, not passed the palace gates. We were okay with it, though. As long as we could be together. However...my father took that all away from us.

"He came down with a grave illness one day, and, being the strict man that he was, immediately made plans for what would take place if he should fall victim to the illness. His instructions were simple; I was to take his place as ruler of Amontyl, and my sister was to move out of the palace and live with a distant relative.

"Of course, both of us strongly rejected his orders. I shouted furiously at him, demanding answers as to why my sister couldn't continue living in the palace. Even as he lay sick in bed, my father was still as cruel and heartless as ever. He claimed that it wasn't right for such a weak, crippled young girl to be living in the rightful home of a king. 'She can't see a thing, and her legs barely work. What good could she possibly bring to this family? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's disgraceful.' That's what he told me. I knew that my father was aware of how much I hated him, and how much I would rather be with my sister. I believe that was the main reason he said this to me. 'She'll slow you down, and I can't have that. If I'm going to die, I want to die knowing that this country will be left in good hands. With that crippled sister of yours around, you're not half the man you could be. She's dragging you down, Christopher, why can't you see that?' But oh, how wrong he was.

"Before long the illness took my father's life, and I was left to take his place as the new king of Amontyl. And my sister...well, she was to be sent to my grandmother's house, which was located miles and miles away from the palace. With my new duties as king, I wouldn't be able to see her nearly as much as I used to. The thought of that made me feel empty inside. I feared that without my sister by my side, I would eventually grow to be the man my father once was. I didn't want that. I didn't want that at all. I never even wanted to be king, but over time I came to accept that I was to one day take on this responsibility. I believed I could get through anything...as long as she was there with me.

"Because my sister was blind, she always had trouble looking into my eyes. I would always take her hands and place them on my shoulders, then tell her to look straight ahead. She would always smile brightly at me whenever I praised her, so I tried to do so as much as possible, even when her accomplishment was something so small. I just wanted to see her smile. As long as I could see her smile...there was nothing I couldn't do...

"Before I knew it, the day before my sister was to be taken away arrived, and we were less than prepared for it. She ran to me with tears filling up her eyes, falling at least three times before she made it to my opened arms. She cried into my arms, saying, 'Chris, I don't want to leave. Tell them I'm staying here. I don't want to leave you, Chris...' Just by hearing my sister say these words, I knew what had to be done.

"I planned an escape. I told my sister that we would get away from the palace and go live on our own in secret. I told her that we would do anything...that we would change everything... Our names, our hair, our clothes...anything that could be used to identify us as the children of the deceased king. Once I asked her if she was okay with this, she smiled at me and said, 'Yes. I promise I won't let you down, Chris.'

"Without any second thoughts or doubts clouding up our minds, we went through with our escape plan. It seemed to be going smoothly at first. We managed to sneak passed the guards and put some distance between us before anyone noticed. But they did eventually notice...and they caught up to us. They stood in a long line in front of us, each one of them armed with a gun. In that moment...my entire body froze up...because one of the soldiers pointed his gun directly at my sister's head. I shouted at him and begged for him to put his gun down, but he didn't listen. Instead, he ordered me to put my sister's legs on the ground. In a panic, I did what he said and carefully placed her on the ground. She immediately began clinging to me, crying into my shirt as her legs struggled to remain upright.

"Everything after that happened in a blur. I refused to go back. The general that once stood at my father's right hand threatened to shoot me if I didn't cooperate. But I knew he wouldn't shoot. After all, I was supposed to be the new king. There was no way he would shoot me. But my sister...

"Upon hearing the sound of a gunshot, I was suddenly made aware of what had happened. One bullet to the chest was all it took to make her fall to her knees. One bullet was all it took to take her away from me... She wasn't killed instantly, and I was able to keep her conscious long enough to hear her say to me, 'Keep running, Chris. But never forget the color of my eyes..okay?' It may seem pretty random to anyone else, but to me, that simple phrase holds a special place in my heart. I used to tell my sister that she had the most beautiful eyes in the world, and that there was no other color like the one her eyes were. A pale, yet astonishing shade of purple. Unforgettable, I told her they were. But she still felt the need to remind me. Her last words...her last breath...was used as a reminder for me never to forget her. I still remember the pain I felt as I cried over her that day, and the silence that carried over to each and every soldier that was there. They all just watched me...that is, until the general told them...to turn around and head back to the palace. I was confused as to why he didn't tell them to retrieve me and take me back, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything anymore. The most important thing in my life had been taken away from me. My only reason for living...gone in the blink of an eye. My sister...Neimi..."

Christopher was already crying at this point, and Yuta and I had shed a few tears along the way, too. I looked over at Neimi and found myself unable to take my eyes off of hers. Christopher was right...their color really was unlike anything I had ever seen. But it became harder to see as Neimi's eyes began to fill up with tears.

"You see now..." She whispered, voice trembling as she tried desperately to keep herself together. "You see why Chris is the way he is. He seems to think that the events that took place that day were all his fault. And listening to him retell the story...I wonder if he'll ever forgive himself..."

"There's got to be some other way," said Yuta. "There's got to be some other way...we can make him see you."

"Connie."

All of a sudden Ushio, Kyo, and Niall simultaneously turned their heads to look at Neimi. "You're kidding, right?" said Ushio. "Seriously?"

Neimi nodded her head slowly. "Yes. If Connie were here, then she may be able to make my presence visible to Chris."

"Well, that's great news!" Kyo exclaimed, clearly forgetting that a certain someone in the room hadn't a clue to whom we were speaking. "It's really convenient, too. The reason we came here in the first place was so that we could ask him about that. And if what you're saying is true, then that's a two-in-one. Yuta, gimme a high-five..."

"Who are you guys talking to?!" Christopher shouted, making us all cringe. He glared at each one of us with an intimidating look is his eyes. "Tch...I'm wasting my time with you, aren't I?"

"Tell me, Christopher..." I began, intending to catch his attention before he lost interest in speaking with us entirely. "Have you ever heard of the Midnight Legion?"

"Please don't bring that up," Christopher groaned, turning his head away, almost in disgust. "I met a girl named Connie about 5 years ago. I was around her for about ten minutes, and all she did was blabber about the so-called 'Midnight Legion' and how she was assigned as my 'guardian.' I told her she was insane. And she left."

"How foolish of you..."

Now each one of us had swiftly turned our heads to Niall, staring at him in shock. "W-what did you say...?" Christopher narrowed his eyes at Niall, but the bluenette didn't do so much as flinch.

"You are a foolish boy, Christopher," Niall repeated, his tone strong and harsh. "I should smite you for having insulted my sister. She was telling the truth. And maybe, if you would have believed her, she would have been able to stop the incident that resulted in Neimi's death."

"Y-you're lying...you can't possibly be serious..." Christopher's gaze softened upon hearing Niall's stern words, and his face was soon filled with a look of complete and utter heartbreak. "Connie could have...saved my sister?"

"Yes," said Niall, "and she would have, too. I, too, am a member of this so-called 'Midnight Legion' you refuse to believe in. A long time ago, we were all assigned a human to look after. A broken human, to be exact. And what I mean by that is a human who has lost something in their life. For you, it was your mother. For the human I was assigned to, it was his father. Thankfully, despite my human's typically negative attitude, he welcomed me into his own home, and we gradually became good friends. That's all Connie had hoped for. Her entire life was spent looking forward to the day when she might meet you...the day she could become your friend. But you crushed her only dream, Christopher. Don't you know what that does to a person? Have you no consideration for anyone but yourself?"

Guilt. That was all I could read on Christopher's face. Guilt, and a whole lot of regret. Niall's words really had done something to him, and I was really starting to have seconds thoughts as to whether or not that was a good thing. What if he started to doubt himself and refused to help us?

"Niall, what's gotten into you?" asked Yuta, shooting him a confused glance. "There's no need to be so hard on the boy. He didn't mean any harm. I'm sure he never meant to hurt Connie...or his sister, for that matter."

"Nevertheless, I don't think I can forgive him."

"Niall!"

"Unless..." He paused, slowly lifting his eyes to build up some anticipation within Christopher. Surely enough, it worked. The boy was at the edge of his seat, eagerly awaiting what Niall would say next. "Unless...you bring Connie to us."

"Huh...?"

"It's quite simple, really," said Niall, standing up from his seat. He took a few steps forward until he was standing right in front of Christopher, then slowly reached his hand into his pocket."All that needs to be done is...well...how do I put this....?"

+++

Before anyone could realize what was going on, Niall had put the blade of a small knife at Christopher's neck. The boy's eyes shot open with terror, and his whole body began to shake. "Wh-what are you doing...?"

"In order to call Connie here, you're going to have to sacrifice your life."

"Niall!! Stop this!" Yuta shouted at him, but Niall didn't budge. "What is wrong with you? You're not actually going to kill him, are you?!"

Niall's hand moved a centimeter closer to Christopher, causing the knife to come in contact with the boy's neck. A trickle of blood ran down from the tip of the blade.

"This has gone far enough!!" Kyo lunged forward and seized Niall's arm, yanking him back to give him a deliberate punch to the jaw. Niall stumbled across the room and fell to his knees, dropping his knife in the process. Kyo quickly reached for the knife and held it over Niall's head, staring at him with an enraged gleam in his eye. "You have stepped over the line, Niall. I thought you were on our side! What gives, huh?!"

"I am on your side, Kyo," said Niall, his voice much calmer than before. "I'm doing this to help us."

"Help us?" Kyo scoffed. "Shedding innocent blood is not helping us, Niall. If you weren't already a demon, I would probably think you're possessed!"

I was thinking about trying to stop them. I was literally in the process of standing up from my seat to break up the fight when something strange happened. A hand that seemed to come out of nowhere pushed against my chest, making me fall back in my seat again. When I looked up to see who had done this, I found myself staring at the face of a beautiful stranger. She had a slender build and long, golden blonde hair that brought out the blueness in her visible eye. The other was covered by a black eyepatch. She was wearing a crimson red shirt, a black leather jacket, black tights, and knee-length crimson boots. And the second we made eye contact, I nearly lost my breath.

"Gah!!" Christopher exclaimed, pulling his legs onto the sofa. "H-how did you get in here?!"

"Wow, Connie, you really do look different."

Kyo looked down at Niall and opened his mouth, as if ready to speak, but said nothing. Instead he moved away from the bluenette, shamefully tossing the knife across the room. "Freakin' heck, Niall..."

Niall got to his feet soon after Kyo had removed himself, rubbing his bruised cheek as he smiled at the blonde woman. "I like this new look. It suits you much better than your old one," he told her. "I wish I had the ability to change my appearance..."

"What have you done to Christopher?" She demanded, locking her eyes on Niall's. "I swear, Niall, if you've brought harm to him..."

"Relax, Connie, he's fine," Niall assured her. "Look. He's right here."

Connie craned her neck until she was staring directly at a very petrified Christopher. "Hello," she said in a quiet voice. "It's good to see you again. How long has it been...five years?"

"Oh my gosh..." His eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets, and his jaw opened in shock. "C-Connie...? But you don't even look nearly the same as you did then. I don't understand..."

"Then don't worry about it," she told him. "Anyway, was there something you needed? I sensed that something was wrong here, so I came as quickly as I could. I'll do anything for you, Christopher. Just say the word."

"Actually, it's something we need you to do for us," said Niall, immediately catching Connie's attention. "We would like to recruit you, if that's alright."

"Recruit me? What am I, a mercenary?"

"I didn't mean like that. What I meant is that we want you to be on our side. With your help, I'm sure we could find Hanako without any trouble."

"I already know where he is," said Connie. "I also know what he's planning to do in the future. However...I refuse to help you."

"And why is that?"

"Too much trouble," she said, turning her head away stubbornly. "I already made a promise to myself that I wouldn't get involved with this madness anymore. I'm being chased by Death's shadow, and it terrifies me every second I live and breath. I hear its voice whispering in my ear constantly...that's how I know where Hanako is. That's how I know what he's doing. I payed Hanako a little visit, hoping that Death would just go away, but it didn't. And as long as Death is still following me...I'm sorry, but I can't help you..."

"So you want Death to leave you alone?" said Niall, raising an eyebrow. "Is that what you're saying? If that's the case, then I don't really see your issue. If you help us get to Hanako, then maybe we could h-"

"SILENCE!!" Connie boomed, creating a powerful wave that made a small crack in the ground beneath her feet. "What do you know? How could possibly help me? Being as damaged as you are, I'm surprised you even manage to support yourself each and every day. If you keep trying to search for Hanako, you'll most likely end up breaking, and I mean in more ways than one."

"That's exactly why I want your help," said Niall, his voice now much quieter. "I...I want to find him...before that happens. If I die, then I at least want it to have been for something worthwhile. So please, Connie...I'll do anything for you."

The room became silent after Niall had spoken these words of desperation. Connie looked down on Niall, narrowing her eye at him. She took in a deep breath and let it out, then slowly began shaking her head. But just as Connie had opened her mouth and was about to speak, a small voice cried out, immediately capturing her attention.

"Connie, we need you!"

Connie looked at Neimi, her eye wide and filled with confusion and concern. "You...I know you..." She whispered. "But how come you're here? Neimi, what happened?"

"I wanted to see Chris again," she replied, clutching her dress as she tried to hold back her tears. "I didn't know becoming a ghost would mean that he wouldn't be able to see me. It doesn't make sense...everyone else can see me."

"Neimi, w-"

"But that doesn't matter right now." Neimi's head shot up, and she stared at Connie with an expression I had never seen on her before. "You've gotta help them, Connie. I need you, but they need you more. Please help them..."

Connie was speechless. Her gaze fell to the floor and stayed there for a solid minute before she even reacted again. "Neimi...you...died...?"

"Yes, my sister died a little over a year ago," said Christopher sadly. "I've been living a life of guilt and regret ever since."

"But Christopher...can't you see her? Neimi is right here with us now."

The boy shot Connie a look of concern. "No, she's not..."

"Neimi, do something," Connie ordered the girl, who seemed very frightened of her at the moment. "Come on. Do something so that your brother knows you're here."

Neimi quickly hid her face in here hands, rapidly shaking her head as she started to whine softly. Even still, Connie continued to urge her. She knelt down beside the little girl and carefully pried her hands away from her face, then looked directly into her pale purple eyes. "Knock a glass over. Punch a wall. Do something, please," she pleaded. "Neimi, if you do this one thing for me then I promise I will help your friends. Just...please...I can't bare to see you like this..."

"You...you'll help them...?" She sniffled. "Promise?"

"I promise," said Connie with a smile. "Now go. Make yourself be known."

Neimi's entire body was shaking as she stood up from her seat, especially her legs. She put a brave expression on her face and stuck her arms out, feeling around for something she could use to make some noise. Soon enough, the tips of her fingers came in contact with a small desk lamp that was sitting on a coffee table right in front of Christopher. She felt around for a little while, searching for the switch to turn it on. When she found it, however, I noticed that she was still having difficulty pressing the switch.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"My finger keeps passing through the button," she replied. "I can't press it."

"Concentrate."

"But it's not working. I can't do it..."

"If you can't press the switch, then try focusing on a target of larger mass," said Connie. "Try pushing the lamp off the table."

Neimi flinched, then shot a frantic look back at Connie. "But I don't want to break it!" She cried. "Chris might get mad..."

"You know your brother better than that. Now try it."

Neimi faced the lamp once again and brought her hands down to where the base was. Squeezing her eyes tightly, she used all the strength she had in her fragile little body to shove the lamp off the table and onto the floor.

This had earned a very alarmed expression from Christopher, whose eyes immediately locked onto the fallen lamp. "N-Neimi...?" He slowly lifted up his arm and held out his hand, as of expecting someone to take it. "Is that really you, Neimi?"

"Yes!" Neimi exclaimed, flashing a bright smile. "It's me, Chris! Do you see me now?"

Christopher didn't say a word. He continued to stare at the lamp, waiting. For a second I thought I saw him mouth something, but his words never did reach me. His eyes were filled with sorrow, and as soon as I got a better look at Neimi's face, I noticed hers were as well.

"Chris?" She whispered. "Chris, it's me...Neimi...your sister. I'm here, Chris." Taking a step forward, she held out her hand and attempted to keep that smile on her face. But now...it didn't seem the least bit sincere. "Christopher, please..." Her hand would have touched his several times by now, but each time it simply passed through, as if she was only a hologram.

"Neimi, can you hear me?"

Neimi nodded firmly. "I can hear you. I'm right here, Chris."

"I can't see you, but if you're really there, I want you to do something for me."

"I'll do anything for you, big brother."

"Please forgive me..."

Those three words were all it took to make Neimi's tears start flowing again. She began violently shaking her head, lips quivering, and before long she collapsed to her knees, whimpering softly. "Say something else..." She cried.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you..."

Neimi curled up into a ball, tightly hugging her legs as she continued to cry helplessly. "Say something else, please. Say anything...just don't...apologize..."

"I'm sorry for the horrible things that you had to deal with because of our father. I'm sorry for being such a selfish, inconsiderate brother. I'm sorry for trying to run away with you without considering what may happen. But I hope you know that I still love you."

"I love you too, Chris..." Neimi whispered. "I love you the most."

Christopher smiled slightly, almost making me wonder if he had heard her voice this time. "She's here," he said. "I can tell by the way the atmosphere feels. She's trying hard to reach me, isn't she?"

Connie nodded. Christopher laughed.

"I'm proud of you, Neimi. You always were such a strong little girl."

We left the basement soon after these words were spoken, but as we climbed the stairs, I could still hear the quiet sobbing of poor little Neimi Valient, and the tender voice of her caring brother.