Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Learning to Love ❯ Haunting ( Chapter 6 )

Legal Disclaimer - I do not own FAKE, no matter how much it saddens me to admit it.

Author's Note - Yes, yes. I'm sorry I made you all wait so long and then I gave you this little bullshit chapter. Well, I decided to update once more for all of you loyal reviewers. Oh, and then there's the fact that I can't get this story out of my sad excuse for a mind. And my computer's been calling to me, telling me to keep the motivation going and going. Be happy. This is, like, the only fic I'm really caring about right now. Anyways….please enjoy this chapter!! It's short….but it's something!!!

Chapter 6 - Haunting

Someone was calling him; a hand on his shoulder shook him roughly. Ryo snapped awake, his dream world shattering into millions of pieces of fragmented conversation and setting. He was trembling and covered in sweat; his face was ashen.

"Master Ryo, are you all right?" a concerned, motherly voice dragged him out of his stupor for good.

Slightly glazed almond eyes came to focus on the worry-lined face of Mother, her dark eyes holding a tone of endearment. Ryo realized he was still shaking, though he couldn't remember why his body quivered so. Golden eyes gazed into his own; a large, pink, and very wet tongue slobbered on the side of Ryo's pale cheek. He reached a slender hand out to scratch the dog weakly behind the ears, a small smile making its way to his lips as he watched Tsuki wag her great black tail. Ryo noticed that his smile seemed to make Mother relax some.

"Good heavens, child. I thought I might have to fetch a doctor for you soon the way you were thrashing about," Mother said, taking a seat next to him on the bed.

"I'm fine really. I guess it was just a bad dream…" Ryo replied, not remembering most of his nightmare.

"Yes, well, I've come on orders from Milord. He wishes you to eat a little something today," Mother continued, standing up.

She leaned over him and put a hand to his forehead.

"And it seems that you don't have a fever, so would you like it if you were to come down to the dining hall to eat?" she asked kindly.

"I would very much like that, Mil…erm…Mother," Ryo replied, remembering that this nice woman wished for him to call her "Mother."

"All right then. You should get cleaned up a bit. Three days of straight bed rest with a fever definitely calls for a nice hot bath, don't you agree?" Mother said; Ryo could only nod.

"That's what I thought. I've already started it for you. When you're done, Tsuki will bring you to the dining room," Mother finished, patting the great wolf on the head.

"Tsuki can do that all by herself?" Ryo asked, dumbfounded that an animal could be capable of such intelligence.

"Oh yes. Wolves are very smart creatures. Well then, I have some chores to attend to. I will see you soon, Master Ryo," and with that said she got up to depart.

"Mother, please, just call me Ryo," he said; she smiled.

"All right then, Ryo," Mother replied, vanishing behind the heavy oak door to his room.

^_-

Ryo sat in the tub, letting the hot water soothe his sore muscles and wash away all of the remnants of his illness. He sighed. Immediately a grey head shot up, golden eyes alert and ready. Ryo smiled in spite of himself.

"I'm fine, Tsuki. No need to be so worried," Ryo said.

The wolf laid her head back down and Ryo leaned back, sinking deeper into the relaxing water. His brow furrowed as he thought. Ryo couldn't understand why he needed such protection and why every time he even made a sound, Tsuki would almost instantly be on her feet ready to defend. Just what weren't these people telling him?

~_6

After he took his bath and dressed in some comfortable clothes (Mother had finally washed the jeans that he had arrived in) Ryo walked out into the corridor, Tsuki in the lead. He followed the wolf down several flights of stairs and through many different halls; the castle was a labyrinth within itself.

Tsuki stopped outside of a large oak door, scratching at the bottom half of the door in indication that this was the way to go. Ryo turned the brass door handle and pulled.

Brilliant lights met his eyes and he shielded them against the brightness with his hand. When his sight cleared, Ryo gasped at the large hall; never before had he ever seen such a wonderfully decorated room. He had only envisioned such places from within the pages of fairy-tale novels.

There was a ridiculously large table in the center of the space that stretched almost the entire length of the room. On its surface there were lit candles and a couple large vases of beautiful flowers (which was odd, seeing as how it was winter) accented the décor. The floors were of a glossy tan marble; the swirling formations in the floor actually seemed to be moving beneath Ryo's feet. He looked over at the far end of the room and saw a wall of large windows that went up to the high arches of the cathedral-like ceiling. Ryo turned his attention upward, noticing that the ceiling had a gorgeous renaissance mural painted on its surface.

Ryo was torn out of his gaping stupor when he felt that wet tongue licking determinedly at his fingertips. Tsuki let loose a small whimper and Ryo took that as his cue to scratch that one spot she loved most behind her left ear. He looked around some more, rooted to the same spot. Ryo listened quietly; he heard the sounds of some people talking from somewhere near the room he was currently occupying.

He headed towards the opposite side of the room where he heard the voices. They were coming from behind a large maroon tapestry that was hanging on the wall. He moved the curtain aside and found himself looking at a small door; Ryo turned the knob and opened the door.

It swung open with a squeak into a narrow passageway that led to an even narrower spiral staircase made of stone and brick. Ryo walked down the stairs being careful of where he stepped for he didn't want to fall flat on his face; Tsuki had followed behind him, but then took the lead, ready if something were to spring out of no where and attack Ryo.

At the bottom of the stairs, Ryo found himself in a small kitchen. There was a wood cutting table and a table for making bread in the corner by the fireplace. The fireplace had a large cauldron sitting above it, obviously cooking some sort of stew. In the center of the room there was a large wood table ((picture a picnic bench if you will)) with a couple of stools around it that were low to the ground.

Two servants had been standing in the kitchen, chatting quietly; they seemed flustered however when he appeared. They bowed to him quickly and then left as if the hounds of Hell were on their heels. He looked about the room; a familiar figure that Ryo registered as Mother was by the cauldron, stirring its contents with a skilled hand. Tsuki trotted over to her and sat with those large golden eyes begging for just a sweet little scrap from the delicious smelling food. When Mother saw Tsuki, she looked up and found Ryo standing there, looking quite the tramp in those ripped blue jeans and slightly disheveled white-collared shirt that he had rolled the sleeves up on.

"Good afternoon, Ryo," Mother said, still pleasant as always.

"Good afternoon," he replied.

"Well, it's good to see you up and about again. Just head back upstairs and I'll bring something up for you, dear," she said.

"Um…" Ryo began, looking down at his boots.

"What is it?" Mother asked, sounding a bit concerned.

"Can I just stay down here with you?" Ryo inquired, looking up at her with hopeful eyes.

She seemed a bit taken back.

"Of course you can. But wouldn't you rather eat in the dining room? It's such a beautiful day outside and the room has a lovely view," Mother replied.

"I'd actually like to stay down here. I…I wanted to ask you a couple things, if that's all right," Ryo ventured to say.

He was wondering about this place. This castle. These people. But most of all, Dee. And Ryo wanted to know why he seemed to feel so uneasy at times, as if there were someone, or something, watching him from behind. Other times, he felt like he was seeing things through a different point of view. Some things seemed familiar, some passageways that he'd never been down seemed so natural to his gaze. Ryo could feel his step change at that time, like someone else was walking for him, telling his feet exactly where to go. He didn't know what that feeling was. He'd never felt it before. It was unreal and very frightening. Was this place haunted? Possessed by some evil demon? Was he possessed? Or was he just border-lining crazy…?

"That's fine, dear. Take a seat and I'll get you something to eat," she said.

Ryo sat down in a seat at random; Tsuki settled by his feet. He listened to the sound of Mother bustling around behind him. He was just about to ask her if she needed his assistance when it felt like someone had just grabbed him by the stomach and swung him around; a gasp caught in his throat.

He noticed that there were two people standing before him, one being Mother and the other being a very handsome-looking blonde man. Their lips were moving; Ryo strained to hear their conversation.

"You are the only one I can confide in, Mother. Are these fears simply a paranoia of the mind or a desperately frightening fear that settled in my heart long ago when I first met him?" the blonde asked, his voice rich and suave; very positive and sure.

"Do not fret, child. You will see. He cares deeply for you. He would not betray you in any sense of the Word," Mother replied, taking his hands in her own.

"You've quelled my fears, Mother. Though it may only be for a short while. When we return to Bellwicket in the spring, I will see if your words are true," he said to her.

And as he turned to leave, it was as if for a brief moment the blonde man knew he was sitting there watching the whole conversation. His head turned towards Ryo and that gasp that had caught in his throat was released. Those eyes. Those same blue eyes were the ones that had stared so loathingly at him three days prior. Those same blue eyes that lingered in the shadows of his mind as he slept. Those same blue eyes that seemed to always be watching him somehow with a malicious intent. It was *him.*

Then, the flashback ended and Ryo was sitting in the kitchen, present day, present time. It had all been a memory played before his eyes like a film. He found himself shivering again; there was something very wrong here in this castle. Something very, very wrong.

_--

After Talk with The Random Queen:

Okay, I know that was extremely short, but I had to end it here because of the length. I want to keep all of the "answers" to Ryo's questions in one chapter so people don't have to keep going back and forth between chapters going "Yeah…okay…so this just happened, but they said this…well, let me read that again…because…oh wait…that's why!" you know. It gets annoying. So, I'm saving everyone a little stress attack. Plus…didn't that last line sound really good? It was such a cliffhanger-ending-kinda-thing-that-will-haunt-your-dreams-until-you-finall y-figure-out-just-what-the-hell-is-REALLY-going on.

About the Characters………………..

Bikky and Carol I think are going to be in the next chapter. And maybe a small scene with Berkley…but I don't know what I can fit in a chapter without giving too much away. So….please…be patient. This story is getting to its climax. Very, very soon. I hope….

Parting Words and the Bribe:

You all know the drill, leave a good review and you'll get something yummy (like…a really lemony chapter maybe? Not…but something close…) but if you're mean and rude and just don't like it then you can bite my ass. Oh, I mean, all flames will be used to set fire to the really crappy-ass script that I'm reading for One-Acts.

Now students -dressed like a teacher- Time for a review of this lesson:

You + nice reviews = new yummy chapter

You + not nice reviews with bad words in them = make me cry

OOOOOKkkkkaaaayyyyyy~

Now, please review!

Thanks! And see you soon!

~The Random Queen