The Crown's Obsession

Music Recommendation: Haunted Forest Sounds | Ghostly Murmurs | 1 Hour

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"What?" Madeline asked, utterly confused.

She didn't know if it was because of the night and the time for her to sleep, that she was hearing it wrong or things were hard for her to understand.

Calhoun stepped forward, placing his hands on both sides of her face. Without another word, he pressed his lips on her forehead.

"After bringing you back to the castle, I went to take a look at the closed graveyard in your grandparent's village. I found a soul there, a ghost. Want to meet her?" offered Calhoun and Madeline shook her head to make sure she was wide awake.

"I mean yes," she nodded her head.

With the night that continued to prevail in the village, Calhoun and Madeline stepped in the middle of the cemetery, away from the possible wandering eyes. She realised how she and Calhoun often went to look at things during the time of night, when everyone was sleeping. Looking around the cemetery, Madeline asked,

"Where did you meet her?" She wasn't sure if she was ready to meet a ghost, but she had Calhoun with her, said Madeline to herself.

Calhoun walked to one of the cemented graves and knocked on it. Madeline took note of how fog started to form in the air, and a woman woke up from her grave, who was almost transparent where one could see things through her. The woman appeared to look around in her late twenties.

Madeline felt goosebumps forming on her skin. Ghosts existed, said Madeline to herself.

"You again," Madeline noticed how the woman didn't look happy on seeing Calhoun, "You demon."

"Good evening, Lady Ruth. I brought someone with me," said Calhoun, and the ghost turned her gaze from the vampire to look at the girl who stood behind another grave.

The woman suddenly flew in the air to come and stand in front of Madeline. Madeline was quick to take two steps away from the ghost. She stared back at the ghost, holding her ground and trying not to faint.

"You are his last child," said Lady Ruth, the Ghost.

"The first fallen angel?" asked Madeline to see the ghost shake her head and step away.

"I am not speaking about the devil but the angel Paschar. There was only one who fell from his own will, while the rest were thrown out for their indecisiveness, who now are turning to demons," said the ghost, "If you are here, I believe you are here for answers?"

"Calhoun told me what you said to him."

The woman stared at Calhoun and Madeline, her eyes shifting, "What a rare sight to see a demon and an angel together," said the ghost, her voice was nothing less to a whisper. The sound of the crickets increased in the cemetery and at a distant tree an owl hooted.

"A dark fallen angel," said Madeline but the woman shook her head again.

"You are not fallen. The children of Paschar are not fallen. I have been here since the beginning of the time. Since some of the angels fell...The fallen angels, they are neither angels nor demons. We used to call them the in-between in my days."

Madeline pursed her lips, stepping forward as the ghost started to move away, "What do you know about Paschar? I was told that he is collecting dark angels."

The woman turned around, a faint frown on her face, "How odd," she whispered. While the ghost took time to talk, Madeline looked around the cemetery.

"I have seen people getting buried in here before it was closed. The fallen, they have been trying to get back to their original state, but the problem is that they have already turned too corrupt. I have seen some of them being buried in here," and she started to drift away. Madeline and Calhoun followed her in the cemetery, "The one's who were unaware of what they are capable of, they are all gone. People who were still breathing were buried in the coffins." Lady Ruth's ghost stood in front of one of the graves.

"This is mine," Madeline took note of her name on the grave that was on the right side of where the ghost stood.

Calhoun went ahead and pushed the top lid of the cemented grave where Lady Ruth stood. When Madeline turned to look inside it, her face scrunched. It was a young boy's body that was rotten, but not to the bones. It looked like life had been sucked out of the boy.

"Is he one of the-"

"Like you?" asked the ghost, "Yes. Just like you. Must be forty-eight years ago. The first fallen angel who turned to the other side, who the humans are aware of, he has no interest with the other creatures who now walk as humans on these lands. From what I know, he doesn't even care about it."

Calhoun tilted his head to take a better look at the boy inside the coffin, "That is fallen angels against the children of Paschar. And Madeline is the last one?" hummed Calhoun.

The fallen angels or the in-between believed that they would get redemption if they killed the dark angels. But it was not true!

"You have never met Paschar?" inquired Madeline.

"We don't get to meet heavenly beings. Not the first fallen, or Paschar. They are as good as non-existent in just words and memories," replied the ghost.

"Even when the angels were cursed to live as humans. I didn't see both of them," the ghost looked at Madeline, "You should watch your back when it comes to some of those fallen angels as well as demons," she said, shifting her eyes on Calhoun.

Madeline turned to look at Calhoun whose eyes snapped from the boy in the coffin. He pushed the coffin's lid close, "He's fine."

"People will come for you to use your soul can be used as a ticket to get to heaven. "

Calhoun, who was quietly listening to the ghost, asked, "Why didn't they do it with others? Like this one here?" he hit the lid of the grave.

Madeline could see Lady Ruth stay quiet before answering, "There have been times when they put humans and demons in the coffin, mistaking them to be dark angels. They tried to kill them, but unable to do it, they ended up putting the dark angels in the coffin, hoping it would work. The spite went too far making others believe that every dark angel needs to be killed."

"That sounds fun," commented Calhoun.

Far away from where Calhoun and Madeline were, in the village of East Carswell a person wearing a cloak walked through the back alleys. The lights inside and outside the houses had been blown out, leaving some parts of the village dark where the light of the moon couldn't reach itself.

As the hooded person continued to walk, the shadow moved on the wall until another person was found waiting in the dark.

"Seems like you took your own time," came the man's voice, who had been waiting in the dark. The other person who had just reached said,

"My father said he would be visiting Yorkshire and I was waiting for him. Why did you call me here?" When moonlight fell on the person, one could see that it was a woman.

"I think it is time for us to discuss about the fallen angel, Mary," said the man with a hint of a sneer in his voice. He pushed the hood back to reveal bruises on his face.