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umiscripts2012-01-29 10:07 pm
endlesswitch) wrote in umiscripts2012-01-29 10:07 pm
legend of the golden witch; chapter 9 (night of the storm)
Sat, Oct 4 1986 -------
Shannon entered the entrance hall to the mansion with a tottering gait.
A mixture of exaltation and uncertainty gave her a feeling that she couldn't easily describe. It swelled up in her chest until it felt like she was about to burst.
After stopping for a second in front of the servants' room to take a deep breath and calm her heart, she opened the door.
Inside, Gohda, who had been ordered to take the midnight shift at the mansion tonight, was absorbed in a crossword puzzle magazine, completely worn out.
He looked up for an instant to see whether one of the family had come, but when he realized that it was a fellow servant, he returned to his puzzle as if nothing had happened.
"......Umm, ...I was told by Genji-sama to help Gohda-san and came over."
"Ah, really... Thanks a lot. I was just about to go make the rounds and close up the mansion, but there's no way I could leave this place empty. Anyways, Krauss-sama and the others' meeting looks as though it will continue for quite some time. They might order some tea at any time."
"That's true... Then, what shall we do...? Should I watch over-"
"In that case, Shannon-san, sorry, but would you please patrol the inside of the mansion? I will stay here, awaiting the family's orders."
"Ye, ......yes..."
...Shannon was a little surprised.
Despite the fact that she had come here to help out as a favor, she was being forced to do the job of the person actually on duty as though it were natural.
Furthermore, after one-sidedly forcing that task on her, Gohda had once again gone back to his magazine and had become immersed in his crossword puzzle.
For the time being, as a sign of respect for her elder, Shannon bowed her head, and she left the room to patrol the mansion.
Because it had come fairly suddenly, the airy sensation that she had felt a little while ago had lessened a bit.
And she couldn't show this kind of face to Genji-sama and Kanon-kun.
Until her heart was able to calm down, she wanted a little time to herself, and maybe going on patrol wasn't such a bad way to do that...
From the dining hall, she began to hear the tumultuous voices of the family's discussion.
Someone was speaking at great length, and was then interrupted by someone else. This second person also began to speak in a very long, drawn-out fashion, until yet another person interrupted him.
That kept on repeating.
It was as though their displeasure was seeping out through their voices.
She had been told to go to the guesthouse, so it would be bad if she was discovered by Krauss.
Thinking that, Shannon quick-footedly left from the entrance to the dining hall.
Then, inside the mansion controlled by darkness, she began to check that the house was all closed up, following a prearranged route.
She walked down the hall, checking that each window was closed.
On Rokkenjima, there were no humans other than the family, so in actuality, closing up wasn't that terribly meaningful of a task.
Until Natsuhi had scolded them that this attitude was careless, closing up had not been customary in the Ushiromiya family.
The metal fixtures on the completely chilled windows were freezing, and every time she went to check one them, one-by-one, it felt like the glow in her heart seemed to cool down.
"..................?"
At that time, she thought she saw something flickering across the hall.
......Flickering?
Something like that shouldn't be visible beyond the darkness of the hall...
At first, she thought she had made some mistake, but after a while, she killed her breathing. Grasping a curtain, she fearfully gazed into the center of the hall......
However, other than the occasional crack of thunder brightening the hallway, she was unable to glimpse any flicker again.
...It must have been her imagination after all.
Maybe because she couldn't calm her heart, she saw something that didn't even exist.
Shannon resumed checking the windows...
However, in the back of her mind, a certain unnerving imagination was resurrected.
...It was that which had been passed down amongst the servants who served the Ushiromiya main family, that ghost story.
The mansion had different Masters of the Day and of the Night. ...The master of the night Beatrice would sometimes fly around the mansion in the form of sparkling butterflies. That was the story.
...Come to think of it, didn't Kanon-kun once say that he had seen it with his own eyes......?
.........Could it possibly... really............?
The roar of the thunder gave no answer...
Shannon entered the entrance hall to the mansion with a tottering gait.
A mixture of exaltation and uncertainty gave her a feeling that she couldn't easily describe. It swelled up in her chest until it felt like she was about to burst.
After stopping for a second in front of the servants' room to take a deep breath and calm her heart, she opened the door.
Inside, Gohda, who had been ordered to take the midnight shift at the mansion tonight, was absorbed in a crossword puzzle magazine, completely worn out.
He looked up for an instant to see whether one of the family had come, but when he realized that it was a fellow servant, he returned to his puzzle as if nothing had happened.
"......Umm, ...I was told by Genji-sama to help Gohda-san and came over."
"Ah, really... Thanks a lot. I was just about to go make the rounds and close up the mansion, but there's no way I could leave this place empty. Anyways, Krauss-sama and the others' meeting looks as though it will continue for quite some time. They might order some tea at any time."
"That's true... Then, what shall we do...? Should I watch over-"
"In that case, Shannon-san, sorry, but would you please patrol the inside of the mansion? I will stay here, awaiting the family's orders."
"Ye, ......yes..."
...Shannon was a little surprised.
Despite the fact that she had come here to help out as a favor, she was being forced to do the job of the person actually on duty as though it were natural.
Furthermore, after one-sidedly forcing that task on her, Gohda had once again gone back to his magazine and had become immersed in his crossword puzzle.
For the time being, as a sign of respect for her elder, Shannon bowed her head, and she left the room to patrol the mansion.
Because it had come fairly suddenly, the airy sensation that she had felt a little while ago had lessened a bit.
And she couldn't show this kind of face to Genji-sama and Kanon-kun.
Until her heart was able to calm down, she wanted a little time to herself, and maybe going on patrol wasn't such a bad way to do that...
From the dining hall, she began to hear the tumultuous voices of the family's discussion.
Someone was speaking at great length, and was then interrupted by someone else. This second person also began to speak in a very long, drawn-out fashion, until yet another person interrupted him.
That kept on repeating.
It was as though their displeasure was seeping out through their voices.
She had been told to go to the guesthouse, so it would be bad if she was discovered by Krauss.
Thinking that, Shannon quick-footedly left from the entrance to the dining hall.
Then, inside the mansion controlled by darkness, she began to check that the house was all closed up, following a prearranged route.
She walked down the hall, checking that each window was closed.
On Rokkenjima, there were no humans other than the family, so in actuality, closing up wasn't that terribly meaningful of a task.
Until Natsuhi had scolded them that this attitude was careless, closing up had not been customary in the Ushiromiya family.
The metal fixtures on the completely chilled windows were freezing, and every time she went to check one them, one-by-one, it felt like the glow in her heart seemed to cool down.
"..................?"
At that time, she thought she saw something flickering across the hall.
......Flickering?
Something like that shouldn't be visible beyond the darkness of the hall...
At first, she thought she had made some mistake, but after a while, she killed her breathing. Grasping a curtain, she fearfully gazed into the center of the hall......
However, other than the occasional crack of thunder brightening the hallway, she was unable to glimpse any flicker again.
...It must have been her imagination after all.
Maybe because she couldn't calm her heart, she saw something that didn't even exist.
Shannon resumed checking the windows...
However, in the back of her mind, a certain unnerving imagination was resurrected.
...It was that which had been passed down amongst the servants who served the Ushiromiya main family, that ghost story.
The mansion had different Masters of the Day and of the Night. ...The master of the night Beatrice would sometimes fly around the mansion in the form of sparkling butterflies. That was the story.
...Come to think of it, didn't Kanon-kun once say that he had seen it with his own eyes......?
.........Could it possibly... really............?
The roar of the thunder gave no answer...