Chapter Text
It had been far too long since she had stepped foot in this estate. The once loud hallways of days gone by have since been quiet. All except for the soft echo of a piano that Edelgard could hear being played from afar. She had recognized it, recognized where it sat. In the music room.
She would have to settle and unpack later, right now, it was time to find out who would be playing the piano in her estate. She left her bags near the entrance and proceeded to head up the main stairwell. The music was absolutely echoing from above. But Edelgard knew that.
It may have been over a decade since she was last here, but she still remembered the layout of her estate like the back of her hand. Scars and all.
Walking down the hall of the second floor and walking past the stairs leading to the third, Edelgard had to wonder. Who else would be in this estate if she supposedly were the only one here today? All the other workers who kept the exterior of the estate in pristine shape were gone for the day. At least, that is what Edelgard expected.
As she walked, there were nothing but memories she wished to keep buried deep within her mind. The paintings hanging on the walls, the crimson rugs, even the smell of the halls brought Edelgard nothing but pain.
But what did distract Edelgard from it all, was the gentle playing of the piano as she followed the sound down the hall. Getting closer to the room, the music was louder, and she could hear…humming?
Someone was in her estate. An ethereal voice she did not recognize.
Edelgard paused as she gripped the doorknob. There was no time to think of how beautiful the voice was. Someone was trespassing on her property, and whoever it was frightened her if none of the workers had seen them enter.
Still, with a deep breath, she opened the door.
The music room was still the same as it was long ago. Adorned with red accents and crimson rugs just as the halls, there sat two couches to Edelgard’s right that faced the left wall. A small table stood in between the two couches with a single chair standing beside each couch’s end.
A white curtain shielded the room from the bright light from the window, albeit, not as much as it should, directly in front of Edelgard. Above the couches hung a family portrait that Edelgard absolutely must take down. And at the opposite side of the couches, to the left, was the black piano that Edelgard remembered ever so fondly.
What she did not remember, was the beautiful woman who was behind that piano.
A woman, with her brown locks cascading over her shoulders, earrings with emerald jewels, and the voice that soothed the roaring memories of Edelgard’s distant past. To say that Edelgard was entranced was an understatement. What captivated her the most was her voice. And yet, with all of that, Edelgard found her so mesmerizing that she failed to see how the light from the windows was shining through not only the white curtains, but the woman as well.
The woman’s song sadly came to an end. And when she opened her eyes, she met with Edelgard’s. The woman froze.
Edelgard snapped out of whatever trance she was in and it was at that moment that her mind quickly pieced everything together. She remembered what she had been told prior to moving in, the transparency of her figure, how no one was able to see her enter after the workers left and Edelgard arrived. “You…you’re a ghost?!” Edelgard finally shouted out.
The woman had let her body float up above the piano, cementing Edelgard’s statement. Even with that revelation, the woman continued to stare at Edelgard. Her body moved over the piano and had descended in front of Edelgard, wide eyed.
“You…can see me?” she asked softly.
Edelgard blinked. This must be a surprise for her too, she deducted with that response. “Who are you? And what are you doing in my estate?” Edelgard asked her.
“Me? I don’t think it matters who I am without a body to call my own anymore,” she responded somberly.
Edelgard noted her somber tone and wondered if she should press on. She decided against it and instead, she chose to talk about something else. “What do you mean that ‘I can see you,’” Edelgard repeated. “Am I the only one who has been able to see you?”
The woman nodded her head. “So far, yes. Others only hear an old and simple piano playing itself.”
“I have heard of stories from the groundskeepers that there was an unknown figure playing the piano often within these walls,” Edelgard began as she took a step towards this mysterious woman. “You come often, often enough that you’ve made these people spread rumors of a ghost.” A pause then she shrugged. “It seems to be true then.”
“It seems so,” the woman giggled. “Many have entered this room, and none have seen me. And yet…” She circled around Edelgard, inspecting her from head to toe as she did. “…you are the only one to be able to see me. How curious.”
By the way she speaks, she has been like this for some time now. The rumors had not start till earlier this year, so Edelgard had to guess that this woman had passed away recently. Or…perhaps something else could have caused her to stay in this spirit form. Either way, she needed to address her in some way.
“I would still like a name to call you if you are to keep inviting yourself into my music room,” Edelgard said.
A small smile. “Oh? You were still planning on letting me visit? But have you already forgotten the tiny detail that I’m a ghost?”
Edelgard sighed. “I did not forget. I simply would like company is all.” It was not a complete lie; she would rather have someone in the estate with her. The fact that this woman was a ghost did not help though. “Do you remember your name?”
“Of course, I remember my name!” she said, sounding slightly offended. But her voice softened as she told Edelgard, “My name is Dorothea Arnault.”
Edelgard felt something nag at the back of her mind. ‘Why do I feel as if I recognize that name before?’ Still, Edelgard placed a hand to her chest and bowed her head slightly. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Dorothea.”
Dorothea smiled at the gesture. “Please, don’t be so formal with me. I am still curious, why are you so kind to me even though I trespassed? Or better yet, why are you still here? When you had every opportunity to run away from a ghost?”
Edelgard stood back up and stared into Dorothea’s eyes, as best as she could. “Would you believe me if I had told you that I have a few ghosts of my own that I have to live with?”
“Oh?” Dorothea’s eyes widened as she floated up and tried to peek behind Edelgard. “But I don’t see any ghosts behind you.”
A pause, then Edelgard chuckled. “I did not mean it that way.”
Dorothea hummed softly before lowering herself back down to Edelgard’s level. “I know, I could practically feel how stressed you were. I just had to get you to smile even if it’s just once.”
“How very considerate from someone I just met,” Edelgard said, still with a faint smile. “Still, there is a question that hangs in the air.”
“And what is that?”
“Why are you in my estate? And…” Edelgard paused. “…What happened to you?”
Dorothea shrugged. “If I may be honest? I do not know. I can only remember waking up like…this.” She gestured to her whole body. “I don’t remember dying, anything painful or so on. But I do remember just wandering aimlessly for a little bit before finding this estate.”
Edelgard tilted her head. “Why my estate?”
“I thought it would be best to keep myself in one location very close to where I first woke up,” Dorothea told her. “That, and I thought it was abandoned. I did not know your groundskeepers worked during the weekdays and I had arrived at the beginning of the weekend.”
“I have another question for you,” Edelgard asked.
“So many questions with you,” Dorothea giggled.
“I have to remind you that it is my estate and I have every right to ask as many questions as I need to,” she said, clearly not happy with the remark.
“I know, I know, I had to tease you,” Dorothea hummed. “But please, do ask your question.”
This might be the last question Edelgard will ask her today, so she thought about it for a bit. She looked at Dorothea, then asked, “Why did you stay? I know you said you wanted to be near where you woke up, wherever that may be. But why here?”
“If you want me to be honest,” Dorothea began. “Your piano.”
Edelgard seemed very surprised by the answer. It was not something she had expected. “My piano?”
With a nod, Dorothea turned back to look at the piano. It shined with the sun’s setting rays. “The music I have been playing has been keeping me here all this time.”
“I see…” Well that satisfied Edelgard’s questions for today.
Turning back to face Edelgard, Dorothea winked at her. “But if you truly do mind my presence here, then I could, I don’t know, haunt an abandoned school instead.”
“I can promise you that I would very much enjoy your presence here in my estate,” Edelgard reassured. “I know you noticed, but I am the only one moving in at the moment.”
“I have noticed, you’re the only one I can sense in this entire building.”
Edelgard blinked. “I was making a passive comment, I did not think you would actually know.”
Dorothea hovered over to the piano and sat on it, not on the chair, but the piano itself. It was not like she could have any possibility of damaging the piano with her weight. She leaned back with her palms behind her. “Did you notice that this room is cold?”
It did take a moment, but Edelgard did feel the chill in the air. “Now that you mention it…”
“Well, you should know that ghosts drop the room temperature around them,” Dorothea began. “I am also able to detect any nearby heat source, more specifically, a person’s body heat.”
“So, you can tell how many people are in the general vicinity by detecting each person’s body heat?” Edelgard asked.
“Exactly.”
“Interesting,” Now it was Edelgard’s turn to hum. “Well, Dorothea. I should be unpacking my things. I will leave you to your own devices.” Edelgard turned around and was about to walk out of the room before Dorothea had called out to her.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Dorothea had gotten off the piano and dove into the floor underneath them. Edelgard turned around to find Dorothea gone. When she turned back, Dorothea had phased through the floor and in between Edelgard and the door, causing her to yelp.
“D-Do not startle me like that!” Edelgard gasped as she brought a hand to her chest in hopes of calming her heart.
“I’m sorry! Look, I-“ Dorothea sighed. “I’m still having a rough time wrapping my head around this…” She crossed her arms. “You…shouldn’t be behaving like this. I mean…yeah, this is nice, and I love to finally interact with someone for the first time in months!”
So Edelgard was right, she was not dead for long.
“But you should be…I don’t know, more frightened that you can see me!”
Edelgard cocked her head to the side and leaned against one leg. “Is it because that’s how you would react?”
Dorothea paused. “Perhaps…”
“But I am not you, Dorothea.” Edelgard stood back up straight and walked through Dorothea, causing the ghost to squeak.
“Do not do that!”
Edelgard stopped at the door and paused. “Dorothea.” She did not turn to look back at her. “There are worse things that I have witnessed and experienced than a beautiful ghost who loves to sing.” And with that, Edelgard exited the music room, leaving a very confused Dorothea to hover back to the piano and sit on its chair.
“Funny…she never told me her name,” Dorothea muttered to herself. As she played a single key, her gaze drifted from the piano and over to the family portrait. A small frown as she stared at one of the girls in the painting. A girl with brown hair. One unlike the one she spoke with. “Different hair, but the same eyes…and yet I see so much pain…”
She played another key, and then another before stopping and staring at the portrait once more. Dorothea turned her head away and closed her eyes, chuckling to herself. “’Beautiful’ huh?” And then she began to play a somber tune that would echo down the halls once more.