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Ever since Paranormal Detective came back to the Crystal Palace, things seemed to be livelier. The shops were bombarded with customers, visitors were coming in every minute, and the shop owners had huge smiles plastered on their faces.
The detective couldn’t help but smile, he managed to solve a mystery that changed the lives of the Crystal Palace and for the better. Yet something felt wrong, he was celebrating with the patrons but something was missing.
Or rather, someone.
Paranormal leaned over the railing, watching people live their lives. Seeing so many happy people in the palace felt right, and unique, but the person who helped him achieve this wasn’t here to witness it.
“Something wrong detective?” Amethyst duchess walked towards the man.
“Duchess, hello. I am just troubled, personally”. Paranormal fidgeted with the device connected to his left hand.
“Tell me, what’s wrong”. The refined woman looked out into the sea of people, the sun was setting.
“It’s a silly reason, to be frank”. He chuckled. The duchess gestured a hand towards him to continue.
The detective let out a heavy sigh and slumped his shoulders. “It’s just, I was hoping to see Ms. Lockheart when I came back, but I know why she left”.
The duchess chuckled at his explanation. “That’s not a silly reason. I think it’s reasonable”.
“Is it though? I miss a girl that I met within a day”. Paranormal slid his hand through his hair.
“That’s reasonable as well, you two shared a connection. Both of you were very set on the idea of helping the palace and enjoyed each other's presence very much”.
“How could you tell?”
“The way you two looked at each other, the body language and it was very obvious to anyone watching. Well I must be getting back to work, I have another bunch of visitors I must tend to, goodbye detective.”
The Duchess was right, not only did the events of the Phantom help them get closer, but the fact that Lockheart was Paranormal’s old pen pal helps explain their connection.
He watched her leave back into her shop, then slumped back on the railing and loomed over to look down. The man was gonna stay at the palace till midnight to watch Firework Guy’s show. Ever since the Dean left he got jurisdiction over his fireworks again and has been sending the fireworks up during the night. It was a well-received show, so the curious detective wanted to see if it lived up to the positive reviews.
“I might as well check the wax exhibition, the curator must be in there right now”. The detective wanted to go to the first place he went to when he arrived. Who knew that one of the wax sculptors was a robot in disguise.
“Hello? Curator?” Peaking over the door frame, there didn’t seem to be anyone in the museum and the lights were off. Paranormal brushed his fingers against the wood and curtains, taking a gander around, nothing out of the ordinary or deemed worthy enough to be reported to the officers.
The man truly wished he had done something to get out of the room faster, if he was just quicker then maybe he could’ve seen Lockheart one last time. Their farewells weren't ideal in his opinion, they didn’t get to see each other face to face, and the only one who said goodbye was her.
He couldn’t stay mad at her, even though she locked him up in a room, and was basically a wanted criminal by the royal family. Brushing his hands against the lock that kept him in the room during that moment, the blonde didn’t realize that he was holding a breath while staring at the lock.
“It’s a shame, I wish I had gotten to know you more Ms. Lockheart”. He chuckled.
“I did too Mr. Investigator”. A staticky voice that sounded like Lockheart’s came from behind the man. “Ms. Lockheart? Are you here?”.
He was talking to himself, he spun himself around to find a silhouette of the girl, nothing but wax sculptors. The detective called out for her again, checking the faces of every sculptor, because what if her robot was hidden in disguise again?
“I must be delusional, she couldn’t be here”. He wanted to wish that she was here, he checked his backpack for any signal, but nothing, and Mr. Dickens didn’t seem to be picking up anything.
Paranormal left the wax exhibition, he felt as if he was being haunted when he was in there. The man spent the rest of his time with Firework Guy in the meantime, chatting and sharing their interests.
Night fell, and the fireworks show was about to begin. The Investigator was on the ground floor of the Palace, excited to watch the marvelous fireworks, as many would praise. The visitors saw the lights shoot up into the night sky, “awing” and pointing at the light flares.
They started blowing up, one by one, sparkling the night sky above The Crystal Palace. The glass that covered the building helped reflect the light shine throughout the Palace. It was truly marvelous, the bright colors and dark atmosphere inside made it a beautiful experience.
The detective stopped looking up and observed the reactions of the patrons. Their eyes and expressions were priceless, their faces showing bright smiles, and it wasn’t easy to hide them. All of the shopkeepers came out of their stores to take in the sights of the fireworks as well.
Paranormal spaced out until he heard his backpack flicker, it was picking up something. Suddenly hopes were up, and any thought he previously had was thrown out the window.
“Ms. Lockheart…”. Pulling out his metal rods, he sprinkled a bit of metallic dust on them. The rods waved left and right and eventually pointed down towards one of the corridors. He hastily walked towards the direction, and it just pointed to a couple of curtains behind a pillar.
“Ms. Lockheart are you there!?” He tried throwing his voice throughout the area, he was fighting the volume of the fireworks. The area was far away from the patrons, “Or is it the doll?”
He was sure someone or something was here, confident in his invention he was sure that the rods picked up on something.
“You are quick Mr. Investigator”. Laughter followed after his sentence, it was her voice! He knew it, he wasn’t hallucinating. The voice was close, he could hear it, and a static version of it roamed nearby just like before.
“Can you come out?” The detective looked around. He was able to pinpoint where the voice was coming from and took a few steps toward a shadowed area.
“It’s best if we don’t see each other, I didn’t want to cause you more trouble, but I already am”. She chuckled sadly. Paranormal stopped in his tracks.
“Then why are you back in the palace?”
“As much as I had to leave, I was drawn to come back and when I saw you I couldn’t help myself but say hello”. The last few words made him feel soft, good to know that the girl felt the same.
Silence fell between them yet it was comforting, he was aware that she was hiding from him and respected her to not push on the matter. Just hearing her voice made him feel better.
“Can you see the fireworks?” He asked.
“I can, they truly are beautiful like the night they were first set off”.
“If I am correct, wasn’t it you who set them off?”
“Who said I did? It was the phantom”. The lady chuckled.
Paranormal didn’t want this to be his final memory of the gal, he loved her company way too much. “Will this truly be the last time we see each other?”
“No, of course not. I will be continuing to send letters to you like we used to”. He felt relieved when he heard that.
“That’s good. Will I be able to see you ever again?”
“Probably not”. Disappointed, the detective looked around the deserted hall, trying to think of something to keep up their conversation.
“May I at least be closer to you, I would like to hear your voice easier”. He looked into the shadows.
“I’ll allow it, okay”. Lockheart happily said.
The man walked up to the pillar, and rested his back against it, turning his head away from the girl. He was in no way able to see her from his position, but at least he could hear her way better.
“Thank you”. He suddenly said, looking up at the fireworks. No longer did he have to yell.
“Why the gratitude?”
“For bringing life back to the palace”.
“No need to thank me, I wanted to do it before I knew you showed up if anything I should be thanking you Mr. Investigator. You made it easier for me to get the job done as well as getting away”.
Getting away. He allowed her to get away, in no means did he refer to her being wanted by the royal family. The detective was sad that he allowed her to get away from him, he didn’t mean to push her away.
“I-” he spoke up.
“If you think it’s your fault that I have to hide myself from you, it wasn’t. I revealed to you that it was me, and I know you wouldn’t rat me out, but I want to stay safe”. The girl moved her hand out from the shadows and gently held Paranormal’s hand.
He didn’t expect the sudden touch but tightened his fingers with hers. When they roamed the Crystal Palace, she always led the way, holding his hand.
She led the way, and he followed. This time he wanted to lead her the way, the way to where? Who knows.
“Ms. Lockheart, may I request something?”
“Of course. But it depends”. She slyly said.
“May I ask for a dance if this will be the last time I see you”. He lost the strength in his fingers to continue holding onto her hand. That simple question took the strength out of him.
“I’m unsure…”.
“My eyes will be closed, I will not see you and not to brag but I am an excellent dancer that I can practically do it with my eyes closed”. He chuckled.
“Okay then, I trust you, tell me when you close your eyes”. Lockheart pulled her hand away from his.
The blonde male took a heavy breath in and took a few steps away from Lockheart, his back still turned towards the gal.
“Come out Ms. Lockheart!” He yelled out her name, he spun around to turn to her, his eyes now shut. The detective could faintly hear her footsteps but they were overpowered by the fireworks.
The girl held her chin and waved a hand in front of him, trying to see if he would flinch or follow her hand.
“So you can’t see me?”
“Absolutely not, you are in front of me so you should be able to tell”. He laughed at his quip. The lady rolled her eyes with a smile. ”Would you like me to set your hands in place?”
“If you can, I'd greatly appreciate it”.
Lockheart gently grabbed his hands, placing a hand on her back, and motioned for his hand to gently hold hers. The lad’s hands now resting on his arm and palm. “Let’s see how excellent you are Mr. Investigator”. She cooed near his ear, tiptoeing near his head.
The man gulped and breathed, “Let’s see if you can follow me”. He whispered.
Paranormal slightly fidgeted with the gadget in his left hand, next thing Lockheart knew, she could hear music coming from Mister Dickens. It was quiet enough for only the two of them to hear, but not loud enough to be heard out of their radius.
“Were you planning this?” The girl raised her tone of voice to let him know it was a question. “Not at all, I wasn’t expecting you to be here, nor did I expect you to reach out to me”. He tilted his head down, ‘looking’ at her. Even though his eyes were still closed, Lockheart felt his eyes staring directly at her.
They spun around the hall, the light of the fireworks felt as if they were their spotlight. Paranormal couldn’t tell but the girl’s eyes were sparkling, she was entranced by the magical moment he had set up for the two.
As much as she wanted to face him, she couldn’t.
She lied to him, it wasn’t because she was wanted by the royal family. Lockheart just didn’t want him to look at her, especially after what she did.
The last time she saw him face to face, it was through a lie, and the last time they spoke, she locked him in a room.
She truly did care deeply for the estranged man, dare she say ‘love’ even. The simple touch of his made her lose a sense of space.
The man dipped her near the ground, and spun her closer into his arms, body resting against his. “I guess you are pretty fantastic detective~”. She laughed.
“Thank you, Ms. Lockheart”. Mister Dickens slowly drifted the music to an end. The detective brought the girl up and took a few steps back away from her.
“Thank you for the dance”. He gave her a closed-eyed smile. Lockheart didn’t want the moment to end, but she had to go. The fireworks were gonna halt soon and everyone would start roaming around again, including the guards.
“Mr. Investigator…” He heard her step towards him.
“May I make a request this time?” She asked.
“Of course, what is your wish?”
“May I give a farewell endearment?” She took his hands into hers. He felt a bit red and the girl in front of him could tell.
“O-of course-”. He was ready but felt a few seconds of nothing. “Ms. Lockheart?”
“Sorry, but you are just a tad too tall, may you come down?” The girl blushed.
The detective bent his upper body down and felt the girl pull his tie when he reached a reasonable level. His eyes almost opened from shock but he kept them tightly shut.
“I must thank you, Mr. Investigator, I was really happy I got to meet you in person”. She got close to his ear.
With the hand that held his tie, the blonde woman pulled him closer while her other gloved hand held his face. “Is this okay?” She asked.
“Of course Ms. Lockheart”. He could feel her breath near his lips.
Their lips intertwined, and his eyes fluttered open when he felt her lips against his. The girl had her eyes shut, and breath being drawn away.
‘She is so beautiful…’ He thought to himself.
The man gently closed his eyes again and basked in her warmth. He felt her part away from him.
“Until our next encounter Mr. Investigator”. She released his tie from her grasp and walked away.
He waited for a bit and heard the fireworks come to a stop. “Ms. Lockheart?” His eyes opened and looked around the hall, no trace of the girl.
Paranormal Detective was truly haunted. He thought he had kissed Lockheart and danced with her.
‘Must be the ‘phantom’ of the Crystal Palace.’