Mingled Perceptions of Feverish Minds

Ganeos is slowly making his way down the stairs, unsettling red splotches on his skin. Fingers trail lines of fire across the stone wall, leaving traces of his destructive might behind him. A warning to any that follow. Or in his mind anyway, clouded by disease and heated dreams, everything becomes fanciful.

In a white cotton nightgown, modest and simple, the ghost of what was once Gabriella Seamel appears. Gone is the bright twinkle of mirth, or conversely, rage.. it is replaced by the fevered glaze of the ill. Her skin is pale, free from the blotches that haunt the Palace. She is mumbling something, however, and in this state, she might easily be taken for a child, her fingers clenched tightly in her dress.

Ganeos stumbles, a misjudgement of the steps before him, comically latching onto the wall to keep his balance and only managing to delay the impact, slowly sinking to his knees. Unfocused eyes lift up, catching sight of the figure in the pale gown, mouth dropping open. A small sound, weak and unsure. Almost a squeak. "A.. ghost?"

"Am I?" the throaty voice of Gabriella answers, tilting her head to consider the man on his knees before her. "Perhaps I am.." she mumbles, and her hands wrench at the cloth between her fingertips. "Perhaps I am.. perhaps you have seen my Father? He came here years ago. You would.. he has.. green eyes." Her brow wrinkles in confusion. "Are /you/ a ghost?"

"I don't know." Ganeos saids, hand resting on his arm, at the heat that gathers there. "I feel. If I feel, I must be alive, but how did I get here?" Exhaustion sits in, eyes fluttering close, then flashing open. "No! I.. can't be a ghost. Ghost don't sleep. Or do they?" Assured confidence, weakness, and confused delirium come together in his voice, forming a delicious conglomeration. Still though, his nature remains true, as answers her question. "I am sorry, spirit, but I haven't seen your father. Is that why you linger in this world?"

The noblewoman sinks down to crouch, peering into the man's face with a child's curiousity. "The children," she mumbles, her eyes nearly tearing up as she examines Ganeos. Ah, Gabriella Seamel has been forced to bow, indeed. "If I am a ghost, I suppose I am here for the children." Her arms wrap around her knees. "Perhaps my father could help me. Will you help me find him, my lord?"

"The children?" Ganeos mutters, seeming lost. "Your father can help your children, and your children are why you remain here?" The noble, lost in his wake dreams, still doesn't seem eager to play the part of the Shining Blade, and his focus quickly shifts away, back to his own problems. "My head hurts. I can't remember why I'm here. Am I a spirit too? For what purpose?"

"Perhaps you did not want to leave?" Gabriella offers with a light shrug, her fevered face glancing about the hall. "I am glad that I am not a ghost alone.." Something is not right, Gabriella's unfevered subconscious reminds, and it causes her hands to twist and turn. She rocks herself for a moment before deciding.. "Who /are/ you?"

"I.. know this!" Ganeos saids, a cheerful note entering his saddened and raspy voice. "Ganeos Seamel, I'm... to be married soon.. or I was. I suppose spirit's don't concern themselves with such things." Caution sits in, hazel eyes trying to focus on the woman's face and failing miserably. "Who -are- you?"

"Gabriella Lomasa," Gabriella admits, extending one pale hand. The skin itself is scorching hot, were it to be taken. "My father.. my father.." Another hiccup between reality and the fevered haze. "My father is Nolan Lomasa, and.. and.. Nor.. Norran is my brother. They're somewhere in the Light. I wonder why they haven't come to get me yet." Then, it dawns on her. "Perhaps you are here because you are to be married!"

Ganeos takes the edges of the finger in his gloved hands, not laying a kiss at the knuckles. A gentlemen, through and through. Sides, how does one spirit kiss another? This counteracts the obvious logic that spirits shouldn't be able to touch, of course, but he's -sick-. He releases the hand, wearily rising to his feet, knees buckling under his weight. "I.. perhaps you are right! It makes sense. I lost my love, and I cannot leave without seeing her face one more time. It's all so clear now. But, why have we met here... you.. you're not the one I am to marry, are you? No, of course not... that doesn't make any sense. You're looking for your father."

"I think.." Gabriella's eyes wander down towards a ring on her finger, a ring wearing the Seamel crest. Her brow furrows. "I'm supposed to be married, too, but.. not.. not to you. I was.. there.." She can't fight past the feeling that something is dreadfully wrong, and the fact that she can't seem to bring herself to standing once more. "They were going to take me away, because.. because he took me before the wedding, before.." This seems to cause greater fear. "You have to find your love," she directs solemnly. "I don't think it should be a pleasant thing, to be a ghost.. I'm quite sure it shall get you burned."

"I need to find her, but I can't remember her!" Ganeos complains, trembling hands rising to his forehead. "Oh, why can't I think? Are you poisoning me spirit? I am a light-fearing man, no creature of shadow can harm me, I will warn you fair. Desist in your attempts, or I.. no, ugh." The knees finally give way, falling harder this time. "I do not understand. He took you before the wedding?"

"I was his mistress," Gabriella answers with despair, burying her head in her hands. "Oh, I am a Shadow-cursed creature, to be sure, to do such evil things!" she cries. "It is no wonder my father will not come for me." She continues to rock herself, squatted as she is. "I do not mean you any harm, fellow spirit. I only wish for company in this world, my lord."

A moment of silence, and hands reach out toward the tortured soul, heat present even through the lining of his gloves. An embrace of kinmanship and comfort. "Shhh. I did not mean to bring back your bad memories. It's all we who have passed on have, but even then, I think we'd rather live in the good. Your father will come, and I'll remember why I still remain, just time.. time is needed. You have company now, if not the one you wished for. He'll come and take you back, you'll see, just hush now."

The sobs continue despite the comforting, and the confusion grows worse in her grief. "Where am I?" she cries unhappily. "Where are you? Why are you here?" Her fever burns bright, and she falls back onto her hind end. "Is this the world of the Light? It is an awful world, then, and I despise it."

"I am here, and you are there, but I still can't recall why either of us met. Perhaps we.. needed this? Two souls, bound by our similiar tragedies, to set us on a new course. If this is the world of the Light, it's title is misleading. I feel crowded by great shadows, overwhelmed by my own lack of... what? Illumination. I cannot tell, m'lady. We are just specks amongst something greater." Ganeos replies, hesitantly, face a fevered sun hidden behind a thin layer of flesh. "But who are we to throw judgement on things beyond our ken? A pair of spirits without a cause?"

"You are very kind," Gabriella answers, lifting a hand to wipe at the tears on her cheeks. "I do not know why the Light would trick us so, my lord.." Her voice carries much dispair, but she looks about the Tower. "Perhaps.. perhaps your love can free you from this place? I.. feel as if I know it, somehow.. it is an unhappy place.."

"I feel it too. Bitter. Cold. Hard. Stone." A hand rest on the cool wall, Ganeos face a blank map. "Underneath it though, I sense something. Warmth. Welcome. Acceptance. I do not understand what I speak. Words come easily, but my grasp on what they mean are fleeting. Light help me, I CANN-wait.. I remember who I seek. Sahny... no, that's not it. Sahna. Yes, I remember the name. She's near. My time in this lonely mockery is almost done, companion in sorrow. I must hurry to end it, though I weep that I cannot stand beside you, to help endure your painful wait."

"Perhaps I can find my father," the girl murmurs sorrowfully, her hands pushing against the stone in an effort to bring herself to her feet. It is a weak attempt, and takes some time. "I am sorry, my lord, for having brought you into this dim world. May this.. this.. Sahna.. may she help you find your way."

"Take this spirit's blessing, Gabriella. Take it, and find your own peace, for I end my own time of discontent now." Ganeos slowly rise back up, jaw setting firm, and marching up the stairs to return to what his fevered mind claims to be his soulmate, leaving the other behind.

''Return to Season 4 (2006)