A Thief's Kiss

15| Spirit

Chapter 15: Spirit (Aria's POV)

"Are you walking okay now?" he asked while we started strolling around the library. 

"Yeah, it'll be fine," I mumbled, staring at the creepy room. I love books. But I hate ghosts and the dark and everything spooky. So I'll probably stay away from here. 

"So, you're not still scared of ghosts, right?" he asked, walking beside me. 

"Of course not," I scoffed. "Why do you ask?" 

"I just remember this one time when we... never mind." 

"What?" I asked. 

"Forget about it. I don't want to say something that embarrasses you." 

"Try me," I dared. 

"Okay," he said slowly. "I was just saying that I remember this one time when we were playing hide and seek here. And the power went out just like this. You were hiding, I was seeking. You were at the very back of the library and then-" 

"I came running out yelling because I thought I saw a lady all dressed in black walking around. Long hair that hid her face, blood red heels that clicked on the floor when she walked, and red nails. Right?" I finished for him. I could swear it really happened, that's how real it felt. But apparently not. 

"Right," he nodded. 

"I still stand by what I said at the time. I really think there was a woman like that walking around." 

"There is no woman and there never has been a woman with that kind of appearance to be in the palace," he sighed. 

I shrugged, trying not to think about the memory. 

"Maybe you saw a spirit." 

I abruptly stopped walking and turned to him. "What spirit?" I questioned. 

He shrugged, "Like a ghost. I don't know. The place has existed for centuries with simple changes being done every year. No doubt somebody has died here before." 

"Alexander, if you're trying to scare me-" 

"I'm not," he chuckled. "I swear. But anyway, if there really was a woman here that day, wouldn't I see her? Or hear her heels clicking as you said? I was going all over the place looking for you." 

"I'm not saying it was real. I'm just saying it felt very real." 

"It could have been real," he mumbled under his breath. Which makes me think I wasn't meant to hear it. Which freaks me out even more. 

"What are you-" I stopped talking at the sound of heels. It was so faint and it only lasted a second. "Did you hear that?" I asked. 

"Hear what?" he questioned, looking around. 

"Nothing," I brushed it off, and we continued walking around. "You were saying something." I turned to him. 

He eyed me warily. 

"Tell me," I nodded. 

"Do you think the palace could be haunted?" 

I stopped walking again. "Stop messing with me, please. It's not funny." 

"I'm not joking. It really could be." 

"Why? What happened here?" I folded my arms across my chest. 

"I'm not supposed to talk about this, I was joking earlier, okay? But I'm not now. Let's just go," he nodded. 

"No, tell me." I grabbed his arm. "What?"