☪ Chapter I: Ghost Stories

"Read all about, read all about it! Read all about the mysterious lady in white, in the latest edition! Why is she seen only at night? Is she a specter or something far worse? Read all about it tonight! Read all about the Lady in White!"

Alois Trancy scoffed at the older brunette teenager boy, that was on the side of the street with a large stack of fresh newspapers and yammering on about some ghost lady. Have they gotten so desperate to sell their newspaper that they had to make up pitiful stories like that? There's no such thing as phantoms or ghosts! 

What a bloody lout!

"Can you believe the rubbish they are willing to make up to sell their stupid papers?" Alois spoke up to his pale tall black-haired and sharp amber eyed butler named Claude Faustus. Claude glanced over at the brunette shaggy teenager selling the papers and nodded silently, before opening the door to the carriage for Alois to enter into. "I mean a phantom lady in white? How absurd is that? Are people really that stupid to buy that shit?" Alois rolled his sky blue eyes and shook his head. "There's no such thing as ghosts! Right Claude?" he said and looked for Claude's sound reassurance, that the boy always ever so craved for.

Before closing the door of the carriage, Claude adjusted his rectangular thin glasses and nodded sternly, "Even if there is, they are nothing to worry about, your Highness." Claude replied coolly with his hand resting on his chest, while respectively bowing his head to his young master. Alois nodded eagerly in agreement and waited for Claude to close the carriage door, in which he did. Claude went to the front of the carriage and climbed on top, so he could begin to drive it back to the Trancy estate. 

Alois sighed in boredom from within and rested his chin into the palm of his hand, as he stared out the window at the teenager selling a couple newspapers to a few people who were walking by. "What idiots. Wasting their pounds on undeniable lies. Ghost stories are for little children!" Shaking his head, he dazed off into the distance in thought, unable to halt the sudden stream of intrusive thinking.

What if ghosts were real?

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"Claude, I don't want to go to bed!" Alois whined as he began running away from Claude down the dimly lit hallway, that was in the opposite direction from his room. Claude frowning, watched his Master flee away in pathetic attempt to escape his impending bedtime schedule and demon butler. 

"You need your rest, your Highness. Running away is fruitless." Claude said loud enough for Alois to hear, as he was now at the end of the hall and away from Claude.

"I don't care! I don't want too! I'm not even tired, anyways!" Alois yelled back while fighting the yawn that ironically wanted to surface. Stifling it, he glared Claude and ran off downstairs as quickly as possible. Claude from behind him sighed in annoyance and began walking swiftly down the hall, without a trace of emotion existing on his face. 

Alois should have never heard that troublesome newspaper boy talk about ghosts. That's probably why he's all worked up and opposing bedtime. Of course, Alois just could be rebelling for the fun of it, but Claude wasn't counting on it this time. 

Alois raced into the kitchen and looked around frantically for a hiding place, finally deciding on a low wooden cabinet he could easily slip and squeeze himself into. He rushed over and opened the wooden cabinet's doors and pushed himself inside. Now sitting with his knees up to his chest, he took the two doors and closed it behind him. The claustrophobic cabinet was very dark, which made Alois feel uneasy. What if a ghost is in the kitchen? He shuddered at the prospect, but ghosts aren't real, right?

"Bloody stupid news boy." he murmured to himself and decided to close his eyes. He couldn't stand thinking a ghost could be just outside the cabinet's door. Claude walked downstairs and then into the kitchen. It was useless to hide from a demon you contracted with. He already knew where Alois was before he even hid. 

"Enough of the games, your highness. It is time to go to bed."

Alois tensed up as he heard Claude's footsteps come nearing his location. Alois tried to push himself back as far as he could inside the constraints of the cabinet, but it truly was all for nothing, when Claude crouched down and opened wide, the cabinet he was in.

"No more hide-and-seek. You need rest, your Highness. Are you running away from bedtime because of the newspaper boy earlier?"

Alois glared Claude and then frowned shyly as he glanced away from Claude's bright yellow eyes that pierced through him, "I'm n-not scared or anything. I just wanted to play is all. I'll go to bed now." Alois stammered while feeling annoyed with himself for looking so weak and pitiful. 

"Ghosts are not a problem, your highness. If you don't believe in them, then don't be concerned. Even if they do exist, they are pathetic weak beings. Now come out of there and let me take you to bed so you will be just as lively in the morning."

Alois reluctantly obeyed Claude and pulled himself out of the darkness, he didn't particularly like the dark either. But he would never admit it to anyone, not even Claude. Pitching up a bit of a pout, Alois was taken side-by-side with Claude back to his room. Once the two reached his bedroom chambers, Claude began undressing him and helping him put on his nightly clothing, before helping him get tucked into his large bed. 

Claude now holding a candle light in his hand, he was about to walk away but Alois stopped him.

"Wait! Claude!" 

Pausing in the door frame, the Trancy butler turned to look back at his highness, who looked frightened. His big blue eyes were wide and still very noticeable in the dimness of the room, that was only lit up by the candle's light that Claude was walking away with. 

"Yes?"

Alois paused and shuddered again at his racing thoughts of haunting ghosts in the night. "Is there such thing as ghosts? You're a demon so you should know."

Claude stood there silent for a moment and decided it would be better to be less truthful to him, in order for him to go to bed, "Of course not. It is like you said, 'absurd'. Souls either go to Heaven- or Hell." Claude informed the young fourteen year old Trancy boy. 

Alois took a deep breath and tried to regain his composure as he snapped his head away from Claude snootily, "I just asked because I was curious. It's not like I actually believe in anything so dumb. You can go now… But could I keep the candle?" Alois asked with begging eyes. Claude smirked and nodded his head as he walked back over and set the candle down beside his bed. Alois trying to not make a big deal out of it, tried not to acknowledge it happened as he turned himself away from the candle and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight Claude."

"Sleep well, your Highness." Claude bidding his version of a goodnight, went outside Alois's room that was now lit up by a single candle. 

Alois's eyes shot back open the second Claude left the room. Apparently, he still wasn't reassured enough. What if Claude was wrong? No… Claude's never wrong- right?

Alois had much difficult sleeping that night.