The Ghost of You I Cannot Deny

~4~ The Guest and The Vow

~What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the wish to find out, which is its exact opposite.~

-Bertrand Russell

For a minute all that she could hear was the pounding of her heart and the blood rushing through her ears as she stared unblinkingly at the small black and white kitten, green meeting just as unblinking hazel.

The silence stretched out between them, and neither seemed able to move out of their frozen stupors. In fact, Kalia didn't know how long they stood like that, just staring at each other, but it was long enough that when the knocking sounded up through the halls she jumped, a shriek of surprise leaving her lips as she staggered backwards, her heart giving a startled thump before calming back down.

"Wha?"

She cast a look around at her new room before looking back at the small kitten who still sat in the door way, as if she had the answer to what the noise was. However, all she got was a slow blink and a large yawn. Kalia sighed, running a hand through her mussed locks before bending to pick Kiyoshi up, petting her silky fur as she peered out into the hallway warily before stepping fully out into it, frowning to herself as she began walking towards where the staircase was, or rather, where she hoped it was. She hated how paranoid she could be and she hated how her imagination played tricks on her; because that was what it had been of course, her imagination. There hadn't really been a shadow in the hallway the other night and there hadn't really been something behind her a few moments ago, it had all been an illusion and she had fallen for it.

Though for all she wanted to believe, a snide voice kept on reminding her that it hadn't been her imagination when she had felt someone's eyes on her and that her instincts where never wrong a fact which had her faltering ever so slightly as she glanced around warily before shaking her head and quickening her steps. She would not fall for that again, it was an illusion and nothing more. …No matter what the feelings in her gut said other wise.

Another loud knock filled the hallways in a chorus of echoes as she reached the top of the staircase, filling her ears as it bounced from wall to wall. She vaguely wondered if that was what it had sounded like when she had called out the night before and shivered slightly. Just the thought of her voice echoing from door to door like a ghostly cry… She shivered again before heading down the stairs, her feet brushing against the cold marble, creating goose bumps on her arms and legs. By the time she had reached the bottom she was grateful for the soft and more importantly warm carpet at the bottom, and she took a brief moment to curl her toes into the soft texture before heading towards the large front doors.

It took a moment for her to figure out how to unlock all of the locks that seemed to go from bottom to top, a task which required her to set Kiyoshi down near her feet as she muttered to herself. "How the hell did I do this yesterday?"

Another knock sounded from outside and she could feel the sturdy wood vibrate underneath her fingers. "I'm coming, I'm coming." She sighed in relief before straitening, as the last lock clicked open, and she took a moment to take a breath, looking down at Kiyoshi before reaching out to grasp the knob in her hands.

She closed her eyes, whispering a, "Here goes nothing," Before flinging open the door, revealing a small plump beaming woman who was a few inches shorter than her.

"Um, hello?"

"Oh you're just as pretty as I imagined you to be!" The woman beamed, her stormy blue gray eyes lighting up.

Kalia blinked in surprise and struggled to fight back the crimson blush that threatened to turn he face red; she wasn't used to such praise. "I'm sorry for asking this," she started awkwardly, scratching the back of her head self consciously with the hand that wasn't holding the door, "but, who are you?"