Emma floated around the outside world. The living realm.
(Why did you agree to this exactly?) all the voices asked. All were curious.
"Because I didn't want to spend my afterlife locked in a room with no outside contact." Emma responded. The voices seemed satisfied with that answer. "So any ideas on where to go to find this dark spirit?"
(No, none) the entirety of the voices, excluding two, responded.
(Somewhere dark) Darky responded. Darky being the name Emma gave the voice due to it's dark nature.
"No duh," Emma responded.
(Look in the ruins during the dead of night.) Light stated. Light was the opposite of Darky in every way possible. Emma sometimes thought it was Annalise trying to chat with her. However impossible that could be.
"Ruins? What ruins?" Emma asked. Then she noticed where she was. A body moved next to her.
"Those ruins," Emma turned her head, and gasped. Standing next to her was a redheaded, blue eyed girl. She didn't look all that familiar, yet her voice said otherwise. It sounded incredibly familiar, behind the weariness that is.
"An-annalise?" Emma stuttered. She realized that Light's voice matched Annalise's perfectly, though she still thought that was impossible, as the redhead nodded. Looking closer at Annalise, Emma noticed that she looked older. Not drastically, but definitely no longer fifthteen.
"Welcome back to the living world. I've missed you, and as you can see, things have changed in the last six years," Annalise said longingly. The redhead clearly missed her, that much was obvious, but something else had registered in Emma's mind.
"Six years?" Emma was clearly able to hear the shock in her voice. "But it's only been six days."
"Maybe time moves slower in the ghost realm. I remember when I went with Marilynn. We were there for a few minutes, but when we got back hours had passed."
"So one minute equals one hour, one day equals one year, I'm guessing one hour equals one day. What would equal one month?"
"Well, one hour equals a day, so seven hours would equal one week, multiply that by four to equal twenty-eight hours." Annalise calculated. Emma stared at her. "What?" Annalise asked. Emma tilted her head. "It's simple math," Annalise stated. Emma laughed. Annalise rolled her eyes, and looked towards the ruins. "The demon lives there, but before you go, you need a weapon."
"A weapon?" Emma was a bit timid to ask. Why should she get a weapon when she is so clearly out of it
"Yes, a weapon. I hate to break it to you, but you can't destroy a demon with your bare hands. No one can."
"No one?" Emma's voice was even fainter now.
"Well I suppose another demon can," Annalise looked thoughtful. "But that's besides the point. Follow me if you want to survive your encounter." With that Annalise turned and stalked off towards the forest. If Emma didn't have her head filled with voices chatting away, and were paying attention, she would have noticed that this was the same path the two had taken six years before.
"Are we there yet?" Emma asked in the rudest voice in her collection of voices in her head.
Annalise chuckled, "Yes, welcome to my humble abode." Annalise pushed a branch down revealing a cave. Memories suddenly hit Emma like a tidal wave. Memories of Marilynn, before she was queen. Memories from six years ago. From before any of this began. Emma chuckled.
"Remember when you left me out here because you thought getting attacked by a demon was safer than facing an angry Marilynn?" Emma asked. Annalise grinned.
"I don't think we ever did get around to eating those pancakes," Annalise responded before closing her eyes. "Mmm, pancakes. Those sound like a delicse now." Emma gave her a confused look as they entered the cave. "I haven't had pancakes, or any other sort of normal food in roughly six years now. I live off berries in the forest."
"Why?" Emma asked.
"Because I live in the forest. I watch over the ruins. I do my best to stop the demon's plans. I have become a balance within this forest, hurting those who try to harm this forest. I have become darkness for those blinded by the lights of temptation, and light for those surrounded by darkness."
"What?"
Annalise sighed, "I'm a guardian." Emma's eyes widened. It had only been six years in the living realm, not that long in a sense. Better than fifthteen. Even though it had been six years, Emma couldn't see how Annalise had become a guardian. Although, it couldn't be hard to become one, if Annalise had been living nearby a demon infested ruin. Emma suddenly felt something pass through her. She turned around and went wide eyed and pale.
"You tried to stab me!" Emma screamed. Annalise rolled her eyes.
"Emma, you're a ghost," Annalise reminded her. "Besides, if you wanted to be destroyed you would have went to the ruins without the sword."
"Why? Why is the sword so special?" Emma picked up the sword. It was an odd mix of bronze silver and gold. There was a skull embedded with diamonds on the hilt.
"The sword is one all guardians have. The bronze harms basic ghost," Annalise started to explain, but was interrupted.
"So you're admitting to trying to stab me?" Emma asked. Annalise rolled her eyes.
"The silver harms demons , werewolves, and vampires, the gold harms every other evil out there."
"What about the skull?" Emma asked still miffed about the bronze harming basic ghosts, and being called evil by one of her closest friends.
"Symbol of resistance that Marilynn used against Annabelle."
"So it represents the Queen?" Emma asked. Annalise nodded. "Couldn't you have just said that rather than the whole symbol of the Queen thing?"
Annalise laughed, "I suppose I could have. Now, go destroy that demon."
2.
"You could always join the demonic cause instead of getting destroyed," Emma spoke to herself, yet again in that dark voice. Instead of responding, Emma shook her head. She walked forward, and climbed into the ruins with a grunt. Why she didn't just phase into the ruins the world will never know. Since she was no longer quite human, she could somewhat see in the dark. The glowing sword that Annalise gave her made Emma think that it was daylight in the ruins. Or rather, daylight for about a foot in front of her. Other than that, it was complete darkness. Suddenly a loud bang was heard. Emma jumped back as a pair of luminous blood red eyes appeared in front of her.
"Well lookie here," The creature with the red eyes laughed. It moved forward. It was a girl with short brown hair and glasses. She was wearing a choker necklace, as well as an amber pendant, hoop earrings that looked like briars, and a flower ring made out of diamonds.
"Who are you?" Emma asked. The girl was quite beautiful-except for the eyes.
"I have no name, I have forgotten it," The girl replied. "You have very pretty green eyes." Emma's eyes widened. "You can call me Memory. Go on stab me with your enchanted sword. Free me from this curse." Memory's red eyes glowed brighter. "I'm ready to join my sister." Emma threw the sword, and turned around. A flash of light surrounded Memory, as she fell to the ground groaning.
"Memory?" Emma asked. Memory hummed. "Are you ok?" Emma whispered. Memory hummed again. Memory stood up, and blushed.
"You're cute, ghost girl," Memory stated. Her red eyes shined brightly.
"You have natural red eyes?" Emma asked astonished. She had never met someone with natural red eyes before. Memory nodded. "They are very beautiful," Emma stated. Memory blushed even more, making her face resemble a tomato.
"I guess," Memory started tearing up, "This is goodbye." Emma shook her head.
"Follow me. We might get to be partners in crime."
"Crime? I think I've had enough of that."
"No, not actual crime. More like we're the ones destroying demons and that. The ones who fight the crime."
Memory grinned, "Now that I can deal with."
3
Emma and Memory stood in front of Marilynn, waiting for her decision.
"Repeat your story, then I will decide," Marilynn stated. Memory obliged. Well at least as best she could. The curse she was under made things quite difficult. And because of that curse Marilynn had to consult her mother, also known as her royal advisor.
"Do you think they'll let me?" Memory asked worriedly. Emma shrugged.
"Marilynn should understand that your actions were not your own. That you were being controlled by that curse. Therefore she should allow you to live here."
"Yeah, but I'm living, not dead." Memory argued, staring at her arms, as if she was making sure they weren't bones.
"It will be fine, everything is as it should be."
(Yeah, except for your mental health.) One of the voices, who had been oddly silent during the whole ordeal, spoke up. Whether it was fortunate or not, it was Annalise using her telepathy.
(Get out of my head, Annalise, I'm trying to have a moment.) Emma replied as she hugged Memory. Marilynn choose that moment to deliver her verdict.
"Memory, you can live here under one condition," Marilynn started. Memory waited nervously for her to continue. "You have to destroy the necklace that put you under that spell. That way, no one will fall victim to that curse again." Memory nodded in acceptance.
"When do I leave?"
"Now."