Chapter One: Welcome Foolish Mortals!

A young woman with medium length, curly, blonde hair and green eyes was walking down a path. She wore a black shirt on it with a little gray puppy on it, and blue jeans. She had black flip-flops on as well, she wore a silver ring on one of her fingers on her right hand and some silver earrings with fake diamonds on it. She wore a purple bracelet on her write wrist and she had a band-aid on her left forearm, near her shoulder. She had a band-aid on her left leg (on the calf), then a band-aid on her right knee. She wore red nail polish on her fingernails and sparkly pinkish nail polish on her toenails. This is Grace Berlitz, she's a very sweet, caring, and loving girl. She can be comedic at times. She had only brought one of her friends with her. His name was Gary.

Gary is a very smart, kind but shy, young man. He has dark brown hair and grayish-blueish eyes. He wore a black jacket with a white shirt underneath, blue shorts and some black shoes. His hair was short and messy. He walked with Grace until the path lead them to a mansion that was huge! "Oh my God! I want to visit here!" Grace said as she goes up to the gate. "Yea, but the gate is closed and locked. There's no way-" Suddenly, the gate opened up by itself. "........" Gary said nothing and lead Grace to the front door. He tried opening it. Nothing. "It's locked." She pointed out. "Well, obviously." He growled out but then the door unlocked. Gary opened it and they walked into the mansion.

The lights were dim, and it was kinda dark. Dust filled the room as cobwebs were everywhere. "Oh. This place needs some updating to do!" Grace said as she roam the room, but then she is met with a young man that looks to be around her age. "Ah, you must live here... correct?" She said to the well dressed man. But his clothes where torn and he looked....dead... He had blueish, translucent skin. His eyes were a bright blue color while his hair was mess but it was black and still shoulder length but a little longer. He turned around to face Grace. "Ello... You must be visitors...... I hadn't seen a mortal like you in years..." He told her as he was only 3 feet away from her. "Yes. I did lived here. Well, I still do." He chuckled. "Who are you?" She asked him as she stepped back a little. "I am, Vladimir. But you may call me Vlad for short." He said with an echo in his voice. "I'm Grace Berlitz. A pleasure to meet you..." She smiled nervously. "As you can tell, I am a ghost. I once lived, but on the day of my wedding... I got murdered.... along with my bride-to-be." He sadly said as he looked away.

"Sorry about your wife-to-be... But I'm sure she's with you... right?" She hesitantly asked. "N-No. I don't know where her spirit had went, sadly." He looked down at the ground. "You seem to avoiding eye contact with me. Are you OK?" She stepped one foot closer to him. He looked at her and froze. ".......!!!!!!!!!" He studied her appearance. Her hair....her eyes....even her face.. She looked just like.....Vanessa.... "Y-You look just like her...." He floated in front of her. "Oh? I Do?" She tilted her head a bit. "Y-Yes! You look just like Vanessa! She's the woman I've been talking about..." He gently took her hands. "You're very stunning looking... Beautiful like her...." He smiled at her.

"I'm flattered..." She blushes a bit. "But... We just met and all... " "Oh, I know honey. But I would love to get to know you more." He said as he lets go of her hands. "Yea sure." She said as she walks off. "Oh, we're gonna have a ball tonight...So be ready!" He shouted as he disappeared. She raised a brow. "But I didn't plan on going..." She shrugged her shoulders as she walks to the ball room. There were cobwebs on the ceiling and chandeliers. The floor was slightly dirty like it hasn't been mopped in years. She sees spirits dressed very nicely, woman and men were dancing. But the women lead the men. Their dresses spun gracefully throughout the music which is played by an pipe organ. Grace looked amazed at the dancers, but sometimes they would disappeared and reappear.

They all noticed Grace and stopped... So did the music. "What?" She asked as they all pointed at her outfit. "What type of outfit is that?" "Women wear men clothing now?" "Where's your gown?!" They each had a different reaction and some of them said the same thing. They stared at her. She stuck out like a sore thumb. "Uh, well this is the modern times now. Not all women wear dresses all the time now." Grace explained to them. "Oh, you must be the new girl. Well, we must get you ready for the ball tonight!" One male ghost said as he floated to her. "Oh? Well that's OK. I'm not in-" "But you must participate! It'll be fun. Please?" He asked. "Alright, alright fine. But I have to go home and get rea-" "Actually we have one dress in particular that would fit you just fine. We can get you all dress up for tonight's ball.' "Do you have one every day?" "Only for a special occasion or events. Or just to celebrate!" "I see. Well, I'm gonna get going now!" "Oh, but the ball starts in one hour! We must get you ready now!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her to a room. "Here, I'll get a lady to help you get ready but first try this dress on." He got out a beautiful, long, pink dress that was Victorian style.

He gave her white gloves, matching pink shoes, and beautiful jewelry. "I'll give you some privacy. I'll come back in a few and knock on your door when you're ready." He said before he disappeared back to the ball room. Grace looked at the dress. "Am I suppose to wear a dress that a deceased woman could've possibly worn?!" She sighs and put the dress on after she took off her shirt, pants, and flip-flops. She puts the shoes on and the gloves on and then the jewelry. "Huh. You know I don't look that bad in a dress. Maybe I should wear often." Then she heard a knock on the door. "Come in." She shouted. A ghost woman came in and she smiled at Grace. "You look pretty in that. Here let me help you with your hair and make-up."

After about 30 minutes of preparing....

"Goodness! You look just like her!" The ghost woman said as she had Grace's hair in curls and make up done. Grace said and dismisses the lady after thanking her. "30 minutes until the ball starts.... how-" She turned around and saw Gary. "Oh hey Gary." "Grace!! There you are. I have bad news, it's raining all night! We have to stay the night here then we can go in the morning. And- Why are you dressed up for? Playing dress up?" He smirked at her. "No. I have to go to the ball tonight. You coming?" "I can't. I have no suit." But then he turned around and sees a unused suit. "As you were saying?~" "OK! I'll go with you." He smiled. "But I'm not sure about dancing with ghosts. They sorta creep me out." "Are you sure about spending the night here? I mean, it's really creepy and run down." "It's just for tonight, Grace. It's not like we have to stay here forever."

They had talked for about 20 minutes. "Oh it starts in 10 minutes..." "Here I'll go get the suit on and you go out and just talk or something." Gary said as he pushed her out of the room. "I'll meet you in the center of the room." Grace nodded and went to the center of the room. Vlad was there and he was all dressed up. "Oh, Miss Berlitz! You came here. Figured you went home." "Ah, well I never been to a ball before... So I came along." "You look very pretty by the way." Thanks? Well anyways it's 10 minutes til the ball so..." "Actually the music has already started so we can start dancing if you like." "I thought-" "Oh, we just like to start early so it wouldn't last for like 5 hours. It usually last for 1-2 hours." "Ok, Well I'll-" "Would you like to dance with me?" "....I can't say no. So, I'll dance with you."

"Great!" He took her hand and lead her to the dance floor. They danced gracefully together throughout the ball. An hour had passed and Gary was trying to find Grace. "Grace? Gra-" He spotted her, slowly dancing with Vlad. "....There goes my da-" "Oh~ A man who doesn't have a woman to dance with?~" A female spirit floated in front of Gary and smiled at him. She had long, wavy, red hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a long, purple, Victorian styled dress. He looked at her as he deeply sighs. "Would you-" "I would love to!!" She eagerly took his hand and lead him to the dance. He watches Grace and Vlad as he danced with his woman. "...." His eyes were focused on them.

Vlad looked at Grace in the eyes. "I hadn't danced with a woman in such a long time. I usually don't go to the ball. But since you're here dancing with me, I feel a connection between us. Just like when I was dancing with Vanessa. She looked just like you." He smiled at her. "Are you falling in love with me?" She asked him as she blushes a bit. "....I think I am. I think I have fallen in love again. I would like to marry you... But you're a mortal.." He looked away a bit. "Yea, but.... When I'm a ghost I can be with you right?" "That's right!" He happily smiled at her. "I think have fallen in love with you too.. I mean, you're a handsome guy and you seem very sweet." She said as she leaned closer to his face. "Thank you very much, Grace." He leaned closer, until their lips are inches apart. "So, will you be my bride?" He asked her as he looked deeply in her eyes. "....Y-Yes I will." She whispered to him. Then they softly kissed each other.

Gary watched them as he stopped dancing. "Oh no... No... Now we'll be stuck here." He sighs and sat down. The woman follows him, with a concerned look on her face. "Sir? Are you alright?" She softly said. "Y-You know, I don't even know anymore. My friend and I are suppose to leave tomorrow but now she's getting married to some random ghost that she doesn't even know. Is it because she looks like 'Vanessa'? You know Vlad's old fiancee?" "No, he actually fallen in love with your friend." "Great. What's your name?" He asked. "It's Lucy. Why?" "Just wondering. I'm Gary. But anyways, I must stop them." "W-Why? They love each other." "It's just that I don't wanna loose my friend to a ghost." "...Or that you're just jealous~" Lucy cooed. "WHAT?! ME? JEALOUS! HA!" He shouted. "You're lying~ You're jealous~" She sang as she danced in circles around him.

"So what if I'm jealous? I mean whatever. But when's the wedding?" "How should I know? They didn't even planned it yet." "Great." "Just wait." She smiled as she hugged him. "I like you~" "Yay, a ghost is falling for me too.. What's next, we get married too?" "Oh my, you think very fast, Gary~" She giggles. "I AM NOT ASKING FOR YOUR HAND IN MARRIAGE!" He shouted. "Don't shout! It'll draw attention to you." She softly said. He yawns softly. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed." "Pick any bedroom you like!" She giggles as she kissed his cheek. "Good night, love. I'll see you tomorrow~" She disappeared.

Gary blushes as he walked down the halls and goes to a room on the far right. He opens the door and there was a nice king sized bed. He shuts the door and sat on the bed. He was in deep thought, but his thoughts got interrupted by a knock. "It's open." He said as Grace comes in. "Hey Gar. I have good news, I-" "I know. You're getting married. I've heard." He sadly said. "Ye- Wait, why aren't you happy for me?" "It's not that I'm not happy. It's just that I wanna go home." "You can go home." "No. Not without you." "I'm not going anywhere." "Fine, but I'm going to bed." "Goodnight." She left the room and closed the door. Gary slipped out of his suit and shoes. He got into his shirt and just put on some old shorts.

He laid down on to the bed and looked at the ceiling. 'Why did he chose her? Is he planning on to kill her?' Gary sat up and gasped. "No... He wouldn't... Would he?" Now he was curious. Is Vlad planing on her kill her or not? Gary had that thought in his head all night. Then he fell asleep... but he didn't had a pleasant dream.....

To be continue...