Of Kings & Queens

Not Much To See Here

"Hello again." Montresor greeted after he, Mikey, and Ray returned to the security room. Gerard glanced at the young ghost and moved away slightly, uneasily. The others may have been used to having Montresor around, even though it had been for just a few hours, but Gerard wasn't. In fact, out of all of them, Mikey should have been the one who was the most fearful. But he seemed to be the most comfortable with Montresor, possibly because the ghost boy looked a lot like him when he was younger. Except, unlike Mikey, Gerard had every reason to be afraid of ghosts because one possessed him and tried to kill his friends using him. If that didn't give him a reason to not be near Montresor, then nothing did.

"What's with the handcuffs?" Mikey had caught sight of the metal things around his brother's wrists immediately.

"Gerard's idea." Bob and Frank chorused. Mikey rolled his eyes as Ray shook his head at the antics.

"Well, we've got some books and stories for you guys." Ray put his stack of books on the floor, "Montresor?"

"I was telling them about the Poison List and the animals that once lived here." explained the ghost boy, "Ray asked me to repeat what I have said when we were together again and continue on once that happened so I would not have to repeat it all over again." He then recounted everything that he had spoken of to Mikey and Ray, finishing with, "Now would you like me to tell you about Solis?"

"Hold on." Frank held up a hand and his face was white, "There are ghost spiders roaming the halls?"

"Of course. Are you afraid?"

"The hell I am!" Frank ran shaking hands through his hair, "Great, just great..."

"Easy." Bob rubbed his friend's back, trying to calm him. Gerard would have done it, but it would have been uncomfortable for both of them because of the handcuffs.

"I have not seen another this fearful since Paul's encounter with a bear on the grounds." Montresor muttered, "He would never go into Percival's room to see the dead animal because he was so afraid."

"It's called a phobia." Mikey told the ghost, "It's a deep-rooted fear that usually lasts the entirety of a person's life. Frank, in this case, is very scared of spiders."

"I see." Montresor gave the small man a pitying look, "I am all the more sorry for you."

"Off the topic of ghost spiders, who is Solis?" Gerard asked, wanting to help Frank calm down.

"A phoenix. Because he cannot die, he is the only one left alive that roams these halls. Though, I have not seen him in a while. But that is understandable, since he almost never leaves the Phonicamy Tower." The band knew what he was talking about, since Four Corners had only one tower, but they were still confused.

"A phoenix?" Ray exclaimed, "Those don't exist." Montresor gave him a look and crossed his arms.

"Solis does and is proof. Phoenixes lived all over Phonicamy, long ago, but left after the kingdom was gone. Solis is the only one that is left that I know of."

"And you said Remus and Romulus were once partners to you and Gervasius, right?" Bob asked, "What about the other kings? Did they have animal partners too?"

"Yes. Solis was with Percival, Ferdinand had Axal, and Paul had Tollin." Montresor gave a sigh, "I have not seen Axal or Tollin, however, so they might have moved on when they died, but I do not believe so. I sometimes get feelings when I do not see another ghost and I imagine it is them. It certainly is not my brother, of that I am sure."