A Romantic Ghost Story

Chapter 4

As Nancy was staring into the mirror in her room, she replayed the whole scene in her mind. She had seduced a young man in her sexy black dress, leading him to his death. Remorseful filled her as she thought about the horrified look on the guy's face. Although it wasn't her first time doing that, it got no easier over time.

That was what the Ocean King had meant when he said that she would find food for him. She thought about her life as the fiancée of the Ocean King after one year.

He had been good to her, but only as long as she continued to catch his prey. He dined on fresh human souls. The easiest way to attract them was to seduce them with a beautiful girl, of course.

As she stared at herself in the mirror, she thought about how she was allowing her dreams to die. She was set to marry the Ocean King in a pompous ceremony on the moonlit beach the evening of November 1, the day before All Souls' Day, the only day she could possibly break free. On that day, all spirits are freed from their masters, unless they're caught again.

But after she was bound to him in a spirit ceremony, it would be permanent. The spirit world did not believe in divorce. And she couldn't leave him right now either. She was temporarily bound to him, unless her body could be given a proper burial. But how could she give her body a proper burial? She didn't even know where her fiancé had stashed it.

She was beginning to lose hope that she would ever be free to feel the Californian sun on her face, or play on a stage in front of millions of fans.

A cerulean water drop spirit, came in and began combing her luscious raven-black hair for her. "Your wedding is in a couple of days, my lady. All the important dignities of the spirit world will be there. Are you excited?"

Nancy looked in the mirror at her faithful servant. She remained silent. Instead, she took out Lucy, her brass guitar, and began playing a sweet tune, Beyond the White Clouds. The melody filled the air and she began to relax. She didn't want to think about marrying the demon.

A deep voice spoke from behind her, yet she saw no shadow in the mirror.

"You're playing that thing again?"

The blue servant bowed and left the room.

She turned around and faced her captive, the Ocean King. Even after all these years, she still had not developed Stockholm syndrome.

The man was tall, and devilishly handsome, with short blond hair and crystal clear blue eyes. It was the Ocean King in his human form, dressed in a formal black business suit, complete with a black tie.

"Don't play that thing here," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "It's unladylike. Beautiful ladies should be seen and not heard."

His touch always chilled her to the bone, but she allowed him to touch her. She knew what would happen if she displeased him. He would burn her corpse and without a proper burial, her spirit would disperse and she'd really be dead.

But still, she continued to play her tune. All these years, the only thing keeping her sane was the sound of her guitar. She needed her music desperately, as badly as she needed air if she were still alive.

The Ocean King frowned. He grabbed her instrument and inspected.

"Hey!" she cried. "Give it back!"

He shook his head. "Don't waste time pursuing human interests. You're a spirit now. We hate human music in the spirit world."

"Give it back!" she repeated, louder this time.

His expression grew nasty. "If you don't listen to me, I'm going to burn your corpse, disperse your ashes and your spirit will disappear. You'll never get into Heaven."

She calmed down. That was the one threat that would always work on her. She didn't care about getting into Heaven though. All she wanted to do was get to Hollywood, even as a spirit. To do that, she'd need to be free of the Ocean King. If her spirit faded away, she'd simply turn to dust.

He put her guitar on her bed. "Stop wasting time with this. You need to start getting ready for the wedding. You don't want to disappoint me or our guests."

He continued to glare at her. "You better be faithful to me after the wedding. You women are all the same. Cheating whores."

With that, he stormed out of the room.

Nancy watched him leave as a sense of dread filled her. She bit her lips. If she married him, she'd be stuck with him forever. Cleaning for him, cooking for him, finding food for him - it would be worse than her spirit turning to dust. It would be the same mundane, stifling lifestyle she would have had if she had stayed in Macedonia and married Steven. A fate worse than turning to dust.