Chapter Text
Alexandrina was still seeing ghosts, she had been seeing them ever since the move to the city. The psychiatrist called it a rapid change in lifestyle resulting in complete psychological collapse. Alexandrina thought that was probably accurate, she hadn’t been feeling particularly sane over the last few months anyway, and now, after a rapid turn of events she was recovering in a residential ward following four razor blade cuts to each wrist.
“How are you this morning Alex?”
Alexandrina looked up from where she was staring blankly at a tiny pencil mark on the white table.
“Fine..”
“Good, I was hoping you were beginning to recover. How much longer are you here for?”
Alex raised a brow, irritated at the nurses lack of knowledge, “Isn’t that something you should know.”
“Who are you talking to?
Alexandrina jumped in her seat as another nurse seemed to appear out of nowhere, passing through the other nurse who had been looming in the door, the previous nurse doubled over, as if in pain and the new, somber looking nurse crossed her arms, “Not another one of your ghosts I hope.”
Alexandrina scowled, not loving the tone that the nurse had used when describing the visions that had been brought on by her very real, diagnosed mental health disorder. “I don’t think…”
“Are you even trying to get better Alex,” The nurse cut her off with a sigh. “you need to get it together if you’re going to go home today.”
The girl crossed her arms, suddenly defensive. “I’m schizophrenic Marilyn” She spat the nurse's name out like it was a curse. Marilyn seemed to ponder on replying, before scoffing, “Your cousins will be here within the hour, make sure you’re ready, we need your room.”
As promised by the frumpy old nurse, within the hour Alexandrina was standing outside the residential ward holding a bag of her prized (and also only) possessions and trying to ignore the horde of ghosts that her mind had apparently conjured up around her, all of which were jostling and chattering loudly around her. Right on time a black mini squealed to a halt outside the facility, the door was immediately thrown open and Jay stepped out, “Hey!” He called, smiling widely at her. Alexandrina couldn’t help but notice the shadows under his eyes. She used her free hand to wave at him and strode down to the car.
“So…” He said softly, “Still seeing ghost Alex?”
Alex shrugged, “Possibly, I still see them around but I can manage it more.”
Jay nodded, “are there any here?”
Another shrug, “A few…” She bit her lip before laughing under her breath… “okay a lot.”
Jay pursed her lips, “Well, I may have found a solution. Sam and I moved to the farm, well, your mansion but you know how you said we could move in and so we’re living there now, but…” He paused, his mood taking a rapid downturn, “Well Samantha fell down the stairs so… she’s in the hospital, I’ll drop you to the mansion, then I’m coming back in tonight and I’ll stay at the apartment and be back tomorrow to get Samantha. You in?”
Alex paused momentarily, but with one glance around at the ghosts milling around her she turned back around and locked eyes with him, “That works. I’m in.”
· · ─ ·ʚɞ· ─ · ·
Armed with three bags of clothing that Jay had ferociously forced her into buying, Alex stepped out of the car at the mansion. Well, technically her mansion, but she was happy to let Jay boast about it as his own to everyone around them. All the way to the farm she had seen not one ghost, not one. Perhaps this was what she needed, to move back to a rural place. Maybe this would fix her, or so she thought. However, that happy bubble was instantly destroyed when she walked through the door and was met with a crowd of people, dressed in clothing from varying periods of history.
She stopped dead in her tracks as the ghosts started circling and chattering excitedly, one of them, a man in a navy blue Colonial War uniform, stepped towards her, finger raised to point at the curl of deep blue hair that settled over her face. Alex flinched backwards, ‘Hey!’ She yelped, and suddenly the entire crowd of ghosts were staring at her, mouths agape.
“You… you see us?!” The colonial officer yelped, leaping backwards so fast he stepped through the wall.
“You okay?” Jay turned around, furrowing her brow.
Alexandrina looked over at her, stunned, this was the most… human reaction she had ever seen from a ghost and she was a little shaken.
“Fine, fine, sorry… spiderweb.”
“Spiderweb? Seriously!” The colonial officer exclaimed, appearing mortally offended.
Jay nodded, still looking slightly concerned before turning back around to head back out to the car, “I’ll see you tomorrow, time crunch after the clothes shop!” He called, the door slamming behind him.
Alexandrina turned back to the crowd of ghosts, specifically the colonial war guy who leaned over, even closer to her this time.
“Can you see me?” He hissed, eyes wide as saucers.
“Nope.” Alexandrina shook her head,
A stout woman in a 1920s swinger outfit scoffed, “No? Baby you just jumped like you’d seen a damn ghost.” She paused, apparently for comedic effect, “Because you have!”
Alex raised her brows, this was the first time a ghost had given her attitude, it concerned her that her condition may be escalating. The only good thing was that the ghosts also seemed quite startled by the fact that they were being seen by a living human being, as they immediately scattered and disappeared.
Alex was alarmed by this discovery and stood there, absolutely dumbfounded, she probably just needed a nap she decided.
“Yeah.” Alex breathed, relieved to have found a solution, and with a perplexed smile, she wandered upstairs in search of a room to claim as her own. She wandered through a door and gasped, a hand moving up to clutch her chest. A crowd of ghosts were hovering in the living room. And they looked up as if they’d been caught in the act, after a moment one of them waved. “Hello, I’m Pete!”
“This is not still happening…” She groaned, “Why am I still seeing things this is madness.”
“That’s hurtful, we’re not technically alive but not real is a stretch.” The man in the colonial uniform muttered bitterly, crossing his arms over his chest.
“No, I’m having a psychotic break, you’re not real.”
“Well, you are having a conversation with us, so.” Pete raised his eyebrows and smiled, tight lipped.
“No.” Alex spat, crossing her arms, irritated.
“You are though.”
“I am not talking to you.” Alex groaned, “Aw im still insaneeeee, this is terrible.” She groaned, clasping her hands over her face in despair.
“Why would you think you’re insane, this is crazy.” A man in no pants piped up, pausing and biting his lip, “You’re over 18 right…”
Alex grimaced, “Yuck, gross, no, ghosts don’t exist!” She exclaimed, pausing to frown at the ghosts who were all starting to look a bit too real, before turning and walking briskly away.
She had about 15 minutes of peace before the same man, wearing the colonial uniform peeked through the closed door, “Are you still believing we’re a figment of your imagination or can we move past this yet?”
Alex looked up, from where she had been scribbling in her journal, slightly irritated. “I don’t know what to think, but you do seem…” She paused, turning away, “God this is insane. Not real.”
“I mean we’re not alive. But not real is a little hurtful.” The man paused, stepping fully through the door into the room, “My name is Isaac Higgentoot, officer of the colonial war.”
“Right…” Alex was pretty sure she was insane, but she was tired out from the day, so she rolled with it. Plus, she was pretty lonely in the big empty house so speaking to a figment of her imagination was better than speaking to nobody at all.
“What are you doing?” The man approached and sat down on the bed, Alex flinched as the bed actually sagged where he was sitting.
“This is getting a little too creepy.” She exhaled shakily, “Ohhh-kay. Can you leave?”
“I mean, there's not much to do around here… but…” He stood up and brushed off the imaginary lint of his uniform, pausing in front of the door.
“I’m just wondering, you acknowledge I’m real? Because I did say I would be the first to be believed but…”
This was getting insane, Alexandrina wasn’t even sure if she was imagining it, but she couldn’t accept the fact that this could be real. “I’m just going to go for a walk, okay, I need to think.” She clambered up, before walking briskly towards the door, and unlike all the other ghosts who had conveniently parted and jumped out of the way when she walked their way, this one was too slow, and she slammed right into him. Not through him, into him. They collided so hard that Isaac stumbled backwards through the wall, exclaiming in surprise, after a moment of absolute dumbfounded confusion Alex whipped open the door, still in shock, and locked eyes with him where he was standing, staring at her..
“We touched…” He yelped, before scampering away.
Alex stood there, completely dumbfounded, unmoving for a few moments before a crowd of ghosts bustled out of the lounge room. Almost all of them, standing at the end of the hall as if afraid to approach. Out of the group, a tall, slender woman wearing a victorian era gown wandered towards her, “My name is Henrietta Woodburn,” She held out her hand, pausing for a second, before laying her hand, palm down on Alexandrina's new button down blouse, she shivered as her hand made contact, gasping as if this was some kind of miracle. “This is incredible.” She breathed, squeezing the fabric. Alex slapped her hand off, “Get away from me.” She snapped. The older woman looked offended and yanked her hand back, “You are speaking to the lady of the house, and your respect is expected.”
Alex balked, “Excuse me?”
Isaac rushed to intervene, “I apologise on Hetty's behalf, she built this house.”
Alex raised a brow, irritated, “When she was alive yeah, I’m sure she did. But I own this house now. So,” She turned to Henrietta, “Maybe? It's your turn to respect me?”
There was a moment of silence before Henrietta barked out a laugh, “Oh, I do hope you're joking.” She hissed.
“Okay, okay.” Pete intervened, stepping between the two. “Let’s not fight straight away ladies, how about we have a conversation in the lounge?”
Alex nodded slowly, a smile spreading across her face as realisation dawned on her, “Okay, so… you’re real.” She stared at him down, smirking, “And… I’m not crazy.”
Alex was perched uncomfortably face to face with about 8 ghosts, who had recently been established as real, on the couches in the main living room. She wasn’t honestly certain on how to feel about the whole affair.
“So, when did you start seeing ghosts?” A man, Pete, dressed in a scout uniform said, eagerly leaning forward in his seat.
“I don’t know…” Alex pursed her lips, it felt quite nice to feel sane for once, but with the warmth of the woman who had recently been unveiled as Alberta Haynes, sitting beside her on the sofa, arm brushing up against her, (A little to close for comfort but she was choosing to allow it just this once) it made her feel much better. “I’ve been seeing them for a while. My Aunt and Uncle always said that mental illness ran in the family when I mentioned that my Mother believed in ghosts, I mean, maybe you know her? Maryanna Kracht? She lived here for a few years with my father Leslie before she died.”
Hetty gasped loudly, “Leslie?”
Alex turned to her, irritated, having still not quite gotten over their tussle in the hall, “Yes… Leslie Woodburn,”
Sassapis leant forward in his seat, looking at Alex seriously, “Alexandrina, your father was a ghost here, and, if I’m correct, when you were born he would have been dead for over 400 years.”
There was silence for a few minutes… “What?”
“How is that possible?” Hetty yelped, “A halfbred?” Alex turned to scowl at her,
Suddenly Thor slapped his thigh with an aggression which made the crowd of ghosts jump nervously, “Thor remember, possession before Leslie was sucked off. Leslie make love to the Lady of the House!”
There was a moment of silence as this information sunk in, “That… shouldn’t be possible…” Pete muttered, “I mean, it’s unheard of. A ghost possessing a human, making love and having a ghost-crossbreed baby.”
“Still not a fan of that word.” Alex grumbled, crossing her arms.
There was another moment of silence before Isaac broke it, “Why didn’t you realise you could see ghosts sooner, if you’ve always possessed this trait?”
“I lived on a secluded farm for a long, long time. There were probably no ghosts there, and when I moved to the city I assumed I was crazy.”
Hetty let out a short laugh, “Insane? Why?”
Alberta looked at her, incredulous, “Because she was seeing things? Seriously?”
“Right, I forgot that was… a sign of insanity.”
“You been a ghost for too long!” Alberta rolled her eyes.
“It’s probably all the cocaine she did” A man wearing no pants quipped, before smiling winningly, “I’m Trevor by the way…” He paused and put his hands on his hips, “So when you said over 18, you meant you were…”
“She just arrived Trevor!” Alberta scowled, turning to face him,
Alex shrugged, “It’s fine, I’m 21.”
Trevor pumped a fist in the air and pointed at her, “Amazing!”
Alex smiled, slightly uncomfortable, and leant back in her seat, attempting to relax with her strange new reality, Alberta looked over at her and smiled, gently placing a hand on her knee. “You okay girl?” Alex turned to face her, nodding with a tight smile. “Yes, of course.” Alberta patted her knee before pulling her hand away. For a moment, Alex felt strangely at peace. Because, despite the strangeness of the event she finally knew that she wasn’t actually crazy, finally she knew that maybe, this was real and maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with her.
· · ─ ·ʚɞ· ─ · ·
After spending the night tossing and turning in a bed that wasn’t her own Alex stumbled out into the lounge at 8am the next morning. Hetty and Alberta were perched on one of the sofas, “You’re up early.” Alex snapped, Hetty huffed before promptly getting to her feet and turning on her heel, “I have things to attend to.” She barked, addressing Alberta.
Alberta nodded, “Okay girl, I’ll be here.”
Hetty grunted, obviously displeased, but said nothing else, simply disappearing through the wall. Alberta rolled her eyes, “I’m sorry about her.” She sighed, turning to face Alex, “She’ll warm up to you, don’t worry.”
Alex laughed, “I was not worried. I assure you I’m not particularly fond of her either.”
Alberta raised a brow, “Really? I mean, nobody really butts heads with Hetty… like, ever.”
“First time for everything?” Alex suggested, she smiled but Alberta noticed that it didn’t reach her eyes. Alex was making a mistake, Alberta knew that, Hetty could be a fierce friend but she could also be a frightful enemy. Even as a ghost she was a powerful woman, although Alberta supposed that in life Alex herself was powerful in her own right. She did own the Woodstone mansion, and that was no small trophy.
“Okay,” Alberta murmured, shrugging, “Not a lot goes on around here, I would love to see a fight!”
They settled into a comfortable silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts before the peace in the lounge was broken by a hello being called out from the front of the house, “Jay.” Alex sighed, “This is going to be tough to explain.”
Alex, wandering past the bedrooms, reached the top of the stairs followed by Isaac and Pete, Alex descended the stairs to greet her cousin, however what she didn’t expect was Samantha to stop in her tracks, and stare at the four of them on the stairs.
“Did you have a costume party while I was dying?” She asked incredulously.
The ghosts stopped dead, agape, “You see us?”
“Two livings in one week!” Pete exclaimed, “This! This is revolutionary!”
It took about three minutes of Alex bumbling to explain, Isaac interjecting with exclamations of shock, and Jay staring absolutely dumbfounded for Samantha to grasp what was going on, realise that ghosts lived in her house, and be led upstairs by her younger cousin.
“This is insane…” She murmured under her breath, “So… I almost died and now I see ghosts. This is insane.”
Alex bit her lip, excitement bubbling up within her, it was one thing to realise that she was able to touch the ghosts, it was another entirely for another, real person to be able to see them as well. It was… as Pete had stated, revolutionary.
“So.” Samantha sat on the sofa, gazing at the crowd of historically clothed ghosts around her, “You’re… you live here?”
“Yep,” Trevor said with a smirk, “And I am super glad that you live here too, plus, since you guys can touch us now…” He reached over the back of the couch to stroke Samantha's arm and promptly recoiled with a yelp of pain as his arm passed through her, “Ah! Fuck!”
“Are you okay?” Samantha turned to face him, concerned,
“Okay, okay, can’t touch you. Can not touch you!” Trevor muttered, shaking like a dog to rid himself of the sensation.
“So you’re not crazy.” Samantha murmured, staring blankly at the floor. Alex turned to face her, brow furrowed, “That’s uncalled for.”
“Sorry…” Samantha patted her cousin on the shoulder absent mindedly, still staring in mild panic at the crowd of undead around her.
The crowd stared back, it was getting a little awkward, if that was possible in circumstances like this. After a few moments Alex slapped her thighs and stood up, “I kind of need to go have a shower and hit the books… but thanks guys.” The group nodded, murmuring a goodnight and a few members of the group scattered, going their separate ways. Alexandrina paused in the doorway, staring wide eyed at the crowd in front of her.
Yeah well… goodbye.” She muttered, before scampering away to contemplate her new reality.