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🪷 LYRA 🪷
One moment Lyra was staring at the ceiling of the dorm, and the next she was standing somewhere else entirely.
It was dark, she couldn't see walls or the floor. She only knew she was standing and the air felt incredibly thick.
"Hello?" she shouted, her voice didn't echo, it just disappeared in the darkness.
Before she could take a step, rats rushed past her in a wave. They brushed her legs, their bodies warm and hairy.
Lyra screamed and crouched down, clamped her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. Her chest hurt from how hard she was breathing, she stayed like that until the sound faded.
Lyra opened her eyes when the noise finally stopped, she heard a soft music.
She followed the sound and saw a small music box resting besides a coffin. The lid was open, and inside it a tiny ballerina spun in slow circles, her arms raised and her skirt turning as the melody played. It was the same tune, the same one the ghost had hummed.
Suddenly the coffin creaked. Lyra froze, fear rooting her to the ground. The lid lifted wider, in an eerily slow way. She swallowed hard and stepped closer, every instinct screaming at her to run.
Inside lay a girl. She was beautiful, pale yes, but beautiful. Her hair framed her face neatly, like someone had taken time to place it that way.
Still, she looked just like the ghost Lyra had seen before. Lyra leaned in without meaning to, trying to have a closer look.
The girl's eyes snapped open, her mouth opened too, and something moved inside, writhing, spilling out in a way that made Lyra step back, horror crashing into her all at once.
Lyra screamed and jolted awake, the scream tearing out of her throat. Her whole body shook, sweat clung to her nightshirt and skin, her heart racing so fast it made her dizzy.
"Hey...hey," Sienna instantly sat up, rushing over to her bed. She pressed Lyra's head against her chest and caressed her back softly. "You're okay. It's just a dream. Just a bad dream."
After a while, her breathing slowed and everything came back into place.
"What did you see?" Sienna asked gently.
"I… I don't know," she said finally, even though she did. "It was just a bad dream." It didn't feel like just a dream.
"You're burning up," she said. "Do you want water?"
Lyra nodded.
Sienna slipped out of bed and came back with a cup. Lyra drank slowly, her hands still trembling.
"I'm okay." She assured Sienna as she placed the cup down. She took deep breaths and passed her a smile.
"Are you sure? That was a loud scream."
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." Sienna took the cup from her and returned back to her bed. It felt like she'd just come out of a horror movie.
—
The next morning felt heavier than usual. Lyra didn't tell Sienna that she barely slept after that. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the coffin again.
Not the worst part of it, just the girl's face before everything changed.
They walked toward the main building together. Students moved in clusters, laughing and acting normal.
Everything looked normal, that almost annoyed her. Looks like she was the only one being tormented.
She was halfway down the long corridor near the administrative wing when she stopped walking.
Sienna almost bumped into her.
"What-?"
Lyra's eyes were fixed on the wall. There was a hung a large framed portrait, between two tall windows.
It was old-fashioned. The frame had dark wood carved at the edges. Inside it...the girl.
She wore a Ravencrest uniform, her hands were folded neatly in front of her. She was smiling.
"When was this portrait hung?" she asked quietly.
Sienna frowned. "What portrait?"
Lyra pointed at it. "That one. It wasn't there before, right?"
Sienna looked at the exact spot Lyra was pointing to, then she looked back at Lyra.
"Lyra… what are you talking about?"
Lyra turned slowly toward the wall again. Her words died in her throat, there was nothing there. No portrait. Just a smooth, polished wall.
"No," she whispered. "That… there was-"
The bell rang loudly, cutting through the corridor.
"We're going to be late," Sienna said carefully, studying her face. "Come on."
Lyra didn't move for a second. She kept staring at the wall like if she waited long enough, the portrait would fade back into existence.
"Is something wrong?"
"No. I'm fine," Sienna didn't look convinced, but she didn't ask further.
By the time Lyra reached her classroom, her palms were ice cold. She slid into her seat and tried to focus on the board, but her mind kept replaying it.
Was the ghost trying to show her something? Or was she simply just losing her mind?
___
The bathroom was empty when Lyra pushed the door open.
Everything smelled faintly of soap and the tiles were clean. She gripped the edge of the sink and leaned forward, turning on the tap.
Cold water rushed over her fingers and she splashed it onto her face. Once, twice.
She looked up slowly, her reflection stared back at her. She looked exhausted, like she hadn't slept in days instead of just one restless night.
"I just need...a second to relax. Deep breaths Lyra, deep breaths. I'm okay..." She assured herself, trying to force a smile.
"La… la… la…"
Lyra's hands tightened around the sink. Her reflection changed before she could even process it.
She wasn't alone in the mirror anymore. The girl stood a few steps behind her. Not as decayed as the first time, but increasingly horrifying.
Her head tilted slightly, like she was studying Lyra the same way Lyra had studied that portrait.
"I'm going crazy, aren't I?" she muttered, a humorless laugh left her. "What do you want from me? Are you even real? Why the hell are you messing with me?"
"La… la… la…"
"Stop it," Lyra snapped, her voice shaking despite herself. "Stop humming that stupid melody like it's going to make me understand anything. Please, stay away from me."
The girl's lips parted. "S… see?"
"See? See what?" she asked, forcing herself to hold the reflection's gaze.
The girl lifted her hand slowly towards the mirror. The glass rippled, it moved like water disturbed by a stone. Lyra stumbled back from the sink.
"What-"
The lights flickered, once, twice. When they steadied, the mirror wasn't reflecting the bathroom anymore.
It was reflecting something else. A hallway, and the walls were lined with portraits.
Students in uniforms that looked like Ravencrest's. The colors toned down, everything having a darker shade.
The ghost stood in that hallway now. She turned slightly, as if urging Lyra to look past her.
"See," she whispered again. Clearer this time.
Lyra stepped closer despite the fear crawling up her spine and the hallway in the mirror stretched deeper.
And at the far end, there was a door. Marked with a symbol Lyra didn't recognize.
"Where is this place?"
The image shrinked, making a clearer view of the outside building. The high-class dorm.
"No," Lyra stepped back from the sink slowly. "No, no…"
Why would the ghost show her that? She wasn't allowed to go there. Hell, she wouldn't even think about it.
"Go."
"You want me to go there? I can't just walk into the high-class dorm. They don't even let us near that wing."
"See."
"If you want me to see something, then show me properly. Stop with the riddles."
The ghost peeled itself from where she was, going to stand behind her. Then she reached out, Lyra flinched as icy fingers brushed her wrist. The touch burned and froze at the same time, shooting straight up her arm.
"What are you d-" Lyra's head snapped back, her vision flooded white.
Students walked past her, laughing, talking, brushing right through her like she wasn't there.
She turned harshly, dizzy at the sudden turn, and then she saw her.
The ghost, except she wasn't a ghost here. She was...human. Wearing the same uniform, her hair neatly braided, her eyes full of something soft and hopeful. She was smiling at someone just out of Lyra's view.
"Eloise..." The name echoed over and over again.
Lyra followed her gaze. Kieran? He stood near the stairwell, less sharp around the edges.
The memory jerked, skipping like a damaged tape.
The girl was crying now. Standing alone in the courtyard. Kieran was there again, closer this time, saying something Lyra couldn't hear.
The images came faster. A classroom. The girl staring at her hands, shaking. A staircase at night. Panic. Kieran again. Always Kieran.
The girl stood in the same dark place, the one from her dream. The coffin and the music box were all in place. Her eyes met Lyra's, lifeless this time.
A loud gasp escaped her lips as her vision blurred. She was back in the restroom, the ghost was gone and everywhere felt like it was closing in.
The ghost was haunting her for no reason. It wanted her to go to the high-class dorm. The door, the symbol...and Kieran.
Kieran wasn't just part of the ghost's past. He was woven into it.