Sir Tristan's Estate (Legends Unleashed Vol.1) (4 page)

Sensing Skye’s bewilderment, Tom let out a
gleeful laugh and then fell backwards on the bed.

Skye knees went weak and her breath stopped
when she saw Tom literally disappear into the bed. With slow, shaky
steps, she looked under the bed. Tom lay under the bed, a smile on
his face, his eyes locked on hers.

“Surprised?” he asked with raised
eyebrows.

Skye stumbled backwards and then fell to the
floor.

Tom crawled out from underneath the bed and
offered his hand to Skye. She stared at his hand but didn’t make
any attempt to touch it.

“That wasn’t an illusion…was it?”

Tom shook his head. He suddenly looked
sad.

“What’s going on?” Skye demanded. “If you
don’t tell me the truth, I’ll scream so loud that Mrs. Bradford
will come to my aid in a second.”

“That’s an exaggeration,” Tom said with a
weak smile as he sat down beside Skye. He noted how her body tensed
in response. “Besides, your screams wouldn’t yield any results.
I’ve fired all the staff. The last employee, the woman from the
gift shop, left the estate just minutes ago. We’re alone.”

Skye’s terrified eyes darted around the room.
She bit her lip.

“Don’t be afraid,” Tom gently urged. “I’m not
going to hurt you.”

“Tell me what’s going on,” Skye begged.

“All right,” Tom sighed. “Do you remember how
I told you that Sir Tristan’s ghost roams the estate in search for
a balanced life?”

“Yes,” Skye nodded her head in harsh, jerky
movements.

“Then you’ll remember asking how I knew this
information.”

She nodded even more fiercely.

“I know because I am Sir Tristan. I’m his
ghost and I’ve come back to life for you, Skye.”

“No,” Skye muttered. “No, that can’t be
true.”

“You’ve just seen me float through a thick
mattress and frame, yet you don’t believe me? I thought you were a
believer in ghosts.”

“I do believe but I just don’t understand any
of this. I thought your name was Tom Dove.”

“My name is Tom Dove,” Tom replied sadly.
“Tom Dove Tristan. Surely you remember asking what Tristan’s first
name was. Now you know.”

“The woman at the gift shop said you were a
descendant of Kathleen Tristan’s. Are you really her father?”

“Yes,” Tom answered, blushing furiously and
dropping his head to his chest in shame. “Everything I told you
about my previous life was true. I was a martyr. All I cared about
was living a life that served others. However, I went too far and
dedicated all of my time to the cause. In the process, I led a
miserable personal life and hurt my family. I didn’t know what was
wrong with me; I had these uncontrollable urges to help others. I
didn’t find out until my third life that I have a personality
disorder. By some divine intervention, I’ve been sent back to Earth
to try and lead a balanced life. At first, I was sent back to the
time in which I lived. However, I went overboard in my quest for
happiness. I was so ready to live a life full of excitement that I
got a peasant girl pregnant.” Tom rubbed his right hand against his
forehead. He was sweating and was obviously uncomfortable in
revealing this information.

Skye felt her stomach churn. She was
disgusted at Tom’s actions. “That’s why the birth certificate of
Kathleen Tristan has shown up just recently in the estate. It did
just happen recently.” She creased her forehead in concentration;
her reasoning made sense to her.

“You’re right,” Tom agreed. “When I was
unable to live a balanced life in the time period of the eighteen
hundreds, I was sent to the present. I proved myself to be a blood
relation of Kathleen Tristan and regained my estate. Now, I’m going
to live a balanced life. I won’t disappoint the power that has
given me so many chances. Will you help me finally live my life,
Skye?”

Skye’s mouth opened, but no reply was
uttered. She looked at the bed and back at Tom. “You want me to
marry a ghost?”

“Yes,” Tom pleaded. “Please say you’ll marry
me. Think of all the fun we had at Rocky Falls. Imagine having an
eternity to do nothing but roam the grounds of my estate.”

“Those dreams,” she muttered, looking at Tom
for an explanation.

“I did that,” Tom confessed. “Those were
memories of my first life. You said you wanted to know all about
Sir Tristan and his estate. I was giving you the best tour anyone
could ever hope to experience.”

Skye slowly lifted herself off the cold
hardwood floor. Tom smiled and reached out his hand. This time,
Skye took it. She waited until he was almost standing up when she
pushed him backwards. Tom let out a startled cry and fell to the
ground.

“Get away from me!” Skye cried. “I’ll never
marry you.” She flung the bedroom door open and ran as fast as she
could. Her legs darted so fast down the stairs that she almost
fell. However, she managed to keep her balance as she landed at the
bottom of the stairs.

“Come back!” Tom yelled. “You’re going to be
the one to save me!”

No, I’m not
, Skye thought while racing
through the empty lobby as fast as she could. Reaching the large
carved entrance door, she used all her weight to pull it open. Her
blood went cold. There, blocking her way to freedom and safety, was
Tom.

“Don’t try to run, Skye.” Although Tom was
begging, there was a hint of threat in his voice.

“Let me go!” Skye cried. Tears formed in her
eyes as Tom grabbed her by the waist.

“I can’t do that,” Tom replied simply.
“You’re going to be the one to keep me balanced.”

“Medication can do that!” Skye yelled as she
kicked Tom in his groin.

Instinctively, Tom released her and groaned
in pain. “That hurt.”

Skye felt herself being drawn to Tom’s eyes.
When she gave heed to the feeling, she gasped in horror. His eyes
had become completely black. She turned around as fast as she could
and then ran back into the building. Knowing it would be a useless
attempt, she didn’t bother locking the door – Tom could walk right
through it.

“Come back here,” Tom growled in a tone Skye
had never heard before.

Ignoring Tom’s command, she continued to run.
Skye sped past the many storage rooms. She had been down in this
part of the estate earlier today while taking photographs and
remembered there was another exit just past the small rooms where
the slaves used to live. All she had to do was reach the exit and
run down the road to freedom.

Skye had just entered the dimly lit hallway,
where the slave rooms began, when she heard Tom call to her.

“Don’t try to escape, Skye, you’re going to
stay with me forever. I promise I’ll treat you well. You’ll have
everything that you’ve always wanted.”

Except freedom
, Skye thought as she
slid through a door that was slightly ajar. The slave room was
darker than the hallway and the only light came through a missing
brick in the wall.

Skye scanned the room, searching for a place
to hide but the room was empty. She considered finding somewhere
else to hide when a voice from behind startled her.

“I helped the slaves escape.”

“I know,” Skye said. Her breathing was
labored, her hair clumped and matted with sweat.

“Aren’t you proud of me?” Tom’s expressions
changed rapidly from anger to sadness to happiness.

Skye stood taller, no longer as afraid. She
brushed a clump of matted hair from her face.
He doesn’t just
suffer
from a personality disorder, he’s seriously
ill
.

Tom extended a shaking hand. “It’s time to go
to our wedding,” he pleaded. “Let’s get married right now!”

From the moment she met him, Skye was aware
of Tom’s peculiar and erratic behavior. However, that was just a
taste of what she was experiencing now. Skye was terrified at his
sudden change in personality.

“Okay,” she replied, unable to disguise the
tremor in her voice. “Let’s get married.” Skye knew she had no
chance to escape while cornered in the slave’s room. She planned to
go along with whatever Tom said until she could run away.

Tom smiled and took Skye’s hand. Her blood
ran cold at the touch of his hand.

His free hand took the moist tresses of her
hair and sensuously rubbed them on his cheek. “We’re going to be so
happy.”

“Can we have the wedding outside?” Skye
suggested, forcing a smile.

Tom smiled and squeezed her hand so hard she
feared it would break. “Whatever you want, Skye. This is wonderful!
I’ll marry us; we don’t need a minister.”

“Yes, you can marry us,” she urged Tom
forward.

“All right!” Tom cried happily, hugging her
tightly.

As Skye and her ghostly fiancée walked out of
the basement, her mind raced for options.

“I have to get a dress. Does your mother have
one I could borrow?”

“Oh yes, she has many dresses. They are all
in my room. I’ll take you to them.”

Tom urged Skye up the stairs. She had to take
two stairs at a time as Tom excitedly hurried her along.

“In here,” Tom said, opening the door to his
bedroom. “The dresses are in that brown closet over there.” He
pointed to a large closet and then smiled at Skye. “You’ll make a
beautiful bride.”

“Thank you,” Skye said, closing the door. She
hurried to the closet and was about to open it when something on a
nearby counter caught her eye. Upon closer examination, she
realized that it was a weekly pillbox. Carefully opening the lids,
she discovered that Tom had missed several days of his
medication.

Skye felt like a ton of bricks had just hit
her. She’d been so confused at the change in Tom’s personality but
now she realized that the change was due to not taking his
medication. Clearly, Tom was inflicted with a severe personality
disorder, but could act perfectly normal – as long as he took his
medication. Skye could hardly believe the thoughts she was having.
A ghost that needs medication?
Although she now knew the
reason for the problem, the realization wasn’t much help for her
current situation. Skye knew she needed to get out of the house
immediately and that she was wasting precious time.

“Are you almost ready, dear?” Tom asked.

At the sound of Tom’s voice, Skye jumped and
dropped the case of pills. “Almost!” she called.

“Hurry, my dear. The guests have started to
arrive.”

Skye’s heart raced faster.
His condition
is rapidly getting worse.
She looked outside the bedroom window
to see an empty garden surrounded by fog.
He thinks there are
guests outside! Then again
,
he is a ghost. Maybe there are
ghost guests out there
. That thought made her shiver, the chill
consuming her entire body.

Terrified, Skye stood in the middle of the
room as tears began to roll down her face. Her situation seemed
hopeless; her body shook with sobs of despair. Just as she felt as
if she was going to collapse, a loud beep from a car horn echoed in
her ears.

Huh?
Skye looked out the window. A
wide smile spread across her face as she saw the taxi driver, the
same one who had brought her to this terrible estate, exit the car
and head towards the door.

Skye flung open the window and yelled for
help. “I’m up here! Please, you have to help me!”

“Be quiet!” Tom roared from behind the
door.

The taxi driver heard the scared and angry
shouts and looked up to see Skye waving furiously from the
window.

“Help me!” Skye yelled, even louder this
time.

Tom kicked the door open and stormed into the
room. Skye spun around in fear and saw Tom’s eyes blazing with
anger.

She ran through the open door, startling Tom
in the process. She heard Tom’s feet pound against the stairs as he
followed her.

Skye was almost out of breath when she
reached the exit and pulled open the door. Tom was so close behind
her that she could feel his cold breath on her neck.

The taxi driver was waiting anxiously outside
as Skye burst through the door.

“Are you all right?” the driver asked as she
grabbed onto him.

“He’s the ghost of Sir Tristan!” Skye cried,
pointing at Tom. “That
is
Sir Tristan.”

“That…that can’t be,” the driver
stuttered.

“It is,” Skye shrieked as Tom moved forward,
an angry expression on his face.

“Don’t move another inch!” the driver
commanded.

Tom ignored him and continued.

“What do you want?” the driver asked with
less confidence. He and Skye stepped backwards as Tom advanced.

“I want my bride,” Tom demanded.

The driver cast Skye a confused glance.

“It’s not true. He’s a mentally ill ghost who
forgot to take his medication.”

The driver’s eyes went wide as Tom reached
forward and purposely floated his hand through his throat.

“You’re a ghost!” The driver ran to the taxi
and jumped inside. Skye was close at his heels. He fumbled with the
key, his hands shaking so badly he couldn’t insert it.

“Hurry,” Skye begged. She looked up to see
Tom’s arms float through the front window. His hands were reaching
straight for her.

“Stay with me forever,” Tom begged. “Please
put an end to my suffering.”

Skye screamed as Tom’s cold hands grasped her
shoulders.

Tom’s hands suddenly flew away. The driver
had finally started the engine and put the car into reverse. The
car sped backwards, leaving Tom standing in the road, shaking his
fists as the dust swirled around him.

“Come back!” Tom pleaded as he chased the
moving car.

“He’s going to catch us – go faster,” Skye
begged.

The taxi driver floored the pedal and they
watched as Tom disappeared in the distance.

“That…that was unreal!” the driver stuttered
as the car left the unpaved road and merged into traffic.

“I know,” Skye agreed with a shiver. “When I
found out who Tom Dove really was, I said the exact same
thing.”