Moarte

Author's Note: This is just an idea I had while watching the History Channel, so I'm not sure how good it is, but please enjoy and R&R!

~HappyJack

Chapter One

Waking up, I immediately felt the rush of empowerment I felt every morning. I couldn't tell you why I felt this, I'd like to know myself, but it felt almost orgasmic. The way I felt as if I could destroy everything in my path, but then I came to my senses and realize that I am nothing more than an average 16 year old girl. Aside from that feeling, I wake up like every other girl does, tired and dreading the school day. As I was about to swing my feet over the bed, my brother Gabriel opened my bedroom door.

"Are you up yet Eliza?" he stupidly asked, staring at me sitting up straight in my bed.

"Well, yeah." I responded.

"Well, hurry up!" he yelled, rummaging through my draws, throwing clothes out of it.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded, tearing his arm away from my dresser.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he asks me, his light blue eyes in a panic.

"Probably late." I answered, shoving him out of my room. "Now please leave. I'd like to have a little privacy." And with that, I slam the door right in his face. I heaved a deep sigh and continued where Gabriel left off. After some searching, I found some acceptable clothes for school. After I finished getting dressed, I started brushing out my sandy blond hair. It was fairly long, stopping at my chest, and I applied little makeup to my chocolate eyes. My eyes had always fascinated me. They were a light brown, with a golden circle encasing my pupil. I didn't get my eyes from my mother or my father. They both had Gabriel's eye colour before they died.

After making sure I looked presentable, I glanced down at my clock, noticing that school started in five minutes. I lived of least 20 minutes away from school and I had to walk. I ran full speed down the stairs and out the door, not even having time to say goodbye to Gabriel. I ran down the sidewalk trying my best not to trip over my untied shoes. As I ran, I couldn't help but think about the horrors that awaited me at school. My home room teacher was the strictest person I knew and he would kill me if I was late. I sped up a bit before realizing I would pass out soon if I ran anymore. I stopped to catch my breath and checked my watch. School had already started and I knew for a fact that I would get a lecture, so I started running again, not caring if I passed out. As luck would have it, I came across a stop light. I took the opportunity to tie my shoes. I finished that up and I thought I saw the people around me start to walk across the street, so I made my way across the street and made my way across the street, checking my cellphone to see what time it was.

"Hey, look out!" I heard a voice call after me and just like that, I felt an extreme force smash into me, knocking me to the ground. I lay there, unable to move any part of body. The world around me was slowly evaporating and I could feel myself drifting away from reality.

"Oh my god! Someone call an ambulance!"

"Is she alright? Is she dead?" All I could hear was screaming around me. I tried to get up, but failed. I felt a hand touch my neck, assuming they were feeling for a pulse.

"Oh my god! She's dying!"

"Somebody save her!" Just as I heard this outburst, my life flashed before my eyes. I know it's cliché, but it happens. It's almost like god or whatever being takes you into it's arms once you die, reminds you of the good parts of your life. I saw Gabriel, my mother and my father. All the good times we had, and then I saw today. Not stopping to say goodbye to Gabriel, and then, everything was black.

I groggily opened my eyes, waking up from a deep sleep. I was about to get out of bed, when I realized something terrifying. This wasn't my bed. This wasn't my room.

"Oh, good she's up." I heard a voice say excitedly. I quickly turned my head to see a nurse sitting beside me. "You just wait here dear. I need to tend to someone else for a moment." she told me, getting up and walking towards a girl who looked about my age. She had long brown hair that was neatly tied in a tight ponytail. She was very busty and wearing a uniform of some sort. She had hiked the skirt incredibly high and her pale yellow jacket was off, revealing a very tight white shirt. I looked at it closer. It had blood on it, but she didn't look like she was bleeding on her stomach or back. The nurse wrapped bandage around the girls forearms and gave her a lecture. The nurse sounded angry and the girl just look bored. After the little speech, the girl left, but not before walking by me.

"What happened to your arms?" I asked her, my curiosity getting the best of me. She smiled triumphantly, but smugly at the same time.

"Hot wax." she told me, proudly.

"Why? How did it happen?"

"You obviously haven't met Donatien." she snorted, leaving the room. The nurse came back, wearing a gentle smile on her face and carrying the same uniform the girl had on.

"I'm sorry about that, sweety. Now, you need to put this on."

"What? No. Where am I?" I frantically asked, panicking.

"Calm down. You're at Moarte Boarding School and you are required to wear a uniform." she explained, her smile growing.

"Moarte? Isn't that 'death' in Romanian?" I asked. "And why am I not at home?" The nurse frowned.

"I hate this part." she mumbled, softly grabbing my hand. "Dear, do you remember anything from this morning?" she asked me. I shook my head. "There was an accident on your way to school and... you didn't make it." My heart stopped.

"I didn't make it? What does that mean?"

"You died." she told me, squeezing my hand.

"Then why am I here?" I yelled, trying to pry my hand from her's.

"You've passed on. This is the new life."

"What am I?" I asked her, terrified.

"A spirit, a ghost. Now, why don't you get changed into your uniform? After you're done, you can go to the office and talk to the principal." the nurse said, getting up and walking away. A ghost? How was I a ghost? I couldn't be dead. I would be leaving Gabriel all alone. I wanted to curl up and cry but I knew that if I got changed into my uniform, I would get more answers. Quickly changing into my uniform, I stumbled out of the infirmary, falling into the arms of somebody.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry!" I apologized, trying to escape his arms.

"Why don't you stay a little longer sweety?" the guy asked, a seductive tone in his voice. I looked up at him, my heart beating fast. To sum it up, he was gorgeous. He was tall and slim with dark wavy hair down to his shoulders and bright green eyes. I managed to step back a bit, but his hand fell onto my wrist.

"I, um, actually have to go." I told him, trying to turn to walk away. His grip tightened. His grin faltered and he look malicious.

"No, I insist, stay." the grin crept back up on his face. "I can show you a good time." I tore my wrist out of his hand.

"I bet you will, but I really have to go."

"Do you have any idea who I am?" he hissed.

"I'm sorry, no."

"I am Marquis de Sade, or Donatien Alphonse François, and you do as I say."

"Haha. Well, I'm leaving now." I told him, running away. My heart was pounding and my face was burning hot. I eventually found the office. When I opened the huge double oak doors, I was blown away by the beauty of it. With two crystal chandeliers and the whole back wall a stained glass window, it almost looked like a church. Sitting behind a big oak desk sat a woman in a navy suit with long, sleek black hair tied into a tight bun.

"Ah, you must be Eliza Ashton. Please, have a seat." the woman said, gesturing for me to sit down in the chair in front of the desk. I did as she said and took a seat. "Hello, Eliza, my name is Mrs. Burke. I'm the principal of this school. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah." I muttered.

"You must be awfully confused as to why you're here, are you not?" I nodded. "Well, Eliza, you see, when someone in the human world with historical significance dies, they come to Moarte Boarding School. They automatically become the age 16, the age you seemed to die at, and they stay until they're 20 years old. But in this world, the Fantasma realm, one year in the human world is equivalent to 100 years in this realm, so each student is here for 400 years. But here, each person ages differently. Someone could age one year in 300 years instead of one. At the age of 20, they're released back into the human world. And once they die in the human world again, they go to Caelum or Iad. Caelum is a place of luxury, happiness and anything you desire. Iad is a place of torture, horror and sorrow. Only the worst of the worst go there. Here, at Moarte, you will be studying the supernatural, but don't think you get out of your normal classes that easy. You have six classes this semester, here's your timetable. It has all your classes, their room number and your dorm number. Do you have any questions?"

"You answered most of them, but I have two other questions. One; why do I have historical significance?" I asked, confused.

"We're not sure. We usually receive files about the student, but we never received one on you and according to your local census, you never existed."

"What?" I asked, shocked. How could I have not existed? I had so many friends that obviously knew I existed and Gabriel did too.

"It's almost as if after you died, you were completely wiped off from the face of the earth." Mrs. Burke mumbled, scratching her chin. "We've sent employees of the school to go to your home town and they've told us that your friends, family and classmates have no recollection about you. The only one who recognized your name was a young man named Gabriel Ashton who claims to be your brother."

"He is my brother!" I exclaimed, tears welling up in my eyes. "Why does he remember me? Why not anyone else?"

"Like I said before, we're not sure why you're in this situation and we're doing everything we can to figure out, but at this moment in time, we have no idea. The only thing we can do is wait."

'"Alright." I said, disappointed.

"You said you had another question?"

"Oh, um, can we go over my timetable?" I asked, but it wasn't the original question I was going to ask.

"Yes we can." Mrs. Burke answered, fishing out a copy of my timetable from her desk. "As I have already told you, you have six classes this semester. Your first class starts at 7 am and your last class ends at 1 pm. Your first class is Caelum and Iad studies, then you have Greek God studies, then you have English. After those three classes, you have an hour break. Fifth period, you have physical education, then mathematics and lastly, you have science. Oh, and each weekend, there will be trips to town. Any questions?"

"No." I answered, staring at my feet. I was still taking in the fact that I was no longer living, but I still felt as if I was. I felt my heart beat during my encounter with Donatien, so why was I considered dead?

"I think it's best that you go to your dorm room and rest. You don't have to go to any of your classes today. You have a roommate and I hope she's very welcoming to you." Mrs. Burke told me, wearing a gentle and sympathetic smile. I got up from my seat and headed towards the door.

"Thank you." I said as I left the office.

It took me about 10 minutes to find my dorm room. It was in a long, light pink hallway. Ugh, pink. I hated that colour. On each side of the hallway were dark oak doors, each with a small whiteboard with names on it. Looking around, I saw some pretty famous names. Marie Antoinette, Jane Austen, Marie Curie, Clara Barton. The list goes on and on. As I passed the door that read 'Jane Austen, Clara Barton,' it opened and a girl my age stepped out of the door, bumping into me. She had light brown, shoulder length hair and light blue eyes. Her skin looked like porcelain and she was beautiful. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she said, helping me to my feet.

"No, it's fine. I was in the way." I told her, grabbing her extended hand.

"Hey, I've never seen you around here? Are you new?"

"Yeah. My name's Eliza Ashton." I told her. I thought that I should tell her my name, she seemed like friend material. And I knew that she was either Jane Austen or Clara Barton, both people I had done projects on in grade eight.

"My name's Clara!" So she was Clara Barton. "It's a pleasure to meet you! If you need any help finding your dorm, I'd be happy to help." she offered, a gentle smile on her face.

"That would really help, actually." I said, letting her lead the way. I could feel my heart beating again. I idolized Clara Barton. "Clara, you have no idea how much of an honour it is to be in your presence." I couldn't believe I just said that. It made me sound like some sort of creepy stalker. "What I mean is, your work as a nurse and humanitarian is astonishing. When I did a project on you in grade eight, it was such a pleasure." Clara laughed.

"Thank you very much," she said and let out a deep sigh "but those days are over. I am no more a nurse, a humanitarian or a teacher. I am just a teenager."

"Um, but you're still a great person." I told her, feeling a bit awkward. Clara laughed.

"Thank you. What room is your dorm?" she asked. I checked my timetable.

"Room 253." I said.

"249, 250, 251, 252... Here we are! 253!" she exclaimed, tapping the door. The name 'Lily Blackwell.' "Well, I leave you here. I'll come see you after school, alright?"

"Alright. Thank you Clara." I said, watching Clara leave. I found the key Mrs. Burke had given me and used it to open the door. The room's walls were painted a light purple with numerous paintings on them. There were two beds, one with black and purple floral bedding and another with black and purple stripes. The one with the stripes had stuffed animals on it, so the floral one had to be mine. Beside the bed was a black night table with a rose shaped lamp on it. In front of the bed was a black dresser. In front of the dresser was a black desk. The other side, which was my roommate's, was parallel to mine. I opened the closet and found that the entire thing was full with clothes, uniforms and casual clothing. On the bottom of the closet lay a picture of Gabriel. I didn't know how it got there, but I picked it up and put it on my dresser, staring at it for a moment. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling fan. Just as I was starting to drift to sleep, I heard the door open.

"Oh, you must be my roommate." a girl with long black hair and emerald eyes said.

"Hi, my name is Eliza Ashton." I told her, getting up from the bed. Her eyes widened and she looked stunned to see me.

"I'm Lily Blackwell. It's nice to meet you." she said, tossing her bag on her bed. "I'd love to talk more, but I have to leave." Lily smiled at me. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Okay." I answered her, watching her leave. I fell back on the bed and started drifting into a sleep again. So far, I was finding the school alright, but I still missed Gabriel and my actual life.