Lance wearily raised his eyelids; the sun’s bright rays and the salty ocean water brought a sting to his eyes.  “Where am I…? Am I even alive…?” were the questions that rang in his mind. Trying to bring himself up, he coughed up more sea water, his eyes still burning. He always heard that plane crashes ended in death, but it seemed he was one of those lucky ones; those that lived. Gathering strength into his arms, he lifted himself into a sitting position.

He covered the top of his eyes, so he could look at his surroundings without the light’s glare in his eyes.  A sandy beach, which he realized he was sitting on, was the outer ring of a great tropical forest. He then brought attention to the climate; humid, warm and damp. His whole entire being was soggy, making him sweat with the current weather conditions. Digging his brown boots into the earth, he stood up; dazed still from the recent events.
“Gosh, I never would of gotten on that plane if I knew this was going to happen.” he said out loud to himself, taking off his heavy leather coat. When you lived in Boston, it was unusual to wear a coat year round. But then again, Lance was an unusual fellow. Unlike most of his peers, he was cold natured and distanced him slightly from people. In seventy degree weather, he would be complaining about the air conditioner on while others were sweating from the heat. Yet, being a tad queer, he was intelligent and top of his class. This climate, however, was perfect for him.

Hanging the coat on his arm, he started to walk towards the jungle; unaware he was being watched.

***

Unbeknown to him, a young woman was watching him, within a tree that stood in the forest in front of the beach. She curled her small hand around the blade she was previously precariously balancing in between her fingers. Her eyes narrowed, suspicious.

"Another human like myself, drifted ashore. How intriguing. Hm, possibly he may have a boat nearby? Highly unlikely, but there's always that chance. I will tell Remilia of this, after I deal with him."

Standing up on the branch she was seated on a few moments earlier, she launched herself on to the ground, in front of the man. She took a dominate stance, raising her blade at his heart.

"Who are you, and how did you come here?".

She could see he was clearly taken back by her present, flailing his arms in front of him. “Hey! Whoa, there. Let’s calm down here…” he replied, taken a couple steps back from her blade. “My name’s Lance, alright? Lance Hamilton. My plane crashed over the ocean, and I guess the sea’s waves brought me to this island.”; his facial expression then changed, from fright to curiosity and bewilderment.
He brought his hands to his face and then to his chest, patting himself like he wasn’t convinced he was alive or all there. “What is this? Is this some sort of dream? Did I die?”  he asked.

She glared at Lance, retaining her position. "If he honestly thinks I'm going to back down for him, he has another thing coming.". After passing this thought, she raised her head up, giving a smug smirk at the pathetic man that was struggling to understand the concept of her being a reality.

"I am Aimi; my sister and I have inhabited this island for many, many days. How many? I do not know, we have lost count. Possibly years have passed. It is... unfortunate that your plane has crashed, with no other means of transportation. Because, you see, there is no way to get off this island.
We're stuck in the middle of the ocean, where the waters are rough and merciless. I hope you like eating bugs." she laughed, with an air of arrogance surrounding her.

“Aimi…” he whispered to himself; he then bent down to grasp the earth, rubbing the sand and dirt between his fingers; mumbling to himself. He straightened back up, looking at her in the face. “I’m sorry for the outburst, alright?” He held his hand out for a gentleman’s introduction. "So... I'm in the Bermuda, eh? Well it could be worse. I mean I could be out in that ocean, and I think I'll pass on the bugs." he joked with a soft smile.


"...Uh huh." Aimi replied simply. Lance seemed to be genuinely true, and not putting on a mask like she remember how he was like. Adrian was the reason why they were here in the first place; but there was no reason to worry about him now, he was gone.
Slowly, she brought her weapon down to her side, but she did not sheathe it. A gale started to blow, causing her red hair to ripple in it's path. She looked up towards the clouds, analyzing the sky. The sky's shade of blue turned into a pale gray during their conversation, with droplets of rain arriving to the earth.

"A hurricane coming this way. Follow me if you want to live." she said coolly. She then turned on her heel and walked into the dense jungle.

***

The debris from the great hurricane flew through Lance’s brown hair as it approached, the claps of thunder filling the air. The wind was now starting to pick up, growing stronger with each passing moment. “How much longer till w-” but he was interrupted by Aimi’s hand, which shot up to silence him.

“We’re here.” she replied. Lance looked over her shoulder, seeing a clearing among the brush. In the middle of this clearing, was a small hut of sorts, made of palm leaves,  wood, sticks and other assorted materials. For something so fragile looking, it didn’t even shift in the strong gusts blowing.

“Hello sister, I see you have brought me some new craving material…”.

Lance looked around, hearing this strange, new voice. But to no avail, no one was in sight. He knew it wasn’t Aimi, it sounded different, though it was obviously female. It sounded eerie, and… Ghostly. Soundly he felt a chill, like God had brought the artic air in this one area. It was odd, and disturbed him slightly.
“I’m so sorry, Remilia. You’ll have to keep using animals and wood for your art… For now at least. We’re going to shelter this wonderer for the night, he could be a useful laborer; and we wouldn’t want him to get injured in this dreadful storm.” Aimi replied softly, a smirk forming on her lips.
The voice sighed in disappointment at Aimi’s words. “And I thought you had come and gotten be a present.” it said, sighing again. He felt the air grow colder and colder, any moment now he was expecting snow instead of the rain which was starting to pound the earth like a hammer to a nail. “Well, I suppose we could use the extra help. But you know what happens if he tries to do what that other cursed man did.”

“Of course.” Aimi replied, rolling her eyes. “This man is a worm, he wouldn’t dare do anything that would jeopardize his life. Would you, Lance?” turning to face him, eyes glaring.

“Uh…” was all he could make out, he didn’t even know what this guy did, and they were expecting him to answer? But more importantly, where or what was that voice coming from? It seemed friendly to Aimi, but completely hostile to him. He didn’t dare ask, he felt like he was lucky just being offered shelter for the night, he wasn’t going to risk it by questioning things he didn’t even understand. The woman seemed rather on edge currently. Aimi twisted in the direction the voice original came from, apparently expecting an answer from it.
The voice chuckled, amused at his loss for words. “I suppose you can find him somewhere to sleep, Aimi. But, he shouldn’t expect any help from me.”
Aimi nodded, and turned her head back towards him once more. “You may stay on the opposite side of the hut, on the floor. You can go gather some leaves or something, before the hurricane fully arrives. You only have ten minutes now, so chop-chop!" She started walk away towards the hut; her hips swaying gracefully with every step.

Lance didn’t even want to risk not being able to stay inside, so he rushed behind her closely; digging his feet into the ground with every step, the wind was stronger than ever and could easily push him down if he wasn’t paying attention. Finally, they got to the humble abode, entering with quickly. Lance looked around, it looked even more fragile on the inside than outside. Some twigs were protruding out of the walls, and parts of leaves barely staying put on the ceiling. It was amazing that it hadn’t collapsed by now, in this amount of time of him being here.
Amelia kneeled over a pile of huge palm leaves, some the size of his torso, and picked two up. She stood up, and threw them at his face. Barely catching them before the attempted impalement. “Gee, is this how you treat all your guests?” he asked jokingly. Sure, it took him by surprised but he wasn’t going to scream over something so petty.
"Wouldn't know, the last 'guest' Remilia and I had, ended up buried on the other side of island." she replied coldly. Two phrases in that sentence bothered him; that name Remilia and that her last guest is dead, buried somewhere on the opposite side of the land.

“Could this woman be a murderer?” .

He shook the feeling, either way he might die, whether she was a murderer or not. He’d rather take his chances with a possible ally then risk failing alone and creating an enemy. His thoughts were interrupted by Aimi speaking.
“Here's the rules, boy. As long as you stay on this island, you will abide to them. One, you will not be in the hut, in any form or fashion when I need to dress. In fact, you have to be outside, behind the house. And I'll have Remilia watching you. Two, you are not to get close to my bed at all. If I find you even an inch closer than I want you to be, you're going to be meeting Retribution's hard, cold hilt."; referring to the sword she held in her other hand.
"More rules will be added when they need to be, but those are the top two as of right now. From now on, you talk to me whenever something is amiss. This me and my sister's island, and we have inhabited it for a long time. So it would be wise to do as the natives' wish." she said hotly.

"Now, I'm heading to bed as I am." tossing aside her sword on a makeshift table that was positioned under a window next to her bed. Her bed was a large hammock made of fishing net, nailed to the wood-palm leaf hut. You'd think it wouldn't be sturdy, but it was surprisingly so.
She carefully slid herself under a tattered blanket, trying to avoid Lance being able to see up her skirt. She put both of her arms behind her head, closing her eyes. With a smug smirk, she spoke "It's fairly late, and we're waking up early tomorrow to show you around the island.".

“Who does she think she is?” Lance was awestruck by Aimi’s demanding attitude. “And who’s this Remilia? Is she her sister?” he questioned.  He finally decided he was going to ask.

“You have sister? Where is she? Is she that Remilia you were speaking of?”.

Aimi's eyelids snapped open, a reaction to Lance's question. She slowly sat herself up in the hammock, focusing her gaze on Lance's brown eyes. After what seemed to be an eternity, she blinked; with another sly smile creeping up on her face.

"Why, she's buried under your feet of course.”

Lance was shocked, by himself and the truth he was informed of. He felt sick, and heartless. After all, he lost his mother at such a young age, he could have at least thought of that possibility. I mean, he hadn’t seen her at all, and Aimi was calling her name; having a conversation with her when no one but himself was there. To his logic, it was all obvious; she was mentally unstable by her sister‘s death.

“Oh…I’m so sorry. I know how it is to lose someone close…” he replied, staring at his feet. Numerous questions started to pop up in his thoughts, such as how old was she? What did she look like? How was like she like? And how did she die? But he wasn’t going to ask, he knew better. It was rude to ask, not the way of a gentleman. Instead, he rolled his coat into make-shift pillow, dropped it on the ground, and laid down, his head resting on the pillow. Without a word, he slipped into a peaceful slumber.

***

Aimi laid awake for some time, waiting for Lance to try and pry more information concerning Remilia. But not a word was said more from the man, perking her curiosity slightly. "Interesting. Most people would try to get every little detail out of something like that. Humanity is so nosy sometimes. Tomorrow we'll see what Lance is made of...". She then drifted into an uneasy sleep.

When the sun rays peaked into the window of the tiny hut, Aimi awoke; groggy, grumpy and hungry. Still sleepy, she started to change her dressings, forgetting all about Lance being in the room. About mid-way into pulling down her clean blouse, she heard a voice.

“Ah hem.”.

Her eyes widen, staring at the wall in front of her; she realized what she was doing, and who was right behind her. Her cheeks turned ruby red, fully aware now that she was at one point, topless in front of him.

“Uh… Aimi?” she heard her sister’s voice next, clearly surprised by the sight she was seeing.

"It's like a broke my own rules..." the voice said inside Aimi’s head, clearly angry. Before she changed her skirt, and, of course; after she had pulled her blouse down completely, she turned to see Lance.
She expecting him to be staring at her with lust, but this was surprisingly not the case. Instead his face was turn to the wall; which was the opposite of her position. She knew Remilia was in the room, feeling her presence. She was greatly flustered by this whole situation, clenching her fist and swiftly walking towards the door; with one of her clean skirts in hand. Before she exited, she stopped in front of Lance, who was still facing the wall.

"I'm dressing outside, stay here." she said coldly, exiting the little hut, walking towards the back of the abode and finished changing garments.

***

Lance felt slightly embarrassed at what had just happened, it’s not like he did anything or saw something he shouldn’t have. But he was fairly sure that Aimi thought otherwise. He sighed, turning away from the wall now, since he was sure Aimi was away from his sight. He felt that chill again, the same chill that surrounded him and Aimi when she was supposedly talking to her sister, Remilia. Since no one was clearly there, he decided to talk to himself out loud about his feelings on this matter.

“So odd, that Aimi. She thinks her sister is still alive… And what is with this chill? Has God decided to spare me from this heat and descend the cool breezes of Boston in it’s wintry bless?”

“Now, I wouldn’t say that. And she doesn’t think I’m still alive, that’s just fool’s talk.” the mysterious voice said.

Lance heart was in his throat now, this was getting creepy. A crazy red haired woman, and that voice again. “W-who’s there?” he stuttered.

The voice sighed once again, it seemed whatever it was, it was impatient, or thought he would know whatever knowledge it expected. “I’m Remilia, of course.”
“R-Remilia? But, she’s dead!”.
“Of course I am. Otherwise you’d see me, duh.” Remilia was clearly  not amused by his lack of knowledge.
“What is this? Some sort of sick joke?”.
“No. Gosh, haven’t you ever heard of ghosts?”. Remilia’s words made sense, but he was still not convinced. He was thinking even wilder thoughts, like demons trying to buy his soul.
“B-but… Aren’t ghost normally seen? You‘re invisible! …I think.”.

“Do you believe every wives’ tale you’re told?” she retorted. Giving a small laugh, causing Lance to feel even more scared. He’s never encountered a ghost before, till now at least. Just then, Aimi walked into home; fully clothed of course; staring in the direction he was assuming Remilia was. Aimi turned her head, her face facing Lance. Apparently their ‘close encounter’ had no effect, as she gave no air of awkwardness what so ever, even though he was feeling a bit so.

“I’m guessing you finally figured it out?”. she asked.
“If you mean about Remilia, then yes.”.
“Well, you learned faster than I expected. By your actions yesterday, I thought you wouldn’t learn even in a week’s time.” Aimi replied smugly. “Come.” she gestured towards her, “I will now show you around the island.”.
Lance followed suit, though wondering why he was. “After a remark like that, I don’t see why I should even stick around with someone like her. Sure, she is beautiful, but her rudeness, arrogance and demeanor is disgusting.”
“Sister, I want to come also!” Remilia demanded, her chilling presence blanketing the air once more.
Aimi exhaled, frustrated. “Alright, fine. I was hoping you‘d stay and make more of your carvings, or fix the hut. You‘ll undermine my authority with this man…“.
“No I won’t. He isn’t Adrian after all…and I’m not as foolish as I was when I was alive.” Remilia replied coldly. Now Lance was confused, Adrian? How many people were here? Was there a whole tribe of men and women located somewhere? His imagination was creating wild images of people in loincloth or leaves, starving, and possible hungry for his flesh.
“Oh, what am I kidding? Am I honestly jumping to these conclusions?”

They had been walking for some time now, and Aimi had just finished showing him their ‘orchard’. An area which was completely made of fruit trees, bushes and other plants of all kinds. Bananas, coconuts, mangos; many verities of tropical fruit was there. He was incredibly hungry, so while Aimi wasn’t looking, he picked an orange and started to eat it; peel and all. However, Remilia had saw and ratted him out, which brought a great lecture from Aimi.
“What were you thinking!? Do you think these things grow on trees!?” she exclaimed violently.
“Uh, yes! As you can tell, they’re on trees right now!” Lance riposted, laughing at Aimi’s obvious blunder of word choice.
“That’s not what I meant, idiot! We have to conserve these fruits, we can’t pick them off the trees whenever we want a snack! We have our lives and our bellies to think about! You’re going to have to be following a strict diet, since now the island has to feed two people. No more then two fruits today, and two vegetables. And we eat meat, lots of meat. There is lots of wild game on this island, feeding off the lush grass, insects and wild vegetation. So expect to do a lot of hunting.”
“Alright, alright!” Lance replied, “I’m sorry, okay? “
“What ever.” she said hotly, and started to walk off. “Are you coming, or are you going to sit there on your bum?” she asked.
Lance rolled his eyes, “Okay, okay. I’m coming.”. getting up, and following her. There was only a little more of the island he hadn’t seen yet, and then they would go fix lunch for themselves. They walked, and walked. Step after step, the forest’s mud clinging to their shoes. Soon, they arrived at the shore, in a different area from where Lance had landed.
Taking a look around, Lance saw everything you’d typically see at a beach. Sand, seashells, the tide crashing into the land, rocks, and many other things. What was unusual, was the large mound that was at the border of the jungle and beach.
“What is that?” pointing in it’s direction. Aimi looked over, narrowing her eyes.

“That’s Adrian.” she replied.

“Adrian?”.

“Yes, Adrian.” Aimi said, obviously getting annoyed by his questions.

“How did he die?” Lance asked.

“I killed him.”.

This made Lance nervous, “So, my theory was correct… She did kill him. But why? Out of spite? Mercy? Or did he do something? Wait, they kept referring him as cursed, so he must have been bad in some way. What did he do? I have to know.”
“Why?” he asked, trying to keep his composure. Aimi stopped walking, and turned to face him. Her expression was stern, but her eyes betrayed her; clouded with emotions of sorrow and pain.
“It’s none of your business. What happened in the past, stays in the past..” and without a word, she walked away. Lance was about to go after her, but Remilia stopped him.
“No, Lance. Nothing you say or do will heal the wound that Adrian inflicted on his.” she said softly.

“But, why? What did he do that was so terrible that she would kill him?” Lance asked, puzzled.

“I’ll tell you the story, but I beg you not to bring it up again to her.” Remilia pleaded, Lance nodded in agreement. “Alright… Our father was a politician who owned a boat, a beautiful one. One day, we left our mansion in Baltimore, to sail to Florida. Me, Aimi, our father and his assistant to whom I was engaged to, Adrian.
I loved him…I loved him so much. And the first weeks on the sea were pure bliss. I had my sister, my father and the man I loved, on the beautiful ocean. But then, all of the sudden a hurricane came out of no where, and blew our boat off course… Into the Bermuda Triangle. The waves suddenly became rougher, and the wind howling, blowing fiercely. We hit something, a rock, another wreckage, or possibly a sea monster. My sister doesn’t believe about the monster though, but I do. I blacked out, and when I awoke, I was on this island. My Adrian next to me, and Aimi some few feet away. Our father never appeared, his body lost at sea, we believe.
Aimi never liked Adrian, and I never understood why. She kept accusing him of trying to get her to bed with him, but I never believed her. After all, I thought she was jealous because, being her younger sister, I had found husband while she had not. Well, I was wrong.
One night, much like this day’s will be, me and Adrian were walking along this very beach. The moon was full, the skies were clear, and the stars were brighter than ever. We stopped, staring at the endless sea. He brought me close, embracing me. He said he had a confession to make. ‘What is it?’ I asked, bewildered on what secret he had kept from me. H-he told me he never loved me…” Remilia, sounded like she was crying, but no tears were seen from where her spirit stood. “He said he was just using me, he hated me in fact. He hated my family, and really was trying to get Aimi in bed. He said out of the two of us, she was most beautiful, and desirable. And sleeping with her while being engaged to me would cause great pain in our family, destroying our reputation as well.
He said since she kept rejecting him, that he was going to get closer to my father, to the point that if something happened to him, he could take his place. I don’t know how he could do something like that, but he said he could. A-and then…” Remilia sobbed, “He stabbed me in the back, with the dagger my father gave him before the trip. It tore through my muscles, and into my heart. He hated me that much, he said that he was going to rape Aimi, and kill her when he was done with her. He would rather be alone on this island then with the two of us.
N-now, Aimi was nearby, and she heard everything. She jumped out, with Retribution in her hand, running directly at Adrian, impaling him in the stomach.”

“So…you were killed my the man you loved…” Lance said softly, staring at his hands which he intertwined.

“Yes… Aimi tried to save me, but the knife created a large hole in my heart. She went and buried me in clearing, where the hut is now built. And after stabbing his body a few more times out of anger, she buried Adrian so the beach wouldn‘t smell.”

“But why are you a ghost? Why didn‘t you go on to Heaven or Hell?” Lance asked, the reason for ghost being created was never explained to him, but he didn’t think even experts in the paranormal knew.
“Because my spirit couldn’t. I couldn’t leave Aimi here, all alone, after what had just happened. I couldn’t do that to my sister. So I’m stuck here on Earth, till she’s off this island or dead.” Remilia answered.

“I see. But tell me, do you honestly think that we’ll ever get off this island? And why can‘t you go to the states and ask for help? After all, you have no body now, you wouldn‘t drown.”

“Honestly, I don’t know. And as for your second question, I’m bound to Aimi, I just, literally can’t leave her. We’ve tried, and I just…freeze up. I have to go back to her. This is why many ghosts and demons don’t leave the grounds of whatever they haunt. They‘re bound to something, whether it‘s an item or the area itself.” she replied. By this time, the sun was setting, and Aimi was no where in sight. They had completely forgotten about lunch, and Lance’s stomach was growling unpleasantly.

“I suppose we should head back to the hut.” Lance observed, watching the sky be painted by sun into many beautiful color combination.
“I guess so. But I must say, Lance…” Remilia replied, “My first impression of you was incorrect, and for that I’m sorry. After Adrian, me and Aimi find it hard to trust a man…”

“Please, Remilia. I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m sorry that you and your sister had to experience such a sick thing, it’s apparent that even some people in this day and age can not be civil.”



When Lance and Remilia reached the clearing, they found Aimi hunched over a fire with a battered pot. Next to her, where two turtle shells, fruits, spices and many other items. “What is this?” Lance asked.
“Dinner, come here and gut the other turtle for me. You can use Remilia’s carving knife if you want.” she replied.

“But that’s what I use for carving my starfish!” Remilia protested.

“Don’t worry, Remilia. I have no need of it. I have a dagger right here.” Lance said, reaching into his boot and pulling out a dagger. He then walked over, and started carving the dead turtle’s flesh from within the shell. Aimi stared at his hand, studying the blade. “What?” he asked.

“You’ve been armed the whole time? With a dagger?”

“Not just a dagger…” he said quietly.

“…What else do you have?” Aimi demanded. Lance sighed, putting the turtle and his blade down. Pulling up his shirt partly, he revealed two holsters, one on each side; each one holding a firearm of some type. Aimi’s were filled with emotions, some he couldn’t pinpoint. But he knew one of them; fear.
“I didn’t want you two to find out this way…” he said.

“W-what are you?” Remilia asked, frightened.

Lance sighed, obviously not looking forward to this moment. He brought his hand to his neck of his shirt, and pulled out an identification tag, normally a sign of someone in the army.

“I’m a soldier for the United States of America. I was drafted a year ago, and have been in training for a year.  Apparently my skills were so exceptional that I was selected to be on an undercover mission, thus why I’m so lightly armed for a soldier and dressed in civilian clothes.
Another great war is on the brink of creation, and we’re trying to stop it. Me and my comrades were headed to Germany from Florida, but we were shot down, and I’m the only survivor from the plane.” Lance explained. He was being to get nervous, as Aimi just continued to stare at him, and Remilia remained silent.

“Why did you keep this information away from us?” Remilia asked after some time.

“I didn’t know where I was, I could have been in enemy territory for all I knew. I had to make sure you weren’t a threat, but Aimi didn’t make a good first impression…”. Aimi rolled her eyes at this remark; “But, forgive me Remilia, when Remilia told me of your story of coming here, I understand you were no threat to me or America.” Lance explained.

“I understand.” Aimi answered, sincerely. This was the first time Aimi actually sounded kind, maybe she finally trusted him. “Now please, help me with dinner. The turtle meat may rot.” And so they continued,  finally they enjoyed the fruits of their labor, a very delicious turtle soup. With their bellies full, and Remilia gone to carve starfish again; she had a strange obsession with them; they went to bed, separately of course.  


Lance was chopping at the tree with under the hot afternoon sun, his pores screaming from the heat. He was chopping a tree with Redemption, Aimi’s other sword. The question never occurred to him on why Aimi had swords in the first place, and such finely crafted ones at that. So, the night before, he decided he would ask her, among other questions in their conversation.

“So…” Lance started, sleepy from the warmth of the soup in his stomach, and the air surrounding them in the small hut. “Why do you have a sword with you? I know you were from the states, and that you’re a civilian.”
“Swords. I have another hidden underground, near Remilia’s body. My father was collector of swords, some he owned were the most beautifully crafted in the world. I inherited that love for blades, he was planning on giving me Retribution and it’s sister blade, Redemption, after we arrived in Florida. Since traveling by boat would take some time, it would be me and Remilia’s birthday by the time of arrival.” Aimi replied.

“So wait, you and Remilia are twins?” Lance asked, surprised.

“Yes, we were fraternal, and I am the elder one.” she replied, giving one of her famous sighs of irritation. “When we woke here, amazingly the swords and Remilia’s craving knife, which was going to be her present, washed ashore with us. We call it a miracle of God that he supplied us with them.”

“I see…”  Lance replied, touching his hand to his chin, thinking about this new found knowledge. He wasn’t entirely focused, oh no, he was thinking more about what he was about to ask Aimi.
“Aimi, I understand Remilia is soul bound to you and this island. She can’t pass on to the after life until you escape from here, or you die. Do you want Remilia to pass on?”

“What are you saying?” Aimi asked, narrowing her eyes.

“I’m saying, we should both try and escape this island, for the sake of ourselves, and more importantly, Remilia‘s soul.” Lance answered, trying to stay calm. He didn’t know how she would react to something like this, to some people, it would be implying to take away their sibling again.
“Remilia and I have already tried to escape the island, the waters are too rough. It’s a death wish to go out there.” Aimi answered.
“We have to try again. It’s either die while trying, or die on this island and never had the courage to try to get back to civilization. “ Lance protested, he wasn’t going to give up till she was convinced otherwise. He was going to try, death by sea or not. And he wasn’t going to leave her alone here.

Aimi stared at Lance, her eyes full of thoughts he would probably never know. Her left hand was up to her lips, her right hand holding the left elbow. She reclined a little more into the hammock, still in deep thought. So Lance waited, and waited. It seemed like an eternity had passed when she finally answered.

“Alright, let’s do it. Tomorrow morning we can start building the boat. You may borrow Redemption to chop and cut things, I will, as always, use Retribution. I believe we should go to bed now.”

Lance shook himself mentally, recalling the conversation had left him distracted. He started to once again, focus on chopping down the thick tree he had been since early morning. His thoughts started to drift once again, to Aimi and Remilia.
Lance had grown an attachment to Aimi and Remilia. Remilia was so kind, and sweet, like many younger girls were.
From what Remilia told him, Aimi was a bit like her before what happened with Adrian. They had always been different spirits though, while Remilia was interested in dresses, corsets, and powdering noses, Aimi showed no love for them. “I will always think of Remilia as a little sister, even if I’ve only known her after death.” he told himself, smiling. Now he was thinking about… Aimi. He had such a deeper attachment to her, and it seemed to grow so quickly even after such a short time. She was beautiful, underneath the hard shell she tries to portray, he knows there’s a soft  and gentle woman; hardened by a past experiences. He wasn’t sure how he felt about her, but he knew whatever it was, it was incredibly strong.

“Look out!” screamed Aimi, tackling him, the sword flying out of his hand, the blade hitting his knee on the tumble down, tearing his flesh. But that wasn’t the worse that happened, a loud creak was heard south of them, branches rustling. A crash was heard, and rip was felt somewhere inside of his knee.
Tears streamed down his face, from the pain of whatever was whole; was now in two pieces. Seeing through his clouded eyes, a blur of the tree he was chopping on top of his knee. Next to the tree, he saw Aimi trying to left it with all her might.

“Remilia! Remilia! Come here!” Aimi cried, grunting in frustration as her failed attempts to left the heavy timber of his leg. Soon he felt Remilia’s chilling existence with them, “Remilia, left this thing, it’s on top of Lance’s leg!” Aimi demanded, tears in her eyes as well. This confused Lance, as he never thought Aimi could be so distraught about someone outside of her sister.
Though he could not see her, he was sure Remilia acknowledged Aimi. He felt the weight diminish, till all he felt was sharp pain from whatever snapped.

***

Aimi helped Lance back into the hut, supporting his side gingerly. His left knee was inward, something that wasn’t natural. The first thing they did when they were finally inside, was carefully sit Lance down on a chair. He winced as he sat down, his knee still unmovable from the tree falling on it.
“I’m want a better look at it. Let me roll up your leg.” she said softly, this was no time to be cold or heartless. After all, last time there was an injury, Remilia didn’t make it. Starting to roll up his leg, Lance howled in pain; Aimi stopped immediately and looked at the direction she knew Remilia was. “You don’t think you could just, you know, look through his pant leg or something?” Aimi said desperately.

She heard Remilia‘s sigh irritably, imagining her rolling her eyes like she always did. “I‘m a ghost, not a super hero.” she said coolly, but her voice was more gentle when she spoke again; “I’m sorry, Aimi. And Lance. I wish I could, but I can’t. I’m not a miracle worker.”
“Don’t be sorry, Remilia. All of this is my fault anyway…” Lance said quietly; she got the impression he was one to take the blame, always.  Aimi glared at the remark, and pulled up his pant leg forcefully as a response to his words. He once again howled in pain, screaming “What was that for!?” at Aimi.

“Don’t say things like that.” she said, gently touching the skin that encased his kneecap and all his body‘s works.

“I’m sorry.” he replied, slightly surprised by her reaction.

She grunted as an acknowledgment, cleaning a wound from something that tore into his flesh, with some water and a very ragged towel. “You tore a ligament in your knee, and before you ask how I know that, our father used to be a doctor. He made good money too, and helped many good people… Shame he went into politics in my opinion.”

“I see.” was all he said, staring down at Aimi. “I think I’ll retire now.” brushing away her hand, and gently slipping off the chair onto the floor. Remilia laid down on her bed made of leaves; as always, never leaving an indent of her none existent body. Aimi bit her lip, as she saw Lance endure the pain of his knee, while laying on a dirt floor. She couldn’t help but feel guilty. What she was about to do, however, would be something her former self would shame her for.

“You can sleep with me.” she blurted out, a slight tinge of pink appearing on her cheeks. She then felt Remilia’s mood change from sleepy to curious, she knew she was awake and listening closely.
“Ex-excuse me?” he stuttered, the same shade of pink on his cheeks as well.
“Not that!” she retorted, “I mean… You can sleep in the hammock with me. But don’t try anything! Remilia will know, and I’ll stick Retribution somewhere we don’t want to go.”
“I--” he started, she could tell he honestly didn’t know how to reply to something like this. “Thank you.” he finally finished.
With some help, she lifted Lance into the hammock, and afterwards moving his left leg into a comfortable position for him. Then, with a small, but deep, breath, she climbed in next to him. And blew out the candle, the night blanking the inside of the little home.
She was afraid now that this was a bad move, not necessarily for her, but for Lance as well. It was a hammock after all, not a proper bed. The movement of two bodies could cause him discomfort, but apparently he was quite comfortable. She shifted to her side, facing Lance. She always slept like this, and if he thought she was just trying to get closer to him, he was very wrong.

At least that’s what she wanted him to think.


She couldn’t sleep, she knew it had been hours since originally entering the hammock. Lance was fast asleep, and Remilia as close as a ghost to get to slumber. The wind started to pick up, with a cold breeze flowing through the window next to her. She felt it caress her back, but it was all but welcoming. She shivered, tightening her fist around the tiny blanket. Normally it would be enough, but with two people it was impossible to be warm enough. Against her conscious wishes, but secretly in alliance with her subconscious, she moved her body against Lance’s warm body. It was a long time since she was so close to another person, man or woman. It was a wonderful pleasure, and she clenched up against his jacket, trying to get closer, even though it was impossible to be any closer. Lance, more in likely dreaming, unknowing and unexpectedly turned to face Aimi, putting his arm around her. But, she didn’t move it, no. Because she too, was asleep.

***

Lance awoke from his slumber, becoming conscious to the world around him. He didn’t open his eyes, he didn’t want to wake up. He was having the most pleasant dream, though it was a rather foggy memory of it. What he did remember, was splendid.
“I remember, I was in a ballroom. Like the one we had at home, but it was decorated in white and gold. I was in my nice suit, standing. Waiting for someone. Then, a girl appeared, atop the stairs in a gorgeous gown. Her face was veiled, but I knew she was beautiful, and I smiled at the sight of her. She descended gracefully down and onto the floor, in front of me. Oh, what beauty to behold! The band started to play a sweet number, and we started to waltz. After the song was over, we stopped dancing, standing there, facing one another. I started to lift her veil, to give her a loving kiss… And that’s all I recall.”
Sighing with slight remorse, he opened his eyes. The sight he saw shocked him, Aimi curled up next to him, her head on his chest. His arm was around her also, something he did not realize before. Feelings of warmth and happiness slowly enveloped him. He looked around; even though he couldn’t see Remilia, he didn’t feel her presence. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he wrapped his arm tighter around Aimi, pulling her closer. A small sigh came from her, but she did not stir. He smiled, it sounded quite adorable to him.
He closed his eyes once again, slipping away into sweet slumber again.


“Ah! What are you doing!?” Aimi yelled, falling out of the hammock, and almost sending Lance with her. He sat up straight, alert, firearm in hand, twisting his head back and forth assume something was afoot.
“What happened!?” he asked.

“You!” grabbing her blade, Aimi pointed it at him. “What do you think you were doing, eh pervert!?”

“Pervert? What are you talking about?”

“Your arm, it was around me! Where you trying to get under my skirt!?” she asked, demanding an answer.
“No! What do you take me as? Adrian?” Lance retorted, getting more annoyed by how irrational Aimi was being. After all, she was the one that cuddled up to him. “That’s it!”
“Wait, what about you? You were the one that cuddled up next to me!”

“I was not cuddling you! And don’t ever mention his name!” Aimi replied hotly, jabbing the air with Retribution in Lance’s direction.
“Don’t you bully me with that thing!” Lance replied, his temper quickly rising. He then thought of a way to disarm her. Carefully, he got of the hammock in her direction; which she backed up as he was doing so, and stood up, gun aimed at her. He faked a wince, dropped his gun and grabbed his knee.
“Ouch!” he lied.

Aimi’s expression changed, apparently realizing she was threatening an injured man. Dropping her sword, she came over to Lance’s side. “Are you ok?”  she asked, slightly bending to try and look at his knee.
“Ah ha!” Lance exclaimed, grabbing both of wrists, pulling her closer. “Not all big and bad without your blade now, are you?” he said smugly, looking at her  face.

“You’re horrible. You tricked me so you could have the advantage!” she answered, also looking at his.

“Oh, did I? Or were you so gullible to believe I’d show weakness in the heat of battle?”

“You know I could still kick you there, right?”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“I would.”

They both realized they had nothing more to say, the argument was over. But they didn’t move. They continued to stare at each other, Lance couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Why can’t I stop looking at her? I mean, I can but… I don’t want to. Her eyes are so beautiful, her hair is soft and shiny. I don’t understand how I feel…”

“Aimi? Lance? What are you two…doing?” Remilia asked, apparently she had returned from her carvings. Lance let go of Aimi’s wrists, and looked the other way, his cheeks pink. Aimi also looked the other way, pretending she was looking for something.

“Uh, nothing.” they both replied in unison.

“I see…” Remilia giggled; if she still had her body, Lance was sure she’d be smiling ear to ear out of amusing of catching them at an awkward moment. “It’s late morning, I would say you two should have something to eat, and work on the raft the best you can.”


It was tough fasting things together with vines, or at least in Lance’s opinion. Aimi had practice at it, from being on the island so long, she finished her half of the raft while Lance was still struggling with one.
“I thought you were a military man.” she said, sitting beside him, helping with the ropes. “I would think they’d teach you these kind of things. Survival and what not.” Lance smiled, the tension from the morning seemed to finally blown over, they had been almost silent since then.
“Oh, they do. But I’ve only been in training for a year, so my skills aren’t exactly that of an expert‘s.”

“Or an amateur for that matter.” Aimi riposted. Lance laughed at her remark, she was absolutely correct.  

“Well, the raft is finish.” she announced, tying the last vine firmly. “When do you suggest sailing?”

“Tomorrow morning. Do you have any way of preserving food?” Lance asked.

“Yes, we have a couple of spices on the island we can use to preserve with. We should start hunting and cooking right away.” Aimi replied, getting up and unsheathing Retribution, it’s hilt glimmering in the sunlight.
“I call hunting!” Lance exclaimed happily, pulling out his revolvers. “I haven’t practiced with my guns since I was in Florida! “I suppose I’ll be harvesting fruits to eat tonight, for the raft and cooking? And how are you going to hunt with a torn ligament?” Aimi said irritably.
“Of course… Not.” Lance kidded, smiling, “I’ll help you cook. And Remilia can help gather firewood. As for my knee; Aimi my dear, hunting with a gun doesn’t require running around and stabbing things. I can sit somewhere quietly, and get ’em in the head. “

“Sounds like a plan.” Aimi replied, and off they went to do their assigned chores.

Hours later…

With everything ready for tomorrow, supper served and eaten, it was time to head to bed.  Though, Lance was and wasn’t secretly looking forward to this, after what happened last night. He still didn’t understand his feelings completely about Aimi, but never the less, his excitement for being closer to Aimi grew stronger with every passing moment.
During his hunt, he yearned for her to be close by. Which is something he never felt before. When they were inside, Aimi and Lance stared at the hammock, and then each other; both having a pink tinge in their cheeks.

“Uh, you first I suppose.” Aimi mumbled.

“Maybe I should sleep on the floor tonig-” Lance started to say, but Aimi cut him off.

“No! No! Uh… There’s no need for that. You’re injured, remember? You’ll be useless tomorrow if you  don’t have proper support for it.” Aimi blurted, trying to sound apathetic about his pain, but failed very much so at. Lance nodded, and together they lifted him into the hammock, Aimi following after him. Almost immediately, they faced opposite direction of one another, Remilia giggled at this.
As the night pressed on, neither could sleep, the trip in the morning on their minds. The  cool wind was blowing, more harshly then the night before. Aimi shivered, as did Lance. For a split second, they looked at each other, but turned away as soon as they had turned to face one another. Remilia’s chilly presence started to make the whole room cold, goose bumps forming on Lance’s skin.
“I’m freezing, and this sad excuse for a blanket isn’t going to help. I need to sleep, otherwise I won’t have energy for tomorrow… Maybe… Maybe I should ask. I mean, if I’m rejected, I’m rejected, correct?” Lance thought, his nerves causing butterflies in his stomach.

“Y-You know, neither of us are going to be able to sleep being so cold.” Lance whispered, turning to face Aimi. “I mean, I swear to God I won’t do anything, and if we aren’t well rested tomorr-”

“Okay.” Aimi whispered back, turning herself over in Lance’s direction. Lance was surprised by such a simple reply, but he took it for granted. Lance held out his arms, as Aimi scooted into his embrace, both feeling rather embarrassed and their bodies tense from being so close.
Lance felt this was all his fault, that he and Aimi were forced to do this out of sake of survival. “Hey, I’m sorry that everything is like this…” he whispered in her ear.

“Shush, I’m trying to sleep. And none of this is your fault.” she whispered back, pulling herself a little closer. “To be honest…I kind of enjoy this. I mean, it’s been so long since I’ve felt another person in so long…”
Lance could feel his heart jump for joy, and he automatically tightened his grip around her, smiling happily. Falling asleep, Aimi’s words echoed in his mind, every time his heart jumping a little higher.


Later that night after…

The rain pounded on Lance’s coat mercilessly, drenching it. The waves rocked the little raft back and forth, tossing them to one side or the other. Looking up at to the heavens above, he could not see the moon or a single star, cruel clouds veiling them. He clung tightly to Aimi as the sea crashed into their boat again, pushing them in a direction they weren’t sure of.
“When will this end!?” Aimi shouted over the thunder and roars of the ocean. “How long has this been going on?”

“I’m not sure!” Lance replied, shielding his eyes from the rain. “Remilia, do you see anything? Anything at all?”

“Nothing, Lance.” she said, sadden. The rain couldn’t past through her ghostly spirit, creating a faint figure standing at the edge of the boat, her hands also covering the top of her eyes. From the back, he could tell Remilia looked very much like Aimi, even though they weren’t identical twins. Her hair was a tad longer that Aimi’s, and wavy. She was also smaller in build, she looked extremely fragile, under her foot was the hilt of her carving knife, with the blade sticking outside of her foot. She couldn’t get cut on it, so it wasn’t a problem to hold it with her foot.
She turned to face both of them, her face expressing much grief. “I’m going to go as far as I can, searching for land.” Remilia said, raising her hand to silence the protests that were about to come from Lance and Aimi. “I need to, and you will understand later.”
Remilia lowered herself off the raft, disturbing the water below even more than it previously was, and swam away. Lance watched till he could see her anymore, he then turned to Aimi, and embraced her. “I’m so sorry…if it ends this way.” he said, on the verge of tears. He felt like he had sentenced them to death, and Remilia to pass on in a terrible way.

“Don’t be, I didn’t have to agree with you, but I did, didn’t I?” she chuckled, looking into Lance’s eyes. “You know… I have something to confess, but I’m not sure how to say it…”
Lance looked at her curiously, puzzled by her words. He had something to say too, but was it the same thing she was going to say? His heart started to race, out of excitement and fear of this confession.
“Well…I wanted to say, I…I-” but Aimi never got to finish her sentence, the raft had crashed into something, and they were thrown over board. Lance lost his grip of Aimi when they were thrown over, entering the icy water. He surfaced to the waves, turning his head in all sorts of directions, looking for Aimi.

“Aimi? Where are you!? Come on, speak to me!” he screamed over the noise, struggling to keep his head up. He vaguely saw Aimi’s figure treading water, and he swam over next to her. “Aimi, are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m alright. But where’s the raft?” as soon as she asked, a piece of lumber passed in front of them. “Never mind, my question has been answered.”

“What are we going to do? We can’t keep swimming in a storm!” Lance exclaimed.

“I don’t know, we’ll just have to take it as it comes.” Aimi said, staring at the water in front of her.































One year later…

****

Remilia watched carefully, smiling. This was the moment she had been waiting to see. Down below her, the dance was starting. Two figures were in the center of the grand ballroom, a husband and his bride. Even though the man had a terrible limp in his leg, they waltzed in perfect harmony.
The woman’s face was veiled, which was perfectly normal, but Remilia longed to see her face. Once the ballad finished, Remilia focused on the bride’s face, waiting impatiently for her new husband, who was facing the opposite direction of Remilia; to left the veil.
The man lifted the veil, to reveal Aimi’s face, with a large smile. She whispered something to the man, and he chuckled, spinning them both around. The man was Lance, also with grin. He leaned in, and kissed his new wife. And lead her outside to the balcony.
They both looked to the sky, in Remilia’s direction, waving. Remilia waved back, even though she knew that they couldn’t see her.

“I miss you Remilia, and I love you!” Aimi shouted, convinced that Remilia would hear her. She was right, and Remilia’s smile only grew bigger hearing those words.
“We promise we aren’t going on a cruise for our honeymoon!” Lance also yelled, Remilia laughed at his comment. They both went back into the ballroom, where the celebration of their marriage was taking place. Remilia leaned back on the cloud she was on, closing her eyes.

“It seems to be a happy ending, after everything that happened. I’m in Heaven, and they’re about to explore the joys of love.” Remilia thought, drifting into pleasurable thoughts.