One wrong turn in the Ghost Zone could lead a person anywhere. This time, he'd ended up in a castle. By far, definitely not the first castle he'd been in, there were plenty, both lived in and abandoned, floating idly around the ghost zone. This definitely had to be the one with the brightest colors, however, with pale grayish-pink bricks and golden flags waving in the nonexistent wind. He was exploring and mapping out this dimension, wasn't he? May as well take a look inside... See if anybody friendly lived there or if he'd have to beware of yet another enemy. Hadn't been expecting to be immediately greeted by a perky, giggly, feminine voice calling, "Hi there!" "Um..." He looked around, but couldn't yet spot anybody. "Hello?" "Hi!" She giggled again, and faded into view right in front of him, apparently she'd been invisible. She was... Cute, for lack of better word. He found himself smiling at the girl in front of him, who couldn't be too much older than him in appearance, but he knew better than to judge based on looks. She could be a month old or a thousand, for all he knew. If he'd seen her in the street and not in the Zone, he probably wouldn't have guessed she was a ghost. Her skin was creamy and white, her hair was black as night. If it weren't for the swirly ghost tail waving excitedly in place of her legs, he might've thought she was a human, if oddly dressed with all the jewelry and magenta fabric adorning her. "I'm Danny," he smiled, feeling oddly relaxed. Nice ghosts were always a pleasant surprise. "I'm Princess!" Was that her name, just Princess? "It's so nice to meet you. Danny is a good name for a handsome boy like you!" He couldn't help the blush that made its way onto his face. Oh no, one of those kinds of girls. Human or ghost, fangirls were all the same. "Welcome to my castle!" She cheered, twirling around and then curtsying before him, though she was the royal one. "It's so lovely to have guests." He bent down slightly in a bow, may as well be respectful, or at least, entertain her. "Thank you for having me!" She grabs him by the arm gently, "Will you join me for tea?" "I kinda had to go," he says, eyeing the gate behind him, but the girl's wide pink eyes looked at him pleadingly. "But... I suppose one cup won't do any harm?" "Yay! Let's have a tea party, just you and me!" With that, she takes his hand in hers and pulls him along, floating up a set of stairs, one hand on the railing and humming a tune he didn't recognize. She sits him down in a plush chair, throwing a pretty lacy fabric over the table and smoothing it out, he chuckles as he watches her enthusiastically decorate the table, placing two porcelain teacups with heart patterns trailing over them, setting out one for herself and one for him. She places a candelabra in the center, and claps her hands when finished, proud of her work. "Now we can have tea!" She grabs a large pink teapot, he raises an eyebrow when he sees its size and bright hue, and she tips it, warm dark liquid pouring into the cup. He couldn't believe that it really was tea, he'd assumed she'd have some weird ghostly substitute, but no, it looked, smelled, and tasted (he'd taken a sip, of course he had, he couldn't disrespect the host) perfectly normal. "You don't want sugar?" She blinks, dropping cube after cube into her own drink, she liked it very sweet. "Maybe just one." He holds out his hand and she plops a cube into his palm, he in turn plops it into his tea. Soon they're idly chatting and she asks him about his life, he tells fascinating tales of his adventures as a ghost-human hybrid, her mouth gaping in awe and wonder. He asks about her afterlife, she talks of the castle and the servants that were apparently invisible, she tells of a knight she sent on a quest a month ago but he still hasn't returned, begs Danny to help her find him, he says he'll do his best as he maps out the rest of the Zone. He finishes his tea and places his cup down. "This was fun! I'd love to come back some other time, but I'm afraid I have to go home now. Bye Princess!" He gets up to leave but she grabs his arm once more, this time though, the grip isn't as friendly. "Where do you think you're going...?" "Home," he repeats. "You are home." "No, this is your home. My home is somewhere else." "My castle," she says simply. "My rules. You don't dare leave." Oh no. Why can't ghosts just stay friendly? "I'm sorry," he insists, not wanting her angry after the fun they'd had. "I really have to go. I can visit though!" "Nobody ever visits me," she laughs, but it doesn't sound happy. "They leave, and then they don't come back." "What are you talking about...?" "When I was human," she begins, he's shocked, most ghosts don't remember their past. "I had a prince. He was like you... Wait, no, not quite. His eyes were prettier, they were purple, not green. But otherwise the same - handsome, brave, heroic. And you know what he did? He took a portal back home, and left me to rot like a dead maple leaf. Is that what you're going to do? Take a portal home and leave me like he did?" "I don't have a choice, I'm sorry. I have to go!" "Don't ever say that again!" Her pink eyes glow fierce, her grip is now crushing his wrist. "You're not going anywhere. I'm never letting you leave."