Daria followed Stefan stealthily to his room and floated into the corner near the ceiling. She stayed in her shimmering state watching him study and talk to his roommate. One of his roommate's friends came by and took his roommate to play cards. Daria smiled wickedly, when they left and descended to Stefan's bed. As she sat, she shifted from the shimmering wraith to her human visage. She waited until her visage was stable, before she called to him.

Stefan sat at his desk studying with his back to the bed. He did not see Daria alight and shift there. She sat quietly observing him and contemplating what she would do to him. She moved off his bed and stole up behind him. She bent her head down close to his ear and whispered, "Stefan, I am here, can we talk?"

A surprised and confused Stefan sat up straight, whirled around and said, "Daria! How is this possible? You are in the hospital, not here. I must be dreaming."

"That is where you're wrong Stefan. I am here and watching your every move." She floated in front of him and rose up to the ceiling to show him her new form. "I can be seen only by you, as I am or as a shimmer in the air."

She floated back down to him, sat in his lap and coquettishly kissed him. Stefan yielded at first, but fear made him pull back and gawk at her. Her voice trilled almost cackled at his reaction. She sat back and slapped his face hard.

"Ouch, why did you do that? I didn't do anything."

"Right, you didn't do anything. You let me fall off the horse, instead of catching me. I broke my leg in three places and am in a coma. It happened because you were too busy to watch me. What does Naomi have that I don't? What do you see in her?"

Stefan's voice quavered as he began to answer, but Daria cut in and slapped him again. "You pay more attention to Marcia and Naomi, than you ever did with me. I want that to stop. I am better than both of them and we knew each other before they arrived. I am your girlfriend. I want you to forget them."

Stefan felt the vehemence from Daria, but still did not understand what happened. He attempted to stand but Daria held him down in the chair. She wasn't done with him yet. He sat confused and unable to think what to do next. His mind reeled in confused circles, as Daria befuddled him. He stopped facing her and forced his mind to think. His thoughts slowly came back and he recovered.

"I never said I was your boyfriend, you did. Ever since Marcia and Naomi arrived, you have plotted ways to keep me away from them. I am my own man and can think for myself. Leave me alone and go away. I don't want you or need you here!" Stefan retorted in a rising voice.

Daria rose off his lap, but grabbed his ear and pulled him to the bed. She put him on the bed lying down and she sat on top of his stomach. She scowled at him and slapped him again. He started to protest, but she raised her hand and he went mute. She reached out, grabbed his shirt and ripped it off him. With his bare chest exposed, she raked her fingers down him leaving deep red scratches.

Stefan wrapped his shirt around him as best he could. She hurt him with the scratches, but he did not want to show her. She poked his stomach and ribs to hurt him. She kept at him until he attempted to cover up and rolled her off him. She floated up off him and he hit the floor hard with his head. He lay on the floor momentarily blacked out from the impact. He moaned softly, as he regained his focus and moved away from the bed.

When Stefan sat up on the floor with his back against the wall, he looked up at Daria, as she floated above the bed. "What are you trying to do to me? Have I done something bad to you or hurt you? We are friends just as I am with Marcia and Naomi. That is all I want, just friends."

Daria glowered menacingly at Stefan, "You are MY BOYFRIEND, no one else's. I don't want you hanging out with Naomi or Marcia. Stay away from them!"

As he stood and sat back on the bed, Stefan appeared shocked at Daria's outburst. She sat demurely beside him, pinched him in the side and put her arm lovingly around his waist. As he sat with her, Stefan relaxed and felt comfortable. He hugged her, as she rested her head on his shoulder and played with his hair. He felt her poking his side trying to tickle him, but she kept missing. He smiled at her attempts, but he played into her hands for the next onslaught.

Daria pulled away from Stefan, lifted her hand and he cowered. She thought, "He is learning that I am in control. Now I need to bend him to my will." She put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She bent her head and narrowed her eyes looking at him. She kissed his cheeks and tried to kiss his lips, but he turned his head. Her face turned red, as rage welled up in her. She tried to hold his head still, but he rolled out of her arms and stood by the door.

Stefan decided to go on the offense with Daria and ask her questions. Because he was confused, he made only a desultory conversation with her. He wanted to know things that turned her against Marcia and Naomi. They were such nice girls and had interests that coincided with what he liked. He wanted to hang out with them and explore the school. He wished Daria were more like them. Maybe he could tell her that and she would listen.

"Daria, why do you hate Marcia and Naomi? What have they done to you? They are good friends to have and will protect you from people who want to hurt you."

"That may be true, but they are trying to steal you away from me. They can't have you."

"They don't want me as anything more than a friend. I just want to be friends, nothing more. We are exploring things around the castle. That is fun and we learn more about the school."

The coquettish Daria lay back on Stefan's bed patting beside her for him to join her. Stefan leaned against the wall next to the door unmoving. Daria used her most seductive look and sweetly asked, "Stefan please come lay beside me? I am so lonely and cold. Being a wraith is not fun and only you can see or hear me. Please come over here." Daria rolled seductively on her side to watch Stefan from her wanton eyes. She felt he would come over if she teased him a little more and showered him with thoughtfulness and desire.

Stefan cautiously asked, "Will you behave and stop hurting me?"

Daria slyly hesitant answered, "Of course Stefan, I only want you to like me and spend time alone with me. Please join me, I want to be close to you and feel your warmth and kindness."

Stefan reluctantly moved toward the bed, but a knock stopped him. He turned and opened the door to find Polina standing outside. She shook, as she stood there blabbering about Marcia and Naomi. "They left their room and went to the abandoned classroom. I followed them, but fell behind. When I got closer, I saw Hans talking with them. He looked angry and wanted to take them to see the headmaster. I did not know what to do, so I came to get you. Maybe we can figure something out and rescue them from Hans."

Daria pleadingly looked up at Stefan wishing he would stay with her. He glanced over at Daria and walked out of the room with Polina. Daria tried to throw a pillow at the door, but her hand passed through it. Instead, she screamed and yelled at Stefan as the door closed. Her anger rose and her voice sputtered expletives in Russian at the retreating pair. She changed back to the shimmering wraith and followed Polina and Stefan through the school.

When Polina and Stefan peeked around the corner near the abandoned room, they saw Hans arguing with Marcia. Naomi looked around and saw Stefan's face, as he looked at the scene. The look on her face pleaded with him to come to their rescue. Stefan turned to Polina and he saw she had an idea that might work to rescue the girls. Polina marched around the corner with Stefan next to her talking in a desultory manner. They approached the girls and Hans casually with no pretense anything was wrong.

"There you are we thought we lost you. You have to stay with us if you want to explore the castle. I am sorry Hans, Marcia and Naomi wandered away from us as we explored this part of the school." Polina coyly explained.

Hans looking flustered by the added students replied hesitantly, "O, oh, I did not realize they were exploring the school with you. I guess it is all right then and they can go with you back to your rooms. You have all had enough adventures for tonight."

"Thank you Hans for finding them, we will return to our rooms and retire for the night. Come on girls; let's get back to your room, that's enough exploring for the day." Polina commandingly said, as she took charge.

The group proceeded down the hall at a quick pace, until they were away from Hans' sight and hearing. When they were far enough away, they stopped and let out a huge sigh of relief. Marcia and Naomi smiled and hugged Polina for coming to their rescue. Stefan stood off away from the girls, almost afraid to get too close. He sensed the presence of Daria's wraith form and did not want to incur more of her wrath.

"That was amazing Polina how you took charge. You rescued us, when I thought we would end up in the headmaster's office. Thank you, so much." Marcia gratefully said. "That was a close call."

Stefan left the girls and proceeded to his room hoping Daria would leave him alone. The girls ran to Marcia's room with Daria following closely. They threw the door open, ran inside and locked the door behind them. Polina flopped on her stomach on Marcia's bed holding her head up in her hands propped on her elbows. Naomi fell into the guest chair with her legs tucked underneath her with her head resting on the stuffed arm.

Marcia looked at Polina and asked, "Did you notice Stefan tonight when he was with us? He seemed to stay away from us, afraid to get too close."

Polina thought for a minute, "He did look a little dour when I went to his room. He was not his normal loquacious self. He did not seem to want to go save you, but came slowly."

"There was definitely something wrong. I guess we will have to find out from him. I will be exploring the chapel more with him. I will ask him then."

Naomi piped up, "He avoided looking at Marcia and me. That was totally out of character for him. Marcia better find out what is wrong."