Fourteen Years Later
One sunny morn, deep in a meadow of flowers, there sat a young brunette gal. She was adorned in the finest of silks her family could find; the lass was dressed in a pale, frilly yellow dress with black and white striped stockings under. Her shoes were black and polished to a tee, not a mark left on them - no doubt due to her butler's diligence. To tie it all together, her hair was held up by a white ribbon to match the one 'round her waist. This young maiden was Alice Maria Heartfear, only child of the noble Heartford household and the sole heir.
Prior to going out, the lass told her mother "I am going out to the meadow to pick flowers! I will be paying a visit to Julian Emberling afterwards!" and was met with the response "Very well, Alice dear, just be back in before dusk - that is when we will be having supper." "Okay, mummy!" Just as the gal turned to leave, her mother called out. "Oh, and Alice?" "Yes, mummy?" The fragile girl turned to her mother and responded. "Remember - sometimes the most beautiful of flowers should remain intact," the mistress of the house said with a sad smile as she gazed, lovingly, at her daughter. Giggling, the young mistress responded, "Of course Mummy. I love you, and I shall see you at supper!" Little did the young maiden know it, but this would be the last thing she would ever say to her mother.
♡♤♧◇
Alice had always been a little queer as far as nobility went, she saw common folk as her equals and refused to be harsh towards the servants - she would often times go out of her way to assist them and make their lives easier. That was exactly what she had been doing midday on Friday, 13 June, 1902; Alice wanted to help the maids and butlers of the house with their chore of finding flowers to decorate the house with - her friend (and betrothed) living near the flower patch just happened to be a lucky coincidence.
So there she was, carefully plucking roses, peonies, tiger lilies, and gardenias - making herself a flower crown with the flowers she found to be slightly wilted or missing petals. Alice sat in the same field, humming an indistinct tune to herself, for nearly two hours before she had noticed the feeling of a pair of eyes on her.
"Hmm?" she pondered out loud "Who, or perhaps what, could be watching me?" Rising from the ground she turned to look around. Scanning the area, she saw nothing unusual- a white rabbit here, a duo of crows there, but nothing out of the ordinary. Until she turned back to face her bouquet, now lying on the ground; upon doing so, she came face-to-face with a highly disheveled, young boy.
"Oh!" Alice exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her skin, the proximity of the two being far too close for her comfort. "Julian!-" the boy tilted his head, seeming to hardly even register the sound of his own name. The young maiden took half a step back, fearful both for and of her friend "what are you doing in the field? I thought you were bedridden. Your appearance makes you look as though you left your brain in the clouds..." His disheveled clothes, mused hair, pale skin, and dark circles gave him less of a sickly look and more of a haunting one- more of a 'lost his mind' one. "Are you okay, dear friend? Do you need any assistance getting back to your manor?"
The crazed looking boy - Julian Charels Emberling - seemed not to notice his companion's plight, he simply entertained himself doing so as he pleased. "Good morning, how do you do? I wanted to give you a gift but I left it upstairs in the estate so if you would follow me, I would gladly bring you over to the manor and give it to you directly, ma chérie." Speaking rapidly and trance-like, as though his words were not his own and might burn him at any moment, Julian's eyes grew dazed and confused.
It looked to Alice like her friend could commit murder and keep this twisted grin plastered upon his face. His grin - oh gods - the maiden thought it was that of a nightmare, his teeth looked unusually yellow and sharp within his widespread mouth. She felt terrified, the boy she had grown up with - the same one who could hardly step upon a blade of grass when walking without apologizing - was now standing before her as the perfect image of a child-psycho. What could have made her mellow, peaceful, harmless betrothed change so drastically and so suddenly?
Alice wished to appeal to Julian's rationale and try to talk him back into sanity- "Julian, you're..." She stopped, noticing that her frightened tone had brought a blank expression to form on his slightly tilted head. The maiden closed her eyes and took a breath, steadying herself, and continued after clearing her throat, "You are not behaving in a mannerism that matches your typical behaviour."
When she opened her eyes, the skeletal figure was no longer in front of her; he had taken the opportunity to silently position himself behind his female companion, slide an unnoticed arm around her shoulders, and pull out a cloth in his other hand. "It's okay, Alice!" he said in an overly joyous tone, a maniacal grin forming across his lips; the maiden could only take a sudden, sharp inhale before her whole world was turned upside down.
"Here, this will help make things better," the previously sweet boy put the cloth he had in his hand onto the young Heartfear's mouth and nose. She felt quite tired and dizzy for a moment and soon felt a sudden pang of pain in her exposed shoulder, the gal heard her companion mutter some words that sounded something along the lines of "It is time to go home." The rest failed to reach the lass's ears as she faded into the dark. She felt as though she was falling and falling, as though down a neverending rabbit hole.
The petite noble dreamt of a wondrous land where fae, animals, sirens, and all sorts of fantastical beings existed in harmony. A place where animals could talk and all creatures lived in peace- where she was the queen of it all. The queen that held the joy of all the citizens under her rule.
The queen of their hearts.
♡♤♧◇
Alice awoke to the sound of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 10 being played and the feeling of wind blowing through her hair and skirt. It was almost as though her stomach was plummeting through her feet, giving the maiden a sick feeling. Pulling her arms closer to her she realized what was happening, the young girl was falling down an everlasting hole- she felt as though the end would never come. Just as the maiden turned midair, to see how close the ground was, she noticed the piano music getting louder. To Alice's surprise, the piano she had been hearing was below her all along and- even curiouser -was playing itself!
To shield her head from being hit by the nearing piano, the young Heartfear covered her head with her delicate arms. The piano just barely grazed the hair upon Alice's fragile arms before lurching away and exposed an aged, black and white floor to the child's view. Bracing herself for impact, the noble child curled into a position that would protect her organs from any harm. But the impact never came, instead she slowed and froze in midair.
"How... curious...? Ha..." Alice said breathlessly, fear lacing her every word. She sat up, uncovering her head and smoothing out the ruffles in her pale yellow dress as she did so. It seemed as though the maiden had landed upon something invisible and plush, she felt around and realized that it was an invisible couch. But that didn't explain why she wasn't hurt - was it sheer dumb luck or perhaps a spirit guarding her and protecting her.
Either way, Alice thought it best not to question the odd ways of this strange place she was in. Slowly maneuvering herself off the couch, Alice took a look around to gather her surroundings. She saw that she was in a long corridor with doors lining the entirety of the walls. She also noticed a kitten snoozing beneath the invisible couch she had landed upon.
"Hello there darling," the gal whispered to the purring ball of fluff. "Where did you come from?" She reached down, not even thinking of the sofa until she realized she had put her arms completely through the area in which the couch had previously been. The maiden realized what had happened and quickly retracted her arms; she slowly tried to feel for the sofa and when she felt nothing she reached back down towards the cat and picked it up.
"Well, would you look at that? Mr. Kitty, do you know what happened to the sofa?" Alice asked the cat to cover the fear in her voice. She booped the kitten's nose with her own, "Well at least neither of us are alone any longer! That's good news, right Mr. Kitty?"
Alice continued on her way, having let the cat out of her arms and follow her along. She waltzed her way through the hall, occasionally attempting to open the doors that lined the walls just to find they were all locked, until she came to the end.
"Oh, why we seem to have reached the end! But you know what everyone says, don't you Mr. Kitty?" Alice squatted down and looked the cat in its heterochromatic eyes, "The end is just the beginning in disguise!" The young one picked up her fluffy companion and turned back to face the wall. When she did she noticed what exactly had decorated it.
An enormous painting of a blonde woman wearing a red and white gown with the Heartford family emblem - a rose with heart petals and a night sky - engraved into the ring on her middle finger; standing next to her was a brunette male with noble black and red robes. He too appeared to be wearing a family crest, and from the looks of it the same one bestowed upon Alice - a rabbit looking out at a forest.
"Kitty, do you see this too?" Alice stepped closer and held out a hand to touch the man within the painting, as she did so the kitten in her arms lept free and raced down the hall. "Kitty!- oh my, he's gone..... Why did he leave? And why does this woman look like Mother? She even has the same ring... I wonder who this man next to her is." Before Alice could touch the painting, she heard the giggling of a boy and a girl.
Turning towards the sound of the children's laughter, Alice began to slowly walk back to where she had met the cat. Before reaching it, though, she heard the whispers of a boy and a girl, as though they were school children sharing secrets.
"Brother do you really think THAT's the one?" The femelle voice sounded mocking and angry, perhaps even jealous.
"Jules said he would only bring her majesty, if he brought us a fake he knows what will happen to him, sœur." The boy's voice sounded both shy and confident, as though he was not sure of himself but he knew his own strength.
"Yes, you are right, brother. Does she know? What will happen to her if she's not the one?" The girl snickered after her last question.
"I do not believe so, sœur dear. She has supposedly no knowledge as to her heritage." The male sounded disappointed before he continued in a low, hollow tone. "As for what will happen, you know Sol would not be pleased - he's waited for her for fourteen years already."
Alice could not stand being the center of attention without knowing who was speaking, "You know, speaking about someone behind their back is never good. Especially when they can hear every word you say."
The girl revealed herself first, after a moment of shocked hesitation. "You can hear us?" The girl looked to be no older than Alice, but she held herself as though she were the wisest, oldest, and most intelligent one there.
Nothing about her was particularly special upon first glance, she wore a pastel purple shirt with ripped off sleeves and a few holes that revealed a pastel orange tank top. Covering that was a black and magenta oversized jacket with holes for animal ears cut into it. Her skirt was a pastel orange with a name sewn into it with magenta thread, it read '♤Lucy♤'. Her shoes were that of which Alice had never seen, shoes that were made of pants material and were tied all the way up, reaching her knee- the style hid a heel that made the girl slightly taller than Alice. The only thing that made this odd young lady differ from Alice was the ears atop her head, her raven hair with a purple tint was in an elaborate - if not messy - style that helped accentuate the cat-like ears she had.
"Sœur, you mustn't reveal yourself to the likes of her! What if she can also see your secret!"
"Brother, it is fine! You are the only one we know of that can see."
"Yes, you are correct sœur. However you must remember the stories about the Whitefear bloodline. Not only were they wondrous, but they could see what others could not." The boy's voice remained close, as though he was hiding behind the girl with the ears - 'Lucy' according to her skirt.
"Loki, you worry too much, had this girl been gifted with that power, she surely would look far more confused." The girl with the cat ears and messy hair gave Alice a once over, scanning her from head to toe and back again. "Or scared!" Lucy shouted this as she jumped towards Alice with a maniacal grin, pointing her claw-like nails in the brunette's direction.
When Alice shielded her head with her fragile arms, the other girl laughed and took a step back, "see, brother, she will do us no harm. Even if she can put two and two together."
With this Alice peeped through her fingers to find a shy looking ginger boy in a fluffy white sweater, slick khakis and finely polished dress shoes materialize before her eyes. He was taller than the one he called 'sœur' and looked to be a year or two older than her, but he clung to his sister's torn jacket like she would protect him from all the evil in the world. Alice noted his appearance was much more refined and charmant than that of 'Lucy' as she would mentally refer to the girl with the feline ears, though - like the other mysterious person - this boy had a name sewn into his shirt "☆Loki☆".
'Well, that makes sense, the girl did call him that.' Alice thought, by the time she had noticed his ears and tail that had matched his sisters she hardly thought anything of it.
"You two are talking an awful lot about one being able to see that which others cannot," Alice said with a giggle, almost startling Lucy and causing Loki to hide further behind his sister. The maiden removed her hands from her face and crossed her arms in front of her chest, pondering aloud.
"I do wonder what you are talking about. If you mean that handsome white cat from earlier with those beautiful eyes, then I can in fact see!" Loki smiled at this, loosening his grip on his sister. "If you mean that sofa that was there when I fell then I am afraid I could not see it." Lucy looked confused for a moment, but let the girl continue her thoughts.
"However if you are talking about those odd ears atop your head, then I most definitely ca-" Lucy's ears shot up to attention and she quickly covered Alice's mouth with her hand.
"You can see them?" Loki asked quietly, worried his sister would get upset. Alice, unable to speak with Lucy's hand covering her mouth, gave a small nod.
"Say anything about it to anyone in the Spades Sept and my hand over your mouth will be the last thing you worry about." Lucy said, her eyes that had previously been a yellow-orange now glowed a bright and vibrant green.
"Sœur, do not threaten her! This proves that she is of the Whitefear bloodline!" Loki's previously meek and frightened demeanor had suddenly shifted, startling Alice and causing his sister to give the brunette she held in her grasp a harsh look.
"Tch- fine." Lucy said before angrily stomping away and disappearing into the hall towards the painting. Alice watched her walk away as far as she could before turning back to the boy he was now standing there expectantly and tail swaying, as though he were waiting on her to say something.
"Uh... I am very sorry if I upset her. I don't know what I did, though I feel as if I owe an apology. Oh, why I have yet to introduce myself!" The girl curtseyed as she stated her name and title, just as her mother had taught her to, "my name is Alice Maria Heartfear, I am the sole heir to all that the Heartford family owns." She stood up and awaited the introduction of the young man.
"Oh, Alice, you are quite queer." The lanky boy laughed, it was low and hollow like his words now were. Lacking any of the spirit he previously held. "I have already heard about you." He took a step closer to her and bent to look her in the eyes, his tail swaying and wrapping around one of the wrists of the girl.
"Your mother was quite fond of me when I knew her, you're just as beautiful as she was at your age." The boy patted Alice's head then picked up a strand of her hair, causing a shiver to run down Alice's spine. "Your hair is not blonde like hers though, it reminds me of your father's."
The strange boy released her hair, standing up as he did so and spun in place. Loki faced her again with a cheerful grin, "though, I suppose it is common courtesy to introduce myself as well!"
The horrifying hollow voice Loki had previously spoken with was now gone, replaced once again by a now cheery demeanor. "My name is Loki Gascony! And the louche girl you met was my sister, well of sorts at least. Her name is Lucy Fandoms and she is the head of the Spade Sept! You need not worry about her though, ties between the hearts and spades have always been peaceful."
Loki's demeanor shifted again, he seemed to be reliving a horrible past as he spoke again "That is why I was the one to keep the peace while we wait for the true ruler rather than accept that phony liar that thinks he can rule over the land that rightfully belongs to the-!"
Loki paused, realizing his temper had gotten out of hand. Alice began to ponder if she could manage an escape from the bipolar boy next to her when the ginger shook his head. "My apologies, none of that is of your concern."
He smiled a bright, warm smile before sending Alice's mind through a whole new rabbithole.
I have most of the chapters already written out as a book I hope to one day get published so most of these chapters (this one included) will be over 3000 words. ^^; Anyway, translations! ma chérie - my darling, sœur - sister, femelle - female, charmant - charming, louche - (in this context) unsavory