They group of people went back and forth repeatedly with failed ideas until dinner was finally ready. It seemed like the others wouldn't return yet as they were overrun with work, not an issue for her.
Although they struck up no plans, the forest dwellers agreed to allow them to stay the night as they had no where to go, along with how thankful they were to finally have home meals. They couldn't believe the amount of money they'd be saving with their new maid… prince!
"Are you sure you don't want to act twenty? It could work." She asked with a brow raised while sitting on the floor as he glared from the couch. No matter what he would not admit to being an adult.
She sighed. Most children would want to convince others they were adults under any given circumstance would they not?
On top of it, why would she be sent out with a child to escort her? Her safety levels suddenly went from a five to about a three.
"I say we beat ''em up." He suggested once more, driving her mad. The answer was an absolute no even if he said it for the thirteenth time in an hour!
She sighed. "Can you make crafts other than dolls?" She sighed, thinking. Maybe, just maybe, there would be a bit of deceit involved in her plan.
She really did not want to this, especially not when it could potentially cause drama in the near future. "I know of certain things you may not." She said, trying to hide as much as she could.
The bloodborne prince, she knew how the whole novel developed, and if they're entering his country, she would possibly stand a chance of succeeding.
If things turned south, then it would be off with their heads. "The king of the country is superstitious and believes in magic. That only magic can make him invincible." Of course people thought highly of this but what made him different?
"The king will soon hold a banquet when they conquer their neighboring country on the other side of the border who's war-ring with them. It may be a few months, but it will happen." She said.
The air felt like it was sucked out of the room. Of course, this was not public information as to anyone. "They will invade them at night and within a single day take them out." Even the forest spirits didn't like it.
However, she continued. "We have magic, so long as we dress like wizards and his sorceress we can hide the fact we came from Carneline." Her hands were shaking.
"In the worse case, we could be thrown in jail and are seriously hurt, but there is a chance we could convince them we are who we are while hiding our true abilities, before the prince takes his head." She finished.
The start of the novel was something she remembered, especially the end as the madness drew her to tears.
"If you are able to create things such as crafts like bombs, other than puppets, maybe… we could convince him we wish to work for the royal court." She let out a shaky breath.
The room was deathly silence. All of a sudden her partner got up and clapped extremely loudly. "Now that's talking like a Carnelian!"
He was beyond jovial by the suggestion as he begun to use his magic. "Let's hope for the latter, where we get thrown away." He said while making children toys which soon exploded.
No no no that was not the moral of the story. "And how do you know this to happen?" One of them asked, the doctor.
She clutched her staff tightly. "Would you believe me if I said an information broker told me?" She asked. This was a stretch but if the people of red knew she approached the cheshire cat then surely they would assume he has this information.
"So, kitty told you?" Ace asked with an annoyed look. Finally he did something she appreciated which protected her! She cannot reveal her knowledge or they'd actually force her to hurry up the plot.
The forest brothers looked confused. "Who?" The gold haired boy asked as her partner had filled them in on just how strange this information dealer was.
The cheshire cat did infact have outside information it looked like, so she was on the safe side. "He told me before leaving, about her." She said while emphasizing the last part.
There was no questions needed as Ace simply nod in response to what she said and begun to look out a window. "How many months?" He asked.
If today was what she thought the day was… "Two months, and in the mean time we need to build a reputation as powerful wizards." She said with her voice clear.
For once, she was determined. After entering the new country and going through an entire forest to find tax-paying forests spirits, a prince, and her life on the line, she had finally decided that this was the only route with the safest option if he refused every other.
"Haah?" He said looking surprised. He had to do work in the meantime? He is an officer of the red cards!
She wanted to roll her eyes. "They are not letting no name sorceress and her wizard in, and we still need someone to vouch for us, which will be the rumours." She states.
In the meantime, they would need their own place to stay, food, laundry, she begun to count. "Ah, there should be a notebook." She mumbled taking out her pen and paper from her limitless bag. She really begun to think if someone used magic on it.
"No no no, you expect me to help others?" He asked as she wrote down ways to improve their reputations. In bold big letters she had wrote no doing anything shady or damaging or harming or demeaning nor cold and brutish.
"Pff-haha! This is why women are scary." One of the forest spirits said as he pat Ace on the back telling him to just let her do as she wished.
The prince still sat there in awe and shaking. "Once you're like super famous you will tell them not to invade us?" He asked nicely.
"They won't invade a nation who did not wrong them." She accidentally mumbled while writing. The enemy nation was wiped out by the prince in an act of revenge.
Originally they sent someone to curse him at birth, causing him to go deranged. He had no interest in people who were not involved with him.
Alice Hartziene was a Carnelian, someone who knew everyone, and the most powerful magician. However it was briefly stated she met the protagonist briefly and took her as a student.
When? She had no clue. Why? She also did not know but it seemed like the threads of the story were slowly weaving together and getting everything a little bit clearer.
"How will you use your magic?" He asked, she had almost forgot about her weakness.
She sighed. "My weakness does not matter as it isn't that powerful, in fact my weakness is nowhere near a hindrance." She responded.
In truth she could see the world perfectly to Alice's standards with her weakness as long as she tried hard enough. She soon came accustomed to the thought that every long item was not in fact that wide and logically concluded how they were.
She had a lot of time in two weeks. "You don't have medicine, do you?" He asked humming and made her curious about his own weakness.
"Well it won't matter since the illness wears down the less you use it." He responded, then why on earth did she initially feel it?
"Hmm?" She let out a little noise which got his attention and had him letting out a grin which rivaled the true cheshire cat's.
He explained. "The very first time you awaken you will feel your illness as a reminder to never mess up. However you were never in Carneline and initiated so your illness was active at all times." That was well… a lot! A whole lot of sense.
Writing in her notebook she went back and forth of what she had to do. Two months was long but not in the slightest. Starting tomorrow they'd be kicked out for a second time and have to go house hunting, and begin to gain the public's approval.
So long as she continued on with the plan she could still find a way to save everyone. She really did like a few people, maybe two people, out of curtesy, but she was determined to not go mad. Unlike the others, she still believed in humanity- something she has and had through all time and will never leave.
Only future Alice knows how well that plan would go… and only the kids they'd meet in the forest on their way out to town the very next day.