Alice dusted off her clothes and looked around the room. It was more organized and vibrant than her own. Then, she turned to the girl from the woods. "So, your name is Kristen, right?" Alice asked, rubbing her chin as if she were in deep thought.
"How did you know?" Kristen replied, surprised.
"Well, it doesn't matter how I know. Let's just say I found your name on one of the books on your table," Alice said with a smile.
Alice began moving towards Kristen, and with each step Alice took, Kristen stepped back until her back hit the bookshelves. "I want to point out a few key issues," Alice said. "First, you need to strengthen the enchanted barriers of your palace; they are too weak. Second, your sentinels are too old to be effective at night; they were asleep while I broke in."
With that, Alice positioned herself right in front of Kristen, placing her hands on either side of Kristen's head, effectively trapping her between herself and the bookshelves.
Alice was only a few inches taller than Kristen. However, when she stood with her chin held high and her eyes lowered, Kristen had to tilt her chin up to meet her gaze. Kristen took a sharp breath as Alice smirked and leaned in to speak softly in her ear. "Thirdly, never let your enemy get so close to you, even if you find them attractive."
The smirk remained on Alice's face as she took a step back. Kristen was taken aback at first, but she quickly shook off the feeling. Now it was her turn to make a comeback. Kristen huffed and said, "I would also like to make a point." Alice gestured for her to continue.
With determination, Kristen stomped her foot onto Alice's and, through gritted teeth, said, "You should never let your guard down around your enemy, even if they seem powerless."
The sound of Alice's toes breaking was the only noise in the pin-drop silence. Alice glanced at her toes and then back at Kristen. Within moments, her toes began to heal, and in a few seconds, her foot was as good as new. Alice shoved her hands into her coat pockets and sighed, "What a waste of time and energy. Anyway, nice to meet you, Kristen. I'll be taking the book with me."
Bringing Kristen's attention back to the matter at hand, she struggled against her bindings. Alice held her hands tightly and warned, "Don't fight against them. They will burn you. These bindings will disappear once I am gone."
Kristen asked, "No, you can't take it back. What do vampires have to do with Eidolon and Mosvil?"
"Oh, Sanguineton has nothing to do with this. They aren't even aware that this book is the reason for the fights between demons and faeries. It's just one vampire who is concerned about this book," Alice said as she turned on her heels.
Kristen could only protest as Alice took the book and flew away with it.