Hello everyone I'm back! Okay this is the new chapter 1. Yes I re-wrote it, I hope you like this version better because I do. I did change Aislin (ash-lyn) to Alice for a couple of reasons. One being I liked it better and thought it "flowed" rather well. Another, because Aislin is actually the Gaelic version of Alice and ANOTHER is because the voice of Wendy Darling in the 1953 Disney adaption of Peter Pan is also the voice of Alice from Alice in Wonderland and ALSO Alice in my story is lost in a different world. Sounds similar to Alice from Alice in wonderland doesn't it? Okay give me feedback, hope you like it Happy reading!
London
November 2nd, 1914
It was a rainy London night. Most ladies and gentlemen had retired to their beds and blew out the candles. Those who owned businesses cleaned up and turned the "OPEN" sign over to "CLOSED". It was cold and the stray dogs began to find their homes in dumpsters, cats picked the last of the filthy food lying on the street. Street lights were still lit, and the crisp leaves blew in the wind. On the 15th floor of an old apartment building in depths of London, a blind man lives with his three cats. His apartment was decent sized but what was special was his relatively large fire escape. Three kids or orphans rather, "live" on this cold and rusty fire escape. One of the three, Alice, rolled out a large blanket that she had sewn from the sacks that pub owners would buy their potatoes in. It was coarse and itchy, but also kept the warmth in. She rolled it out and removed a thick red blanket she had stolen and laid it over. She fluffed her bag into a pillow and lay her head down. Alice is a sixteen year old girl with long raven hair that spiraled down into a cascade of thick waves, pale skin, grey eyes, and pale pink lips. She was a beautiful girl, but she never received attention for it. She expected Travis and Ben to be arriving home time soon. They were the closest thing she had to family. They were like brothers and she loved them. They cared for each other, Ben being seventeen and the oldest was always teaching Travis, of thirteen, the ways of being a man. As Alice slowly dozed into sleep when suddenly she heard the heavy banging of running footsteps underneath her "home" and shot up, back straight and eyes wide. She looked down and it was Travis. His curly blonde hair was waving uncontrollably in the wind. He didn't look back but he ran. There was yelling and screaming after him, men in dark blue suits. Alice's palm twitched. She knew exactly what was going on. Travis had been caught stealing, most likely, bread and some apples. Ben ran far behind the police men and stopped under their secret home. He looked up and their eyes met, locking her firmly in place. She trusted Ben with every fiber of her being, knowing he always had things under control. She smiled and he winked, grabbing the ladder, pulling it down and poking his head down the slim alley that skimmed the apartment building. Travis suddenly popped out of the opening to the alley, threw himself onto Bens back, and Ben with record speed, crawled up the ladder, pulled the latter up and hid himself and Travis behind a potted plant while the police ran out the end of the alley looking both ways baffled that they lost him. Alice internally applauded the two of them for beating their latter climbing record and not making a single sound leading the police away from their hiding place. Travis and Ben made their silent way up to her and made their own beds on the fire escape.
"It's a cold one tonight A." Bed said wrapping his arms around the two of them, both burying their faces into his heavy jacket. Ben was a tall tan boy with curly brown hair to match is playful brown eyes. He was so husky and strong it made Alice and Travis feel safe. "We should all stay close tonight, bundle up." They all removed newspapers and paper grocery bags wrapping themselves tightly in their make shift sleeping bag. It was hard to fall asleep but they managed. Ben worked as a giant heater and kept them all warm, and of course kept them awake with his snoring. When the boys were asleep watched the night sky, and counted the constellations. She saw a shooting star and made the wish she makes every time she sees one: a home. Suddenly she sat upright, luckily not waking either of them. She could hear a soft a playful melody from what sounded like pipes or a flute. She stood and walked carefully over to the ledge of the fire escape. She looked down, but saw nothing. When looking up there was a young boy sitting cross legged, playing his pipes, but in the middle of the air! He stopped and looked down at her,
"Alice," He bowed his head and floated down so he was almost level with her, "You look cold." She couldn't see his face because it was hooded but she noticed he sounded young. Maybe around her age.
"I am," She replied shoving the stray hair behind her ear, "How are you doing that?"
"Doing what? Flying?" he sounded amused, and spun himself in an entire 36o before stopping in front of her, "Let me warm you, love."
She took a step back realizing this strange boy was getting far too comfortable with her, "I shouldn't be talking to you." But as she said it, she felt his warm hand meet her shoulder. It was like she was thrown into an unbreakable trance. She felt her body swaying, a funny and rather unfamiliar feeling casting over her, "I need to go back to sleep. You're not real. I'm just seeing funny things again." She held her head and squeezed her eyes shut, "I'm not really talking to anyone and when I open my eyes you'll be gone." Once her eyes were open the strange boy was no longer in front of her. She smiled at herself, proud that she was able to rid of the hallucinations. She turned on her heel to go back to the bed, and let out a faint squeal, tumbling backwards. He caught her in his arms and instinctively she kicked away from him.
"Instead of kicking, you would have better luck wrapping your arms around my neck. I don't think you want me to let go now." In a matter of what seemed to be seconds he managed to bring them both high above London. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his neck.
"I'm afraid of heights." She breathed, noticing his faint smell of lavender. "Please put me back in my bed."
"You're sick, cold, hungry and beautiful. With that combination of traits I'm afraid I can't just set you back down on your little fire escape." His voice was so calm, it soothed her. He was so warm and this fuzzy trance he had set on her made her so sleepy. Still, she knew something was wrong. She knew this stranger was no ordinary flying boy. She knew he couldn't be trusted.
"Please, bring me back to Ben and Travis. They'll care for me." She yawned and tried desperately to pry her eyes open, "Please if they wake and I'm not there, they'll worry."
"Will you let me care for you?" He persisted, "Agree to come with me and I'll make everything better."
"Well, okay." She yawned closing her eyes. And with those last words, she had fallen into what seemed like a perpetual sleep.