Prologue
Cyrus is beautiful, like a prince in a story book. His hair is softer than silk and curls just so at the nape of his neck, or around her fingers. The moment Alice had set eyes on him her heart had skipped three beats just from the strength of his smile. She'd followed that smile to the end of the earth and back again.
Will is anything but beautiful, certainly he's far from the stuff of storybook fantasy. There are his ears for one thing, sticking out from the sides of his head like he's still five years old. But it's not just the ears, his nose is far too big. It juts out of his face and, from vague memories of grandfather, she knows it will only grow bigger with time. And there're his eyes too. They're sort of… buggy. Somehow he always looks just a little surprised. And tired. He always looks so very tired. Alice turns her head to the side and peers at him through half lowered lashes. She thinks he's asleep, it's her turn to sit watch so he should be, but she's half afraid he'll look up and catch her staring anyway.
She doesn't know why she keeps comparing them, Cyrus and Will. It doesn't make sense. Cyrus is her true love. Will is… well, if she's really honest she doesn't quite know what Will is. They're friends, but not friends. He stole from her, they became sort of friends, and she got him his heart back, but then she found Cyrus and lost Cyrus and went back to England and ages passed. She still doesn't know anything about his life in that time, except he apparently had one he wasn't eager to leave behind… and somewhere in that time there was a woman named Anastasia. At least, Alice thinks it was in that time, but she realizes she doesn't just know nothing about what Will did while she was in England, she realizes she doesn't really know anything about him at all.
A/N: Mostly, this is a story about Will. I find him completely fascinating as a character and I want to explore a version of his history. The chapters will range in length, but will be significantly longer than the prologue
