Learn To Love?
This is based off of another fanfiction (I sincerely hope the writer doesn't mind, it's flattery after all!) And when I read it, I imagined the Alice in the Country of Hearts characters in the other's places. So it wasn't originally from this Manga. This first chapter is quite tightly based off of the first story, but as it goes on, it will become more and more my own- I promise! I know that Alice in the Country of Hearts isn't a very popular Manga, but I hope this will get some attention! If you're confused, just ask me whatever, and I'll answer the questions at the beginning of each chapter.
Alice's eyes had not moved nor blinked as she continued to stare at the poster in front of her. She could feel her heartbeat racing with excitement the moment she read through the name written on the poster.
"Blood Dupre is having a concert here?" Alice's friend Catherine asked. "What would bring him here? As a world class violinist, he has only performed in Europe."
"Blood was a graduate from this school. This is his hometown."Alice told him.
"Everything about him is so mysterious." Catherine sighed. "Although he is so famous and well known, his photographs were never published. No video recordings were ever allowed in all his concerts and all his CDs had no profile on him."
"I guess that's the selling point." Alice agreed. "If no one knew what Blood Dupre looks like or how old he is, that mysteriousness about him would make people want to pay more to go see his concerts."
"It would be worth the money though." Alice sighed after awhile. She remembered the time when his music saved her. Alice's mother passed away in a car accident when Alice had once wanted to become a piano teacher like her mother, but because of the sudden loss of her mother, Alice had thought of giving up her dream. However it was not until she overheard Blood Dupre's violin over the radio that she felt alive once again. Blood's music was not just any music, it was something that captured and rescued Alice. It gave her dream back to her. Immediately she bought his CD and played it over and over again. Whenever she was depressed and sad, his violin would always touch her heart and lift her once again.
"How are you going to save up money?" her friend asked.
"I guess I'll just work overtime at the restaurant." Alice said, determined.
"Well, I guess I'll have to start saving money too. We have to go together! I want to see what this mystery man actually looks like. Hope we don't pay all this money to go see an old ugly bald man."
"Catherine! We're going for the music!" Alice laughed at her sarcastic friend.
"Alice! Could you bring this food to table 18?"
"Sure thing!" Alice hurried. As she planned, working overtime was helping her raise money for the concert.
At the end of her shift, Alice's manager gave her the envelope with her extra pay for working overtime. At last she could afford to go to Blood Dupre's concert.
After leaving and heading towards the train station, Alice felt someone following her. With fear Alice picked up her pace, and her terror increased when she heard the footsteps behind her rapidly increasing in tempo.
Before Alice could scream for help a man dressed in a black suit with a blue tie rushed up to her and grabbed her bag away from her. In shock Alice tried to take it back but it became a useless attempt as the man swung his elbow and pushed Alice hard towards a wall.
Alice felt unconsciousness slowly taking her. When she awoke, her robber was long gone. Struggling to get to her feet she felt herself fall back down from trauma and sleepiness.
"Are you alright? Miss!"
Alice heard a voice of concern as a man hurried over to her. Carefully opening her eyes a little, she saw a young man in his twenties looking at her with a worried expression.
"I... what happ-" Alice tried to ask, but drowsiness overwhelmed her as she once again blacked out.
Opening her eyes, Alice was surprised to find herself in a hospital bed. She awoke with a terrible headache, and a gloomy mood.
"How are you doing? Feeling a little better?"
Alice turned to see the man from earlier. "No, not so great. What happened?" Alice asked as she tried to sit up.
"You hit your head and got a concussion. It wasn't a bad injury, not a lot of blood, but you hit it hard." He explained.
"Thank you." Alice said with gratitude toward the stranger that brought her to the hospital.
"It's okay, I work here anyway. I saw you on my way home." he smiled warmly.
"That's very kind of you." Alice said almost apologetically.
"Do you mind if I ask what happened to you? Just for paperwork's sake."
Alice nodded. She fully understood the situation she was in. She realized that this stranger not only worked here, but was her doctor. For the first time, she realized too, how handsome he was.
"How were you injured?"
"I... I was robbed." Alice snapped back to reality.
"Robbery?" The doctor looked at her in concern. "Did the robber hurt you in any other way?"
Tears built up in the corner of Alice's eyes as she remembered the money for the concert in her bag. There was no way she could afford the concert now.
"It's going to be alright," the doctor comforted her, "if you wish to report the incident to the police, I can accompany you." he mistook the reason for her being upset.
"No! It's just... that's not the reason why I was upset."
"Where do you live? I'll take you home. It's very late and it isn't safe for you to travel alone."
"I cannot possibly bother you further! I can make it by myself."
A nurse walking by noticed the doctor. "Dr. Julius! What are you still doing here? You need to rest!"
"Come on, I'll take you home, and when you are safe, I will go home and rest."
"This is my house. On the left." Alice said.
"Okay. Here is my phone number, if you need any help, or decide to report your theft, please give me a call."
Alice held the paper in her hand. The wound in her heart finally healing a little more, like Blood Dupre's music had done for her. "Thank you very much doctor!"
"Julius. Just, Julius." Pausing for a second he added, "You should make sure to take pain-killers for that headache. It will help a lot."
Alice watched him drive off and took a deep breath when she realized with a smile that she had fallen in love.
"Alice?"
Her father was at the door, and rushed out in haste. "What happened?" he questioned with concern. "Where have you been!" he said every word like it's own sentence.
"I'm fine, Dad. Just had a little accident. I was robbed."
"I told you it wasn't safe to travel alone if you work late at that restaurant!" he reprimanded his daughter. "I can't leave you alone now." he then murmured to himself.
"Huh?" Alice asked.
"I'm working on a project, and it requires me to go away for a year or so. However, I cannot bring family with me." her father sighed
"I will be fine! I'm an adult, I can take care of myself!" Alice said quickly.
"No. Absolutely not. Even before what happened tonight, I was worried. My manager made an offer to let you stay at his place while we are both away."
"Isn't that a little weird?" Alice questioned.
"You'll love it. It's close to your school and they have a grand piano that you can practice with."
"Really?" Alice asked, surprised.
"Yes, his wife plays the piano too."
"You can't go to the concert, and now you're moving!" Catherine complained when she saw Alice with two extra bags at school.
"You know how much I wanted to go to that concert!"
Catherine took one of her friends bags. "So your father wants you to move into his manager's house. You mentioned he had two sons right? Maybe there will be some romance?"
"Catherine!" Alice yelled at her friend. "It's so not going to happen. Besides, I'm already in love with someone."
"Oh yeah, the handsome doctor that saved you. Is he really that cute?" Catherine asked
Alice nodded.
"That's wonderful. I wish something like that would happen to me." Catherine sighed. "Are you going to call him?"
"I don't know. It was his mobile number. Don't you think it's weird though?"
"If he gave you his mobile number, he wanted you to call." Catherine told her confidently. "Anyway, who is picking you up?" She asked as they waited at the gate.
"One of his sons. I hope he can find me. I haven't met him yet." Alice said worried.
"Alice, calm down, you're the only one with luggage. He won't have a problem." Catherine said smartly.
An expensive black car pulled up at the gate. Alice's heart skipped a beat. She had seen that car before! Her heart rate increased when she saw a handsome man walk towards them. When he saw her, his eyes widened a little in surprise as he came up quickly and greeted them with his warm smile.
"Alice? You're the one moving in with us? What a coincidence!" His tone showed his happiness.
"Dr. Julius!" Alice said, still a little surprised. She felt like she got the wind knocked out of her.
"Alright! Shall we go?" Julius asked as he picked up Alice's bags.
"Welcome to our home!" Julius led Alice into the house.
"Thank you." Alice said quickly.
"Don't be so nervous and stiff. Make yourself at home."
Alice nodded as she followed Julius. They walked into the living room. It was dimly lit. There was a large window on one wall. In the corner of the wall with the window, there was a lamp, and a beautiful grand piano. Behind it on the wall without the window, was a CD rack and a CD player, along with a desk. Next to the window, there was a love-seat, and in the opposite corner a chair to match. There was a music stand about three feet from the piano.
"Feel free to play the piano whenever. You need to for school?" Julius smiled.
"Do you play the piano too?" she asked softly.
"No, I don't have a musical bone in my body!" Julius laughed meekly. "Too bad, eh?"
They walked through the family room, which was like the main connector of rooms in the house. It had a coffee table, couch, and tv. It connected the stairs, kitchen, door, garage, living room, bathroom, and other rooms together. They walked up the navy carpeted stairs to a small hallway.
"This is your room. Adjacent to it is mine, directly across mine is my brother's, and further down the hall is my parent's. The bathroom is across from theirs.
"Should I say hello to the rest of your family?" Alice asked.
"Well, my father is overseas with your father, and my mother and brother are both not home at the moment. They work overseas too."
Alice stopped dead in her tracks. Alice's face turned red and her heart skipped a beat. Did that mean it was just the two of them?
"What's wrong?" Julius asked, unaware of the rampage of thoughts in Alice's head.
"N-nothing!" She replied immediately.
"Don't worry," Julius smiled, "at the hospital, I'll have the day-shift, so you won't be home alone at night. My mother and brother will be home in only a few days. Sorry you have to put up with me until then."
"Of course not!" Alice countered. She couldn't get tired of Julius.
"I'll leave your bags in your room." Julius told her.
"Thank you." Alice said gratefully once more.
"You thank me too much. It's no problem at all."
"Sorry." Alice said.
"Don't be sorry either!" Julius laughed. "Well, since no one is here to cook, when you come downstairs, we need to put something together."
"I can cook if you'd like." Alice volunteered.
"Really? That would be great!"
Alice changed into her pajamas. She had a plain blue shirt on, and black pants with instruments on them. She loved her room. It looked classy. It had navy carpeting like the hallway, and the walls were white. The bedspread was grey, charcoal and black colored designs with leaves and plants. There was a music stand in the corner, and nice music related decorations. She had a desk, made of light colored wood. She unpacked her things and put them in the closet or dresser. She looked at the clock on the nightstand.
Better hurry up, it's time for dinner, Alice noted.
"Your cooking is absolutely wonderful!" Julius told her.
"You're too nice." Alice blushed.
"No, I'm serious! My mother never cooks. Always complaining that she can't injure her fingers."
"She's right though. A professional should always look after their fingers. They're truly very important to a musician."
"Then you shouldn't have cooked! You're a pianist too, right?"
"Yes, but I'm not professional. I'll be okay."
"I'm sure you play wonderfully. Will you play a piece for me?"
Blood rushed to Alice's face. "I, I guess so."
Once they entered the living room, Alice's attention turned toward the collection of CD's on the rack. She ran forward with joy, and turned to Julius in excitement. "I didn't know you were a fan of Blood Dupre!" Alice said excitedly. "This is his entire collection!"
Julius' face twisted a little "Well, I'm not exactly a fan. My parents bought the CD's."
"Oh," Alice nodded in acknowledgement. "If your mother is a professional musician, it's not surprising to see Blood Dupre's entire collection here. His music is magical!"
"I see you are indeed a fan." Julius saw Alice's face light up when she spoke of Blood's music. "Have you ever seen what he looks like?"
Stunned at the seriousness in his voice at the question, Alice shook her head. "Of course not. He is a man of mystery."
"Oh, okay." Julius said relieved.
"Why do you ask?" Alice questioned.
"Oh, no reason. It's just that, since you're a fan, I wondered if you would be disappointed if you found out he was a bald, old man."
Alice laughed when she heard Julius ask the same question as Catherine. "I don't really care what he looks like." Alice told him. "It's his music that I love." She sighed. "I couldn't make it to his concert, the money I saved was stolen, and the tickets are sold out now." Alice said, disappointed.
Well, I wouldn't be too disappointed if I were you." Julius comforted her.
"Why do you say that?" Alice asked
Julius smiled. "You will see." he said almost maliciously.
Alice gossiped with Catherine the next day at school.
"So how has it been? Any romance between you and Julius?" Catherine asked in an o-la-la voice.
"Of course not!" Alice defended.
"How is the rest of the family? Is his brother good looking too?" Catherine teased.
"Ah, well. About that. I haven't met them yet."
"Really? How come?"
"Well, you see, they're all overseas."
"What!" Catherine asked in shock. "You've been living alone with him this whole time, and you didn't even bother to tell me!"
"Hush!" Alice said, not wanting to make a scene.
Before she could defend herself, Alice's phone rang. Her heart beat faster when she saw the name on the caller ID.
"Julius?" Catherine asked. "Aren't you going to answer?"
"Hello?" Alice picked up the phone.
"Hi, Alice! It's Julius." he started. "I'm going to be stuck at the hospital today, so don't bother to prepare dinner for me. I'll be fine. Make sure you lock all the doors and windows, don't let any strangers in okay? I'll be home as soon as possible."
"Okay, whatever you say." Alice said. She hung up the phone. "Looks like I'm on my own tonight."
"Will you be alright? I could come over." Catherine suggested.
"I will be fine, thanks though." Alice replied. But of course she would be fine! She had an entire collection of Blood Dupre CD's to listen to!
Alice took extra precaution, and made extra food for Julius anyway. Making sure the kitchen was tidy, she went to the living room.
She put one of Blood Dupre's CDs in the player, and Alice felt as if she was in heaven when the music started playing. The sound system was so grand, she felt as if she was at a real concert.
Alice's favorite piece came on, and she listened to it, imagining she was the piano player accompanying the beautiful violin. She turned off the CD player, and walked over the the piano bench. She started playing the piece she just listened to. Alice had known how to play Blood's songs for a long time. And even longer had she dreamt of accompanying him. Her eyes closed, and she freely moved her fingers as she played one piece after another.
Just like she was performing in a real concert, she could hear Blood playing right next to her. The wonderful music that she loved with body and soul, the music that only Blood Dupre could express.
Alice opened her eyes to see a figure that looked much like Julius standing next to her. Alice suddenly became very alert. She could not have possibly imagined something to that extent. Looking up, the figure was standing next to her with a violin in his hands!
"Julius! You're home?" Alice stopped immediately and stood up in embarrassment.
However, unlike Julius' usually happy attitude. The figure coldly stared at Alice with a frown. "Why did you stop? You must never stop halfway through a performance."
Alice was taken aback immediately with Julius' reaction. There was such an authority from his dimly lit eyes. Most of all, she was stunned to see him playing the violin. Not just any playing, but the same kind as Blood Dupre!
"Continue." he ordered.
Alice sat down immediately and continued to play. She instantly noticed how beautifully he played the violin. He was a professional! Yet Julius said he didn't know music at all!
After the song ended, Julius asked coldly, "What other songs do you know by heart?"
"If, if it's Blood Dupre's songs... I know, all of them." Alice said hesitantly, pondering why Julius changed all of the sudden.
Surprise streaked across his eyes as he commanded again, "Alright, play the next one."
"But-" Alice said as she didn't know why Julius was acting this way.
"But what?" He interrupted.
"Nothing!" Alice said quickly. She had never seen Julius frown like he was now!
As she started to play, she had to admit his violin playing was magical. Although hesitant at first, Alice realized how she was enjoying playing together. It was like the duo had been playing together for a long time. There was such a bond that Julius must have noticed as they performed together.
No matter which song Alice played, Julius always knew how to play the violin part remarkably. After the fifth or so song played, Alice heard applause in the background. Shocked, she noticed a third person in the chair across the room. Alice stood up immediately to see a beautiful, elegant lady smiling at them.
"Bravo! It was wonderful." She complimented them.
However, Alice was not joyful from the flattery and applause. Her heart plummeted when she saw Julius came home with a beautiful girl.
Not noticing Alice's despair, the beautiful lady came up to Alice, and greeted her. "Hello, you must be Alice."
"Yes."
Before she could reply, someone opened the front door with keys and walked in. When the person saw Alice and the two others, he stopped in surprise, but smiled a second later.
"You're back already! How come you didn't have me pick you up from the airport?"
Alice couldn't believe her eyes at the strange scene before her. The person that walked in was most definitely Julius. If the person that just walked through the door was Julius... who could this person be playing the violin?
Seeing Alice's face so pale, Julius laughed and walked up to her. "So, I guess you have already met." He led Alice away from the piano, and to the other side of the two in the room, so she could see them formally. He gestured to the beautiful lady, "This is my mother."
"My name is Vivaldi. I'm very sorry I couldn't have met you sooner."
Hearing such an introduction brought Alice out of despair. So this beautiful lady is not Julius' girlfriend. Alice was stunned at how beautiful and young Julius' mother looked. "It's very nice to meet you!"
"I heard that you're a pianist too. And from hearing you and Blood playing together, you are truly gifted. Vivaldi complimented.
"Blood...?" Alice asked in confusion. She looked over to Julius, and back to the figure. In good lighting for the first time, she saw that this figure most definitely did not look like Julius.
"This is my twin brother, Blood Dupre. World famous violinist." Julius smiled when he saw Alice's face.
"Surprise! Blood Dupre wasn't bald after all!" Julius teased
"Bald...?" Blood frowned.
"Nothing!" Alice said quickly. At least Catherine didn't waste money buying an expensive ticket to Blood Dupre's concert.