'Little Alice, let down your hair, so that I may climb thine golden stairs.'
Alice threw her golden tresses out of the window and winced as the woman pulled on it while climbing upward.
'Smells fresh in here. Haven't you been burning all the oils as I told you?'
'Ehm, I got a headache so I haven't today.'
'But did you finish the potions? You didn't mess up, did you, you clumsy girl?'
'No mother Gothel, I swear I didn't.'
'Good, very good.' The witch smelled the potions the sixteen-year-old had brewed. 'They seem good. Now, gather your crystals and chalk. You need to help mommy again. Sir James wants to see his future again.'
'Yes, mommy dearest.' She disliked this James. She has never officially met him but the visions of him were ruthless. The man had red glowing eyes and was constantly hunting and killing in his future. She knew their world was one inhabited by humans, witches and all kinds of creatures but it scared her nonetheless. She'd always been afraid of the outside world and people like James were one of the biggest reasons she wanted to remain in her high and distant tower. She knew he was interested in her. It's why Gothel forbade him from coming along and only brought a personal attribute to help Alice see. She'd seen them argue in het dreams. And she'd seen James contemplating whether he'd kill her, thinking that her gift would be more enhanced as an immortal.
A circle was drawn on the floor and the girl sat down with her crystals. From a young age the witch had used the magical potential already flowing through the princess' veins and increased its potential by giving her herbs and mind-altering substances. The Potpourri, oils and incense kept her intoxicated and too tired to form much of an own mind.
Alice soon fell into a fit of delirium. Rambling in riddles, while violent spasms went through her body. Dame Gothel took a hold of her hair and began with the spell to rejuvenate her body. Alice followed suit in the incantation. Her hair illuminated the living room, shimmering like liquid gold. Gothels hair blackened and her skin became tighter. The dark circles under her eyes evaporated and within a matter of minutes she was, once again, the fairest of the land. Alice blacked out from exhaustion.
In June, Peter was completely healed thanks to the good care of the couple Jasper had entrusted him to. After thanking the couple profusely, he travelled home.
Charlotte could barely believe her eyes when her fiancé entered her garden.
'My oh my, my love, you have returned at last!' She flung herself in his arms. 'But how you look, what scars mar your dashing face. Pray tell, my love, what happened while you were away?'
'It was in wars I fought and in camps I trained. One needs to be tough, scratches are easily caught along the way. I didn't win every battle I entered.'
'I'm glad you returned to me, alive and well.'
'I have and for that I'm grateful, If it hadn't been for my dear friend I wouldn't have been here. I was injured and near death last month. But he brought me to safety.'
'Who is this friend? Where may he be? I want to thank him for bringing my fiancé to me.'
'You shan't find him. Please my love, don't be angry, but after we marry I want to get him and bring him here.'
'Why? He has a family of his own, I'm sure.'
'It's been a long time for him and I believe him to be depressed. I want to help my friend so he can return home a whole man.'
It posed an interesting question. How do you save someone who didn't believe himself worthy of saving nor human enough to return to civilisation.
In a tower high and dry, Alice opened her eyes mid-July. She'd dreamt of a man, with honey hair and green eyes again. She remembered boys and men from when she was young. She remembered the looks men gave her when she walked the streets as a twelve-year-old. But this man has never made her shiver. In her dream he was staring into the sunset. He turned around. A word came along with the image.
Desperation.
It wasn't a dream, of that she was certain. But she didn't know the meaning of her visions of this man. Maybe she was just going mad. Unsolicited visions came at a higher frequency of late. And she'd been sleeping so much. She'd already left out some herbs in the potions her mother made her take, but her mind rarely became clear anymore. If only she could stop before she lost her clarity completely. She hated being so drowsy. She hated not being able to tell reality from fantasy.
'Jay, Jay!'
The admiral turned to the familiar voice. 'In the name of heaven and hell, Peter! Why are you here?'
'You are alone, are you not? I owe my life to you Jay. I won't rest until I've saved yours in return.'
'My life is not in danger.'
'But is your soul? Come away with me, please.'
Two men riding through a forest. A devilish woman throwing open a door and screaming. A blonde haired woman hugging a man and shaking hands with the honey haired man. Three people eating together.
The honey haired man named Jay was staring out of the window.
Desperation.
Depression.
Frustration.
Longing.
He was standing in her room. Alice pushed herself upward. 'Who are you?' She whispered.
'Who are you?' The tall man asked her.
'Your salvation.' She didn't know it until she said it out loud. She was destined to meet this man.
'There is no saving me. I'm damned.' Alice reached out but her hand went straight through him. She blinked again. The figure had disappeared. She'd been grasping the air.
Peter and Charlotte were kind people. They tried to involve him in everything they did. They spent quiet nights in, playing cards and they invited him to festivals in town. He never went though. He couldn't go back to society. He was a murderer. He couldn't greet a person without looking for their weak spots and analysing their behaviour. In his sleep he dreamt of being attacked and woke up drenched in sweat, grasping for the knife that he hid under his pillow.
They couldn't mend his heavy dirty soul.
He couldn't return to his family like this. He was too tainted. But he could help them. He left Peter and Charlotte, thanking them profusely. He returned to his life as a thief but this time, with the stealth and skills he had amassed in the private army of Maria, he set his eyes on bigger goals; The Royal Treasury.