"Alice?" Her father looked up from his favorite hardback book, peeking at her through his large spectacles.
"Yes… I dreamt last night… something about Alice…"
"I cannot say that I have heard about such a person," he pauses to close his book, "But it was a dream, you said. So I'm sure it is nothing to be bothered about."
Meiko didn't utter another word when he hobbled past her to the bookshelf. She couldn't shake the sensation she felt lurking inside her… because she wasn't familiar with such a feeling. In fact, she doesn't remember the last time she felt so apprehensive… But her father was probably right, she thought. It was only a dream.
But the dream was so strange. Even though they tend to be, this one somehow stood out. Despite the fact that it was so vague whenever she played it again in her head, it never went away… She was surrounded in darkness, nothing but darkness, and she heard a child's voice echo within…
'Alice', it said. But who is Alice?
She also wondered why on earth she cares so much about a dream, and 'Alice'. Usually it would be pushed into the back of her mind like everything that wasn't about her, her kingdom, and swordplay. But instead, it was the only thing she could think about ever since she awoke from her slumber.
"Alice…" she muttered out loud and cupped her chin.
"Oh, come off it already. It was just a dream. Don't rear your head over it." Her father looked at her exhaustingly while he walked into the dining area.
The brunette didn't bother to argue with him. He didn't understand. There was just… something about that dream that bothered her greatly. Alice… Alice…
"Any who," her father speaks, breaking her out of her thoughts; "You know what today is, don't you?"
"Today?" Being honest with herself, she's been so distracted about her latest dream that didn't bother to try to remember what's so important about today.
He chuckled, "The village festival! Don't tell me you've forgotten!"
Meiko slowly recalls that today was, indeed, the festival. It was nothing really anything special about it. It would be like every other day, except more people in the outdoor market. There would be plays (in which she would enjoy herself whenever she got the chance, because the actors would perform their interpretation of her daily life), great cooks and performances, and most importantly, discounts off merchandise. But instead of participating in such activities, she'd rather patrol the area between the kingdom and the forest. Bandits would always increase around these types of days… And besides, she loved to fight. Walking around or even just watching performers bored her to death.
"Oh… right."
"So, you've forgotten. Ah, I have also forgotten how much you never wanted to participate in the festival."
"Yes, I'd much rather take care of any lingering bandits. In fact, I think I'm a little late…" Already having her customary scarlet dress on, she strides over to the area where her beloved sword is placed. She gently held up the rusting sword in her hand and examined it. She lowered her eyes as they darted around the once reliable sword. She almost forgot that it was slowly becoming useless…
"Wait," he father commands her abruptly.
She raised an eyebrow at his sudden intervention. "What is it?"
"Look…" He pointed to the right side of the blade, and found…
Meiko widened her eyes. "It's cracked… and chipped…!"
"You do know what this means, don't you?" He asked gravely.
Of course she did. She dreaded this day ever since she first received her much loved weapon. She exhaled sadly and said, "I can no longer use it…"
He nodded. "In a stage where a sword is very vulnerable… If pressure is added to that spot, it will completely break in half. Meiko," he looks at her with pity, "It's time we get a new one."
She couldn't leave her sword behind… She felt like she was betraying it. They've been through so much, and yet, just a simple crack… Shaking her head, she says sadly, "I don't really have a choice, do I?"
"…Unless you refuse to fight. Ah, I know a good blacksmith we can go to…" Her father continues to look at her, but she doesn't take her forlorn eyes off the sword. He puts his hands on her shoulder, "I know it's hard, but it's not like we are going to throw it away. Every swordsman goes through this sometime… Though it's unusable, we can still pass it down to the next generation, and the next, and so on. It's still our prized possession, after all. So, what do you say? Shall we head down the village?"
Wordlessly, Meiko softly places the sword in its usual place, as if saying goodbye. "Right… you're right, Father. I think it's time I get another one…"
He was already at the door. "Well, shall we go?"
As expected, the market place was bustling with people from neighboring kingdoms and their own. Jesters were telling old fashioned jokes, pyromaniacs never fail to amaze the children, and of course, the bazaar was lively with merchants and business owners alike. The place was decorated with multicolored strings and little cut squares of paper scattered all over the stone floors, and the people wearing ridiculous outfits that they could only wear for this day. Despite the vivacity around her, Meiko would still rather be outside the gates…
As usual, people greeted her and her father. But unlike her, her father didn't like the constant pestering.
"How do you deal with this every day?" He asked her exhaustedly.
Meiko chuckled and asked, "You don't like the attention?"
He stroked his beard. "I'd rather be home in solitude, reading my novel, thank you very much."
After multiple interceptions with fans and regulars, they finally arrived to the blacksmith's store. The veteran knight stopped in front of it. "Here we are," he pointed, "'Maurice's Weaponry'. A good gentleman, he is. He's the best blacksmith in town."
She put her hands on her hips. "Only because it's the cheapest, right?"
"Darn right! And it's discount day today? Humph!" He excitedly held up his head and marched inside. Meiko smiles and walks in after him.
Inside, it was moderately humid and somewhat crowded with foreigners. They, however, made way for the two greatest people (with some extra attention, of course. "Bah! I'm too old for this."). The man, Maurice, was a tall dark man, who was well built and covered in sweat. He was wiping his face with a white cloth when Meiko's father greeted himself. "Maurice!"
The tall man recognized that grunt-like voice anywhere. He threw off his towel and placed a big grin on his face. "It's you! Oh, how have you been? It's been a while, hasn't it?"
After a brief talk between the two and their current situation, Maurice took Meiko's hand to examine it. "Hmm, slender, yet calloused hands… as expected from your daughter."
"Indeed."
"Hmm…" He turned her hand over, and over again. "I have the perfect sword I can make for you. But, if you'd like, I can remake your old sword. I know how important it is to you, so I can make it all over again. …With different material, of course."
Meiko quickly shook her head. "No. It will look that same, but it will still be different… I would feel uncomfortable using such a thing."
Maurice agreed. "How sharp of you, Milady. Alright," he turned to her father, "I already give you discounts… and its discount day today? You're one lucky knight. That will be about… one thousand and fifty gold."
"So cheap!" Her father chortled.
Meiko decided to excuse herself. "I'll leave my trust to you, Maurice, to make an acceptable sword for me. Father, I'll be going now."
"Alright, but don't wonder off outside the gates!"
"I'm not silly enough to do that without a weapon." She waves and leaves the building. Outside, she came to a decision to wander around a bit, since she's never really known what was in her own kingdom's festival. She just hoped no bandits or thieves showed up…
She gazed at the local shops, looking at what they were willing to sell. She stared at some of the amazing street performers do the impossible, and even took a sneak peek into the outside play, featuring some of the children as actors.
Meiko was pondering where to look next until a bright white figure came into her vision. It was hiding again, behind a stone wall in the alleyway, looking straight at her just like the other day.
"There it is again…" Without hesitation this time, she jogged to it. Her dress fluttered past the locals, catching their attention, especially two children who decided to playfully trail behind her.
As Meiko made her way there, she turned the corner, and the alleyway was empty. She furrowed her eyebrows and she unhurriedly walked forward, glancing around her. "I'm sure I saw someone here…"
"Hello," said a voice.
She quickly turned to see a boy, fully clad in white…. Could this be the person she was looking at before? …He held something that was long… and it was wrapped in auburn rags. Meiko couldn't even guess what it was. "Are you lost?" she asked the young boy.
He didn't answer.
"…Come, I'll take you to your parents." She held out her hand, but he didn't move. "Oi…"
The boy smiled creepily. "Don't you need a sword, Alice?"
That name rang in her ears. 'Alice'. He called her Alice… Is her dream and this boy related somehow? "Wait—"
"It is time to shape your own world. Here," he said as he held out the wrapped item in his hand.
Meiko's eyes narrowed. "Hey, look, we should go find your parents—"
"Here."
Irritated, she took the item from the boy and studied it. She twirled it around her fingers. It felt familiar…But that wasn't important. What was, however, is finding out who in the world is Alice. And the boy, what about him? When she glanced up however, the boy was gone without a trace. How strange, she thought to herself. She held the item in her hands carefully. "Just what is this…?" She figured that she might as well open it, but cautiously. She ripped off the rags quickly and…
Her eyes widened.
It was a sword.
…No, it wasn't just any sword. It was… it was a work of art. It was a nicely made sword... The handle was nicely carved with elegant designs… it fit her slim hands so well… the blade was the right length, like it was made just for her… it wasn't too heavy or too light either…
And the hilt! The hilt was made of pure gold, and it had a ruby spade jewel embedded into—
Her hand suddenly burned, feeling like it was fire tearing away at her flesh. But she just merely glances at the back of her hand, and sees a red spade implanted on it.
"Heh…"
She feels energized with each passing moment when she looks at the magnificently carved blade she held in her hands. Her once calm and demanding face warps into a crazed grin.
She wanted to use this sword. Right now. She can't wait, she has to use it. Right now. Right now! It was so stunning not to try out…
Her vision distorts and blackens around her, but she sees something that stuck out in her direction.
…Two shimmering roses on long stems.
The swordswoman angles her head to the side and blankly watches the two roses wiggle around, shaking their leaves like arms. She wanted to use her sword on those flowers. She wanted to cut them off so bad, it was killing her inside... A shadowy grin appears on her face and she raises the sword in the air.
The roses freeze at the sight of her, waiting… wanting to be cut.
Slice.
In one swift, beautiful cut, the roses float off their stems, and gorgeous red petals spews from the headless flowers. A wonderful sight, it was.
But it wasn't enough. The sword felt so good in her grip, she wanted to cut more. More, more, more! She always loved to cut…
Ahead of her, she sees all kinds of moving flowers: roses, purple lilacs, sunflowers… it was perfect to use her sword on!
Hopping out of the alleyway, she cackles and immediately cuts off the flower nearest to her, and more petals emit from its stem. So beautiful! She wanted to cut more! Like a ballerina, she dances across the bazaar, gracefully chopping off the heads of flowers, and spins around in the red petals that continued to flutter everywhere.
Slice.
This one came off with a scream.
Since when did flowers scream? Not like it mattered to her, because the only thing she cared about was her sword.
Big flowers, little flowers, plump flowers, slim flowers, they all came off the same way; one elegant vertical movement…
Slice.
There were calls of her name, like a crowd watching a play. But they were muffled in her ears… except the screams.
Slice.
Oh, that scream sounded like her father. How strange…
She laughed piercingly, and it echoed in the darkness she was enclosed in. She skipped along the headless stems and rose pedals on the earth, blindly making her way into the familiar direction of the enchanted forest.
Luckily for her, there were still some flowers left to be cut on the way there. One flower was alone, another was with smaller flowers, and one had a whole carriage of them! Covered in blossom petals, she danced along the red path she created into the woods. She laughed crazily as she continued to cut down everything she saw: grass, bushes, branches, squirrels, birds—
"Ah!" Meiko gasped as a thorny vine protruded from the darkness behind her and swathed around her arm. Red liquid slowly started to pour out, staining her red dress. But more importantly, she had dropped her sword. "M-My sword…" Although the vine was threatening to pull her into its depths, she held out her other arm, attempting to take back her sword.
"You have committed the biggest sin against nature," the enchanted forest spoke.
Another vine extends beyond and binds around one of her legs, causing her to fall one top of the red pedals. But yet, her arm continued to reach out for the sword that was barely two inches away from her…
"Murder."
"My sword… my sword…!" She says with terror in her voice, and panic written all over her face.
Another vine projects from the bushes and enfolds around her other arm.
Another vine protrudes and envelops her other leg.
On the ground, covered with blood, with no support, she reaches out her neck, and tries to grab her sword with her mouth. "My sword! My sword!! I-I need it! Haha… M-My sword!" She held out her chin with a terrified stare…
Another vine protrudes from the darkness, wraps around her open mouth, snaps her head back, and finally snatches her inside its murky depth.
The bushes rattle once…
Twice…
Then no more…
She was never seen again.
Though she was known as the chivalrous daughter of one of the greatest knights that existed, the bloody path she created will forever be her tale.
-*-
The first Alice was a gallant red one, who courageously held a sword in her hand in the wonderland.
Sliced down anything in her way… she made a red path for herself.
That Alice was brought deep into the forest, and was locked in as the sinner.
In addition to the way of the forest, her life was unknown…
A/N: eh i dont like this chapter too much
i think i'm going on a writers block fffff
well this sucks
see what happens when you listen to your reviewers ;_;
another thing is that i miss 'a twisted love story' so much ;3;
well o-okay let me know what you think ;_;
dont be too harsh i am very fragile ;_;
review please ;_;
;_;