Yes, Milady
April 22nd 2015
She was a lonely kid, Alice was. She was not to leave the manor, and her world only stretches as far as the fence of the garden she's allowed to enter. She didn't know, neither did she question why she was shunned from the outside world. Her father wouldn't look at her, her mother was kind, but was rarely home, and her sisters were busy with school and whatnot.
She could summon things from different place with her mind. Alice could conjure fire or water from thin air. She could talk to animals, and they would respectfully obeyed her, only that they couldn't be friends with her, as they were animals, they lived by instincts and natural orders. Ants had to keep working, not chatting with a little girl. Birds had to move to the south or they'd freeze in the winter. Cats or dogs were not allowed in the manor.
So she read a book. And that book inspired her little innocent mind. She learned the way. Then she decided that she wanted a friend, no matter what. Alice stood in the depth of her garden, before the fire in a metal bowl. She pricked her finger and dropped her blood.
Alice narrowed her eyes, couldn't finish her reading of the spell book—she could easily find them, for some reason—as she couldn't really spell out the unfamiliar words. Rather than words, those were the name.
"Godric? Ricreel? Umm..."
"I have come to serve you."
Alice held her breath, dropping her heavy grimoire. She had to look up as the figure before her was taller than her. First it was a form of light until the light faded, revealing a boy with golden eyes.
His eyes were cold.
Alice narrowed her eyes, trying to process how to spell that odd name. Then again, what's so important about a name? All it's use is to convenience people to call each other or agree how to define an object.
"I'll just call you Gray." Alice grinned, spreading her small arms cheerfully. "I'm so amazing! I can even conjure a friend on my own!"
The teen narrowed his eyes coldly on the kid that wasn't even taller than his knees. This little girl had just summoned him, without even understanding what she read, or at least knowing what an Angel was.
"Is there something you need from me, Little Girl?" accepting his name reluctantly, Gray asked. He had no time for such trivial things, but even if this little kid would ask ridiculous thing, he was subjected to obey. After all, that's his punishment.
"Don't call me Little Girl, phft." Alice crossed her arms haughtily, trying to stand on her toes in order to grow taller a little bit. "I am a very smart magician, so you can call me the Great Alice, like how they called Oz!"
Gray blinked once. Being on Earth since forever, he start to grasp the concept of 'nonsense'. However, before he repeated the question, the girl turned on her heels and dragged him by his hand.
"I will let you be my friend! Since you're not an animal, I guess. If you're an animal, you can be my familiar. Don't thank me, I know you're honored, hohoho!" she chattered carelessly while the Angel was completely taken aback by the touch. "Let's have tea party, okay, Gray?"
He couldn't answer, as he was completely overwhelmed.
This Little Girl, she was not just any witch.
She was...
~.X.~
Five years later...
Gray wonders if death is really frightening. If this is death, then it's what he's been waiting for. It's warm and dark. There's no need to see, no need to hear, no need of anything. Just a slumber. He knows that there are Hell and Heaven, but for particularly him, he doubts he'd be put in any of them. Maybe this is paradise. There's nothing to worry. Nothing to fear.
...And then there's a light at the bottom of that darkness, engulfing him into the world of awareness.
"Gray? Hey, Gray. How long are you going to sleep? Someone needs to clean this barn! I know I have magic, but don't get me wrong, I just don't want you to feel useless and powerless being by the side of such a magnificent Anti-Christ. So you better wake up."
Gray holds his breath. He senses the light entering his pupils, and his mind was relieved—he's alive. His hand subconsciously reaches onto his head, only to find a thick bandage on it. His eyes wide, and then he finally registers the figure of Alice Liddell before him.
"Do I have to do everything here?" she deadpans.
"Where are we?" Gray looks around, finding himself in a completely different building. A place much better than the last cottage. He can hear the noises of vehicles from outside, muffled by the windows.
"I read Doraemon and they had this brilliant tool to create an additional hidden room in an apartment. Kind of like Grimauld Place in Harry Potter!" she clasps her hands, standing up with a prideful look on her place. "So I decided to conjure this hidden room in a flat in the town!"
"Town?" Gray's eyes widen. "Milady, this is dangerous! If people can find us easily in Countryside, then—"
"It will be harder to find and gang up on me in a crowded town, exactly!" Alice smirks, crossing her arms. "If we stay in town, we won't stand out easily as we did in the Countrysides! The lifestyles of the people here varies more than those at the small villages. And don't even talk about my father's order," she shuts her butler before he can say something. "Besides, it doesn't matter to him where we stay, as long as we're away from him. Right?" she turns away and stretches. "This flat fits my majestic lifestyle more than that old cottage anyway!"
It is a medium-sized flat with a nice kitchen and study. There living room and the dining are separated, and they have two bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. Alice has scattered her spell books on the study floor, and their belongings are still piled in the living room. She leaves to attend the lasagna in the kitchen.
Gray sits on his bed and lets out a sigh. He scratches his head, stands up and decides to get it together as usual. He begins to organize their belongings and clean up the room. During that, he notices familiar Enochian Warding Symbols on the door and windows. The symbols will deter the presence and noises from their flat.
He glances over his shoulder, unconsciously smiling at the growing teenager.
~.X.~
Their first week went peacefully. The upside of being in town, Alice can use the internet with superb connectivity. There are things that even magic can't serve, and internet has to be one of them. Where else can you read memes and rage comics or Countryballs?
Gray does his duties. Grocery shopping, cleaning and laundry—basically everything but cooking. Gray doesn't mind, he can do the same thing over and over again forever. But humans...?
Alice is bored out of her mind when Sunday night arrives.
"I want to go to school." She says.
Gray spits his tea. The girl glances at him sternly, and he coughs while setting down his cup and furiously wiping the floor.
"Milady, please don't tell me you are already bored..."
"As a matter of fact, I am. I mean, there's nothing else on the Internet that can surprise me anymore. When I cracked Pentagon, I was disappointed. I viewed everything America tried to hide, and there's nothing big except for their ridiculous bombs, or the fact that some nations are trading nuclear weapons. Yes, I am bored."
Gray stands up, but is unsure of what to do or say. When Alice is around seven to nine, she's very easy to amuse as long as he's around. Maybe helping her finding all of the spell books wasn't a good idea...
Alice nonchalantly flips the channel over and over with boredom in her lifeless eyes. Suddenly she feels a tickling sensation and bawls when she realizes that Gray is tickling her feet.
"Ahaha! Gray, what on Earth—hahaha!"
"I am trying to entertain you."
"Ahahahaha—that's not entertaining, that's—aw haw hahah, my stomach hurts, stop it! Hahaha!" Gray stops when noticing her tears and red face. The girl is out-of-breath when he straightens up. She sighs, and then looks up to him with a wry smile.
"Well, I'd say that's something new?" she admits. Gray then smiles gently and goes on his knees, taking her hands.
"I am not the most entertaining person, I know that." He says, gently. "And I am sorry for that, milady. Tell me what you'd like, and I'd try to grant it."
Alice smiles widely again.
"I repeat, I want to go to school."
Gray lets out a sigh. There's really no way out of it, is there? He then smiles in surrender and nods once.
"Very well. Then school it is."
Alice grins and squeals, hugging her butler happily. "Awesome! Thanks Gray!" she lets go and runs to the study. "Then, let's prepare myself, since I've never been to school before!"
Gray hums as he follows her. "I doubt I will be any of help, milady. I have never been to school myself, you see."
"Oh, bah. I have enough knowledge of it! I read all the mangas!"
He's not really sure about this, but her smile worth it. All he needs to do is to watch over her and make sure that she's safe, for now.
~.X.~
Alice doesn't know why, but Gray never sleeps. There's an easy way to trick her stubborn butler, though. She can conjure her double. Making sure that Gray is far enough, Alice disappears in her room, with her double sleeping peacefully in her bed.
The air is particularly cold tonight. The lively town has slightly toned down, but the night lights are mesmerizing as usual. Alice walks on the billboard and sits by the cat, Sherlock.
"To start the Apocalypse, you will have to break the First Seal." Says the Scottish-fold, eyes gleaming. Alice hums, her eyes scanning over the town. "You have to execute one Man of Divine and send him to Hell. They're the vessels of Archangels."
"And they're in this town?"
"Two of them." Sherlock purrs, curling close to Alice. "One of them was the murderer of your puny servant. The other one is in the school you're about to attend."
"How do I send him to Hell?"
"Whoever died in your hand, as of last week, will be sent straight to Hell, Alice." The cat yawns. "There are more seals to break, but you only need to break four of them. When that happens, the Time Dimension will reverse. This world will crumble."
"And the other seals?"
"Let's just see if you can accomplish breaking the first seal."
Alice hums, swinging her feet, kicking the image of a cartoon star. "And if I can't?"
Sherlock looks up to the human. His feline eyes gleaming.
"Your foolish servant will pop off dead." He gets up and stretches, vanishing as he does. "See you around."
~.X.~
Gray, however, isn't an ordinary fool. The teen comes into her room and doesn't hesitate to butcher the double with the kitchen knife. Gray clicks his tongue, his golden eyes cold.
"Where have you gone, milady..." he mutters to himself, pushing open the window, quickly sweeping the visible part of the town with his eyes.
There's a knock on the door. Gray feels really unsettled. Well, for one, because no one's supposed to knock, as Alice can teleport, and he's the only one who can see the door.
"I know you're in there, Anti-Christ." A gentle voice is heard.
Gray conjured his special blade from beneath his sleeve, approaching the door warily.
The door explodes, and Gray is welcomed with blazing fire as the same albino that shot him last week enters. His eyes are red as the crimson, he's carrying two extraordinary colts. His eyes scanned down Gray, cold.
"You're supposed to be dead." He aims one of his guns. "This colt kills everything. Now I need you to live until you tell me where the Anti-Christ is."
Gray scoffs and stands still. "Then you'll have to kill me." When a bullet is shot, he's dodged first and charges forth.
Gray severs the man's right hand and resists the other hand from aiming the gun at him. Even with the loss of his limb, that man doesn't flinch at all. They are both locked from any other movements. Gray is not sure if the absence of Alice is on purpose—if she had foreseen this—and if she didn't, he has to get this man out, else she's in danger.
"First you led evil into Eden," says the man. "Now you're helping out the Anti-Christ. Quite the atonement, Gadreel."
Gray loses his strength from the surprise, but quickly zaps himself out of the flat. Well there goes Alice's idea of going to school.
"If what Angels do are all according to an order," Gray feels the point of a gun on the back of his neck, and he can't move, as the charm put on that gun has locked his movement. "...Then your death is pre-destined, Gadreel. Surrender and atone."
Gray clenches his fists, composing himself as he relaxes his back to the gun's point.
"My name is Gray Ringmarc." He says gently. "You've mistaken me as that pitiful angel."
He doesn't hesitate to pull the trigger as he turns to the intruder. The gun from the severed hand.
"That angel is dead." He murmurs before the loud noise of gunshot is triggered.
~.X.~
Alice's plan is to destroy her double and pretends to wake up, but when she finds her double butchered back into sand, she knows that Gray finds her out. She gulps and takes a deep breath, trying to find a great excuse for her little sneak out.
However, when she opens the door, finding half of her living room is in smirthereens, she doesn't know anymore. Gray is wiping the dust-covered table, and stops at the sight of her. Alice grimaces and holds her hands up.
"I...I can explain! I was just...I was checking the school, you know? I was excited—" Alice stutters and steps back when Gray furiously stomps his way towards her. "I—I know, stupid, okay, you can bash me and stuff—Okay, I'm sorry!"
The man embraces her tightly, letting out a deep sigh on the top of her head. Alice freezes in motion.
"Thank goodness you're safe, milady." He sighs and bends down to look at her face. "It's alright. I understand. I am glad you sneaked out, just this once."
Alice frowns in confuse. "...Okay, what's up?"
Gray's eyes turn very cold that she can feel her soul flinches.
"The Man of Divine," he says in a grave, cold voice, glancing at the door over his shoulder. "They can read the Enochian Sign, milady. They're vessels of Archangels, after all. I have no idea that they are after you."
Alice is silent in thought. The Man of Divine, one of them is after her—what luck. If only she stayed, she could've killed him and broke the First Seal. Well, at least she knows that they will come to her. They think they can hurt her, but Alice knows that there will only be one result of their encounter. One she can't wait for long. And won't wait for long.
"Milady?"
Alice sighs and waves her hand, instantly fixing their flat. Good thing it's blind morning, people who witnessed the destruction probably thought they're in dire need of sleep.
"So what happened?" Alice asks in worry. "Are you alright?"
"This time, yes," Gray smiles a little, but it falters soon. "...Last time, apparently, I didn't make it."
Alice wears a straight expression when he frowns in suspicion.
"What exactly happened, milady. I hope you'd tell me sooner."
Alice turns away, and Gray clenches his fists. Whenever she doesn't wish to tell him, she'd turn and walks away care-freely. The girl drops herself in the sofa and yawns.
"Yeah, you got shot, passed out. I healed you, though! It's super easy." She grins, eyes on the ceilings. "Don't forget, I am the Great Alice, after all!"
Gray straightens his eyebrows. For now, he has no choice but to give it up.
"Is that all it was?"
"What, you think you died and you expect me to make a deal with a demon?" Alice scoffs. "Haha, right, Gray. Or if you'd prefer, you're one of the Seven Horcruxes, and with your death, you've destroyed one Horcrux, returns to life and now Harry can defeat Voldemort. Just believe what you'd like."
The butler sighs and continues to clean.
"Certainly, milady." Is all he can say.
For now.