Chapter 2

Introducing Robert Liddell, Adam, Belle, Cinderella and Alice

Doctor Liddell came to pick up Alice half an hour later. He'd had to leave work before his hours were up, which hadn't done anything to make him more empathetic towards his youngest daughter's situation. He was a big person, filling up almost the entire doorway to Belle and Adam's house, with eyes as blue as Alice's and the same blonde hair, except that his had streaks of grey in it. But the hair and the eyes were just about the only things they had in common. Alice's facial features were softer and rounder than her father's clear-cut ones, and she didn't share his slight strain at the corner of the mouth. It made him look like he was always fighting very hard not to sneer at people.
"Hello Sir" Belle greeted him, trying to sound kind and obliging, though every nerve in her body screamed for her to close the door firmly shut between them. She didn't want him in her home, this man she resented so. It was not fair, one would say, she hardly knew him. But she had opened this very same door to a devastated run-away Alice more than once. That was before the girl finished high school and moved out of her childhood home for good. Robert Liddell wasn't a nice man, and Belle was not sure it had been the best of ideas to call him. But she had felt like it was her duty to alarm Alice's parents about their daughter's condition. Of course she wasn't really sure herself of what this condition involved.
"Belle Sanders?" he asked in a brusque voice, with made her even less willing to hand over Alice to him. "Oi" Belle said, suddenly very aware of her accent. "Yes, I mean" She added, trying very hard to sound prober and English, but finding herself unable to tune out the slightly melodious edge in her language. Not that she really minded it.
"You are French" Mr. Liddell said, more a statement than a question, "What are you doing in England?"
The way he asked the question, like he was surprised that a foreign girl could manage moving overseas, made Belle feel nothing short of uncomfortable.
"I live here" she said sharply and then motioned towards the living room, "Alice is in here. She has been asking for you"
That was a downright lie, but she wanted to direct the attention away from herself. Alice would, as far as Belle understood, never ask for her father. When she woke up and saw that her friends had called for him, she wouldn't be very happy. Most likely the opposite.

"What are you doing here?" Alice asked, her eyes turning a darker shade of blue with anger. Her voice was still a little shaky, but the nasty tone in it was audible. She was conscious now, and was wrapped in the blankets like a caterpillar in its pupa. She looked so pale and fragile, Belle just wanted to take the young woman in between her arms and shield her from her own father. If Mr. Liddell was affected by Alice's hostile attitude he did not let it on. He just went closer to the sofa, but stopped a couple of meters away from it, like he on purpose was trying to put as big a distance between them as possible without seeming too obvious. He had a look of badly hidden disgust on his face. Like his own child carried a contagious disease he was afraid of catching. Alice face fell even further when she saw this, but she didn't say a word. The silence quickly grew awkward, since both of the Liddells refused to break it, and Belle and Cindy didn't know how to. Then Cindy pulled herself together and interrupted Alice and her father's staring contest by saying "Sir, would you mind joining me in the kitchen?"
The man nodded and left for the other room without waiting for Cindy to lead the way. Alice sent her a thankful smile, and, as soon as the two were out of the room, glared at Belle accusingly. "Why is he here?"
"Al, we are worried about you."
"I had it completely under control!" The girl objected, which just made Belle raise a questioning eyebrow. "Yeah, sure you had. While screaming at imaginary people and almost setting yourself on fire. Who is the queen of hearts, anyway?"
"Queen of what?"
"Exactly"
Belle sighed. "Alice, this won't do. You know that."
She reached out, and Alice let her friend take her hand. But she had that stubborn look in her eyes, the one that told Belle that they were two to decide what would and what wouldn't do. "Please make him go away. I don't want him here." the girl tried once again, but now changing approach. She almost pleaded in hope of appealing to Belle's conscience. Her efforts were futile though.
"Alice, listen" Belle said, looking at the girl to make sure that she knew that the situation was actually serious, "You want to proceed attending the university, pas vrai?"
"Don't go all French on me. You know I suck at it"
"Do you want to continue?"
Alice sighed, bowing her head in defeat. "Yes."
"You are certainly not making this easier for yourself. You think that you can stay there if you go against your doctor's order and ignore advice like that?" Belle said while rubbing her temples.
Alice shook her head and very humbly asked, "What is Cindy going to tell him?"
Belle didn't know, actually. In the haste of calling Dr. Liddell and making sure his daughter was comfortable they hadn't had the time to agree on what to say, but she counted on Cinderella to be discrete and speak Alice's case. There was awfully quiet in the kitchen though. She hoped Cindy was alright. The blonde woman was good at handling these sorts of things, but still, Alice's father could be a handful. Belle had no idea what was going on in there, but still she felt like she had to say something to give the girl something to hang on to. She picked up a random book from the pile besides the couch and started to stroke the cover. There wasn't really any point to it, but feeling the smooth surface beneath her fingers tended to have a soothing effect on her. So she caressed the book like her life depended on it, and said "She is probably going to give him the specifics about your condition, and then get him to take you to a psychologist, whom you will have some conversations with."
"I don't need conversations, I swear!" Now the girl looked very close to desperate; her eyes were widened, and she was clutching the blanket like was it an anchor.
"Then why did you stop taking your pills?" Belle could feel her temper flaring dangerously. What did it take to make Alice see reason?
"I.. I just.. I wanted to prove that I could manage without them. The sunshine drugs, I mean" She said the last sentence with a sarcastic tone coloring her British accent.
"Antidepressants" Belle corrected her automatically, "For your anxiety attacks."
"All fine words to camouflage the real meaning. Did you see how Father looked at me? He acts like I'm mentally ill, Bells". She managed to avoid looking at the other, "And the worst part is, I think I might be"
"Be what?" Belle frowned, giving the girl's hand a soft squeeze. She looked so frail, and Belle could feel the anger seeping out of her system.
"Crazy" was the quiet answer. And for once Belle didn't have a reply. Thankfully she didn't need one, for the next second the door burst open and Adam stumbled into the hall. Through the open doorway they saw him struggling with his coat and managing to get stuck in the left sleeve twice before getting the piece of clothing off. He hastily placed it on the hanger for outdoor clothing and ran to the couch. "I am sorry it took so long" he said, "The traffic was awful". He was breathing heavily from the exercise of riding his bike from work to home in such short time and his brown hair was a mess. Belle just nodded and asked a counter-question: "I thought you said that you perhaps would have to work overtime."
"I told them it was a family emergency" he said, only now looking at Alice. He sent her a reassuring smile, and the girl calmed visibly down. She liked Adam, and since she had visited the Sanders household so many times when having run away from home, the two of them had formed a close bond. Adam, though with his age of 24 only was four years older than Alice, served as a sort of father-figure to her. Belle sometimes got a little jealous of their relationship, which was silly since Adam and she were happily married. He was just very protective of the girl.
"You alright?" he asked Alice, kneeling besides the couch.
She nodded, but didn't look at him. Belle realized that it was shame coloring those pale cheeks. "I.." Alice said, "I thought I could control it"
She looked from him to his wife and back again, before once again avoiding their gazes. "You didn't get my question" he said, incredibly gently, "How are you feeling?"
"It's better now" she muttered, "But it hurt so bad. I thought I should die. My heart was pounding hard and it felt like something heavy was pressing against my chest so I couldn't breathe. I became nauseous, even though I stood completely still, and then everything just got tuned out."
"Alice" Adam said, his voice very stern, "I want you to look at me, and I want you to promise me that you will tell me the truth when I ask you a question"
The girl seemed so shocked by this new intensity that all she could do was make a small sound of agreement. She sat up straighter in her bed, preparing for what he would inquire of her.
"You have returned to the drugs and stopped taking the meds, haven't you?"
"I..I.."
"You said you wouldn't lie to me, Liddell" Adam pointed out, which made her stammering stop.
"They make it better, the drugs." she said, confirming his suspicion, "I feel safer when I have them".
Adam rubbed his temples. "You know it isn't a durable solution, Chérie. You are just digging a deeper hole for yourself when you will have to deal with drug abuse. Please tell me you didn't come here with with'drawal symptoms"
"I didn't!" she protested, "I'm totally good"
As she said that last sentence Mister Liddell pushed open the door forcefully. He went straight to Alice, and before she got a chance to raise her arms in protection he slapped her across the left cheek so hard that the hit echoed in the room. Alice just sat there, eyes wide with fright and tears streaming down her face. She reached up a shaking hand to touch the new mark on her face, which was shaped as five fingers and glowing an angry red. But even though her father was standing above her, rage ebbing from him like a tidal wave and his nostrils expanding like a rhino's, she didn't say a thing. She was simply too stunned to speak. "Doctor Liddell!" Belle exclaimed, upset about the elder's action. Cinderella joined them just as Adam positioned himself between Robert and his daughter, protecting her with his body. "That is the not the right way to handle this, Sir" Adam spat out, every word laced with venom.
"Move" The doctor commanded.
"No" Adam said steadily, as opposed to the other man's infuriated demeanor and didn't move an inch.
"Why did you call for me?" Mr. Liddell asked. His face had turned very red.
"My wife and her friend contacted you because they thought you had to know of your daughter's condition and that you would help find a way in which to precede her further treatment. They didn't contact you to become witnesses to such abuse."
Cindy spoke quietly, but her voice reached clear through the tense air. Her light blue eyes were cold like ice. "Adam is right, we certainly did not expect Alice's father to behave in such an.." she wrinkled her nose in strong dislike while searching for the right phrase, "Immature way"
Liddell decided to ignore this and instead turned his attention to the blonde girl hiding behind Belle's husband. "Alice, come here."
At first Belle thought that Alice wouldn't react, but then the girl slowly stood and on shaky legs went to her father's side.
"Alice, are you sure?" Belle asked her.
"He pays for my education, Bells." as if that was enough explanation, Alice let herself be dragged out of the living room by that hideous man that unfortunately was her father. She send them a pityful look over her shoulder, before the door to the hall closed behind Mr. Liddell and her. Belle, Adam and Cinderella were left alone in the room, completely helpless in the face of what had just happened. When they heard Alice and Robert starting to yell at each other before having even left the house Adam made a move to follow them, but the two women forced him back onto the couch.
"You will just make matters worse, Mon bienaimé," Belle told him softly. The fire in Adam's eyes died as he slumped further into the red cushions. He hid his head in his hand and uttered a defeated sigh. Cinderella sat on to his left and his wife on his right, and then Belle started rubbing his shoulders soothingly. He relaxed visibly beneath her hands, and let his shoulders drop from their tense position. "What should we do?" he asked.
"I don't think we should do anything" Cindy said hesitantly. When the other two stared at her in surprise she continued: "As you said, Belle, nothing good will come of it. It's none of our business."
"But – "
"No. We will just have to be supportive of Alice and be there if she needs us"
"Cinderella, you saw how he treated her!" Belle objected, "How can we not help?"
Cindy grabbed her friend's hand firmly. "Do you really think her father would get less angry if we started meddling?"
Belle's head dropped between her fingers, just like Adam's had a moment before, and she whispered "Non.. I suppose I don't"

A full hour passed before Cinderella said goodbye and left. The three of them had had a couple crêpes to eat, which they had been munching on in silence. Each of them had been deep in their own thoughts, pondering on this new, unusual situation. Belle felt like she could have been eating socks and she couldn't have cared less. Once Cindy's phone had called and when she had picked it up she put a very worried Mulan on the speaker. They talked back and forth for a while, Mulan stressing and silently blaming them for letting Mr. Liddell take Alice with him and Adam, Belle and Cindy trying to convince her that it was the best thing to do, though none of them really believed in that themselves. After hanging up Cindy said something about having to get back to the mice and birds, and the other two bid her farewell in the doorway.
As soon as they heard the engine of Cindy's car roar to life, Adam closed the door. Back in the living room the two of them sat on the floor and started quietly sorting the books into separate piles. They did so for a short while, until Belle couldn't handle the silence any longer. She placed a book about famous painters in the non-fiction biography pile and turned towards her other half. "Sont vous bien?"
"I'm fine, Love" he said, but wasn't very convincing since he put a facts book about the American civil war into the romance fiction pile. "Brute, Beast.." she said, a faintly teasing note to her voice, "You are certainly not"
He sighed at this nickname she had proclaimed was his. "You are never going to let that one go, are you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in mock annoyance, but smiling none the less. His young wife shook her head so the chestnut brown curls danced around her shoulders. He reached out and tugged fondly at one of them.
"I don't see a reason to. Maybe it will teach you to get trimmed every once in a while". Her eyes were gleaming teasingly. "But I like my hair" he said, touching his own brown tresses in a protective gesture, like he was afraid she would attack him with scissors.
"I do, too" she said, tilting her head softly to one side, "But there was a reason for the name Beast, you know. You looked positively sauvage"
This made him chuckle, and she soon joined in with that fresh, clear laugh of hers. Adam liked her laugh. It made him think of all sorts of good thing, like the beautiful lilies in their garden, warm summer nights spend star gazing and cozy evenings in front of the fireplace with a winter storm raging outside. The memories overwhelmed him for a moment. They had been married for two years now, which in itself wasn't that long, but he couldn't imagine a life without Belle. How he had made it so long time without her remained a mystery to him.
"Sotte fille" he said jokingly and slapped her shoulder, "Now stop your teasing. You want me to help you with this or not?"
Belle's laughter turned into a giggle, and she answered "Yes, want help. Sorry"
They proceeded with their sorting, and the rest of the day was largely uneventful seen in the light of Alice's break down.

End of chapter 2.

-
And once again some explanations.

Cinderella Rosenberg (Cinderella)
Alice and Robert Liddell (Alice in Wonderland)
Fa Mulan (Mulan)
Belle and Adam Sanders (Beauty and the beast)

These variants of the characters belong to Disney.