Swing! Thrust! Another swing! Stab!
Alice was having quite the good time as she danced about the forest clearing, swinging Meiko's wooden sword with a carefree, delirious grin plastered on her face. Except, not literally you see, for that would be a horrid mental picture for you and a horrid experience for Alice.
It was around midday and she had not stopped once to take a break, loving the rush that seemed to flow into her from the sword to her very heart; even the daunted, dark wood behind Meiko's small cabin did not frighten Alice anymore. She was in a completely different world, one that held no one or nothing – just Alice's arm and the sword that extended from it like a long-lost limb. It was unlike anything Alice had ever experienced before - and it baffled her.
The whole thing was so familiar to Alice: the way her fingers curled around the hilt to hold firm control and the way her body shifted it's weight on one leg or the other to better her movement – the little things that made swordsmanship what it was came naturally to Alice.
In fact, these movements and gestures became so familiar that they reminded Alice of another time... another place, in a garden surrounded by trees, where she spent every day of her life, reading... how her fingers gently touched the pages and turned their small corners; that motion became more typical to Alice than walking.
Yes, this handling of a sword was much like turning the pages of a book!
Both require the upmost attention of my fingers!Alice thought, turning her wide eyes to stare at her own fingers, watching as they flexed with each swing, demanding control of the hilt in her hand.
Except... I do wonder if this is normal? Meiko seems to train day after day and yet... playing with this sword seems so easy! Almost laughable, really! Perhaps Meiko has underestimated me!
Of course, Alice had no idea how difficult "playing" with a sword was. In fact, Alice could not even begin to understand how much effort and practice it took to master the art.
No, she could not begin to understand...
Dear, precious reader, please pretend you no longer see Alice, for she will be absent of narration for the moment. Instead take your mind to another place, to another time; the deepest, darkest corners of your mind, where your skeletons and demons lay.
Do you remember the time when your friend got a higher score on the test that you studied so hard for? How about the time when your sibling was able to grasp the attention of your parents so easily while you sat there in silence, invisible? What was it that gripped your heart in that moment? Cold, suffocating, dark... yet inviting.
Jealousy.
It's such an interesting emotion, isn't it?
The light that everyone else seems to see, shining down at that person so brilliantly, becomes dull and worthless in your eyes. Black thoughts creep into your mind and you wonder why you even bother trying at all. Why bother? Why bother?
You will never be as good as that person.
Meiko's footsteps were slow and steady against the dark ground.
Why must everything in this wood be dark? she wondered, sighing to herself and glancing down at the bandages wrapped tightly around her arm. Honestly, the young woman could not believe she had allowed herself to be lectured into seeing a doctor. Despite the skin melting away her arm was in perfectly good condition!
Meiko disliked seeing the doctor, especially since he always seemed so thrilled with his job. Honestly, if he tried to lick her wounds clean one more time...
As Meiko neared her cabin, the sound of swishes in the air held her footsteps still. It sounded as though someone was flailing a large stick around; which, she honestly wouldn't put past Alice. Her curiosity stirred.
What is she doing?
Slowly, so as not to alert Alice of her presence, Meiko pulled back the foliage that blocked her view of the clearing and peered ahead.
There was sweet, innocent Alice, wielding Meiko's training blade as though it was a mere stick, swishing and thrusting in a furious dance that sparked something inside Meiko.
Cold jealousy swept through her, gripping her heart as her breathe caught. How long had Alice been practicing for?
Images invaded Meiko's mind, of a family she had known for such a short time; dead on the ground after the vicious, brutal attack of forest creatures. How her mother's body was torn in half, her father's limbs stripped of flesh, her baby sister with only a torso that remained.
Meiko had been too weak; too small; too young. She could not protect her family then – and the sights of such brutality had driven her to insanity.
Jealousy. It held her in it's grip.
How dare she make a fool of me?
Meiko slowly touched the blade at her hip; her extension, her life, her pain, her moral. It drew from it's sheath silently, without pause or hesitation, agreeing with Meiko in her moment of need. Eliminate the competition. Eliminate those who had hurt her.
It was Alice; Alice standing over Meiko, looming, a cruel grin dancing on her face as she slowly lifted the head of her younger sister.
Meiko stared up, her eyes so wide she couldn't feel them, shaking with the disbelief that threatened to consume her. Just like the others. Trust no one.
"I'll kill you!"
Alice turned, surprised by the vicious voice that struck at her from behind. "Who is there?"
Meiko charged, lifting herself from the ground and slashing with her blade, the only thing she had at the time, slicing it through Alice in a fit of desperation and rage.
Alice jumped back as Meiko attempted to stab her, confusion and betrayal ringing through her. "Meiko! What is wrong? Why are you-?"
Meiko stabbed again and again, watching Alice's blood rain everywhere, all over Meiko's face, refreshing against her skin. More. She needed more.
Alice dodged again and again. Meiko's sudden attack had broken through her daydream and she now felt the fatigue from training all day touch her gently in her knees and elbows; panic fluttered in her.
Will I die, here? I wonder... will it hurt? I've never really died before, as we only have one life and one life alone. ...Alone... It is fitting. We have only one life, just one, so we cannot even share it with another. If human beings could have two lives, perhaps we would not feel so lonely, since we would have an additional person just around the corner.
The fatigue in Alice's body tightened it's grip on her; a shot of pain slipped through her arms as she blocked another of Meiko's strikes. Blade against blade, metal against metal, both girls pushing with all their might against the other. Alice realized in that moment that she would have to run; despite how unappealing that option seemed to her.
I have never read about a hero who ran in the middle of a swordfight.
Meiko's face glowered at her, eyes filled with something Alice had never seen before: pain, rage, wild desperation... insanity. It comforted Alice. She stared into her eyes for a long moment, listening to Meiko's ragged breathing.
Reality settled in: Meiko, Alice's first real friend, was attempting to kill her.
Alice shivered. In a quick moment of cunning, she feinted, causing Meiko to take a step back in preparation for a blow that never came. Instead, Alice turned, running in the direction that Meiko had come from. The village. She would have to seek refuge in the village.
Meiko watched Alice run, watched her blood trail behind her, mixed with her fair skin and blond hair. A smile settled across her face. It was almost done. The deed was almost done. Alice would never come to know the woods like Meiko. Slowly, she stalked forward, her blade trailing on the ground behind her, making markings in the ground.
Her foot touched the beginnings of the forest ground, and suddenly a hand snaked across her mouth. Panic! Meiko struggled, wondering how Alice managed to get behind her. The hand hurt her mouth; sharp stabs of pain prickled against her mouth and cheeks; Meiko tasted blood. Another arm wrapped around her waist; had Alice always been this strong? More sharp prickles of pain, decorating her sides and back with dots and streaks of red. What was happening?
Mother... father...
Meiko reached out as she caught a glimpse of Alice's blond hair up ahead.
Alice...
The figure stepped away from Meiko. Her body fell to the ground, covered in blood, covered in cuts and slices. He smiled.
"Keep running, Alice. I have done you a great service; please, do not forget..."
And so he disappeared into the woods, taking off his top hat in a gesture of politeness.