Alice was floating in an empty space. Darkness surrounded her, feeling thick and heavy, almost like being bundled in a heavy weighted blanket. Despite the heaviness, it wasn't uncomfortable. It was comfortable in a way.
Despite the weight being comforting, it was cold, not quite painful, but still uncomfortable and made her feel an ache. It was easier to stay curled up, cradled in the heavy darkness. There was no warmth, but no chillbumps rose on her skin either.
It was silent, which normally would make her anxious but she simply felt... nothing. There was an absence of any emotion or feeling. It should've scared her, but she simply accepted it. It wasn't a particularly new feeling for her.
Occasionally, though, the silence would be broken. A low voice spoke to her, an accent attached to it. The voice was soothing and she focused on it whenever it reached to her. The accented voice always seemed to be reading something, sometimes something older with longer, proper words she couldn't understand, and sometimes something newer, about dragons and princesses locked away.
Other times, it was another voice. This one deeper, sounding more tired every time it reached her. The deeper voice always spoke quietly, as if scared of disturbing her. This one didn't read, instead it told her of other people, things going on around her, keeping her informed of people's worry.
Sometimes, she would be pulled from the cold. A warm liquid would be poured down her mouth, warming her belly. It was the main feeling she had, floating in nothingness. She faintly noticed being moved every so often, but took no heed of it. It was better to let whatever happened happen.
She wasn't sure how long she had been floating when a small orb of light appeared, almost blinding her despite it's small size. She slowly covered her eyes with her hands and looked down, dimming the light greatly. She stayed that way for what must have been hours or maybe days, she really had no sense of time.
Slowly, she began to peek out and look at the orb. She groaned when she began to move her aching limbs and reached for it, trying to grasp it. She bit her lip as the aching grew to be too much and yelled out, pushing herself forward to grab the orb.
As soon as the orb was gripped in her palm, it exploded. Millions of images flashed before her eyes, not pausing or slowing to allow her time to examine them. She covered her eyes again and screeched, curling into a tight ball.
She sobbed softly as the images began speaking all at once and clamped her hands over her ears, clenching her eyes shut. She just barely managed to yell out, "STOP!"
The noises stopped at once, the images freezing in time. She slowly peeked up again and took a deep breath, staring at the blurred frozen images. She took a deep breath and focused on an image, willing it alone to play.
Twins were bickering, holding up different dresses. One held a tight, strapless black dress while the other held a red halter dress. She tilted her head and softly sighed, mumbling, "I like the red one more."
Alice blinked in surprise and glanced down at her hands at the feel of bags being pushed into her hands, a store logo on the front. They'd ended up buying both, not being able to decide. The zipper on the black dress ended up being torn, tossed on the floor to be forgotten.
She continued onto the next scene, a much quieter affair. She was watching her toenails get painted, a dark purple by a woman with black fingernails. The woman was smirking, commenting on how both of them would like it.
She frowned, looking down at her hands as the clothing bags changed into a bag of nailpolish. She poked through it and softly mumbled, "Who would like it?" The twins?
She shook her head and continued on, flinching back as large man appeared, the nail polish disappearing into the darkness as she dropped it. The man was focusing on the pan on the stove, several other pots on different spots of the stove. As water boiled in one, he pointed a cabinet.
She watched as the scene shifted ever so slightly, watching her own hands reach out to pull a strainer out to set in the sink. As he carried the pot over, he commented on needing to leave soon, before they got home. They who?
She groaned and rubbed her temples, forcing herself to keep from curling up. She could feel it, she was getting close. Who were they? Surely not the twins, they looked too young and immature. Who the hell were they?!
The scenes blurred together for a moment before stopping suddenly. She looked between two pairs of dark red eyes, glowing in the soft light. The dinner table was set, candles giving the room a soft glow.
She wasn't scared, though. The red eyes didn't scare her as they moved closer. Claw-tipped hands were strangely gentle as she was lifted up, into a pair of strong arms. Wine-flavored lips met hers, a claw dragging down the back of her dress.
That night was pure pleasure, three bodies moving together as if they'd done this a million times. It was far too dark or the angle was all wrong throughout the scene to get their faces though. However, she could feel their warmth, their love weaving into her very core.
She smiled softly as the images disappeared and took a deep breath, the orb of light returning to hover before her. She reached over and gently guided it close, curling around it. She cradled it in her hands and looked down at it, taking a deep breath.
Hugging it close, she closed her eyes, feeling it slowly grow. It encased her, surrounding her in warmth and a wave of emotions. She smiled widely as tears streamed down her cheeks and watched as trendrils reached out, disappearing into the darkness as they stretched. Four thin ones and two thick ones.
She reached out and grabbed one of the thick ones, feeling a soft repetitive vibration in it. She pulled herself along it and smiled widely, the weight lifting off of her as she continued to follow the trendril. The vibration slowly turned into a soft thudding, slow and steady.
She slowly blinked awake and mumbled softly, closing her eyes for a moment before lifting her head. She licked her dry lips and looked around, slowly blinking as her brain caught up. She shifted and grunted when her back popped.
Deucalion chuckled softly, gaining her attention. He smiled softly and gently cupped her cheek, pressing his forehead to hers. He softly mumbled, "I'm happy to have you back with me, my beloved."
She smiled softly and relaxed into him, weakly mumbling, "I love you."