Oh my I'm so stressed out recently. Life here has been an utter nightmare. I'll spare you the details, but it's really been killing my fanfic time. This chapter should have been done 4 days ago! After this I'm going to work on a collab story. That should be done in a day or so and I want to try to get the 15th chapter of TTX done by this coming Monday. It'll be a tight squeeze but if I don't I'll be knocked behind schedule again.

Hateful Love

Chapter 14: Forgotten Blood

Written by: Juggalomalice

Grim sat quietly as he contemplated his current situation. He wasn't sure exactly what events led to the circumstances as they were, but he was none the less unhappy with them as a whole and all his problems centered around a young upstart named Nik. At first he was convinced the young teen was nothing more than a charlatan, but as new events began to reveal themselves he was beginning to doubt his own words. The fact that Mandy seemed infatuated with the boy did nothing, but throw him into a deeper state of silent fury.

If he didn't know better he would have thought he was jealous of the boy, but that was just plain ridiculous. Why would he, the Grim Reaper, be jealous of a teenage child of all things? Still the fact of the matter was that Grim had lost face in Mandy's eyes since Nik's arrival and that did little to help the Reaper's already plummeting self-confidence. Throw in the fact that he was in unknown territory surrounded by a number of people who displayed numerous powers or combat prowess and he had ever right to be at unease.

Mandy was continuing her conversation with the other blond mystery guest, Alice with her trusty teddy bear sitting right next to her. The young Victorian dressed girl drifted in and out of states of overexcitement and uncertainty during conversation. She seemed excited at the mere idea of having someone to talk too, but she seemed utterly unsure of how verbose she should make her responses. Often shifting from minutes of nervous mumbles and silence to ecstatic rants. The girl could very well be called socially awkward. A fact that only seemed to show itself if you tried entering an in-depth and lengthily conversation with her.

Billy on the other hand seemed rather bored and was passing the time by throwing sugar cubes in random directions with a spoon. At least it was random at first. Slowly Billy discovered that if he tossed a cube at Alice is was deflected away by a transparent blue shimmer. No matter how many or how fast he threw the sugary projectiles the result was always the same. Billy actually started to make a game out of it as he tried to see how far he could get a cube to bounce.

"So Alice," Mandy began, "What's your relationship to Nik?"

"Well our families have been on friendly terms for years and I've known him since before I can remember. He's kind of like a big brother to me." She answered before she went into an awkward silence. "I guess that sounds kind of stupid huh?"

"Not at all. I only wish I had someone to look to in such a way." Mandy lied feinting empathy. A brother-sister relationship wasn't competition, but it did offer a way to gain influence over Nik himself. If Nik indeed saw the young blond as a sister like figure then gaining the trust of Alice offered the possibility of gaining Nik's own trust. Alice seemed all to desperate to gain friends as it was so manipulating her didn't seem to difficult.

Billy continued his game. The light blue shimmer around Alice slowly became darker as the sugar cubes began to vaporize at contact rather then bounce off. This did little, but aggravate the already bored Billy. He began frantically throwing more and more of the cubes at Alice. Each one turning to black ash when coming in contact with Alice's shield. The smell of burnt sugar began to slowly fill the room as Alice's own eye began to lightly twitch.

"For the sake of all that is good and evil, will you stop that?!!" She finally shouted at Billy as an invisible force picked the red-hair teen up and began slamming him around the room like a big-nosed pinball. Whatever was holding Billy suddenly pinned him to the Dinning room ceiling as a barrage of extra knives, forks, and even spoons began to magically lift themselves off the table and shoot straight at the red-haired nuisance fastening him to the ceiling by his cloths like he was an ugly piece of bad art.

"Oh no!" Alice shouted with fear. "Please forgive. I'm sorry. Really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt him. I… I just got mad. Please don't tell Ozoi!" Alice pleaded.

"Tell her what? I don't even know what the hell just happened. One minute Billy's being an idiot and the next he's become a pin cushion that defies the laws of gravity." Grim said as he shook his fist up at Billy. "Billy stop making Isaac Newton cry!"

"I like Fig Newtons!" Billy cried back.

"Alice what exactly did you do?" Mandy asked. Her own interested in the girl slowly perking up.

"I'm sorry." Alice said once more. "When I get stressed things like that happen. I didn't mean to hurt him." Alice implored once more.

"Calm down Alice. Why can't Ozoi know?" Mandy asked.

"If she finds out she may decide its to unsafe for me and take me back home and I don't want that. I do so love Lord Nik's parties and I would hate to miss this year's. So I beseech you not to tell her." A stray tear shedding from one of her bright blue eyes.

"Tell me what?" Ozoi asked from the door.

Alice froze unsure what to say. Her eyes darting between her handmaid to Mandy as if begging for her help. Mandy herself wasn't sure what to say. Usually she was not the type of person to defend a someone in need, but she becoming Alice's friend did offer a few perks that she could exploit. Still what could she say to cover up for Alice. What would a preteen want to keep secret from her caretaker. Probably something regarding "girl troubles", but Alice was still very young and Mandy wasn't even sure if she had come to age for such things. So what else could she say.

"Alice has a crush is all." Mandy finally said.

Ozoi simply put her hands to her mouth in shock as her pale face lit up in excitement. "Mistress Alice, is this true?"

Alice was lost without words. She wasn't expecting Mandy to make up such a story and found herself completely caught off guard. All she could do was blush a heavy red from the embarrassing situation she had just been put in.

Ozoi merely interpreted her blush to be a yes as she rushed to her Mistress's side to congratulate her. "Oh my little Alice is starting to grow up and notice boys. I'm not sure if I should be happy or sad. All this time you've just been a little girl and now you're starting to become a young woman." Ozoi exclaimed further embarrassing her Mistress.

"In fact we were just thinking that we could go to the mall next week, right Alice?" Mandy asked with a raised eye towards the younger blonde.

"Mistress Alice wishes to go out in public?" Ozoi asked in pure confusion. "Is this true Mistress?"

"Yes, it is?" Alice finally said as she played along with Mandy's lie. "Is that a problem Ozoi?"

Ozoi immediately took on a more professional look. "Of course not Mistress. If that is your wish I'll make arrangements as soon as possible. It will be my honor."

"Thank you Ozoi, now if you excuse me for a bit." Alice said as she slowly stood up.

Ozoi was quickly at her side to pull out her chair, "Do you require anything of me Mistress?"

"No, I will only be gone for a moment and I know my way around the mansion rather well." Alice said dismissing her handmaid's offer of assistance.

"Of course Mistress." Ozoi acknowledged as she bowed in respect of Alice's wishes. "I shall await your return here should you need me."

Mandy watched as Alice exited the room leaving Ozoi who diligently stood at attention for his Mistress to return. "I so have to get me a maid like that."

Once Alice had left the room Ozoi turned toward Mandy and bowed once more. "Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?" Mandy asked.

"Mistress Alice has a very difficult time making friends. I'm glad that you took the initiative and gave her that extra push." Ozoi explained.

"Why is that? She seems like a nice enough girl. The type that gets invited to more lively parties then this and that parents love to brag about to their friends." Grim added clearly curious himself.

"Yes, you're quite right. At least that's how things use to be at one time, but now things are very different for her." Ozoi said solemnly.

"Does it have anything to do with her little gifts?" Mandy inquired.

Ozoi nodded, "Yes, but little is an understatement. Alice was once a normal little girl raised on hugs & kisses, but when her powers began to mature that all changed. She became feared and it soon became a hazard to just be in the same room as her. So the little girl was suddenly deprived of the love she was so accustomed too."

"Feared huh? I say she's got something going for her. And what about you Ozoi? Do you fear her?"

The raven-haired girl looked away in shame. "Yes, a little, but I would never abandon her if that's what you're implying. She just wants someone to look at her as a normal girl. Her former friends and even her parents have practically forgotten her in fear."

"Poor kid. I can relate to the feeling of not being wanted." Grim empathized.

Alice walked up the spiraling stairs to the second floor lavatory. She didn't need to use the facilities. She just wanted to have a moment to herself to get her thoughts straight. She still wasn't sure what had just happened earlier . She just knew she suddenly had plans to go to the mall next week. The very thought made her nervous. She hadn't been out in public in years and she had no idea what to expect. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she completely forgot where she was going until she bumped into a tall figure knocking her down.

"Of forgive me. I should have been paying more attention." Alice apologized not even bothering to look up at who she bumped into.

"No apology needed Lady Alice. I admit I myself was in a rush to get downstairs. It was equally my fault." A voice that apparently belong to a young teenage male said. "Here let me help you up." The young man said as he bent down and took Alice's gloved hand.

"No you mustn't!" Alice half-shouted, but it was already too late. The young man took her hand and gently pulled her back up to her feet where she finally got a chance to look at the person she collided with. "Lord Nik, you know better than to touch me. It's dangerous."

Nik grinned coyly. He was well aware of Alice's powers, but it didn't bother him. "And why should I fear a cute little girl who can't see where she's going?"

Alice was wide eyed in shock at first before she finally smiled brightly. "No reason I guess. I'm just overreacting is all. Wow, are those your family robes?" Alice asked as she took notice of Nik's garments.

Nik was wearing a black robe with green sleeves. A green stripe ran up the each side up to the waist and a short black half-cape with a green interior decorated his back. The most notable feature of the robe was the emblem over the right side of his chest. It was a picture of a wispy black dragon that swirled around before returning to consume it's tail resting on a solid green background. Alice was not familiar with Corthala family history, but she was aware of their nasty habit to kill off their own members. The emblem was fitting to say the least.

"I'm glad you approve. My other cloths were completely useless after my bout with my Uncle and I figured I'll dress nicely today."

"Oh so it has nothing to do with Mandy being here cause you never dressed up for any of your past birthdays?"

"And why would you think Mandy has anything to do with this?"

"Just thought. She's rather nice though. I like her."

Nik's brow cocked in curiosity. "Mandy nice you say?"

"Why yes. You should invite her to more events though her big nosed friend is another story."

"Unfortunately they're a package deal."

"Oh how unfortunate. If not for his presence I would have thought her of a proper house like us."

"Yes she does give off that feel doesn't she? Well I should be on my way. Iya hates it when I'm late for anything. Even my own birthday." Nik said as he began to walked past Alice.

"Yes, we mustn't be late." Alice said with a hit of sorrow as he walked by.

"Lady Alice," Nik began catching the attention of the young girl as he offered her his hand, "Aren't you coming?"

She cautiously took the older boy's hand and upon seeing how nothing bad happened to him at her touch allowed herself to smile. "Yes, I wouldn't want to be late either." Despite her complicated life style Alice was a girl of little actual wants.

She just didn't want to be forgotten.

End Chapter 14

Rant

Not much to say. Damn it I need something to rant about!