Alice

I was making my daily trek down to the train station for perhaps the sixth time since my arrival in New York to see if today was the day that the soldiers would finally return. I had walked this path through the city so many times within the past week, that I had the route memorized and could probably even walk it at night.

Although, I opted against doing that due to the fact that it these streets turned dangerous once the sun fell and the oil lamps were turned off. As I walked towards the station, I noticed that an unusual amount of people were gathered around up ahead, right about where the station was. My hopes started to build, and my normal-paced walk turned into a run.

When I reached where the masses of people were gathered, I had trouble trying to see over them to see if this really was the soldiers' arrival home. I finally was able to push through enough people an get close enough that I was able to see a soldier walking by. This is them, I said to myself. This meant that Shun was somewhere here among all of these people.

All my patience had paid off. I began pushing past people, earning me a curt look from some of them when I bumped into their arms or shoulders. I quickly apologized to them and continued to try and reach the area of the platform where the soldiers were exiting from. As I did, I noticed families that had been separated since the start of the war, finally be reunited.

The emotions that were filling this place was almost overwhelming when one finally saw the kind of effect the was had had on all of these people. And for once, I found someway that I could relate to them. The war had taken a lot from me, but it had also given so much back.

It had given me a new view of the world, taught me to stand up for what I thought was right, and gave to me somebody that I wanted to be with instead of somebody that I was being forced to marry. As my thoughts faded away and I returned to focusing on my task at hand, I caught sight of Shun as he vanished through the crowds.

"Shun!" I shouted and began to push more forcedly through the crowd, ignoring their shouts for me to watch where I was going. I caught a glimpse of Shun again, and saw that he had stopped and was looking out into the crowds. He then shook his head and turned back around and continued to walk out of the station.

I couldn't allow him to slip my sight, for I knew that once he was out of the station and back into the city, my chances of finding him in such a massive place might as well be impossible. With one final push, I broke through the crowd of people and stumbled into an opening that had been made for the soldiers to walk through.

Now, Shun was right in front of me. "Shun!" I shouted again. And just as he turned around to see who was calling his name, I ran up to him, wrapping my arms around his neck, and found that I had tears starting to roll down my cheeks. "Alice?" he asked in a surprised voice. I looked up at him and said with a smile, "Looks like I found you first."

He blinked, as if not entirely sure that I was really here. But his confused and surprised expression quickly turned into a smile, and he returned the embrace that I had given to him. Behind him, I noticed that several people were staring at us, Dan included. The brunette stared at me for a moment and said, "Alice? How in the world did you get here?"

The old man that stood beside Dan, approached Shun and I. He asked, "Shun, who's this?" It suddenly occurred to me that this was most likely a member of his family, and I was overcome with worry about what he would think of me; I would have hated to have come and fought all this way, only to find out that family was going to keep up apart when even a war could not.

Shun motioned to me with his hand and said, "Grandfather, this is Alice." I took the ends of my dress and bowed to a curtsy as a sign of politeness. The gesture was something that was common practice in the South, and I could only assume that the same rules could apply here.

"It's nice to meet you," I said to the old man as I straightened up. His eyes scanned over me as he examined me. He was about to say something, when a woman appeared beside us. She had short brown hair that looked must like Dan's, and I guessed that this was the brunette's mother.

She smiled brightly and said, "How about we all catch up over dinner? Alice, you're more than welcome to join us as well." I smiled and thanked her for her hospitality. She then motioned for us to follow her. As we trailed behind her, we finally exited the station and returned out into the streets.

Alice

We finally arrived at Dan's house, and his mother, who I had been told to address as Mrs. Kuso, was working diligently in the kitchen as she prepared dinner. During this time, Shun had fully introduced me to his grandfather, explaining our story and all of what the two of us had gone through throughout the duration of the war.

I was worried that the old man would be apprehensive of me because I was from the South, but when he smiled and chuckled, I eased up a bit. His grandfather said, "I was wondering whenever you'd find yourself a nice girl, Shun." Shun smiled and rolled his eyes jokingly at the old man.

I found my own self smiling, and maybe even a slight blush had decided to make itself home on my cheeks. Shun turned his attention over to me and asked, "Alice, would you like to step outside with me for a moment?" He extended his hand out to me, and I took it, allowing him to help me out of the chair I was sitting in.

He lead me out to the back of the house, where we stepped out onto a small porch that overlooked a large body of water out in the distance. I walked to the edge of the porch and leaned against the railing, and found myself mesmerize by the site. Shun joined my side and gazed out at the water with me. He then glanced at me and said jokingly, "I thought I said that I would find you?"

I smiled and replied, "I figured I'd save you some of the hassle of tracking me down." He chuckled and told me, "Well, I greatly appreciate it." As we stood there against the railing of the porch, a thought crossed my mind. Since it had been Lee's army that had been defeated, that would have meant that Klaus would have been present at the last battle, considering that he had survived up till then.

And somehow, I knew that he had. I smiled sadly and shook my head. "I guess Klaus is on his way back to his plantation then, seeing as Lee's army has been disbursed." Shun's expression suddenly turned somewhat grim, and I couldn't help but sense that something was wrong. "Is everything alright?" I asked worriedly.

He turned around and leaned his back against the railing and sighed heavily. "He's not. I watched him die in battle." I felt my eyes widen in surprise. Klaus was dead? "What happened?" I asked in a rushed voice, eager to know how he had died. It wasn't like I had wished death upon Klaus; I might not have liked him, or even loved him, but I didn't want him to die.

I didn't want anyone to die, for that fact. Shun crossed his arms over his chest and told me, "I had just gotten back into the battle and chased down Klaus to settle an unfinished score between us, and that had been when I really saw who he really was. I couldn't bring myself to kill him or fight him because of the pity I felt for him. So, I tried to talk some sense into him, make him realize that you never loved him and that hanging onto the illusion that you did, was doing nothing but hurting him and you."

Shun let out another heavy sigh, and I could see that something was weighing down on his mind. He then continued. "Well, I finally reached through to him and made him see that I was right, and that was when Jones showed up. You'd remember him as the soldier that tried to hurt you back at the Union camp awhile back."

I shuddered at the memory of that group of soldiers, and at what they had tried to do to me. There was no telling what they would have done if Shun hadn't stepped in and saved me from them. I nodded to let Shun know I remembered them very well. He told me, "You see, Jones had betrayed the Union sometime ago, and joined the Confederacy. He showed up there asking Klaus why he hadn't killed me yet. Things went from there and Jones was trying to kill me, and he might have if Klaus hadn't gave his life to stop him. Alice, he died to make sure that I lived and made it back to you, to make sure that you'd have a life that you'd want."

My mouth had gone dry, and I felt tears starting to form in my eyes. Memories of my time with Klaus began to flash through my mind, even the bad memories when he discovered that I had gone with Shun to that couple's ball. Even after all that had happened between us, Klaus had always been fighting for my happiness, and I felt guilty and bad for not being able to see it until now.

I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders, and I looked up to see Shun. He told me gently, "He died a hero, not a villain." I used the palm of my hand to wipe away the tears that were spilling over my eyes now, and gave Shun a nod to let him know that I understood. I had never really seen Klaus as I bad guy, but there had been times when I wondered.

He had gone into the war, just to kill Shun and get revenge. But I saw now that his real motive had been to get me back because he believed that it would bring me back. The door to the porch opened, and Dan poked his head out. He looked at us and said, "Food's ready, lovebirds." Shun narrowed his eyes at his friend, and I couldn't help but giggle. The two of us left the porch and went back inside of the house to eat.

Alice

The food had been great, and when everyone had finished eating their fill, Mrs. Kuso came around and picked up the plates. Dan leaned back in his chair and said contently, "Man, I almost forgot how good food tasted." Shun grinned and said, "Agreed." Dan's mother returned back to her seat at the table.

His father leaned forward a bit and said, "How about you two share some of your war stories with us? I'm sure you've got plenty to tell us." Dan quickly spoke up and began telling us some of his stories. He spoke of how he had gotten shot on several occasions, and when he did, I almost thought his mother might faint from hearing that her son was wounded.

Dan waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "But my stories are nothing in comparison to what Shun's been through. Why don't ya tell them, buddy?" I also wanted to know more about what kind of obstacles Shun had to overcome during the war. He sat there in silence for a moment, staring with cast down eyes at the table.

I told him, "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." I knew from firsthand experience the horrors of the battlefield, and that they weren't really something that many people would want to relive. Shun sighed and told us, "I guess there's one that I could share." He began to tell us how he had been captured by Klaus and Jones, and was almost killed.

But they had run out of time and decided to take Shun as a prisoner. He spoke of the horrible conditions and treatment that he and the other soldiers there at the prison had to face. He told us about how during his first day there, he stopped the Guards from beating up a young soldier, and in turn, they turned on Shun and nearly killed him right there.

"After that, he and I decided to escape from the prison camp," he said calmly. I could see the darkness clouding up in Shun's eyes as he relived those moments, and I could tell that they might have been the darkest days of his life. He continued with his story and told us that they just barely escaped, but his companion had been shot and died afterwards.

That was when he had set out to return to the battlefield and settle things with Klaus, once and for all. I then realized that that had been what he meant when he was telling about his final stand-off against Klaus. He had mentioned that he had just rejoined the battle, and I thought he had meant that he may have been wounded or something.

Dan leaned back in his chair and said casually, "I told Shun that he had more guts to go through what he did and return to battle than most of the soldiers in the Union." Mrs. Kuso nodded in agreement with her son and said, "There must have been something really important to motivate you to keep going like that."

A faint smile formed on Shun's lips and he told her, "There was." He glanced over at me, and I realized that I had been the motivation. Shun then added, "I should have died several times out there, but I had made a promise, and to keep it, I had to stay alive." I had been the reason that Shun was determine to stay alive, to keep on fighting, and to return home. I was that reason.

Shun's grandfather glanced up at a clock and stated, "Aye, it's getting rather late. I suppose I'll have to find an inn to stay at for the night and go back home in the morning." He stood up, bidding us all a farewell. He stopped at me and said, "It was nice to meet you, Miss Alice." I smiled, glad to know that I had the old man's approval.

Shun and I left shortly after his grandfather. As we walked down the streets, he asked me, "So, where are you staying?" I pointed towards the other side of town and told him, "At an inn over that way." He nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"I don't even know if my house will still be there. I'm sure looters have broken in by now and robbed the place clean. Not like there was much in there anyway." I smiled and said to him, "Why don't you stay at the inn with me then? I'm sure the innkeeper will give you a discount or something for being a soldier and just returning home. I mean, she let me stay there for free until you all came back." He smiled at me and said, "I might just have to take you up on that offer."


i'm sorry if something is wrong with the font. it appears that it's smaller than it supposed to be. (at least on my document manager). it might be normal when the chapter is uploaded. :/ oh well. read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~