Shun
Alice and I sat side-by-side in a train car. After our reunion last month, she had mentioned that she wanted to go back to her old home and check on how things were moving along there after the last remnants of the war faded away. She also wanted to check and see if the town was still there, for she had heard rumors a while back that when Sherman was going East on his Atlanta Campaign, he had set fire to much of the South, burning entire cities and plantations as he passed through.
Suddenly, Dan, who had been sitting behind us, leaned forward and said, "Thanks again for letting me tag along with you guys." Alice smiled and told him, "No problem, Dan. I think it's sweet that you want to let Runo know that you made it out of the war." Dan waved his hand around nonchalantly and said, "Well, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that my current state is unknown to somebody who is concerned about me."
I rolled my eyes and glanced at him over my shoulder. "Just admit that you like her and that's the only reason you're coming with us," I said stoically. Dan's eyes widened in surprise. He retorted with, "I thought I explained to you that I don't like her. She's too stubborn for my liking."
I raised one of my eyebrows and said under my breath, "Sounds like you two are made for each other then, if that's the case." Dan leaned further over the seat and snapped, "Hey! I heard that!" Alice giggled and said to us, "Alright, you two. Play nice." Dan let out a huff of air and sat back down in his seat.
I chuckled and shook my head. "He still won't admit he likes her," I stated with slight disbelief. Behind me, I heard Dan growl, meaning that he had heard my remark. At the front of the train car, the conductor appeared and informed us that we would be arriving at our stop soon. I said under my breath, "Thank heavens. I was beginning to wonder how much longer I would have to hear him complain."
I then felt the back of my seat get kicked, and turned around the see that Dan was pretending to act innocent and like he had done nothing. He looked at me and said, "What? My foot slipped." I narrowed my eyes at him and turned back around without saying anything. Out in the distance, I saw our designated train station coming into view. Alice was staring at it and said, "I never thought I'd return here so soon."
I placed my hand over hers and told her, "I'm sure everything will be fine." She smiled at me, a sign that let me know that she believed me. The train began to apply its brakes, and ever so slowly, we pulled to a perfect stop at the station platform. The doors to the train car opened, and the three of us gathered our belongings that we had brought with us for the short trip back South.
I found it strange that even though the war was pretty much over, and we were no longer fighting, that we still continued to travel; I was sure that my days of traveling great distances would be over for a while. We stepped off the train, and I felt a sense of relief to finally stretch my legs again after the long ride.
The three of us then began the short walk to Alice's hometown, knowing that it wouldn't be long till we found out if it had been burned to the ground like so many other Southern towns and cities. It didn't take us but a little under half and hour till we finally saw the outline of the town. Alice smiled and let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness. It looks like everything is still standing." I also felt a sense of relief knowing this. It meant that Alice's home was still there, and I didn't have to watch her suffer and grieve over the loss of the place that she had grown up in. We strode into the town, and I found that things were very much like I remembered them from my first time here.
The only difference I spotted was that the faces of the citizens appeared to be rather melancholy, most likely over their defeat in the war. They knew that things were about to change; from their livelihood to their everyday routines. Some people caught sight of us as they walked by, and I picked up on some of their whispers.
They were talking about Alice, and all I could figure was that they were surprised to see her back her after her betrayal to the Confederacy. But the Confederacy had fallen, and she could no longer be prosecuted for treason. She had no reason to be fearful of the people that had once been her enemies, for they could not longer hurt her, even if they tried.
And if they, then I wouldn't allow it. Alice looked to Dan and I and said, "I guess we need to go ahead and find Runo and Julie." Dan and I nodded and followed behind her, letting her lead the way since she knew this place much better than either one of us. And it didn't take long for us to locate her two friends.
They had just left out of a store, and the moment Alice caught sight of them, she shouted their names and ran to them. Her two friends, who had both been carrying bags of something, dropped their items and ran to Alice, meeting her halfway. The three of them embraced in a hug. When they broke the hug, I saw that they had tear stains streaking down their faces.
Runo wiped her tears away and smiled. "What are you doing back here? We thought you weren't going to come back," the bluenette asked. Julie nodded in agreement and said, "Yeah. You even mentioned in your letter that you weren't going to." Alice smiled and told them, "I guess I had a change of heart. That, and I wanted to see if the town was still here because I heard rumors that Sherman had burned many a city to the ground."
Runo motioned to the buildings behind her and said, "Well, as you can see, we've remained untouched. Although, some of the surrounding Plantations were burned to the ground by either Sherman or by several rogue groups of Union soldiers." Beside me, I heard the sound of a bell chiming over a door, and looked to see a guy about my age with shoulder-length blonde hair step out. His eyes locked onto Alice, and he ran across the street to her.
"Alice? Is that really you?" he asked. She turned and saw him, her own eyes widening. "Billy!" she said with a smile. The two hugged each other for a short moment, then went on about how they hadn't seen each other since he was drafted when the war began. Julie clapped her hands together and said brightly, "Oh, yeah! Billy finally returned back home from the war a couple of weeks ago!"
The silver-haired girl then proceeded to wrap her arms around him, and for a moment, I thought she might accidentally choke the poor guy. But he didn't seem to mind or even attempt to pry her off. In fact, he appeared to be enjoying her embrace. Runo, who had still been talking with Alice, finally noticed Dan standing beside me.
Her eyes widened a bit and she asked curiously, "You're here too?" I smiled and told her, "I told him about how you appeared to be worried about him when I was here, and he decided to tag along to let you know that he was okay." The ever slightest blush crossed her face when I told her this.
"Oh, really?" she asked awkwardly but tried to keep her composure normal. Dan, who I also saw was blushing slightly, told her, "Uh, yeah. I'm just caring like that." I rolled my eyes, still wondering how he could say that he didn't like her. Runo shook her head and turned back to Alice and told her, "Why don't you all come with me to my house and we can finish catching up there? You're all also more than welcome to stay the night too. I'm sure my parents won't mind." With that being said, Runo led us back to her house.
Alice
When we reached Runo's house, her parents had been more than welcome for us to come inside. They told me how glad they were that I was back, and offered their apologies for all of the problems that had befallen me before I left. While we were all gathered around in the living room, we finished catching up.
Shun let my two friends know what happened after he left their care, and I told them of my stay up in Kentucky and Ohio. After I shared all that I felt was of any relevance, Runo and Julie began to inform me of what else happened in my absence. Julie, who was eager to tell me her stories, told me about when Billy came back home and what he did.
Apparently, the moment he stepped off the train and found her, he fulfilled Julie's lifelong dream of him proposing to her. I congratulated her on her engagement, truly happy for her. But when all was said and done, we all turned in for the night. We all had our own guest room, and even though I wanted to share one with Shun, the beds just weren't big enough for two people.
So, I had to settle for the one next to him. But as the night went on, I found myself in a semi-restless sleep. On several occasions, I woke up but immediately fell back asleep. My sleep was a dreamless one, and it was almost like I was aware of all of my surroundings, even though I was out cold. But the last time that I woke up, was right at dawn, and I had been unable to get back to sleep.
I walked over to my window and looked outside, finding the sun was trying to break through storm clouds that had moved in over the town. I then got an idea, and decided to execute it while everyone was asleep, for I wanted to do this on my own.
I slipped out of my nightclothes and into an extra dress that I had brought with me, and as I left out of the house, I snatched up on umbrella, just in case I got caught out in the rain. From there, I set out on the road, remembering the route to the Antebellum home that almost became my very own home.
Alice
It didn't seem like it took long, but I was sure the walk was about an hour's worth, but I finally reach my destination. Now, I stood before the charred remains of Klaus' mansion. Apparently, Sherman's men had burned down the Plantation while on their March To The Sea. I realized that almost every remnant of Klaus' very existence, was virtually gone, and the sheer memory of him was the only thing that seemed to remain.
Seeing the skeletal structure of the Antebellum home, I recalled how it stood in its former glory, and I approached the blackened pile of wood that covered a good sized piece of land. The stair, which had been made of marble, still stood where they had been. They were covered with debris and ashes, but they appeared to be untouched by the ravenous flames that consumed this place not too long ago.
Seeing them there, leading up to nothing, made me think of them as a stairway to heaven, a way to reach the sky, rather than the door to a home. I continued my walk around the old structure, and found myself at where the garden was. It was completely untouched, not even a single burned blade of grass.
Somehow, it had been spared from all the other carnage. I stepped into the garden, remembering how this had been my favorite place in all of the Plantation. This place had been my escape from everything else that was going wrong in the world. The fountain in the center of the garden still had running water going through its system, but it hadn't been cleaned in a while, and the water was starting to turn green.
Suddenly, I felt a drop of water land on my shoulder, and when I looked up, I saw that it was beginning to rain. Quickly, I popped open the umbrella I brought with me, shielding myself from the pouring rain. I continued my walk around in the garden, and saw that one of the rose bushes that Klaus had planted shortly after our engagement, had a single, bright red rose in full bloom.
I walked up to the flower, remembering how he had been rather fond of this plant alone. Carefully, I reached down and broke it off the stem, being sure that I didn't prick one of my fingers on its thorns. Then, I turned back around and faced the fountain, and gently laid the flower on the edge of the stone structure, turning it from a decoration to a memorial to the person that once lived here.
I felt tears starting to form in my eyes, and before I realized it, they were overflowing from my eyes. "Thank you," I said under my breath, "for everything, Klaus." As I stared into the greenish water of the fountain and watched the ripples form from raindrops, I saw a reflection slowly form.
I turned around and saw Shun standing behind me. "What are you doing here?" I asked while wiping the tears from my eyes. He approached me and stepped under the umbrella with me to escape the rain and told me, "I heard you leave Runo's this morning and followed you to make sure everything was alright."
I smiled at him, feeling glad that I had somebody to look out for me. He then glanced down at the rose that I placed on the fountain, then back at me.
"Don't worry. I promise you that you'll have a future that is better than your past. And I keep my promises," Shun told me with a slight smile. I smiled back and told him, "I know." And just like the world heard his promise to me about a bright future, the rain stopped, and the sun broke through the storm clouds.
i think there may be one more chapter, and that'll be it. then, i'll finally be done with this story and can move on to the next, which was selected in the poll. and that story will be -drum roll-...Take Me To Wonderland! The people have spoken! read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~
