The cliff wasn't too high, maybe just a couple of yards, and Alice happened to fall softly on bales of hay. Suguru was right about guaranteeing she won't die, but his knowledge of a two-way street still annoyed her. Suguru was back at the mansion a long time ago, then I traveled to train station then snowy field then Shona's house. Not to mention, I swear I saw Shinji, Shiori, and Shona standing behind him earlier.

Alice brushed the hay off her coat and walked toward the barn. Wasn't there a farm near Suguru's cabin? Too bad I can't see it from here. Alice looked up, still in disbelief that she fell from that high but sustained no injuries. I couldn't even tell that there was a small cliff from this side. Why wouldn't anyone build a cabin at a dangerous area like this? And I fell out from the only window built that faced the cliff. How coincidental. This must've all been Shun's idea.

Later on, she found a wooden house with tall grass growing around it. "What's with the grass? It's as high as my knees already." She took a nearby scythe and cut the grass down to her ankles to make walking easy and comfortable, but the first she saw was a skull and roughly somebody's skeleton. "Who could've done such a cruel thing? Looks like I just found evidence of someone's dirty work."

Suddenly, fog and mist blinded Alice's vision as a crowd of ghost came near her. "It's not my fault! I didn't kill those people! I have nothing to do with-"

"Relax, we know what happened." A male ghost stepped out to Alice. "We already know that those skeletons are the remains of the young girls that Mary Marshall killed. Everything happened in this village that we all used to live in, and most of those girls were our relatives. By the way, my name is Hydron."

"Hello, Hydron... Can you tell me more about this Mary and why she killed those girls?"

A ghost who called himself Shuji moved up. "That witch killed all these girls to obtain virgin blood for some youth-revitalizing potion to make herself young again. My sister Nene died under her hands!" The rest of the crowd also yelled out which female relatives of theirs also died under Mary's hands.

Then a ghost named Baron moved forward. "After Mary took my sister Maron, a young, black-haired man showed up, saying that he could help us. He suddenly became badly injured, but our ultimate plan still succeeded. However, the witch still lives, but in some other dimension inside a mirror. The man said that as long as she's alive, she'll keep killing young girls. But he left the village shortly, and we didn't know what else to do."

"Also," Hydron continued. "Getting Mary back is actually quite easy. Just fix the mirror in the house, burn some of her hair, and call her name three times. Mary will appear and attack the first person she sees, so be careful. At least, that's what he said."

A witch after virgin blood? I'd better watch out. "Don't worry, villagers. I'll do my best to find and kill Mary to bring you all and your murdered female relatives to peace. Where was Mary last seen?"

Everyone pointed to the wooden house that Alice was going to. "That's where she lives and cooks potions. At least, that's what we think."

That explains the skeletons nearby. Alice walked up to the door and pushed it open. The inside of the house still smelled like potions and other disgusting stuff. "Who still makes potions here after all these years?

She walked over to the fireplace and saw a pot of bubbling, neon green liquid boiling and a recipe on the table. "Bat wings, frog legs, and other stuff. And this is just the recipe for fixing a broken magic mirror."

Alice's eyes caught another piece of paper. "Now this is the recipe for the youth potion. I guess virgin blood works better than wolf blood. Baron mentioned something about a mirror, so maybe the boiling concoction will come in handy."

In the corner of the house was a shattered mirror by the witch's bedroom. All the pieces were perfectly fit into the frame, just waiting for a potion to mend the cracks. Alice took a flask of the potion and poured it gently on the mirror. With a burning log from the fireplace, Alice burned a piece of Mary hair that she found in the bedroom and chanted Mary's name three times. All Alice could do now was wait.

She dozed off for a moment but woke up after hearing a rumbling sound. "What's happening? Has Mary returned to the village?" Alice looked into the mirror and stared at her reflection. "Everything looks normal to me." Alice touched her reflection nostalgically, hoping someone would come out from the other side. It's no use. We can't go back.

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Alice held both her hands up as Shun tied the ribbons of her dress together from behind. She looked into the mirror and was very satisfied with how she dressed herself up today: a sequined lavender party dress, a sapphire-pendant necklace, diamond dangling earrings, a corsage of roses mixed with asters, and violet heels. All Shun wore was a decent black tuxedo with a green tie and dress shoes.

"Alice, you're making me jealous. Why do you get to look better than me?"

"Because I'm a girl! But you know who's going to be really jealous? All the other girls and guys at the graduation dance. Out of all people, you shouldn't be jealous because you have me as your date, you know."

"Thanks for telling me that, Grad Dance Queen. Is that you're not wearing anything in your hair today? Because you know you're going to get the crown? Remember, this is only the eighth grade dance. Wait until we attend Winter Ball and Prom in high school."

"Did I say was going to be your date for those dances? No, so don't jump to conclusions!"

"But it's really obvious that you're going to be it, though. Don't deny it."

"Fine. Wait, I almost forgot." Alice pulled a drawer open, took out a satin purple purse, and slung it on her elbow. "Can't go anywhere special with this. This was my mother's purse, and it's still good as new. How do I look?"

"You look wonderful." Shun replied with a smile. "I love how you go above and beyond."

"And I love how you never say it's too much. Let's go!"

"Right behind you."

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

"Aaahhh!"

Alice immediately jumped back to the wall after seeing a dark figure in the mirror. "Oh no, it's Bloody Mary and the exact same thing that chased me to Suguru's cabin. She must be angry at me for trespassing. Is she a real witch or just another ghost? The looks contradict the villagers' claims."

She felt an aura of dark energy around her and ran to the entrance as fast as possible. The door was locked, and Alice had no way out. The witch created a dark ball of energy and aimed it at Alice, but neither one of them could see clearly in the dark. "That's it. I'm running. My blood isn't even worth half your time, so save it!"

With Alice out of the way, the witch's attacked broke the door, and Alice immediately escaped. The path she came from was covered in poison ivy, and the other side was a very steep slope. Mary followed Alice out, and with the moonlight shining down on them, Mary was able to aim more accurately, right for Alice's head. "No! I can't die just yet!"

"Then you won't die." Somebody jumped on Alice and rolled down the slope all the way to the bottom with her. They eventually hit a tree, and Alice took a closer look at the person who saved her.

"Shun!" yelled Alice when she saw those amber eyes. "What are you-"

"No time to explain. Go back to Uncle Suguru now and ask him for help." He placed an item into Alice's palm and closed her hand. "You have to leave, now!"

"But what about you?"

Shun smiled at Alice and just said, "It's always been a two-way street. I'll be fine." He made his way up the slope and disappeared.

Suguru's cabin is on the cliff. How am I supposed to get up there? And did Shun just call him 'uncle'? All Alice could think of doing now was going up the slope that Shun ascended, which was exactly what she did. Luckily, Bloody Mary wasn't around, and Alice made it to Suguru's cabin. I hope he's still here.

She pounded the door many times, and eventually Suguru opened the door. "We meet again. What brings you here?"

"This." Alice held up the shiny ruby that Shun gave her. "Shun told me to ask you for help, but he didn't say what-"

"Just as I thought. That wicked witch. Follow-"

"Wait. How do I know you're playing tricks on me again? And why are you here?"

Suguru glared at Alice seriously, which made her feel fearful for the first time. "Do you honestly think I'd play around when you and Shun's lives are at stake? Go with me to the cellar."

Lives at stake? Bloody Mary wants to kill me for my blood and kill Shun for cursing her. Alice set aside her emotions and followed Suguru to the back of the cabin.