London sighed as she sat on her suitcase, as Alice's army of dolls put the finishing touches on rebuilding their house.

"Is there a problem London?" Alice asked, turning from her task of directing her dolls.

"No… I just miss Spain," London grumbled. "I liked it there. Couldn't we have at least moved to Italy? It's so cold here."

"Sorry dear. But I really had my heart set on Romania. It's a beautiful old country with a rich history, both magical and mundane," Alice said. "Plus, I hear the Romanian ministry is rather lax in its law enforcement, so we may be able to move around more freely."

"I guess…" London continued to grumble.

"Come on, you love the snow, you used to love playing in it when we were in Switzerland." This got a noncommittal noise from London. So Alice added with a wry smile, "I'll tell you what, if you still feel this way after a year, We'll spend a summer in Greece, a nice Mediterranean vacation."

"Really?" London said, perking up.

"I am no liar, London. You know this," Alice said playfully.

London, looking significantly more perky, returned to watching the dolls work, kicking her legs playfully.

Alice shook her head ruefully. At eight and a half years London was becoming a little handful. Good thing Alice had many hands to spare.

"Oh by the way London, I know we just moved, but will you be alright by yourself for the evening?" Alice asked.

"Why, you need to be somewhere?" London asked.

"Merely to pay my respects to the owner of the land," Alice said.

"Owner?"

"I normally wouldn't bother, but the land we are currently in belongs to a powerful Vampire named Lady Remilia Scarlet. I have already gotten permission, but I should visit to properly establish gratitude." Alice said. "Despite holding a large amount of influence in the local ministries, she is uninterested in politics and will let anyone through her doors provided that they are interesting."

"...Can I come?" London asked.

She'd honestly quite like to meet a Vampire Lady, it sounds interesting.

"I'm not sure you should… Catching the attention of a powerful Vampire could be dangerous, you are only human after all," Alice said.

London pouted. "I'm living on her land, wouldn't it be more dangerous to hide me?"

"Well, I wasn't going to hide you per say..." Alice said. "But I was only planning to mention you in passing. I'd rather Lady Remilia didn't get too interested in you."

"Is she a bad vampire?" London asked.

"She is a true vampire," Alice corrected. "Possibly the last of her kind. And it is naive and foolish to try and prescribe ordinary human morals to such beings, their minds do not work the same way a normal person's would. She is a predator, and does not treasure life in the same way a human would. That doesn't mean she will attack you for no reason, nor does it mean that she is heartless, nor evil. But it does mean that she might be capable of doing things others might find questionable if she finds you too… interesting."

'Like try and poach you,' Alice thought privately. She had no idea if Remilia was the kind to keep human pets, and she fully intended to find out before she let London anywhere near her.

"Reasonable fears. But my mistress would never do anything untoward with her guests," said a new voice. "Provided they are polite of course. My lady has standards"

Alice whirled around in shock, she hadn't sensed anyone approach.

A young woman with white hair and dressed in maid attire was standing quite unconcerned in the middle of a cloud of armed dolls, all pointing weapons at her.

"Apologies, did I startle you?" The maid said.

Alice playing back what was said, withdrew her dolls. "Forgive me, I tend to keep my guard fairly high. One must when being pursued by law enforcement."

"Understandable," the maid said, giving a short bow. "I'll endeavour to make myself more apparent in the future."

Alice looked the figure up and down, studying what could only be the infamous 'perfect maid' of the Scarlet mansion. She certainly cut a fine figure that was for sure, pale, perfect platinum blonde hair, steely grey eyes, and dressed so immaculately that she could give Alice herself a run for her money. Her posture and demeanour was also unnaturally immaculate, she had been completely unperturbed to be totally surrounded by weapons, not even a twitch.

The most worrying thing was that she was standing less than three meters away, without her or her sentry dolls being any the wiser. If she had wanted to, she could have killed Alice right then and there.

"Woww…" London said, catching Alice off guard. "You're so pretty."

Alice stared blankly at her daughter. 'I mean... objectively true, but is now really the time?' She thought, 'I taught you to be honest, but not that honest.'

The maid laughed, and even that had a perfect crystal clear cadence. "Thank you… But perhaps we should introduce ourselves, I am Sakuya Izayoi, Head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion." She bowed low.

'Hmm, a bow, not a curtsey.' Alice Noted, before bowing herself. "Alice Margatroid, the Seven coloured Puppeteer, but you knew that already. This is my Daughter, London Margatroid."

London shook herself from admiring Sakuya, and also bowed, like Alice Taught her ("Magicians do not Curtsey, they Bow."). "P-pleased to meet you."

Sakuya allowed an expression of mild surprise to cross her face. "A daughter? I had assumed an apprentice. I was unaware you were a mother."

"I have endeavoured to keep this information hidden, you understand." Alice said.

Sakuya nodded in understanding. Enemies can't target family members they don't know exist.

"Well, I suppose we should get to business then," Sakuya said, "The Mistress has decided to invite you and your household to join us for dinner at your discretion."

"You may tell your mistress that I would be delighted to attend," Alice said. Her brow creased. "Household?"

"I was not told specifics, but I was told there would be a plus one," Sakuya said.

'Damn,' thought Alice. Trust a vampire to be one step ahead.

"Very well," Alice said. "At what time would we be expected?"

After times were exchanged and Sakuya had left, Alice sat down on a chair brought over by a doll and sighed, wondering if her decision to come to Romania was the correct one. She had thought that she'd be safer under the wing of a vampire, and could give London a more stable environment. Perhaps she should have spared more thought to how dangerous the Vampire could be… Or her subordinates. She had been so confident…

"Should I do anything with my hair?" London asked.

Alice rolled her eyes. "You spend an hour every morning already, I doubt there is anything else you could do."

But still she relaxed. Nothing more to do then just try and stay in control of the situation, and keep a tight grip on London.

"So Miss Margatroid," Said Remilia sipping daintily from her wine glass. "While we have spoken briefly on the subject, I wonder if you would be willing to further enlighten us on your reasons for choosing the old country."

Alice finished her mouthful of the admittedly amazing food, and answered her host. "Well for a start I have always been somewhat interested in Romanian culture…"

London took this moment to zone out a little, having heard this on the flight here, and surveyed the table's other occupants. There was of course their host, who was much younger looking then Hailey was expecting, like a child or an early teen, it created an odd effect when combined with her refined mannerisms, like a child playing princess, only after having been classically trained in theatre.

Then there was the one sitting to her left, someone who looked like they were ready for bed. Her colour palette seemed to consist entirely of various shades of purple, including her hair and eyes, and she had her mob cap decorated in stars and moons. Remilia had introduced her as the Mansions resident magician, she seemed somewhat bored, having finished her strangely small portion, and was eying the book she had brought with her that lay next to her dinner plate.

Then there was the gatekeeper and the maid, who had sat down to eat after serving everybody else. It was rather unusual for servants to eat at the master's table, at least to London's knowledge. Maybe Remilia was a nice person?

"...Well you can be sure I will do my best to keep snooping wizards away from your home." Remilia was saying to her mother. "While they might not like it, they are quite fond of my wealth down at the ministry. I doubt they will find you, that is, unless they follow you home. Plausible deniability, you understand."

"Of course. I am thankful for your shelter," Alice said respectfully.

"And what of your daughter, London was it? Are you looking forward to your stay in Romania?"

"Huh?" London exclaimed, suddenly checking back into the conversation. "Er… Well I was hoping for Italy to be honest."

Remilia giggled while Alice Massaged her forehead. "London, remind me to give some more lessons on 'tact' when we get home."

"Yes Mama," London said meekly.

"Oh don't worry Miss Margatroid, we were all children once," Remilia tittered. "In fact, speaking of childhood, I understand you are English, correct?"

"That is correct," Alice said, "I lived there until about eight years prior, before I started travelling."

"Unless I am mistaken, you attend Hogwarts for your schooling, correct?" Remilia said.

"Briefly, yes," Alice said, frowning.

"Well so did Patchouli here, isn't that right?" Remilia said, turning to her Magician companion, only to find she had started reading.

With a pout, she leaned over and poked Patchouli in the cheek. "Stop reading at the table, we have guests."

Patchouli rolled her eyes, closed her book and turned to Remilia. "Yes Remilia?"

"I was just telling them that you also went to Hogwarts, Isn't that right?" Remilia said, putting emphasis on the last phrase."

"Do I have to?" Patchouli said dryly.

"Patchouli," Remilia said, in a voice that was almost a whine.

Patchouli rolled her eyes, before turning to Alice. "Yes, I graduated from Hogwarts… oh around a century ago now I think… Has it changed much?" Patchouli said, sounding like she was indulging Remilia more than actually caring about the answer.

"I suppose so, I haven't been for nearly forty years myself though, and unlike you, I never graduated," Alice said.

That at least tweaked Patchouli's interest. "Hmm, I am surprised. You don't seem like the dropout type, were you expelled?"

"In a sense," Alice said. "But it was merely a case of conflicting ideals, I didn't agree with the teachers, they didn't agree with me, I simply decided that I could get further on my own."

"A bit extreme, was that not?" Patchouli said, "I agree it was rather stifling even in my time, but it was only seven years. Surely it was more trouble than it was worth to drop out?"

"I admit it had its difficulties, losing my wand being chief among them. But I like to think I became a better Magician because of it, and was able to reach proper Magicianhood much younger than most, and was able to move my focus to my passions instead, Dollmaking and Puppetry."

"An interesting study for a magician I must admit, what inspired you to such a specialised pursuit?"

Alice smiled wryly. "Well it might not surprise you, but I was not particularly blessed with friends, I spent most of my childhood playing with dolls, I suppose it had all started with wanting a doll who could play back. As I grew older, this became an interest in dollmaking itself, as well as the art of puppetry. This eventually evolved into my current area of research, trying to make a living doll."

Patchouli also smiled." Ahh the classic, the tale of Frankenstein, the trespass of 'gods' domain. A very worthy magical pursuit. Right down to the ignorant masses hammering at the castle doors, in fact."

"Hmm, true, I never noticed the literary parallel," Alice mused. "Although in my case it's more because of all the Law enforcement personnel I have killed, rather than any crimes against nature I may or may not be performing."

"I have been meaning to ask actually, why are you on the run from magical authorities? Remilia mentioned it in passing, but she did not go into the specifics," Patchouli said.

"Because I do not view their authority as having authority over me, I do not participate in their society, nor live in their settlements, so I fail to see why their laws should have power over me," Alice said.

"Well yes, but what Law did you actually break?" Patchouli said.

"Minor breach of the Statute of Secrecy," Alice said. "I was putting on a magical puppet show for mundane children."

Even Remilia blinked. "Excuse me, but how many people have you killed over this?"

"About twenty-eight at my last count," Alice admitted. "Rather disproportionate I know, but I refused to be arrested by an authority I did not recognise and they were not going to take no for an answer."

"Do you ever regret this decision?" Remilia asked curiously. "It can't be easy being on the run all the time."

"For the most part, no, I can't imagine making a different decision at the time…" Alice glanced at London, "Although maybe if I had known I was going to be a parent, perhaps I would have made more of an effort to avoid bloodshed. Perhaps I would not be as zealously pursued if I had merely concealed myself or evaded capture."

"Rash decisions made in youth," Patchouli said, nooding. "I remember burning quite a few bridges in my departure from wizarding society, not twenty-eight aurors dead mind you, but burned bridges nonetheless."

"I take it this is disrupting your parenting somewhat?" Remilia said.

"Well it's more like I am having trouble creating a stable environment for her to grow up with, I don't want her to grow up as lonely as I did, yet it is very difficult for her to put down any roots, when we have to be prepared to leave at the drop of a hat."

"I'm not lonely," London pouted.

"Most people don't think they are lonely until they get someone else in their life," Alice chided, "I certainly didn't think I was lonely until I adopted you."

"But I have you Mama," London said.

"That's very Sweet of you London," Alice said, cupping her daughters cheeks. "But just because you have me doesn't mean you shouldn't try to reach out and meet other people your age, Just because I turned out alright doesn't mean you shouldn't try going out and meeting people."

"You know, that's not particularly convincing coming from a fugitive with Twenty-eight counts of homicide," Patchouli said.

"I prefer to consider it resisting unjust arrest," Alice said, releasing Haileys cheeks, "Regardless, after I finish Teaching London Romanian, I intend to enrol her into a local school."

London said nothing to this and just pouted, this being a battle she had already fought and lost.

"Ahh, yet another motive for coming to Romania I'd assume?" Remilia said.

"Indeed, while living on your land. I feel I can relax my guard somewhat. With this being private land, nobody is just going to stumble onto my abode, wizard or otherwise. And while they might spot me on the street, as long as I don't let them follow me home, I should be able to live here for quite some time without worry, at least until London completes her Primary education, then I can consider a boarding school of some description."

"Really? Boarding school?" Remilia said, raising an eyebrow. "With how protective you seem to be, I would think you would not want her out of your sight."

"Well, while I would like to keep her close, being a parent isn't about what I want. It's about providing your child with all the knowledge and tools to succeed in life, and while she has shown an interest in my profession, I feel that boarding school will be a good opportunity for her to grow without me hovering over her shoulder for a while, and maybe find her own interests," Alice said. "As a bonus, her spending time away from home for school means I don't have to worry about her being discovered for most of the year."

"But I want to be a Magician like you Mama!" London whined.

Alice waved her finger "ah-a you want to be like me right now. Perhaps that might change as you are exposed to more of the world, or at the very least it might change what kind of magician you want to be. Maybe you might decide to specialise in something other than dolls. Maybe Elementalism, or summoning."

"Both worthy schools of magic," Patchouli said sagely. "I'm an Elementalist myself and have dabbled in summoning."

Alice nodded in Patchouli's direction, before addressing London again, "There is more to both the world and magic than just animation and puppetry. And you should go out and experience more of it before deciding how to live your life. After Primary school, if you really want to focus on just magic, we'll try and get you into one of the magical schools. And if it doesn't suit you, like me, after a few years you can drop out and I will tutor you myself, but not until you have made a genuine effort to expand your horizons."

London couldn't really argue with that, so she just grumbled.

"Another thing to consider, if magic school doesn't pan out, Patchouli could help tutor her, she has a large library and has studied many fields of magic," Remilia added. "Isn't that right Patchouli?"

Patchouli gave Remilia a significantly unimpressed look. "Why are you like this?"

"I feel like I am missing some context here," Alice said as Remilia pouted.

"Remilia is trying to get me to get out more and meet people. She thinks I spend too much time in the Library," Patchouli said.

"Well you do literally live in there, so tell me I'm wrong," Remilia said, pouting intensifying.

"Apologies in advance. Remilia might strong-arm you into socialising with me in the future," Patchouli said dryly.

"I would not!" Remilia huffed. "I'd just… suggest it every now and then."

"I… see," Alice said, getting a grasp of exactly why she was invited to dinner.

It was kind of adorable, in a very odd way, they seemed like good friends.

London on the other hand had a different take. "So are you two married?"

Remilia spat out her drink (which being blood was quite disturbing) and started coughing.

Patchouli on the other hand, looked London dead in the eye. "No, but sometimes it sure as hell feels like it."

"Got everything you need?" Alice asked as she straightened up London's new uniform.

"Yes Mama," grumbled London.

"Come on, don't be sour. Think of it as a new experience," Alice said, "It will be only for a few more years."

"And then you are going to ship me off to boarding school," London pouted.

"It won't be that bad, and like I said, if you truly don't like it, you are free to drop out," Alice said, "but give it an honest effort. For me?"

London sighed. "Yes Mama."

"Good, now go and meet some people. And tonight you can choose what we have for dinner." Alice said.

"Really?" London said.

"I'm no liar London," Alice said. "Now go on, have a good day."

Nodding resolutely, she ran up the steps to her new school, where her new teacher was waiting for her. Giving one last wave to her Mother, she was led inside.

Smiling, Alice took the long walk home.

When she arrived, she took out a pen and paper, and started composing a letter.

Dear Yukari Yakumo

My name is Alice Margatroid, and I have heard from a mutual acquaintance (Remilia Scarlet) of your offer for residency in the Land referred to me as Gensokyo, and while I understand that migration is currently suspended, I am interested in applying for some time in the future…

Authors Notes:

Don't worry, Alice isn't planning to abandon London, she's just putting in a reservation, Alice, at this point, isn't planning on going to Gensokyo until London is of age and ready to make decisions for herself. So London can decide if she wants to stay in the outside world, or follow her mother to Gensokyo.

But yeah, Alice, despite giving London some body positivity issues and a haircare fixation, is doing her best to be a good parent, by making sure London can experience things growing up, so she can make informed decisions about her future, after all, for all Alice knows, London might have a passion for baking and become a pâtissier, or get into computer science and make a tech startup. WE know that she is going to be a magician, but Alice doesn't have the script.

Also, like in my main story, the Scarlet Devil household will be part of the extended cast, although London is unlikely to be as close to the Scarlets as Hailey was, so sorry no Flandre in this one. It's most likely going to be a casual neighbourly relationship at best, Maybe Alice or London might occasionally visit the library (with permission).

Also since I've been asked this at least three times twice here, and once in the main story, I should probably Clarify: PC-98 games are not official canon anymore, they haven't been canon since EoSD, by word of god (ZUN). Alice has not been Shiki's daughter since Mystic Square. Since her appearance in PCB, her new cannon is a human turned magician Youkai from the outside world, implied to be European. She has an english name and surname, and one of her Music themes 'The Doll Maker of Bucuresti' implies she lived for some time in Romania. So I took those into account when writing this story, and integrating HP and Touhou.

That said, I got nothing against adding PC-98 elements into Windows canon stories, I even do it myself sometimes with the character of Mima. But I use Mima because she fits a convenient niche of Marisa's teacher, and I have seen other fanfiction that make her a compelling character to write. But Shiki is not even a character I like, or at the very least I've never seen her written in a particularly interesting way, coming off as annoying, and powerful in a very bland way, so I have no interest in adding her to this story, or indeed, any of my stories.

Side note, has anybody else noticed that ZUN has even repurposed her name for Eiki Shiki? I have just never seen it mentioned before. But it always makes me think that ZUN has already completely written off that character in his head.

Another side note, I did consider adding Shiki in one form earlier in this stories planning, having it so Alice got lost in a magical story book, making Shiki's Makai as Alice's personal wonderland, but I dropped it after deciding that I didn't have enough interest in writing Shiki to make the idea work.

I hadn't got around to writing more than three chapters of this before I decided to publish all these, so that will be it for this story for now. But I have a more general idea how this one goes compared to most, so writing more won't be too much of a challenge, I'll get back to this one when I feel like it.