Marine kicks open the door to the inn, "We're back! Somebody make me some tea!"
A girl of average height, with deep red shoulder-length hair, and dark purple eyes dropped the tray she was carrying, but luckily she was just practicing so nothing was on it. She runs over to Marine and tackles her, spinning around her in a hug.
"Ma~rine! I didn't think you were coming back!" Patty frowned.
"You didn't care about your dear Aunt? What a world..."
"Sheila, stop playing around, let them sit down." A girl much taller than Marine came from seemingly nowhere; her dark brown hair in a messy ponytail.
"Geez, you're no fun Iris...Fine~!" Sheila pouted, jumping onto a bar stool.
Erinn watched her move and interact, and was reminded of Alice. It had been about two days since they had parted ways, and Erinn couldn't help but wonder about her. Did she get home okay? Were her parents treating her well enough? Where does she even live?
Marine stared at Erinn, and then reached over and snapped her fingers in front of Erinn's face.
"Hey, you. Introduce yourself. Everyone's waiting." Erinn looked up and around, and saw that everyone (save Marine and Patty) was indeed staring at her.
She took a deep breath, This is going to be tough.
. . . One explanation later . . .
Just as things were quieting down, the door's bell chimes, signaling the entrance of a person. Erinn looks up, and grins widely at the person.
"Alice! How'd you get here?" Alice slowly made her way over to the counter, where Erinn had stationed herself, and was barely able to peek over the counter. All the people in the room simultaneously 'awwed' at her.
"I wasn't able to find my way home after all, so I came to see how you were doing." Patty came up from behind Alice, and picked her up.
"What you mean is that you were worried about her, so you came to lend your assistance?" Alice gazed in Patty's general direction; her closed eyes made it impossible for Patty to tell if she was looking at her or not.
"...Miss Patty, I hope you're not suggesting that we're going to let this small child partake in our trade." Iris narrowed her animal-like yellow eyes, frowning at her employer.
"Of course not, I'm just saying that Alice could use her cuteness to rustle up some business! So, what do you say, Sweetie?"
Alice hummed musically, "I guess I could help you out. I don't really have anything else to do."
"Good! Go get to work, child!" Patty petted Alice's head like you would pet a puppy for good behavior, and set her down, giving her a little push for encouragement.
"Okay~ I'll be back later then~" Alice skipped out the door, whistling.
After the door closed, Sheila came out of the kitchen, carrying a tea tray for Marine. As she passed the tea to Marine, she looked around the premise.
"Who just came in?"
"Erinn's little friend, Alice. She also helped me get out of a landslide, and she supposedly rescued Patty from the Hexagon. All in all, she's a pretty nice girl." Marine sipped her tea, and let out a sigh of content. "Nothing beat's your tea, Sheila."
"Heh, you're too kind~" Sheila giggled. Iris stood in the background, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
As Alice walked around town, telling them about Erinn's new inn, she happened upon a huge sign in the middle of town.
It read, MYSTERIOUS KNIGHT HAS BEEN TERRORIZING THE TOWN, BRAVE WARRIORS ARE BEING RECRUITED TO DEFEAT HIM. IF YOU ACCEPT, COME TO SEE KING SCHOTT. RACE AND SIZE ARE NOT TO BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.
"...Hm... size doesn't matter, huh? This could be a good way to get my powers back, right Stella?" Alice murmured to the fairy, who was in ball-form, hitching a ride in her robe's pouch.
"You might be on to something there, kid! Get to the castle A.S.A.P.!" Alice grinned, and skipped towards the large castle at the end of the road.
Unfortunately, she was stopped at the gate by a pair of soldiers. "Halt! Who goes there!?"
"I'm Alice, I came to help with the knight problem~" The pair of soldiers exchanged wary glances, but they stood aside to let her in.
It seemed that the thing about no discrimination was true, Alice mused as she walked on past them, through the door, and up the stairs to the throne room.
"Confound it, Simona! How many times do I need to tell you that you're not to go and see that blasted Wight Knight!" King Schott roared at the teenage girl in front of him, presumably Simona.
"But Father, he only comes to town because he's looking for me! If I go meet him, then peaceful times will befall our dear Stornway once more."
King Schott snorted, "Ridiculous! Do you think I'm the kind of man who would sacrifice his daughter for the sake of peace?"
"But-" It seemed that they both noticed Alice's pitter-pattering footsteps, and they stopped bickering to watch her enter the room.
King Schott sat back down on his throne, "You there! Approach the throne!"
The two of them DID think that their visitor was rather tiny at first sight, but when Alice walked gracefully towards them and got down on one knee, they were more than just surprised. They looked at her, disbelievingly, and King Schott cleared his throat.
"...Did you come here because of the sign in town...?"
"Yep!" Alice chirped, shocking both of them.
Simona turned visibly paler, "You mean you're going to go up against the Wight Knight by yourself...?"
Alice hummed to herself as she tilted her head slightly in thought. "Mmm~... I guess so~ I'm really good with a sword, see?"
She took her sword out of its hilt, and showed it to them. It was freshly cleaned (she had cleaned it before she went back to Erinn's that one day; she had a feeling Erinn would have a heart attack if she knew that Alice slaughtered countless monsters), but you could still faintly tell that there was blood on it before.
The royal pair stared at her nervously. King Schott spoke to her in a soft tone that you use with children that you do not want to upset.
"What's your name, lass? Do your parents know you're here?"
"My name's Alice, your majesty. I can't go home unless I help you out." King Schott scowled, Who would send their young daughter to her premature death like this?!
He sighed, giving up. Maybe she'd really do the job. "All right, but pay attention. The Wight Knight has been trying to kidnap my own daughter right here! He demands that she be delivered to him by a certain time tonight, and I fear it may be some sort of trap, which is why I wanted to employ a.." He glanced at her quickly, choosing his words carefully, "...lovely lass such as you to go and defeat him for me. He's waiting at Loch Storn."
"Sure thing, your majesty~ I'll get this done in no time~" Neither of them were convinced, and they warily watched Alice skip out of the room. Simona swiftly turned to her father, giving him a look of disapproval.
"Father! How could you just send that little girl out into battle?! She is surely going to die out there, and you just let her go!"
"There's nothing I could do! You heard her, she can't go home unless she helps out! And doesn't that essentially mean that her parents don't want her to come home?... Tch, I do hope she just gives up and goes to live with some nice couple. She seemed like a good gal."
The two of them looked in the direction that Alice had left, worrying for her well being, despite only just having met her.
"This Wight Knight seems to be stirring up quite a heap of trouble for the town, hm? Perfect for us, we can just knock him out for good, and then reap the benefits! Benevolessence, money, everything! All the pieces are falling into place, just for us! Let's get going!" Stella pumped her fist, and went back in Alice's pocket.
"...Well, let's not go rushing in to a battle without preparing, Stella. First, Let's go back to Erinn's and tell her the plan."