Alice rolled her eyes, only half listening as the Hatter made her promise to call him, through their link that was now so strong she wouldn't even have to consciously think of him and he would appear, if anything were to happen. It didn't matter that she was just going to see the Celestial Spirit King, or Moustache Man as she called him. According to Loke, it was a life threatening situation so she needed a five minute rant on what to do if the slightest thing went wrong.
"-split second and I'll be there," he promised, "You just have to-"
"I know!" Alice cried, and then let out a sigh at the slightly hurt expression that crossed the Hatter's face, and her hand rose automatically to hold his cheek, her eyes staring straight into his as she attempted to reassure him, "Loke, I'll be fine."
"The King may be dangerous," he whispered, trying to argue his point but it was so hard when she was touching him, his skin seemed to be burning where they were touching and he was lost in her bright blue eyes.
"He wouldn't hurt me," Alice laughed, her thumb tenderly stroking his face as she tried to calm both her best friend and her own erratic heartbeat, which had nothing to do with the possibly dangerous situation she was about to walk into, "He's practically my uncle. An odd, massive uncle."
Loke let out a sigh, trying to seem mad, annoyed even, but failing because she was just a few centimetres away from him and he could never be mad at her.
"I'll be fine," she repeated her earlier words.
"That won't stop me worrying," he pointed out, and she let out a giggle as she moved forward to hug him.
He swore that she could hear his heart as it started to pound, her whole body was pressed up against his own. Her arm wrapped tightly around his waist as she buried her head in the crook of his neck. She was on her toes, being almost a head smaller than him. He easily rested his head on top of hers, and let out a shuddery breath as he breathed in her intoxicating scent. It was like roses, but there was something else there, something he could only describe as Alice.
She pulled back after a moment, it had lasted a bit too long for best friends.
With one final smile, she turned and walked into the Celestial Spirit King's throne room.
-X-x-X-
"Moustache man," she greeted him as he moved over to his throne, and he let out a chuckle as she approached.
She had grown closer to the somewhat imposing ruler of the Celestial World after he had allowed her to fuse her body with her world, he told her she was already practically one of them. She often visited him, not for very long because of the time difference between his world and her own, people would notice if she was gone for months, seeing how a single day in the Celestial World was three months in her world.
"Mad girl," he responded, a wide smile on his features, "What can I do for you?"
"I'm looking for someone," Alice explained, "I gave Crux a description, but he said the information was withheld by you, so I need your permission to access it, can't have him breaking the law."
"Who was it that you were looking for?" the King asked.
"Oh, there's this girl," Alice answered, "She looked around fifteen maybe, I'm not too sure. Dark short hair, really pale skin. She had these chains wrapped around her arms and body, a little creepy but I'm not judging."
The King froze at her words.
Alice noticed.
"Moustache man?" she called out to him, snapping him out of his shock.
"Are you sure?" he demanded, "Are you sure that was what she looked like? Chains?"
"Definitely," Alice confirmed with a nod of her head, "Why? You know her?"
"Why are you searching for her?" the King fired another question, "How did you know what she looked like?"
"Because I saw her," Alice chirped.
"No, you can't have seen her," the King exclaimed.
"Why not?" Alice cried.
"Because she's dead," the King stated.
Alice blinked.
"Dead?" she clarified, and the King nodded his head in confirmation, "How?"
"She was… exiled," he admitted.
"To Fiore?" Alice questioned, receiving another nod, "So she was a Celestial Spirit who was exiled from the Celestial Spirit World… I've never heard of her."
"She was erased from history," he mumbled, "It's traditional for that to happen. So that a spirit can't be found and given a way out of their punishment. How did you see her? She was exiled a millennium ago, there is no way that she could be alive. Leo could barely manage a year, and although yes, she was powerful, there is no way-"
"What happens to Spirits when they die?" Alice blurted out her question, her mind racing as something occurred to her.
"Excuse me?" the King said.
"If I hadn't saved Loke," Alice rephrased, although she hated to think about how she had almost lost her faithful lion, "What would have happened to him?"
"His body would have disintegrated," the King stated.
"But his mind?" Alice demanded, "What would happen to his consciousness?"
"I don't know," he told her, and then he caught onto her meaning, "No… You don't think…"
"Her mind lives on," Alice finished for him, "Yes, I do."
"Do you have any proof?" the King asked.
"Zeref was possessed," Alice explained, "He said there was something controlling him, he called it The Spirit. That's the thing, I got Crux to research Zeref, before he became the mighty Death Mage, and he was just a common peasant, he didn't even know magic. It must have been her, this woman must have possessed his body and given him his power."
"Where is Zeref?" the King questioned, "We have to get Andromeda out of him, you don't understand the evil she can do-"
"Zeref is dead," Alice butted in.
"Then she could be anywhere!" the King snarled, angry at himself and this danger that he hadn't foreseen, or even noticed.
"She most onto her next host," Alice told him.
"Who?" he exclaimed.
"Me," Alice pronounced.
The Spirit King stared at her, his eyes wide as he looked at her, as if properly for the first time.
Gone was that busty blonde he had first met, when she had stood against him to save Loke.
Gone was the broken woman who spent her time staring into open space.
Now, in front of him, was Alice.
Brave. Fearless. Powerful.
He would never understand exactly who this mortal, although she was also half spirit, was.
How could someone be so much?
How could Lucy Heartfilia have changed so drastically into Alice?
And it was in that split second that he understood, that he recognised what exactly had happened to her.
Because it had happened to him many centuries ago.
"Her name was-is Andromeda," he stated, "And she is my sister."
Alice looked blankly at him, before her expression twisted in something alike to rage.
"You exiled your own sister?" she yelled, "Sent your own sister to her death?"
"I had no choice," the King defended himself sharply.
"You're the King!" Alice shrieked.
"That's exactly why I had no choice!" he shouted, before taking a deep, shaky breath in an attempt to calm himself before he continued, "It was many centuries ago, I had risen to the thrown after my parents' keys had been found and they pledged their loyalty to their master. Andromeda… She was my older sister. She… She always thought she should be th next ruler, after my parents. She was older after all. But it doesn't work that way, a male ruler surpasses a female one."
"Sexist," Alice hissed.
"It's the law," the King countered, and then returned to his story, "With my parents away so often and I so busy with the affairs of the Celestial World, she grew distance from us, from me. Then one day, when I had been ruling but a few months, Ophiuchus came to me. The Golden Keys are my council, and although you may not know it, Ophiuchus was originally a Golden Key. He told me that Andromeda was plotting my death, planning to trap me in the human world and take my place as ruler over the Heavens. I didn't believe it, but Ophiuchus pushed me, forced me to take her into custody. She pleaded innocent, said she loved me, that she had no part in a conspiracy. But the people did not believe her, and I could not show weakness, I could not act as if my family was above the law. I was forced to convict her of treason, to exile her from home, erase her from history and sentence her to a slow and painful death."
"Your own sister," Alice whispered.
"It was years later that evidence arose that Ophiuchus had lied," the King continued, "That in fact it had been he who had plotted treason, that he had framed my poor… innocent sister for his own crimes. After… After what I did to Andromeda, I was hesitant to kill him, in fear that maybe this too could be fabricated. I erased him from history, hid his key in your world, where I hoped no mortal would ever find him, and sentenced him to imprisonment in my world. It was only a few years ago he was released, a mage found his key and he found a contract with his master, there was nothing I could do but keep him in his cell when he returned."
"Didn't you search for her?" Alice asked.
"I tried," he murmured softly, "But she had disappeared. I assumed… I assumed she had died. It had been so long… I never dared to believe…"
Alice was silent as the King stared off into the distance.
And then she snapped.
"So millions of people have died because you were weak?" she snarled, and let out a dry, humourless laugh, "Your Celestial affair as caused villages to be destroyed, lives to be ruined. And here you are, sitting above it all. I bet you hardly even noticed. THOSE PEOPLE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!"
The King was silent, his mouth opened like a gaping fish as he struggled to think of something to say, something that he could possibly use to defend himself.
But he could think of nothing.
Alice stormed out.
-X-x-X-
Alice hid her yawn through her hand, hoping against hope that Loke didn't notice how tired she felt through their bond. As much as she loved being human, she hated the sleeping part. Or, in her case, the fact that you couldn't survive without sleep. She really needed to be awake, be on the top of her game, right now, and she was stuck like some sort of zombie. But, she reasoned, even if she did sleep, her dreams would be a nightmare, and when she had met with Andromeda last night, it hadn't felt like sleeping, she hadn't felt refreshed when she woke up in Loke's arms.
"Alice?" Loke called to her.
"Sorry," she apologised, blinking as she focused on his face.
"You're tired," he accused her, his hand moving forward and brushing a stray strand of her hair out of her face, and Alice swore she couldn't breathe for a moment at his touch.
"I-I'm fine," she managed to out, but he seemed to concerned about her to let it go.
"You should get some sleep," he told her.
"I won't get any sleep," she reminded him, "Not with Andromeda in my mind."
"You could try," he suggested, his hand on her forearm, a calming gesture that only seemed to distract her, something that seemed to be happening more and more frequently at the smallest touch from her best friend.
"Are you giving me a choice?" she asked him, before she tried to hide another yawn.
"No," he answered with a strained smile.
Alice rolled her eyes as he transported them back to her house. Team Wonderland were all in the Celestial world, if she recalled correctly Aquarius and Scorpio were on a date. Due to the time difference between their worlds, she guessed she really shouldn't call on them for a while, even though they said they were more than willing, and used to, stopping their dates to help their masters, Alice hated to pull them apart because they really deserved the quality time together, and Aquarius was that annoying, but lovable older sister to Alice.
Loke helped her over to her bed, pulling the covers back as she crawled in before putting them over her. Her eyelids were drooping but she blindly reached out for him with her tire arms.
"Stay," she murmured, and he silently got into the bed next to her.
With the sound of his steady celestial heartbeat, and the comforting safety of his warmth, Alice gave into the darkness and fell asleep.
-X-x-X-
"So you came back," Andromeda mused when Alice found herself back in that endless white room.
"Hello Andromeda," she greeted her, and she saw the girl flinch at the sound of her name.
"I haven't heard that name in years," she chuckled, "You're been speaking with my darling big brother?"
"He regrets it, you know," Alice told her.
"Of course," Andromeda laughed darkly, "But he still did it."
"Why did you kill mortals?" Alice asked, "They had nothing to do with this. It's between you and your brother, don't bring a different race into this."
"I nearly forgot, you're some sort of messed up cross breed," the girl sneered, and for a second pulled a mockingly thoughtful face, "Hm… How about…No."
"Why?" Alice demanded.
"Why shouldn't I?" Andromeda shrieked, "Why can't I kill them like I was killed? Why can't I punish them how I was punished? WHY NOT?"
"Because they're innocent!" Alice argued.
"I was innocent!" Andromeda hissed.
"I know, and that's why you should know better than to kill them because of something they didn't do," Alice countered, letting out a small sigh before she continued, "The Spirit King was wrong. He stepped way out of line. He shouldn't have trusted Ophiuchus over you. But taking over people's lives, just because he hurt you? That's not right either. That makes you… That makes you as bad as him."
For a moment, Andromeda just stared at the Wonderland mage.
And then there was pain.
-X-x-X-
Loke was standing next to her as she sat on the table, a cup of warm tea enclosed in her hands as she stared blankly ahead. She had barely been asleep for an hour before she woke up screaming. Loke had spent a good half hour calming her, and when she finally had recovered enough to tell him what had happened, he had wrapped his arms around her.
It was times like these that Alice realised just how much Loke understood her.
He knew that there was no point in whispering hushed words to her, trying to reassure her with promises that they both knew he would be unable to keep. He knew that actions spoke louder than words, and she just needed him to be there for her, for her to know that no matter how bad things might be, he was always by her side.
And it was at these moments she also realised just how much she loved him.
His hand moving to her knee brought her out of her daze, and she looked across at him. He looked so naturally cool, standing there in his black suit, not a hair out of place as his warm eyes focused on her. Her heart did backflips in her chest and she was sure he could hear it, even if he didn't show it. Her whole body was alive, even if she didn't feel it, at his touch, at his presence.
"You okay?" he asked her in a whisper.
"Yeah," she answered, stopping herself before she could say something like 'because you're here with me'.
His finger traced small circles on her upper thigh, she changed at some point, she wasn't too sure when, into pyjamas. An old camisole and a pair of old shorts. His hands were on her bare skin and it was as if they were burning, but in a good way. The fire only make her feel more alive. As his finger ran across her soft flesh, she took in a shaky breath, hoping that he didn't realise the effect he was happening on her.
"Would you tell me if you weren't?" he questioned her, and Alice was so distracted by the way her body was reacting to him she could just get out a hum of agreement, barely even listening to the words that passed his lips but instead revelling in the sound of his voice.
He chuckled, and his hand, that wasn't on her thigh, moved to her face, holding her chin and pulled it to face him.
"That the truth?" he whispered.
Alice shakily put her mug of hot tea down on the table next to her, moving her head out of his touch. Loke frowned for a moment, but then his hand reached out, taking her face again, and pulling it even closer to him.
His hand, that was cupping her cheek, stroked her soft skin as his eyes looked directly into hers. Her blue orbs stared at the ground, and when she dared to look up, she was stuck staring into his eyes, his deep, soulful eyes that were focused on her. Her breathing was deep, and somewhat difficult as his smell engulfed her senses. He was like a drug, and she was his addict.
Loke moved forward, his hand falling to her hip as he pressed his forehead against her own, and Alice had to fight back some sort of sound, she wasn't sure what it would have been, for the sake of her sanity.
He moved his head forward, titling his face slightly, and Alice took in a shallow, shaky breath, before his kissed her.
For a split second, Alice froze.
And then it was just him.
They moved in perfect harmony, their mouths working as one. Loke's hands tightened around her waist as Alice's moved from her sides to run up his arms and snake up the nape of his neck, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as she ran her fingers through his ginger locks. It was slow, but passionate as Loke opened his mouth and sucked on Alice's lip. She couldn't hold back the moan this time, and she pulled him closer, so that he was standing directly in front of her. Her legs wrapped around his waist as they became mere millimetres apart. Both their eyes had fluttered shut as they gave into the pure bliss that they experienced.
But even celestial beings, or part celestial beings in Alice's case, have to breathe.
The broke apart, both of them breathing heavily.
Their eyes were wide, staring into each other.
And then what had just happened sunk in.
"Alice-" Loke started but she cut him off.
"Close gate of the lion," she whispered.
Loke disappeared in a shimmer of golden sparkles.
Alice just stared at when he had been standing just a moment ago.
She had kissed Loke.
She had kissed her best friend.
She had kissed her spirit.
It was so wrong, so wrong of her to have enjoyed it, for her to want it again, to want him again.
A strangled sound came out of her throat, and she tried to stop herself from shaking.
She had ruined everything.
Tears were welling up in her eyes as she tried to fight them, to keep them from spilling over. She could feel Loke fighting through their bond, wanting to come to her side, but she was stronger.
She needed someone, but considering Loke was the route of her problem, she couldn't call on him. There were her spirits, but she wouldn't want to burden them with something when Loke was practically their brother. That left Fairy Tail, and Blue Pegasus. She considered calling Erza, Levy, or maybe even Juvia.
And then she remembered what she had done to them.
Erza, hit by a death wave that came from her, the light in the Titania's eyes going out at her body dropped to the floor.
Levy, her mouth open in a shout that never passed her lips, her body just behind that of Gajeel, who had been trying to protect her with his human shield.
Juvia, who had pushed herself in front of Gray and lay limp in front of his dead body.
A sob passed her lips, and she felt her jaw tremble as she tried to hold back the weeps that were fighting for control.
The darkness descended.
For a flash, she saw Andromeda's face, the fifteen year old was staring at her, her eyes red and puffy.
Then Alice realised what was happening.
She was so weak right now, that Andromeda could gain control of her body in a split second and Alice would be unable to stop her.
She waited for the darkness to burn her, to consume her whole body.
…
But it didn't come.
Had Andromeda…
Had she let her go?
Alice let out a deep breath as the weeps raked through her form and she buried her head in her hands as the tremors erupted throughout her body. She pushed Andromeda's lack of control to the back of her mind, too broken to think about it at the moment.
Then there was the familiar shimmer of golden sparkles.
And the shade of blood red that she knew belonged to only one person.
The Queen of Hearts.
Aquarius.
Alice stared at her for a moment, and Aquarius stared right back.
At the same time, Aquarius opened her arms and Alice barrelled into the spirit's side.
It seemed to be hours before Alice finally regained control of herself, and when the tears finally seemed to have dried up, Aquarius gave her a hard look.
"Wanna talk?" Aquarius asked, and Alice looked down, a packet of tissues in her hand.
"I kissed Loke," Alice blurted out, and another small sob escaped her lips.
"And that's a bad thing?" Aquarius questioned.
"Yes," Alice sobbed, looking Aquarius in the eye her mood softened, "Hey, weren't you on a date?"
"Sisters before misters," Aquarius stated, and the two shared a smile, "Besides, it wasn't going very well."
"Oh no… What happened?" Alice's voice changed from a broken sob to a protective demand.
"We ran into Vulpecula," Aquarius explained, letting out an annoyed sigh, "She's started flirting with Scorpio, even though I was obviously by his side. And you know what he did? He didn't stop her. He didn't flirt back, but he didn't send her away either. I sat there for a full half hour watching her shove her cleavage in his face and him seem oblivious to what she was doing before I stormed out."
"Stupid Scorpion," Alice hissed, "I'm so going to shout at him."
"Don't make me out to be one of those drama queens," Aquarius warned her.
"I was thinking for the 'Aquarius is totally over you' talks," Alice promised her, "Like, 'You totally screwed up Scorpio, but Aquarius just doesn't care if you dig sluts."
"You rock Alice," Aquarius remarked.
"I know," Alice answered, and the two shared an amused smile.
"Now, I'm going to drag you out of here," Aquarius declared, pulling Alice off the ground, the Wonderland mage wasn't sure when she had fallen off the table and pushed herself into a corner, but her body was aching from being so tightly contained, "As great as it is to sit in a corner all day."
"Where to?" Alice asked.
"Did you know Alice," Aquarius mused, "That celestial spirits can't get drunk?"
-X-x-X-
"Damn it!" Loke yelled as he felt, yet again, the barrier that kept him from going to his master.
He was currently in his house in the Celestial World, yelling and screaming at the air as he tried desperately to go to her. Her face seemed to be engraved inn his mind, whenever he closed his eyes he saw her eyes wide, with something he had never seem directed at him, fear. Her mouth was parted, as if in shock, as she whispered that damning words.
"Lucy please!" he begged, "Just let me explain!"
He doubted she could hear him, but he just needed to talk to her, just needed to let her know what he felt, what he meant by that kiss.
That kiss.
It had been pure bliss, feeling her soft lips under his own, his hands being able to touch her body in a way that he hadn't before. And for a moment, it felt like she shared his desire, his love.
He let out an animalistic noise as he overturned his kitchen table, the objects on it clattering to the ground, some of them smashing as they went but he couldn't really care in the state he was in.
Then there was a knock on his door.
He prepared every bad word he knew for whoever had decided to call on him, even though it wasn't their fault, but they would be the unfortunate victim of his frustration, of the anger he felt towards himself.
But when he pulled his front door open, his anger diminished as he recognised the person, and the look on their face.
It was Scorpio, wearing a look of utter devastation.
One that, Loke could guess, he mirrored.
"Aquarius broke up with me," Scorpio stated.
Loke just held the door open for him, and the spirit of the scorpion walked into his house silently, taking in the smashed vases, the damaged furnishings, and when he had walked into the Lion's sitting room, he rose an eyebrow in question as he pulled a chair up off the floor.
"I kissed Alice," Loke answered blankly.
"And it didn't go well?" Scorpio asked.
"No," Loke growled, and he moved to the kitchen, grabbing two bottles of the Celestial equivalent to alcohol, a juice made from the moon, and gave one bottle to Scorpio while opening one for himself.
For an hour, they just drank their drinks in silence, not wanting to speak of their misfortunes aloud.
"I was on a date with Aquarius," Scorpio told him, waving his bottle around as he spoke, "And then we run into Vulpecula. It wasn't I was flirting with her, and everyone knows that Vulpecula tries to flirt with everyone. I know I should have stopped talking to her sooner, because I was supposed to be showering Aquarius with attention. I was going… I was going to ask Aquarius to marry me. But then Vulpecula starts getting a bit too flirty for me, so I try to end the conversation without being rude. Next thing I know, Aquarius tells me we're done and she storms out."
"Yikes…" Loke responded, and then he pauses for a moment, "Thought you did have that coming. Imagine if Aquarius had spent the beginning of your date talking to some guy who was flirting with her, and basically ignoring you. You might do the same thing."
"That just makes it worse," Scorpio groaned, "I bet she'll never speak to me again."
"I hope that doesn't happen when you do something wrong with a girl," Loke moaned, gulping down another load of his drink.
"Man… I can't imagine being ignored by your master though," Scorpio clapped Loke on the back somewhat sympathetically, "Then you might be stuck here for years. But hey! The time difference works in your favour! She might take a day, week, month even, but it won't even be a day for you!"
"True," Loke accepted, "How long do you think Aquarius will take?"
"I don't have a clue," Scorpio answered, taking another swig of his drink, "I really messed up. She might not… She might not come back to me…"
"This is Aquarius," Loke reassured him, "She'll see sense. Soon, hopefully."
Scorpio groaned.
-X-x-X-
Team Natsu had accepted a mission in a faraway village, to defeat some monsters that were plaguing the people. It had been simple enough, even with their magic power not at the level it would have been. They had checked into a hotel, only minor injuries from fighting the beasts, after deciding to stay the night. They were checking out the local bar when Erza caught a familiar voice.
"-stupid because it just ruined everything," Alice's voice rung out, and Erza turned to see the Wonderland Mage sitting at a secluded table, talking to a figure, the Queen of Hearts, or Aquarius, who was nodding empathetically as Alice spoke.
Gray and Natsu, with Happy on the latter's back, had already moved to the bar to order some food, so Erza wlaked over to the Wonderland Mage.
"Hello," Erza greeted them, standing at the end of the table.
"Erza!" Alice cried, and Erza instantly caught the scent of alcohol as the female stumbled to her feet and hugged Erza, before pulling her down to sit next to her and taking another swig of her drink.
"Are you drunk?" Erza asked her, and Alice started to laugh manically.
"It seems her celestial part isn't large enough," Aquarius remarked, "Seeing how she can get drunk."
"Why is she drinking?" Erza questioned.
"Loke's so stupid!" Alice exclaimed, her expression like that of an annoyed child, "How can he just go and kiss me like that?"
"Loke kissed you?" Erza clarified.
"He's an idiot!" Alice declared, gulping down the last of her drink.
"Of course he is," Aquarius agreed.
"Are you sure she should drink this much?" Erza said to Aquarius in concern.
"Celestial spirits don't get hung over," Aquarius stated.
"You said I won't get drunk either!" Alice accused.
"I'm experimenting," Aquarius shrugged, before turing to Erza, "Feel free to join us. We're moping about boys. Want to join?"
"Yeah!" Alice chirped, "Tell us all about you and Jellal!"
Erza felt her face heating up.
"I don't know what you mean," she denied.
"Your face says otherwise!" Alice squealed, "And besides, I've heard him talk about how wonderful you are for years. Erza's so kind. Erza's so pretty. Erza's so brave. Erza's so amazing!"
"So you like that type?" Aquarius quizzed her.
"No!" Erza squawked, and then realised how they might take it as her disliking Jellal, "Yes. Wait-Not like that!"
"Aw…" Alice cooed, "Young love…"
"You are seriously drunk," Erza accused.
"No I'm not," Alice shook her head as she spoke, "I'm testing to see if I can be drunk. Keep up Erza."
-X-x-X-
A/N … I'm BACK!
So I'm really sorry for disappearing for a month! I can't promise I'll regularly update, but I'm going to try! This chapter isn't too great, I'm getting back into writing, and I reread the story three times, so I can remember the basic plot for a while. Hopefully you can forgive if this chapter isn't very great…
Oh! And I'm, again, really sorry that I haven't responded to any reviews! I'll get right onto that, I just wanted to update because you've all been waiting!
Amy: I'm glad! :D
Guest(1): Thank you! I couldn't resist putting it in there, I just love Ultear... I'm so sad that I killed her off... You're too kind! I'm not that great!
Guest(2): I'm so sorry that I haven't updated Max who? In forever, but I'm trying to read back through it and pick it up again, but due to my concussion none of it is clicking, but hopefully I might update again. Again, I'm really sorry that it seems like I've abandoned the story, but I havent, I'm just trying to get back to it.
Raven Darknessdragonslayer: Wow... Such dedication! :D is it bad I'm happy that I made you cry because it makes me feel that my writing is good?
THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!
Becney :P