Tim Burton's Pandora Hearts

Would They Even Miss Me?

"Ojousama! Ojousama!"

"Coming Mrs. Kate!" Alyss called back, hurrying down the stairs.

Alyss had spent the last few hours that morning getting ready for her coming of age ceremony. It was being hosted today by a man called Ilsa Yura. She had only met him a few times, but she found him to be a perfectly horrid excuse for a man. Before she could say she'd rather tear her own hair out than have him host it, however, the other leaders present expressed it was a rather stupendous idea—to be fair, out of any of the houses, he had a skill for lavish parties—and she was too timid and docile to deny them.

She wasn't strong, not like her sister. Even when it came to the little things...especially when it came to the little things.

Her servant, Mrs. Kate, was in the atrium, peeking out the front curtain to check if her carriage had arrived.

"Must I go?" Alyss half-joked, "They have everything planned out for me, I doubt they'll notice if I even arrive."

Mrs. Kate took one last look outside as she replied, "They will notice." She then turned to Alyss, and her hands flew to her cheeks, "What are you wearing?!"

To be exact, she was wearing a silky, white, frilled dress, that laced up on the front, and had turquoise roses for embellishment. The back of the dress reached the floor, the front however, did not, so that the only thing covering her legs was the frilled skirt. She also wasn't wearing stockings, or socks, or footwear of any kind, for that matter.

"Where is the dress I picked out for you?!"

"I like this one better!" Alice smiled, shrugging.

"No stockings? What will the other dukes think? A debutante, not even—"

Alyss folded her arms over her chest, turning her head away like a younger girl, and stated simply, "I'm against them."

"You're not properly dressed!" Mrs. Kate shouted like her attire offended her personally, "You think you can walk out showing that much—"

"Who is to say what is proper?" Alyss tapped her foot. "What if it was agreed that 'proper' was wearing a codfish on your head, would you wear it?"

Mrs. Kate wore the appropriate expression of disapproval instead.

"Please don't do this," she said softly, as if the conversation was unseemly, "not today."

Alice frowned, looking at the ground. "Father would have laughed."

That made her servant take a step back.

"Yes, I suppose he would have," Mrs. Kate muttered, "he found many things funny, even when they weren't."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Kate." Alyss dropped her gaze.

"No harm done, Alyss-sama, I know you're under a lot of pressure." Mrs. Kate then gasped, "I know just the thing!" and hurried back up the stairs.

Alyss barely had time to wonder where she had run off to before she came back with a necklace. She pulled her long, white hair to the side, and clasped it around her neck.

"There. Now you're beautiful."

Alyss was grateful for the compliment though wondered if she had changed her definition of 'beautiful' for that comment. She looked down at the necklace, and gasped herself.

"But, this belonged to Alice!"

"And I'm sure she would want you to wear it. She wouldn't want it to sit in her room collecting dust. She would want a piece of herself with you today."