Alice followed Sarah out the front door. The vampire didn't seem nervous, but her near mental breakdown earlier all but confirmed that she was still a frail mind.
The mage waved her hand out in front of herself, and a portal opened before her. She motioned for Alice to go first, and the vampire stepped through with little hesitation.
Sarah followed after her, and met Alice in her pocket dimension, which was unsurprisingly set up like a library.
"Did you collect all these?" Alice questioned, looking up at the seemingly endless books.
"I did." Sarah nodded. "Are you okay?"
"No." Alice explained. "I'm not entirely sure how to process everything. I watched Agora slaughter my brother. I watched him tear him apart and yet he was standing right in front of me like nothing had happened. He might have been a bit older than I remembered, but even still." The vampire played with her hands nervously, something that Sarah was shocked to see.
The last time they had met, Alice had the emotional capacity of a brick wall. Like everything she felt was held back or numb. But rumors told her that the only emotion she was known for was her anger and rage. She had never known defeat before, except by Kira Nightshade whom according to Sapphire, she had never once used her power on.
If Alice was so inclined to obey her father, why wouldn't she use that power on her? She could win any battle just by ripping the soul from a person's body without so much as moving a finger. Yet she never tried to use it on Kira to get her way?
Sarah couldn't hold back anymore. "Why did you never use your power on Kira?"
Alice looked back at her, not showing any emotion on her face but her eyes were so very broken.
"You never used your power on Kira, but you easily used it on people like your brother and father. Why not her?"
Alice turned away from her, looking around at the book shelves. "If I used my power on Kira, and killed her in that forest, my father would imprison Luna, and have chained Alison to his throne to be used as a trophy, before impregnating her, to use her child to bring about the Prophecy of Annihilation." The vampire explained. "If Kira was able to defeat me, maybe the prophecy won't come true."
"But if Kira and Alison are together, won't their child bring the prophecy instead?"
"Their hearts are too kind to create a monster. But my father will groom that child to be everything they need to be to destroy Exodious."
"So you were protecting the world?"
"I was protecting a little girl from ending up like me." Alice confessed. "Alison lived a happy life... She would have been a slave if I hadn't saved her. In order to do so, I needed to make sure that Kira would defeat me."
"You couldn't save her yourself?"
"Anything I did, Alex could see and feel. If I took that child, he would always know where I was and where I was going. I'd never be able to keep her safe."
"Then what did you intend to do with me?" Sarah glared. "If you couldn't protect her, how did you plan on protecting me?"
"I was taking you to the Nightshades." Alice answered.
Sarah nearly fell over in shock. "What!? Why would you do that?"
"They could protect you." Alice explained. "I would never have been able to. My brother would hunt me down, and once he got his hands on you, he would torture you for his amusement, or kill you to see if I would survive."
"That doesn't justify all the horrible things you did!" Sarah snapped, like she was trying to find something to argue about.
"No. It doesn't." Alice looked back at the mage, her broken eyes still filled with sadness.
"What do you want me to do Alice?"
"I want to be happy. And I thought that maybe, just maybe you would give me that chance. But the things that I've done mean that I don't deserve to be happy. I need to make up for everything I've done, and that's my choice to make. No one is telling me that I need to. I want to. If I can so easily switch sides, then I could have separated myself from my brother at any time and left. But I just let them do what they wanted, and that's not right."
"That's not what I asked."
"I don't want anything from you. I don't deserve it." Alice explained.
"Do you care how I feel?"
"Of course I care. But you don't feel that way about me."
"How do you know how I feel when you don't even know how you feel!?" Sarah roared. "You're supposed to be a broken little girl who does whatever the hell she wants!"
"Am I?"
"Yes! That's what everyone has been telling me for the last century! And yet when I finally meet you, years after you make me immortal, you have a whole range of emotions and just seem crushed! It's not fair!"
"How is it not fair?" Alice raised an eyebrow curiously.
"You're supposed to be a monster!" The mage bellowed, her hands tightly clenched into fists as her blue magic sparked and crackled up her arms. "You're supposed to be cruel, and spiteful! You're not supposed to cry after seeing your brother, and choke on your words after seeing me! You're not supposed to look and act human!"
"I'm not human."
"No! You're Alice fucking Daybreaker! You're supposed to act like the monster everyone thinks you are!... Not make me feel... guilty."
"Guilty? Why would you ever feel guilty?"
"Maybe... Maybe if I didn't leave you... you would have realized all this so much sooner." Sarah admitted.
"I was a monster." Alice explained. "Had you stayed I would have left you with the Nightshades, and nothing would have really changed."
Sarah sighed like there was more she wanted to say, but she bit her tongue. What more could she say? Alice was set in her ways, believing that everything she said was true. That she didn't deserve happiness.
"Alice, I want to be able to help you." Sarah admitted. "I know you're trying to do better, but you can take a bit of time for yourself too you know."
"It'll take some time." Alice confessed.
"We have a lot of time though."
"We do." Alice nodded.
"Maybe... we can... try?"
"I'm not likely good company."
"We won't know till we try."
---
"Are they going to be okay?" Alison questioned as she made herself comfortable in the bed, watching Kira who was sitting on Alison's desk, readying her violin for a song.
"I'm sure they'll be fine. Alice won't kill her mate, and I think Sarah really wants to try." Kira explained. "Hush now."
She began to play her music happily, her eyes closed as the music vibrated in her fiddle. Alison gladly listened, now completely entrapped by her spell.
Before Alison knew what she was doing she had stood up, and was kissing Kira passionately. Kira gently set her violin down and wrapped her arms around Alison's neck, smirking into the kiss as the wolf pressed her backwards where the back of her head hit the wall.
Alison leaned back looking concerned when she heard her girlfriend's head hit the wall, now finally aware of what was happening. "Holy shit, what just happened?" She questioned.
"It's alright. My magic got the best of you." The vampire giggled. "We're going to have to work on that."
"No kidding." Alison looked down at her hands before smiling and leaning back into another kiss.
"I don't see it as a bad thing though." Kira shrugged.
"You probably love it."
"Guilty as charged."
"Ice cream and a movie?"
"Of course."
The two picked themselves up and headed into the kitchen where Alison let Kira pick the flavor of ice cream. Of course the vampire grabbed vanilla, though not before questioning the massive stash of ice cream in the freezer.
"I can eat as much as I want and I'll never get fat." Alison scoffed.
"That's true." Kira nodded, picking the tub of ice cream out and grabbing a spoon from the drawer.
"You know you're supposed to put that in a bowl right?" Alison raised an eyebrow.
"What happened to not getting fat?"
"You can still savor it Kira."
"I'm good."
"Kira! Wait... Zoe, are you influencing her?"
Zoe leaned out from behind Kira with her arms crossed. "Nope. That's all her." She admitted. "Though I'm not complaining." The shade vanished once more, like she was never there.
"Of course not" Alison laughed. "Let's go pick a movie."
"Mhm." Kira nodded and followed Alison back into the bedroom where they curled up together as Alison set up her laptop.
"Any requests?"
"You're lucky I know what a movie is Alison." Kira laughed. "Pick it for me."
Alison rolled her eyes but decided a cartoon would probably blow Kira's mind.
Sure enough the Vampire's vibrant eyes were glued to the screen like a kid in a candy store. Alison couldn't hide her smile, or the fact that she was staring at Kira for the duration of the movie. Even as she shoveled the ice cream into her mouth she still thought she was the most beautiful thing she's ever laid eyes on.
"What happens next?" Kira asked, once the movie was over.
"What do you mean? The movie's over." Alison noted.
"What? That's it!? Is there more?"
"There's like three sequels, but it's a kids show."
"Kids watch Fairies change the seasons but adults don't?"
Alison couldn't help but laugh. "Kira, in this world the public doesn't believe in magic and stuff like that. Plus, Fairies don't actually change the seasons. And these are technically prequels to a really old movie."
"What do you mean by prequel?"
"This movie came first in a timeline. Like a book that tells an origin story." Alison smiled.
"What movie does this one precede?"
"Peter Pan." Alison laughed. "This movie just show off Tinkerbell because she's adorable."
"If these movies are for children why make me watch them? And why have you seen them before?"
"I make you watch them because I know you'll enjoy them for the same reason I do. They're adorable and tell moral stories that make you think about things like family, friendship and true love. They're fun to watch with friends too. They make you feel good." Alison smiled but then narrowed her eyes at the bucket of ice cream that was now empty. "Seriously Kira, those tubs are like five dollars."
"So it's cheaper to buy a tub like this than that milkshake?" Kira questioned, pointing the spoon at her werewolf.
"The milkshake was about the same price, but technically speaking yes."
"But that's stupid. Why charge more for less?"
"Because they can." Alison laughed.
"This world is obnoxious."
"Exodious charges more for meals in inns too."
"They also use gold, silver and copper coins, making most things have more or less value."
"Well we value precious metals more, it just depends on where you're trading them to."
"Your world's economy is pointless. Such things will no doubt cause more problems."
"You should see how many different currencies we have."
"You have different currencies? That's even more troublesome. It'll only cause more problems."
"It does cause problems." Alison laughed. "But don't get worked up about it. You can leave this world at any time."
"Would you not come with me?" Kira paused.
"Are you asking?"
Kira sat up, setting the empty tub and spoon on the nightstand beside the bed before turning and looking at Alison, who had closed her laptop and sat up next to the vampire. "I don't intend to leave unless my mother needs me. And eventually I will take you back with me. I don't care for the prophecy because I know we wouldn't raise a monster, so it can't be about us."
"So you are thinking about kids?" Alison smirked.
Kira rolled her eyes and smacked the wolf on the shoulder. "We're mated. We're going to be together no matter what happens. It may take one year, or one thousand years, but we will always come back to each other. So yes, eventually we will have children, and they will be threatened-"
"You want more than one?"
Kira laughed as she rolled her eyes. "I don't know! What do you really expect?"
"I think you're putting too much thought into what will be, and not enough on what is."
The vampire laughed, wrapping her arms around her werewolf lover where she pulled her into a happy kiss. "We're fine."
"Are we?" Alison wiggled her eyebrows. "There's a little too much clothing here for me."
"Make me dinner first."
"Are you sure that bucket of ice cream wasn't enough for you? I think I'm starting to see a little weight gain." Alison noted, poking her lover in the side a bit, getting her to hiss in annoyance.
"I hope I'm Lactose Intolerant so you have to deal with that."
"I guess we'll find out." The werewolf grinned before pulling Kira into another kiss.
Kira laughed and pushed the wolf back as she was starting to get touchy. "It's late."
"Are you seriously cock-blocking me?"
"Yes." Kira flicked the wolf on the nose, getting her to grumble. "I love you."
Alison blinked and looked around the room, getting Kira to roll her eyes. "Me?" Alison pointed to herself looking shocked.
"Yes you." Kira answered. "But it's fleeting at this point."
"That's rude. If you loved me you'd take your clothes off."
Kira grabbed the collar of Alison's shirt and pulled her into another kiss. "I'll sleep with clothes on thank you."
Alison chuckled, wrapping her arms around Kira as they laid back on the bed. "Fine. I guess I can wait."
"Thank you kindly."
"But you do owe me another tub of ice cream. Though I'm sure you're just going to eat that too."
"Thanks."
"And Kira?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you too."
Kira placed a kiss on Alison's temple and the wolf took that as her "Goodnight."