Chapter Nineteen
It was the middle of the week, and Alice had missed school for the third time. It was mid-morning and she is in her shorts and camisole. She is sitting at the table a mug in hand. Alice lost her appetite over the week; leaving Will to reduce to just giving her tea and a bowl of strawberries.
Alice picks up a strawberry and looks at it, and she twirls it holding it by the stem. Her eyes see the yellow dots blur on the strawberry, but her mind sees an image of her mother.
When she pictures her mother, it was the last time she ever saw her. Smiling and being happy to see Alice enjoy her life. It did not matter that there was a war happening or that there was a troll looking for Alice. She just cared that there was a moment in Alice’s life that she was happy.
Feeling her heart drop and her stomach squirm because she knew that she would never see that smile again and those green eyes that always sparkled, Alice puts the strawberry back in the bowl without taking a bite. She pulls the tea closer to her, and drinks a sip hoping that would make her stomach feel better. Alice grimaces when it does not, and pushes the tea on the table. She crosses her arms on the table and lays her head down.
“Alice, you need to eat something.” Will says, his voice full of concern. He was sitting across from her. A plate of hash browns is in front of him, but it was obvious that he was watching her instead of eating.
“I cannot,” She says thinking of the last night she saw her mother.
“Please try eating one strawberry,” Will says pushing the bowl towards her.
Alice ignores him and gets up from the seat. She walks with her head low and her shoulders slump. An un-princess like posture, but she did not care if she was breaking princess etiquette. That was the last thing on her mind. Alice opens the sliding door and sits outside on the grass. She lays down on the soft grass and rests her head on her arms and closes her eyes.
She just wants to understand why all this had to happen? Why did all of this have to happen to her? It was not fair. She did not ask for any of this, and yet it was happening. Why could she not choose her own fate, instead of fate choosing her?
Alice rolls over on her stomach and finds a sprout in front of her. She puts her hand over it. She feels energy going through her hand and on to the sprout. Her hand is glowing green as the sprout grows into a flower, its petals open and a white gardenia appears in front of her in full bloom. At least she can control some things.
The sunlight disappears over her, and a black menacing cloud takes over the sky. A roll of thunder marks the start of a storm. In the far distance, lighting rips through the dark clouds. The wind picks up, and rain comes down hard.
But Alice does not move from her spot. She lets the cold water hit her skin, and soaks her hair. Her clothes soak through and cling to her skin. She stays laying on her stomach and looking at the flower getting hit by the harsh rain and wind.
A pair of arms wraps around her and scoops her up off the grass. One arm under her back the other under her knees. She sees herself being taken out of the rain and into the house. She is put on the couch with a warm blanket around her, she looks up and sees Will’s face in front of her.
Will is rubbing the blanket against her skin trying to get her to dry up. She could tell he was trying to stay composed through all of this, but the way his brows were furrowed she could also tell he was pained seeing her like this. He stops rubbing her arms when the phone rings. He looks at her for a second, and then sighs. Will pulls the blanket more tightly around her to warm her ignoring the call.
“Who is that?” She asks in a small voice.
Will shrugs, “Either Scott or Brittney; they have been calling the last three days.” He says softly. He gets up from the floor he was kneeling on, and places his hand in his pockets. “Do you want anything?”
Alice looks at the floor, “Tea is fine right now.” She watches him leave, and she sits up on the couch. When Will comes back, she takes the mug in his hand and takes a sip. It does not make her feel better, but Will looks relieved that she took something, even if it was just tea.
Will sits next to her and wraps an arm around her shoulders.
Alice looks over at him, and notices that Will was wet from the rain. “Are you not cold?”
Will shrugs.
Alice opens her arms and wraps them around Will’s waist. She rests her head on his chest when Will leans back on the couch. She closes her eyes when he starts kneading her neck. She opens her eyes and hears the phone ringing again. Alice takes another sip of her tea. “We cannot keep ignoring them.”
“I know,” Will says. “They keep leaving voice mails too.”
“I should call them… tomorrow I will call them.”
“For two people who are supposed to be in school, they call a lot.”
“They can go to the bathroom during class and besides it is almost lunch for them,” She says. Alice takes one last sip of tea.
Will takes it and places it on the coffee table and he fixes the blanket around them.
Alice listens to the rain falling on the roof, and sees it through the window in front of them. She could not help but grin at a memory. “Remember when it would rain back in Eden, we would just sit in the stable and listen to the rain.”
Will nods and grins.
“It was nice,” Alice says. She bites back her lip at the memories of them doing that. It was such a good time when they did it. The worst thing that would happen was that Isabella, the event coordinator, would critic Alice for not behaving right. Her mother on the other hand would just shake her head with a grin. Her father would tell just tell Isabella to calm down. Now so many things have changed since the last time they were in the stable.
Will’s chest rises and falls when he yawns.
Alice looks up at him, and notices how tired he looks. She looks down knowing it was because of her. She has been crying non-stop at night, and he has been sleeping next to her listening to her crying and trying to comfort her. “You have not been getting any sleep.”
Will glances at her, and kisses her on the forehead. “I am fine.” He leans his head back.
Alice shakes her head. “Get some sleep.”
With his eyes half open, Will raises a finger. “First I am your guardian; I am the one who takes care of you.” He puts his hand over his mouth and another yawn comes out.
“Which you cannot do if you are tired all the time,” Alice says. She untangles herself from the blanket and pushes Will onto his side. It took her while, since he was fighting back. But eventually she won. Alice wraps the blanket on him and sits on the edge of the sofa. She brushes his hair, so he would fall asleep faster.
Will closes his eyes and soon he was asleep.
Alice gets up and sits on a chair that was close to the window. She watches the rain fall on the tops of the other roofs and the puddles that were forming in the street. The wind was dancing through the grass and the trees. A loud thunder came, and then lighting followed. It was intimidating, yet Alice still found it comforting. The storm reflected just how she felt.
She looks over at Will, and thinks about the last three days. He has done a lot for her. It is amazing how much patience he was gifted with. Even if there were days where he would get angry at her, he had good reason. But he never put himself before her. And even if that was his job, she still wishes that he would put himself first for once.
She is not that special. She was not worth so much.
Alice thinks of something she could do to put an end to this war. But she knows she is going to have to do it now. Alice knows it is going to upset Will and her father, and that it is stupid, but she cannot let any more people get hurt for her. She gets up and walks over to Will, she sits next to him on the edge of the couch. She leans down and kisses him softly on the lips.
“Please forgive me.”
*****
Alice steps outside in the backyard, slowly closing the door trying not to wake Will up. She lets her disguise fall, and flutters her wings. She jumps and takes flight. She flies high through the clouds, knowing nobody would be able to spot her in this storm. Between the wind and the rain it was hard to fly without being slowed down. But that did not stop her, not even the thunder or lighting.
She looks below her seeing the houses from the sky and then looking ahead toward her destination. She bends her knees and pushes herself in the air to go faster. She sees the tops of trees and knew she was close. In a few minutes she will find the portal, go to Eden and give herself up. It was the only way to end all this.
But something slams into her and makes her lose balance. She feels two arms wrap around her from the back and pin her arms down. She struggles to get out and even tries kicking.
“Alice, stop it!”
Hearing Will’s voice, she does. But it is nothing out of comfort. His voice sounds angry. Alice turns around, and sees Will’s face. He looked hurt and angry at what she did.
Will grips her arms tightly to the side. “Do not ever do that to me again!”
Alice is so stunned to hear him sound so angry, that she could not find the words to say anything.
“I am taking you back to the house,” Will says and takes her by her arm and pulls her.
“No!” Alice shouts. She pulls her arm out of his grip. “I am not going back there!” She makes a ball of air and pushes it in his direction. She turns around and flies off into the forest. She is almost there; she just has to find the cave. She stops when she sees Will jump in front of her.
Will grabs her arms and pins them down and pushes her against the tree. “Stop it!”
“No, I have to do this!” She yells back and tries escaping his grasp.
Will shakes her and pushes her more against the tree. “You actually think that if you surrender, that things would end?”
“They have to,” Alice mumbles.
“Well, it will not. Your father will go after you, and I sure as hell will not give up.” He gets her to look at him. “I could die trying to save you.”
Alice looks up at him, and goose bumps crawl up her skin at the thought of him dying. “Please, just let me go.” She pleads.
“Are you going to leave?”
Alice does not answer back.
Will leans closer to her, “Alice, do you care about me?”
Alice closes her eyes and nods slowly.
“If I asked you to do one thing for me, would you do it?” He leans closer, their lips almost touching.
“Depends on what it is.”
“It is a yes or a no question.”
“Then yes.”
“Please come back to the house, let this matter be handled in Eden.”
Alice looks away.
Will brushes her hair back.
“You will go after me if I go to Damos?”
Will nods.
“Even if Damos captures you, and kills you?”
Will brushes a knuckle on her cheek. “Yes I would.”
Alice gives in and leans her head on his shoulder. She places both hands on his chest and then around his neck. There is no way she could let that happen to him. At least she could protect Will. She steps back and looks at him.
They lean closer to each other, and were about to kiss when an image pops into Alice’s mind. She gasps and she steps back. She hears whispers in her head. They were the trees talking to her.
Troll, in the forest.
There is a troll.
What is a troll doing here on Earth?
The image of a troll appears in her mind. It was shorter than Damos, but it was muscular. It had auburn spiky hair, and had dark skin, and on his chest he wore the symbol for Austere, and had a sword tied to his hip. It was sniffing the air for something. And it was close.
“Alice?” Will says with his hand on her shoulders.
“Troll. There is a troll. Here in the forest.”
Will’s eyes shot wide. He was about to say something when there was sound of a twig snapping. He grips Alice by the wrist, and pulls her away deeper into the forest. Will stops and pulls Alice behind a wide tree. He puts Alice between him and the tree. “How many trolls did you see?” He whispers.
“Just the one.”
“You need to fly back to the house.”
“And you?”
“I will handle the troll, you go.”
Alice was about to protest when the sound of footsteps was heard. She felt Will’s hand press himself closer to her.
The troll walks pass the tree they were hiding behind. He was sniffing the air. He turns in their direction and walks.
The only thing that Alice thought is this was a troll that is with Damos. And Damos is the reason why her mother is gone. He is the reason why everything has happened to her. And this troll is on Damos’ side. Inside all she could feel is storm of anger and grief.
Alice looks at the ground and feels the vines growing from out of the ground. Five vines grow around the troll. Two wrap around his ankle, another two grab him from the wrist. And the last one wraps around his neck. She furrows her eyebrows and focuses on the vine around his neck. She hears the strangling in his breath, but does not stop. She does not stop until she hears a crack and the troll goes limp.
The vines unwrap around the body; leaving the lifeless troll on the ground.
Will looks at the troll, and then at her. His was astonished by what he just witnessed. He touches her on the shoulder. “Alice?”
Alice turns away from him, “Let’s go.”