ALICE

CHAPTER 13- MARIA

"You are very special, my daughter!" Said Evan, carrying his six-year-old daughter on his shoulders, as he walked into the woods.

"How so, papa?" Asked Alice eagerly.

"Your determined soul, and your spirit that promises to fight anything thrown in your path, sets you different from others." He replied.

Alice scrunched her nose. "I don't get it!"

Evan chuckled. "One day, you will!"

Alice woke up, panting. Her head was throbbing. She reached out and massaged her temples, trying to gain focus.

Alice realized two things simultaneously. First, she was in her bedroom, lying on her bed, and second, her room was filled with moonlight, which meant that it was nighttime.

Knave was sitting right next to her. He broke into a smile, as she sat up with a groan. Alice tried to remember what had happened, but it was as if her mind had stopped working. The last thing she remembered, was that she had been talking to Mendaline. When had she arrived here?

"Glad you're awake, I was beginning to think that you were gone for good!" Said Knave.

Alice felt groggy. "Just one question," She began, raising her index finger. "What the hell happened?"

Knave chuckled. "Mendaline happened!" He replied. She looked at him furiously. The message was clear in her eyes. She was in no mood for jokes.

Knave cleared his throat. "Mendaline sent us home, and surprisingly you were too weak to handle her magic. I guess which is why you've been unconscious since the time you got here, in which your overprotective friends have thought of numerous, merciless, and ruthless ways to kill me, and..,"

Alice cut him off. "Where are they now?" She asked, looking around. It was unlikely that they would leave her alone with Knave after all that had happened. "Was my mother worried?" Alice demanded.

Knave held out his hands, stopping her. "Relax! Your friend Maria is in the kitchen, preparing you something to eat when you wake up, and the crazy twin brothers have disappeared ever since your mother arrived, then left again."

Alice blinked. "What do you mean left again?"

Knave gave a shrug. "I don't know! She arrived, saw you sleeping, and then went away again. The twins still do not know she is not at home, and I prefer it that way!" He paused. "What problem do they have with your mother?" He asked. His expression was something she could not decipher.

Alice closed her eyes, trying to process things. "What time is it?" She asked, ignoring his question.

"Eleven!" He replied.

'Eleven?' Alice thought with horror. Where had her mother gone so late in the night, and why?

"By the way, I did not need saving back there." Said Knave abruptly, breaking her thoughts.

Alice opened her eyes and looked at him. "What?" She asked.

He grinned. "I mean, Mendaline had not put me under any spell! I was in my full senses during all of it."

Alice blinked. "But.., I saw your eyes they were not...," She searched for a word. "Normal!" She finally said.

Knave nodded. "She was trying a spell on me, that much I knew. Just that it did not work!" He informed.

"Because you're a ghost?" She asked.

He shook his head. "I think my curse prevents any other form of magic used on me. Which was probably why Mendaline could not help break my curse."