Generis

12. Mapped Out

Alice skipped up the marble stairs in her dainty platform Mary-Janes, whistling to herself. She was catching the attention of most of the guards that were safekeeping the large, elaborate stairwell that stopped at the massive double doors. Those guards were probably wondering what a girl with the body of a twelve year old was doing, moving so casually towards the palace. When she got to the door, she went on her tiptoes and knocked on it, adjusting her hat. She expected an answer, obviously, and it wasn't going to be from the king, obviously. It was going to be-

The door swung open. A very tall guard held the door open, looking down at her and barricading her path. She noticed slips of his dark skin and long hair.

"Ahem?" His voice was a deep baritone; that shook her to reality.

"Oh yeah, um, hiii," She smiled, putting on a sweet face, "He asked to see me today, soooo, if you wouldn't mind..?"

"Who? The king..? Or your teacher?" He rolled his eyes, "School's that way, kid," He said, pointing behind her.

Oh no he didn't. She wasn't offended that he had called her a child, because she was, nor that he assumed she was lying, even though she wasn't, but she was appalled that he has just brazenly implied she should walk back the way she came from?

"For your information, mister, I am twelve! You know what that means, hm? Do you? Doooooo youuuu?" She asked, going on her tiptoes but only able to grasp the bottom of his jacket, "It means I'm almost a teenager. You know what that means, mister? That means I am almost an adult. And if you round that up, I am an adult. Basically."

He eyed her in utter disbelief. He was about to say something, but something about Alice's stare made him sigh in irritation.

"I'll go and alert the king that you're here," He turned to leave, about to close the door-

"You're not going to ask my name?"

"No. If he really knows you, he'll know who I'm talking about before the need of a name. Though you look like an Alice..." He said, before slamming the massive door shut.

Alice looked down at her blue dress, laced with amber ribbons and pulled up her long, white socks, "Do I look like an Alice..?" She muttered to herself, closing her lacy umbrella. It wasn't raining necessarily, and half the time it never rained at Fifth Point. But she always claimed it was an accessory, and carried it everywhere.

When she tells people that she had been travelling since she was a baby, people find her ridiculous. One time, she was so persistent in this fact that someone thought she had a demon in her and tried to exorcise it from her. And she never, well no, hardly ever, brought up her family when she was talking about these kinds of things. Not to say she didn't have a family- she did have a family, but the second she could walk, she ran. Why she ran, no clue, but she was a traveler. She liked to be on the move. Probably how she ended up meeting the king in the first place-

"Ahem."

She looked up. It was the guard, arms folded across his chiseled chest.

"Turns out the king does know you. And I was right. You were an Alice."

She raised a brow, "So? Will he see me?"

He stepped to the side and motioned past the door, "Hurry up, child."

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"And look at this one: 'Extensive plans to wipe out these viruses to the land is beginning to..' blah blah. It's a load of bullshit, that's what it is." Delarus fired, almost to himself, thumbing through the paper, "It's bullshit because she never told me about this until yesterday. We had a deal, damn it-"