Heroism

Chapter Nineteen: Friends No More

"You want to fight Darkness Detsoldue?" He questioned with a look of worry blended with surprise. Alice nodded her head as a look of determination flared inside of her eyes. He desperately searched her face, hoping to see an indication that she was joking, but he could tell that she wasn't. Alice's gaze held a fiery passion; a strong aching desire. He could tell she wouldn't easily be swayed into leaving the path she was on. There wasn't any convincing her otherwise. While it was admirable, it was reckless. To train her to be strong enough to take on King Detsoldue's daughter in what he presumed to be a short amount of time, it was a tall task... But it wasn't impossible.

"I'll train as hard as possible to be able to get strong enough to take her on. I don't care how long it takes. I made Lulu a promise I'd see her again soon, and I don't intend on giving up on that promise." Declan sighed and nodded his head; deep down inside, he knew that there was no way he could change her mind. It was best if he could keep an eye on her rather than having someone else training her. That way, he would be sure that she couldn't get into another accident again. He wondered how long she would stay angry at him for what happened earlier? Hopefully not long.

"Alright. I'll train you." Of course, she would be trained anyway. After all, if she wanted to break into the castle and save Lulu from wherever she was being held, she needed to get stronger. However, if he undertook a majority of her training himself, then that way he could make sure that he kept an eye on her. A smile formed onto Alice's face and she placed a hand over her chest. "You would be receiving training from the others anyway, but I can make sure that you don't get into any trouble." Alice's smile dropped and formed into a scowl as she folded her arms to her chest and a raised a brow.

"Too soon Declan. Too soon." One thing she had noted since entering this world was that they spoke similar to how the people did in Windsor, where she used to live. So it wasn't too hard to change the way she spoke. After all, she had grown up in the UK for a very long time. Until she was eight, she called it her home. However, even there she never used to fit in. She had always found it hard to make friends with people. Unlike Lulu, who seemed to be able to make friends so easily, she had always greatly struggled. Though the incident had put her off making friends completely.

Declan sighed "I'll leave you be for a while. We can begin training tomorrow. I'll come and get you in the morning." With that, Declan left, leaving Alice and Solomon alone together. For a moment, Alice couldn't help but breathe a soft sigh of relief, glad he was gone. It wasn't because she hated him. Rather, she was conflicted on how to feel. She wanted to be angry, and she was angry, but at the same time, she wasn't and she couldn't bring herself to be. Once he completely disappeared from view, Solomon turned his attention to Alice. With a shy smile, he scratched the back of his neck.

"I was speaking with Staria about training me in healing. I want to be the one who heals you. I don't know if it makes me selfish... To want to be the only one who heals you. I'm not strong enough or even capable of healing right now, but I want to be able to do it so I can help you and so that I can be the one who protects you," he offered her a warm smile. Alice's eyes widened and she felt her mouth go slack jaw slightly. A soft blush began to creep across her face. Absentmindedly, she brought her fingers up to her hair and began to comb her fingers through her her long blonde hair.

"Wow... I really appreciate that. Thanks. Do a good job then. I want to live," she laughed. As those words left her lips, she remembered back to the time where that memory or whatever that was took her. She still struggled with the thoughts of wanting to be alive sometimes. But she had made herself a promise then that she wanted to live. She would live, not for herself, but for those she cared for. If something were to happen to Adam and Lulu, she knew that she would struggle to go on. Perhaps, she would even return to that dark place... A place she didn't want to go back to.