Her Name is Alice

Chapter Five

Suddenly, Ava and Alice were jogging to keep up with his much longer legs as he made his way down two other hallways and a flight of stairs. He truly must have been excited because he never slowed down so they could catch up. That or he was completely oblivious to his fast pace.

"What is this place?" Alice muttered to herself.

"No one really knows. It was here when we first found the island. There are hundreds of doors and secrets throughout this place but we can never keep track of them all." Atticus explained as he led the two girls outside.

"We only hold classes and meetings in there; Josiah is a firm believer of taking care of yourself. Of course, he's not a cruel man; he wouldn't leave his precious students without a roof over their heads." He led them into a large, spacious grove east of the school. The trees there were about as wide as a carriage was long and conjured no suspicipions with Alice.

"Here we are." They came to an abrupt halt in front of a specific tree, which Atticus studied as he spoke. "Ava, this will be your home for the remainder of your stay here on the island." Seeing the look of disbelief on her face, he said: "Trust me, its bigger on the inside.

"Now, there is a short ritual that will allow you to access your 'cabin', as we call it. You will approach the tree and speak your full name into the bark as you mark it with your blood."

"Blood?" Ava squeaked, her body tensing anxiously. "I can't--"

"Yes, you can." He grasped her hand and tugged her forward until she was standing with him beside the tree. He lowered his voice to calm her, never letting go of her trembling hand. Before long, she had completed the ritual and was smiling happily up at her looming tree.

Alice's jaw dropped embarrassingly when a beautiful red door appeared in the tree's bark. With Atticus' nod of approval, Ava stepped through the mysterious doorway, into a well lit room. Alice tried moving closer to see inside but was stopped by Atticus' strong arm.

"Let her discover her new home on her own. Don't worry, she'll love it."

Conveniently, Alice's 'cabin' was only a few trees over from her friend's. She did the same ritual as Ava; speaking her name clearly into the bark and painting a stripe of blood down its rugged texture. At first, she had been wary of the knife he folded and kept in his pocket. But once the worst of it was over, she eagerly stepped into her incredibly beautiful and cozy cabin.

It was definitely bigger on the inside than she would have expected; there was even a white wood spiral staircase that led to two other floors above. The bottom floor was where a peach-colored kitchen sat along with a small but decent dining room with a dark wood table and lovely China set. There was even a little parlor facing a stone fireplace where Alice could drink her afternoon tea and work on her needle-work.

The walls were painted with delicate roses of every color, their thorny stems connecting like vines. A tall, white bookshelf stood beside an expensive-looking, soft blue loveseat that practically begged for Alice to join. A gorgeous, Persian rug stretched across the cold, wooden floors in an incredibly intricate design. Oh, how jealous her mother would be if she saw this.

Up the surprisingly stable stairs was a bathroom she had only ever dreamed of. A crème-colored, claw foot tub rested in the middle of the well lit room. A breathtaking crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, providing the warm glow to the otherwise dim washroom.

However, as amazing as it was, nothing beat the bedroom. It had pale sky blue painted walls with clean white trim. On the opposite wall was a window that overlooked the treetops of--she assumed--her fellow students' cabins. The green tips were graced with the warm light of the setting sun. Alice's mother always watched the sun set, every night no matter where she was or what she was doing.

Her bed wasn't a simple cot like she had at home in London. It was a thick mattress with a bronze, curled bed frame and soft, white covers. Her new room was also furnished with a light wood vanity and bedside table. It wasn't the most extravagant bedroom Alice had ever seen but it was perfect for her, in every way possible. She wanted to jump into her plush bed right then and there but, all of a sudden, she noticed that she didn't smell very good anymore.

She ventured down the white steps to her washroom where she stepped out of her limp, pungent dress and underthings. The white porcelain bathtub filled with hot water quickly, to her surprise. Its steaming water melted her knotted muscles and soaked her sensitive skin deliciously. She felt fantastically reborn when she finally stepped out of the tub and dried off.

A white cotton bathrobe hung from an iron hook by the door. Grateful for the robe to cover up with, she pulled it on and buried her nose in the fluffy material. It smelled like freshly made soap and clean linen. In her bedroom, Alice noticed a small, dark wood panel the size of a bible in the wall across from her bed. She pulled on the horizontal iron handle, revealing a shadowed chute that disappeared far below.

When she looked closer, she discovered that 'Laundry' was carved into the iron handle. "Oh, this must lead to a mud room somewhere." Unsure about using it, Alice tossed her dirty clothes into a wicker basket on her floor and dressed for bed.

Despite her cozy new bed, despite the incredibly comfortable silk night gown she found in her bureau, she must ,couldn't fall asleep. Tossing and turning for the next couple hours didn't help either. Finally, she threw off her blankets and put on a kettle of water for a cup of nice, hot tea to help her sleep. Her mother was an herbalist so, naturally, Alice was well informed of hundreds of different herbs and their uses.

She had brought with her a variety of dried herbs such as passion flower, which she was using in her tea to help her sleep. In her kitchennete, she found a box of cookies that she munched on while sipping her tea. Her loveseat faced a window that showed the moonlight breaking through the trees in random streams.

Before long, her eyelids were becoming heavier and heavier as the minutes passed. The tea affected her so strongly that she couldn't even make her way to her bed before falling asleep. Lucky for her, the blue loveseat was well cushioned,allowing for a deep sleep she was well due for.

Alice's little friend visited her in a dream that night. He flew into her parlor and landed on the Persian rug, cocking its head at her before disappearing only to be replaced by a tall, naked boy. Unable to express shock, Alice let her eyes drift shut, the dream disintegrating into blissful nothingness.