Clockwork of the Alice

Chapter 05

Chapter 05

Where am I? Is this death? If so... why is it so lonely? I had thought that there would be beautiful fields of flowers. I had thought that I would see Mother and Father... if I am dead... then what... where... ah, there it is. The rumored light everyone talks about as they breathe their final breaths.

"Good morning my little doll! I am so glad you're awake!"

Arisu had opened her eye to face a woman with copper red hair staring into her face. The woman's thin wired glasses reflected light from the candlelit room, creating an unsettling look in her eyes. Arisu tried to scream but all that arose from her gasping mouth but all that arose was an unheard wisp of air. She struggled to get away from the woman but she was held in place to the wooden chair with some invisible force.

"Easy my little doll! You wouldn't want to break that porcelain skin of yours." whispered the woman with a disturbingly gentle tone. "I am so glad that you finally fell into my hands!" she explained. "It's been so long since I last laid my eyes upon you. The last time I saw you, it was over all too soon due to the pests your wretched parents had employed."

Arisu tried to kick her away but her legs wouldn't move forward. She started to cry in frustration. She shrieked for Kindallis, the person that had once came to wake her from nightmares, but Arisu realized an eye widening detail of the situation, that this, was no nightmare. This horrible scene of helplessness was ever so real.

"You have grown so beautifully. A shame you can not continue to blossom like the delicate white rose you are."

Arisu's one and only eye was filled to the point of explosion with pleading emotions. She centered all of her hating passion to the hazel eye streaming with tears.

"I can't wait until the night I have been saving you for, the very night that you will follow your parent's path." she whispered into Arisu's ear. "However, I plan to have no interruptions so I can truly enjoy that flavor-ridden blood of yours!"

A shiver raced through Arisu's frail body as that last sentence echoed throughout her ear. She kept crying out for help. Help from anybody! Kindallis! Blanche! Alex! Anyone that could hear her, but alas, her voice was muted by an unknown presence deep inside of her throat.

"Don't panic, I will keep you safe. Nobody will ever lay a hand upon you." 

The woman smiled darkly as she placed a hand on Arisu's cheek and turned her face to face hers.

Arisu tried to turn her head far away from the woman's maniacal gaze, but could not. She was to weak to fight against the invisible cords that held her in place with the woman's will. The woman traced her fingers under Arisu's chin and grasped under her chin, pinching Arisu's cheeks between her sharp fingernails. She bit her teeth into Arisu's neck and sank her canines deep into her flesh, drawing blood to the surface. Arisu gasped in pain. She felt the warm crimson liquid drain from her body as it was pulled to the mouth of the woman.

"Mommy! Did you get a new doll?" asked a sweet voice from the doorway.

The woman withdrew herself from her inhuman bloodlust and faced the doorway. A girl about sixteen or fifeteen wearing a victorian styled dark purple evening dress stood in the entrance. Her oddly colored hair was a soft lavender and was pulled back in pigtails that draped downwards in a straight line. Her soft brown eyes reflected the candlelight, bringing a warm glow to the empty gaze.

"Oh! Velvet my dear," she exclamed brightly. "Come here! Come here! This is Arisu Noirdatter."

Velvet grinned as she seemed to glide to where the woman stood and where Arisu sat, chained up in an invisible force. Velvet knelt down and placed her index finger under the bite. A drop of blood feel onto her finger and she lifted it to her mouth. She licked her finger, eyes widening in amazement.

"Mommy! You are right! Her blood taste amazing!" Velvet announced with excitement. "When are you draining her?"

The woman looked at Arisu with grim intention. Her gaze was filled with hatred, but for some reason, there was a flicker of gentle will. That gentle flicker was all to similar to the candles lining the room's perimeter, but it was deadlier. It was without a small flame. It was dark.

"I'll drain you on December 24th." she whispered to Arisu. "You will be the present I give to myself. The gift of..." she paused, almost like she was remembering some course-changing detail. Leaning closer she finished off her phrase. "Sweet, sweet revenge."