Alice's Sacrifice

Chapter 2

After a while Alice made it to her house. She felt exhausted after the battle today and was having a bit of a hard time breathing. Why am I so out of breath? I know I ran a bit but it's not like I ran the entire way home. Alice thought as she walked into her home. "Miss you're back back late. Is everything okay?" a tall man in a suit asked. "Everything's fine Sebastian. There was just a Jikochuu in the center of town." Alice said hoping Sebastian wouldn't notice how exhausted she was. If he did notice then he didn't show it. "Well alright, if you're sure everything is fine." Sebastian said calmly. "I'm going to go to bed early. Good night." Alice said trying to avoid any questions towards her. Without waiting for a response Alice got to her bedroom as quickly as she could. When she got to her bedroom she immediately got ready for bed. But with every action her body just seemed to feel heavier and heavier. That battle with the Jikochuu must have taken more energy out of me than I thought. I'll probably feel better in the morning. Alice thought before climbing into bed. Almost immediately she fell into the darkness of sleep.
"Alice! Come on Alice wake up!" a very familiar voice yelled. Alice opened her eyes slowly. Once she blinked the sleep out of her eyes she saw her little bear-like partner, Lance, trying to wake her up. "Alice! We're supposed to train with the others today!" Lance shouted trying to get her out of bed. "Don't worry I'm up." Alice stated drowsily. Honestly now she felt even more exhausted and drained, than before she went to sleep. Her entire body felt like it had turned to stone overnight. "Hurry up! We're already late!" Lance said as he was bouncing on Alice's head. "What?!" Alice shouted. She quickly sprang out of her bed, despite her tiredness. But once she stood up Alice felt her stomach lurch and dizziness seemed to hit her like a wave. Alice put her hands over her mouth and staggered towards the bathroom. Once she got there she began to vomit. That was close, Alice thought. "Alice are you okay?" asked Lance from outside the room. "I'm fine! I just got up too quickly you don't need to worry about me!" Alice responded to her partner. "I'll be out in a few minutes!" With that said Alice started getting ready, trying her hardest not to lose her balance. "Come on Lance lets go, we're already late." Alice said quietly trying to ignore her pounding head and fever. Lance flew into her bag and she went to the park to join the others. Why do I feel so sick? Well I don't want anyone to worry. I'll just rest tomorrow. Alice thought as she left the house.
"She should be here by now!" Aguri said clearly irritated. "It's okay Aguri, Alice is probably just running late it happens to the best of us." Mana said trying to make sure Aguri didn't get too irritated. "She probably just slept in. That battle did take a lot out of her." Makoto reasoned. "Yeah, but you were exhausted too. Maybe she doesn't take being a pretty cure seriously!" Aguri countered. "Hey! You're talking about the same girl who put herself at risk for you!" said Rikka with her blue eyes lighting up with fury. "Woah, woah, woah calm down you 2. I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation to why Alice is late." said Mana trying to keep the 2 girls from fighting each other. "Look there she is now!" Dabyi shouted getting the girls attention. Alice was walking towards the girls trying her best not to stumble. "Alice! Over here!" Mana shouted. Just smile. Alice thought placing a fake simile on her face. "Hey guys. Sorry I'm late." "Took you long enough! Now come on let's get started." Aguri said annoyed not meeting Alice's gaze. "Don't worry about Aguri she's just stressed out." Makoto whispered in Alice's ear.
Time skip a few hours
Alice was breathing very heavily. Her vision was spinning and she could barely stand up straight. To be honest she was surprised she didn't pass out. "Hey everyone lets have a break. I brought some food for lunch." Mana yelled seeing that everyone needed a break. "Okay, we shouldn't overwhelm ourselves anyways." Aguri mumbled to herself, just barely loud enough for Alice to hear. I can do this. Just a few more hours. Alice thought summoning all the strength she had, just so she could walk normally.
"Mana I don't think I'll ever get sick of your family's cooking!" Rikka stated while wolfing down some food. "Hey Alice are you okay? You haven't even touched your food." asked Makoto sounding concerned. "Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine. I'm just not that hungry." said Alice not really focusing on the conversation. "You sure? I've never seen you pass up a meal before." Mana asked also realizing Alice hadn't eaten anything. "Yes I'm sure! I just had a big breakfast thats all." Alice said uncomfortably. The truth was she barely had any breakfast today at all. She only had a few bites of toast before feeling queasy again. "Okay if you say so." Mana said sounding unsure. "Okay guys let's get back to training." Aguri said but not before casting a nervous glance at Alice.
Time skip a few more hours
Alice was running laps with the others. She was pretty far behind her friends. Aguri is probably gonna think I'm slacking off today. But I'll make it up to her next time. Alice thought starting to push herself to her absolute limit. What she felt this morning was nothing compared to how she felt now. With every step she took Alice's body seemed to become heavier and heavier. Every breath she took was a struggle. Her head was spinning so much she could barely see what was in front of her. And her fever felt so hot that she was surprised the others couldn't feel it. Come on you can do this! Alice kept thinking that over and over again. But suddenly when she was almost done with the lap all the strength that she had seemed to have left her. I need rest. Alice felt her body collapse onto the ground. The last thing she heard was someone shouting her name before everything went black.