Snippet #1992660

It was unexpected but somehow, Alice managed to sleep rather peacefully. No nightmares at the least. It was beautiful but it didn’t last. Nothing beautiful ever lasted. Voices drifted through the air and towards her. It wasn’t the food that woke her, even though she slept quiet close to the burning wood. Her eye fluttered to life, the long eyelashes casting shadows on her cheeks. The first thing Alice heard after her departure from her sleep was an angry sentence. "Then to bury a man's trinket is to bury just a trinket with no value. The man needs to be buried as a whole." To her surprise the one arguing was the peaceful monk herself and that too, arguing with the Prince. Very bold indeed, not something Alice could ever do. No guts, no glory. That summed her up pretty well. Her stomach rumbled in protest, but Alice couldn’t miss a fight like this. She watched as the Prince expressed his opinions on the matter and how his anger was flickering from a small glow to a raging fire. The monk herself wasn’t backing down either. Oh how fights amused her. She needed a better look. Alice jumped to her feet, the little cold she had last night, completely gone now. A good nights rest was all that was ever needed. Just as she stood fully upright, red fabric caught her attention. Circling her feet was a fine red cloak, one that she remembered instantly. She swiped the cloak off the ground instantly. There was no way it could be his. She didn’t know the man long enough but he seemed to always be mad or emotionless, nothing at all that hint of the caring type. But as she examined it, all her doubt washed away. This was the Prince’s cloak, his cloak. It was obvious that she had not felt a thing, how could she with her own cloak on, but it would have been laid on her after she fell asleep. It was horrible. She had the Prince’s cloak and it touched the ground when she was handling it and on top of that, there was no way she could give it back. She was scared of him for goodness sakes. She could offend him in some way, she could make him angrier, she could make him hate her! No, she couldn’t allow that. If she handed him the cloak back with a small thank you, things would be alright.

Wrong.

He was already mad. The monk had awoken his anger. Alice looked up just to see the Prince address the rest of the group to carry on and ride like they had been preparing to do when they woke up. With a small frown, Alice wiped the cloak of any dirt that remained. The monk had started to throw the bodies on the ground, clearly stating that she would give all of these horrible creatures a proper ceremony. Careful as could be, Alice folded up the cloak. With one last lingering look, Alice went to where her mount was. She was too gutless to give the cloak back and thank him and she cared nothing for the brutes that tried to kill her. Sure, she could go help the monk because she seemed trust worthy, but if that was all she had then she might as well have nothing. Just because she seemed trustworthy didn’t mean she was. Without realising it, Alice had started to stare at another horse. It was the Prince’s horse. She had memorised everyone’s horse subconsciously. The petite Mage laid the cloak on the back of the horse, jinxing the cloak not to fall off and for a faint mist to float on top of it in a certain pattern that spelled ‘thank you’. Of course, the minute that Prince touched the cloak both the spells would fade. Content, Alice went back to her own horse. “Weakling. You should have just given it back to him. I bet that you didn’t even fight.”

“Oh be quiet, no one asked for your opinion.”

“What about the naïve girl there, trying to bury all those bodies by herself? Can’t you use that Magic of yours to help her?”

“I could, but I’m sure in a matter of minutes the armored women will go help along with the scoundrel. If they need Magical assistance then the bearded Mage is far greater than I in the practice of the Magical arts. More will come to her aid. I do not need to.”

“You fool. How is someone to trust a girl like you?”

“But Eclipse, why should I trust them? Don’t you know? Everyone will stab you in the back.”

“Then what are you good for? You are useless in this quest. A weakling like you shouldn’t be here.” At that, Alice gave the horse a smile.

“I know. No we ride, be nice.” The horse gave a last disapproving sigh before he became quiet. She didn't care anymore. She looked mad talking and replying ot a horse. The horse was all set up in a matter of seconds and Alice was grooming Eclipse’s long neck. At that, her stomach rumbled once more. She chanted a few words under her breath and then stuck her arm out. Her arm had completely vanished, as if it was plunged into another realm. Alice struggled for a bit but then pulled her arm out with half a loaf of bread. It was still warm to the touch. She got herself up, once again, using her little tricks. She was ready to ride, but while nibbling on the loaf, her attention remained on the monk and her dead bodies.