Despite what anyone else thought, Alice Kirkland was nothing like her family. Outside of her family's mansion, where appearance mattered the most, Alice could see how people would draw that conclusion of her. Uptight, emotionless, cold. The Kirklands were infamous for it. But behind the solid iron gates that guarded the front of their estate, Alice transformed into the outcast of the family. Where her elder sisters and brothers were boisterous, the youngest was contemplative; where the others spoke without thinking, Alice wielded her words like a weapon; when her family members allowed the mask to morph who they were, Alice took it off.

Alice became the black sheep the moment she was trapped behind those iron gates, a prisoner to her own family.

Which was why the library had grown to be her favorite place in the mansion. Any book she picked up, regardless of genre or length or subject, became her escape when it was all too impossible to leave. Books could take her somewhere else entirely - away from everything that was her world and into one that was far more interesting.

Currently, Alice found herself wrapped up in a historical book, one that told the stories of kingdoms whose time had long passed. It was a rare edition indeed, not because it hadn't been popular or inaccurate, but because stories of the ancient Kingdoms had long been outlawed in Arcadia. Alice had found it tucked onto the highest shelf of the library one day while browsing and she highly doubted that her father knew that it even existed, otherwise it wouldn't exist at all.

The book had been worn down with age - bound with a leather spine that was slowly peeling itself away - and it was rather short, but it was fascinating none-the-less. The ancient Kingdoms of Hoyle - Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades - were all prosperous lands, each with their own unique specialty, and were ruled by monarchs - a King, Queen, Jack, and Ace - chosen by the deeply rooted magic of the Divines. That was until, of course, Arcadia had risen and the Order had taken over, first promising peace and unity in the kingdom that would be brought about by the descendants of the chosen monarchs of old. Now that peace and unity was held together by fear and any hope of the monarchs' return faded into legend.

Alice was careful as she flipped her way through the yellowed pages, afraid that any jarring movement would rip the page in her hand or, even worse, that the book would simply crumble to dust and be carried away by the wind. Her eyes skimmed the fading words she'd read a hundred times, knowing and memorizing each line as she went. There was something - she didn't know what - about this book that sparked something in her. Something that sent her mind whirling and inevitably drew her back to its pages, captivating her interest no matter how many more books she read.

Her attention was snatched away from her when someone knocked on the door of the library. Quickly, Alice snapped the book closed, tucked it into its hiding place - behind some books just out of reach - and opened to a random page of this closest book she could find. "Come in."

The door cracked open and in entered one of the many servants that worked at Kirkland manor, Michael. "Miss Kirkland?"

Alice gave a hum before deciding to look up at him, taking on the bored-like personality she'd developed well over the years. "Yes, what is it?"

"Your father wishes to see you in his study," the boy told her after a quick bow.

For a moment, Alice could feel her heart skip a beat in her chest. Why did her father want to see her? Had he discovered the book or something far worse? Was she in trouble?

"Very well," Alice said, trying not to allow the panic to overtake her. No. If her father had discovered anything, she certainly wouldn't have found herself being politely summoned by a servant. There was nothing wrong and there was no reason to panic. "Thank you, Michael."

The servant gave her another quick bow and took his leave as Alice shut her book and rose from her place in the chair. The Kirkland manor was large and ornate, decorated with precision in order to show off their wealth and power over those who had none. Long ago, the Kirklands had ruled one of Hoyle Kingdoms - though Alice had forgotten which one - and had earned their place in the Order to help rule. Though Alice, as the youngest of the five Kirkland siblings, would never be seated on the Order, she still reaped the benefits of being so closely related to a sitting member. She found herself with the best education, the best clothing, and the best innovations - all because of her bloodline.

Alice made her way through the winding halls of the manor, passing by servants and footman alike. But no sign of her siblings, a fact of which she was grateful for.

The door to her father's study was different from the others in the manor. While most of the doors were nondescript and carved from ancient oak, the door to her father's study was carved from a dark wood and engraved with the Kirkland family seal. It was unlike any of the other doors in the manor - intimidating, firm, and always closed.

It wasn't the first time Alice found herself staring down that door. There were many times that Alice and her siblings had been called into that study, and it was rarely a good reason. Even when Alice had earned the highest marks in her class, she'd been called into the study not for a congratulations, but a scolding. Apparently, her older sister, Aileen, had earned higher and that just wouldn't do.

Before she could allow herself to hesitate, Alice knocked on the door and waited for the muffled "Enter" of her father's voice before opening it.

Edward Kirkland was an intimidating man, even to his own family. He was incredibly tall and muscled, his stature seeming to draw attention wherever he travelled. The bright red of his hair was always meticulously taken care of and styled - evidence of his status and grooming - and it contrasted greatly with his green eyes, which bore into any poor soul who found themselves on the other end of a conversation with him.

Alice found herself on the end of that stare right now.

Despite the fear Edward Kirkland inspired, Alice couldn't bring herself to feel anything towards him. As a father, he'd failed spectacularly and whatever love someone was supposed to feel towards their parents had been drained from her long ago. To him, Alice was simply the youngest child and that meant nothing more than the fact that she could never be good enough for anything close to his admiration.

So Alice simply stared back, her own green eyes refusing to look away out of pride and spite.

"You called for me, Father?"

"Yes," the man eventually said after a long period of silence. He set down the pen in his hand and pushed away the documents that were laid out on the desk before him. With the stare broken, Alice studied the large, pane glass window behind him. The sun which normally shone brightly down on the hilly estate had been covered by thick, dark grey clouds that angrily swirled in the sky and the wind was violently ripping through the trees that decorated the gravel pathway to the gardens below. Though it wasn't raining yet, Alice could tell that the oncoming storm would be brutal and unyielding.

"Aileen mentioned to me that you've been accompanied by a young woman the past couple of weeks at school," he continued. Alice was jarred out of her musing. That? He wanted to talk about that? "An Amelia Jones?"

Of course Aileen would tell their father. There was nothing about her that her father wouldn't, eventually, find out and Aileen, out of all of her siblings, was the biggest snitch. Suspicion immediately filled her. If her father wanted to know about Amelia, there was something in it for him, "Jones?"

"Yes, Amelia Jones," he repeated, exasperation filling his voice, "and her sister, Madeline."

"What about them?"

"Tell me about them."

Amelia Jones and her sister, Madeline Williams, were two girls who went to school with Alice. In the beginning, when the two sisters had first arrived, Alice found that they were incredibly different from one another. Madeline had been quiet and shy, preferring to take diligent, detailed notes on the lecture being given and focusing on keeping her sister in check - the fact that she managed to do both was incredibly impressive to Alice. Amelia, on the other hand, she had found incredibly annoying. She was loud and air-headed and refused to pay any attention in class. She'd been completely oblivious to any social context whatsoever, which was the cause of their meeting in the first place - where Amelia had come up to her, completely unaware of who she was, and proceeded to unabashedly hit on her. Something like that normally would've had no effect on her, but Amelia...Amelia was different. Despite her flaws, Alice had also found that Amelia's bold, optimistic, warm nature had cracked something in her in the best of ways. It was something, now thinking back on it, she found strangely endearing.

But Alice wasn't going to tell him any of that. "Why?"

"Their parents are George and Martha Jones."

Oh, well that would explain why her father was so interested. Senators George Jones and Martha Williams were two elected officials of Arcadia, a system set in place so that the people could still feel like they had a voice - regardless of the fact that the Order had turned it into a puppet organization long ago. The two Senators were rumored to have drawn up a proposal for the dissolution of the Order and the transition to a complete democracy.

The two, according to the Order, were dangerous and potentially detrimental to the Order. Alice didn't want to think about what the Order had planned for them when they were inevitably arrested by the police.

"I don't want you associating with either of them," her father said without any more preamble, his tone clearly indicating that there was no room for argument. "They pose a threat to the Order and I can't have my daughter hanging around them. It's a disgrace."

"But Father -"

"I said no more, Alice!" the man yelled, slamming his hand down on his desk and rising out of his seat. Alice studied the man before her, something akin to absolute hatred burning deep within her. After everything she'd done to make this man proud - a task abandoned long ago - she couldn't bring herself to care about what her father wanted. She didn't care exactly who Amelia was or who her parents were, Amelia - idyllic, blunt Amelia - and her sister were the first people in a long time who didn't treat her like she had the plague. And she wasn't giving that up because her brute of a father wanted her to.

"Very well," she answered calmly, having not an inkling of intention to obey. "I won't see either of them anymore."

The answer seemed to settle her father.

"You're dismissed."

With that, Alice left the study, mind already racing about how exactly she was going to continue the growing relationship she had with Amelia. It didn't feel like a fool hearted move, Alice was never one to allow her emotions to dictate her decisions. But not being with Amelia felt wrong. Like her entire being depended on the other girl and to not be with her would burn her from the inside out. Without her, Alice found herself feeling off kilter, like the world around her was protesting the separation. It wasn't a feeling Alice had ever experienced before, but it was a feeling that - this single time - she intended to follow, her father's opinion be damned.

Hello hello hello! This has been in the works forever as my project for the Hetabang on tumblr! This is easily the longest thing I've ever written so I really, really hope that you all like it.