Heyy guys! Sorry about the long wait on the next chapter for Return Once More, I was trying to finish off my other big story for Harry Potter. But now you guys have my full attention again and my muse is back again for this story, since now I official have Alice in Wonderland! When I was watching it and then listening to a recent song that has caught my attention, this idea for this chapter. My storyline is going to be introduced now with some new characters that I have come up with and they will have major role throughout the story. Hope you all like this chapter!
Chapter 4: Coming to Terms
Alice POV
When both of decided to break the kiss, I let out a cry and wrapped my arms her neck as she cooed me. I didn't have the slightest idea why I would be crying in a time like this, especially since I have been waiting for this moment for months now! But when I felt her arms wrap around my waist in a gentle and protective manner, my tears began to subside ever so slowly and I slowly looked up to meet her endless brown eyes. I…I didn't know what to do. I felt drawn to her like always but now, I have a reason to be under her spell. Mirana was my Queen and I was her Champion but now…I was ever so slightly more than that. A warming chuckle escaped her dark and soft lips as I was brought back from my thoughts. I stared up at her with my own hazel eyes and I gave her small smile of my own before speaking.
"What's so funny?" I asked in a gentle answer before trying to take a step away from Mirana but her grip on me tightened so I wouldn't escape. After I looked down at her arms around me, I looked back up at her in worry before she rested her forehead against mine. The two of us let out a sigh of worry for one another before we both closed our eyes as we enjoyed the peacefully moment between us. This was the moment…that I had been waiting for.
"Do you know how long…I've been waiting for this, my sweet dear Alice?" Mirana whispered back to me as I opened my eyes before meeting hers staring back into mine. She was looking into my eyes but she was searching for something more than that. Was it my heart? My soul perhaps? Either way, I was letting her in and I soon realized her lips were once merely inches away from mine. My breath hitched as my eyes averted downwards before I ghostly danced my fingertips against her pale white skin on the back of her neck. Just as I did, a jittery breath escaped her lips and she leaned back into the touch and I continued the motion. I traced different patterns as I felt the air thicken with lust and want between us. My eyes started to stare at her pale neck and slowly, as if they were my fingers, began to look back to her face. That's where her dark chocolate eyes met mine and my breath caught in my throat.
"Probably…as long as I have, Mirana." I whispered quietly before removing my hand from behind her neck and slowly leaving goosebumps in my finger's wake. Her eyes darkened under my touch and sparked my desires even more. My breath began to grow into shorter puffs, along with my heart picking up pacing once again for whatever number of times tonight. Once my hand rested on her cheek, a moan escaped from Mirana's lips and I pulled away.
"I think we better head down to the kitchen now. Hatter might wonder where we have disappeared to." And with that I left Mirana, still standing the position she was in, as I left the room and entered the cold corridor. A shiver passed through my body and I rubbed the sides of my pale arms with my equally pale hands. God, I need to get out more instead of reading in the studies like I always do. I knew I should have grabbed something to cover myself with as I left but I…I just wanted to get out of there. I just had too.
As I let out a shaky sigh, I felt something wrap around my shoulders before something reached down and laced their fingers with my hand. I looked over my covered shoulder and saw a pair of dark brown eyes staring back into mine, showing nothing but comfort. A blush appeared on my cheeks, giving the older woman's fingers a squeeze as we descended down the marble staircase and down another corridor, probably the one that led towards the kitchen if I recalled correctly. I heard a faint chuckle come from beside me and my head slowly turned towards the White Queen.
"What's so funny, you're…Mirana?" I asked curiously as we stopped right in front of the kitchen door and she moved herself, so now we were face to face. She shook her head in a way that was relevant to saying that it was nothing. But still I pressed on the matter with her. "Please tell me."
I didn't like to beg but if it was the only way to get her to talk then I knew that I would have to resort to it.
"It's nothing, my dear Alice. I was just reflecting on the matter that I'm finally feeling…at peace and happy again now that you have returned to us." Mirana whispered to me as she got closer to my face, placing a kiss on my forehead before walking into the Kitchen, where everyone was sitting, waiting for us to arrive.
"It's 'bout time!" The March Hare said quite loudly as he raised his tea cup in air, spilling some of its contents all over the place, getting several chuckles from people. I smiled at him before following Mirana into the room and taking a seat next to Cheshire and the White Rabbit. My hands reaching out for the tea pot, accidentally brushing up against hers, and I immediately pulled them away, hiding them in my lap along with my eyes. I felt the flare of warmth rise to my checks once more and for that I knew, I was probably going to be questioned in three…two…one…
"Alice is everything alright?" The Hatter question right on time and I bit my lip as I looked up shyly and nodded before reaching out for the tea pot once more. Try not to give yourself away Alice, who knows what would happen! Who knows if Mirana wants to tell everyone yet? Or even the fact, what terms were they on? We're we a couple or was it just something that she wanted to play with? My hand began to shake on that thought…what if this was all a game to her? I…I…
"Alice…" Mirana whispered to me as she reached across the table and rested her warm hand on top of mine. My misty eyes met hers and I quickly closed them to hide back the tears. I really need to control my emotions better. They were seriously getting out of control. A shaky breath past through my lips as my warm hazel eyes reopened to met hers and my head nodded that I was fine. The way she took her hand away, she knew it was a lie.
"So, getting onto a lighter and happier topic, would anyone like to hear of my adventures in the Upperland?" A smile bloomed on my face as I received several nods and cheers to the notion. Taking a sip of my warm tea, I hoped that it would get my voice ready to be talking a lot, possibly as long as early morning. As I set the cup of tea down, my eyes quickly looked over to Mirana, who was waiting with a gentle smile and I returned it before clearing my throat. Now, what story shall I tell them? Will it be the one of the emperor and his search for the missing royal jewel or how about the one about the one where his daughter and I had a grand adventure in the Chinese wilderness?
"Oh! Do you have any about saving a fair princess or even a grand battle or even…" The little mouse began to list rapidly for me to keep up with. A chuckle slipped past not even my lips but the lips of the ones that I had recently pressed again not too long ago. My eyes looked over at hers, who were looking anywhere but at mine and that didn't last for too long. As her dark chocolate connected with mines, everything seemed right like every particle in my body seemed to be drifting towards my heart, which was beating for one person. I bit my bottom lip before looking at the others, who were beginning to stare.
"I do have a story that involve all of those, would like to hear that on?" I asked everyone, who nodded in approval and got comfortable as I took another sip of my half empty tea cup. The story I was about to tell wasn't one that they were all thinking about. One about a happy ending where they live happily after, no this was one those few stories that ending with someone dying, leaving their beloved behind to live.
"Once upon a time, there was a loyal warrior in the Emperor's Royal Army that held high promise for a good future. He trained far better than another and was well educated like many young men at the time. As he was on patrol on night around the castle, his eyes met a pair that he had never seen before and felt something that he had never felt before…" "It was love wasn't it, Alice!" "It was Mal, indeed it was. Now, the next day, the warrior went up to the woman and introduced himself to her and slowly they began to converse. Not sooner than they realized it, they were in love. They spend every waking moment they could with one another when not on duty or attending lessons in their everyday lives."
"The warrior…he fell in love with the Emperor's daughter, didn't he?" The Hatter asked as he stirred his tea with a spoon, looking directly at me as if this story held some meaning to it. I had to look away. He was right, this story did hold something and that was, I was falling in love with a princess; Mirana being the princess and me being the loyal warrior. I shook my head at him before taking one last sip of my tea and I rested my hands on my lap.
"One day attending the announcement of the peace treaty of the two countries that had been fighting for decades now, the warrior waited to see what the agreement was. As his lover appeared from behind the Emperor and a snobby man walked over to her, grabbing her hand into his. That's was when it dawned on him, he was in love with the princess. The warrior looked up at the princess, who met his with unshed tears before looking away as he left the room. He could handle the thought of another man touching her; he came up with a plan. He was going to fight to be with her." My hands gripped the ends of the blanket wrapped around my shoulders and looked down at my lap as I felt tears begin to form in my eyes. I wouldn't let them fall as I closed them and began to finish up the rest of the story.
"The day before the wedding merger, the young warrior went up to the Emperor, with a request for a challenge. He wanted to prove that he was a better suitor for his daughter than the prince and the Emperor asked him what he purposed. So the warrior presented that he would fight the prince for her love and who ever won, would marry her tomorrow. Without another thought, the Emperor agreed to the idea and stated they would fight here, in front of everyone. The warrior pulled out his blade and waited for the prince to charge him. The prince was indeed the first one to attack and the two throughout their best moves but the warrior knew that he had the battle and he went in for the final blow." My hands slowly reach out for my tea and I slowly brought it up to my lips, taking the last sip of tea as my eyes opened to see everyone's faces to be smiling. My face on the other hand, did not falter and remained emotionless.
"One of the Prince's personal guards had an arrow pointing at the young warrior the whole battle, waiting for the prince to fail before doing as he was told; to kill him. And once he saw the final blow, he released the arrow and hit the warrior in the shoulder, right above his heart. Of course, the Prince's guard was killed for interfering and took the Prince to jail. The princess wept for her beloved as he crawled towards his death and the two vowed a never ending promise." I placed my tea cup back on it plate and looked at Mirana for the last portion of the story that was meant for her and met her confused gaze. "They vowed that they would never love another and that they're souls would be forever tied with their love."
As I finished, everyone was staring at me with either their mouths open or tears silently falling from their faces. I did tell the story in a shorter version but I still had all the major details in there that were needed but that wasn't the point. The story was supposed to show the measures that a warrior would go to fight for what they loved.
"If you guys don't mind, I'm still a bit tired from today's events. So, goodnight and I'll see you all in the morning." I said as I stood up and walked out of the room, leaving everyone in silence and Mirana had to look away from who much she was crying. A tear slipped down my face and I ran back into my room, not caring about being elegant for once in my life. My love for Mirana was like the one from the story; I'd die than see her in another's arms. Once I reached my room, I closed the door behind me and ran to the bed, collapsing onto it as I cried for many reason. The two main ones being she was the one reason I came back to London and in search for a way back here and now that I have, what can I do? The other being if we do fall in love together, will it last?
Why must everything seem so hard for me, even when they seem so easy? As I slowly slipped off into sleep, I felt something dip into my bed next to me and pull me closer to whatever they were. Something warm kissed my check before kissing my lips briefly after. "You shall always be my Champion, Alice. For once, let me protect you…" And with that, I fell asleep knowing that I was protected in my sleep and also that I was loved the way I wanted to be. Mirana wanted more and tomorrow, I was going to tell her.
Hey I know it isn't much and I'm sorry about the slow updates but I'm trying to find the right route to take this story in. So being the nice lovely people you are, patience is needed when I update this story. You guys know the routine, click on the button below and leave me a lovely/helpful message.
Until Next Time :)
Sara