New Beginnings Chapter 1
A tall thin girl with shoulder length white hair headed into the beautiful confounds of the mansion throughout the thick hallways the servants, the ones who have lost their souls. She shivered at the thought as she reach the ending corrador. 'I know where I stand in this battle I will be allowed home soon, so soon I can almost taste freedom, I can almost see the yellow sun again' she thought as she turned the corner. She reached her destination on the third floor of this enormous house, the raking sobs followed by cackels of laughter were coming from the room.
She entered the room her boots hit the floor with a satisfying clicks. "Newt, you called for me?" Newt looks to the girl, her chin held high, her eyes roam over the girl, her blank look tells the girl she knows she sent for her but not why, her eyebrows raised in memory. "Ahh, Alice do come in. I called you here to deliver someone to me. I need you to fetch Aligarept, he won't answer to summons you will have to look for him. If you find him I will send you home. Do you understand?" Alice nodded her head, "As you wish, Master Newt." Lightly bowing in respect before she turned to leave. 'Oh Al what have you done now,' her thoughts circled as she began to grin to herself 'I get to catch myself a demon'.
Alice found herself at Al's apartment, the landlord let her in. She surveyed the room and began looking through his things. Breathing in deeply she felt her pupils dilate, fear, happiness, anger, and tears. 'Looks like his aprentice was here recently maybe she still is, I will find you Al, nothing personal I hope you understand, if not I really don't care,' she giggled insanely her wolfish grin set as she realised he was probably with a young miss Rachel Morgan, and the hunt is on, 'My prey is near his end'.
She grudgingly returned to Newt's room to tell her, she would need to jump the lines to find him. "I expect you will not run, for if you do you are forever mine, Love. You will be my thrall, and my murderer for the rest of time. Please, do run. The map is a gift I do not care what you do with it, but it should be of help to you." Alice hit the grass in the middle of Cincinnati some where, she breathed in 'Home sweet home'. All the thoughts all of her memories of this pre -existing haven were nothing like the feeing of hope, and the sence of belonging that she had been needing for well over a fifteen centurys. She walked to the house she spotted on the map the streets matched up, at least.
'Why did I have to end up at the other side of the city?' Alice jogged to her destination, she fell upon the street that held the curch that held Rachel Mariana Morgan. Alice grinned devilishly again, she sprinted to the door knocked twice, waited for the door to open. She saw who she needed a thin, tall, lanky witch smelling strongly of redwood. I also smelt burnt amber my eyes narrowed, "Rachel Mariana Morgan, I need your help, is Aligarept with you? He has been summoned by Newt multiple times, but is refusing his summons I am here to... retrive him."
A mans yell bellowed from the backyard, "I won't go back there I will not go back to Newt! You can't make me!!!" Alice had found her prey, she run to the backyard and jumped the fence with ease, her fangs flashing as she grinned. "I will deliver you either way beating you senseless will be more fun for me. Your choice Aligarept." His fear was driving Alice crazy need pulsed through, then was a mild dull ache 'I will feed soon enough as soon as get him back to Newt'. Alice lept savagely grinning, fighting was something she loved her fist connected to his jaw, with a satisfying pop. "Do you surrender?" He kicked out at her while she jumped back far enough to not get hit, but she was back as soon as the blow failed. The fight continued til he started to tire. Her boot connected succesfully to his chest knocking the breath out of him, she rode him the entire way down stomping him into the ground. He laid limp beneath her, as she stepped off of him, she bent down to check his pulse. 'Good and strong, sorry Al your coming home with me'. "Where are you taking him?" I turned to find his aprentice glaring at me.
"Well, well, well... Look what we have here, such a pretty witch. Your Master is being taken to Newt he is in trouble and is being punisied." Alice answered dutifully. Not giving Rachel a chance to ask anything else she invoked the charm with the demon blood she obtained from Newt, to jump the lines. Alice swooned as she landed in the ever after 'I hate line jumping, I will never come back to this hell hole ever again'. She thought bitterly as she swung Al over her shoulder carrying him to Newt's estate.
"Well done." Newt clapped and grinned at Alice, "I hate that you are going to leave me, you are my greatest servant. I will miss you dearly." Alice smiled at the sincerety of what her former Master had said. "I will miss you as well Newt, if it means anything... I'm glad it was you who claimed me." Newt smiled softly at her, "Oh go on get out of here. Your free! Farewell, live a good life Alice."
Alice hit the grass for the second time that night she retched on the ground. 'I really hate line jumping'. A vamp greeted Alice with a stern yell as she ran into her church, " Rachel she is back!" The nightmarish cluster of chaotic pixies fled to the church as the redhead came to the door. "Who are you and what do you want? No one summoned you leave us alone." Alice grinned, 'She thinks I'm a demon?' Alice held her hands up as a sign of surrender, "I will not hurt you. I want a job I know enough about you to know you own a 'runner service' what ever the hell that is."
The door opened more to reveal shocked and confused faces, the thin vampire looked at Alice with disbeleif, "Why should we trust you? Demons can't live in the sunlight." Alice chuckled, then flashed her fangs at the young vamp, "Come take a whiff, I can promise I smell like vampire, I can't promise I won't bite." After a few minutes of arguing amongs them the vamp came out to 'smell' Alice, the vamp stopped a foot from her. Alice never relaxed her arms from their position of having her fingers twined behind her head. The vamp looked at her taking in Alice's scent drawing it toward her covering her in Alice's scent. Alice swallowed painfully bitting her lip and bowed her head. Alice's pupils dilated, her knees hit the ground, the vamp jumped back nearly six feet back.
She looked at Alice curiously, Alice breathed in and out unevenly trying to catch her breath. "How long has it been since you have had blood, stranger?" She eyed Alice tenatively, she was sweating, they both were, "It's been around five hundred years give or take." She looked shocked, Alice smiled softly and stood. "May I put my hands down? Have I passed your test?" She looked at Alice rather confused then she nodded, motioning for Alice to follow. Alice put her hands at her sides following the vamp inside, the vamp opened every window and all of the doors. When Alice felt Rachel's fear her body stiffened, she put her head in her hands, the vamp looked at her simpathetically, " Rachel... Please try to stay as far away from her as you can. For not only your sake, but for hers as well." Rachel shot her an angry look, " Why the hell are you helping the enemy?"
Her anger hit Alice hard, 'Great I have to sit here with an emotional roller coaster just five feet away'. Alice stood quick and walked outside taking a breath of clean air. She walked back in after the situation was explained to the pixie and Rachel, she awkwardly strode over to Rachel trying to be as loud as possible, she extended her hand, "I am Nichole Alice Asaline, you may call me Alice if you will." She took Alice's hand giving her a firm shake, her confusion was sort of amusing. Alice sat in a chair at the table, the one closest to the door. As the vampire came closer to her, she extended her hand again, "I have introduced myself, I have yet to know what your or your other assosiates names are yet. Would you mind if I knew?" The vamp smiled lightly she took the stranger's hand and shook it firmly a confident air about her as they sat. "I am Ivy Tamwood," She jestured to the pixie sitting on her shoulder, "This is Jenks, we are a runner service we do tasks ranging from rescuing familiars to rescuing people. We are called Vampiric Charms. We have questions for you, would you like to answer them now?"
"Do you have anything to drink? I will answer your questions, I am rather thirsty..." Alice grimanced realising how bad that sounded, she looked up to meet Ivy's eyes, soft brown like cinnimon. A glass was put in front of her, she stared at the brown liquid for a short time. "It smells good... What is it?" Ire flashed behind Ivy's eyes, then understanding, "It's called coffee. Are you ready to answer our questions?" Alice looked uneasily at her, then swallowed as she looked at the 'coffee.' She gathered courage and took a sip immediatly relaxing as the liquid hit her lips. "Yes I will answer any questions you may have for me." Ivy looked releived, "Okay the first is, How did you get taken into the ever after? You look too smart to have been tricked into going." Alice stared at the glass for a few moments,"Must I... must I answer this question?" Old pain filled Alice's eyes, Ivy looked at her for a moment then nodded. Alice paused for a moment, "Have you been in love with someone, so much that you would... pay any price to save them?"
Ivy looked at Alice hiding her emotions, "Yes I have." Alice continued to stare at the glass filled halfway with brown liquid, "The one I loved was reckless, daring, stupid, and absolutly amasing she could fill a room without doing anything. She made a deal with a demon. If she won, then she would obtain a wish, if she lost she would work off her dept to the demon. Well, she lost and begged my forgivness, begging me to help her out of the mess she had created. I knew the only way to get her out of the mess she was in, was to take her place. I told her I wanted two things from her; I wanted her to never talk to demons ever again, and for her to take care of my family for me. My last request confused her, but never the less she agreed and took me to see him, she summoned him using a small amount of a witch servants blood she paid her servant handsomely for it, three hundred silver coins for three drops. I took her place as she screamed 'no and that I was to obey her', the demon and I made a deal I was to go willingly at that very second and I would be able to keep my soul and my clothes." She smiled at the memory on the verge of tears.
Ivy moved to lean toward her, "Why where your clothes so important?" Alice's eyes flicked up to her then they fell back down to the ground, 'Why is she asking such personal questions? This can't be simple work questions can they?', "They were the only things that I would have from home. Have you ever moved to a different home without taking something that belonged to you from the home that you were leaving? They made me hope for a way out." Rachel sat next to Alice and put a hand on her shoulder, tension pulled through out Alice's body, her eyes were going black. Alice stared into the light trying to make the sign of her hunger fade, then fear hit her as Ivy lept to keep Rachel from doing something that Alice couldn't handle. But it was too late Rachel's arms snaked around Alice's waist, all of her muscles went rigid as Rachel's smell covered her own. Alice turned so fast the chair fell, she was so close to Rachel's neck her right hand found the back of Rache's neck, her left found the small of Rachel's back. Alice's lips savagely pulled back over her fangs, she froze willing her muscles still, it was the only way to keep herself from biting Rachel 'Oh god she smells good'. Alice felt the fear grow and grow, the anger, the flashes of panic were killing her. "Stop... Thinking... Allow me... To let. Go! Please." Alice moaned the last word. Rachel had calmed more and more over the few minutes Alice let go and ran as fast as she could out the door.
'I need blood now. Hell even mine will due...' Her thoughts sparked an idea she looked at her wrist. 'This is degrading'. She bit down hard her tension stayed, it didn't help, I spit my blood out my jaw clenched. 'Damn it I'm not going to fucking cry!' A hand fell on her shoulder she jumped, then looked up to find Ivy in the cemetery with her, Ivy's hand touched Alice's jaw hesitantly her thumb went over Alice's cheek bone. Alice looked into her eyes, knowing what she was thinking. "No." Ivy looked shocked, "Don't be rediculous you need this just like I need yours." Alice looked into her eyes, "A... trade?" She nodded, "Come inside, my room will be better for this."
Alice followed absolutly numb, Rachel looked guilty in the corner. "Ivy.. I can't... I... I need to go."
"What?" Ivy said looking confused. "I-I can't... I need to leave. I-I will come back tomarrow, if you both let me. Good night, Rachel, Ivy... Jenks." Alice fled the house as fast as her legs could carry, before she could make the first real people she had met in hundreds of years into a meal.
She entered the room her boots hit the floor with a satisfying clicks. "Newt, you called for me?" Newt looks to the girl, her chin held high, her eyes roam over the girl, her blank look tells the girl she knows she sent for her but not why, her eyebrows raised in memory. "Ahh, Alice do come in. I called you here to deliver someone to me. I need you to fetch Aligarept, he won't answer to summons you will have to look for him. If you find him I will send you home. Do you understand?" Alice nodded her head, "As you wish, Master Newt." Lightly bowing in respect before she turned to leave. 'Oh Al what have you done now,' her thoughts circled as she began to grin to herself 'I get to catch myself a demon'.
Alice found herself at Al's apartment, the landlord let her in. She surveyed the room and began looking through his things. Breathing in deeply she felt her pupils dilate, fear, happiness, anger, and tears. 'Looks like his aprentice was here recently maybe she still is, I will find you Al, nothing personal I hope you understand, if not I really don't care,' she giggled insanely her wolfish grin set as she realised he was probably with a young miss Rachel Morgan, and the hunt is on, 'My prey is near his end'.
She grudgingly returned to Newt's room to tell her, she would need to jump the lines to find him. "I expect you will not run, for if you do you are forever mine, Love. You will be my thrall, and my murderer for the rest of time. Please, do run. The map is a gift I do not care what you do with it, but it should be of help to you." Alice hit the grass in the middle of Cincinnati some where, she breathed in 'Home sweet home'. All the thoughts all of her memories of this pre -existing haven were nothing like the feeing of hope, and the sence of belonging that she had been needing for well over a fifteen centurys. She walked to the house she spotted on the map the streets matched up, at least.
'Why did I have to end up at the other side of the city?' Alice jogged to her destination, she fell upon the street that held the curch that held Rachel Mariana Morgan. Alice grinned devilishly again, she sprinted to the door knocked twice, waited for the door to open. She saw who she needed a thin, tall, lanky witch smelling strongly of redwood. I also smelt burnt amber my eyes narrowed, "Rachel Mariana Morgan, I need your help, is Aligarept with you? He has been summoned by Newt multiple times, but is refusing his summons I am here to... retrive him."
A mans yell bellowed from the backyard, "I won't go back there I will not go back to Newt! You can't make me!!!" Alice had found her prey, she run to the backyard and jumped the fence with ease, her fangs flashing as she grinned. "I will deliver you either way beating you senseless will be more fun for me. Your choice Aligarept." His fear was driving Alice crazy need pulsed through, then was a mild dull ache 'I will feed soon enough as soon as get him back to Newt'. Alice lept savagely grinning, fighting was something she loved her fist connected to his jaw, with a satisfying pop. "Do you surrender?" He kicked out at her while she jumped back far enough to not get hit, but she was back as soon as the blow failed. The fight continued til he started to tire. Her boot connected succesfully to his chest knocking the breath out of him, she rode him the entire way down stomping him into the ground. He laid limp beneath her, as she stepped off of him, she bent down to check his pulse. 'Good and strong, sorry Al your coming home with me'. "Where are you taking him?" I turned to find his aprentice glaring at me.
"Well, well, well... Look what we have here, such a pretty witch. Your Master is being taken to Newt he is in trouble and is being punisied." Alice answered dutifully. Not giving Rachel a chance to ask anything else she invoked the charm with the demon blood she obtained from Newt, to jump the lines. Alice swooned as she landed in the ever after 'I hate line jumping, I will never come back to this hell hole ever again'. She thought bitterly as she swung Al over her shoulder carrying him to Newt's estate.
"Well done." Newt clapped and grinned at Alice, "I hate that you are going to leave me, you are my greatest servant. I will miss you dearly." Alice smiled at the sincerety of what her former Master had said. "I will miss you as well Newt, if it means anything... I'm glad it was you who claimed me." Newt smiled softly at her, "Oh go on get out of here. Your free! Farewell, live a good life Alice."
Alice hit the grass for the second time that night she retched on the ground. 'I really hate line jumping'. A vamp greeted Alice with a stern yell as she ran into her church, " Rachel she is back!" The nightmarish cluster of chaotic pixies fled to the church as the redhead came to the door. "Who are you and what do you want? No one summoned you leave us alone." Alice grinned, 'She thinks I'm a demon?' Alice held her hands up as a sign of surrender, "I will not hurt you. I want a job I know enough about you to know you own a 'runner service' what ever the hell that is."
The door opened more to reveal shocked and confused faces, the thin vampire looked at Alice with disbeleif, "Why should we trust you? Demons can't live in the sunlight." Alice chuckled, then flashed her fangs at the young vamp, "Come take a whiff, I can promise I smell like vampire, I can't promise I won't bite." After a few minutes of arguing amongs them the vamp came out to 'smell' Alice, the vamp stopped a foot from her. Alice never relaxed her arms from their position of having her fingers twined behind her head. The vamp looked at her taking in Alice's scent drawing it toward her covering her in Alice's scent. Alice swallowed painfully bitting her lip and bowed her head. Alice's pupils dilated, her knees hit the ground, the vamp jumped back nearly six feet back.
She looked at Alice curiously, Alice breathed in and out unevenly trying to catch her breath. "How long has it been since you have had blood, stranger?" She eyed Alice tenatively, she was sweating, they both were, "It's been around five hundred years give or take." She looked shocked, Alice smiled softly and stood. "May I put my hands down? Have I passed your test?" She looked at Alice rather confused then she nodded, motioning for Alice to follow. Alice put her hands at her sides following the vamp inside, the vamp opened every window and all of the doors. When Alice felt Rachel's fear her body stiffened, she put her head in her hands, the vamp looked at her simpathetically, " Rachel... Please try to stay as far away from her as you can. For not only your sake, but for hers as well." Rachel shot her an angry look, " Why the hell are you helping the enemy?"
Her anger hit Alice hard, 'Great I have to sit here with an emotional roller coaster just five feet away'. Alice stood quick and walked outside taking a breath of clean air. She walked back in after the situation was explained to the pixie and Rachel, she awkwardly strode over to Rachel trying to be as loud as possible, she extended her hand, "I am Nichole Alice Asaline, you may call me Alice if you will." She took Alice's hand giving her a firm shake, her confusion was sort of amusing. Alice sat in a chair at the table, the one closest to the door. As the vampire came closer to her, she extended her hand again, "I have introduced myself, I have yet to know what your or your other assosiates names are yet. Would you mind if I knew?" The vamp smiled lightly she took the stranger's hand and shook it firmly a confident air about her as they sat. "I am Ivy Tamwood," She jestured to the pixie sitting on her shoulder, "This is Jenks, we are a runner service we do tasks ranging from rescuing familiars to rescuing people. We are called Vampiric Charms. We have questions for you, would you like to answer them now?"
"Do you have anything to drink? I will answer your questions, I am rather thirsty..." Alice grimanced realising how bad that sounded, she looked up to meet Ivy's eyes, soft brown like cinnimon. A glass was put in front of her, she stared at the brown liquid for a short time. "It smells good... What is it?" Ire flashed behind Ivy's eyes, then understanding, "It's called coffee. Are you ready to answer our questions?" Alice looked uneasily at her, then swallowed as she looked at the 'coffee.' She gathered courage and took a sip immediatly relaxing as the liquid hit her lips. "Yes I will answer any questions you may have for me." Ivy looked releived, "Okay the first is, How did you get taken into the ever after? You look too smart to have been tricked into going." Alice stared at the glass for a few moments,"Must I... must I answer this question?" Old pain filled Alice's eyes, Ivy looked at her for a moment then nodded. Alice paused for a moment, "Have you been in love with someone, so much that you would... pay any price to save them?"
Ivy looked at Alice hiding her emotions, "Yes I have." Alice continued to stare at the glass filled halfway with brown liquid, "The one I loved was reckless, daring, stupid, and absolutly amasing she could fill a room without doing anything. She made a deal with a demon. If she won, then she would obtain a wish, if she lost she would work off her dept to the demon. Well, she lost and begged my forgivness, begging me to help her out of the mess she had created. I knew the only way to get her out of the mess she was in, was to take her place. I told her I wanted two things from her; I wanted her to never talk to demons ever again, and for her to take care of my family for me. My last request confused her, but never the less she agreed and took me to see him, she summoned him using a small amount of a witch servants blood she paid her servant handsomely for it, three hundred silver coins for three drops. I took her place as she screamed 'no and that I was to obey her', the demon and I made a deal I was to go willingly at that very second and I would be able to keep my soul and my clothes." She smiled at the memory on the verge of tears.
Ivy moved to lean toward her, "Why where your clothes so important?" Alice's eyes flicked up to her then they fell back down to the ground, 'Why is she asking such personal questions? This can't be simple work questions can they?', "They were the only things that I would have from home. Have you ever moved to a different home without taking something that belonged to you from the home that you were leaving? They made me hope for a way out." Rachel sat next to Alice and put a hand on her shoulder, tension pulled through out Alice's body, her eyes were going black. Alice stared into the light trying to make the sign of her hunger fade, then fear hit her as Ivy lept to keep Rachel from doing something that Alice couldn't handle. But it was too late Rachel's arms snaked around Alice's waist, all of her muscles went rigid as Rachel's smell covered her own. Alice turned so fast the chair fell, she was so close to Rachel's neck her right hand found the back of Rache's neck, her left found the small of Rachel's back. Alice's lips savagely pulled back over her fangs, she froze willing her muscles still, it was the only way to keep herself from biting Rachel 'Oh god she smells good'. Alice felt the fear grow and grow, the anger, the flashes of panic were killing her. "Stop... Thinking... Allow me... To let. Go! Please." Alice moaned the last word. Rachel had calmed more and more over the few minutes Alice let go and ran as fast as she could out the door.
'I need blood now. Hell even mine will due...' Her thoughts sparked an idea she looked at her wrist. 'This is degrading'. She bit down hard her tension stayed, it didn't help, I spit my blood out my jaw clenched. 'Damn it I'm not going to fucking cry!' A hand fell on her shoulder she jumped, then looked up to find Ivy in the cemetery with her, Ivy's hand touched Alice's jaw hesitantly her thumb went over Alice's cheek bone. Alice looked into her eyes, knowing what she was thinking. "No." Ivy looked shocked, "Don't be rediculous you need this just like I need yours." Alice looked into her eyes, "A... trade?" She nodded, "Come inside, my room will be better for this."
Alice followed absolutly numb, Rachel looked guilty in the corner. "Ivy.. I can't... I... I need to go."
"What?" Ivy said looking confused. "I-I can't... I need to leave. I-I will come back tomarrow, if you both let me. Good night, Rachel, Ivy... Jenks." Alice fled the house as fast as her legs could carry, before she could make the first real people she had met in hundreds of years into a meal.