Chapter 4.1

“Doesn’t it seem strange to you?” asked Aaron. Alex rubbed his chin again, thinking. His abdomen tingled and burned every time he moved. But he still kept at it, thinking it would be better to move a little. Now wasn’t the time to rest, anyway. He was worried about Alice, till yesterday she had been a fifteen-year-old teenager excited about parties and dresses, and today she was… strange. What was happening to her?

“This mention of previous life and such,” continued Aaron, “This has never been proven. The fortune tellers usually use this hogshit to scam people for some penny. Does she really expect us to believe such an outrageous reasoning?”

Alex let out a sigh. He was still unsure of what had happened with Eastbay. He hadn’t been conscious to witness Alice’s life-saving actions.

“Tell me one more time,” he said to Aaron, “What exactly did she do again?”

Aaron looked like he didn’t want to recall the events. He took in a deep breath and looked at Alex, ready to speak.

“I, too, was in pain so everything isn’t much clear,” he began, “While I vaguely heard Gerald talking someone kicked me in the leg, I thought I was going to pass out. But when I came to myself enough to look around, I saw Alice and Gerald kissing.” He shuddered. He had a bitter look on his face. “I thought that vermin was forcing himself on her and I was trying to get off the floor to help her. But I saw her wink at me and then she stabbed him in the neck with that hideous hairpin. The hairpin she nagged father to buy for her. We used to tease her that she would sooner poke her suitor in the eyes with that while dancing.”

Aaraon sighed. He looked queasy and unwilling to continue any further. He took another breath before speaking.

“Blood spurted out everywhere,” he said, wearily, “Alice didn’t even bat an eye. She took the dagger from his waist and bolted over to the soldiers, she cut them at the leg and they dropped down and fainted. I don’t know how Alice managed it, facing a knight and two soldiers on her own. Later I talked with the medic, he said their arteries had been sliced, all three of them. They couldn’t have been saved even if medics had been present.”

“What did you say to the medic about the body?” asked Alex.

Aaron frowned. “I told them that they were killed by the robbers who snuck into the castle,” he said, “I couldn’t bear to tell them that Gerald Eastbay had snuck his soldiers into the castle so casually to kill us all.”

Alex nodded. “Good job,” he said commending Aaron.

Aaron was annoyed. He was here talking about this strange thing happening with their sister and Alex was questioning him as though he was his subordinate. He was going to retort when he saw Alex’s face darken.

“I have no idea where to begin to make sense of Alice,” said Aaron, “It happened so fast. I had expected her to be cowering and trembling in fear. She would shriek at the mere sight of a bug, how did she accomplish something like this? I would not have been able to believe it had I not seen it with my own two eyes.”

Alex rubbed his chin, pondering. Alice had always been a naïve, albeit rather flighty, teenager. She had never displayed an ounce of interest in any kind of weapons, or combat. She had been receiving education from a tutor that her father had hired, but she didn’t enjoy that as well. It was at their mother’s strict guidance that she had been made to gain an education. If it was left up to father, he would spoil her with affection, even more than she was now. But… No matter how Alex looked at it, it didn’t make sense. How could a child take up a weapon and fight grown men -a properly trained knight, and two soldiers- and live to tell the tale? Alice had never had the patience to discuss politics, or literature, or weaponry. 

“Is it really okay to not tell our parents about it?” asked Aaron.

“I don’t know what to tell them even if we decided on it,” said Alex and sighed, “What will we say? That our little sister had killed people in her previous life and her memories were coming back? That she struck three men at the same time and saved us from death? Do you think they will believe us?”

“Of course not,” said Aaron, tiredly, “Who would even believe such a thing? But we should be grateful to her. If she hadn’t done what she did, we would all be dead. I mean, look at you, and my leg….” Aaron stopped, unable to finish.

It was true. Alex would have died from excessive bleeding if there had been even a slight delay in getting medical attention. With Aaron’s leg injury, he couldn’t have helped much. Alice had handled everything so smoothly. She had called the medics right after the men had been dealt with. She had disposed of the bodies and wrote a letter to their parents informing them about the situation.