Chapter 110: Pain And Nostalgia

All the sounds in the world seemed to be drowned out as Alice could hear her own heartbeat. The heat rushed to her head as her mind turned into a mix of confusion, panic and anger.

Her vision shook as she stared at the crest.

Memories flooded into her mind. Her once proud and happy outlook on her family turned into terror.

Taking rapid breaths, Alice couldn't help but take a step back as her limbs were shaking.

"Alice? Something wrong?" Ria called out in confusion, but Alice didn't react.

'Why are the Zenia's here? Have they found me? Is father here as well?' Alice thought to herself as she took another step back but a numbness spread through her limbs, forcing her to stand still.

A wave of dizziness washed over her mind as she started to hyperventilate, the tips of her fingers shaking and her limbs losing their strength.

Gritting her teeth, anger overcame her fear as she glared at the group. All of her pent up anger, hatred and malice that had been stored over 10 years burst forth as her second Sigil flared up around her eye. Purple flames threatening to manifest as Alice was about to rush towards the group.

Before she could, Allura appeared in front of her, hugging her while covering her eyes.

"Shh… It's fine. They're not here for you, they're here for the White Death. They don't know that you're here." Allura whispered into her ear as she jumped away, taking both Ria and Alice with her.

With no outlet for her anger, all Alice could do was scream into Allura's jacket as Ria never heard such a bloodthirsty cry before.

It was an uncontrolled cry, one that broke Alice's voice as she unleashed everything she was feeling inside.

Meanwhile, the crowd and the group of people sent by the Zenia's looked around in confusion with the sudden scream that came out of nowhere.

Taking Alice and Ria to the city walls, Allura placed Alice with her back against the wall and kneeled down in front of her.

"Take a deep breath. Easy now." Allura comforted as Alice nodded her head.

Following Allura's instructions, she slowly calmed her mind but the shaking didn't stop.

A phantom pain surfaced in her mind as she cold feel cold iron against her neck, the stabbing of needles.

Unable to hold herself back, she started to scratch away at her neck while trying to calm her mind.

Furrowing her brows, Allura grabbed Alice's wrist as her nails were digging into her flesh, tearing away at her skin.

Looking into Alice's eyes, she could see the deeply rooted fear that had been cultivated over the years.

Hugging Alice tightly, Allura continued to whisper words of comfort as she could feel Alice hugging back, afraid of what might have happened if Kaden and Allura didn't save her.

It took a while before Alice was calm enough for Allura to let go of her.

"Feeling better now?" She asked with a soft smile as Alice nodded her head.

"Don't worry. As I said, they're not here for you. I just got the news that they're here because of the interest the Zenia's are showing towards the White Death." Allura reassured.

Alice knew that this was the truth but there was always the creeping shadow of doubt and fear lingering in her mind. What if they were here for her? What if they recognised her at a glance?

Her hair and eyes may have changed, but her face was still the same. If her Father was here, he would've recognised her immediately.

And that's what scared her. What if one of her brothers were here? What if the scholar that carved open her body was here? What if those that will recognise her at a glance were here today?

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Cold fangs of paranoia chewed away at her mind but with Allura here, she felt safe.

"What was that?" Ria asked as all she saw was Alice about to attack a random group of people before Allura cut in.

Glancing over at Ria, Allura was silent as it was not her place to say, it was Alice's choice if she wanted to be open about what had happened.

Hesitating for a moment, Alice opened her mouth.

"They're… part of my old family." She replied, her voice hoarse from all of the screaming she had done.

"Wait… The ones that tortured you?! Damn! Why didn't you say so!" Ria widened her eyes in anger as she jumped up and prepared to attack the group.

The time she had been with Alice was short but she knew what kind of person Alice was. She couldn't forgive such people who are content with torturing their own family like this.

Before she could run, Allura grabbed Ria's ankle, causing her to fall over and smack her face against the wall.

"Don't be hasty. There's a reason why I took Alice away from the area. Alice doesn't want to be found by them, at least not yet. Not while she's still weak. Randomly attacking them now will only cause them to investigate the situation which is not what we want." Allura explained while Ria rubbed her nose in pain.

"Do you want to leave for the Howling Depths today or wait for tomorrow? I assume they won't be around for long since Gin reduced the White Death to ashes. Not even its blood is left for them to collect unless they're fine with ashes." Allura asked as Alice was silent.

"Can… Can we leave now? I don't want to be near them." Alice replied quietly as a pang of sadness struck Allura's heart.

Compared to the usual Alice they see and the one who laughs and craves violence in hunts, she was now like a small child, scared of the world and wanting to hide herself in a dark corner, hoping to not be noticed.

"Of course. We can leave right now. By the time we're back, the Zenia's won be here." Allura nodded as she glanced over to Ria.

Giving her the task of getting them a carriage to the closest entrance leading down to the Howling Depths, Allura sat down next to Alice and gave her a shoulder to lean on which Alice accepted.

As she leaned on Allura, Alice could feel her fear disappearing as things started to go back to normal.

"Just take as long as you need. Ria is getting the carriage ready and she'll let us know when it's time to go."

Hearing this, Alice nodded her head as she enjoyed this moment of safety.

"Have… have you ever been afraid of something?" Alice asked quietly.

"Of course. I've been scared plenty of times. I wasn't always like this you know? When I was growing up I was quite the scaredy cat." Allura chuckled, reminiscing on old times.

"Back then, it was Kaden who stood up for me and stopped others from making fun of me. Though he's quite the b*stard now he wasn't always like that."

"Oh? What was he like?" Alice asked, curious as to what Kaden was like back then. The Kaden she knew briefly was one that stormed into the pits of the Zenia prison and broke her out. Someone that seemed to do whatever interested them at the moment with no goal in mind.

"Hmm… He was a very responsible man. What you would call a perfect knight. He was… very uptight and stuck to the rules. Terrible at socialising and rather stoic in all aspects." Allura smiled fondly at her memories.

"He believed in fairness a lot. Once I started to work with him, he became the lawful stoic one while I was the chaotic emotional type. He covered my back while I covered his and we helped keep the peace." Allura sighed while taking out a cigarette.

As she closed her eyes, she could almost see the peaceful days of old. Kaden sitting behind his desk while looking over the documents. How she would bust through his door with a wide smile, laughing and joking with him while he listened.

When she was hasty, he would be there to pull her back. When he's unable to express himself, she would be there to be angry for him.

"What changed?" Alice couldn't help but ask.

"What changed? Well… A lot changed. We lost our home, our master, our friends and everything we had treasured. We lost it all. And then he changed… After that, we went our separate ways. You had asked if I was ever scared earlier right?

That day was the day I felt true fear. All my nightmares come true and no one even remembers that era anymore." Allura shook her head.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Time numbs all kinds of pain. What used to hurt doesn't anymore. The only thing on my mind now is to make sure you have a good life okay? I'm an old woman. I've seen eras fly by and witnessed the lives of people that many would call legends.

My hobbies are essentially just being nosy and watching other people's lives like they're drama and occasionally interfere with one or two." Allura shrugged while patting Alice's head.

"Now enough about me. Ria's on her way back now with the carriage prepared." Allura smiled while standing up.

Helping Alice up, she glanced back and as expected, Ria was running back to them.

"That was quite quick. I'm surprised you didn't get lost or get scammed." Allura called out with a smile.

"What do you take me for?! Of course, I wasn't scammed and it's only a short walk! My sense of direction isn't THAT bad. Anyways, with the restrictions on travel finally being lifted after the battle was over, there are plenty of drivers looking for work. When I made my request known quite a few flocked to me ya know? Finding a carriage for us was easy." Ria crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Alright alright. Let's not keep them waiting then." Allura chuckled.

Making sure that Alice was following them, the trio made their way to the carriages while Alice couldn't help but imagine a composed Kaden who struggled with expressing his emotions.

It seemed like a complete flip in personality as he sounded nothing like the Kaden she had seen.

'I wonder if this forgotten time has something to do with the Cayla. Kaden and Allura placed quite a lot of importance to it.' Alice mused to herself as they arrived at the carriages and started to make their way out of the city.

Their next stop, the Howling Depths.