There Would be no Sleep Tonight

“I see you have continued with my suggestions, my Lady.”

“Yeah w-whatever, I figured you had some neat ideas…”

Lady Marialice knew she could not make it on her own, the anxiety already ate at her daily. Her maid, Serra, was anxiety-free despite the knowledge she shared with the Lady. If the Lady’s earlier plan was figured out, Serra knew she was doomed as well.

As the Lady sat on the edge of her bed, hands resting in her lap, Serra stroked through her short black hair with a brush. She had completed the same task just this morning, though Serra had a separate reason for doing so this evening.

Bedtime neared, the same day the Lady came face to face with Earl Miller. Serra had plenty of other tasks to complete, yet her duty to the Lady trumped all other tasks.

With her fingers pinching the ends of the Lady’s hair, Serra nodded to herself and spoke.

“You’re certainly ready for some extensions.”

A sigh of relief came out of Lady Marialice’s lips. Her hands squeezed tighter against her legs.

“Good.”

Her response was simple. It was enough. Nervousness gave her little tingles down her arms. Her ears acutely aware of the two candles that flickered, sitting on nightstands either side of her large bed. Serra wouldn’t question the Lady’s feelings. She understood, and kept her voice quiet yet supportive, and movements comforting yet sharp.

“I have prepared you two outfits. One for tomorrow, one for tonight. If you have doubts-”

“No doubts. I’m willing to do this, Serra.”

“- I will be waiting outside of the southwest gate to pick you up and bring you back home. I know you are, Lady Marialice, and I know it falls onto me to keep you prepared.”

The Lady attempted to interrupt Serra to highlight her resolution, yet Serra continued, and her shoulders slumped slightly as a result. Noticing this, Senna smiled to herself.

“The world outside of this keep is at your fingertips, remember that. While I’ll prepare you as much as I can as your friend and maid Alice, I firmly believe you can handle yourself fine on your own when in a pickle. Now c’mon, stand up.”

Senna watched as the Lady got up on her feet with a nod. She kept herself on the bed, her legs folded behind her as the Lady twirled on her heel to face her. Her arms crossed.

Her lips tense, the Lady’s expression gave the maid a sense of wavering courage. She wore her bedtime gown, white and frilly with a skirt that flowed down to her ankles. While she’s been practicing the dialogue and tone of that of a commoner- with some experience, being the rascal she was growing up, constantly getting in trouble- it was still awkward and was sure to raise some eyebrows.

“S-so? What are you looking at me for?”

Lady Marialice stood still, growing ever confused. Lips curled into a frown, giving more emphasis to the canines that lined her teeth- a sign that she was no ordinary human. A clear giveaway she was no simple commoner. If the Lady didn’t open her mouth so wide all the time, Serra presumed she could get away with it. But that wouldn’t do.

“Hm, you put on weight like I suggested. I’m sure the maid who’s been donning your corsets has been surprised.”

“Shuttup!” An instant retort, as Lady Marialice snarled, her cheeks reddening deeply as she let out a bark. “What the hell did I say before about that, no teasing!”

—

...

“For a magical girl, the blow of fresh air as we fly gives us hope.”

“Sure not a lotta hope in the air right now… but I’ll continue to trust, by your guiding light.” A cold shiver draped along Lady Marialice- no, Alice’s shoulders. Plain brown shoes splashed through small puddles on the concrete below.

She took the plain, fresh clothes that were left behind by her maid. Despite their banter, Alice was ever appreciative of her maid’s attentiveness towards work she particularly disliked doing. Donning a greyed tank top, Alice’s only protection against the harsh wind of the night was a thin cloak she draped over her exposed shoulders.

Her newly elongated hair tickled her spine. Hair pulled up back into two ponytails, a request of Serra’s, as she would always complain that Alice’s hair was too short to toy with.

“I hope you’ll continue to watch over me now sister.”

She did it. Or at least, she took the first step. She considered giving it one more day just to test the waters with the Earl, Jake Miller. The way her chest tingled, a warmth that spread out from inside of her, told her that she needed to make this decision tonight.

It took her a little while to figure out this unending, tingling feeling. She stood for a moment in the cold, bouncing on both of her heels to keep herself moving. A short distance away, the large grey, stone keep stood. An armored building protecting a plethora of valued people in Aetheris. And Alice was just one of them.

The lights were out. For now, the keep sleeps.

“... it’s excitement, isn’t it~?” She spoke with a delighted hum to no one but herself. One hand curled in front of her chest, the other’s forefinger tugged at her black face mask. She smiled from ear to ear, taken aback by the thrill she experienced.

The thrill of cutting loose, of taking herself on a self imposed, important quest. It trumped the cold, and the uncomfortable feeling of wearing clothing undeserving of her. As early in the morning as it was now, she knew that in some hours time the keep and perhaps the city itself would be in a panic.

She wondered what would happen were she to come back successful. Was she to be damned, for completing such a virtuous cause? Would things proceed as normal, with most of the populace in belief that she was kidnapped and returned safely? A fake story perhaps, of how some virtuous hero rescued her from the clutches of the Fiend Prince?

Her mind wandering, the Lady who now went under the alias Alice, continued to trudge through the streets of Aetheris.

Buildings made of stone and brick surrounded the thin, swiveling roads. Homes intermixed with small businesses, apartments and warehouses. Since the city of Aetheris was created, the structures were built by the hands of the people. One could go a lifetime only learning a half of what the city had to offer.

As Serra had expected, Alice was not the only one on the road. Tonight was the end of the work week for many, youth around Alice’s age or older were out and about with friends, laughing amongst themselves. While their smells and extrovertism made Alice recoil, she was comfortable enough walking in tangent with them as long as they wouldn’t disturb her. To walk amongst the common folk, she thought about how it was such a delight.

What was worrisome, were the multitude of guards that wandered the street to protect against any disturbances. Aetheris was a place of little crime, but it was necessary to keep that peace. Serra told Alice that as a result, rumor has it the guards at the southwest gate have waned their resources on these quiet nights.

Unfortunately, that still meant that the gate itself was closed and locked during the dead hours. Two towers adorned its sides from outside. At least three men with weapons stood inside. They remained peaceful, but ready.

“Casual stroll is over.”

Her father would’ve never permitted her to wander these city streets alone, much less likely to wander a dark place. At the edge of the lengthy stone wall guarding the city walls, she stood. There was a small crevice Alice had noticed after wedging herself between two small homes pressed up against the wall. A moment of silence passed to make sure she was alone, and she began.

Arms hung on either side of her. She bent her legs down, a knee giving a pop. Squatting, she rested on the balls of her feet. Her breathing steadied; it was time to test herself.

Alice blasted the skin on her arms and legs with soot.

She let out a grunt, her legs extended and she pushed off the ground. Anxiety lit her body in flame, and pure joy overpowered it. Her body lunged upward, arms extended up to latch onto the stone wall, sharp as claws. Covered in black soot from the forearm down.

“... ah-” she’d exhale forcibly, and her eyes widened. Her jump was successful. One arm attempted to slice into the stone- and failed, it slid off the stone with an ear piercing screech. The other was hardly successful. Her extended nails lodged into the stone, but she felt as if she had punched a wall with her bare hand, the nerves reverberating down her arm.

The soot from her legs had blasted off of her, her boots slid against the stone helplessly.

A canine bit down on her lower lip, and with another huff of oxygen, the soot attempted to cover her left leg. She eyed upwards, and a quick attempt to correct herself was made. Fighting against gravity, she dug her foot into the wall and worked to push herself upwards for another bound.

A worthwhile effort. Her arms both crunched into the wall. The leap was a little short, she just needed to do one more…

“Hey what the hell is that?!”

On top of the wall, a slumbering watchman dropped his lamp. He had spotted- no, he heard Alice and came to check it out. Hands fumbled with the sheath at his belt. The guardsmen of Aetheris were ready trained for war, not for something unrecognizable.

Nervousness gripped Alice. She was being watched. Someone spotted her, not as Lady Marialice but simply Alice. The excitement reached its peak, her desire to show off bounding upwards with her body, as her other leg continued her ascent with one final leap.

Witnessing this in front of him, the man braced his arms in front of his chestplate, sword crossed in front. A quick defensive stance-

Only for the leaping girl to miss the man’s form in his entirety. Her body nearly vaulted over the topmost portion of the wall. In a panic, she attempted to lower her legs to catch the far edge of the barrier. Her clumsiness got the best of her, and her foot slipped as her body fell face first off the opposite end of the wall into the trees below.