by Hickory Mack
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m nobody special. I’m just me. Um, Asuka? I’m really sorry nobody told you, but you keep referencing Fen. He died. He was defending me from the hunters. They-” Alice’s throat tightened and she had to swallow hard. “They shot him.”
“If I may,” Asuka reached out her hand and covered Alice’s with it. Alice pulled away, stuffing her hands into her lap. Asuka dipped her head slightly in apology. “Fen is fine, I spoke with him this morning, he comes and collects my daily report on your progress. That boy has a regenerative ability unlike any I’ve seen in a boar. To be honest, in any creature I’ve treated. Fen may be young, but he is strong, and he’s very smart. Which is why he can be a bit impatient with the rest of us.”
The weight lifting off her shoulders made Alice feel light headed. She covered her face with her hands, breathing unsteadily. He didn’t die! She let out a single whimper then sniffed.
“I’m not usually such a baby, I swear.” Alice ground the heels of her hands against her cheeks.
“No need to be embarrassed, from the rumors I’ve heard, you’ve been through a lot. I understand Fen was injured quite badly, but magical creatures don’t die as easily as humans do. It’s why they bred humans with captured fae and witches to create your Hunter Clans, to make them stronger. Don’t worry, around here you’ll learn demon lore from actual demons instead of whatever propaganda the nests teach. Then Fen won’t frighten you again. Well, I mean, he will. He’s a scary guy. He just won’t frighten you in the same way,” Asuka corrected herself.
“Lady Asuka?” the same voice from before, reedy and, Alice thought, male.
“Please leave it at the door,” Asuka answered. The wall slid back one foot. A dark wooden tray was set within and the wall, which was actually a door, slid into place. Alice’s tummy growled, the food smelled great. Asuka gracefully rose and gathered the tray, bringing it to the girl. It fit right over her lap at the perfect height to eat comfortably. Asuka lifted the lids off the rice and the broth and her stomach gurgled some more.
“Thank you, you were right, I am totally hungry.” Alice grinned. The rice was recognizable, the broth was orange, which was strange but okay. The last thing was round and hard and looked like a wrinkled green leaf was wrapped around it. There were no utensils, just a pair of black pointed sticks. She looked at Asuka, the question on her lips but Asuka just laughed.
“I should have thought ahead. Pick up the bowl and sip the broth. You can dip the Nori Senbei in the broth, the closest thing to call them in your language is crackers. They’re nice.” Asuka picked up the chopsticks and demonstrated how to use them, showing Alice the placement of thumb and fingers. Alice felt completely awkward, but Asuka was patient and before the rice went cold Alice managed to scoop some of it into her mouth with the sticks.
The broth was delicious, Asuka explained it was made from carrots and squash and sweet potato with just a hint of turmeric and ginger. The crackers were perfect with it. Alice pointed at the leaf wrapped around one.
“What is that?” She asked.
“It’s Nori, seaweed,” Asuka answered, enjoying Alice’s reactions. “You’d think you’d never had real food before, it’s just broth and crackers.” The fae woman laughed.
“Never. Well, never anything like this, our food comes from cans or cartons. I’ve never heard of squash, and where I come from, canned sweet potatoes are a slimy grossness,” Alice said, swallowing a mouthful of sweet rice. She was full sooner than she’d thought possible and looked at the couple of bites of rice left in the small bowl. “Can I save the rest for later?”
“Milly would not allow it. Lord Makkai’s guest eating day old rice? She’d be shamed to death! Don’t worry, the leftovers will go to the dogs. And you’ll be able to eat normally again soon. Your stomach hasn’t been used in eight days, remember?” Asuka took the tray away, slid the door aside and set it in the hallway outside. “Rest. Tomorrow you can stand, I think, if we’re careful, and your explorations can begin.”
“Thank you, for being so kind,” Alice said, laying back on her pillow, she held her hand above her face, flexing her fingers without pain. “I don’t deserve it.”
“Lord Makkai thinks you do. I believe it would be unwise to question his judgement,” Asuka responded gently. “You’re welcome.”
“Will I still see you, after I’m all better? I think I’m going to need a friend,” Alice asked, sounding like the child she was and Asuka looked startled.
“If the speculations about you turn out to be true, Lord Makkai will have the final say, I’m sure. Though when you’re healed you’ll probably be at liberty to choose your companions, and your personal servants,” she answered.
“I don’t want servants,” Alice said.
“You may not now, but time may change that. You’re young, and think like a human, but you aren’t one. Once you begin thinking like a witch, you’ll have a different opinion. Witches are busy creatures, and servants make it easier for them to carry out their work,” Asuka said reasonably.
“I hope you’re wrong.” Alice yawned, having a hard time keeping her eyes open with a full belly. “I’d rather have friends than people that hang out with me because they feel like they have to.” Asuka was quiet for a long moment before her reply finally came.
“Why not have both? Sleep well.”
Chapter 10
Alice woke alone the next morning. The tea table was empty and Asuka had closed the opening out into the garden. Alice strained her ears but heard no sign of anyone nearby. She sat up slowly, carefully, but the pounding in her head from yesterday was gone. The room was the same as the day before, large, and empty, each wall looking exactly like the last. Wooden frames of a darker hue than the floors supported the fibrous rice paper.
Unsure of what to do, Alice got up onto her knees and waited, allowing her body to readjust, she could hear the blood rushing through her veins, a dull roar in her ears. When she stood, feet spread wide, she nearly toppled over but managed to right herself.
Once she was stable Alice examined her clothes. Soft, cream-colored cotton pajamas. She didn’t remember changing out of the pretty dress. Blood. She remembered now. The dress had been splattered with blood. Fen’s, and her own, and Doctor Pax, and the other hunter, staring at her with his dead eyes.
The room started to close in. She was in the basement again, tied up and helpless. Her wrists itched and she rubbed at them, her breathing came fast and her pulse raced, sweat formed on her brow. She needed to get out, but it was so easy to get turned around here. Just like the basement, every direction looked the same. Alice spun frantically, then raced across the room to the wall the most light came from. The garden must be on the other side.
The urge to shove her way through the fragile looking walls rising, Alice pushed and the wall became a door, easily sliding into itself with a clack. She spilled out into the closed off hallway and sank to her knees, heaving great gulps of air. The walls on the outside were open to the garden, mostly glass with a few panels of rice paper. To her left the hallway branched off to follow the courtyard and went into the depths of the house. To her right it veered left, again following the courtyard, but also led to an open room.
Alice considered her options and curiosity won. She padded to the open room on her right, tatami mats softening her steps. It was a washroom, with a sink, a towel rack and a beautiful tall vase with even taller reeds artfully arranged inside. She splashed cool water on her face, wiping it on her sleeve rather than the fancy, embroidered towel.
Going back out to the hallway she wondered if she’d be able to find Lord Makkai. Asuka had said one of the rooms along the courtyard was his. Alice wasn’t sure what she would say to the demon, but she wanted to see him again. She had so many questions that only he could answer. She continued down the hallway, curiosity fully engaged.
The next set of doors were open, and Alice peeked inside. It was bright, cheerful and bigger than any room in her father’s h
ouse.
Small finches of every type were inside, flying and nesting and chirping and scratching around in the fine gravel on the floor. An Aviary. Alice stepped inside, wondering what kept the birds from leaving the room. They didn’t seem to care that they could, the door was wide open for them. Bold little creatures, she had to watch each footstep, they did not shy away.
One brightly colored bird landed on her shoulder and rubbed its blue and black face in her hair. Alice smiled.
“You’re so cute,” she said a second before the bird nipped her earlobe. “Ouch! Hey, that was rude!” She brushed the bird off her shoulder and it trilled its disapproval, flying into a little straw nest. A bright yellow one puffed up his chest and sang a lovely little song, which he repeated several times before stopping to preen his feathers.
Alice forgot herself and completely lost track of time. A bold orange and black bird had hopped out of a hole in a branch, flown to a feeding station and returned with a fat meal worm. When Alice investigated the hole she was delighted to find three little fledglings inside. She watched the adult feed them for a long while, only moving on when the mama or papa settled down and put the babes to sleep. She’d given up trying to coax a purple one out of his nest when her stomach gurgled, and she realized how hungry she was.
Bidding the birds good-bye, she promised to return soon, but she couldn’t get over the threshold. There was no door, just open air, but she couldn’t pass into the hallway. She pressed her palm against the barrier, feeling it gently push back. She understood why the birds did not attempt to leave. They couldn’t. And without knowing the secrets of the demon’s house, neither could she.
“Lord Makkai?” Alice called out, feeling foolish. She had yet to see or hear anyone in the house, and there was no reason to believe the fox would come to her rescue. “Um… Asuka? Is anyone out there?”
No answer. Alice pressed the barrier again, pushing against it this time, wondering if it would give way when under pressure from something bigger than a tiny bird. Instead of gently pressing back it felt harder. The barrier responded to different kinds of touch. Experimentally she ran her fingertips over it softly and it grew warm under her attention.
“Open?” Alice tried. “Let me through. Allow me to pass. Please?”
She continued trying different instructions with different touches, it was amusing for a short while, but she soon became impatient. Not one person walked by, nobody was looking for her, the stranger among them. Alice banged her hands on the barrier, it hardened in response, allowing for a satisfyingly loud slap.
“Asuka! Fen! Please let me out of here! Asuka!” Alice yelled, the birds hid, silent in their nests. “Asuka! Please help me!”
Time passed and she called out intermittently, stopping only when her voice grew hoarse. She was there so long she managed a nap, leaning against the barrier. Alice woke feeling watched, and hopefully looking down the hallway movement caught her eye. A dark, seal colored creature with rounded ears and white mask-like markings peered back at her. It was the size of a large cat, but it looked to Alice like a type of weasel. The creature stood on its hind legs, rubbing its little hands together and Alice crouched down at eye level, the barrier between them. Its nose was pink and its eyes were bright, too bright. Obviously intelligent, it had to be another demon.
“Hi! I’m so happy to see you. Will you please show me how to get out of here? I got myself stuck and can’t figure it out,” Alice said sheepishly.
The weasel smiled, showing razor sharp teeth and Alice gasped in surprise. It put its paws up in front of the barrier, still smiling. Then it made a couple of movements and the fingers on one of its paws curled in a petite little wave. The invisible wall turned a deep, cloudy red. She could no longer see through it, and the aviary had become a gloomy place filled with a murky, red-tinted half-light. Alice’s chest tightened and her breathing came in harsh, painful gasps.
“No! No, no, no, no! Why would you do that? I wanted out, now I can’t see. Please let me out! Asuka? Fen? Somebody please let me out!” Alice cried. She pounded her fists against the barrier, there was no give left. It felt like solid glass. She threw her shoulder into it but only succeeded in hurting herself.
Hours passed. Days. Minutes. Alice couldn’t keep track, she was lost in fear. Paralyzed by it. She couldn’t move. Even her demon's shade had abandoned her. She stayed crouched on the floor, her muscles aching from staying in one position, but too afraid of hurting one of the birds if she thrashed around in the dim light, and it was getting darker.
She was starting to fall asleep again, but one of the birds made a sudden shrill noise. Alice startled so badly she shrieked. Alarmed, the other birds responded with similar, high pitched trills, clamoring over each other. Alice’s panic boiled over the breaking point. Her ears ringing she shoved her whole body at the barrier and pushed with everything she had. For a second the barrier took on a bright green glow, and then it blew outward with explosive force, dumping her out into the hallway and taking out the glass and wooden doors to the garden.
Alice stumbled outside, gulping in the fresh air, the grass cold on her bare feet. The sun was setting, and the sky above was a brilliant pink and orange canvass. She’d spent the entire day stuck inside with the birds. Alice heard a flurry of activity, wings beating. The birds were freed and they flew in every direction, into the garden and beyond.
Watching them go Alice felt their elation but she was also sad, they were so pretty, and now they were gone. She realized she would probably get into trouble for releasing them but didn’t have the energy to spend on being afraid of the repercussions. Emotionally numb Alice wandered over to the trees near the pagoda and sat below one, leaning against its trunk.
She heard footsteps running through the house, voices exclaiming over the destruction she’d created. Alice ignored their calls. They were in the garden and before long three unfamiliar faces hovered over her, talking over each other.
“There you are!”
“Where have you been?”
“We’ve been looking all over for you!”
Alice remained silent, drawing her knees up to her chest and closing her eyes, attempting to block them out. She didn’t know any of these people, she couldn’t trust them. For all she knew, one of them could be the weasel, pretending to be a person. They could do that, take on different forms, she remembered from her teachings.
“Are you hurt?”
“It’s getting late, you must be exhausted, poor thing!”
“I walked past the aviary four times today and didn’t see you in there!”
“Let’s get you back inside, we’ve all been worried sick.”
The last one was a woman, an elder. She wore a white top with flowing, bright red pants. She reached out to grasp Alice’s arm and pull her up but Alice yanked away.
“Don’t touch me,” she said, her voice lacking the force she felt to her core. She scrambled to her feet and backed away several steps. “Please leave me be. I’m not going back in there, I won’t!”
“Oh dear,” the elder said, turning to one of the others with authority. “Fetch Fen, let him know we found her.”
The man she’d spoken to ran off to do as he was told as two more groups arrived and Alice again found herself questioning just how many demons lived here. They spoke to the elder quietly, hiding their mouths behind their sleeves, all of them staring openly at Alice. She felt grossly outclassed by these people.
One of the new arrivals was a beautiful woman with long, mahogany hair. She wore a full Kimono decorated with a white peacock and hen. Her eyes met Alice’s and she smiled with a wink. Thoroughly creeped out, Alice retreated further into the garden, trying to distance herself from the growing crowd. They followed but not so closely, giving her a few feet of space.
“The boar will be relieved, he won’t have to call your Master,” the woman said boldly, making it clear that he wasn’t her Master.
‘Fen.’ Alice thought to herself. They’d avoided t
elling the fox she’d gone missing, then. She’d almost gotten Fen in trouble again.
“His Lordship need not be troubled with this, he is busy attending the forest, healing the trees. We found the girl, and she’s safe, that’s all that matters,” the elder said firmly, looking toward Alice, who was chewing on her lower lip. “The house can be put to straights dear, don’t you worry about a thing.”
“After all the mischief she caused, the chaos she is still causing, you’re going to let her off with a pat on the head and a kiss on the cheek?” the beautiful woman demanded.
“Miss Yukio, this girl is no business of yours and his Lordship made it clear that the inner gardens are no longer open to you. Please remove yourself,” the elder said coldly. Yukio flipped her dark hair back and waved at Alice, curling her fingers and smiling. Alice flushed and moved into a defensive posture, ready if the weasel woman attacked, but Yukio turned away.
Fen came from the other side of the garden, Asuka on his heels. Fen’s face was serious, his stride pounding the ground instead of gliding across it. Half the crowd discretely slipped away. Alice didn’t care how mad he was, she was just happy to see familiar faces. She ran forward to meet them. Asuka moved to hug her before remembering herself and taking a step back.
“I was so worried for you! When I returned, and you were missing I thought you’d gone to explore the garden. We looked everywhere,” Asuka said, looking at Alice from head to toe as though checking for injuries.
“I called for you, both of you, but nobody came. I was stuck in there all day,” Alice said. Fen looked at the blown-out glass, then back at Alice.
“You’ve been awake for one day and you’ve already broken the house,” he said in his deep voice. Alice grimaced. “Lord Makkai will be pleased. He suspected you have an impressive amount of power hidden in there.” Alice chewed her lip.
“I didn’t mean to,” she whispered.