2 II. Enchanted

I am an Alice. My name is Cistina, and I have no last name. I could not bear it if my father is shunned for something that he has no control in, it isn't my father who wanted this but my mother.

People usually hide Alices, such as me, inside their mansions, and kingdoms and castles so that they will not be shunned for their choice. Sacrificing an innocent child's life just for their own sake is very frowned upon.

Yet, a lot of greedy people does it for their own sake. Most of them are very powerful people, nobles who thought that their time has not come, and that they should not die.

I say foolishness for these people.

The life of an Alice who have not mastered the taint of sins is very hard. For most of the times, they will battle with their mind, there is a piece of the devil inside every single one of us, and would want to stop their body from killing.

I am fortunate that I have mastered it or I would be one of the Alices around that has been let loose. Wandering with no sense of way, the only thing in their mind is to kill and to eat the flesh to survive.

I wanted to end this curse, and I wanted to end it fast.

As what is said by the devil, all of the souls of Alices that has been killed went down to hell. Burning and suffering, that is unfair to us!

Shouldn't it be our parents who should be there? They were the ones who made a deal with the devil and not us!

I gritted my teeth as I felt the presence of another Alice nearby. They will never attack a fellow Alice, but other people are not safe.

"Hey there little girl, are you an Alice?" I looked up and immediately recognized who it was. The first born and the Lady of the Utthar family, Lady Viola.

"I am, milady... Do you need anything from me?" I could guess what it is by the way she is looking at me. A sad look is on her face, meaning that she knows the fate of her family.

She knows what her sibling have done, and now the public knows.

"Can you do me a favor? Can you sense if my niece is nearby?" Ah, so that is the presence that I have been feeling when I came nearer to the town.

I nodded in answer. Immediately, she took action.

"Everyone! Get inside of your homes now!" They are aware of how dangerous an Alice is. Having a piece of the devil inside makes you strong and fast- one Alice can kill a fully grown man in just a minute.

"Her thirteenth birthday just came in, didn't it?" I asked, to which she nodded. As soon as I felt her running towards the people who are still panicking, I readied my scythe.

"She's coming?"

"She's near."

I turned around and ran, to the eyes of a human, at an incredible speed, matching the one who is running towards the people. I am not human, and neither is my enemy.

I sliced her with my scythe, trying to see if I could end her with one blow, but it was impossible. She dodged that attack and just stared at me.

"You're just like me." She said, while looking at me with those doll-like eyes, so much like mine.

"I am." I answered, clutching my scythe with two hands. I should be ready. She could attack any moment.

She grinned at me, acting as if that scary grin was going to scare me like the others. As you said before, I'm just like you. We don't die easily, we don't scare easily.

"You should have just played with our dollies!" And she made a dash towards me, her beautiful long blonde hair waving everywhere. She looks so beautiful at that moment, if only she isn't trying to kill other people... and also me.

"Our dollies have long been gone, their heads cut off." I slashed through her, knowing what she was gonna do next. She screamed as her right arm separated from her body.

"I'm going to tell mommy what you did!" She said while full on sobbing. I could feel the guards and the lady Viola coming towards us.

"M-Milady... the Alice, she's crying." This is why normal people could be instantly killed by an Alice, they are weak towards children and also, our natural enchantment.

We can make anyone let their guard down.

"Stand your guard! She is not an innocent child! She have not controlled her taint!" I shouted, looking back at the guards and Lady Viola.

She is a strong woman considering her class. Most of the ladies of her status chose to become housewives, just training themselves to become a proper lady and wife.

But this woman, she is strong.

"I-I know!" Lady Viola was the first one to answer.

"No! Help me! I have been hurt!" She started walking towards the guards. I gritted my teeth, knowing that one of the guards might weaken their guard.

Alas, I am right.

A guard started running towards the Alice, trying to stop her from crying. Other guards shouted at that lone man to stay away and run, but he has been enchanted by her.

This would be the end of him.

But, of course, I would not allow that.

"What's her name?" I asked Viola.

"Renei."

"Renei!" I shouted her name, making her turn her head towards me.

"What do you want, you bully?!" She answered back, and all of her attention turned towards me. Names are a sensitive thing to us Alices... this is the only thing that we might be thankful for our parents, our creators.

Our own identity.

"Renei! I know you're still in there!" If she just turned thirteen, that means that she should still be conscious even just for a bit.

"Who are you calling?! I'm right here!" Not working, at least this got her distracted.

"Oh, I'm talking to Renei. Not you." I answered back stepping towards her and the guard slowly. I could see her other hand, it's creeping towards the guard's neck.

"I am RENEI!" She screeched, grabbing unto the guard's neck, just in time for me to slash through ripping her other arm. I quickly pulled the other guard away from her.

"To kill her off instantly! Cut her head off!" I said, looking at Lady Viola. She nodded and gripped her own sword. Renei tried running away, though she is fast, losing both of her arms will certainly make her lose some balance.

The guards and Viola caught up to her, unafraid since she has no arms.

"It's time to kill you, dear niece." Viola said, gripping her sword tightly.

"Then try it, AUNTIE." Even at the end of her life, she tried running away. With her legs, she jumped towards another guard and started strangling him in the neck.

"Move and this guy's neck shall snap." I sighed, they're not fast enough, and Viola should have killed her as soon as they surrounded her.

"Remember this auntie, if I die, my parents die, your sister dies." That is true. One parent may survive if he or she hadn't really performed the ritual and just got tangled into it all.

I stood up, checking the man who had his neck gripped by Renei, his neck is just scratched but there's a lot of blood.

"Hey Renei!" A vicious look was thrown at me. I smirked and jumped at her, making her let go of the man that she was strangling.

"No! Let me go!" She shouted, struggling underneath me.

"You won't overpower me, I'm far more stronger than you." I said to her, angling my scythe's blade to her neck. She started crying, looking at the guards and Lady Viola for help.

We must have looked very innocent and our enchantment might have been something else if some of the guards started edging to go to Renei to help her.

"Stop right there." I said, snapping them from walking towards us.

"If you let her go and she doesn't die, you will all die."

"Not you?" A guard asked. I sighed and removed the hood that has been covering my hair and face.

"You're an Alice as well?" I looked at them, their eyes evident with fear.

"I have passed the age of tainting. I can no longer be controlled by the taint." I answered, looking at Lady Viola. This is her niece that I am going to kill, will she consent or let this creature live?

"Auntie... help me." Renei said, looking at her aunt with pitiful eyes. I glared at her and pushed my blade deeper into her neck, making her cry out of pain.

"If she is alive, she would create havoc, she would also suffer herself for the taint is slowly invading her mind." I said, remembering the way the taint tried to take over me when I turned thirteen. It was painful, the most pain that I ever felt before.

The only reason I survived the tainting is because my father have not committed to the act, just like my mother. He saw me, and hugged me as I writhed in pain, so unlike others of my kind.

The very reason I survived is because of my father's love.

"Are you really going to let me be killed, auntie? Do you not love me?" She is trying to creep into her aunt's emotions, trying to take control of her and then probably kill her and everyone in this town.

"Do not trust my kind unless they have passed the tainting." I stated, looking at Lady Viola. A tear fell from her eyes as she realized that she had no other choice, she had to let her niece be killed.

"I-I'm ready. Kill her."

A great shout from Renei echoed around the town, people hiding inside their houses all watched as she tried to move, tried to fight me but to no avail.

"Hey Renei, if it pleases you, I'm looking for a way to end this curse. Tell the others to hang in there a little bit..." I saw a flicker of hope flashed in her eyes. She stared at me for a long time, her face showing nothing but surprise.

She, then, smiled at me.

"I...hope you...do. Tell auntie...thank you...I love...h-her." And the flicker from her eyes disappeared and there came back the devil from her mind. I hated killing people like me...

"Say goodbye, Lady Viola." And I pushed my blade deeper into her neck until it separates from her body. I stood up, glad that everything is over.

"W-Why is her blood turning black?!" I wiped her blood off of my sycthe, cleaning it with a cloth that I have.

"You can say that we are half-demons... We are not fully human as you just witnessed." I answered.

"T-Thank you, Alice. We never could have- if you hadn't-" I hugged Lady Viola as she started crying. If there is something good with our delicate, innocent and porcelain like looks is that it relaxes people. They felt like they are hugging children, even thought we are far from those the minute we turned three...

"My name is Cistina. And Renei wanted me to tell you something..." I said, hugging her back tightly. I could hear and see the people slowly leaving their house. I wager that they are looking at Renei's body right now.

"She wants you to know that she is thankful for you...and that she loves you." Lady Viola started crying even more, probably saddened by the sudden of her niece. If anything, I would have expected her to cry for her sister but...

It looks like no one is going to miss her parents.

"We have to bury her," I softly said to Lady Viola. She sniffled, tried controlling her tears and nodded with determined look in her eyes.

"Won't you mourn for your sister and her husband?" I asked as we started walking towards Renei's body. A dark look came upon Lady Viola's face at the mention of them.

"They are not worth mourning for if they have treated their child like this... To sacrifice an innocent child's chance for a life... It is sickening. Also, they are too arrogant and proud for their own good." She turned to the townspeople who are all investigating her sister's mansion.

"No one would miss them."

A guard came running towards them, terror evident in his eyes. The other townspeople gathered on the mansion all ran away, shouting at how monstrous the couple has become.

"My Lady! The lord and your sister, they-" The door to the mansion bursted into flames, a roar came from inside the mansion.

"No way..." I said, staring at the creature that walked out of the mansion.

"What happened? I thought the parents should die at the same time an Alice died?!" Lady Viola shouted, readying her sword at the sight of this...demonic creature.

"It looks like you're sister is pregnant, milady. And they are doing the same deal with the devil, this time for their second daughter."