1 -Lovely Morning-

☙𝒜𝓁𝒾𝒸𝑒'𝓈 𝒫𝒪𝒱 ❧

I turned over in my bed and groaned quietly before sitting up and yawning. I stretched my arms up and sighed when they dropped to my sides again

"Alice~, breakfast is ready my dear~" The voice of my father rang out from far away, beyond the dark wooden door of my room.

"Alright, I'll be down in a bit" I said loudly before getting up. I went over to my dresser and looked at all of the dresses I have, most of them look the same. After a minute of looking through all the dresses I decided on one that I really liked. I laid it flat on my bed before getting out of my nightgown and setting in in the laundry basket for me to take care of later. I put the dress on along with some black and white striped stockings. I stood in front of the full body mirror next to the dresser before doing a small twirl and a curtsy.

I walked over to the door and opened it before pausing.

'Did I forget anything?' I thought as I turned around and looked back in my dark room, the only light coming from the slightly cracked open curtain and the light of the hallway now behind me.

I shook my head before going down the hall. I made a turn and went down the stairs before being hit with the beautiful smell of freshly fried bacon, eggs and sausage with a side of buttered toast. I smiled and turned the corner, trotting into the kitchen happily.

"Well good morning, Alice~" Father said in a sweet tone as he turned to me with a sweet smile, his white and gold rabbit mask shining beautifully in the morning sun's rays that beamed through the window behind him. His ice blue and golden brown eyes looked at me calmly through the dark sockets of his white porcelain rabbit mask, his shining eyes cutting through pitch black darkness surrounding them under his mask.

"Good morning, father" I said, smiling warmly before doing a curtsy. He chuckled softly at my polite gesture before he turned back towards the counter and poured some tea into a teacup. "How did you sleep my dear?" He asked, his tone loving as he plopped some sugar cubes in his tea. "I slept well, though I do believe I heard screams coming from the streets by my window." I replied as I walked over to the table and sat down. "It was probably just the winds again.... You know the night get quite restless, dear." Father said softly, gently stirring his tea as he glanced back at me with those piercing eyes of his. I hummed softly and nodded before I looked down at my plate. I bit my lower lip as I thought about what I had heard the night before. Those screams hadn't sounded like the wind at all.. They sounded human. But maybe that's just my imagination, I always have had quite the wandering mind.

When I was half way done with breakfast, father turned to me as he quietly sipped his tea. I looked up at him patiently, knowing that he was going to tell me something important. He always had this certain look in his eyes when he had to tell me something of importance. He leaned against the counter as he spoke up.

"A friend of yours came by last night with something addressed to you... I believe he said his name was.. Barron?", He said in a sour tone, his words laced with suspicion. He never liked when I talked to boys, he always said that he's just keeping me safe from the ruthless dogs of the streets. He doesn't even like it when I talk to the younger guards or the Hazms. Personally, I think he just has separation anxiety and a few other things mentally wrong with him, but that's just a theory I guess.

"Ahem-" He cleared his throat, dragging me out of my thoughts.

"So.... I'll ask again, who is this Barron fellow? Your secret boyfriend? Don't lie to me Alice, you know I hate it when you keep secrets from me...." His tone was unsettling, however I put it to the side and giggled to avoid suspicion.

"Secret boyfriend? Why would you think that-? He's just my friend" I said as I smiled at father, hoping he couldn't see past my façade. He relaxed and sighed softly as he smiled a bit.

"Good. Your little gift from him is in the study, you may have it." He said softly as he turned and began washing the dishes. I smiled widely and got up before leaving the kitchen. Once I was out I ran to the study to see what my darling Barron had sent me this time. Truth be told, he was my secret boyfriend, but I wouldn't tell father that. He would be quite cross with me if he were to find out I kept another secret from him, let alone a boyfriend of any sort without both of them meeting formally first. I slowed down to a trot as I made it closer to the half open door of the study. I put my hand on the beautiful engravings on the door before nudging the door open. In the room was a bunch of books in shelves and on the floor, the usual. And at his desk like always was William, our main doctor and scientist. He was a tall man, somewhere above 6ft with a sturdy build. He was well built with enough muscles for him to look strong yet still elegant, like a deer. His long black, silk-like hair was tied back in a gold ribbon, as always. I had never seen his face due to him always wearing a deer skull over it but his eyes that stood out from the darkness of the sockets were absolutely stunning. They were a golden brown color, like fresh honey with small speckles of gold around the center of his irises and speckles of dark brown around the edges. I would ask him out if he wasn't so old... He's in his 40's yet he looks so young. The same thing goes for my dad, he's 42 yet he still looks like he's in his early 20's. I think they might be hiding some kind of eternal youth potion from me. Heh, imagine that, one of them having an eternal youth potion..... They probably would considering all the experiments William conducts behind everyone's backs. Back to what was happening-

I walked over to William and wrapped my arms around his neck as I looked over his shoulder. He was reading some books on clock making and making another tiny clock for my father.

"Greetings madam." He said softly as he glanced back at me with those lovely honey colored eyes of his.

"Hey Will" I said, my tone excited and sweet

He looked back down at the tiny clock in his hands as he continued gently putting the little cogs in.

"What is it you need, madam?" He asked, his smooth deep voice sending slight vibrations through my arm.

"I believe father said there was a pack-" I paused when he opened one of the drawers and pulled out a brown package with a small tag labelled 'Alice' in beautiful lettering.

"Thank you~!" I said as I smiled and grabbed the package from him, gently kissing the cheek of his mask before skipping away to my room.

Once I made it to my room I shut the door and plopped onto my bed, hugging the package to my chest lovingly. I hadn't gotten anything from Barron in quite a while. I laid there and sighed happily as I peered down at the package. I sat up and undid the small string that held the package close before unravelling it. Inside it was something that I never thought he would get me, it was-....

- ☛ To be continued... ☚ -