Alice Lindsey.
That was the name my parents gave me; I wasn't particularly close to them—in fact, I was closer to the servants in my house. I never wanted for anything; whatever I asked for, I got straight away. But there was one thing I had never had: a friend.
Everyone in the mansion looked at me as if I were a young lady; no one dared mock me because they'd end up getting sacked or worse.
After leaving the house that had been consumed by fire, I went to London and met an elderly woman who kindly gave me a job.
When I was given my first job, I was immediately paired with a girl who had blonde hair that, strangely, was just like mine. "She's your partner; her name is Red," said the old woman softly.
Hearing that weird name made me burst out laughing, "Red? Wow! What a coincidence, my name's Blue" I teased, and a few moments later, I was called a "jerk" for the first time in my life.
We've been partners for half a year, though it feels much longer than that—I'm not sure why.
But a month has passed since that incident I'll never forget. I walked out of my room accompanied by a white rabbit lounging on my shoulder—she is the only friend by my side now.
Because the girl who should still be asleep in the room next to mine has vanished without a trace.
She only left behind her jacket, the right sleeve of which was torn—and I knew exactly why that had happened. I'd hardly ever left the house; I'd just spent my time sitting on the sofa knitting that red jacket.
To fill the silence in the house, I put on a film that the jacket's owner had watched dozens of times—I still don't understand why she liked these films so much. As I watched for longer, I began to be carried away by the world in the story and now I saw the world as nothing but black and white.
After finishing sewing the sleeve on the red jacket, I folded it up and stored it safely in the owner's bedroom in case he came by one of these days. I opened the front door and stepped out; the food in the kitchen had run out and I needed to restock.
Everything still looked boringly black and white to my eyes, and I wasn't even hearing the conversations of passers-by; without warning, a hand touched my shoulder—I wanted to ignore it, but the grip on my shoulder grew stronger.
I turned and saw a woman in a police uniform standing there, her gaze fixed on me, and she was showing me a 'missing person' poster I'd put up a long time ago.
"Your friend's gone missing?"
I couldn't hear her voice, but those words must have come out of her mouth; I could predict what she'd say from the way her lips moved.
"Go away."
She's the one who hates us Fables the most—the harshest I've ever known, so why is she suddenly concerned now? Her concern is sickening.
"How could she have gone missing?"
She asked again, but her question only made me recall events I wouldn't even wish for. I took out my card and showed it to her.
"I said go away!"
A strong wind burst from the card, instantly sending hed flying and sending her drifting away from me; without realising it, I hadn't held back the force of the wind, and she was out of sight in the blink of an eye.
I let out a sigh as I turned around and walked back towards the market; I wanted to buy some groceries straight away and head home—but nothing was going as I'd hoped.
A familiar figure appeared; he was wearing a detective's uniform, although the last time I'd seen him he was wearing glasses. "Alice," he called out, but just the sight of his face made me feel sick to my stomach.
"There's a lot I want to talk to you about. If you don't mind, how about we go to a nearby restaurant and have a chat—" before he could finish speaking, a vine attacked and pinned him to the wall.
"Couldn't avoid that? What a shame. If you really had the ability to read minds, nothing bad would have happened."
Anger was beginning to take hold of my body, and I noticed a few passers-by stopping to watch this scene—don't they have other things to worry about?
"I'm sorry, I truly am. I was pretending to be a Fable so I could learn more about you and—"
I was sick of hearing his voice, and even my earplugs didn't help. I walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar. "And what? Using that information to attack us?! Because that brilliant detective would surely have a thousand ways to finish us off just with the information he has, right?!"
He didn't answer.
"Right?! ANSWER!" I demanded, and the man could only stand there dumbfounded, unable to reply—well, naturally so, because I could easily tear his body to shreds; after all, he is just an ordinary human being with a penchant for lying.
I slowly let go of his hand and refocused on the road ahead of me. "You're no longer a member of Team Pyxis, and don't you ever come near me again or you'll face the consequences," I said before walking off towards the market, leaving the detective rooted to the spot.
I finally made it to the market and bought the groceries I needed for the next week. I haven't worked for a month and my money is running out; perhaps I should apply for a job as a waiter in a restaurant to support myself.
I continued walking along the pavement with brown carrier bags in both hands, until I stopped in my tracks at the sight of something familiar. A completely naked man was eating an apple and watching the passers-by; he was wearing only a white cloth to cover his body.
Admetus.
He was a homeless man whom my friend admired—I'd no idea what she saw in him, but her taste had been questionable from the start. I stepped slightly to the side to get past him, but just as I was right in front of him—he said something that immediately startled me.
"I've seen Red."
This dull, colourless city instantly changed a little; now I could see the tramp, who had come into colour—a stark contrast to the city that remained in black and white.