She awoke to find herself in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar place; Unable to recall who she was or how she came to arrive at this place. And yet, somehow, it felt as if it were her home. Covered by what felt to be silk covers, she lifted them in hopes of finding a clue as to who she was. She discerned that, though she was as naked as a newborn, she was clearly no child. She noted the bosom of a woman and accompanied by the toned muscles of a seasoned fighter. Wrapped in her bedding, she roused herself from the comfort of her warm bed and examined her surroundings. The room appeared to have no walls, with the universe itself looking back at her; And yet she could breath as if there were an atmosphere; She did not float as if there were gravity; And the furniture around her appeared to be steady in their places.
She explored the room, covered by only her long curled chestnut hair. Her fingers danced along the frame of the bed, up one its four pillars, ceasing to touch it further as she took notice of a dresser. Atop the dresser she found clothing that seemed to have been laid out for her, along with a letter. Placed upon the letter was a peculiar locker: On it was a bejeweled sun eclipsing the moon. She almost felt as if the locket was calling to her.
She opened the accompanying note and began to read it aloud; "Dearest, Alice. I am certain you have many questions, and many more to come. Please know that, in this place, you are safe. This locket is tethered to you, and will remain so. Keep it secret; Keep it safe."
She found no name, no symbols, no crests that would allow her to discern the origin of such a cryptic message; Or if it were a warning.
She was surprised when a door opened behind her. She ran to the bed, putting it between herself and the door. She peaked over to see a creature, made entirely of stone, holding a staff of light. Peaking out further, she could see the creature meant her no harm, but that's not where her attention lied.
"How is it you're doing that?"
"Doing what? Standing here? I imagine you can too if you were to try." the creature responded.
She pointed towards the object in its hand and said, "No... The light... How do you make it stay?"
The creature chuckled, "Why, I ask it. I tend to find many things are more accommodating when treated with kindness."
Confused, Alice asked, "So it's alive?"
"As are most things." The creature said, "Even things that ought not be. But perhaps we should continue this discussion once you're clothed."
The creature pointed to the clothing sat on the dresser, "You should find these clothes to your liking. Once you're ready I'll show you to the dining hall."
Alice, noticing the creature's head remained still, gave in to her curiosity and waved her hand in front of the creature's face.
"Why do you not turn to meet my gaze? How do you see?" she asked.
"Quite well. Simply put, it would be rude to look upon you in such an indecent state." they responded.
Neatly folded atop the dresser, Alice found a blue sequin dress, black calf-high boots adorned with straps (Which by all rights seemed better for combat than dinner), and a blue hairband with beautifully crocheted lace edges.
Alice turned to the creature, "How do I look?"
"I find it best to use one's eyes... Preferably one's own, but I am not one to judge lightly." they japed, "But with all sincerity, one might earnestly, and honestly, take you for royalty."
Having made herself proper, the creature then led Alice through the most awe-inspiring hallways. They, like the room she awoke in, seemed to not be walls at all. Alice found she was far too taken by the view to ask how she could walk among the stars as if she were bound by gravity.
"Please, have a seat." the creature said as they showed her to a massive table with no seats. She looked around and saw there was nowhere to seat herself.
"But where do I sit?" she asked, perplexed by the creature's request.
A chair appeared before her, as if it had always been there, and yet she was most certain it wasn't.
"How did that... Did you do that?" she inquired of the creature.
"It's here because you wished it to be." the creature said as they guided Alice to the now-here chair.
"But I didn't ask for a chair." Alice said, confused.
"But you thought of the chair, and the chair agreed to appear." the creature countered.
Alice's confusion became vastly overtaken by curiosity, "But is a mere passing thought worthy of consent?"
The creature, pleased by her curious nature answered, "For a thing without conscious thought, yes; But for the birds and the tree's, a negotiation must be had and a price be paid."
Alice, ever intrigued, asked, "And what if no price was negotiated or met?"
The creature's eyes glowed with an ominous green hue, as if to enforce their warning, "A price is always paid."
In an attempt to satiate her hungry curiousness (Which was no easy task), Alice inquired further, "I see. Is it magic? Science perhaps? Or maybe a miracle?"
As the creature paced along the table, they said, "What is science, to some, is magic; What is magic, to few, is miracle; And to fewer still, what is miracle, is science which is yet to be understood. I don't know what allows such interactions to occur, just that it - to me - feels quite natural. It's been with me as long as I can recall, and it may well be for you as well."
Alice looked at the creature now not with curiosity, though ever-so curious her nature was, but with admiration;
"I have asked you many things and yet I have failed to ask you your name... I'm Alice. What might one call you?"
The creature bowed towards Alice, "I have many names, but most know me as Dharrang."
Alice bowed, "Pleasure to meet you, Dharrang."
Surprised by her own statement, unsure as to why, she felt a sudden familiarity to this creature.
"Pardon my impoliteness, but why do I feel as if I should know you?" she asked.
Dharrang chucked, "I guess you'd say we're... Relatives."
Alice examined her body, comparing it to Dharang's;
"I don't wish to come across as rude, but your skin is hard and jagged whereas mine is not."
Dharrang's body began to soften; as if their skin were made of stone, forced to endure the passing of time while the ocean waves smoothed out its rough edges. Before Alice now sat a meager figure with flowing white hair and emerald green eyes. They had the appearance of a marble statue with blotches of black, and with an almost angelic face.
"You're beautiful!" she said, wide and brimming with excitement.
"I apologize for staring, I just never imagined my mother would be so beautiful as to take my breath away!" she said.
Dharrang laughed hardily, "While your compliment will be near and dear to me, I, Alice, am not your mother."
Alice blushed, feeling embarrassed, "Sorry. I shouldn't have presumed."
"It's quite alright." Dharrang responded, "How can you be expected to have the answer to a question you've yet to ask? But to answer your question properly, I guess you'd say I'm your... Cousin... Of sorts. But more importantly, I am your guardian and your teacher for as long as you call this realm home."
Alice pondered for a moment before shouting, "Dhar!"
Dharrang was momentarily shocked, "Dhar?"
"Yes!" Alice said, "Cousin Dhar! It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
Dharrang, moved by this, smiled as if reciprocating her admiration "Yes. I do believe it does, my dear Cousin Alice."
Dharrang sat an empty plate before Alice, "For today, I believe we should fill your belly, and then - after you've acclimated - we'll get started on your training."
Alice inspected the empty plate, "Do I... Eat it?..."
Dharrang chuckled, "No. You eat what's on the plate."
Alice looked down at the barren plate, "But there's nothing there..."
Dharrang's expression was that of someone who remembered something they'd forgotten, "Right. It would be difficult to use something you've yet to remember seeing."
They lifted the plate and though it never left her line of sight, something from nowhere was now there. There were green things, red things, and waves of pink; All between two spongey things.
"What is it?" Alice asked as she poked the plated item (A curious sight to be sure), "It feels soft and yet the edges are stiff?..."
"It's a sandwich. You'll remember these things in time." Dharrang stated.
Alice picked up the sandwich and hesitantly nibbled on it. With that first bite, her eyes lit up as she began to devour it like a ravenous wolf that had been starved of prey; Not even crumbs remained on her plate.
"More please!" she said, holding out the plate, her cheeks still full from the first. And more she would have as a second sandwich appeared as Alice held the plate. This was not Dharrang's doing, however, but Alice herself (though she hadn't realized it).
"Thank you!" she said before gorging herself on seconds.
"Interesting..." Dharrang thought to themself.
"Have as much as you'd like! This plate can create any food you can think of, making sure you'll never go hungry." they explained.
Alice, with her cheeks swollen as a chipmunk, raised the plate, "What a wondrous item!"
Alice sat down her half eaten sandwich (the third one she's had) and inquired, "Earlier, you said 'You'll remember these things in time.' What did you mean by that? I can tell something is different about me, but I'm unsure as to what or why."
"These are things you must discover for yourself. You will have many questions, and in time you will have many more. I am only permitted to teach and guide you; As to who you are and why you are, you must discover that for yourself." Dharrang rose from their chair and bowed towards Alice, "This is your home, feel free to explore; But know that some doors have minds of their own."
With a full belly, Alice roamed the halls, taking note of things that she found interesting - and oddly familiar; a garden filled with strange plants; a grand kitchen that one could surmise saw little use, if any; a library with seemingly no end; and a stone waterfall so perfectly placed she could almost swear it was naturally occurring. But a strange set of what looked to be doors caught her attention: there were no discernable handles; it was flush with the wall; and there was no indication along the floor to imply anything had been opened or closed.
"Curious..." Alice thought to herself. She felt as if she were being called to the doors that may very well not be doors, but she felt it impertinent to try and open something that was clearly not meant to - or wanting to - be opened; Be it for sake of curiosity or otherwise.
That night she dreamt of things she couldn't; red eyes surrounded in shadow; a grand tower; a man with a grimacing smile; and of a woman on a throne of roses. Alice then found herself standing before two queens who held each other, entombed in fire.
"Alice..." she heard, "Find her... Alice..." CRICK! Alice heard as one of the queens had turned to meet her gaze. Suddenly, as if rising from the dead, Alice heard another CRICK and a CRACK as the queen, swathed in black, shambled towards her.
"Who are you? And find who?" Alice calmly inquired.
"Find the one who rules from a seat of thorns... She will help to guide you... To your truth..." the queen responded in a ghastly wheeze.
Alice, annoyed by the queen's evasion of her inquiries, interrogated her, "Why can't you just tell me now? Why burden me with riddles? Would it not be more expedient to speak plainly?"
The queen inhaled deeply, exhaling a black cloud that enveloped Alice.
Alice all but leaped out of bed, her covers strewn about as if she had been turning about all night; Drenched in sweat. All these things Alice could not have possibly known, and yet still, she imagined them. "Was that a dream? A delusion? Something from my past?" she thought to herself.
Feeling the pull of something from her dresser, Alice rose from the bed and followed that feeling until she had found her hand placed upon the locket. Admiring its craftsmanship, she held it in one hand as she ran her finger along its etchings.
"I really should find out what that letter means... What does it mean by 'This locket is tethered to you?', secret from who? Safe from what?" she thought.
The next day (Though how does one truly determine night from day in a realm with no concept of time?), Alice took to the library. Many books pertained to magic, and some were compendiums that featured comprehensive and even incomprehensible details on many different species; Golemnites, Therians, Vampires, Dryads, Nirians, Humans, Pseudowhatsits, and many that were forgotten or considered extinct (Or nearly extinct), including the Fae. But try as she might, she could not find the one book she truly sought.
"Surely there must be a book here that can provide some much needed answers..." she thought;
But as if the library itself were selecting her next studies, the shelves seemed to change the moment she'd look away.
"Then I simply won't look away..." she thought.
However, the moment Alice blinked, the books again would change, "Riddles... Boundless, seemingly immeasurable, riddles; and this library seems keen to hobble my curiosities..."
She pulled a book from the shelf before her and raised it up, "You win! I'll do things your way!"
She listened intently for the library to respond, forgetting libraries lack lips for which to speak. A book fell from the shelf, as if it were demanding her attention. She looked down to see the book was already opened;
The first two words on the page read, "Thank you."
She placed the book back on the shelf and with a smile said, "You're quite welcome."
Alice didn't find any hints to her past, or any past for that matter, but she learned enough to know more than nothing at all; And that was plenty for today's reading.
After having a light snack of a second or third helping of sandwiches paired with a small glass of Dunder Ale (known less for its healing properties and more for the jackassery that takes place after a pint or a baker's dozen), Alice felt like she could take on the entire world! But instead she'd have to settle for Dharrang and their stern teaching face as Crag. Whenever Dharrang would "rock out" as Alice took to calling it, they would shut themselves off from their emotions; This very fact led Alice to referring to Dharrang as "Crag", because their face became as unmoving as a cliff face (and it looked like one too.)
For her first day of training, Alice was asked to join Dharrang in the meditation room. When she arrived, however, she saw not Dharrang, but Crag with a collection of candles.
This came as a surprise, "I thought you were going to teach me magic; or perhaps how to use a sword."
Crag handed her a candle and said, "I am teaching you magic. But first, a test. I want you to light this candle using just your magic."
Alice took the candle with a puzzled look. She sat the candle down and stared at it intensely. But nothing happened. Next she tried waving her hands at the candle. Again, nothing happened. Alice tried any sort of thing she could think of, all of which were wrong.
"What am I doing wrong?" she thought, "Why won't you just light, damn you!"
Alice, in her moment of self-doubt, began to exert an ominous energy (Though she wasn't aware of it).
"Perhaps we should take a break!" Crag interjected, "I'm famished, and I'm sure you are as well after training so hard." Alice begrudgingly agreed.
The next day, Crag decided to have Alice practice meditating with them. Alice, still wanting to prove to herself she could light the candle, found it quite hard to remain still.
"How is this going to help me light a candle?" Alice asked feeling vexed.
"You can't just squiddle your flibbidy bits and expect something to happen. You have to become one with your magic before you can control it. Otherwise, instead of lighting a candle, you might burn down a forest." Crag said.
"Now you're just making up words, Crag. If I have to take this seriously, so should you." Alice said.
"What a queer thing to say... To say that I am making up words as if there are words that weren't. And I assure you, I am quite serious." Crag said. Alice found it very difficult to remain still, but not because she was impatient.
Alice's mind wandered as she began to wonder, "Maybe I'm going about this all wrong... Perhaps instead of trying to light the candle, I try to place a flame on the candle, as if wearing a hat... No... That's foolish. It could never be so easy... Could it?"
Alice, feeling more impatient than before, opened her eyes to see that she was encompassed by fire. This would cause most people to panic, being on fire and all, but not Alice.
"Look, Cousin! I did it!" she said excitedly. Crag expected her training to be quick, but even they didn't expect Alice to learn this quickly.
"Her instincts are stronger than I thought they'd be... I may not have much left to teach her at this rate..." they thought. In fact, they became so overtaken with surprise they unknowingly changed back.
"Remarkable, Cousin! I think this may be cause to celebrate!" Dharrang said.
"I might even treat myself to a second glass of Dunder Ale tonight!" Alice said proudly.
As the weeks went on, Alice continued her studies and training. She was quickly learning how to handle a variety of weaponry; Swords, axes, scythes, bows, even a slingshot. Her magic was becoming equally diverse; She could create fire, shoot lightning, shake the earth, and even steal someone's breath away (Literally). But Dharrang was worried; While Alice was mostly curious and blithe, they couldn't help but ask if Alice would have the fortitude to control her stronger emotions, or be consumed by them.
The history of Trae was not a merry tale, but one of ever-present conflict. For ages the Alifreyaan people wished for nothing more than to live peacefully. But peace is not a monument that can stand on a single pillar. Like all great monuments it needs to be supported by the many, not the few. Though peace talks were had, the humans who believed themselves infallible, were quite fallible indeed. The last meeting towards peace took place more than 20 years ago with the humans from the so-called Sanctuary of Man (Which is much less blasphuriating than the other name they use). Their leader, simply known as the Grand Inquisitor (Lord Inquisitor to the fanatics), governed a theocratic society that existed in the far western region; It was a large city encircled by walls as tall as mountains, and at its center was a tower so high you could see it from the furthest eastern ports; They called this tower, Babel. And while the biblical Babel was believed to be no more than 300ft tall, this tower's shadow stretched so far that there were few places in the north and south where you couldn't see it. But this city was no sanctuary as it was brimming with every imaginable and unimaginable sin. The Grand Inquisitor proclaimed this city a new Eden; A corporeal paradise.
On a podium overlooking his 'flock', against the backdrop of the tower, the Grand Inquisitor declared, "god has blessed this land, my brothers and sisters! For he hath seen the suffering we have endured and believed it so immeasurably great that he thus whispered unto me, 'Blessed are you, sons and daughters of Eve, that I birthed this land anew that you may forever be welcomed into heaven! For in this land thou shall call home, my love burns eternal so that all sins are cleansed by my presence!' So rejoice, and praise your lord! For this is our Garden! This is New Eden!"
And rejoice they did. While some were skeptical (And with good reason), many others were quick to relinquish themselves from the facade of upstandingness for that of erroneous decorum. This "New Eden", in truth, was a veritable hell's paradise (Think Sodom and Gomorrah with a penchant for overcompensating and gaudy architecture).
"Very well put, Lord Inquisitor" said Malikev, bowing as the Grand Inquisitor descended from the stairs, "I come bearing news."
The Grand Inquisitor covered Malikev's mouth with his hand, "Not here you filthy lout. What if someone heard you?"
Malikev bowed hastily, "Apologies, your imminence. I'll do better to remember."
Pulling Malikev into an empty alleyway to evade eavesdroppers and onlookers to scold him, Lord Inquisitor catechized, "What's so important you couldn't see fit to wait for the end of my sermon? Do you know what could happen if people saw us talking, much less conspiring?"
Malikev, the sniveling coward that he is, bowed yet again (As he had and would), "Please, pardon my intrusion, but something has come up that I feel needs your attention; It's one of the queen's, my lord... Her body has vanished..."
Lord Inquisitor was shocked, "Vanished? How is that possible? And what about the barrier?"
"Still there, my lord. We aren't able to get close enough to determine what happened, but she was there one moment and gone the next. It's as if she got up and walked away." Malikev said.
Lord Inquisitor pondered for a moment, "This could be good news... Which queen vanished?"
Malikev pulled out a tablet, "It was the... Oh my... It was the Lich Queen. You don't think she's back again do you?"
Lord Inquisitor laughed, "Seems the infamous 'Queen of Liches' wasn't as powerful as she led on. No no no, my dear friend... I believe this means we're in luck. Have your men run some scans. If I think they'll find the barrier has weakened, which means we will soon have exactly what we need to begin the next phase."
"Right away, you imminence." Malikev bowed (yet again), before vanishing into the darkness of the alleyway.
Back in Midros, Alice found Dharrang sitting in the library with a book in hand: It was a rather large book with frayed edges that were not dissimilar to Dharrang's attire; The same large ragged grey robe they seemingly always wore.
"My cousin must be a wizard; Wise beyond their years!" she thought.
It was not just the robe that gave her this impression though, but what she saw as she approached Dharrang. The images in the book all featured life-life drawings of a character that resembled Dharrang, and what's more, they were moving.
"What are you looking at?" she asked.
Dharrang slammed the book shut, "It's an Automoire, or a Book of Memory. It contains all the memories of its wielder, lest they forget something important."
"Wouldn't that just be a memoire?" Alice asked, in a razzing manner.
"It would be if it was, but that's not what it is, for it is an Automoire. The book takes the me from the moire and thus it would be improper to call it a memoire." Dharrang responded.
Alice held her finger to her lips while having a think.
"Would that not make it a bookoire? Perhaps even a youoire?" she asked curiously.
Dharrang laughed, "Perhaps, but colloquially it is known as an Automoire, and that is suitable enough for me as just saying the word makes me think of autumn, which is easily the prettiest time of the year."
"Perhaps I'll see my own autumn one day. Perhaps, on a most auspicious autumn day, I'll even look at my own Automoire!" Alice stated giddily.
Dharrang smiled, "Perhaps you will, dear Cousin."
When Dharrang slipped their Automoire into their robe, Alice noticed something peculiar; Their robe didn't seem displaced by such a heavy looking book. She then noticed there was no outline to indicate the book was even there.
Alice, ever curiouser, asked, "How do you do that? Make things come and go from your robe, I mean."
Dharrang's response was perplexing, but simple enough, "I merely wish it to."
Alice had come to accept Dharrang's puzzling responses as commonplace, though she still found it to be irksome.
After Dharrang left the library, Alice stuck around to get in some more studying. But she kept finding herself distracted by the existence of Automoires, or more accurately, by the lack of one existing for her. This bothered her such that began to wonder if she might get one of her own someday, and if it could answer the looming questions she had about who she was or where she came from.
As she was lost between her thoughts and studies, she heard mellifluous humming coming from outside the library.
"Alice..." a voice called out.
"Hello? Is someone there?..." she asked.
"Come and see Alice!" the voice said.
Alice closed her book (though she hardly read it at all) and cautiously exited the library.
"Where are you?" she inquired.
"This way, Alice. Let the music guide you." answered the voice.
And so she did, which led her to the doors that didn't appear to be doors, only now the not-doors were doors; Complete with gold handles. She opened the doors to find a second set of doors, through which she could see a large pool. When she entered the room the humming ceased, and she quickly realized she was the only person in the room. She looked, admiring the serene view above her head; A sea of stairs that Alice believed were welcoming her to the room, perhaps even the universe. Alice then took notice of the beautiful blue glow emanating from the mana pool, to which Alice, due to its pleasant aroma, felt compelled to taste (which were both reminiscent of honey and cherry blossoms).
"What an odd flavor... A bit too sweet for my liking though." she thought.
Looking around further, she found the room was filled with mirrors, and in one such mirror was her reflection. Alice had not seen her reflection yet due to there only being mirrors in the Mana Pool, so Alice hadn't yet realized she was seeing herself in the mirror (despite them wearing the same attire.
"Oh, pardon my intrusion! I didn't realize someone was in here." she said bowing apologetically.
Alice saw her reflection bow back, which flustered her a bit.
"Oh no! There's no need for you to bow! You've done nothing wrong!"
Alice noticed the girl was copying her movements perfectly, which she found mildly infuriating.
"I know I shouldn't have intruded, but that's no reason to mock me..."
Having felt she'd been thoroughly insulted, Alice decided to teach the young woman a lesson on good manners (which she felt came naturally to her), so she reached out towards the girl;
"I think I've had just about enough of-" her hand was stopped by the girl's hand, "You? What is this?"
It was starting to become clear to Alice that the 'girl' she saw in the mirror was herself.
"Is that... me?" she asked aloud.
Suddenly, her reflection began to move independently, "Of course. Who else would we be if not us?"
This scared Alice, so much so that she leapt back and fell to the floor.
"You can talk!?" she blurted out.
"Of course we can. We are us, after all." the reflection answered.
Alice stood up and examined the reflection. The person she mistook for a young woman was actually an adult woman between 25 and 30 years of age with radiant olive brown skin. She had long chestnut hair with coiled hair, green eyes, a slender but fit frame that measured roughly 162cm, and had soft facial features.
"Oh no... I'm a child!" she exclaimed (she was not).
"We are not." said her reflection, "Our youthful glow is the result of our seclusion from the harshness of the other realms. But enough about that, Alice. We need to talk."
Alice's bewilderment was quickly overtaken by her curiousness, "Speak, spirit. You have my attention."
"We are no spirit. As we said previously, we are us. Or more accurately, we are an aspect of us." the reflection stated, "Moving on to the matter at hand, we must leave this place."
Alice was taken aback, "Leave? Why would I-Or rather, we leave this place?"
"There is nothing left for us to learn here. It is time we tend to our duties." the reflection answered.
Alice wasn't sure how to respond. All she could do was panic internally.
"Leave to tend to my duties? But I still have so much I could learn! I don't want to leave! There are still so many books I've yet to meet and what about Dharrang? Surely Dharrang doesn't wish for me to leave yet! Maybe this is a dream?... That's it! It must be! I'm dreaming! So I just need to wake up!" She thought.
Convincing herself she must have fallen asleep in the library, Alice slapped herself across the cheek.
"Ow!" she exclaimed, realizing this was, in fact, not a dream.
"Why would you do such an odd thing?" the reflection asked.
This response caught Alice by surprise. She figured that if her reflection was well and truly her, it would know what she knows and nothing more, but more importantly, it would know exactly why she throttled herself the way she did.
"You say that you are me, but if that's so, how do you know about some duty of mine that needs tending? Why did you seem confused by my actions? Would you not know all there is to know about me?" Alice interrogated.
Her reflection stared blankly for so long that Alice, for a moment, thought she broke it (the reflection, not the mirror itself). But then she noticed something peculiar; Its eyes shifted to a red hue as its face began melting as if it were made of wax. After its epidermis melted to the floor, its muscle quickly followed in kind. Its organs quickly fell to the floor, landing like wet lumps of clay, leaving only a skeleton (a very fashionable skeleton). The skeleton crouched as its jaw opened before black smoke fell from its mouth. The sound of etching glass filled the room, causing Alice to drop to her knees in pain. When it stopped, she looked to see her name etched repeatedly across the inside of the mirrors. Even the stars themselves seemed to hide in fear. Alice was in complete darkness, the only light was that of the mana pool itself.
"What are you? Truly? Answer me!" Alice demanded.
In a rasp of whispers it spoke, "We can not lie to us. We are Alice."
"But you cannot be Alice! I am Alice!" she responded.
"As are we. We are doubt. We are sadness. We are shame. We are rage. We are envy. We are despair. We are the all encompassing fear that drives us to survive." said her reflection.
"But how? How can you be me when I am most clearly me?" Alice interrogated.
"We are both Alice! Fueled by our negative emotions. We exist to serve our purpose. We exist to forge ourselves anew so that we might be ready for our greater purpose." the reflection stated.
Alice had a look of puzzlement. This all sounded very nonsensical to her; A being living inside her that also happened to be a different version of her? It sounded like some kind of nightmare, only she was well aware this was no dream.
"Say I believe you, or rather, 'Say I believe us.' Are you going to bring me harm?" Alice asked curiously.
"Yes. Many times. As the process requires." the reflection stated plainly.
Alice hesitated to ask, but she felt she must, "Are you... Are you going to kill me?..."
"No. We will cause us great pain, but our purpose is to shape us and fortify us." said her reflection.
"I find that hard to believe when you refuse to show me what you truly look like!" Alice exclaimed.
The black smoke crept back from the mirrors, taking the etchings with it, until finally she saw her reflection again; But the reflection was wrong. Physically she looked the same, but now she had white curly hair, glowing red eyes, fair rosy pink skin, white boots with a golden sequin dress and matching hairband. The reflection resembled her in every way, but if captured in a negative light. She also noticed the creature's skin cracked like an old porcelain doll; The pieces floating away as new skin grew in its place.
"Does this ease us?" the reflection asked as the smoke climbed back into its mouth as if falling in reverse.
"Why do we look... Wrong?" Alice asked the reflection.
"This is how we truly look. We are the antipode of us. The incarnation of emotions contrary to all that is jovial and blithe. We are madness."
Alice was beginning to feel this was all a bit too simple. But she believed she had enough of the pieces to this puzzle, so she prodded the entity further;
"So you are me, and I am you... You won't kill me, but you will hurt me... And you say you're an aspect of me... You also seem to know more than you're letting on... Are you... My subconscious?"
The reflection smiled eerily, "Very good. We've figured it out."
"So you truly are me... Or... We truly are us..." Alice said relentingly.
"No." The reflection responded.
Alice shook her head in confusion, "I'm sorry?"
The reflection quickly retorted, "We cannot tell us who we are. That is for us to decide."
Alice was momentarily shocked that it could read her mind, but this quickly passed as she concluded it only further proved that this being was unequivocally her.
Alice asked, but was cut off, "Then how is it you-"
"We retain all that we are and have been, though we are not yet ready for such knowledge. And to answer your current query, Alicia will suffice if you wish it." said her reflection.
Alice smiled and curtsied, "Then it's a pleasure to meet us, Alicia."
"And we, us, Alice." Alicia said, curtseying in return.
Alicia knew something weighed heavily on Alice's mind now, something she didn't wish to ask for fear she wouldn't like the answer (despite it thriving on such a subtle fear).
"Yes, Alice. We will meet again, when we are ready for us. Until that time, we shall only appear in grave circumstances. With that, we must bid ourselves farewell."
Before Alice could utter the thought of a response, Alicia was gone. Before leaving the room, Alice pressed one hand to the mirror, the other to her chest, and smiled.