unconsciously moved my hand across it as if just lightly touching something precious... well because for me... it was... and still is... even if its story is simple... even if it isn't something wildly expensive...  to me, it is... as my mother ordered it before I was born...and she would fill it with all of the memories that we would make together before giving it to me at my 15th birthday for me to keep safe... a tradition from her side of the family... and one of the few remaining memories of her...

I remember... spending days looking for it with my father and grandparents after they explained to me its importance... we never found it... and I became a bit depressed for some time... but at least I knew of its existence... strangely enough I remember a few guilt faces on some of our older workers... before they retired... now I understand.

I smiled...

it must have been hard keeping the secret from such a young child...

after finally composing myself yet again I tried opening the lid on the little box only to be stopped by a lock without a keyhole... silly me it will only open to the magic signature that is recorded to it... the first being my mother...

Alice- the second...

even if these weren't my original arms... I feel as if my magic moved better from my body to my hands

Alice- it's her daughter... me...

*click*

with a satisfying click, the lid opened a little bit, and pushing lightly it opened completely revealing its contents... at the very top, a small cloth badly made doll... but it's the first doll my mother made for me... I know this because I lost it once before my mother's death... and she together with Rose made me a replica that is seating on a shelf in my room to this day...

this one...

is the original...

I clearly remember... my mother was calm and just gave me a tight hug... before she called rose and we made another one together...

after giving it a bit of a clean and passing my fingers through its hair just one more time before hugging it as the most precious thing in my life before returning it to the box and getting the next thing.

that was an X made from two locks of hair of different colors one black as the blackest night... the other gray as the moon in the sky... I remember the times my mother called me my beautiful "Eclipse" due to her love for my hair color she even picked up these two locks from the time we were getting our hair done... my first time... she was happy...

finally returning them to the box the last thing there was inside was a big letter envelope and when I picked it up I noticed that just behind it there was a gem embedded into a cutout of soft material that I didn't recognize but something told me that it had a relation with this letter that I promptly opened up and retrieve its contents.

inside there were 4 black and white pictures taken with a big image capture device that recently had been conceived... all of them were from one of each of my birthday parties... but what intrigued me the most was the few black paper pages that were also inside the envelope without any writing on them... well all except for one with a "hi" written at the top in my mother's handwriting and I was puzzled... why have this many sheets of paper if you only use a tiny section of one...?

I started looking at them in every way I could before returning to the start and getting my body frozen "written laughter", "look at you, getting all flustered by not knowing what to do... you... don't know how long I have been waiting... god.... look at you all grown up all different "

Alice-wh...wha...

new words were appearing continuing from the original "Hi"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I had to keep many secrets... even from you... I would have wished for us to have just sat down... have tea with some cake... and talk all about what needed to be said... sadly neither your future nor my sickness helped in that regard... I would have loved to have completed the box of memories... there are... so many things, so many moments in your life I would have loved to be a direct part of... but I could only look from my bed here on my now... even writing for you on your now is something that.."

Alice-who? how...?

I could feel the myriad of information flowing into my head. but nothing could explain why more words were appearing and they all were directed at me but there is something that I'm not taking into account... I brought up my father's letter and read that specific section "she always said she was ready and had everything ready for when your fate arrived... I never understood what she meant... even if this letter was her idea" how... did she know... what would happen...

suddenly I realized... only a seer would be capable of doing it and the chances of my mother talking to one were pretty much zero as they are all extremely regulated by the kingdom... so there is only one answer.

Alice-mom?

"I see that you just realized... yes I'm or rather was a seer the most powerful full one in history for what I have managed to gather... but being a seer is a troubling part of it... I learned to control it... but being discovered meant that any kingdom would be after me after all... in their eyes "he" who controls the future controls the world... and you wouldn't have been born... so I hid... only helping my father with my power when trouble would befall our village nothing else... you could say that I was selfish but I was young... I could have done more but doing so would mean getting caught... then one night I decided to look into the future and my village was on fire and the only way to save it would be by the help of a noble and lucky the Duke of the north, Aaron Schneider's son Aaron Stol would visit our little village as part of his duke training on understanding the troubles of his people... he fell in love with me at first sight and he protected my village in exchange for my hand... I still remember the day he made me his fiance the noble society went wild... then everything was fine and I fell truly in love with him both becoming happy but then I fell sick before having my first and only daughter... you Alice... and even tho I only used my power to know if something was going wrong with the territory I wanted to know your future... but no matter how much I tried I could not see further than 19 years "

Alice-19 years ... that would be in a few months...

"yes, regardless of what I tried your life would have ended in a few months from "your now"... so I made preparations to help you... the thing that helped me the most was your affinity for space-time magic... so I made sure that you would be able to summon a hero... then made the preparations so that the kingdom would receive an alert so that they needed to summon one... the rest only depended on what you managed to summon for it would be outside this world's fate... and now on my deathbed, I can see that my gamble paid off... and now... I... finally can give you the key to a future... even if the sacrifice might have been more than what anyone else would have liked..."

I can see in the previous lines some water damage on some of the words... tears...

"I always hated this power due to the problems it brought me and my family... but now I'm grateful to it for allowing me to help you to get you a future... i..."

Alice-i... didn't know...

the next part was so covered in tears that it was bearly legible... thankfully Ultima came to the rescue and on top of the damaged words new cleared words appeared allowing me to read the rest.

"...inside the box, there is a gem...its a condensed mana gem... my mana... take it... it will give you strength it's the key to a future"

I returned my attention to the box and brought out the gem and now that I could clearly see it... it was a beautiful gem perfectly cut, with beautiful light reflection, and a calming white light tone that shines through it...no more like...light emanates from it... but I can't understand this feeling that something bad happened for this crystal to come to be so I simply pushed it into my chest  as it is a precious gift from my mother

ULTIMA-warning... n̷̨̙̻̲̖̮̹̂̓̇̉̾͐̅̃̓̆͒͒͒̃ȩ̷̛̛̫͔̽͆̐͂̃͑̒̌̄̂͝ẉ̷̡̨̭̟̟̬̯̭͍̀̀̈́̌̔ ̶̘̓̎̍̇͊͆͂̒̀͝͝͠s̷͉̰̗̗̟̥̰͆̑̊̃ẙ̸͉̼͙̣̝̘̈́͐̾͝ͅs̷̨͖̲̯̣̳̱̀̊̍̓̐͗̏͂̉̄̂̽̏͂t̵͈̯̆̌́͗̏̈́̈́͑͘͝ë̸̡͕͙͉̙̱̬͓̗͕̰̩̳̝͈́̑̑̃͛̐ͅm̸̩̮̞̻̂̿͌́̐̏̂͘ ̵͙͍̘̯̃͘d̶̮̖̿̌͗̈̚e̷̛͓̗̭͑́̊̽̂͌t̵̨̢̡̡̡̘͍͎͔͔̱̱̪̝̻̎̄̌̐̑́̉̈́͂͒̊̒̐̓̕͝e̸̢̢̗̞̫̪͇̻̒̍̽͊̍̈̒ͅc̷̨͍̙̫͈̘̳͓̣̤͚͍̗̍ţ̵̡̛̮̙̳̜̺̫͋͊̌́̾͐̈́̎́̏̍̿̒̾͘ȩ̶̢̹͈̯̝̬̮̃̌͂̇̋̄̄͆͛̄̕͘͝d̸̲͕̞̯̦̼̑ ̸̡̜̟̫̜̙̆̊͊͌̽̅i̵̹̹̦͙͒̀͋̿̈́̒̎̽́͑̚͝ń̷̫͎̲͇͎̉̾̂̈̆̀͆͠ͅt̷̡͓̥̬͕̙̬͚̽̑̈ë̵̛̘̬̯͇̪̲̻̥́̀͑̊̒͂͒́͊̈́͗̒́̀g̸̛̬͇͍̹͙͙͓͉̻͖̜̠̖̭͛͋͆̐̈͜͝ͅr̷̨̟̩̜̻̦̬̖̹̫̾̕a̴̙̬͈͔̳̺̱͇̟̥̯̲̓̂̂͐́̓̊̎́̈̾̌̚̚͝͠t̷̬̩̬̺͔̗͔͈̤̙̻̙̺̹͍̼̑̇͛͛͗̋͋͛͊̉̃́͘͠i̶̡̡̢̘̻̝̮̣̞̺͔̘̋̆̑̈͌̈́͠n̵̢͔̟͚̖͖̘͙̤̈̍̽̈́̓͑̌̂̋̃̉̄̈͠ͅġ̵̨̤̑̿̊͛͆̃̍͒͛̑̒ ̵̣̦̬̘͉͈͕̪̺̬̪͇̥̤̹͛͒̀̀̏̀̊̋̀͒̈̚̕͝ͅ.̸͖͍̝͙͖͍̮̱̖͙͇̱̺̰̎̔̂͛͜.̷̛̥̳̻̞̘͕̜͚͉̮͕̟̰̻͚̿̅́̇̓͐̂̃̄̏̑̾͜͝.̴̨̧̞̙̼̻̘͎͕̤̉̿́̌́́ ̸̧̰̳̪͎̬̜͎̓̊̀̀̑̿͒̂̔̈̑͌̅̕̕ś̷͕̻̺̽͂̉̍́̀̓̈́̐̾̕͝t̴̞͙̳͙̆͌͆̇́̚ã̸̢̡̰̞͚̖͙͘n̷̛͉̳̘̞̺̜̰̓̀̅̈̔̈̿̀̈́̈́̈́͗̓̚d̴̢̧̙͔̣̹̜̝̜̥͍͇͎̈́̉͑̈́̓̋͒͝ ̷̧̮̰͓͓̞̯̍̏͜b̸̝̅̿͗y̷̢̬̜͚̰͍̰̬̜̙̗̲̖̖͖̅͌̔̿́̅̓͊͊̒͋͗̚͝͠

"my Alice... my beautiful eclipse... "

---

/pov change/

*huff hfff*

 a group of mounted soldiers was running through a forest before suddenly stopping at the sight of a single maid crouched down close to a big tree

???-please... lady maid... let's stop for a moment... let's give our horses... and ourselves some rest... not even our horses can run as fast as you...

maid-weren't you supposed to be scouts? fast with good endurance and sight?

???2-I'm sorry ma'am even if we are scouts of our kingdom most here are rookies

maid-hum...

I looked around unamused she wasn't even out of breath and she was running on her own two legs instead of on a horse

maid- leave the horses here then they can rest while we walk... and have the mages start chanting...

???2-May I ask why the chanting?

I simply raised my hand signaling a direction to where the soldier now had his head turned to see an individual crouched down beside a golden box underneath a tree by the side of a cliff

maid-it matches the description... I'll go have a chat... you follow my lead

???2-yes ma'am

said the soldier in a whispered scream before turning and giving orders left and right meanwhile I continued to the tree line only to notice that my presence was noticed by the other party as whatever she was holding was returned to the golden box before closing it... oddly enough... I can see some watery marks on her... weird hands...

maid- you there! stand up show me your hands!!

 leaving the box staying on the ground beside her she stood up ... but didn't show me her hands and just dedicated herself to look at the landscape and somehow she was irritating me... the same way only my friend would 

maid-you are to come with me by order of his highness Edward the second

???- Rosy, we both know that I won't go where he is... not after what he did... ... not yet...

she said with such emotion as she moved her head a little to the side, her hair making me unable to see her face before returning to look at the landscape

maid- don't you dare call me by my name only my friends call me that way!! now turn around with your hands together you are under arrest !!

I said nearly screaming as I pulled out my short sword from the sling on my back, she just answered by looking at me over her shoulder with just the edge of her eyes before taking a step to turn and face me...

???-i see... so... I lost my best friend that fast...

in her I saw a face filled with sadness... my face must have been making the same face... as she is the living image of my now deceased lady... of my friend... but I won't let that stop me she just looks like her... as my lady is no longer here and I'll have to carry this weight on me from now on... being unable to mend my mistake

steading my resolve I prepared my sword as she moved the box on the ground away from her with her leg and prepared hers.

maid-You are coming with me!!

???- come and get me Rosy!

---

/pov change/

while that's happening two leave cloaked figures were running within the forest at inhumanly high speeds with such precision on their movements even at such speed in the direction of the cliff

???-humans are close let us hope that my daughter is here we must not be found so close to a human settlement... how is the tracker? showing anything?

???2-no sir... there is still nothing...don't worry she was headed in this direction she must be fine

???- I hope so... i just hope she wasn't captured

the both of them kept on running until they came across the clearing of an old path

???-...we are close... keep a close eye on that tracker and see if there is any human signature

???2- yes sir

they kept running parallel to the path within the tree line that provided them with cover

???2- sir tracker is picking up multiple signatures... two big ones, multiple small, one massive, and one unknown... I can't seem to pinpoint the power signature

???-where!

???2-that way!

they both slowed down allowing them to see the end of the path

???-humans! are we too late? what about my daughter!?

the second figure hit the little apparatus on his hands before moving some dials

???2- that can't be right... I'm picking up another signal it's faint... ...it's a demon one!

???-where!?

???2- there! by that resting horse!

???-let's go! we can use their fight to cover our movements

the first figure then started running closely followed by the second, both of them made use of the tall grass to hide from the humans soon having the horse in sight

???-Xenovia!

as soon as the first figure saw the little girl resting on the horse it ran towards it nearly falling on the horse's leg before hugging the little girl

???- Laclan what has happened with my daughter why is she sleeping!? why is she small!?

Laclan- sir she appears physically fine, she just appears to have exhausted her magic reserves... she needs time to recover her magic and needs to see a healer to help her recover from the degraded state... but first, we need to get her and us out of here.

???- then start the teleportation I'll tend to my daughter

Xenovia- *ngh*wha...wher...

Xenovial looked around disoriented

???-Xenovia you've woken up

Xenovia- father...? ...where... is Alice?

Xenovia reorganizing her thoughts tried to look for her friend

*father*-Alice? who is Alice?

the father looked at his companion getting a negative response 

*Clang* *Clang* *Clash*

but before asking anything else he got distracted by the sounds of clashing swords behind where he was where the maid send her opponent's sword flying before kicking her opponent sending her tumbling back before she stood up again and ran towards the maid sending a high hick straight to the face

Xenovia-Alice!

trying to move Xenovia's weak body failed on her and she fell getting graved just before falling by her father right before the swords that were sent flying landed beside

*father*- the magic is activating you can't go now!

as if on cue from Laclan came out an ethereal circle that grew until both Xenovia her father and the horse were inside of it before it started to get filled with runes and shone brightly

at the same time at the place of the fight, both figures were now unarmed but still charged at each other ready to strike with their fist not noticing the clouds starting to converge right on top of them before lightning started to make its appearance known on the clouds

the circle continued to shine brighter and brighter Xenovia even in her weakened state tried to go help her friend only to be stopped by her worried fader.

Xenovia-father... let me... go... I need to help her!

*father*- why do you worry about a human they are the cause of...

interrupting her father, an urged Xenovia faced her father

Xenovia-because she saved my life...! I owed to her!

the father saw the worried eyes of her daughter and faced his subordinate but before he could say anything more electrified clouds appeared right on top of them

Laclan- fuck! they are targeting us with the lightning we won't be able to get out of here if that hits the circle... I'm sorry my lady

then the first lightning strike hit the ground where the maid and Alice were fighting hit right in between them creating a blue sphere of electricity where it struck sending both the maid and Alice flying back only that Alice fell off the cliff

Xenovia-ALICE!!!!

then the circle reached its apex before making everything within disappeared just as the second lightning strike hit.

---