Arrival

The direction to the Prince's residence was vague. 

It said that it would be north of the palace and in the middle of the forest—that was it. Now that she'd passed the massive palace, she faced the wide expanse of the forest behind it and paused. 

What now?

"Want us to find the place?" Lola spoke, and the others hummed in agreement. 

Alice huffed after remembering she had friends. She nods at them and they immediately set off, the two owls flying northeast and northwest. 

Mary sits and very naturally scratches her armpit. Alice amusedly watched on as the bear stretched and scratched after the long travel. She could also feel the soreness her muscles would suffer afterward. She never ran this long and far. 

"Lady Alice," the bear calls. Alice's snowy-white ears perk in attention. "When we find the house, Eden should go in first to check if it's safe inside." 

The snake hisses on her back. 

"I agree. What if the Prince is dangerous?" 

Alice highly doubted it. 

She heard about the Prince's chronic illness. Someone ill must be too focused on their recovery. But her friends seemed decided on it, so she let them be. 

She also only knew about the last woman's reasons to flee; they said his condition was worsening and the girl apparently found him hopeless. 

Alice is a hopeless case too. Maybe if the Prince saw their similarity he wouldn't kick her out. 

After a while, Lola and Livvy returned and led her the way. 

"Then go straight from this path," Livvy says, her voice a quip. "It truly was in the middle of the forest. But not at all easy to spot because of the wide trees."

The place was so far from civilization and also protected by the massive trees. 

Everything felt ominous and uninviting. 

And yet, Alice was only relieved to be away from the Sigertem manor. 

After a few more walks, the thick trees revealed an elegant stone mansion, its size comparable to the Sigertem manor. It wasn't glamorous, it looked dated and dull. But it still looked noble and respectful. It seemed as if it had a secret inside. 

Alice stops at a safe distance from the mansion—it felt less to call it a palace because it felt more humble, more cozy—and let Eden crawl down her arms to enter first. She effortlessly slithered through the crevices in the gates, a feat easy to do because of her size.

Alice shifted back and wore her most presentable dress. It was also the only dress worth bringing.

"I should find a cave for us to stay at," said Mary. 

"I'll come with you."

"You shouldn't keep the Prince waiting since you're here, Alice. I'm sure his Upsilons are already aware of our arrival." 

"Then.. you guys—?" They can't know about her animal friends! 

"We can't find them anywhere," Livvy chimes. 

Her twin adds: "Must be inside. But I agree, I think they've already picked up your scent."

Lola adds, "We have to leave before they see us together. Your ability will be revealed."

The two owls were calculative and intelligent. Alice knew better than to doubt their judgment. So after a brief pause, she nods. 

Kiki pouts. "I'm going too? I wanted to come in with you… Kekek~" 

Mary shakes her head. "Come on, Kiki." 

Kiki jumps to Mary's back. Just then, Eden's hiss alerted them of her return.

"There's four inside. An old woman and three men. Be careful, Alice, all three of them look like formidable opponentsss..." 

"Only four?" 

That's too little Upsilons and Zetas. Alice falls into deep thought.

"We should get going. You know how to call us, so don't hesitate to do so if you need us." Mary readied to go as soon as Eden slithered up through her arm. 

"Thank you, friends," she says slowly, tenderly, before seeing them off. They were all on Mary's back as the bear ran off in search of a cave, where they could be one call away from Alice. 

Alice faces the mansion and heaves a sigh. 

She tried to smooth out her dress, a useless effort as it could not sew the tears in them, but she still did so. She put her loosely braided white hair over her shoulders, and heaved one last deep breath, before pulling on the stone door knocker. She knocked three times.

After a while of silence, the gates creaked open. Fully open.

It revealed an old woman with kind eyes that curved like an eye-smile as she found Alice's azure blue orbs. 

Eden said she was the only woman inside, and yet she looked so… harmless. 

"Good afternoon, dear. How may I help you?" Even her voice was angelic.

"I'm- Alice Sigertem."

The woman's eye smile disappeared as they widened after hearing her name. 

"O-Oh! I didn't expect you're coming today, Lady Alice. Please come inside—!"

"I'm so sorry for coming unannounced—" she worried the woman would already scold her.

"No, please come in!" 

But the woman welcomed her so enthusiastically inside the mansion. The woman introduced herself as Florence, the Prince's Zeta. Florence was sweet; she was soft-spoken and warm, and Alice thought she didn't deserve Florence's hospitality.

Throughout their talk, Alice was awkwardly nodding and reacting—afraid to accidentally say the wrong thing. So they end up not talking about a lot. 

Florence couldn't ask her as many questions she wanted because Alice looked scared.

"Are you alright meeting His Highness today?" 

Alice shot her a surprised glance. Why should she have a say in that? Is it not mandatory for both parties of an arranged marriage to meet each other as soon as possible? 

"…Yes." 

She was not quite ready, but she was not used to being given options and being asked for her opinion. 

"Great," Florence chirps, smiling, and they move up to the second landing.

They walked to the farthest room of the right-wing, where two disturbingly identical men were playing a game of chess on a table at the end. The two turned to her, their moves in sync that it further disturbed Alice. 

She looked at them curiously but dared not show it in her face.

"These two are Dante and Vito." Florence introduced. 

She pointed to Dante as the man in the ponytail and Vito as the short-haired one. "They are the Prince's personal Epsilons." 

Epsilons, not Upsilons? Epsilons are soldiers, the military body of Naraina. Upsilons are the scouts and bodyguards. It is definitely better to have Epsilons, but a royal should also have Upsilons. A lot. And yet… They're the only ones here.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lady Alice," they chorused and bowed their head slightly. 

Alice was flustered with the courtesy of the two gentlemen and awkwardly curtsied back. 

"Well, I shall take you to his Highness now." 

Alice shot her a concerned look but Florence was already knocking at the last door of the right wing.