The First Encounter

INSTANTLY, SHE LET rip a curse, swearing under her breath as she took an immediate step back after the impact, rubbing at her nose. For a moment there, she had forgotten where she currently was. All thoughts in her head that reminded her to act like a proper lady befitting of the noble society faded away into nothingness, allowing her old habits to return into the light of day. Alice no longer paid mind to etiquette, fully and completely acting like she would've if she were still in her hometown back in the twenty-first century.

"Shit!" She hissed, furrowing her eyebrows. "Do you not have eyes? Why can't you watch where you're going?"

"I could say the same for you!" The person she had knocked into scowled. "This is the royal palace, not a peasant's playground."

With her hand still on her nose, pitifully rubbing the sore spot, Alice looked up towards the direction of the speaker and glowered. Her jaw was almost trembling with rage at the rudeness of the other party, so much so that she had subconsciously blocked off the part where he reminded her they were in the royal palace of Gladiolum and not a neighborhood shopping mall in Riverside Creek.

"How rude! What's with the sharp distinction in class, Mr. High and Mighty? So what if I'm a peasant and so what if I'm not? Everyone's a peasant if they act like it. It has got nothing to do with blood," she retorted, almost spitting out her words with venom laced within.

Stunned silly by Alice's words, the other party's eyes widened like saucers. He took a step back, eyes still fully trained on the blonde who, though stood an entire head shorter than him, had the ferocity of a tigress. Never in his life had anyone remotely even dared to say something like that in the royal palace, much less directly in his face. This strange girl was the first person that dared to do so.

"How amusing," he scoffed. There was no warmth in his tone as he spoke. "No one has ever dared to say that out loud within the noble circle before."

The words 'noble circle' were the ones to snap Alice back into the right mind. She was thrust back into her current predicament, remembering that she was no longer fighting on her own turf. This was Riverside Creek no more. It wasn't the rugged streets she had grown up with, not the same fields of green that sat opposite towering skyscrapers made of glass and cement. There were no more cars on the streets, no rambunctious children that dared to scream and shout or even walk with their backs hunched.

'That's right,' she thought, 'This is the capital of Gladiolum. Specifically, they were in the royal palace, a place where only nobles and selected servants were allowed to enter.'

Suddenly, the blood within her veins went cold. Though it still roared within her body, it was absolutely freezing. It brought a layer of perspiration down the sides of her forehead, dripping past her cheeks, and meeting at her chin before gravity lured it towards the ground. She looked clearly at the man that she had knocked into, the person that she had dared to speak against so boldly, and she was met with a pair of cruel eyes.

They both owned blue irises. However, the man that stood before her had eyes a pale blue, so much so that it was nearly white. It was lined with silver, laced with the frost of the wintry winds that originated from tundras far away which no one dared to venture. They were hidden behind a red mask trimmed with gold, the bright color pairing perfectly with the man's head of ruby hair.

He was no doubt frightful, a person with a high position within the noble circle, no doubt. After all, not everyone could walk around the palace grounds as they so desired without supervision. Not to mention, the man had his mask on, already prepared for the masquerade, yet none of the guards thought to stop him and check his identity. However, Alice had already spoken and words cannot be retracted once said.

She cleared her throat, lightly coughing before pursing her lips. Her own mask that rested on her nose bridge gave her the courage she needed. If push comes to shove, at the very least the man wouldn't be able to recognize her so easily. There was no one else in the garden, hence no one to serve as a witness of their conversation. If she disappeared within the walls of the Ragan household, perhaps this small incident can be forgotten. Gossip was a plentiful thing no matter which world she was in. Some other more interesting topic might come up shortly after and snatch the spotlight away from her blunder, in case she was exposed.

That inner reasoning gave Alice the courage she needed.

"No one said it because no one stopped to think from the perspective of the common people," she firmly declared.

She reasoned with herself in her head, 'Might as well stand with my point until the bitter end. If I can enlighten him, then I might be able to get away with it.'

"Everyone bleeds red blood. Why is there a need to segregate people so unnecessarily? Just because someone is born with a noble heritage doesn't mean that their actions and choices in life are necessarily noble."

The man, who was already frowning beforehand, scowled even further. He clicked his tongue, displeased.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Although he didn't voice an argument, his question still made Alice's skin crawl with dread. The aura that surrounded him grew heavier by the second. With each word Alice spoke, the more she felt like she was shooting herself in the leg, sending herself to an early grave.

Why had she even bothered in the first place?

"I…I" She stuttered, desperate to change the topic. "Well, but I still apologize for not watching where I'm going and accidentally bumping into you."

The apology came as a surprise for the man. Even with the mask on, Alice noticed the way his eyebrows quirked upwards, a small minuscule movement that might've been missed if Alice hadn't been desperately trying to read his thoughts through his expressions.

To Alice's relief, his expression softened, eyes darting away to look at the flowers beyond. Arms still poised behind his back, spine straight like a rod, the man shrugged slightly. He cleared his throat, dimples forming on his cheeks for a split second with the movement before disappearing all too quickly. Against the light of the quickly setting sun, Alice thought that there was even a hint of a blush coloring the apples of his cheeks. However, it was gone the second she blinked.

Still refusing to meet her eyes, the man replied, "Apology accepted."

At once, the air between the two grew tense and awkward. Alice fiddled with the fabric of her skirt, unsure of what she should do next to get out of the sticky situation. The white rabbit which she had been chasing after had long been forgotten, thrown to the back of her mind. All she could think of at the moment was how to get herself away from this terrible mess of an encounter.

As time ticked on, the palace walls grew less lonely and more alive. The time for the start of the ball drew near and more guests have started to arrive. Even in the back gardens away from the main ballroom, Alice could hear the faint classical music that drifted with the wind, the tones sweet and supple like a soothing siren's song. Chatter could also be heard, followed by the clinking of glasses as various drinks were served to the guests that have arrived early.

Fisting her skirt, Alice picked it up slightly before giving a quick curtsy. She nearly stumbled in her haste, her eyes trained on the grass, unable to meet the man's eyes.

"Please excuse me." The lie which Wyatt had recommended quickly weaved itself into her words. "The ball is starting soon. I have to look for my family."

As she turned to leave, Alice hadn't even made it to two steps before she felt a hand clasp onto her wrist. Though it surprised her, it wasn't something she was unused to. She was a person from the twenty-first century, a time where skinship was ever-present. Furthermore, she had dated her fair share of people whereby holding hands could be said as the least intimate thing they've done.

However, the second she turned around, the hand that held onto her wrist withdrew at the speed of lightning. As if scorched, the masked man held his gloved hand tightly, the hand that had touched her wrist clenched. She wasn't seeing things now. There could be no doubt that he was flushed scarlet, his teeth gritted together, lips pursed.

'Ah,' she thought to herself. 'The rules of propriety. No wonder he's acting all shy and bashful now.'

It was hard for Alice to stop herself from bursting into laughter. A simple touch of a hand and the poor man was acting as though he had witnessed someone going down and dirty right before his very eyes for the first time. If anything, Alice was sure that she could never get over the cultural differences between their two worlds. At least, not for a good while.

"Yes?" She asked sweetly, lips still curved in an amused grin. Her tone was more teasing than reserved, a response that the man certainly hadn't expected.

"The ball. It isn't going to start until at least an hour later when the royal family arrives. Why don't you… Would you like to…" He stammered, unable to properly form his sentences.

"Yes?" Alice prompted again, stepping closer.

"View the gardens with me."

In the end, the man sounded more like he was barking out an order than making a humble request.

A little dumbfounded by how their perplexing relationship had evolved to a different level of awkwardness, Alice wasn't sure what to reply. Finding Wyatt or Charlie as soon as possible would no doubt be the best course of action. After all, they knew best on who she should talk to and who she shouldn't, what she could say and what she couldn't. Wyatt had warned beforehand that death could come as easily as saying the wrong word or smiling at the wrong person while in the palace.

In spite of knowing that, Alice still found herself itching to agree to his strange demand.

The look in the man's eyes had changed. They weren't as cold as before. Rather, instead of the chilly frost, it now resembled waves of the ocean that had secrets kept within. There were too many layers to be peeled off, infinite waves that washed ashore. It tugged at Alice's curiosity, making her desire to find out more.

Standing in the midst of flowery, perfumed air and colored by the golden glaze of the near-disappearing sun, Alice agreed to the stranger's plea. It probably couldn't be that good of a decision to follow someone she didn't know nor could she identify to an unknown location but something in her head told her to follow him.

It wouldn't be the first time Alice made a bad decision in her life. Advice was easy to give but not as easy to heed.

And everything was getting curiouser and curiouser.