Forced To Live

When Alice regained consciousness, she found herself floating in the air. She couldn't understand what was happening around. There was something unusual though. The doll wasn't hungry. Her fingers weren't mangled. She felt refreshed!

Everything was grey. What was going on? The forlorn princess only glanced at the ground. As if in response to her desire, her body gently descended onto the floor. The ground didn't shatter into dust for some reason. Whatever she touched remained intact.

Alice's expression twitched. She could feel the sensation beneath her bare feet. It had been a long time since her nerves of touch worked properly.

Something had definitely changed. Did she still look the same? That single thought alone caused the surroundings to blur. The nearby shelf disappeared and swirled in front of her. The dust came together and formed a mirror.

Her reflection was finally revealed. Alice's beautiful features had returned…but it wasn't just that. They'd been magnified to an incredible extent. Her body had grown perfectly to match her current age. She resembled a painting, drawn by a master artist.

There was only one thing that remained the same. Her eyes. They were still broken. Empty. Devoid of life. Of clarity. The difference between her eyes and body only made her even more breathtaking.

The joyless fairy would stand there for another hour, once again falling into a state of nothingness. Only when there was movement in the mirror did she return from autopilot. Flecks of her skin were starting to fall off. Like everything before her, she was beginning to shatter into dust.

Whatever it was that recreated her, it didn't have the strength to oppose her wishes. Everything needed to disappear. That meant Alice as well. For the first time in 20 years, she smiled. It was a smile of relief.

'Finally.' She thought with full clarity.

Alice was tired of living. Such a peaceful death wasn't something she'd complain about. Her skin was quickly turning grey. Unfortunately, it was not to be. It was at this moment that the orange stone flew into the room. A beam shot out and landed on the doll, quickly stabilizing her body.

She didn't die. The beautiful doll watched it all through the mirror. Her smile fell. Alice dropped to her knees, causing the mirror to disappear like smoke.

"Aaahaahaha…ha…haha…haha…"

The forlorn princess could only giggled quietly. It wasn't her normal giggle. No. This was one of sadness. Tears streamed down her face as she realized she would never escape the torture that is life. Alice was forced to live. The final bit of clarity in her eyes disappeared. Nothingness returned.

Energy pulsed from the red gemstone. It didn't like that the orange stone interrupted its work. As the red electricity grew in strength, the orange gem shot a beam. The red gem erected a shield.

A battle had begun. Two auras clashed constantly, tearing through the fabric of reality. They were fighting over Alice. Over her future. As the battle grew to epic proportions, a large scar was torn open beside the doll. The vacuum force pulled her in without any effort. She was gone.

Almost immediately, the two stones grew dim. They fell to the ground without purpose. The numerous scars in reality slowly closed. Everything grew silent.

…

…

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BEEP BEEP

......…

HONK HONK

........

VROOOM

Alice woke up to the sound of unfamiliar things. She was on the edge of an alleyway filled with trash. A sidewalk was directly beside her. Multiple contraptions were moving up and down the street. Lights would turn red, yellow, and green.

The beautiful doll watched it all without thought. She was sitting with her back against the wall, gazing at nothing. Rain fell down without a care. Cars drove through puddles, drenching her in dirty water. Alice would remain here in the darkness. Her empty purple eyes glowed, which was the only thing revealing her presence.

Time passed slowly. The rain was constant, and people remained inside their homes. It didn't seem like anything would change. But not all was as it seemed. An elderly couple happened to be walking down the sidewalk. They were dressed in elegant clothes, a single umbrella keeping them both dry.

"Rude couldn't bring the car around in time. It seems we have to walk."

"That's alright. It's been too long since we walked like this. Don't you think so?"

"Agreed."

The footsteps soon stopped beside Alice. Another umbrella was pulled out and held above the doll's head. The forlorn princess looked up to see a woman of asian descent with black hair. Her eyes were a mix of red and orange that resembled the sun. Beside her was an asian man with spiky blonde hair. His eyes were an icy blue.

"What is such a beautiful woman doing out here in the rain? Poor girl. Barely dressed at all. You must be freezing!" The lady said.

"Her eyes…let's bring her in." The man said. The woman turned to her husband.

"Cloud, can you get her some clothes?"

"Roger that. Be right back, Tifa."

The man ran off at a speed that wasn't humanly possible. Tifa crouched down in front of Alice and smiled. Her hand cupped the doll's cheek.

"Hohoho! You look like you could be my daughter. Please let us help you…Everything will be okay."

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5 Years Later

In a large manor, a beautiful woman could be seen sitting in the middle of the garden. All of the flowers were purple just like her eyes. Even though her eyes were empty, there seemed to be a bit more emotion behind it.

Alice had been living with the old couple for years now. It was a peaceful and tranquil time. This was where she spent most of the time, gazing at nothing in the presence of flowers.

The old couple had treated her with kindness and compassion, allowing her to feel the warmth she had once lost. This had a positive effect, giving her a slight bit of clarity. Enough to handle many tasks by herself.

Tifa and Cloud had passed away months ago due to old age. They could feel their time coming, and made sure to stress to Alice the importance of finding a reason to live. Whether it be a hobby or something else she enjoyed, she had to find something. Anything.

Today would be her 30th attempt at finding a reason. The couple had passed down their inheritance to her, leaving the doll with so much money and property that she would never be able to see it all.

Alice had made visits all over the country in these previous attempts. Luckily, today would be local. The doll was set to visit an orphanage today. It was known as St. Lucy's Orphanage, and was funded by the Lockhart Foundation.

GROWL

Her tummy rumbled. It was becoming a common occurrence. Good food was another delicacy that brought her back to reality. Alice called over a bald-headed man that always wore sunglasses.

"Rude! I'm hungry!" She complained.

Rude was an old butler that served the recently passed Lockharts. He was calm and collected, but menacing when need be. It was unfortunate that his time was also coming to an end.

He didn't want to think about what it would be like for Alice once he died. It was a sad thing to think about. The beautiful doll wouldn't be able to handle it. She would be alone once again. Regardless, he gave her a chuckle.

"Very well, milady. I'll check the kitchens."

As he left the garden, she watched his back silhouette and bit her lip. Even Alice knew that his time was coming to an end. She knew she would be alone again. She knew.