Waking up in a strange world that looked entirely painted with skillful strokes, Alice couldn't help but be startled. After stumbling upon her teacher's secret, she had given up on her plans for the day, and a wave of tiredness had washed over her. The last thing she remembered was replying to a question by her parents about Aries's location. It was a given that her parents would have taken her home, so that was where she was supposed to be.
'Something must have happened while I was asleep.' Her mind ran through countless fantastical possibilities, each stretching reality more than the last. Eventually, she remembered something: 'Could this be related to what I found out? But wasn't it supposed to be later? Was I asleep that long?'
The most logical conclusion that Alice could come up with was that whatever was happening to her now was related to the letter she found on Mrs. Handley's desk.
According to the letter, they— Mrs. Handley and Absolution—planned to release several supernatural creatures into lips and slowly let them grow their strength through the population of the slums before launching a massive attack, wiping out Lios and capturing some targets that weren't specified in the letter.
Mrs. Handley had said in the letter that 'Barring any accidents, the attack would be able to be smoothly launched by next week.'
She had seen this and knew she needed to get help as this was something she likely couldn't handle on her own. She planned to get some rest and wait until Aries returned to inform him of the situation and plan accordingly.
'I guess that's out the window. Damn it.'
Regardless of her previous plans, her current situation proved that something had happened and anything she could plan had fallen apart before she could even begin formulating them.
Pushing herself off her bed, she surveyed her surroundings. She was currently in a vast field with short golden grass and many colourful flowers. The sky seemed to look like that of a sunset sky with many clouds tinted with its hues. Despite the underlying meaning Alice had realized in being transported here, the location had a magical and ethereal feel to it, as if she was in a fantastical dream. It left a bitter feeling in her mouth; if it wasn't for her situation, she would have long been jumping in excitement from being able to experience such a place.
'What a waste.' This was something she sincerely believed. 'Such magical places should be fawned over and explored.'
Noticing something in the distance, she turned to face it directly while simultaneously taking a guarded stance.
Along the horizon, a small light was quickly approaching her. Alice had not noticed it immediately, and by the time she did, it was relatively close. As the light approached, she could make out more details. Within the light was a small figure that looked vaguely like a fairy. The closer the small figure got, the more certain she was that it was a fairy, though she had no way of confirming it was.
'Wait, do I? I can't remember. Ah, whatever, it doesn't matter.'
Now that she was relatively certain that it was a fairy, she became more relaxed, as from what she knew, fairies were generally friendly creatures, only a bit mischievous. Despite becoming more relaxed, she kept up at least some form of guard as she was not naive enough to think her knowledge could be completely relied on, if any at all.
'If it's like the ones I studied about, great. If it isn't, then there was nothing she could do.'
After a few more seconds of waiting, the fairy was now basically before her. She could now make out more of the fairy's figure; it was a small girl no bigger than Alice's hand. She had blond hair and blue eyes, and she wore a bright leaf-green, strapless tunic with a jagged, leaf-petal hemline.
'Isn't this…' Her thoughts trailed off as she seemed to recognize the fairy.
The small fairy opened her mouth, but instead of words, the sound of bells escaped from her. After speaking, the fairy tugged on Alice's shirt, as if trying to bring her somewhere.
Alice thought for a moment, contemplating if she should follow the fairy or explore on her own. Her inner self was screaming at her to follow the small fairy girl, but she had to think about it and not make any stupid decisions. If she thoughtlessly followed the fairy and fell into a trap, what would she do then?
After deliberating on the matter, she eventually decided to follow the fairy. This was not because of her inner self and her excitement but due to the fact that the little fairy didn't seem hostile and she felt that exploring such an unknown place could end up being more dangerous. Either way, her inner self was doing back flips in celebration.
But she wasn't influenced by her unreasonable desires to know more about the fairy and this place; she was sure of it.
Definitely…
'Okay, maybe I was…' she chuckled internally.
Turning her attention back to the now heavily panting fairy, as if she had just got through an extreme workout. Realizing she had completely ignored the fairy, she apologized.
"Oh crap, my bad.' Then she scooped the fairy into her hand and brought her to her face. "What's the matter?"
Seeing that she finally had Alice's attention, the fairy made frantic gestures as she spoke in hopes of getting her to understand, then pointed in a specific direction. Alice watched the fairy's frantic explanation; she wouldn't be able to understand exactly what the fairy was saying, but she wanted to at least understand the general idea.
Once the fairy finished her explanation and pointed in the direction she had come from, Alice spoke out loud what she had understood.
"You were sleeping at home when a big monster attacked you and destroyed your house, and now you want me to help you beat it?"
Seeing that she properly conveyed her thoughts and Alice had understood them well, the fairy quickly nodded.
Alice put on a thoughtful expression, thinking about whether she should help the fairy or not. The fairy looked at her with bright expectant eyes, leaning closer in anticipation as she waited for Alice's answer. Alice's thoughtfulness did not last long, though, as she had made up her mind for a while now.
"Alright, I'll help you."
The little fairy's glow brightened as a glowing smile appeared on her face. Minutes later, the two had made their way through a forest, passing many fantastical things on the way; they didn't have time for them, though, so Alice simply committed them to memory.
After walking a while longer, she eventually found the fairy's home before a long stone tunnel, broken and in pieces, with the fragments of wood in a loose pile.
"Is this your home, bell?"
Hearing Alice call her by such a name, the fairy was surprised, but quickly shook it off and nodded in agreement. Alice knelt before the broken house, so small it was only fit for creatures as small as bell. She parted the wood fragments before standing up and stepping past the pile and entering the tunnel.
Within the tunnel, Alice found herself enveloped by darkness, the light emanating from bell, which was far from sufficient. A few paces down the tunnel, she spotted something within the darkness, deeper down into the tunnel.
[Snake Eyes!]
Activating her ability, electricity charged within her eyes, causing them to glow with a whitish-blue light, small sparks shifting within them. While [Snake Eyes] didn't allow her to see in the dark or grant her night vision, it did improve her vision, and as a result, she would be able to see better in the dark.
As the effects of her not-quite-skill activated, her vision acclimated to the dark—absorbing more light—the figure of a large serpent caught her gaze, its piercing golden eyes peering into hers.
'Ah… I think I found the monster.' As she did this, she involuntarily tilted her head, trying to get a better look.