Pic of Alice  --->

13 January, 2040

01.00pm

Third Person’s POV

Lucas stares out of the window of the sleek black limousine, elbow propped up on the window sill and chin in his palm. His hooded blue eyes watch the scenery pass blandly, not really taking any of it in. Sure the streets looked pretty, almost magical, with the fine layer of snow covering them, but it wasn’t like Lucas was going to get to enjoy it. No, instead of playing in the snow like everyone else, Lucas would be attending to the every whim of some spoiled little girl.

As the limousine turns a corner, Lucas sighs and places a hand on the papers in his lap, not wanting them to scatter across the floor. He glances down at the stack of paper, trying to decipher General Titanium’s scrawled writing. At least he’d given Lucas a good report, for as far as the ravenette could tell, the General had only written positive things about his time at the Army Base. Hopefully Dominic would be satisfied…

Lucas’s eyes flick up, as the darkly tinted window separating him from the driver lowers, whirring softly.

“We’re almost there” the driver announces shortly, not taking his eyes off of the road. “Another five minutes or so.”

That said, the window goes back up before Lucas has a chance to answer. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Lucas leans his chin back in his palm and looks out of the window again.

“I know…” he mutters disdainfully, briefly wondering how much it would hurt to leap out of the limo at the speed its going. Surely any injury was better than being a little girl’s servant for life?

After several more silent minutes, Lucas sees a vaguely familiar street, causing him to momentarily close his eyes and sigh. Though he’d been gone for nine years, it suddenly seemed as if time had flown by. He couldn’t believe he had to come home already. Couldn’t Dominic just have forgotten him and let him stay at the Army Base forever? At least if he’d stayed a little longer, he could’ve had the chance to be blown up by a Tank or something….Even death would be better than living the life of a Shield in Lucas’s eyes. They were all treated as servants and forced to wallow around in the dirt like lowly worms. What kind of life was that? Surely being dead was better than a life of slavery and misery?

Though his parents seemed happy enough, Lucas just believed that they were too blinded by their Contracts and what they called their obligations. The only obligation a Shield had was to protect their Wielder, in the event that they were in danger. Lucas never recalled hearing or seeing anything written about Shields acting as servants.

Pulling up to the gates of the Lightenhart’s Estate, the limo comes to a slow stop, as a familiar brown haired man walks up to the driver’s window.

‘Berle-san looks exactly the same’ Lucas thinks, bemused. The man never seemed to age, although, he always wore large, black sunglasses, so it was hard to really tell what he looked like. After a brief chat with the driver, Berle steps back from the limo and motions for the heavy, wrought iron gates to be opened.

As the limo slowly enters through the gates, Berle leans over slightly and peers into the window, giving Lucas a curt nod of the head, before leaning back and helping close the gates.

Lucas turns around and watches through the back windscreen, before slumping back down in the chair and sighing deeply. The tyres of the limo roll over the stony pathway, the tiny pebbles crunching beneath them. The wide, grassy front yard, usually so green and lush, was blanketed in a thick layer of white snow, as well as the tree tops and flower beds. It seemed that even the richest of people couldn’t prevent the snow from invading their gardens….

Lucas straightens up as the limo comes to a stop just before the front steps of the Lightenhart’s Estate, holding his papers tightly. He hadn’t brought anything back from the Army base with him, thinking that since he hadn’t left for the base with any belongings, he wasn’t going to bring any back.

Knowing that the driver isn’t going to bother getting out and open the door for him, though he did it for everyone else, Lucas roughly shoves it open, hoping to annoy the driver at least a little. His shoes crunch in the snow as he steps out of the vehicle, a slight chill running up his spine as he leaves the warmth of the limo and emerges into the cold, crisp air of Winter. As soon as Lucas slams his door closed, the limo rumbles to life and slowly heads back down the stone pathway.

Breathing out small puffs of air, Lucas stares up at the large building before him apprehensively, wanting nothing more than to turn and run in the other direction. Everything in his body told him not to go into the house, and as a result, Lucas found that his legs just refused to take him any closer. With any luck, the cold would get to him before the Lightenharts could.

Suddenly, the front door of the Estate flies open, revealing a wide eyed Sydney Evernight. Lucas’s gaze drops down to his Mother, who cries out excitedly, before dashing down the stairs and enveloping her son in a tight hug.

“Oh Lucas!” she sniffs, trying to hold her joyful tears in. “I’ve missed you so much!”

‘Not enough to try and get me back though’ is Lucas’s immediate thought, before he shakes his head and scowls at his train of thought. This was his Mother, and despite not having fought to keep him from the Army Base, Lucas was happy to see her.

He smiles to himself, wrapping an arm around his Mother and returning her hug.

“I missed you too Mom” Lucas replies lowly, as the woman leans back and places her hands on his shoulders, just staring at him.

“I can’t believe how big you’ve gotten” Sydney chuckles, giving her son a closed eye smile and wiping her eyes. “You’re probably as big as your Father now.”

Lucas merely smiles at his Mother, not really sure what to say. While it was true that he loved Sydney, he hadn’t heard from her or Coltan for the whole nine years he was gone, and he was feeling a little awkward at this sudden situation. He wasn’t the most sociable person going around…

“Oh, look at me fussing over you” Sydney laughs awkwardly, releasing Lucas and wiping her hands on her dress. “You must be tired and cold, so come inside honey. It’s nice and warm in the house.”

Nodding his head, Lucas follows his Mother up the steps and into the foyer of the Lightenhart’s Estate. He pauses and slowly looks around, noting how much the place hadn’t changed. Sparkling marble floors, high ceiling with wooden beams, a trait that Lucia was very proud of, and not to mention all of the other expensive luxuries lying around. Lucas wrinkles his nose at the sight of the pure white grand Piano at the other end of the foyer, sitting beside a small, marble fountain.

The Estate was so obnoxious. No one in the house could even play the Piano! It was just there for looks, and Lucas knew that the Lightenharts had bought it merely because it was so expensive. They liked to flaunt their wealth in any way they could.

“Come on honey” Sydney presses, grabbing onto Lucas’s arm and pulling him further into the lobby. “You have to come and say hello to your Father! He’s so excited for you to be home!”

Sydney suddenly pauses, pursing her lips in thought and glancing around, before sweat dropping and smiling at Lucas.

“I’m not sure where he is actually” she laughs nervously, to which Lucas smiles wryly. “I better go and find him for you! Just wait here for a moment!”

Lucas nods, watching as his Mother scurries away, eager to reunite her husband and son. As she leaves, Lucas’s faint smile drops, being replaced with his usual stoic expression. Not that Lucas was depressed or unfriendly, but he never had anything to smile about, and so he usually just looked somewhat bored or stone faced. Why bother smiling if you’re not happy?

Sighing for what feels like the hundredth time, Lucas shakes his head and reaches up to fix his ebony hair, adjusting his fringe so that it falls over the left side of his face and hides his unwanted marking.

“That’s my son?” a surprised male voice suddenly asks, causing Lucas to drop his hand and glance up, blinking slowly. He sees his Father standing in the doorway of an adjoining room, navy eyes wide with disbelief. Coltan runs a hand through his thick hair, a goofy grin lighting up as his face as he strides towards Lucas.

“You must be my son” he laughs, pausing in front of Lucas and tilting his head. “Only someone with my DNA could be that good looking.”

Lucas raises an eyebrow at this, before seeing the hopeful look on his Mother’s face as she stands behind Coltan, hands clasped together under her chin. Glancing back up at his Father, Lucas sees the amused sparkle behind the man’s eyes, lips pulled back in an excited smile.

“Good to see you Dad” the youngest Evernight eventually says, causing Coltan to sling an arm across Lucas’s shoulders and give him a side-on hug.

“You too boy, you too” Coltan chuckles, unaffected by Lucas’s lack lustre response to seeing him and Sydney again. “It’ll be nice to have another Evernight man in the house!”

“Ah, you’re finally here” a deep voice comments, making Coltan release Lucas’s shoulder and step back. Recognising the voice, Lucas mentally rolls his eyes, before slowly turning around and coming face to face with Dominic Lightenhart.

“It’s about time” Dominic adds, narrowing his navy eyes at Lucas and looking him up and down. Lucas stares back at Dominic blandly, able to see the look of distaste that Dominic is trying, but failing, to hold back. Lucas wasn’t sure why, but Dominic had always seemed to have a problem with him. Even nine years training with General Titanium didn’t seem to have affected his opinion.

Feeling his Mother suddenly prod him in the back, Lucas begrudgingly steps forwards and bows his head.

“It’s good to be back…..Dominic-sama” Lucas says lowly, not meaning one word of it. The blonde haired man grunts something unintelligible, before holding out one hand.

“The paper work General Titanium gave you” he requests, to which Lucas slaps the documents down in his palm, causing the blonde to narrow his eyes again. Lucas glares back at him, not intimidated by Dominic at all.

“Lucas!” Sydney admonishes, causing the boy’s gaze to drop to the floor. “I know you haven’t been home for some time, but that’s no reason to be disrespectful to Dominic-sama. Please apologise.”

Lucas grits his teeth for a moment, before glancing up and eyeing Dominic.

“….Please accept my apologies Dominic-sama” he manages to choke out, already feeling irritated. “I’m quite tired from yesterday morning’s training and then the long drive home….”

“Hmm” Dominic replies uncaringly. “I’ll forgive you, but only this once. Now, time to get to work boy. Kara!”

A maid, with shoulder length, magenta coloured hair, immediately scurries into the room, before skidding to a halt and wiping her hands on her apron.

“Yes Dominic-sama?” she asks sweetly, when her gaze lands on Lucas, expression immediately hardening. “Oh….I see that he’s back already.”

‘Already?’ Lucas wonders bitterly, narrowing his eyes back at Kara. ‘It’s been nine years.’

“Yes” Dominic replies, waving his hand carelessly. “Please escort him to Alice’s room. He’ll be taking up his Shield duties, effective immediately. Got that kid?”

Lucas’s eyes momentarily flick up to Dominic’s face, taking in his stern expression, before nodding and following after Kara, who had wordlessly turned to leave the room.

“You should remember your way around” Kara speaks up coldly, assuming Lucas is following her down the hallway. “Even your kind can’t be that stupid.”

Lucas’s hands clench into fists, though he remains silent. Just what he’d been looking forward to. Being put down by a maid.

As Kara marches down the long hallway, Lucas following quietly behind, other maids and bodyguards call out greetings to Kara, before noticing Lucas and giving him the cold shoulder. Unaffected by being snubbed, Lucas concentrates on following Kara, who seems to be hell bent on losing him. He’d been expecting to be treated this way, seeing as his parents were treated the exact same way. Shields were just looked down on in this household, as they were everywhere else…

Kara suddenly stops in front of a familiar looking door, before knocking lightly on the wooden surface.

“Alice-sama?” Kara asks kindly. “It’s Kara…..I’m going to come in, okay?”

Hearing a soft okay in reply, Kara casts a sharp look over her shoulder at Lucas, before gently pushing the door open and stepping into the room.

Lucas reluctantly follows behind, walking into the room and glancing around. This room hadn’t changed that much either, except for the fact that now instead of a crib, there was a wooden four post bed against the wall, with cream, chiffon curtains attached to each post. The walls were still the same soft, calming pale blue, with the carpet a rich ivory colour. A large window is situated on the wall directly across from the door, almost ceiling to floor height. The bottom of the window, about a metre up from the carpet, has a beautiful marble sill, and is covered in all sorts of silky, coloured cushions. Sitting before the window is a white easel, a large, square canvas resting on it. A thick layer of newspaper had been spread underneath the easel, probably to protect it in the event that some paint was spilled. Someone had already begun painting on it, the picture looking somewhat like a Winter scene. At least, Lucas was assuming it was meant to be a Winter scene. Art wasn’t really his forte…

“Alice-sama” Kara addresses, looking somewhere to the left of the room, “Your Shield has arrived, and your Father has requested that he begin his duties immediately…..If anything happens, don’t be afraid to call for me.”

Lucas ignores Kara as she gives him a warning look, before exiting the room and closing the door behind her with a quiet click.

Hearing a soft sound, like someone walking across the carpet, Lucas glances up, only to see a young girl walking towards the easel. She gently sets down a small glass jar, filled with clean water, and wipes her hands on the small, white apron tied around her. Lucas stares at the girl, not recognising her at all. She wears a black dress, the skirt flowing around her legs and coming to a stop just above her knees. Her long, silky hair flows down her back, a pretty creamy blonde colour. She wears a black ribbon in her hair, holding it back from her face.

Feeling herself being stared at, the young girl glances up and focuses her large, teal eyes on Lucas, who merely blinks. After a few seconds, the girl suddenly gives Lucas a friendly closed eye smile.

“Hello” she greets him kindly, her voice warm and welcoming, “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m sure you already know this, but my name’s Alice and I’m eleven.”

Lucas continues staring blankly at Alice, eyes narrowing slightly at her apparent friendliness. What was her angle here?

Alice opens her eyes and looks at Lucas curiously, before smiling again and turning around, flipping her hair back and sitting herself down on the chair positioned in front of her painting.

“Your name is Lucas right?” the girl continues cheerfully, dipping a thin brush into some dark blue paint. “Sydney-chan and Coltan-kun always talk about you…..I bet they were happy to see you come back home.”

Lucas remains silent, still standing in front of the door, brows furrowed. He stares at the back of Alice’s head as she continues with her painting, thoroughly confused by her attitude. Why wasn’t she stuck up, like her Mother? Or bossy and arrogant, like her Father? Well, perhaps she was those things. Lucas had only been in her presence for two minutes or so. Maybe she was just pretending, to suck him in with her innocent act.

Alice suddenly turns around in her chair, teal eyes bright as she smiles at Lucas.

“You can come and sit down you know” she giggles, pointing to the window seat with her paintbrush. “You’re not in the Army anymore, so you don’t have to stand at attention.”

Lucas, feeling somewhat suspicious, slowly walks towards the window seat, under the watchful eye of Alice, and carefully lowers himself down onto the cushions. He sits robotically, looking a little awkward to the blonde girl sitting near him.

Sitting with his back straight, Lucas focuses his hooded eyes on Alice, just waiting for her to bark an order at him, or to demand that he perform some ridiculous request. She may look innocent enough, painting her pretty little picture, but Alice was still a Wielder, and all Wielders were the same. Greedy and cruel.

“So….” Alice says slowly, keeping her eyes on her painting, “How was your Army training Lucas? I bet it was hard and not very fun….”

Lucas looks at Alice with surprise, causing the girl to pause and look at him from the corner of her eye. Why would she care if his training was hard or not? It benefitted her that his training was hard, because it had made Lucas a lot stronger.

“You can answer honestly you know” Alice tells her Shield softly, seeing the confused look in his visible eye. “I wouldn’t have wanted to spend nine years in the Army…..Especially for someone I don’t even know.”

Lucas’s brows furrow at this, giving Alice a suspicious look and making her shrug. She goes back to her painting, happy to wait until Lucas is feeling more comfortable around her to start talking.

‘Is she trying to trick me into saying something bad about her Father?’ Lucas can’t help wondering, glancing down at his hands. ‘Because there’s a lot to say…’

“Umm….Before I forget Lucas” Alice begins softly, teal eyes flicking over to the suspicious ravenette, “I wanted to say thank you…”

Lucas blinks, trying to understand the shy look on Alice’s face as she lowers her paint brush for a moment, before resuming her painting.

“…..What for?” Lucas eventually asks, his low voice surprising Alice and making her pause again. She blinks a couple of times, before a wide smile lights up her face, making Lucas frown with confusion. What was she so happy?

“So you can talk!” Alice giggles delightedly, to which Lucas rolls his eyes. Who was she kidding? Of course he could talk. What fifteen year old couldn’t?

“Anyway” Alice continues, tilting her head as she studies her painting, “I wanted to thank you for all the hard training you did at the Army Base. My Father said you went there to make yourself stronger so you’d be able to protect me better.”

“I didn’t go willingly” Lucas says before he can stop himself. His eyes widen slightly, as Alice turns to look at him, her eyes also wide.

“I mean-” Lucas is cut off, as Alice starts laughing again, confusing the Shield thoroughly. Why wasn’t she upset about what he’d said?

“I don’t think anyone would go willingly silly” Alice says teasingly, shaking her head as she goes back to painting. “I can still say thank you for going though.”

“….Okay…..” Lucas replies unsurely, causing Alice to sigh and give him a funny look.

“Why do you keep looking at me like you expect me to whip you or something?” she asks seriously, looking almost offended. “All I’m trying to do is talk to you.”

Lucas shrugs a shoulder, dropping his stubborn gaze down to the ground.

“I’m sorry….Alice-sama” he mutters lowly, not liking the respect he has to show the little girl. “I just don’t know….Why you’re trying so hard to talk to me. I’m just here to be your slave.”

Alice stares at Lucas through wide eyes, mouth opening slightly. As a tiny gasp leaves her mouth, Lucas glances up, groaning internally at the hurt look on her young face. Here it came. She was going to have a bratty little fit and Dominic was going to hear about it. Great.

“That’s not true!” Alice cries defensively, jumping up from her chair and throwing her hands on her hips, scowling at Lucas. “You’re not here to be my slave! And I’m talking to you because I’m happy that you’re finally here!”

Lucas pauses unsurely, staring at Alice as her lower lip trembles slightly, before she drops down on the window seat beside Lucas, leaning her chin on her hands. Lucas shifts uncomfortably, not used to being close to people.

“Happy?” the Evernight repeats curiously, making Alice nod, her blonde hair bobbing up and down with the movement. She sighs softly and lifts her head from her hands, looking up at Lucas, somewhat sadly.

“Yeah…” she confirms quietly. “It gets pretty lonely around here, even with all the maids and stuff running around. I’ve been looking forward to you coming home for ages coz I figured I’d finally have someone to talk to….”

Lucas stares at Alice thoughtfully, hearing the legitimate sadness in her tone, though she tries to disguise it.

“Dad won’t let me go to school because he thinks I could get hurt somehow” Alice continues, sighing miserably, “So I have a tutor come here instead. I have Kara and the other maids, but they’re not my friends. They’re just here to do whatever I say……”

Here Alice looks up at Lucas through wavering eyes and grabs onto his arms with her small hands, making him freeze. He glances down at her hesitantly, not sure how to respond, seeing as he’s not used to people being friendly towards him.

“I’m glad you’re here Lucas because I want you to be my friend” Alice tells her Shield honestly. “I only have two friends, Collin and Ivy Dangerfield, and they’ve both got Shields as well. I figured that since they’re so close with their Shields, we’d become good friends as well! I’ve been so looking forward to meeting you, so please don’t think that I want you to be my slave. I….I just want a friend….”

As Alice’s shoulder slump, the girl looking up and giving Lucas a hopeful look, he stares at her through wide eyes.

She only wanted him to be her friend? Lucas wasn’t too sure if he believed that….It just seemed too far fetched. Wielders were never friends with their Shields! Lucas had never seen a kind Wielder in his entire life, so he was finding Alice’s sincerity somewhat perplexing. And had she said that her two friends were close with their Shields as well? He’d have to see that before he believed it.

“…..Ohh, just forget about it” Alice sighs disappointedly, releasing Lucas’s arm and sliding down from the window seat. “I’ve got two friends at least. Well, four if you count Collin and Ivy’s Shields as well….”

Lucas watches as Alice trudges back towards her easel, head hanging towards the ground. Was she really disappointed that he’d said nothing, or was she just a very good actor? She’d seemed honest when she’d said she just wanted a friend, but Lucas had seen for himself the way Wielder’s could manipulate their loyal Shields to do things for them.

Not looking where she’s going, Alice manages to trip over the edge of the thick layer of newspaper she’d laid down. Throwing her arm out, Alice knocks her wooden easel, before she hits the floor with a soft thud.

Lying on her back, Alice’s eyes widen as she sees her easel rocking side to side, her painting falling forwards, about to land on top of her.

‘My painting will be ruined!’ Alice thinks, turning her head and throwing her arms across her face to protect it from the wet paint. After a few moments, Alice slowly lowers her arms, blinking a couple of times. Why hadn’t the painting hit her?

Lifting her head, Alice sees Lucas standing over her, hands gripping the sides of her canvas painting and visible eye wide. He looks from the painting to Alice and back again, before stepping back and allowing Alice to jump to her feet. The girl claps her hands delightedly as Lucas carefully places the painting back on the easel.

“Thank you for saving my painting Lucas!” she cries gratefully, eyes sparkling. “I’ve been working really hard on it, so I would’ve been so upset if it had been ruined.”

Lucas looks away stubbornly and crosses his arms, leaning his back against a pale blue wall.

“….You’re not hurt then?” he eventually asks lowly, to which Alice gives him a closed eye smile and shakes her head.

“Nah!” she responds cheerfully, suddenly in a good mood. “I’m always tripping over, so I’m fine. But it looks like you don’t hate me as much as I first thought! Otherwise you wouldn’t have saved my painting!”

Lucas’s brows furrow as he glances over at Alice, who is now humming happily to herself as she sits back down in front of her painting. Why was she so happy at the thought that he didn’t dislike her? He’d thought she would be an unfriendly, spoiled little brat, but so far, she seemed to be the complete opposite. Maybe she was only like that because she was so young? Or maybe…..Maybe she really did just want to be his friend?.....Was that possible?

“…..I never said I hated you……” Lucas mumbles, abruptly turning his head and scowling as Alice giggles and sends him a closed eye smile.

A BIG thank you to pikabuu, who has decided to take on the task of editing my embarrassing grammar and spelling mistakes! :D