The past few days had been a complete blur; Alice knew she had been pulling strings and favors to remove her, Norton Campbell, and Melly Plinius from the newspaper headlines after the manor went up in flames. Apparently the Kreiburgs had the same idea when it came to Frederick's involvement (he still held the name Kreiburg even disowned after all). The only name left was Orpheus but even then that was only an alias for him; his true identity still remained hidden away behind his own secrets.
"So...what are you gonna do now?" The gruff voice of Norton Campbell broke her trance. She had been staring off into space a lot over the last few days.
"I'm...not sure..." She answered honestly. For the first time in a long time she wasn't sure. Her focus had always been on the manor, her friend's whereabouts, and the events of the past. Now it was up in smoke and she felt an overwhelming wave of grief coming over her.
The sudden feeling of rough hands gently grabbing hers away from her teeth brought her back again. Norton held onto hers firm but gentle; he was no longer trying to put up a veneer of hostility to drive people away.
Alice looked up and in his eyes; Orpheus had done a number on Norton in their fight. The Prospector nearly losing his life as Alice watched from her hiding place, frozen, until the ax was raised and the words were spoken:
"Thank you kind sir..." Suddenly she felt her feet move and hand move to her camera. A single flash immediately stopped Orpheus, forcing him to drop the ax before she grabbed it and used the blunt end to hit him in the head, sending him to the ground and off of Norton.
It was over before she knew it and Orpheus who looked up at her with those same eyes he had as a boy and in those eyes was a sense of betrayal. She had hit him. She had hurt him.
This was the point where she realized nothing would ever truly go back to what it once was.
Had she always wished for that?
Norton was alive though. Bloody, but alive.
He was healing, the bruises were fading and cuts healing. The biggest change though was that one of his eyes had turned color. The eye that was scarred from the mining disaster looked darker almost black while the one on the other side of his face had remained the beautiful green color it originally was. It was almost symbolic as Norton now seemed to have changed...or let something go or becoming whole.
"Alice is dead..." she muttered. Norton's eyebrow raised.
"Alice DeRoss is...was my real name...It still is but officially Alice DeRoss was declared dead and died in a fire in an orphanage years ago."
"Alice...hmm...you look like an Alice," Norton mused. "I remember hearing about the manor massacre at some point as a kid. Lots of talk of a "cursed girl" then nothing.."
"People are beginning to board the ship" Mrs. Plinius announced. She had secured all three of them tickets to a middle class room on a ship leaving for America. Norton and Alice stood up, grabbing what little belongings they decided to take with them.
For now they would go to America and work with Melly Plinius as her assistants for research or so the cover story that Alice had come up with would say.
They had to lay low for awhile; even Alice had to admit that the amount of power and money behind the games was something that put her in over her head but it pained her to have to let it go. Where was the justice in this? In running? What about the victims of the games?
"Y'know..." Norton started. "I don't think you're cursed or anything. If it hadn't been for you saving my ass I'd be in a ditch somewhere rotting. I think it was pretty damn lucky you were there."
"Are you trying to flirt Mr. Campbell?" Melly asked with a subtle playfulness in her voice. Norton only let out a 'hmph' before moving along, his cheeks are little red. The younger woman let out a small chuckle; they've really only known each other for a short period of time and already the three of them were teasing each other.
Alice looked back at London before boarding to another life. She hoped that when Orpheus...Orphy healed he'd find his own new path independent of her while she found a path independent of the manor. For now it was time the both of them had to let go.
Alice DeRoss is dead after all.
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