Alice stood at the shore as she looked onto the horizon, the sky that had twisted into a mix of pinks, blues, gentle purples, and yellows as the sun announced its arrival with the faint glow of light that caressed the land. She looked upon it, the colors placed just where they needed to be at that very moment as time ticked to the minute the sun would show itself and kiss her tired skin. It had been years since she had stood out there, at the ocean’s side, waiting for the sun to rise. Normally, she would still be asleep. The maids would have to work in vain to get her out of bed. She cherished her bed more than a rider cherished his horse and even though last night would be the last night that she would sleep there, she couldn’t bring herself to sleep. Even though she’d lie there, even though she tried and tried and struggle as she did to rest her weeping heart, she couldn’t. All night, she lied there in vain, crying into her pillow as the world passed without her. Her life was crumbling and she had felt the aftereffects of the blow at full blast last night when she was thinking about how in the world she was going to adapt to a place that was completely different from Aria. Last night, reality hit her cold and strong and it tore her to shreds as she thought back onto it. She didn’t want to leave but she didn’t have a choice.

            So she stood at the shore, her eyes puffy from strain and her body shivering from the cold. She stood there and she didn’t know what to do as she watched the sun slowly peak its head through the horizon, as the sea left the galaxy, waiting for the next night to come so they may be together again in a fleeting moment of bliss and serenity. She stood there and she watched as the world awakened before her very eyes. She used to love this sight, to watch the sun rise and fall. She loved to run out into the dewy morning and race onto the shore to see who would get there first. She loved to kick the sand and play with the water when it was still cool and calm. She loved the beach in the silence because her words would echo far and wide and someone would finally hear her. They never spoke back but she knew they heard her. But today was different. Today was the last day. Today was the end of it all, the beginning of something she could have never seen coming but expected the day she turned 19, and all of her hated it. All of who she was hated the thought of never being able to come back again, to see this view whenever she wanted to, to feel this wind in her hair, the air in her lungs. She hated that she had to give up everything. But another part of her wondered how bad it could have been, how different her life would be in Vlascu. It can’t be that bad, she would think to herself. It’s just a different province. And she laughed at herself for it was all in vain. She didn’t want to leave, no matter how many times she told herself that it’ll be okay.

            But as the sun rose her time came to an end and she looked out one last time, carving the image in the back of her mind. “I guess this is it.”

            And she looked out into the horizon, trying her best not to cry. She looked out to her left where the Evergreens stood, how Maria would sneak her out into the forest stood and let her meet the rest of the Elves, the Golems, the Centaurs and the Fairies. To her right, Hundberg was just a little ways. Whenever she could, she would always want to go with one of the cooks to town. She loved their freshly baked bread that tasted like heaven in . She loved the sound of the people, all joyous and cheery as they began a day’s work without a worry in the world. She looked back at the estate that stood solemn in the 15000 acres of land her family owned. She remembered how lonely it was, growing up in a palace that took up a sixth of the land to cover and three flights to rise. She remembered how she would run down the halls, her footsteps echoing in the empty mansion with no one there but herself and sometimes her brother if she was lucky. She remembered how quiet it was, how empty her life was but she always loved that house. It always looked like a castle to her; a grand and magical castle that could withstand anything that Mother Nature could throw at it. She looked at it and it was hard to believe that she wasn’t going to be a part of it anymore.

            Alice headed back, no longer able to take the fact that she was no longer going to be living in a place that was once her own, no longer a part of the world that took her so long to accept. She just wanted to leave. No goodbyes, no farewells, no hugs no kisses no nothing. She just wanted to leave as quickly and as painfully as possible. Just one , no looking back, this was the only way to make her leave and as she stood in the front room, waiting for Taekwoon and her family to arrive so then they may leave, nothing was more evident than that.

            Only her most important belongings were packed up and hauled into the carriage. Along with a few gowns and a basket of food from the cooks who tried not to weep before her as they said goodbye, she didn’t have much stuff to bring. Before her family could arrive, the help had come unto her first, holding her with tears in their eyes, trying their best to accept that they will no longer see the little girl that used to run around the in the halls, whose laughs used to echo down the stair wells, whose presence brought life unto a mansion that was normally silent. No longer were they able to see her again, the little girl that tried to be like them even though she was the daughter of a Grand Duke. No more would she be there and her lingering presence would have been the hardest of them all when she left. They wished her good luck, prayed for a safe trip, begged that her marriage would be a happy one. They knew the burdens that came with being the daughter of such a prestige man as her father and they knew that she was breaking inside. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, no matter how badly she pinched her skin and bit her tongue to keep the lingering ache in her heart from overtaking, she couldn’t hide herself from the people that raised her, from the people that loved her and cared for her as if she was one of their own. They couldn’t look away and she couldn’t hide it so they stood in pain as she tried so hard not to cry for their sake while they cried for hers.

            A moment later, everyone else had arrived: her mother, her father, her brother, her sister in law and the man that would eventually wed her. They all arrived to wish her a safe journey and a happy life. This wasn’t so bad for her. It wasn’t so hard to look away from her family, especially since they were never there with her. It wasn’t had for her to leave them because to her, they only held the title of her family. As she looked at them, she didn’t struggle to not cry or to hold back the pain because there was never any to begin with. She may have struggled a bit to say goodbye to her brother but that was all. Her father was a good man, her mother was a loving woman and her brother was the kindest of them all but they were never there. Always away, always studying, they never had time for her and she was glad that they didn’t. For the first time, she was thankful for their treatment towards her. It made this part easy.

            “When all is well in Vlascu, write to me immediately so then we may discuss wedding plans.” Alice’s mother said excitedly. “I want to make sure that my daughter’s wedding is one that no attendee will ever forget.”

            Alice smiled for her mother’s sake as she kissed the aging woman good-bye, the same for her father. She looked upon Taekwoon and all she wanted to do now was leave, for him to drag her to the carriage and keep shut so then they won’t see her cry and beg to go back. He gave her parents the proper salutations before holding his elbow out for her to take.

            “Are you ready?” Taekwoon asked as he stood beside his wife to be, looking at her gently as she looked at her escaping world one last time. “Did you forget anything?”

            “Let us just go.”

            And go they did. They left the house, mounted the carriage, and road off. The entire time, she did not look back once. Not at her family, not at the help, not even towards the estate or the land of Aria in that matter. They had crossed through the Kingdom and headed straight for Vlascu and not once did she look out the window to see what she was leaving behind. The entire ride back was silent and he could see the void in her eyes as she tried to let go, to forget everything that had happened in her life up until now. He saw that she was struggling and he didn’t know what to do about it. So he allowed her to sit in her silence, to pretend that he hadn’t seen anything. He tried to look away, for her sake, but every time he looked back, it looked as though the pain was becoming more and more unbearable.

            “Alice,” Taekwoon said softly from the other side of the carriage. They had been riding for three hours now and the coach driver had already announced their entry into Vlascu half an hour back. They were going to be at his estate in a couple minutes and not once during that whole ride did she utter a sound. “It is okay for you to cry for leaving Aria. I will understand.”

            But she looked away from him, staring out the closed window as though in spite of him and his actions. “I have no tears left to cry.”

            Taekwoon sighed as the carriage slowly came to a stop. They were there and he wasn’t sure whether it was okay to let her into Vlascu just yet. “We have arrived,” He announced, rubbing his hands on the fabric around his thighs. “But there are rules that you must abide to Alice if you are to continue staying in Vlascu as my wife.”

            “I expected such.”

            “I will need you to stay in the mansion at all times Alice. You cannot leave and allow yourself to be seen by anyone. I insist that you stay away from the windows and make little contact with even the help. Your maid is Katherynn and all that you need will come through her.” The door had opened and the post boy held it open for them to exit. “The situation in Vlascu is unstable Alice. I don’t need nor want you getting caught in the mess so for my sake and yours as well, do as is instructed of you and hopefully all this will pass with little problems.”

            Taekwoon stepped out of the carriage, walking up to the mansion without waiting for her and as she watched his backside, as he got farther from her and disappeared through the dark oak double doors, she felt more empty, more hollow inside, more than she had ever known, more than she could have even imagined.

            As she stepped out of the carriage, taking the hand of the post boy who held his out for her to take, she looked up into the cloudy sky. It was cold, a lot colder then she would have expected for mid spring. The clouds looked heavy and they hung low then she remembered clouds to be. The air was a lot thinner than she was used to and the temperature in par to the coldest days of winter back in Aria. The land was distinctly defined by the tall brick walls surrounding it and the only way in was though the arched, iron gated double doors that looked to stand a good 15 meters before the circling dirt path. The estate covered a third of what the Cross Estate covered and unlike her gleaming opal palace on the other end of the continent, the color scheme for this mansion was dark grey and an almost blood red. Although the sun pierced through the many clouds, she felt no warmth in this land and although the life of shrubbery that hung from the balconies and grew up the walls made up for the missing life on the land, it still felt as though something was missing—like the image before her wasn’t sitting well with her even though it was an image she could not change.

            Walking up the flight of stairs that led up to the estate, Alice looked up to the grand oak double doors that were polished and clean to shimmer in the low light. Vines grew up the high pillars on either side of the doorway and sprouted beautiful red roses that stood bold against the eerie house. The pillars held up the extended arched roof with intricate designs and images etched into the front of it but because of the lighting and her position so close to the building, she couldn’t see what it was that was carved into the slab of stone. Inside, Alice walked into a nicely lit entrance, the chandelier sparkling as it illuminated the opal flooring, giving life to the building and to her overall mood of the place. The doors shut loud behind her, as if to keep something out or whatever it was that was hiding in the building from escaping. The mansion had only two floors and was large in width rather than length. There was a single grand staircase that led up to the second floor and unlike the one she had at home, the staircase narrowed as it ascended. Although the building was only two stories, the roofs were remarkably high and she couldn’t help herself from looking up to the underside of the roof. She had never been in another’s house and even so, this was a house like never she had seen before.

            “You must be Alice!” A voice filled with life and joy sprung up from behind her, causing her to jolt at the sound of a man’s voice that sounded nothing like Taekwoon’s. The sound of many feet approached her and she felt tense to have come into human contact so quickly after Taekwoon had told her to keep out of sigh. But she looked back. She couldn’t just ignore them to run and hid. So when she looked back, back to whomever group of people that were approaching her, she couldn’t believe her eyes. “I’m Cha and it’s such an honor to meet someone from the Grand Duke family. I hope Taekwoon wasn’t too much of a burden. I know he can be a bit awkward with the ladies,” Taekwoon made sure to clear his throat loud and clear as the dark elf looked at Alice with a small smile on his lips. “He’s a bit of a grump too. Hope you don’t mind.”

            “And I’m Hyuk!” This person—no, species, really shocked Alice as she looked up at the centaur that stood tall and proud before her. Although he was the same species that as the centaurs back in Aria, he looked to be a lot more carefree then the ones she knew back home with his smiles and cheers and somehow, it bothered her. “Cha has been telling me all about you since I arrived this morning. He said that you were pretty but you’re really, really pretty miss.”

            “Alice,” She said softly, “Alice is fine.” Although she had grown accustomed to seeing non-H species, she always saw them outside of the estate, nowhere near the aristocrat’s domain. Although she was fond of them back in Aria, and they felt the same for herself, they would have never dared to step foot on Cross grounds unless required to. They always felt as though it was a risk for both them and the Cross family, if other aristocrats were to see that her family was associating with non-H species. But here, here they were welcomed. Here in the Jung estate, for the first time, she saw an elf sub species and a centaur outside of the forest and in a place that she was to call home. Although it didn’t bother her, it didn’t sit well with her either. She liked it but she was confused. For some reason, her brain couldn’t bring itself to process this newfound information.

            “And I’m Katherynn, I’ll be your maid for the remainder of your stay.” But when Alice looed back, she was awestruck by her childhood fantasies. As she looked back at the sweet voice that approached her, she understood as to why she heard no steps, why she stood so tall. Katherynn was a beautiful young lady with long, wavy dark brown hair that reached down to her waist with piercing, emerald green eyes that felt as though she could look through anything and anyone at will. Her skin was a beautiful olive and her features were just right as she stood before Alice. Just like she had imagined, Katherynn’s tail was long and a swampy forest green color. She was elegant and she was stunning, just like how Alice imagined a lamia to look like. Alice looked at her and she felt like a little kid again. “It is finally a pleasure to get to meet thee Alice that Cha would not stop talking about.”

            But Taekwoon say her slight discomfort and her overall shock. He saw it and he shot a glare at Cha before sighing lightly against the air. “My apologies Alice,” He said, walking up to her and placing his hands on her shoulders, “Cha had told me that you were fond of non-H species when he was convincing me to go after your hand. It seems as though he may have exaggerated quite a bit.”

            “Huh?” Alice asked, trying to piece her eyes away from Katherynn, the real live lamia that Alice had always dreamed of meeting when she was a child. “No, no.” The daughter of the Cross house said quickly, tearing her eyes away as she turned to face Taekwoon who stood close to her, looking down at her gently as he bent over, as if expecting her words to be soft against the air. And it was. It was gentle and simply over a whisper as he leaned closer to her but not because she didn’t want the others to hear but because he was so close and there were people watching. It was embarrassing, more than she could imagine. “No, it’s just that I would have never guessed that a dark elf, a centaur and a lamia would work in your estate, or any estate in that matter.  It’s just—different, I suppose.”

            “But Maria worked in your estate?”

            “She-She did,” Alice was stumbling over her words when she had no reason to be doing so. “She did but she looked practically human. She only needed to cover her ears when company arrived.”

            Taekwoon set his hand on her head, giving her a small pet before turning away from her. “Regardless, you should be able to adjust to your settings quite quickly. Katherynn will show you around. If you need me, I will be in my office.”

            He walked away and for a second, she felt sad. The more she watched him get farther away, the more it reminded her of her father and she looked at him softly, the life dull from her eyes as he waved for Cha and Hyuk to follow. The mansion was long and they made haste down the hall until they were no longer in view. Alice stared down that very hall, Katherynn by her side with a smile b brightly on her face. When she looked down that hall, when she thought about her life to come, it all had felt familiar, a if she had seen this once before. Her mother had told her about this once, when Alice was too young to understand and too naïve to accept. Alice found her mother crying, cooped up in her bedroom as she held her face in her hands and wept muffled cries. Father had been away for weeks, going from province to province and her mother was alone. Although she was never close to her mother, she could never forget her words. The wife of a Duke is a long and lonely one Alice, her mother’s voice echoed in her head as she stared down the hall, replaying the sight of Taekwoon pacing down it. Don’t expect to find love.