Alice and Xavier sat on opposite ends of the couch. Xavier's cat, Jaffar, was curled up and sleeping peacefully on Alice's lap. Xavier could only stare in disbelief. Jaffar never let strangers touch him, let alone climb onto their laps.
"It's so cute," Alice murmured, stroking the cat with deliberate care. Her fingers trailed along his fur as if committing the texture to memory. She glanced at Xavier, her scarlet eyes gleaming with a mix of warmth and something he couldn't quite place.
"Do you mind if I ask you something, darling?" Alice asked, her scarlet eyes locking onto Xavier's. Her voice was light, but the way she emphasized the last word made Xavier's brow twitch.
"Hmm? What is it?" he replied, his tone light but his mind already spinning. Why did she seem so focused on him?
"Is Jaffar a male or female?"
"Male," he said simply.
"Oh? How old is he?" Alice's gaze didn't waver from Xavier's face as she spoke, as if the answer meant more to her than it should. Her fingers paused mid-stroke on Jaffar's back, her attention unnervingly precise.
Xavier hesitated, trying to recall. "If I'm not wrong, he's about ten years old now."
"Oh? He's still very young then." Alice said.
"Yeah, thanks to advanced healthcare, most species have a longer lifespan than before." Xavier agreed.
"..."
Silence reigned in the room. None of them spoke a word.
Alice fell silent, her gaze softening as she continued petting Jaffar. Xavier fidgeted under her affectionate stare. Finally, he broke the silence.
"Um, Alice?"
"Yes, darling?" Her voice was honey-sweet.
"Mind telling me a bit about yourself?" Xavier asked, attempting to break the strange silence.
"...?"
Her scarlet eyes flicked to his, and for a moment, he felt like he'd just opened a door to something he couldn't quite shut.
Alice brightened. "Of course! I was born on the 26th of July in the G.E. calendar, into the House of Dahaka. My life was pretty normal to be honest. I was born to loving parents who'd do anything for me so long as it was in their power. My dad, Baron Andrew von Dahaka, is however, very overprotective. My older brother, Dwight, just like my parents, although busy would always find time to play with me. But..." Alice lowered her head as her expression darkened.
Xavier who noticed that her mood had turned a bit sour probably because of a bad memory spoke up.
"It's okay if you don't want to say it. No need to push yourself."
"No, I want to say it." Alice locked eyes with Xavier, her eyes filled with determination.
Xavier saw the determination in her eyes and decided to let her speak.
"If you wish to."
"Hooo..." Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
A second later, she reopened her eyes that were brimming with the same determination.
"I... never had any friends. Although my status was one of the reasons for it, the real reason was... people were afraid of me. Afraid because I... didn't like to... let go of things." Alice said her voice shaking by the end of her sentence.
"My family loved me. They spent whatever free time they had with me. But they were always busy with work."
"Dad was always busy with managing the matters of the Barony, my brother was also the same, trying his best to learn from dad in order to be a proper successor, my mother was also busy looking after the businesses in the Barony, that's why, I could only be together with my family for twice a month but, as I grew up even that changed to just once a month." Alice lowered her head, her shoulders trembling as unshed tears glistened in her eyes.
"Alice, I..." Xavier wanted to apologize to Alice for asking such a question in the first place.
'I'm an idiot.' Xavier thought to himself with guilt. He blamed himself for asking such a question.
"But, that's why, I got to know about you, darling." Alice looked up and matched gazes with Xavier.
"...!"
Xavier felt blood rush to his cheeks.
'So pretty...' Xavier thought to himself as he looked at Alice. She had the most beautiful smile he had seen on her face today. Although, there were still tears in her eyes, it did nothing to ruin her beauty. Rather, she looked even more cute.
"Through spending time by myself, I was able to find out your novels. Reading your novels, especially 'RISE FROM THE ASHES' helped me overcome problems in ways I could never imagine. Your novels were a beacon of light in my dark and lonely world."
"After half a decade of reading your novels, I finally decided to find you in real life. I wanted to know more about you, about what type of a person you were. Hence, I used my dad's connections to find out where you live among other things. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that you were my age."
"So, I started following you. I followed you in your university, which wasn't a difficult task as the university was owned by my family. I followed you when you went to buy groceries, clothes, took Jaffar for a walk, took your sister to a restaurant, bought her a present on her birthday, took a train for some reason."
Xavier's stomach sank as her words washed over him. Mall. Restaurant. Railway station. The list went on. Sweat prickled at his temples. She was smiling—fondly, almost shyly—but the implications of what she'd done left him speechless.
'No way… she was stalking me this whole time? Gulp... I just hope she doesn't know my browser history.'
"Slowly but surely, my heart felt drawn to you, but I wasn't sure if it was love or not. That's why, I observed the days you come home from buying supplies and matched the timing with mine and disguised myself as an old lady who needed help crossing the road. Honestly, I didn't have too much hope, that's why, when you helped me cross the busy road, your steady grip on my arm, your calm voice—it all touched my heart in ways I hadn't expected."
"...!"
Xavier's brows raised in shock. He couldn't believe she was the old lady he had helped that day.
'No wonder I thought that granny was so pretty. It was actually Alice in disguise. She probably used a Human Skinmask. But, aren't those things banned?'
"But, still not sure, I came up with one final plan. I disguised myself as an average looking middle-aged woman who lost her pet in the railway station on the same time you take the train. It was to test if you'd prioritize a stranger in distress or your time. However, something unexpectedly terrible happened. Then… I fell onto the tracks." Alice's voice dropped, her expression shadowed.
***
If you like this, then please give my acquintance's The Sole Prince of the Fallen Kingdom a try.
"...!"
Xavier's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
'That woman was Alice!?'
"I initially wasn't worried at all. Since I knew that due to advancement in technologies, the sensors of the train could detect life signatures on the track from as far as 700 meters, and the train stops the moment it does."
"That's why... that's why..." Alice stuttered her eyes filled with unshed tears.
Alice's scarlet eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "When the train didn't stop... I was so afraid. My body wouldn't move no matter how much I willed it to."
'Of course, anyone would be terrified in that situation.' Xavier thought, his mind racing.
"But I wasn't afraid of dying," Alice continued, her voice steadying. Her gaze locked onto his, as if she could read his thoughts. "I was afraid of not telling you how much I love you. How badly I want to be your wife. How desperately I want to be the mother of your children. How much I want to spend my life with you."
"..."
Xavier's chest tightened. Love? Wife? Children? Her words were overwhelming, as if he'd just stepped into someone else's dream. What could he even say?
"I was so afraid because of that."
"I still remember it like it was yesterday." Alice closed her eyes as she recalled the incident of that fateful day.
***
"Ouch!" An average looking middle-aged woman cried out as she fell on the tracks.
"Hey! Look! That woman fell on the tracks." A young man called out, seeing what happened.
Slowly, more people turned to look at the tracks. There they saw the woman who had fallen.
But, as expected no one came forward to help the woman. After all, such incidents weren't anything new. Slowly, the people went back to what they were doing. Some were even silently cursing the young man for wasting their time.
"Oh? So what?" An onlooking old man said.
"You must be new to this place, it's not rare to see such a thing happen." Another onlooker said to the young man who called out.
"Huh? Why?" The young man asked. He was about to go and help that woman when he was stopped by this middle-aged man.
'Yup definitely a country bumpkin.' The middle-aged man inwardly sneered in disdain but still decided to answer.
"You're probably from the countryside so you don't know. Look over here, due to advancement in technologies, the sensors of the train could detect life signatures on the track from as far as 700 meters, and the train stops the moment it does. Hence, there is virtually no chance for such a thing to happen."
"Even if that were to fail, there are plenty of other measures."
"Such as, an Energy Barrier will activate if the train doesn't stop and crosses the 700 meter mark." The middle-aged man explained in great detail.
However, the young man only had a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Huh? What's that?" The young man asked.
'This uneducated country bumpkin!!' The middle-aged man had veins bulging all over his forehead. It seemed like he was about to have an aneurysm.
However, the man still kept his calm and answered.
"Listen here carefully brat. The moment the train passes through the Energy Barrier, it will suck out all the energy of the train and the train will stop moving then and there. Do you get it now?" The middle-aged man asked.
"Oh! I think I get it now! Thank you, mister?" The young man asked in a grateful tone.
"It's Pat." The middle-aged man answered.
"Thank you Mr. It's Pat! I'm Estupido!"
"AAARRGHH!!" Pat screamed in frustration as he left the place. He was sure if he'd stayed any longer, he'd bury the guy then and there.
Clack Clack Clack
The young man, Estupido turned his head and saw the train approaching in an unimaginable speed.
He saw the train approaching the 700 meter mark.
'Oh well, everything's gonna be alright if what Mr. It's Pat said was true.' Estupido thought to himself.
His eyes turned to the woman who had fallen on the tracks. It seemed she had sprained her ankle but still managed to get up. However, even with the train approaching at a rapid pace, she didn't seem to be worried at all.
Clank Clank CLANK
'Huh? Did the train just... cross the 700 meter mark and not only that, it sped up??' Estupido's eyes widened in shock. After all, according to Pat, that should be virtually impossible!
It was not only Estupido who noticed that. The others on the platform also saw that and were stunned.
"Don't worry, the train will stop!" Estupido called out confidently, recalling Pat's words, unaware of the growing panic around him.
Ever since the time the train had been built, something like this had never happened.
The woman who fell on the tracks and had a calm expression throughout, finally flinched. However, she soon turned normal and started to walk like a limp due to the sprain when she fell.
CLANK CLANK CLANK
"H-hey! The train isn't stopping!?"
"W-what?"
It's not stopping!" a woman shrieked, clutching her child tightly.
"That's impossible! These trains never fail!" a man snapped, his voice rising with hysteria.
"But that's impossible! Something like that has never happened before!"
"Oh no! She might die!"
"Someone call the Railway Officials!'
The onlookers started shouting in panic. They had never seen something like this ever happen.
"Calm down ya fools!" Someone shouted in a hoarse voice.
Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice. It was an old man who seemed quite erudite.
"You all seem to have forgotten something. The sensors aren't the only measures. There is also the Energy Barrier which activates in 5 seconds. Have you all forgotten? Just because something like this never happened before doesn't mean it won't ever happen. Look, that girl probably knows about, that's why she's so calm. Seriously kids these days getting worked up for such trivial matters. Back in my day..."
The moment the old man said that, everyone turned their heads away, not interested in hearing what he had to say. Instead, they turned to look at the tracks again and were inwardly counting.
'5... 4... 3... 2... 1'
5 seconds passed.
"Huh? It didn't activate!" Estupido shouted.
The train tore through the invisible threshold, its deafening roar shaking the platform. Gasps rippled through the crowd as the impossible unfolded before their eyes. The fail-safe measures—the barriers, the sensors—were silent. Useless. It was as though the train was a beast unleashed, unstoppable.
Immediately, everyone began panicking. Some turned to look at the old man asking why it didn't work.
Even the old man was stunned seeing that the Energy Barrier didn't activate.
Everyone watched what was happening, some even taking out video recording devices to record what was about to unfold, but no one moved forward to help.
Alice who was on the track stood rooted on the spot. She didn't bother calling out for help as she knew no one would be willing to risk their lives for a complete stranger.
The train roared closer, its metallic screech echoing in her ears. Alice's breath hitched, her body frozen as though the weight of the entire platform pressed against her chest.
She looked at the incoming train with fear in her eyes, so much so that she fell on her butt. She tried to move but no matter how she tried her body didn't listen to her.
"Move, Alice, move! Why can't I move?!" she screamed internally. The train barreled closer, its roar drowning out her panicked breaths.
The train was only 200 meters away.
'Get up! Alice get up! Just like in Xavier's novel's where Black Flame continues forward no matter how many setbacks he suffered, I also need to move!'
The train was now only 100 meters away.
'No, Mom, Dad, Brother...'
The train was now 50 meters away.
'It's over.' Alice closed her eyes seemingly given up.
40 meters
30 meters
'Xavier... I wish I'd had the courage to tell you how much I love you, how deeply I want to be by your side. I've been such a fool, denying what I've felt all along. I knew my heart was yours, but I was too afraid to admit it. Why did I stay silent when it mattered most?'
The train was mere meters away. Alice closed her eyes, bracing for the inevitable. But then—
***
Sorry for the delay folks. However, this chapter is extra long! 420 more words!
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