014 - video;

[digophelia]

[Alice can be seen washing something in the sink at Needle in a Haystack. Upon further inspection, it's the vorpal blade, along with what used to be her good apron. She's conscious enough to already have cleaned herself up, her hair still wet and Alice in a simple, white dress, that might as well be the Victorian equivalent of a nightgown. Of course the knife comes with her, at her side.

Alice hates these attacks, they leave her drained. It shows in her face, her disconnect, distance, and her eyes almost hollowed. These things certainly take a toll on her, and Alice is tired of it.]

Those who speak of sacrifice usually mean they should be made by others, but that's not the case anymore.

Or is it?

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[action]

[digophelia]

[Roxas and Ezio are likely to know it best how these conflicts really affect Alice. She's done all she could to help others, overcome with feelings of regret, shame, anger, and helplessness. Like the fire before, she wants to undo what she couldn't do and it consumes her. She wants to make sure everyone she knows is safe, as if it is a sin to repent, as if she takes on the burden of her family's death too much. Alice is still having a hard time accepting this.

But when it's over and Alice is left to clean herself up, and everyone safe, that empty feeling remains. This hollow feeling eating away that she has done nothing to change it. It's maddening; the blood reminds her of her scars from the burns, how she cut herself climbing down the window to escape. From the blood and the burns, she can still hear them screaming as they burned alive.

And Alice is that same little girl, there, witnessing it all over. She's not there mentally. It leaves her taking a fist to her head and hitting herself as if it knocks it out of her head. She hears the knock from him, of course, and on instinct, Alice withdraws the vorpal blade, shaking in her hands. She's had enough of it, this hollow feeling and guilt. The emptiness of it not going away, as the embers of the memory die out in her head as the house burns to the ground.

Alice is breathing heavier, shaking, looking at him through her green eyes that seem hollow. His face registers with her - Malik, the shop owner, the one she found very intimidating upon arrival. It startles her so much, Alice drops to her feet apologetically that she withdrew her knife on him, letting her hair cover her face as she tries to calm down.]

[action]

[singlehandedly]

[She's not herself. Or, that's the term he'd like to use. Perhaps, she's as much herself like this as she is at other times. Naturally, he frowns as she draws the blade, one foot shifting back just on instinct and muscle memory. But it's not right - her face, it's like she's barely there, like she barely recognizes him at all.

The tension that naturally built up in him leaves him as she drops the knife. Yet the frown remains. He doesn't venture closer.]

Alice?

[It would seem foolish to ask her if she's alright. The answer is already obvious.]