Within an hour, she had set her things so she might call this room hers. She set a few seashells on the window seal, added her vase of roses to the vanity table, unpacked her clothes, and voila, she had a room. Later she would ask someone to paint for her. Maybe a dark pink color? Oh well, she could figure it out at a later date.
Thankfully, she had learned that most of the inmates of the Institute were English-speaking. She could speak a little French, but not enough to communicate much besides- Do you speak French? and Down at the Train Station.- which was not very helpful. The maid- Agnes was her name, came in. “Time for supper yet ma’am.” she announced. She had a very french accent. Agnes strode across the room, and helped Alice with her dress. She did her hair, and pointed her in the direction of the dining room.
The corridor was huge. Witch-light glowed on the walls, lighting the entry of a beautiful dining room. A crystal chandelier hung over a grand oaken table, with marble floors and a stone hearth. Five places were set at the table.
A boy with brown hair sat at one spot, speaking with his friend to the left. The boy had hazel green eyes, and a cute, freckled nose. Even sitting, he looked tall. He had a twinkle in his eye that told you he was a trouble maker, and a mischievous smile.
His friend had white-blonde hair, cropped close to his head. He looked up with curious blue eyes. This boy was shorter than his friend by about a foot. Even then, Alice still would have had to look up at him, were he standing up.
Across from the boys was a girl, close to Alice's age. She had flowing black hair, and dark eyes. She was wearing a golden dress, with bows in the back, and a train. The girl was beautiful. Her dark eyes shone arrogantly, and she had a stiff back.
Alice looked down at her blue dress in shame, her brown hair suddenly looking shabby. Her gray-blue eyes scanned the couple sitting at the end. The woman was wearing a red dress, and had a kind face. It was framed by dark brown curls, which set her rosy cheeks. She had big chocolate brown eyes, framed with long lashes. Her husband sat next to her. He had black hair, and dark green eyes. He had a merry light in his eyes, and a nice smile.
All conversation stopped when Alice walked in. She curtsied. “Hello,” she murmured. The couple replied to come sit down, and they patted a seat in between them and the brown haired boy.
The girl scoffed, resentment in her eyes. “Who's this?” she sneered.
The wife glared at the girl. “Nadia, you know better than to speak to new-comers this way! Excuse me Alice, I'm afraid you caught Nadia in a bad mood.”
Alice nodded. The boy she was sitting next to turned towards her. “I'm Hunter.” Alice smiled and gave him her hand. Rather than kiss it as gentlemen do, he shook it.
“Alice,” she breathed.
The blonde boy reached around Hunter. “I'm Aaron. Nice t' meet ya Alice!” he said, and he too, shook her hand. His grammar did not make him seem uneducated, merely kind, and friendly. He seemed like someone who you could have a laugh with.
Alice smiled at the boys, and turned to the couple. “How silly of us, we forgot to introduce our selves!” the woman exclaimed. She smiled. “I'm Sybille. This is my husband John. We run the Institute her in Paris. How are you enjoying everything so far?”
Alice considered for a moment. “Overwhelming, and beautiful. I love it.”
Sybille beamed. “Yes, it is quite nice isn't it?”
Nobody answered. A servant came in with the supper- roast pork. Aaron reached over her to dish himself some, ignoring the servant trying to do it for him. He put a slice on her plate, and shooed off the servant, passing the platter to Hunter. Hunter took his share and the platter was passed around the table.
“So where are you from, Alice?” Aaron asked.
“I lived in America. I was part native, not by much though, I was mostly European, and lived in the Institute in New York. They had a, err... change in leadership, and I left. I was told that there were nice people here, so I came.” Alice replied.
There were a few murmured replies- some, “I'm so sorry,” and “That's too bad.” from Sybille and the boys, and they finished supper.
***
The next day, Alice started her training. The boys had finished theirs already, and were working together to train her. She'd only been in New York for about a month- not long enough to start lessons or train. Besides, she'd been working on learning languages. Aaron and Hunter were parabotai, she'd been told by Agnes later that night. Nadia was finished with her training too, but she did not have a single rune on her, a scar on her perfectly white hands.
Alice struggled to put on her gear. Once she managed to put it on, she looked in the mirror. The gear fit very tightly, clinging to her skin. It was quite comfortable any ways, soft on her fair skin. Alice walked up the stairs to the training room. Hunter and Aaron were no-where to be seen. Alice shrugged and started on the rope hanging down in the middle of the room. She jumped up to reach it, and started climbing. When she was about half-way up, a voice above her said “Very good. Keep doing that until you get to the top.”
Alice was so surprised, she let go of the rope and fell, right into Hunter's waiting hands. “Hello,” he said, trying not to laugh.
Alice realized how this would be funny to him, and blushed. “Not amusing, Mr. Hunter.” she muttered, not knowing his last name. She jumped down from his arms. She looked up at him. He was tall, a little taller than six-feet. Alice was no where near that. She was around five feet, four inches. She had to tilt her head all the way up to see his face.
“Hunter!” a voice from above said- Aaron's she guessed. “I was going to see how well she could land in surprise!”
“Oops. Sorry. Not really. I thought we were practicing with knives today anyways!”
The boys argued over what they were going to teach her first. Alice was flattered. She'd never been very important- not at home, not at school with her friends, not even with other Shadow-Hunters. She'd always been dismissed, ignored, unimportant. Her best friends had left her to go socialize with the rotten Jasmine, a bratty girl who got whatever she wanted, including Alice's life getting ruined.
Finally the boys agreed on knife throwing. They handed her a long knife, it felt balanced in her hands, and told her to hit the target on the wall. She'd never touched a knife before, but she hit the center ring on her first try. Training zoomed past, and soon it was lunch. Alice changed out of her gear into a red dress with pinstripes. She had Agnes fix her hair, and went to eat. She was not very hungry, even though she'd just been exercising for the past two hours. She was just cold, and a little hollow. She nibbled on toast.
Weeks went by. Alice continued training. Nadia was never any nicer at supper, which was the only time they ever saw her. Hunter was in a room in another corridor, next to the parlor room. Aaron was in a room next to hers. He kept her up at night with his shouting and absurd singing. He was quite funny, and very polite. Hunter was forever teasing her for the mistakes she made, making mean jokes, and taking her breath away.
Most of the girls liked Aaron. They claimed he was better looking, and much nicer, but there was something about Hunter's lean, tall frame, and curly brown hair, and that freckled nose of his that made Alice's heart skip.
Alice raced up the steps in her gear one day. They were working on balance now. Aaron had been sick with the flu the last couple days, so it was just her and Hunter. He'd laid out mats on the floor so that if she fell, it would not hurt as bad. She swung onto the rope, and climbed to the beams on the ceiling. She balanced, and walked over to where Hunter was standing.
“Do I pass?” she asked teasingly. She was tied to the beam- another safety precaution. Hunter noted the rope around her waist. He smiled at her, and she caught her breath. She tried to step around a pile of ropes on one of the beams so she could sit next to him. Her foot snagged a rope, and she fell off the beam. She swung across the room, narrowly missing hitting the wall.
Hunter stifled a laugh, and jumped down from the beam. He sauntered over to Alice, and a grin spread across his face. “I don't know. Do you?”
Alice scowled. “A little help would be nice about... now.”
Hunter grinned and untied her. She landed with a thud on the floor. Hunter reached down, and she grabbed his arm, pulling herself up. “Thank you.” she replied curtly.
They spent the rest of the afternoon working on balance. By the time they were finished, she was exhausted. She fell into a chair, and Hunter sat next to her. She had a slight feeling- maybe a hope gone wild- that he fancied her as much as she him. She hoped so, or she would never be able to get over her embarrassment. Be quiet! she told her thoughts. Get over yourself Alice!
Alice sighed. She wished she could be the surprising one sometimes. She pushed herself up, and swung a knife at Hunter. He deflected it, already a step ahead of her. He tossed her a sword, to trade out for the knife. She dropped her former weapon, and he grabbed another sword, and they started a duel. He would thrust, she would parry. It was all such fun. Finally, he disarmed her. She grabbed the knife again, the sword all the way across the room. She was at a disadvantage, having to go in close to get any strikes. She thrust, coming in closer than she meant to.
In instant, she found herself chest to chest with Hunter, breathing hard. Her weapon ay on the ground, his across the room. She was so aware of him- of the light purple crescents around his eyes, of his untidy hair, and his smell. He smelled of soap, and trees, with an earthen tone to it- like dirt. But most of all, she was aware of his lips- the light crescents, the quirk to them that was always there, threatening a smile. He put his arms around her, and brushed his lips against hers. She gasped, but made no stop to it. His large hands pressed against her back, and she was pulled against him. He held on with one hand, and used the other to take her hair pin out, letting the thick golden-brown coils fall down her back.
The kiss lasted a second longer, and then with an internal sigh, Alice pulled away. She shouldn't have let him do that. She was a lady after all! But it was Hunter! She looked away from his hurt expression, and ran down the stairs to her room. Tears streamed down her face, with no reason. She sucked in a deep breath, and tried to calm herself.
The next day, they ate breakfast. Alice acted indifferent to Hunter, and he her. They went on like this for weeks. She wouldn't talk to him, in fear that he would make fun, or worse- expect her to explain herself, even though he had been the one to start it.
One day, Sybille asked them to go do an errand for her. They were to go investigate a party that some warlock had throne- Magnus Bane she'd heard, or one of his friends. They were crammed in the carriage- a fine coach with red velvet seats that were well cushioned. She sat across from him, looking out the window. “Alice.” He said. The sound of her name on his tongue made her skin tingle. She hated herself for it.
“Yes?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant, and failing horribly.
“I'm sorry about that one night- I.. I.. I'm sorry.”
Alice sighed. “I am too. I'm dreadfully sorry for ignoring you, and please forgive me of-”
Alice was cut off by his lips hot against hers. She gasped and pulled away- but there was a wild light in Hunter's eyes. He grabbed her hands and smiled. “Let's go have some fun.” he said as the carriage came to a stop.
