CLUES of the Past [closed]

"O-o-oh!" Liseran said as she awkwardly stood up. "Thank you for your help, kind sir. It's a pleasure to meet you General Mustardhill....uhm...I mean, Mustard."

She dusted herself again and fixed her glasses.

"Yes, I am one of the temporary guards," Liseran confirmed. "I thought I'd scout the area around to familiarize myself."

And then, with a little mutter in her voice,

"But in seems the roots have already gotten the best of me."

The crickets were chirping and the moon was extremely bright. It gave the roses a nice pale tint.

"Uhm, forgive me for asking, sir," Liseran said as she fixed her glasses. "But what is a kind gentleman such as yourself doing alone out here? I'm sure its much warmer inside."

"You have learn to enjoy the finer things in life," Mustard stated, "When you're at my age you learn that peace is the best past time.... besides..." The retired general raises a hand and rubs the side of his temple, a pained look on his face. "That idiot Plum just kept on rambling. He's in the room next to mine and he just kept on and on mumbling something about a raven and his chambers and something about nevermores. It sounded creepy and I wanted some peace."

Liseran smiled and just as she did another strong breeze blew past by. The bushes and the branches of the trees waved and danced, making Liseran forget just how terribly cold she felt at the moment.

"Peace is the best past time..." Liseran nodded. "I'll be sure to remember that. Hm...I know this is none of my business, but I do like to know who I'm guarding. Do you mind me asking how you're acquainted with Mr. Body and the others?"

"Mr. Body is an old friend," Mustard stated, "I met him back during the war. I was already a seasoned sergeant and he was a drafted trainee. He was a hard worker and loved his kingdom. Not too skilled though so he only got to be my driver during the war. Luckily though he managed to make it big during the aftermath. Took advantage of the times and made a killing off of investments and canned goods. I decided to retire recently but I really did not want to be stuck in a home so Body is housing me until I can find a nice place to live with my retirement check. I'm just glad I don't have to live off of canned peaches. Speaking of which, it's almost time for dinner ain't it?"

Mustard made a gesture for the glass doors at the patio. "Those will lead you right to the library. Allow me an escort to the dining room? I do thought I smelled something good coming from the kitchen so I'm looking forward to this evening's supper."

Liseran propped her glasses in place.

"Ah, yes, it appears so, sir," she said. "Thank you for all your help. And yes, I do believe Ms. White's conjured up something pretty good."

"Then off to supper we go," Mustard stated.

Leading you through the patio door into the library then down the hallway to the dining room, Mustard seats himself at one of the eight empty chairs. Mr. Body and Cheshire were already there and waiting patiently for dinner to be served.

Cheshire notices Liseran as she walks in and greets her.

"Have you gotten a hang of the layout?" he asks.

"I see you've already acquainted yourself with the general," Mr. Body remarks. "Was he in the back raving about white roses again?"

Liseran's eyes glance to the sides to where Mr. Body is. She tries to smile.

"Hehe, yeah, he was," she nodded. "Though, I wouldn't blame him. They're beautiful. I can understand why he'd be out there. Makes me want to plant roses in my own garden actually, I mean..."

She cleared her throat.

"I guess I've got the first floor down pretty good," she nodded. "It was pretty quiet, though. I guess everyone was up in their rooms save for General Mustardhill and Ms. Betty White."

She's confused as to which seat to take, but she decides to sit across Cheshire, which happens to be the seat right next to General Mustard.

In moments Ms. White came in with a diner cart with a pearly white smile.

"I hope you're hungry," she hums as she set bowls of clam and potato chowder and a plate of shrimp and chicken carbonara in front of the four people at the table and another set in front of a seat that was probably for herself.

"Really Ms. White I wish you'd stop doing this," Mr. Body remarked, "You don't even work here anymore and you're my guest."

"A woman's love and pride is in her cooking," she stated before giving Liseran a wink and taking a seat. "Plum and everyone else are preoccupied this evening so we'll be eating without them tonight."

"Excuse me ma'am but I believe my portion is a bit larger then everyone else's," Cheshire commented. His plate of shrimp and chicken carbonara was roughly twice as large as everyone else's. "I don't really eat that much either."

"Are you sure?" Ms. White hummed with an almost mischievous smile, "I thought you'd be eager to eat your girlfriend's cooking."

"Excuse me Ms. White?" Cheshire asked with a quirked eyebrow. Ms. White pointed a finger in the direction of Liseran. As Cheshire looks at her his eyes widen in realization and his face starts to redden. The general meanwhile has his own hand cupped over his mouth and is trying to hold down his laughing while Mr. Body is openly smirking.

"Thank you for the meal," Cheshire mumbled looking down at the pasta. Taking up the fork he immediately started eating. He avoided eye contact with everybody and kept his eyes down at the table. After swallowing a few bites he mumbles, "It's delicious..."

Liseran wanted so very much to melt into a puddle in her seat, but the most she could do was sit as still as a statue while she watched everyone's reaction.

This is nothing professional! she thought, thinking she'd die just at that moment.

Ms. White had given her a few teasing looks and Liseran was clawing on the fabric of her own skirt as she anticipated Cheshire's reaction.

"It's delicious..." he mumbled.

Liseran let out a betraying giggle, her face extremely red. When all eyes were on her, she looked back at her soup and began stirring it furiously.

"I mean, of course it is," she said. "M-Ms. White's proved that she's a-an incred-dible cook. A-also, I-I only helped...and I-I m-mean..."

She let out a sigh and stirred her soup miserably.

"Let's not let the food get cold," she squeaked.

"You're a lucky man," Mr. Body murmured to Cheshire who ignored him and went on eating. "This is a good sign you know. She'll make a great wife someday."

Cheshire slapped his hand over his own mouth, his shoulders shaking. He was either choking or fighting the urge to do a spit take with a mouth full of pasta.

Body, Mustard, and White teamed up to chuckle in unison to further tease Liseran and Cheshire before going on with dinner. Everyone ate in relative silence besides some minor conversation. Night had fallen by the time everyone had finished. A maid came in, an official maid, and picked up the plates. Everyone excused themselves as they left the table to retreat to their rooms.

As Cheshire got up to follow Mr. Body he patted his hand on Liseran's shoulder and whispered to her ear, "I would like to eat your cooking again." With that he followed Mr. Body to his studies leaving Liseran alone in the dining room.

Liseran felt herself blush upon hearing the remark, but she stood still and saluted as Mr. Body and Cheshire left. The others had left, too, though Ms. White had given her a small wink and Liseran had smiled in gratitude.

Noticing the empty dining room, she put her hands on her hips.

"Okay," she said. "One more round outside and on the first floor, then I'm going to check things upstairs. I just might see the other guests. I wonder just how many there are."

She went outside, it was still chilly but the roses didn't seem to mind, and then scouted through the rooms again. Still very empty. It was only then that she could hear the muffled exclamations of a writer hard at work.

"I wonder how Mr. Plum is doing," Liseran thought as she scaled the stairs to the second floor.

As Liseran goes up the stairs she can see the upper floor as a long hallway with several rooms along the way. Most of the doors were closed except for two left ajar. You could hear Plum's mumbling coming from one of the ajar rooms and it's easy to tell he's hard at work. The other ajar door had a sign on it labeled "temp guard". It was on the left side of a door labeled "master bedroom". On its right was a closed door with another sign reading "temp guard". Ms. White is walking down the hallway in her evening wear and spots you.

"Oh hey there," she smiles at Liseran. "Operation house wife was a success! Anyway I saw Cheshire come up here with Mr. Body already. He already picked a room for himself. Yours should be that one there." Ms. White points to the room that had the door slightly ajar. "You haven't met all of the other people staying here yet have you? There are two other girls besides me and one other man besides Body and the general. They've probably retired for the night but you may catch them in the morning. Well then, I best catch my sleep as well. Good night."

With that quick narration, Ms. White retreats to one of the rooms.

Liseran greets Ms. White a good night and she takes her time exploring the long hallway. It was quite some time before it would ever reach one o' clock and she was restless. She went around the balconies to see if anyone would be coming the manor's way, but the private road was void of any vehicles save for Bandersnatch and Rae-rae gently parked to the side, seemingly enjoying the spot.

Vaguely reminds me of home, Liseran thought as she continued to walk through the empty halls.

That's how it usually was in the Vale Archives for Liseran. Her mother dying giving birth to her and her father disappearing when she was five, she was left alone in her core family's quarters. She'd wake up to greet no one good morning in the small loft and wait until an aunt summoned her to the mess hall where no one greeted her, either. Liseran dared not explore when all the other Dormirse members were around because they looked at her like she was some strange specimen.

At night, however, the hallways were empty. People in the clan were very particular about schedules--and beauty sleep--so Liseran could venture practically anywhere. It was when that she could go around freely with only sleepy guards to worry about. She'd go around the arched balconies singing one of the matins in the Dormirse tongue.


Roughly, that translated to:

With flowers in outstreched hands
I leave petals on this lake
The light, in the darkness, is reflected in the water
and the moons, here, are two

She found herself singing it here again, but she didn't feel as lonesome. In the moonlight, the ring Cheshire had given her sparkled. She blushed thinking about the moment but smiled. It was only then that her semblance decided to disturb her thoughts.

It was very vague, but it consisted of Mr. Body and Cheshire talking about someone.

"A girl?" Liseran thought, her eyebrows furrowed with uneasiness. "Could it be another..."

She stopped herself from saying the feared words and brushed it away from her. It nagged her as she continued to walk, however, and her heart was beating quite uneasily now. She looked at the ring.

"I have my secrets, too," Liseran muttered. "But...not..."

She sighed and carried out towards the evening, troubled.

In the master bedroom, Cheshire is standing at attention while Mr. Body flips through some paper work.

"So you'll sneak out around three to visit her?" Mr. Body asks as he sets aside the papers.

"Yes sir," Cheshire stated, "May I borrow some flowers from the garden? She loves it when I bring white roses."

"Take as many as you want," he states. "You have my permission to retire early. You'll need your sleep if you are to wake up so early."

"Thank you sir," Cheshire said before he turned in a right face and headed for the door. He stopped in front of it and turned to him. "You made sure everyone will keep this a secret from Liseran right?"

"I promise my right hand on it," Mr. Body states. "Be sure to send her my regards when you see her."

"I will sir," Cheshire nods and exits the room.

"Roses..." Liseran muttered as she limped through the hallways.

Her semblance hadn't stopped with one regarding her and she now knew that Cheshire was indeed trying to keep it secret from her.

"I don't understand," she said, her voice both pained and numb. "If...if he likes someone else he should just say so."

She clutched her hair and shook her head.

"No, you're overreacting," she told herself. "It doesn't have to be that way. Maybe its something else. How am I supposed to know?"

Her eyes clasped onto a mirror which held her reflection. A sad, frail girl with a messy ponytail and thick-rimmed glasses.

"How could I not?" her voice trailed off. "He'd deserve better than me, of course..."

Her mind and her semblance weren't going to end there. It would continue to gnaw at her until she came to the next conclusion.

"We sleep at one..." Liseran said. "But I'll be awake doing something else..."

She was biting her lip so hard it was going to leave a welt mark, she thought. She exhaled.

"I'll know..." she said. "And if ever..."

The ring, even in the now dim hallways, still shone. Liseran stopped herself from crying.

"I'll end this."

She nodded.

"This is a mission, after all," she said coldly. "We have to be professional."

With that, she continued scouting, trying to hope someone would come out and rest her mind from these foolish things chewing at her. Anyone but Cheshire, she thought.

"What's wrong?" a small girlish voice called out to Liseran. It was a little girl looking around ten years old with long blonde hair. She wore a lightish blue party dress and a white bow on her hair. She stood like an aristocrat, standing a straight posture with her knees together and her hands behind her back. She was standing next to the door Ms. White identified as Liseran's and smiled at her. "This is your room right? You want to come in and talk?"

Liseran was a bit startled, but she saw the girl and let out a small melancholic smile.

"Hello, there," Liseran said. "Oh...I'm just...thinking of things."

She stooped down a bit to be in close level with the girl in front of her and tilted her head.

"Thanks for your concern, though," Liseran grinned. "My name's Liseran. I'm keeping watch of the manor for the night. What's your name?"

"You can call me Lacie," Lacie said, "I'm staying at this manor for a while but none of the grown-ups pay attention to me. If you'd like I'd like to talk. Can we go into your room?"

The girl's innocence was so touching, Liseran's worries melted almost immediately. She smiled good-heartedly and nodded.

"Well, alright, then," Liseran smiled. She looked around the hallways, everything extremely quiet. "I think the manor's safe for tonight and it's a shame such as sweet girl as yourself isn't being paid attention to. I'll protect you while I'm at it."

Liseran gave her a small wink.

"I may not look like it," Liseran said. "But I'm a bodyguard, you know."

She then followed Lacie into the room, her worries still present, but somewhat appeased.

"You looked like something was troubling you," Lacie remarked as she sat on your bed, "Do you want to talk about it? I'm sure you'll feel better if you do. I've always wanted to have 'girl talk' too." Lacie giggled sweetly and looked to Liseran expectantly.

Liseran giggled a bit herself as she sat down in the armchair next to the bed. The girl's bright eyes shone and it made Liseran feel some motherly concern for her. Upon hearing her request, Liseran laughed sheepishly and scratched her head.

"Well, it's a bit foolish..." Liseran said. But her laugh failed her. She sighed. "I don't know if this will make sense but...there's someone I really care about and I'm sure he cares about me too...but...I'm afraid he might like someone else. It's foolish because I should have better faith in him...but I have this thing that let me know he's hiding something. It's been bothering me for a while."

Liseran let out another nervous laugh.

"Pretty crazy, huh?" Liseran thought.

What was crazy was that she was discussing love problems with a little girl, but it didn't feel that way to Liseran. It felt kind of alright. Liseran smiled.

"But," she said. "Whatever he chooses...or does...I'll accept it, I guess."

"Hm~," Lacie hummed as she swung her legs, "'Actually, I don't think that's foolish at all. Not the worried part. What's foolish to me is your lack of worry. It's one thing to let go of someone you love for the better of them, but it's another to already be so accepting of it before it happens. If you really love him, you should do everything you can to keep him and find out what's going on."

Liseran's eyebrows furrowed and she suddenly began twiddling her thumbs.

"You think so?" Liseran said softly. "Because to be honest..."

She let out a huge sigh, readying herself to confess her biggest fear.

"I never really found myself worthy of him," Liseran told her seriously. She looked to the distance, a blank smooth wall, and began imagining a circle in the middle. She shrugged. "I'm a real klutz and I guess you can say I'm not the most lady-like person either. In fact, as a kid, my family made it pretty clear just how unimportant I was."

She was hugging herself now, feeling the familiar uneasiness like an unwanted visitor.

"And he's..." Liseran smiled. "He's just so wonderful. Kind, heroic...he's even funny even if he doesn't know it. I want him to have the best he can."

Her head drooped.

"But you're right," she nodded to Lacie. "I should do my best. I shouldn't waste this on some petty little vision--I mean--intuition I have. Which is why..."

She smiled at Lacie.

"I'm doing something special tonight once everyone's asleep."

Lacie listened with a smile on her face. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.

"I can tell any man would be lucky to have you," Lacie stated, "And I'm sure this person you hold dear knows that."

Lacie hops off the beds and heads towards the door skipping. "Thanks for talking to me," Lacie said, "Good luck with tonight."

With that, Lacie is out of the door.

Liseran was a bit surprised that Lacie left so suddenly, but Liseran felt a small soothing relief in her heart. I really hope he does, Liseran thought to herself.

After fixing up her things in her bedroom, she noticed it was nearing elevenand that soon, she could begin her plans.

"I should keep busy first, though," Liseran said.

She almost went to find out which room Lacie would be in, but all the doors were good and locked. She hummed to herself as she looked around, a bit relieved that all was well. It was only then that she heard footsteps coming from the edge of one of the hallways. Her heart began pounding and she didn't know why. No, that's a lie, Liseran thought. I'm scared it might be Cheshire.

Coming down the hallway is Cheshire. Other then his glasses he has completely changed his attire. He now wore a black bathrobe over purple and violet striped pajamas. His usual leather dress shoes have been replaced with black cotton slippers, each one with a yellow cat's eye on the toe.

As he shuffles down the hallway he notices Liseran. "Oh, hello," Cheshire greeted, "Mr. Body just gave me permission to retire early for the night. You can do the same too if you wish."

Liseran felt her cheeks turn red again as Cheshire came in her direction.

"Adorable!" she yelped as she saw him and immediately regretted it. Covering her mouth, she turned around and tried to regain her composure.

"I-I mean," she mumbled. She turned around and scratched her head while laughing nervously. "Well, I'm gonna stay up a bit more. You'll need your sleep since you're waking up at three to--"

She yelled in surprise just as she realized what she was saying. Cheshire looked at her, confused. She waved her hands furiously.

"I mean that...you need rest since you're waking up earlier than I am! No! I mean, I'm staying up later so I know where you're going! No I mean!"

She groaned and began pulling at her hair. She'd blown a fuse. Without thinking, her hands went to her touch diary and she began tapping rapidly.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why can't I keep my mouth shut!? If only my stupid semblance didn't show me that stupid vision of Cheshire meeting some girl! But who could blame him!? I can't even keep composure during dinner! I bet he forced himself to eat all that pasta to be nice! I'm sure that other girl's a great cook and is lady like and--!"

She breathed in and was about to speak again, realizing she had, once again, said everything out loud. She stiffly turned her head to Cheshire, face furiously red and her eyes with tears of frustration at herself. She covered her head with her shawl.

"Creators please kill me now..." she muttered.