Ringing the Dinner Bell [Closed]

(Takes place on Saturday, First Week, Fourth Month)


After sunset, the small cottage on the cliff would be quiet as three elderly ladies and a young woman ate their evening meals quite early. However, today was different and the tranquil home was alive with all new noises. Pots and pans were clanging, stoves were alight, the tea kettle was whistling. The smell of food lifted in the air and a waft of it escaped through the windows telling you something was roasting, another was baking and someone really liked raspberries. But cooking was just one of the many troubles of the night.

"Merriweather!" Flora scolded. "How many times have I told you!? Liseran's dress should be pink!"
 
The old, slightly plump woman was lifting up an old rose pink dress in front of the much shorter, much plumper and somewhat younger Merriweather.

"Well, I say blue!" the woman argued. "Liseran's hair is purple, mind you, and blue would blend in better."

"I'm in charge of what she wears!" Flora said. "You're in charge of cooking aren't you?"

Liseran was in the middle of the two of them, awkwardly wearing nothing but a white dress slip until the commotion cools down. She raises her hands in the air and motions her two mothers to settle down.

"Is it really that important?" she asked nervously. "I mean, it's just a dress, right? Also, someone really should go help Aunt Faun in the kitchen. Who knows what she might do?"

Merriweather's face is filled with realization and horror. She begins bobbing in place frantically, her blue work dress making her look like an excited blueberry.

"Oh, dear, you're right!" she said. "When the instruction booklet said: Three eggs, fold gently, she actually put the eggs int the dough and crushed it with its shells!"

At the same time, the doorbell rings and a new excitement fills everyone.

"Merriweather, get the door!" Flora directed. "It must be one of Liseran's guests. I'll help her dress up."

Merriweather nodded, but she frowned at the last remark. 

"I still think she looks better in blue," she muttered.

Merriweather leaft the room and opened the front door.

"Hello, there," she greeted.

"Good evening miss," Cheshire greeted with a small bow of his head. He wore a black tuxedo jacket over a black dress shirt and black silk pants. His black leather gloves well matched his leather dress shoes. He held up an envelope for the lady to see. "I received this invitation. My name is Cheshire Schrodinger."

Merriweather's not the first to speak, though. From behind her, Faun, an average-height, frail elderly woman in a green dress with mouse ears, came in with her hands clasped enthusiastically.

"Oh, so you're Cheshire!" the woman said with a sing-song voice. Faun steps over Merriweather's path and immediately shook hands with him. "Liseran's told us so much about you! Well, actually, we had to use our semblance to get it out of her, but all the same! You're quite a fetching young man, aren't you?"

"He looks a little skinny to me," Merriweather said skeptically. "But anyways, do come in. I'm sure she's expecting you. Faun...how's the cake?"

"Oh!" Faun smiled. "I just finished putting icing on it and placing it in the oven."

Merriweather looked at Faun as if she were mad. She instead rolled her eyes.

"Oooh boy," Merriweather said. "Faun, you entertain...Mr. Cheshire...and I'll fix the food. Got that?"

Faun led Cheshire to a rose-colored sofa and sat him down.

"So, tell me all about it!" Faun insisted. "How you and Liseran met, your first date...it must all be so dreamy!"

"Well uh..." Cheshire stammered a bit looking off at the side embarrassingly, "She was a customer at this place I was running for a little while to earn some money. Just a rented spot in the middle of the town to sell vehicles I make, nothing special. I sold her one of my models and well... one thing led to another and I guess I took her out that same night. We had some dinner, had a little stroll, I bought her a-"

Cheshire paused temporarily in hesitation.

"So you have a very lovely home here,' Cheshire commented hastily, "It must be quiet a hassle for a bunch of young ladies to care for a house. I'm sure Liseran is a great help. I mean she is your older sister right?"

Faun let out a little giddy laugh.

"I think your glasses may be on wrong, young man," Faun said as she playfully tapped Cheshire's nose. "We're all pretty old here. Silly me, where are my manners? I'm Faun, one of Liseran's godmothers. We're three here minus Liseran. The one you saw earlier who's a bit huffy is Merriweather and the older one is Flora, who's helping Liseran dress at the moment."

Faun sighed dreamily.

"We were all good friends of Liseran's parents and when they passed away, we wanted to keep her, actually," Faun said. "But the family Liseran comes from keeps all daughters born within their household for their duties. Anyhow, when Liseran left for Beacon we decided to give her this house and we take care of it when she's not around."

Faun took Cheshire's hand and a faint green aura glowed about it.

"Hm," Faun smiled. "My semblance tells me you and Liseran entered more than just a relationship. But anyways, I won't pry anymore. I just love romance, that's all."

One of the doors from the far side of the wall burst open and Liseran rushed out with still nothing on but her underdress slip. Her hair was unruly and there was a fierce look on her face. From the room, a voice could be heard.

"Liseran, don't be ridiculous! It's just makeup!"

"You can't make me!" Liseran yelled. "I hate that stuff and you know it! I hate the idea of lipsticks and eyeshadows and..."

Liseran froze into a statue as she turned around to see Cheshire and Faun by the sofa nearby. Her eyes were huge and her face was so red that blush wouldn't have made a difference.

"Ch-ch-ch-Cheshire!?" Liseran yelped. "Y-you're here? You look wonderful! I mean..."

At the same time, Faun covered Cheshire's eyes with her hands.

"Oh, goodness," Faun said. "Don't look, dear boy."

Liseran didn't understand but she looked down and realized, letting out another yelp.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Liseran cried. She rushed back into the door. There was a few minutes of  silence and then some more bickering could be heard from the room. Finally, Liseran came out with Flora, well-dressed and her hair tied up, but no make up. Faun had taken down her hands from Cheshire's eyes.

Liseran looked at him, her cheeks burning furiously red. She tried to hide her eyes behind her glasses and she began playing with her fingers.

"Hey..." she said. "I'm...I'm glad you came."

"It... It.... It.... It......" Cheshire stammered like a broken record, his hand covering the lower half of his face, his eyes unable to meet Liseran's, "It's uh... it's my pleasure.... Thank you for the... invitation...."

Cheshire slowly stood up and mustered the strength to eventually look at Liseran. "You look... wonderful. I personally think that make-up is rather fake as well. I like natural beauty better..."

Liseran's already red face turned almost purple in hue and she began drawing a circle on her arm.

"Y-y-you think so?" Liseran said with bright eyes. "Um...well..."

Flora let out a small chuckle and shook her head.

"You two remind me of your parents, Liseran," Flora said. "As bashful as ever. Anyhow, you two should stay here and wait for the other guests to arrive. It's still pretty early."

"Faun, Flora, get in here!" Merriweather called. "The cake...it's a mess!"

The two godmothers rush to the kitchen and for a moment, Liseran and Cheshire are left alone. It's only then that the front door bursts open and an orange-haired girl with red wolf ears and bright blue eyes comes in. She wears a short white collared sailor's dress. 

"I brought DONUTS!" she called out.

Liseran got up from the sofa to embrace her.

"Rory!" she said. "I'm so glad you could come."

"Likewise, Lise!" Rory said merrily. She dropped the bag of donuts on the coffee table and was alerted by Cheshire's presence. "Who's that?"

Liseran smiled.

"Oh, Rory, this is Cheshire," Liseran said. "Cheshire, this is my younger cousin Rory Veiller. She's a student at Signal Academy."

Upon hearing the name, Rory's bright eyes darkened. Her smile left her and her tail and ears were extremely still. She looked at Cheshire blankly.

"So you're Cheshire..." she said absently. She offered her hand for a shake. "It's...nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine," Cheshire said courteously with a bow of his head as he shook Rory's hand. I didn't know Liseran was going to have any family over. It really is a pleasure to meet you miss Rory... Is something the matter?"

Half of Rory wanted to flip Cheshire over on the table and choke him.

I'm shaking hands with the person who's going to kill cousin Liseran... she thought to herself. Who does he think he's fooling? That stupid suit...that bow...I have to get him away from her...No...I have to get rid of him.

She stopped herself midway and her mind went back to Aeden. But Aeden's right...Vixen could have been lying. I'll just have to keep close watch.

She forces herself to smile at Cheshire.

"I'm glad Liseran has such a nice boyfriend," she lied. "Yeah, well, Liseran needs plenty of help to prepare a dinner for her one true love, right?"

Liseran stood frozen as ice as Rory made her remarks. Rory gave her a small wink.

"You know what?" Liseran said a little too jumpily. "I think I better go...help at the kitchen. You two sit down and enjoy!"

Before she left, however, she gave Cheshire's hand a small squeeze, and nodded to Rory. Rory sat down on the sofa and patted on a portion for Cheshire to sit again.

"So..." Rory said a little bluntly. "You must really like cousin Lise, huh?"

In the back of her mind, she was hating everything she was saying. She just wished Aeden would show up already so they could carry out a plan.

"Uh... well," Cheshire stammered nervously as he sat down, "Y- Yes I do. I like to believe that we're really close and..." Cheshire coughed into his hand. "Uh, but I'm sure you're not interested in details. You said you're from Signal? That's quiet a while away. Did you come here just to visit your cousin?"

I came here to protect her from the likes of you, Rory spat inside her head.

But she nodded.

"It is quite far," Rory said perkily. "But I came here with a special message for Liseran. That doesn't matter at the moment."

Before Rory knew what she was doing, her hands came onto one of the knitting needles on one of the corner tables. She grabbed it and pounced on Cheshire, the needle just one inch from his eyes save for the glasses protecting them. She looked at Cheshire with cold eyes, putting all her weight down on him to make sure he couldn't get up. She smiled, but it wasn't a pretty one.

"So, Cheshire..." Rory said as she kept him pinned down. "If you're really close to her...you'd never imagine harming her right? If that's the case...you'd never lie to her either. Or hide anything."

The needle's tip came in contact with the glasses' lens, just carefully scratching it.

"What if I told you I care just as much about her?" Rory said in a soft whisper. "That if anyone hurt her, I wouldn't hesitate to kill them? Are you really who I'm supposed to believe you are? Are you her sworn protector and love?"

Her teeth clenched.

"Or are you a liar?"

Aeden arrived in front of Lise's house and parked Phantom. He removed his helmet and fixed his clothes up which had been ruffled by the wind. Aeden's outfit consisted of a black suit jacket and matching pants, a white shirt tucked into the pants with the top two buttons undone, and lastly he wore black slip on dress shoes. "I hope I didn't over do it on the outfit." Aeden checks the time noting he is right on time. "Lucina should be here soon after she finishes the errand she was running. In the meantime I'll hang out with Cheshire. There is no doubt in my mind he isn't here already." Aeden walks towards the door and knocks lightly. I wonder if Rory's here yet?

Cheshire stared blankly at Rory for some time remaining silent. He stared into her eyes and took in a deep breath before exhaling slowly.

"Liseran is the woman I love," Cheshire said calmly looking right into Rory's eyes, "She gave me her heart... so I give her my life. If someone would dare to try to harm her, I would protect her with my life. I am willing to kill a person if it means protecting Liseran. For Liseran I would move Heaven and Earth itself. I would drop down to Hell and be damned. That is the kind of man I am. I swear on everything sacred in this world. I swear on my life. I would rather die then let the girl I love die again."

Cheshire's ears twitched at the sound of knocking. He glanced at the direction of the doorway before looking back up at Rory.

"It would be rude not to answer immediately," he stated. His image flickered and Cheshire suddenly disappeared from right under Rory, appearing again at the front door. "Just so you know," Cheshire murmured without looking back at Rory, "I could have done that anytime."

Cheshire opens the door and nods courteously to Aeden. "Good evening," Cheshire greeted.

For a moment, Rory's mind changed. She thought that perhaps Vixen had lied. Cheshire's words had been so sincere, so profound...he couldn't be Liseran's demise, could he?

Rory dropped the needle as Cheshire disappeared and puffed to the door. But she had no intentions of apologizing.

I still don't know if you're lying... Rory thought.

As the door revealed Aeden, Rory's mood brightened. Upon seeing him, she leapt into an embrace.

"Onii-chaaaan!" she yelled.

Aeden was a bit confused as to why Cheshire had answered the door but did not let it show on his face. "Evening Cheshire, didn't expect to see you ope..." Aeden sentence was quickly cut off by Rory's embrace. Aeden manage to collect himself despite the surprise and reciprocated the hug. "Rory its so good to see you! Have you been good to your cousin Lise?"

Rory bobbed her head brightly.

"Uhuh!" she beamed as she looked up to him. She looked around behind Aeden. "Where's Lucina? I thought she was coming along?"

At the same time, Liseran appears from the kitchen, more calm now and glad to see everyone.

"Aeden, you're here!" Liseran smiled. "That's great. We have a lot of food waiting, so does anyone want to help me set up? Aunt Faun left eggshells in the cake, so my godmothers are busy..."

Aeden looked up and waved at Lise with a smile, still being held in place by Rory's embrace. "Hello Lise, you're looking marvelous. I could go help unless Rory would prefer to have my company." Aeden looked back at Rory. "Lucina's on her way she just had to take care of some business before hand. I don't imagine she'll take long."

"Well, then, you should wait for Lucina," Liseran suggested. She looked over to Cheshire, her cheeks blushing a bit. "Cheshire...think you could give me a hand?"

Rory felt a low growl in her throat, but she guessed it'd be better to plan with Aeden than attack Cheshire. Rory forced a big smile and began pushing Cheshire towards Liseran.

"Okay, you two lovebirds!" Rory chirped. "You two do that while we entertain the other guests."

Liseran flinched a bit as Cheshire was shoved before her, but she caught him in a sort of awkward embrace. She looked up to him and smiled.

"Follow me then," she said. Liseran took Cheshire's arm and led him to the kitchen. "How do you find Rory?" she asked.

From where Rory was, she glared at Cheshire. I'm watching you, she tried to say. She then turned to Aeden and took his hand.

"Aeden," Rory said. "Let's go outside. I need some air. And...I need to talk about him."

"She's a good person," Cheshire replied briskly, "She the sort of person I can admire in a way. In any case, allow me to help anyway I can."

Liseran smiled brightly at the remark.

"She's a bit hyperactive," Liseran said. "I was worried she might wear you out or something."

Liseran handed Cheshire a folded lilac table cloth.

"Sorry about all this," Liseran said. "We got a little busy earlier. Aunt Faun's not really a good cook and leaving her unattended leads to a bit of a disaster."

She laughed to herself a bit.

"But she's so sweet no one could ever blame her," she said. "Please lay this out. I'm going to get the dishes."

Liseran moved over to the dish cupboard and took out a stack of them.

"Do you want to bring anything home for Byron and Alice?" Liseran said. "I didn't get to invite them, but we're making extra so do they like anything in part--"

Liseran stopped and the plates clattered to the floor, half of them breaking. She stood still for a minute, her eyes absent and her face  frozen in horror.

"Cheshire..." she murmured. She grabbed her face and began pulling at her hair. "Cheshire, no! Please don't! PLEASE! STOP IT! CHESHIRE!"

She began screaming and shrieking as she fell to her knees, scraping them in the broken glass and pulling at her hair.

Cheshire was halfway through placing the napkins in front of each placing when he heard the dish shattering. Spinning around, Cheshire looked at shock at Liseran as she seemed to be going into a panic. Without thinking he darted towards her and hugged her, placing his hand behind her head and pushed her against his chest. His other hand rubbed her back gently and Cheshire spoke gently and calmly.

"It's okay Liseran, it's okay," Cheshire murmured trying to soothe her, "Are you having another vision? It's okay. Everything will be okay. I'm here. I right here. Please Liseran, speak to me."

Liseran stood still for a while and stopped screaming. She felt Cheshire embrace her and it brought her back to reality. It wasn't happening. Not yet, anyways. As Cheshire calmed her down, she clawed onto the cloth of his tuxedo and began crying. She didn't speak, but just cried there for a moment until Flora and Merriweather rushed in.

"Goodness, what happened!?" Flora cried out. She knelt to where Cheshire and Liseran were, careful to not touch the broken glass. "She must've had a bad one. I'm sorry, Cheshire, but can you please bring her to her room? She's not going to speak for a while so she'll need a calmer environment."

"Of course. Where is it?" Cheshire asked as he tried to comfort Liseran.

Flora pointed to the corner door in the main room and as Cheshire carried Liseran, Flora opened the door. The room was extremely dainty.

Since Flora had been the one to decorate it, it was light pink with deep roses stenciled in. Liseran's bed was an oak canopy one with a lilac coverlet and satin sheets. Liseran continued to cling onto Cheshire.

"I'm sorry, Cheshire..." she muttered. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."

"It's okay Liseran, it's okay," Cheshire soothed her as he laid her down on the bed. He hugged her gently and kissed her on the forehead, "I'm here now alright? Whatever's wrong just tell me. I will do anything for you so please." As he spoke, Cheshire rubbed her back like a crying child to try to calm her down.