Of Dolls and Women

[Alice Halifax]

Alice couldn't help but find the manners young Rachel was showing as anything less than astonishing. Manners were such a rare thing these days and while Alice's manners could be called into question at times, she usually projected nothing less than charming behavior......mostly. She took the seat Rachel had pulled out for her and waited patiently for the little girl to take her seat. Such brightness from Rachel, it even changed Alice's mood and thoughts. If she had given her current mood any thought, Alice might have wondered if Rachel was some sort of empath or something. She had heard of those who could alter people's moods in some form or another, but had never been aware she had been in the presence of one. Rachel was just fun to watch and this little game they played where Alice was some sort of princess played to Alice's egotistical nature. She always viewed herself as a princess when growing up and while she did still in some perverted childish way, playing as one was right up her alley.

Alice watched Rachel enjoy her ice cream for a moment before answering the girl's question. "Do you run around the mall by yourself a lot sweetheart?," Alice asked, curious as to why someone would let a young girl wander about freely like this, especially with so many perverts in the world today. Alice couldn't fathom how a parent could let their child run around like this unsupervised. Sure, Alice's own parents were exactly role models, but they had enough sense to at least make sure Alice was always in the best care money could buy. They loved their daughter, they did, but mostly from a distance. Alice harbored some ill feelings about this, but hid those feelings well. Her parents did show her attention from time to time so Alice cut them some slack and was at least civil to them when at home, after all, they were still paying for everything.

Alice wondered if Rachel came from a broken home. She had mentioned her mother, but not yet her father. Was the man not around at all? He could have been some faceless one night stand or just another deadbeat. Either way, Alice couldn't help but think about it for a moment. Alice could at least understand forgive Rachel's mother if the woman was just too busy providing for her daughter to notice that the little girl has sneaked off to the mall.

[Rachel Kells]

Rachel smiled at Alice as she sat across from her. The girl was really quite beautiful the more Rachel looked at her. Smiling She took a lick of her ice cream before turning to face her. "Mom is busy working, she sent money for me to buy a bathing suit, so I went to and that's where I ran into you!" Rachel smiled as she thought of her mom. Even though she was working in marketing, she knew her mom loved her and she didn't want to be a burden. "Mom works a lot but she loves me, ever since dad left..." Rachel's smile faltered for the tiniest minute before coming back on her face. "Well mom has had to work really hard." She was old enough to take care of herself after all."I'm following Hammel rules, I'm out in the middle of the day, I took the bus and they know where I am, Mom moved away from here so I'm pretty much by myself a lot." She wasn't complaining though. Rachel was more then happy to be by herself. "Thank you for the help, and thank you for the ice cream." Silently Rachel started to count the sprinkles on her ice cream and looked over at Alice. "Do you always go shopping alone m'lady?"

[Alice Halifax]

Alice listened quietly, as she was taught to do by her mother. Alice's time to speak would come, there wasn't any sense in blurting something out when you didn't have to, it stopped you from making a fool of yourself. Alice sighed as she listened to Rachel speak of her mother. Rachel seemed to have love for her mother, despite her mother's absence, but seeing how it was only the woman taking care of Rachel, Alice could understand the absence. Not everyone was as privileged as Alice and while she grew up in high society social circles, being at Hammel keep her mind grounded to a degree. At Hammel, Alice saw the other side of life, the lower income class so to speak. To be honest, Alice felt out of place at Hammel sometimes, she was the minority. This turned out to be good for Alice though, as it taught her that it wasn't one's social pedigree that made them useful, it was who they were. A lesson Alice's parents could learn.

Alice's brow furrowed some when Rachel mentioned that her father had left. Alice's father had been absent a great deal from her own life, but at least he was there from time to time. This of course made Alice a bit bitter toward her father so one could imagine the bile which brewed within her against Rachel's father. Men. Was it a wonder why Alice preferred women in her relationships?

Then, there it was, a single word which drew Alice's attention completely. The girl was from Hammel. She was meta. Maybe this was the reason the father left? Not unheard of in this sort of situation. Alice was lucky, her mother and father were meta and as far as Alice knew so was just about female on her mother's side. Not being a meta was a strange concept for Alice, just as being a meta might be for base liners. At Hammel though, Alice had seen many kids who had been more or less abandoned and shunned by their families for nothing more than just being born. Alice had trouble and still had trouble trying to figure that one out.

"Wait a minute," Alice said after Rachel asked her a question because Alice had questions of her own. "You attend Hammel?," she asked with a smile, "Your a meta then," she said, smiling all the more. Not that it made a difference really if Rachel was meta or not, Alice had no preference in the matter. Either you had skills or you didn't, why get worked up over it and start dividing yourself into different camps? "Well, isn't that just neat. I'm a meta too you know," Alice said as she leaned over the table just a bit, giving Rachel a wink. "They called me a siren when I was at Hammel. Can you guess why?," she asked Rachel, smiling a bit more now, curious just how bright Rachel was, if she could put together the hint Alice had given her along with what had happened with the boy who for some strange reason gave Rachel such a large 'free' sample.

[Rachel Kells]

Rachel was about to continue talking when Alice started to talk to her, telling her to wait a minute before she continues. Obediently Rachel was quiet as Alice asked the question that was evident to any other meta when they heard the name of the school. Smiling Rachel nodded. "Yup! I've been going for two years already. Ever since I manifested." Rachel was divided on her power. She loved the butterflies, but she believed she was inherently bad for having this power. Rachel didn't want to discuss this though and instead put another smile on her face as she looked at Alice, her eyes widening as she was told that Alice also had a power. "Wow! Really?!" That was so cool! She was so excited to meet someone outside of Hammel that was a meta. Wow.

She got distracted so sue her, she is twelve.

Rachel just about squee-ed when Alice leaned over the table to talk to her. "A siren? A real life siren?" Wowzers, she had only read about those. "They were apart of mythology right? They would lure sailors to their deaths?" Rachel blushed a little as she realized she was rambling. "Sorry I really like history." Looking down Rachel took another lick of her ice cream before looking up at Alice. "Hmm... Well, Siren's used their voices to make sailors do what they want..." Rachel looked Alice up and down. "Do you use your voice to make people do what you want?" Mumbling Rachel averted her eyes before saying, "You do have a pretty voice."

[Alice Halifax]

Alice continued to smile as Rachel rambled on and on about what she knew about sirens and what they did. At least she paid attention in class somewhere, but from the girl's manners and just the look on her face, Alice could see the girl was intelligent. The way Rachel talked about sirens made the girl's face light up a bit, just as it did when she addressed Alice as a princess. The girl was drawn to things of fantasy and things....well.......girly. This was something Alice looked at in every female she met or saw. Not many women or girls these days had a feminine touch and that rubbed Alice the wrong way. She was brought up to be a lady in every sense of the word, but what do you expect from a family full of beauty queens.

Enough rambling about Alice and back to the story.

Alice noticed the added little bit at the end of Rachel's rambling. The part about Alice having a pretty voice. The girl must have felt a bit of Alice's power leaking onto her. Not enough to effect the girl, but enough to warrant her attention. "Your bright. Your mother must be proud," Alice said, giving Rachel a compliment the best way she knew how at the moment. Usually Alice dealt with adults and so this dealing with Rachel had her a bit off her game. "This might not be any of my business Rachel, but did your father leave because you manifested an ability?," Alice asked the girl, trying to use words that might seem more familiar to Rachel and thus make the question more passive. Alice could have pushed the girl outright and hypnotized her into telling her what Alice wanted to know, but pushing a child....even Alice had limits.

[Rachel Kells]

Rachel smiled as she explained about sirens. They were one of her favorite mythological creatures aside from griffons and the fey. She especially liked the fey. The fairies and nymphs and dryads and anything fro the seelie court. Someday she wanted to meet something that was classified as such and she wanted to see if she could find evidence of them. She hoped she could. After all her butterflies were the messengers from the court of light.

That is what she chose to believe anyway.

Rachel had to smile as she took another lick of her ice cream, when Alice said she was bright. "Daddy said I was the brightest. That was before he left though. Now mom's the only one around. She also says I am bright though!" Rachel looked a bit startled when Alice mentioned Rachel's father and his reason for leaving. Taking a deep sigh Rachel slowly tried to calm herself as she bit her lip looking at Alice. "He called me a monster...said that I shouldn't be here." Rachel bit her lip and smiled up at Alice. "It's my fault anyway." Alice might not have noticed but Rachel made sure to count each step here, and made sure to smile each step of the way. The only way to fool people was to make sure she was happy. It was all okay. She wasn't going to argue with anyone, but she knew she was the problem. Her power was the problem. "Mom is working awfully hard to pay for my lessons and stabling Maise, our horse at the stables. It comes with her job to travel. I have to be on my best behavior to make her proud." Rachel smiled before taking another lick of her ice cream.

[Alice Halifax]

Rachel talked about why father had left and the things he had said to her. Alice narrowed her eyes in contempt for what she heard. It wasn't the first time Alice had heard a story like this and probably wouldn't be the last either. Flinging insults at nameless individuals was bad enough, but to turn on your own flesh and blood in such a manner....Well, there was a special place in hell for traitors. Alice was cold, calculating, and heartless sometimes, but tossing you own flesh and blood out into the cold, that was crossing the line, even for her. What had and was being done to Rachel would prove a tough monster to slay, but Alice enjoyed a challenge. Small signs of Rachel's pain was already evident in the way she accepted what her father said, how she thought she was really the reason why he left.

When Rachel finished, Alice sat there quietly, turning the conversation over and over in her mind. "First thing my little princess, is that you're not a monster, none of us are. Being meta or being base line is no different than someone being a red head and another blonde. Second, only fools and cowards abandon their family. Your father was faced with something he didn't understand and like most people who don't understand something, he chose to hate it instead of trying to figure it out," Alice said slowly but with a hint of anger behind her voice. Her eyes were cold, indicating a rage just beneath that composed and collected surface. "You did nothing to be at fault Rachel. You weren't given any choices in your life as to whether you wanted to be a meta or not. No one asked you, no one chose to make you what you are. You were simply born with this skill in life," Alice said, remembering something she had overheard at Hammel once. So many kids coming and going through there with a story similar to Rachel's. Alice knew then that she was fortunate to have the acceptance she had from her family.

Alice took a breath and tried to put on a smile as Rachel talked about her mother. She clearly loved her mother dearly and wanted to make her happy. The mention of a horse they owned sparked an interest in Alice. "Not many little girls are lucky enough to have their own horse. I'm jealous," she said giving Rachel a wink. "Maybe sometime I could meet your mother....and this horse of yours?," she asked, looking for some way into Rachel's private family life. It sounded as if Rachel's mother worked herself to death trying to keep the ship afloat. Maybe Alice could do something to add a bit more stability to this fragile family.

[Rachel Kells]

Rachel took a few licks of the ice cream again thinking. Her dad was still her daddy, even if he wasn't talking to her right now. She was just going to have to try harder, to keep at ballet, piano and violin. If she did that then she would be able to get her dad to acknowledge her, hopefully. She wanted to be better so he would love her again. Maybe she could get him to look past her being a meta. Remind him why he loved her. She just had to be better. That was all.

Rachel smiled as Alice tried to comfort her. Doctor Neville had said many of the same things, but she knew the truth. Why else would her dad hate her so much? She was thoroughly and utterly convinced of the fact she was a monster and horrible for even being here, for manifesting. This was something she had come to terms with since last Christmas when she realized she couldn't go home, and her mom was too busy. A smile was the only way out of this, and Rachel had gotten really good at keeping it on her face. "That is what he thinks I am Alice. That's all." She wasn't confirming, nor denying what Alice said, and was only reiterating the facts. She slowly finished her ice cream averting her eyes from Alice, making sure to keep the smile on her face. She was putting on appearances again, and would fail to listen to anything Alice had to say on the subject, Rachel may only be thirteen, but she is very stubborn and her mind has been made up.

Biting into the cone Rachel gave a tiny giggle. Maisie was a present from Momma, she was the filly that mom's horse Herbert fathered. Momma said that I could have her out here as long as I took care of her and was able to keep up with everything. I get to go see her on weekends, Sundays in fact." Rachel smiled thinking of her beautiful filly. At the mention of meeting her mom Rachel's smile faltered a little. "She is working really hard, and she isn't going to be back in Pilot Ridge for a while." Rachel smiled again and looked towards Alice. "We have skype nights every other night though." She smiled and shook her head a little. "You can come with me to meet Maisie if you want next Sunday though..."She giggled before glancing at Alice's shoes. "Make sure you wear boots though. You wouldn't want to step in any horse poo." Giggling Rachel thought about Alice stepping in horse poo,and shook her head to keep from laughing too hard. "It isn't fit for royalty such as yourself." Rachel gave a small curtsy in her chair again and bit her lip smiling showing her dimples.

[Alice Halifax]

Little did poor Rachel know, but she was already a possession for Alice. A doll if you will, a pretty little thing to dress up and show off. Alice operated on a different set of emotions and ideas than anyone else. Life looked different through Alice's eyes, her own little private Wonderland if you will. People and things in her life were objects in a sense. Sure, she felt feelings for a lucky few but in the end, those people would always be possessions. It didn't take much to garner such a bond from Alice, sometimes it did. Alice herself wasn't sure what drew her to certain people, it varied greatly. Sometimes it was simply physical attraction, the sound of their voice, the way their eyes looked, or perhaps just their presence itself. With Rachel, it was her innocence which attracted Alice. The silly nature of Rachel herself spoke to Alice and that wild creature trapped beneath that pretty little porcelain mask. Inside Alice was a wild raw bundle of energy and desires. The want to make reality into whatever suited her, the way Rachel did while playing this little game of princess.

Rachel was broken and perhaps beyond any means of mending. The girl hid her distress well enough though and while Alice felt something wrong, she couldn't put her finger on anything specific. Sure, the emotional distress Rachel's father had inflicted upon her was evident, but that wasn't reason enough to go waving any flags. Everybody had baggage, some more than others. Alice wasn't a good mix for Rachel if you looked at from popular viewpoints. Alice wasn't exactly grounded and her ravenous attitude just barely fit within social normalcy. Rachel's broken emotions and her daddy issues left the door wide open for those like Alice to waltz in and set up shop, molding Rachel into something dark.

Alice laughed a bit at Rachel as she suggested boots when Alice came to the stables to visit. Alice nodded in return, "I think I've still got my pair of riding boots somewhere. Its been a while since I've ridden though, so you'll have to promise not to laugh if I fall off," Alice said jokingly.