赤裸裸的滑稽故事

It was mid-morning.

Ashleigh had already taken her tent down and found that all of Alice's stuff, including her tent, was already nicely packed away and ready to go. There was a note saying she was scouting ahead and would return by lunchtime.

"I hear it's a special day today," Myka chirped as he approached Ashleigh.

Ashleigh looked back over her shoulder at Myka with a smile.

"It's my birthday if that's what you mean," she said.

"How old are you now?" he asked.

"Nineteen," she replied.

Myka's brows lifted, and he did not hesitate to show his surprise.

Ashleigh looked at him quizzically.

"I thought you already knew how old I was," she said.

"Yea, but, honestly, I thought Alice might be joking. Like a comment on your maturity level or something," he said.

Ashleigh tilted her head at him, raising an eyebrow of her own.

"I was told that you were charming. But, unfortunately, I'm not seeing it."

Myka laughed and nodded.

"I save all the good stuff for Peter," he smiled brightly.

"Oh, I see it now," Ashleigh said, returning his smile.

"Here," Myka said, offering her an envelope.

"What is this?" she asked, taking it from his hand.

"Alice told me yesterday to give this to you while she was scouting ahead this morning," he said quietly. "I'll give you some privacy. I need to pack anyway."

On the front, Ashleigh saw her name written in what she assumed was Alice's handwriting. She pulled back the flap and reached in. She pulled out two cards and several letters. A quick glance through them, and she recognized the handwriting of Axel, her mother, Bell, and Peter.

She sat down on one of the logs they had used around the fire the night before and looked through the messages she had received.

A gentle smile formed on her lips as she opened the first card. It was a birthday card, signed by all of them and many more friends in Winter.

The second card was specifically from her mother and brother, each leaving a kind message and a wish.

Bell wrote a full five-page letter, starting with birthday wishes and quickly gravitating toward other topics. Such as giving far too many intimate details of the kinds of calls she and Galen were enjoying in their time apart.

Peter's letter was short but sweet. He wished her well and reminded her that Winter would always be her home and people. There was also a request to keep the 'blue-haired idiot' alive long enough to return him to his owner, preferably sooner than later.

Axel's letter brought tears to her eyes.

He was kind and warm. But he also reminded her that though he is her big brother, he gets his feelings hurt by his little sister's words. He apologized for not handling their conversation better, telling her he would do his part to improve their communication.

Axel also left a note letting her know that it was Alice who made sure that no one forgot Ashleigh's birthday.

"Alice again," Ashleigh sighed as she folded the letters and returned them to the envelope.

"She's annoyingly considerate, isn't she?" Myka said as he approached.

"I thought you were going to go pack," Ashleigh replied.

"Yea, but I literally spend my life camping. It takes me five minutes to pack up and be ready to move out," he said with a shrug. "I was just over there, waiting until it looked like you were done reading."

"I see," Ashleigh laughed.

She took a deep breath and looked at the envelope in her hand.

"I appreciate all this," she said. "I honestly had forgotten about my birthday until last night."

"That's what she thought," Myka grinned.

"Of course," Ashleigh smiled and then sighed. "I don't know how to resolve Alice in my mind. On the one hand, she is connected to many terrible things and, by her own admission, has done many horrible things. But on the other, she's not a bad person. And for the most part, her actions were almost completely out of her control."

Myka nodded.

"Separating her from the doll, it's difficult but necessary."

Ashleigh looked over at him.

"Care to offer some insight?" she asked.

Myka took a breath and sat down in the grass beside her log.

"The doll killed my parents, but Alice got me out of the lab."

Ashleigh furrowed her brows with a look of shock and horror. Myka noticed and laughed awkwardly.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I just assumed that since you knew about the past I didn't know, you would also know about the past I experienced."

Ashleigh shook her head.

"I knew that Alice saved you as a child and that your parents were drugged and manipulated by Gorn… but I didn't know that Alice killed them."

"To be clear," Myka said. "My parents earned their fate."

Ashleigh could hear the seriousness of his tone and knew that he meant what he said. He did not blame Alice and likely considered her a hero.

"But what I was saying about Alice is that she decided to free the small child in the lab, but the doll decided to punish the ones that hurt him."

"I think I can understand what you mean," Ashleigh replied. "But the question is, who is she now?"

"I think that's something you have to decide on your own," a voice called out from above them.

Ashleigh and Myka both lifted their gaze to the tree that kept them shaded from the midday sun. Sitting comfortably on one of the large branches, Alice was smiling down at them.

"It doesn't really matter who anyone else says I am or who I tell you I am," she continued. "Ultimately, you decide who I am in your mind."

Ashleigh didn't respond, but in her thoughts, she couldn't help but acknowledge what Alice said as the truth.

"Well," Myka commented. "If you want my opinion, Alice is… a work in progress. As are we all."

Alice smiled and gave him a gentle nod.

"How long have you been up there, exactly?" Ashleigh asked.

Alice leaned back against the tree and stretched her arms.

"I don't know," she said teasingly. "Could have been minutes, could have been hours."

'She would be terrifying if she could access the power of the Luna,' a gentle voice whispered in Ashleigh's mind.

'Lily?' Ashleigh called back.

'I need to speak with you,' Lily said. 'Find a moment to sneak away. It won't take long.'

Ashleigh nodded to herself.

"So," Alice said, jumping from the tree branch above.

The landing was so quiet that Ashleigh couldn't help but agree with Lily's assessment.

"I didn't find any sign of others in the area," Alice said. "It doesn't look like we are being hunted or followed. So it might be safe to assume that we made the right approach toward Spring by taking the longer route."

"How much longer until we arrive?" Ashleigh asked.

"If we continue to travel today until the sun has completely set, then tomorrow afternoon, we will reach the border of Spring."

Ashleigh nodded and glanced at Myka. She couldn't help but notice the concerned look on his face and how his breathing had picked up.

"Once we are within the territory, we have to assume that our enemy knows we are there," Alice continued, looking at Myka. "Our heads need to be clear and focused. We cannot be distracted by concerns outside the mission."

Myka swallowed and nodded to her with a nervous smile.

"We must work together, all of us, no matter how we feel about each other," Alice said, glancing toward Ashleigh. "Once we cross that border, we have to trust each other. It's the only way we all go home at the end."

***

Ashleigh had made the excuse of needing to collect clean water from the stream before they continued to travel toward Spring.

Once she was sure she was alone, she focused in on herself and reached for Lily.

"Ashleigh," Lily called out, "I have some good news."

"What is it?" Ashleigh asked.

"The destruction of the Moonguard mound has given Lian and Solana a stronger hold on the ley line. As a result, they will be able to control the power for at least a few more weeks."

"That's great news!" Ashleigh said excitedly. "That means we have time! We don't need to be in such a rush. I could go help Caleb once we finish in Spring! Then we can search for the way gate in Summer together."

Lily sighed.

"There is bad news as well," she said.

"What is it?"

"The Dark Queen is also aware of the mound's destruction," Lily replied. "We don't know exactly what she is doing, but we have a good guess."

Ashleigh swallowed nervously.

"She has returned to her mound in Spring, and Lian says there is a pressure building where the ley lines connect. We think she has gathered her creatures to sacrifice themselves once more. Only this time, her goal seems to be widening the opening rather than collecting the power for herself."

"Can she do that?" Ashleigh asked.

"We don't know," Lily sighed. "But she needs to be stopped, and she will know the moment you destroy the way gate in Spring. Likely, it will increase her efforts. And we aren't sure you will have time to get from the way gate to the mound before she has gathered enough power to attack the connection point."

"But, we chose the way gate first because it was least likely to be monitored," Ashleigh replied. "If we attack the mound first, especially if you're saying that she and her minions are already there, we might not make it back out…."

"And if you go to the way gate first, you might not make it to the mound before she unleashes the chaotic magic of the ley lines onto your world…."