Unforgettable - Heartless

Chapter One - The Wisdom of Time

The descent down was a suffocating silence broken only by their timed footsteps. Cath felt everything she needed to say at the tip of her tongue, yet she had no clue of what she wanted to say. The things they'd learned were irreplaceable, but Cath still felt something missing, a bigger puzzle piece that had yet to be solved, and Alice's curse was nagging her, telling her that it was part of it all. In fact, everything was about Alice, the Sisters had said that Alice's choices would pave their path, but why? What choices? How did they affect Jest's freedom? In fact, how do they find something else for Jest to live off of? The Sisters' chance was allowed by Time, but what bargaining chip did they have other than the fact that Fate had sent them down this path?

"We're here," One of the Sisters said.

They had led them down to a stone arched doorway with engravings of pictures and an old Wonderlandish type of language that was nearly impossible to make out from the weathering and erosion. The door had no handles or knockers, and frankly, did not seem like a door at all. The only clue that suggested you could open it was the line that ran from the top of the arch to the bottom.

All three Sisters put their hands on the doors, and with a rumbling of stone against stone, the doors opened with little resistance. Inside was a longer hallway lit by little lights that imitated candle flames. It seemed to go on for forever, just like the stairwell had.

"We can not accompany you any further," Elsie said almost mournfully.

"The opening from the well will not open for you again, but Alice will know the way," Lacie explained.

Alice's flash of surprise and horror was evident and clear, and she opened her mouth to protest, but Tillie cut her off. "We wish you all the best of luck in saving your Martyr."

With that, they ran up the stairs with twice the speed they had when they descended, and the opening closed, leaving the only light from the hallway of candles.

"I-I don't know the way out," Alice said anxiously.

"It's ok love, we'll figure it out," Hatta said with a grimace, before venturing through the hallway, the others in tow.

The silence that followed was insufferable now, but since Cath had used her time to form coherent thoughts, she spoke up, her voice resounding through the empty corridor. "How do we save Jest?"

"You think we weren't trying to answer the exact same question?" Hatta snapped.

"No, just trying to hear your thoughts on the matter," Cath shot back coldly.

"Fighting won't help, we have to work together, else the situation won't get better," Raven's calm tone settled Cath's nerves slightly, but her questions were still eating at her.

"Alice, do you have any idea what the Sisters meant?" Cath inquired, her head turning to the blond girl. She didn't seem to hear, and peered at the walls, inspecting them with great care. "Alice?"

Alice's eyes snapped up to Cath, a mysterious type of trepidation filling them. "Er...what?"

"Do you have any idea what the Sisters meant?" Cath asked, her eyes imploring.

"No, their words didn't have any impact on me, I... I don't know what they were talking about," Alice's voice became lower and lower, as she stared at the walls, the floor, the ceiling. Her eyes grew wider and wider in incredulity, and they started rapidly glancing around at everything, growing more and more unbelieving.

"Alice, are you all right?" Hatta asked, his eyes worried.

There was a pause before Alice dared to open her mouth, and even then, it was shaky and in disbelief. "I- I recognize this place. I don't know how, but I- I do," She turned to the other three with a broken and confused expression. "What's going on? What's wrong with me?"