Now it's all confusion [Hermes]

[Deleted]

Truthfully, Alyss didn't used to spend all that much time studying. Her mind never used to be clear enough for such things, but it seemed ever since the odd transformations that she awoke with, she was able to concentrate more simply because...well, let's think. She wasn't all consumingly in love with Dodge anymore, Redd went from being weakened to just not being there...there weren't an awful lot of distractions left for Alyss Heart to deal with, no excuses for not putting her all into her studies, although it seemed like that was a rarity at this school. But she honestly...well, had nothing else to do. She was sure that someone would come to her if Redd had somehow grown strong against when she disappeared, had gone back to destroying her homeland...if it was still even that, of course...

But of course, this was Tintagel. She was sure that if this place went too long without all the discord it could dish out, it would simply explode. She would hand it to the town/school/whatever was the precise cause of all the insanity, though...this was fairly tame, if you thought about it objectively. After all, this was a girl who was able to cheat death for a friend. Surely these...well...feelings and general confusion were easy to handle, especially since everyone went through them at one point or another. Honestly, she had much earlier than now, but hadn't really been given such ample opportunity to think about...well, to put it bluntly, sex. But then one brute decides to flirt with her, and Della was obviously not in any position to talk to her, leaving Alyss signing up for a class without quite understanding why, and honestly, it hadn't helped very much.

So now, in the midst of her attempts at studying, she found she couldn't quite concentrate, thoughts flying through her head that probably would have made the Liddel's cross themselves. It wasn't long before she finally gave up and decided to see if she could at least read for pleasure. So at the moment, she was fishing through some books where she was sure there was one that Della had recommended anyway. Soon enough, she had found it and opened it up, leaning against the bookcase, figuring that she was either going to be lost in the book or in her own thoughts. Either way, it was rather depressing. She had really hoped she would go at least a full four months without that...

[Hermes]

Hermes was working. Yes, he actually did that on occasion, and being the god of such business men like lawyers and the like, he could actually be quite professional about it. He was dressed very traditionally for his line of work, and older style of a mailman's uniform. It cam complete with a winged hat and a winged pair of shoes. His caduceus had been manipulated into a cell phone like it had been so many time, the small antenna sprouting from its top twisted with two tiny snakes, looking a lot more like little green worms. They spun around their extremely downsized staff in a never ending pirouette, though they occasionally trembled whenever someone in the conversation raised their voice. Thankfully, given the fact that he was in a library, it was mostly the man on the other end of the phone who felt the need to yell in order to be understood. Still, the weary librarian was casting him glares as his laughter bounced off the large bookshelves.

You have to admit, Eros, Its a little bit funny Hermes commented gleefully, clearly he was enjoying this. The whole phone shook dangerously as the god of love and affection screeched a retort. oh come now Hermes replied in a belittling tone You sat on one of your arrows and have, as a result, fallen in love with a rock....tell me that isn't funny! Hermes went off on another bought of laughter but abruptly ceased upon listening to Eros response. Ohno don't tell your mother he rushed in a serious tone. The last thing he needed was Aphrodite to have another reason to smite him. As much as he liked messing with her in more ways than one, he was also a little afraid of her. In someways her powers had been kind to him, he was very successful in the art of seduction, but when it came full blown actual love, he hadn't exactly had the most fun of times.

Hermes looked seemed to be pouting now, clearly upset that his fun with Cupid was over. Yes yes, okay, I'll pass on your message he said plainly, circling around one bookcase to stroll between two others. Eros must have calm significantly given the fact that the snakes now swirled around the phone antenna without being disturbed by a miniature earthquake. Yes, alright Hermes grumbled just in time to collide with someone leaning against the bookshelf he was just passing by. It hardly affected him, but he was instantly concerned for the poor mortal he could have just smashed with even such a small bump. He hung up on Eros without so much as a goodbye, confident in the fact that he had made it clear that he would deliver the gods message, such is his duty. He stuck the cell in his pocket and reached out his arms to steady her in a mater of milliseconds. Hundreds of mortals die by the hands of gods each day, but Hermes didn't lie death and would like to prevent it from occurring as often as possible. His position to guide the deceased to the underworld had conditioned him for that. He would apologize, but he wouldn't lie and say he didn't think it was a bit beneath him to stoop to a mortal, not to mention the fact that he'd lost a certain taste for them after..... and thats when he recognized her.

No this couldn't be her, it wasn't her...but for a second there. Those light eyes, that pretty blonde hair...she looked just like her before....well before....

Hermes had to physically shake his head to cast the dark memories from his minds eye. He cleared his throat and straightened, trying to not look to devastated as he stared at the young woman before him. He silently cursed the Fates for placing her in his path and started to consider which god or goddess would most likely be to blame. It wasn't like Hermes to get angry, but this was cruel. A woman, a mortal woman, whom he had loved a lost in more ways than one. May was her name, like the month. What a beautiful son they had had together, a handsome boy, driven down the path of hatred. He had to remind himself that if he had gone to visit May today, she would share not even the most remote resemblance to this girl with her gray hair and wild eyes. No, the young lady that stood before him shared an uncanny similarity to a thing of the past. Still, Hermes felt a bit queasy. He took a step back, unsure what to do. he could vanish just like that and hope to never see this girl again, but at the same time....it was so lovely to see her. So lovely to look upon her face and pretend that she could be the woman he'd fallen in love with so many years ago. So lovely to just stand there, a victim of his own minds trickery. Despite his previous resolve, he watched her with tortured eyes and spoke softly.

My apologies... through there was no possible way she could understand the depth or sincerity of his words, nor for what he was truly sorry for. Sorry he could do nothing, sorry he stood by and watched her wither, sorry she lived everyday expecting her son and her lover to return home for lunch.

[Deleted]

So trapped in her own thoughts, Alyss had literally no warning for what was about to come until she found herself falling, but she barely even had a chance to drop her book and spread out her arms in hopes of breaking her fall more gently when she felt someone's hands grasp onto her. Her heart had skyrocketed in that brief second, and the man who had caught her had a face that didn't exactly help matters. Unsure if she was trying to catch her breath because of the fall or those eyes...eyes that weren't just gorgeous, but...it didn't take long for something very familiar to settle into them, something Alyss had known for a good chunk of her life. You didn't lose your family, your friends and your home in one fell swoop without being able to recognize it when there was a sense of loss in another person. Even more baffling was the way it seemed like...it was her that brought that look on, if his nearly horrified stare was any indication. And the way he shook his head as if to shake away horrible memories...

While it was hardly your average one, this was certainly what some would call an instant connection.

It took her a moment to remember where she was, which was...well, that was just silly, of course. Hardly the sort of thing that Alyss did very often, not even when the subject came to Dodge last year...and why would that even cross her mind right now? Now it was her turn to shake her head to clear her own thoughts. The last thing she needed was to think of something so irrelevant, it would only leave her feeling more confused, and she wasn't even sure why she was feeling so confused...and she never went on such a long amount of run on sentences in her life, not even in her head.

She cleared her throat upon realizing he had apologized, and because it was growing rather difficult to look at him, she knelt down to retrieve the book. Yet in spite of herself, she found her gaze lift up to him all the same. "It's all right," she managed. "I ought to have sat down or something, not been in the way..." She then stood up straight once again, not quite the posture one would expect from a queen, but this queen currently wasn't at all sure of what to do with herself. She really should have been going back about her business now, not puzzling over him...because she could already tell: he most certainly was a puzzle.

[Hermes]

The air was thick between them and growing even more so as the slow seconds passed. He could feel the tension reaching a painful state and they'd hardly said two words to each other. Hi heart felt like lea, his stomach twisted uncomfortably. This was madness. How could he feel so strongly over a complete stranger? She is not May, he reminded himself, despite the lovely way she carries a look so similar to his once radiant love. Maybe he could stay just a little longer, what harm could it do really? He just wanted to look at her, thats not weird at all. So what, anyway, he is a greek god and he can do what he pleases. This was causing no one pain, but himself perhaps, still....he should really be going. Oh, but her eyes, her eyes could so very well be May's eyes. How could she even exist? Her nose, her cheeks, her lips, only slightly so different than his loves. Stop this, he scolded himself, its not fair to her either.

He cleared his throat and regained his composer once more, straightening his tie and blinking a few times to clear the clouds in his bright blue eyes. Nono he offered her kindly I'm afraid I wasn't paying the least bit of attention he said with a soft smirk playing on his lips. His phone began to buzz again, but he quickly ignored it. Later, not now, not with this going on, who knows what business deals he'd agree to.

[Deleted]

For whatever reason, the man's equally polite response made her smile, perhaps in part because he was on the verge of his own. It didn't erase the instinct that she had encountered another damaged soul however. Alyss knew as well as anyone just how easy it was to cover up anything with a well placed smile, once such a smile could learn to fight for a place, even through total misery. Still, she supposed it was human nature, taking comfort in that sort of thing, even if there was a chance of a smile being a lie.

"Well...I suppose there's really no need to place blame either way," she then responded, once again leaning against the bookshelf. She somehow doubted that this sort of thing could happen twice, after all. "It doesn't seem like any severe harm was done, so..." She shrugged, because really, there wasn't any need for anything else to be said on the matter.

In fact, you could argue there wasn't very much to say period...yet Alyss didn't feel the need to move in the slightest. He was just...far too intriguing, between just his looks, and the odd feeling she had that they had something in common...and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on...she felt like she had to get to know him, at least for the moment...it couldn't hurt to talk a bit.

"Anyway, erm...I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

[Hermes]

Its funny how much you can learn from someone just by simply observing them. IT might have helped that he was basically a genius in many ways, hardly anyone would deny that, and even if they disagreed they dare not tell Hermes to his face for fear of their lives. She liked to read, she was intelligent, and polite. No, she was more than polite, she was cordial, official. She was royal. He could see it in the way she carried herself, hear it in the way she spoke and yet... she carried a certain distain for the ordinary. The way she broker her posture to lean against the book shelf. She would rather not care so much for the rules of society, she'd much rather make her own rules. Oh her liked her. No no no, wait, stop deducing, stop liking her, walk away now before you do something you regret. He tensed like her was getting ready to nod and walk in the other direction...oh but she was so beautiful and smart, she was worth a conversation at least. How much could that hurt? Deep down he knew better, but still he selfishly remained where he stood.

Of course not, my dear he replied kindly, the same sort of smirk on his lips, though his eyes remained sad. Just some trouble with the post office he said with a wink, the sly remark making him feel a bit more like himself.

[Deleted]

"Ohhh, yes, I see," she remarked, making as if she would just leave it at that, but the fact that he had winked? She couldn't be certain, but there was quite possibly more to the man's story than just difficulties with the post office. There was probably no way for Alyss to discover that without overstepping her boundaries and if there was one thing Alyss respected, it was people's personal boundaries. After all, she knew what it was like to have her own irreparably crossed, didn't she? Sometimes some secrets were good, particularly when one was just meeting another person...even if you felt like you had quite a bit in common with that person, somehow. So all she did in response to that was the subtlest raise of her eyebrow, as she also tried to ignore the "my dear", because there was absolutely nothing to it, probably just the way he spoke.

And...oh, if he was planning on staying, she supposed it'd be wise to introduce herself, wouldn't it? At least, he didn't seem to have any plans of moving. Even if he did, it seemed like a sound plan. "Oh, I'm Alyss," she said, choosing to keep title and her surname out of the picture. There was no need to complicate things like that, not yet anyway, perhaps not ever. She was at this very odd point where she wasn't sure what the future held, but had the deepest sense that something significant had happened, something that could very well change what her future held.

[Hermes]

Alyss he echoed, greedily trying the name on his tongue. His eyes flashed as millions upon millions of facts about anything an everything having to do with the name Alyss shot through his mind. Royal Alyss. Did he know of any royal Alysses? There is a horse called Royal Alice's son, the Royal Hotel is on Alice street. Streets, hotels, horses, these meant nothing to him and hardly did him good in discovering anything more about the beautiful young lady that stood before him. With his brilliant mind full of facts having failed him at the moment, he stood and looked her over silently for a moment, gleaning what he could from the way she looked. The was a voice in the back of his head constantly scolding him and telling him to leave, but it was overwhelmed by his hunger to discover more about this curious miss Alyss.

Light blonde hair, bright blue eyes... May, nono think! Who else carries those looks, is royal and is called Alyss? His brain jumped to every blonde, blue eyed Alice he'd ever heard of. Turns out there is a whole lot, sooner or later, the very famous Alice in Wonderland flash across his mind's eye. That Alice wasn't royal....unless. There was a sudden burst of movement as Hermes flicked his wrist and beckoned a book to his hand. He only took his eyes off her to glance at the title, a look of mild amusement dancing on his face. "The Looking Glass Wars" it said in big bold letters. It made perfect sense, but oh, how frustrating it must be....

He willed the book to change into one much smaller in size, with pretty script on the front, naming itself "The Adventures of Alice In Wonderland." He was smiling by now as he glanced up at her, a sort of elfish grin that often implied he was up to no good. Have you read this yet? he asked her casually, offering her the book. I wonder if its any good he said, tossing in another wink there. Terrible of him maybe, but certainly something Hermes would do even in this sad state he'd found himself in.

[Deleted]

Honestly, Alyss scarcely blinked when he summoned a book to his hand with what seemed to be a mere flick of his wrist. Please, it would be almost shameful if she had after all these years. No, it wasn't the action that was making her frown. Her curiosity was aimed more towards just what book he was holding and...well. Now it was the mild concern at the way he was grinning at her. It was rather unnerving and was probably the only reason she didn't catch the book changing size and title at all, and didn't even see the cover until he held it in her line of vision.

Now, Alyss was never one to lose her temper very easily, and while she had come to terms with the fact that feeling things wasn't bad, she did make an effort to not get too upset by things, but...it wasn't even just the fact it was that book of all books in the world, but it was the fact that he just happened to summon that book after she had brought up her name and seemed to be having a grand old time in mentioning it.

Yet, cordial as she was, she bite her tongue as she pondered just how she was supposed to respond to this, especially when he was clearly pretending he hadn't read it himself. She was fairly certain you had to live under a rock to at least not know the basic story. It was part of her problem back in London, the fact that everyone knew that it was pure nonsense and it was based off of her own story, giving them more fuel for mocking her on a regular basis.

Yet as much as she wanted to at least mutter about how that wasn't funny, she simply answered, "I have...never quite saw what all the fuss was about," but there was a sharpness in her gaze, a sort of sign that she knew he was making a joke and she didn't appreciate it.

[Hermes]

From the very moment that she offered the book in his hand a subtly steely glance, he was certain that his assumptions had been confirmed. His eyes flashed as his ego was stoked for a moment and he all but forgot why he'd been so down. This is what he lived for, discovering things with so little to go on. Being right mostly, he got his kicks on being right. It reminded him that he really was all sorts of powerful, he could do anything, be anything, fix anything. Well...almost anything. Damn those fates and their prophecies, Zeus and his ultimate rule, damn them all to the underworld so long as he didn't have to guide them there himself. Still, even just cursing them in his mind, Hermes gave the sky a cautious glance. It was not in anyones best interest to upset Zeus, besides, the man had a soft spot for Hermes and he would like to keep a good relationship with his father if he could. Its just awful frustrating to have to follow rules when you're such an avid believer in rule breaking.

With bitterness rising in his heart again, he returned his attention to the equally bitter Princess Alyss. He was reminded once again of his success and a small smile appeared on his lips. Now now he scolded gently, there is no need to be short with me, Princess he watched her for a moment, eyes twinkling, then he turned his tone into a more serious one, knowing his fun with this one would be short lived anyhow...or anyway...thats what would be best for both of them. I've read stories about you, Alyss Heart he began, the mood suddenly taking a sharp turn back down the intense road. He raised a hand and just barely touched her chin, before a look of pain flashed across his face and he let his arm fall again. more accurate stories even, perhaps, although I don't believe you can be be properly put into words... he spoke gently, a tone of curiosity lining his speech.

[Deleted]

When Alyss had found herself growing, well, as he had so adequately put it, "cross" with him, she had no room to expect that he knew much more than Dodgson's ridiculous book had given. So when she heard the word "princess" leave his lips, her breath hitched, bitterness giving way to surprise. How...there were very few people here who even knew she was a princess. She barely even needed all five of her fingers to count those who knew in this world, and as far as she knew, no one from Wonderland was still here. In spite of herself, suspicion grew in her heart. This was the sort of thing that had any girl who had been on the run for most of her life nervous, she doubted anyone could really blame her for it. Yet he smiled...not even in a way that would remind her of Redd in a million years. It had none of the cold cruelty that she knew from her aunt.

"How--" she whispered, but then he went on to explain himself. He..he had read things about her...things that referred to her by her real name, apparently? After all, she was certain she hadn't brought up her last name, and if he was assuming...correctfully, mind you, that he was that Alyss, he should have known her as Alice Liddel, a name she was finding she hated more and more each day. Yet he knew her real name...

Even more peculiar was the fact that...had he almost touched her face? This whole situation was proving to be very confusing, and she wasn't sure why her heart kept skipping beats with every new development. It just wasn't like her at all, even if he was saying things like her not being able to be put into words. There was no doubt of it being something of a compliment, the likes of which she had never received. Oh, she had been complimented, quite a few times, if it wasn't arrogant to say so...but this was something else.

She was really thinking she was more than a little out of her depth here, and she couldn't even explain why.

Swallowing, she managed a, "Erm...thank you? I...I had no idea that more "accurate" stories of me even existed...don't even know how they could..." God, pride of Wonderland, she was.