Chapter 1059: A Simple Breakfast
"Uuu... do I have to?" Alice mumbled, still feeling half asleep.
She was struggling to keep herself upright while her eyes blinked slowly. Allura was currently brushing her hair while picking out some outfits for the girl.
"Of course you have to. Even if we may be allies, they are still royalty. Ones that I’d rather not offend for no reason when an amicable resolution is at hand." Allura chuckled, brushing her fingers through Alice’s hair.
Holding a few hair ties in her mouth, she started to style Alice’s hair.
Her fingers separated Alice’s hair into separate bundles. Taking sections from either side of Alice’s head, she started to braid them together with surprising ease.
Her fingers danced through the hair effortlessly as she wove the strands towards the back of Alice’s head. Then, as the two sections met, she tied them together with a hair tie before moving onto the main portion.
She gathered a thicker cluster of hair from the back and divided it into three equal sections. One over the other, she created a large braid that lay on top of Alice’s hair.
"Do you not worry about someone grabbing your hair when you fight?" Allura asked curiously.
Alice had a lot of hair, so when she was dashing through the Void, Allura wouldn’t be surprised if a dirty fighter took advantage of it.
At least for herself, when she fought seriously, she had a helmet on which reduced the risks.
"Mnm... Not really." Alice mumbled, still half asleep. "I have a barrier around me that alerts me if I’m about to be hit... So if they try to grab my hair, my automatic defence will move it out of the way."
Her voice was soft and clearly still half asleep.
Their discussions were rather mundane while Allura styled Alice’s hair. Topics such as worries during combat, what kind of food she usually ate, and where she slept.
On the matter of food, Alice even got a slight scolding from Allura when she realised Alice hadn’t been eating well. Rather, she was mostly sustaining herself on a mead and meat based diet.
Soon, Allura leaned back slightly to appraise her work on Alice’s hair and nodded in satisfaction before finishing it off with a black ribbon at the back.
Turning Alice towards the mirror, her fingers adjusted her bangs so that they didn’t cover her right eye.
There was no reason to hide it anymore and if anyone was to look down on Alice due to her appearance, Allura would be the first one to teach them a lesson.
"Doesn’t this just look adorable?" Allura smiled while Alice tilted her head.
"Really? I don’t mind it but wouldn’t people find it scary to look at?"
"That’s how stupid people who can’t appreciate beauty think. What do YOU think?" Allura shook her head.
Staying silent for a moment, Alice lifted the corners of her lips into a small smile.
With the adjustment of her bangs and the braids in her hair, she had a more youthful look rather than that of a barbaric fighter.
"I like it." She nodded.
"Good, now let’s get your outfit sorted out."
While Allura was rummaging through the outfits that Velouria had made in the past, Alice sat in silence while her fingers ran through her own hair.
Rather than enjoying the hairstyle, she found herself focusing more on Allura the entire time. The way she brushed the hair, her fingers that nimbly braided everything without any mistakes.
Despite the chaos in the world, she was still allowed a moment like this. And already, her heart felt content. She could feel strength returning to her body and her will to fight igniting with passion.
All so that she could protect this moment of monotony that now occupied a corner of her heart.
She watched Allura mumble to herself while picking out the outfit.
"Too extravagant, too restrictive. Absolutely not." Allura creased her brows.
Then, at one point, Allura started to mix and match certain pieces in order to form new outfits and landed on one that was elegant enough to meet royalty while also making it comfortable to wear.
Alice blinked in surprise at the choice that Allura made in the end.
She hadn’t told Allura what she preferred and yet...
The outfit was an elegant black dress with an off shoulder design. A jacket carefully camouflaged by the dress’s frills. Large baggy sleeves, her favourite, reached down to her thighs. Around the wrists, Allura had attached some ribbons and frills to give it more detail while white fabric was layered underneath the sleeves, making them resemble flowers.
The dress was much the same. The black skirt only reached around thigh height but the addition of white fabric underneath made it reach the knees.
A pair of white frilled long socks and a pair of black shoes.
It was a completely different style to what she usually wore as it was tailored to meet royalty yet... it maintained much of what she liked.
"How did you..."
"Like it?" Allura smiled.
Alice nodded her head frantically as Allura let out a laugh.
"It’s hard not to notice your preferences when I see a bunch of long sleeves in your wardrobe. Do you like them that much?" Allura helped Alice get into her new outfit as Alice wiggled her arms around.
Seeing the sleeves flutter, Allura paused before letting out a cheerful laugh.
Alice had answered the question without saying anything.
It was simple after all.
She found them cute.
With her outfit and hairstyle now done, Allura had Alice do a small twirl on the spot along with a few steps to make sure everything was comfortable.
There were a few finishing touches that Allura wanted to add though.
Tying a ribbon around Alice’s waist, she adorned it with a red rose while adding some jewellery to the rest of the outfit.
Then, while looking through the accessories that Velouria had prepared, Allura froze.
She found a clip with the design of two feathers. One black, the other silver.
Since it was from Velouria, it was clear what it represented, though it was carefully concealed since this clip was actually part of another outfit. Only after removing it did one see the hidden message.
Her gaze softened as she clipped the two feathers onto Alice’s dress, to the upper right above where her heart would be.
"Now then, I believe we should get some breakfast before we meet the King and Queen. Wouldn’t want your stomach to rumble halfway through, right? And we absolutely need you to start eating some of your veggies." Allura picked up Alice without warning, surprising her.
"Ah!"
To Alice’s shock, Allura carried her all the way to the dining room before pulling out an apron for herself. She tied her hair into a ponytail and made her way to the kitchen.
Allura was actually planning on making Alice’s breakfast herself!
Alice wanted to stop her but Allura’s eyes told her that rejection was not an option.
She would make this breakfast no matter what.
[Heh, feeling spoiled?] Cayla chuckled.
’. . . Shuddap.’ Alice blushed in embarrassment as Cayla and Alyss had been watching everything since last night.
When she had snuck into Allura’s room after thinking the two of them were asleep.
Alyss simply smirked as seeing Alice being treated this way brought a warm feeling to her heart.
The others woke up soon after and gathered by the dining hall only to be scolded by Allura, who told them to make their own food. Her focus was on Alice today.
Seeing the tiny murder machine all dressed up and embarrassed, Elias decided not to think anymore and sat down while Lab held back a soft laugh.
Even Alice had her moments like this.
Food didn’t take long to make. The quantity was far bigger than what one person should be able to eat and despite how simple some of the dishes were, Alice found herself drooling at the sight of it.
"Even for the two of us, this is a lot, right?" Alice glanced over.
It was a lot for two people but not enough for everyone in the room.
"Of course. This is a meal for three after all. If your diet is as bad as you say, there’s no way Alyss kept a good diet following you. I swear, you two are bad influences on one another." Allura grinned, resting her chin on her palm.
"We won’t be leaving until I see both of you girls eat healthy."
Inside Alice’s mind, Alyss paused in surprise as she hadn’t expected Allura to factor in her portion as well.
"Now stop staring and start eating, young lady."
Hesitating for a moment, Alice took a bite of the first dish. It was a simple dish of mixed vegetables with some sauce.
It wasn’t even as extravagant as some of the meals that Gwen had made for her when they were living together and yet...
Her throat tightened.
*Drip...
Tears rolled down Alice’s cheeks as she started to eat her breakfast.
Allura had a gentle smile on her face while she watched this and the others allowed the duo to have their moment.
Alice didn’t say anything the entire time. Too emotional to say a single word. And when her meal was over, golden chains appeared and Alyss was given control without another word.
"This girl... she didn’t even say thank you." Alyss sighed, wiping Alice’s tears away from her face.
"It’s fine. I’m afraid if she says anything she might start sobbing. Wouldn’t want her eyes to be red when meeting royalty after all." Allura waved it off before looking Alyss in the eyes.
"Thank you for staying with her, keeping her company and looking after her. I’m glad you two have each other."
It was a heartfelt message of gratitude for the soul that Alice shared a body with. One that didn’t hold any grudges and instead saw the girl as a sister.
Coughing awkwardly, Alyss looked down and nodded. While she may not be as emotional as Alice, she too felt a little embarrassed but happy.
A simple breakfast but one that neither of the girls would ever forget.
