409 I Don't Have to Like You
“What the hell are you doing here?” Ashleigh demanded.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in for a cup of tea?” Alice smiled.
Ashleigh did not reply.
“Kidding,” Alice sighed. “I doubt I will ever enjoy tea.”
“Who let you in here?” Ashleigh demanded.
‘Intruder.’
“In here, like the building or the more general sense of the entire territory?” Alice asked, still smiling.
‘She mocks you.’
Ashleigh growled.
“I have my ways,” Alice replied, her smile faltering just a little.
‘Trespasser!’
‘Invader!’
“Unbelievable,” Ashleigh scoffed. “You broke in? Again?!”
Alice took a deep breath and licked her lips.
“No,” she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a card. “I showed them this.”
Ashleigh did not hesitate to take it. It was an acknowledgment of her role in Winter as Axel’s mate, requesting that she be given safe passage by all Winter allies.
‘At least it doesn’t claim her to be Luna,’ Ashleigh scoffed internally. She thought of Axel, remembering the desperate plea in his eyes as he spoke of Alice.
Ashleigh swallowed her anger, if only for a moment.
“Why are you here?” Ashleigh asked.
“I will need that back,” Alice replied, extending her hand to receive the card.
Ashleigh rolled her eyes but placed the card in Alice’s hand.
“I was hoping we could talk,” Alice said, taking the card and placing it back in her pocket.
“Talk?” Ashleigh replied with a raised eyebrow. “You and I? You want us to talk?”
“Yes, I think we might have a few things in common.”
Ashleigh let out a gentle scoff and laughed heartily as her anger returned. When she was done, she looked at Alice with irritation and resentment.
“Do you even realize how many people you’ve hurt with all the little games you play? Hacking, flirting, or just plain murder,” Ashleigh said with disgust. “I don’t know why everyone else seems ok with all the things you’ve done, but I’m not. I won’t forget who you really are.”
Alice’s smile remained, but the look in her eyes changed.
“Axel told me I should attempt to be cordial whenever you and I finally spoke. His suggestion was to act sweet and sugary.”
Ashleigh narrowed her eyes at Alice, trying to figure out what she was getting at.
“But I am glad to see that you would prefer to speak honestly with each other.”
“What do you know about honesty?” Ashleigh said. She knew that she was being petty and childish; she knew Axel would be angry. But she couldn’t help it. Alice chose the wrong moment to appear at her door.
“When you are forced to live lie after lie your entire life, honesty and truth become a treasure.”
Ashleigh swallowed, feeling a pang of strange guilt somewhere inside of her.
‘She’s tricking you.’
‘Liar!’
The anger flared again.
“Is this where you claim not to remember any of the horrible things you did?” she asked.
Alice clenched her jaw and cast her eyes downward. She took a deep breath through her nose and then licked her lips before looking back at Ashleigh.
“My memories come in waves,” she began. “There are things I have done that I still don’t remember. But those that I do… I remember quite well.”
She swallowed before continuing.
“I remember each and every person the doll has killed. I remember their faces and what was done to them,” Alice replied. “I will never forget them, but I also won’t take them onto my conscience.”
Ashleigh clenched her jaw as Alice looked away from her.
“It is not the weapon that holds the responsibility for how it was used,” Alice stated.
“You think of yourself as a weapon?” Ashleigh asked.
“Make no mistake,” Alice replied, turning back and holding Ashleigh’s gaze. “I am a weapon. I was designed and built to be one.”
Ashleigh scoffed and looked away.
“The difference is that now I am the one who is in control. Only I, and Axel, can decide my aim.”
“That’s the problem, Alice,” Ashleigh said, crossing her arms. “You do the aiming, but I still have no idea who your target is.”
Alice stepped closer to Ashleigh.
“The only aim I have in my life is to be a useful partner to Axel,” she said. “I have been used as a murder bot since I was a child. I have seen and done things that would break you.”
The last sentence was said with a whisper that sent a chill down Ashleigh’s spine.
“You don’t have to like me, Ashleigh. I don’t expect you to,” Alice said. “And honestly, I don’t particularly care for you either.”
Ashleigh scowled at Alice but didn’t reply.
“You don’t know me,” Alice continued. “All the things you think you know about me were a completely different person, several, in fact.”
“That’s what I keep being told,” Ashleigh sighed.
“I’m serious, Ashleigh,” Alice said. “Everything I did to you, relating to you, I wasn’t there. I remember the events like a movie playing on a screen.”
“A pretty convenient way to shirk the blame for your actions,” Ashleigh growled.
“Convenient?” Alice asked with a bitter smile.
Alice laughed and nodded.
“Yeah, it’s really convenient to feel like you have the memories of a hundred different people bouncing around your skull all at once.” Her voice shook just slightly. “To never be sure if what you feel is real or just the echo of someone else’s dream.”
Ashleigh swallowed down the lump in her throat and looked away.
“I’m not making excuses, the things that happened to you were real, and you are understandably suspicious and angry toward me.”
Ashleigh furrowed her brows and looked back at Alice.
“But don’t expect an apology either,” Alice said, the expression on her face serious. “I won’t apologize for something that someone else did.”
Ashleigh clenched her jaw.
Alice turned to leave.
“Why did you come here?” Ashleigh asked.
Alice stopped and sighed.
“I wanted to ask for your help.”
“My help?” Ashleigh replied with surprise.
“Yes,” Alice said, turning back to face Ashleigh.
“I thought you said you didn’t like me,” Ashleigh replied, tilting her head to the side with a mocking and questioning glance.
Alice scoffed gently and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I don’t have to like you to respect your skill as a fighter. Or to know that you are someone who understands that there are risks that must be taken to save innocent lives.”
“What are you talking about?” Ashleigh asked standing up straight. She was suddenly very interested in what Alice had to say.