Alice’s face began taking shape in front of her. She was Cerené’s age, blonde with an ordinary smile and fair skin. She had simple features that made her look almost like every other girl in the Waking World. Alice wasn’t immortal or a fairy tale character. She was only seventeen years old, and she had that Waking World vibe about her. She could tell Alice had not seen much of the old world. If she hadn’t been a descendant of the Grimms, she’d still be thinking Snow White was that giddy girl lost in the forest awaiting Prince Charming’s kiss.
Unlike Shew, Alice hadn’t experienced war or killings. Alice hadn’t been there when TV was first invented—Shew was trapped in the castle but a teenager had stolen a set and brought over to please his girlfriend. Alice hadn’t been there when man landed on the moon, or when they first invented sliced bread—Shew remembered it clearly because it happened in 1912, exactly a hundred years after her doomed sixteenth birthday.
“Where am I?” Shew said, touching the back of her head. “I don’t suppose any other Chosen One faints quite the way I do,” she muttered.
“We’re in Carmilla’s bathhouse,” Alice said. “You’re in the Queen’s bed where she gets her massages by her favorite goblins.”
“And where she slaughters all the innocent girls,” Shew added.
“I didn’t want to bring it up,” Alice said. “Don’t worry. No one is using the bathhouse at the moment. We’re alone, but we have to move fast.”
“So this is how this dream works, whenever Cerené leaves me, I get transported to another time?”
“Yes, because Loki used the Phoenix Incubator. It’s practically Cerené’s dream, seen through your eyes,” Alice said, “a neat and devious trick on Carmilla’s part.”
“So Cerené was really my childhood friend?” Shew asked.
“Very true,” Alice nodded.
“Then why don’t I remember her?” Shew said.
Alice hesitated for a moment, “because Cerené is one of the Lost Seven you split your heart with.”
“I already figured that out,” Shew sat up, stretching her neck against the pain. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”
“Charmwill Glimmer,” Alice said then pursed her lips.
“What about Charmwill?” She wondered.
“He helped you forget the identities and stories of the Lost Seven,” Alice explained. “He used one of his Oblivion Spells on you when you were sixteen.”
“Why did he do that?”
“It was with your permission,” Alice sighed and leaned closer to her, “to protect them from the Queen of Sorrow. Charmwill was worried Carmilla would easily pressure you as a mother, or even read your mind. The only way for her not to know, was if you didn’t know.”
“Then why did I re-remember Cerené in this dream? Shouldn’t she be wiped out of my memories?” Shew said.
“Good point,” Alice explained, sounding as if she was in a hurry. “In fact, you should have met some of the Lost Seven in this memory, but you couldn’t remember them because they were wiped out of your memory. In Cerené’s case, Loki, with Carmilla as guide, used the Power of Names on you to bring back Cerené’s memory. He used the name…”
“The Phoenix, I get it now,” Shew said.
“Exactly. That’s why Charmwill’s spell broke, and you’re remembering everything that happened between you and Cerené in the past.”
“Does this explain why I am not capable of seeing the moon or mermaid who gave Cerené the Mermaid Milk?” Shew wondered. “Are they one of the Lost Seven, maybe?”
“Could be,” Alice said. “I don’t know who the Lost Seven are. I only know Cerené is one,” Alice said.
“Which brings us to you, Alice,” Shew eyed her. “I really have to ask how you know all of this.”
“I told you I’m Alice Grimm, a descendant of the Grimms,” Alice sounded impatient about it. Shew had a sneaking suspicion Alice wasn’t telling her everything she knew. “Wilhelm Grimm sent me to help you,” she said.
“Why Wilhelm? I noticed you never mention Jacob, Aren’t you a descendant of him, too?” Shew questioned.
“I am,” Alice said, “but Jacob is on the Queen’s side. Wilhelm is on ours. It’s a very old war between the two, but we really don’t have the time to talk about it.”
Shew didn’t care about the ticking clock in Alice’s head. As far as Shew knew, she had no reason to hurry. Shew intended to ask Alice a lot of questions, but then she noticed something that got her angry and instantly she wanted to choke Alice.
Alice was wearing the necklace Loki had given her; the pendant was dangling down her chest.
“What is Loki’s necklace doing around your neck?” Shew did her best not to draw her fangs.
Sensing the anger on Shew’s face, Alice retreated against the wall. She didn’t look like she intended to give it back though, “I’m not your enemy, Shew,” Alice said. “Calm down. I’m here to help you, and you’re not making this easy.”
“I don’t care who you are. Give me the necklace!” Shew demanded. “Why do you even have it?”
“I was trying to read it for you. It’s one of the things Wilhelm sent me to do,” Alice said. “I will give it back to you if you listen to what I have to say.”
“I’m not listening to any of your crap!” Shew was astonished at her own reaction. Loki’s necklace meant a lot to her and this dream.