Alexandra & Belladonna
"Find Yourself"
Your heart is the size of an ocean.
Go find yourself in its hidden depths.
- RUMI
Location: Peter's Grave (Ville au Camp) ⇢ Moldoveanu Peak, Russia (Bronze Age) ⇢ Coast of France (1823) ⇢ Ville au Camp
Skills: N/A
"There is nothing like the smell of a fresh grave in the early morning hours," Belladonna said in a cool voice as she knelt down and ran her fingers over the dew that had formed on the freshly turned earth that now covered Peters grave. How she would have adored playing wake the dead but that would have to wait. She had spoken to Evelina about Alexandra and it was decided that the eldest Paradox would be part of the training this time. Without Drem they were down one Emendator, it was only fitting.
Alexandra didn't consider herself to be a morning person. Well, scratch that. She wasn't an
early morning person to be more specific. She stifled a yawn as she walked up to their meeting place, the fresh grave of a fallen Paradox, in loose fitting clothes and comfortable shoes. Yes, you head me correct, she's actually wearing shoes. It's a miracle. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she vaguely wondered if this choice of venue was somehow symbolic to her training. You know, like, don't die.
Aw shucks, there goes my evening plans. An amused smile came to her features as she came to a stop beside Belladonna.
"Morning," she murmured.
Letting the dirt fall from her fingers Belladonna glanced up towards Alexandra.
"It is time to find yourself. Part of which involves finding out just who you were." Rising from her crouch her tight dress stayed fitted to her. A hand reaching out to Alexandra as she started walking.
"And to know that, you need to know who I am. Let us go fetch a coat, you will need it where we are going." Alexandra smiled softly at Belladonna.
"Sounds good to me," she replied, taking the woman's hand in her own as she followed after her.
"I like a good adventure. So, where are we going exactly? Hopefully somewhere dangerous." She looked the woman over.
Definitely somewhere dangerous, she thought. Belladonna had this whole goth corpse thing going for her. It seemed only fitting that death would be a factor.
"I wouldn't dare ruin the wonder." It wasn't long until coats were fetched, and a portal was found. With a single motion and no words Belladonna stepped through it. On the other side the wind cut deep and the cold cut deeper. They were standing on a cliff covered with snow and ice. The air was thin and there seemed to be a look of pleasant nostalgia on Belladonnas lips as she pulled the fur of her collar closer to her neck.
"Velcome home," she said letting a thick eastern European accent slip through. It was a rare sight but one that all that were trained in the ways of Russia wished to see one day. It was the Moldoveanu Peak. The fabled birthplace of the skill set.
Alexandra could feel the bite of the cold on her skin before she could see the mountainous landscape open up before her. The wind stung her flushed face, and yet she found a sense of familiarity, solace even, in the cold. It reminded her of--
"Home," she breathed out, her facial expression turning into one of awestruck wonder. She was back home, and more than that, she was in a place she had dreamed of upon occasion seeing. It all seemed surreal to her. She glanced up at Belladonna, shaking her head slightly.
"I thought ve veren't suppose to go back?" she questioned, before quickly backtracking.
"Vait, never mind. I don't vant to knov. Just, just let me, just let me take it all in for a moment." She took in a breath of the thin Russian air, emotion welling up in her eyes as she reminisced on bittersweet memories. She looked back up at Belladonna, her lips spreading into a wide grin.
Lacing her fingers together the woman leaned back slightly as she bent her knees just a hair. Her ebony eyes looking out across the vast landscape.
"Being me has certain privileges." Her voice was rather matter of fact as she spoke. Stretching out her hand a long finer tipped in crimson pointed to the small village below, it couldn't have been past the Bronze Age in their technology. One could hear the screams from below.
"Do nothing, we don't change time." This time her voice was firm as the screams of fear turned into screams of terror, the water breaking and Golgravtiz grabbing a large burly man with dark hair.
"We just observe history being made." Alexandra curiously looked to see what Belladonna was pointing at. However, her ear-to-ear grin soon faded as she heard the people's screams and watched as the chaotic scene unfolded below. She inhaled sharply and grimaced when what was no doubt a Golgravtiz shot out of the water to snatch up its unfortunate victim. She pulled her coat tighter around her, glancing up at Belladonna. She nodded her head solemnly, before looking back out at the man struggling against the Golgravtiz. She understood the purpose of the rule, but it didn't mean that it made it any easier to swallow.
"Like you I was chosen." The Golgravtiz began dragging the man towards the water. A cloaked woman, pale as the snow with raven hair came rushing towards them.
"Like you I was different." One could tell she was casting the Gologramma but as she righted herself, her large rounded belly showed she was different in one more than one way.
"Death comes for us all." And it did, the Golgravtiz winning against Belladonnas former self and her body hitting the snow.
A gasp escaped Alexandra's lips as she saw the younger, very much alive, version of Belladonna down below attempting to defeat the Soulless beast. More than that, the woman was undeniably pregnant. She glanced back sharply at the Paradox version of Belladonna before looking back down at her younger self. Her hands clenched into fists, her knuckles nearly turning white and her nails digging into her palms in an attempt to ground herself. She squeezed her eyes shut just before two lives were ended, one of which never even had a chance to breath the cold Russian air. She hesitantly opened her eyes again, her gaze gravitating to the Belladonna that stood beside her.
"I vaguely remember hearing you say something about a child. D-did your child become a Paradox too?" she asked quietly, her voice little more than a whisper as the gravity of the situation was almost too much for her to bear.
There was nothing more than a simple nod as she watched her own life be taken as her village ran off, her body being grabbed by the Golgravtiz and being drug towards the water.
"You are just learning your abilities. Everyone learns." Coming from the tree line another dark haired woman entered the scene, it was Evelina. Walking through the snow as she dropped two small stone like items from her hand. As they hit the snow the ice gave way and the creature fell below, losing its grip on Belladonnas corpse. The other woman grabbed her and drug her back, away from the water. As she did the corpse gasped for breath.
"Two souls for the price of one." Alexandra let out a small sigh of relief at knowing that the child was "saved" as well. The knowledge brought her some solace, but not much. She looked back down at the scene, her lips thinning with displeasure. However, her eyes suddenly widened when yet another familiar face entered the scene.
"Dice lady!" she exclaimed, taking a quick glance over at Belladonna. Her natural curiosity was piqued at this sudden,
more positive, change of events. Her brows then furrowed at Belladonna's words, and the gears in her head soon began to turn in order to decipher the meaning behind the woman's words.
"Vouldn't that make you a Soulless? You died by a Golgravtiz, so Golgravtiz you should become. Granted, it didn't successfully drovn you, but still," she questioned curiously.
"Hov does that vork? Being killed by a Soulless, but then being resurrected. Hov does one not become a Soulless?" There was a tug at the corner of Belladonnas ruby lips as she watched Evelina pull the pregnant her out of the snow and into the woods. The scene was over, as far as they were concerned.
"When pitting a Soulless against the powers of The Dice, chose The Dice every time." Letting out a small breath, the cold winds causing it to fog like smoke as it fell from her lips.
"Yet, somethings still remain or are lost," she said as she turned and headed back towards the portal. Stepping through it, the temperature rose. It was warm and humid with the smell of salt in the air. Alexandra would know the place, it was the coast of France. Only a couple of days before she had died. the sounds of the circus folk could be heard down the length of docks they were standing on.
"Huh," Alexandra remarked simply. Her response seemed rather lackluster, but it was just that internally she was contemplating how much good someone with such abilities could do back in her old timeline. Sure, there were plenty of remarkable skillsets hailing from a multitude of different countries, but nothing quite compared to the powers of The Dice, the power over life and death. Such an ability could most certainly turn the tides of the war against the Soulless in favor of mankind. The Dice could save countless lives. At that notion, her acceptance of not changing the course of history faltered slightly.
However, she didn't have much time to think on the matter as she followed Belladonna back through the portal. She was soon hit by a burst of warm air as the scenery changed. She shed her coat as she took everything in. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell a bit agape as she recognized the place.
"This is from my timeline! Before the circus went to London, we were here in France," she exclaimed.
A single brow arched deeply on the pale Paradox.
"And here I thought it was just a happy coincidence." Her delivery was so dry it would be hard to determine if she was speaking truthfully or out of sarcasm. Belladonna motioned with a single finger towards the alleyway. As she reached the end she stopped and held her hand out.
"Remember, we do not intervene." Just as the words left her mouth all hell broke loose. It was a reply of a Soulless attack the Circus has dealt with in France just prior to leaving for London.
Alexandra arched a brow and opened her mouth about to make a remark when something else Belladonna had said chose that precise moment to pop back into her head.
"Vait. You said some things can be lost. Vhat do you mean by that? Like, you mean parts of yourself remain lost?" she piped up. Any further questions were quieted as her gaze followed the direction Belladonna was pointing at. Her dark brown eyes widened at the scene before her.
The screams could be heard as the Circus began to fight various Soulless that were attacking. As it went down like a scene from the movies behind Belladonna she turned and faced the young Paradox as a cold static feeling rushed through the air.
"Sometimes fear doesn't scare us to death but only partly to death. It is rare but it does happen. Most of the time you continue to live, a soul heals like after a broken heart. You weren't given that chance, to heal." Alexandra's breath whooshed out of her, and she felt her legs start to give out underneath her. She stumbled forward slightly in an attempt to steady herself.
"Vhat? No no no, that cannot be. I vould remember, I vould, vouldn't I?" she gasped, shaking her head vigorously. Her skin was paler as the shock, and horror, sunk in. Her breaths came in and out in a shaky, panicked manner as fear rose up in her like bile in her throat.
I am infected by a Soulless?! No no no, this is an absolute nightmare! she thought in utter horror.
"Vhat am I?!" she cried out.
"You are a Paradox who is healing." The statement was so dry. Not a hint of emotion as she spoke. Just stating simple fact. Stepping forward she cupped the womans cheek and let out a small smirk.
"And over reacting because you were a performer. Composure my darling, you needn't act for an audience anymore." "Vho says I'm acting," Alexandra replied as more of a statement than a question. Anxiety and confusion shown in her eyes as she looked up at Belladonna. She felt like her whole world was crumbling down on her once more. She didn't know who, or better yet
what, she was anymore. It wasn't much of a wonder as to why she often hid behind sarcasm. It was plain and simple really. The truth sucked.
Looking towards the portal the corseted woman glanced over her shoulder towards Alexandra.
"Until you find yourself, it is all an act." There was the barest hint of a smile on her crimson lips before she stepped back through the portal and was taken back to their home. The road to finding oneself was a long one, it started with a single step.
Alexandra let out a small huff of defeat.
"Fine," she grumbled, sarcasm quickly bleeding back into her voice.
"Maybe I am just being melodramatic, I mean it's not like I'm now part monster or something." Her lips were set in a hard line as she repositioned her coat as it had started to slide off its resting position on her shoulder. She then rolled her eyes at the whole absurdity of the situation before unhappily trudging after Belladonna through the portal back to Ville au Camp.
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