Paid It Red

Alice Fleyna Gruther is a young hard working lady who owns a little flower shop outside the little town of Arcidenia, making her seemingly popular among men in town. Not just that Alice is hardworking and all, she appears to be attractive and appealing to the eyes of everyone. Alice stands with a natural elegance that draws people in. She has long, golden-blonde hair that falls in soft waves, often pulled back loosely with a scarf to keep it out of her way while she works. Her hair catches the sunlight, glinting with a hint of gold, giving her an ethereal glow that seems right out of a storybook. Her eyes are striking—a bright, intelligent blue that captures the light and sparkles when she smiles. Her skin has a slight tan from hours spent in her garden, and her cheeks often have a rosy hue, adding to her fresh, outdoorsy look. Dressed in a typical gardener’s attire, Alice’s outfit is practical yet charming. She wears a simple blouse with rolled-up sleeves, paired with a worn but sturdy apron covered in faint smudges of soil and bits of petals. Her trousers are practical, sometimes patched from hard work, and tucked into boots that bear the marks of many days spent tending to her flowers. Despite the work-stained clothes, Alice manages to look effortlessly lovely. Her fingers are slender but roughened, a testament to her work, yet when she ties a bouquet or brushes a stray petal off her apron, her movements are always graceful. There’s a natural allure about Alice—her kindness shines through her smile, and her laugh is warm and genuine. Her beauty isn’t ostentatious, it’s the kind that blooms quietly, like a flower in the first light of dawn, making her presence magnetic and captivating to all who cross her path in Arcidenia. Early Tuesday morning and Alice is busy cleaning her shop wiping some dust off the shelves when the bell rings at the door. An indication that someone just came into her shop. As she gazed upon the person entering. The man was wearing a worn-out brown leather jacket, gray shirt, tattered denim pants the result of too much usage with a matching black hunter's boots. She noticed the man holding a box. Curiosity got into her, wondering what was inside. "Hello, Welcome to Cleia's Flower Shop. How can I help you?" Alice asked, walking over to the man who just came in and putting away the dump cloth on the table. "Hi. I just want to make you adopt this bunny I found in the woods when I was hunting for deer. I just thought it's too pretty to be my meal and I cannot afford to take care of it either, since this is the only house I saw nearby. I just thought you might want to keep it. Its beauty is rare won't you agree? " "Why of-course! I am delighted to have him" peeking over the box and seeing a white bunny munching some carrots stuffed in its mouth. "Indeed its white wool is beautiful and soft. How much is he? Surely there's a price I have to pay, a thank you for not making him your breakfast." He politely declines receiving money but instead asks for breakfast and two bottles of water of which Alice agrees. "A moment please. I'll go get your breakfast while you sit here to wait." The man nodded and after getting that response, she placed the bunny's box on the table. She then went to her kitchen, prepared and packed a loaf of bread, two sunny side-up eggs, five strips of bacon, a cup of monggos sprouts and the two bottled waters, putting them all in a container and neatly placed them in a bag. Alice walked out of the door from the kitchen and went to the shop to give the bag of breakfast to the man. "Here's your breakfast sir. I hope you like eggs, bacon and monggos sprouts." handing over the bag. "No worries, I'm not a picky eater. Thank you for this." he thanked her gratefully raising the bag as an acknowledgement. "No problem, you've given me a very cute companion in exchange." she smiled and picked the bunny to her arms to hug. "I'll be going then. Thanks again and oh! Be careful these days there are rumors going on about dead bodies found being torn apart by wild animals. Stay at home, don't go out often if not needed and take care of yourself." the man reminded Alice before going and not waiting for her to respond, he walked further away. Alice sighs and closes the door while caressing the bunny's ears. She sat down and thought "what do I call you?" while looking at the bunny very seriously, thinking of a nice and cute name for it. "hmmm.. how about white? or maybe fluffy? hmmm.. I'll call you snow. Since your white and snow is kinda cute." Holding snow up high and asks, "do you like it?'' The bunny seems to understand her as it twitches its nose. Alice then giggles at her own thoughts and continues to pet the bunny happily. The whole morning and afternoon Alice notices that no one else came to her shop aside from the man from the morning. She recalled the man had said about dead bodies brutally torn apart by wild animals and thought that this news is very disturbing and probably people from the village are now in fear of going out thus no one came to her shop today. It was three hours away from almost sundown and Alice decided to close the shop early and went to shut the windows and doors. She walked over to close the windows first when she noticed a man from afar looking at her intently. A chill ran down to her spine and goosebumps all over her skin as she thought the man's stare creates an indescribable fear vibe to it. She hurriedly closed all the windows and went over to the door to lock it but a foot was stuck at the door, unable for her to close it. Her heart beats anxiously staring at the foot then slowly raises her head to look at the owner nervously, as beads of sweat are forming at the sides of her forehead. The man at Alice’s door held an aura of chilling elegance, his presence regal yet unnervingly quiet. Tall and slender, he was draped in a long, dark coat that flowed around him like a shadow, every movement deliberate and smooth. His skin was unnaturally pale, as if untouched by sunlight, with sharp cheekbones and a jawline that hinted at both nobility and danger. Beneath the brim of a wide hat, his eyes shone with an unsettling intensity—a deep, dark gaze that seemed to hold centuries of secrets, watching Alice with an unreadable, piercing focus. Trying to calm herself with the uneasiness, she tried to sound normal. "Hello sir, may I help you with? I am about to close my shop as I have something else to attend to." Trying to look at the man's face without looking directly at his eyes. "Do you know what kind of flowers you like to have sir? I can get it for you." Still the man did not give a response as Alice felt awkward yet nervous. His gloved hands, encased in dark leather, rested calmly by his side, yet every gesture he made felt purposeful, almost too precise, as if he wasted no energy on unnecessary motion. When he finally raised a hand, pointing silently to the lilies, Alice felt her breath catch; his presence felt both commanding and otherworldly, a figure of silent authority who needed no words to make himself known. "Do you want lilies? I have a variety of colors. Yellow, pink, red, orange and white lilies." Alice explained to him as her fear was slowly lessened. The man did not speak but only pointed at the lilies. Alice looks over where he's pointing at and goes over to get it. Hurriedly packed a dozen and brought it to the man. "Here you like white lilies right?" handing it to the man. The man looks at her and gets the lilies and gets something from his inner coat. Alice somehow stiffs a little as her imagination runs wild from his actions. Thinking 'is he gonna grab his gun and shoot me dead?' Alice stood there unmoving waiting for his next move as her cold sweats are now like bullets running down from her forehead. He was having trouble finding something as it took a couple of seconds before he extended his hand towards her holding a small bottle. Alice breathes in relief but feels confused as to why he's giving her a small bottle. But accepts it and raises the bottle to inspect what's inside. Alice looked at the man to ask about the bottle but was nowhere to be seen. She looks around yet he seems to vanish from thin air just like that. Alice breathed in and out to calm her nerves and heart. She put the small bottle into her dress' side pocket and closed the door tightly and headed upstairs to her room. She found Snow lazily lying down comfortably on her bed, spreading his arms and legs. She chuckled from the sight of her bunny and went over to give him a kiss and lay down with him. Tired of all the happenings earlier, Alice drifted off to sleep while hugging Snow in her arms.