NortAlice Fantasy/Medieval AU
Okay, so I mentioned some time ago that I had an idea for a NortAlice AU that I had been thinking about a lot at the time. I decided to write it out in a similar fashion as the Cave Dweller AU - AKA me just explaining what happens instead of writing it out properly fdshjfgsj (though I'll admit there are a few parts that I'm tempted to write out).
Anyway, I'll put everything under the cut. Sorry in advance for the messy format. Some parts probably feel more rushed than others. I also couldn't think of a proper ending, so it kinda ends abruptly. I just wanted to get this out. I suppose the flip-side of posting a story that is not fully figured out reserves some reading value to a potential proper fic later on. Hope you enjoy regardless.
PS: it's also kinda long... longer than I intended it to be.
The story begins in a grand kingdom called Oletus, flourishing with magic and innovation. One day, the kingdom was under attack, killing the king and queen in the chaos. But before they succumbed, they managed to send their young daughter to safety, and with the help of the royal staff, they managed to hide the heir to the throne somewhere safe from the invaders. A magic spell also kept her hidden from scrying eyes.
Years later, Alice, the little princess who had now become a young woman, lived a simple yet sheltered life far away from Oletus. She had picked up various hobbies and garnered a variety of skills over the years, but it was writing that was most true to her heart. Since the attack, kingdom Oletus had been reclaimed by Orpheus. Orpheus was once the child of the royal staff and also Alice's past playmate. He had sought revenge on the people who had destroyed his home and had been successful in his endeavors. Now he had claimed the role as the king. The kingdom thrived under his reign and expanded significantly. Too much for one ruler, cause he could not keep an eye on everything alone. He feared that the kingdom would collapse on itself if it remained that way for much longer. What once was the plan to hand over the throne to the rightful heir became a proposal to share the kingdom between two rulers. Orpheus just needed to find the lost princess.
It took a while before he managed to locate Alice, as the powerful spell was still keeping her hidden. But when he did, he urged her to reclaim half the kingdom. Alice was hesitant at first as she had gotten so used to the life she had been living for the past few years. But she also felt she had a certain duty to fulfill. And with Orpheus teaching her the ropes of being a good ruler, perhaps she could become one that this kingdom deserves. Plus, she also had Evelyn, the royal adviser of her long lost parents. She had been looking after her all this time while in hiding.
Alice travels back to Oletus with Evelyn. The journey itself is quite exciting as she hadn't really had the opportunity to travel before. Perhaps this new chapter in her life will allow her to see the world more. But she is of course also nervous to see her old childhood home years after the tragedy that changed her life forever. To her surprise, a lot of it is just as she remembered; Orpheus must have preserved and reconstructed it back to its former glory. But she also notices that it had expanded a lot too.
Alice is met with a warm welcome by the people of the kingdom; their queen had finally returned. She meets up with Orpheus, who shows her around the palace and introduces her to the people working there. (I haven't given everyone a role yet, but I'll mention a few).
Melly: Alice's lady in waiting. She is also a respectable and prosperous biologist.
Frederick: The royal musician (with an additional role that will be revealed later).
Victor: messenger
Scholars: Helena, Ivy, Keigan, Freddy (who is also the royal adviser)
Medical staff: Emily, Ada and Finsen
Royal staff of innovators: Luca, Alva, Tracy, Burke, Wendy, Charles, Percy.
Royal staff of mages: Patricia, Fiona, Eli, Valentina
The knight and guards: Richard, Naib, William, Jose, Qi Shiyi, Florian, Hernando, Brynhildr, Ithaqua.
Entertainment: Margaretha, Murro, Mike, Violetta, Joker, Michiko, Sangria, Cléo, Servais, Antonio, the Will Brothers
Artists: Edgar, Jack, Galatea, Phillip
A grand celebration took place that night. Everything was prepared with an impressive banquet and entertainment. Alice got to know some of the people better and learn more about the history of the kingdom since the tragedy as well as Orpheus himself. Everything was going as planned. But later into the night, a tremendous earthquake struck. Luckily, no one died, but a few got injured and a lot of the streets and buildings got damaged. Some people almost fell into the gaping cracks in the ground, but were saved just in time. Alice did not hesitate to put herself in line to help those in need in the middle of the crisis. Orpheus wasn't too pleased with her putting herself in danger like that, but she insisted that this was the right thing to do.
This whole ordeal wasn't only frightening; it was also very strange to Alice. She didn't recall there ever being a problem with earthquakes in this kingdom, nor hear of such events in its early history. When she inquires Orpheus about it, he reveals that the issue appeared a few years ago. It was caused by a beast who dwelled beneath the earth at the edge of the kingdom. It had plagued the kingdom ever since by damaging the infrastructure and ruining people's homes. Orpheus had tried to defeat the beast several times before, but to no avail; it was too powerful. When Alice further inquires why the issue only appeared a few years ago, Orpheus doesn't have any good answers to her.
Orpheus also confesses that he had hoped that the issue would be resolved before Alice found out so she wouldn't have to worry about it. His staff of mages and inventors had just created a device that would incapacitate the beast's powers and keep it under control. The device looks like a golden pin that would stick to the beast's neck, and once inserted, it cannot be removed; only with a key. The beast can then be controlled by the wielder using an amulet. Someone just needs to get close enough.
The next day, Orpheus sends out his knights to confront the beast and put the device on it. Frederick is leading the campaign. Yes, on top of being a musician, he is also the captain of the king's knights (much to Alice's surprise). They reach its domain and enter the cave. After a fight that almost ended in casualties, they manage to put the device on the beast; a tall, humanoid being made of rocks, and incapacitate its powers. They then manage to capture it and bring it back to the kingdom.
The beast is bound in shackles inside a caged carriage pulled by horses. As he is escorted through the town and towards the castle, all the people of the kingdom have gathered around the path of the carriage to witness the infamous beast. He doesn't like having all these eyes on him, but he can't do anything about it now, so he keeps his head low.
The carriage comes to a halt as it reaches the palace grounds. The beast, still in shackles, is lead into the throne room by the knights, where the king and queen to be is waiting to pass on judgement to the kingdom's most notorious tormentor in present times. As he is forced to kneel before them, Frederick walks up to Orpheus and hands him the amulet that controls the device. Alice doesn't like seeing how the beast is treated, yet she keeps quiet and observes.
The king is the first to speak, inquiring the beast as to why it has destroyed the kingdom time and time again. At first, the beast doesn't reply. The king uses the the magical device that sends pain through the beast, and Alice tells him to stop, which he dismisses. The beast finally responds.
In the kingdom's expansion, it had invaded the beast's territory. He had rights to reclaim his home. Orpheus counters saying that the territory in question was a no-man's land and free of taking. And now that the beast's home was in his kingdom, the beast had to follow its laws. The beast laughs a low and rumbling chuckle as he manages to get back on his feet, overpowering the knights that were keeping him down and steps closer to the king, mocking and insulting him until the king uses the amulet to tear him down till he collapses on the floor. But he doesn't stop until Alice begs him to.
The beast is sentenced to repair all the damages on the kingdom he has caused, starting tomorrow. Afterwards, depending on the beast's behaviour, he would either be executed or banished from the lands. Unexpectedly, the king orders the guards to take the beast to the plaza. Alice hastily asks what Orpheus was doing, in which he responds that now that the beast was going to live among his people for the time being, he has to show them that they have nothing to fear anymore. Plus, the beast also needed to be humbled. So he was going to chain the beast to the ground in the plaza and let the people of the kingdom do whatever they liked with it for the remainder of the day.
The people does not hold back; throwing rocks and rotten produce at him. Spitting at him, shouting insults and profanities at him. At first, the beast covers himself from the impacts, but eventually he becomes paralyzed by all the attention and eyes on him that he just gives into the humility. Horrified, Alice pleads with Orpheus to end this; the initial punishment was cruel enough as it was. This was taking it too far. But the king insists that this was necessary and questions her stance on the kingdom's safety and integrity. She pleads with the staff, but is told to trust the king. And thus, the princess could only watch in despair.
Night falls, and all the people had gone home. The beast is left inside a cage at the plaza, bruised and drenched in filth amidst the aftermath. Naib and William stand guard outside the gates of the plaza for the night.
The whole ordeal had shook Alice. This wasn't right. She had seen Orpheus as a benevolent figure, but what did she think of him now? Is he still the same friend she knew all those years ago? Or has he changed? So much to contemplate, but for now she has to see if the beast was alright, so she packs a few things and sneaks out, dressed in a hooded cloak, making her way to the plaza. There she meets up with the guards and offers them some baked goods she had brought. In exchange that she may visit the beast. No words to others about this. They accept.
While they were busy, Alice slips inside and approaches the beast, now hunched over inside the cage, unmoving and face hidden. She calls out to it a few times before it jerks awake and slams his hand on the bars, startling Alice. He growls at her to leave him alone. Alice reveals that she wanted to check on him and is sorry for what her friend did to him. That is when the beast takes a closer look at her and recognises her from the throne room. He takes her words of sympathy as fake and pretentious and tells her once again to leave him be. If she truly cared, she would have done something in the throne room. After all, no royalty would ever have offered someone like him a thought of sincerity.
Alice agrees with his reasonings. She should have been braver back there. She realises that she is repeating the same mistakes from the invasion: inaction in the face of suffering (she still blames herself for her parents' demise, even though she was only a child at the time). The beast doesn't respond. Alice then notices the cuts on his skin and points out that he is hurt. She offers to help him clean up, but the beast wants none of it and yells at her to go away. Alice realises that she wouldn't be able to get through to him tonight, so she leaves the towels and some water she brought with her by the cage. She tells him her name before returning to the castle.
The next morning, the beast is awoken by a bucket of water poured over him. Frederick and a group of guards were here to bring him to the first construction site. The work was about to begin. They chain him and escort him out of the plaza. Frederick notices the used towels on the ground and recognises them from the castle. He reports back to the king, who then confronts Alice. He warns her about sneaking out in the middle of the night and getting close to the beast. He is dangerous, even though he has been inhibited. Alice tries to reason with Orpheus, but he dismisses her once more. His resentment for the beast apparently runs deep. He then orders Freddy to bring her some study materials to keep her occupied. Yet, she somehow manages to slip out at some point to check on the beast from a distance with Melly as her company. She also seems disturbed by the whole ordeal.
Throughout the day, the beast is hard at work under the supervision of the guards. He is hardly allowed any breaks, and if he slows down, the amulet is used on him. Alice is horrified by what she sees. He's basically being treated like a slave. She can't stand idle any longer and approaches the guards with Melly in tow, who tries to stop her. Alice demands them to treat him better. Despite her efforts, the guards ignore her pleas; she is not a queen yet, and so it is the king's orders that hold true. She is escorted out of the site, but her efforts do not go unnoticed by the beast.
At the end of the day, the beast is brought to a cell beneath the castle to spend the night. Exhausted, he collapses on the cold, hard ground, his rocks scattering across the floor. Alice manages to convince the guards again to let her see him. Good thing it was the same guards from the night prior. The beast picks himself up, but is not too thrilled to see the princess again. She asks him about his wounds, and it seems like they have been getting worse. She pleads for him to let her treat them. In pain, he reluctantly obliges and kneels close to the bars for her to clean and patch up his wounds. He flinches a few times, but mostly stays put. No one has ever been so gentle with him, but he tries not to think about it.
When she finishes, he leans back and graces the poultices on his chest. Alice smiles, relieved that his wounds had been tended to. She asks for his name, and reluctantly, he tells her that his name is Norton. They talk for a bit before she has to leave. She promises that she will do everything in her power to make things better for him. He does not think much of it as she leaves.
Over the course of time, Norton keeps toiling, working hard on rebuilding the houses and streets he had destroyed. Alice would convince Frederick, the overseer of Norton's punishment, to allow the beast to take some breaks throughout the day. He also allows the beast some things to keep his space more comfortable, such as something soft to sleep on during the night.
Meanwhile, Alice works hard to establish trust and respect between Norton and the people. It takes some time, but the fruits of her labour starts to show. The people of the kingdom starts to get more comfortable around the beast and no longer demonize him, but treat him like a human. Some even decides to lend him an extra hand. The turning point was when Norton rescues a child from peril without hesitation. He actually becomes quite popular among the children, who likes to play and climb on him. It's all so strange to him being treated this way. He cannot remember the last time he had felt accepted, and not feared. And learning about the people of the kingdom makes him realise that they themselves aren't necessarily bad. Most of the grievances appear to be rooted to the king.
He also comes to appreciate Alice's company especially. That feeling in particular when he is around her was even more alien to him. As peculiar as the feeling is to him, he quite likes it. They would spend the evenings talking with each other and playing games. Share some tidbits of their lives and days. Norton learns about the tragedy that struck when Alice was a little girl, and Alice learns that most of Norton's past is foggy. He's spent years in that cave alone, hidden away from people who feared him. She tells him that he doesn't have to be alone. He replies that he doesn't feel alone anymore. Their bond grows stronger. This development does not go unnoticed by Orpheus, who both warns Alice and threatens Norton to stay away from each other. So they become more careful.
At some point, Norton is allowed in spaces and events he previously was banned from. He's even allowed to be without shackles for some period of time. This is when Alice ushers Norton to take this chance to escape. She fears what Orpheus might do to him if he stays any longer. But Norton doesn't want to leave her, and he feels obligated to repair whatever remains of the destruction he had caused. He owes the people that. His mind is made up. Besides, he will get his freedom back again soon enough.
And so Norton stays, and the two of them continue to meet in secret (with the help of a few accomplices). One day, the kingdom had been fully restored (with a few minor set-backs that prolonged the time and that may or may not have been intentional), and Norton had finished serving his punishment. He will get his freedom at last, but it leaves him feeling unsure about his future. He realises that he can never return back to his old home, and that he has to start his life anew once he had been banished. Remaining in the kingdom was not an option either; the king had made it very clear that there was no place for him here as a citizen (despite Alice advocating for it). As much as he hated to admit it, he had started to feel at home in this kingdom. He was going to miss it. Especially Alice. He had grown so very close to her. He tries to convince her to come with him, which leads to an argument. Alice has a responsibility she cannot abandon. They have a bit of a falling out, but even he knows deep down that he could never uproot her from her duties as a future queen. It would be selfish of him. They were too different. Their lives could never cross again. Maybe it was for the best. A princess and a monster? That could never work.
The day Norton was going to be freed came. He had been on his best behaviour. But just when he thought he was going to be dismissed, the king announced that there had been a change of plans. Tension between the kingdoms across the lands had risen, and he wanted to keep Norton so he could use him in battle if Oletus was to be attacked again. He would lock him up deep in a dungeon until then. Away from the surface. Away from the people. And most importantly, away from Alice. He would continue to be nothing but a tool.
This came out of nowhere to everyone, Alice included. Norton is furious and in disbelief. He served his sentence; he could not do this to him. Even the staff tries to reason with Orpheus, but the king's words are final. The beast was going to be locked up indefinitely and used as a weapon when the time comes. Alice refuses. She will not stand for it. Orpheus counters with pointing out that her obsession with the beast was not healthy. He was doing this for the good of the kingdom. Again, Alice refuses, standing by Norton to protect him. Orpheus sees no other options than to separate them by force and orders the guards to grab them. Hearing Alice's cries is enough for Norton to fight through the pain of the device and retaliate. He manages to knock some of the guards down and, incredibly enough, cause a small earthquake before the pain becomes too unbearable and he collapses. Right before he could reach the king. It had Orpheus worried for a moment. The princess and the beast are then taken away to their separate chambers; one in a tower, and the other underground.
(Like I said, I can't think of an ending hhhhh so I'll leave it at that).
