Chapter 3

The sunbeam was slowly making its way through the room and reached Alice's face at last. She mumbled in her sleep and then moved finally waking up and opening her eyes. The first thing that came in her view was the face of Marisa who was lying unbelievably close and smiling to her. The latter gave Alice a wink: – Morning, ze! You're so cute when sleeping, ya know..

– Ma-ma.. MARISA? Ehhh?! – Alice started back realizing she was not only sharing a bed with her beloved magician but also holding the other girl's hand tight. The doll maker faced away blushing fiercely and began getting out of the bed while mumbling nervously: – Oh..! Don't you dare imagine something weird, it's just.. yesterday.. You were cold and I was just trying to warm you up, that's why-..

She was interrupted by Marisa who snatched the hemline of the girl's nightgown asking pleadingly:

– Hey.. Stay with me!

The witch was gripping so strongly that Alice suspected she'd just tear off her night-dress if the puppeteer began to break free. So she froze for a few seconds and then returned into the bed trying to hide her embarrassed eyes from the girl.

– Ya don't need to be so tense, you dummy, – Marisa told her, smiling again. – I felt damn awful yesterday, but I remember clearly how eagerly you tried to cure me, ze. And.. It's only your presence that helped me finally to warm up. Thank you so much, Alice.

– Y-you are welcome.. – the yokai-girl answered trying to calm down her frantically pounding heart. – Uh.. By the way, how are you feeling now?

– Completely well, just as you predicted, ze! There isn't any trace of a chest cold anymore, yay!

– Oh.. I see. Glad to hear it.

Some moments passed in silence. But the witch's next phrase broke it inexorably:

– Hey, Alice.. er.. I wanted to ask. About our yesterday talk..

Alice's heart died. She didn't want to remember the words and emotions from the day before. The puppeteer was not ready yet to be separated so soon from that unbelievable opportunity to spend an uneasy, however, blithesome morning with the magician. She was far too scared to recall something that could ruin the positive tune of their talk. But surprisingly she managed to relax a bit, when she felt Marisa's hand touching her shoulder softly.

– You said you'd kill me back then, ze.. You wouldn't actually, am I right? – the witch stared at Alice.

To kill Marisa.. That sounded so absurdly that it made the girl answer ardently: – I NEVER could do such a thing to you, Marisa. How could I harm you? I.. – "love you so much", she wanted to say but stopped herself realising what exactly she had almost uttered. – You mean very much to me.. And d-don't say a word or I might give it a try though! – she exclaimed angrily burrowing her face into the pillow to hide her embarrassment.

Marisa kept silence obediently, but soon it made Alice so nervous that she looked up again timidly - only to see that the witch was blushing and smiling quite happily.

– Tee-hee.. I kinda knew that, ze! There just wouldn't be any reason for you to care so much yesterday for somebody you really wanted to slay.

– Y-yeah..

It was very hard for Alice to continue discussing that subject but she felt an urge to ask one thing. She just needed to know. – Marisa.. – she whispered. – Why.. why did you come here instead of enjoying the party?

That question suddenly made Marisa begin researching something on her palm intently. – Well.. I like parties, that's true. I like to spend evenings together with buddies, booze and all that cheerful atmosphere, ya know, ze.. But you mean a helluva lot for me, Alice. And among everyone else I wanted to see your smiling face particularly.

"She.. she said what? That means.. she wasn't joking after all?!.. " – Alice, who turned as red as a beetroot, flashed a completely disbelieving glance at the witch and noticed deep crimson on her cheeks as well.

– Yep.. What I say is true. Wherever I am and whatever I do, I always want Alice to be happy and content.. And instead of that I made you sad. I was feeling awful because of that and couldn't think about anything else, ze.. – Marisa's voice suddenly sounded depressive and she took her eyes off her hand at last looking straight at Alice. – How can I ever be joyful when I know Alice is miserable?.. So.. I wanted to apologize properly, and.. er.. actually, I wished to see you badly, ze.. Even though you didn't want me to approach.. But I was hoping that you would calm down a bit. So I went straight here. Well, and caught a cold while waiting, I guess, – she forced herself to smile but as a matter of fact she was afraid of Alice's reaction to her words.

The puppeteer couldn't believe her ears. She.. She means something to Marisa? And not just something, but even a lot? "There's no way it could be for real! But somehow it is!.."

The exuberance of feelings inside Alice's heart urged her to burst into tears. – Oh, Marisa.. You are too great-hearted! – the blue-eyed girl felt the taste of salt on her lips and turned her back on the witch straight away to hide the tears on her completely blushed face. – How can you say such kind things – I-I mean, it's totally my fault.. I was acting like an idiot yesterday. I.. turned to be jealous of Reimu who'd been spending time with Marisa, and was monstrously rude to you. And that made you feel bad both physically and mentally in the end.. I'm so sorry.. I.. I'm sorry, Marisa. Please, forgive me.. – Alice's voice reduced to a whisper as she was finishing her erratic word flow, and silence surrounded them disturbed only by the puppeteer's sobs.

And then Alice felt Marisa embracing her gently from behind – just as she had been hugging the magician last night, but this time it was vice versa. "So that's how it feels", – flashed in Alice's head before she heard Marisa's words:

– You don't ever need to be jealous of my relationship with Reimu, you, little silly.. She's a special person for me, that's true. She's the closest friend I've ever had, this Red-White.. But.. My heart is entirely occupied by another young woman. The only one I can think of all the time, the only one for whom I care so much, and the only one for whom I could sacrifice everything.. This is you, Alice. Th..That's how it is, ze. I've liked ya for a long time.. But it was not so long ago when I completely realized it was more than that.

Actually.. The most important reason why I came to the shrine yesterday was that I truly wanted to see Alice enjoying such an evening. And I wished to be the one who could make ya delighted in the best way, ze.. You didn't come on time but I never gave up waiting for you whilst being there. But it seems that you saw me just at the moment when Reimu told me she had finally stopped hiding from her own feelings and allowed herself to accept the endless affection which her beloved Yukari had confessed to her many times. So forgive me for hurting you – even though I didn't mean it at all, ze.

The witch stopped talking for a moment but then cuddled up even closer to the puppeteer and continued to talk hastily as if she was frightened to lose Alice after hearing her reply.

– I.. I'm sorry it took me too long to say it out loud, Alice! But I've never wanted to say it more than now.. I love you – love you with my whole heart. I really mean it!

..You won't hate me for now, will you, ze?.. – the magician added nervously when the other girl didn't answer anything.

Alice couldn't even breath listening to the witch avidly. She finally believed everything that her heart had been denying fiercely, while those tender words and a wonderful feeling of warmth were enlacing her entire body. Her mind was absorbing greedily every sound from Marisa's lips, every touch, every word. She suddenly felt as if something that had fettered her soul for a great while was driven out by overwhelming tenderness of Marisa's words. Finally, she could be free from all the misery and loneliness that surrounded her for so many years.

When the witch ended her declaration of love, Alice lingered a few moments and then all of a sudden turned toward her and threw her hand over Marisa's body. She was currently resting on her arms and her face was over the magician's, who was now gazing right into her sparkling blue eyes. Marisa was completely enchanted with that sight cause Alice's face was gleaming with inner light at that moment. Alice could see Marisa's worried and sincere caramel eyes reflect amazement then pleasure and finally hope and tenderness.

She uttered:

– You dummy.. It's not necessarily to bring me to the parties to make me happy, you know. The only person in the world, the only one who сan make me feel blissful.. This is you. No one else can replace Marisa to me! To bring me happiness you just need to be near.. To share with me a little bit of your warmth.. And to let me take care of you.. And that's all. There's no way I could ever hate you, or kill you, or harm you, or whatever.. To hurt my most important person in the whole world would mean the end of my existence. And.. you are this most important person for me. You're my reason to live, Marisa. My everything. And these are only your words that finally made me free to tell you about it. I love you. I'm extremely, completely crazed about you. And as the time goes by, my feelings are only increasing.. That's why I was so unbearable yesterday. Cause I wasn't even able to control myself properly anymore.. I-I don't know what about me could turn you to lo..love me. But I want to believe it – I already believe. Oh Marisa, I- ..

That speech was too much for the puppeteer who'd been used to hiding her true feelings deep inside. All tension, all importance of the moment made Alice cry again. She moved away and covered her face with her hands sitting up in bed.

Marisa followed her and took Alice's palms off her face gently. Then she wiped the puppeteer's tears with her fingers. – Shh.. Don't cry anymore, Alice. Don't cry, my love, everything's ok from now on.. Don't.. Ah, ze, you SO sweet I just can't contain myself any longer! – With these words Marisa pressed her lips to Alice's, and that's how they shared their first, most important, most nervous, most unbelievable kiss in the unending chain of kisses in their common future.

When their mouths parted, the girls embraced each other tightly and were just sitting like that for a while, overwhelmed with emotions.

– What turned me to like you, you ask, ze, – Marisa whispered striking her beloved one's soft fair hair. – You're warm, Alice. So warm.. You've always cared for me from the distance. Like yesterday, when you were so worried about me.. You took away my pain actually. I almost felt ya absorbing with your heart the coldness which surrounded me. Nobody else could do this for me - only you, ze.. I've always felt passion and life inside you, tons of emotions. And as for your appearance – Alice is always elegant, utterly beautiful and completely perfect to me. Not to mention you have the most lovely eyes in Gensokyo, ze.. I don't want to part with you ever, y'know. I wish to spend every single morning like this, holding you in my arms, kissing you, telling you that I love you. I live for the day actually, but there is one thing I know for sure – I want to spend my lifetime with Alice. So you'd better be prepared to live with a noisy and sometimes completely idiotic kleptomaniac witch.. Do you mind?

– It will be not harder than to live with a quick-tempered and diffident youkai, – Alice whispered smiling. – I'm so afraid that some day you'll find someone better..

– Say no more, – the witch pressed her finger to Alice's lips gently. – Every single quality you possess makes you adorable to me. Both your advantages and disadvantages just make you the way you are – the one I love so much. This will never change.

– Stop saying such things for now or else I'm just going to die from happiness.. Oh, Marisa. What are you doing to me?.. Yesterday if I hadn't had Eirin's potion recipe, I'd have just died worrying about you..

– I know. I felt your anxiety and your warmth.. By the way, what's with that potion? Why did Alice ever need it? I thought that youkai can't catch a cold, ze! – the magician looked into Alice's eyes with curiosity.

– Well.. – The puppeteer mumbled blushing. – Actually I've asked Eirin to make it just in case cause I saw you sneezing more than once lately.. And I wanted you always to be healthy. T-that's why.. Though I didn't expect to use it so soon.

Marisa smiled with tenderness: – Aww.. So that was for my sake, Alice.. It's really touching. Thanks. You're so caring, ze.. Hey, – the magician added seriously. – I want to promise you something. Whatever I do, from this moment on I'll be more careful. I'm not going to make you worry so much anymore. So don't fear for me! I'll recover rapidly from every illness, from every adversity. Just be with me.. Ok? Cause I love you more than my life, Alice. So don't ever leave me..

– Hush.. It's completely impossible for me to leave you, you know.. And I'm gonna spend the rest of my life proving that to Marisa. Keep this in mind! And now.. could you.. kiss me once more?..

And so she did – and not just once, nor even twice, nor even ten times.

As the girls were looking lovingly at each other, something warm and light radiated from them and with sunbeams shining through the window it began its way throughout Gensokyo. And soon every single creature around there felt that something heartwarming and unbelievably beautiful was taking place nearby.

And the girls themselves were too occupied with each other to notice an elegant hand in a lacy glove which stuck out from the gap in the air in front of the Margatroid's doorway and hanged up the big witch's hat onto the handle. And then with audible "fufufu.. congrats, you two!", coming from within, the gap melted in the frosty air of the first winter day in Gensokyo.

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The end