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Black Isle Prison, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Beneath the moonlight and drifting fog, silence hung heavy over the prison roof. Inside, a silver-haired woman in a white inmate's uniform gripped the bars, gazing at the full moon.
"What is it that shines so gracefully in the eye, never once falling asleep?" she whispered.
"The prison, of course!" barked the stout female guard from behind the bars. "Go to bed, Annis. And shut that poet's mouth of yours."
"Yes, madam… but may I ask you one more thing?" Annis tilted her head, still staring at the moon.
"Ugh, Make it quick! If you try anything clever, you'll regret it."
"I won't trick you again. I swear, this is my last question that you'll be hearing from me… Do you know that locking people in cages doesn't always make them better? Sometimes it only keeps demons penned inside. Isn't that right, everyone?" Her voice rang out, and the other prisoners turned, staring through the narrow cells at the guard.
"Hmph! These bars are made of lasers. If you try to break out, you'll cut your hands first," the guard scoffed.
"Black Isle… one of the hellish prison on earth, isn't it?" Annis turned back, her face hidden in shadow, only the moonlight outlining her back.
"If Alice cannot wake from her nightmare… if she must live inside it to survive… devouring white rabbit for hunger, skinning Cheshire for warmth… stripped of family, left alone… little Alice, all alone." Her voice struck like a hammer, making the guard flinch. One prisoner ground her teeth, hunger gnawing at her. The guard shivered, feeling the oppressive weight of the moment.
"What can break the mind, heal the mind, stir the spirit — and never fall silent?" Annis demanded her answer.
"…Drugs…" the guard muttered hesitantly.
"...Wrong." Annis stepped closer.
"You?"
"Wrong...again." She pressed against the bars.
"A song.... a music." The guard finally answered, possibly the right one.
Annis revealed the burnt scar on her right hand, touched the bars gently. "Thank you~ " She turned back into the darkness, collapsing onto her filthy bed.
"Laufet, Bruder, eure Bahn…" she hummed, her right eye glowing orange.
"Freude, wie ein Held zum Siegen… If Alice ever wakes from her nightmare, there must be vengeance for those who cast her into the abyss. When she grows taller, stronger… that day, she will reclaim the childhood stolen from her. Freude, wie ein Held zum… Siegen…"
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