Winter Bingo: Card Four, Column Three
Chick Magnet?
Prompt: casanova
Time Period: Chapters 8 through 10 of "Secundus"
Notes: Inspired by the fact that Victor would have never guessed he'd have two women interested in him, let alone at the same time (and while he was gaga for someone else!). The title comes from a trope to that effect on TV Tropes.
Victor had no idea how this could have happened. It defied all sense, in his eyes. After all, he was Victor Van Dort – a skinny, overly-tall, overly-pale young man with rather feminine features and a lack of interest in most “manly” activities. Hardly the sort to make ladies swoon over him. In fact, most girls barely seemed to notice him at all – and the ones who did were very clear about his lack of suitability as a suitor. He’d thought for sure he’d spend his life either as a lonely bachelor or tied to someone who didn’t love him.
And now. . .now he’d had two kind, gentle, pretty young ladies express an interest in him. More than an interest, in fact – it was very clear both of them would not have minded being his wife. Even more incredibly, he’d had to turn their offers down, because he was in love with a third girl. And although he wasn’t sure how she felt about him romantically, said third girl was obviously not repulsed by his presence. In fact, she seemed to like him quite a lot. How could such a change be accounted for?
Maybe someone had slipped something into Secundus’s drinking water. . . .
Lean On Me
Prompt: slippery
Time Period: Post-climax of "Secundus," pre-wedding
Notes: This is another one that's like a previous Winter Bingo prompt: black ice. Victor has no luck with icy surfaces. This can also be seen as a sequel to one of the 100 Drabbles of Summer, ice. Again, the area they're in is a reference to the area called "Icy Reception" in "American McGee's Alice." Victor should just be thankful there are no bottomless pits here.
“Oh!”
Victor crashed to the ground for the third time. “How are you supposed to walk in this place?” he demanded, not even bothering to try and get up right away.
“Very carefully,” Alice said, leaning up against the wall of the cave.
“It’s impossible! I don’t know how you do it!” Victor grabbed a nearby stalagmite and slowly began pulling himself back upright. “I’m going to be all bruises by the time I get out of here.”
“You’re the one who so desperately wanted to keep out of the heat,” Alice said, sliding easily over to him and offering a hand.
Victor gave her a look. “I know, but I didn’t realize it came with my legs betraying me even more than usual.”
Alice smiled and pulled him close to her. “Well, that’s the nice thing about being here together – I’m always willing to be your crutch,” she said, slinging his arm around her back.
Playmate
Prompt: Author’s Choice: mirror
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus," little kid Victor
Notes: . . .I honestly think this is one of the cutest yet most depressing things I've ever written about Victor's childhood. You'll see when you read the fic.
“Would you like some more tea?”
“Yes, I would love some more tea!”
Victor smiled and poured the “tea” (actually some juice lent for the occasion by the chef) for his guest. He knew that a lot of the other children in the village would make fun of him for having a tea party. After all, that was something girls did in their playtime, not boys. But Victor didn’t mind, and neither did his guest. This was fun.
He checked on his other guests at the little table – his favorite stuffed cat and dog – then distributed little cakes to everyone. He happily scarfed his down, but his guest didn’t. “Aren’t you hungry?” Victor asked.
“Not right now. I might have it later.”
“Oh, all right.” Victor sipped his tea, then looked at his guest with a smile. “Having fun?”
“Lots! I’m so glad you invited me.”
“I’m glad too,” Victor said, then sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing much,” Victor replied, looking at his reflection in the mirror. “I just wish you could talk on your own sometimes.”
Love To Hate You
Prompt: hooks
Time Period: Post-climax of "Secundus," pre-wedding
Notes: Nell telling Victor that Alice has her hooks in him was the very first thing to come to mind when I thought of this prompt, so I ran with it. This is Victor post-Touched, trying to reconcile with his parents before they leave the city. It doesn't go well, mostly because they can't stop saying stupid things like this. Nell, why must you be so stubborn and dumb? The title is the title of a song I like, and I think it fits Nell's attitude here.
“This all really started when she got her hooks into you, didn’t it?”
Victor looked up from his tea, baffled. “What are you going on about now, Mother?”
“That Alice woman,” Nell snapped. “Dr. Brown might have been the one to bring you here and brainwash you in the first place, but it’s her fault you stuck around so long, isn’t it? She’s the real villain here! Perhaps she’s the one who’s playing havoc with your mind n–”
“Don’t.”
Nell stopped, stunned into silence by the sudden icy anger in her son’s voice. Victor leaned forward, glaring at her. “Don’t you say a word against her,” he continued, sounding quite the opposite of her usually shy, retiring son. “She’s the woman I love, and I assure you, she is not altering my mind. In fact, it’s only thanks to her that I’m able to talk to you with any sort of sanity at the moment. So leave her out of this.”
With that, he leaned back and sighed deeply. Nell studied him for a long moment. He looked himself again, but she could still see a bit of the madness lurking around his eyes. Miss Liddell was the one who was able to keep that at bay? To keep her son – mostly her son?
. . .Preposterous. Nell knew the truth. That girl had done something to him. And even if what Victor saying was correct –
Well, then Miss Liddell hadn’t done a good enough job.
A Perfect Moment
Prompt: commitment
Time Period: Post-climax of "Secundus," pre-wedding
Notes: This kind of demanded a marriage-related prompt, and after some searching I realized I hadn't done Victor's actual proposal to Alice. So this is what you get.
This was it. This was the big moment. Victor fiddled with the box in his pocket, willing the butterflies in his stomach to go away. He was pretty certain what Alice’s answer to his question would be, but – he couldn’t help being nervous. He’d been a worrier all his life – old habits died hard. And besides, there was always that tiny chance. . . .
Alice looked up from her teacup. “Victor? Is something wrong? You’ve seemed on edge all throughout this picnic.”
“I know, and I’m s-sorry,” Victor said, looking at her. “It’s just – I have something very important to ask you.”
Alice froze for a second, arresting the teacup in its path from the saucer to her lips. Then, suddenly, she grinned. “Oooh.” She set aside the cup and got in front of him. “Well, then, better ask it.”
“R-right now?” Well, obviously she knew what he was going to ask, but – he’d kind of hoped to build up to it a bit more. Say a few romantic things while he worked up the courage to actually speak the words.
“You never know when something might ruin the moment,” Alice said, and while her tone was light her eyes were rather serious. “Right here, right now, everything is perfect. And that’s just how I want to remember this.”
She had a very good point. The park – the city in general, really – was chaotic enough that you rarely got a truly perfect moment. You had to seize on it when you could. And really, she was right – how much better could this particular moment get? “Alice, will you marry me?” Victor promptly asked, pulling the ring out of his pocket and presenting it to her.
Alice beamed and held out her hand. “Yes, I will.”
Two minutes after he slipped the ring on her finger, they had to deal with a Boojum, but at least Victor knew the most important moment of the day hadn’t been ruined.
Prompt: casanova
Time Period: Chapters 8 through 10 of "Secundus"
Notes: Inspired by the fact that Victor would have never guessed he'd have two women interested in him, let alone at the same time (and while he was gaga for someone else!). The title comes from a trope to that effect on TV Tropes.
Victor had no idea how this could have happened. It defied all sense, in his eyes. After all, he was Victor Van Dort – a skinny, overly-tall, overly-pale young man with rather feminine features and a lack of interest in most “manly” activities. Hardly the sort to make ladies swoon over him. In fact, most girls barely seemed to notice him at all – and the ones who did were very clear about his lack of suitability as a suitor. He’d thought for sure he’d spend his life either as a lonely bachelor or tied to someone who didn’t love him.
And now. . .now he’d had two kind, gentle, pretty young ladies express an interest in him. More than an interest, in fact – it was very clear both of them would not have minded being his wife. Even more incredibly, he’d had to turn their offers down, because he was in love with a third girl. And although he wasn’t sure how she felt about him romantically, said third girl was obviously not repulsed by his presence. In fact, she seemed to like him quite a lot. How could such a change be accounted for?
Maybe someone had slipped something into Secundus’s drinking water. . . .
Lean On Me
Prompt: slippery
Time Period: Post-climax of "Secundus," pre-wedding
Notes: This is another one that's like a previous Winter Bingo prompt: black ice. Victor has no luck with icy surfaces. This can also be seen as a sequel to one of the 100 Drabbles of Summer, ice. Again, the area they're in is a reference to the area called "Icy Reception" in "American McGee's Alice." Victor should just be thankful there are no bottomless pits here.
“Oh!”
Victor crashed to the ground for the third time. “How are you supposed to walk in this place?” he demanded, not even bothering to try and get up right away.
“Very carefully,” Alice said, leaning up against the wall of the cave.
“It’s impossible! I don’t know how you do it!” Victor grabbed a nearby stalagmite and slowly began pulling himself back upright. “I’m going to be all bruises by the time I get out of here.”
“You’re the one who so desperately wanted to keep out of the heat,” Alice said, sliding easily over to him and offering a hand.
Victor gave her a look. “I know, but I didn’t realize it came with my legs betraying me even more than usual.”
Alice smiled and pulled him close to her. “Well, that’s the nice thing about being here together – I’m always willing to be your crutch,” she said, slinging his arm around her back.
Playmate
Prompt: Author’s Choice: mirror
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus," little kid Victor
Notes: . . .I honestly think this is one of the cutest yet most depressing things I've ever written about Victor's childhood. You'll see when you read the fic.
“Would you like some more tea?”
“Yes, I would love some more tea!”
Victor smiled and poured the “tea” (actually some juice lent for the occasion by the chef) for his guest. He knew that a lot of the other children in the village would make fun of him for having a tea party. After all, that was something girls did in their playtime, not boys. But Victor didn’t mind, and neither did his guest. This was fun.
He checked on his other guests at the little table – his favorite stuffed cat and dog – then distributed little cakes to everyone. He happily scarfed his down, but his guest didn’t. “Aren’t you hungry?” Victor asked.
“Not right now. I might have it later.”
“Oh, all right.” Victor sipped his tea, then looked at his guest with a smile. “Having fun?”
“Lots! I’m so glad you invited me.”
“I’m glad too,” Victor said, then sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing much,” Victor replied, looking at his reflection in the mirror. “I just wish you could talk on your own sometimes.”
Love To Hate You
Prompt: hooks
Time Period: Post-climax of "Secundus," pre-wedding
Notes: Nell telling Victor that Alice has her hooks in him was the very first thing to come to mind when I thought of this prompt, so I ran with it. This is Victor post-Touched, trying to reconcile with his parents before they leave the city. It doesn't go well, mostly because they can't stop saying stupid things like this. Nell, why must you be so stubborn and dumb? The title is the title of a song I like, and I think it fits Nell's attitude here.
“This all really started when she got her hooks into you, didn’t it?”
Victor looked up from his tea, baffled. “What are you going on about now, Mother?”
“That Alice woman,” Nell snapped. “Dr. Brown might have been the one to bring you here and brainwash you in the first place, but it’s her fault you stuck around so long, isn’t it? She’s the real villain here! Perhaps she’s the one who’s playing havoc with your mind n–”
“Don’t.”
Nell stopped, stunned into silence by the sudden icy anger in her son’s voice. Victor leaned forward, glaring at her. “Don’t you say a word against her,” he continued, sounding quite the opposite of her usually shy, retiring son. “She’s the woman I love, and I assure you, she is not altering my mind. In fact, it’s only thanks to her that I’m able to talk to you with any sort of sanity at the moment. So leave her out of this.”
With that, he leaned back and sighed deeply. Nell studied him for a long moment. He looked himself again, but she could still see a bit of the madness lurking around his eyes. Miss Liddell was the one who was able to keep that at bay? To keep her son – mostly her son?
. . .Preposterous. Nell knew the truth. That girl had done something to him. And even if what Victor saying was correct –
Well, then Miss Liddell hadn’t done a good enough job.
A Perfect Moment
Prompt: commitment
Time Period: Post-climax of "Secundus," pre-wedding
Notes: This kind of demanded a marriage-related prompt, and after some searching I realized I hadn't done Victor's actual proposal to Alice. So this is what you get.
This was it. This was the big moment. Victor fiddled with the box in his pocket, willing the butterflies in his stomach to go away. He was pretty certain what Alice’s answer to his question would be, but – he couldn’t help being nervous. He’d been a worrier all his life – old habits died hard. And besides, there was always that tiny chance. . . .
Alice looked up from her teacup. “Victor? Is something wrong? You’ve seemed on edge all throughout this picnic.”
“I know, and I’m s-sorry,” Victor said, looking at her. “It’s just – I have something very important to ask you.”
Alice froze for a second, arresting the teacup in its path from the saucer to her lips. Then, suddenly, she grinned. “Oooh.” She set aside the cup and got in front of him. “Well, then, better ask it.”
“R-right now?” Well, obviously she knew what he was going to ask, but – he’d kind of hoped to build up to it a bit more. Say a few romantic things while he worked up the courage to actually speak the words.
“You never know when something might ruin the moment,” Alice said, and while her tone was light her eyes were rather serious. “Right here, right now, everything is perfect. And that’s just how I want to remember this.”
She had a very good point. The park – the city in general, really – was chaotic enough that you rarely got a truly perfect moment. You had to seize on it when you could. And really, she was right – how much better could this particular moment get? “Alice, will you marry me?” Victor promptly asked, pulling the ring out of his pocket and presenting it to her.
Alice beamed and held out her hand. “Yes, I will.”
Two minutes after he slipped the ring on her finger, they had to deal with a Boojum, but at least Victor knew the most important moment of the day hadn’t been ruined.