The Prince

Alice opened her mouth to greet him, but all that came out was a squeak of surprise. She was also astonished to find he wasn't wearing armor. In fact, he wasn't even wearing leather plates or chain mail. He was just wearing skinny jeans, a flannel shirt, and red Chuck Taylors. Alice was confused to no end. "Well." She coughed. "You cannot be from the same time period as your mother." She tried to crack a joke. To her immense relief, the knight grinned. "I have a special gift, Alice. I can travel to and from your world. And might I say I adore your time period's fashion. Seems only yesterday you were all wearing stiff collars." He smiled, looking into the white stone walls of the tower as if he were reminiscing. "Oh, I am Ichios." He extended his hand. Alice took it. Leathery. Calloused. Worn. A sword was sheathed in his belt loop, a thin and light rapier. It fit him perfectly, light and stinging. Alice had a hard time believing he could swing a broadsword above his head. He was thin and skeletal, and almost shorter than her. "Alice, apparently." she replied. He laughed a booming laugh, as if it were the funniest thing he'd ever heard. Alice was completely serious. She, however, laughed as well. He looked her up and down, his eyebrows doing strange, small dances upon his forehead as he took in her every feature. Alice felt slightly embarrassed and cleared her throat. "Where can a girl get some tea around here?" She asked, biting her lip. "It must be close to tea time." he replied in a British accent that made Alice want to swoon, taking a square time piece from his pocket. It appeared there were no numbers on the face, just engraved bugs that crawled to a new position every five seconds. "Yes, it appears I was correct." He offered the crook of his arm. "Shall I escort you?" He asked. Alice smiled and nodded, hoping they actually served tea.