Mary Alice Brandon was born in Biloxi, Mississippi sometime during 1901. She had lived with a small family, an adoring little sister, and a power to see into the future- a power which eventually put her in a mental asylum. Elliot, an assistant physican and a vampire, grew very attatched to Alice. Over the course of one year the two formed a very strong relationship. Until the day another vampire caught sight of her. James, realizing immediately how much Elliot adored Alice, decided to make her his new prey. Elliot knew of James' plans and took Alice away from the asylum, changing her just in time to keep her safe from James. But by doing this he payed his own life and left Alice on her own to find her way and to find herself again. This is what Alice has forgotten.
Had aTwilighted Beta for this: qjmom
Disclaimer: Anything Twilight related belongs to Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are mine. No copyright is intended.
Rated PG-13 for mild language and mild violence. Also, this is fanfic which means that in order to fit the story line I may mess with the details a little (which may make the story slightly AU-ish) for example: Obviously, Alice does not have all the signs of Schizophrenia but it is a mental illness in which the person suffers from hallucinations and delusions, which is why I picked it.
Finding information about asylum's in the 1920's was not easy. The info I used for the mental asylum was actually from The Stockton State Mental Asylum which ran from the 1890's to the 1920's. I used the info as kind of a guide line, so my mental asylum and The Stockton State Mental Asylum aren't exactly alike but nor is my asylum and the aslum slightly described by SM (explained below).
(What I read about the Stockton State Mental Asylum can be found here if anyone is interested: . )
I realize that in Twilight James says, "...She didn't even seem to notice the pain, poor little creature. She'd been stuck in that black hole of a cell for so long...in the 1920's it was the asylum and the shock treatments." Which, obviously, The Stockton State Mental Asylum is not like at all. I did look up mental asylums in the 1920's, because of lack of info, and The Stockton Stae Mental Asylum was pretty much the only thing I found. What I also found was that shock therapy wasn't introduced until the 1930's.
I did most of my research on Wikipedia, which I know is not the most reliable source but it was the most imformable.
I know I'm not the first one to venture here, and I probably won't be the best, but please let me know what you think.
A/N: Ok guys this is my first try at a Pre-Twilight fanfic, I really hope you like it. This first chapter is just kind of explaining what led Alice's parents to put her in the mental asylum, written in the POV of her little sister.
I know Alice says her parents weren't part of the social group that makes the paper and the party mentioned here was high class, but it was a one time thing. I just needed a big enough social event and that's what I came up with.
Prologue-When They Decided To Send Sissy Away
Cynthia POV
Alice was eighteen, myself sixteen, when my parents decided to send her away. "Away" was the word they used on me, as if I wasn't old enough to comprehend what a mental asylum was. Of course, I wasn't actually supposed to know they were sending her away. Alice had told me. Alice always told me stuff before it happened.
In the beginning, Alice didn't tell anyone about her visions. She kept them to herself. I'm not sure if it was on purpose, or when the visions started. Maybe when she was younger and she zoned out people just thought she was daydreaming. Or when she knew something was going to happen before it did they thought it was just coincidence.
Alice told me her secret when I was six. At the time I thought it was pretty cool, but was jealous I didn't have a power of my own. After awhile I realized I shouldn't have been so jealous. Alice's "talent" brought her nothing but trouble, pain, and tears for the next few years. She was twelve when the real problem started though.
We were at a dinner party, the big kind where all the "who's who of the town" are invited. It's extremely difficult to get a spot on the guest list and even more troublesome to stick to appearances. Especially to a bored ten year old in a stuffy dress.
All night I was thinking of better things to do but somehow I would manage to get distracted by my sister. That night she was dressed in a long, flowy, dark purple dress. It fit her perfectly, so well it made her look much older than twelve. Her hair was in ringlets, pulled back and reaching her waist. She was short of course, much shorter than any lady of her age, so she was also wearing heels. Very high heels. The kind I would be sure to break an ankle in. But, as always, Mary Alice was as graceful as a swan.
When we sat down to eat though, things for my sister took a turn for the worst. I'm not sure what she saw, she never told me, and I was sitting too far away from her to hear what she was mumbling. But she did what she always did when she had a vision: she zoned out. It was like she was here but her mind was somewhere totally different.
What ever she mumbled when this was happening though really scared everyone, but they chuckled and shrugged it off. I watched my sister worriedly then...she was looking a little green. And it wasn't long after we left that the entire building caught flames. I watched it burn, listening to Alice cry, while we drove away.
I had always been a talented eavesdropper. I guess that was my own special gift. But, due to Alice, I never really used it. That night, however, I did. Alice was tired when we returned home. She bathed then retired to bed and that was the last I heard from her all night.
I, on the other hand, bathed then silently crept down the stairs in my nightwear. Mother and father were both in the parlor, talking in low hushed voices. They returned here every night after Alice went to bed, discussing her, dissecting her, wondering if she really had a problem or not. And ever night, I crept down the staircase and listened.
Alice's visions became less and less secret as the years drove on. I know she knew it bothered our parents, listening to her explain what she was seeing. I think it bothered them even more when it happened. But it wasn't until she was eighteen that the decision was made: Mary Alice Brandon was insane.
I was crouched in my usual spot, my wet hair pulled over my shoulder and soaking my clothes, while I listen to my parents talk about my sister.
"You know everyone thinks she is," mother was saying, "and, I'm sorry dear, but I have to agree."
I heard father sigh. It was a sigh of distress, one he rarely ever used. "But, to send her to a mental asylum?"
There was a pause, while I covered my mouth in an attempt to hide the gasp of shock, before mother replied, "Is she getting any help here?"
There was another pause and I crossed my fingers, willing my father to fight against my mother with everything he had.
But he didn't. He gave up. He let her win. With another long sigh he said, "I suppose not...tomorrow then-"
I could no longer stay there, hidden away, I had to do something. "No!" I screamed as I pounded down the stairs. Alice had told me the night before that she had seen herself, alone, in a white room. She said she didn't understand it, but she felt lost and confused. I understood now and I could not let it happen.
My father spun around in shock and caught me around the waist as I charged at my mother. I blamed her for some reason. Maybe because she had been the one to suggest it? Tears streamed down my face as I clawed at my father's arms. Any other time I would have been punished for this sort of behavior, but that thought didn't enter my mind. All I wanted was my sister, to stay here, where she belongs.
"You can't do this! You can't!" I screamed at my shocked mothers face.
"Cynthia, please calm down," my mother commanded in a quiet voice.
"Calm down!" I screamed, realizing that the volume of my voice was probably waking Alice. "Do you realize what you're talking about!?"
"Cynthia...we need to send Mary Alice away. It's for her own good."
And there was that word. Away. As if I didn't understand, or couldn't understand, that they thought my sister needed to be...treated for some mental illness, which she didn't have. "It is not! She needs to be here! With her family! With people who love her!"
"She is sick, Cynthia," my mother tried to explain.
I desperately fell to my knees. "You can't," I begged.
Silence was my only answer.
A/N: And that is the end of the prologue. The next few chapters will be in Alice's POV and a few places in Elliot's. Please review and let me know if you like it so far. I write for my reviews, so as long as there are reviews there will be more chapters. PLEASE don't shadow read. I really wish that I could reply to everyone who is so kind to, but I can't :( so if you would like to hear my thoughts on review, just add a ~reply to the end of your review and I would be more than happy to!