Hello, sorry for the quick interruption at the beginning here (it's a one time thing), I just wanted to make a few things clear. This is an AU where instead of being vampires, the Cullen's are Fae and Alice is human. It's a Jasper x Alice love story and I plan to make it a long one! Everything shall start to make sense as the story progresses. Anyways, thank you for your generous time and I hope you enjoy!
Alice searched among the trees for signs of movement. Her lungs seemed to shrink with every breath. She bent over in a fit of coughing.
Why wasn't Cynthia responding? Why hadn't she heard her scream?
The sudden sound of branches snapping in the distance sent her stumbling in pursuit.
Dense, shoulder high thickets made it impossible for her to move quickly. Branches whipped at her cheeks and bare legs, but she hardly felt the sting.
Above, thick canopies blocked out the moon. It felt pointless, stumbling about in the dark. Still, she pushed on.
It felt like she'd been running forever when finally, she could see a soft blue light filtering through the trees ahead. A clearing!
She rushed towards it, trying as hard as she could to be quiet.
The sound of sickening, guttural voices emanating from the field stopped her in her tracks.
It was them.
A group of hunched creatures, carrying Cynthia's limp body on their backs.
The first thing she noticed was their skin. A sickly shade of green-grey, covered in what Alice could only assume to be warts. They didn't seem to have any ears and their faces were mostly flat, like a toads, with two bulbous black eyes.
But more than anything, it was their arms that disturbed her the most; exceedingly thin and disproportionately long in comparison to their short bodies, dragging in the dirt behind them like dead appendages.
And they had her little sister. They were touching her.
The thought made her physically sick. Bile rushed up her throat. She turned away and retched.
Oh god, Alice thought. What do they want with her?
She peered back into the field. The creatures dropped Cynthia with a loud thud. They circled around her with arms pointing inwards, concealing her. All Alice could see was their backs.
Crack. She covered her face, blinded by a glaring flash of light.
Scorching hot wind whipped at her hair. She could feel her skin blister and crack beneath the heat. Alice's shrieks gave way to full-throttle screaming.
Then, as swiftly as it had started, the wind came to an abrupt stop.
Alice slowly peeled her hands from her face, blinked and rubbed at her eyes.
She hesitated before examining for damages, certain that her skin now resembled beef jerky.
Nothing. No burns, no blisters and no cracks.
Weird. It was all in her head.
Mouth agape, she stared into the field in front of her. It was empty! Those things vanished, into thin air.
"How are you feeling?"
The voice spoke from right behind her. Alice nearly jumped out of her skin. Spinning on her toes, she turned –and lost her breath.
His eyes were the most startling shade of amber that she had ever seen. They reminded her of liquid honey in the sunlight, flecked with gold and alive with light.
No one had eyes like that.
She took a step back, bumping into a tree.
"W-who are you?" She sputtered.
"Name's Jasper, ma'am" the young man said. "We're here to help you."
She blinked at him. We?
Jasper held up his left hand.
Movement drew her attention to the woods behind him.
A group of people stepped out from between the trees. Robed in black velvet cloaks and clothing of the same dark shade, it was no surprise to Alice how they so easily blended into the shadows.
Simultaneously, they pulled back their hoods.
"Sir," The man closest to Jaspers right side spoke. "We must return to Camp."
Jasper nodded. "We can't leave her here. Rosalie?"
A golden-haired girl walked to stand in front of Alice. She dug through the satchel at her side and pulled out a red satin pouch, tied with golden thread.
"Don't be afraid." Her tone, though soft, came across as cold.
"I just need to find my sister..." Alice started.
Rosalie untied the pouch. Alice watched with suspicious eyes as she dumped the contents into her hand. A vibrant orange powder.
"Close your eyes," she instructed.
Alice shook her head. "No, really –"
"Suit yourself," Rosalie sighed. Then, without further hesitation, she tossed the powder into Alice's face.
Engulfed in a neon cloud, Alice gasped for air. The powder stung. Bleary eyed, she tried to see through the haze. The world was turning sideways. It started spinning.
"Whoa." She swayed, leaning into the tree for support.
The air smelled sweet. Like lavender and chamomile.
"whatdidyougiveme?" She slurred, unintelligibly.
She could feel her eyelids growing heavy.
Her mind felt foggy. Exhausted.
Against her better judgement, she closed her eyes, sliding down against the tree until she was sitting in the dirt.
I'll only rest for a minute, she thought. Just…. A minute.