A note to Twilight fans! This is different. It is not a piece of crack written by a screaming fanboy. Nor is it a piece of mindless fluff drawn from the dwindling depths of my mind, as with one of my other stories. And neither is it a babble of literary insanity like my crossover. It is but a representation of the intense physical and emotional journeys the characters of Alice and Jasper were forced to take up until, and indeed long after the time of their meeting. As such, you will be introduced to new characters, see new sides of old characters, and maybe even catch a glimpse of a future never predicted in the original Twilight saga. This is how I roll.
This chapter is done mostly from Alice's viewpoint in general, though you see a lot of Daniel's (OC) thoughts as well.
I don't know much about how asylums were run in the early 1900's, so I guessed. By all means feel free to correct any errors if you wish; I aim to please ;)
Apologies for the lack of flow in this story; Fanfiction for some reason will not allow me to use asterisks (*) to space each paragraph, so it is probably rather difficult to read, at times. I'll try and sort that out in the next chapter.
I! Instead of asterisks (which fanfiction hates for some reason) I am now using the letter "I" on its own line to denote a change of setting or viewpoint. Hope this works! :)
Brandon Residence, Biloxi, Mississippi. June 12, 1912
Silence. The whole world was drowned in it. Even the bats which fluttered to and fro among the trees and hedgerows of the garden made no sound as they hunted insects in the gloom; utterly ignorant of the chaos which was about to unfold in the small suburban cottage nearby. From the garden the dull, flickering light of a candle in the upstairs window was the only light to be seen for miles and miles. For neither the moon nor the stars could bring themselves to bear witness to the tragedy destined to occur that night.
After all, the death of an innocent is never a sight which any body, celestial or not, can bear to face.
Inside the cottage a pure, bitter calm could be felt, as though even the house itself knew what was coming. In the small, dimly lit, windowless kitchen two people sat silent and still, as though waiting for their cue. And in the upstairs bedroom, a little girl closed her eyes to the world in which she lived, and in doing so opened them to the future.
It was then that the screaming began.
Outside and unbeknownst to each other, two figures stood perfectly still on either side of the house. Through the thick stone walls they heard every scream, every word which was spoken in furious voices by the people from the kitchen as they silenced the screams. They heard everything; from the footsteps along the path, to the key turning in the ignition of the car. All muffled, of course, by the terrible din of the bats darting to and fro overhead...
I
East Mississippi Insane Hospital, Mississippi. August 12, 1919
"Mary! Mary, wake up!" Daniel whispered, shaking the shrieking girl gently as he tried hurriedly to wake her. Her skin felt like fire against his own, though not due to any sickness he knew of. Not on her part, anyway.
Gradually, his soothing voice began to take effect, and the shrieking lessened; to a murmur, then to a whisper, then to silence, as the girl's eyelids fluttered gently open; her unseeing eyes flickering back and forth in the darkness, as though watching hunting bats at twilight.
"Dad?" Her voice was cracked, and rightly so – it had been roughly treated only moments before.
"I'm here." Mary sighed audibly, and reached up to wrap her arms around the doctor's cool, marble neck. "Bad dreams again?" He showed no sign of noticing her embrace.
Mary shook her head.
"Worse than bad. He's getting closer, Daniel. I can see him more clearly now." She whispered hurriedly, as though her nightmare was unfolding around her that very moment. Her tone grew more panicked as she continued, "He's coming, Daniel! We have to... Have to... I..." She felt her eyelids grow heavy one more as she trailed off.
"Shhhhhh. It's all right. Go back to sleep, Mary." Daniel crooned softly, weaving a spell of drowsiness around her. After a few moments had passed he felt her breathing return to the steady rhythm of a sleeping human, and smiled.
At least, with this kind of sleep, nightmares are less likely.
He rose to his feet, and glanced about the room. Even in the pitch black of night, in the darkest cell, his crimson eyes took in everything.
Not that there's much to take in, he added to himself. The room was almost perfectly bare; the only source of light was the minuscule barred window on the cell door, and at night the lights in the corridor went out. Subsequently, so did the one in the cell. So bare was the cell that every tiny crack in the cold stone walls, and every fallen hair and crumb upon the floor shone out like beacons to the doctor's eyes, as he made a mental note to remind the staff to keep the cells clean. After all, it was bad enough that the "patients" lived in isolation and in darkness; they did not deserve to have squalor added to their list of hardships.
Daniel sighed; a long, painful sigh, and at last turned his dark maroon eyes to the dormant girl.
Even in sleep, she seemed almost boisterous in comparison to his perfect stillness. Her breathing, though gentle and rhythmic, shattered the silence into tiny shards which bombarded Daniel's ears. Even the ever so slight motion of her chest, rising and falling as it took in and expelled each clamorous breath, seemed unnervingly incongruous with the bare, motionless atmosphere. However, in spite of all of this the doctor could not help but smile as he looked upon her sleeping form.
Looking at her, it was easy to see how the asylum staff justified the nickname "Pixie" for her. She was terribly pale; almost as pale as Daniel – a by-product, no doubt, of being kept in darkness since childhood. In addition to this, she was quite petite, and incredibly slight – thanks no doubt to the meagre diet provided for her by the so-called "hospital". However, there was a striking beauty hidden in her features – though only Daniel could see it. After all, his eyes took in far more detail than the others'. Her slender form bestowed upon her the most amazing grace in her movements that many people had trouble believing her to be human at all. Her dark black hair framed her face in ragged yet somehow perfect quills, bringing incredible contrast to her pale face and gold-flecked dark green eyes. Her face was equally dramatic; her prominent cheekbones accentuating the curve of her lips in a way which would cause a model to shriek in envy. Her slim, dainty hands were drawn up almost to her head as she lay, slightly curled, on the thin, pathetic mattress up against the wall of the cell. Even on such a wretched bed, she looked supremely comfortable. So strange, thought Daniel, to think that I have seen her grow from a mere child... Shutting his eyes, he thought back, recalling the reason why he had been so drawn to her; the striking resemblance she bore to one long since lost, and the desperate words of an old friend... He shook his head abruptly. Such thoughts merely hurt his head. He re-opened his eyes to gaze once more upon the sleeping beauty lying before him. As he did so, he felt something he could only describe as pride well up within him.
Even human, and even in such piteous conditions as these, she grows lovelier by the day... He stopped his thoughts in their tracks suddenly and shook his head, trying desperately to derail his train of thought. Try as he might, though, he could not rid his head of the inevitable. It would not be long, he knew, before Mary Alice Brandon became more lovely than any human had ever been. He shuddered at the thought, before tearing his gaze away from her and leaving the cell in search of a drink – he was becoming unbearably thirsty in the warm, dusty hospital.
I
Outside the hospital, in the dark foliage of the nearby forest, a pair of crimson eyes watched. Watched... And waited.
I
East Mississippi Insane Hospital, Mississippi. October 25, 1919
Summer came and went, and in the outside world the leaves on the beautiful red maple trees began to fall. Time, however, bears no meaning for those who never have the chance to see it pass.
Mary thought about time occasionally, though of course it was fruitless to do so. In the darkness of her cell reality was constantly blurred, and her visions made it impossible to tell if her dreams were about past experiences long since forgotten, or things which were still to come.
In spite of this, though, her visions were still a comfort to her. In a place where the darkness shrouded her natural sight, she had come to rely on her supernatural one more and more over the years. So much so that she spent much of her time with her eyes closed, trying to see in her mind's eye who her next visitor would be.
Of course, that was hardly necessary. The one person she was looking for among the staff who brought her food and water came every night nowadays, without fail. Every day (or night, for she could scarcely tell the difference) she woke up knowing that he would come, yet still everyday she would search him out in the swirling haze of images that was the future, just to assure herself.
However, today was different. Today, his face in her mind was as though lit by a candle, ever flickering in and out of sight. One moment she felt certain that he was on his way that very instant; the next, nothing. Not even a glimmer. She would freeze for a moment whenever this occurred, then recover and look again only to find him returned, as though he had never been gone. There, gone, there, gone... Mary felt herself going mad. She had been able to see the future for so long, and now uncertainty was upon her. Shaking her head, she tried one last desperate time to see the true future, and failed. Her head hit the pillow before she had time to comprehend what was happening, and by the time she had her exhaustion had already enveloped her, and she was in a darkness far deeper than that of her cell.
I
Meanwhile, Daniel was thinking. The sun was still high, and for reasons of his own he did not wish to leave his home while that was the case. While he waited for it to go down, he considered. I should leave early. If I cut through the forest, there will be no humans present to see me, and if there are the shade will protect me. If I leave early, I will be able to hunt on the return journey. I must hunt soon, after all. He winced at the thought, and his long, elegant index finger absent-mindedly stroked his throat. His usually bright crimson eyes were flecked with black
Then again, He thought, what does it matter? I have to begin my new diet soon, if I am to keep my promise. Might as well be today – that would save the time from tracking... And it would also save a life. He liked the sound of that. Smiling, he leaned back and shut his eyes, revelling in the comfort of a relaxation he never needed, but enjoyed nonetheless.
I
Mary awoke with a start, and chided herself for falling asleep. I can still see, though, so it must still be daytime. She allowed herself a momentary pause then, giving the relief time to wash over her, before once more opening her mind's eye to the future.
And there he was, as though he had never been gone in the first place. Her mind's eye savoured every perfect feature, clearer than they had ever been. So clear that she could even make out the dark maroon tinge to his eyes. And then, just for a moment, she glimpsed a later future. One in which his eyes had turned to liquid amber, and his brilliant smile shone brighter than ever before...
Smiling, she shut all her eyes and lay back down. Not to sleep, as such, but certainly to dream.
I
Hmm... It seems the opportunity has passed. A shame, but then I have as long as I need.
In the thick undergrowth of the maple forest, a leaf stirred, apparently by itself. Then, gradually, the forest floor began to move. The leaves slid graciously and subtly over each other, as though overawed by the sinister yet godlike presence in their midst. For godlike he was, though he did not appear so to most. He watched the last leaf drift lazily toward the ground, then snapped his head up and sniffed the air.
His lithe, pale, muscular body was half-crouched, with one arm braced against the ground like a lethal predator about to spring. His eyes were blood-red and narrowed; his nostrils flared as they searched the cool afternoon breeze for the scent. Her scent... The one which drove him crazy even merely thinking about it.
For someone who was used to feeling no emotions at all, it was a strange concept. However, he had his reasons for craving the girl's scent. The waiting bore no irritation for him - the fact that she was protected by one of his own kind only provided an extra challenge for him; increasing his enjoyment of the chase as it lasted and lasted...
However, something has changed. I can feel it... Something is different; things have gotten... Easier. I wonder, is the time almost come for me to claim my prize? He smiled then, a terrifying, feral smile which bared his perfectly white teeth. He would wait, he knew. But not for long; not any more. He had a feeling his time was growing closer, after all, and his feelings were not often wrong...
I
"So tell me, Mary. How do these... Visions of yours come about?" Daniel sat cross-legged by her bedside, his face lit by the lantern he himself had brought – the lights in the corridor had long since been extinguished by the cell guards as they made their way out of the dim labyrinth that was Mary's prison.
She shrugged, her mind wandering amongst his perfect features – so much more incredible than they had been in her vision. His pale complexion was as divine as always, and his dark, almost shoulder-length hair shimmered even in the pitiful light of the lantern.
"I don't know. I suppose they just... Happen. Most of the time. Sometimes I can look for things, but they have to be things I know something about – like my future, or yours..." She suddenly snapped her mouth shut, and turned her face slightly in an attempt to hide the faint pinkish tinge on her cheeks. She failed.
"You've seen my future, Mary?" Daniel's voice was as calm and honey-soft as always, but there was something slightly off with it as he asked this. Try as she might, Mary couldn't quite place it, so she settled for concern. Well, at least he isn't angry, she thought to herself.
"Yep. Quite interesting it is too; lots of bears in it. I almost felt like a Roman Empress when I was watching parts of it" she rebuked, in her most matter-of-fact tone. Daniel sighed.
"And I suppose that makes me a gladiator, then, does it?"
"Yep." She grinned broadly at him.
"And what you saw doesn't concern you at all?"
"Nope." She reached over and squeezed his hand, savouring the cool, smooth feeling of his hand in hers. "You're you. Why would I be concerned?"
He sighed; a long, exasperated sigh. Sometimes, he wondered if this girl wasn't going to be the death of him.
"So let me get this straight, Mary. In spite of the fact that you've seen my future, including parts which involved bears" he suppressed a shudder at the thought of her seeing that "and you're not bothered? By any of it?"
Mary paused for a moment, then laughed; a high, melodious laugh.
"Well, yes actually. I am bothered." her tone was as serious as she could make it while keeping a straight face.
Daniel's sunset eyes widened for a moment. He opened his mouth, then closed it again as his mind raced lightning-fast, trying to decipher Mary's thoughts. Eventually, he gave up. Some people are just impossible, he decided.
"I'm sorry, Mary. I meant to tell you. In fact, that's what I came to do tonight. I-" He stopped abruptly as Mary interrupted him.
"There you go again! God, you're such a pain, Dad! Don't apologise for it. Just stop doing it!"
Daniel's face tightened into a frown as he fought to keep his emotions in check.
"I can't. It's a part of who I am, Mary, and I-" Once more he was cut off, and this time there was a slight gleam in Mary's eyes.
"There you go again! Mary this, Mary that. Haven't you figured it out yet?" She demanded furiously.
"F-figured what out?" He stammered, backing away as much as he could without loosening her hold on his hand.
"I. Hate. The. Name. Mary. For heaven's sake, Daniel. "Miss Brandon" was bad enough, but at least that made you sound kind of like a cute little schoolkid trying to sweet-talk his teacher into being nice to him. Mary I cannot stand. It's just not me. Seriously. If you want me to let you keep visiting me, you're just going to have to get used to calling me Alice. I've asked you three times now, Daniel. There isn't going to be a fourth."
With that, her composure was finally lost. Her face went from straight to mirthful, then from mirthful to hysterical as she lost herself in a torrent of manic laughter. Painfully, she squeezed out a few words as Daniel stared at her in disbelief.
"Your... Face! I... Can't believe... you actually thought... I was serious!"
"B-but... You mean the fact that I'm a... Vampire... Doesn't bother you at all?"
"Of course not, you fool! If anything it makes you even more interesting! Hey, can you turn into a bat?" She giggled again at that, and this time Daniel joined in. I can't believe it, he thought. Laughter was supposed to be a thing of the past! How is this possible? This girl... She really is something special. I wonder what my Mary would be like, if she were still alive...
"Okay, okay. You win. Alice. Happy now?"
"Ish." Alice replied, then winked. "Seriously, though, Dad. Did you really think you being a Dracula wannabe would bother me?"
Daniel chuckled at that, and shook his head gently.
"I suppose not – you are a rather bizarre child, after all." She frowned at that, and he laughed. "In the best possible, way, of course! However, there is one thing which bother me, Alice."
"What's up? You know you can talk to me about anything. Tell me your secrets! I pwomithe I won't tell anyone!" She smiled a sickly-sweet smile, then poked her tongue out. "After all, it's not like there's anyone around to tell, except for the guards, and they can dance around in tutus for my entertainment for all I care; I'm never talking to them again. Not after they stopped letting me have honey, because apparently it "Makes me too hyperactive. As if they even know what that means." She narrowed her eyes then to express her mock-anger, then smiled again and cocked her head to the side, as if to say "interruption complete. Please continue."
"Of course I know I can tell you anything, but this is really just a passing thought – I've never asked about this, but... Why do you call me Dad, Alice?"
Alice frowned for a moment, then her infectious smile returned as she replied.
"'Cos you are! I know you're not my real dad, but, well, you take care of me. You're the closest thing to a father I have. Why? Does it bother you? I can stop if you-"
"No, no. It's fine, Alice. I was just curious, that's all. In all honesty, It's nice. It makes me feel like a father again."
"Again? You mean you were before?" Her eyebrow was raised in curiosity at this. I guess that probably means vampires really are immortal... I wonder how old he is?
"A long time ago." He shut his eyes for a moment as he remembered. "She was like you, Alice. Even in name..." He trailed off then, before continuing. "I'd better go. The sun will be rising soon, and I have a date with some bears." He winked at her as he got to his feet. She poked her tongue out at him again in return.
"I'll enjoy watching it. Will I see you tomorrow?"
"Of course. I couldn't deny a young girl her father/daughter bonding time, now, could I?" he smiled at her.
"See you tomorrow, Alice."
"See you tomorrow, Dad."
With that, he scooped up his lantern and disappeared down the corridor; a streak of invisible motion against the stark grey walls of the labyrinth.
I
In the darkness, a shadow watched him leave. Watched, and waited... But not for much longer.
High above the spectral image of the asylum, a colony of bats circled silently in the darkness, waiting patiently for their cue.
Well, that's all folks! Please feel free to review - remember, it's your comments and suggestions that keep me doing what I do! Hope you enjoyed, and will carry on reading!
P.S. Sorry for the slightly off-quality here; I was quite tired when I wrote a lot of it. I AM a full-time A level student in exam season, you understand. Quite why I decided to write a new story at a time like this is beyond me, but there you are. Sometimes madness takes a hold of all of us. Here's hoping the next one will be a bit better.
P.P.S. I'll upload a Beta of this when I have time, with corrections and modifications needed to further the plot.
P.P.P.S. Apologies for everything I've forgotten to mention above.
Yours truly,
Gemini
Toodles for now! xoxo