"Through these smoky eyes" is my 4th story, and I hadn't even planned to write it. I was struck with sudden inspiration as I was reading through a couple of Alice/ Jasper fics, and I thought it would be cool if I could write one as well. Please tell me what you think :)

I'm not even sure how long this story will be, it could be only four chapters or something, but it could be 23 chapters. It depends. This chapter, however, should be pretty long (long comparing it to my other chapter of my other stories), as it is the whole of her time as a human squashed into one chapter.

Please review!

I hope you like it!

Chapter 1: Before it ends

"NO!" I screamed, clawing through the arms of the burly man to reach my family. I, Mary Alice Brandon, was being taken away into a mental institute, where I would be locked up and treated like a freak.

It was my pretty pictures that did it. Occasionally, I would zone out of the world, and my eyes would become unfocused. Instead of seeing the world around me, my sight would become foggy, and gradually clear, leaving me with images. I saw deaths, weddings, births, love, hate. Everything that was to come.

"Let me go!" I screamed at the man, kicking at him, and trying to squirm out of his grasp. He was too strong for me, and I was a mere weak child. I couldn't escape no matter how hard I tried. Besides, if I was foolish enough to try and run, then my father would catch me, and I would be given a beating as well as being locked up.

My father. He was the one who had called the freak house people to collect me. I had been in the kitchen, with mother helping her bake, when I saw a vision of being in the mad house. My mother was used to it, and had seen me in my vision-state many a time, and she shared my secret. My father was a violent man, and was not afraid to use force when he wanted something. Cynthia, my younger sister, was a darling, the only one in this family who made me feel like holding on. My mother, of course, was kind, and she also was under my father's hand, but I shared a special connection with my sister that I could find nowhere else in this cruel world.

"CYNTHIA!" I screamed. "DO SOMETHING! MOTHER!" I yelled, clawing more frantically to get away from the man. "HELP! PLEASE!" I pleaded.

"Quiet down, Mary" my father ordered in a threatening voice. "Or I'll beat you until your hide is black and blue" he warned.

"Alice!" My mother wailed, stretching her arms out to me, like I was doing to her. My father knocked her arms down.

"No. I will have no speaking to her. She is a freak, and deserves to be locked up. Take her away" He ordered, and I was dragged away into a cage on the back of a carriage, screaming, pleading and crying for them not to take me away.

I grabbed hold of the rusted metal bars of the cage, feeling ill at the sight of the blood stain staining them, and tried to push my face through the bars, calling to my family to help me.

The carriage soon left home, and I quieted down, knowing that I would never see my family again and that all hope was lost.

I was thrown around the cage as the carriage bumped down the uneven dusty road to the mental institute.

The torture-chamber was a huge block of brick, cemented together. There weren't any windows at all to be seen, and the front door was a massive wrought-iron one, with a dozen padlocks locking it tightly shut. Screams and wails could be heard from outside.

I was even more scared about being taken here now. The screams felt like a sign of warning to me.

The carriage soon rolled to a bumpy halt, and some weight was lifted from it as the big driver stood up.

"You!" He shouted at me, coming to stand in front of the cage, and unlocking it. "No funny business, hear me? No running away. Or no food for a week!" He threatened, grabbing me roughly by the wrists, and pulling me forcefully out the cramped cage, and onto the dusty road.

I was pulled to the front door, where an old man with a slight hunch back greeted us.

"I see you've bought the girl. A seer is she? Come with me to the seer chambers, and we can find somewhere to put her. Such a pretty young thing she is, too. It's a shame she's mad" He said, making me shudder. He could have said "find somewhere for her to stay" but he didn't. The implications of that were much worse. I may, if I were a heartless outsider, have found it funny that they organized their accommodation according to the "madness" of the patient, but I did not.

The burly carriage driver continued to drag me along up stairs and along corridors, to where to "seers" were kept, in a way that made me suspect I might find bruising on my wrists the next day. The corridors were all painted a dull grey colour, and the floor was plastic-coated. The whole place was emerged in darkness, but lit by a single candle in each hallway.

The screams and shouts of the poor, tortured people burned my heart as I went passed. They were clawing at the bars of their confinements, such as I had done earlier, yelling at the tops of their lungs that they might be saved, rescued somehow. I think the worse ones were the people who had been there a long time, and did not bother shouting for help, because they knew all hope was lost. Of course, there were a fair share of people who were properly mad, but they, also did not deserve to be chained like some sort of animal.

I was shoved into an empty chamber at the end of the hall, and the door was padlocked tightly shut behind me. I panicked. I was vaguely pleased that my reaction was not having a breakdown, but nonetheless, I was shaking in terror. So, this was to be my new life.

I was left with nothing to do except stare bleakly into the blackness of my room and pray that there would, somehow, be a way out of this life.

I was left alone for an immeasurable amount of time, and was starting to become hungry, when, with perfect timing, there was a knock on my chamber door. I was raised to believe in god, and through all the bad things that had happened to me in this life, I wanted to believe that he was real. I prayed that if there was a god above, that the person knocking on my door would be a kind-hearted soul, and would not be here to inflict torture upon me.

"Hello?" called a voice that was as pure and clean as honey, although slightly strained. It also, thankfully, seemed gently, so perhaps they were not here to hurt me. "Can I come in?" The stranger asked, and I squeaked to say yes. I was too petrified to speak right now.

"I'm got some food here" the man called, unlocking my door, and bathing my tiny room in light.

I gasped at the sight before me. This man was amazingly beautiful. It seemed god was real, and he had sent down an angel from heaven to this awful place. How someone could so seemingly perfect work somewhere as horrible as here? It just didn't make sense.

His hair was golden, glittering and shining in the dim light. His nose, although prominent, was perfectly straight, and proportionate to the rest of his face. His lips were full, and although at this moment were pursed in concern, still beautiful, with a cupid's bow. His cheekbones were well-defined. He was perfect, although I was thoroughly shocked when my eyes met his. His eyes, although framed with long, thick eye lashes, and having a perfect almond shape, were a starling rust red colour, which would not be visible, were he not standing in the light.

"Mary Alice Brandon?" He asked. I merely nodded. He stepped further into my room, and set a plate of bread down before me, alongside a small glass of water, that I suspected might be contaminated. He did not come very close to me, and seemed very shocked when he first entered the chamber. His nostrils flared, and he shuddered. I understood that the smell was not a pleasant one, however, I had grown used to it quickly, and I assumed that since he worked here, he would have to face the smell daily.

Or... or maybe it was me that smelt. I came from the poorer part of the village; however, I had bathed only a day or so ago. I couldn't be me, could it? I felt extremely self-conscious next to this angel, and heat flooded my pale cheeks at the thought of smelling.

He stepped back, and his posture immediately relaxed from the distance between us.

"My name is Isaac. I'm the person who brings you food, and I will also be your carer, if need be."

I was puzzled about his position. This place was terrible, and yet they were giving out carers to patients? Why?

"How old are you, Mary Alice Brandon? What would you like to be called? I think the name Alice rather suits you" He said. Alice... I rolled it around in my head...Alice... the name meant "noble", but was I really that noble? I had found a book of name meanings lying around in my parent's room once, so of course I had jumped to discover the meaning behind my name. Noble. I would like to think I was. Alice was a short, pretty name fit for a dancer. That was just what I had wanted to become when I was older. A dancer. Yes, I did like the name Alice.

How old was I? Well, where I lived, time passed, and no one was sure how much time had actually gone by. Judging by my appearance, I looked around the age of a fourteen year old, but I knew that I was at least two years older, I had just stopped growing early, leaving me short and child-like.

"Ummm... around sixteen years of age, sir." I said quietly, and then added "I don't mind being called Alice. I like the name" I told him, and he nodded slowly, he beautiful angel's face screwed up as he thought.

"Yes." He said, and it sounded like he'd been holding his breath, from the breathless way he spoke. He leaned back slightly, inhaled, winced, and then spoke. "I'll see you soon, Alice. I hope it doesn't sound too bad, but I hope you enjoy your stay here. I'm sure we will become good friends" He said, before waving at me for a second, and closing the door, enveloping me in blackness once more, and leaving me alone to my thoughts.

How could I not have seen this coming? I saw every time a new person came into my life, I would always know who they were, just before they came. But not now, when the most handsome of all men met me, who was actually nice for once. Why did he care about me? What he called me? How old I was? Why? I suppose it could have just been politeness, and sympathy for me, but most people would have treated me like an oddity if they were in his position, not speaking a word to me, and being cruel. Not him.

I lay back down on my bed, and closed my eyes, dreaming about his striking face, and those eyes of his that were so expressive, the rust colour standing out from the rest of his pale face, and his long eye lashes that brushed his cheeks whenever he closed his eyes. Magnificent.

He was, truly an angel. His face was so perfect, and I had only known him for a minute, yet I could sense that he was a truly loving person, who would be a great friend to me when I grew used to being around such beauty, and opened up from my shell. It was ridiculous that on my first day here, in the mental institute, I was more concerned over a man than my position here as a loony.

A year later:

At the beginning of my stay here I might not have been so affected by the madness of this place, but I had been staying here for about a year now, and I could feel my brain cracking. If you weren't already mad when you first came, then you sure were by the time you left. I had spent the whole morning tied to a chair, while a metal device was being clamped down on my head, contracting, and digging into my skull. I did not cry as it was happening, as it does you no good. Instead, I kept a straight face, and tried not to let the pain show too much. It was used to try and "free my mind from the pictures" by letting them out my head.

I was pushed into my room, and the door soon locked behind me. I lay on the hard, cold floor, rubbing my bleeding head, and sobbing. How could my father do this to me? I was his daughter, his own flesh and blood. Why would you do such a thing?

I was interrupted by a sharp knock on my door, making my head ring and throb in pain.

"Alice?" Isaac called quietly.

"No" I mumbled. "Blood".

I knew about Isaac, what he was. I had seen it in a vision once, of him biting down into someone. I didn't talk to him for a week after it, until he explained it fully to me. It didn't really bother me what he was, although I was briefly upset over the lives he had taken, I understood that he had to find a way of survival, and he would not hurt me. He was a vampire, who didn't enjoy hurting people, and was very compassionate.

"Alice, honey?" He asked again. "Would you like me to come in and help? I've just hunted. Besides, you're in pain. How could I worry about something like blood when you are in pain?" He asked. I had been told that my blood had a certain... draw for him, that no one else's blood did. He would sacrifice himself, and his control, to keep me safe. Isaac was really a good friend. Sometimes, I thought that I might want him as more than a friend, but so far, I could see that he didn't have any plans for me in that way. He was just a friend.

The door unlocked with a groan of the rusted chains, and Isaac slipped into the room.

He got down on his knees before me, and cradled me against him, keeping his mouth well away from where my head was bleeding, but trying to soothe the soreness away.

"Oh, Alice. I'm so sorry." He said, confusing me.

"Why?" I asked as I had many, many times before to him. Why was he apologizing? He did nothing wrong.

I was plunged into complete blackness swirling around before my eyes. There was smoke twirling in front of my vision, then it cleared after a moment, and I could see.

It was me, lying on the floor of my room, and Isaac was leaning over me, whispering something into my ear, but at this time, I couldn't make out what it was. Suddenly, he moved his lips over my pulse point at my neck, kissed gently, and bit down hard, making me yell out in pain.

His hands stroked my hair away from my face, and he whispered into my ear again.

The vision began to cloud over again, and cleared once more.

There was nothing here but a face, surrounded in darkness, snarling, hissing at me, his eyes glowing crimson like Isaac's, but his eyes were more menacing, horrifying. He had dirty blonde hair, and was inhumanely beautiful, but it was impossible to tell with his snarling and growling.

Who was he? Why was Isaac biting me? Was he going to turn me?

Secretly, I had hoped he would. He may not like me romantically, but I did. I had hoped that we would stay together forever; the bonds of love had grown that strongly between us. He was the only one who helped me, helped me when I was in pain, helped me keep a hold on my sanity. He was the only one who would.

"Please" I pleaded quietly, and clutched Isaac's hand as tightly as I could.

"What? What do you need?" He asked worriedly.

"I want to... to be like you" I said, so quietly that it was a wonder he heard me at all. But he did.

Isaac looked uncertain. He knew I had reasons for my wish, although he did not know the full extent of them. He only knew that it would save me from this life, this torture. His face changed, and I knew what the answer was going to be before he said it.

"No." He said firmly. I must have looked like I was about to argue, because he explained. "I... I don't want to hurt you in any way, Alice. You've been hurt enough as it is. You are a beautiful, clever, innocent girl, who doesn't deserve my life. It is full of darkness and sin. I don't want to ruin you" he said.

A week later:

I and repeatedly continued to ask Isaac about my transformation and join with him as a vampire, but he continued to deny my wish.

Nowadays, while I slept, I saw my visions. Mostly of the vicious blonde vampire, whose name I did not know, and of my transformation.

Last night, I had a vision that was particularly strong, of the vampire breaking in through the gates of the hospital, and slaughtering everyone who got in the way. This one terrified me, and I could sense that it would happen in the near future, perhaps even as soon as tomorrow.

The blonde man slunk like a cat across the side of the building, malice in his eyes. He stopped for a second to sniff at the air, then sprinted in an invisible blur to the front door, where he ripped it right off the iron hinges, and entered the building. He grabbed the startled door guard by the throat, pulling him over, and digging his teeth deep into his neck. After the man's blood was drained, the vampire pushed the dead man aside, leaving his corpse slumped on the floor.

The vampire ran through the building, draining each body in turn, leaving a disaster in his wake. All the while, he stopped after a moment, and sniffed at the air, relying on it to lead him somewhere.

I felt the vampire's excitement when he reached a final corridor, stopping at the beginning of the hallway, and sniffing, a malevolent grin slowly stretching across his face. Yes, he had found what he was looking for, and was going to be greatly awarded for it. He ran the length of the floor to the padlocked door at the end of the hall, ripping the door off once more, and entering the dark room. I could not tell where he was, until I saw it.

A small, curled up figure was lying on the cold floor, sobbing and moaning in agony. Her hair was short, and stuck to her face with sweat, dry blood clumping it together in chunks. She wore nought but a filthy ragged dress to cover her skeletal figure, with bare feet that were covered in grime. Her face was smudged and coated in dirt, her dark brown eyes watery and red. Her whole face, although convulsed in pain, was rather pretty, with sharp dainty features. That was when I realised it. It was me.

Another figure stepped out the darkness, towards the vampire. Isaac.

"Don't touch her" Isaac snarled at the other vampire, standing in front of me protectively.

The blonde vampire hissed in return.

"There's no point now." He said. "What a pity- her blood was so delicious, it's a shame it's been wasted" He said smoothly, his grin reappearing on his face.

Isaac leaped at the vampire, clawing, biting, and furiously trying to defend me.

"Isaac!" I screamed, waking up in a sweaty state. The vision- it was almost like a dream, but I knew it would soon be reality. It was terrifying. How long would I have left to be with Isaac? My greatest friend, my protector. I couldn't imagine trying to live without him. He was the one who kept me sane. I... I truly loved him, or at least I thought I did. It was hard to tell when my emotions were all so foreign.

"Alice" he said, stroking my hair softly, and rocking me in his arms, as he always did when I had a nightmare, or a particularly terrible vision.

"What?" He asked frantically. "What did you see?"

A lump had built in my throat from the terror, and I swallowed it down so that I might speak.

"I... I saw... a hunter. He came and tore the building down in frenzy, looking for something. He killed... so many people died. But he didn't stop looking. He came here, Isaac. He was looking for me. You... you changed me" I told him.

Isaac was shocked.

"N-no." He forced out. "I can't... "He trailed off, and his eyes took a new light. They were fiercely determined.

"When is he coming?" He asked a slight tone of fear in his voice.

"I- I think tomorrow. Or tonight." I said, choking on my words.

"Then we have no time to waste. I must change you now" he told me, his eyes full of a strange emotion that I could not place.

"There are a million things I could say to you, fair Alice, but none of them will ever do. I want you to know that I... I love you, and I will think of you. I will be with you always in your heart, no matter what happens. I will fight for you. I love you, Alice" He said, sobbing slightly as he told me he loved me, and he, as in my vision, pulled me into his arms, stunned silent, kissing my neck gently, then biting down firmly over the vein.

A searing pain tore through me, and I was lost in the darkness, my eyes fluttering shut, my senses dimmed.

The last thing I heard was a beautiful voice whispering to me softly "I will love you always, my darling Alice".

There you are! A bit different to the rest of my stuff, but I thought I'd give it a try. The longest chapter I've written EVER! Personally, I'm quite proud of that!

Ok, so please review! I'd love to know what you think.

The next chapter will probably be after I finish my "Falling Petals" story, so, a long, long time.

Thanks for reading!
Lots of love,

Deany-Bob101

:D