Vision of Perfection

Alice.

I shuddered as a shiver went down my spine. Recently, I had been having visions of Aro saying my name, like he was calling me to him. It started as only once a month, but now, it was almost three times a week! What could it possibly mean? The question haunted my mind, but I never asked anyone in my family for advice; I was too afraid to, mostly because there was something about the visions that compelled me to him, his voice…

I wished Jasper were here so I could talk to him, but he was visiting Peter and Charlotte and would be away for awhile. At times though, I got inexplicable feelings of…gratefulness that Jasper wasn't here, and that scared me. Scared me because I told myself the feelings possibly couldn't be my own, yet somehow, they were.

"Carlisle," I said, realizing I called him only after he tapped my shoulder lightly.

"Yes Alice? What is it?"

"I—I'm confused."

"You can tell me," Carlisle offered kindly, "perhaps I can help clarify."

"It's just that, lately, I've been having visions," I said nervously.

"Visions of what?"

"Aro."

*****

The gates of Volterra loomed before me, yet soon enough I was past them and in the heart of the city. What I was about to do frightened me, and I was already beginning to have second thoughts. I mean, who really went to confront Aro Volturi about odd visions concerning him saying your name? Not many. I wandered over to a small quiet park and sat down on a bench to try to sort things out. I couldn't believe what I was doing; it was just so unlike me! Dangerous, irrational, stupid, were only a few words that came to mind.

I let my head drop into my hands as I tried to hide my inner turmoil. I should never have come! I shouted at myself. I knew I should have never talked to Carlisle, after all, it was he who had suggested I come here in the first place. No Alice, I thought, you're the one who agreed to come, you wanted to."

"Alice."

I shook my head, now was not the time to be hearing Aro's silky voice in my already worn out brain. I looked up balefully, only to find that Aro was actually looking down at me. He seemed concerned, yet pained, but eventually sat down beside me.

"Are you well, Alice?"

"I…" Looking into his eyes, no matter what color they were, made me speechless.

"I don't mean to frighten you," Aro said looking away. He sighed, and it was then that I noticed his hands were clenched into fists. Without thinking, I put my hand over his to try to relax it, and then I realized my mistake. I jerked my hand back immediately in case he, or one of the Guard, would punish me for touching the 'Master'. Speaking of the Guard, where were they? Aro never went anywhere alone, even if it was close to home.

"So many questions," Aro whispered, looking back at me. "Would you like the answers?"

"Yes," I nodded, "Please." I added quickly, remembering my manners. He smiled wryly before turning serious.

"I truly am sorry for the troubling visions, I didn't intend for you to see them. I deeply regret troubling you over that."

"Just, what does it mean?" I asked. He closed his eyes and was silent for a very long before he spoke.

"Alice," he said my name tenderly, opening his eyes slowly, "you know I've always admired your talent," he paused, "but, in truth, it's always been more than that."

"So," I tried to make sense of what he was saying, though it was vague. "You don't just admire my talent, you admire…me?" No…that can't be right, I thought.

"Well," Aro said quietly, "not quite. I—well—I love you."

The silence that followed seemed to last hours before one of us, me, broke it.

"Oh," I managed to say; my mind was having trouble trying to process the words.

"I'm sorry," Aro repeated, standing up to leave. "I just thought you should know."

He leaned down to kiss my forehead at the exact time I stood up, resulting in my lips meeting his; neither of us pulling away. His lips were surprisingly soft, different than I would have imagined, but still sweet, like he was trying to compensate for all the things he could not say. Or, perhaps, I only thought that because that's what I was doing.

When he finally did pull away I could see he was elated, and that was only a mild way to put it. He opened his mouth to apologize but I cut him off.

"Don't apologize, Aro, this is how it's meant to be."

"Are you sure?" he asked, taking my hand within his. It was easy to tell he was afraid, but not for himself, for me.

"Positive," I smiled, "I just had the vision of us." I paused, "Together… Forever."

Aro smiled. "I love your talent," he kissed me again, also allowing him to see my vision, "but more importantly, I love you."