In answer to the questions people have had...yes this will be an Alice and Bella fic, just not right now, things have to develop first.
The other person that could get involved with Alice is NOT going to be the woman from the first chapter.
Things will NOT go exactly like they did in my first story.
I'm not entirely sure how this is story is going to develop just yet, but ideas and requests are much appreciated.
Anyway, here's the next part, I hope you enjoy it.
Reviews, as always, are deeply appreciated.
Oh and thank you to everyone who took the time to read this and the previous story. And a special thank you to everyone who took the time and have followed my stories from birth to now.
Enjoy!
Chapter Two
"If you live to be a hundred, I want to a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you."- A. A. Milne.
Her words hit me like a train. I actually flinched at them. Hearing Bella's name in that sentence made me want to vomit...if I knew what wanting to vomit felt like; I could only guess.
"Excuse me?" I blinked furiously. As if the action would wipe away the words she had just spoken.
"Bella; she could be the source of great suffering for your kind, for you." Mara's eyes were narrowed, her voice held none of its previous music.
"Wait, she 'could' be?" I was grasping at straws. There had to be some hope, some escape.
"If she is stopped beforehand or if someone intervenes..." She let her words trail off, her eyes boring into mine as she made her point clear.
"You mean if I...kill her?" I still hadn't quite absorbed what she had said. There could be no way any of this was true!
"That is one way. However if things unfold as they have been designed, then terrible events will follow. I am not sure how this will all come to pass, but at the present, it is a certainty. Unless you can change it." She'd moved towards me now, her hands clasped in front of her. She almost looked like she was praying.
"Change it? How?" I'd never been put in this position before. Change the future or kill someone I loved. Talk about pressure!
"I don't know. This design, it's very complex. This plan has been in motion for several years already. The window may be closed, you may already be too late. Whatever was meant to happen, may have already occurred." The way she was talking, it sounded like somebody else had seen the future and designed the past around it.
"What do you mean design? You're not making much sense." I was really starting to get stressed and agitated now and I was sure my darkened eyes would show it.
"The future that you have seen, the future that will come to pass, it's been chosen. Someone very powerful has set events into motion that will dictate every tomorrow. Somebody wants your Bella to wreak havoc on your people." I snarled at her words. There was only one person on this planet who I could think of that could have that much power and be that scheming. It looked like I would have to go to the one place I never wished to lay eyes on again.
I gave her a nod and dropped a pile of money onto the sofa, thanking her quietly as I raced out of her house. I didn't go back to the hotel room I had rented. I didn't go back to my car. I didn't even stop t feed. I just ran straight to the coast. Fences, roads, hedges didn't stop me. I kept running until I heard the waves crashing against rocks. I took a breath and jumped with all the strength I had. I flew over a cliff and went soaring through the air. I straightened out my body and prepared for the impact. I broke the surface of the water smoothly. Long, strong, strokes. I swam. I didn't resurface for air, I didn't need to. I just kept swimming. As I entered the shipping lanes I swam deeper. The water got warmer as I moved closer to France, and then warmer still as Italy came into view. It had taken me eight hours but I was here, and I was still angrier than I could ever remember being before in my existence. I walked out o the sea and onto the land. I kept walking until I came to the fastest car I could find. A black Jaguar, I was too angry to notice the exact model. I drove for hours. Breathing steadily. The countryside whizzed past my window. I tried to keep my breathing steady as I attempted to calm my nerves as much as I could.
The walls of the city loomed before me. It wasn't busy like it was last time I was here. I had no trouble driving through the streets and finding a parking space. Just outside a small cafe. The waitress stared at me open mouthed. Luckily the cafe was positioned in the shadow of a church. There was no need for a disguise, no need to hide. I stepped out of the car and headed straight for the church. I crossed myself on pretence and headed towards the front pews. I knelt down and waited. The church was...bland. No stained glass, no ornate statues. Just a large cross in front of a wide, clear window. It didn't exactly suit my aesthetic tastes, but I never was one for simplicity.
It didn't take long for them to come. It was two of them. Alec and Jane. The siblings. Not who I was expecting. I was expecting someone along the brainless-muscle type. Not the targeted-missile type.
"Aro wishes to speak with you." Alec spoke quietly. He seemed uninterested, almost disconnected.
"Of course, as Aro wishes." I stood up and politely bowed my head to them. They led the way. Out of the church, down a side street and to a door. Just a plain, wooden door, in a plain stone wall that led to a less than plain world. I could smell the blood already and I hadn't stepped through the door. They had just eaten.
I stepped through the door and into the dark inside. My eyes adjusted before they had even seen the darkness. I stepped inside and followed the winding halls into the depths of their world.
"Aro was most pleased by your presence in our city today Alice." Jane sounded amused. Her child-like features were always slightly off-putting to me. It was just monstrous to think something so pure and angelic as a smile, could behave and possess gifts so terrifying as Jane did. My heart almost ached for her.
"Well I'm happy to please him." I smiled as she turned to look at me and to my surprise, she smiled back! I didn't know she possessed the facial muscles to actually smile! Sneer, yes, I'd seen her do that on many occasions. But I'd never, to my recollection, even heard of a single occasion where Jane had actually smiled!
She held her arm before her and opened the door we had come to. It led into, to my surprise, what appeared to a bedroom. There was an elegant four-poster bed directly across from the door, the walls were lined with bookcases and cabinets full of artefacts and even a suit of armour. The room was dimly lit, candles adorned the walls and in the furthest corner from the door sat a desk, it reminded me of Carlisle's desk; cluttered in a controlled way with stacks of papers and books. Behind the desk sat Aro himself.
"Ahhh, Alice, welcome my dear. Please take a seat." He pointed to a chair just in front of the desk which I walked over to. As I stepped past her, Jane gave me another smile, lowering her eyes shyly as I smiled back. That was really starting to scare me!
"To what do I owe this pleasurable visit?" Aro smiled at me interestingly.
"I was just passing through Aro, I thought I'd come along and spend some time with you, that is if it's not intruding of course." I smiled sweetly at him, batting my eyelashes slightly.
"Well while you're here, please, let us accommodate you. Stay as long as you wish. Feel free to traverse the grounds to your hearts desire, but I must inform you, the living quarters are both private and personal, I trust you will respect that." I nodded at him, allowing my lips to stretch into a further smile.
"Thank you Aro, you are most kind. Once you are free I wonder if it would be permissible for me to speak with you?" I tried to keep my voice level and free of anger, hatred and contempt.
"Of course Alice, whenever you are ready I shall make myself ready for you."
I nodded as the door behind me was opened and Jane stepped into the room.
"Jane will show you to your accommodation. If you need anything, feel free to ask. I don't suppose you've reconsidered your eating habits?"
"I haven't Aro. Would it be possible to hunt outside of the city?"
"Of course, of course." He waved my request off as I stepped out of the seat. Bowing slightly to him I edged my way out of the room and followed quietly behind Jane.
"Aro is most pleased you have visited us Alice. As are Caius and Marcus." She looked back at me, her eyebrows were raised slightly but she was no longer smiling.
"I'm glad I could please them. You truly live in a magnificent home Jane."
"This isn't a home." I didn't have time to question what she meant before she stopped abruptly. She turned to face me and I instinctively raised my hands slightly in defence.
"Your room." She gestured to her right and I lowered my hands.
"Thank you Jane." She raised her chin and stepped away slightly.
"My room is just next door. If you need anything, feel free to ask." She'd disappeared in less than a blink, leaving me on my own outside my room.
With a redundant breath, I opened the door. The room was not what I had expected. I had thought I would have been given a simple room. Much like the Volturi version of a motel room. But no. It was...magnificent. Magnificent didn't even begin to describe it. Blood red curtains hung off every wall, giving the room a flowing feeling. A four poster bed, much like Aro's, an antique dresser, ornate couch's, the largest free-standing wardrobes I'd ever seen. To my surprise the room was not without it's modern luxuries either. A TV that rivalled Emmett's in size adorned a wall and was surrounded by masses and masses of DVDs. I could see why so many vampires found the Volturi quite so alluring. Not only for the power and respect they offered, but the luxury as well. After a couple of seconds I had fully absorbed all that I could from the room. I walked over to the bed and flopped down onto it. I wasn't tired. I was just, mentally fatigued. A lot had happened in the past few hours. And now I was here.
I'd been resting for approximately four minutes when I got a vision of Jane, pacing outside of my door. With a sigh I raised myself from the bed and flitted over to the bedroom door. I opened it and apparently startled the young girl.
"My apologies, I didn't know you were out here." I smiled weakly at her. It was a bad lie, but polite none-the-less.
"You knew I was here, you just wanted to know why." She smiled back at me. I was really not used to this new Jane. Where was the sadism? Where was the unexpected torture? Perhaps she was trying to lull me into a false sense of security.
"I was wondering if you would like a tour of the grounds?" She started twiddling her thumbs in front of her before she caught me watching her actions and swiftly moved her arms to behind her back.
"A tour would be lovely Jane." I shut the door and began to follow her down the halls.
"This is the living quarter. Most of the members of the Volturi live here. Other than the newborns. They are situated below, for their safety and ours." I nodded as we continued to walk. Up and down stair cases, through arch ways, through large doors.
"This is the main hall as I am sure you are aware. To your left would be the library, to the right, the training facilities." We continued walking until we came to a large archway. Unlike the others this was decorated with stained glass. At least a twelve feet high and possibly nine feet across, it depicted the Volturi as they were now. Observing their subjects. It wasn't until I looked closely that I realised I had seen this image before. My jaw dropped slightly and Jane giggled beside me.
"Aro liked that painting of Carlisle's so much that he decided to have one for himself." The stained glass was exactly like the painting Carlisle had hanging in his study. The light flooding through it gave this picture an other worldly quality. It was as if the figures within it were actually moving.
"I thought you might like to see this, to remind you of home." She smiled at me and it was then that I realised showing me this, had been Jane's attempt at giving me a gift. I was most perplexed. I shuffled from one foot to another, unsure of what to say.
"Shall we continue?" She stepped aside and motioned for me to continue walking. We came a narrow hallway. No windows, no lights, just a door at the end of it. If there was ever going to be an attack or ambush it would be here. I let Jane lead the way. She stopped at the door and looked behind at me, waiting for me to come closer before she opened it.
With a loud creak the wooden door swung open, groaning on its hinges. Light flooded the cramped hallway and I felt the warmth of it slide across my face.
I stepped outside, into the light and a wave of different scents attacked my nose. Roses, blossoms, apples, oranges, fresh grass, honeysuckle, water, daisy's, numerous other scents that I couldn't identify. I looked around me. I was stood in a garden, the most beautiful garden. An oak tree stood in the middle, a gazebo underneath it with roses climbing elegantly up its sides and over its roof. A simple stream flowed around it, creating an island. Where the water came from or went I didn't know. It just appeared under a stone wall and disappeared under a stone wall. The grass was littered with patches of colour and smaller trees were dotted around the place, their fruit growing plumper on their branches.
"This is my place. Aro was kind enough to let me have some land." Jane was smiling at the sky, her closed. The sun shone brightly down onto her, it bounced off her skin into a rainbow.
"You did all this?" I stretched my arms out, turning slightly, trying to highlight what I was talking about.
She smiled weakly at me.
"It reminds me of home." She walked over to the gazebo, lithely leaping over the stream, landing softly on the other side. I followed her, landing a little heavier just beside the gazebo. I ran my hands along the wood, over the rose petals. Feeling their silky smoothness underneath my finger tips.
"Jane this place is beautiful."
"We all need somewhere to escape to." She sat on a bench inside the gazebo and motioned for me to join her. I did so quietly, watching the leaves in the oak tree sway in the breeze.
"I know you would never come her willingly Alice. I met not be entirely familiar with you or your family, but I know enough that you would only come here under grave circumstances. Please, I ask you, do not ask him to end your life." She looked at me with sorrowful eyes. Her face stretched momentarily in pain.
I was utterly shocked.
"Jane, I...why would you think that is the reason for my visit?"
"Other than Carlisle, the only time a member of your coven has been here was to ask for death."
"No. I don't want to die. I have no need for death right now. I merely have a few questions that I believe Aro may possess the answers to." Her face softened at my words while mine hardened. What was all this about? Why was she caring?
"That is good news." She sighed and let her shoulders drop a little, "I am most relieved to hear that."
"Are my gifts that important to you Jane?" That was the only logical conclusion I could come up with. It was well known that Aro coveted my abilities. But did Jane also?
"Not just your gifts." She was gone again before I could ask anything more. I was left in the garden, surrounded by the roses. What was going on? It appeared my arrival here had so far birthed more questions than answers. After a moment I left the garden and wandered the halls, making my way back to the living quarters. Two Volturi were stationed outside Aro's room when I passed. I enquired whether he was free for a conversation and was gruffly instructed that he would be free momentarily.
I waited outside of his door for ninety seconds more and stepped back as none other than Jane exited his room. She kept her eyes lowered and did not look at me. Striding straight past me she left the way I had came.
"Ahh my dear Alice, what a pleasure." He nodded at his guards and they departed.
"Please, come in." I walked into the room and retook my previous seat at his desk.
"Now what can I do for you?" He retook his seat and folded his hands in front of him. He looked like a banker discussing a loan.
"I have a few questions if that's alright." He nodded his head so I continued.
"I would like to know, if it's not too much trouble, what your interest is in Bella Swan?" He didn't flinch, he didn't move, he didn't blink. The man gave away nothing?
"Bella? Do you mean Edwards Bella?" I nodded my head in affirmation.
"Well, undoubtedly she would make a very interesting vampire, and her gifts as a human are very compelling, but other than the fact that she is aware of our secret and steps must be taken to ensure our protection I do not know to what you are referring to." I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this. But I was out of options. There was nobody else on this Earth.
"Then perhaps I should show you." I laid my hand on his desk and looked him sternly in the eyes. I had never been so bold. He slowly outstretched his impossibly pale hand and slid his fingers along my palm, grasping my outstretched hand quite suddenly. I was barely able to prevent a gasp from leaving my lips before his mouth twitched into a grin.
"Ahh, so you have some information. And that vision! Very potent. Your gifts always surprises me Alice. You truly are your mothers daughter." I dropped my hand from his. Standing suddenly.
"What do you mean? Why do you mention my mother?"
"She too has powerful gifts." He continued to smile at me, those eyes, I wanted to rip them out.
"Has? No, my mother died decades ago!" Why couldn't things be simple? I just wanted some answers!
"Died? Did she? Who says?" Aro stood from his desk and walked to his door, motioning for me to follow.