Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight; however Stephenie Meyer has agreed to make Alice my personal slave for the rest of eternity ;)

Chapter 4: First Meeting

(AlicePOV)

I was in my room sketching a new dress design when I was hit with a vision. I couldn't make out what was going on in the vision at all. When I came back to reality, I was highly frustrated. This was not the first indistinct vision I have gotten in the recent months. There was a light knock on my bedroom door, and I caught the scent of Edward. 'Come in' I mentally called out to him.

"What the hell is up with all these indistinct visions lately?"

"Your guess is as good as mine Eddie." I spit out.

"Don't call me Eddie." He growled.

"I'm going hunting." I informed him as I walked onto my balcony. I jumped over the railing and hit the ground running. I came upon a herd of red deer grazing in a meadow. I felled two of them. After I was done hunting, I decided to keep running. I had no specific destination in mind. I soon found myself on my cliff. I sat on the ledge and watched the tumultuous ocean.

Not long after I sat, my phone alerted me to the fact that I had a new text message. I pulled out my Blackberry to see that it was Carlisle. I knew it must be important so I quickly opened the message to read it. Family meeting. Come home immediately. I hastily replied telling him I would be home in a matter of minutes. Why did I not get a vision of this family meeting and what could it be about? I wondered as I raced home. Just outside the perimeter of our home I caught a scent I did not recognize. It was the best thing I had ever smelled. I wanted to find who it belonged to. I've never smelled a scent this alluring that wasn't human. Do we have a visitor? And again why did I not have a vision? These holes in my vision are really starting to worry me.

When I got home I decided to go through the front door instead of the back. I walked in and I caught that strangely alluring scent again. It has to belong to the visitor. I flashed to the dining room where everyone was seated around the large oak table that was only ever used for things like this, while calling out "We have a visitor? Who? Anyone we know?"

As my eyes landed on the one face I didn't know, I froze. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She had to have been a few inches taller than me; I could tell that even with her sitting down. Her dark mahogany hair gently waved half way down her back. She had a bright purple streak running through her bangs, which slanted over her right eye. She had many silvery crescent scars adorning her neck and jaw. Even more than Jasper, so I'm assuming she was in the Southern Wars as well. The scars did nothing to diminish her beauty. If anything they added to it. They gave her a fierce look. Her designer clothes were travel worn but not as bad as most nomads. She had to be a goddess who walked the Earth. She took my breath away. I saw her eyes roam over my body giving me a once over before they finally connect with mine. She was human drinker, that much I knew from her crimson red eyes. Usually human drinker's eyes were vicious and brutal but not hers. Her eyes were gentle, yet hard. Kind, yet detached. I could tell she had been through a lot of pain and suffering over the years. I wanted nothing more than to rid her of her demons. I didn't want her in pain. I felt a flash of anger flow through my body as I thought of the people who could even think about hurting this gorgeous goddess. I saw both Edward and Jasper throw me a curious glance.

"Hello. You must be Alice," A thrill shot through me when my name fell from her pouty pink lips. "I'm Amanda. It's nice to meet you." A breathtaking smile overtook her face. How lucky I am that I don't need to breathe! I saw Edward staring at Amanda with a frustrated expression. Wonder what that's about.

"So now that Alice is here, shall we start our talk?" That angelic voice broke the silence.

I went to sit at the table and glanced at Carlisle to see him nod.

"I was thinking that since I'm the stranger in your home you all could ask me the questions you would like answered. The whole reason I'm here is to learn about your lives so it only seems fair you learn about mine if you wish to." Amanda stated.

"Why are you in Forks?"

"When were you born?"

"When were you changed?"

"Why are you so scarred?"

"Were you in the Southern Wars?"

"Why can't I hear your thoughts?"

"Whoa! Slow down. I may be a vampire but even I can't answer six questions at once. I'll start with Rosalie's question. I am in Forks, because I was curious about your lifestyle and I will leave if you wish it of me." No she can't leave. I have to get to know her. "Now Audrey, I was born in 1847 in Houston, Texas. Katie, I was changed in 1863, at the age of sixteen. Emmett, I'm scarred because of my time in the Southern Wars. That answers your question as well Jasper. You probably know me as my title of Goddess of War, Major Jasper Whitlock. I've heard a lot about the God of War. And lastly, Edward you cannot read me because I do not wish you to. I have a mental shield that I can manipulate with ease. I do not allow many people inside my head. It is my last sanctuary. The only place I am truly safe."

We all sat there in stunned silence, before Esme breathed, "You were so young when you were changed." Tears that would never fall stood sentry over her eyes.

"Yes I was, but I grew up fast. I was forced to. There was no room for childish innocence in my new world." she spat out bitterly.

"How were you changed?" I asked, fearing the answer slightly.

"How about I just tell y'all the whole story?" I could hear her slight Southern twang when she spoke that sentence. I will admit it was very sexy. She was looking straight into my eyes as she voiced her question. I nodded.

"It is not a very happy one." she told everyone. She looked away from my eyes and I was sad to lose the connection with her eyes. She took a deep, unnecessary breath, as if to calm herself.

"You don't need to tell us if you do not wish to." Carlisle told her gently, sensing her unease.

"No it's okay Carlisle. I was just gathering my thoughts." Amanda responded, before starting her story. "I was born on December 21, 1847. On my sixteenth birthday I decided to take a walk after my party. I had a special place in the forest where I would go to get away and just think. I was sitting on a giant boulder near the river that ran through our property when I heard someone moving in the trees. I looked around and saw a man with piercing red eyes. I could tell this man was dangerous, but I was raised to be polite to people and offer assistance if they needed it. So I asked him if he was lost. He just smiled and shook his head. The next thing I knew he was standing not even a foot away from me. I was starting to get frightened. I tried to run but an ice cold hand on my shoulder forced me to stay. I knew screaming wouldn't help. I was too far away from the house. I knew it wouldn't help, but I couldn't not try. I screamed and he seemed to enjoy it. I soon found out that he really loved it when I screamed. He enjoyed making me scream. He got off on my pain. He made me scream a lot in the few days he kept me human. After a few days he decided to turn me. I screamed a lot during my change as well. Bradley, that was his name, had a gift you see. He could sense powers in humans and vampires alike. He had been toying with the idea of creating an army for many years. I was the first. I spent the first fifty years of my new life fighting in the wars. I was created for war. I was used for war. All because of my powers. I was created to be a killer and that's what I did. I killed. It's a hard thing. To take another's life, but it was either kill or be killed." Amanda's voice trailed off, as she stared off into space, seemingly caught in her memories.

"You said powers, as in more than one? What are they? If you don't mind me asking." Carlisle interjected before she could continue.

Light musical laughter drifted from her lips as she turned to look at Carlisle. "Yes. I have more than one ability. Two of my abilities are actually one that I have learned to manipulate in a new way recently. That would be my shield. It is not only a mental shield, but a physical one as well. That is the reason neither Edward nor Jasper can read me. It is also the reason Alice cannot see my future. My other power allows me to duplicate other's abilities. So as of right now I have nine, including my shields." We all sat there and stared at her in shock and awe. None of had ever heard of a vampire having more than one power, and definitely not of this caliber. She was very powerful.

"What are they?" Emmett boomed.

"Well, over the years I have acquired Bradley's, Jane's, Alec's, Aro's, Marcus', Chelsea's, Demitri's, and just recently I got Maggie's from the Irish coven." She explained.

"Are you able to completely remove your shield from yourself? Like could you allow Edward to read your mind, and Jasper your emotions? Are you able to let me see your future?" I questioned.

"Yes. I am able to do those things, but I very rarely do. I would be vulnerable to all mental attacks until I could get my shield back around myself. I can also extend my shield to cover others as well."

Damn. This girl just keeps getting more and more amazing in my eyes. She's obviously met the Volturi, since she has duplicated some of the guards' powers. How did she meet them, and how did she leave though is the question. I decide to just come right out and ask her how she met them. "How did you meet the Volturi?"

"I started wondering when someone would ask that, as soon as I told y'all about the powers I have duplicated." She chuckled then. "The Volturi are the reason I am no longer in the wars. After fifty years the Volturi decided to step in because we started getting sloppy in our hunting and fighting. This was when an epidemic was believed to be killing humans, at least that's what the humans thought. Truthfully, it was the vampire wars raging around them. Aro was intrigued by the fact that he couldn't read me. He thought I was only a mental shield at that time. He didn't learn of me being able to copy powers until many years later. Many years passed after that before we discovered the physical aspect of my shield."

So she was a guard? That doesn't explain how she could leave. "How did you leave? I doubt the Volturi would allow someone as powerful as you to just leave their guard." Edward beat me to the punch.

"They didn't really have a problem with me leaving." She vaguely replied. That still doesn't answer why they just let her leave. Why did they not have a problem?

"Are you by any chance Amanda Volturi, Princess of Volterra?" Carlisle quietly asked. Her eyes widened and her jaw practically hit the floor. You didn't have to be an empath to feel the nervousness rolling off of her in waves.

"Dude you're a princess?" Emmett yelled excitedly.

Amanda snapped her jaw shut, and I could hear her grit her teeth. She spoke through her teeth when she answered. " Yes. I'm the princess of Volterra, but I wanted to get away from being the princess for some time. So I left. I traveled all through Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and even Russia before coming to the States. I had heard my father mention Carlisle many times over the years, and I was curious about the lifestyle as I have said before. I doubt I will ever try your diet, but nonetheless it is very interesting." I felt my heart drop when she said she would most likely continue hunting humans. That was proof that she must not feel the same way I do. I could have sworn she was the one. I sighed softly.

A/N: Well that was chapter 4. Let me know what you think. Did I get Alice right? She was kind of hard to write. You don't ever get to see inside her head in the Twilight Saga so I wasn't really sure what it would be like inside there. Well, you should definitely review. Kay? Thanks :)