CHAPTER SIX

"Come Isabella," Edward said once we were on the ledge again, about to run off into the forest. For a moment I was compelled to follow him. For a moment.

"No." I said, planting my feet on the ground and shaking my head, "I wont come with you. You can't order me around."

He sighed, "Isabella what is your problem this time? I am your Lord. You will do as I say."

"The only Lord I know of is God and despite your huge ego and vision that you're to be prayed on and looked up to, you are not him."

Above us the clouds got noticeably darker, "You ignorant girl, do you not realize who I am?"

"I know who you are." I growled, my vision getting tinged with red, "But that doesn't mean anything to me and I don't get why you think it does."

"Why you…" He trailed off but stopped as Alice and Jasper appeared beside us.

"Edward calm down," she spoke softly, "You stay here with Jasper and the others. I'll talk to Bella." She looked at me kindly, "If you don't mind of course."

I was momentarily shocked, they had manners?

"I would like that." I said, meeting her eyes. They like Edwards and Jaspers, were deep gold but held knowledge. Like Eleazars.

"Fine." Edward huffed, sparing me a last glance before going back into the tunnel, Jasper followed quickly. Leaving Alice and me alone.

"Finally," she murmured, "he can be such a fat head sometimes, it gets exhausting."

I said nothing. Just kept starring at her, no matter how nice she seemed she was still like Edward. Though I had respect for her, she didn't call him Lord or bow to him like everyone else.

"I know it will take you time to trust me, Bella- which I know you like to be called. But we're not as bad s you make us out to be."

I remained quiet, thinking of her words.

"Follow me if you wish." She said, before leaping off into the woods leaving me to follow her. She wasn't faster than me exactly, but she was elegant. She didn't run she pranced and leaped like a dancer, traveling through the thick forest like she was in a field of daisies.

Eventually we stopped at a bank of the river I'd never seen before, I could faintly see the Cullen mansion a few miles away, high and mighty. I'd never been this close to it though, I wondered what it was like inside.

Alice sat on a boulder a few feet away and patted the spot next to her. I politely shook my head and instead sat on the fallen log of a tree, not trying to notice the discomfort. Alice simply shrugged and began talking.

"I saw Edward and Jacob explain about our kind to you, that's my gift. Seeing the future if you hadn't been told that, which I know you haven't."

I stayed silent but inside I was disgruntled, she could see the future? What did she see in mine?

"If you have any questions just ask, Bella. I'm not as rude as Edward, or any of the others. In fact none of us are entirely too bad,"

I doubted that, but forced myself to speak for once.

"Why did he change me?"

Alice looked like she had expected this question, but a disturbed look stayed on her face like she didn't know what to say.

"He… he didn't want to. He had no plan on changing you, his only plan was to meet you and discuss your science project. But he was being foolish that day, and it's partially my fault too. I didn't see it coming; I didn't know that Sabine- that was the vampire- was going to be in the woods till it was too late. By the time I called Edward she was already on your trail."

"That still doesn't explain why."

She sighed, "He had no other choice Bella. He didn't want you to die like that, so he changed you. I don't know why, but he did. Usually we don't change people from this town because of the risk that they'd be seen as vampires. Other than the wolves," she paused, wrinkling her nose at their mention, "We haven't had any new members join us in fifty years, Edward doesn't change many. He doesn't like taking human lives, I guess he just felt something special towards you."

"Wait, you make it sound like Edwards the only one who can changes humans?"

"No," Alice shook her head, "But he does it the safest. Lords are usually the only ones who do, so mostly him and Carlisle. If a second rank-that's someone who isn't changed by a Lord- changes someone its dangerous. Their poison is weak and instead of changing, can leave them in a painful death."

"So that's why so many vampires are in the cave? Because Edward changed them?"

"Yup," she said, popping the 'p'. "Once a Lord has changed a human they're forever linked, the Lord can pretty much make them do what he wants if he wishes. But usually Edward lets us have our own free will. But when he wants us to do something, we do it. That's why you frustrate him so much, he cant read your mind nor can he order you like he can the rest of us."

"That's his power?" my voice squeaked, "He can read minds?"

The little pixie nodded, turning her body to face the river.

"There has never been a mind he cant read, at least not till he met you. Even as a human he couldn't hear your thoughts, that's possibly why he changed you instead of letting you die. You were-are unique."

"Eleazar said I was a shield."

"Indeed, a very strong one at that. Especially since Edward couldn't hear you as a human. That's almost unheard of."

I paused a few seconds, taking it all in. Did that make me a freak? That I was unique even among these monsters? I hoped not.

"Why does Edward need numbers? I mean he mentioned something about a war but…"

Alice nodded again, her eyes far away. "The second war, its said to be worse than the first. Imagine immortal, incredibly strong creatures battling each other and destroying everything in their path. That's the war, and this dates back a millennia. This is a war of revenge for Edward; he needs to do this to avenge his parents. It's the fuel in his fire, one that has dominated him since they died."

I almost felt pity for him. To be trapped in your own battle for thousands of years, to have your parents killed in cold blood.

I could almost relate to him. I'd lost my family too.

"I miss my parents." I murmured, thinking of my mom's eyes, dad's smile and Collins laugh.

Alice sighed, "At least you had a family. I'm not as old as the others, I was born in 1901 but that's mostly all I know. My family gave me up to an asylum where I stayed till Carlisle found me. I'd escaped you see…" she turned to look me in the eyes and suddenly I wasn't in current time. Everything was in faded colors but I could see what was going on around me. Where was I?

A cold breeze hits my body and I'm shivering, lying on the cold ground. Too starved to continue moving. It's no use. I'm going to die out here; I'm too weak to have a vision, my throats too dry to cry for help.

I'm left for dead and no one is here to help me.

"Miss, oh heavens." A gentlemen's voice calls to me from afar and my eyes make sense of what is around me.

He's beautiful, an angel has been sent from heaven to escort me home. He was a few years older than me in the face, but gentle yellow eyes told another story. Dressed in brown trousers and coat he scooped me gentle into his hands and I was grateful to not be on the ground, though he was still cold and hard. But I was too far-gone to notice.

"Carlisle, she doesn't have much time!" a female voice says but I'm too weak to look and find her, I can feel myself dying in the hands of this cold angel.

Dying…

And then I feel burned. So hot, far too hot to be heaven.

Wasn't I just freezing a minute ago?

Then the pain comes, it's like my body is on fire and I can't do anything about it. I try screaming but my mouth wont open, neither will my eyes. And I cant feel anything on my body other than the inside.

The pains too great, too strong. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe instead of heaven, I'm going to hell.

It would make sense for the pain.

It was that greater than the shocks the asylum gave me, much greater and fiercer. Like being hit with lightning over and over.

And it keeps getting worse for hours it seems. Or maybe minutes, it's too frustrating trying to keep track. And I want to cry but I cant, and my insides suddenly feel solid.

Its like a million rocks are now inside my body holding me down.

It keeps getting hotter and hotter. The pain is excruciating.

Then suddenly it stops.

I'm cool now. The heat just went away within a second. I'm floating, in my head I see my mother who died, the only one to believe me. My sister who didn't know what to make of me. And my father, the man to put me in the asylum in the first place.

Then I open my eyes and see light.

I gasp, like a fish out of water. And its like I can breathe again. I'm sitting on the branch, facing Alice who is looking at me stunned. And it all clicks.

That was Alice's past, her vision of being changed.

"Bella… what just happened?" Alice's voice in on a line between worry and amazement.

"You." I breathed, "I saw you."