Chapter Six: The Whole Story
"Ah!" I shrieked, jumping up and down.
"Ah!" Alice shrieked, jumping and hugging me. "I missed you!"
"I missed you!" We stopped jumping. "Oh my gosh, I never thought I'd see you again!"
The room had emptied while Alice and I had been screaming, and I realized that I had no idea where to begin. Had she forgiven me as easily as her parents had – could we be best friends again?
"Ooh, show me your room!" She commanded, and I was more than happy to oblige. The past would rear its ugly head later – we had catching up to do.
I lead her through the corridors, commentating on artwork, pointing out the library, the ballroom, and the office that I rarely used, finally coming upon my airy room. I tried to see it the way my friend would: the walls were cream colored; my couches, drapes, and bed linens were all blue; I had an entire wall dedicated to books, and an antique desk with a laptop; original landscapes hung on the walls – pieces I had commissioned over the past few years; my bathroom was decorated in a lighter blue theme than my room. The space was inherently my own – and I hadn't even noticed before.
"This is gorgeous!" She wowed and sat on a couch.
"So," I began, plopped down, cross-legged, next to her, "How's Jasper?"
"He's doing really well, things are getting so much easier for him. We have an apartment in the city now. He's actually just about to start his next quarter at Harvard, getting a degree in law this time around. Ironic, don't you think? New England is so beautiful this time of year."
"And Rosalie and Emmett?" I asked, "How are they?"
"Oh – they just had another wedding. It was right by this amazing lake in Canada – one of those deep blue-greens that you can't ever get out of your head – I must say, maybe the best wedding I've seen in decades. Rosalie is running her own private auto shop business, just for luxury cars. It's pretty cool…" She trailed off. "Tell me about this trip to Transylvania."
I explained as much as I could, trying to ignore the smashing feeling in my chest, and emphasizing the "old twit" factor of Vlad's proposal. She wanted a detailed description of the landscape, though we decided that it was really a sight to be viewed firsthand. I complained a lot about the "new kids" to the Guard and how over-eager they were, but I ran out of commentary pretty quickly, unsure of what else was safe territory for discussion.
"So," Alice tried to break the lengthy pause after I finished.
"Twenty years," I tried to joke, "And we've already run out of stuff to say."
The silence deepened, each of us examining our respective perfect cuticles.
"I saw it, you know," Alice spoke slowly and softly, still not looking up. "I saw you coming home early. It surprised me, really – I haven't seen anything about you since… Well, I got a little excited, and I decided to come to Italy this time too… you probably didn't know it, but I think Carlisle has been back here at least once a year to hear how you're doing… and I so hoped that you would open that door, that you would know that Aro lied to you, and you did, and we're here and…" She trailed off again, unsure of what came next.
"I knew that Aro was lying to me." I said. "He doesn't lie to me often – as the head of his own security system, it would hurt him too much if he did – but there are some things no one tells me the truth about."
"Which?" Alice looked at me now, a hint of anger in her eyes.
"Obviously, when your parents came to see how I was doing;" I explained, "I didn't know that they cared enough still – that they cared at all – because everyone here has led me to believe that after everything… I was no longer wanted. In order to keep me, Aro – Marcus and Caius too – and even my own Guard; they've all deceived me."
"Then screw them all!" Alice's lilting voice raised, "Come back with us – leave the brutes!"
I closed my eyes and sighed. "I can't Alice."
She seemed to remember something, and looked me straight in the eyes, as if searching for something. But, as sudden as her silent interrogation had come on, she looked away and sank deeper into the couch.
"What was…?" Alice faltered for a second, "There were more things that they've lied about."
I took a deep breath. The incident nineteen years ago had haunted me like an unwelcome houseguest. I risked losing my best friend over my admission.
"Nineteen years ago, I was told that Edward left with another woman, which was true enough. But, I firmly believed that they were hiding something – to the point where I killed the proverbial messenger."
Alice urged me on with a slight nod of her head. I took another breath. "I had been working so hard – if you'd only seen the disappointment; my mind control had caused your family so many problems, and then I finally did the one thing everyone feared from the beginning.
"Around here, a death isn't really a big deal. I mean, they kill all the time. I slaughtered the head of their Guard with a single thought, and they didn't flinch. But I felt so… unclean. I was alone in a place that I hated. But, it turned out that I was right."
"He did lie." Alice said. It wasn't a conclusion – it was a statement; she knew the wiles of the Volturi. "When did you realize? What did you discover?"
"When I joined the Guard a few years later. I was assigned to track a subversive group – that's when I became closer to Cathy and Heidi. I'm useless as a tracker, whereas they were selected to the Volturi for that exact purpose. Anyway, at the time we were just following a woman and her mate, seemingly insignificant, but we were suspicious all the same. The man's alias finally tipped me off. He went by the name of 'Anthony Masen'."
"Oh," Alice gasped.
"You didn't know," I realized. Just what I wanted to avoid – more pain.
"I used our resources here to do more research. The woman is a renowned temptress, named Charlotte," I continued, "Her success in her art comes from her ability to make you forget – in this case, loved ones. It's how she convinces people to join her coven. She chose Edward because he could read minds, and because he knew the basic layout of Volterra."
"So, wait," Alice tried to reason, "He left, forgetting all about any of us – especially you – and roams around, with the sole purpose of killing…"
"Me." I finished for her. "As much as we know, they're trying to find out who the leader of the Guard is. By destroying them, and consequently the Volturi forces, their ascent to power will be swift and permanent."
Alice looked at her nails again for a minute, while I awaited her reaction. Demetri's death didn't seem to faze her, but then, I didn't know how much of this she already knew.
"Doesn't it kill you that you live among men who would die for a lie? Men that forced you to believe that your fiancé left willingly, instead of by a cruel trick." She finally spoke. "Or that the man you love is bent on killing you – doesn't even remember you?" She looked up again. "And you've forgiven him."
I simply nodded.
"But," she added, "you're still heartbroken. You don't think you'll ever get him back."
"I won't get him back. He doesn't know who I am. If we catch them, orders are to kill them." I admitted. "Even I cannot change 'executive orders'."
She seemed to mull this over before standing up. I worried that this would be a permanent goodbye, but instead she went over to the leather Louis Vuitton suitcase she'd left by the door – what I assumed to be her luggage.
"I bought something for you." Alice said, a wicked gleam in her eye.
"I have my own money now," I cautioned. "And Heidi has taken it upon herself to become my own personal shopper."
"Well," Alice looked threatening, despite her stature, "She has competition now."
When she pulled out the deep blue strapless dress, I swore that any living person would have fainted. It was perfect.
"There. Is. No. Way." I stuttered. "That is amazing."
"And it's your size, and there are shoes to match," Alice giggled.
I dashed into the bathroom to try the dress on, and emerged beaming.
"You're going to have to wear it to the ball."
I had, until then, forgotten about the ball being held in the Cullen's honor at the end of the week. It would be rude not to wear Alice's selection – and to be honest I wouldn't want to wear anything else.
"Let's see the shoes with it," I suggested. After our long heart-to-heart, comprised mainly of me spilling my guts, we had arrived at full-on girly mode.
I whimpered with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.
Stiletto heels.
