Chapter 10

Conflicted Visions

Alice made me promise not to tell Charlie about her visions; she did not want that impacting his decisions, well, as long as he made the correct decision according to whatever Alice expected.

"I promise Alice. Just tell me." I demanded anxiously.

"The Volturi are not here to reassure that Charlie is one of us."

"We all already know that, Alice." I was getting frustrated.

"Elizabeth is not the only new addition to their family, they have someone else; her name is Scarlett. Scarlett has been with them for a little longer then Elizabeth has; she had a very unique ability, she is able to predict what someone's power will be. Because of her they already knew what Charlie's power would be, even before he was turned."

"So they tricked us into turning Charlie?!"

"Not necessarily, we all knew it was only a matter of time before Charlie was one of us. But what we need to focus on now is that the Volturi want Charlie on their side; a part of their coven. They also hope that if he goes, we will follow and join their coven as well."

I laughed.

"Have they lost their minds? What makes them even think they have a chance of getting Charlie to go?"

Alice took a deep breath; her eyes were darker and she hesitated in telling me the rest.

"Bella, there is more to Elizabeth than what I have told you. I am sorry I kept it from you until now, I just didn't think that would be a problem."

"What is it Alice? Does she have an additional power? You are scaring me."

"No Bella. The Volturi know a lot more about your human life than you think. Elizabeth was created for a reason. She was created with the purpose of convincing Charlie to go with her. The Volturi actually spent a lot of time and resources in searching for the right person, the one who would have the potential of being Charlie's mate."

"This is hilarious…" I shook my head in disbelief.

"It actually makes sense Bella. The Volturi managed to find someone whose personality would seem attractive to Charlie; Elizabeth is a lot like Renee. The Volturi's plan is for her to be Charlie's mate. They are using her to get us all."

I was amused, speechless… The extent that the Volturi would go through to get what they wanted was just…repulsive. I wasn't sure I would be able to keep my promise to Alice; not to tell Charlie. I had to warn him.

For some strange reason I also stated to feel sorry for Elizabeth. I wondered if she would blame Charlie for being the reason her human life was taken away from her.

"Alice, why don't you want Charlie to know that Elizabeth will be just using him?" I was intrigued by her reasoning.

"That is the problem. I think they managed to keep all of this from Elizabeth. I am truly not sure. In my visions, her feelings for Charlie seem sincere. I think she may be the one making the decisions that are the opposite of the Volturi's decisions; the reason for my visions to keep changing."

"But if she has visions, just like you; even if they are not in the future, how can she be so …clueless?"

"I thought about that as well, but I don't have an answer. Everything about her just seems complex. I considered that maybe she is pretending she doesn't know anything, as if it is for her own protection. That is just a speculation, but it is the only thing that makes sense, other than the Volturi finding an alternative way of keeping that from her; blocking that part of her visions."

"Ugh! I cannot stand them. Maybe we should send Charlie away for a few days. Maybe he could stay at mine and Edward's house for a few days… that should keep him from meeting this Elizabeth."

"You know the Volturi, Bella; they won't give up so easily. That would just make them stay longer. Besides even with my visions changing so much, never once, I saw Charlie leaving. I think we should wait and see how things go. If he plans on leaving, then we can intervene."

Alice's plan sounded reasonable. I didn't want the Volturi hovering around until they got their way. I just wanted them gone, so things could go back to normal.

I nodded in agreement with Alice's plan; however, something was bothering me.

"Alice, Charlie has been alone for a long time… You said Elizabeth's feelings seemed sincere. What if they are meant to be? What if Elizabeth and Charlie do end up together but they decide to stay?"

Alice shivered at the thought of that. "Bella, I can only assume that if that does happen, we will have even bigger problems. The Volturi won't let one of their own creations just go, especially after all the time and effort they spent on searching for her. If that does happen we only have two choices, and the first one doesn't really count: one of us could join the Volturi, as an exchange for Elizabeth or to confront them."

The fear of a confrontation was visible in my expression. I knew that the Volturi's visit was not casual, but a part of me wished that I was wrong.

"Bella, Charlie and Edward are coming; if Charlie sees you like this he will know that something is wrong."

I put on a cheerful expression; although it was likely that Charlie would read right through me. I asked Alice to share our discussion with Carlisle, he always had good advice, and he knew how to deal with situations like this better than any of us.

Edward came into the room, but without Charlie.

"Where is… "

I didn't have to finish my question. "Nessie, Jacob and Rosalie just got back. Charlie was coming with me but when he heard Nessie, he went the other way… That is probably best anyway if he didn't see you right now."

Edward could see the agony in my eyes, but he had no questions, he had read Alice's mind. He knew everything that we had talked about.

He put his arms around me, and with a reassuring voice, he said, "Alice is right, now that we know their true intentions, we should just allow things to happen on their natural course, and intervene if we need to."

I just nodded in agreement, but this time, it seemed that confrontation was the only solution.