Chapter 11:

Dream Discoveries

AN: Just a side note, I see Alice more like Ashley Green than what is represented by the movies. She is taller than Bella (slightly) and has more of a human look to her than the rest of the Cullens. Her hair is now black and short, but in Bella's explanation of her past dream life, she will explain how Alice looked.

Bella's POV

Friday I drove behind the silver Volvo with a hyper pixy beside me. She was taking so fast that everything was lost on me. I was increasingly anxious. Not about walking into a house full of vampires, but that they wouldn't want me, or wouldn't believe me.

When I entered the large white house with windows, my jaw dropped open. I felt a wave of calm settle over me, and I wondered where it came from. Esme hugged me first, sitting me on the couch between her and Carlisle as she offered me something to drink and eat.

"A water?" I smiled at her.

She rushed from the room at a speed I couldn't see, and was instantly in front of me before I could finish blinking. It took my breath away. "Sorry." Esme sat down looking like someone reprimanded her. I looked around the room to see Rose looking smug, Edward looking worried, and Carlisle looking at me concerned.

"It's fine Esme. This is your home. All of you should be able to act like you normally would." I grabbed her hand. She looked to where I was touching her, waiting for me to flinch or back away. I took a sip of the water she handed me before placing it on the coffee table in front of me. Sliding back on the couch so my back was resting on the cushions I saw them all staring at me. "So…. Where should we start?"

"Why don't we start at the beginning?"

I smiled nodding, "Okay, I guess probably met you first," I looked towards Carlisle. I told him about his human life, how I took care of his dad once we stopped searching for him. How he took me in when my father was drained.

As I was talking about the overrun vampire town, and how it was destroyed and burned to the ground one night, I saw Jasper's lips moving. They were talking to each other, probably trying to figure out what I was talking about. I told them how Mr. Cullen had me hid under the floor boards while I watched through the slits as they drained him dry and ordered the town aflame. I didn't make it out of the crawl space below the boards because Mr. Cullen's body was dropped on the door. "The smoke suffocated me first." I tried to assure Esme, but that only seemed to make her more upset.

"I'm not sure how many years later, but we met again." I smiled at Carlisle as he ran around the couch to hold his wife while she dry heaved, her tears never spilling. I continued trying to move on and lighten the mood, "In Italy-"

The entire room erupted with growls and gasps. I stopped. "What's wrong," I looked behind me to try and find the source of their angry and grief. "How about we skip that one? It really isn't that important. Great art, Carlisle saved my life by getting me out of the city, and I found out Vampires exist." I rushed though the life.

I took a deep breath and turned to Jasper. They were asking questions and making comments about Italy and Carlisle and some Kings, I rushed to the next life. "I met Mr. Whitlock during the war." I smiled at him. "I'm not sure where you ranked, but word had spread about you faster than the bodies were dropping." A little southern twang erupted from my voice. I opened my notebook I still had in my left hand and opened it to a picture of him taking my sister.

Jasper's face was strained more than usual. "Our town had yet to be hit, but we still had a curfew. My sister kept making up things she needed so we didn't have to go home soon. I knew I should have dragged her home, but I could never tell her 'No'." I looked up at Jasper, his face was confused as he glanced between me and the drawing I had a Charlotte in his arms screaming in pain. Another wavy hit me, but this time it was not of calm, but of pain. The breath whooshed out of my lungs as I grabbed my lungs with my arms trying to wrap myself together.

"Jasper!" the room echoed in growls as I tried to seal myself off from whatever this wave was. I saw the rest of them looking crippled, holding onto their other half as the emotion over took them. Like a door was slammed, the wave stopped. The rest of the room was still in pain, but Jasper looked up at me in surprise. Seconds later, they all regained their own emotions. Gasping for air they didn't need and looking frightened.

"How did you do that?" Jasper ignored their questions.

"Do what?" He looked like he wanted to come closer.

"What did she do Jazz?" Alice asked when he didn't respond.

"She… blocked me." He tilted his head.

They buzzed around some more, talking too quick for me comprehend when my stomach decided to join the conversation. I blushed red while Esme offered me food. I choose from one of her options and watched as she departed.

"Please continue Bella," Carlisle said softly, "Esme will be able to hear you, and Jasper is more prepared and will not leak out his emotions."

"Um. Okay. But what do you mean he leaked emotions?"

Jasper spoke up, explaining he too had a power. "I'm an empath." He ended, as if it were simple.

"Okay, does anyone else have any powers I should know about? Premonition," I pointed towards Alice, "Empth," I pointed to Jasper, "And mind reader," I gestured with both hands at Edward before falling against the back of the couch. "Really do you guys get any privacy?"

They all echoed nos.

The thoughts swarming my head exhausted me. "Where were we?" I looked up to see Alice looking at the picture I handed Jasper.

"Is this Charlotte, Jasper?" Alice's face was smooth, but you could tell she would have a wrinkle in her forehead from a crease the way she was looking at the picture, if she was human.

I could feel my face light up as Alice was watching Jasper nod his head in confirmation, "You know Char? Have you met her? Is she happy?"

"Whoa! Slow down pixy number two." Emmitt laughed. "We have all met Charlotte."

I thought my face was going to break from happiness as they each continued to tell me stories about Char and Peter. I could have burst with happiness; my sister was safe, living eternally with the man that she loved. Jasper looked hurt, like guilt was crushing down on him.

"What happened after you took her? I know you bit her, she was screaming, but that's all I know. You ran away." I was trying to meet his eyes.

Rosalie and Emmett excused themselves while Carlisle went to check on Esme. "Most vampires see me and know right away to fear me; I have bit marks all over my body. I suppose to the human eyes you wouldn't be able to see them." He spoke from the other side of the room but I wanted to get closer. I shifted farther up on my seat to get closer. He spoke of his pride for the South, how he joined the ranks young and worked up them quickly.

When he spoke of the three most beautiful women he ever saw, Alice glared at nothing and grew tense. "… until I met Alice of course." His voice lightened for a moment before diving back into the madness that was going on that destroyed the lives of many.

"So your job was to train newborn vampires and find humans to take to Maria to change?" I was trying to keep up, vampires, wars, and powers. Esme and Carlisle came back into the living room at the end of Jaspers story. Esme placed the plate in my hands, I had moved down to the floor in front of Jasper, so entranced by his story.

"Yes. That was my purpose for life, the reason Maria made me." His face was contorted with emotions. "So why did you bite Charlotte? Weren't you supposed to take her to Maria?"

I heard Carlisle say something about my observation skills.

"I think we are getting off topic. We can talk about bonds and mates another time." Esme smiled at me.

"You never answered my question though, what happened after you took Char?" I held the food close to my face ready to eat, but waiting for him to say anything.

My stomach sounded. "Eat," Edward instructed with no room for argument.

I started to take small bites, waiting for Jasper to continue, hiding behind the curtain that was my hair. When I looked up, my plate half-finished, I saw Alice comforting Jasper. "I don't think I'm reincarnated or anything like that." I stated plainly trying to make Jasper meet my eyes. "I don't know why I have these dreams, or know all of these things about you all, but I feel like I'm supposed to be here, with this family."

He looked up at me finally; I could still see the guilt in his eyes. "You know you saved her." I broke eye contact first, staring at the plate of food still in my hands, as I pushed around the remaining now cold food. "She was supposed to be married to an awful man. Our parents didn't give her a choice. But even if he was awful, she was grateful she was getting away from our parents." I looked up to see them all staring at me. "You saved her from both fates. She thought she was escaping our parents to a less evil, but he was worse. You saved her from that."

The room was silent as I composed myself. Esme took my dish away and returned quickly, sitting on the couch next so her husband again. "So you don't think you were actually these people?" Rosalie asked in a bored resentful way.

"No. Not really. It's kind of confusing, but I guess I have to believe I'm not these people. The time lines don't match up; I would have had to be more than one person at the same time. But besides all of that, it would hurt too much to think of how much I lost if I lived all of those lives." Esme's marble hand started to rub circles on my back as I relaxed back against the couch. I realized I was still on the floor and moved to sit beside her.

I could see Alice start to bounce up and down as I started to try to figure out how to ask her or tell her who I thought she was. "Are you- Did you-, I mean," I sighed my brown furrowed as she stopped bouncing.

"I don't remember my human life Bella," She was at my side in under a moment. I tensed as the wind blew, but didn't shy away from her, "Please tell me what you know."

"You look so different." I smiled at her, "You're still beautiful." She reached for my hand before I could reach for hers.

"What was my name? What did I look like?" Alice was smiling at me, but it slowly slipped when my smile started to fall away.

She was so similar, but there was so much I didn't know about her life after I left. "I moved away before you 'died'." I did the finger quotes, as I felt my forehead crease.

"What do you mean 'died'?" Jasper asked, clearly worried about Alice.

"Her," I looked back you Alice, "Your parents sent you away because of you visions." I felt her brush away a tear before I even knew it feel.

"She had visions while she was human?" Carlisle was in awe.

"You saved your father and sister's lives." I smiled at her, "You saved my parents lives." My grip tightened on her hand.

"I had a sister?" Alice was smiling, but my tears kept falling.

"Mary Alice Brandon was the best big sister Cynthia could ever ask for. She was a wreak when you were taken away. She would always defend you when people called you a witch. I moved to town after you warned your friend about her demise, and she shunned you. She didn't listen to you and ended up dead. Cynthia thought you were an angel."

I shook my head, clearing my thought away from the negative. Looking up at her face, I saw all of the differences, "It looks like you got over your hair," I smiled at her when she frowned.

"What about my hair?" Her voice was defensive.

"You cried when you had a vision they had to cut it." I giggled at her, "I could never imagine you bald."

"Bald! Alice bald!" Emmy was laughing so hard I felt the floor shake. Rosalie stopped him with a slap up against his head.

Alice's and Rosalie's face were in a frozen state of horror. "Why? Why would they do that?"

She was looking between me and Carlisle when I shrugged he answered, "They were probably worried about a Typhoid outbreak if you were at a hospital."

All amusement left my face, "They sent you to a mental institution. You lied and tried to comfort me, but I knew you were scared. I could always see right through your lies by one look in your blue eyes."

"Blue?" Jasper looked at Alice's face, trying to picture her with blue eyes. "What kind of blue?"

I bit my bottom lip and reached for the notebook he set back down on the coffee table between us. I flipped until I found the picture I wanted before showing the room what I remember as a younger Mary Alice at our last sleep over. "Her brown hair was a deep brown, almost black," I looked up to Alice, "Not as dark as it is now. "It came down to her mid back and her eyes …" I looked down to the picture, I could never get them right, "They were a combination between the blue sky on a cloudless day and the Caribbean sea blue." I stalled looking back up, realizing I must look like I had a crush on my best friend. Thinking about a way to recover, I thought about moving on and quickly came to a decision. "Alice led me to Edward."

Everyone started to ask questions then while Edward stayed at the far side of the room looking right at me, his gaze was intense. I felt the electricity buzz in the air as he took a step closer. My heart started hammering in my chest, as I felt Jasper attempt to calm me.

I swallowed as I answered most of their questions in one statement, "Alice sent me to Chicago to find the love of my life. I found him, but someone's decision must have changed Alice's prediction."

"You know how my power works?" Alice smiled.

I giggled, "Well I had to try to find a way to keep you from finding out all of your Christmas and Birthday presents." I laughed some more as a yawn squeaked its way through. I tried to cover it but I didn't have that much luck.

They started talking very quickly to each other at pace I couldn't follow easily on where I should sleep. I started to yawn again, covering my mouth with my hand as I dragged my knees up to my chest hugging them as I rested my head against them. My eyes started to flutter close. I didn't realizes at first that I was moving, but when I felt my cheek against something cold, I knew I had fallen asleep. I tried to wake up and continue but I just couldn't.