Rainbow

It's a scandal. It's everywhere. Word is spreading fast around the vampire high societies, and in less than a week the whole immortal world knows what I've done.

I'm every bit as shocked, confused and clueless as they all are. Only now I'm beginning to realize how enormous is the reality of my acts, and it terrifies me. For me, I've killed my abusing husband, for some people I've killed a tyrant and a monster, a merciless, ambitious creature, but for some others I've killed the greatest leader vampires have ever had, the most careful, prudent and cautious, the best one in history. Therefore, so far half the world adores me and the other half is claiming my head.

Good or bad, vampires have lost their government, which has them in complete disorganization. They swim in a thousand theories and speculations, trying to guess who will take the Volturi's place. There obviously has to be someone, and there are more than enough candidates, but this is a choice that needs to be made with the utmost care and precaution. Curiously enough, the name that sounds the loudest and that is being echoed by many is that of the Cullens, my new family. It seems like I can't escape from living with a political force.

On top of all this, as if it isn't enough with government problems, I'm pregnant. This time, for some reason, is harder than with my other two children. Every second of the day I'm perfectly aware of the baby I'm carrying: morning sickness, noon cravings, afternoon sleepiness, evening dizziness, nightly hunger. Every single day. Jasper just laughs and pampers me, just like the rest of the family, but it's beginning to get really annoying.

Also, I'm still dealing with some old ghosts that often haunt me in my dreams. More than once Jasper has had to wake me up in the middle of the night, because not even the echo of my cries can wake me up. But I'm better now, he and his -well, our- family have been wonderful, and the excitement of this new child is more than enough to cheer me up. It won't be long before my pregnancy starts to show, and that's something I'm really looking forward to. Also, fortunately, Sebastian has adapted well to our new life. He adores the Cullens, and they love him, too, so I'm glad to see it's so easy for him.

But I miss my friends from the castle. Marcus called saying that there's a mess to take care of and that he cannot come until everything is fixed. Natalia is helping him, so I haven't seen her, either. I haven't heard of Gianna and Demetri and I'm starting to get worried. I called Paloma a couple of days ago, but apparently she wasn't home. I left a message and I'm still waiting. Finally, almost two weeks after The Event, just when I'm getting really desperate, Alec comes.

The instant I see him, I wish I hadn't. He looks terrible: hair disheveled, clothes dirty with ashes and utter misery in his eyes. He still smells of smoke and his eyes are immensely sad when he greets us.

"Hello, Alice."

"Alec, but, what happened?" he can't look this depressed. Nothing can bring him down, he has lived and witnessed more than enough things, what can possibly have happened that he's in such self-abandon?

We all sit go to the living room and listen to Alec's story. His words are heartbreaking.

"It was horrible. Worse than hell. You sure did something, Alice. Our world is upside down. And no one can believe a human did it. I'm not blaming you, but, ah… you understand; never before had we been so shaken."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't worry, it is not your fault. You already took too long to act. This had to happen, sooner or later, and if it hadn't been you it would have been anyone. At least you have your reasons."

I sigh. I really don't know what to say. "How's everyone else?" I ask, just to say something.

"Everyone… everyone now means a lot less than before."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you see… I don't know if you heard about this, but there were a lot of us who were loyal to Aro above anything else in the world, people whose lives he saved, and that swore eternal devotion to him. These people, well, we evacuated them, as you said, but when they realized what was going on and that Aro was trapped inside, um, they, they… went… back."

I look at Alec, horrified. "What do you mean, they went back! They returned to the fire!"

Alec nods. "I don't know if they wanted to save him or merely stay with him till the end, but they ran back to the flames. We lost them."

"How many?" I ask, now trying not to cry.

"I'm not sure yet. Some others just escaped, so it's hard to tell. Gianna and Demetri, for example, they ran away. There are few I'm sure are gone: Chelsea, Afton, Renata, Santiago, Heidi, even Caius. Those we lost without a doubt."

I bury my face in my hands. Jasper puts an arm around me and holds me to his chest, sending waves of comfort.

"And Jane?" asks Sebastian in his sweet little voice. "Where is she?"

Alec looks at him, at us, and down again. He sighs and when he closes his eyes the horrible truth dawns in me.

"I'm so sorry, Sebs," he whispers. "We lost her, too."

Silence. Absolute silence. Sebastian starts to sob very softly and now it's my turn to hug and soothe.

"But… hadn't she gone out?" I say. "I thought I'd heard someone say she was in the city."

"She was. She'd gone hunting. But I guess she saw the flames or heard the people running and screaming and went back to the castle. I don't know who told her that Aro was inside, but when I saw her she was already hysterical. She tried to run into the fire, but I caught her on time. I pinned her against the ground and tried to talk some sense into her.

" 'Master!' she screamed.

" 'He's gone, Jane.'

" 'No! Master! Master!'

" 'Jane! There's nothing you can do now. Come with me.'

" 'No! Alec, let me go! Master! Let me go! Master!'

" 'Sister, please, calm down. He's gone. It's over now,' I said, trying to reason with her.

" 'I'll die with him!' she cried.

" 'No! You come with me!'

" 'I'll die with him! Without him I'm nothing! Nothing! Please, Alec, let me go. Let me go, I beg you! Master!'

"I decided to use my talent to control her, but you know it's slow, so she realized before I could touch her and counter-attacked with her own power. We fought for a while, neither being able to win. Finally, I guess her love was stronger. She knocked me down and ran to the flames. A-and she… she never came out."

Alec hides his face in his hands while soft, dry sobs shake his body. He's totally shattered by his sister's death, every single piece of him destroyed. Because of me.

"I've been going back every day, with the foolish hope of finding her alive. Nothing."

I sit beside him and place a hand on his shoulder, the other one caressing his hair.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper.

"It-it wasn't your fault. I should have known that wherever he was, there she would be, too. It just kills me that he wasn't worth it. I mean, yes, he saved our lives, helped us, taught us, looked after us, but he never saw us as more that weapons. Whereas Jane… Jane was devoted to him, six centuries completely devoted to his service. She adored him from the second he rescued us from the stake, and she loved him like no one else, yet for him she was nothing but a pet. Did you know that during these last months they were lovers?" I nod. "She was so thrilled… she dedicated herself to find all the possible ways to please him; every time he called her was glory. She was only one among so many others before, but that was enough for her. And I knew, I knew that sooner or later he would destroy her, and I still let it happen." His sobs cut him again.

He cries for a while, and no one knows what to say. Finally, he calms down.

"But she's dead. There's nothing I can do about it now. I must move on. She would be angry with me if she saw me mourning her, she hated funerals and graveyards and all those things; she'd laugh at me and tell me not to be so sentimental. I must go on. That's what she'd like me to do." He turns to me and continues "Anyway, there's some formal procedures we have to discuss. Did you know that Aro left a will? I know, amazing. The point is, everything belongs now to you and Sebastian. The castle itself survived the fire, it's almost intact, but I don't mean only that. Aro had at least fifteen properties around the world: houses, castles, manors, etc. Jewels, cars, even a ship and a plane. You get the idea. Luckily, you're now eighteen, so everything is legally yours."

"Mine?"

"Yes. Everything. Totally yours."

"Wow," is everything I can say.

"You are probably the richest woman on Earth. If the speculations and rumors are true and you, Carlisle, decide to take over our society, when you join your own fortune with this one you'll be the most powerful family ever. You're pregnant, Alice, that means you can start a dynasty. Do you have the slightest idea of what that means? A succession of heirs to the vampire throne, something never seen before! Think about it."

I actually had already thought about it and it's terrifying, but I don't comment it with Alec. There will be time for that later.

"What are you going to do now?" I inquire instead.

"I don't know. I think Marcus is trying to gather the survivors. I don't know what he's planning, but I think I'll join him. He's a wise man and I know he'll make the right decisions for everyone."

"Yeah, you're right. If you see him, tell him to come visit us if he has time."

"I will. He and Natalia miss you and the child, but there have been an awful lot of things to do. He'll come soon, and so will I. Now I'm afraid I must leave. There's work to be done. That will keep me busy enough not to think of Jane. I'll keep in touch."

"Please do. It's been good to see you, Alec. Anything you need, you know we'll be here for you, ok? And, well, I know it's useless to say this, but I'm so sorry for Jane… it was my fault, and-"

"No, no, no. Stop that. It was not your fault, but Aro's and hers. He gave her a second life; it was obvious that he'd be the one to take it again. Don't blame yourself." He pauses. "Alice, I was wondering if… could you, well, if Jasper allows it, um, could you… give me a hug, please?"

I smile and wrap my arms around him. He's barely taller than me, but his strength makes up for his height. I run my hand through his ash-covered hair and pat his back. I haven't forgotten his confession, the painful secret he kept these years. It breaks my heart to know there's nothing I can do to help him.

"See you soon, Alec," I say.

But I soon see how wrong I am.