Chapter Eight: Pride and Prejudice

Cullen Residence - January, 29th

From across the cafeteria Alice witnessed something she thought was impossible. It took her but a second to realize the truth, but for that fleeting time, she believed she was seeing proof of her own descent into madness. An apparition, a ghost haunting her. Perhaps it was simply guilt that Bella had only lived a few short months after they left, and Alice had suffered for decades longer than Bella had even been alive. It was a gut punch, a punishment to be sure for a hasty and ill-advised decision that she had regretted for nearly a century.

In that second of time, the consequences of her actions were thrown into her face like the truth was written across the sky for everyone to see. Or like how she imagined the faded letters of Bella's gravestone would look, an ancient memorial to a memory she could never move past. Maybe it was why Alice refused to visit the Cemetery, and see first hand the name etched onto her soul.

Yet in the following second, when the rest of the family also saw the vampire who bore a resemblance to Isabella Swan, Alice dismissed her own raving as nothing more than an idle fantasy. Because while there were strong similarities, she had absolutely no doubt that it was not Bella. Alice had memorized every line of Bella's face both mortal and immortal, from the numerous glimpses of a future where Bella had been turned by someone in the family. This Eliza had a slightly different bone structure, her eyebrows were set slightly further down, and her mouth was a different shape.

For Edward the first glimpse of her was breathtaking, then when Alice confirmed she was not Bella, he guessed that the resemblance was from some distant family member they hadn't run into before. Perhaps a great-granddaughter of a child Bella's mother had after her first daughter died. Then he realized she was a vampire and immediately tried to read her, and for the second time in his life was utterly unsuccessful. He had become even more insufferable since school ended, with Eliza disappearing before any of them had even left class.

Now they were all gathered, arguing again. Alice thought this was over, the misery and endless back and forth struggles were a thing of the past. For nearly a century Edward had held his ground, no matter how flimsy his stance, and the family cowed to it. Bella was, after all, his mate.

"This Eliza, she was interesting but also incredibly cagey, so I'm not sure how much we can do about it. She outright said it wasn't her business relaying the information we want. Although that does allude to the possibility that said information exists." Jasper explained again for what felt like the fourth time since arriving home.

Rosalie piped up, "I don't see what the big deal is, I mean there's a very close resemblance but it's not... Bella." The certainty in her voice cracked slightly, and she hesitated over the name, and Edward visibly tensed. Alice did as well, but kept her body still. The family had spent the last ninety years deliberately not mentioning that name, and it was a tough habit to break.

"My singer…" Edward said wistfully, a far away look passed over his expression for a fraction of a second before his irritation resumed. "I do not agree that there's not much we can do about it!" Edward argued, his voice raising slightly in irritation.

"Let's not argue in hypotheticals, the point is that we have a new vampire in town. Her presence could prove to be a complication or worse a disruption to our lives here." Carlisle said stepping in and attempting to prevent the fight that he could already see brewing. While Jasper was the calmest in the family regarding Edward's actions involving Bella a century earlier, arguing with Edward brought out a resentful anger, which was not entirely based on leaving Bella. Jasper was tired of the utter lack of privacy.

"Carlisle, love, if she is somehow related to her…" Esme paused, almost breathless with the excitement of seeing her lost daughter again. If Bella were somehow alive, perhaps even a vampire, then she would finally feel complete. Yet it would prove to her that nothing Edward, and by extension the rest of the family, had done made sense.

"Related! Vampires are not related. The sheer concept of a multi-generational vampire relationship is absurd! She's an imposter, but she may know of Bella, and that is what's important." Edward said, shaking his head at Esme.

"Imposter, I don't know about your memory Edward, but like I said at lunch, that woman bears far too strong a resemblance to be anything other than a blood relation. Maybe a cousin or something. Did Charlie Swan have any siblings?" Jasper argued, standing up and letting go of his wife's hand. Adara shook her head slightly but stayed out of the conversation.

"I agree with Jasper. Edward, you are making a dangerous assumption. I have not met this girl, but from the descriptions you have all related, she seems decidedly like… Bella. If she is being hesitant, perhaps it is because we abandoned Isabella to her death. She only lived for months after we departed, months. If this girl is a relation of hers, even a distant one, there may be reluctance, perhaps even anger over our actions." Carlisle said as calmly as possible, although internally he was still conflicted over the decision made all those years ago. Edward shook his head emphatically, but Rosalie cut him off.

"Maybe, but I think this is good news, why are we bickering about it?" Rosalie said from the couch, her posture relaxed with an arm slung casually over Emmett's shoulder. Her tension subsided the moment she saw the vampire across the cafeteria. It could be that Bella found a way despite Edward's protestations. In fact, the more she thought about it, it was obvious, of course she had found a way to be turned. She had never encountered a human so doggedly determined to throw her life away, and no matter how much she thought that Bella's actions were folly, a simple trip to Italy could have facilitated her request to become immortal, because Edward had let slip the existence of the Volturi before they left her, and her ability to block Edward's telepathy could've bought her a place in the guard.

"Or she could simply bear a resemblance to her, and we are harassing a vampire who has done nothing wrong. Other than that violence in Seattle there has not been a single reported violent death within a hundred miles in over a year. I think we should back off and let this Eliza reveal her reasons and motivations for moving here in time." Alice said from her perch on a nearby windowsill, one leg propped up as she stared out at the tree's shifting in the breeze, the last of the snow having fallen from them after a spell of rain the day before.

Alice had been listening to her family discuss the matter, but didn't care to get involved. Eliza was an interesting mystery, but she was also far too strong a reminder of a person that could no longer be. Alice was convinced that this was just a strange anomaly, because she couldn't hope to believe otherwise. Hope that Isabella was alive… Alice knew she wouldn't be able to hold back. She wouldn't be able to stop herself this time. Just seeing Eliza from a distance had brought a crushing wave of guilt and intense emotional pain, and for once she didn't care about burying her thoughts and feelings.

Yet the future was still blank whenever she tried to view anything about this new presence in their lives, in fact, in a relatively short period of time their entire future vanished. Alice secretly hoped that meant she would be free of this life, this pain. No matter how much it would destroy her family. At least she had seen that Edward would not confront her about her feelings in the short time they had left, likely he was too consumed with his own thoughts to overhear anyone else at the moment, at least without focusing on a mental voice directly.

There was one thing that bothered Alice, one detail that stuck out with her as a potentially bizarre coincidence, the name Eliza. While only a couple of vampires had gone by the name that she was aware of, the name itself was decidedly old, having gone out of fashion well over sixty years earlier. Not to mention the name Elizabeth was important to Bella, as her favorite literary character from Pride and Prejudice. Could Esme be right, and there was a connection between Bella and this stranger? No, that made no sense. For there to be a familial resemblance there would have to be blood. Charlie Swan had no siblings, and Bella died too quickly to have had children. This was nothing more than coincidence.

"Alice may be right, however I have a few concerns. First, a vampire has decided to settle in Forks, and it appears her plan is to stay here for an indefinite amount of time. Next, Eliza bears a striking resemblance to… our lost sister. Yet it is obvious after closer inspection that she is not… her. More worrying is that Eliza knows us, knows our lifestyle, our names and even our gifts. Moreso, she knows that Edward cannot read her thoughts. I do not buy this as coincidence. Which leaves only two possibilities, she has been stalking us learning about us perhaps as retribution for some perceived slight. Or she is attached to someone who does know us, and for me the most likely candidate is the Volturi." Jasper started to pace, getting up as he related his thoughts.

"That makes no sense." Carlisle disagreed loudly, shaking his head. "Say what you will about Aro, he would not send a spy. He values freedom, as long as we adhere to the primary law of our kind."

"Which we broke when we brought… Bella into our lives. Dead or not, she is still our original sin." Jasper said solemnly, shaking his head slightly and lowering his gaze towards the floor.

"If we believe Eliza is a threat, or if she is with an enemy coven… speaking of which, how do you know she's part of a coven at all? We've only seen her. She may be on her own." Edward seemed rather pleased with this idea, and smiled widely.

Jasper spoke up in reply. "When I spoke with Eliza she made a small slip, referring to herself as part of a larger group in passing. I don't believe she was trying to deceive me, however she did not mention anything more. Parting company with me with a rather cryptic turn of phrase."

"What exactly did she say?" Esme asked and Jasper nodded.

"She said, and I quote; "We wanted to settle down for a few years. This seemed like an ideal place." Then when I questioned her about the plurality of her statement she continued with this; "I have no interest in your family, and I have no need to tell you about mine. Yet I will say this, I am not who you think I am, and while I do have the answers to the questions your family has been arguing about, they are not my answers to give. Edward will not be able to hear me, Alice will not be able to see my future, so you will just have to be patient, and extinguish any expectations you have."

"Vague much." Emmett said with a small chuckle. "Kind of sounds like a threat though, maybe we should track down her coven!"

"Family. She referred to her coven as family indirectly." Esme said catching the casual detail, of course she also absorbed the tenor of the declaration, the unexpressed anger behind it. It made her instantly worry about who the rest of Eliza's family could be, and what slight they held against her own family.

"Family, ha. Ploy. She was clearly manipulating you Jasper. To what end I cannot fathom, but she clearly holds a grudge against us for whatever reason. I agree with Emmett, we should hunt down her coven." Edward said with an excited grin.

Alice slipped off the windowsill and turned to leave. Everyone watched but no one spoke up to stop her, at the door she turned and looked around the room. "Why? If they are a threat, we'll handle it. A direct assault would be foolish unless they have numbers on us. No, she started high school, for fucks sake she was just trying to go to a fucking class in peace. She knows what and who we are, and she doesn't want anything to do with us. That tells me one thing, back off. If she introduced herself when she saw us in the cafeteria, or when she talked to Jasper, then we would have room to be suspicious. No, we took the initiative, so what good is going to come from us trying to hunt them down and confront a stranger or group of strangers that would rather be left alone?"

"Leaving again?" Edward said, shaking his head at her.

"Yes Edward, I don't care for the company right now. Especially when my family is being willfully stupid." Alice said with a touch of uncharacteristic anger, which made more than a few sets of eyebrows raise. She had been so dead, so muted that any intense emotion was a surprise, yet the small change was lost on Edward who pursed his lips and was about to throw back what he thought was a zinger when Alice shrugged and left the house.

"Where is she even going?" Edward asked out loud, while still staring at the door she had escaped through.

Adara shook her head finally, clearing her throat to draw attention. "Okay, I've been holding my tongue because I have no skin in this fight, but I'm very uncomfortable leaving an unknown element living nearby without proper reconnaissance. Hunt would be too strong a word, but we should actively scout the area to find out more about them, or at the very least their numbers and disposition."

"That sounds reasonable." Carlisle nodded slightly, but worry was still pulling his features down into a frown bordering on a scowl. "Their feeding habits might be another concern, and we don't want to be in a position where we are exposed because another coven cannot keep their habits concealed."

"If she… they plan to stay in the area. I doubt they would want to draw that kind of attention. Especially when the Volturi were in the area just a few weeks ago." Adara conjectured, her expression pensive. Jasper sat back down, and pulled one of her hands into his grasp quickly intertwining their fingers.

"We aren't sure that it was the Volturi." Jasper said with a small smile, reaching out and pushing a lock of her hair behind one of her ears using the opportunity to caress her cheek as he pulled his hand back to his lap.

"Wild attacks, put down overnight. Yeah it was the Volturi, probably the Witch Twins… or the other ones." Rosalie said with a small shudder, rumors of the Executioner and Assassin were already legend throughout the vampire world, despite being active for less than three-quarters of a century.

Edward spoke up, ignoring Rosalie's comment entirely. "There are also the mutts to consider. If this other coven feeds on someone around here and the wolves blame it on us, they could attack, thinking we broke the treaty."

Rosalie, a little incensed that Edward ignored her again, took a deep breath. "Who cares?" He turned on her and leveled her a dangerous glare, which she met with equally furious expression. "Oh, you think that a bunch of mangy, overgrown dogs pose a genuine threat to us? Carlisle only signed that treaty to avoid bloodshed and you know it."

"We have no idea how many there are now. Other than Carlisle's call to the council informing them we were back, there's been no contact." Edward snapped back.

"Exactly, we know they only really turn when we're around so there might not even be a pack right now." Rosalie took a step forward, her nostrils flaring slightly as she spoke.

"There is a pack. I spoke to an acting Beta named Paul. He said that he knew exactly who I was and was not really happy that we were back but would honor the treaty." Carlisle said, interjecting. "It is clear that emotions are high right now, and I don't believe we are in the right headspace to be going out on covert missions."

"I…" Adara started, but Carlisle shook his head.

"Yes, I know you can. I am not questioning your ability, simply stating that I don't believe covertly spying on another coven is the right move." He frowned again, pausing to gather his thoughts. "We should have a representative approach Eliza again, this time in a more official capacity to ascertain her intentions."

"Because that worked so well the first time." Rosalie said, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at Carlisle impatiently. "I vote with Alice to leave them alone."

"So we're voting?" Emmett looked around the room with a frustrated look on his face, he didn't like when things were so tense.

"Fine, that is two against. Emmett?" Carlisle asked.

"No, I'm with Rose." Emmett grinned at his wife, but she didn't give her usual smile in response. Instead she looked down and immediately left the room, knowing how the numbers were about to play out.

Carlisle nodded, and then turned towards his wife. "Esme?"

"While I see the point Alice made, and I think it has merit, I cannot risk my family. Although maybe someone else should try talking to her, see if they get a better response." Esme spoke with full knowledge that this was perhaps the wrong move, but couldn't see another way.

Carlisle looked at her thoughtfully, then turned to Jasper. "Three against, one for. Jasper?"

"I don't agree with the approach, but we need information. So yes." He sighed slightly, and gripped Adara's hand a little tighter.

"Three to two, Adara?" Carlisle sighed slightly, it was clear things were falling on one side and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"Jasper's right, but if we are going to play this straight then maybe I should approach Eliza." Adara offered, but she had effectively tied the vote with Edward and himself still remaining.

"Interesting idea." Carlisle said, but could see Edward out of the corner of his eye smiling widely.

"No, I don't think that's the right move. Adara, you have many talents, but I think I'll do it. It should be no trouble getting a meeting set up, perhaps gathering a bit more information from her." Edward said, and once again he seemed excited by the idea. He appeared to relish the idea of getting a chance to talk to her one on one.

Carlisle frowned a little bit. "Are you sure you're the best person to do it?"

Edward's enthusiasm was growing, "Yes, I want to find out about her and maybe she'll talk to me. I mean, I doubt I could do worse than Jasper, no offense." Jasper rolled his eyes but then shrugged. "Perhaps she didn't expect to see us either, and we caught her completely off-guard. Maybe that was the reason she was so short with Jasper. A new face might work, and no one understands the mind of a vampire better than me."

Carlisle slowly nodded in agreement, "Okay, Edward you are clearly for this course of action and I see no reason to stop it. As suggested Edward will try and talk to her. If that doesn't work, we can explore other options. I will try to notify the pack tonight, I don't want them thinking we violated the treaty because a vampire from another coven trespassed on their lands by accident. If there is nothing else?" Everyone remaining shook their heads. "Meeting adjourned."

It had been a long time since Alice had been anywhere near Forks Cemetery, and it had grown considerably. There were now more headstones than the population by a factor of ten. The rows of memorials were mostly flat plaques standing barely an inch above the soil. The dead brown grass framing each in an oddly appropriate way. Towards the back were the actual headstones, some large and ostentatious, a few were modest and beautiful. The name Swan could be seen from the street, and it took Alice only a minute to walk over to it.

She touched the top of the smooth gray surface before looking at it, the cold slab chilled deeper than her own body temperature. The effect was subtle, but welcome as the stone seemed to sting her flesh ever so slightly. Then she knelt down in front of it, taking in the names and dates.

Isabella Marie Swan, September 13, 1987 - March 17, 2006
Charles Geoffrey Swan, April 10, 1964 - May 20, 2006

"No, what?" Alice shook her head in disbelief. "That's impossible, a month. What happened?" She stood and looked around, and quickly noted a few other last names she was familiar with. Webber, Newton, Stanley, Chaney. Curiosity got the better of her and she walked over to the closest one.

Angela Webber, January 6, 1988 - May 12, 2006

Feeling something vile began to form in the pit of her stomach, she immediately ran over to the Stanley gravestone, and found another 2006 date for Jessica, then Ben Chaney's grave was dated the same as Angela's. Alice couldn't handle it, but she had to say something to someone, anyone. She pulled out her cell and dialed the one number that made any sense.

"Mom." She said with a shaking breath.

"Alice?" Esme replied worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Everything." Alice had no idea what she sounded like, perhaps strangled was the proper description. Her emotions, her guilt was pulling tight around her. They had condemned half a dozen people to their deaths just by leaving. That hadn't saved anyone.

"What do you mean?" Esme asked in confusion.

"Did anyone else notice Charlie's death date?" Alice asked, clearing up her tone and sounding almost normal. The cutting edge to her voice clearly defined her anger.

"We discussed it when we visited the grave, Edward assured us it was nothing to worry about, he researched it." Esme shook her head, unwilling to vocalize her shock at the idea that Edward had deceived them. Perhaps he was just in error?

"What about Angela, Ben and Jessica? Three of her friends died in 2006 within a few months of each other." Alice was no longer hiding her emotions, the fear and pain wrapped up in unspeakable guilt. She felt hollow and decidedly fragile, yet the anger she felt about all of this… death laid at their feet, was starting to fill her with an indignant rage.

"Oh no. What do you think happened?" Esme couldn't believe the coincidence, which presented only one answer… a monster from their past they had all but forgotten about.

"I don't know" Alice was too broken to think straight.

"Wouldn't you have seen something?" Esme was searching, hoping for an answer to an impossible question.

"Maybe, I tried not to watch Bella's life for a little while to give her the life she wanted. At one point I saw her trying to commit suicide, but that vision was wrong. So I kept my distance, until one day I couldn't see anything. I hoped it was just my gift betraying me, but clearly it was because she was already gone…" Alice trailed off and hung up the line without letting Esme respond. She let her legs collapse from under her and she sat for a while thinking about what she had done.

She had no other choice, she had to do something. She had to end it, all the pain, all the misery. Of course she had never thought of an obvious solution… the Quileute. They would kill her without hesitation. She stood and started to run, a straight line through the south side of town and then through the expanse of forest to the west. She knew she was less than a mile from the border line when she had a flash of something coming, enough to dodge it at the last second.

Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett and Esme were all there, suddenly surrounding her.

"No!" Alice screamed in defeat, falling to her knees feeling derailed and emotionally exhausted. "Please, let me do this. Let me end it. I can't live anymore with what I've done!" She begged, although unable to look any of them in the eyes.

"This isn't healthy Alice. We all loved her, but we've tried to move on." Rosalie said, hoping to get through to her sister.

"Come on Alice, don't do this." Emmett pleaded, looking rather vulnerable. The fear in his eyes, clearly affected by the idea of losing Alice.

Alice broke down, tearless weeping breaking up her voice. "You don't get it, I've tried, I've tried so hard for so long. I didn't love her like you did. I loved Bella, utterly and completely. But I stayed away from her so she could be happy." She paused and leaned back on her knees, almost smirking up at the sky. "You know what kills me?" She asked but didn't pause for a reply. "I had my chance, when Edward left her I could've gone back. I don't know if she felt the same, but I didn't even try. Now she's dead, been dead for so long that it physically hurts to think about it."

"I know when we mate it changes us, but Alice, you weren't mated with her." Esme tried to comfort her daughter's pain, but it was the wrong thing to say. Alice sat up and looked at the ground, before shaking her head.

"Right, you're absolutely right." Alice spoke softly, utterly defeated. The tension in her body relaxing, she took a deep breath and slowly stood and turned towards home and began to walk without any urgency, organizing her thoughts in preparation for Edward. The last thing she needed was his usual intrusion on her mind.

Author's Note:

This chapter was really hard to edit, as all the characters felt a bit off to me. Eventually I found the right voices, and added the scene at the end. Alice desperately needed more screen time, since we barely get any with her for the next few chapters.

Harold Finch mentioned the somewhat unrealistic idea that DC went bankrupt. Yes DC is owned by Warner Bros which is a multi-billion dollar conglomerate that should be bankrupt proof, but every company can have a major short fall. The idea is the characters were sold off after a decade of poor choices and financial disasters. To bolster the company, initially just the D tier characters were sold off, and then continued up until they reluctantly sold the trinity. Yes maybe a bit unlikely, but we have no idea what the landscape of superhero properties will look like in twenty, thirty or in this case seventy years. But still that's a good point, just giving you an idea where I was coming from.

Next Chapter: The Alpha