A/N:

I am so freaking excited to start posting this for you on this day! For those of you not on Facebook, this is my 10-year-anniversary as a ff-author.

I truly hope you'll enjoy my interpretation of Alice's life as a human in Biloxi and the asylum, and then after that as a vampire relying on her visions to guide her as she waits for Jasper.

This prologue focuses on Edgar John Brandon, Alice's biological father, to show he isn't a man to tamper with (Naturally)

I needed to make him very unsympathetic to show how he was capable of having his own wife murdered and his oldest daughter sent to an insane asylum without, seemingly, any remorse.

Title: Origins: Living in my Future

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: Alice's White Rabbit

Pre-reader: BitterHarpy

Genre: Supernatural/Mystery

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Mary Alice Brandon had always been different. She seemed to know things that had yet to happen, and the people in town avoided her at all costs. But the cries of "Witch" or whispers of "Changeling" wasn't her biggest concern. Someone much closer to her than the townsfolk couldn't accept her differences, and it put her in life-threatening danger.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


PROLOGUE

1905 – 1910

With wary eyes, Edgar Brandon looked over the edge of the document he was reading at the little girl playing with her doll. She was the spitting image of his own mother as a child, yet he was unable to feel anything but caution around her, his own daughter.

She was only four years old, but from birth, she had showcased strange behavior that both Edgar and Lillian had tried to explain away until she started to talk. Then they tried to say she simply had a wild imagination, but as the dreams she had at night came true more frequently, the Brandons had to admit that Mary Alice was … different.

Lillian was very accepting of their daughter's ability. In fact, she even encouraged it at times because she said that as long as no one was hurt by it, being different wasn't wrong. Edgar was of a different opinion. He had a name to uphold, not only in Biloxi but in the upper class circles of the entire country. He couldn't afford noxious rumors going around about his family, as it could be detrimental to his business as a pearl trader.

Furthermore, the truth was that Edgar wasn't a family man. While he had married Lillian out of love, she wasn't the kind of wife he needed. She was the soft-spoken kind of person who was simply born to be a mother, and the child Edgar had given her was mostly to placate her. She never really cared for the gifts he brought her from his travels; the exquisite pearls and beautiful jewelry mostly remained in a box in their bedroom.

That made Edgar bitter in many ways. He had hoped once Lillian had gotten being a mother out of her system that she would gladly dress up and decorate herself with his gifts so he could show them off whenever they were invited to parties. But alas, his hope was in vain. Lillian had never been a particularly outspoken person, a trait that had drawn Edgar to her when they were younger, but after becoming a mother, she had become more reclusive than ever. She was too content with spending her days with their daughter.

No, she wasn't the sort of wife Edgar needed at all.

However, Edgar did his best to pretend everything was normal. He denied his daughter's dreams completely, and when she said something particularly worrisome in his presence, he made certain to let her know he wouldn't tolerate lies in his home by reaching for his belt.

Edgar was a firm believer in corporal punishment, and it was his duty and right as her father to discipline the girl. It didn't really matter to him that he knew she wasn't really lying because if the beatings didn't force the ability out of her, it would at least teach her to not talk about it openly and preferably, not at all.

Mostly, his strategy worked out fine because Edgar's job had him traveling a lot, and he wasn't forced to listen to the ever-growing and impossible-to-quench rumors around town about his daughter the "witch".

Unfortunately, there were days, as the years passed, when it was more difficult for Edgar to pretend his daughter was normal. One afternoon, he got a visit from his sister, who was fuming with anger.

"Margaret, what's the matter?"

"I've tolerated your daughter quite enough now, brother," she said through gritted teeth. "I don't pretend to know what kind of sorcery she performs, but she had the nerve to tell me Michael will be involved in an accident that will cost him his life."

Edgar sighed exasperatedly, but Margaret wasn't done.

"Keep a watchful eye on her, or I will have no choice but to call the authorities to take her away from us normal people. She shouldn't roam around the way she is. It's too dangerous for the rest of us."

"I understand," Edgar said, even though he had no idea what to do to stop his daughter from telling people what she knew. His attempt to discipline her clearly didn't work, and he was at a loss.

Mary Alice was almost nine years old when Edgar's life turned even more complicated.

The family was gathered in the parlor; Edgar was reading through a couple of trading documents he'd brought with him from the office, Lillian was mending a garter, and Mary Alice was quietly playing in the corner. Everything was calm, but then Mary Alice's head shot up and she smiled at her mother. "I hope it's a girl," she said out of the blue, and both of her parents gave her quizzical looks.

"Whatever are you talking about, Mary Alice?" Edgar asked his daughter harshly.

Normally, Mary Alice would have cowered away from her father's angry tone, but this time, she didn't. Instead, she stood up and walked over to her mother, and then gently placed her hand over her flat belly. "But I wouldn't mind a little brother either."

Lillian gasped and placed her own hand over Mary Alice's. "You think I—" Mary Alice shook her head. "You know?" Lillian breathed out.

A wide, happy smile took over Mary Alice's face as she nodded.

Edgar was frozen in his seat, utterly unable to react toward the exchange happening in front of him, and all he could think of was what would he do now? He hadn't even wanted one child, and now his wife was expecting another one.

He cursed himself momentarily for not being more careful when they were intimate, but a part of him had foolishly believed there wouldn't be any more children since so many years had passed since Mary Alice's birth. It was too late now, though … or was it?

After all, accidents could easily happen.


A/N:

What did you think?

I promise you, I am giddy and on the edge of my seat to hear what your thoughts are on this!

Now, I need to tell you, as much as I wish I can give weekly updates on this, my job will change soon and I'll be working a lot more. It will mean I'll have less time to write. I have some chapters already written and beta'd and as long as I have those, I will update weekly, but I thought I'd warn you beforehand so that you're not blindsided if I suddenly don't update :-D

But until next time,

Stay Awesome!