Secret Beneath the Roses 15: The rose is cruelly plucked prematurely

A/N: Man, I don't know why this chapter took me so long to write. I had half of it written like a long time ago but then I could never bring myself to write the other half despite having the plot planned out. Oh well, I got it done at least, that's all that matters.

Hope everyone had a good holiday season! Alice certainly didn't.

"What?!" Alice sputtered, pulling free of Sulpicia's hold on her. "You want me to-to form a bond with you?" Alice had a hard time wrapping her head around this. Every fiber in her being was screaming out to reject this offer. To stay as far from it as possible.

"Yes. I want you to form a soul mate bond with me," Sulpicia stated, dropping the hand that had been cupping Alice's chin to her side.

"But why?" If Sulpicia was offended by how revolted Alice sounded she didn't show it.

"To fix the problem of your fading visions."

"I don't see how that fixes anything, no offense," Alice quickly amended, in case she made the vampire mad and unwilling to help her any further.

Sulpicia tsked and let out a sigh. "Soul mate bonds have many nuisances to them. Nuisances that I can exploit due to my powers." Alice inclined her head, indicating that the woman had her interest and for her to continue. "You have a bond right now with Rosalie and she with you. Soul mate bonds are created between two people and are very important. They basically become the reason for a vampires existence once they form one. All of a vampires fibers of existence are focused on the other individual; on how they feel, on if they are in danger, safe, etc. The bond forces the body to create new body cells to make up for picking up on the extra stresses of consistently being attuned to the other vampire. Therefore when a bond is destroyed, the surviving members feel as if they have died, because their bodies and senses were so attuned to the others that they feel deaf, empty and unfulfilled now due to the lack of stimuli. Their extra cells die off, leaving the vampire in pain and then a vegetative state as they try to cope with the enormous amount of grief they are experiencing. It's quite terribly really. It can even happen to mates whose bond are still intact but who live too far away. The cells slow down, sometimes they don't even have a chance to develop, and make the affected vampires feel sluggish and lethargic. If separated for too long, they can also enter a vegetative state. Therefore it is recommended that the two stay together."

"Then why do you do it?" Alice couldn't keep from blurting out the question.

"Do what?" Sulpicia asked, annoyed that she had been interrupted in what was clearly a topic she was passionate about.

"Destroy the bonds," Alice answered. "You know exactly how it works and what it does to vampires, so why do it?" Alice clutched her hands to her chest, trying to hold back the anger she felt burning in her chest. Why did Sulpicia do it? Why?

Sulpicia gave a little chuckle. "It's exactly because I know what it does that I do it. Soul mate bond rupture is one of the most severe punishments we as Volturi hand out. This is because it is so physically, emotionally and mentally disruptive. It is not a punishment we give out lightly. Only the worst offenders receive it."

She's despicable. She knows exactly what it does to vampires and she still does it, without a hint of remorse.

"But do not worry, little Alice. I am not asking you to destroy the bond with Rosalie. Just to put it on the back burner, so to speak." Sulpicia gave Alice a slick smile, folding her hands in front of her red robes.

Alice swallowed past the lump of disgust in her throat and in curiosity asked, "how exactly would I do that?"

"I do not only destroy bonds. I create them." Sulpicia looked smug as she said this, as if Alice should now drop to her feet in reverence of the vampire's abilities. She clearly thought very highly of her abilities.

The pixie didn't do that, but she was amazed regardless. She hadn't heard of this kind of ability. It was kind of cool. "How?" she whispered.

Sulpicia smirked, aware of how in thrall Alice was by her power. "The same way a naturally caused Soul mate bond is made: through pheromone manipulation. A soul mate bond is created by vampiric pheromones. Each of us produce our own scent." At this Sulpicia approached Alice and brought her nose to the other girls skin, giving it a huge whiff. "You smell like cranberries and vanilla," she purred and Alice shivered, creeped out by the closeness of the Volturi vampire. She had the urge to pull away but felt it would be disrespectful to do so now. She stilled her body and tried to calm the tremors of disgust racing through it. "Give me a sniff, and tell me what you smell," Sulpicia prompted. "Go on, I don't bite," she smirked, chuckling to herself at her own joke. Alice held back the urge to roll her eyes and instead tentatively brought her nose to the other vampire's neck. She could smell heavy red wine, and chocolates emitting from the woman's skin. "Wine and chocolates," she noted, drawing away and gulping in a fresh breath of air to wash the other woman's scent away.

"Good. Now smell me again and tell me what I smell like." Alice did as instructed and let out a huge gasp, her knees almost giving out underneath her. Sulpicia smelled exactly like roses and heavy spice. Like Rosalie.

Alice had to hold back the urge to bury her face into the other woman's neck and Sulpicia laughed as she saw Alice's internal struggle battle out on her face. Alice bit her lip to hold it together, her body yearning to be next to Rosalie in a way she hadn't felt since her first year here. The bond inside her stirred, making longing tighten her chest drastically. Sulpicia drew away from her. "As you can tell, vampire pheromones are very important. Each pheromone has a lock and key so to call it. These locks and keys have a matching pair out there. Each vampire has a designated soul mate; not everyone meets theirs. These locks and keys match with another vampires lock and key and they connect. This is what forms the bond. From there the connection builds, until a full mate bond develops."

"And you're saying you can reproduce this and use it to change my bond with Rosalie?" Alice asked, wishing that Sulpicia would be next to her again, so that she could inhale her heavenly scent once more.

"I am not changing your bond with Rosalie. It'll still be there. However I will fool your body into thinking that I am her for the time being. Therefore your bond will heal, and you will be able to use your powers once again."

"Is there no other way to fix my problem?" Alice asked. She really didn't like the idea of forgetting her real Rosalie and using Sulpicia as a replacement.

"There is only one other way and that would be to bring Rosalie here, but surely you wouldn't want her working for the Volturi would you?" Alice immediately and vehemently shook her head at this. As much as she wanted the blonde by her side, she wold never want to subject her to the world of the Volturi. "Couldn't you just let me go?" She tentatively asked, her voice whiny, fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

Sulpicia laughed at this, putting her hands on her hips. "No Alice. You're not getting away that easily from us." Alice fought back a grimace. She couldn't let the other vampire know how much it hurt her to have her hopes dashed yet again. "The only option is to accept my offer or to have Rosalie dragged kicking and screaming here. You full know Aro will not give up easily on you. And as his wife, I am not about to have him be moody because he lost his favorite toy."

Alice didn't say anything, just clenched her hands and stared down at the floor, her brows furrowed in deep concentration. "Could I have some time to think about it?"

"No. You make your choice now, or I will make it for you," Sulpicia barked harshly. Shit, there goes that plan. Alice had been hoping that she could have a day at most to think about it and in the meantime try to escape for the umpteenth time.

"It's not the end of the world, dear. I'll realign your bond back to normal after the next two years are done. It'll be like nothing ever happened. You'll be good as new. And Rosalie won't suffer on her end. Since you'll still be in love with her, her bond will feel that. In fact, she'll feel better as I'm sure her bond isn't doing so great now," Sulpicia promised, seeing as how Alice was still quiet. Alice clenched her jaw together and didn't say anything. Sulpicia was getting annoyed. "Any second now, dear. You're beginning to drive on my nerves. I haven't got all day."

Alice swallowed harshly. Fuck. She didn't have much of a choice! "Ill do it!" she barked, before she could she could back out, yet upset at having to pick this option.

"Good. Now come here," Sulpicia indicated for the little girl to come forward and Alice hesitantly did so, feeling as if she was about to lose something important to herself. "Touch my hand," Sulpicia instructed, extending her hand straight in front of her. Alice slowly reached out her own hand, gulping deeply. She was afraid, she would readily admit that. What exactly would happen once she touched Sulpicia's hand? Would the other vampire uphold her bargain?

"Quickly!" the vampire snapped and Alice jumped at the loudness of her voice. Giving Sulpicia a once over, she swallowed deeply again and exhaled shakily through her nose. Might as well do it and get it over with...

Alice placed her small hand on the the other vampires, palm to palm. For a long time there was nothing and Alice wondered what she had worried so much for when she felt the faintest of tingles.

"What's this?" she asked, as the tingles got stronger.

"Shut up, you're distracting the process," Sulpicia reprimanded and Alice shut up, her hand nearly vibrating madly as the tingles turned to shocks of electric current. Alice gritted her teeth, wondering if this hurt the Volturi vampire as much as it was hurting her. She grabbed her right arm by the elbow, to give it the support it needed, fearing that she would rip her hand away any instant at the pain she felt. Shocks were zipping through her entire body, black dots danced before her vision and where her hand was touching the Volturi's she felt as if it was dipped into liquid magma. How much longer? Alice could feel the need to vocalize her pain working its way from the depths of her stomach to her throat. Luckily, Sulpicia withdrew her hand just when Alice decided she couldn't do it anymore. Her hand dropped to her side as Alice collapsed to her knees, holding onto her hurt arm and muttering curses under her breath. At least she hadn't given Sulpicia the satisfaction of screaming.

"It's all done now. How do you feel?" Sulpicia's usually cold hard voice sounded a bit off. It was a hint more melodic with a husky tinge to it. Alice picked up her head and nearly bit her tongue in shock. Standing before her was Rosalie. The same haughty look, royal smirk and beautiful blonde curls that cascaded down her shoulders. She had a hand on her hip and was looking down at Alice. It wasn't a clear image of her, instead it looked like there was a pink fog hanging around her and she had a dreamlike quality to her, sort of like a mirage in a desert. Alice didn't care, her mate bond surging and resurfacing within her. "I think it worked. But just to make sure..." the 'Rosalie' before her grabbed her by her arms and pulled Alice to her whole height. Alice couldn't resist falling into 'Rosalie's' arms and burying her face in her neck. God, she smelled so good. Sulpicia really had changed her bond, but Alice hadn't known this was how it would work. It was really dangerous.

"For the duration of your stay here, you'll see me, smell me and register me as your mate. Don't expect me to reciprocate this, however." Alice pulled away at this, confusion etching her features. Rosalie wasn't going to show her love? But hadn't they already come to the conclusion that they both loved each other and would work it out? Why was the blonde reverting back to-oh, right. This was Sulpicia. Get a grip! She's not the real thing. She's not! Alice chastised herself but it was so hard to get her brain straight, when Sulpicia was doing such a good job of it.

"I got it," Alice hissed, peeling herself hesitantly away from the fake Rosalie. She didn't intend to throw herself into Sulpicia's arms but it was going to be so damn hard when she looked like Rosalie.

"This will be an adventure as much for me as for you. I have only done this once before and it was for a short period of time. I might just slip up," Sulpicia suggestively winked and Alice was caught between disgust and joy, seeing Rosalie winking at her, but knowing it was not her.


It had been a full week after the switch of the bonds and Alice found it increasingly harder and harder each day to explain to her brain that the woman with blonde curly hair, curvaceous hips and sensual red lips, was not Rosalie, but Sulpicia pretending to be her. That did not make the longing go away, however, and Alice would spend a great deal of time fawning over the woman, or following her around. It was much easier when Sulpicia wasn't around as Alice could convince herself that Rosalie was indeed not here, and that she was imagining it all.

"Mooning over Sulpicia again?" Jane had sneered one day at Alice who was in the library of the Volturi's household, reading an ancient book. She was surprised how much original human literature was owned by the human blood suckers. Dante's Inferno, Da Vinci's diary, etc. It made her wonder if perhaps the Volturi did not hold the humans in such low regards as she had previously thought.

"What now Jane?" Alice asked with a hint of irritation in her voice, not having caught Jane's statement at all. It had been a while since the short blonde had bothered Alice, so she wondered what had gotten her so riled up she was going to break her promise of ignoring the pixie.

"I just think it's disgusting how you throw yourself at her. She's married you know," the blonde slide deeper into the room, taking the seat in front of Alice, who was nestled snugly into a comfy armchair.

Oh, so this was what this was going to be about. No doubt the blonde was curious and confused by the new interactions between Alice and Aro's wife. "It's nothing. Just a new form of punishment," Alice quickly replied, turning a page. She really did not feel like entertaining the little sadist today. Not when her head still felt light and tingly from having breathed in Sulpicia's scent that mimicked Rosalie's own.

"Really? And what form of punishment involves you practically salivating at her feet as you run around following her and doing errands for her?" Jane sat up in her seat, eyes bright with malice.

"A punishment that has me acting as a fool," Alice had tried to answer resolutely but could not keep out the hint of shame from her voice. Indeed Sulpicia's ability was dangerous, more dangerous than Alice had predicted. Alice had nearly kissed her. Sulpicia of all people! But she hadn't been Sulpicia in that moment, just Rosalie. Alice shivered in horror as she recalled the moment she had almost made a mistake that she would regret for the rest of her existence. She would never forgive herself for kissing that despicable woman, and it had taken every fiber of her being to resist the urge to do so in that moment. Sulpicia had been deceptively attractive that day, wafting her tantalizing scent over to Alice, ruffling her long blonde hair and giving a pout with her lips as Alice strained to keep her attention fixed on the light fixture in the middle of the ceiling instead of the woman's beautifully sculpted face. It certainly wasn't helping that the woman was teasing Alice on purpose, trying to see how far she could go before the pixie relented and gave in to the temptation in front of her. Alice felt like she was waging a war each day with Sulpicia, one that was unfair from the very start. One where Alice was on a slippery slope, steadily being pushed down to the cliff edge to fall into the mouth of the ravenous monster waiting to devour her as Sulpicia's countless army members, dressed in shiny and magnificent armor, pressed relentlessly against her shoddily clad army, an army that had partially turned on her in desperation when looking at the odds that faced them.

In short it was emotional, mental and physical hell on Alice. She wasn't only fighting Sulpicia but herself as well. So, she could be excused if she looked like a sloppy mess. But the worst part wasn't feeling this way, but what Sulpicia did to her. Alice found herself more and more likely to give into the whims and demands of the older vampire. If she wanted Alice to do a task, all she had to do was ask in the husky voice of Rosalie or bat her eyes and Alice would rush out to do it. Several times Alice had come close to drinking human blood because of her, yet always at the last moment she would restrain herself. This was because she knew the real Rosalie would never ask her to forgo her diet. Out of all the Cullen's, save Carlisle, Rosalie was perfect when it came to keeping the no human diet. It helped that she had never tasted human blood before and thus did not suffer from cravings as much.

Alice hated Sulpicia all the more for trying to force human blood onto her, but couldn't hate her when she was around her. It was only when she was separated from the vile woman and her pheromones that she was able to be more of herself.

Jane's eyebrows shot up in shock at Alice's free admission of acting like a fool but before the two could continue the conversation Alec strode into the room. "Cullen, Sulpicia seeks your assistance in a matter of importance." Alice could all but restrain herself from jumping excitedly out of her chair. She would get to see Rosalie again, no matter how faux she was, in addition to leaving this talk with Jane behind. She had been lucky today. The little sadist hadn't been able to get the conversation flowing to the point where she would be able to verbally abuse Alice and then mentally and bodily. Jane gave a scowl at Alice's departure but was not discouraged.

"I'll talk to you later, Cullen," she drawled, sending a bolt of fear down Alice's spine. A breeze fluttered past the pixie's nose and she knew it was Jane reminding the girl of her abilities. Alice was not looking forward to Jane bullying her again.