Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon or any of its characters; I only own Evelyn and Alec.
Chapter 15
Alec's Pov
Life had never seemed so unfair, I had finally been able to communicate with someone other than Evelyn and my feelings were getting the best of me. Something was wrong with Edward. Though I hadn't seen him in many years— I was sure of it. He was dangerous, malicious and possibly delusional.
I was sure that this was due to Evelyn's tampering; she loved trouble, lived to create it… I lived to clean up after her messes and protect the humans she came in contact with. Perhaps, it wasn't kind of me to blame her. She had grown up living in the shadow of her perfect twin sister, Jessica. From what I had learned, to her family it was as if she was invisible, nobody knew, or cared, that she existed.
I had lived many years in the presence of Edward and had learned to adapt to being forgotten or left out, after all Edward had seemed to surpass me in every element from logic to beauty. I didn't blame Edward, he had always been such a quiet kind boy, and he had looked up to me like I was a god, he had paid more attention to me than to the people who ran around fawning over him.
I could remember in perfect clarity the nights he had spent hiding in my room trying to avoid the task of being asked to leave the house. Although everyone had always wanted to talk to him, to be in his presence, he hated the attention and company.
Edward's only faults had been his temper and stubbornness. I couldn't help but chuckle out loud at the thought of some of Edward's old tricks. Sadly, it seemed that although he looked exactly as he had when I last saw him, his good humor and innocent demeanor seemed to have faded away over the years.
I stared guiltily up at the tree I was laying under, and thought that I was unfairly judging him; he was under Evelyn's unbreakable influence after all. I lifted my stone cold hands to my lips, causing the remaining warmth in them from Bella's kiss to flee. I was betraying him by doing this, I could tell that Bella dearly loved Edward, and I found that something so pure and true should not be ruined.
I took a moment to silently wonder what Edward would think of his big brother now, an experiment of the Volturi meant to create a devastating war. It didn't really matter to me that I was not following the orders set down by my creators, luckily, or perhaps not, I had not run into them in many years and had managed to keep Evelyn from causing mass destruction.
I knew now what I had to do, I had to find Evelyn and get her to stop. I knew that this task would drain me of all the energy I had, but Evelyn had never yet been able to refuse to follow my orders. I supposed that I always won because of my incredible talent of persuasion and manipulation. Evelyn was incredibly powerful and, if I was to believe the word of the Volturi, I had powers that were potentially stronger than her own, though I had yet to unlock them.
I silently stood, peering at the glowing early morning sun from between the parted tree branches. It was odd, that sometimes I found things gone when they were in my way; I normally just blamed those incidents on my "unknown" powers. I supposed that if I actually tried to, I could uncover the full ability of my powers, but in reality I didn't want to. I guess I knew that deep down I was afraid of what that amount of power might do to me, how it might change me.
I smacked my head, the sun was out, and on the day I needed it to stay hidden the most. I decided that it was a good advantage; it would keep me away from Bella. Suddenly, a thought run unbidden into my head, if Edward was under Evelyn's curse, than wouldn't they realize that something was wrong? I thought that possibly, for the first time, I would have help breaking Evelyn's control.
This seemed like a good idea, but thinking of my last trip to the Cullen household, I was not so keen on the idea of approaching their home again. Though that small, black haired vampire, Alice if I remembered correctly, seemed to be nice enough. Perhaps, if I could get her alone, she would prove to be of some assistance.
For a moment I wished that I possessed Evelyn's ability to become human. I found no hope in wishing though, I never had. Even as a human I had been considered a pessimist… never optimistic.
I wound my way through town, shying into the shadows to escape the fierce glow of the sunlight. The trip to the fairytale white house hidden in the secluded forest took only minutes to reach. Though reaching my destination had been no problem, approaching the premises seemed a tiresome task.
I walked slowly around the perimeter of the house, eyeing the windows in search of the small vampire.
Hidden among the shadows of a darkened room on the second floor I spotted her, watching me curiously. As I met her gaze her look of curiosity turned to anger and puzzlement, together, the emotions made her appear dangerous.
I motioned to her to come outside. She did nothing for a moment, continuing to stare out the window at me. In a sudden movement she was gone. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I heard the front door slowly open and close. Around the corner of the house I could see that her mind was racing, fighting against itself for what was right.
After a short, calculating pause she approached me. "Hello, Alec," she greeted carefully.
I lifted my gaze from her hands to her eyes, reading her excitement and terror for what it was. I smiled gently.
"Hullo, Alice," I responded lazily. In an instant she seemed at ease and pleased.
"I thought you'd be coming by here soon enough, though I will say that I have just about as many questions to ask you as you have to ask me."
I couldn't help but chuckle, I had never before met a seer, and already I was in love with the unique style of her personality. "I'd probably have to believe that to be true. Tell me this though, to what extent has Edward informed you of?"
I watched, as her tawny eyes grew bright. "Already, I can see that you're going to be a lot less stubborn than Edward's always been." Her smile faded slightly, "The only information he provided me with, is the fact that he saw you die."
I frowned. I remembered little of the final days I had spent as a human. I had learned many things about the Volturi from my travels and decided that Edward's perception of my death was something they had orchestrated. I knew that Aro found the feelings of humans to be fickle, but I also knew he regretted causing them unnecessary pain. I realized that faking my death would have been less painful for my parents than if they believed me to have disappeared. For once I was accepting of Aro's reasons.
"I never died, as you can see, though I do have to say that the Volturi may have provided Edward with that perception."
She looked confused and slightly fearful. "What do the Volturi have to do with this?"
"The Volturi have more control over my life than I do at times," I stated coldly.
"Oh…" she seemed to be at a loss for words. "Does Evelyn have anything to do with you or the Volturi then?"
"Yes. Evelyn and I were both the forgotten siblings of our parents, the Volturi thought that if they changed us, experimented with us, they could release our pent up rage, causing a war more devastating than any before."
A look of comprehension flashed across her face. "So, Evelyn is Jessica's twin. And Jessica was engaged to Edward." She paused, allowing that observation to sink in.
I nodded, to show her that she was right.
Before my eyes, she seemed to wilt and she sunk to the ground. Nervously I bent down to her level.
"What's wrong?" I had little experience with vampires and even littler experience with emotions since becoming a vampire.
"I should have seen this coming," she moaned quietly. "I knew that Evelyn was going to try and steal Edward away, but I thought she was a human and would never actually have a chance of winning Edward's heart." Her voice grew louder as she spoke her next sentence, "I should have known that she was a vampire, should have realized that that was one of her talents." Angrily she stood, her small hands balled into pale white fists.
"Alice, please calm yourself," I said soothingly. "There was nothing you could have done to predict the havoc that Evelyn is capable of creating."
Her muscles grew slightly softer, though the fire still burned brightly in her eyes. "We have to do something; I can't let Edward do this to Bella."
"Bella's dealing with it better than to expected, even if she is suffering inside, she's holding up well."
Alice hung her head low. "Edward's already put her through pain more great than you or I could ever imagine, for him abandon her for a seconded time, I can't even bare to think of how this will damage her already fragile heart."
"We have to do something," Alice said, raising her head in defiance. When my eyes met hers, i knew that for the first time, i would not face Evelyn alone.
B/N: Has anyone ever heard the song Fragile Heart? You know, it goes "So be careful with me, Warning: Fragile Heart". Just what that last line reminded me of. Happy almost summer!
A/N: Okay, I know that you all wanted to know what happened to Bella, but I felt that Alec should have his turn first… I promise you'll find out what happened to Bella in the next chapter.
Please R&R!