A/N: Sorry... forgot to update... (sweatdrop)

Disclaimer: If I were Stephenie Meyer, I would get paid for this...

"Follow me."

Alice blinked. Had he said something? She couldn't concentrate, her thoughts kept breaking off in little swirls as she was stabbed with pangs of betrayal and other emotions. How could her family do this to her? Why did they think there was something wrong with her?

And, most pressing, the thought that if she only hadn't told them about Aunt Bertha, she'd be having her lessons with Cynthia now...

The man began to move away and she went after him mutely, not knowing what else to do. There certainly seemed to be nothing else in this dismal place. Nothing else but the darkness, only the darkness... She felt dizzy and sick at the thought.

After an interminable time through dark and winding corridors with the groans and moans of agony emanating from the cells, the man finally stopped. He turned to her, gesturing and flashing a dazzling smile. "Welcome to your new home. You may call me Jacques, and I am pleased to make the acquaintance of such a...delightful thing as you." His eyes caressed her, lingering at her throat.

Alice shuddered at the sheer predatory feel of his gaze, as if she were a captured mouse Kitty wanted to toy with a little longer. Who was he, to make her feel this way?

"Well?" he prompted, tone amused and indulgent, as if speaking to a small child. "I know it's not very inviting, but you'll get used to it soon enough. They all do, in the end." He considered. "Most don't even notice when I take them."

Alice stepped inside, too numb to try to make sense of his comments. The darkness jumped out at her, a grotesque reminder of her vision. And there was nothing but the darkness...

The man, Jacques, made sure she was standing in a safe area and gave a little bow. "I shall see you again. It would be a shame to waste such a lovely gift." And then he slammed the door shut with a riotous clang, and there was nothing but the darkness.

The days blurred, the pain blurred, even consciousness was a patchwork held together by the darkness. It was the only constant, that and Jacques. his visits were the only light, though he was altruistic and temperamental and smelled of a mystery she had no hope of solving.

Still, in a world that had shrunk to pain and darkness, Alice was immensely grateful for his company.

It was almost a relief to have the visions, now, as they were at least something to cling to in this world of nothing. Even pain hardly had any meaning now, to her there was only the darkness and Jacques. her family never visited, of course, she hardly even remembered who they were. even little Cynthia's face had blurred...

Her memories were slipping away one by one, as were any visions but the ones about the darkness. The asylum cell seemed to stifle hope as well as light, and Alice could hardly even remember the world outside. To be out in the sunshine... But that was hope, and there was no hope. Only darkness.

And Jacques.

Well, sorry it's a bit short, but I promise James will come in the next chapter... have a special truth about him that's really kind of eerie. sorry again for the forever-wait!

Review, as always!