Disclaimer: I own no Twilight characters; though if I did own Alice, I think it would be more like she would own ME. Other than that, I merely own what my mind has begot.

AlicePOV:

Hearing Kalilah's story was harrowing. She had been born in Constantinople, Byzantium in 1330 A.D. She had been a victim of the black plague in 1347 A.D., dying at the age of seventeen, one of nearly half of the population of the world's then-largest city. A male vampire found her in a pile of those presumed to be already dead, but he had detected the heartbeat and thought he could find a quick snack. Though tainted with the plague, the blood smelled the same. I had heard that from vampires older than Kalilah, herself. But as this vampire fed, the rage inside of Kalilah rose. She was angry she was dying. She was angry something was taking advantage of her weakness. She was just angry, she told us. And then as he fed, a heat rose from the core of her stomach and spread through her limbs, lighting the night sky with flames as the vampire caught fire in her arms. He was killed, but it was to late: he had already bitten her.

I was as captivated as the rest of our house, and Leah, who was sitting on her haunches in the tree line, listening to the extensive history of this ancient immortal that would forever be by her side. Kalilah kept sending nervous glances out to the wolf, but the fear she had for Leah had since dissolved into a roaring curiosity, and a longing need. I could see it in her orange eyes. We all could. I knew the feelings behind that look. It was the look I obtained when Andie was still human and would leave me for hours a day, living her life. And before she was aware of our mutual feelings, and we would spend even days, even an entire week away from each other. It started as uncomfortable, which was what Kalilah was experiencing now, but I knew firsthand that it would evolve into an itch you couldn't scratch, thus becoming torture after extended amounts of time, painful in ways we had never suffered. I thought I was going crazy the first time I'd experienced it with Andie, and I found myself feeling a bit sympathetic to her as she explained her situation with the Volturi.

She had been accosted in Rome, where she had taken permanent residence after her first hundred years as a nomad. She was nearing five hundred when Demetri tracked her down and handed her a piece of paper, formally inviting her to meet with his Masters. She had heard of the Volturi, of course, and being of an intelligent mind and a pure heart, she avoided what she was sure sounded like an army, rather than a court of justice. She politely thanked Demetri and sent a note back with him to likewise thank the Masters for the invitation, and said perhaps she would accept at a later time. She saw Demetri out of the city like the lady she had trained herself to be, and promptly packed her most personal things and left the city for good. She had never met the other two vampires known as Il Fuoco Bambini, a term given to the gifted vampires by the Volturi. Four years ago, she had met a charming girl named Chelsea in Lyon, France. She and the vampire had immediately hit it off, and she found herself agreeing to accompanying Chelsea back to where she made her home in Italy.

Edward gave a loud snort, obviously seeing what Kalilah was seeing, and we all knew what had really happened in Lyon. Chelsea had been dispatched by Aro to use her gift against Kalilah and convince her to come to Volterra, where she had tied Kalilah to Jane, Aro's little arrogant monkey. Chelsea could pick us apart with her gift, take our allegiance and tie it to Aro, save for the simple fact that we have Bella.

Kalilah had paused when Edward gave his derisive noise, eyeing him briefly before continuing with her tale, which was coming to a close. "Once we arrived in Volterra, the thought began to form in my mind that this was familiar somehow, like I had avoided this place for important reasons. But I was so happy to be in the company of my friend Chelsea, because she was my first friend in nearly seven hundred years. I was alone by choice, to protect myself and others, but now I felt better than I ever had. So the thoughts of apprehension faded into this joyous feeling of belonging. When she led me to the throne room to introduce me to her Masters, we came upon Jane, who was waiting with her eyebrow raised in a lazy assessment of me. 'Not bad', is what she said to Chelsea. I just smiled at her. I belonged. If I'd only known then what I do now, this could have been over before it even began. I would have killed Chelsea without a thought, and whomever else the Volturi sent to me. But my loneliness..." She trailed off, looking into her own past, and Edward winced as he looked away from her to the floor beneath his glossy shoes. None of us knew seven hundred years alone. Not one of us.

Kalilah shook her head to free her mind of the thought, her long blue-black hair swishing into her face, covering her troubled eyes. "I was given to Jane. I was a gift. The most dangerous vampire amongst them, attempting to court me into ruthlessness. Applying their little goddess of torture to me, trying to convince me that their work was always just. No. I am my own judgement. I have always existed so. That was not an allegiance to anyone. It was a moral, and they could not crack it. That moral was what had been plucking at Chelsea's hold on me, eventually breaking free one day when I decided to just go. I left nearly a year ago. They were diligently making their arms stronger against something. They were trying to secure strong vampires. It was like they redoubled their recruiting efforts. I don't know what happened, but something scared them. I was to be a part of their retribution for something."

I cast glances around to my family, who were also catching each other's eyes. It was right after the incident with Nessie happened that Chelsea tracked Kalilah down once and for all. We and several other talented vampires had stood against them four years ago, daring them to attack. They chose to leave in peace. It sounded like they ran away to pump some iron, so to speak. It sounded like they were strengthening their guard against us. Five low growls in the woods told me the wolves didn't like the sound of that, either. Carlisle and Edward exchanged a significant look before Carlisle cleared his throat unnecessarily to catch Kalilah's attention from the gray wolf in the woods. "Kalilah, what if I were to tell you that it is likely those fears the Volturi harbor are of us?" he asked, also giving a tiny glance in Andie's direction. This would be the first time she would get the details of what had occured a few years ago, here in Forks.

"I would have to say I am curious as to why they would fear a family of benevolent beings such as yourselves," Kalilah replied in her soft, even way of speaking. I felt her age debilitated her from the round about way of general language. She was direct, but in a very light and polite manner. The way she had not even acknowledged our reaction to her status as a Fire Child led me to believe she was above such things as her phenomenal gift. I did not envy her, not at all. I am, by every right, a tad afraid of it. She did not use it to terrify, to conquer. She lived with it, defended with it, threatened with it to keep her reputation... she used it to survive alone and untouched. I respected her for that.

"There was a misunderstanding nearly five years ago, when Edward and Bella had my granddaughter, Renesmee. The Volturi took it to mind that she was an Immortal Child, and came with the entire guard, and even the wives. We had assembled a group of vampires that had witnessed for themselves that she was indeed half-human, half-vampire, conceived by Edward and Bella before Bella was immortal. Our purpose was solely to get them to stop and reconsider their condemnation, and it worked, thanks to our little Alice here, she truly saved the day that day. But that wasn't enough, we had won the battle but the war was yet to come. There was an unsaid judgement passed that day, but they have left us in peace since the incident."

I felt Andie's eyes fall on me when Carlisle said what he said about me searching and tracking down the hybrid vampire Naheul as proof that Nessie was not a threat or an abomination, merely a rarity. I knew I would have to tell that part of the story for her one day, and I felt a thrill run through me at the thought. I'd never told anyone about the things Jasper and I faced while we feverishly moved from place to place to find something or someone that could tell me something of vampire-human hybrids. Thank the gods that we had found the Amazons, and that Kachiri led us through the jungle to find that hole in my vision. I learned a lot about myself on that trip. I'd never shared it with anyone, not even Bella when she asked. It was always better left for Jasper and I. It was our story. It was the more reason he was my favorite brother. It was more reason why I wished he would find his mate. And I would tell Andie all of this, and probably soon. I wanted her to know everything. I wished I could tell her things I couldn't remember.

I reached for her hand and laced my fingers through it, lifting it to my lips to press tiny kisses across her knuckles. My love. When I looked up into her dark eyes, I realized she still needed to hunt from before, when we had to stop the glorious activities we were doing hours ago. The people talking in the background became just a hum as I leaned to kiss her, and she kissed me back, her hand pulling away from mine only to land on my hip, pulling me closer to her. Before I knew it, we were getting a little carried away right in front of everyone, and neither of us realized it until Edward and Emmett pulled us apart.

Andie snarled at them, taking a snap at Edward's face, making him recoil from the venom flecking across his nose, loosening his grip long enough for Andie to pull her arm free and make a grab for Emmett. In a flash of blonde hair, Rosalie appeared with her arms around my mate, atttempting to restrain her, and I snarled at her. You won't harm what's MINE. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm, Alice, I told myself. But she's touching her! She won't hurt her. She finds her attractive! Before I could swallow the rage rising in me, I crouched and sprang at Rosalie, but was knocked sideways by Bella, who gave a low growl at me in warning. I snapped my teeth at her, but looked back at Rosalie and was preparing to try to attack her again when Carlisle finally stepped in.

"ENOUGH!" he roared, making everyone wince around him, even Tanya and Edward, who had known him the longest of everyone in this room. He looked at Andie first. "With the exception of Andie, the rest of you know how to behave! You're all acting like you're as young as she! Alice, get that look off your face, you are not attacking Rosalie!" I looked at him with a snarl when he said that, as Rosalie still stood with her arms around Andie, who was struggling to get back to me, and ruining the carpet as she dragged Rosalie with her.

"Go hunt! Both of you! Out out out!" Esme squealed, looking at the carpet with an appalled stare, flinging her hands in the direction of the door.

I grabbed my mate out Rosalie's grip and threw her onto my back, giving everyone a look that clearly said I needed space. As we left to go to the woods, I heard Rosalie grumble to herself. "Alice is a bitch since she's mated. Sheesh, I'm not even attracted to girls."

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. It didn't matter. I'm not attracted to men, either, but if I went and climbed all over Emmett, she would tear my head off and light the fire.

Andie was still trying to go back to the house, not under control at all, but not willing to hurt me to get back, either. When I had her little struggling newborn butt far enough away, I pulled her around to my front and touched her face, trying to get some color to return to her pitch black eyes. "Andie." I said her name, and she flinched, still lightly pushing against me, but her growls were growing lower, and finally turned into purrs as she gave up her half-hearted fighting.

I held her against me for another minute while she came back to herself, and when she was finally silent, I knew her conscious self had returned. "Welcome back," I said softly, rubbing her back.

She groaned into my neck, where the vampire had hidden her face in the attempt to find solace in her mate. "Sorry about that," she whispered, and I chuckled.

"Eh, it was bound to happen. The rest of us should have known better, though," I replied, shaking my head at me and my siblings. Carlisle was right, we should have acted like he's taught us. "We were all like newborns just then."

"Well, this mate thing is new to you," she defended me. "You can't control how you react when I lose my shit."

I laughed. She was right. "It's okay, no harm done. Well, the carpet in the living room isn't much to look at, but Esme's going to put in a wood floor, and it will work out."

She pulled back to look at me, and I set her down on her feet, stepping back to give her some room if she needed it. "Can we hunt?" she asked me in a small voice, still ashamed of her actions inside.

"Of course," I whispered, leaning forward to press my lips to hers. "Let's take care of that, and then..." I kissed her again, just a little differently, but it got just the response from her I wanted, as her breath excelled and that intoxicatingly sweet aroma swirled around us. She gripped the collar of my shirt in her fist, deepening the kiss, but then broke away with a a small growl. Her thirst was winning out for the first time, and she was getting frustrated in too many ways.

"Come on," she whispered, her eyes black once more. "I want you to watch me hunt." Her voice had suddenly dropped to a seductive tone, and I began to purr at her in reflex. That sounded amazing.

"Please," I said, making a gesture for her to lead the way. I'd follow my little soul seeing tracker anywhere.

To Be Continued...

A/N: So, this is it... the end. There will be a sequel, because it's not over, not by a long shot. But I think 26 chapters is long enough. :P If you want more of my work, you should try out La Lune Bleu, my Bellice piece I have only just started. It's getting great reviews.

Thank you all for sticking it out with me and Andie for so long. It tickles my soul that you all liked her so much. And this is what makes me want to continue their story.