Alice POV
I couldn't see our futures anymore.
They were all gone. My sight was black. It was frightening me, and I worried that it was because Jasper would die. We all knew that if he died, our family couldn't survive it.
Now I was insisting on staying next to him, afraid that he would die and we wouldn't even get to say goodbye. He was still sleeping, and had no idea of the new problem we were facing.
The others had all gone downstairs, except for Esme, who was humming quietly to herself in the rocking chair in the corner of our room. I stared down at Jasper anxiously.
His breathing was steady, and he didn't appear to be in any danger of dying right now, but I was still wary of leaving him. After all, the future could change.
"Alice?"
Charlotte was in the doorway.
"Yes?"
"Carlisle would like to speak with you downstairs," she said softly.
"But- but I can't just leave him-"
"I'll sit with him, Alice," Esme said, moving to the edge of the bed. "If he wakes up before you come back, I'll call you up here."
I huffed. "Fine."
"Alice," Carlisle said when I got downstairs. "We need you. Can you think of any other solution besides the Volturi?"
Hard as I tried, I had to admit that I couldn't. "No," I confessed. "I can't."
He nodded. "All right, then we have to go."
"No!" Emmett protested loudly. "You can't take Jasper there! He's sick! He can't defend himself!"
"Emmett," Peter said sharply. "If all goes well, he won't need to defend himself. And if it doesn't, we will protect him at all costs."
I winced at the thought of it not going well.
"He still can't go there," Emmett said stubbornly.
"It's not your decision to make," Rosalie snapped at her husband. "If we don't go to the Volturi, he'll die of this illness anyway."
Emmett was silenced. He couldn't argue with that.
"And if the Volturi don't help, we'll have to go to Maria," Carlisle said reluctantly.
"No!" This time Emmett, Peter, and Charlotte all three argued.
"We can never take Jasper back to her," Peter insisted. "It's too dangerous."
"She would try to kill him," Charlotte cried. "You can't go there."
Carlisle sighed. "All right. The Volturi will probably help us, but if they don't, we have no choice. She was there when he got the injury; she may be able to help."
They were all three silent now. I was fuming through the whole thing. First the Volturi, now Maria. How much more danger would Jasper have to face? It was so damn unfair.
Jasper POV
When I opened my eyes, Peter was not there.
"Peter?" I whispered.
"He's downstairs, sweetie." Esme bent over me, her eyes concerned.
"Peter- Peter!" I cried fretfully.
"Jasper?" His alarmed voice said downstairs, and I heard his footsteps rushing up the stairs.
"Easy, Jas, I'm here, brother."
"Peter," I repeated, calmer now. My eyes closed again.
"It's all right, brother. You're safe. Rest now."
I slept for a little while until I was woken by Peter lifting me in his arms, blankets and all.
"What're you doing?" I yawned.
"We're leaving, brother. We are taking you to Volterra. Go back to sleep," he soothed as he carried me downstairs out to Carlisle's Mercedes.
"Are you going to ride with me?" I asked anxiously as he placed me in the backseat.
He paused. "Did you want me to?"
I nodded.
Careful not to jostle me, he slid in beside me. I laid my head on his shoulder as Alice got in on my other side. Peter didn't seem to mind my closeness at all.
"I'm going with Rosalie and Emmett," Charlotte told Peter through the window. I didn't pay attention to what he said back. I was too tired.
Peter rubbed my back and I kept my head on his shoulder on the way to the airport. I leaned on Emmett while we were there, and he put his arm around me to help me stand up.
I was quiet on the plane, not really feeling well enough to talk. My throat hurt, my mouth was dry, my stomach ached, and the bites- the ones Peter thought caused my illness- were starting to burn.
I wanted to go home.
For a while, I slept, but woke up just before we landed.
"Come on, Jas," Peter said, gently guiding me, as my vision was starting to blur and I could no longer see well. Eventually he just carried me again, because I kept stumbling. I was terrified that I would never get my sight back.
"Carlisle, I can't see," I whispered.
"I know, Jasper, I'm sorry. But there is nothing I can do for you until we speak with Aro."
"I feel sick." Even as I said the words, I started to heave. Blood streamed from my mouth, along with silvery venom and a pinkish substance. It was a good thing we were outside, I thought.
A bright yellow Porsche and a white Sorento pulled up in front of us. So they'd stolen cars, I thought wearily as Peter placed me in the Sorento, putting a blanket over me, and got in on the other side. Rose and Charlotte were in the back, and Carlisle was driving. I assumed Alice and Esme were in the Porsche.
"Where's Edward?" I asked suddenly.
"He stayed home with Isabella," Peter said. "He refused to come."
"Bella," I corrected.
"Bella," he repeated, smiling indulgently.
"There's Volterra," Carlisle said. I wished I could see the city, but my eyes were still blurred.
I yawned and my eyes started to close. Peter nudged me gently.
"No, brother. You need to stay awake."
I had started to doze again when I was abruptly scooped into Peter's arms and we were running through the city. I whimpered; did he really have to be so rough?
A dark shadow swept from an alley and yanked Peter and I into it, pinning Peter against the wall. I was knocked from Peter's arms and onto the ground. Pain shot through me.
"What do you want, Carlisle?" The man with the cloak sounded surprised. He released Peter, who lifted me again, checking me for injuries. I curled closer to him, frightened and instinctively knowing that he would protect me from the Volturi. I'd never been so scared of another vampire; I wondered if it was my illness making me afraid of everything.
"We wish to speak with Aro," Carlisle said.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Felix, I said I wish to speak with Aro."
The vampire called Felix scowled and turned around, stalking away. "Come."
Swiftly, Peter followed after the others, carrying me.
I didn't pay much attention to our surroundings as we went, but I did know that we dropped through a hole and that in minutes, we were outside two grand doors.
They swung open.
"What's this?" Aro Volturi's voice sounded. "Guests! My dear brothers, we have guests!" His voice was childishly excited. "It's our darling friend Carlisle and his family!"
Caius and Marcus said nothing. I whimpered in pain as Peter's grip tightened.
"Sorry, Jas," he murmured apologetically, loosening his arms slightly.
"Ah, my dearest friend Carlisle. What brings you to visit us today?" Aro asked cheerfully.
"My son Jasper is sick," he answered. "We hoped you could give us a cure."
Aro's red eyes focused on my face. "What are his symptoms?" His excitement and cheer were toned down a bit now.
Peter spoke for him. "Headaches, vomiting, sleeping, exhaustion, and his throat hurts."
"Those two bites burn too," I said quietly.
He looked down at me in concern at my exhausted voice. "They do?"
"Yes."
Aro approached us. "Let me see the bites."
Peter pulled my shirt aside, letting Aro look at the bite on my side, and then at the one on my throat.
"These bites are almost certainly causing the illness," Aro said. "Is there any way for you to find the vampire who did it?"
"No," Peter replied. "He's dead. We killed him in battle. When Jasper received the bites, he was very sick for a week, but he recovered."
He pulled my shirt down, careful not to touch the bite.
"I'm very sorry," Aro said softly. "But without a sample of the venom that was injected with the bite, I cannot create a cure. And besides that, we are not even certain that these injuries caused his illness." He turned to walk back to his seat.
"Wait!" Peter's voice cracked. "What if we brought you a sample? Then could you cure him?"
"A cure is much more likely when you know what the poison is, though I can make no promises," Aro answered.
"We will try to bring you one." Peter did not look happy at all. "Maria often kept samples of the venom of gifted vampires we fought. So that she could use them to torture us. Perhaps she still has some of that venom."
I flinched, remembering her torture methods.
"Goodbye, my dear friends," Aro called merrily. "I hope you can bring me some of that venom, and Jasper, my darling boy, I hope you don't die. Goodbye, now."
We turned and left the Volturi lair.