I do not own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
CH. 8 Alice (APOV)
For as long as I could remember I have gotten dreams about Jasper and my family. Jasper, especially, would appear in my dreams and I knew he was watching over me, like my own guardian angel.
I think I was about twelve when I realized how true my dreams were. Part of me was excited to relive my childhood again. With nothing but darkness previously, I had no idea what my life was like prior to becoming a vampire.
As it turns out I wonder if the darkness was a blessing in disguise. I felt more ostracized as a child than when I was as a vampire. I was labeled as a freak or a witch by people in town for 'knowing' things.
Instead of my 'love ones' being grateful for my advice, they seemed threatened by it. They refused to believe me, then blamed me when they happened, as if I caused it myself. My own aunt blamed me for the death of my cousin.
I missed my real family and wanted them back. Even if my visions still made me different, at least I still felt as if I belonged with them. They trusted my visions and welcomed them usually. My visions often helped us out now and then.
I didn't want to send Jasper away, but I was concerned when I looked for Edward. I knew he was considering staying human. I had no doubt it was some feeble attempt to save Bella yet again. He could be so stupid. Not only would he still die, but Bella could still be in danger herself.
I knew he would believe me, if anyone. He often saw my visions with me and knew they were more often right than wrong. I didn't know how to get to him myself, so I knew that Jasper would be our best chance.
There was a second reason I needed to get Jasper out of the way. I had to try and save my mother. As much as I love him, I knew that he could be even more overprotective than Edward was with Bella when it came to me. He was going to be upset when he finds out that I was going to purposely put myself in harms way.
It was going to be risky I knew that. I am not sure if I knew this before or not, but it was my own father that hired the man to kill my mother. It occurred to me that after that it was very possible my father might have sent me to the asylum and 'killed' me off to keep me silent.
Jasper had been gone about a week. I expect him to be gone a few more days since I was sure that Edward would want to wait until after his mother's passing at the very least. My visions didn't come to me as easily as when I was vampire. I often ended up with headaches. So once I saw that sending Jasper would ensure that Edward would be changed I stopped looking. I knew Jasper wouldn't let me down. I also had the feeling it wouldn't take much to convince Edward to go back to Bella.
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"Mama, let me go with you, please," I pleaded with her. She was fixing her hat to go out, she was petite like myself. I looked a lot like her.
"Mary Alice, I think it is best that you wait here. Your father is upset enough with you and your silly notions. I was wrong before to adhere to them." She turned to look at me, I gave her my best pleading look that always worked on the others. She sighed and rubbed her temple.
"Very well, get your wrap and meet me at the buggy." She gave in.
"Yes, Mama," I hurried to get my shawl on and hat. Once my mother stepped out of the house I opened the drawer of the small table where my father kept a pistol. My mother use to take it with her but she had forgotten it. I took it out carefully and slipped it into the pocket of my skirt.
I hurried out the door, closing it behind me. My mother looked impatient waiting for me. She started driving almost as soon as I was seated.
"Mary Alice, I think we should have a talk about these dreams you have been having." She started.
"Mama," I went to interrupt but she waved me off. I sat with my hands in my lap.
"You have to stop them somehow, dear. They are no good and will only lead to trouble." She spoke staring straight ahead.
"They come to me. Am I to just ignore them when they show love ones being hurt?" I asked.
"Yes, you must ignore them. It is for your own well being." She nodded. "My grandmother had her own dreams. She was accused of being a witch then burnt at the stake when my mama was a little girl. There is already talk about you. Your own father wants to send you away."
I bit my lip and looked away. I wasn't surprised at all, in fact she was confirming things for me. At least it seemed she loved me, even though my father may not have.
"You have seen it then?" my mother surmised. I nodded blinking away my tears. "Are you aware then that they send people like you to the asylum? They will hook you to this machine that will shock you into forgetting." My mother looked upset herself.
"Mary Alice, I am doing my best to keep you from that horrid place. You must remember to work with me. Your father will not have it and he will make arrangements to send you to that place." She pleaded with me.
"I am sorry, Mama. I will try to ignore them." I whispered tears flowing down my cheeks. I wanted Jasper; I was foolish for sending him away. My heart hurt without him near.
Unfortunately at that moment a vision hit me hard that I couldn't ignore.
"Mama, stop!" I screamed and she swerved to the side of the road.
"Mary Alice, child what is wrong with you?" she clutched her heaving chest. My own heart thundered in my chest. I pulled out the pistol as an approaching car stopped.
My mother's looked at the car then at me.
"The time has come then?" she looked frightened.
"Not if I can change it." I stumbled out of the vehicle.
"Stop or I will shot," I bravely held up the pistol realizing I didn't know how to shoot or check the safety. Did they even have safeties? Maybe I should have thought about this more.
Two figures got out and walked in the shadows towards us. One was male the other female. The male chuckled and for some reason it sounded familiar and not in a good way.
"Oh, look the little girl has a gun," the man and the women laughed together. I froze as I recognized the voice.
"James," I gasped. I didn't see it before. The man my father talked to was always in the shadows, so I never saw a face. I was in serious trouble. A gun was going to do nothing to vampires. The women with him had to be Victoria. I was foolish to send Jasper away.
The man stopped when I said his name. His eyes narrowed as he took me in.
"How do you know my name, girl?" he hissed and his eyes were flat black.
"I...I…" I gasped not knowing what to say. I felt the pistol being pulled from my hands.
"Leave us, alone," my mother's voice trembled as she pointed the gun at them.
James threw his head back and laughed. I heard the shot and then saw James looked down as it bounced off his chest. My mother gasped and dropped the gun.
Victoria flashed forward and snapped my mother's neck before I could blink. She dropped my mother's limp body near my feet.
"No…" I whimpered in defeat. Victoria grabbed my arm and my heart lunged to my throat.
"Wait," James hissed. "I am not done with her yet." Victoria scowled and she pushed me to the dirt several feet away, close to the edge of the woods.
"Victoria," he shot her a look of annoyance and she shrugged. He glared back at me.
"Now tell me, how you know me?"
"My visions," I stuttered. I wasn't sure if it was best to tell him or not. There was a chance he might be intrigued by my gift and change me.
Not that I wanted James to change me, but it was better than dead. I could escape from him as a vampire and find Jasper.
"What visions," he looked slightly interested.
"I can see the future." I backed up slightly until my back pressed against a tree.
"Interesting. Did these visions tell you any thing else about me?" he cocked his head to the side looking amused.
"That you are vampires." I spoke. Neither of them seemed to like that. Victoria looked up and off to the woods.
"James, finish. We need to leave," she hissed looking nervous.
"Not yet." He dismissed her and she looked agitated. Her behavior made me curious.
"Vampires, you say?"
"Yes, I know about you and the Volturi." I mumbled. He scrutinized me for a moment.
"James," Victoria hissed at him.
"These visions told you that or that blonde vampire that has been watching you." He asked one eyebrow rose as he questioned me.
"My visions, but I know about him too. He is my mate." I announced firmly. James barked out a laugh.
"Foolish girl, if he was your mate he would not have left you unattended." He sneered. "I suppose I will need to clean up the mess he left behind."
He crouched down preparing to pounce. I closed my eyes waiting for him to attack me. I heard another growl and my eyes popped back open in surprise and relief when I saw another vampire crouched in front of me. The moon glinted off his cooper hair.
"Who are you," James growled in anger.
"Her brother, I suggest you back off." Edward growled back.
"You are a newborn, you're no threat to me." James scoffed.
"Maybe, but I did not come alone," I could hear the cold amusement in Edward's voice. I saw a flash and Jasper had leapt from the shadows of the forest tackling James. They started to wrestle and fight. I knew Jasper was well trained, but it still made me nervous that he would get hurt. Last time we had Emmett's strength on our side and James was a well seasoned opponent.
Edward took off after Victoria. With his newborn speed he was able to catch up to her fast. He gave a ferocious growl as he easily overpowered her. I saw an arm be flung by me.
I jumped when a pair of cold arms touched me.
"It's just me." Esme soothed immediately.
"Esme," I flung my arms around her. She rubbed my back gently. I hadn't even thought about her being changed yet. I just assumed she would be changed in a couple of years like originally, but I suppose Carlisle wasn't about to let her go willingly to her first husband. I looked around and spotted Carlisle throwing limbs into a pile to be burned.
"Are you alright, dear," Esme asked and I swallowed and nodded.
It was over. A fire was lit with burning parts. Carlisle knelt next to my mother and shook his head sadly. Silent tears ran down my face.
So far Jasper hadn't looked at me but was focused on the task of disposing of James. His face was tense and I could tell that he was upset. I was unsure how much of that was towards me.
Edward paused in his movements and looked at me for a moment.
"Alice, good to see you, again." He gave me a tense smile. He apparently wasn't too happy either.
"Edward, good to see that you made the right decision." I shot back. He smirked slightly and shook his head. He chuckled humorlessly for a moment.
"I never made the decision not to be changed. I just considered it." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not the one who made bad decisions."
"She is my mother. I had to try and save her if I had the chance." I whispered glancing to Jasper. Praying he would understand, why I did this.
"Is that why you sent me away, to do something stupid like this?" Jasper who now had turned towards me and he was clearly mad. I flinched out of instinct, even though I knew he would never hurt me. His eyes shifted and he glanced swiftly at Edward who mumbled something. Esme still held me gently to her protectively. When Jasper glanced back at me his gaze was softer.
"Alice, do you know that we barely made it in time? We almost lost you. Thank God, Edward was so attuned to you still, he was able to locate you. He almost stayed in Chicago until his mother passed. If he did, then we would never have made it in time. What were you thinking of by taking on two vampires by yourself as a human?" Jasper asked calmer now, but his eyes looked hurt. They were basically asking me, why did I send him away.
"I didn't know it was James. The man was always in the shadows in my visions. I assumed he was human. I had to try and save her. My father wanted to have me committed and she was the only one stopping him. He wanted us both out of the way for his new soon to be wife." I explained.
"Vampire or not, you still didn't know how to protect yourself from this guy. You had no clue how to shoot a pistol. How were you going to protect yourself?" Edward scoffed.
"So I didn't think it all out," I shrugged. "I'm sorry."
"Did you send me out of the way on purpose so you could do this?" Jasper asked me. I bit my lip.
"No, I really was concerned that Edward would decide not to be changed. I knew you'd make sure that he would be. I wanted my family back. At least when I was a freak as vampire, I was still loved. I think I preferred not knowing about my past before. If I didn't think I could handle it, I wouldn't have sent you away." I shook my head trying to hold back my tears. A few escaped down my cheeks, Jasper frowned and I felt him try to calm me down.
"Oh darlin', I am sorry for raising my voice. I was scared that I almost lost you." Jasper sighed then did something uncommon and hugged me in front of the others. Usually he was very reserved about the way that he touched me in front of others. "By the way, you are not a freak. If you wanted your father taken care of, you just had to say the word."
"Jasper, I can't allow you to do that." Carlisle spoke, sounding regretful.
"Why not? You haven't seen the way he treats her. He wants to lock her up and throw away the key to cover his own ass." Jasper hissed.
"He is right, Jasper. Killing him will not solve anything. I don't even consider him to be my real father. Carlisle has been more of a father to me than that man." I pleaded with him with my eyes.
"Well, you're not going back there, I will not allow it." Jasper rarely put his foot down and I knew there will be no arguing with him.
"Of course not," Esme agreed with him.
There was a loud crash as Edward pushed the buggy into the fire and it ignited. I looked around and my mother's body was gone. He caught my eye and frowned.
"I am sorry. We had to make sure there was no evidence that might be drawn to you." He apologized. I nodded and took a step towards him. Jasper pulled me back.
"I just want to hug him. I missed him too." I glanced at Jasper but he didn't loosen his grip.
"He is right, Alice, I just woke up yesterday. I rather not risk it so soon. You do smell sweeter than most and I wouldn't want to hurt you." Edward agreed with him. I rolled my eyes. Before I could argue Edward turned to Carlisle.
"We should get out of here before we are seen."
"Let's go then. Jasper can you handle Alice, or would you like me to carry her?" Carlisle offered.
"This is getting ridiculous. Jasper would never hurt me." I huffed. Jasper looked hesitant before nodding.
"I think I can handle it," Jasper bent down so I could jump up. I jumped up and wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.
He took off running after Edward. The wind whipped against my face and the world blurred around me. My stomach started to flip-flop and feel uneasy.
"Jasper, stop," I heard Edward call out. Jasper slowed to a stop, but everything still seemed off kilter.
"Are you alright, Alice," Carlisle asked. I shook my head and buried it into Jasper's neck.
"Here let me help you down," Carlisle lifted me off Jasper's back and set me on the ground. "Place your head between your knees and take slow breaths." He ordered.
I did what he asked. In the meantime I heard Edward chuckling.
"This is not funny," I hissed.
"I'm sorry. It just reminded me the first time I ran with Bella. She had the same reaction. She had to keep her eyes closed when I ran with her for the longest time." Edward explained sounding both amused and wistful.
"You could've warned me," I grumbled looking up to glare at him. Edward was still smiling the others looked amused.
"I didn't think it would affect you like it did her since you had been a vampire before." Edward shrugged. He grew more thoughtful before asking me.
"You can't see her still." He asked, his eyes looked sad.
"Sorry," I shook my head as he looked disappointed. "Maybe I will see better after I am changed." I offered him hope. He smiled but it looked grim. I wanted to tell him she was okay but I couldn't be positive.
"Jasper said you didn't see this coming?" Carlisle asked me.
"Not a clue. One minute are futures were clear the next it was all dark." I felt guilty.
"It wasn't your fault, Alice." Edward told me.
"Of course not." Jasper agreed, he seemed to be distracted thinking about something though.
"Interesting," Edward murmured exchanging a glance with Jasper.
"What is it?" I looked between the two of them.
"It is just a theory, but you smell sweeter than most humans. Edward did too. I recall Maria saying something about my blood being sweet too." Jasper explained taking a seat next to me. I shivered slightly in the cool night air. He frowned and shrugged off his jacket and placed it over my shoulders.
"Anyways, I was starting to wonder if there was any correlation of sweet blood and becoming a gifted vampire." Jasper looked up at Carlisle.
"I have no idea, you all smelt the same to me. Perhaps I could ask Eleazar next time we see him." Carlisle then frowned. "That is if we meet him this time around."
"I wonder what that means about Bella. Just think of the power she must be harboring then." I exclaimed excitedly.
"I imagine some sort of shield if she can block Edward and Aro." Jasper nodded thoughtfully.
"No, Bella is not going to be changed." Edward said firmly.
"You are not serious. We already promised her she will be changed. You can't take your word back on her. Besides, Carlisle agreed to change her." I argued with him, glancing at Carlisle.
"Yes, I did. I'm not going to go back on my word, son." Carlisle told him.
"But it doesn't have to be. The Volturi doesn't know about her." Edward growled pulling at his hair in frustration.
"Yes, it does. She is meant to be one of us, stop fighting against it. Have you ever thought that maybe she is in constant danger since you refuse to change her? Her natural path is be changed or die." I snapped. Edward's eyes grew dark and Jasper shifted himself between us, spreading calm.
"Then why did you try to alter your mother's natural path." Edward questioned and I felt a twinge of hurt. He was right. I tried to alter too much and it almost backfired. As soon as I thought it, I knew it registered with Edward. I could tell he was thinking about it.
"Stop, children, we don't have to argue about this now." Carlisle said sternly.
"I just think we need to be prepared that some things are going to change since the first time. Some more than others. Esme and Jasper already altered things by quite a bit." Edward pointed out.
"As well as I might have by not going to the Volturi." Carlisle nodded.
"Us becoming vampires shouldn't be one of things altered though." I truly believed it. Edward looked reluctant to share something with us.
"Edward, you know Bella is going to still want to be changed." I told him pointedly.
"This goes beyond Bella. I think you have to prepare yourself that Rose is not going to want to be changed. If she is not changed, then Emmett will not want to be changed." Edward glanced at me then at the others.
"No…no. They have to be changed too." I shook my head in refusal.
"Alice," Jasper said cautiously, he agreed with Edward, he had to know that I was right.
"No." I looked at Carlisle and Esme for help. I could see right away that Carlisle agreed with the guys. Esme looked sad but accepting.
"Alice, dear, you know that Rose hates this life and we have to accept that." Esme said tearfully.
I crossed my arms in front of my chest as tears ran down my face. I couldn't lose my family again. Any of them.
A/N: So Alice might have tried to change a bit too much. Good thing Edward was so fast. I don't know if it was James that hired to kill her mom. I thought I read it somewhere, but I can't find where. I thought it a bit of nice twist. Especially since they are already gone. After reading her backstory I always thought it was better that she forgot it.
So who would be right Edward or Alice, when it comes down to Rose and Em? You will find out soon.
Thank You For All Reviews!
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Preview:
"Is that a skunk? Why is he wearing a skunk on his head?" a girlish voice sounded appalled. I turned to see a small girl standing with two boys about my age. They had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the woods.
"Look, little girl, stop your hollering about my hat. I am not the one dressed all fancy like traipsing through the woods." I placed my ax down by the tree.
"I will have you know that this is the latest style. Just wait until I get my hands on you. You need a bath and new clothes." She wrinkled her nose at me.
I tried to remain polite as my Ma taught me to never argue with a lady but she was darn right insulting. This little girl seemed not to be taught the same.