A/N:
I don't think I can even put into words how good it feels to finally have this completed for you guys.
You were all so amazingly patient as I snailed my way through writing this, and when I see that it's been 3 years and 8 months since I first posted the prologue, I'm wondering where the hell that time went. Then I remember there was a pandemic, I went to school, wrote 2 full stories, 1 drabble, 1 shorter horror story, and 1 OS, AND I've gone through many ups and downs with job uncertainty, so maybe it's not weird that it took me so long.
Anyway, I absolutely hate to leave stories unfinshed and so this one has been glaring angrily at me from the back of my mind ever since I first put it on ice, but she's appeased now and is giving me the thumbs up.
We did it!
Title: Origins: Living in my Future
Author: MarieCarro
Beta: Alice's White Rabbit
Pre-reader: BitterHarpy
Genre: Supernatural/Mystery
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Mary Alice Brandon had always been different. She seemed to know things that had yet to happen, and the people in town avoided her at all costs. But the cries of "Witch" or whispers of "Changeling" wasn't her biggest concern. Someone much closer to her than the townsfolk couldn't accept her differences, and it put her in life-threatening danger.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
EPILOGUE
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9th 2009
"How did Jacob take the news?" I asked Bella as we browsed through the clothes in the boutique I'd managed to get her to agree to enter and only on the grounds that we were there to buy clothes for Nessie's birthday gift.
Three years old, but she physically resembled a girl in her early pubescent years. As Carlisle's calculations of her growth showed a rather distinct curve, he determined that by the time she had matured, she would look old enough not to have to repeat high school over and over like the rest of us. She would instead have the opportunity to work, and I knew Edward in particular was very happy that his daughter would be allowed to experience more out of life.
"He definitely wasn't happy that we're taking Nessie from him for such an extended trip," Bella said and pulled a hanger from the rack to look at the blouse, but then put it back when she saw the decorative bows. "He wanted to protest, but Edward stopped him with a couple thinly veiled threats."
I looked at her for a second. "He reminded him how easily he could dislocate his other shoulder, didn't he?"
Bella laughed. "He certainly did." She turned to me. "You know, he's never really told me that story; about how he reacted when he found out Jacob imprinted."
"Jacob was lucky Edward had other things to worry about," I said and held out a dress in question, but Bella shook her head. "With your heart barely pumping his venom through your system, his conflicted feelings over suddenly being a father, and Sam's pack on their way to kill us all, the last thing he wanted to deal with was his wife's wolf best friend imprinting on his newborn daughter."
"I can only imagine the stress he went through." She sighed. "And I've never thanked him for protecting both me and Nessie that night. I've just continued to float on a cloud of relief that he changed his mind about her."
I hummed and stopped perusing through the clothes. "I don't need to tell you how difficult your pregnancy was on him. You were there, and you saw him every day. With the exception of when he lost his mind and left you, that's the lowest point I've ever witnessed him being at. However"—Bella looked at me, her golden eyes sad—"Jasper told me that from the moment he realized that Nessie was who she was, he has felt nothing but unconditional love for her."
Bella nodded with a small, pleased smile. "I can see that every time he looks at her."
"How tall do you think Nessie will grow?" I asked as I looked at the sizes of a couple classically checkered trousers.
"Depends on if she takes after me or Edward, I guess," Bella said and shrugged. "She's already quite tall, so probably Edward."
"Ugh," I groaned in pure frustration. "This would've been so much easier if I could just see her."
Bella laughed at me, and I glared in response. "You're really not liking those blind spots, are you?" she asked.
"No. They're a pain," I said. "Especially now when you're leaving and will be gone for years. My gift to her is supposed to be that she won't have to worry about clothes at all while you travel, but since she ages 3.5 times faster than a human, and therefore grows worse than weed, how am I supposed to manage that?"
"Are you really this worried about the clothes?" Bella asked, then observed me closely. "Or is it because you'll miss us?"
"Of course, I'll miss you!" I exclaimed and gave her a sad pout. "You're planning to be gone for four years! Nothing will be the same at home without you there."
"Well, maybe you and Jasper can take the opportunity to go off on your own for a bit? You know, without the pressure of our imminent demise hanging over you while you search for something that might not have existed." She tilted her head in amusement, finally able to joke about the Volturi's attempt to destroy our family. "That's Emmett's and Rosalie's plan after all. And Jacob's returning to La Push to spend some time with Billy."
She smiled at me, and I was happy to see it. Her and Edward's relationship had always been astonishingly intense, and with so much happening around them at once, it was nice to see her just relax and be happy once in a while.
Things had definitely calmed down the last couple of years, and we hoped it would stay that way. All of us felt we'd had more than our fair share of adventure.
"Maybe you're right," I said. "Jasper and I haven't been off on our own for quite some time. At least, not during happy circumstances. It would be nice to just focus on each other for a bit."
"Good. Now tell me, am I completely out of my mind for actually liking this?"
I looked at the vintage-patterned short-waisted jacket in surprise, then back at Bella. It was far from her usual style and very chic. I loved it, but I never thought I'd see the day when Bella would appreciate something so fashionable. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?"
"Oh, shut up. I can appreciate nice clothes, you know," she said and rolled her eyes at me, but there was also a small, amused smile playing around the corners of her mouth. "Maybe you're just finally rubbing off on me."
I giggled and hugged her arm in excitement. "Well, it was about time!"
THE END
A/N:
Aaah, I rewrote this Epilogue so many times, trying to figure out what would be the perfect ending for Alice.
First, I figured there would be something involving Jasper, but then I realized the two of them are basically just gliding along now and having the sort of relationship that works for them. There was no conflict to resolve, and they've been solid pretty much since their start.
Then secondly and thirdly, I wrote epilogues involving Nessie a lot more, as well as Jacob, but it quickly happened that those two took over the narrative and it was no longer Alice's ending.
Then it clicked!
Alice's happy ending is having her family around her. The family she was without for so long while always longing to end her own loneliness, and there was only one character I was yet to write about Alice's relationship with. Bella, the sister she became closest with, the girlfriend she never really had with Rosalie.
After I settled on that, the words just fell out of me, and I really really really hope you feel I've done the character justice. I was so careful to not make her overbearing or the overcharged manic, shopaholic pixie she's usually portrayed as.
I wanted to give her depth. Show the reasons as to why she is the way she is. Why she relies so heavily on her visions and why she forces Bella to go through so many things that Bella seemingly hates.
Alice is the only one who doesn't have any memories of her life before being a vampire, so she's trying to make sure that Bella doesn't go into that new life without any regrets of missing anything. She's hoping that one day, Bella will appreciate the gesture.
Yes, she can come-across as a somewhat selfish know-it-all, but she is the way that she is because of all the experiences she's gone through.
Now, before I leave you for this time, I'd like to pass on a huge thank you to my team: BitterHarpy and brierlynn03, but an especially large thank you and cyberhug to Alice's White Rabbit, my dearest beta and the biggest cheerleader for this story.
Thank you so much!
Also thank you to who took the time to review each chapter and kept up with all the updates without fail when I started updating this again. Her words made it all worth it.
So that's all I've got for this time.
I hope I'll see you all again as I'm now hopping onto putting all of my attention onto finishing Three's a Crowd :)
Until next time,
Stay Awesome!