Wonderland(Alice Cullen)

Funeral/Jake Comes Back/Leaving Them Alone/Vision of Death

The next morning, Charlie was dressed up in a suit, and headed out to La Push for the funeral for Harry. Bella and Alice were pretending to be asleep, while I stayed up in my room, pretending to read, my mind on Alice. As soon as I heard the front door close, I shot downstairs, and Alice said,"You've gotten faster...Almost as fast as..." She looked at Bella, and I knew who she was about to say. I just nodded, as Bella began cleaning the house. I sighed, and went to my room, cringing slightly at the mess it had become...I picked up all the clothes on the floor, tossing them into the hamper, organized my books, made my bed, and carefully picked up every piece of trash there was in sight....I could hear Alice asking Bella about their high school friends, as Bella scrubbed the bathtub, when the doorbell rang...Bella yelled,"Hold on!", and Alice said,"Bella, I have a fairly good guess who that might be, and I think I'd better step out." Bella asked,"Guess?", and Alice said,"If this is a repeat of my egregious lapse in foresight yesterday, then it's most likely Jacob Black or one of his...friends." I went downstairs, and Bella asked,"You can't see werewolves?" Alice, annoyed, said,"So it would seem." Bella said,"You don't have to go anywhere, Alice. You were here first." She laughed sarcastically, and told Bella,"Trust me-it wouldn't be a good idea to have me and Jacob Black in a room together." I eyed her, and she said,"Come with me, Rowan...I need to talk to you."

I followed her quickly through Charlie's door, and out his back window, and just caught sight of Jake going in. We raced into the woods, leaving them alone together. She stopped dead in her tracks, and I stopped before running into her. I asked,"What? What was so important that I had to leave my sister alone with a cranky werewolf?" She clenched her teeth together, and I had never seen her so mad. She said, in a shaky, angry, hurt filled voice,"Do you think it's okay for you to hurt yourself like that?" I looked down at my arms, then back up at her, and said,"Last night was a mistake. It won't happen again. I'll leave you alone. You're here for Bella anyway...Not me." I was shaking, and she said,"It is not okay...For you to hurt yourself...If not for me, then for Bella and Charlie...Look at me..." I stared at the ground, and in an instant, she was in front of me...She repeated,"Rowan, look at me..." She sounded close to tears, if she could cry, and I slowly looked up into those golden eyes, and she slowly walked forward, until I was backed into a tree...She slowly reached up, and touched my face with a shaking hand, and searched my eyes...She said,"I lied that day...I lied with everything I had...Because I thought it would keep you safe...But I was wrong...And that was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life...I love you, Rowan...With every part of my heart and soul...And to see you this way...It kills me...And I want to...No, I need to fix this..." I swallowed hard, and said,"You mean it?" She said,"I have never been more honest in my entire life...And that's a long time..." Before she could say another word, I kissed her, with all the hurt, pain, and love inside of me...She froze for an instant, then, her arms wrapped around me, and she kissed me back, then pulled away slightly....I said,"And I love you, Alice Cullen...I always have...And I always will..."

Seconds later, I heard the house phone ring, and Jake and someone on the phone talking about Charlie being at the funeral, and then, Alice stiffened beside me, and said,"We need to get back there...Now..." I followed her back to my house, and she raced in through the front door, and I saw Bella trip over Jake, who stopped dead at the foot of the stairs. Alice choked out,"Bella", and was trembling...I gently took her hand, and Bella cried,"Alice, what's wrong?", putting her hands on Alice's face. Alice whispered,"Edward", and I desperately racked my brain as to why she would be so upset... Then, alarmed, I raced over to Bella as she went down, catching her before she hit the floor...Jake swore up a storm, as he sat down on the couch, shaking violently, and I laid Bella down on top of him. He furiously asked,"What did you do to her?" Alice carefully told Bella,"Bella? Bella, snap out of it. We have to hurry." Jake said,"Stay back", and I was instantly at Alice's side, and said,"Chill, Jake...She's trying to help..." Alice told him,"Calm down, Jacob Black. You don't want to do that so close to her." My eyes widened as I realised what she meant, and I told Jake,"Don't you dare phase near Bella, or I will literally kill you..." Jake said,"I don't think I'll have any problem keeping my focus." I sighed with relief, as Bella asked,"Alice? What happened?" I jumped, as Alice wailed,"I don't know. What is he thinking?!" Bella slowly sat up, using Jake for support, as Alice pulled a silver phone from her pocket and dialed a number. She said,"Rose, I need to talk to Carlisle now." I heard Rosalie say,"He's not here at the moment." Alice said,"Fine, as soon as he's back." Rosalie asked,"Won't you be back later?" Alice answered,"No, I'll be on a plane. Look, have you heard anything from Edward?" Rosalie said,"Yes, I called him earlier to tell him about your vision of Bella." Alice asked,"Why? Why would you do that, Rosalie?" I tuned out the rest, as my eyes locked on Bella...Edward was in some sort of trouble...

Bella said,"Alice. Alice, Carlisle is back though. He called just before..." Alice looked at Bella with a blank expression, and asked,"How long ago?" Bella answered,"Half a minute before you and Rowan showed up." Alice focused on Bella, and asked,"What did he say?" Bella saud,"I didn't talk to him", her eyes turning to Jake. Alice and I glared at him, and he shifted uncomfortably, and said,"He asked for Charlie, and I told him Charlie wasn't here." Bella said,"You told him Charlie was at the funeral." Alice asked,"What were his exact words?" Bella said,"He said, 'He's not here,' and when Carlisle asked where Charlie was, Jacob said, 'At the funeral." Alice moaned, and sank to her knees...I was pretty sure I had it figured out....Bella whispered,"Tell me, Alice." Alice said,"That wasn't Carlisle on the phone." Jake snarled,"Are you calling me a liar?" Alice ignored him, focusing on Bella, and choked out,"It was Edward. He thinks you're dead." I had been right...Bella asked,"Rosalie told him I killed myself, didn't he?" Alice said,"Yes. In her defense, she did believe it. They rely on my sight far too much for something that works so imperfectly. But for her to track him down to tell him this! Didn't she realize...or care...?" Bella said,"And when Edward called here, he thought Jacob meant my funeral." Me and Alice looked at her like she was crazy, and Alice said,"You're not upset." Bella said,"Well, it's really rotten timing, but it will all get straightened out. The next time he calls, someone will tell him...what...really..." As Alice's face filled with pity and horror, I knew he wasn't calling back... Alice said,"Bella, Edward won't call again. He believed her."

Bella said,"I. Don't. Understand." Alice said,"He's going to Italy." As she said those words, I remembered the story Edward told Bella about the vampire rulers...The Volturi...And how they upheld their rules, and punished their criminals...I swallowed hard....Bella suddenly yelled,"NO!" We all jumped. She said,"No! No, no, no! He can't! He can't do that!" Alice said,"He made up his mind as soon as your friend confirmed that it was too late to save you." Bella said,"But he...he left! He didn't want me anymore! What difference does it make now? He knew I would die sometime!" Alice quietly said,"I don't think he ever planned to outlive you by long." Bella yelled,"How dare he!" Jacob stepped between her and Alice. Bella elbowed him out of the way, and said,"Oh, get out of the way, Jacob! What do we do? Can't we call him? Can Carlisle?" Alice shook her head. "That was the first thing I tried. He left his phone in a trash can in Rio---someone answered it..." Bella said,"You said before we had to hurry. Hurry how? Let's do it, whatever it is!" Alice said,"Bella, I-I don't think I can ask you to..." Bella said,"Ask me!" Alice told Bella,"We may already be too late. I saw him going to the Volturi...And asking to die. It all depends on what they choose. I can't see that till they make a decision. But if they say no, and they might-Aro is fond of Carlisle, and wouldn't want to offend him-Edward has a backup plan. They're very protective of their city. If Edward does something to upset the peace, he thinks they'll act to stop him. And he's right. They will. So if they agree to grant his favor, we're too late. If they say no, and he comes up with a plan to offend them quickly enough, we're too late. If he gives into his more theatrical tendencies...we might have time."

    Bella said,"Let's go!" I sighed, and Alice said,"Listen, Bella! Whether we are in time or not, we will be in the heart of the Volturi city. I will be considered his accomplice if he is successful. You will be a human who not only knows too much, but also smells too good. There's a very good chance that they will eliminate us all-though in your case it won't be punishment so much as dinnertime." All those words rooted me to the spot. Alice and Bella could be killed....Bella asked,"This is what's keeping us here? I'll go alone if you're afraid." Alice said,"I'm only afraid of getting you killed." Bella snorted in disgust, and said," I almost get myself killed on a daily basis! Tell me what I need to do!" Alice said,"You write a note to Charlie. I'll call the airlines." I finally said,"I'm going with you..." Alice's head shot up at that, and she said,"No, it's too dangerous..The Volturi think Elementals have gone extinct...If they find out you are one...They could kill you..." I asked,"How? I don't even know how I can die..." Alice said,"They do...And they will kill you..." I said,"So...You expect me to just sit here while you and Bella fly off to Italy and possibly not come back? You want me to wait while you may be dying? Is that what you're asking me to do, Alice??" Alice said,"Yes...I would rather die than have you killed in front of me.." I clenched my jaw, and stormed out into the woods, Jacob and Alice arguing, and I waited until Alice and Bella had driven off, and Jake had phased and left, to put my plan into action...No way was I going to let Alice die...Or Bella...Not while I could stop it...I raced behind them as indiscreetly as I could, hoping Alice was too busy keeping an eye on Edward to know I was following them...