Chapter 6 ~ Know It All

The car has more power than I am used to but I manage to arrive at the destination Aro gave me.  I see a woman sitting on a porch swing, dangling her feet smiling and waving at me like we are long lost friends. I smirk at her obnoxious yet contagious happiness. Stepping out of the car and clicking the alarm, I turn and she is at my side, “How the hell?” She just giggles and hands me a glass of lemonade. “I am so glad you made it here safely Bella, although I knew you would” she taps the side of her head.  All I could do is nod, insanely curious if she is crazy or just high on life. “So you are Alice, I assume?” She places her cold hand on my shoulder, her face so inviting and stunning all I wanted to do was crumble in her presence.  “Yes that’s right, and may I say I am relived you listened to Aro and came to talk to me, come inside.” I’m not sure why but I almost skipped behind her mimicking her exuberant attitude. 

 “Alice, are you going to answer my questions, because if you’re not I am out of here” She opens the door to this elaborate cabin, certainly no cabin I have ever seen before. “Bella, I am well aware of the outcome if I don’t tell you exactly what you want to hear.”  Pleased with her answer I step inside; my mouth opens wide at the site of all the art, and history on the walls. Creeping further into the house I see a large portrait of a girl not much younger than myself sitting atop a horse, her dress lilac and hair a pleasant shade of burgundy. I inch closer to the painting, the horse I knew his name was Cody, and that girl was me. “Alice that is me a few years ago, and that’s my horse Cody, what the hell are you doing with this?!” She takes my arms tenderly spinning me to face her. “Listen to me Bella, but when you listen you need to know that everything I tell you is the truth, if you don’t this is a wasted effort on both our parts.” All I can muster is a simple shake of the head, “Good, first off, yes that is you in the picture, but it wasn’t taken a few years ago, it was taken about a hundred years ago.” My knees gave out first, and then the blackness.

I opened my eyes readying for a pain in my head, but there was none. There was a cool rag on my forehead and my feet were propped up on an emerald color ottoman, Alice was staring at me, a slight smile on her face but not as happy as before. “This is going to take forever if every time I tell you something you pass out Bella.” Shrugging, not sure what kind of response to really give her, “Thanks for not letting me hit my head” There is the beaming smile I am growing accustomed to. “Bella, I didn’t come to hold your arms for comfort, I knew you were going to faint, it my gift.” I prop myself up on the all engulfing couch, “What do you mean your gift?” She sighs in preparation to what I hope is a real explanation. “I am what is known in our circle as a future seeker, the only one left of my kind really, Aro hides me,” she giggles and continues. “Many years ago our kind were hunted, the more gifted you were the more the TriLords wanted you.” I hold a hand up, but she waves it off. “I was eventually captured by trackers, I knew eventually it was going to happen, and with the food supply running out we were all too weak to continue, death was a welcome exchange.”  Alice’s tells her story like she was telling a Grims fairytale, so much passion in it I can’t help but feel her emotions through her words. 

 “We were dragged to this gigantic castle, tossed into a dark damp room, I remember wondering why were we still alive praying for death, I was so hungry , the others would fight amongst themselves begging the other to kill them.” I was enveloped in the story feeling as if I had heard it before.  “It was around the time I actually contemplated smashing my head on the wall it hopes it would shatter my body that we got a visitor,” She smiles coyly,” He was dashing and when I looked at him I saw a heroic vision of him whisking us all to freedom and safety,” but later you will see that was a planted vision.” She shakes her head as if trying to erase the memory. “ He took us to this room, a circular room, slightly like a dungeon but fancy, the steps to the altar were marble and there was gold trimmed pillars, velvet scarlet curtains where I assume were windows once, but it didn’t matter it was gorgeous.” Her lips curl as she talks, “Two men stood before us telling us to stand up and show respect for the TriLords. So we did and they entered quietly in there Raven colored robes, so uniformed they sat at the same time and glared at us in unison, it was creepy.” I laugh, and then abruptly stop when I remember this is a true story. “ First Marcus spoke to us asking what our intentions were, but he looked at me so I told him our hope was to simply live, feed and be left alone, It was about that time the fair haired Lord laughed at me telling me such a dream does not exist, and how foolish I was to think otherwise.” I am practically on Alice’s lap listening intently. “When I looked at him I saw nothing, no future, it was odd and then I told him that I saw what my future holds and its happiness and freedom, he wanted to hear no more of my visions and told me that if I wanted freedom and happiness I would need to work for it.” 

“Alice, you said Marcus was the first who spoke what were the other Lords names?” She places her hand on my leg, “Oh god am I going to faint again?” Alice shakes her head, “No Bella, the fair haired lord’s name was Caius and the other who spoke very little, well that was Aro.” Furrowing my brows, I try sorting it all out. “ Don’t try Bella, you see Aro at one point agreed in new, gifted species, things with great power to further him through his existence, he even tortured many to achieve amazing obstacles but you see, it wasn’t until he conquered the most outrageous of feats that he changed.” Alice just stares at me, like she was trying to see deep inside my mind, but she would see nothing because I was totally lost. “ Bella, your dad, the one who died when you were little he was what we call a guardian, sent by The Trilords to watch over you, well sent by Aro to protect you, and he did just that.” I reach for the lemonade, feeling my heart flutter so fast like a hummingbirds wings, the air felt thick and suddenly I was feeling a bit woozy. “Bella, stay with me or I swear I will tell you no more.” Her stern tone strangely calmed me down. “OK Alice, you’re right I came here for answers and you are giving them to me.”  She takes the glass and places it down. “ Aro thought if he bred with a witch he could create the most powerful and amazing creature in the world, so he sent trackers to find one, and they did her name was Moriana, she was beautiful, her power was great but Aro seduced her, played on her weaknesses, she quickly fell deeply in love with him, But his intentions weren’t pure , he married her and impregnated her, Bella, you should have seen her she was the strongest being I had ever seen, she was hidden during her pregnancy.” Fear begins to fill my veins as if I know where this story is going, knowing the end. “ One night I heard horrific screams through the castle corridors, so I snuck out of my room past the guards toward the painful cries, I peeked through her door, she was delivering the child, and again my visions were blank I just wanted to see what the outcome was but in that castle everything was blocked for me.” Alice rubs her temple’s like she had a headache, “There was so much blood, black though and Aro stood over her void of feeling as Moriana pushed out this creature no one was sure what it would look like, or the power it would possess the nurses and doctors were feverishly trying to save the baby and her, but Aro only spoke to save the baby.” I wanted to hug Alice; her face was full of sadness. “When the doctor lifted the baby it looked totally normal like a regular child, Aro was pleased as he clutched his creation in his arms, he looked at her like she was everything he ever wanted wrapped up in a living breathing baby.” Alice became silent for a while.

“Alice what happened to Moriana?”  She turned to me, pain filled her eyes, “She died Bella, you see the baby’s blood was mixed with her own and with that of Aro’s, very toxic for her kind and she simply turned to stone.” Tears slide down my cheeks; Alice scoops them up with her hand. “It’s OK Bella, she would have done anything to deliver that baby, and she knew Aro would care for it.” This story felt familiar but not like I heard it before but like I had seen it in a dream, “Alice, what happened to the baby?” It was at this point that she grabbed my arms, and I knew the answer was going to cripple me. “Bella, you are the Child of Aro and Moriana.”