(Alice)

As much as I wanted to withdraw into my visions and find the best path to bring me safely out of this mess, I couldn't afford to neglect the present right now. I was reasonably sure there wasn't anything that would bring Jasper back, but with Emmett gone and Edward and Esme dead our family was weak right now. I had to pay attention to what was going on around me.

Carlisle was beyond livid. I had never seen him like this. Luckily, he didn't blame me for anything that happened, even though I had brought Jasper into the household. Rosalie on the other hand was upset with me. I should have been more careful in my wording around her. I had to do everything I could to try to make Bella stay, Rose just didn't understand that.

As soon as we were sure the Whitlocks had left with Emmett we had put out the fire on the back lawn and recovered the ashes of Edward and Esme. There was no way to separate them, unfortunately, although Carlisle did try at first. Eventually he gave up on it and just put as much as we could gather into one of the vases that didn't get smashed earlier in the day until a suitable urn could be purchased.

"Rosalie." Carlisle spoke once we had filled the vase. "Go into town and get something worthy of Edward and Esme. This won't do."

"Of course. I'll be right back." She said softly, looking afraid to contradict him with the mood he was in. She left in a hurry, taking Carlisle's car since hers still had Edward's piano strapped on top of it.

I sat with Carlisle in the shattered living room in silence while we waited, neither of us moving. I was scared to even speak and when I tried to approach him he snarled at me so I backed off and waited. I let my visions overtake me in the silence.

Something was still blocking me partially. I could see they were heading back to New York City, that they would be staying in Langham Place. I couldn't tell for how long, only that they were going to get the Empire Apartment Suite. I wasn't even sure if Emmett would be staying with them yet. I tried to focus on their journey but something was making it foggy.

I ranged farther out and I could see that Peter, Charlotte, and Emmett would be driving together somewhere, but I couldn't see where yet. Jasper and Bella weren't with them. There were a lot of breaks in my visions, details I was missing. I concentrated further and tried to force a vision, but it was no good. Too much was undecided yet, and there was some kind of interference.

I gave up for now, not making any progress. What they did was not my concern for the moment. I needed to focus on what was left of the Cullen family. I needed to make sure we were safe. I wouldn't put it past Jasper to do something if he thought we were a threat, he could be ruthless. We had just as many unmade decisions, but it was easier to see.

Rose would be back soon and Carlisle would want some time alone with the remains. Rosalie would forgive me, which made me sigh in relief. I hated that we were fighting. I wanted to be able to comfort her, she had lost Emmett today and I feared he wouldn't be back. She would need me to help her get through it.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by Rosalie returning. I had been locked in my visions for longer than I had thought. She walked in timidly, a rare sight to see from the confident blonde, handing the urn to our father.

"I thought this one really reflected Edward best." Rose said.

"Thank you Rose, it's perfect." Carlisle said, taking the urn from her. It was elaborate and classically designed.

Rose took my hand as we watched the ashes get transferred into their permanent resting place. I gave her a tentative smile as she squeezed my hand and I could see my vision playing out before my eyes. Rose was already starting to forgive me. We would talk while Carlisle was alone.

"I need some time by myself." He said, pain in his voice. "I'll be in my study. Please, don't disturb me."

Carlisle took the urn with him and left to mourn in private. Rosalie and I sat down together on the ruined furniture, still holding hands.

"I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings. I do love you Rose." I started.

"I know Alice. I'm sorry I got jealous." She said. "I can't lose you too, I've lost so much today. I can't be alone." Rose looked into my eyes with such fear and sadness that I wanted to cry.

"Never!" I promised. "I won't let anything else happen to us. No matter what."

We hugged and waited for hours until Carlisle was ready to rejoin us. When he came back downstairs, he was full of purpose.

"We need to make them pay for what happened today." He said in a hard tone. "I took Jasper in and called him son, and this is how he repays me for it? It will not stand. It's time I called my friend Aro. Our part in any lawbreaking was cleared with Edward's death. I know Aro would not have demanded any of our lives for our indiscretion however, so Jasper was out of line no matter how you look at it. His coven stealing away Emmett is just another crime at their feet."

I checked on Emmett's future and saw he decided to stay with the Whitlocks at their hotel. Linking together the earlier vision of him with Peter and Charlotte I was able to force a vague vision of him joining their coven officially, but that was less certain.

"Carlisle, Emmett is staying with the Whitlocks at their hotel in New York now. I had a vision, but it isn't a certain one, that Jasper will ask him to join his coven. I can't be sure yet." I frowned.

"Thank you Alice." He nodded grimly. "Please, keep watch and let me know if you see anything else."

"I will father." I told him eagerly. He smiled at me, pleased with my endearment.

"We need to call all our friends and tell them how our family was destroyed. Jasper is a dangerous man, I don't want anyone else hurt thinking he is still one of us. Who knows what kind of damage he could do to our friends if they let him get close, thinking he is still my son." Carlisle paced the floor as he talked, his arms gesturing wildly.

I checked the future quickly, not seeing anything immediately harmful in Carlisle's plan. We needed a strategy, but Jasper had always been the strategist among us. I was never good at this sort of thing, so we needed someone on our side who was better than the three of us.

"Call Eleazer first." I suggested. "He might have some good advice, he learned a lot from his time with the Volturi."

"Yes, he is a wise man." Carlisle nodded, taking out his phone.

I hoped Eleazer was as good as Jasper, but I doubted it. One thing about Jasper was he never lost a battle. If it came down to it, we'd lose. I had a feeling our only hope was to blindside him, get him before he realized we were coming for him. I bit my fingernails, fearing that it was already too late for that.

"Carlisle old friend! So good to hear from you!" Eleazer answered.

"Eleazer, I only wish I was calling you with happy news. We have had some tragedy here and I could use your advice."

"Oh, did you speak with Jasper?" He said, his voice consoling.

"Speak with him!" Carlisle roared. "He did more than that. Edward and Esme are dead."

"What?" Eleazer whispered. "Oh no. Carlisle I'm so sorry to hear that. How? Please, tell me what happened."

I could hear Carmen's harsh sob in the background as she heard the news through the phone.

"You knew he was coming here and you didn't warn me?" Carlisle accused.

"Jasper did this? I saw him in Forks, I came to your home there to help young Bella with her gift. Jasper told me he was leaving your family to rejoin his previous coven. He asked me to let him tell you the news in person, so I kept it to myself until he was able to do so. I just can't believe he would have done something to hurt Esme."

I noted he didn't say anything about Edward and hissed, but no one paid attention to me.

"Bella. Figures she was involved." Carlisle huffed. "Well, Jasper brought Bella and his coven to my home and told me he was leaving. It seems the human girl has moved on from Edward to Jasper. The girl has a real taste for my family it seems."

"I only met her for a short time, but she seemed like a lovely young lady." Eleazer said hesitantly.

"Seemed is the right word. The girl is nothing but trouble." Carlisle growled. "Jasper attacked my son, then caused my wife to have a mental breakdown. She lost her mind and became suicidal, stuck in her last human memories. Esme became violent and in her madness attacked Edward. Jasper and his coven then attacked my family, holding us back while Esme ripped Edward apart and flung them both into a fire that the human girl started."

Carlisle was yelling by the end of it. He was tearing at his hair with one hand, the other gripping the phone so tight the plastic cracked a bit. His breath came in pants as he paced, Eleazer too stunned to speak on the other end of the line.

"Carlisle, that is just so unbelievable. Why would Esme attack Edward? Why would the Whitlocks keep you from interfering? Why did Bella light a fire? I just don't understand."

"Eleazer, how could you question me? I just lost my son and my wife. Jasper was like a son to me and he betrayed us all. To make matters worse, he took Emmett with him when he left. It's just Alice, Rosalie, and myself now."

"He kidnapped him?" Eleazer gasped. "You must call the Volturi immediately! Stealing coven members against their will is a punishable offence."

"Not exactly." Carlisle frowned. "Emmett gave me back my crest and left with them willingly."

"Oh, well in that case there isn't much to be done about it. You can still bring it to the attention of the kings if you think Jasper used his gift on him." Eleazer said, sounding a bit skeptical.

"That isn't the point. They held us down and kept us from stopping the fight. I could have saved Edward." Carlisle moaned.

There was a long pause and I could hear Carmen and Eleazer talking quickly on the other end, but he had put his hand over the phone to muffle the sound enough to keep the words from being intelligible.

"I'm sorry to hear about your misfortunes Carlisle and my deepest regrets at your losses. Is there anything I can do for you?" He asked when he came back on the line.

"I need your advice. The Whitlock coven has destroyed my family and I don't know what to do about it. I need to do something, I can't let them get away with this!"

"You said Jasper attacked Edward before he died. Tell me more about what happened with that." Eleazer said calmly, all business.

"Jasper punched him in the face, hard enough to crack his jaw. The Whitlocks claimed Bella Swan's father requested him to do it because of how we left Forks." Carlisle admitted a bit sullenly.

"Is that all? Just one punch? No dismemberment, no biting?" Eleazer asked surprised.

"Yes."

"And Bella lit the a fire in the house?"

"No, the fire was in the yard behind the house. Bella gave Esme a lighter and she lit it." Carlisle admitted, his face souring.

"So it was Esme that lit the fire then, not Bella? And Jasper only punched Edward?"

"Yes, but that isn't the point."

"I'm seeing the point quite clearly. You wanted my advice Carlisle, and here it is. Whether the Whitlock coven was right or wrong for restraining you while your wife and son fought or not, it would be extremely foolish for you to pursue this further. Jasper and his coven are not to be trifled with and it would be in your best interests to let the matter drop. Do you want me to talk to him, make sure there will be no further aggression against you?"

"No! That will not do! I cannot let their deaths go unpunished. I won't rest until they pay for what they did. Edward was such a perfect innocent boy, he didn't deserve what happened to him. And Esme was just confused, she didn't know what she was doing. They poisoned Emmett's mind with lies and took half my family from me in one swoop."

"Carlisle, please! For the sake of Alice and Rosalie if not for yourself, let it go." Eleazer tried again.

"I can see it was a mistake to call you. I thought you would support me, but I was wrong."

"You are my friend. I don't want to see you get hurt. You asked my advice and I gave it."

"Thank you." Carlisle said coldly. "I'll call you if I need anything else. Give my best wishes to Carmen and the girls."

He hung up, almost crushing his phone in the process. I could see the tension in his body and the hurt underneath. Carlisle considered the Denalis to be our closest friends and the less than supportive attitude had struck him hard. I checked the future and found that Eleazer was right. If we did nothing to retaliate the Whitlocks would indeed leave us alone.

"He's right about the Whitlocks leaving us alone if we leave them alone." I said aloud. "However, there is another issue."

"What's that?" Rose asked.

"The Volturi." I said trembling. "They are going to call them soon and our family will be implicated in breaking the law in regards to Bella. Whether we leave them alone or not, the Whitlocks will be required to come to Volterra." Leaving them alone isn't an option, not that Carlisle would have done it anyway.

"I need to call Aro before they do." Carlisle said. "And I need to do a better job explaining things than I did with Eleazer. Maybe it would be better just to go to Italy and have him read me, let him see it all so he will know it first hand."

"That might be best." I said, scanning the future. I got glimpses of our family sitting at the head of the royal chambers alongside the cloaked figures of the royalty and guard, powerful and untouchable. Too much was to be decided yet but there was potential there. Aro would appreciate my gift and Rosalie's beauty. Carlisle's mind always intrigued the king, he was sad to see him go when he left for the new world.

"Yes." I said firmly. "We should go to Italy. I see us there, with the Volturi. I can't tell much yet, but I know we will be well received by Aro. He misses you." I grinned.

"I miss him as well." Carlisle almost smiled at some memory as it floated through his head, but his grief squashed it. "Begin packing girls. I will call the king. I'll arrange for our jet to be ready to go as soon as possible. Anything we aren't taking we put in storage. I never want to come back to this house again."

Carlisle left the room and retreated to his study to call Aro in private and Rose and I rushed to pack. I had a feeling we would need to hurry and I had a lot to do. I saw that we could ship things that wouldn't fit on the plane so I let Rose know. I ended up throwing out a lot of my clothes anyhow since we'd be so close to so many fashionable shopping districts I was sure to restock once we arrived in Europe.

It took a couple days to get everything packed up. Carlisle gave us the shipping address. We'd be staying in the Volturi castle, so the guard would be receiving our packages. Instead of moving away, we were going to fake our deaths this time. We were leaving enough behind in the house that it wouldn't look suspicious to the humans.

The lack of bodies would be explained by the extreme heat generated when the broken gas line in the kitchen finally exploded, causing a fireball that would melt everything down and burn so hot that it would cremate any human remains in the home. I checked the future and told him we didn't need to plant human corpses in the house since the fire would be too intense for the humans to identify remains in the debris anyhow.

"Wait. We have to get the mail first." I said, a sudden vision coming to me. "I'm so sorry Rose." I sobbed out, knowing what we would find there.

She looked at me in horror before rushing to get the mail, returning to the porch where we were waiting as the house was filling with gas from the broken pipe. It would be a little while before enough built up inside the structure to make the explosion big enough.

"There's something from Jasper's lawyer." Rose said coldly. "It's addressed to me. Emmett is really going through with a divorce."

"Worse." I said, putting my hand on her arm.

She ripped open the envelope and scanned the documents quickly before throwing them down on the ground and screaming. Carlisle ran around the house, finished with making the back yard look normal, and picked up the papers.

"This is Jasper's work." He said stiffly. "Exactly what he did to Alice. Emmett is no longer a Cullen or a McCarty. Do you know the name he's going by now Alice?"

"Whitlock." I said after a brief look into my visions. "He's joined them officially now and he's in Montana with Peter and Charlotte." I let myself get absorbed in the vision, speaking as I saw things. "Emmett still has golden eyes, they're waiting for something. Bella and Jasper. They're just arriving from Forks. Jasper has red eyes now."

I heard a gasp from Carlisle and I focused on the present again. He was disappointed, as much as he hated what had happened I could tell he still held out hope that his former son could be redeemed.

"There is no hope left. Tell me more."

"They are showing Bella around the house and then Jasper is going to change her." I hissed. "She's going to seduce him first I think, they were getting undressed in the bathroom. I can't watch!" I stopped the vision and started to sob, covering my eyes as if I could stop the sight.

Rose and Carlisle both held me as I cried, my sadness eventually turning to anger. I had loved her like a sister and she was taking my man from me now. Carlisle was right, we had to make them all pay. They stole Emmett from Rose, we could get him back if she still wanted him, but the rest would burn!

"Let's go to Italy. They will pay for what they have done." I said, pulling myself together. I met my families eyes and saw the need for vengeance echoed back just as strong.

When our plane landed in Italy we were met by Felix and Heidi at the airport in a limousine. Some of the lesser guards came along with a large van to bring our baggage, but we weren't introduced to them.

"Carlisle." Felix said when we arrived. "If you and your coven would come with me, Heidi and I will escort you to the kings. They requested a private audience with you due to the situation."

"Thank you." My father said with a bow of his head, taking both my hand and Rose's as we walked slightly behind him through the elaborate halls.

I wished we had a chance to change into something more fitting for meeting royalty before our meeting. This place was more of a palace than a castle, at least this part of it was. Where we came in was rough stone and very dreary but the upper floors were elegant.

I supposed what we had on would have to do. I was glad I had insisted we dress up a bit before we left the house, just incase. I had a vision that Marcus was debating joining the party to greet us at the airport and didn't want to look frumpy if he did change his mind at the last minute. If I knew it was to be a meeting with all three kings I'd have insisted on some time to at least do something with my hair.

Felix opened the large doors and we were ushered into the throne room that I had seen in my vision. The three kings were seated on their thrones. Behind Aro was a small woman in a dark gray cloak. To the left and right of the kings stood two small figures in black cloaks.

"The Cullen coven, masters." Felix announced, bowing and leaving the room, closing the doors behind us. Carlisle led us the rest of the way forward, stopping before the thrones and bowing low. Rose and I copied him, remaining bent until Aro motioned us to rise.

"Carlisle my old friend. Come now, that isn't necessary! Please, introduce me to your lovely children." He said excitedly.

"Of course Aro." Carlisle smiled. "This beautiful woman is my daughter Rosalie." He said, raising his hand and presenting her to the kings. She smiled, making her look even more alluring. "And this delightful young lady is my daughter Alice." Carlisle said, kissing my cheek warmly.

"She isn't yours by venom." Caius noted. "I can tell by the scent on her. The other is yours."

"Yes, that is right, but she is my daughter just the same." Carlisle defended me.

"They share a family bond." Marcus said quietly.

"So nice to meet you finally children!" Aro clapped. "I am Aro, of course. These are my brothers Marcus and Caius." He indicated. "The shy flower behind me is my lovely Renata. She insisted on staying with me even thought I assured her I wouldn't need her to shield me from you. I'm afraid she takes my protection very seriously." He chuckled.

"Not all of us are so lax about security." Caius snapped. "The two guards are here on my orders. Jane and Alec, you may have heard of them. If you require a demonstration to remind you to keep your manners while you are here Jane enjoys showing our guests how her power works."

"Really now, that won't be necessary brother!" Aro said sounding shocked. "Carlisle has always been a gentleman."

"One that has recently lost a son and a mate. That can drive even the most docile among us to extremes." Caius countered, watching us all with suspicion.

"The mate bond was very weak. It is bond with the son that was stronger." Marcus whispered, turning his head with some interest as he studied Carlisle.

"I'm glad you came to me when you needed help Carlisle." Aro said. "I told you it was a mistake to leave before and that you would come back. It saddens me that I had to be right under these circumstances."

"Let's not forget the issues." Caius interrupted.

"I forget nothing." Aro spat. "There is a small matter to deal with. A human girl was told of our existence by your son before his death? Would you mind showing me what happened?" Aro held his hand out to Carlisle.

I watched my father step forward eagerly, clasping hands firmly with the old vampire.

"I came here hoping you would do me the honor of reading me my friend. I have more to tell you than words can express." He said, smiling.

As soon as their hands touched, I got a vision. Aro would want to read Rose and I as well. Once he saw my gift in action, he would see how useful I would be to him and insist I stayed here as part of his guard. If I played things right, soon my family would be second only to the kings in power and we could make the Whitlocks pay.

I may not become a queen, but Rose and I would be princesses and Carlisle a prince. That is, is Aro could get his brothers to agree. Rose fit the part beautifully and so did I. Carlisle was already nearly a brother to Aro. The vision of us sitting by the thrones solidified a bit more and I nearly bounced on my feet in happiness.

"Is she having a vision now?" Aro asked, having just finished reading Rosalie.

"Yes. I just had one!" I trilled excited.

"Ah, it is a wonder to see it firsthand instead of through someone else's eyes. May I dear one?" Aro asked me, holding out his hand as if he was asking me to dance. I smirked and danced over to him, causing him to chuckle. "Such spirit!"

He took my hand lightly, kissing my knuckles with a wink as he delved into my memories. It triggered me to have another vision and for a moment I feared we'd be stuck in a loop, my visions constantly adding more for him to read for eternity, but I pushed the thought aside as the vision played out. I saw him reading me, but when he stopped he pulled back with a sad expression.

He told everyone that while I remembered nothing of my human life, the memories were still there, locked away. He didn't often speak of human memories and very few vampires knew that he could see them, that we were to speak of it to no one.

He told me that having visions was a trait that had run in my family for generations, but no one had the gift of sight as strong as I had when I was a girl. I scared my family with my precognition and the people in town shunned me, thinking me unnatural. I had no friends and my own sister wouldn't even play with me.

I was so desperate for approval that when the other girls my age invited me to a party when I was fourteen, I was ecstatic and didn't question their motives. I ignored my own visions that said it would be a disaster needing to believe it would be everything I wished it would be. When I got there, they all ignored me and mocked me from afar. None of the boys would dance with me and I left, heartbroken, to sit outside.

Becoming angry I walked all the way home, my beautiful dress becoming ruined in the rain. The next night I snuck out of the house and back to the home where the party was held. The girl that lived there was the ringleader, the most popular and wealthy girl in town. I watched her family go to bed through the windows and when all the servants had retired for the night I lit the house on fire, blocking all the exits first.

Running back home I laughed, glad that she would never hurt me again. When I got back into the house my sister woke when I tried to sneak back in and told my mother on me. My parents questioned me, asking where I had been. At first, they thought I had been out meeting with a boy, but soon they dismissed that because I wasn't dressed for a midnight rendezvous.

It was the scent of smoke on my clothes that really alarmed them. I refused to admit what I had done at first, but within hours there was no hiding it. The entire town had been woken that night to try and stop the blaze. I had done a better job than I had intended, the entire home had gone up, the occupants trapped inside. Three servants, the girl and her parents, all died.

My parents turned me in, horrified. When the police asked me if I lit the fire, I admitted it and why I did it. Because of my gender and age, along with my well known mental quirks I was sent to a mental institution for life instead of prison.

When Aro finished telling the story of how I ended up in the asylum I was in shock. I had murdered six people! I was a monster even before I became a vampire. I was never more glad that I couldn't remember my past than I was in this moment. Just hearing about it was painful. I dropped to the floor in shock, Carlisle rushing over to me and holding me.

"Alice, God will still forgive you if you seek penance. We are blessed with forever to atone for our sins." He whispered in my ear. "I will always be there to help you my daughter, no matter what."

Rose knelt down beside me, stroking my back.

"I murdered people too, my sister. Listen to Carlisle, he is right. No matter the reasons, the deaths on our souls can be cleaned if we work hard enough."

"Thank you." I whispered back, holding my family.

"Very touching." Caius interrupted. "I agreed to hold a private trial on the matter of Bella Swan, but my patience has limits."

"We must get on with it. I grow bored." Marcus said tiredly.

"Fine, fine." Aro agreed. "On the matter of Bella Swan, Edward was at fault and he is no longer alive to punish. I don't see any need to discuss it further." He rushed out.

"Carlisle was the coven leader. He is equally at fault." Caius disagreed.

"Then we bring the girl here and take care of the problem. Jasper Whitlock as well for interfering in our justice." Aro stated.

"That won't be possible." Caius contradicted. "The Major collected the girl after the Cullens abandoned her and has her in his custody. He will be changing her and bringing her here for confirmation in one year when she has adjusted to life as one of us. I won't tolerate a newborn in Volterra."

"A year!" Aro exclaimed hotly. "That is unacceptable!"

"Would you risk a young vampire losing control in the streets of our city? We haven't had a citizen of our protectorate harmed in over three centuries. A year is prudent. We can hold an official trial when all the parties are present."

I could see Aro mulling over the facts, a gleam in his eye as he looked at the three of us.

"Perhaps you are right brother. The Cullens simply must stay here in the castle until we can resolve this matter. I look forward to catching up with my friend Carlisle and getting to know his children."

Aro grinned at us and I got a quick vision of us trying to leave and being restrained by the guard. We had a choice, either be Aro's guests or be prisoners. I considered the change in decor from rough stone to polished marble and my decision was clear. I'd rather never see if this castle had a dungeon when I had the opportunity to be near royalty myself.

I had to act fast, Carlisle was about to protest. He was already catching on to the idea that we would be less guests than prisoners here. I had to stop him! I tugged on his hand, getting his attention and smiled reassuringly.

"Might we go freshen up? After all, we'll have plenty of time to talk about business and the trip here was long." I asked, trying to look cute as I spoke. I could tell I had won over Aro and Marcus was happy with anything that got him away from having to be around people. That was enough and I smirked knowing I'd already won. Caius scowled at me, taking my expression as an insult. I didn't let it bother me since I didn't see anything I did being able to please that hateful man.

"Of course! Of course!" Aro waved Jane forward. "Jane, show the Cullens to their rooms."

"Yes, master." The girl bowed. She was just as tall as me which made me hopeful that we had even more in common. If only she'd smile. So far Jane had looked so serious. I eyed her critically as we walked behind her. I knew getting her to wear something other than the Volturi robes was out of the question, but maybe she'd let me style her hair.

I smiled as we were led away, trying out possibilities in my mind, looking for a way to become her friend without getting zapped.