400 words

For the Twilight short story contest.

Alice falls down the rabbit hole

For months after the Volturi visit, Edward and Bella kept Renesmee close, traveling together to feed and play.

Jasper and Alice watch from the terrace. He sits on the divan with her curled beside him, her head in his lap. His hand strokes a path along her spine.

“Imagine how different my life would be if my parents were as understanding as Bella and Edward.”

Jasper continued his slow back-and-forth rhythm.

“Is your life so terrible now?”

“Oh well.” Alice arched like a pampered cat. “It’s hard to complain too much, I guess.”

“I’ve been mulling something over for a time. I think if I apply the full force of my power, I can inspire a trance-like state that may give you a glimpse into the past.”

She sat up, her eyes searching his face.

“It’s just a theory,” He said hastily. “It might not even work. But since you go into a trance-like state to see the future, the same might work for the past.”

“I have no memories of that time, but I long to know something,” she said, barely a whisper.

“We lose nothing for trying.”

As he resumed his caresses, Jasper turned inward, pushing the force of his calming spirit out and over Alice’s prone form.

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Blackness. She is not aware of the creep of time. All life is suspended.

A click of the key in the lock. She hears the tumblers roll, the gravel-voiced wrench of the knob. He opens the door just enough. She crawls toward him.

He sits on the couch with her head in his lap. She is only 6, but her powers are very strong. He strokes her back. “Close your eyes, my love. Tell me what you see.”

She feels her body relax into the future, black lashes flutter against her cheeks. Minutes pass as she gazes into blood and death. Someone is coming for him. Someone is searching and that search is bringing him closer. Someone knows about Alice and her gift. Someone wants her.

She jerks back into awareness, her lungs tight. She tells him what she’s seen.

His eyes are hooded. She touches his face and sees a flash of battle. He will protect her.

“Thank you, my dark-haired angel. I ask for the future and you give me truth. I will not fight my destiny, but I will not let Aro have you.”