One night Alice had a perfectly clear vision of the man in a Model T running her mother‘s buggy off the road just outside of town, where there was a steep drop. Alice‘s mother had already left home in the buggy. Alice ran after her, seeing in her mind the stranger watching the crashed buggy to be sure there was no movement inside. Next she had a vision of the man driving away from the scene of the accident. Alice knew she was too late, but she kept running.
The death of Alice‘s mother was declared accidental, and Alice‘s protestations to the contrary were met with disdain and suspicion. Alice‘s father ordered her to be silent.
Mr. Brandon remarried within six months of his wife‘s death. The woman was a blond Yankee from Illinois who was only ten years older than Alice; Mr. Brandon had frequently sold pearls to her jeweler father in the past. The new Mrs. Brandon was quite cold to Alice, though she made a pet of the younger Cynthia.
Even unguided by visions, Alice was bright. Careless, offhand comments by her new stepmother and evidence of longer preparations for this marriage than should have been possible made Alice suspicious. She took her suspicions to her father, who raged at her for suggesting ill of his new wife.
The night after her confrontation with her father, Alice had a vision of him and the stranger who had killed her mother. Her father was giving the man money. Then Alice had a vision of the man standing over her with a knife. Too late, she realized that she‘d confided in exactly the wrong person. Alice rushed out into the night and ran five miles to the home of her aunt and uncle, her only living relatives. Alice beat on the door until they answered, then gasped out her story: Her father had arranged to have her mother murdered and was sending the killer after her next. The aunt — who still blamed Alice for her son‘s death — shoved Alice off the porch and told her husband to get the dogs and drive Alice away.
Both her aunt and her father were already there, and the marshal had been informed that Alice had gone mad.
Alice hurried ten more miles back to town and arrived at the town marshal‘s house to find it lit and busy. Both her aunt and her father were already there, and the marshal had been informed that Alice had gone mad. Alice accused her father of his crimes and her stepmother of complicity, but no one listened. Most people already thought Alice was crazy — or possessed by the devil. The marshal was paid well to have Alice put quietly into an asylum two counties away.
Few people knew what had actually happened, and everyone who did know the truth was very understanding about the Brandons‘ desire to pretend that Alice had died.
In the mental asylum, Alice‘s head was shaved during the threat of a typhoid outbreak.
She also endured electroshock therapy. The treatment caused her to lose her memory, but it also allowed her naturally cheerful and humorous disposition to return, since she no longer remembered the sadness and horror of her recent life.
Unknown to Alice, a vampire was working as a grounds-keeper at the asylum where she was incarcerated. This vampire, who was taking advantage of this pool of humans who could die without much notice being taken, formed an attachment to Alice. He kept her from the shock treatments and other horrors whenever he could. He learned of Alice‘s abilities; she always knew when he was coming to visit her. He would bring hidden objects with him, to see if she could guess what he had. She always got it right.
Then Alice had a vision of James.
Then Alice had a vision of James. It occurred the moment he caught her scent, old and faded, in her hometown two counties away. She saw James find her. She told her only friend, the vampire, and he knew that what she was seeing was fact. He planned to escape with her, but Alice saw James catching up to her anyway. He offered other options, but every choice ended with James. Then the groundskeeper decided to change her. Alice saw that this would be very close. There might not be time for her blood to transform sufficiently for James to gain nothing in killing her. The vampire had heard enough. He bit Alice immediately and took her away to hide her. Knowing this would barely slow James, he put himself in James‘s path to delay him.
From Alice‘s vision, he knew James was a strong hunter, and that it was a fight he would not win.
She was able to see the best future for herself.
After her transformation, Alice awoke alone. The pain of the transformation had the same effect on Alice as the shocks; she remembered nothing of her life in the asylum, or of the vampire who had transformed her. She was unaware of James as the reason for her change.
Fortunately, Alice‘s psychic gifts were now greatly enhanced and strengthened. She was able to see the best future for herself.
Alice‘s first clear vision as a vampire was of Jasper Whitlock. She knew that Jasper was her future mate, but she also knew that he wasn‘t ready for her yet. Instead of going to look for him, she waited for him to find her. In the meantime, she practiced — with sporadic success—
living a ―vegetarian‖ lifestyle, knowing that in time she and Jasper would end up with the Cullen family.
In 1948, Alice went to the small diner in Philadelphia where she knew she and Jasper were destined to meet. Though her greeting was characteristically cryptic, Jasper‘s ability to feel the emotions of those around him allowed him to appreciate the magnitude of the occasion. Alice was already in love; Jasper quickly learned to reciprocate.
To please Alice, Jasper began practicing a ―vegetarian‖ lifestyle as well. By 1950, when they joined the Cullens, Alice was able to control her thirst as well as the rest of the family did.
Jasper continues to have more difficulty with self-restraint than the others. Alice and Jasper were married sometime after joining the Cullen family.
Alice loves all of her adopted family, but has a special bond with Edward. Thanks to his mind-reading abilities, he is the only one who truly understands what it is like to live with constant visions of the future.
―SHE WAS THERE — EXPECTING ME, NATURALLY…. ‗YOU‘VE KEPT ME
WAITING A LONG TIME,‘ SHE SAID.‖
— Jasper, on Alice (Eclipse, Chapter 13)
FAMOUS QUOTES
“You do smell nice, I never noticed before.” Twilight, Chapter 15
“It sounded like you were having Bella for lunch, and we came to see if you would share.” Twilight, Chapter 16
“Do you think any of us want to look into his eyes for the next hundred years if he loses you?” Twilight, Chapter 20
“I will always tell you the truth.” Twilight, Chapter 20
“Edward, you have to do it.” Twilight, Chapter 23
“Would you like to explain to me how you‟re alive?” New Moon, Chapter 17
“Honestly, I think it‟s all gotten beyond ridiculous. I‟m debating whether to just change you myself.” New Moon, Chapter 19
“How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?” New Moon, Chapter 19
“I think she‟s having hysterics. Maybe you should slap her.” New Moon, Chapter 22