AN - This was written for Sobriquett, who won me in the Support Stacie Author Auction, for the grand total of $25! Find out more info at http://www (dot) supportstacie (dot) net.

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I own an imagination and a love of angst.

BPOV

I was on my own, in a little side street in Volterra, Italy. I saw the imposing structure of the Plazza del Priori in front of me, the spire reaching up into the sky. I only had a minute, if that. There was nothing that I could do except run through the crowd to Edward, to try stop him from stepping into the glorious noon sun. When - if - he did, he would be killed by the Volturi.

The crowd had gotten thicker and thicker around me, but I still pushed my way through. If I could make it through, just so he could see me, see that I'm alive, he'd stop. I didn't care, he could leave and never return after that, but I could not - would not - have his death on my conscience.

The crowd thickened the closer I got to the Plazza. I had one shot, and one shot only at this. Edward had to see me, had to see me before he stepped out into the light. If he didn't, the Volturi would...I couldn't think about that.

I had thirty seconds, if that, he was getting ready to walk out of the shadows, to reveal his perfectly sculpted chest to the world. The smooth, pale skin on his chest would glitter, as if it was covered in millions of tiny diamonds. There were so many people around me, all of them wearing blood red cloaks to signify the Catholic feast of Saint Marcus, who had driven vampires away from the city.

I heard a gasp from in front of me, and I could see him perfectly. His chest was bare, there was a blue shirt on the ground below him. There were dark shadows under his eyes, and his skin was even paler than I'd ever seen before. His shoulders were slumped, broken, and his back was slouched forward. He wasn't like the Grecian God I had imagined him as before, he was like a man, who had gone through more hardship in his lifetime than anyone should.

All that stood between us was a fountain. I ran, pushing my way through the crowd, screaming his name. "EDWARD!" I yelled, hoping that he could hear me. "EDWARD, I'M ALIVE, I'M HERE," I screamed, hoping that he would hear me.

His foot moved forward, exposing his grey-panted leg to the sun. He was about to step out. I screamed his name out again, and he looked up, catching my eye, and began pulling his foot back.

A man pushed past him, forcing him to fall. His bare back began shimmering briefly, then there was a flash of darkness as two figures moved around to cover him. I screamed, but they ignored me. He was lifted off, and pulled away.

"Bella!" Alice shouted behind me. She was covered in one of the red cloaks that everyone else was in, and wrapped her covered arms around me. I had fallen, and there were tears streaming down my face.

"Alice...he's gone...he's gone..." I shook in her arms, desperate to feel the cool touch of her skin. The cool touch of a vampire's skin. He was gone. They'd taken him.

"Bella, listen to me. We've got to get to a hotel or something. I have to go to the Volturi, you can't come with me. If you come, they WILL kill you. I can't do that to Edward, you have to stay away." Alice's voice was low, the warning and anguish in it evident.

"What's the point? Is there one? He's gone, let me go too." I tried to struggle, but her hold was unyielding as I moved my shoulders.

"Bella, I promised I'd get you back safe, and that's what I'm going to do. I can either leave you here, knowing you're safe, or I'll knock you out and shove you in the car before I speak to the Volturi. You can choose, but I swear, if you're not still wherever you're supposed to be I'll hunt this world until I find you."

It wasn't often that Alice actually looked like a vampire, but this was one of those times. Her usually golden eyes were dark, and the pupils were enlarged. Her skin was whiter than usual, with a slight shimmer where the sunlight had gotten in, but not enough to get people noticing.

"I'll stay here," I murmured weakly. I didn't want to, but if it stopped her from going crazy on me, I'd do it.

She smiled, and ran off after the Volturi. I knew better than to follow, he was dead. If he was alive, I would know. The hole in my middle had grown larger and larger, to the point where it was almost impossible to function. It hurt more than the time he left, simply because I knew he was dead, the same way that Alice would know if Jasper died.

He was gone. And there was nothing she could do.