Hi everyone. Wow, it's been a loooooooooooong time since I've posted something here. I'm really excited and a little nervous to be back here. I hope you like this story. The idea for it is something I've had since I first read the series. So as I said in the summary (which took a lot of thought to come up with, but I'm extremely satisfied with the result if I do say so myself) this story takes place at the end of Eclipse and during/after Breaking Dawn. I won't be changing any of the huge plot points (you'll recognize them as they come) except for the whole Renesmee imprinting on Jacob. (yeah that never sat well with me...nothing against her, I love her character...I just don't really like her for Jacob). With that said, I hope you enjoy this. I know the length of the prologue and first few chapters might seem short, and it's only because of a timeline I have for certain events that must happen in the first, second, and third chapter regardless of how long the chapter is. Okay, done rambling. Enjoy! And please leave me reviews, good or bad. If there is anything I need to improve I'd love to know. Thanks everyone!
Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own any of S.M.'s characters, but Lily (Lillian) and Kathryn are my creations.
Prologue
London – 1678
"Lillian, would you fetch me some more carrots and cabbage from the garden?" my mother, Kathryn Wells, asked as she kneaded a mound of dough with her fist. She was making bread to go with supper that night.
"Of course, mother," I gave her a nod walked over to the back door. I reached up and took the wicker basket we kept dangling on a hook and clutched the handle. I turned to the door and opened it to head outside into the bright, late afternoon sun. I had to hold a hand up to shade my eyes while they adjusted to the bright light. Once I was used to it I walked down the wooden steps and started up the dirt path that lead to the gated off garden. I could feel the rays of the sun beating down on my blond head. I reached the gate to our garden and undid the latch. I loved coming out to the garden, especially when the fruits and vegetables were ready to be harvested. I made my way over to the cabbage patch first and pulled up a couple of leafy heads. Satisfied with their appearance I gently set them in my basket and moved onto the section we had for the carrots. I grabbed the tops of a few that looked promising and tugged them out of the soft earth. As I was dusting them off a peculiar impression on the ground two feet away from where I was caught my eye. I placed the freshly picked carrots into my basket and set the basket down on the ground so I could get a closer look at what had caught my eye.
"How strange," I muttered softly, trying to figure out the unusual impression I'd discovered in the dirt and where it had come from. The most I could tell was that it was some kind of shoe print belonging to a shoe that I was certain no one in my family owned. I looked farther down the dirt path and saw that there was more than just the one shoe print—there was a trail of them leading away from the garden and it's protective gates. Against my better judgment I decided to follow the trail and investigate, feeling it was my duty to my family to find out if we had an intruder in our midst.
"I'll just see where these shoeprints end, then I'll return and tell Grandfather," I told myself.
I followed the mysterious shoeprints all the way to the edge of the property line. Beyond was a thick grove of trees, a place I'd never ventured before. I had always been told it was unsafe for a lady to go there alone and unprotected. I bit my lip as I debated on whether or not to disobey my mother and grandfathers rule and continue on or turn back and leave the land beyond for my grandfather to further investigate. After wrestling with my thoughts and my conscience I decided I couldn't disobey my mother or grandfather and turned to head back to the house.
In that instant a hand as cold as ice clamped over my mouth and an arm as hard as stone wrapped tightly around me, nearly knocking the wind out of my chest. I was too startled and stunned to react. I never got a good look at my captor. As my senses woke up and the instinct for survival took over I felt a sickening sharp pain in my neck followed by an excruciating fire feeling that had me praying for death. I could feel darkness beginning to overtake me. I heard the faint bark of a stray dog in the distance and then I felt my body falling until I hit the ground. The fire feeling grew worse and started spreading throughout my whole body. I tried to scream, but I couldn't seem to find my voice. I didn't have the strength to move. Finally after what felt like an excruciating eternity, darkness overtook me, but not before my life had been forever changed.