Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Charmed. I just like to borrow characters and concepts without asking. The Idea of the faries and the tween places are from Charmed. The characters are from Twilight.
Chapter One: Stay Out Of The In-between:Alice POV
We were on our way back to the house. We'd been hunting all weekend. We didn't have to worry about school because it was summer vacation. I was actually very happy that we didn't have school because I was going through a pretty confusing time right now. I kept getting these flashes of a little girl. I didn't know who the little girl was and neither did Edward. Edward was in the drivers seat and I was next to him. Suddenly, everything went fuzzy. I wasn't worried because it was the familiar feeling that a vision was coming on. It was the same little girl from before. I wasn't feeling like I was getting the whole was screaming at somebody who wasn't there. She was telling them to stay away from her as she held a little Cinderella lunch box to her chest. It was one of those metal ones that people never really used anymore. That was all I saw before the vision stopped. Apparently, Edward had been paying attention to my vision to because he didn't notice the seemingly familiar little girl in the middle of road. "Edward! Stop!" I screamed as the brakes of the Volvo screeched to a stop.
I saw the same scene as I had in my head unfold in the street before me."No! You can't have her!" The little girl screamed. "I have to keep her safe!" I got out of the car planning to ask the girl why she was crying, but just before I opened the handle, she took off running. I stood at the end of the sidewalk, watching her run. She kept looking behind her shoulder, like she was running from somebody. She tripped and landed hard on the side walk. Edward got out of the car and jogged with me to the spot where the girl was. "No! Let go!" She looked like she was struggling to keep the little lunchbox in her hands. She was still sitting on the sidewalk. Just before we both reached the girl, I could've sworn the little cuts on her arm looked like they came from claws just bigger than those of a dog. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" I asked her.
She just nodded and panted, gasping for breath. Edward picked her up and took her to the car. I could tell that her scent must be very strong to him. He was so tense. We put the little girl in the back seat of the car and rolled the windows down, for Edward's sake. "What's your name, honey?" I asked her. "Bella." She replied. "Are you okay, Bella?" Edward asked. "I'm fine, I guess." Bella said. She kept muttering things at the little lunchbox. It seemed as if she was talking to somebody. I glanced at Edward to see if it seemed that way to him. He looked over at me and gave a little nod. I was glad I wasn't going crazy or anything. I decided I should warn the family before I bring a human into the house. I called Esme. "Hey, Alice." She answered the phone. "Hi, Esme. Umm... Funny story. Edward almost ran over somebody, and well... We're on our way home. With her." I explained. " With whom, exactly?" Esme asked. "With the little girl." I said, "So ask Jasper if he's gonna be okay and tell Carlisle to get ready to go through his bookshelves."
About five minutes after Esme and I said our goodbyes, we pulled into the driveway. I took Bella straight to the kitchen. "Do you want some hot chocolate?" I asked her as my family filed into the room with us. "Yes please." She said. I made her some hot chocolate and sat across from her as she drank it. I studied the way she looked. She was gripping her little lunchbox in one hand and holding the cup of hot chocolate that she was gradually sipping in the other. She had slightly curly brown hair that was currently in knots. She had little streaks of dirt across her pale white face. The features that stood out the most were the sparkly brown eyes that were staring at the table between us. I was thinking about the scrapes on her arms when somebody cleared their throat. We both glanced up in the direction of the sound and saw my family standing by the doorway. "Oh!" I exclaimed, realizing that I should probably introduce everybody. I shot up out of my chair and walked over to where Carlisle and Esme were standing.
"Bella, These are my parents, Carlisle and Esme." I said pointing to each of them. "It's a pleasure to meet you dear." Esme said with a warm smile. Next I walked over to where Rosalie was grinning and Emmett was picking up her joy. I assumed that she was happy because of her love of children. Edward's subtle nod was a confirmation of that theory. " This is my brother, Emmett." I said, as he stepped forward to lift Bella out of her chair and hug her. "And this is his girlfriend, Rosalie." I said, looking pointedly in her direction. She walked over to Bella and kissed her on the cheek. "Okay, moving on!" I said, walking over to where Edward was standing. "This is Edward." I said. Edward nodded stiffly in her direction and left the room. Bella looked slightly hurt so I tried to make her feel better."Hey, don't mind him. He just has some issues." I joked, getting a giggle out of her.
I moved on to where Jasper was. He was leaning against the wall smiling smugly. He was very pleased with the fact that he was doing better than Edward with this human." And this," I started, "is my boyfriend, Jasper." I leaned into his side as I said the words. I didn't have time to get comfortable because I noticed her shiver. Everybody but Carlisle became instantly worried. Carlisle laughed at our sudden tense nature. "Just go get her jacket, and she'll be fine." Carlisle informed us. "What's your last name, dear?" Carlisle asked Bella. "Swan. My mommy said that I should use Dwyer now, but I like Swan better." Bella told us. Carlisle seemed to instantly recognize both last names because he smiled at her and asked," Is your mommy's name Renee?" This seemed to be the right name because she nodded. He walked over to the phone and told me to get Bella's jacket. "EDWARD!" I called up the stairs, for Bella's sake. We heard thumping footsteps as Edward "ran" down the stairs. "What?" He snapped. "Keys." I informed him."What?" Edward asked. I sighed. "Keys, you know. Silver, shiny things that go jingle-jingle?" I explained. "I know what keys are. I don't have them. I put them on the table." He said. "Well, they aren't there now..."I trailed off.
"The fairies probably hid them." Bella's tiny voice said. "I'm sorry, what?" Emmett asked. "Oops... Mommy says I can't talk about fairies." Emmett and Rosalie gave me a look that said 'get her to explain'. "Well honey, you can talk about anything in this house. Sometimes even we talk about weird things sometimes." I prompted her. "Well... That's what fairies do. They hide things and stuff. And their en-" Bella was cut off by Carlisle saying, "I called your mother. She's on her way over. She sounded really worried." I shot him an irritated look. He smiled apologetically. We all stood in the kitchen in silence. After a few minutes, the silence was broken by the doorbell ringing. "That's probably your mom and dad. "Phil's not my dad. He's just my mommy's new husband." Bella said, sadly, walking to the front room. Esme smiled as she greeted Bella's parents who were standing in the doorway.
"Get out of the in-between!" Bella shouted, stepping forward. "What's the in-between?" I asked. "It's where the trolls are." Bella explained seriously. "The trolls?" Rose asked. "Yes, the trolls are after the fa-" Bella was cut off for the second time that night. "Bella..." Renee said through clenched teeth. She smiled at us and said, "We'll be going now..." She said, seeming embarrassed. Phil walked up to a fiercely blushing Bella. He picked her up and whispered into her ear, "We don't talk about the fairies and trolls. They aren't real." Bella's eyes scanned the room. They stopped on the door frame and then they widened with fear. "Look! There it is! It's right there!" Bella exclaimed. "Okay, Bella. Time for bed." Phil said, walking towards the door. "But, I'm not..." Bella trailed off falling asleep on Phil's shoulder. We heard the doors of the car slam shut, but Renee remained by the door. "I'm sorry. She's been like this since her father and I separated. She's... Digressed. Gone back to imaginary friends and stuff. I'm sorry." Renee explained. This didn't really sound like it was just a reaction to parents splitting up.
Esme replied to her explanation before I could. "That's perfectly natural." Esme said. Renee seemed a little comforted, but not much. "Are you sure it's normal? She's almost six years old..." Renee said. "Well, anyway, thank you for taking care of Bella. Carlisle, Esme." Renee nodded in their directions, as a goodbye gesture, walking out the door. "I think we need to help this girl." I said, at the family meeting that was forming in the living room. "No, Alice. She's just imagining it. You heard her mother, this is psychological. Not supernatural." Edward said. "Edward, this isn't her imagination. She was fighting with something out there. I saw it." I said. "Oh and what exactly happened? Did the Tooth Fairy attack her for not flossing?" Edward asked, sarcastically. "No... It wasn't a fairy." I told him "Oh, Alice enlighten me, who was it then? Huh? Who, Alice? Who?" Edward was getting angry now. Maybe Bella's scent was getting to his head. "I know it wasn't a fairy. I think she's protecting a fairy." I informed him. "Well then, what's after her?" Edward questioned, genuine curiosity beneath his angry facade. "Trolls. And they're after the fairy. Not exactly her. But they'll probably make her life hell until the get what they want." I explained.
"Alice... I'm entirely on your side about helping Bella but... well... You sound like a child. Talking about fairies and trolls. I mean seriously! Think about how crazy you sound. Fairies and trolls are things made up by children on summer nights. They aren't real." Jasper spoke, tension clear in his voice. "Jasper. Did you just tell me that fairies and trolls are just made up? Imagine what everybody in Forks think about vampires. Now re-think our fairy situation." I defended my sanity. "Alice..." Jasper trailed off, his expression sad. "No. Don't 'Alice' me. I know what it was. You saw the scratches! How do you explain those?" I questioned. Edward answered me this time. "A little girl fell an scraped her arm on something. Simple as that." I thought about what the scratches looked like. No. It wasn't just a scrape. I knew that. When I opened my mouth to tell my family, only a gasp came out. I knew that somebody was questioning what I saw. I knew Jasper was at my side. And I knew that Edward was seeing the same shocking sight as I was.
It was a little girl being tucked in. Her mother was telling her goodnight and went over to the light switch. The little girl was Bella. Her eyes widened with fear when she saw her mom reach for the light. "No, Mommy! The 'tween! They come out of the shadows!" Bella yelled. "Bella, you need to get over this childish stuff! Honestly! You are sleeping with the light off tonight. See you in the morning." Her mother left after this little speech. The vision wasn't over yet. When the lights went out, I still had a perfect view of what was happening. Bella clutched the lunchbox to her chest and spoke to something in the shadows. "I won't let you have her. I won't!" She was trying to look fierce but only seemed more frightened. The thing that shocked me the most was the rip on the sleeve of her dress that was being scratched in thin air. Another tear, on the other side. They were coming from all over now yet, she only seemed concerned for the box's safety. She was bleeding now. After biting her lip for too long, she cried out in pain. The vision faded.
The look on Edward's face showed fear for the little girl. Anger then took over. "That isn't going to happen!" He shouted. "Edward... You just saw th-" I was trying to be comforting, but I got cut off."I didn't say you didn't see it, I just meant that your visions aren't always... let's just say... entirely accurate." Edward said. So he was denying my abilities now? Fine, then. I didn't need him. I could do this all by myself if nobody wanted to help. Couldn't I?