A Bloody Serenade

by Flying Topaz

Bella Swan has been pushed by her mother’s dreams to model perfection and to become a violin prodigy. When she is sent to Forks to live with her dad she continues to grant her mother’s wishes, but when she meets a certain someone he might just be

Hey everyone! This is my first Twilight fic! (not my first fanfic). I know the summary doesn't do this story much justice but I hope you guys enjoy the read! Not like you all don't know this but just to make it clear I don't own any of the Twilight characters. Reviews would be great, I love extra ideas! Without furtherdo, here is

"A Bloody Serenade."

Flying Topaz

Summary: Bella Swan has been pushed by her mother's dreams to model perfection and to become a violin prodigy. When she is suddenly sent to Forks to live with her dad she continues to grant her mother's wishes, but when she meets a certain someone he might just be able to show her how to follow her own dreams.

Preface – Sleep, Breathe, and Eat Music.

"No, no, no! Piu mosso Isabella! Not adagio! Have you forgotten basic terminology? Start again."

I glanced over to my distressed violin teacher apologetically and yet again placed my mahogany bow gently on the strings. Once more I played the same excerpt from Zigeunerweisen ("Gypsy Airs") that I had been working on for the past hour and a half. I didn't understand Mrs. Leng's sudden urge to make me play this song right before my junior year of high school. I had easily mastered this piece by the time I was 10.

"It will prepare you for Juilliard auditions" she had explained to me earlier.

As if I hadn't prepared enough? My mother, Renee, had forced a violin into my hands the day I turned three. My whole life I had been preparing for these auditions and apparently I needed more work. Not that I minded but I did have other things to worry about such as grades and SAT scores.

"No! Stop!"

Automatically my playing came to a halt without a single thought registering in my mind. I looked feebly back at Mrs. Leng knowing full well that I was nowhere near trying.

"Miss Swan, are you sick or do you not want to be here? Tell me truthfully because I could be doing many other things right now."

I felt a blush sweep lightly across my pale cheeks and I quickly averted my eyes to the floor.

"I'm sorry. Just a little nervous about my scores; that's all." This was mainly the truth. With all of my violin lessons, recitals, orchestra rehearsals, and hours practicing, I had barely had enough time to even complete my homework.

The weathered Chinese woman contemplated on my words for a few moments and then gave me a stern look.

"Ok. I let you out early today to study, but next time we play much harder. Deal?" Apparently she already knew my response because she immediately began stuffing the copies of music inside her folder before I had a chance to speak.

"Deal"

Hastily I loosened my bow, took off the shoulder rest, and put my violin back into its silk-lined case. I then thanked Mrs. Leng and bounded out the door of her large, well-kept house.

I was lucky that her house just happened to be a quarter mile from the bus stop down the road. Had it not, I would be walking 30 miles home. Most students my age already owned a car, but because of the lack of money, my mother forced me to spend all that was left on my several thousand dollar violin. In fact, I was positive my violin cost more than many of the cars that parked in the high-school lot.

I eyed the darkened sidewalk carefully for potholes or cracks, willing all my energy on not tripping. I wasn't exactly what you would call 'graceful' in any kind of sense. The walk to the bus stop was a quiet one; as usual. It was almost pitch black outside and any traces of sunlight had faded away an hour ago. This meant that by the time I got home I would have about 3-4 hours to finish my lengthy list of homework. The idea comforted me compared to the usual 2 hours I was given on most nights. My mother refused me staying up later than 11:00 pm even though she herself did not return home until midnight.

My whole life my mother had pushed me to be the best I could ever be always telling me, "You don't want to end up like I did." This was about the only task she was good at; pushing me. Most of the time I would complete tax papers for her because she would claim them perplexing. She could barely work our dish washer properly. Sometimes I felt much older than her 35 years of age. One thing I was positive of, however, was that I still loved her all-in-all.

On the hour long ride home I put by books to use and began the long journey of completing my homework. Even though it was still technically summer break I had signed up to take two courses in hopes that I could earn some extra credits for college. Not to mention that it would look great on my résumé for Juilliard.

Finally, an hour later, I trudged exhaustedly into the tiny apartment I called 'home'. My mother must have lost another paper or article of clothing because spewed across the floor were bills, magazines, letters from admirers, crumpled blouses, and wrinkled work pants.

Gingerly, I set down my violin case and book bag, determined to once again make the apartment as presentable as possible. It was obvious my mother was neither organized nor reminiscent.

Shortly after cleaning, I found myself again pursuing my only half finished list of homework. Unlike most kids my age, I enjoyed homework. Only for the sole purpose that it kept me busy. It was almost impossible for me to make friends with my music schedule, so during the little spare time I had, I found myself working even more, forcing the image of how lonely I was to the deep depths of my brain.

By 11:30 I had finished all of my homework and proceeded to get ready for bed. I rushed the process in hopes that I could hide the fact that I had been up later than my mother's wishes.

In the middle of brushing my teeth I heard the door click and my mother's tiny feet step through the door. Damnit.

"Bella? Why are you up so late sweetie?" her footsteps headed straight for the bathroom door and light knock followed quickly after.

I opened the door timidly scrambling for an explanation.

"I have tests in both classes and decided to study a little extra. I'll be in bed in five minutes. Promise."

My mother eyed my tired expression and I could see her face muscles visibly relax. She looked tired herself and still wore her apron from the diner. It was undeniable how much being a waitress wore her down physically. Her face suddenly brightened, as if she remembered where she had left a long lost item, and she smiled serenely down at me.

"I was thinking, why don't we both take a day off and go shopping tomorrow? Just you and me?" She added a wink just for extra expression.

I gaped at her, my mouth itching to drop to the floor. Never in my entire life had she said the words "take a day off". Had she drank too much?

"But my all-state rehearsal and my lessons are tomorrow…" I began unsure of how to answer to such an unexpected question.

She quickly interrupted me. "Oh nonsense. They'll live a day without you. Besides I thought we could get a head start on our winter wardrobe."

Something was wrong, very wrong, or at least off the usual line of things. "Mom, we're in Phoenix. That's completely unnecessary."

As far as I was concerned, Phoenix was one of the warmest places in the country. Even in the winter you would catch me wearing short sleeves. I loved the skin-torching heat and the intensity it brought on. Why would I celebrate a random day by looking for clothes I would never wear?

My mother seemed to be caught off guard by my comment, but she immediately hid that fact and began fidgeting with her short blonde tresses.

"Well, I…I've watched how hard you've been working and realized I've never given you much of a chance to relax or have fun" she pulled her mouth into a tight-lipped smile.

I studied her skeptically. Neither of us had ever been good liars, and I was quite certain she was as of this moment. When I remembered the offer at hand though I thought of the possibility of actually playing along. To be honest, I'd rather practice my violin and do my homework, but I knew my body was physically exhausted and a long night's sleep wasn't going to cure it.

"I...I guess" I answered nervously, awaiting her reaction.

A true smile immediately lit her face. "Great! I can't wait! We haven't had a mother daughter day in well….years." She turned briskly on her heels and proceeded to get ready for bed.

I continued my own procedure and at long last found myself under the pale sheets of my tiny twin bed. After the strenuous week, one would think that I would immediately have passed out. My mother's words however, repeated in my head and had me tossing constantly. Sure, my mother had lied plenty of times, but never to this type of extreme. Something was definitely up. Something BIG, and for the first time I had no absolute clue to its existence.

Waking up to a warm pool of sunlight splashing my face was completely foreign to my usual habits. Every normal morning I woke up at 5:00am to practice my violin. At first my mind panicked, but then I remembered the anomalous events of last night and relaxed to a natural state.

A wave of uncertainty flooded my senses as I imagined how the day might go. Was my mother really taking ME SHOPPING? Even she herself knew I had never been the least bit materialistic. I dismissed the thoughts and concentrated on having a good day. She was right; we had not had a mother daughter day in years.

By the time it was noon my mother and I had already entered the mall and began our unusual search for winter clothing. While I knew this was not going to be an easy task I never knew that it was going to be near impossible. After 45 minutes and the meticulous searching of five stores we had found only one long sleeve shirt that was almost thin enough to be made of tissue.

"Why don't we look for something in the summer or fall category" I hinted at, hoping maybe she would slip the reason for our ridiculous search.

"Bella, don't be silly. We have almost no winter clothing at all. We can't just give up now!" my mother was already headed for the next department store. If there was one thing that was true, it was that my mother unquestionably loved to shop.

At the end of the day I was 2 cashmere sweaters and 4 long sleeve shirts richer. On the short ride home my mother began acting even more uncanny by the second. Her old 1981 Buick smelled heavily of sample perfumes, but that couldn't possibly be the reason.

I looked over at her confounded, watching as she began to bite constantly at her lip.

"Why don't we go grab a bite to eat?" She smiled nervously at me as she took a sharp right into the nearest Burger King.

"I can make lasagna if you want. We have all the ingredients already." I suggested, shocked by the fact that she wanted to eat out. We NEVER ate out.

"Come on! When's the last time you had some fast food sweetie? Besides, you could use it! You've got to be less than 100 pounds!" Before she could finish her sentence she had already parked and gotten out of the car.

I followed her suspiciously into the colorful restaurant, fully annoyed at this point. What on earth was going on?

I nibbled halfheartedly at a few fries, my appetite nowhere to be found. My mother continued to talk fervently about some of the men she had recently met at the diner but I quickly tuned her out. Nothing could overcome the feeling of uncertainty that was poking at all of my insides.

Even on the ride home I couldn't concentrate on her one-sided conversation. Every second it felt as if a large lump had caught itself in my throat. Finally taking hold of myself, I decided to question her as soon as we walked inside the confinement of our small apartment.

I stumbled behind my mother on the stairs up to the apartment, carrying large bags on each arm. Still in a zoned out state I unconsciously followed Renee, letting my feet guide themselves. This proved a failure however, when I walked straight into my mothers motionless figure. I stumbled back, barely catching my balance.

"Mom, why'd you …" I looked up at her face and followed her gaze to the door of our apartment, never finishing my question.

Two officials walked towards us in a cautious manner, eyeing us up and down. The taller of the two studied Rene, and then myself. He then aimed a curt nod towards his partner.

"Is…Is there anything I can do for you official?" My mother's voice cracked audibly in several of her words.

The officer ignored my mother's question and turned to me. "Are you Isabella Swan?"

I gulped, my legs shaking visibly underneath me. "Yes"

"Then I believe that you are supposed to be in Washington at this very moment." He sent a disapproving look towards Renee.

"Wh-Why?" I asked, unsure of why I was possibly needed in Washington, besides the fact that my father lived there. I rarely spoke to him however, knowing how uncomfortable it was for my mother.

"Your mother signed an agreement 15 years ago giving full custody of the child, you, to your father the summer before your junior year."

Suddenly everything fell into place; my mother's proposal to shop for winter clothing, her odd request to eat out, or better yet, the whole mother daughter day put together.

I felt the blood in my body immediately rush to me feet, and my mouth go dry. I turned to my mother, shocked, speechless. She turned from me, walked to the nearest wall, sat, and placed her miserable face in her hands.

It was at that moment that I found that I was going to move to Forks, Washington; the rainiest town in the country.

-End of Preface-

Hey everyone! I know that was a little slow but I had to get all of the background info out there. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Please review!!!

Oh, by the way, in this story I will be using quite a few musical terms so at the end of each chapter I'll be posting a glossary for those of you who are musically challenged. 

Piu Mosso : more movement, faster.

Adagio: Slow, at ease.

That was it for this chapter. Next one will be out asap! Review please! :-)

Love,

Flying Topaz