A/N And now I feel guilty. I haven't posted for so long... But here it is – the prologue of Growing Younger.

Because my attention was so focused on my son, I couldn't see the flash on bronze on ivory the sailed through the air. I barely registered when the delighted laughed trailed away in to breathless horror.

I did hear the muffled snap.

That sound was all it took for my instincts to take over, and I was kneeling by her side in less than a second. Though there was no open wound, her life appeared to bleed onto the snow. The rosy flush to her cheeks faded, leaving her skin looking ivory and satin.

And I imagined that to everyone else, she would continue looking more lifeless as I cradled her in my arms. Maybe it was my imagination, or something to do with my strange mental quirk, but she stopped looking... dead, and starting looking different. The beauty in the way her dark curls contrasted against her pale skin became less quirky and more flowing, and she seeming to blend into the mountains that rose up behind, like she was a watercolor painting that had been artistically smudged into the background.

And she smiled at me, as I almost heard her whisper: 'Do not fear, I'll be fine. Just open you eyes.'

The warmth that helped me believe it was a dream faded, leaving a piercing cold icicle stuck in my heart.

Amythest! Stand up, we have to get her to Carlisle.

I couldn't react to these words, I was hardly concentrating enough to know which sister was shouting in my head.

Then I was enveloped with two very familiar scents, and I was pulled away by warm arms.

Nothing mattered right then. It was to odd to be true.

How could something in such a perfect girl's life go so wrong, so fast?

A/N There we go, I know it's short, but right now you need to read this:

I couldn't make my mind up about this story: Should I do it nice and happy, everything-turns-out-right-because-it's-a-story, or more 'realistic' where things actually go wrong (gasp-shock-horror), like they should? Well, now I've decided: Both. This main story, titled "Growing Younger", will be the not so happy one (of course it will turn out right in the end, don't worry), and I'll do a little side-story called "Growing Younger: Angels in clouds", which will be all happy and (mostly) perfect. The side story won't split off from the main story for a few chapters, and I might do another split later on.

Sorry to confuse you, I'll talk about this again closer to the time.

~ Willow