Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight, not me.

Chapter 1

New Moon, page 234

At least I'd come alone. I felt a rush of thankfulness as I realized that. If I'd discovered the meadow with Jacob…, well, there was no way I could have disguised the abyss I was plunging into now. How could I have explained the way I was fracturing into pieces, the way I had to curl into a ball to keep the empty hole from tearing me apart? It was so much better that I didn't have an audience.

And I wouldn't have to explain to anyone why I was in such a hurry to leave, either. Jacob would have assumed after going to so much trouble to locate the stupid place, I would want to spend more than a few seconds here. But I was already trying to find the strength to get to my feet again, forcing myself out of the ball so that I could escape. There was too much pain in this empty place to bear-I would crawl away if I had to.

How lucky that I was alone!

Alone. I repeated the word with grim satisfaction as I wrenched myself to my feet despite the pain. At precisely that moment, a figure stepped out from the trees to the north, some thirty paces away.

Several emotions passed through me at once. The first one was surprise. After all, I was far off from any trail around and it was unlikely that a stray hiker had come across the meadow. The second was surprise. As I took in the figure, noting their absolute stillness and pale skin, I realized I was in the company of a vampire for the first time in months. I quickly tried to suppressed the feelings of excitement that swelled up in me. Maybe there was something special about this meadow, something mystical left in it after all. Maybe it was a good idea to come here. But those thoughts quickly disappeared when the figure stepped further out of the shadows of the trees, and I was able to get a better look at her. I recognized the vampire quickly as I took in her flaming orange hair, but she wasn't one of the vampires I was wishing to see. She wasn't one of my vampires. In fact, she was one that I'd thought I would never see again.

Victoria looked at me with a strange sort of smile on her face. I wasn't exactly sure what that smile was supposed to mean, and I didn't think I wanted to, but I knew it wasn't friendly. In fact, she looked rather smug about something. She slowly moved towards me and, without even thinking about it, I took a step back. It was instinctive. My body knew I was in danger from this woman who had hunted me unsuccessfully alongside James. The action caused a pleased look to cross her face. She was happy that I was afraid of her, that much was clear. Her red eyes stared at me as she glided closer to where I was standing, but still she didn't say anything. It was almost as if she were waiting for me to make the first move, to do anything other than stare at her. But what could I do? Run? Like that would do me any good. Did she want me to say something, to beg for mercy maybe? I may not have known what exactly Victoria was doing in the meadow (his meadow), although I had a good guess, but I was fairly certain she didn't want to chat. I stood there, waiting to hear that beautiful velvet voice in my head tell me what to do, but it never came. I was all alone, with a dangerous, human drinking vampire, and nobody would save me now. Finally, she stopped when she was just in arms reach of me.

"Hello Bella." she spoke in her surprisingly babyish soprano. I was expecting something stronger, something more wild and, well, fearsome sounding. If it weren't for that feral look in her eyes, and the fact that our first meeting had ended on less than friendly terms, I probably would have relaxed, however slightly, at her deceptively sweet tone. "You know, it's dangerous to wander the woods all alone. What would your Edward say if he were to find out you were being so reckless?" She asked, her wild eyes staring into me. She let out a chuckle when I flinched, involuntarily, at the sound of his name, the aching hole in my chest threatening to rip me into two. Her eyes narrowed gleefully and she continued on, taunting me. "Oh, that's right. He wouldn't care, would he? He's left you here, all alone, and with no protection. Obviously, he could care less about what happens to you now."

I flinched again, recognizing the truth in her words. She was right, Edward didn't care for me anymore, if he ever truly did at all. He left me here, alone, while he was off chasing his distractions. Not that I blamed him, of course. I'd always known that I wouldn't be able to hold him, that I wasn't good enough for him, and I was grateful for the time he gave me. I knew that he would always be the best part of my life, which coincidently seemed to be coming to a early end.

Victoria moved, in slow, deliberate steps in a circle around me, the same smug smile adorning her face. I couldn't help but ask, "Why exactly are you here?" She paused her movements, standing behind me, her cool breath running across my neck as she answered me. I shivered.

"I'm here for you, stupid human girl. Your Edward killed my James, and now I'm here to get my revenge. It doesn't matter to me that he no longer cares for you, it's still your fault my mate has been taken from me, and now I'll be forced to spend eternity wandering this earth alone. You didn't think I would let you get away with this, did you?" I didn't really understand what she was telling me. She was blaming me for James' death? I guess that was true, after all, I was the one he was tracking. And Edward didn't even kill James. Emmett and Jasper were the ones who took care of him while Edward sucked the venom out of my arm. I thought about saying this out loud, but what good would it do. She probably wouldn't believe me anyway or, judging by the cruel look that was on her face, she probably wouldn't care at this point. Absently I ran my fingers over my bite scar, the one that ran several degrees cooler than my normal body temperature. It was the one and only physical reminder I had left of the short time that I'd straddled the realm of human and immortality.

"What's this?" Victoria's shocked voice now came from my side. Her eyes were locked on my scar, obviously wondering how I was still human. "You've been bitten? How are you still alive?" she demanded, gripping onto my wrist tightly and bringing it up closer to her face, staring at the scar intently, as if to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Her grip tightened when I did not answer her, and I was afraid she would snap the bone if I didn't say something.

"Ed…he sucked the venom back out after I was bitten." I didn't mention that it was James who had bitten me. I didn't think she would react well to that. I heard her mumble to herself, only managing to catch a few words. "how, manage, too much, blood, maybe…" A calculating look entered her eyes, and I shivered once again, but this time it wasn't from the cold.

"Please." the sound of my own voice startled me. Was I really about to beg? Looking into her crazed face, which was suddenly inches in front of my own, I knew the answer. It would do no good, I was certain, but yes. I had to try. For Charlie, for Renee, even for me. And for him.

"Don't do this, Victoria, please, don't." She grinned a sadistic grin, shaking her head from side to side.

"Begging will get you nowhere human. Your life is mine to take." With that said, the torture began. Victoria wasn't going to make this a quick death. I don't know how long it lasted, it could have been hours or it could have been days for all I knew. Judging by the morning sky overhead, I would say that, at the least, half a day had passed while I was tortured under Victoria's hand. Strangely enough, as I lay bleeding and broken in the middle of the meadow floor, a feeling of peace swept over me. This was it. I no longer felt anything, no fear, pain, or regret as I stared into the red eyes of my soon to be murderer. I was numb. I knew I was going to die. There was absolutely no way I would be able to recover from all of my injuries. As Victoria leaned in for the final kill, I wanted my last thoughts to be of him. 'Goodbye, Edward. I love you.' As her razor sharp teeth were about to slash my throat, Victoria was interrupted by growl coming from the edge of the meadow.

"Step away from the girl before I rip you to pieces."

A/N: Thoughts? Some feedback would be wonderful.