Chapter 1 - Alicia

James's POV

I stood before my prey, knowing she was helpless before me. That pathetic vampire who had protected her would not find us in time, not until after I had drained every drop of her sweet blood. After I made her scream that was. I had chased this child for so long, longer than I had chased any human before her, and I would enjoy making her scream.

"You have nowhere to run now Alicia," I taunted the girl before me. She looked so perfect before me, for a young girl of sixteen, she did look rather mature for her age. And how she stood before me, in her silly little dress, with her deep brown hair cascading down her back and her eyes slightly wide with fear.

What I had not expected, was for her to drop her head in resignation and sigh. "I know." Was all she said.

I couldn't help but feel disappointed. "You are not even going to try?" I asked sadly. It was so much more fun when they ran.

"No." The girl looked up at me and her eyes were unreadable. "I know you James, you have hunted me long enough for me to know that running will only give you what you want." She told me in a dry monotone. "So no. If you are going to kill me then go ahead." Alicia taunted me without any hint of emotion on her face or in her words. "But I don't think you can." And at that her words began to really confuse me.

"Of course I can!" I protested, finding myself confused by the small girl before me. "I am a vampire, and you are a frail weak human." I told her angrily. "I can do whatever I want to you, and you can't stop me."

"No you cannot do whatever you want to me." She spoke defiantly. She thinks she can fight me? This may be fun after all. I thought until she spoke again. "You cannot make me afraid of you." I froze in shock at her words. What did she mean I couldn't make her afraid, I was going to kill her, how could she not be afraid of me. "I am not afraid of you James." Alicia said as she took a step towards me and I knew from her heartbeat she was calm. How can she be calm? "I know how you work. You are a hunter, you need your prey to fear you. I do not think you can kill me otherwise. You need me to fear you first but I do not James." She continued walking towards me until I could feel her warm breath on her face. "I do not fear you." She looked into my eyes and I knew she spoke the truth. This girl was not afraid. "I do not fear death James, and you cannot scare me if I am not afraid to die. I am not afraid of pain either." She added, her gaze unwavering. "I am not afraid of you James. You can beat me, you can make me scream in pain even, but you will never make me scream in fear. I am not afraid of you, and you can kill me if you like, but you wont enjoy it, because you do not scare me." Her speech came to a close and I had no idea how to react. This girl had never been more than a meal to me, yet no one had ever stood up to me as she was now.

How dare she not be afraid of me? I though as the anger bubbled inside of me. I couldn't help but watch her unblinking face as she stared defiantly at me. How dare she? I thought as I looked at her fearless form before me. "Well, I guess screams of pain will have to do then, wont they?" I threatened, hoping to provoke some emotion, any emotion besides her complete and utter defiance.

"It will not work however." She told me without a care that she was about to be in agonizing pain. "It will not be enough, it will never be enough." Alicia taunted me. "You need fear, and I am not afraid of you."

The more she spoke the more agitated I became. "Stop saying that!" I screamed at her.

"You cannot win James." She ignored my intrusion and continued to taunt me. "You only win if you scare me, and you cannot scare me. So you can kill me if you want, but I will still win. Because I am not afraid of you."

My anger boiled and I hit her, hard, across the face. She fell down and I heard the slight noise escape her but she instantly spoke again. "I am not afraid of you James." I grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up to be eye level with me. "I am not afraid of you, and you cannot win." I slapped her again. I would break every bone in her body if I had to, I would make this woman afraid, I had to. I threw her a short distance and she collided with a tree.

I was instantly upon her as I grabbed her, once again, by the hair, enjoying her pained gasps. I did not enjoy it as much as I should have, she was still so calm. "I am not afraid of you." I heard her say defiantly again but before I could hit her again I was thrown backwards. How could I have not noticed him arrive? I wondered as I looked up and noticed both Alicia and the damn vampire were gone. I threw the deep brown, almost black hair at the ground in defiance, at least that would hurt, I thought as I once again followed their trail.

Authors Note: This is part one a an idea I had for a short story about James and Bella's meeting in the balet studio, the reason for the flashback of sorts will become apparent in the next chapter. I'm not even sure myself exactly how it will turn out, it sort of writes itself.

WARNING! This next chapter contains violent and sexual content that may seriously disturb some readers. If you cannot handle it DO NOT read on. I cannot stress this enough, this material IS NOT suitable for young or sensitive readers. This is by far the darkest story I have published on this site so far.

~SophieAngel69