Alice sat me down on her bed and she stood awkwardly in front of me, twisting her hands together.

"What I am going to say may shock you-I am almost certain of it-but you have promised to keep this to yourself, you must take it to your grave for this has the potential to ruin me, to ruin the life I am meant to have and ultimately, with this information in the wrong hands, this could end my life. Do. You. Understand, sister?"

I swallowed noisily to contain my horror at her words and managed in a very small voice, "Yes. I swear that your words will enter my mind and never leave in any way."

She nodded, "Good." And then drew in a deep breath before speaking, "Isabella, I see things. But I see things in two ways-in the way that I see you, as you are in front of me in the present...and in a different way-in the way that I see things that have not happened but will." She said quickly and quietly, "I hope you have understood. I do not want to have to repeat myself."

I could barely breathe.

"You see things that have not happened yet...events and conversations that will happen in the future." I whispered, tasting the words in my mouth and hoping that eventually they would make sense, "You see the future."

Alice didn't respond-she was holding her breath.

"That is how you knew." I breathed, standing at my revelation, "You did warn me...but in a way I didn't recognise. You spoke of it, of the chance that I would be betrothed to Prince Edward, as a simple musing-not as fact. You knew you couldn't warn me directly but you tried to do it in another way." I inhaled and exhaled deeply, "How long have you known of your betrothal to Lord Jasper?"

"Since I was twelve years old." She said.

"Oh Alice..." I cried softly into my hands. Her gift must have been such a large burden for her to carry.

"Please do not say you despise me." She whimpered, looking down at the ground, "Isabella, please say that you still love me!"

"Of course I do!" I whispered, standing and cradling her small form against my chest like a mother would do to a babe, "Alice, this is not your fault. You cannot help having this gift-"

"You call it gift." She said quietly into my shoulder.

I nodded, "It is a gift Alice," I assured her, "it will prove very useful! Think of the things you could do! The people you could help...you can do anything." I pulled back so I could see her tear-stained face, "Is there any way to control the visions?" I whispered very quietly. I was wary of speaking too loudly of this-it could end in disaster.

She shook her head, "I don't understand how they work. There are some times when I think that I know exactly what to do...but it changes. Sometimes I can call for one, I can seek the answer I want and it will come to me but sometimes they spring themselves upon me with no warning. It is potentially very dangerous." She shuddered, "It cannot happen around large gatherings of people-I would be deemed mad!"

"There must be a way to control them Alice, you must remember how you called for one and never let yourself forget." A sudden rush of sadness came over me, "For both of us-for your safety and for my future happiness...please try...please..."

"I know," She sighed, leaning her head back on my shoulder, "I will do my best, sister."


Alice nor I slept for long that night. Now that I knew of Alice's visions and of my own disastrous fate, I felt my very soul sink at the the burden that both of us had to carry until we left this earth for God's kingdom. My sister's life was potentially in danger and I was doomed to marry a man I did not love. Using the moonlight as my candle, I wrote a letter to Duke Jacob, explaining with anguished words and tears about our situation and that father no longer permitted me to see him. I told him that I loved him, that I was willing to do anything to be with him...and I begged him to rescue me. I gave the note to Angela who was wandering the corridors at night for she had an illness that meant sleep did not come to her easily. She swore on oath that she would find one of the best horsemen, who was known as Sam, to deliver my message before the dawn broke. As I watched her hurry away, I prayed to God that Jacob did as I asked and came to save me. All I had left to do was wait for his reply.


"ISABELLA!"

I jolted awake, gasping. My eyes shot to where Alice stood, her hands on her hips and her expression one of irritation and anxiety.

"Alice? What on earth is the reason of this?" I hissed at her.

"Mother is asking for you."

I froze, "Mother wants to speak to me?"

Alice nodded wordlessly.

I lay back down and drew the covers over my head, "I would rather die than speak to her!" I growled. How could she expect me to be civil to her after how she had treated me the evening before? How dare she even think that she deserved my respect-my mother was not loved by the people for she demanded respect rather than choosing to earn it first. It was Alice and myself that were loved by the people, we would often journey into the town and buy some of the local produce and help to keep our people from starving...my mother did nothing and was despised for it.

"You are making everything so much worse, Isabella!" Alice scolded me.

I threw my covers aside and stood at my full height, towering over her, "I am making everything worse? You know what mother is making me do and yet you think that she deserves pleasantries from me? Do you really think I am going to accept what she and father are making me do?"

Alice looked at the ground, "They wish to speak with you about your betrothal to Prince Edward, you must go-it is imperative."

"Why do you say this?" I demanded brokenly, "What good will come of knowing more? I will be miserable regardless...I cannot..." A surge of emotion crashed down on me and then I was sobbing, "I cannot do this!"

Alice tried to comfort me, her arms wrapping around me, "Trust me when I say you will be fine. Prince Edward is arriving sooner than expected, they have made quick progress from Seattle and will arrive at dusk. You must prepare yourself for what is to come."

I felt the breath in my body leave me with one fell swoop, "Are you sure?" I whispered, sitting down and pulling myself from her embrace. How I wished this were a dream. I wanted to sleep, to escape for a little longer. The little sleep I had had was almost blissful, I hadn't dreamt at all and I treasured the few moments that I was ignorant of the world around me-I knew this ignorance wouldn't come at an easy price, "I will meet Prince Edward tonight?"

My sister nodded, "Come, you must dress or mother will have you dragged by your hair to the Throne Room."

The Throne Room. The site of my father and mother's coronation so many years ago-a time of hope for Forks, a time of promise and happiness...all to be soured when my mother could not bear a son to take the crown.

"Angela?" I called, knowing she would be in the room, "Please find my red dress with the beaded bodice...and then move all of my belongings back into my chamber. It shouldn't take up too much of your time."

"Of course, Princess." I looked up to see her standing on the other side of the woman's quarters dressed in an immaculate golden dress, her long, jet black hair braided with small purple flowers intertwined, "Your Highness, His Majesty King Charles has ordered that an official lady in waiting should be assigned to you...he feels that it is not appropriate that Princess Alice must share." She looked disappointed and I was sure that I did too, I was very fond of Angela, "I am not going to lie and say that I am glad to be free of my responsibility to you...because I am honoured to serve you and Princess Alice. I cannot express my unhappiness."

"It is typical of my father to make me even more unhappy than I was before," I sighed, my mind plagued with my betrothal to the enemy, "I will be very unhappy to lose you Angela, but seeing as Alice and I spend the majority of our time together, we will continue seeing each other," I smiled at her, the thought raising my spirits considerably, "Not all is lost."

Angela smiled back at me, her dimples showing in her dappled cheeks, "I am happy to hear that, Your Highness." With that she turned to the wardrobe and rifled carefully through the rack of gowns I owned and slid my beautiful red dress out into her waiting hands, carefully balancing it and bringing it towards me, "Here you are."

Once I had slipped out of my night dress and stepped into my the gown, Angela quickly and quietly laced up the bodice, her nimble hands making no mistakes. I frowned, the new lady in waiting I was to be assigned would never match Angela's practical skills. With Angela, she could lace my dress within two minutes...with a new maid it would take five times as long which would be infuriating. I could only hope that she would improve over time. My mind wandered suddenly to Jacob suddenly and I felt my throat tighten at the thought of his face. His dark eyes and skin, his smooth hair and handsome smile-how I missed them. His laugh. His voice. Everything that made me happy was out of my reach.

"Angela, did Sam deliver my letter to Duke Jacob?" I whispered urgently.

Angela's hands stilled and then I felt her drop them completely, "I'm afraid that there was a complication, Your Highness." She answered me timidly.

"A complication?" I turned so we were facing each other, "What do you mean?"

"Angela, I don't think that this is a good idea..." Alice warned but after sharing a long look with her lady in waiting, she nodded. Again, I was aware of how Alice knew so much more than I did. All of the times she had managed to supposedly guess the weather and the outcome of jousts now made sense, of course she had made deliberate mistakes to keep everyone around her in the dark.

"Sam did ride out to La Push as soon as I gave him your letter for Duke Jacob and he did speak to the Duke but..." She looked down, "Excuse me, Your Highness, for I do not wish to upset you but I must tell you the absolute truth."

I waited, my eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Duke Jacob read the letter you had written for him," She said quietly, "but gave it back to Sam as soon as he had finished. He said that the letter was of no interest to him."

My entire world that had been teetering on an uneasy cliff edge plummeted into murky water with an awful scream.

"No." I whimpered, my world shattering around me, "You are lying!"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness." Angela pleaded, "That is what happened."

The man I loved had ignored my plea for help. My heart was splintering in two.

"I don't believe you," I cried, feeling Alice once again hold me-if only her tiny hands could stop me from falling apart, "I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!"

"Angela, leave us." Alice ordered. Angela curtsied and fled from the room, her hand over her mouth.

I pushed Alice away and stalked over to the window, glaring out of the window to try to stop more wasted tears from falling. He had lied. I knew that Angela would not lie to me but I still found it so difficult to believe. I thought back over our time together-he had acted as if he adored me, he was a true gentleman to me, he kissed me so sweetly I thought that my heart might burst out of my chest...he told me he loved me. That I was the only maiden to have his heart.

So why had he returned my letter to Sam without so much as a word?

"Isabella, I-"

"I am going to see mother." I interrupted rudely, leaving the room with an angry sweep of my dress. I could not be so weak from now on. I still loved Jacob with all of my heart and his rejection was agony and I knew that it would be a very long time before I could truly accept it.

With an anguish that even I could not comprehend, I accepted my fate.

I would marry Prince Edward and in doing so, I would doom myself to a lifetime without love.