BELLA

Automatically, Edward jumped in front of me. The dart pierced through his shirt, yet ricocheted off his marble-like chest. I don't need to say that all four kids in front of us just widened their eyes in shock. There was complete and utter silence, save for the dart rolling a few feet away.

At once, I felt worry and fear. We had just escaped from the Volturi who were about to kill the Cullens for revealing their secret to a human, and here I am, doing something that could expose the Cullens. I am so stupid. I just put the Cullens and these kids in danger for my actions. Regardless of the fact that two of these kids were murderers, or would-be murderers, they were still – well, kids.

Ian Kabra was the first to break the silence. "Who are you? What a-"

His sister broke in. "Ian, I believe you meant to say, 'What are you?', because there is no way any normal human can just block any of my darts with just their chest. The point of that dart was lined with titanium, for Pete's sake." Her voice was on the brink of hysteria. Obviously. She probably thought she was safe anywhere she went with that gun of hers, and to see that it had absolutely no effect on a stranger must be a little disconcerting.

Ian went on as though his sister had not interrupted. "-re your names?"

I looked steadily at Edward, and he returned the look with the same amount of seriousness. His eyes were coal-black; he hasn't hunted in a while or he is angry at me. He would never love me again, not after this. Not that I was going to try to win him back; if he doesn't want me, he doesn't have to pretend for the human.

Edward sighed and broke away from our staring contest. "My name is Edward Cullen, and this is my sister, Alice." he said quietly.

Ian narrowed his eyes. Beside me, Edward stiffened. Whatever was going through the boy's head was causing Edward to worry, and, by association, causing me to worry.

"Cullen, you say?" Ian mused and Alice nodded. Ian shot a look towards his sister, but Natalie's eyebrows were furrowed in what I think I could call frustration.

"Where have I heard that name before?" she demanded. Her moment of hysteria was over.

"Natalie," Ian said, "think back. Just yesterday, in the Paris stronghold."

"Ian, this is no time for riddles."

"I assure you, dear sister, this is no riddle. Remember, Mother showed us that file?"

"Get to the point, Ian." Natalie stomped her foot in frustration.

"One of mother's agents were being sent over here to watch over the Saint Marcus' Day festival, just to make sure none of the competitors were there to cause trouble," Ian began. "She didn't want to get a private jet, so she sent him over here on commercial – first class, of course."

"What are you getting at?"

"Well, Natalie, someone by the name of Cullen came and held up the whole plane. Obviously, there were no extra seats, but he handed over some money and got on the plane nonetheless."

"Ian! Your point?" The younger boy was getting impatient. The two–Amy and Dan–were so quiet that I forgot they were here.

"My point is, Daniel, Mother was not pleased. In her mind, the only reason anyone would want to get on the plane in such a rush is because of the Hunt. She had all files dug up on the Cullens."

"And what did your mother find?" Edward asked beside me.

Ian looked at him. "My mother found an active file on you. Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Edward, and Alice, am I right?" He didn't wait for them to respond. "It was an active file that has been going on for more than fifty years. And all of you stay the same age every time you move around. So tell me, how is that possible?"

Alice stiffened.

"Mother would love to speak with you," Natalie announced after a moment of silence.

"And what makes you think will be coming with you?" I demanded. "You saw with your own eyes. Your stupid little dart gun doesn't work on us. We could you just take you out right now." I didn't feel the need to add that I would be useless in a fight.

"Mother thinks that you are associated with the Hunt. The moment she finds out we're missing, she'll remember you and track you down. Trust me; your family may be alive for over five decades, even over a century –" with this he leaned toward us, and I saw his eyes got very scary, reminding me of a cobra ready to strike "– but our family has been around for centuries." I had no doubt that in his mind, the boy believed this threat to be valid. It probably was too. If a mother could have the heart to teach her barely teen-aged children to kill, she would have the heart to hunt down and murder – try to murder – another family.

"You stupid, crazy –"

"Edward!" Alice's voice stopped his rant. "Edward, no."

Whatever my pixie-like ex-best friend showed Edward must have been good – or bad, depending on how you looked at it – because Edward sighed and said, "We'll come. But Bella stays here."

"Edward! I'm coming!" I screamed. I refuse to lose him again.

"No, Bella, you are not."

I faced Ian. I must be crazy, practically asking a 14-year-old would-be murderer to kidnap me, but all that was on my mind was spending time with Edward and making sure nothing happened to them and the rest of the Cullens because of my foolish actions. "I can go, right?"

He smiled, apparently amused at my odd request. "If you wish."

"No!" Edward roared. "Bella, you are not, I repeat not, coming."

"Oh, shut up," Natalie ordered. "Let the girl go. From what I can tell, you can withstand more than just a dart gun, and you'll be there to protect her the whole time."

"Bella~" Edward said, his voice low and threatening.

"No, Edward, it's going to be okay." Alice smiled, though it was grim and stiff. I wonder what she could see at the moment. I trusted her to not get me killed.

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I am so sorry for the delay in writing, it's just that I haven't had the time to update; I'm just so busy nowadays. I'll try to update more regularly, 'kay, guys?

Love you and your reviews!