The Sleeping Swan
By Elleirabird

A/N: First chapter. More will be explained in later chapters.

Synopsis: Anna Skelt has come to forks for only one reason: to kill a vampire named Edward Cullen by getting him to fall in love with her. But there's something else lurking in the forests of Forks, something that the Order didn't know about. Something that might kill Anna first. Alternate Universe.

CHAPTER ONE – FORKS

"Bella," Renee said. Her lips twitched, and I knew it was taking all her mental fortitude not to burst out laughing in the middle of the airport. "You don't have to do this."

"I'll be fine," I muttered, swinging my carry-on onto the opposite shoulder. The smile widened as I punched her in the arm, hitting her hard enough to make it hurt. Leaning in closer, I whispered, "You know I love doing this."

Renee smiled for real this time, wrapping me in a tight hug. The action was uncomfortable for me, but I allowed it, for her sake. When she stepped back, finally, she looked much more solemn. Renee and I looked uncannily similar now, thanks to some hair dye on my part. My natural hair color was a light reddish-brown, and short. Now it was long, wavy and a near-black shade of brown. That, and a few months of continually staying out of the sun, and I looked the part.

For an instant the mask flickered, and Renee nodded seriously, almost respectfully, at me.

"Good luck, Anna," Renee whispered. A little louder, she said, "Keep in touch, okay, dear?"

Our code for don't get yourself killed.

"Got it." The overhead announcer said the name of my flight, and I glanced around. "Gotta go – see you later."

Those last words of mine hung in my mind as I anxiously passed through security and customs, walking down the terminal to find my gate. See you later – there was a good chance I'd never see Renee again. She was being transferred to a new location – which she wasn't allowed to tell me about, naturally – while I was being sent on my own job for the first time. Then, there was always the off-chance that I wouldn't be returning from Forks, Washington.

Charlie was waiting for me on the other side. I'd never met him before, but I'd seen pictures of him, and obviously he knew what I looked like. As I walked off the plane he gave a smile and we awkwardly hugged each other, like a normal father and daughter would do. He looked different in real life. More tired. A little sad. Maybe it was because I looked a little like how his daughter would have looked. I was playing the part of Chief Swan's daughter, who, on the record, had gone to live with her mother ten years ago.

The reports were wrong. Charlie's girl had been murdered by them. That was why he was on our side, now. We had a lot of people in the police forces.

"It's good to see you, Bella," he said, the faint smile making his mustache crinkle. I tried not to wince at my new name.

"You too, Dad." That's what I was supposed to call him. In public, at least.

I didn't bring much – and none of it was truly mine. I'd been given a new set of clothes that would be suitable for the damp Northwestern weather – sweaters, jeans. That and the supplies; a year's worth of syringes and the serum that went into it, disguised as diabetes meds. I didn't need any other weapons. And personal items weren't allowed for obvious reasons.

"Got you a car," Charlie said as I fastened my seatbelt.

I wasn't expecting that. "A car?"

"You'll need it," he said. With a grunt he turned on the ignition and started pulling the cruiser out of the parking spot. "No public transportation here, and the weather's awful."

"Um, wow. Thanks." I didn't feel the need to tack on Dad.

Nothing else was said for the entire trip. What were we supposed to talk about – the weather? It sucked. His dead daughter? No. My assignment? Protocol said we weren't supposed to talk about it unless we had to, just in case if they were listening. So instead we sat in a slightly uneasy silence.

Washington was gorgeous in a completely different way than Phoenix. Here it was soft and serene; the forests on either side of the highway towered over us like moss-covered giants, their branches eclipsing the dark grey sky. Vines and moss draped over their branches like green frost. In Phoenix, everything was sharp and bright and achingly hot. Not here. I didn't know what to think about it.

Graciously, it was a pretty short drive to Charlie's house, a tiny little thing on the edge of the town. It looked old and tired, like him. In the parking lot was a monstrous, bulbous red truck.

"Is that it?" I asked, dragging my suitcase out of the trunk.

"Yeah," said Charlie. He looked kind of embarrassed. "I know it's old –"

"It's fine," I told him. "Seriously, it was great of you to even get me a car. Thanks."

The inside of the house was significantly warmer than I expected, both in temperature and tone. It was kind of nice, and definitely not what I was expecting from an older single man.

"Your room's up the stairs," Charlie said, taking my suitcase before I could protest. I followed him up the rickety stairs, which moaned with every step, and stepped into my new room.

It was heartbreaking.

Everything about it made it obvious that this had been Charlie's little girl's bedroom. Had been. The curtains were a cheerful, faded yellow, and the walls were a pretty shade of blue. There was an oak rocking chair in one corner, and the bed had this bright little quilt in it. Charlie had tried to make it suitable for me; there was a really old computer on the desk, which looked like it had been drunkenly assembled by a new IKEA intern, and a little empty bookshelf.

Still…

"I –" I began, but when I turned around Charlie wasn't there. He had already gone back downstairs. With a sigh I turned back and surveyed the room of the girl I was pretending to be, and started unpacking.

I barely slept the entire night. Even if I wasn't starting my assignment, the fact that I was sleeping in a dead girl's room, maybe in a dead girl's bed, was enough to make anyone jittery. I hoped it wasn't a bad omen. The constant drizzle of rain didn't help. When I did finally fall asleep for an hour or two, it crept deep into my dreams.

It was five in the morning when I got up for real. The sun wasn't even up yet. Half-awake, I pawed through my suitcase, stuffing the clothes into the chest of drawers, until I found the package. A faint sense of nausea welled up, but I pushed it down, and lumbered into the bathroom, packet in hand. I flicked the light on and ripped open the package. Rows of gleaming needles and syringes flashed in the florescent light.

Well. This was it. No going back.

I had been taking the primary serum for a couple of weeks now, and I could already feel its effects. Immediately after I injected myself with it each morning, it felt like a blanket covered my mind, dulling everything. The effect wore off as the day went on, but I still hated it. I hated being dull and weak and vulnerable. But, now, that's exactly what I was supposed to be.

The secondary serum, the stuff I was about to inject into myself, was different. Much more potent. Its purpose wasn't to shield my mind, like the primary did, but to lure in my target. My prey.

That is, if I wasn't killed first.

With a sigh I rolled up my sleeve and prepared the needle. The serum was an alien, silver color, like quicksilver. The sight of it made my heart pound. Good. It would be distributed more quickly. I let out an inaudible gasp as the needle pierced my skin; with a shaking hand I pushed down, letting the serum dissipate into my bloodstream. Less than ten seconds later, it was done. I was ready.

My name is Anna Skelt. Well – it was. Now I was a girl called Bella Swan. I had come here to Forks, Washington for one reason, and one reason only.

I was here to kill a vampire named Edward Cullen. Or die trying.

But first I had to get him to fall in love with me.