Chapter 2: Memories

Bella looked above her, and into the red eyes of a beautiful male vampire. His coal black hair stopped at his broad shoulders, that were covered by a black cape, his marble skin hard and warm against her palm that lay on his cheek. He looked familiar yet she could not remember where she had seen him before. She stood up, noticing everything around her was more coherent, in fact all her senses were. Her wedding dress still clung onto her body, mud streaks and blood covering it. She looked back at the vampire who had saved her and asked the only question that came in mind, "who are you", her voice chimed.

He smiled, so brilliant she felt that she would go blind, if vampires could. She scrunched her eyebrows when he did not answer, but just extended a hand towards her. She took the hand and was surprised when she was pulled into his strong arms, both of them flying through the forest. She sighed, annoyed now that he had not yet answered her question. "I asked", she told him in a frustrated voice, "who are you", then growled when he did not answer. He chuckled.

She was exasperated. The first thing she had thought of him was: beautiful, but now she could only feel the sense of annoyance towards him. They arrived at a tiny cottage, surrounded by blooming flowers and a lake beside it. A small girl came out, her eyes a crimson red and her brown hair cut at the chin. Bella felt as if she had also know this girl, but did not strain herself to go back into her human memories.

"Jane", the man acknowledged with a nod of his head, she did the same in reply but shot a quick glare at Bella. But Bella was paying no mind to the young child, and was instead looking towards the lake that stood before her. Her mind was on more important things than a girl not liking her. Miles away from the lake stood a meadow, and all the memories of him swept back into her mind.

Flashback:

"It's better if we're not friends. Trust me..."

You think I regret saving your life?...

"Bella, it's not my fault if you are exceptionally unobservant...."

" Bella, you are utterly absurd...."

"The wasting of finite resources is everyone's business...."


"I said it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be...."


"It would be more… prudent for you not to be my friend. But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella...."


"You really should stay away from me...."


"I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly....."


"I think your friends are angry with me for stealing you...."


"I'm just going to do what I want now, and let the chips fall where they may...."


"I always say too much when I'm talking to you — that's one of the problems...."


"You've got a bit of a temper, don't you?..."

"Your boyfriend seems to think I'm being unpleasant to you — he's debating whether or not to come break up our fight...."

"What if I'm not a superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?..."

"It's healthy to ditch class now and then..."

"Do I dazzle you?..."

"You don't care if I'm a monster? If I'm not human?..."

"I'm the world's best predator, aren't I? Everything about me invites you in — my voice, my face, even my smell. As if I need any of that!..."

"Bella, I don't want you to come with me...."

"Of course, I'll always love you… in a way. But what happened the other night made me realize that it's time for a change. Because I'm… tired of pretending to be something I'm not, Bella. I am not human..."

"You're not good for me, Bella..."

"I promise that this will be the last time you'll see me. I won't come back. I won't put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from me..."

It will be as if I'd never existed...."

"Don't worry. You're human—your memory is no more than a sieve. Time heals all wounds for your kind..."

"You smell just exactly the same as always. So maybe this is hell. I don't care. I'll take it..."

"I'm a good liar, Bella. I have to be..."

"You weren't going to let go. I could see that. I didn't want to do it—it felt like it would kill me to do it—but I knew that if I couldn't convince you that I didn't love you anymore, it would just take you that much longer to get on with your life. I hoped that, if you thought I'd moved on, so would you..."

"You look… sexy..."

"I had no right to want you — but I reached out and took you anyway. And now look what's become of you! Trying to seduce a vampire..."

"We'll go to Vegas — you can wear old jeans and we'll go to the chapel with the drive-through window. I just want it to be official — that you belong to me and no one else..."

"Bella your just not for me.."


End of flashback

Bella gasped from the pain of the memories and clutched her stomach. Everything had come back to her. The memories of when Edward and her had first met, the day he met his family, their meadow, when James came after her, the day he left, Jacob comforting her, Alice coming back, the Voultri, the vote to her immortality, victoria escaping the battle, Edward proposing, and then Edward leaving.

But for some apparent reason she didn't feel the love she had felt for Edward anymore. It had gone just as fast as it had come. A pale masculine hand came to her shoulder, and she came eyes to eye with her savior. Going back to her dull human memories she remembered him as Marcus, one of the three kings of the Voultri. "Marcus", she acknowledged, ignoring the four hooded figured behind him.

"Master", a sickly sweet voice said from behind him, she remembered the girl as Jane. "Aro would like to see", she focused her eyes to Bella, "her". Bella felt the jealousy coming from the hostile little girl, and flickered her eyes back to Marcus's unreadable face.

"Come now", he ushered her from the lake and into the cottage, where his two brothers she recalled as Aro and Caius waited . Both eyes were burning with red, and not as dull as the other which meant that they had fed. She shuddered at the thought. Then a burn started to rise in her throat but she ignored it and continued to stare at the brothers.

"Elezar", he called out. A broad shouldered man with a hint of olive to his chalky complection and black hair stepped forward. His eyes were golden, so he hunted animals, "What are Bella's...", he asked only to be interrupted by the grief stricken howls of seven wolves, that slowly descended from the trees...