~Bella~
The babble of chatter filled with laughter and the shrieking of children filled my ears as the sun blazed down on us with its heated golden rays. The sound and feel was familiar to me from my days on the streets. Mindful to keep a tight hold on the basket of food in my arms, I moved through the throngs of people cautiously.
I made my way out of the crowd, walking through one of the most desolate parts of Phoenix because it was the only way home. The little rundown houses were missing roofs and doors and windows, so they were covered with dirty covers trying to keep out the occasional rain and the never ceasing harsh sun. I walked briskly, knowing full well that when you were starving and had a family to feed you would do just about anything. I'd learned that lesson more times in the past few years than I could count. Just as I turned a corner into the alleyway that would lead to my street, a grimy hand shot out from the shadows and grabbed hold of my arm. My breath caught as I turned to see a vagrant man crumpled on the ground. His broken nails were piercing the skin of my bare arm, his hold unshakable. His toothless smile sent a shudder down my spine.
"What's a sweet thing like you doin' out here in the slums?" His voice was raspy from misuse. I gritted my teeth and tried to tug my arm loose.
"Let. Me. Go." I demanded, my voice unwavering.
"Yeah, you see, I don't think I will sweet thing. It's been a while and I've gotta say I'm cravin' some company." He leered, his smile cruel as he stroked my long dark hair with his dirty hand.
"Don't touch me." I snapped as I tossed my basket back and swept my arm out to slap him across the face. His expression revealed his shock and fury, blood trickling out of his mouth. He spit out red, staining his threadbare clothes.
"Well look at that, she bites. I like it when they're feisty." And with a crazed laugh, he reached out and pulled me to him. I reared back and kicked him square in the chest, forcing him to release his hold on me as he fell back. I stood, backing up as he got up again and approached me, hunched over.
"You're gonna pay for that one you little bitch." He grabbed my arm again, tossing me roughly. I took hold of his arm with both of my hands and used my strength to flip him over onto his back. He laid there, stunned as I stepped forward onto his chest, placing my foot on his throat to crush his windpipe.
"I said don't touch me, you mongrel. Do I have to repeat myself?" He shook his head frantically, his eyes wide. In the light outside of the shadows, I could see the haggard lines of suffering on his face and the dark shadows of starvation and little sleep underneath his eyes. I sighed as I stepped off of him, and I leaned down to offer him my hand. He looked at my hand and then me as if afraid that I was going to flip him over again. Eventually, he took it and got up, leaning over with his hands on his knees as he tried to breathe normally again. I reached out and picked up my basket, brushing myself off before turning to him again. When he stood straighter, you could see that his nose was bleeding and a bruise was forming on the side of his face. I reached into my basket and took out a sliver of cheese and a loaf of bread. With a deep breath, I offered both to him in my hand. His bloodshot eyes widened as he looked between me and the offering, his expression hesitant and disbelieving.
"Look, are you going to take it or not?" I asked him softly. He reached out and quickly swiped it from my hand as if he was afraid that I might take it back. I turned then and began to walk back down the way I intended before the man snatched at me. As I was just about to turn another corner I heard him call out.
"Why?"
I turned slowly, cocking my head as I looked at him curiously. He was still standing where I left him, the cheese and bread already eaten.
"Why what?" I asked even though I knew exactly what he was asking me.
"Why would you help me? I attacked you." He seemed completely lost as to why I would do such a thing. I gave him a half smile.
"Because I have hope." And with that, I left my poor, lost attacker in the alley and continued on home. The area where I lived was only slightly nicer than the rotten village I'd just passed, but it wasn't quite as dangerous. Most of the people who lived around here were good people. Or they had been at some point anyway. I'd like to believe that everyone had to have been truly good at some point in their lives. When they were young and blind to the tragedy and danger of a world like ours. Because if you couldn't believe in the innocence of a child, then what was there to believe in?
I opened the door to my house with one hand, carrying the basket with the bread and cheese I bought at the market in the other.
"Mother? Char?" I call out. I walked into our miniscule living room to see my mother painting by the window. Her light brown hair was pinned up on her head, gray-blue eyes bright with inspiration. I had her eyes, but mine were slightly darker, sapphire blue tinted with gray and flecks of green. Though I had my father's dark wavy tresses. Charlotte sat by her side, her head cocked to the side as she watched our mother paint with fascination in her dark brown eyes. She had our father's eyes, but my mother's hair. I smiled as I walked over, setting the basket down on the floor. I peeked over my mother's shoulder. She had painted a gorgeous landscape with the setting sun a background to a field of tall grass and a wide blue river. She was painting a girl, sitting by the river, her head bent as her hands cupped the clear blue water. I recognized myself in the painting immediately. My mother seemed to always find a way to work either Charlotte or me into her paintings. My long, dark tresses were brushed over my shoulder in the painting, hiding my face from view. Charlotte looked up, realizing my presence. She seemed to have been just as entranced as my mother in her work.
"Izzy! You're home!" She yelled excitedly, her face bright with happiness. She jumped up and threw her arms around me. Her copper-brown curls swayed, her skin tan from the Phoenix sun. Our mother started slightly, dropping her paintbrush. She laughed as she turned to see us.
"Oh dear, you're going to give your poor old mother a heart attack. How did it go?" She asked me, unable to hide the hope in her voice as she chewed on her lip worriedly, a habit I'd picked up from her. I smiled back at her, trying to forget my encounter in the alley as I thought back to the reason for my being in the market in the first place.
"I sold all of them." I told her as I nuzzled my face in my little sister's curls.
"Really? All three of the paintings?" I nodded and showed her the basket of food.
"I think we might have enough for the week." I told her with a hopeful smile. It was a rare occurrence that we had enough food for the week. My mother was a painter, and she was talented, but living on the outskirts of society, she lacked the proper materials or connections to be recognized as she deserved. So, we spent every penny on materials and canvases so she could paint. Then, I'd take her paintings into the market and sell them to merchants, often foreigners from different shores. Most of the time, I could manage to sell most of her work. But even her most beautiful work was sold at half the price it deserved because the canvas was slightly ripped or the lines jagged, the paint rough and smeared. It was unfair, but then again, life was hardly fair. I attended schooling when I could, but those days were few and far in between. I spent plenty of time helping my mother, or selling paintings, or doing odd jobs for the people of Phoenix to ensure a bit of extra money for us. And for my sister. I did everything I could to make sure that she never needed to make those sacrifices. It was just us three. My mother, my little sister and I.
It hadn't always been this way. Once upon a time, my mother lived in the great, rich province of Forks, where she met my father. She had grown up in riches and her father had arranged that she be married to the former Chief of Human Police's son, Charlie. Charlie's parents had died many years prior and he lived with his aunt and uncle. Charlie and Renée fell in love and married happily. My father rose to his father's former police position and my mother had me a little while after. They were young and in love….until they weren't. Their "honeymoon period" passed and then started the fighting. Their arguments were terrible and consistent.
I remembered bits and pieces of my younger years spent stuffing a pillow over my head at night to drown out the screaming. One day, my mother decided that her relationship with my father was hardly the kind of model she wanted to give me for what a proper relationship should be like and she left with me in tow nearly at the age of 7. Her own mother rejected her in her time of need, and my mother had no choice but to travel out into Phoenix, the bustling, run down province on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Volterra. Only to find out a few weeks after leaving that she was pregnant with Char. Eventually, we found our way out here, and I remembered little of Forks. I kept a sort of distant contact with my father, but we hardly had a close relationship. I had little recollection of my early childhood and he'd never even met Charlotte, his second daughter. He did send us what little bit of money he could to help out, but it wasn't much. That wasn't his fault, though. It was very dangerous to send large sums of money through the courier to Phoenix, especially with the vampires lurking about. He tried in the first few months, but something always seemed to happen to the money between Forks and here, so he had to settle for sending a little bit for special occasions and leave it at that. He wrote plenty, but that was the extent of our contact.
"That's great! We should start getting that ready-" My mother was suddenly cut off by a knock on the door. We both froze, looking at each other and then the door with wide eyes. Charlotte looked up, glancing at the both of us, her little face crumpling with worry at our startled expressions.
I frowned, biting my lip. Jake, my best friend, was the only one who ever dropped by frequently and he never knocked. Ever. In fact, we rarely even got visitors. I murmured soothingly in Charlotte's ear as I stroked her hair lightly. My mother looked slightly apprehensive as she moved to open the door. There was another harsh knock before she reached it, three loud systematic raps. She threw the door open to reveal a somber young man in a dull gray uniform. He looked like a guard of some sort. His dark eyes looked my mother up and down before scanning our little abode and landing on me and Char.
"I'm here for the retrieval of Isabella Marie Swan." He announced, his voice monotone. My eyes widened and my mother paled. Charlotte held onto me tighter.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" My mother asked with a furrowed brow.
"I am Officer Afton. I am here to escort Miss Swan."
"To where?" My mother asked, her voice quivering.
"I'm afraid that I can't say." He responded smoothly.
"Well I'm afraid that I can't allow my daughter to be escorted anywhere by a complete and total stranger."
"I've been given the order to use force if necessary, ma'am." The officer replied without batting an eye. My mother looked back at me, her expression more afraid than I'd ever seen it. Charlotte's arms were wrapped around my neck tightly, her brown eyes wide and fearful. At nine years old, she could easily understand that what was happening was bad. Very bad. I immediately knew what I needed to do. I could fight and I could fight well, but there was no telling who this Officer was involved with and resisting could be more problematic than helpful in this situation. Besides, I would never let Charlotte see me trying to struggle. She couldn't take it if she saw me get hurt. I leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"Char, I need you to listen to me. I'm going to go with that man, and I need you to be strong for me, okay?" She shook her head, her eyes watering.
"No, Izzy. I don't want you to go."
"I know, but I have to. Now, I'm going to need you to be brave. Can you do that for me?' Her bottom lip quivered as she hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. She nodded vehemently.
"Okay. Once I leave, you need to make sure Jake is around. Find him and tell him to take my place until I come back alright? Be smart, keep going to school, and help mom. I love you so much. Never forget that." I placed a kiss on her curls, wondering whether or not I would see her again. People mysteriously disappeared all the time. And here on the fringe, there was hardly anyone that had the means to go looking for someone who slipped off the face of the earth.
"I love you too Izzy." She mumbled before she slowly released me as I lowered her to the ground. I gave her one last squeeze. I was about to turn away before I was struck by inspiration. I took the charm bracelet on my wrist and placed the cool metal in her small hand.
"To protect you." I told her quietly. I could hear my mother crying softly behind me. Charlotte took off the gold chain with the heart pendant resting around her neck and placed it around mine. The pendant had been a gift from my father to my mother when he found out she was pregnant with me. It had been the only thing she refused to ever sell because she insisted that it represented hope and love and good things. My little sister had taken to wearing it a little while back and she never seemed to take it off because she believed my mother and she had told me once that hope and love was all we had.
"To protect you." She told me. My eyes watered at her gesture as she threw her arms around me one last time before letting me go. The guard seemed exceptionally unaffected by our display of affection as he waited by at the door.
"We must go. It's getting late." His words were clipped and cold. I turned to my mother without reacting to his statement. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Wherever he was taking me, it couldn't possibly be good if they bred people like him. My mother looked worried and sad, her eyes filled with tears. I hugged her tightly.
"I love you, mom." I murmured.
"I love you too baby girl. Be brave and don't doubt yourself. Come back home." And with those parting words, Officer Afton took me by the arm and led me out of my home. We walked through the busy streets of Phoenix, lined with merchants and street vendors. The familiar loud chatter and laughter was slightly comforting as we walked through. I held my chin up high as I caught people staring. Our destination was clear. The nondescript dark metal carriage in the middle of Phoenix Square. It was clearly much more ornate than the rundown carriages usually seen around here. I stayed focused and didn't dare meet any of the inquisitive stares that followed my path.
"Bells!" My head whipped around at the sound of the familiar voice calling my name. My eyes caught a boyish-looking man with long dark hair and russet skin, his brown eyes trained on me.
"Jake!" I called out to him as Officer Afton took my arm and started pushing me towards the carriage through the crowd. Jacob Black had been my best friend for ten years, ever since my mother and I moved here to Phoenix when I was 7. As we'd grown up, he had always been there to help us out when we needed it. And I had been there to help him and his father when his mother died five years ago. he was a true and loyal friend. Possibly the only one I really had. My best friend. Jacob plowed through the crowd towards us. Suddenly he was only a few feet away and he crashed right into Officer Afton. The officer released his hold on me as I stumbled backwards to see Jacob struggling against him.
"Jake! Jacob! STOP!" I yelled at him, knowing that he couldn't afford to get hurt. His father was in a wheelchair, and if Jacob got injured his house would have no income.
"Bella, what the hell is going on!" He yelled as he tried, and failed to get out of the hold Officer Afton had on his arms.
"Jacob! Listen to me, please! I have to go. I need to know that you'll take care of Char and my mother, no matter what." I could see my words registering with him, but he continued to struggle against the officer.
"No Bella! You can't just leave!" He shouted. A crowd was beginning to form around us. There was no time and I couldn't allow Jake to get in trouble. His father needed him. I needed him.
"Can I trust you, Jacob Black?" I yelled out, knowing that my words would hit home. He immediately stopped his struggle, his head bowing to look at the ground as Officer Afton released him. Those words were what I'd always said to him when I needed him. He knew. He understood. I needed him to take care of my family, and because he was Jake, because he was my best friend, he would do it without question.
"Always, Bells." He murmured, lunging past the officer one last time to wrap his arms around me, crushing me to his chest. I inhaled his scent of smoke and cinnamon and sandalwood. His smell of Jake. The officer pried him off and threw him to the ground, taking me by the arm and roughly dragging me to the carriage. I didn't look back. I slipped inside the dark interior of the carriage, the door swinging shut behind me. With a rumble, the large black stallions at the head of the carriage took off, dragging me away from the only true home I'd ever known.
Little did I know that it wouldn't be my home for much longer.
I know Bella is different here, but I wanted to put my own spin on things. Let me know what you think!