Author's Note: Thank-you to all who have read, followed, and added this story to their favorites. And a special thank-you to those who have taken the time to review this story, they really do mean a lot to me.

All spelling and grammar mistakes are my own.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Twilight or New Moon related. I do, however, own Aria Swan and the Marshall family.

The Guardian Swan

Chapter Four: Passing Days

It only took me about three and a half weeks to learn how to ride the motorcycle. Honestly, it probably would have taken me less time than that – Aria was an excellent teacher. It was just that the very first time I tried, I heard his voice again.

Hearing his voice was like having him right there. He was warning me, being over-protective. He was telling me to get off the bike that I would get hurt if I didn't, it was too dangerous. To an extent he was right. I did end up getting hurt – I actually thought Aria would freak out when she saw all that blood gushing from my head but she was actually pretty calm and got me to the hospital in time (explaining the injury to Charlie was easy, for Aria in any case, clumsy Bella at it again). But really the injury only happened because his voice was so distracting.

It was just like it had been that evening in Port Angeles with Aria. His voice, I mean. So smooth, you could hear the worry and concern it held for me. But that was ridiculous. Ed—He didn't love me anymore. He said so himself that day in the woods…

I shook my head as I thought of it. Aria had ended up being impressed at the speed that I had picked up on learning to ride the motorcycle. What she didn't know was that when I started mastering it, I could no longer consider it "dangerous" which resulted in his voice fading. No more warnings. No more concern. There really wasn't any need to drag it out after that.

Aria and I still went riding almost every day. Even though Aria wasn't fixing up the bikes we still had to be home before Charlie, lest he ask any questions. But I couldn't find it in myself to cut back on riding time. That part of my day was relaxing. Freeing, almost.

Aria wasn't complaining either. She missed being able to ride her motorcycle which had been moved to her uncle's garage in Seattle.

It wasn't like she could bring it here with her in any case. Charlie would have a fit if she did.

Recently, I had been toying with an idea. I wanted to try and find our meadow. I did not know exactly how hearing him worked. Though I did have a theory on that. No doubt looking for our meadow would be stupid. Even I knew that there was a chance this would backfire as much as going to his house had. But I wanted to try. I needed to do this.

The only trouble would be Aria.

I loved my sister. But trying to explain this to her? How in the world was I going to do that? I hated sports so explaining to her my sudden need to hike would be impossible. If not suspicious. I had not told Aria about hearing his voice while on the motorcycle. I wasn't stupid. I knew if I told her, she would go to my dad about this. I wasn't "losing it" and I didn't need anybody thinking that I was.

So I was going to keep this to myself. If Aria thought I was getting over him and I wasn't hearing his voice anymore that was fine with me.

I turned over in my bed for what seemed the millionth time. I could not get to sleep no matter how hard I tried. The same thought kept running through my head over and over.

Something was wrong with Bella.

I didn't know exactly what though. She had been acting a bit… off… ever since I taught her how to ride. Maybe it was the fact that she was afraid I would tell our dad about what she told me. I knew that I probably should have told Charlie but... the look on her face was enough to hold me off.

For now.

It was alarming to say the least that she was hearing voices and fantasizing them to be that of her ex-boyfriend. I knew Bella said that she hadn't heard Edward's voice since that night at Port Angeles but I wasn't sure if I should believe her. I know Bella is honest and she can't lie without giving herself away but with my older sister… the thing is, if she's protecting someone then – and only then – she can lie better than a career con-artist.

And she is protecting someone.

Sort-of.

She's protecting Edward's voice that she hears. I knew even after everything – all the crying she did and saying that she was starting to get over Edward – that she wanted to hear his voice. Bella wanted to feel as if that boy cared for her again.

And I honestly didn't know what to do about it.

Should I keep it to myself and continue to help her in the best way that I could provide? Or, should I tell someone?

I knew that if I told Charlie he would send Bella off to a shrink and then she would hate me. And I didn't want my big sister to hate me. I probably had some younger sibling complex where I wanted my older sibling to like me…

I sort of promised her I would keep it to myself and not tell anyone but… I saw the look on her face right before she went off the road and crashed her bike. It was the same look as that Saturday night when she was talking to those guys outside the bar. I knew she heard Edward again. I just knew it. For obvious reasons though, Bella mentioned none of this to me.

I sighed as I looked around my room. My eyes came to a stop at my vanity where tomorrow's outfit was picked out. T-shirt, flannel, jeans, and… hiking boots.

Bella came to me the other day and told me all about this cool place that she had found with a couple other people in the woods. Some really beautiful meadow and how she would like to try and find that place again. When I asked her who had been with her when they found it, Bella said just some kids from the Reservation. No one that I knew.

She was lying to me.

I could obviously tell that she was. But I decided to let it slide.

It must have been another place that she had once been to with Edward. I wondered if it was a good idea to help her try and find this place. After all, she had been torn apart just by visiting his family's home. What would a place that was just theirs do to her?

Sometimes I wish I could just put my foot down when it came to Bella. But according to Charlie, Bella had never been more happier than she was now. And I didn't want my dad to become any more worried and stressed than he already was. So I agreed to help her find this meadow and silently decided I would be her shoulder to cry on if she needed it once more.

I turned over in my bed and saw that it was just after midnight.

"I better get some sleep… we have an early day tomorrow."

Aria and I had been trying to find the meadow for a couple of weekends in a row now. It had sort of become an obsession for me.

There was no way that I could have imagined such a beautiful and enchanting place! Could I?

We had started out on the road that I hadn't been to in close to a year. Aria, who was much better at reading maps than I was, would go over them with a pencil and compass marking paths we would take and had already taken.

To be perfectly honest, I was getting anxious.

What if I had imagined the meadow after all?

At that point Aria turned around – probably to ask me something – and must have seen a look of distress on my face.

"Bella? Are you all right? Do you need to sit?" She rapidly fired off questions.

Before I could even respond, Aria was leading me over to a fallen tree branch that was thick enough for me to sit on.

"Aria, I'm fine! Honestly. I was just a little worried that I… wouldn't find this place again." I told a half-truth.

As Aria stared at me, I couldn't help but feel that she knew more than what I was telling her.

I looked away from my sister and took in our surroundings. The forest all looked the same to me. Trees, grass, dirt, mud, rocks… greens and browns mixing together.

It was as I was taking my second glance around that I noticed a sort of arch made of the two trees farthest from us. I stared at it, trying to reconcile this with the image from my memory.

"BELLS!"

"What?" I snapped tearing my eyes away briefly to take in the incredulous look on my younger sister's face before turning back towards the subtle tree arch.

"Bella, I've been trying to get your attention for the past couple of minutes but you were off in your own world. Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I muttered distractedly.

"Okay… maybe we should head back now."

"No!" I exclaimed turning towards her.

"Bells? What is it?" Aria asked. I could tell she was concerned but I barely concentrated on that.

"I think…" I started, effectively quieting whatever Aria was going to say, "I think that we're close."

With that I got up from where I was sitting. I headed towards where I had been staring. Where I was sure our meadow was.

I followed Bella as she walked away from me. I had to stop as she did just before going through two trees that were slightly curved toward each other as if it was an arch or entry way. Bella took a deep breath before pushing forwards.

In just a moment we were both past the archway.

It was pretty anti-climactic.

From Bella's description I had been expecting this beautiful circular clearing filled with pretty flowers and the like with the sun filtering through giving it a glorious glow of lighting. Because that was exactly how Bella illustrated the meadow to me. But this was nothing as she had described. The grass and flowers here were dead. The sun was shining down so bright it was blinding – and not in the good glowing way – it was kind of stifling.

One look at Bella and I could tell she was seconds away from another breakdown.

She had fallen to her knees and was gazing around the place in misery. Bella was taking deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. I walked up to her and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"Come on. Let's just go." I whispered as I held out my hand to her. Bella grasped it and allowed me to pull her up.

I was already turning away when Bella stiffened, her gaze locking on something in the shadows of the trees on the other side of the meadow.

I whirled around and noticed it wasn't something but someone.

Before I could even make sense of what was happening, the figure moved forward slightly. I was able to make out that it was a guy and judging by his features, I had never seen him before. But apparently Bella had.

"Laurent?" Bella asked like she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.

"Bella?" He called back.

What followed was the most confusing conversation that I had ever heard. Laurent mentioned stopping by the Cullen household and noticed that it seemed abandoned. The scents there seemed faint as if the Cullens hadn't been there for months. Bella was then trying to convince him that though the Cullens didn't live here they visited often and that they were due for another visit soon enough.

But that was impossible. I must have heard wrong. There was no way this guy could tell that the Cullens had been gone for months based on their scents being faint! Right? And did this Laurent guy just call my sister a "pet" of the Cullens. What in the world was up with that?

I looked over at Bella in confusion. It was at this moment that I noticed Bella's eyes widen.

"Bella?" I whispered. But Laurent must have heard for his eyes snapped to meet mine.

His eyes were blood red.

"How rude of me. All this time talking, Bella, and you have yet to introduce me to your friend." Laurent said in response to my sister making her presence known to him. Or rather reminding him of her presence. I doubt he forgot she was there.

"Laurent this is Aria. Aria, Laurent." I replied. I wasn't about to tell him she was my sister. Aria had seemed to freeze up. I guess she noticed the blood red eyes.

I knew there was something different about him since the last time I had seen him. Well, not something different, he was exactly the same. And that was the problem. When Laurent said he was headed to the Denali coven, I had started to picture him with the same golden eyes as the Cullens – in the brief moments that I even thought of him.

But his eyes were blood red. Not the color of the "vegetarian vampires" that I had – and always will – care about.

"She seems to be in shock about the color of my eyes." Laurent said amused.

"Frankly, so am I." I spoke up, "I thought you had moved in with the Denali coven?" I asked curiously. It was also a way of keeping him talking but I knew I was only delaying the inevitable.

This line of questioning had him pausing.

"Yes. Well, the diet is a hard one to maintain. Especially to those of us who know no other way. It's easy to… fall off the wagon."

"So that's what you're chalking this up to? Falling off the wagon?" I asked, incredulously.

"I happen to think this fate is actually better for you, Bella. I am very thirsty and you and your friend were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. You see I was hunting. I really did not expect to run into you of all people." Laurent tried to reassure.

"What do you mean by this being a better fate for me?"

"You've made an enemy of Victoria. The things that she wants to do to you. To make him suffer for what he did to her. It really is kinder of me to quench my thirst than to allow Victoria to continue her plans."

"But… but… I didn't kill James. I…"

"Your Edward killed her James. Victoria planned on killing the one that Edward holds most dear. And that happens to be you." Laurent explained as if I was a small child.

He was getting bored by our conversation. It wouldn't be long before he pounced.

"I am terribly sorry for this Bella. And Aria." He said finally stepping into the light and letting the sun shine down upon him. Even though we were about to die, I couldn't help but admire the beauty of the diamond sparkle and rainbow effect of the sun hitting Laurent's skin. He assumed a crouching position but before he could move an inch there was movement from the side of us and then five huge, horse-sized wolves appeared and looked straight at the vampire across the clearing.

The vampire that was currently staring in horror at the wolves. It was almost as if Laurent was afraid of them. But that was ridiculous. He was a vampire; he could easily tear those wolves to shred! Right? Taking another look at the fear on his face I couldn't help but wonder if I was wrong. I knew that vampires could kill other vampires but I wouldn't think these wolves capable. Yeah, they were big but surely… they couldn't…

Laurent had turned tail and run. And the wolves followed. They didn't even spare a glance at Aria or myself.

Looking at my sister, I could tell she was shocked speechless – and motionless.

"Come on!" I said to her walking over and pulling on her arm leading her away from the meadow and back out into the forest. Aria blindly followed me, not saying a word. I could feel Aria stumble behind me a few times.

It didn't take long for us – well really it was me – to find a way out of the woods and reach the stretch of road where Aria parked her car.

I started pulling her towards her car.

"Maybe I should drive…" I said holding out my hand for the keys.

Aria snapped her head up to look at me. Her eyes, which had been wide since our encounter with Laurent, were now narrowed. Aria shook her head and headed straight for the driver's side door.

"Aria, I think that I should—

"Oh no. I want us to get as far enough away from here as possible. And Bella you drive slow. So I'll be driving." With that she got into the car and started it up.

"You coming?" She asked.

"Yeah…" I murmured. I quickly got into the passenger seat and buckled up.

Aria revved the engine and took off at once. She was speeding so fast it was comparable to being the passenger with one of the Cullens driving. In just minutes we were parked in the garage of the Marshall house. Aria had already gotten out the car and was actually headed to the main house.

"Aria?" I called following her. She briefly turned and hit a switch on a remote control that was attached to her keychain. The garage door that she drove through automatically went down and my sister whirled around heading for the wrap-around porch where the back doors were.

I timidly followed her. It wasn't my secret to tell but I had a feeling I would be revealing exactly who the Cullen family was to my sister.

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the long wait. I'll try to have the next chapter out sooner.

Leave a review and tell me what you think.

~Acacia Rose Masen