When Edward eventually reached school on foot, still ten minutes early, he nearly toppled over his own feet at the scent that bombarded him wherever he went. Unused to it again, he had to fight against his hunger for the first few lessons, wishing he'd gone hunting that morning instead of taking an extended walk.

He was pretty sure he was going to give half the school nightmares if he kept walking around with, what he could only assume to be, coal black eyes. Everyone was giving him stranger looks than usual, and avoiding him in corridors as if he was carrying a gun. But every worry of that flooded away while he was near Biology and finally twigged what his hunger-clouded brain couldn't immediately comprehend - Bella was here!

Or, at least had been. Her scent was a little old, suggesting she'd been walking the school corridors at night. He couldn't fathom why.

True realisation of his stupidity didn't hit him until lunch though. All his siblings were sitting stiffly, even for vampires, as if waiting for an oncoming outburst they'd need to quickly calm. Alice's panicked eyes, and the sudden vision of Bella crawling into a small cave (that he actually knew) floated from her brain into his. Seriously, he still didn't get it. Not until, in the vision, Bella settled herself in to get comfortable and faced the entrance of the cave - Alice's perspective in the vision.

Bright red eyes seemed to stare straight into his soul, accusing, angry and confusion.

"No," It was whispered, completely inaudible to the humans darting around his frozen frame in the entrance to the cafeteria, yet it felt as though he'd shouted it. The feeling of nausea and breathlessness came over him (he knew it was all in his head, but began hyperventilating none the less), his hands shook from emotions he couldn't pinpoint. Next thing he knew, Jasper was dragging him out to the school car park, and Alice was signing all five of them out with family tragedy as an excuse.

Family tragedy. It sounded wrong yet so right to him. She was a part of his family. He'd started to form ideas of loving her further, perhaps even in an emotional and physical relationship (since he'd never had one), marrying her and changing her himself. If she'd consented, of course. He was a gentlemen after all.

The ideas of giving her the pampered lifestyle he felt she secretly wanted, and in his opinion perfectly deserved, flooded away from him. She was a vampire, they could now be together forever if that was what she wanted. But, she'd had the chance at human experiences neither of them had had, and how he so wanted to give them to her.

If he could've wept, he would've, as he was taken home by Jasper like a little child being picked up by their parents.

It wasn't until well into the night his family let him leave the house - hopeful that the night would hide anything stupid he did.

Idly, Bella picked some mud out of her nails. She was quite proud of herself for not getting her clothes dirty yet, besides a bit of dust from the rocks she sat on. Her nails had paid the muddy price, but she could hear running water not far from her so she wasn't too bothered.

A glance out the little cave showed she still had a few hours until it was dark enough for her to comfortably go out. It hadn't been that sunny of a day, being completely overcast, but she still hadn't wanted to take any risks where the infamous Jasper Whitlock was concerned.

Bella shivered, in fear. All her life, she'd feared her Mistresses; it had ensured she now respected them, and knew not to have to fear them unless she did wrong by them. However, the horrifying stories Mistress Lucy would sometimes whisper in the night still gripped her heart in terror.

The Life of Jasper Whitlock, the Tiger of the South.

She was lost in her thoughts, trying to remember all the tales Mistress Lucy had told them at night. They were fuzzy, as she had been quite young for a few, but she think she managed to commit them well enough to her vampire memory. She could always request Mistress Lucy tell her again after all this was over.

Oh, she remembered, she couldn't do that. After the war, her Mistresses had said they would be free. The thought of suddenly being alone almost terrified her, and reminded her of why she was in Forks in the first place.

Leaving the little cave behind, she retraced her tracks back to the school. It was her only lead to the enemy, she just hoped her shield power was good enough to keep her hidden. With the intense hunger she'd had for the first few days on her rebirth, and the weeks she'd spent being ill beforehand, she assumed her power was quite out of practice.

For years, she hadn't known she was any different to her siblings. It wasn't until she was 8 and her Mistresses brought home a new vampire sister that they found out she had a power. Her new sister had the power to influence another person actions, with or without them noticing if she wanted. At the time, Bella's sister had yet to have time to practice her gift, and so it was obvious if she was controlling someone.

Her Mistresses were having Bella's new sister practice her gift quite often, one day Bella happened to be the test subject yet nothing happened.

After further experimentation, the Mistresses trained Bella to use her gift even as a human. If she knew the name of someone, she could allow them into her shield and either protect them or allow them into her head. If she didn't know their name, she naturally registered them as a stranger and blocked them. As a human, she could only block mentally if she didn't know them, but had found she could momentarily physically shield herself if she knew them.

She had just under a week still, she could stay a few days and practice her skill on some humans. In theory, her ability to physically shield herself should have improved, but she couldn't tell without someone telling her. For that, she needed someone she knew.

The only option to her was to hope she was correct in there being a spy at the house of the enemy.

With that concluded, she hunted out the scents of the enemy a nd carefully followed their trail until se could just hear them talking. Climbing up a tall tree to hide in the canopy, she carefully settled in to watch for one of her siblings.

Two hooded figures of a muddy brown stood as statues in a large clearing somewhere in Canada. They were waiting, rather impatiently. Yet, they already waited well over one hundred years. They could wait a few moments longer.

"They're not coming." Nettie eventually choked out.

Lucy shook her head. "They will - either to kill us, join us or give us permission. They have to come, to do otherwise would be an act against their consolidation. The Romanians would leap upon it faster than a newborn to their first meal!"

Nettie nodded in understanding, then her ears picked up the sound of approaching feet. "You are right again, sister." She tried to straighten up a little, her gargolian posture always felt to be a hindrance to her in such situations.

Three figures of red and black floated slowly towards the mucky pair. Aro, Jane and Alec.

"Dear Nettie, Lucy. Our greetings to you." Aro's soft and icy voice stretched across the few feet between them once the three halted.

"Aro," Both vampires greeted back.

Jane's eye twitched, and suddenly Nettie was on the ground screaming and writhing! Just as quickly as the attack began, it ended.

Aro's smile faltered a little. "I see your shield is not with you... Girls, you didn't lie to us, did you?"

Lucy helped Nettie to her feet, and took over the talking even if it was the most difficult for her. "We wouldn't dare lie to you, when you can look at her in our eyes for yourself." Previously, Aro has refused looking into their minds personally after hearing of their powerful shield. He wanted his first sighting of her to be with his own eyes. "You will receive her once the battle is done. As agreed, if you permit the battle."

Aro sighed wistfully. "My friend Carlisle, he's a good man. However, he harbours many powerful vampires in his Coven. It's in my personal interest that they happen to... suddenly disappear."

Nettie and Lucy bowed their heads, "Understood."

Aro clapped his hands with a grin. "Excellent, so glad to have two loyal Queens."

Anyone else chuckle at Edward the 100+ year old virgin?