A/N – Thanks again for reading. This is a shorter chapter, but it starts to answer some of the questions - and also raises a few new ones. Does anyone recognise the reference to Stregoni Benefici? ^_^

Cheers,
~ BlackImprint

All Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Jacob POV

The owner of the golden eyes was wearing a long hooded cloak. Apart from the fact that he looked a lot like Obi-wan Kenobi, I didn't know what to think. The only ones I knew with eyes like that were the Cullens and the Denalis. At least the eyes belonging to this guy weren't red.

I looked at him - he was pale and looked too perfect to be real. He stood unnaturally still as he watched us. There was no sickeningly sweet vamp smell, but he looked so much like a bloodsucker. Why were these tribespeople harbouring a vampire? Was he a prisoner? Or was he one of them? And was he a bloodsucker or not? I was so confused now. Ugh, my head fucking hurt again.

I looked around the tent and saw masses of books piled up all over the place. There was a large table in one corner, with more books and papers piled high. There were some fancy looking writing things too. Comfortable looking cushions were scattered throughout the tent's interior. I saw Honiahaka bow to him and then back up to stand respectfully watching him. Okay, so Obi-wan Kenobi was definitely not a prisoner then.

Obi-wan pushed the hood down to his shoulders and stepped towards us for a better look. I tensed at his approach. I still didn't know whether he was a bloodsucker or not, but the wolf inside seemed to be fairly sure what it thought. I felt my hair stand on end, and a low growl rumbled in my chest. I pushed Nessie behind me and lowered my body into a defensive stance. This guy had given me no reason to be anxious about him, but I couldn't help the reaction – it was instinctual - like a reflex from the wolf inside me.

"o`¬#uycha`biy`¬?" he said to us. I stared at him blankly. Dude, we don't speak alien.

"o`¬#uycha`biy`¬?" he tried again, this time a little louder.

I still had no fucking idea what he was saying. "Hey man," I muttered. "saying it louder won't make us understand you. We're not deaf, we just don't speak your language."

The booming laugh took me by surprise. "Aha! So it is English that you speak." What the..? Did a universal translator just kick in? Faaaaa-arck me! Obi-wan just spoke English! I stood there dumbfounded. How the hell did he know English?

"Who are you? What are you?" I demanded. He looked first at me and then at Ness, and then back again. His eyes narrowed as he contemplated us.

"Perhaps, my young friend," he countered, "that is a question I should be asking of you."

'Hooded figure' POV

As they stood there, I saw the shadow of a giant russet wolf super-imposed over the male, and a strange glowing fade in and out around the female's body. The wolf-shadow had snarled at me, as I heard a low growl rumble dangerously in the male's chest.

In all my centuries, I had never seen anything like this. They definitely were not of this realm. I wondered if they had travelled through from the other world, but the only way to do that would have been to open the portal. And the lone copy of the spell to do that - other than the one I had committed to memory - was safely hidden away.

Before I closed the corridor joining the two worlds, I had left my grimoire in the care of my trusted friend, the Stregoni Benefici. The book was too dangerous to have fall into the wrong hands, and since it couldn't be destroyed, I did the only thing I could - I sealed the pathway between this world and the other, so that the warlord Drago would never be able to use the book's secrets. And then I had summoned all my power to draw down a veil over the supernatural power in this realm. This was the only way for all of us to live in peace. It had taken almost all of my power, but I had done it. I did it not only for her, for my beloved, to keep her safe, but also to protect what was at stake. As the years went by I grew to love her people as if they were my own. She had long since passed away, but I had lived on. I stayed on here with them, and they had accepted me as one of their own. As their generations came and went, I continued to protect them.

When I was human I seemed to be able to affect the things around me. But after the change happened, this ability manifested itself as an ability to see beyond time and space, to summon and control the elements, and to shape the world around me. Some had called it 'magic', but in truth it was just my gift. Once the supernatural power in this world had been suppressed, I expected that I would begin to age along with my beloved. But I didn't. I could also still sense and see things that most couldn't. And what I saw before me now had me mystified.

As far as I knew, I was the only one of my kind on this side of the portal, and the only supernatural being other than Drago. But these two standing in front of me now were definitely mystical creatures of some kind. It was time to find out who, or what, I was dealing with. And what their intentions were towards my people.

Nessie POV

The first thought that ran through my mind when I saw his face clearly, was how much he seemd like an older version of Grandpa Carlisle. When he dropped the hood back, I saw the face of someone seemingly in his early forties - but beyond that I could feel the centuries of wisdom in his warm golden eyes. I wondered if he was a vampire. I couldn't smell anything, but if my theory was right and Jake and I were experiencing this world without our usual supernatural abilities, I wouldn't pick up the scent anyway.

If he was indeed a vampire, he was definitely gifted. I knew he could tell there was something different about Jake and I. Being able to pick that I was different was a no-brainer – I looked nothing like the inhabitants here. But Jake, on the other hand, blended right in. I had seen the golden eyes narrow as the enigmatic stranger contemplated us, like there were a thousand unanswered questions ticking over in his brain.

"I am Renesmee," I began, "and this is Jacob. We have come from- " but Jake interrupted me. I glared at him. Grrrrrr... I didn't like being cut off like that.

"We are lost," Jake stated simply. I was still glaring at him, but he silenced me with a stern look. He obviously thought we should be a bit wary and not tell them everything. Personally, I couldn't see the harm in it. They had saved us from getting mauled by a wild animal, and if anything had shown us nothing but kindness. But seeing as how us being 'lost' was my fault, I decided to back down and go along with Jake's judgement.

The man looked at us kindly. "Renesmee," he said looking at me, and then directing his attention to Jake, "and Jacob. I know both of you are not of this world – do not ask how I know, but trust that I do. I will leave it to you to share your story when you are ready to do so. Accommodation has been set up for you a short distance from here. You are welcome to stay as long as you wish – and as long as you respect our ways. Do no harm to us, and we will not feel it necessary to defend ourselves."

He turned to the copper-skinned man who had been quietly standing in the corner, and I recognised him as one of the hunters who had found us in the forest. I realised then that the hunter had been standing guard over this whole exchange, keeping watch and protecting the older man. "You obviously have many questions, as do I," he said, motioning to the hunter to take us out of the tent. "But conversation is a two-way street. When you are ready to talk, we will resume this discussion." He began to usher us out. "I trust you will find your accommodations satisfactory."

"Wait," Jake interrupted. "We told you our names. The least you can do is tell us yours. Who are you?"

The topaz eyes looked at us, unflinching. "In this realm, I am known as the Cold One," he answered, "but my people call me Merlin."