When I opened the door, I was surprised to find a folded piece of yellowing paper on my door mat. The outside was addressed 'To Becky'. The writing was neat and elegant, a slightly gothic twist to the letters.

I dumped the piano books on the hall table and picked up the note, crossing into the living room and flopping down on the couch before I unfolded it.

My heartbeat picked up as I read the note.

It has come to my attention that you have been spending time with a young lady by the name of Alice Cullen. Judging by what my guard heard of your conversation, and the manner in which Miss Cullen left your home on Wednesday night, I am sure you will be aware of what she and the rest of her family really are. You will also be aware, no doubt, of who I am and why I am writing to you.

I would very much like to meet you personally. Call the number at the bottom and my secretary will make you an appointment.

You would be wise not to delay, my dear Becky.

We do not offer second chances.

Yours,

Aro of the Volturi

I was utterly frozen for one half second. Then the panic washed over me.

What was I going to do? If I didn't go to Volterra, Aro would send the guard here, and that could not be allowed to happen.

But he had said his guard saw me and Alice, and heard us talking. What were they even doing here?

I decided it wasn't worth worrying about until I absolutely had to. I hadn't had a visit from Lillian since I arrived, so everything must still be on track. My focus now should be getting to Italy and back again before Monday without alerting a certain bronze-haired vampire or his easily panicked girlfriend. If Edward wouldn't let Bella go 15 miles down to La Push, he certainly wasn't going to let me go half way across the globe to visit vampire royalty. Not that I was as fragile as Bella was, but he would still kick up a fuss.

I sighed. It would be impossible to keep this from them. All I could hope for was convincing them not to follow me when I went. And I would go; I had to, to protect them.

The number at the bottom of the note was fairly ordinary, but my fingers shook as I dialled.

"Hello, Volterra Enterprises, how may I help you?" a pleasant female voice answered.

"Hi, this is Rebecca Wainwright, I've been asked to make an appointment with Mr Aro?" I made my sentence a question; as if I wasn't quite sure I had the right name. Which was true; I didn't know if he used an alias as part of the business façade.

"Of course! We've been waiting for your call." The voice was light and bubbly, the Italian accent prominent but not overwhelming. "We have an opening at 5:00 pm on Saturday, will that be ok?"

I mentally flipped through all the relevant flight schedules, looking for something that could get me to Italy in time and back to America as soon after the meeting as possible. There were plenty to choose from, but, of course, with the nine hour time difference between Italy and western America, I would have to leave tomorrow afternoon to make it with a reasonable allowance for sleep. Still, it was possible. I thought through all this so quickly, the receptionist probably didn't even notice my hesitation.

"Yes, that will be fine." I said, making sure to sound light and positive.

"Wonderful," the voice replied, and I could hear the smile in it, "we look forward to your visit."

"Thank you," I replied pleasantly before I hung up and hurried upstairs to pack.

***

I knew Edward and Alice could feel my edginess the next day, but I took no notice of their sideways glances and suspicious looks, focussing on acting normal for Bella.

When I got home, I sat down at my desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. Undoubtedly, someone would call at some point this evening, and if I didn't answer they might decide to come over. I had to leave some explanation of my sudden disappearance, and the truth seemed like the best plan; I would never be able to come up with a feasible excuse, and, knowing Alice, she would probably search the house just to satisfy her own curiosity.

Alice, I wrote, reasoning that she would probably be the one to come.

I apologise for disappearing so suddenly, but I have a rather pressing problem that requires my immediate attention. All you need to know is:

I will be out of the country for approximately three days, and I should return sometime on Sunday night.

When I say the problem requires my immediate attention, I do mean mine and no one else's. That means you don't follow me, and you stop anyone else who tries; I don't care if you have to tie Edward to a tree, NO ONE is to follow me.

You have to keep this from Bella at all costs. I am positive she will panic and that is never a good thing. If you can't keep it from her, at least keep her calm (Jasper may come in handy for that one).

If you really want to know more, there is a note, addressed to me, in the top drawer of my desk that should explain everything.

If in doubt, text me. My mobile number is on a post-it by the phone.

I think that's everything you need. One again, I'm sorry I can't give you a better explanation, and please, please,PLEASE don't follow me. I'm doing this for your own good. If I don't go, the problem will come here, and that is a very bad thing if I want to keep things on track for Eclipse.

See you at school Monday.

Becky

I folded the paper in half, wrote 'Alice' on the outside and propped it up against the phone on the hall table. I wrote my number on one of the pink heart shaped post-its I kept there for writing notes and stuck it to the receiver. Then I took my suitcase and travel bag from where they sat waiting at the foot of the stairs, and flew around to the garage, locking the door behind me.

I pulled out before stopping the car and stowing my bags, then locking the garage door and doing a last sweep of the house.

When I was satisfied that everything was in place, I climbed back into the car and sped along my driveway, turning onto the road at the end and heading for the airport in Seattle.

***

I was waiting for my connection in New York when my phone buzzed. Ah ha! Someone must have noticed I was gone. I pulled it out and... Yep, 'Incoming call, Alice Cullen' lit up the screen. I hit the answer button and put it to my ear.

"Hi Alice."

"BECKY ARE YOU TOTALLY CRAZY?!"

I winced and held the phone away as Alice's shrill voice screeched at me. Even with the speaker an inch and a half away from my ear, I could still pick out each word with perfect clarity.

"YOU ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF YOUR MIND IF YOU THINK YOU CAN GO INTO THE VOLTURI STRONGHOLD AND COME OUT ALIVE YOU HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND NO EDWARD I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!"

"Please Alice; you're giving me a head ache!" I pleaded as quietly as I could, not wanting to draw attention to myself in the crowded departure lounge. It seemed to work, because Alice took a deep breath and continued in a slightly more measured tone.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't send Emmet and Jasper after you right this second."

"How about two?" I asked, and then continued before she could respond. "One, I do not need their help, because I am not some helpless human, and you know better than anyone what I am capable of. And two, if they end up in Volterra, Aro is going to know about it, and anything that reminds him about you guys is a very bad thing indeed."

There was silence for a few seconds as Alice took all this in.

"Why is it bad?" she said, her voice quiet and serious.

"What?"

"You heard me Becky. Why is it a bad thing if Aro is reminded about our family?"

I chewed on my lip, trying to come up with a way to explain it without giving anything away. When I was fairly sure I had it right, I spoke slowly and deliberately, trying to convey what I couldn't say.

"If he is reminded of you, he is undoubtedly going to be reminded of Bella, and a certain agreement you made with him a few weeks ago. If that happens, he might decide to check on you earlier than he first planned. That's another reason why I'm doing this of course; if I don't go to him, he will come to Forks, or send someone, and he already knows I'm involved with you. Look, Alice, I really wish I could explain all of this; but I can't, not without revealing the future, and there are some things even you can't be allowed to know about."

Another silence. Then the sound of the phone being passed from one hand to another.

"Becky, Alice is translating the Declaration of Independence into German in her head. What is she trying to hide?"

I smirked. Typical Alice. Typical Edward too, always wanting to know everything.

"I would guess that she is avoiding telling you what happened Wednesday night after we went shopping, but she shouldn't be, because I want you to know that I can take care of myself."

"Who are you trying to protect Becky?" Edward asked, and his question threw me for a second.

"What?"

"You heard me. You're obviously trying to protect someone, but who is it?"

I had to think about that for a minute.

I was shocked by a voice in my head, loud and clear like the person was standing right next to me.

You can't keep this from him Becky, Lillian's voice said, echoing around my head, you're going to have to let a little bit slip. Not too much, mind. Time scales, deadlines, important dates, but no specifics. Just do what you did with Jacob and you'll be fine.

Are you sure? I asked her hesitantly. I had to be positive that this was right.

I'll stop you if you go wrong. Have faith Becky; let the powers of the multiverse guide you.

"Becky?" Edward asked. His voice was low and nervous.

I took a deep breath. "Listen to me Edward, and listen carefully. What I am about to tell you must stay between us, got it? No one can know besides you, me and Alice."

There was a short pause. Then Edward spoke, his voice sombre now, serious.

"We're listening."

I took another breath to steady myself.

"Ok. I can only give you the timing; I can't tell you anything in detail. It's early April now. Eclipse is set to start in about a week, and then it's pretty much solid story from there to next January. None of the Volturi is supposed to be anywhere near Forks until June, and, if all goes as it should, they won't even think of visiting you specifically until August. If this goes wrong there will be major mix ups in the space-time continuum and I know that sounds cheesy but it's the truth. If I don't go to Volterra, they come to me. That is a very bad thing, because it throws everything off schedule. And of course, I would get the blame because it would be my fault. You asked who I'm trying to protect. I'm trying to protect myself. I'm trying to protect you, and Bella, and the people of Forks. I'm trying to protect the entire multiverse, and that isn't something that's easy to do. I'm risking so much just by telling you this; I can't even explain it right. To put it as simply as possible, I would risk more by not going than I am by going. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful, but there's no help for it."

The tannoy pinged, announcing my flight.

"Look, I have to go, my connection is boarding. I'll see you in school on Monday, ok?"

"Sure." Alice answered, having apparently reclaimed the phone. Her voice shook slightly. Obviously the new information had had an adverse effect on her nerves.

"Text me if you need me." I said, and then hung up as I approached the gate.

***

It was dark when the plane finally landed at the airport in Florence.

My car was waiting for me, not just an identical copy, but the exact same pink Mini I had left in Seattle. I wasn't usually a selfish person, I liked to do things for others rather than myself, but sometimes even I couldn't resist doing something just for the fun of it.

I climbed into the driver's seat, popping the roof open before starting the engine and going on my way.

I had found a little village, about an hours drive from Volterra, with a small hotel, and had made reservations there over the phone while I waited for my first flight. It took me two hours to get there, for I wasn't in a hurry and took every opportunity to admire the beautiful landscape around me. In my own world, Italy was the farthest I had been from home, on a family holiday to Tuscany when I was 13. We went in May, during a heat wave, and the sun shone everyday. It was beautiful, but good lord, it was hot. We had spent most of the time in the pool.

As I topped the last hill before my destination, I caught sight of the city, perched atop the next hill along. It was like every other town and city I had passed. There was nothing in its appearance to suggest it was any different from the others, and, to most people, it wasn't.

Tomorrow I would enter that city. The very real possibility that I wouldn't come back out should have terrified me. But all I felt was gratitude.

I was grateful that I was able to do this for my friends.

I was grateful that Alice and Edward had listened to me and stayed in Forks.

I was grateful for the time that I had had here.

And, most of all, I was grateful that even a serious injury would send me home, to my parents, and my friends, and my Alex.

I was still thinking about Alex as I lay in an unfamiliar bed half an hour later. As I drifted to sleep, I dreamt that I was home. I dreamt of half term in Cornwall, of walking along a beach at sunset, hand in hand with the most perfect boy on the planet. I dreamt of playing the piano for Eileen in the ballroom at Parks House. I dreamt of singing as Alex played his guitar, and of him singing to me. I imagined what he would say if he was here with me, what he would think of the Cullens, and what he would think of what I was doing now.

I could almost hear his voice, like he was lying next to me.

I can't say I'm happy about this, Becks; but I trust you. I know you can take care of yourself, and I know you'll come back to me, because you always do. God knows why; I've never done anything good enough to deserve you. I have faith in you. I know you can do this. You've gotten yourself out of tighter spots than this before, and I know you'll do it again. Oh, and by the way...

I love you.

I smiled in my sleep, content in my dreams of my home and my Alex.

My heart.

My soul.

My one true love.