Yay, a new chapter. I'm pretty proud it took me less than a month, I must say. Enjoy. Review, too!


A Delphian Utopia

5

Zeus


He stood far from her, peering up at the moonless sky, the stars reflecting in his eyes. Bella would have thought that he would want to be as close to her as possible, cherishing her, savoring the time they had before their world was once again cast into turmoil. The peace never lasted long for them, and it was only a matter of time before Kale sought out what he believed was his.

"You can't even stand to look at me," she broke the silence with her sonnet of a voice, the tune that of tragedy "can't even look in my eyes anymore."

"It's difficult, yes," he conceded hardly above a whisper, "to see red instead of brown, to feel the frigidness of your skin, instead of the natural warmth. It kills me, Bella," he sighed softly, not even sparing a glance, "how much I don't recognize that body, that soul, the words you twist to sound so gruesome."

He turned toward her, his eyes the personification of heartbreak, "What happened to you down there Bella?"

She stood up in outrage. This, this was what she escaped for? To be interrogated, to be shunned by the only man she ever strived to live for? For the only vampire she would willingly give up her mortality?

She breathed deeply through her nose, pushing the anger, and her newly developed temper, to the pit of her stomach, "Kale… broke me, Edward," she whispered scathingly, "but I'm going to try to fix it. The only way I'll make it though, is with you. I've been alone for a long time, I can't take it anymore."

Doubt. There was doubt in his heart, but for what? Wasn't this the Bella who had smiled at him so sweetly in the meadow, who had accepted him so blindly into her heart? Edward suddenly felt abashed, and lowered his head. How could he be so callously hypocritical?

"Oh, Bella," he murmured, "I feel like such a fool."

She bit her lip, and took a careful step toward him. Almost immediately after sensing her movement, he turned from the window.

"We've both been fools, I think. I was too brazen, and you were…" she smirked, "well you were just a jerk. But, let's put it behind us, alright?"

He smiled too, her favored half-smirk that curled his lips just right. It was more appealing now, that she could see every slight motion of his face.

"I missed that smile," she murmured, tracing the hard contours of his mouth with dainty fingertips, "and these lips."

Edward chuckled softly, "They missed you too."

They kissed softly, lips like butterfly wings touching so gently upon each other.

When Bella opened her eyes, Edward's had darkened considerably, "You're hungry," she sighed, sweeping the hair from his eyes.

He nodded, "And you?"

She pulled back slightly to hold him at arms length, and her mouth twisted into an unattractive grimace, "Aren't I always?" her laugh was hollow, and the sound mirrored the emotion in her eyes. Edward felt a pang of something… perhaps guilt? Maybe, just maybe he could have saved her from all of this. Jacob had made that painfully clear. This would have never happened, if you would have left her alone from the beginning…


Kale O'Callaugh had never been more furious, or felt more betrayed, in his entire life.

"Where the hell is she?" he seethed, stepping into the moonlit Volterra, people giving him a wide berth for reasons that were unknown to them. Kale radiated power and danger, but only their subconscious could tell them why it was afraid… and it never would.

"Maybe she ran away," Avery chuckled, slipping on a dark cloak he had found in one of the Old Master's rooms. He believed it to be Aro's, but wasn't completely sure. The taste of the old man's essence was still fresh on the young vampire's canines.

"Shut up," Kale snapped, the possibility already having crossed his mind. Of course Bella had taken the chance to run. After that kiss… he hadn't ordered anyone to go after her. He had thought that maybe she'd come running back to him, apologizing, professing her love. Fool, he thought now, she wore her emotions on her sleeve, and you ignored them.

She was gone, but not for good. He wasn't some common vampire with a single coven of rogues. He was the leader of The New Order. There were no limits to his powers, and it was right time he began using them. He would send out a dispatch for Bella to Chicago, where they had first found her. And if she wasn't there, then the blood of innocents was on her hands, for he would tear up every city and town in the Americas until he found her.

"Kale."

The whisper came from his left, and Lorraine stepped from the shadows, her light, reddish hair like a beacon cutting through the black shadow of night. She surveyed her former lover with cold, hard, distant eyes, and he looked through her as if she weren't even there. Had he always looked at her that way, and she had only been too blind in lust to notice?

"Ray," he greeted her swiftly, his eyes catching on some unknown thing over her shoulder, "have you seen Bella? I know you met her. "

Lorraine looked away, over the clouds, trying to suppress the smug feeling that rose inside her at the thought of finally besting Kale at something, "I haven't seen her since she and I first met."

Kale's eyes narrowed into slits, and Avery stepped forward with mirth in his constantly joyful eyes.

"You lie, little traitor."


Their first hunt was glorious as it was gruesome. It was just the pair, as Edward proffered in secret, for his family not to witness her first refusal of the lesser ambrosia. It would be less sweet, more tasteless, and she would hate it.

Her dislike had been no secret. As soon as she had sunk her canines into the little wolf, she had puckered her lips and disengaged. Her coughing was acidic, and she glared at him when he made a sound in the back of his throat.

"It's bitter," she had complained, wiping her mouth.

"It's no human," he had argued, "or would you rather I find you some lone hiker?"

She had softened then, hurt by the insult, and he had apologized. It seemed neither, though, would cross the bridge that had been built between them.

Later, they lay in bed, both looking up at the canopy, afraid to speak for what the other might say. Slowly, so as not to disrupt their silence, Bella's hand found Edward's in the space between them. She twined her fingers around his, and brought it to her lips, kissing each digit in turn.

"I hate this," she suddenly murmured, turning around to face him, "I've never fought with you, have I? It's horrible."

He chuckled, softly rubbing her cheekbone with his knuckles, "Bella, we're not fighting, but you've been away from me for a year, what would you have me do? It's hard, just accepting you back into my arms. You're so… different."

"You loved my innocence, my kindness, and now it's gone," she muttered, her hope falling. Would he never love her the way he had?

"I did… love all those things. But you, your light is so much more endearing. I'll need time, Bella, and you will too, to get back who you used to be."

What if I can't?


"Looks like there's trouble on the horizon."

Alice chuckled, tracing the defined lines of Jasper's chest. The two laid in bed together after a couple of hours of 'Don't talk, Alice, you'll ruin the mood,' and 'My God, woman, they're fine… Me, on the other hand,'… Jasper was quite selfish when it came to her. Now, he ran his hands over her bare shoulders, fingering her bra strap, and then following a path down the curve of her waist.

"I don't see any," she whispered to him, finding his lips with hers in the dark, "trust me, I'd be the first to know."

"Alice," Jasper sighed, afraid of hurting her feelings, afraid of not telling her the truth, "there's so much you haven't been able to see. What if this is one of those things?"

She looked slightly offended, as he'd predicted, "There is no thing, Jazz. Whatever bad feeling you've got. Whatever vibes you're getting, they're just anxiety. Now that everything is starting to get back to normal… I haven't seen even the slightest bit of trouble in our futures."

His thumb was making little circles on her naked skin, just above her hip, "Alice," he chuckled darkly, "darling, don't you think you're being a little naïve? As vampires, we're under new law; we're being exposed as we speak. Things are going to fall, and fall fast."

She was silent for a moment, her fingernails whirling little designs in his skin, "We won't fall off the edge for a while, Jasper. We'll survive. I never said that the future of the world wasn't grim."


It was a day that dawned in the middle of the night. The clouds were blankets of grey, and gloomy faces accompanied the dour mood. Bella was sitting on the front porch, admiring the way that she could be outside, be truly alone, without any eyes following her every move. Of course there was Edward, who had been attuned to her every second in the week since she had returned. As of yet, there had been no word from Kale, no daunting threats put in perspective for them.

The family was packing today though, trying to shift their troubles from one problem to another. Only, there were much too many to count. Their new place of residence had been easy to solve, however. At least, easy for most.

"Maybe we should just go to Forks," Emmett had offered a few nights before as they all congregated in the living room, "you know, back to the old house."

Carlisle had squashed this idea quickly, shaking his head, brows furrowed, "No. It'll be too easy… were anyone to come looking. And we don't want to put Charlie through anymore."

At her father's name, Bella's head jerked up from where it had rested on Edward's shoulder. His hand slid a fraction of an inch down her arm, and he stared at his father, giving him a murderous glare.

"Charlie?" Bella whispered, something fluttering weakly inside her, "he…"

"Father," Jasper murmured from beside her, his gaze still trained on the window, "he's your father."

"Right!" Bella said, looking back to Carlisle, "why can't we go back there?"

"It's too dangerous, Bel," Alice bit her lip as she addressed the brunette from her husbands other side, "and the werewolves will not welcome us back. The treaty's been broken, after all."

Bella wanted to ask what the treaty was, why werewolves had so much harboring hate towards them. Had she ever met a werewolf, and not known it? Had there been many in… Forks? Something at the edge of her memory demanded attention, but it slipped between her fingers every time she tried to grasp at it.

"So I can't--."

"See him," Carlisle cut her off, "no, Bella, I'm sorry."

"But…" she protested weakly, unable to come up with a good argument. She didn't want to disrespect Carlisle, either, so she scoured her mind for words, "but he… he probably thinks I left him!" her words hid a hint of desperation, "or did… did I get to say goodbye?"

"You left a letter," Edward whispered, "it was a beautiful letter, Bella. I'm sure he understood."

She shrugged, smiling a bit for Edward's benefit, "I guess… I'm lucky then."

Rosalie jumped at the chance to snipe her, "Luckier than any of us were."

Edward growled, the tension that had been bubbling in the last week, only folding as he showed, physically, his anger. Emmett tensed, wondering who exactly he would stand in front of. When Bella finally cracked from the sharp snipes of his wife, who would he protect? It was Bella after all, who was on the right side (wasn't she?) But then, Rosalie was his wife.

"Settle down, kids," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Carlisle nodded, "Yes, let's get back to the matter of our new location. Any further ideas than Forks?"

"Canada!" Alice chirped happily, "Yes, Whitehorse will do just fine."

"Whitehorse?" Rosalie snorted, "…ew."

"Near the border of Alaska, isn't it Alice? I believe we've passed through before…" Esme looked to Bella, "I hope you like snow."

The brunette rose her eyebrows and muttered a short 'I wouldn't know' at the same time Edward shook his head in the negative.

"I mean… I suppose you could enjoy it more now," he shrugged, smiling bemusedly and muttering, "you used to hate it."

Bella looked from Edward to Alice, smiling prettily, "Whitehorse sounds just fine."

So, they'd agreed on Canada. Today was moving day, and everyone was busy, bustling about with things to do.

Except me, Bella thought, sinking loser into her own embrace, of course I'm still the odd one out.

She scowled at Emmett, who was carefully juggling Edward's piano and his flat-screen television in both hands. He was smiling, that jerk, as he loaded them into the back of the moving truck they had purchased just this morning.

"Hey Bells," he said as he passed her moving back towards the front door. She narrowed her eyes at him, and his eyebrows rose, his laugh booming. Continuing into the house, he passed Edward who was balancing a rather large box of CD's and a few suitcases in the cradle of his arms.

"Looks like someone's not getting any tonight," Emmett chuckled, and Edward's impassive expression fell, becoming troubled as he spied Bella, still sitting on the front stoop. She was brooding, he could tell by the sour, nearly acidic expression splayed all across her delicate features.

He walked by her carefully, almost as if he were treading on glass, and made sure his things settled carefully in a corner of the truck. Bella had not moved when he took the few steps back toward her. It was almost as if she were being stubborn, not looking at him, and not even breathing judging by the stillness of her chest. There was a storm in her eyes, a rage that was barely contained, always present. Edward couldn't figure out if it was the circumstances that had it so visible, or simply that her eyes would always be that way.

He hoped for the lesser of two evils, the former would be greatly acceptable.

"Bella?" he asked slowly.

Her eyelids fell further, and she pinched her lips, "You think me still human Edward, is that it? Or do you have some kind of superiority complex, where the man just has to do everything for the woman in a relationship?"

Suddenly, as if realizing her hardness, her unwarranted attitude, she softened, looking up at him with strangely colored eyes, "Why won't you let me do anything?" Her eyes startled him for a moment. They were still very much burgundy, but an undercurrent of gold lay there. It made them look almost back to the brown she had once possessed. As a human.

"I just…" he sighed hopelessly, taking a seat beside her on the steps, "Bella, I do still think of you as human, because, I didn't change you. Carlisle, Alice, we all held no part in it. I believed you to be dead, Bella, and my mind… it still thinks of you as fragile, as porcelain that, if not handled carefully, will break."

She looked over at him, her beauty disarming. His face was between her hands before he could blink and she was pressing her forehead to his, "I've lost my warmth, my blush, my weaknesses. Please, please see me for what I truly am Edward. We won't survive if you don't."

We won't survive.


It had taken six hours to reach Canada, to reach Whitehorse, and Edward watched in amusement as Emmett was chased down the corridor of the hotel by Alice. The two had always had some sort of sibling rivalry, something that was only enhanced in a more violent sense by Rosalie and Edward's.

The blond appeared by his side almost as if her name had been called, "Which room do you want?"

He plucked a key from her at random, nodding curtly as she walked towards Alice and Emmett. There was some argument there about the pool—the hot tub, more accurately—that had sent little Alice over the edge, and Emmett was in her line of fire. Bella's hand was tight in his and he glanced down at the card envelope in his hands. Two nights in a hotel, while Esme and Carlisle decided on a home. They were doing that now, a few towns over in Whitehorse, choosing the place where they'd live.

Bella smiled, a little devilishly, and nudged Edward with her elbow.

"Let's go… unpack."

They hadn't been able to get rooms on the same floor, except for two of them, but it turned out that Edward's draw had been the one on the fifth floor, the highest floor. Away from everyone else.

"Of course," he grinned, leaning down to kiss her forehead, leading her towards the elevators. Once inside, Bella relaxed more into his chest, toying with the buttons of his shirt. A serene expression was on her face, one that Edward rather enjoyed. They couldn't not touch each other, it seemed, as Edward's hand was glued to her hip, her hair, and hers was similarly roaming about his chest, sticking mostly to the topmost button of his blouse.

The elevator dinged and a couple stepped inside, accompanied by a child.

Bella's nostrils flared, inhaling the scent like the most elusive of perfumes, and her throat constricted in painful way. Though they had stopped outside of town, just for Bella to sate herself, she still felt the withdrawals. Edward, in a swift motion, put himself between the couple and Bella, his hold on Bella's arm a little more than aggressive. She would never forgive herself for robbing the light from a child's eyes.

"It's cold here," the little one, who mayn't have been older than seven, snuggled into her mother's long trench coat. She was beautiful, as most children were, with wide green eyes and a plait of blond hair.

Her mother merely smiled, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "It's night time," she offered, "the morning wasn't as cold, sweetie. You'll get used to it."

"Don't forget," the father put in, glancing swiftly at the two beautiful people who accompanied them, "you can't make snow angels in Sand Diego." His eyes lingered on Bella, not in a perverse way, but an appreciating glance, a dazed one. It was normal, she conceded as she turned away from him in physical pain now, normal. Like an unsuspecting fly to an Venus Flytrap.

She breathed through her mouth, and when she could taste their essence in the air, not at all. Edward kept her sane, she realized, kept her from splattering the blood of the innocent all over the tiny cavern of the elevator. Soon, almost in a daze, they were gone. Bella was also slightly intoxicated by their scent, and she stumbled as Edward tried to give her some space.

"That was very difficult for you," he murmured, "I'm sorry. I should have realized that this--,"

"Would be an exceptional experience for my control," Bella was standing suddenly straight, taking a deep breath of the remaining aroma, "I'm fine."

He smiled, a true, half-smile, and laid a kiss to her forehead, murmuring, "You're very strong."

She nodded, relaxing back into him, waiting one more floor until she could have him all to herself. No one else joined them on their journey upwards, and they reached their room in a little under five minutes. There was plush, eggplant colored couch, and a television nearly the size of Emmett's in the truck. The furniture was made out of faux dark wood, and a door to the right led to the bedroom. Bella peeked inside, seeing another small television, and a King Size bed twice the size of hers back in Volterra. A child-like smile appeared as she danced to the other side of the room, her eyes widening at the gigantic tub in the bathroom.

"This room is amazing," she came up behind Edward in the bedroom, slipping her arms around his waist, "very luxurious." He was facing their large, window, his fingers sliding away from the curtains and coming to settle over Bella's hands clamped about his torso.

"Rosalie and Alice do have their demands," he chuckled, turning in her embrace. She straightened, her hands sliding up to his neck instead.

"Well we'd do better not to insult their indulgences," she whispered, pressing her lips to his. Their kiss, as none before them, was passionate and aggressive. Bella felt an emotion, hidden beneath layers of carnal thirst, rise within her. Had kissing Edward—being with him—always been such a rush to the head? A disarming thrill of adrenaline?

"You give me butterflies," she admitted bashfully, pulling him with her to the bed, "silly, isn't it?"

"No," he reassured her, "you give me the same feeling. It's disarming, Bella, what you do to me."

To Be Continued


Now I never meant,
To do you wrong,
That's what I came here to say.

But if I was wrong,
Then I'm sorry,
I don't let it stand in our way.


Who saw the Ray/ Kale thing? Haaa. I probably fooled no one, but just let me live in my delusions for a bit. Anywho, Review. The next chapter will continue from this point, be warned. : )