Here's chappie number 8! :D Sorry if you see any grammatical errors; I'll try to look for any and fix them later.

Enjoy! xxx


Chapter 7: Too Perfect For Words

Story Song: "Love Song Requiem" by Trading Yesterday


The moonlight shined from above as my mind went blank. It took me a moment to respond. "N-no, actually; I haven't."

Rosalie eyed me up and down and I felt myself shrink under her scrutiny. She was dressed as if she were an explorer. She wore tight fitted tan pants with trendy boots that came up to just below her knees. Her dark jacket had little white ruffles coming out of the front with a white laced scarf to match.

I could only imagine how ridiculous she must think of me in my obviously fashionable nightgown.

She smirked. "Well, I can see why that is. You don't look like you get out much often," she stated, taking obvious note in my dress. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. I was about to tell her off when she spoke yet again. "And I'm quite sure dearest Edward only keeps you around because he plans to eat you later. Although I do not know why… you don't seem like you'd taste very good."

"You don't know me," I threw back. I had planned to sound all mighty and strong, yet my voice came out weak and fragile.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "What's to know?" she mocked. She strode past the bear and I, reaching into the branches behind me. She tossed me Edward's jacket.

"You would have forgotten that, now wouldn't have you?" I shakily took the material from her hands, refusing to meet her judging gaze.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Emmett was the one who saw you leave it." I looked up at the bear and stared into its black eyes. "He wanted to make sure you didn't leave without it." How in the world was a bear supposed to know that?

"Emmett wanted me to have it?" I asked, my voice full of doubt.

"Obviously." She pronounced the word as if I were a child learning it for the first time.

"And how, if you might be so kind to explain, does that work? How in the world is a bear supposed to know that I had accidentally left behind Edward's jacket, realized that I shouldn't have, and then want to make sure I got it?" My voice had grown bitter towards the end and I was glad that it didn't sound intimidated anymore.

Silence filled the air until a strange sound came from the bear. Emmett was… laughing?

"What? How…?" What the heck?

The bear approached me and playfully nuzzled his nose against my stomach. I stumbled backwards, catching myself before I toppled completely over.

Rosalie gave a tiny smile before it was gone. "Emmett," she called. Both Emmett and I turned our attention back towards her.

She reached her hand out and gently stroked the bear's fur just behind its ears. "Emmett was once human," she explained. "But after being accused of assisting Aro, he was turned into a bear."

I stared wide eyed as the bear nodded.

"Why was he accused of assisting Aro?"

"Aro's men found Emmett one day while he was hunting, and Aro offered him a place in his guard if he were to spy on the prince of Forksvia for him. Emmett, however, being the hothead he is, refused and made a complete fool of himself in the process." She scowled and tugged on his ear. "And this is what you got, now isn't it?" she asked him.

"How did Aro manage to cast a spell on him? I didn't know vampires could do that."

"Edward's father isn't the only one with a witch, you know," she said.

My gosh. If Edward and I somehow managed to return to our original selves, what would happen to all the rest of them? I couldn't just leave everyone here without helping them. I would feel guilty for the rest of my life.

We would have to find a way to stop Aro himself.

"Rosalie?" I asked shyly. "Why does Aro do such things?"

She shrugged. "I guess I would too if everyone hated me as much as they do him."

"But he allows his kind to feed off of other villagers," I stated. "Of course people would hate him."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "That only happened after people made their hatred known."

I wonder what everyone did to him, I thought. I glanced down at Emmett and although he looked quite scary, I was sure he was grinning at me. I held out my hand and it was trembling lightly. It wasn't everyday someone stuck their hand willingly out in front of a bear.

"It's nice to meet you, Emmett." He made that strange laughing sound again and carefully placed his large paw in my hand. I shook it, giggling softly at how silly it all was.

I looked at Rosalie and wasn't surprised to find her face expressionless during our exchange. It seemed it would have to take a lot more for her not to despise me. She probably thought that because of us being here, the same fate that had fallen upon Emmett would fall upon her, too.

"Well, thank you Emmett, for making sure I didn't forget Edward's coat." I smiled at him. "And thank you, too, Rosalie, for telling me."

She gave me a curt nod before leaving back the way they came, Emmett on her heels.

"Well that wasn't weird at all," I muttered.

I walked back to the little cottage where we would be staying, pausing often to look at a strange plant, or just to admire the beauty of the landscape. It was quite hard to see in the dark, but I eventually made it back alive.

I walked casually into the cottage, my hair still wet and Edward's jacket hanging from my arm. "Hello, Bella."

I jumped at his voice being so near and my hand shot straight to my throat. I spun around to see Edward standing right behind me. "Geez, Edward, you scared me!" I laughed a little to get rid of my pounding heart.

He immediately apologized. "I'm sorry."

I smiled up at him, waving my hand flippantly. "No, no, it's alright. Nothing to apologize for, I was just startled."

Edward looked down, appearing ashamed. He reminded me of a little schoolboy who had just been caught pulling a girl's hair. I knew that if he could blush, he would be.

I patted his forearm, ignoring the shock and chill that ran through my fingers. "Where's everyone else?" I asked, realizing that we were, in fact, the only ones in the little space the cottage provided.

He shrugged. "Looking around, I guess." He passed by me, stopping to look out of a window at the moon. "Alice really seems to like Jasper," he noted.

I smiled. "Yes, she does." I strode over to one of the chairs, placing Edward's jacket on one of them and sitting in another. "What do you think of Jasper?" I asked.

He sighed, taking a seat in the chair across the small table from me. He gazed into my eyes, and I had to maintain my focus in order to not get lost in them.

"From what I know of him, he appears to be very calm and observant of others around him and very intelligent when it comes to war tactics," Edward said with a small smile.

I nodded. "That's good."

He looked down at his hands in his lap, and I looked at him. It was then that I noticed I hardly knew anything about him, other than how he became a vampire. "What do you like, Edward?"

His questioning eyes met mine. "What do I like?"

I nodded. "Yes. What are your… interests?"

He stared at me for a moment before looking back down again, releasing me from his intense watch.

"When I was human, I used to enjoy music. I loved to play the piano; it was my favorite way to pass the time." He exhaled deeply. "I also used to read a lot of great literature. Classical poems, riddles, mystery novels…" His lips curled upward as he spoke, but he wouldn't allow the grin I knew was hidden there to spread across his face.

"You used to?" I asked in a small voice.

When his eyes finally met mine once more, I wasn't expecting the sorrow his contained. "I haven't really gotten the chance to do any of those things since I became what I am." And then the sadness was gone, replaced by his anger.

His eyes and face darkened. "And I probably never will," he claimed bitterly.

I didn't want the traitor tears blurring my vision to escape, but one did, leaving an angry mark down my face.

"Edward, you're still the same person. You may have changed a bit physically, but you're still the same as you were before," I whispered. "Nothing will ever change that."

His hardened features softened as he gazed into my eyes. "How can you be so sure?" I noticed the little hope his voice held.

I smiled softly, causing the rest of my tears to fall. "I just do, Edward. I can see how happy you are when you talk about your past before all of this happened. I'm quite positive that you would still enjoy playing the piano or reading a book. Which means the rest of you is still in there somewhere because it never left."

And then he grinned. He actually, grinned! His teeth were so white and perfect, and I was right about what I had thought earlier. He was much more dazzling when he really made an effort to smile. And with that, there was no way that I couldn't grin back.

The door of the cottage burst open right then, and Seth popped out of nowhere, sitting right on the table between Edward and I. I rolled my eyes at him.

"You never fail at interrupting during these times, do you?" I teased. Edward chuckled and I tried to peer around Seth to see if his grin was still there.

"What?" Seth asked, chewing around a loaf of bread. I laughed.

"Nice to see you found yourself food. Do you mind sharing where you got it?" Edward chuckled.

"Never!" Seth leapt off the table and dashed out the door again.

I immediately looked at Edward and his grin was still there. I smiled warmly at him. "Don't worry," Edward said. "I read his mind before he could hide it. I'll show you whenever you're ready," he assured.

I blushed. "Thank you, Edward."

We both became lost in our own thoughts, embracing the comfortable silence surrounding us. I thought of Charlie back home and if he even knew I was missing yet. I wondered how I would be able to return home and if I ever would. I knew a plan had to be formed, and I wanted it to happen quickly. As much as I was enjoying the company of Alice, Seth, and Edward, I couldn't stay here forever. That much was certain.

"Bella?" Edward asked.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind going on a walk with me? There's something I would like to show you." His eyes glimmered brilliantly and I instantly agreed.

He rose from his chair and offered me his hand. I took it and together we left the cottage with him leading me down a small path.

"Where are we going, Edward?"

"Alice," he answered.

"Huh?"

He didn't say anything else and led me through the thick trees until we arrived at a river. He then continued to lead me in the direction of the flowing water and eventually out of the trees. I gasped at the sight before me.

We were standing on a cliff overlooking the rest of the forest, the treetops continuing on as far as I could see on the horizon. The moon shone brightly in the starry night and a cool breeze blew around us.

"It's so beautiful," I murmured. I walked a little closer to the ledge, making sure not to fall over, and sat down, gazing up at the night sky. I sighed, closing my eyes.

Edward came and stood beside me. "I was wandering around and found this while you were gone." I blushed deeply at the thought of him wandering around while I bathed in a creek somewhere. He gracefully lowered himself next to me and I lay down on my back, transfixed on the glowing moon.

"I could have never found something like this," I whispered. "I would have gotten lost. Or even better, manage to return where I had started from by just wandering in circles," I joked, remembering my experience a day ago.

After awhile, Edward finally settled down on his back, too, right next to me and we silently gazed up at the stars.

"I haven't seen these many stars for a long time," I mused. Right as the words left my mouth, a meteor shot across the sky, leaving a magic-like trail behind it. "Edward! Did you see that?"

I turned my head towards him to find his head already turned towards me. I blushed a little.

"Yes."

I grinned and looked back at the sky again. "I feel so lucky every time I see one of those." I yawned, closing my eyes for a moment.

"Are you tired?" Edward asked. I peeked an eye open in his direction and saw him frowning. "No," I answered. "I'm fine for now."

He wasn't convinced. "Bella," he said disapprovingly, "you should rest if you're tired."

I sat up. "Edward, honestly, I'm okay. I just yawned, that's all." I could feel another yawn coming on, and I quickly suppressed it. "How come when I asked you where we were going, you said 'Alice'?"

Edward grinned again and it took my breath away. Seriously, this guy had an issue. One day I can't get him to even smile right, and the next, he's grinning like he can't stop. But I wasn't complaining. His happiness was my happiness.

As if on cue, Alice flew in front of my face, and began using her tiny hands to try to push my eyelids down. "Hey!" I laughed.

Edward chuckled and told me what was going on. "She wants you to close your eyes," he explained, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh really?" I looked at him expectantly. "And why is that?"

He raised one of his flawless eyebrows at me and without a word, stood to stand behind me. He placed his cool hands over my eyes and I could feel his breath on my neck. I shivered involuntary.

"Don't ask questions, silly Bella," he whispered into my ear. "Just trust me."

My heart was beating frantically. Did he even know the effect he had on people? On me? His light chuckle told me he probably did.

"Okay," I whispered.

"If I take my hands away from your eyes, they will remain closed?"

"Yes."

"Okay." He slowly removed his hands and it took almost all my willpower not to open my eyes just to look at his face; to see his expression.

"Now don't move," he warned. I nodded. "Alice wants me to leave for a moment, but you must keep your eyes closed, okay Bella?"

I only nodded again.

I didn't even hear his retreating footsteps. Only a few seconds after his final words, I began to feel these strange feelings all around my body, like someone was tickling me everywhere.

I giggle and squirmed a bit, no matter how much I tried to remain still. "Alice!" I knew she was there, but I had no clue what on earth she was up to. The only respond I got was her twinkling laugh.

After a minute or so, the weird feelings on my skin stopped and I felt a soft tapping on my eyelids. Taking that as my cue to open my eyes, I was stunned when I saw dozens of small pixies surrounding me. Alice made a little 'shoo' motion with her hands and they all went flying off into the dark.

I looked at Alice, confused. She made her twinkling laugh again and impatiently pointed down at myself. I followed her eyesight.

I could have cried with joy. I was no longer wearing that hideous snowman dress anymore! I was now covered in a dark blue dress that reached near my knees, and had sleeves that stopped at my elbows. The material on my shoulders hung low, leaving them bare.

I moved my arms around before twirling around in a tiny circle. It was all too magical. She flew down to grab my hand and lifted it up into my hair. All the tangles that I couldn't get out earlier were now gone, leaving my hair extremely soft and knot-free. I could feel a flower behind my ear and on pure instinct, pulled it out to see what it was. It was a white rose.

Alice frowned and took the flower away from me before replacing it back in my hair.

I smiled largely at her, my face not even close to being big enough for my grin. I wanted nothing but to hug her so much right now. "Oh, Alice! Thank you!" I attempted to hug her, pulling her to my chest. She made her laughing noise again and I laughed.

"How did you do this, Alice?" I wondered.

"Spider silk and dye," a velvet voice replied. My head shot up and I saw Edward standing there, his hands behind his back.

"Edward!" I exclaimed.

He grinned hugely at me as he slowly moved in our direction. He came to a stop right in front of me and leaned in to whisper in my ear again. "You look beautiful." My heart soared and my signature blush didn't fail one bit. "But I'm going to need you to close your eyes one more time."

I nodded and shut my eyes.

I felt him kneel down in front of me and lift my feet, one foot at a time, off of the ground. I could feel him slipping something onto my feet and when the time came to open my eyes once again, I saw myself standing in shoes similar to the little ones Alice wore, only instead of being purple, they matched the color of my dress.

Tears came gushing down my cheeks as I stared down at them.

"Bella?" Edward's voice was alarmed and I gazed into his eyes. "Bella, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I sobbed happily. I launched myself at Edward, throwing my arms around his waist. He seemed shocked and tense, but soon wrapped his arms around my bare shoulders, chilling my skin. He smelled so good.

"You don't know how much your gifts mean to me."

Edward softly patted my back. "Does this mean we're friends?" he joked.

I giggled through my tears, nodding vigorously. "Definitely friends."

His smile was dazzling as he smiled down at me. I couldn't have been happier to stand beneath the moon, overlooking the tall treetops with a wonderful new dress and pair of shoes, a sweet vampire wrapping his arms around me, and a little pixie named Alice, laughing.

Meanwhile... ?POV

"Jacob!" Aro's voice rang throughout the hall, causing him to cringe.

"Yes, Master Aro?"

"Why is it that you have come back empty handed?" His red eyes blazed with anger.

"He got away, Sir."

Aro slowly rose from his throne in the castle and strode down to stand in front of Jacob. The other members of Aro's guard watched on in amusement and fear, their eyes just as red.

"He got away?" Aro reached his hand out and twisted it into Jacob's hair. "And why is that?" he continued in a bored tone.

Jacob didn't answer. He only continued to look straight ahead at nothing. With a sharp turn if his wrist, Aro pulled Jacob's head back, causing him to hiss.

Aro bent down to Jacob's ear. "You will find him and you will bring him to me," he threatened. "I don't care what it takes, you will do it, or you will die, too, when I find him myself!" He threw Jacob backwards, sending him flying into a nearby wall, effectively crushing the outside designs.

Jacob quickly returned back to his posture, brushing himself off. "And what of the girl?" he asked.

Aro grinned at Jacob and turned back around to ascend to his forgotten throne. "I want her, too," he said as he sat down. "For a little snack."

Aro's fellow guard member's joined in as he cackled.

Jacob was irritated. "How am I supposed to-?"

"I do not know!" Aro bellowed. The hall grew quiet once again.

Aro eyed Jacob with disdain. "Why I put up with you creatures, I shall never know." Jacob ground his teeth together to keep from making a remark in turn.

Aro continued. "You will find a way. You always do." He lifted a red glass to his lips. "If what you say is true, that this… girl… could be the one and only Sugar Swan Princess, which I highly doubt," he laughed again, the others joining, "then I don't really want her around anymore, now do I?"

Jacob shook his head. "Then go. Bring me Prince Edward and the girl." Jacob nodded.

As he strode out of the great hall, he heard Aro call out behind him, "And kill everyone who gets in your way!" The rest of his followers burst into laughter with him.


Whew, let me know how that chappie went for you! :) The MTV movie awards are on tonight with Rob, so guess who's watching? ME! haha!

Review please, you lovely readers/reviewers ^^

-Natasha

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Right down there. :)