A/N: Here's the one we've been waiting for! It's a long chapter for me, so hopefully this will tide everyone over until next weekend. I fear that family, holidays, snow emergencies etc. are going to delay my next post until then. Please enjoy!

Edward-POV

The family was in motion, all of us following Jasper as we ran in the direction of the house. In a few minutes before the white façade would appear before us, and then it was just a matter of speaking with our unexpected guest…Bella.

Once we had arrived at our location to drop the automobiles, Jasper and Carlisle reviewed and fine tuned our approach strategy – with a more than a little input from Alice. Jasper decided to approach from the east, so that we were running against the wind. Alice confirmed that the wind would not shift until after we spoke with the girl, and we could, therefore, expect to conceal our scents during the approach. She hinted that based on our current plans we would end up speaking with Bella around the river. It was decided that Carlisle, Jasper and Rosalie would enter through the front door and attempt to speak with her. Hazy though it might be, Alice was reasonably certain that the future included some sort of pursuit. The rest of the family was to fan out around the house, concentrating on the backyard – near the river.

Beyond that, much to Alice's dismay, the immediate future was ever-changing and hazy at best. The vision of Bella and me racing through the forest was even less firm than it had been before. Alice's thoughts were saddened by this, and honestly mine were too. This Bella seemed interesting from what we had gleaned in Alice's visions. It would be a shame to miss out on what I had seen of her humor…her music…her scent –

Edward! Jasper's mind cut off my thoughts, it's time to focus. If you are going to be distracted, then I am keeping Alice with me. After a brief pause, well?

I sighed softly, which Jasper took to be acquiescence to his warning. That and he tasted my mood, noting that the brief flash of melancholia had passed. He had made me promise to watch over Alice in the backyard since they would be separated – without her knowledge of course. She had been known to get a little indignant when Jasper became what she called 'overbearing and overprotective' and what he called 'sensible and cautious'.

The mist ahead of us had a slight reddish tone reflecting the last few rays of sunshine trying to reach us through the gloom. And just as Alice had seen it, the house materialized like a specter before us. Jasper held his hand out to slow us to a stop about 50 yards away, and we began circling the house as previously planned.

Chord progressions could be heard coming from the piano in the house, but other than that I would not hear her – Bella. A small frown crossed my features. Perhaps she is completely engrossed in the chords… Doubt tempered this thought. I had heard enough musicians play to understand that one's thoughts tended to drift ahead considering finger placements, key changes, counting, etc. But none of the usual, expected thoughts could be heard.

I concentrated and opened myself completely, trying not to block any of the thoughts around me. I heard Alice congratulating herself at predicting that Bella would be playing the piano when we arrived, Jasper mulling over Bella's fluctuating feelings, Carlisle considering which words might soothe the seemingly skittish girl, Rosalie wondering how the girl would compare to her own beauty, Esme hoping that all of our precautions were for naught and Emmett hoping, naturally, hoping for at least a bit of a fight. The usual voices of my family greeted me, yet there was not a whisper from Bella. Were it not for the music and her diffuse scent outside the house I would not have believed that there was anyone inside.

By now Alice, Emmett, Esme and me had spaced ourselves in the backyard. There had been a brief pause in the music coming from the house, and, had I not known that our 'greeting party' was still a good distance from the front door, I would have guessed that she stopped due to their arrival. I snuffed lightly with annoyance. Even though the back of the house had enormous windows, the piano was placed just so that our musician could not be observed. I sought out Jasper's mind, for he had the best vantage point through the house's front window.

Her eyes were closed tightly, clearly deep in thought…pain was evident in her expression and Jasper's read on her feelings confirmed this observation. Clear as day on her face and yet there is no 'voice' to be heard! I nearly growled with frustration. After a few moments her face relaxed and she began to play softly – reverently even – one of my favorite pieces. Almost unconsciously I stepped closer to the house in the hopes to hear the song a little more clearly. I listened intently as she continued to play, relishing every bar.

A particularly strong gust of wind ruffled my hair and I heard Alice's mental gasp as a brief premonition came to her. Once it was over my eyes glanced up to the corner room – my room – and the window that was half open. By stepping closer to the house I was now upwind with respect to the window. My eyes flitted to Alice, who was rolling her eyes at me. It was now just a question of when she would notice…

Again I watched Bella through Jasper's mind. Her eyes were still closed, her expression still relaxed, and she was now moving slightly in time with the music. I watched as her face tilted slightly, as she unconsciously lifted her nose in the direction of something…something new in the air… It had obviously not yet registered to her what it was.

Fortunately, Jasper recognized her upturned nose for what it was and motioned Carlisle and Rosalie to follow him. They were halfway to the house when it happened.

Initially, a ghost of a smile touched her lips. A few more bars of Claire de Lune were heard. Then the smile gradually turned to a frown. Her eyebrows contracted very slightly, and then she took in a deep pull of air. Her reaction was immediate.

Abruptly her ruby eyes snapped open, and she stood with enough force to send the bench flying several feet behind her. Her eyes looked first in the direction of the staircase, and then she turned to survey the rest of the room before arriving on the front window. She held Jasper's gaze for a hundredth of a second before turning and running out of his line of sight. In the time it took for him to race to and open the front door, she was nowhere to be seen.

Bella-POV

Hm…is that sunshine that I smell?

I felt the corners of my mouth tug upward, as I wondered why in the world my mind would drum up such a smell. Not only was I in one of the least sunny areas of North America, but I also just happened to be playing a song that literally translates to the 'light of the moon'. Maybe my thoughts of Florida brought back that remembered scent…but, wait, there is something else…

I felt my smile fade as I leaned back – still playing – and took in a lungful of air. There was more this time. The sunshine remained but it was joined by other sweet, heavenly aromas…lilac…honey… They were not isolated aromas, but rather a collective scent…a vampire's scent.

Someone is upstairs! The thought surged through my mind as a leapt away from the piano and snapped my head to the stairs. However, I quickly dismissed that thought noting that the scent was not as intense as I expected it would be if someone was inside the house with me. Ah, through the window then… I recalled leaving the window open in the upstairs space I had adopted as 'my room'.

So my visitor is outside then…but he must know I'm nearby. My scent is all around the house. My eyes turned from the stairs to each of the windows surrounding me. When I reached the window nearest the front door I encountered a pair of amber-colored eyes returning my gaze. I saw two others behind him, all of whom were rapidly approaching the front door. I took in his face, noting blond curls and so many scars that it was almost difficult to imagine someone surviving what must be several hundred attacks. A fighter – and an experienced one at that…what could he want?

The only fighters I knew of were a few of our kind who found sport in preying on other immortals and, of course, the Volturi. I had heard stories of both from various other vampires I had encountered over the years. But what could they want with me? The blonde's menacing features on top of the violent stories I had heard about sport-seeking vampires and the Italian coven made me anxious to avoid any contact with whoever they were. What I wouldn't give to have Victoria with me now; she always had an escape plan, I lamented momentarily. The blonde and his companions were quickly approaching the front door, so I had to make a decision.

Wheeling around, I raced up the stairs even as I heard the door below opening. With the inlet of air behind them their scents assaulted me. It was like sensory overload; I had never been around so many of my kind before. In an instant I was through the door and into 'my room'. Ignoring my bag of clothing on the floor, I briefly surveyed the backyard and side yard visible through the windows. I saw three figures below, and the original scent I had smelled was even stronger. How many of them are there?! My mind whirled, even as I heard my pursuers climbing the stairs behind me.

I was running toward the open window without so much as turning to face the individuals now at the doorway. As I reached the window I heard one of them call "wait!" but I was already sailing through the air for a tree conveniently located not too far from the room. The voice somehow startled me; for some reason I had not thought that they would speak. My head turned and took in the figures behind me in an instant. The blonde, battle-scarred one stood at the window next to his cohort, another male with white-blond hair. Their third was not present. I noted the latter male's expression with interest. His arm was returning to his side as though he had been reaching for me and his eyes – amber again – looked slightly worried. Even more interesting was the fact that he did not appear to be looking at me but rather beyond me.

My head returned to the area in front of me, to the tree I had selected, and now to the bronze-haired vampire with whom I was about to collide. The impact was loud enough to startle nearby birds from their nests and probably loud enough to be heard in town. My hands grappled with his as we fell roughly to the ground, sending another somewhat softer crack into the night. I could really only see his hair and take in his sunshine-infused scent until I gave him rough shove that sent him into the tree from which we had fallen. I took in his face with a soft gasp, even as he looked into mine in seeming shock. Never in my existence had I encountered such an extraordinarily beautiful face. It, coupled with the strange amber-colored irises, was strikingly handsome.

His eyes suddenly flicked behind me and he started speaking, "Ros – "

I then found myself blindsided by one of his fellows. Long, blond hair crossed my line of vision as I rolled several feet back toward the river running behind the house. She jumped up and landed very near to me.

"Nobody attacks my brother!" her voice growled, sounding somehow more haughty than menacing.

I briefly considered whether the strange eye color they all had was associated with some sort of madness. Surely she is delusional; her 'brother' – whatever that means –clearly jumped to intercept me.

Returning her growl I rolled twice and swept her feel out from under her. With a surprised squeal that quickly turned into an angry hiss she landed in the water next to us. She was standing almost instantly, her hair drenched and her delicate blouse likely ruined. Her eyes turned to me and I was greatly reminded of the phrase 'if looks could kill.'

One shrill-sounding word escaped her lips then, "Emmett!"

Another growl sounded, this time to my left. A large, strong-looking vampire – Emmett apparently – was entering a hunting crouch, his eyes on me. His muscles were coiled to spring when, yet another growl was heard from a rapidly moving figure. The handsome, bronze-haired one had settled into a hunting crouch of his own with his back to me, instead facing this Emmett. Indecision clearly crossed Emmett's features as he faced my bronze-haired…savior?... Utilizing the moment of distraction, I looked for a means to escape and began to edge away from the semi-circle of onlookers. I turned away in the direction of the forest and was about to bolt when her soft cry stopped me in my tracks.

"Bella! Please, wait. We mean you no harm!" I did not look behind me immediately, knowing even with my back turned that this heartfelt cry had come from the female vampire furthest from me with the caramel colored hair.

A cyclone of thoughts raced through my mind. Had they or had they not just chased me down and attacked me? Is it possible that it was a misunderstanding? They hadn't ganged up on me…and my 'savior' did jump in front of someone about to attack me… Who are they really?

In the end, however, it was both the sincerity in the woman's voice and astonishment that convinced me to do what I did next. I turned and let my eyes take in each of their expectant faces. The bronze-haired God also looked anxious – it once again put me on edge. Then a sudden calm settled around me…inexplicably so. Their collective scent, which was initially so intensely distracting, now somehow seemed soothing and familiar. I felt my tension drain away and my curiosity became intense.

I cocked my head slightly and looked at the caramel-haired female. My voice was level and calm, "How do you know my name?"