Author's Note: A double update! The muse is back. Expect this finished, probably within the week. Fuckin' A. Reviews are fantastic.

Leah:

Ten years is a long time to spend locked away. It's a long time to be in the dark, forced to piss in buckets and sleep on stone floors. And during the time that passes, you move through fazes. You fight. You plead. With your captors. With God. With yourself. You cry. You maybe fight some more. But eventually, you just give up, because you reach a point where you have nothing left. You're numb to the world. You come to accept the fact that there will never be a white knight that rushes into rescue you and carry you off on his trusty steed towards safety and freedom. Stories like that are products of novels and fairy tales.

They don't come true.

And in my numbed state, there were days where I wanted nothing more than want to kick something. And I don't mean a menial light tap. I really want to swing back and kick the wall, or better yet myself. I feel stupid, and I hate feeling stupid more than anything else. I let myself get captured. I let my pack, my family and my friends down. I wanted to reel back and kick the stone wall, because when the pain that I knew was to follow such an action, would shoot up my foot, I would have been the one to cause it. Not Aro with his ever handy needle, nor Jane with her freaky mind consuming torture. And there were times too, where my captors ignored me for days, and it was during those times that I often felt like I was swimming for days on end, just treading water, never getting anywhere, but neither could I drown. Drowning would be better, because it would have been something. It would have been anything at all.

I'd come to accept the fact that the Cullen's as well as the pack must've assumed me dead. That I'd been swallowed up by the fire, rendered helpless by the burning and by the ever billowing smoke. The truth is, I probably would have been. I was forever trying to be a hero, always trying to protect Seth. In all likelihood, the flames would have consumed me. But for an icy hand that latched around my waist from behind. At first, I thought perhaps it was Carlisle, or another one of my allies, pulling me towards safety. But when I felt myself being hurtled into a car, and heard the screech of the tires churning on the pavement, I knew I had become a prisoner. I couldn't imagine what these Italian bloodsuckers would want from me. I knew my blood would taste no good to them. I thought, for a fleeting moment, that I was to become a tool, a method of bargaining, like a child held for ransom. But then they drew my blood. And prevented me from morphing into a wolf. It was then that I understood I was taken for research. As a method to understand the exact way my species works. And as a way to develop a method of defeating us. And once I'd realized that, I realized also, that once they believed they'd learnt everything there was to know, they'd kill me.

When the door opened, and the wisps' of light snuck in, I was confused, for it was too early to feed me. But then I wondered if maybe I had finally broken, after all this time, and had lost track of all sense of reality.

Then they pushed her inside. And the sweet scent of vampire permeated the air. My eyes had, over time, grown completely adjusted to the darkness, and I could make out her pale, waiflike figure perfectly. After all the time that had passed, I still recognized her. Arielle Cullen. She could sense me too, I knew, her keen vampire senses would tell her that my heart was beating, and her eyesight, developed for hunting in the dark would allow for her to see my face. I wondered if she'd recognize me. If years of starving and darkness had altered my appearance beyond all familiarity.

But then I heard her gasp, and I knew she knew who I was. I sensed it as she struggled with words. "I… I thought …"

I felt almost a laugh bubble up in my throat. "You thought I was dead." I finished for her.

She nodded, sinking to the floor next to me. I felt the air drop another two degrees. I wanted to hate her. I wanted to hate all vampires. But especially anyone named Cullen, for they were the reason I had been trapped here for so very long.

I couldn't bring myself to be able to. I was beyond wishing for revenge, and beyond hoping that I would ever be freed from my prison, so for the moment, I found I was actually grateful to see her, lucky to have someone to talk to and discover what events had taken place during my incarceration.

"How did you end up here?" I found myself asking her. My voice was harsh, broken from lack of use and I coughed a few times, trying to force it back to normal.

"I came back to Preston. I thought… if I did he might finally leave my family… and yours alone."

It felt as though my heart had sank into my stomach. "What does my family have to do with Preston?"

"Seth…" she faltered, obviously looking for the right words.

"Seth what?!" I cried out, finally feeling some semblance of life return to my soul.

"Seth imprinted on my daughter." She finally managed to spit out. "They're together. Our families are together."

I didn't know if I should be happy or angry. But getting mad seemed to be the typical Leah reaction, and I just went with it. "Ah. I see." I spat the words out, sarcasm stinging with every one. "So this is a noble journey then. You're protecting your family. And mine, for that matter. Did you ever think, Arielle, just for a fucking moment, about what they'd do without you? How it could destroy them at the very core? That you're probably the only thing that keeps Carlisle moving anymore? Or how your daughter will handle being in love, having sex, getting married without her mother around? Did you think, just for a second that they might follow you here?! That in fact they might all get killed? Simply because you needed to be valiant?"

Okay, so every angry thought I'd had in the past ten years seemed to pour out of me. But it bothered me that she seemed to be so ignorant of everyone around her. That she never seemed to realize her actions had consequences. I didn't understand how she could be so damn selfish.

"Leah," her voice was soft, shaky with what I sure, had she been human, would've been tears "I didn't think…"

"That's right. You didn't think. You never did. It's the reason I'm here. Because you only think of yourself. You only care about yourself. Carlisle Cullen loves you, and he is, without a doubt, the most selfless creature on the plant. You took advantage of that. Used to make yourself better. You played the damsel in distress, you used your charms and manipulated him into loving you. You destroyed that family."

Her breathing had evened out, her eyes had narrowed and turned cold. "You think I planned it? That I set out to be rescued after Preston tried to stab me to death? That I planned become a vampire, some mythical creature I didn't even know existed at the time, and to somehow trick the smartest man I know into falling in love with me? Come on, not even the greatest fiction writer on the bloody planet could come up with something that ridiculous. You're pissed off, and I don't blame you for being so. But this isn't my entire fault. Despite what you may think, or choose to believe. And honestly, it doesn't matter. It's you and me down here now, and if we want to live, we need to find a way out."

I blew out a breath. So she was right.

"Okay genius. Any ideas?"

Arielle shrugged. "You know the routine better than I. Obviously they feed you. So they'll be back. And I could probably lift the door. As long as it's not Alec or Jane that brings the food, I can handle whomever is on the other end. We could get out of this room."

"And then what? I can barely walk. The only exercise I get is walking around this room. There is no possible way I can run."

"But I can. And I don't think they've got us very well guarded. We could get out." Her voice grew stronger with each word, as if she was trying to convince herself as well. "We can get out. And they'll come for us later, but we'll have the back up. The protection that we so desperately need, and lack here."

Her words made sense. I found myself slowly believing. Latching onto the only shred of hope I'd felt in nearly ten years.

"You really think you could lift the door?"

She nodded. "Yeah. It's solid wood, not reinforced. I can easily tear it from its hinges."

"Then don't wait for them to bring the food. They don't guard the room. Let's just… go."

"They might be expecting that…" she murmured, thinking.

"Not if they believed the noble bullshit you were spewing."

"They did. Every word."

"Then it's clear. And we could be free."

Arielle nodded, saying nothing more. She simply moved quick as light, and silently lifted the door off its hinge. Then, nearly as quickly, she was back at my side, hefting my emaciated frame onto her back.

We ran, around me all I could see were shades of grey as the we moved past endless brick walls. And finally, a shred of light, a glimmer of light.

And voices. Whispered mutters coming from down the hallway. From the antechamber where the guard gathered.

"I don't know what to tell you, old friend. She isn't here."

Aro's voice resonated down the corridor, and Arielle froze, it was if I could read her thoughts.

"I don't know what you should do." I hissed. "But whatever it is, you had better make it quick, because we don't have much time."

She looked towards the room, and then towards the light, towards the outside. She set me down, gently, and pointed towards the door, motioning that she knew I had the time to get out, even walking as slowly as I would need to. And she turned and ran towards Aro. Towards Carlisle, and towards death.

I don't know why she did it. Maybe to prove to me that she wasn't selfish, or maybe it was because she really did love Carlisle. I really don't know, and I didn't take the time to wait around to find out. I turned and with everything I had left in me, I ran.

I've heard it said that when faced with death, when consumed by fear, the human body can complete seemingly impossible feats. I remember, being younger and Sam told me a story about a woman who's baby had gotten trapped underneath a car. And somehow, she managed to lift the car off the ground. With her bare hands. I don't know if the story was true or not, but it seemed pretty cool. He'd said that when faced with a situation like that, the body produces adrenaline, And the adrenaline keeps you going, it helps you survive. So, maybe it was adrenaline coursing through my veins, I don't really know, but I didn't even give it a thought. I raced outside, and didn't stop until I could see the sun rising. And I crashed hard into a marble body, sweet and sticky smelling. A vampire.

I didn't have time to be afraid. I thought, just for a moment, that I was glad I had at least made the effort to escape. And it was then that I noticed the hands weren't trying to drag me back inside. So I opened my eyes and stared into the face.

"Edward Cullen." I whispered breathlessly. One of the good guys. And with that last thought echoing in my mind, I felt my body give out, and I succumbed to the blackness.