AN: sup. chapter ten is here, people! finally, some new characters. :]

Arabelle paced restlessly, feeling twitchy and anxious. She didn't know why she was so on edge, but it was driving her crazy. She had to get out of the house. Pausing in her restive movements, she turned to ask Carlisle if he would go walk outside with her just as Jake announced that he was going for a run. Arabelle jumped at the chance to get some fresh air and open space around her.

"Can I come, please?" She made her very best puppy-dog face, which turned out to be completely unnecessary. Jake merely laughed and settled her fate with a simple "Of course." Elated, Arabelle darted out of the house and onto the porch to wait, jittering up and down impatiently. After what seemed like ages, Jake finally emerged from the house. "Wait here for just a second while I change behind those trees," he cautioned. "I'll be right back."

True to his word, wolf-Jake materialized from the trees seconds after entering. He trotted up beside her and knelt at her feet, indicating that she should get on his back. Grinning, she hopped on, laughing exuberantly at the strange feeling of his rusty brown fur scraping her legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he took off, dashing through the trees in a spectacular show of speed and grace.

Arabelle basked in the delightful feeling of the wind caressing her face and whipping her skirt against her legs. With a contented sigh, she dug her face into Jake's neck, tunneling into the soft fur there. A strange sound erupted from his snout- a sort of wolfy laugh. Arabelle giggled at the noise, feeling incredibly light-hearted after being cooped up inside for days. She closed her eyes and turned her face to the sky, letting the sun warm her eyelids. A peculiar shiver ran through her body as she fed, and she realized that her Glamour must be wavering.

Startled, she quickly reverted back to her earth-form; it wasn't kosher for contact with humans, but perfectly acceptable when enjoying the company of her supernatural friends. And it was more comfortable than her stifling human disguises, being merely a watered-down form of her true appearance.

She sighed happily as she surrendered once again to the delicate warmth of the sun. Suddenly, Jacob jerked to a stop. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked around wildly. "What happened?"

The words were barely out of her mouth when she noticed the huge gray wolf, dark spots dotting its back, standing directly in front of Jake. "Embry!" she trilled, pleased to see one of the characters from her last story. "You don't know me, but I know you. And I'm so glad to see you! Come, change so we can talk. Jake, you too!" She hopped off Jake's back, closing her eyes to give them some privacy.

Embry tilted his head in confusion at the beautiful girl perched on a log beside Jake. How did she know his name? He looked at Jake, who nodded at him and then phased back to his human form. Embry took that as a cue to do the same.

The moment he was human, Embry had questions. He faced Jake. "Who is that girl? And how does she know me?" Jake laughed. "That's Arabelle. I'm sure she'll be happy to tell you all about herself, if you just ask her." Embry turned to Arabelle, a hundred questions at the ready, but was prevented from speaking by the ground falling out from under him.

Embry stared at the most beautiful, perfect girl he had ever seen in his life, completely entranced. Everything else that he had ever cared about fell away; it no longer mattered. All that mattered was Arabelle.

He was floating, and the only thing holding him to the Earth was her; he knew with an absolute certainty that without her he would be nothing. She was his gravity, his life. "Arabelle," he breathed, and the words brought him back down to Earth. He was Embry again.

Jake tried to get his attention, but Embry only had eyes for his imprint. "Arabelle," he whispered again. Arabelle remained frozen, her eyes wide and pain-filled. "Oh, no," she murmured, mostly to herself. "I'm not ready for this yet. Not ever. I can't do this." Embry extended a tentative hand towards her, and she took it.

"Hello Embry. I am Arabelle, of Aralée. How did you find me?" Startled out of his reverie by the sound of her voice, Embry found himself more aware of his surroundings. He pointed to the butterfly floating in the air above Arabelle's head. "I had help." Arabelle looked at the pink and gold butterfly and gasped. "Sapphira?"

Cloudy gold shimmers engulfed the butterfly, growing to form the shape of a young girl. The sparkling cloud melted away, leaving a pale child with golden eyes and deep brown hair in its place. The girl grinned. "Princess! It's been such a terribly long time. I brought you a present, though." Arabelle smiled benevolently, seeming to grow much older in the space of only a few seconds. "Why thank you, Sapphira. I do wonder how you got here, though. Ser'ah are not traditionally able to cross the barrier between Aralée and the old world."

Sapphira nodded gravely. "When I felt the pang in my heart that told me Prince Ihvon was no more, I felt that I could not go on without you. No Ser'ah can live without someone to serve, and I was certain that after you I could serve no one else. So I decided to pass through the Portal. And I did go through, though the Portal guardians did their very best to convince me otherwise." Arabelle nodded in understanding. "I can see why, dearest. Aralée weeps for the loss of a child."

Sapphira smiled sadly. "I was driven to despair by my loss- I could not take the joy that is ever-present in Aralée. I thought you were gone, because I knew Prince Ihvon was, as I'm sure you understand. Anyway, I passed through the Portal, but instead of arriving at my final resting place, I found myself here on the old world. It was quite frightening at first, and it was too hard to try and keep a human form, because everyone I met kept telling me what to do. Completing so many tasks took a great deal of time, and occupied so much of my mind I did not realize that you were still alive."

Sapphira shuddered, tightening her arms across her chest. "I had to do scary and bad things. And eventually it got really bad and I started to think I might be dying, but instead I felt all fuzzy and shimmery and suddenly I was a butterfly! Or at least, I looked like one, so the bad people left me alone. And after a little peace and quiet I realized that I could feel you in my mind- that little tug that tells me where you are. So I headed for you, along with a bunch of animals. There are a lot here in the forest that have come to greet you, you know. But anyway, I was making my way towards you when I came across wolf-boy here. And I just knew that you and him belonged together. So I brought him with me! I'm sure he won't mind that I had to Compel him a tiny bit. He really did not take very much persuading."

A kind smile on her face, Arabelle ran her fingers through the much younger girl's hair. "You did well, Sapphira. I'm sure he will thank you." Sapphira beamed up at Arabelle. Suddenly her grin faded, and she looked down at the ground, shuffling her feet. Arabelle frowned, about to ask what was wrong, when Sapphira piped up. "Princess, I was wondering, if it's not too terribly much…" Arabelle raised an eyebrow, prompting Sapphira to continue. "Well, I was wondering if you could fix my clothes and bells. I tried to do it myself, but I'm not very good at Manipulation or metal singing. I used a Glamour to make it look a little better, but it's just not the same, you know?"

Arabelle laughed. "Of course I can, darling. And you don't have to metal sing to Ser'ah bells, Sapphira. Or to your bracelet and anklet. Those are a part of you, not true metal. You just have to Heal them. But don't worry, I can do that." Sapphira nodded in understanding as Arabelle passed a hand over her clothing, leaving sparkling silver shimmers in her wake.

Sapphira's tattered, filthy dress transformed into a rich gold and pale peach wonder, short and layered. Sapphires spread themselves throughout Sapphira's hair, a tribute to her name. She grinned. "Thank you!" Arabelle smiled. "I'm not done quite yet, love. Be still." Instantly, Sapphira froze, a perfectly formed statue. Arabelle crouched down and laid a hand on the thin golden band decorating Sapphira's ankle, willing the two attached bells to return to their former glory. The bells gave a little jingle as they were Healed. A soft smile on her face, Arabelle stood up. "Alright, I'm done. You can move again." Sapphira relaxed, breathing out deeply. "Thank you so much, Princess! It feels nice to be clean again."

Jake and Embry, who had been observing the exchange with varying degrees of confusion, looked at each other, then back at the two girls, then back at each other. Jake decided to speak up. "What just happened? And who is that little girl?"

Sapphira put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "I'm not a little girl. I'm almost two thousand years old! And I have a name, you know. You can call me Sapphira once you decide to get manners. And since when can you talk to the Princess that way? You're supposed to respect your elders and betters, not annoy them with stupid questions. You're not very smart, are you?"

Jake gaped at her. "What?" Arabelle burst out laughing. "This is Sapphira, who was one of my Ser'ah when I was a true Princess. You'll have to excuse her- she's the Araléan equivalent of a seven or eight year old. Back on Aralée, Sapphira was one of my… servants, for lack of a better word. I'll explain Ser'ah to you in greater detail back at the house."

Sapphira looked up at Arabelle with something akin to hero-worship in her eyes. "I don't want to be free, Princess. I want to stay with you. I know it's hard, without Ihvon- my other anklet and bracelet disappeared when he left, you know. It hurts, and it makes me all unbalanced. But I still want to be your Ser'ah. Please say I can, Princess? Please?" She pulled a puppy-dog face that tugged on Arabelle's heartstrings. Arabelle sighed. "I'm not sure if you can still be my Ser'ah. I cannot become Queen, which means I am not truly Princess. And if I am not royalty then I cannot have Ser'ah."

Sapphira shook her head. "You're still in here, Princess," she told her, tapping her temple. "That has to mean something."

"I suppose so," Arabelle mused. "But how can I still be Princess? Surely a new Princess must be born."

Sapphira laughed. "I know something you don't, Princess! Teacher Severin said that a new Princess can only be born when the former Princess moves on or becomes Queen. And you aren't in Heaven or Queen! So I win."

A bright grin appeared on Arabelle's face as she considered Sapphira's words. "I suppose you're right," she admitted. "I'd never looked at it that way before." Sapphira jumped up and down, clapping her hands. "So can I? Oh, please, Princess!" Arabelle smiled gently and bent down to hug the much smaller girl. "Of course you can, doll. I could never make my favorite Sapphira leave." Sapphira grinned for a moment before a suspicious look started to creep onto her face. "Hey! I'm the only Sapphira you know."

Arabelle chuckled, a mischievous grin on her face. "Exactly."

AN: REVIEW! and i will love you forever, i promise :]