A/N: See? I promised you, this is already the next chapter! So, thanks again for your fantastic reviews! They always make my day!

Chapter 13: Francesca

"The Denalis?" Alice asked surprised. "But I didn't see…" Suddenly a scowl crossed her face and she turned to glare at the wolves. "Of course I didn't."

"But what are they doing here already? I thought we didn't expect them until the thirteenth," I asked, starting to feel nervous. Their timing couldn't be worse, in my opinion. With the threat hanging over us, all the Slayers being here and the wolves… Oh god, the wolves!

"They wanted to surprise us and they wanted to get to know you better before the wedding, Bella," Edward told me, rubbing my arms soothingly, though I could tell from his voice that he was also slightly agitated. "Yes, Sam… you better go. Although they've already smelled and heard you, I can't guarantee that they won't be hostile. We will call you about further training sessions."

The huge black wolf nodded at Edward and then they all retreated back into the woods. I saw Jake hesitate at the edge of the treeline, his head bent towards the place where Dawn was standing between Willow and Xander, before he disappeared in the shadows as well.

"What's this about?" Giles finally asked, cleaning, what else, his glasses. "Who are these Denalis and why do the Quileutes have to go?"

Carlisle sighed, before he hurriedly explained, "The Denalis are our friends from Alaska, vampires who, like us, only drink the blood of animals. And you can say that there's bad blood between them and the Quileutes, because the Quileutes killed a… friend of theirs."

"But only because Laurent tried to kill me," I quickly said, crossing my arms in front of my chest defiantly.

"And seeing as our family and the Quileutes became allies in the battle against Victoria and her newborn army a few weeks ago, they refused to help us in that fight," Carlisle continued, giving me a slightly reproachful and yet understanding look.

Xander scoffed, mimicking my stance. "Some friends they are."

"They're almost here," Edward informed us and, looking at Carlisle, he said, "Irina isn't with them. But they are… wary. Because of the wolf-smell and all the heartbeats. They don't know what to make of it."

A bark-like laugh startled me and my eyes went wide, as I saw Jake in his human form return to our group, coming to a halt between the Slayers and the Scoobies. "They've got every right to be wary, I'd say."

"Jake!" I snapped. "What are you doing here?"

The grin disappeared from his face for a split second, as he simply replied, "I just had to be here."

His eyes wandered to Dawn, who was looking at him with mild interest. When their eyes met, Dawn harrumphed and turned her head away. The crestfallen look on Jake's face was the most heartbreaking thing I had seen in a long time, but it had disappeared just as quickly as it had come. And I knew the reason for his again very business-like attitude, as four unfamiliar vampires stepped into the clearing.

I thought I would've gotten over the shock at how impossibly beautiful the vampires all were, but when I looked at them, I once again felt very insignificant, not at all understanding how someone like Edward could have chosen little plain old me over someone looking as lovely and striking as Tanya. I recognized her immediately because of the strawberry tint in her blond curls. The woman next to her had long and straight pale blond hair, while the other two, a man and a woman, were both black-haired, with a hint of an olive tone to their chalky complexions. If my memory served me correctly, these three vampires were Kate, Carmen and Eleazar. The last two reminded me a bit of the Slayer I saw in my visions.

They looked uncertainly at us, as we were all standing in our groups. The Scoobies, the Slayers and the Cullens. And not to forget Jake, who was slowly but surely gravitating closer to the Scoobies, to Dawn.

I looked up startled, as Edward gently tugged on my hand and began to walk forward. He nodded almost imperceptibly towards Carlisle, who returned the nod, and then the Cullens, with me in tow, moved closer to the Denali clan. There was a welcoming smile on Carlisle's face, as he said, "Greetings, my friends. You've caught us quite by surprise with your spontaneous visit."

A light smile was tugging at Tanya's lips, but none of them made any move to come any closer. "Surprising you? I've never thought this was possible." She looked at Alice, who was still scowling. She really hated it, when she couldn't see, and Jake's return didn't help this at all. "But I admit, we're also… quite surprised to find you here and in the company of so many… humans. And is it wolf-stink I smell here? We thought we'd heard someone howl before."

Xander's outstretched arm prevented Jake to take a step forward.

"You are right," Carlisle admitted, his voice still pleasant but the smile was replaced by a serious look on his face. "The wolves and these humans are here to help us in a crisis."

"Another crisis?" Kate asked, her voice sounding slightly amused. "You seem to have a lot of those lately."

Emmett let out a booming laugh, as he swung an arm around my shoulder. "That's all because of our little Bella here. She's the danger magnet in our family."

I blushed a deep red, as all eyes were directed at me. However, one golden gaze was more intense as the others and I immediately averted my eyes from Eleazar, who seemed to look right through me. I thought I saw those eyes fill with surprise and wonder before I looked away.

"Impossible," a deep, unknown voice, made me look up again. It was Eleazar, who had begun to look around, his eyes becoming impossibly wider.

Edward stiffened next to me, and I looked up at his hard face, as Tanya said, "You're right, Eleazar. How could those dogs and these humans, these girls, help our friends in a crisis. It's impossible."

"You're wrong," Eleazar told her. "Do you have any idea what those girls are?" Tanya, Kate and even Carmen looked at him blankly.

My hands began to sweat and I looked to the Scoobies and the other Slayers. They were looking edgy as well, some of them even appearing to hold their breaths, and I could see the same questions on their faces that were running through my mind. Could Eleazar know? If yes, how could he? It's not like we were running around in T-shirts with the words "Vampire Slayer" written on them.

"Do you have any idea of the power these girls possess? I've only seen power like this once before. And in just one person. So how is this possible? I thought there was only supposed to be one."

"You're speaking in riddles, my love," Carmen told him, entwining her fingers with his and looking at him with a worried look in her golden eyes.

"These girls," Eleazar told her, although he was looking directly at me, "are Slayers. Vampire Slayers."

Tanya and Kate jumped back into a crouch, a hiss escaping their lips. Carmen had frozen, staring at the girls, at us, with obvious distrust. Only Eleazar was still calm, still looking at me. Almost as if there was once again more than the others could see.

"How does he know?" I whispered to Edward.

"He has a gift for spotting talents, gifts… and, apparently, the powers of the Slayer."

"I see…" I mumbled to myself.

No one had moved since the Denalis had taken on their defensive stances. With Eleazar still looking at me, I knew that I had to do something before this situation got even more out of control.

After having taken one deep breath, I pulled my hand out of Edward's grasp and took a step forward. "Yes, we are Slayers, Vampire Slayers. However, this doesn't mean that we want to harm you. You are friends of the family, vegetarians and we know that you won't hurt humans. It's our job to protect humankind from vampires and demons that threaten and kill humans. You don't belong to that category, so…" I shrugged, letting my sentence trail off. I hoped that I had gotten my point across, and it seemed to have worked. Neither of the women looked as tense as they had been before and Eleazar even smiled a bit.

"What Bella told you is right," Carlisle supported me. "Even though we didn't know about each other until about one week ago, the Slayers and the Watcher's Council trust us and we trust them. And now we're helping each other against that common threat."

"It's the Volturi, isn't it?" Eleazar asked in a quiet voice.

All of our heads turned to him in surprise and Edward nodded grimly. "Why don't we go back to our house to talk about this? Eleazar has many things to tell us."

"Her name was Francesca," Eleazar began, once we were all gathered in the Cullens' living room. Most of the girls were sitting on the floor, some on chairs, on the couches or simply standing, intently listening to what Eleazar wanted to tell us. "And this is her story."

I was surprised at how quickly we had all come back, running through the woods, and even Esme must have driven like a maniac to arrive with the Scoobies and Jake even before we did. Once we had arrived, the Denalis had wrinkled their noses at the very obvious wolf-smell and Jake's cover had been blown. Fortunately, Carlisle had stepped in before it could come to more than a few heated words between the two parties (and me, because I had once again taken Jake's side and explained yet again that Laurent had been about to kill me, when the pack had arrived to take care of Laurent). Now, they were only glaring at each other, but I'd rather take this than a fight.

On the way home I had tried to get Edward to talk about what Eleazar would tell us, because I was sure that Edward already knew most of the story, having heard it in Eleazar's thoughts, but Edward remained stubborn. "It's his story to tell," he had said. "Not mine. But this story will help us to understand the aversion the Volturi have against Slayers."

This, of course, had made me even more curious and maybe it was because of this that I had sped up, followed by the other girls and my family. I admit, I was out of breath and feeling a bit sticky (it didn't help that I was still dirty and muddy from the training session in the field) but more than ready to hear the story.

"Why does the know so much about the Volturi?" I had asked Edward, once we had arrived.

"He belonged to them once, a long time ago. He left them when he met Carmen. Don't worry, Bella. Eleazar is a good man."

I was surprised, to say the least, but trusted Edward's words.

So, once we had all settled down, Eleazar had stepped up and began his story by introducing the main character, apparently a woman called Francesca.

"It was only a few decades after you left, Carlisle. Antonius, a member of the Volturi guard and a good friend of mine back then, in 1786, was out in the streets of Volterra one night, on the hunt. He had been ready to return home, when he heard fighting noises. Worried that another member of the guard might be in danger, he quickly followed the noises and he then came upon the strangest sight he had ever seen. Just as he arrived in the alley where the noises came from, a cloud of dust greeted him and a girl, no older than seventeen, holding a wooden stake in her hands. She had heard him and whirled around, and, after having taking one look at him, attacked. Antonius hadn't expected this and would have been impaled on the stake, if his skin hadn't been as hard as it was. The girl seemed to be startled, but didn't back down. Instead she attacked him again and Antonius was more than surprised by her incredible, inhuman strength. He captured her and brought her before Aro…"

"She was a Slayer, wasn't she?" I asked, when Eleazar paused for a moment.

He looked at me and nodded, before he continued, "I was present, when she was brought in, and with my gift I could immediately see the power within her. It was more than obvious to me that she was far more than a normal girl, more even than a human with a latent gift. Aro, who had been touching me, saw this and ordered Antonius to bring the girl closer. She struggled, still with remarkable strength, against Antonius' grip, but still was no match for him.

"When Aro touched her, he saw everything. Everything about the life of a Slayer, the Watcher's Council, the vampires and the demons that she had fought and killed. He saw everything about her legacy, everything she knew, he knew, too. He had laughed, when he had let go of her again, and I knew why. Before, he had only heard rumors about a so called Vampire Slayer, but now the proof was standing in front of him. This girl, Francesca, was a Vampire Slayer."

"Did he kill her?" Dawn wanted to know.

When Eleazar looked at Dawn, he did this with the same piercing look that he had already used on me earlier, as if he saw more than everyone else. Did he see that Dawn was different, too? Almost out of instinct it seemed, Jake took a step closer to her, ready to protect his imprint. "No, he didn't kill her yet. You have to know that Aro is a very curious man. And he's a collector, a collector of gifts. He would never let a gift as great as hers, her power, go to waste. So, no, he didn't kill her, but he ordered Antonius to change her. He wanted to see, if a Vampire Slayer could become a vampire."

Eleazar took a deep unneeded breath and took a look around his audience, who were all anxiously waiting for him to continue. I was one of them, I wanted to know what happened next to this girl. Francesca. When I thought her name, I immediately saw the girl from my vision, and wondered if they were one and the same person? My instincts screamed at me that they were, and I believed them. It all slowly began to make sense.

"I heard Francesca scream for three whole days, as the venom worked through her body. But when she awoke, she was magnificent. You probably know that newborn vampires possess an incredible strength, but this girl was even more powerful. However, she also appeared to be out of her mind. She was behaving like an animal, attacking everyone and everything in her sight. It took ten fully trained members of the guard to take her down and two of them were Alec and Jane. Aro had no other choice but to lock her away for the first few months of her life. He hoped that, once the newborn phase had passed, she would be more reasonable.

"I've never seen her again, after she had been locked in the dungeons. Only Aro and Antonius would visit her, feed her. Antonius didn't talk about it, but I saw that it made him miserable. Despite her being insane, he had come to care for her, more than was healthy for someone in his position. Aro kept her locked up for two years, before he announced the experiment to have failed. He ordered Antonius to dispose of her. It was clearly obvious that he didn't want to do this, that it was breaking his heart, but he went anyway. He had no other choice. This was the last time I saw him."

Everyone, except for Edward, who was reading Eleazar's mind of course, waited with bated breaths. None of us was speaking, and a few of the girls had tears in their eyes. Again, I admit that I was one of them. I felt for Francesca, for Antonius and for Eleazar, whose pain was still visible in his eyes.

"Aro was… disquieted, when Antonius didn't return and sent me to look for him. I already feared the worst, and so I wasn't terribly shocked, when I found the two piles of ashes, clearly remains of burned vampires, in the cell that Francesca had spent the last two years of her life in. My friend had taken his own life, when he had taken hers."

Vi sniffed. "That's so sad."

Eleazar ignored her, as he finished his story. "After I had given him the news of Francesca's and Antonius' deaths, Aro announced to his guard that there would be a new rule. No one was ever to change a Vampire Slayer again. No one would talk about the Vampire Slayer again. No one would seek a Vampire Slayer out and kill her. No one outside the guard should ever know that the Vampire Slayer existed. She was to remain a secret, so that our kind of vampires, which was unknown to the Council as he had found out through her thoughts, would remain a secret, too. But Aro didn't stop at that. He wanted to be kept informed about the happenings at the Watcher's Council, he wanted to know the identities of the coming Slayers, so, ever since then, he bribes someone working for the Council to give him this information. The Council isn't aware of this and it has remained so until today."

"So there is a mole at the Council!" Xander exclaimed. "Someone has given Aro the information that Bella has been Called as a Vampire Slayer. That's how the vultures found out!"

Giles had blanched at this news and as new Head of the Council, I couldn't blame him. It had to be hard to find out that one of your own employees (and I knew that there weren't that many left of the Council after the First's attack) was leaking information about the girls you swore to protect. His face was deathly white and there was a look on his face that I had never seen before – this calm and calculating look was so very un-Giles-like – as he announced, "Dawn, please bring me back to the Council. I need to get in contact with the Devon Coven. Willow, will you accompany me?"

"Of course, Giles," Willow said at once and rose to her feet. Her eyes were, just like mine and many other girls, slightly red. But she was all business now. They needed to act, fast, if they wanted to catch the mole.

Dawn had also gotten up from her sitting position and, with a flick of her hand and a look of deep concentration on her face, opened a portal. The Denalis, who had never seen her do that before, gasped in surprise, though Eleazar's eyes widened in understanding. I didn't like that look at all.

Once Giles and Willow were gone and the portal was closed again, I saw that Eleazar had averted his eyes from Dawn and was instead exchanging a loving look with Carmen, who was gently running her fingers through his hair in a calming notion. Telling this story had taken a lot out of him; reliving the death of a good friend was never easy.

I rose and walked up to him. "Thank you, Eleazar, for telling us. At least, now we know why the Volturi want to attack us. I mean, we guessed that it was about me becoming the Slayer and wanting to become a vampire, but now we know for sure."

"You're welcome, Bella. I'd do anything to help family. Even stay and fight the Volturi at your side, if it comes to it."

Esme gasped. "We couldn't possibly ask this of you."

"Esme is right," Carlisle said seriously. "We won't ask you to risk your life. It's too much."

"Ah, Carlisle," Tanya said with a smile. "It's the least we could do, after we didn't help you the last time."

"Even if you have to fight alongside werewolves?" Jacob threw in.

Tanya gave Jake a long, scrutinizing look, before she answered, "Yeah… If you think you and the other puppies can be of help, why not? And as Eleazar has already said, we'd do anything for family, right, Kate, Carmen." Both women nodded with encouraging smiles. "Besides, the Volturi are wrong. They have no reason to attack you, even if Bella still wanted to become a vampire after what she's heard today. Especially as they basically forced you to change her before. They could have found a different solution to this problem, for example sending you a message or coming to talk to you. Attacking you isn't the right way."

I sighed, knowing that Tanya was right. But still, something wasn't right about this. Edward always insisted that the Volturi weren't meant to be the bad guys in the vampire world, and yet I just couldn't help but feel this deep distrust whenever I think of them. Even if Carlisle spoke highly of his old friends, I just knew that there was something underneath the surface of the Volturi leader, something ugly. I just knew that I would never feel comfortable around Aro – he was too smooth, like a snake, coiling to strike.

"Maybe he just needed a reason," I mused to myself, but of course all vampires heard me.

"What did you say?" Edward asked, even though he knew exactly what I had said.

"Nothing," I shook my head. "Just me talking to myself."

Still, Edward wouldn't look away, but I could see the wheels turning in his head and suddenly, everything fell into place. Why hadn't I seen it before, after all, this was still one of my worst nightmares? I still shuddered, whenever I thought of the picture that had placed itself so firmly in my mind – Aro sitting in the middle, Edward standing on his left, Alice on his right, both clothed in black robes and with glowing red eyes.

"He's a collector," I mumbled, repeating the words Eleazar had just said a few minutes ago. "And he wants you and Alice."

"He just needed a reason to come here, to attack," Edward echoed my words, understanding and horror also dawning on his face.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jake asked. I was startled to hear his voice, or better, I would have been startled to hear anyone's voice right now. But he wasn't the only one who was looking at us in curiosity. Most of the Slayers had similar expressions on their face. Only the other vampires, my quick-thinking vampires, had caught on to what Edward and I had been talking about.

Carlisle was shaking his head, as he said, "It can't be true. Aro would never…"

"Wouldn't he?" Eleazar questioned him. "I've seen it before, just never in this light. I've been there often enough and most of those times, when Aro and the guard attacked covens for breaking the law, I pointed out the opponents that were gifted. Because they might be a danger. I think I've never wanted to notice that it was those vampires, whom Aro offered to join the guard, because they regretted what they had done the most. But now, it makes sense."

"But why would those vampires just turn their backs on their friends?" Xander wanted to know. "If one of the bad guys of the past offered me to spare my life, I would have never joined him."

"Chelsea," Dawn replied instead of one of the vampires. "She can weaken and strengthen the bonds between people. She weakened their bonds, didn't she, and then made them feel as if they belonged to the Volturi?"

"You are correct," Eleazar said and then sighed in sorrow, burying his face in his hands for a moment, before he said, "I was so stupid."

"No, you weren't," Carlisle comforted him. "Aro has hoodwinked all of us. In a way, I might have expected it, with so many gifted members of my family."

"Yes," the dark-haired vampire agreed. "Your family is very gifted. A Mind-reader, a Seer, an Empath and a Vampire Slayer who, at the same time, is already such a strong Shield that she is mostly blocking me."

Edward looked at him, startled. "What did you just call my fiancée?"

Eleazar returned his gaze with disbelief. "A Shield. And a very strong one for a human. I think it's just because of her being a Slayer that I can sense some of her power. Surely you have noticed that you can't hear her thoughts at this moment?"

Chuckling, Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and replied, "Her mind has always been silent to me. Aro can't hear her either. And Jane can't hurt her." He grinned, also shaking his head. "Why have I never considered this before? A Shield, of course. Another thing that makes sense tonight. Eleazar, I must say that your presence here today is very welcome. You've already shed light on many mysteries today. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Edward."

They exchanged a smile, even though I was still very confused. Whenever I was thinking of a shield, I could only think of those old medieval things used by knights. Of course, in a way I understood that I seemed to have a gift, a gift that might become even stronger when… no, after today it would be better to say if I ever became vampire.

I quickly pushed those thoughts aside, as I crossed my arms. "Would anyone care to tell me what this means? Being a shield, I mean?"

"Later," Edward mumbled, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. "I think you've already gotten enough information for one day. And it's getting late."

He was right, it was twilight again, and I was really feeling exhausted. It had been a long day, filled with training and emotionally draining stories. And I was also getting hungry. Even though I was still curious, I realized that this conversation about being a shield was meant for another day, when my head didn't already feel as if it were filled with cotton.

"Okay…" I sighed, leaning into his embrace. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, comforted by Edward's unique scent. I guessed that I might have dozed off in this position, even though I was standing, if my stomach hadn't reminded me of its presence, demanding food. I snickered, as I turned to the girls and the Scoobies and asked, "You guys hungry?"

I had used the time it took to prepare the meal (Esme had shooed me out of the kitchen the moment I had stepped inside and offered to help) to take a quick shower, thankfully washing off all the mud and sweat, and gotten dressed in clean jeans and a T-shirt. My muscles felt slightly sore after this day, but a good kind of sore and nothing I couldn't handle, and I already felt much better after the shower.

While I was combing through my damp hair and pulling it into a ponytail, I was wandering through Edward's room (he was downstairs, helping Esme). His window was open, allowing a fresh breeze to enter the room, but suddenly I heard voices outside that made me pause.

"Dawn, please wait!" It was Jake. He sounded nervous and I could almost imagine him running his hand through his short-cropped hair.

"What is it?" I heard Dawn reply. Her voice was terse, almost sounding a bit nervous, too.

I knew I shouldn't eavesdrop, but I was curious, seeing as whom the two voices belonged to and I just couldn't help myself. I inched closer to the window, hoping that they wouldn't see me, when they finally came into view for me. They were standing in the backyard, having obviously just left the house, facing each other. Dawn had her arms crossed over her chest and was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Look, I'm sorry… I just…"

"You didn't need to protect me in there just now!" Dawn snapped. "I'm fully capable of doing that myself. And besides, Eleazar had just asked me something! I didn't need any protecting!"

"He said that you shouldn't exist!" Jake snapped back, his voice sounding desperate. I froze. What had I missed while I was in the shower? "That you should have been destroyed!"

"Not me, the Key."

"But you are the Key, or did I get that wrong? I mean, I don't know much about whatever the hell this Key is, but I do know that you can use it to open those portals, right?"

Dawn's shoulders slumped. I guess she realized that Jake really didn't know much about her. He had no idea that, until three years ago, she hadn't existed in this form, that until three years ago she had only been a blob of green energy. "It's a bit complicated," she sighed. "And a long story."

"I've got time," Jake assured her, his voice now warm and gentle.

Shaking her head, Dawn whispered (and I had to strain my ears to hear her), "I… I'm not sure… I don't think I can tell you everything, yet… But… yes, I'm the Key. And the Key can be used to open portals. In the wrong hands, the Key can be extremely dangerous and that's why Eleazar is worried. Was worried. He knows of the Key's original purpose, but you've heard how I told him that I'm in control of it now and that I would never use it for this."

"What is the original purpose?"

Dawn hesitated again, before she looked directly into his eyes, "Its original purpose was to tear down the walls between the dimensions."

Jake appeared shocked for a moment, before he laughed. "Well, I'm glad you won't use your powers for this. Because, no walls between the dimensions would suck."

It was difficult to see in the darkness, but I thought I could detect the smallest hint of a soft smile on Dawn's lips. "Yeah, it would."

Jake paused, biting his lower lip. Then, he mumbled, "Thanks… for giving me an insight into your life. I just… I want to get to know you, to understand you. So that I can be worthy of you." He returned her smile with a bright grin on his own – I could only imagine how happy he was. This was the longest conversation he'd ever had with Dawn and she hadn't been hostile the whole time. It was certainly some improvement.

I just wanted to retreat again, not wanting to destroy this moment they had, when Jake, in typical Jake fashion, broke the comfortable silence between himself. "Is that food I smell?"

Dawn sniffed, before grinning, too. "Yep, smells good."

Jake turned to go, but a "Hey Jacob," from Dawn made him look back. "Thanks… for wanting to understand me." Jake only smiled again, before he continued his way inside, but Dawn called out to him again. "Jacob… Bella told me that they make an awesome apple-pie at the diner. You wanna go there tomorrow afternoon? Maybe we can get to know each other a bit better."

I thought Jake's face would split in half with the smile that was no on his face, as he answered, "I'd love to." For a moment I thought he would run up to her and hug her, but he obviously decided that it would be too much for the beginning of their friendship, and finally went back inside, with Dawn following him a minute later.

Deciding that it was about time that I also finally showed myself again, I went downstairs and gave Jake a warm smile, before I sat down at the food-laden table.

Despite not having to eat herself, Esme was truly proving to be an excellent cook yet again. With Edward's assistance she had once again managed to produce a meal that couldn't just feed an army (plus Jake), but also tasted extremely good.

After dinner, most of the girls retired either to their tents, their rooms or to La Push and Jake also took his leave. He promised that he would tell about Sam everything that had happened here today and that he would see us all tomorrow. His gaze lingered on Dawn a bit longer and again I could detect the hint of a smile on her face, before he walked through the door. Once he had disappeared in the darkness, I could hear the happy howl of a wolf.

By then it was also time for me to leave for Charlie's. I had called him earlier to tell him that I wouldn't make it for dinner but that I would bring him some leftovers from the Cullens'. He must be starving by now and I wouldn't let him wait any longer, so Edward offered to drive me home.

I sighed, as I settled into the soft leather seats of the Volvo, missing my truck. For the past few days, Edward had taken to driving me around, as I tried not to look at, and let alone drive, my new black and shiny and completely over the top car.

We didn't talk during the drive to Charlie's, though I knew that there was a conversation we had to have. When Edward stopped in front of the house, he just promised to wait for me upstairs, before he left again. I went inside. Charlie was sitting in the kitchen, reading the newspaper. He looked up, when he heard me enter, "Hey Bells. Had a good day?"

I groaned exaggeratedly, as I let myself sink on a chair. "I can't wait until it's over… I'm totally beat."

Charlie chuckled. "You got yourself into this situation all by yourself, kid. So stop complaining."

I glared at him, but he only laughed again. I sighed. "You're right… By the way, I've brought the promised leftovers," I motioned to the plate I had put on the table, "it's really great."

"Finally some food for your starving old man."

This time, I chuckled. Stretching my arms over my head, I yawned. "Enjoy your meal. I'm gonna head upstairs. Maybe read a bit before I go to sleep."

"You do that, Bells. Goodnight."

"Night, dad."

I slowly walked up the stairs and stopped in front of the door to my room. My hand was already lying on the doorknob, but I hesitated.

I knew that Edward must already be waiting for me inside, but right now, I really didn't want to face him. After everything that Eleazar had told us this afternoon, I was sure that Edward would once again want to negotiate my becoming a vampire, even though I had agreed to marry him. Only this time, I wasn't so sure if I could remain strong. What Eleazar had told us scared me. Was it truly impossible for a Slayer to become a vampire? Would I lose my mind, if Edward changed me? But if I wasn't a vampire, how could I spend eternity with him? I still didn't want to grow old by his side, but did I really have another choice now? Short of Edward becoming human – yeah, as if that could happen – we would never be equal.

No, I decided. I wouldn't give up. There just had to be a way for Edward me to be together forever. And if I had to read all the books in the Watcher's Council, I would find a loophole. I would find a way to become a vampire without becoming crazy. Maybe Willow could strip me again of my Slayer powers? This might be worth looking into.

With this new resolve, I just wanted to turn the doorknob, when it already opened from the inside. Edward was suddenly in front of me, a concerned frown on his face. "You were standing there for a long time."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, as I stepped inside and into his waiting arms. The door fell shut behind me with a soft click. "I was just thinking."

He sighed. "I was thinking, too. Bella, after what happened with Francesca, I don't think…"

"Hush…" I put my finger on his lips. My gaze was hard and determined, as I looked at him. "I won't give up on this, Edward, I won't give up on immortality. We will find a way to be together forever, as equals. Just because this happened to Francesca, doesn't mean it will also happen to me."

"Bella…"

"Please, Edward… I promise, I won't rush into this. I will do research. I will find out everything I can, and if, then, it still seems to be impossible, I'll… I'll accept this." I swallowed hard, blinking some tears away. Still, one managed to escape and Edward wiped it away with his cool thumb. "If there's no way for me to become like you without losing my mind, I promise that I'll grow old by your side and be happy."

Without saying anything, Edward tightened the embrace, and I buried my face in his shirt, shedding a few more tears. I'd say now that I would be happy, but for Edward I would have to try.

I was once again standing on the field, the by now familiar dark line approaching. I was holding my weapon tightly in my hands, as I looked left and right to see my friends and family stand there. I heard deep growls and snarls, some of the sounds so unlike the ones I knew from my vampires. My gaze wandered back to the dark line and I saw it. There was more. Behind that line was a dark mass of… I didn't know what it was, only that it made my spider sense tingle so strong that it was impossible to ignore.

A single part of the mass broke free and came running towards us. I gasped. It was tall, muscular, green and scaly. It lunged at me, and before I could react, someone dropped down in front of me and cut off the head of this thing, this demon, with a long sword.

The person turned around, dark-haired, an olive tint to her pale skin, golden eyes blazing. "Not all is as it seems," Francesca hissed and I woke up.

"Bella, are you alright?" Edward asked worriedly, as I clung to him after my dream.

I looked up at him with wide eyes. "It's not just the guard, Edward. Aro… he's also bringing demons."