Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

My fists clenched, as I struggled to keep my voice level. "Alice, where are the children?"

Alice blinked, "What are you talking about?"

In a flash I was in front of her, grasping her shoulders roughly. Her cry of exclamation was ignored as I shook her. Her head jerked back and forward with only enough force to kill a human. We weren't human, and there was no qualms to this.

"Where are they?"

Edward grabbed and pulled me away from Alice. I futilely restrained kicking and screaming at Edward. Alice was jerked at the loss of contact and all she could do for a minute take startled breaths. Edward kept an arms around my waist like a steel reinforcement.

"ALICE!"

Alice shrunk away from my tone and her hands came up defensively.

"I- I- I don't k-know what y-you're talking about."

"You were watching them, Alice! What happened!" I screamed.

"No!" Alice insisted, "No, I wasn't. B-but no I was. I- I don't know!"

"WHAT HAPPENED!?"

"BELLA! Stop it!" Edward's voice was rough and insistent but fell on deaf ears to me.

I reached out to grasp her again, but Edward stopped me. I turned to him in confusion, why was he defending her? I couldn't read anything from his face. It was hard and set into a frown. I pulled away from him, my anger directing to him as well. Did he not realise why I was acting this way? What was wrong with him?

"Wait, Bella. Something's not right," Edward spoke. His voice was cautioned, as if he put great thought behind them. He had tilted his head slightly and I knew he was scanning her thoughts for any misconceptions in her head.

I looked back at Alice. Her face was distraught and her neatly manicured fingers were broken from being clenched into fists, which were at her head as if she was trying to block everything out. I had never seen her like this before.

"Alice?" I asked tentatively. My voice was still hard and I had to restrict myself from lashing out at her.

"Bella, I swear to you. I don't know!"

Alice's eyes shone with such certainty, I couldn't help but stop myself from lashing out again at her. Maybe Edward was right, there was something wrong. I could tell that despite the fiery anger that threatened to control me.

Regardless, I didn't want to go. I didn't want to go back to the motel and check. To see if they were there or not. A feeling deep inside of me already knew the answer, but try as I might I couldn't want to help but ignore it. To be in denial was better than think about the alternative.

I clenched my fists trying to think clearly, I could hear Edward talking to Alice in the background, him trying to calm her down from the crying fit she had dissolved into.

What had happened? After everything that has happened, I couldn't afford another breakdown. Not now, not ever. I forced my mind to think logically at the turn of these turn of events.

After Edward had heard Esther's thoughts, he had taken off. I had attempted to follow him but failed and choose to comfort my children instead. I had left Alice in charge of watching them and I had gone after Edward.

What had gone wrong, what was I missing?

Wait, Alice had stormed out after I had snapped at her about her lack of visions. She had left the motel to go and cool off and think while I comforted Nessie. That's was the only time she had been alone. Could something have happened then?

Edward had been trying to track Esther at that time, but he said he had lost her.

Could it have been Esther?

Could she have had something to do with Alice's strange behaviour? Or was it just a co-incidence, and Alice had just cracked from all the pressure? But even to do so…the children, my children.

I wouldn't have put that past her though, past any of us. The things we had gone through these past months were almost as worse as the Voturi confrontation.

The only way I could know for sure was to check.

To check the motel and see if the children were there.

~0~

The blaring sound of the T.V mocked me as soon as we stepped foot in to the dilapidated motel. The volume was on high and was crackling as a result. I should go and turn it off before we receive any complaints, but I couldn't bring myself to do so. It was set on some kid's show I knew Renesmee liked to watch. The music was nostalgic as I recalled the countless hours I spent watching it with her and Edward. We'd all curl up together on the couch or bed and I'd laugh as how animated Nessie got from watching.

We were going to go to one of the live tapings of her show next month. It was supposed to be a surprise for Nessie and we wanted her to have as many childhood memories before she matured and stopped do things like singing along to the opening song or begging us to buy her favourite lucky packets.

But now, now there was nothing. No laughing, no fun. It was all gone.

The room lay empty and deathly quiet, besides the T.V. I couldn't even hear anything from the outside but I knew the rest of the world hadn't just stopped, it was just me.

I had prepared myself, I already knew what had happened and I had resolved to stay strong. It was the most logical thing for Esther to do. Target the weak and work yourself up, one by one. But what does Esther want with the children? To get back at us? Or some other neferious purpose. Nessie was the only one with powers. Aro did always have an unhealthy obsession with collecting powers, but she was too young, along with the twins who were just twins didn't have any, or yet anyway. But still, this was our fault, we should have been more protective and foreseen this even without Alice's visions.

But I wasn't the only one in this situation. Edward had frozen, his fists clenched at his sides. His face was set in a snarl and I knew he was trying to control his anger under the obvious misery on his face.

"They're not here!" shouted Alice.

She paced though the room trying to look anyway they would have been unseen, "Oh God, they're no here!"

I couldn't bring myself to snap at her for stating the obvious. I couldn't, not after what had happened…or whatever we think happened to her.

Edward deduced that she had been controlled by Esther somehow. There were obvious gaps in her memory along with confusion and disorientation.

I knew Alice wouldn't ever deliberately hurt my children, she cared for them greatly, even the twins who she only just met. She would do anything to protect them, so it had to unwilling for Alice to ever endanger them.

The other members of the family would gladly do the same. I knew I could always trust them. We were a family, and nothing could tear us apart, not the Volturi, not Esther, so that was how I knew I'd have my children back. One way or another, despite the gut retching sadness I felt, we'd all be together again.

Even Emmett and Rosalie. I never intended to drive her away. I held in my heart that everything would work out though. I don't know how, but after everything that happened, and now with the twins and Nessie being taken, I believed I could end this somehow. We'd all be together again one day, with Emmett and Rosalie.

"Edward?"

He didn't respond. He seemed to still be frozen over this.

"Edward, listen to me," I pulled his hands to my chest and looked him straight in the eyes, "Everything will be okay."

Edward snapped out of his stupor at my touch. He looked at me incredulously for a second before speaking, "Bella how can you say that? How can you say that with a straight face?"

Edward looked close to choking as I ran my hand up and down his arm in an attempt to calm him further. "Shh, I just know."

Edward pulled away from me, stammering out, "Bella, our children…t-they're j-just be…taken."

"I know," I replied smoothly.

Edward's eyes flashed but straightening up stiffly, "You're too calm."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Too calm?"

Edward growled, "Our children have just been taken! They're gone! And this is how you're reacting?"

I glared at him snapping before I could help myself, "How would you like me to act Edward? Freeze up like an ice-cube?"

I bit my lip immediately regretting what I said. I hadn't meant it, that had just bubbled up and I couldn't control it passing my lips.

Edward hesitated for a second before strange look passed his face and he immediately hardened. He started backing up, pulling Alice along with him where she had been panicking about the missing children.

The way he moved, it was almost as if he was afraid of me. But that couldn't be possible, this was Edward we're talking about. He was my mate, but he had never before acted like this before. Even during my newborn state and when I was stronger than him and could potentially hurt him, he never acted like this.

It wasn't right, he couldn't be scared of me right? Edward looked at me with predatory eyes and I tried to ignore the jab of sadness that jolted through my heart. Why was he acting like this?

He couldn't be…no, no he couldn't. I was sure of it.

My eyes flickered to Alice, she had been quiet all this time, obviously devastated by what had happened. But she seemed to view both Edward and I with wary eyes as if she were unsure of what to decide. She followed Edward though, and I couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved.

"Edward? What are you doing?" I finally asked.

Edward's voice was hard and calculated, "You're not Bella, and you're being controlled by Esther."

My mouth fell open audibly. What? That was why Edward was acting so scared around me? He thought I was being controlled by Esther.

I wanted to laugh at the irony… The fact that I wanted to do the same a minute ago for his strange behaviour.

I couldn't help myself. I started laughing. All my frustrations and anger just poured out in this mindless activity. I laughed until I had doubled over and if I had been human I would have been reduced to a blood red face.

"STOP IT!" Edward's snapped, his voice filled with ice.

I stopped the minute I saw the look on his face. It was pained and all I wanted to do was comfort him. I realised what it looked like to him, and he probably didn't understand it. I was causing him more pain that was unnecessary as it is.

I took a step forward and winced when Edward visibly flinched.

"Edward, it's me Bella. I'm not being controlled by Esther. I promise."

Edward's face was set and un-readable when he responded, "The Bella I know wouldn't be so nonchalant over the disappearance of her children."

My mouth set in a hard line, "I know. But I had too, because I- we need to focus on getting them back."

Edward looked torn, "How do I know for sure that Esther's not controlling you, as she did with Alice."

He had a point. I hadn't realised Alice had been brought under Esther's control, and despite the hurt I felt for Edward accusing me, I understood why he did and I was glad for it. If it meant that we could ensure our safety, I was all for it.

"You don't."

My voice was soft but firm. I knew I had taken Edward off guard, I could clearly see the surprise that flashed across his face at my response.

"We don't know the extent to Esther's powers, whether or not her mind control is able to probe our memories or deceive our loved ones to the point that they don't even realise."

Alice spoke, her voice barely louder than a murmur, "You're right."

"So what do we do?" asked Edward after a long time.

I walked over to him, distinctively noticing him not pulling away this time, a giddy sensation washed over me at that. "We trust in each other that we're able to tell who our real mates are, the ones we love and share a bond with."

There was nothing else we could do, and I hoped that could be enough. The truth of the matter was that we didn't know what exactly Esther's powers were. What was she? A Witch? A Vampire? I didn't know.

But the one thing I did know, what that she was the most powerful being I had ever seen.