Author's Note
I do not own Twilight.
Her feet were on solid ground again.
The world snapped back into clarity, like an elastic band snapping back into place.
"Jane," he said, just like he had said once before.
No.
Not like he had done once before.
Like he had done just now.
She said something.
What had she said? It had been inconsequential, nothing and everything at the same time.
Find the words. She knew the words. She knew this moment, his bitch still human, the telepath pinning her behind him.
Why did she have to be here alone? At least if she had Alec at her side she wouldn't be alone.
"Master Aro sent me to see what was talking so long," she said, like she had all those years ago.
No.
Focus.
Like she had just now.
She had stepped - slipped - tripped (no, she never tripped) - fallen sideways into… this moment.
"This way," she said. Different. Not enough to change things, only enough to allow her to differentiate. She turned, hearing them move into place behind her. Hunger gnawed at her inside.
"Well, Alice," Cullen was saying, but she tuned his drivel out. She had other things to focus on. Like her perfect memories of what she had done in this moment, like why she was walking through it again, like thinking about her hunger to keep the telepath in the dark. She slid through the gap into the tunnel below. She just needed to get back to the main hall, to be with Alec, who would surely understand, to touch Aro's hand.
They need not lose this time, need not be humiliated.
Cullen slid his still human bitch down into the gap and her little gasp echoed in the silence. Maybe Aro would let them eat her this time. That would be… pleasantly satisfying.
Her footsteps echoed through the tunnel. Slow, too slow, but if Swan was still human she wouldn't keep up. Forever the inconvenience. Oh, please let Aro say they could eat her! It would solve so many problems.
They reached the elevator. Cullen watched her as they descended. Swan was stiff at his side. The bell dinged as they arrived at the reception. She stepped out onto the familiar floor.
"Good afternoon, Jane," said the woman at the desk. Gianna, this one had been called. Demetri made a meal out of her eventually.
A meal would be good right now. She was hungry. Beyond hungry. When had she last eaten? A month ago? Maybe? She probed her mouth with her tongue. She needed to eat.
They passed the desk to the doors of the corridor to the throne hall and she opened them with more than a little impatience.
Alec was there, thank whatever existed, and he came forward to meet her, holding his hands out.
"Jane, you're back!" he called, wrapping his arms around her. They exchanged kisses on the cheeks and forehead as normal, before he raised her hand to kiss her knuckles. She looked at him, asking the question with her eyes. He kept her hand and squeezed it. She smiled.
Not alone.
Hungry - starving - but not alone.