A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I totally disappeared for two months straight. School has been kicking my butt and I've been dying to get back to this story. So here I am!

The World Hollows

Sunday, August 7, 2005

She looked like paper.

Paper, thin and crumbling. That's what they both thought as she was...murdered. Above the cacophony of sorrow and terror when it happened, anger roared. He wanted to tear the stone-hearted woman to pieces, slowly and all at once, without mercy for her plight. All he could think was destroy, hurt, kill.

Because a little part of him believed she would get back up. That she would swear and roll over as if she'd been merely inconvenienced. She'd be fine, like they both promised. No other ending made sense.

But as the soul left Naomi's body, he kept his gaze on Leah. For a second, the two of them locked eyes and that's when he realized he was going to lose her.

He should have been faster, he should have been wiser, he should have been, he should have been, he should've, he should've -

Too late. She was transforming and howling and hurting -

And her eyes shut with a strong finality.

All the way home, he stared at them, willing them to open, willing her to move. He kept tight to her side, one hand on her shoulder, though he was warned to stay away, and though he did not understand. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was aware of arriving in the realm, crossing the army's training yard, of taking the staircase down to the castle's lower rooms, of approaching the medical bay.

Down below, people flew around him, their buzzing wings and low murmurs replacing the jaunty candor that normally colored the tone of the fairies' world. The warm light and dark wood was replaced by leaf curtains and floating flower bulbs that shifted periodically between red to green as some sort of signal. The place looked almost entirely like a garden and would have been idyllic if not for the strain of nervousness in the air. The fairies treated injury in a different matter than humans did, he noticed. There was something more hopeful in them - all was not lost; they had their own technology. If everything failed, the right spell could probably even bring back the dead. But no one was prepared for the very large gray wolf brought to them on a stretcher carried by a solemn squad of fairies. That brought a whole new level of confusion to the palace physicians and healers.

A fairy in lime green rushed towards the stretcher. She spoke quickly in a foreign tongue to Troy, but Edward cut her off sharply.

"Help her. You have to help her," he insisted.

"Sir, we are trying everything -"

"Don't try. Save her."

"Edward!" Troy pushed him away. In the flashing red lights, Troy looked somewhere between panic and fury. "Let Doctor Rocha do her job. All we can do is wait."

"But -" He turned to the chaos swirling around them - Doctor Rocha and the other medical staff blurring into a lime green wall around Leah; the military officers looking nervously around the hospital with their weapons at the ready, as if unsure if they were defending Leah or the fairies; the flashing lights and handfuls of glitter that travel down from above; and Leah growling and groaning in pain, drifting in and out of consciousness. "Did you know?"

"How could I? I thought she was just a regular girl."

"The venom...we need to..."

"We don't know that yet."

Troy led Edward to the perimeter of the medical bay. It really wasn't as expansive as he thought. Before it seemed to stretch for miles.

The young man turned to him. "I'm going to get a lemonade upstairs. Care to join me?"

Edward was about to decline when he looked past his friend. "It seems I have no choice."

The men turned to greet the queen herself. Her bun was slightly askew as if thrown together in a haste, and her smile did not reach her eyes. People passing her gave her a wide berth. "Gentlemen."

"Your Majesty," Troy bowed. "We were successful."

"As my couriers have informed me. Well done, Major Berry. You will be rewarded for this." Her grim face turned to her Edward. "It is a shame that a sacrifice was made to reach our ends."

"It's not a sacrifice if she survives," Edward said. But he was unsure if he said that to comfort himself or refuse the queen's pity.

"Of course," Troy agreed. "Ma'am, I'd be happy to provide my account upstairs, if you will."

"I've heard plenty, major, and I'll be sure to visit Miss Leah when she is awake. But for now, I'd like to speak to Mister Edward alone."

Troy frowned. "Uh, okay."

"Why don't you go visit Princess Echo in the communications room? She requested the opinion of a few military men on a matter of the seating arrangements for the wedding regarding political alliances."

Troy spared Edward the quickest of baffled glances. How odd it was for Queen Ella to keep Echo and Troy apart and now throw them together. But the young man only muttered his agreement and turned on his heel.

"Now then." Queen Ella rose and flew ahead. Edward followed a bit behind, listening to Leah's hammering heart.

The queen led him upstairs and through a few hallways and before he knew it, he was in the very same study where he and Leah had first visited her all those months ago. He became very still once he sat, for he was still listening for Leah's heart and breath. It seemed to him that if he ever forgot to listen for it, the life would drain right out of her.

The queen smiled benignly across from him. From an outsider, they would look like grandmother and son, or even two good friends. But he didn't need to read her mind to know he was to step cautiously around her.

"I'm proud of you, Edward. Your strength, your cleverness. You've won over the ladies of my court at the ball and my trusted soldiers on this mission."

"Yes."

"I do hope Leah recovers soon. I know how special she is to you, son."

He bristled. "You must have known."

"I didn't. I knew she was powerful, unique. But as I've said, I assumed that the blood of her ancestors had little effect on her abilities. Seeing as she is female."

"But you could've figured it out."

"You are right. I should have." She raised an eyebrow at his surprised expression. "I believe people should criticize their leaders, just as their leaders may criticize them."

"What is my criticism?" he asked warily.

"Indiscretion, my dear." She folded her hands on the desk and leaned forward. "Was your uniform useful?"

"Yes, thank you." Where was this going?

"Imagine how overjoyed I was to raise a child like Princess Echo. Gifted, ambitious...innovative. After her parents passed, she became one of the most hardworking students in the realm. She'd often show me her blueprints and plans for her inventions, like the one you're wearing."

"Her Highness is a woman of many talents."

"Many, many, many talents. And she'd ask for my help, practically beg me to put her ideas into the world. I'd say, "alright, but understand that I may make changes" or "it may not come out as you intended". Wise girl, she knew this was how the world worked. And her suit debuted rather quickly - only with thinner armor, a ventilation system, and a camera and microphone."

If he could sweat, he'd be sweating right now.

"My dear Edward, why do you and Leah plot against me when I have never lied to you?"

His response was smooth and quick. "We hadn't been able to get the story out of our minds. The mystery frightened us. We worried poor Sapphira Stone was out there, a slave to vampires all these years." He paused. "However, the bad blood between you and Sapphira along with your grief made it difficult for us to approach you with our theory. So we kept it under wraps."

The queen's face softened into a fond smile. For a moment, Edward wondered if he'd succeeded, at least to a degree. But she said, "Is that what you rehearsed with Echo?"

"Echo never -"

"I know what my granddaughter is about, Edward. She wastes her time thinking and plotting and trying to be a hero when she should be thinking of what this kingdom actually needs."

"Don't take it out on her," Edward snapped, anger rising. "She was trying to protect her people."

"By going behind my back? Is that the kind of behavior you admire?"

"She wouldn't have had to if you didn't lie about Sapphira and Naomi."

The fire reflected brightly in the queen's glass eye. "How dare you call me a liar. I have been careful of information, yes, but that was to prevent chaos and uproar."

Edward shook his head vehemently. "It was to prevent you from being overthrown. You didn't want anyone knowing how badly you mistreated the poor girl or else your people would rightfully fear you."

The queen stood, and small as she was, Edward startled, wondering what she could do to him. Instead, she primly walked toward the fire and began to poke at it, her back to him.

He slowly rose and faced her. "I do not mean to insult you, Queen Ella, but you must admit, you behaved rather poorly. Leah believed she was fighting a noble cause and today...we all murdered a woman in front of her child!"

"Is it not a noble cause to end the life of a hungry beast?" Her voice was cold. "Do you know how many people that thing has killed?"

"Many, I know."

"Sixteen were left half-dead for us to drag back home."

Edward looked to the closed window, where the full moon was bright.

Ella continued. "This was not the ending anybody wanted, not even me. In a perfect world, I would have captured Naomi and tried to cure her of her insanity, or even her vampirism. Or maybe I would have found some way to repair our friendship. But in this world? My only regret is that I didn't try harder to completely eliminate her powers." She rang a bell on the mantle labeled "TEA".

Edward ventured to move closer to her. "I do understand, really." But that didn't make it right.

Ella seemed to hear that last unspoken thought of his. She laughed bitterly. "Silly boy. I don't need you to understand. I need you to stay quiet."

"Excuse me?"

She sighed as if he were much too dense. "I'm trying to end the revolt in Echo's head. I need you to end the one in Leah's. No more of this business about Naomi or Sapphira or whatever she is. What's done is done. We must not return to this topic."

"I have no control over Leah."

"Not true."

"I'm not sure why I should convince her to trust you anymore than she already does."

"It's simple: I've given you all the blessings and protection I can. I could always take that away. But you don't care for such things. So I'll tell you what will happen if you don't help me." She smiled. "Leah will know every part of your mind."

"What?"

"I have my ways of showing her, whether she asks or not. And I won't hesitate to go there."

"There's nothing -"

"Those years of rebellion. The thirst, the sadistic torture, living like a wild animal. Their final thoughts and prayers and anguish as you killed not one, not ten, not even a hundred, but thousands of men."

His throat seemed to go dryer than ever. "Leah knows what I am."

Ella laughed, a warm, inviting sound. "She knows you've messed up. She knows you strayed away. But not for that long. The count - whew! It'll shock and astonish her."

"Stop."

"Won't be good for her recovery."

He lunged for her, flashing forward in the blink of an eye -

Then stopped, just inches from her, his arms still outstretched as if he had missed.

Ella hadn't even flinched. She knew what he knew: it was all so impossible.

The door creaked open and a maid pushing a tea cart nervously peeked her head in. "Your Majesty?"

"Come in, come in," Ella urged. "These cookies look delicious. Edward, would you like to stay for tea?"

The vampire slunk into the shadows and disappeared from the room.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

She gasped, the sound harsh in her ears. As her breathing shuddered, her teeth chattered a staccato rhythm. It was too cold, colder than home ever had been. Her eyes fluttered open to the blue-gray sky above her. A flock of birds flew overhead in a perfect v-formation.

She struggled to sit up but her body was too stiff and sore. She managed to roll onto her side and found herself looking at her lake. Had she teleported? Maybe she'd passed out on the way back home?

Except...she couldn't remember anything - anything but teeth sinking into her flesh and a woman's soul being torn from her body.

Leah pressed the heels of her hands to her cheeks. As she reimagined the scene, it became more and more vivid with color and light. Each time, her own body convulsed as if Leah herself were suffering the same fate.

Why did she feel that dread clawing at her skin? Why did she grieve a murderer?

"Because you're still you."

Leah sat up, wincing afterwards. Around the lake was the familiar forest, but she was alone. No footsteps in the distance, no shadows. Just calm, perfect stillness. "Who said that?"

"You."

"No, I didn't."

"We are one and the same."

And then she heard it. Her own voice, speaking to her. Not from her own head, but echoing around her.

"Okay, not-me. Where are we?"

"The In-Between." A breeze rustled the treetops. "Your view of it."

"I didn't think I could go here." Leah ran her hands along the blades of grass. They seemed greener in this dimension. "At least, not in my sleep."
"You're probably the only person in the world who can."
"What? Why?"

The voice carried a far sweeter tone than the real Leah ever used. It was confident yet soothing, like her mother's. "You're the only fairy with a second identity. You're the only fairy with a wolf."

Leah rubbed her eyes. "That doesn't make sense."

"You are a Quileute shapeshifter, Leah."
"That's impossible! I'm a girl!" She pushed herself to her feet. "And I've been hanging around vampires for… for forever! And...and...it's just impossible!"

The Wolf maintained her calm. "Trust me, Leah. I've been waiting a long time to come out. By the time I found my strength, you had quickly developed a sense of peace among your Cold One friends. Even when the redheaded boy provoked you, the bond was too strong between you two. He brings you an unmatched comfort and clarity that makes early phasing difficult." She paused. "Then, you were given your powers by the queen. It is difficult for two forms of magic to thrive in one body. You may not be a born fairy, but your powers taint your blood day by day. They feed on my energy."

Leah looked at her hands, which moments before had been lit pale blue. "That's why Queen Ella wanted me. Because of the magic she saw in me. You."

"Yes. Though she couldn't seem to figure out that it was more than magic in your bloodline. It was a wolf struggling to break through the surface."

The pieces clicked together. "You tried to break through whenever I was scared," she realized. When she saw Sam alone in the woods, when she first sparred Edward, when she attacked that vampire. All those times her body had burned and shook with a disproportionate rage and fear. "And you appeared today because my life was truly in danger. The venom. You stopped me from transformation."

"No, I forestalled your death. You had yet to shift, but venom would be fatal to you, just as it'd be to your other shapeshifting friends."

Leah made a face. "They're not -"

"You do care for them, especially the pack leader. Do not bother trying to hide a secret from me."

Leah shook her head, unwilling to get into an argument with herself. "So you brought me here."

"Once I first gained control of your body, I could finally work in tandem with your powers instead of against them. I could force you to use your magic to destroy the venom. But the pain was too great. I brought your mind here so you wouldn't give up."

Leah exhaled sharply. "So I didn't die."
"I am no wielder of your clan's magic. I follow my instincts. Yet your heart still beats." The Wolf paused, and a soft sigh rippled the lake. "If you sit still, you may be able to feel your physical form repairing itself."

Leah wrapped her arms around herself. The sun brightened above her and she felt its warmth wash over her. "I want to go home," she said softly.

"In due time. Be grateful, Leah. No shapeshifter or fairy could save themselves like this. We may not even be able to do it twice. You're very powerful."

"I know."

She wanted to be strong and powerful. But why did it have to cost so much?

When she woke up the second time, she was back in her bedroom at the castle.

Her eyelids cracked open and she saw Echo sitting there on the edge, in one of her flowy pastel gowns, reading a book.

Leah immediately squeezed her eyes shut again, finding she didn't quite like being awake. Because where her senses used to be clear, now they were uncomfortably sharp, like being stabbed with the world all at once. If she tensed, she could hear the clink and clatter of the kitchen. All the sweet scents of the garden below were now dizzying, the twenty-four (as the queen had boasted) flower varieties making themselves present. And the sun - ugh.

Leah groaned, turning on her side, away from the window.

"Leah!" Echo rushed to her side, touching her forehead. "You're awake."

Leah squinted. "Sun."

Echo lifted a hand. "Gwen?"

The previously unnoticed maid scurried to draw the curtains, then lifted a glass of water with a straw to Leah's lips.

"I can take it." Echo dismissed the maid.

While Leah sipped, her eyes ran around the room. Everything was more beautiful in the daylight. She could see every detail in the patterns of her bedspread and the walls. Even her friend's dress seemed more ornate then at first glance. The details of the fairy's world had been hidden from her.

"Do you -" Echo hesitated. "What do you last remember?"

Her head was in a haze, and for a moment she struggled to knit reality with daydream. "Wolf."

"Okay. Good. After your first...shapeshifted, you were howling in pain. They were going to put you under in the med bay, but you suddenly passed out. You seemed to be healing yourself. You resisted the venom." She laughed in disbelief. "There was a bit of debate about how to bring you home. And to which home to bring you," Echo explained softly. "The queen requested you be brought here. The doctors in the medical bay were preparing a spell to bring you back to your human form, but you shapeshifted again. It was for the best. I think they were scared."

"Huh. They should be scared." Her brows pinched together. "Where's Edward?"

Echo wrung her hands in her lap. "He left this morning. He and Troy were sent to explain things to your families."

"I could've done that."

Echo swallowed. "Leah it's been three days."

"What?!" Leah pushed away the covers, rushing to the closet.

"Wait." Echo scurried after her.

Leah tripped over her own feet, but caught herself. "Damn! My mom 's probably going crazy right now."
"Please calm down." The princess's tone was uncharacteristically nervous. "We still need to talk some things over."

Leah turned. "What more -" She frowned, feeling off-balance in more ways than one. "Echo how tall are you?"

Echo looked away. "Let's sit down."

"No. Because last time I checked, I didn't have to bend my neck to look you in the eye."
Echo hesitated, then drew a small square in front of her face. A piece of glass appeared. She flicked the glass away from her and it smacked into the panneled wall, stretching into a full-length mirror.

Leah's fascination grew to terror as her image sharpened. To her right stood her friend looking down at her bare feet. And Leah? She was almost herself but…

"I'm so tall. And…" She flexed her bicep. "Bulky. Like there's two of me. Any chance the doctors gave me too much drugs?"

"Glad you can laugh about it," Echo sighed.

"I'm not. Not really." Leah crossed her arms, but when she saw the masculine way her muscles bulged out, she relaxed. Lifting her shirt, she saw the kind of washboard abs bodybuilders worked towards. It was like her body had burned off every ounce of fat and replaced it with hard muscle. She wasn't sure she liked it. This wasn't her body.

"This is all perfectly normal. For, um, shapeshifters," Echo weakly assured. "That's what Billy Black said when we called."

"Doesn't make it easier." Leah turned away and went to the closet. Her fingers pushed away several summer dresses. She wasn't used to her new limbs enough yet to have them on full display. She forced her mind to business. "So. You've heard about the target."

"It was completed. And Edward confirmed...Sapphira really is gone." Echo's voice was low but firm. "It had to be done."

Leah shook her head. "If I had known about the little girl…"

"You would've done what, Leah? Disobeyed direct orders? Even if we had been right, we still would have had to kill someone that day."

"Someone who suffered at the hands of your leader."

"Yes. They suffered. But a horrible past doesn't excuse continuing to inflict harm on innocent people. Not for anyone."

Annoyed, Leah tossed off her first outfit. The brown and green made her look like a damn tree. She dressed in coppery leggings and a light red tunic, then tied her hair in a ponytail. With another glass of water, she leaned against the wall, collecting her thoughts.

Echo toyed with the frayed spine of her hardcover. "I can't believe no one realized Naomi had a daughter. Troy should have figured it out. I should've been there!"

"Don't be mad at him or yourself. It's a crappy situation all around."
"I'm sorry I've put you all through it." Echo dropped her head to her hands. "I try to be a good princess, but I only end up making things worse."

Leah sat down next to her. "That's not your fault. You're supposed to be queen."

Echo patted her hand, but there was a heaviness in her movements, like she was losing strength.

Friday, August 19, 2005

By the end of her first week as a wolf, Leah learned three very important things.

One, she absolutely hated being in a pack.

Two, absolutely everything has a smell and humans must be the biologically superior beings for the sole reason they don't have to experience a whiff of feet and garbage dumps every time they step outside.

Three, wanting to eat everything in sight had its pros and cons. Sure, you would burn it all off in a few hours. But could you afford it? And, yeah, you could have an entire pack of Oreos right after a dinner of mozzarella sticks and hot wings, but you would still end up in the bathroom for a while, hypermetabolism or not.

'Could you please stop whining for once?' Paul called to her. 'We get it. You're Cathy, you eat ice cream and you cry, your life sucks, yadda yadda yadda.'

'Paul, you read the Cathy comic strip?' Jared's bark-laugh was audible from far off. 'Oh my God, you do!'

'It's in there with the rest of the comics - you know what, I don't have to explain myself to you guys.'

'Idiots,' Sam sighed.

'Fucking idiots,' Leah thought at nearly the same time, then shuddered at the similarity in their thought processes. If they weren't careful, the four of them would become one homogenous person.

'Just another hour guys,' Sam assured. Today, they were patrolling in a large group of four instead of pairs. Partially because of the increase in vampire presence in the area. The other reason was because they had to train Leah.

She wasn't sure why so much emphasis was being put on training to run in circles. Everything about being a wolf came naturally to her. It wasn't a skill you had to hone.

'That's not true, Leah,' Sam disagreed. 'You can always become stronger. And you still have to train yourself to be on high alert. There will be no room for mistakes when you're in the zone.'

Leah could feel the disapproval coming for the others. 'I wasn't trying to be bratty.'

Sam couldn't help summoning the image of her fight with the vampire last month. In the memory, Leah looked small and weak, in over her head.

She didn't like his biased perception of her. 'Stop that!'

Sam mentally rolled his eyes. When he relaxed, his mind drifted to where it always did. To Emily. Emily in her new sundress. Emily in his lap telling her about his day. Emily by the stove, looking up with that smile when he walked in -

Leah growled. 'Please shut up. You're triggering my gag reflex.' To accompany the thought, she pictured herself violently retching into the bushes.

Everyone recoiled in horror and Sam snapped out of his daydreaming.

Paul sneered. 'She's got a point. The two of you go from cute to creepy real fast when we get the in-depth view of it all.'

Jared chose this moment to be a supportive second-in-command. 'Ignore them, Sam. You're in love.' When he thought of his own girlfriend, Kim, he gave a sigh so exaggerated that Leah could swear the trees shook. 'You two will understand when you imprint.'

The four of them pictured Paul and Leah each with goofy, moonstruck expressions.

Sam hesitated, but not from jealousy. He was thinking of how there were no female shapeshifters before Leah. How unpredictable her fate was. How unlikely it was that her life would ever truly coincide with the rest of the pack.

'Sam -' Jared started.

'I asked you to shut up!' Leah screeched, halting in her tracks. Several paces ahead, Sam stopped, too. 'You don't know a thing about my future.'

'Leah, I didn't mean to offend you. I was only going about it, logically.' Sam looked to his paws. 'I just don't want you to get your hopes up.'

Paul huffed. 'Why do you care anyway, Leah? You have your vampy boy-toy.'

The three guys turned over the thoughts his comment dredged up.

At her lake.

The day at the piano.

The ball.

Sitting by the stream.

Most of these memories had already passed through the hive mind in bits and pieces, but being hit by them all at once forced them all to dive into Leah's feelings. She shook with anger as they inspected her private moments, forming their opinions.

Paul gagged. 'Now you're the one making me sick, Leah.'

Jared shivered. 'Okay, let's never talk about this again.'

There was underlying anger to Sam's concern. 'Leah, please don't be taken in by his charms.'

Leah thought of Edward pounding on her father's chest. Edward fighting to save her from being kidnapped by Troy in the woods.

Sam tried to placate her. 'Maybe he's not all bad. Maybe even the Cullens have good sides. It's just that, though. A small side, not a real soul. If you are hoping for more than that, it will only end in heartbreak and misery.'

'Even more heartbreak and misery than you caused me?'

Paul and Jared shuffled out of the way, not liking the acid in Leah's tone.

Her eyes squeezed shut as she struggled not to leap forward and tear her ex-boyfriend to pieces then and there. 'Give me a second.' She didn't want to be ordered. It was important to her that she stopped herself, that it was her choice to spare him.

When she lifted her head, shaking with sweat, she said, 'I'm going now. Finish the patrol yourselves, assholes.'

'Leah, wait,' Sam called.

She stopped.

He sounded regretful, but as with Sam, no apology came. That was just who he was.

Instead he told her, 'You still need to get that haircut.'

She ran off, not stopping until she was right outside her backyard. She nearly broke the clasp on her bra out of anger. When she was back in her faded floral sundress, she stormed into the kitchen and made herself a six-egg omelet. While she waited for the pan to heat up, she grabbed a cereal box and started eating straight out of it.

Seth came in, holding a basketball. He was springing up like a weed. "Where did you go today? I wanted to play with you."

"You want an omelet?"

He looked at the wall clock. "Dinner will be ready in like two hours."

Leah shrugged.

He was looking at her quizzically. "Your arms are huge. You could kill someone!"

She shot him a cold look but bit back a cruel reply just in time. This was her baby brother. And he was relatively innocent. Instead she elbowed past him. "Try drinking milk for once, stick bug."

After her snack, she didn't go to Emily like Sam had instructed. She spent a few minutes looking in the mirror, running her hands through her hair, before making the choice.

When Alice ushered her in and they sat at the kitchen counter together Leah couldn't shake her unease. Not because of the reason for her visit, but because up until now, the Cullens' house had a sweet perfume to it. Now it smelled like something sickly sweet she couldn't put her finger on.

Leah tilted her head, inspecting her friend. There was something out-of-place about her. The vampires were still, but they weren't that frozen. Alice wasn't breathing. "Does it smell horrible to you in here?"

"I don't think we're smelling the same thing!"

Leah covered her nose and mouth with one hand. "What? Okay, so we both absolutely reek right now."

Alice shrugged. "It's gross but not unbearable."

Leah dropped her head to her arms. "One of the many awful things about today." She sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

Alice bit her lip. "Yeah, about that. Are you sure you can't get a bob?"

"No. It has to be boy-short."

"There's no such thing as 'girl-long' hair, so why should there be 'boy-short'?" Alice fluffed her own spiky hair. "You're really pretty. You'll pull it off better than I do."

Leah felt her irritation spike. "Yes. But on a short, thin girl like you, it's a fashionista-tomboy look. On me," she threw her arms outward, "it's a full on man look."

"There's nothing wrong with having muscles."

Both women turned to see Rosalie in the doorway.

At their shock, the blonde glowered. "I live here, too, you know."

"Yes, but -" Leah shook her head. "Nevermind. So you're saying I should embrace the freak look?"

Rosalie gave her a half-shrug. "You can punch out anyone that tries to mess with you. Be glad."

"I don't want to look like it, though."

"You get flat abs while eating...whatever it is that you eat. Besides, why should a girl have to look a certain way to be feminine?"

Alice laughed. "Coming from you!" She started dancing and singing 'Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend'.

Rosalie pointed an accusatory finger. "Oh, shut up. In New York, you wore a Versace mini every other day!"

"We were so close to the city, why wouldn't I?"

"Fair but why did you cut out the backs?"

The sisters started squabbling, their voices becoming whistles in the wind. The two of them reminded Leah of herself and Emily. She was surprised the thought didn't make her upset, just a little wistful.

Somehow the three of them ended up at the vanity in Rosalie's room. Leah figured something had gone seriously wrong with her life when she saw two vampires behind her in the mirror and felt more terrified of their mischievous grins and the scissors in their hands than their sharp teeth.

She sighed. "Do as you must."

Alice clucked her tongue. "It really is a shame."

She knew. While she wasn't her hair, her hair was a part of her. It seemed so unfair that she was leaving behind a significant part of herself, one that tied her to her tribe and their land, for the purpose of serving her tribe. It seemed unfair that she would no longer look the way she wanted, that magic couldn't just make it work.

It would not be for nothing. Not completely.

"I'll give it away."

The process took longer because they had to clean and dry the hair, then section it properly.

Rosalie wasn't a big talker until she was immersed in a task. She told a story of going to cosmetology school a few years ago. "Then all the clients were asking me for my foundation and complaining when my recommendation didn't give the same results or whatever. But it was a fun path for me. My speciality was coloring hair. I was very thorough."

"Oh, so you really are Barbie, then."

Rosalie's voice went cold. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, Barbie as in 'I can be anything' - beautician, scientist, CEO, and all that?"

"Maybe I am." There was a smile in her tone. "We're done."

Packaged hair sat on the counter, ready for donation. There was a lot of it. Leah debated just going home now that it was over. She didn't need to know what she looked like. But no one was laughing or apologizing, so it couldn't have been horrific.

She cracked an eye open. Not horrific at all.

Her new hair was short and piecey but soft and pretty all at once. She wasn't sure she quite looked like herself, but she definitely didn't look worse.

Alice clapped her hands. "Fashion show! Quick, Rose, your pewter Givenchy jacket."

"No, she should shower first, she's covered in hair."

Leah was given a towel and sent to the bathroom in Edward's room. Rosalie and Emmett's tub had recently been the site of a science experiment gone wrong, and Alice had suggested Edward would mind the least about her 'peculiar scent'. Leah had given her a C-minus at her attempts to soften the insult.

In the last hour, the weird syrupy scent had gone from repugnant to mildly distracting. On the third floor, she walked slowly into Edward's room so she could savor the carpet again. It was the perfect floor for movie marathons. She'd have to get the same one installed when she owned her own house.

As she peeled off her clothes and turned on the hot water, she thought that over. Her own house seemed like a far off dream. Almost like wishful thinking. For now, her life wasn't hers. Yes, she had finished the job for the clan, but now she was a pack member. Above all, she was the protectress.

She shook that thought from her head. It felt weird to touch anything in here. It was an intrusion of Edward's space, in a way. She'd never gone in his bathroom. Even peeing in there would be an exercise in humiliation. Now that she thought about it, she'd only really used the first floor bathroom.

That was a shame. It really was beautiful here. The door, curtains, and floor were black, along with the decor, and the wall tile was a familiar pearl and gold, matching the colors of the bedroom. Leah wondered if it had been put together by Esme or if he had a good eye for interior design, too.

With a borrowed conditioner, she soaped up her hair. Supposedly, when she stepped out she was supposed to feel like a new woman. In a way, she already did. For many reasons, she hadn't wanted to cut her hair. But it was a misfortune she would learn to accept with time. Rose and Alice hadn't quite understood but their willingness to make the best of it had helped some.

Leah stepped out and wrapped herself in a plush towel. She tried to style it into the layered bangs but now her hair just looked like a bad wig.

"Hey, Rosalie," she called. "Got any products to style this thing?"

No one answered after a moment, so she threw open the door. Immediately, the strong vampire smell hit her like a wave.

And across the room, Edward froze.

For a second, they both just stared at each other like a couple of dumbasses.

Internally, Leah cursed herself. She was acting like a main character in those cutesy animes Seth had forced her to watch (and okay, she didn't hate them.)

Edward had craned his neck to the windowed wall. "My apologies, I thought you'd be dressed by now."

"Uh, well, surprise!" Gee, that didn't sound at all like a girl jumping out of a cake for some old, loaded rich guy's birthday party. "You could've seen that."

"I try to tune out others' minds for their private moments." He still wasn't looking at her.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

They both laughed a little. Leah approached slowly, cautious less due to her semi-nudity, more because she wanted to figure something out.

He wore gray jeans and a plum-colored shirt. She couldn't recall seeing him in any colors but neutrals and faded shades of blue before now. Overall, he looked much the same as he had last week. The opposite of her.

"I was told," he shoved his hands into his pockets, "that it'd be much longer before I could see you. That you needed time to control your phasing."

"I do need time. But it's not so hard to control as I thought." She crossed her arms. "The key is to stay calm and don't think too hard about what's happening."

"That doesn't sound healthy."

"It is what it is." Then she frowned, because that wasn't how she wanted to talk to him. "I missed you."

He smiled softly. "I missed you, too."

"A lot happened while I was out, I hear."

"Yes. I was prepared to pull the venom out myself, but they were worried about how your body would react in that state. Deep down, I knew you would pull through. And you proved me right." He turned to the window. "I visited the realm with Troy today. Ella's very proud of the two of us. Wants to throw another celebration before the big wedding."

"And the girl?"

He narrowed his eyes at something in the distance.

"Edward?"

"Naomi's daughter is being privately observed by a special team to ensure she is not unique, like her mother."

"But she's not special, is she? Naomi had to have her in her human state."

"We don't know that. Even as a vampire, Naomi did bleed. She could be cut."

"So you think she was able to be impregnated by a human male?"

"Possibly. A vampire body cannot change to have a baby. But Naomi's body could. Her fairy blood made her adaptable - something straddling the line between alive and undead." He pressed a hand to the glass. "The queen won't want to take a chance."

"So what will she do? Keep her locked away? Recruit her into the army? She's a kid."

"She made it seem like idle curiosity. But knowing what we know, it can't be. Troy told me he'd keep an eye on the girl, no matter what's declared."

"The others don't know Naomi's full story. Do you think they'd be so obedient if they knew the role Ella played in all this?"

"She's still a criminal." Edward shook his head. "No. Probably not. Some people will want the child to suffer, regardless. That's another reason even Ella is backed into a corner."

"What's the other?"

He leveled her with a tired stare. "You remember what I told you about the Volturi?"

"Super old vampire kings of Italy? Your unofficial rulers?"

"Right. Despite their preservation and secrecy, I don't doubt Aro knows something about the clans, or at least he's encountered one. The fairies have their appeal, but they must be too formidable, too useful, or both, if they haven't been wiped out by now. However, if the Cosaint are responsible for creating an immortal child, the Volturi wouldn't hesitate to annihilate them all."

Leah stepped back. "That's ridiculous!" But she knew the dangers involved for everyone. Even if Naomi's daughter wasn't immortal, she could be supernatural. Hey, her birth itself could be supernatural, if Naomi had her after being transformed into a vampire. Ella wouldn't risk the clan. The Volturi wouldn't risk the exposure. It'd be best if Ella kept the girl in the realm for the rest of her life, if she had to.

Edward nodded along with Leah's thoughts.

She sighed, leaning her shoulder on the wall, appreciating the cool glass. "I didn't want it to end this way."

"Me neither." He smiled bitterly. "I feel a bit used. Like, maybe she wanted us so no one would find out how wrong she's done others."

"Me, too." She stared out the window, cursing all that's happened, how things seemed to be getting better before they were collapsing again. She felt Edward's eyes on her. "What?"

"Nothing." He shrugged. "You just seem calmer than I expected."

"It's all I have left." She stared at her bare feet. "It's calm or crazy."

"There is middle ground." He turned to her, resting a forearm on the wall. "You can tell me. You won't lose control with me. I trust you."

She shot him a sideways look, suddenly unsure of the idea of being closer to his face than before. But a barrage of memories and half-formed opinions and chronic worries shoved them away. She groaned, clapping her hands to her ears, trying to shut out the pain, the stress, the fear. Her muscles shook and she realized it had been a very bad idea to come here.

"Leah, you don't have to tell me, it's alright." His voice was muted.

But it was too late. She hated it. She hated everything that had happened. She hated that killing Naomi had only brought more conflict. She hated that Ella had used her and Edward to cover her own tracks. She hated that her emotions were no longer just the trigger for making grass grow, but for her body to explode into a gigantic ball of fur.

Then Edward was there, hands pressed to her waist, and she realized her towel had been about to slip off. It was that brief bit of amusement combined with the concern in his voice as he whispered something in her ear that brought her back to reality.

Leah's eyes opened and with a gasp, locked her hands onto his arms. She was shuddering slightly, but no longer within the reaches of phasing. Edward rubbed her back and she concentrated on that motion. Slowly, she relaxed her fingers so they weren't digging into his skin.

He was a relief. The cool of skin no longer brought a half-second of shock, and it was softer, too. She hadn't noticed that with his sisters. He made her notice small, insignificant things.

Edward's hands stilled and she watched his shoes, such ridiculously nice shoes, step towards her bare toes.

Her head snapped up and there he was, just a hair away because she was almost six feet tall as of last week. Bags under his almost-black eyes, mouth gaping a little. No. He doesn't look the same as last week. He looked off. Pained by her pain.

Is that possible? To care about someone that much?

He sighed, turning away. "It's all a moot point anyway."

"What is? Oh." She blinked, her mind returning to the previous subject. "I guess. But I can't see it working out."

"Why?"

"The truth will come out about the girl eventually. Ella won't be able to weaponize her or anything like that. People won't be that cruel. They won't want a child to suffer, even if they think it's an abomination or whatever."

"Don't be naive."

"Edward, no one should have to serve a queen that would torture a girl and a kid."

"She had her reasons." His gaze was stony. "You realize that, right?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this. Are you saying you agree with what Ella did?"

"No, I - I..."

"Edward, we can't just let her get away with this. She's a tyrant. A dictator. A monster."

"Well, no more than me."

She rolled her eyes. "Let's not go there again. I'm not comparing you to a murderer."

"Look who you're talking to."

"She killed for selfish, spiteful reasons."

"So did I."

"Mistakes -"

"Many times." He moved closer, his face hovering above hers like a dream, like a threat. "Not once. Not twice. Not a hundred. Thousands and thousands of times. And I enjoyed almost every single one."

It wasn't quite the words so much as the fact that being hit with a fresh wave of bleach-and-syrup in the face is hard for a new wolf to take.

Dazed, confused, and mildly nauseous, Leah turned and visited her not-boyfriend's bathroom for the second time that day, struggling to keep her towel on and untangle her thoughts.