The Mating Dance

by Xavier2163

AU Edward Cullen and his adoptive family moved to Forks to start a new life, but Edward’s life suddenly changes when he’s drawn into Bella Swan’s strange and dangerous world. Vampires mate for life, but what happens when that mate is human? OOC Lemons ExB

9. Girls Night Out

Disclaimer: Written under the derivative fan works act. All rights reserved to the original creator, Stephanie Meyer.

Title: The Mating Dance

Rating: M for sexual situations, lemons, and hot, steamy, angsty vampire lovin', underage drinking, smoking, drug use and overall bad behavior.

Premise: Alternate Universe. Edward Cullen and his adoptive family have moved to Forks to start a new life, but Edward's life suddenly changes when he's drawn into Bella Swan's strange and dangerous world. Vampires mate for life, but what happens when that mate is human?

Alternate Universe: Canon pairings eventually, pretty much OOC, ExB of course.

POV: APOV (Alice), Alice's turn, but Edward will continue the story in the next chapter. Bella may have a say later on as well.

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Author Notes:

Please note that this story is rated M for a reason, if you'd prefer not to deal with mature themes, please do not read this story.

Sorry this is a little late. My son graduated from high school this year, and we had family come out and visit. It's been a crazy couple of weeks between wrapping up the school year and getting ready for the graduation.

Anyhow, don't get too mad. I had to write this chapter to make everything else fit later. Please read and review, and tell me what you think.

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APOV (Alice)

Chapter 8 Girls Night Out

Edward and Bella were being difficult, and this just would not do. Somebody had to crap or get off the pot! Both of them were waiting for the other to make the first move, and it was driving me crazy! It was time to fish or cut bait, but both of them were dragging their feet and just wouldn't say those three simple words!

Edward was waiting for her to be honest with him and come out and tell him everything on her own, and she was waiting to know that he really wanted her for who she was and not because of some kind of crazy magic between them. They both had a point, but why did two so incredibly stubborn people have to end up together? It was making my life more difficult, and they didn't have all the time in the world to settle this.

Besides, just when were they expecting to find time to hash all of this out? Sure, they talked on Wednesday night and agreed that time was running out, but for two intelligent people, they sure didn't do much thinking. Edward had a cross country meet on Thursday, and was going to be gone all day. He wouldn't get home until after ten thirty that night, and even if he wasn't off with the cross country team, then he would have driven me to Port Angeles for my class.

Bella and I would both be gone most of Friday with the football team and cheerleaders to go to the football game in Onalaska on Friday night. We wouldn't be back until two thirty in the morning on Saturday, but then Edward had another cross country meet that day. He'd have to be at the school to leave on the bus to Ore before we even got back from Onalaska, and he wouldn't be back until late Saturday afternoon or early evening.

I don't think either of them realized it, but that Wednesday night was the last chance they had to talk things out before Esteban came back to Seattle. If Bella's family forced Edward's hand or made his decisions for him, he'd resent them forever. He'd love Bella, but he'd carry a grudge, and it would take years before we had peace again. I knew he'd come around and accept this on his own. He was trying to hide how much this new life attracted him, and play the devil's advocate, but I knew it didn't repulse him as much as he let on. He just needed time to make up his mind, and think the decision through on his own. If he accepted this, it would be better for all of us. Now I just had to buy him the time he needed to figure out what the rest of us already knew.

I knew what I had to do, but Bella wasn't going to like it. Well, having an inside track on what to expect could come in handy sometimes, and I knew she'd get over it. Friday at the football game I put my plan into action. I invited the girls, Bella, Angela and Jessica, to my house for a sleep over. I knew Carlisle wouldn't mind and it would be fun.

Bella wasn't much of a shopper, and from what she told me, Rose had picked out and bought most of her clothes. She'd be happy burying her nose in a used book store for hours, but anything fun like clothes or shoes seemed to turn her off. I'd have to work on that, but I'd have a long time to get her to see the light. For now, that's where Jessica came in. She loved to shop, and it was easy to get her to start talking about her favorite shopping malls and shopping trips.

Forks was just so isolated, out here in the middle of a sea of trees and green. Thank god for the internet, and online shopping, but sometimes you just wanted to get in there and try things on to see how they looked and felt. Sure, you could look at pictures of shoes, purses and accessories, but what fun was that if you couldn't try them on and walk in them or see how they looked with the rest of the outfit? There was simply nowhere decent to shop out here unless you literally drove for hours, but that would work to my advantage this time.

It was already Saturday morning, when I proposed the idea of a road trip. Jessica was all fired up and ready to flex her credit card, and Angela was sitting there wide-eyed as we described the Promised Land on the other side of the sound. I suggested we drive to Seattle and go shopping, and Jessica jumped on board immediately. Angela hemmed and hawed a bit, but I knew she wanted to go. I looked at Bella, and I could tell she didn't like the idea, but I knew she'd give in.

What about you, Jessica, Are you in?" I asked.

"Hell yes! I'm in. I've been dying to get to some of the malls in Seattle, but mom's been so busy with organizing cheerleading, her aerobics classes and her job. We haven't had a spare moment for a decent shopping trip since school started."

"Ok, Angela, what do you say, want to see some of these shops up close and personal and try on some outfits?"

"Yeah, I really want to go, but I don't know if my parents will let me go all the way to Seattle by myself."

"You're not going by yourself, you're going with us."

"Don't worry, Angela," Jessica said. "I'll have my mom call your mom, and she'll let you go if you want."

"Ok, if they say it's ok, then sure, it sounds like fun."

"Well what do you think, Bella? Are you up for a road trip? Will you drive us to Seattle to hit some malls today?

"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Alice… I have to talk to Rich and Marilyn, and see if it's ok."

I knew she was just stalling until she could tell us they said no. It didn't matter what they told her, and she was using it as an excuse. I didn't absolutely need her there, but it would be easier if she took us.

"That's ok, Bella. You don't have to go if you don't want to… I can drive us over and Carlisle can pick Edward up when he comes home from Ore."

"No! Uh, I mean ok, I'll take you if you have to go today…"

"Cool, thanks' Bella.

We talked for a while and made plans, and then Angela and Jessica finally dropped off to sleep. It had been a long day and they were exhausted. I was beat too, but I hadn't been sleeping well since Jasper left. It would probably be easier to sleep now, I knew he was nearby, and I could feel his presence, but it was still hard. I wanted him so bad but I had to be strong. It would be easy to just let Esteban and Esme force Edward's decision, but it was the wrong way to end this, and I had to get them to see reason.

"Alice, just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Bella asked me once Jessica and Angela were fast asleep. "Don't you realize how dangerous it is to go to Seattle right now? You must have seen that!"

"Give me a little credit, Bella. Do you think I would have suggested the trip if I knew anything bad was going to happen? We'll be safe today, and nothing too dangerous is going to happen. Just do what I say, and we'll be fine."

"If you say so, but I've got a bad feeling about this."

"I told you not to worry, and I know how much you've been dying to get over to Lionheart's used books at the Pike Place Market. There's a knife shop I want to look at too. We'll go there first, and then I thought we'd hit Pacific Place."

"Pacific Place! Uhgg. That's where Rose and Esme always want to drag me to buy clothes…"

"There's a Barne's & Nobel there. We can run by to look at some books too. There are some really nice clothes stores too… Maybe Victoria's Secret?"

"What could I possibly use from Victoria's Secret, Alice?"

"Oh, I don't know… You know my brother isn't going to stay stubborn forever… You might need something sooner than you think."

"Alice!"

"Ok, well something to think about. We could always go to the Westlake Center if you prefer, but the shops are a little more upscale at Pacific Place. Now I need to try and get some sleep. Are you going to lie down and pretend to sleep, or did you have something else on your mind?"

"Pretend to sle… Maybe I'll just have a cigarette, and watch a movie or something…"

"Whatever suits you, good night, Bella, see you in the morning. And Bella? Don't let Jasper try and talk you out of this. We're going, no matter how much he doesn't like it." She was still sitting in the chair by the window smoking her cigarette when I finally drifted off to sleep.

We slept in late or at least late for me, and we were up at eight. I heard Bella sneak back into the room and felt her lie down to pretend to wake up, but I didn't say anything. Angela and Jessica were kind of bleary eyed, but I put on a pot of coffee and fixed breakfast as we took turns at the shower, and got dressed for the day.

Jessica called her mom and explained our plans. She smiled and clicked her phone shut, and said everything was taken care of. Angela got a call about fifteen minutes later, and her mom told her she could go with us. I told Carlisle I was going shopping with the girls today when he came down for breakfast, and he just rolled his eyes and said to have fun, so we were good to go.

We were on the road by nine, heading north out of Forks up highway 101 on our way to Seattle. It was about a three hour trip, but Bella drove like a demon, and ignored the speed limit most of the trip. A couple of times, I tapped her on the shoulder, and nodded ahead of us so she'd slow down. The first time it annoyed her, but after we passed the State Trooper parked on a side road for a speed trap, she thanked me and paid attention when I warned her.

We stopped in Port Angeles for a bathroom break to fill up the car with gas, and then got back on the road. We stayed on 101 through Sequim, but turned off onto Highway 104 towards to ferry dock in Kingston when the 101 turned south to follow the western shore of the peninsula around the sound. We took the ferry to Edmonds, and it was like driving into the modern world after being surrounded by forest and open spaces. We weren't even in Seattle yet, but we were in the city. Or at least in the urban sprawl of the greater Seattle Metropolitan area. On the other side of the sound where we lived, you had to drive for hours to get to the next small town. After we got off the ferry, you still drove for hours, but the only way you knew that you left one city and entered the next was if you saw the city limit sign on the side of the road.

Bella drove southeast on the 104 until we hit Interstate 5, and merged onto the freeway heading south. It felt strange to be on an eight lane freeway again. It was only about eleven thirty on Saturday morning, but there was traffic on the freeway, and there just seemed to be so many cars. It brought home the fact that Forks was such a small town. I'd grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and was used to the Urban Sprawl. I'd ridden in cars driving on crowded freeways all of my life, but I realized just how much the small town was affecting me as I stared at the traffic outside the windows. I could see the awe in Angela's eyes as she stared around. Jessica tried to come off as cosmopolitan and sophisticated, but I could see it affecting her too. If the city was affecting me, I knew she had to be putting on an act.

We cruised south on I-5 into the heart of the city, and I felt a familiar thrill looking up at the towers of glass and steel that reached for the sky. Bella merged off the freeway onto Union Street and we started down the crowded manmade canyon between the rows of skyscrapers and high rise buildings. We drove about eight blocks southwest across town and turned right onto Western Avenue. We could see the Pike Place Market out the windows, and then Bella turned to pull into a parking garage. She took the ticket from the machine at the entrance, and then we pulled in and spiraled down the concrete ramps, searching for a parking place.

We found a spot on the second level down, and Bella pulled into the stall and parked the Charger. I think everyone was grateful to finally be able to pile out of the car, and it felt good to stretch our legs. We made our way out of the garage structure down to the ground level, and crossed the open air parking lot to the tower in the southeast corner of the lot. The stairways in the tower led up to the pedestrian walkway of the Desimone Bridge that allowed us to cross the busy street safely, and led directly into the North Arcade of the market.

The Pike Place Market had originally been opened and sponsored as a public market by the City of Seattle in 1907. It had grown over the last almost century to cover nine acres over several blocks, and was home to over a hundred ninety commercial businesses, fifty restaurants, and over two hundred table spaces and stalls that were rented by the day by local farmers and crafts people. The variety of the offerings was truly amazing. There were French and Russian bakeries, Afghani crafts, African spices and nick knacks. Clothing stores and shops offered everything from unique screen printed t-shirts to designer fashions. There were street vendors and performers, and the original Starbucks Coffee shop was still going strong and thriving in the market.

We were in the North Arcade now, and I led us south as we browsed past the stalls looking over exotic merchandise, produce, and craft goods. I noticed that Bella seemed to shy away form the produce and food booths, and she scrunched up her nose like she smelled something unpleasant when we passed some of the stronger smelling food offerings. That was unfortunate. I loved the rich smells and aromas of the market. I thought I'd miss enjoying the scents of food, but I suppose it was a small price to pay to be with Jasper. I wasn't really interested in buying anything in here, but it was fun to browse and look at everything that was for sale.

There were shops I was more interested in further south in the maze like section known as down under. I knew Jessica was chomping at the bit to head over to the boutiques on tree-lined First Avenue, but I wanted to head down under, and I'd promised Bella that we'd visit the used book stores. It made sense to split up, we could cover more ground, and Jessica wouldn't be bored as we dragged her into shops she wasn't interested in. Besides, I needed to talk to Bella. We were coming out of the north Arcade, and I called the group together.

"Jessica, I want to head down under to look at some shops I like down there, and Bella wants to browse some of the used book shops." I could see the look of distaste on Jessica's face, but she seemed resigned. Bella had driven, after all. "Why don't you take Angela and head over to First Avenue? I know that's where you really want to spend some time. Just remember, we're heading over to Pacific Place later, ok?" She immediately brightened up and smiled.

"No, we should stay together. It isn't safe if we split up…" Bella said, chagrined at the thought.

"Don't be such a worry wart, Bella," I said, "They'll be ok. This isn't Jessica's first shopping trip."

"Yeah, Bella, I'll be fine, and I'll keep an eye on Angela, too."

"Jeez, guys, thanks' for the vote of confidence." Angela said, but she was still wide-eyed looking around at all the new sights and the press of people in the market.

The Pike Place Market saw ten million customers a year. It felt like they had taken the entire population of Forks, and crammed them all into a half a block as they moved along through the market shopping and making noise.

"Ok…" Bella said reluctantly, as Jessica and Angela turned to cross Pike Place to head east toward First Avenue.

"C'mon, Bella, they'll be ok. We can tell them we ate lunch, and then you won't have to pretend." I took her ice cold hand and led her into the maze of ramps and walkways that led to the five stories of shops down under. Bella gave me an odd look, but shrugged it off, and followed me into the maze of corridors.

We browsed through to convoluted system of passages, stopping now and then to look at the odd curiosity, but we made steady progress towards the destination that I had in mind. I made my way through the maze of ramps and stairs until I saw the shop up ahead and I took her hand and pulled her towards the shop I was heading for. Bella looked at the shop for the first time, and gave a low whistle of appreciation. "Wow, Alice! How did you find this place?"

"Just browsing around, see what you can find when you don't let your nose drive you away?" I tapped the side of my nose and smiled at her as we went through the door of Chen's House of Steel.

There was every conceivable style of knife and cutting instrument laid out in the display cases, on the walls and several racks and displays on the shop floor. There were hunting knives, throwing knives, bayonets, fighting knives in both eastern and western styles. There were cheap Pakistani throw away boot knives, and some expensive looking Bowie knives with Damascus steel blades, gold and platinum inlay and exotic hardwood handle leaves. There was cutlery, steak knives, meat cleavers and an extensive assortment of folding knives and Balisong butterfly knives.

Hanging on the wall behind the main counter was an assortment of long blades, and I knew from experience that they were all working steel. No cheap knockoffs or theatrical replicas here. There were several fifteenth and sixteenth century pattern Spanish and Italian rapiers, some English broadswords, a couple of Scottish claymores, and some Chinese style cut and thrust fighting blades in both the straight Jian and curved Dao styles. There were a couple of long curved sabers in metal scabbards, and some more modern military ceremonial swords. Set in pride of place in the center of the wall were several Japanese Katana and Wakizashi sets.

There was a wizened old Asian man sitting in the corner of the shop behind the counter, smoking a long stemmed pipe. I could hear the ring of hammer on steel coming from the back of the shop. The air smelled hot, with the scent of burning charcoal, hot steel and the faintly humid odor of steam and hot oil. The old man never moved from his seat, or spoke to us, but his eyes followed us, and they were alert and sharp. I thought they got a little wider when he looked at Bella, but that was the only reaction I noticed.

"Wow, now I like this kind of shopping, Alice. I wish I could talk Rose into coming down here. Were you looking for something special or are we just browsing?"

"Well, I have to pick up an order I placed, but I was hoping you could help me pick out a gift."

"A gift? For who?"

"For Jasper, I wanted to get him something special, but I'm not sure about his tastes yet. I was thinking maybe the Cavalry Saber, but I keep thinking no, go with the Katana set."

"Yeah, follow you gut, he has a Cavalry Saber that's very special to him. I don't think you'd be able to replace it. I'd get him the Katana, that's something he'll use. Which one were you looking at?"

I stepped up to the counter and looked over at the old man. "Is Master Chen available? I'm here to pick up a commission." Then I pointed to a set of swords hanging on the back wall and said to Bella, "I was thinking about the Black Dragon Katana and Wakizashi set."

The old man turned his head and spoke in a rapid fire sing song in some Asian language, and the hammering in the back of the shop stopped. The curtain over the doorway to the back of the shop moved aside, and another Asian man stepped out. He had short close cropped black hair with a sweat soaked head band over his brow. He was wearing a leather vest and apron over jeans and a t-shirt that was printed with Asian script. There were sandals on his feet with leather flaps on the front to protect his feet from sparks, and he pulled off his gloves as he stepped up to the counter. Bella was studying the Katana set when the man walked out of the back, and his eyes got wide as she looked down from the sword and looked at him.

"Yeah, I think Jasper would like that, but I'd want to try it out to test the balance. I know what he's used to, and I could probably tell you if he'd like it or not."

I nodded and turned to the man at the counter, "Good afternoon, Master Chen. I'm here about the custom work I commissioned a couple of months ago. Is it ready to pick up?"

"Of course, Miss Cullen, let me go wrap it up, and it should be ready to go…" He said speaking a little nervously as his eyes kept glancing back at Bella.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to test the blade before we leave, in case I need any adjustments made, and I'm considering another purchase. Do you have cutting targets setup?"

"Of course, Miss Cullen, Do you prefer bamboo or rice straw?"

I looked up at Bella, and she just shrugged.

"Both please, and bring the Black Dragon Katana and Wakizashi set back too, please."

"Of course, Miss Cullen, please follow me."

Master Chen lifted up part of the counter so we could step through, and then he stepped up onto a two step stool to reach for the Katana and Wakizashi hanging on the wall. He held the curtain aside, and we stepped into his work room in the back of the shop. There was a long wooden workbench covered in a neat arrangement of tools, and a small charcoal forge. There was a Japanese style anvil spiked down onto a large balk of wood that looked like it was cut from a length of tree trunk. There were several sword blanks heating in the forge, and a hammer rested on top of the anvil. An Asian boy dressed like Master Chen was sitting on a stool in the back room resting.

Master Chen spoke to him in the same rapid fire Asian dialect the old man out front had spoken in, and the boy quickly got up. He took one of the blanks out of the coals with a pair of tongs, and started to work it on the anvil with the hammer. The Master shook his head and muttered something in the same language as he opened another door in the back of the workshop, and led us into another room. He stopped before he entered and took off his shoes, and we followed his example as we went through the door.

This room looked more like one of the practice rooms at a martial arts studio, and had a smooth wooden floor. There was a table set along one wall covered in a fine white cloth, and several swords were lying on the table. Spaced around the room were a variety of cutting targets. The targets fell into two broad categories; bamboo and rice straw.

The bamboo targets were long straight lengths of tough green bamboo poles, about an inch and a half in diameter. They were set into stands like you'd set a flag pole in, and stuck straight up towards the ceiling. They were about six feet long, and the top of the pole was about head height for a man.

The rice straw targets were more varied. The basic component of the target was a bundle of rice straw about four inches in diameter, with ties about every six inches or so to hold the bundle together. The bundles were anywhere from two to four feet or so long, but the length depended on how they were grouped together. The straw bundles were used to make different shaped targets that represented an opponent that you might be facing in battle. There was one target that was a single upright bundle, like the bamboo targets. Another couple were made with two upright pieces to represent the body of an opponent. Across the top of the uprights was a longer horizontal roll extending out to represent arms. Finally, there were some targets made up of six bundles tied together standing up in a row.

Master Chen stepped over to the table, and laid the Black Dragon Katana and Wakizashi on the table. He picked up another Katana, and walked over to stand in front of me. He presented the sword, holding it in two hands, and bowed to me. I took the sword with two hands and bowed to him, and then he released the sword into my grip. I looked over the sheathed Katana, and it looked perfect. The saya was lacquered royal blue with blackened bronze fittings, highlighted in gold. The standout of this katana was the 'Stalking Panther' motif featured on the blackened iron tsuba. The finest authentic ray skin same' was covered in a premium quality royal blue Japanese cotton ito, and the same top-quality cotton made up the sageo.

I pushed my thumb against the blackened iron tsuba to loosen the blade in the saya, and then I slid the sword out about six inches to examine the blade. The steel was hand-forged and folded K120C powder steel which had been differentially tempered via traditional claying techniques, producing an effective Rockwell 60C edge and stable Rockwell 40C back. The hamon was gorgeous and very prominent, and the hada was equally as impressive, revealing the detail of the steel's folded structure.

This sword was a slightly bigger blade than my Orchid Katana back home in Forks, but it wasn't for me. The kissaki was an inch longer at twenty-nine inches, but the tsuka was a half inch shorter so the overall length of the sword was only forty-one inches. It was heavier than my sword weighing in at two pounds eleven ounces, but I shouldn't have any problem trying it out.

I moved over in front of one of the bamboo targets, and glanced around to be sure I was clear and nobody was standing too close. I knelt before the target with the katana at my left side. I lowered my head and focused my concentration on the moment, letting my mind go to flow with my actions. I didn't think about what I was doing, I let my training control my reactions and simply acted. I pushed my thumb against the blackened iron tsuba to loosen the blade in the saya, and then I became the sword.

My right hand gripped the tsuka lightly and the blade leaped out of the saya as I rose to my feet in a fluid motion. I left the saya on the ground where I'd knelt and the blade flashed in an arc through the bamboo pole twelve inches from the top, where the neck of my opponent would be. The cut piece of bamboo hardly moved to the side and dropped straight down. My left hand moved onto the tsuka for a two handed grip as I reversed the blade and it flashed through the pole at hip height, cleanly passing through. I pulled the blade back into another reverse, and the cut piece fell away in two chunks from my third cut, before it had even started to fall.

I stepped back and examined the blade, and it was still pristine and razor sharp. I knelt back where I had started, and retrieved the saya. I flourished the Katana through osameto to reverse the blade, giving it a flick of the wrist to shake the imaginary blood off of the tip of the blade, bringing the tsuba to my left thumb and drawing the blade forward through the fingers of the left hand before inserting the tip of the blade into the saya, sharp edge of the blade facing up, and then I slid the Katana into the saya.

"Excellent craftsmanship, Master Chen, please wrap it up, and I'll take it with me today," I said as I stepped over to the Asian man and returned the Katana to Master Chen. "Now, may we examine the Black Dragon Katana?"

"Certainly, Miss Cullen," and Master Chen turned to the table.

He laid the Stalking Panther Katana back on the Table, and took up the Black Dragon Katana. He presented the Katana to me, and I bowed and took the sword. I tested the weight, and it felt about the same as the Stalking Panther Katana. This Japanese sword was mounted in black and was constructed with a tsuka formed of an authentic ray skin same' and premium black Japanese cotton ito. The black iron tsuba was artistically rendered, and featured a dragon highlighted in gold with great detail on both the front and back. The saya was deeply lacquered in black with a black cotton sageo. The katana featured beautifully antiqued fittings creating an aesthetically appealing yet dangerously effective cutting tool.

I turned to Bella and presented the sword and bowed. She took the sword with two hands and returned the bow.

"Go ahead and try it out, and tell me what you think."

"Ok, Alice," and she hefted the sword and tested the weight. "It feels about right, just like his practice sword."

She pushed her thumb against the blackened iron tsuba to loosen the blade in the saya, and then slid the sword out a couple of inches to examine the blade. Then she nodded and smiled.

"This is excellent craftsmanship. The hamon is very prominent and striking, and the hada is just as impressive," Bella said as she examined the blade.

Bella took the saya and pushed the Katana through the belt of her jeans so the sword was at her left hip as she approached the first straw target. She pushed her thumb against the blackened iron tsuba to loosen the blade in the saya, and then slid the sword out of the saya and reversed the blade and held it pointing straight up behind her back in her right hand as she approached the straw target.

The blade flashed out in a single handed overhand slash first to the left and then the right as the four inch bound straw arms of the target fell away. She reversed the blade with a flourish after the second cut, and the blade flashed across the center of the target in a rising two handed strike. The target remained motionless as though she had missed, but as she was turning away the tops of the two upright straw rolls slowly toppled over, cleanly cut through.

She turned toward the second bamboo pole and brought the blade up in a rising underhand strike as she turned and the top of the pole moved two inches to the side and dropped straight down. she followed through her spin and made a downward strike across the center of the pole and then reversed and drew a third cut lower across where the legs would be, and then both cut pieces slowly toppled in opposite directions.

She flourished the Katana through osameto to reverse the blade, giving it a flick of the wrist to shake the imaginary blood off of the tip of the blade, bringing the tsuba to her left thumb and drawing the blade forward through the fingers of the left hand before inserting the tip of the blade into the saya, sharp edge of the blade facing up, and then she slid the Katana into the saya.

"This is perfect, Alice. Jasper will love this sword. The weight and balance are just the way he likes it. I wouldn't change anything."

She presented the sword back to me, and I returned it to Master Chen. "Thank you, Master Chen, I'll take then both."

"Excellent, Miss Cullen, Please come back up front, and we can settle the payment arrangements."

We went back out to the front of the shop, and Master Chen followed us out a couple of minutes later with three sword shaped cloth bags, and a large cardboard box. He laid everything on the counter, and turned to the cash register to ring up the purchase. I peeked inside the box, and the display stands and the tools and cleaning kits were packaged inside.

"How would you like to pay for your purchase today, Miss Cullen? We have an easy payment plan available, if you'd like to fill out an application, or we accept cash and most major credit cards…"

I looked at the number on the cash register. I just opened my purse, and handed him my credit card. His eyes got a little bigger as he took the black plastic card. It wasn't an everyday occurrence when two teenaged girls walked into his shop and then bought custom hand forged battle ready swords and paid for them with a credit card. Most plastic didn't have a high enough credit limit. This purchase was close to four thousand dollars with tax, but he just scanned it, and handed me back the card and the receipt to sign when it came back approved.

"Thank you very much for your business, Miss Cullen, and please come again. Do you need help out to your car with your purchase?"

"We'll take the swords, but we could use a little help with the box, I think."

I picked up the matching black cloth bags, and handed them to Bella, and then I picked up the blue cloth bag. Master Chen turned and fired off a rapid fire string of the oriental language, and the boy from the workshop trotted out and picked up the box for us, and waited by the door.

Bella looked around the shop a little wistfully, and looked back at the swords. She seemed to make a decision, and opened her purse and took out a card. She looked at Master Chen, and handed him the card. He glanced at it, and his eyes got big, and then he bowed deeply to Bella.

"I like this shop. I'll be back in, and I have some friends that'll like it too. You can expect more business in the future, Master Chen," Bella said.

"Thank you, Mistress," and he bowed deeply again.

We went out the door and turned to go back to the car to put the swords away, and the boy from the shop trotted along behind us with the box.

"What was that card you gave Master Chen back there, Bella?" I asked once we were away from the shop.

"A favor, and contact information. It let's Master Chen ask my family for help if he needs it, and identifies him as somebody that's helped my family. It's a sign of respect. If we help him out, then we expect him to help us out. I think I'll be sending a lot of business his way, and you'll probably get a discount the next time you go there."

"So, your family is pretty well… Connected…"

"Yes, I suppose. So who is that blue Stalking Panther Katana for, Alice? You handle it ok, but I know you didn't buy it for yourself."

"I though you would have guessed by now. It's for Edward."

"Edward? I didn't think he was into swords or the martial arts… Why are you buying him a sword?"

"You weren't into swords or martial arts before you met Esme and Rose either, were you? He'll learn, and I'm sure you'll be an excellent teacher." Bella just stared at me with her mouth open, and then she followed me back to the car.

We got back to the car, and Bella opened the trunk. The boy deposited the box, and bowed. I gave him a tip for carrying the box out for us, and he smiled and trotted off back toward the market. We put the swords in, and Bella closed the trunk.

"You placed that commission months ago. Before me and Jasper ever even moved to Forks… Alice, you scare me sometimes… Just how much do you know?"

"Know? About what, Bella? Tell you what. I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you how much I know if you'll repeat it all back to Edward."

"Hmmph, you know I can't do that, don't you? Just how much does Edward know?"

"Not nearly as much as me. He's got some suspicions, but no hard evidence. Besides, who's gonna stop you, Esteban? Edward's gonna find out anyhow, whether you tell him, or Esteban and Esme get a hold of him. Is that how you want it, the hard way? How do you think Edward's gonna react if they kidnap him and make his decision for him? You know how he'll react! He'll fight them for the next forty years, if we last that long. Edward's gotta come onboard of his own free will, or we'll all regret it."

"Alice, I can't… I'm not afraid of Esteban. I'm scared of Edward. What if I tell him everything, and he doesn't want me. What if he calls me a monster and runs away screaming…? I couldn't handle that… I don't know what to do… I thought I'd have more time, but then that stupid accident went and ruined everything. I couldn't let him die, Alice."

"I know, Bella, and I'm glad you saved him, but one of you has to take the initiative and settle this! You're both as bad as Jasper, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Edward's waiting for you to trust him enough to tell him about yourself, and you're waiting for him to tell you he loves you and doesn't care about the magic. In the mean time, Esteban isn't going to wait for either of you to make up your minds."

"I know… Alice, I'm worried… It's already Saturday, and I haven't been able to talk to Edward…"

"Don't worry, I'll fix this. You're not going to like it, but I have to ask you to do something."

"What? I'm not going to tell Edward, if that's what you want, I'm not ready for that…"

"No, you're going to take us to The Flying Dutchman. Tonight after we go to the mall…"

"No way, Alice! I can't do that! Jasper would be so pissed off at me… He's already fuming mad that I let you talk me into coming to Seattle."

"We can do this the hard way or the easy way, Bella. If you won't take us, then I'll just drive back by myself, but one way or the other, I'm going."

"Alice…"

"Call Rose and make the arrangements. It'll be ok, you'll see."

"Alice, I'm not supposed to. They have a very exclusive clientele…"

"Oh come on, Bella. It's not like we'd be the only humans there tonight. We can spend most of the time in the public part of the club. Besides, you took me there the last time we came to Seattle."

"The only hu… Alice! This isn't right. The rest of them work there, or they know what's going on!"

I raised an eyebrow and just waited.

"What about Angela and Jessica? They still don't know anything, right?"

"No, they don't know anything. I'm sure you'll think of something. Now call Rose and tell her we're coming. She'll want to have time to prepare, and I'm sure she'll have a solution for you."

We were standing outside the parking garage now, ready to head back across the lot. She looked at me with pleading eyes one more time. I held my thumb and little finger up to my head to mimic making a call and pointed at her. She sighed and reached into her purse, and got out her phone to make the call.

"Hi, Rose…"

"No, I'm in Seattle. I'm shopping with Alice and a couple of girls from the cheerleading squad."

"Ha ha, very funny. Next time we move, I'm gonna make you go to school with me, and you can be the cheerleader."

"Ewww, gross! I don't care what Emmett likes! That's too much information Rose…"

"Yeah, about that… Alice wants me to bring them to the club tonight…" Bella winced and held the phone away from her ear for a moment.

"I know."

"I know."

"Rose, she isn't going to take no for an answer. She said she'd come back by herself if I take her back to Forks…"

"We're at the Pike Place Market right now, but we're going to Pacific Place later."

"Ok, how will you find us…?"

"Ok…"

"Ok, Rose, I get it…"

"I love you too, see ya tonight," and she hung up the phone.

"Ok, Alice, Rose said she'd take care of it. She's gonna meet us at Pacific Place. She said she has a package for us."

"Thanks' Bella, don't worry, this is all going to work out just fine. Now, let's go have some fun," and I took her icy cold hand as we crossed the lot and went back to the market to do more shopping.

We went to Bella's bookstore next and killed an hour browsing through the stacks. I found a couple of books I wanted, and bought them. I offered Bella a couple of suggestions for titles, and I think if she could have blushed, she would have been bright red half way to her toes. She didn't put the books back though, and I saw them in her stack when we were checking out. Good, it never hurt a girl to be prepared, and I wasn't sure how much real information she had. I knew she had some self-esteem issues to work on, and she needed confidence to move forward in this relationship with Edward. She might be older than me in years, but I had a feeling I was going to have to be the big sister here for a while.

We moved on and did more shopping. Bella bought some really cool silk-screened t-shirts from one stall, and I grabbed some snacks to munch on as we browsed, so we could tell Jessica and Angela that we'd had lunch already. I bought an adorable looking electric blue skirt, a purple off the shoulder peasant shirt and another deck of tarot cards form a lady that was dressed like a gypsy in a stall offering a variety of authentic looking bohemian crafts, clothes and hand dyed fabrics. She wouldn't come talk to me until Bella moved on to the next booth, then she took my hand, stared into my eyes for a minute, and smiled at me as she handed me the cards.

"You don't need the cards, do you?" She said, as she took my money, and put my things in a paper sack. "You should let your hair grow, but it's still cute like that," and she handed me the bag. "Be careful, stay safe," and she nodded her head in Bella's direction as I left the stall.

I caught up to Bella and we browsed around for a while heading north through the market. Around three thirty I got a text from Jessica asking where we wanted to meet. They had gotten lunch already, and were ready to head over to Pacific Place if we were. I texted back, and told her and Angela to meet us at the corner of Stewart and Pike Place at Local Color. We were practically standing in front of it now. I stuck my phone back in my purse, and we walked into the open store front of the shop.

Bella surprised me when she didn't shy away from the strong scents or scrunch up her nose, and actually seemed to enjoy the aroma of roasting coffee and the heady scent of chocolate and cocoa coming from the service counter inside the little artsy espresso bar. I looked over the menu, and ordered a double mocha latte with an extra shot of espresso and whipped cream, while Bella looked over the menu.

When I was done, she surprised me again. She stepped up to the counter, and explained to the barista that she was deathly allergic to milk and lactose products, but she'd like a lactose free double cocoa with a shot of espresso and hold the whipped topping. Then she paid for both of our drinks and gave the barista a big tip when she set the drinks on the counter. We took our drinks, and found a table to wait for Angela and Jessica to come meet us.

"Well, this is a first," I said as I watched Bella sip her cocoa. She seemed to savor the taste and really enjoy it.

"What do you mean, Alice?" Bella asked.

"That's the first time I've ever seen you eat or drink anything that wasn't at least eighty proof. Chocolate? Who would have guessed?"

"No, not chocolate, but cocoa in its raw form is really kind of cool. Chocolate is what the European confectioners came up with when they took the goodness of cocoa, and perverted it with milk. Honestly, Alice, do I look like a baby cow? I don't see how you can drink that stuff. Do you know where it comes from?"

"I'm sure I could ask you the same question about some of your less public dietary choices, but that's a conversation for another day. So cocoa is ok without the milk, and apparently coffee too?"

"Well, I like a shot of espresso in my cocoa, but Rose tells me it's gross, and the rest of the family thinks it's weird. Esteban and Jasper have some occasionally, when they're feeling adventurous, but they say it's an acquired taste. They think the taste for it has to do with how some of us have special… I'll shut up now."

"Jasper is special? What's the matter, Bella? Are you ok?" If I didn't know better, I'd say she was getting a little tipsy, but she hadn't had anything to drink but the cocoa… "Bella, just what kind of effect does that kind of drink have on you?"

"Really, Alice, I'm fine. I should have waited 'til we got to the club tonight, but I've been so tense, and it just smelled so good in here. I'm stronger than this," but she glanced wistfully at the cup of cocoa and sighed.

"That shit's getting you high! Isn't it?"

"It's not like that, Alice. Well maybe a little. It does induce a mild euphoria, but it's probably more like the way liquor affects you," she took another sip, and smiled at me.

"So you can guzzle shot after shot of hard liquor, but a half a cup of cocoa starts to get you high? That's just… strange."

"What did you think all those explorers were really looking for in South America, Inca Gold? The cocoa trade financed half of the age of exploration. Besides, who do you think was running the show down in South America in the Mayan and Aztec kingdoms for all those centuries? You know, the blood sacrifices and cutting out hearts? Add in the cocoa, and no wonder they all went nuts." She shook herself, and pushed the cup away.

"Psst, Ok, enough with the history lesson," I moved the cup further away to the edge of the table, and I nodded towards the front of the shop.

Jessica and Angela were looking around, and then they spotted us and came over to our table. Jessica was carrying about half a dozen bags, and it looked like Angela was carrying about the same amount for her.

"Jessica, I told you we were going to Pacific Place this afternoon. How are we going to fit all this in?"

"I'm sorry, Alice, but there was an amazing sale… We ought to be able to fit all of this in the trunk…"

"We'll see what we can do. We already put some stuff in the trunk. One of the reasons I wanted to come today was to pick up some stuff I'd ordered. It's already in the car. I don't know. Maybe we can get rid of some of the boxes and refold it…"

We got up and headed out of the shop, and crossed Pike Place to the North Arcade as we retraced our steps back to the car. We managed to fit all of Jessica's stuff into the trunk, but it was going to cut into what we could possibly buy at Pacific Place. Well, there would be other trips, or maybe some of Bella's family could hold some stuff if I found anything I just had to have. We got into the car, and pulled to the exit of the lot. Bella paid for the parking, and we pulled out of the lot.

"Ok, I'm paying for the parking at the mall, Bella. That's twice now. You bought the coffee, and then paid for the parking, the next ones on me."

"If you say so, Alice…"

"I do. Hey Jessica, Angela, Bella and I were talking earlier. Bella's friends own a nightclub here in Seattle. I talked Bella into taking us to meet them, tonight. So what do you say, want to check out the Seattle night life, up close and personal?

"Oh, that is so cool!" Jessica squealed. "I wish you would have said something earlier! I saw the cutest outfit that I could have worn tonight! Alice, where are we going to change? I can pickup something to wear at the mall, but I need to shower, and do my hair…"

"Bella?"

"There are some apartments and umm dormitories in the same building as the Club. We can change there…"

Angela was a little less enthusiastic, "I guess we can go… We aren't going to be out too late, are we? I haven't seen Ben all day and I miss him, besides, I don't have anything to wear…"

"Don't worry, Angela. I'll find you something to wear, but I'm afraid we'll probably be pretty late. Most of the clubs don't even open 'til nine, and the action in these Clubs doesn't even start to really get going 'til at least ten. It's a three hour drive back to Forks. You can see Ben tomorrow."

"You're right, Alice. I want to see the mall, and even if we left right after that it would be too late in Forks to see him tonight. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Let's make this a girl's night out to remember."

"That's the spirit, Ange', now let's tear this mall up!"

Bella drove us to the mall; it was only six or seven blocks away. The Pacific Place mall blended into the surrounding landscape of store front businesses at the street level, but the building actually took the entire city block. The location was listed as Sixth Avenue and Pine Street, and the business office was in a suite on Pine Street, but the ground floor entrance was actually on the corner of Olive and Seventh. There was a large parking garage under the mall, and Bella turned down Seventh Street and then turned into the parking garage entrance. We spiraled down into the depths of the garage, and then Bella pulled into a parking stall.

We got out of the car and made our way to the elevator, and took it up to the street level. It was like stepping out into another world when the doors opened. We stepped out into the large open central courtyard, and what had looked like individual store front shops from the street ringed to ground level of the mall with open store front and sales displays. The courtyard was open through the four stories of the mall to a glass skylight ceiling above the open space, and four stories of shops ringed the opening.

The majority of the mall shops were open until eight o'clock, but the movies and the restaurants kept their own schedule, and Barnes & Noble was open until eleven seven days a week. That gave us about four hours to pick out something for each of us to wear to the club tonight. Bella had clothes at the club she could wear tonight, but if she found something she really liked, I would get it for her. Of course, the odds of Bella wanting to shop for a new dress, or finding something she wanted were small. I'd concentrate on Angela first, and worry about Bella after. Jessica should be able to fend for herself, and I'm surprised she didn't already have something to wear in the packages she'd loaded into the car.

We went to Barney's of New York first, and there were a lot of fashion icons, but Jessica put it succinctly when she said that they all looked like something her mom would wear. We were definitely going for a younger look, and headed over to BCGCMAXAZARIA next. Now we were talking, and started browsing through the cocktail dresses to find something that grabbed us and said 'wow'.

I was happy shopping there, but Angela took one look at the price tags, and blanched white. Jessica was having fun browsing and mentioned she'd like to come back here to find something for prom, but it was probably a little out of her league too. I reluctantly decided they were probably right, and we went to browse some of the other shops in the mall. We went to Bebe, Benetton, Anne Taylor and Chico's but I kept getting the same reactions until Jessica suggested we take a look at Nordstrom's, and we went across the sky bridge on the third level into the department store. The enclosed walkway connected the mall to the flagship Nordstrom's store across Sixth Avenue. We made our way back to the women's section and started browsing again.

Angela wasn't strictly 'petite', but she was thin and willowy despite her height. I was pretty sure we'd find something to compliment her figure. I had her try on a bunch of different dresses, but she kept complaining about the cost, and how I shouldn't be spending money on her like this. In the end I think I wore her down with the shear volume of outfits we tried, and we finally settled on a ruched bead trim satin sheath dress in a soft mink brown. The dress was fully lined so at least we didn't need to worry about looking for a slip.

Jessica was having fun shopping for a dress and must have tried on at least as many as we found for Angela to look at. She ended up falling in love with a little mock two piece Ponte knit dress. It was a real standout sheath dress designed with multidirectional seaming at the square-neck bodice, and asymmetrical seams that continued down through the skirt and enhanced the curve-hugging silhouette. I thought it was cute with the ruby red top, and the three quarters little black dress bottom. The bodice was lined, but Jessica went off to look for a slip to wear with it while I helped Angela, and Bella resigned herself to enduring the ordeal.

I was keeping a lookout for something for myself as I selected dresses for Angela and Bella to try on. About halfway through the process I found a simple black matte jersey shift with an adorable bold white print detailing on the sleeves and around the hem. The dress was a simple design that slipped on over the head, but had a graceful bateau neckline and wide three-quarter-length sleeves. The print detailing gave it an almost medieval feel, but it was really just a little black dress with a modern look. I tried it on, and fell in love with it. The hemline hung a couple of inches above my knees covering about the top two thirds of my thighs, and although the dress was unlined, the fabric was heavy enough that I didn't need to worry about it being seen through.

Bella was trying to blend into the background while we shopped. She was making herself useful holding onto our bags as one or another of us would go to the dressing room to try something on, but I wasn't going to have it. I fully intended for her to have the full shopping experience along with the rest of us, and made it a point to pick out some outfits for her to try on. I'll admit, my primary focus was on Angela at this point, but once I'd gotten her to accept the satin sheath dress, I was free to focus my efforts on Bella.

I finally talked her into a cobalt blue crepe dress with a classic sheath silhouette and a pleated asymmetrical neckline that added a modern flair to the classic styling. The dress had small pleats above and below the natural waistline to enhance the fit. It was a little more conservative than the miniskirt outfit she'd worn that night at the drive-in with the hemline only three or four inched above the knee, but Esteban would be back tonight, and she'd probably be wearing this outfit when she had to talk to him.

Now that we had the basics under control it was time to find some shoes to go with the dresses that we'd picked out. We were running out of time and had to make some quick decisions before the store closed. Jessica was on her own here as she browsed and had the salesman bring her out several different styles to choose from. I sat Angela and Bella down, and had the girl that was helping us bring out my selections to have them try on and walk around in.

I picked out a pair of low heeled sandals for Angela. She felt uncomfortable in anything else due to her natural height, but the shoes would look great with her dress. Bella was a little easier to shop for. I knew the clumsy routine that she played at during school was part of her 'fitting in' act, although I think she went a little overboard from the stories I'd heard about gym class. I picked her out a pair of cobalt blue four inch stilettos to match her dress. I picked out an ultra high pair of stilettos in black with a one inch platform sole for myself, but I could get away with it. Even Bella was still taller than me with five inch heels on, but I loved how they went with my outfit.

We hooked back up with Jessica at the checkout stand, and I let her go first. I thought Angela and Bella were going to start complaining again when the sales girl rang up the total, but I shut them down with a look, and they wisely decided to keep their comments to themselves and let me have my fun. C'mon, really they were just shoes, and you got what you paid for. Did they really want some cheap knock off that would be uncomfortable all night? Jessica's eyes got big when I handed my black credit card to the sales girl, and she scanned it through the register.

"Wow, Alice! What is your dad going to say about how much you spent today!" she said as she looked at the total. "I know your dad runs his own business, but I didn't think the whole holistic medicine gig was that big a deal."

I suppose I could see her point, but I only spent about a hundred and fifty dollars for the dress, and two fifty for the shoes. For myself. If you threw in Bella and Angela's outfits, I suppose it was a large purchase. For someone like Jessica. I didn't think twice about it, and would have gladly kept shopping if we had more time.

"This isn't Carlisle's money, Jessica. I have my own accounts, but he wouldn't be upset if it was. The clinic is really just a hobby. My dad makes his money from the stock market and his online business. My own portfolio is bigger than his, but I give him stock tips sometimes to let him try and keep up."

Jessica just stared as I signed the receipt, and then we grabbed our bags and got across the sky bridge back into the mall as the store was closing for the night. Most of the shops were locking up and closing their gates as we made our way back to the elevator in the courtyard atrium. Luckily the restaurants kept their own schedule and the central atrium would stay open until the restaurants closed later tonight.

We took the bags down to the car, and managed to squeeze everything in. We would be using a lot of it tonight to change for the club, so we left the bags we'd need in the back seat, and then went back up to the mall to get some dinner. There were several good restaurants to choose from, but as we were riding the elevator back up, Bella stopped the car at the first level to get out.

"Hey, guy's, I'll meet you after you eat, ok? With my food allergies, and the special diet the doctor has me on, I can't order anything here. I'm gonna head over to Barnes & Noble and check out the book store. We can meet up after you eat, ok?" Bella said as she stepped out of the elevator.

"Ok, Bella, we'll meet you in the book store after we eat."

"Are you sure there isn't anything you can order here," Angela asked. "You've got to be starving. You haven't had a thing to eat all day, and it's going to be a long night."

"Alice and I had some snacks at the market. Besides, Esme knows about my diet and has some things for me at the club. I'll grab something there if I get hungry later," and Angela and Jessica just nodded.

They were used to Bella not eating at lunch, or just taking off to do her own thing. They didn't give it a second thought once she explained her plans. The elevator doors closed, and we continued up to the fourth level where most of the restaurants were. I wanted to go to Thai Ginger, or Mexico, and try something exotic and different, but I gave in and let Angela and Jessica drag me into Johnny Rockets. It was an authentic re-creation of a 1940s hamburger malt shop, but didn't we get that every night already? I guess you could take the girl out of the small town, but you couldn't take the small town out of the girl.

Dinner was fun. I had a real fountain Cherry Coke made the old-fashioned soda fountain way, Chile fries, and a marinated chicken breast. It was grilled to perfection and served with fresh lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise in a grilled bun. Jessica had the Streamliner, the original vegetarian Boca burger with grilled onions, fresh lettuce, tomato, pickle and mustard. And Angela had the Original. I grilled beef patty with Fresh lettuce, tomato, chopped onion, relish, pickle, mustard and mayonnaise.

It was kind of cool sitting at the U-shaped black Formica counter on the red upholstered chrome barstools. The classic 40's and 50's music from the countertop nickel jukeboxes fit the atmosphere perfectly, but we didn't want to leave Bella alone too long, and we left to head down to the bookstore as soon as we were done eating. We rode the elevator back down to the first level, and crossed the atrium towards Barnes & Noble.

There was still some time before we needed to leave for the club, and Angela and Jessica wanted to browse and take a look around. The Pacific Place Barnes & Noble store was huge, and offered a vast selection of more than 175,000 titles from more than 10,000 publishers, plus accessories, collectibles, cards, and gifts. There was even a café coffee shop, and reading room in the store among the three stories of books. I left the girls to browse through the magazines and told them I'd go look for Bella as I went to go look in the store.

Somehow I thought I'd find Bella in the classics looking at romance novels, but I spotted her talking to the tall statuesque blond that had come to the football game in Sequim to watch Bella cheer. I started over towards them, and it turned out they were in the automotive section, surrounded by car books. The blond was actually holding onto a couple of selections, and they looked like they had come from this section. They turned to watch me approach, and Bella smiled, but the blond just glared at me and seemed displeased about something.

"Hey, Bella, we're done with dinner. Angela and Jessica are looking at magazines. So, are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Sure, Alice," Bella said, a little apprehensively. "Alice Cullen, This is my friend Rosalie Hale. Rosalie, this is Alice Cullen. Rose has been like a sister to me, ever since we met and she brought me home."

"I'm pleased to finally meet you, Rosalie," I said, and held out my hand. Rosalie looked down at me like I was something she'd just scraped off her shoe, but she took my hand in her ice cold grip as she looked me over.

"So you're Alice. Please, call me Rose. Bella has told me a lot about you. I glad that you've been a friend to Bella, but you know, you've been causing a lot of trouble. You shouldn't be here today, and you shouldn't be forcing Bella to help you."

"Causing trouble is one of my specialties, but don't worry Rose, everything will work out. I'm just trying to do what's best for Bella and Edward no matter how pig-headed they both are. Now, did you bring the package for Bella?"

"Yes…"

"Good, we'll head over in a little bit. Just make sure you remind everyone what to do, and make sure Emmett relays the instructions at the door. I don't think anyone will slip up."

"You know, you're taking a big chance with your friend's lives, first coming here today, and bringing them tonight."

"Give me a little credit, Rose. I wouldn't have done this if I'd seen any real danger. Nobody will say anything to Angela or Jessica. It's not the first time you've brought girls in for a tour that didn't know anything. Just treat them like you would any new prospective talent. Who knows, maybe they'll even sign up and come work for you after they graduate. Angela's going to need money for college."

"Just how much do you know?" Rosalie asked, and looked over at Bella with her fists on her hips as her foot tapped on the floor. "Bella, what have you been telling Alice about us?"

Bella held up her hands, and shook her head. "Don't look at me, I haven't said anything. I told you about the sword…"

Rose looked back at me. "Well, are you going to explain this?"

"Explain what, Rose? What exactly am I supposed to know about?"

"Yeah, right, Jasper is going to have his hands full with you…"

"I hope so, and the sooner the better. Now, tell Esme not to worry, and we'll be along in a bit. We'll come in the back way through the garage so we can stop in the apartments to change."

"Bella…!" Rose exclaimed, exasperated.

"Honest, Rose, I haven't breathed a word. Alice is just… Gifted…"

"Humph… Well you can explain this to Esteban, tonight. I'll do my part, but he isn't going to like this…"

"Don't worry about Esteban, I'll take care of that myself," I said, and both of them just stared at me.

Then Bella looked up and glanced back behind me. "Rose, they're coming over. You better get going. We'll see you in a while…"

"Yeah, I'll see you later tonight," Then she turned to glare at me again. "Remember, Alice, If anything happens to them, it's your fault," and then Rose turned on her heel and left. She went to the checkout stand to pay for her books, and then left through the store front of the shop into the mall.

"Who was that blond girl you were talking too?" Jessica asked when the girls got over to us. She glanced back toward the front of the store, but Rose was gone now.

"That was Bella's friend, Rose, from the club. So, Bella, do you have the package?" I asked.

"Oh, of course, Alice, now, let me see," and she held up the cloth bag and opened the drawstring to look inside.

She reached inside and took out three pendant necklaces that were similar to the one she was wearing, but there were some differences. She handed one of the necklaces to each of us.

"These necklaces are your identification for the club tonight. They'll identify to the staff as guests and friends. You need to keep them on so they can be seen while you're at the club."

I looked at the pendants on the necklaces that Angela and Jessica were putting on, and I recognized the design. They looked like the necklaces that the girls that had come to Jessica's party to help out had worn. The design on the pendants looked like the family crest on Bella's necklace and Jasper's motorcycle jacket, but it was a little different. It had the crossed swords and the fist between the points, but the background was quartered in red and silver instead of gold and silver, and the three green shamrocks across the bottom were missing. There was a single red heart below the handles of the swords, instead of the row of shamrocks. The difference between the pendants those girls had worn and these were that the border around these pendants was enameled in red. It almost looked like somebody had taken red nail polish and carefully painted it onto the edges of the pendants.

The pendant on the necklace that Bella gave me was different from the other two. The design on the pendant looked like the same family crest on Bella's necklace and Jasper's wrist cuff, it had the crossed swords and the fist between the points, and the background was quartered in gold and silver, but the three green shamrocks across the bottom had been replaced with the single red heart below the handles of the swords. There was no red nail polish on my necklace.

"These are so cool, Bella," Jessica said. "These are so much better than those tacky laminated plastic tags that they have at that club in Port Angeles. This will even look good with the dress I bought."

I looked down at the pendant on my necklace, and over at Angela's and Jessica's. I looked at Bella and raised an eyebrow, as I looked at her with the question hanging between us. Bella just shrugged and turned away. I suppose she couldn't talk in front the girls, and we turned and started for the check stand to pay for Bella's books so we could leave.

We went back to the elevator after we left the book store, and rode it back down into the parking garage to find Bella's car. She led us unerringly back to the red Dodge Charger, and we piled in with our packages for the ride to the club.

It was dark out now, as we drove out of the underground parking garage and back onto the streets of Seattle. I thought we were heading northwest as we wound through the brightly lit city moving through the downtown maze of streets. I'm sure I would have found my way if I would have come on my own, but it would have taken longer and there would have been unnecessary complications. This was the best option with the least chance of a fight, even if it was a little more dangerous for the girls. As long as we stuck to the plan everything should work out, and we got to go shopping too. Wasn't that a win-win situation?

I hadn't seen a street sign for a while now, but we were on a side street in the heart of downtown. Bella turned down another small dark side street, and about halfway down the block she turned into a driveway. She reached into her purse and took out what looked like a garage door remote and pressed a button. The steel bar gate in front of us slid open, and we drove down the ramp into another dimly lit underground parking garage. I saw the gate behind us start to slide closed, and started to spiral down under the buildings above us.

I thought we were at least three levels down when we came to another steel gate. This gate was a solid looking affair like a steel clad garage door with heavy metal straps and big heavy rivets like you'd see holding a bridge together. Bella used the remote again, and the gate slid open sideways. It looked like it was sliding in channels built into the floor and ceiling as it moved out of the way to the sound of powerful machinery. We pulled forward into a short well lit corridor, but there was another gate like the one we'd driven through in front of us. I looked back, and the gate we'd passed through was closing. It looked like Bella had pulled up next to a metal toll booth box like you saw when you went into a parking garage to take a ticket, but there was no ticket sticking out. When the gate behind us was closed, Bella opened her window and punched numbers into a keypad on the box. The gate in front of us opened so we could drive through the gateway.

We drove forward into a brightly lit parking garage with several rows of parked vehicles. Bella pulled into a parking spot between a really cute little red convertible and a shiny black Mercedes sedan. There was a huge four-wheel drive jeep parked next to the convertible, and I could see a row of motorcycles further down in the garage. There were another couple of rows of expensive looking cars behind us.

We got out of the car, and took the bags with the things we had bought for tonight with us. Bella led us over to an elevator, and pressed the call button. I could see what looked like a professional garage area setup beyond the elevator doors as we waited for them to open. There were a couple of hydraulic car lifts, work benches, tool boxes, and what looked like an electronic diagnostic computer.

We stepped into the elevator when the doors opened. Bella took a key out of her purse when we had all piled in, and stuck the key into a slot next to one of the buttons on the control panel. She turned the key and pushed the button, and the car started moving up. I lost count of the floors as the elevator car climbed up into the building above us. I knew we had to be up close to the top of the steel and glass tower, and then the doors opened onto a brightly lit room.

We stepped out of the elevator into what looked like a huge living room that was open through at least three levels of the building. It was decorated in subtle shades of white on white and subdued pastels with several attractive furniture groups of couches and chairs. One group was setup for viewing a huge flat screen TV, while other groupings looked to be setup for conversation or quiet contemplation and reading. The room must have covered a good third of these floors of the building. One wall was three stories of glass and the view looked out over the lights of the city. The view of Seattle at night was spectacular, and I could see the Space Needle and the monorail northwest of us.

Bella led us across the room to a broad curved stairway and the stunningly beautiful woman with caramel-colored hair that I'd seen sitting next to Jasper in the bleachers at the football game in Sequim was waiting for us at the foot of the stairs. I vaguely remembered her from my last trip here, but I knew who she was from Edwards's description and what I had seen.

"Hello, Esme," Bella said a little sheepishly, looking down at the floor, but the woman stepped forward and pulled Bella into a hug. Esme was wearing a beautiful green dress and heels, and she looked like she was ready to head out on the town for the evening, but I didn't think that was the plan. She stepped back but held Bella's hands.

"Thank you for coming to visit, dear. You know you're always welcome here. Now why don't you introduce me to your friends?"

"Esme, this is Alice Cullen," and Bella indicated me to Esme.

She stepped in front of me, and gave me a hug, but leaned in and whispered in my ear. "I'm so happy for you and Jasper, but you're being naughty, Alice. We need to talk later," and then she stepped back, smiling for Jessica and Angela.

Bella introduced Jessica and Angela, and Esme hugged them too.

"Ok, girls," Esme said as she stepped past us. "I need to go downstairs now, and check on the preparations in the club for the evening. Bella can show you where you can freshen up and get changed. I'll see you downstairs when you're ready. Bella, dear, why don't you take the girls to the downstairs Club for a while, and then you can bring them up to the exclusive areas for a tour after you have some fun."

"Ok, Esme," Bella said. She waved one last time, and then went across the room to the elevator.

Bella led us up the stairs to the second level and then up another stairway at the end of a hallway up to the third level. The view out over the living area was spectacular, and then we followed Bella down another hallway with widely spaced sets of doors. We stopped in front of a set of double doors, and then Bella pushed one of the doors open. We walked into what looked like a private suite of rooms. The room we entered was setup like a living room with a sofa and loveseat and some low tables. It was decorated in earth tones and desert hues, and there were a couple of cactus on the tables. There was a large wall unit entertainment center with a flat screen TV and a DVD player. A large potted saguaro cactus was standing next to the wall unit. It looked like there was a stereo system inside the glass doors of the cabinet. Along the wall to the right was a well stocked wet bar with a counter and three barstools in front. There were more rooms to the left.

I could tell Bella got mad when we walked in, and if she could blush I'm sure she would have been bright red. On the wall directly across from the door was a framed poster size print of Bella in her cheerleading uniform doing the routine where we jumped into the air. It looked like the night that we'd cheered for the first game of the season in Sequim.

Bella groaned, and then said, "Wait here," and she turned and walked down the short hallway to the left into the adjoining room. I heard her give an exasperated sigh, and it sounded like she was shuffling some things around, then she came back into the living room.

"Ok, Alice and I can change here. The bathroom and shower is through here off the bedroom," she said as she pointed behind herself into the room she'd just come from. "C'mon, Angela, Jessica, I'll show you where you can get dressed."

"Is this your room?" Jessica said with wide eyes, looking around, taking everything in.

"Kind of," Bella lied. "Esme and Rose keep these rooms setup for me for when I come to visit."

"Oh…" Jessica said as we walked into the adjoining bedroom and looked around.

This room was decorated in shades of blue. There was a royal blue velvet comforter on the queen-size bed. There was a matching bedroom set of dressers, a nightstand, and a large desk in the corner. Along one wall were several well stocked bookshelves and there was a comfortable looking overstuffed chair with a floor lamp and small table next to it where it looked like you could curl up with a good book. There was a walk-in closet on one side of the doorway, and the bathroom on the other.

Then Bella led them across the hallway and into another suite. "This is another guest room here across the hall. You guys can change in here. It'll go faster if we all don't have to share the same bathroom…" Bella left them to start getting ready. It sounded like they decided Jessica would get the shower first, and then Angela so Jessica could help her get ready. Bella and I walked back across the hall into her living room. I closed the door as they started to go through their bags and get ready for tonight.

Bella went to the bar and poured a drink when we walked back into her private living room. I looked back at Bella, and she held up the bottle to see if I wanted a drink. I shook my head no. Maybe later, but I needed to stay clear-headed for now.

"I noticed that my necklace is different from the ones that Rose brought for Angela and Jessica. Mine has a different background, and it doesn't have a red border. Would you care to explain the significance?"

"The red border on their necklaces is a signal to everyone here that they don't know what's going on, and they don't know our secrets. We'd like to keep it that way if we can. You obviously know what's going on, so we've decided to drop the pretenses, and just accept it."

"And the background…?"

"The red and silver is for the help, retainers and trusted servants. The gold and silver means that you're part of the family now, Alice."

"Oh…"

"You need to understand, Alice. Everyone here knows about your connection to Jasper. They know you're his mate, even though you two haven't talked about it yet. That's really just a formality. In my world, the connection that you share since you touched his hand that morning in the parking lot at school is more permanent and binding than marriage vows are in your world."

"Oh…"

"C'mon, Alice, are you honestly going to stand there and tell me you didn't see all of this?"

"No, it's just… It's still kind of a shock to actually hear you say it out loud like that. Damn it, Bella! You need to get things settled with Edward so Jasper and I can move on with our relationship! I need to be with him, but I know why he won't talk to me. He's under orders to take care of you, and if he spends time with me he'll be distracted from his duty!"

"I know, Alice… I'm so sorry… I'm just so scared about Edward. I want him, but then I don't know if he really wants me or if it's just this crazy mating thing…"

"Does it really matter, Bella? You know he's your soul mate. Just be honest with him… Trust yourself, and trust Edward."

"I'll try, Alice. First we need to get through tonight. Then I'm going to have a long talk with somebody about what they've done to my rooms! First that picture! And then that bed!"

"So, Bella, you know I've never actually seen you sleep."

"Yeah, so…?"

"So why do you have a queen-size bed in your bedroom?"

"I didn't the last time I was here…"

"Really? Why would your family move a bed into your room if you don't need it to sleep…?"

Bella raised an eyebrow and gave me a quizzical look. "Why do you think? I'm sure you can come up with more uses for a bed than just a good night's sleep. I think it's a less than subtle hint about what's going on with your brother, although, it could just be Emmett having fun at my expense… I'm going to have to talk to Emmett about that poster…" She looked at the cheerleading picture on the wall, and cringed and groaned again.

"I don't know… I kinda like it. It captures the real you," I said with a big grin.

"Alice…!" Bella glared at me. I just grinned back at her and shrugged.

Things settled down a bit after that and we took turns in the shower and got dressed for the evening. I finished up my hair and makeup while Bella waited. She was ready in a flash, and looked perfect with just a light touch of lipstick. I doubted that Jessica and Angela would be ready yet, but we went back across the hall to check on them. They were dressed, but Jessica was still working on Angela's hair, and still needed to finish getting herself ready to go. I took over for Jessica, and told her to get ready so we could leave. It wasn't too much longer and we were all dressed to kill and ready to hit the club. We looked young and trendy, but we didn't look like teenagers with our new clothes, hair and makeup. I didn't think we'd have any problem fitting in unless we got carded, and I doubted that would happen.

"Ok, Bella," I said. "Let's go. Take us in the front so the girls can get the full effect. Ok?"

"Sure, Alice, Leave your things up here, and we can grab everything before we head home," Bella told us as we left to head back down the stairs.

We crossed to the elevator, stepped in when the doors opened, and Bella pressed the button marked 'Lobby'. The doors opened onto a short hallway without doors. We walked around a corner to where the hallway opened onto a larger room, and there were two chromed metal stands with a velvet rope and sign blocking the way. Bella unhooked the velvet rope and then replaced it after we'd stepped through. I looked back, and the sign said 'Private – No Admittance'.

It looked like we were in the lobby of any normal office building with a reception desk and a small waiting room. We walked to the glass front entry of the lobby, and Bella pushed the door open and led us out onto the sidewalk. I could see a busy main street up ahead of us, and we walked that direction. We turned the corner into the bright lights and rush of the Seattle night, and I could see a crowd of people lining the sidewalk.

We passed a busy looking restaurant, and the signs advertised it as 'The Flying Dutchman Grill". There was a crowd of people waiting to get in, and I could smell fresh cooked seafood scents as we passed by the doors. It looked like Bella was holding her breath, and then we were past the restaurant. There was a larger crowd a little ways past the restaurant at another set of doors, and it looked like the line stretched down the block almost to the corner.

"Look at that line!" Jessica complained. "It'll take us hours to get in! Are you sure this is the club you wanted to go to?"

"Don't worry, Jess'," Bella said. "These are friends of mine. We'll get in." And she led us up to the head of the line.

I could hear the pounding beat of dance music through the doors, and it was loud even out on the street. The doors to the club were roped off, and there was a huge guy standing next to the doors inside the rope. He had his arms crossed on his chest as he glared at the line of people waiting to get in.

My first impression was that he looked a lot like Sam Uley, but Sam never dressed like this. The guy was huge! He towered over Bella, and must have been close to seven feet tall. He appeared to have long, rounded muscles, but he was wearing a black suit with no tie and the top couple of buttons undone on his dress shirt. He had copper skin, close cropped black hair, and I bet he had brown eyes, but he was wearing dark glasses. He had an earphone in his right ear with a small cord running behind his ear and into the collar of his jacket. He looked like he was about twenty-nine or thirty and had a stern expression on his face as he guarded the door.

"Hey, Josh," Bella said as she walked up to the guy guarding the door. "Good crowd tonight?"

"Hey, Bells'," The guy said as his face cracked into huge grin, "Long time, no see. Yeah, the place is packed tonight. So, you in town with your friends?" The big guy asked as he looked us over and smiled.

"Yeah, we were doing some shopping, and the girls wanted to see the club…"

"Rose mentioned you might be stopping by," and he reached down, opened the rope for us and opened the door so we could go in.

There was some grumbling in the line when he let us in ahead of the crowd that was waiting, and I thought I heard 'fucking Moreno bitches'. Josh turned to glare in the direction of the hecklers, and it got quiet fast.

"So is he here yet?" Bella asked as we stepped through the rope.

"The Major took a couple of boys to go meet his flight awhile ago. They should be back anytime. I hear he wants to talk to you," Josh said with an appraising look.

Bella just nodded with a worried look on her face as we went through the door, and said, "Thanks' Josh." The big guy closed the door behind us as we went into the club.

Inside the door was an entry way with a hostess desk at the entrance to the club where the regular patrons would need to show ID and pay a cover charge, but the hostess just smiled at us when we walked into the room.

"Hi, Bella," The girl said with a smile on her face. "Rose said you were coming tonight. Don't stay downstairs too long, unless your friends have IDs. Esme is expecting you upstairs, but she said to have fun." She looked over the rest of us and smiled, but her eyes got bigger when she looked at the necklaces we were wearing. Or maybe it was just the necklace that I was wearing? "Have fun tonight," she said giving Bella a knowing glance, and waved us through into the club.

The lights were turned down low or non-existent inside The Flying Dutchman Lounge, but there were colored lights flashing to the beat of the music. It looked like there was a laser light show going on to as beams of colored light would stab out in time to the music and cast patterns on the walls, ceilings, and sometimes the dancers. There was a dance floor in the center of the main room with a bar along the far wall and cocktail tables around the two sides under the overhangs. The club was split-level and two stories high that I could see. There were broad curved stairways on either side of the room that led up to the second level. I could see more tables along the railing around the open upper deck. The place had a faintly nautical theme going on in some of the décor and furnishings.

The place was packed, and the dance floor was crowded. Some of the crowd was dressed a little more casual than we were, but we fit in for the most part. So far everything seemed pretty normal, and I hadn't seen anything or anyone that seemed out of the ordinary, except for the big guy that let us in. Bella led us around to one of the stairways, and we went up onto the mezzanine level. Most of the tables were packed, and people were mingling around and gentling rocking to the beat as they chatted with friends. There was another bar up here on the upper level, and then I saw an empty table in front of the bar by the railing. It had a good view of the dance floor. I was surprised it wasn't taken, but then I saw the reserved sign sticking up in a little stand on the table.

Bella led us to the table, and picked up the reserved sign. We settled in and watched the dancing for a minute.

"Can I get you guys anything to drink?" Bella asked.

"What can we get here, Bella?" Jessica asked. "I just have my regular drivers' license with me, and don't you need to be at least eighteen to even sit in here? I don't want to get you in trouble."

"Don't worry, Jess'. Order whatever you like, and I'll take care of it. If there's any trouble, Andy back there at the bar will let me know, and no one will even know we were here."

"Ok, if you say so. I'll take a strawberry daiquiri, if that's ok?"

"Sure, no problem. Angela, Alice, How about you two?"

"Is that good, Jess'?" Angela asked. "I'll have one too, Bella. I've never really tried anything but beer, and I want to do something different."

"I'll just have a light beer for now, Thanks' Bella" I told her, and then Bella left to go back to the bar.

She came back with our drinks, and brought back a double shot for herself. We sat and chatted for a bit, taking in the sights, but Jessica really wanted to head downstairs to dance when she was about done with her drink. I could tell Angela did too but she was shy. Bella seemed nervous about splitting up the group, so she gave in and came with us. We all went down to the dance floor, and it was fun just dancing with the girls.

I'll admit, there were some cute guys there, but Bella and I had no interest in any of them. Jessica seemed to enjoy all the attention, and Angela was starting to come out of her shell a little bit. We danced through a couple of songs, when I noticed a new guy eyeing Jessica. I recognized him as one of the hecklers from the line outside, but now I got a good look at him, and I knew we were in for trouble.

He had straight black hair pulled back into a short ponytail, and appeared to be of Asian descent, but his skin looked a little odd. It had a slightly yellow cast but appeared to be very pale. His eyes were like Jasper's, but there was something different about them. His eyes were a darker gold. Not the darkness that seemed to indicate Bella or Jasper's mood or anger, but they were an orange hue shot through with flecks of red. He was wearing baggy jeans and an open dress shirt over a tight t-shirt printed with Asian script. He was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous with a kind of bad-boy magnetism.

He moved up behind Jessica on the dance floor, and she was a little startled when he started to dance with her. She looked back surprised when he started to grind against her. I was hoping she'd tell him off and tell him to get lost, but she looked dazzled by the attention, and turned around to dance with him. He hung around for a couple of songs, and smirked at Bella and me as we glared at him. I was hoping he'd take the hint and leave, but then he leaned in and whispered something in Jessica's ear.

I saw Bella stiffen, but then Jessica stepped back and shook her head no with an apprehensive look on her face. He said something else to her, but I couldn't hear it over the music. He was standing close to her, and her eyes seemed to glaze over a bit like she was caught up in his spell and dazzled by his looks and charm. He reached out and grabbed her arm to lead her off the dance floor. Then Bella was at his side, taking his hand off Jessica's arm. Jessica looked up confused, and shook her head like she hadn't realized what she was doing. She took another step back, and I put my arm around her and pulled her close to me and Angela.

"That's enough Liu!" Bella said, pushing his hand away and stepping between the Asian guy and the rest of us. "No means no, and Jessica is with us."

"You fucking Moreno bitches all stick together! Don't you? Well you aren't protected anymore. I got just as much right to be here as you do. I wasn't gonna hurt her. I just wanted a little taste."

"You're not welcome here, Liu. Now get the hell out before I call security!"

"I'll leave when I'm ready to. This place is a lot of fun. Maybe I should send James back over to play. He says you were a lot of fun, back in the day. Are any of your friends as sweet as you were?"

An open space had started to form around us as Bella argued with the Asian guy. Suddenly, a hand reached for Liu's shoulder and spun him around. He was startled, and looked ready to tell somebody off or start a fight, but his eyes got big and he looked scared now.

The hand belonged to a tall man with slightly curly black hair. He was muscular but looked lean and fit. His skin appeared to have a dusky pallor with a slight olive cast, and his face looked like he was of Hispanic descent with his strong chiseled jaw and high cheekbones. His eyes had the same orange hue shot through with flecks of red like the Asian guy. He was wearing a business suit, but it was slightly wrinkled as though he'd had it on for a while as he traveled.

There were two more guys flanking the tall Hispanic man, and they had the same pale skin and golden eyes like Jasper. They were both dressed in black suits like the guy out front had been, and stood ready to back up the tall Hispanic man if he needed the help.

"You're not causing trouble in my club, are you Billy? I've had a long day and my flight just got in. The last thing I need is to come home to you starting trouble. Bella asked you to leave. I think that's a good idea."

"Yes Sir, no problems here. I was just leaving…" He tried to edge past the three guys staring him down as he moved towards the door.

"And Billy, tell Fu Chang Hong to keep his boys out of my club if they're just going to cause trouble. Ok?"

"Sure, I'll make sure he knows." Then he made a bee line for the door and was gone.

The tall dark haired Hispanic man turned to look us over, and smiled as the two guys with him made sure the Asian guy left.

"Bella, take your friends upstairs now. Esme will look out for them, and then we need to talk. I had an interesting conversation with the Major on the way back from the airport."

"Ok, Esteban…" Bella said. She seemed nervous and started to lead us away off the dance floor toward the stairs.

"Bella, aren't you going to introduce us to our savior?" I asked when we were out of the crowd.

"Alice, this isn't a good time…" Bella said, but the Hispanic man looked at me with more interest when Bella said my name and walked back over to us.

"Wait, Bella, You friend is correct. Please excuse my rudeness, I am Esteban Moreno, and welcome to The Flying Dutchman."

"Ok… Esteban, I'd like you to meet Alice Cullen, Jessica Stanley, and Angela Webber."

"Yes, Alice Cullen, I've heard a lot about you," Esteban said, and I had a feeling he was looking at the necklace I was wearing. "And apparently you've heard a lot about us," and he looked at Bella again with disapproval plain on his face.

"Bella, go ahead and take Jessica and Angela on the tour," I said as I stepped next to Esteban and hooked my arm through his. "Esteban and I have some things to discuss. I'll see you upstairs." Then I looked up at Esteban. "We should go someplace more private to talk."

Esteban seemed intrigued, and started to lead me towards the bar. "Yes, this should prove most interesting. The Major spoke most highly of you. Come we will sit and discuss your future."

We walked behind the bar and through a doorway into a corridor. There was a store room on one side, and what looked like an employee break room and lounge on the other side. At the end of the hallway was another elevator, and the door opened when Esteban pressed the call button. We stepped inside, and then he used a key from his pocket on the control panel like Bella had done before. He turned the key, and pressed the button, and the car started to move up.

The doors opened onto an elegantly decorated hallway, with rich hardwood wainscoting, hand carved baseboards and a thickly carpeted floor. We moved down the hallway, and then Esteban opened an intricately carved heavy wooden door and led me into a large office. Dark wood bookshelves lined two walls of the room from floor to ceiling. There was an ornate hand carved desk in front of the middle of the wall opposite the door.

The wall behind the desk was decorated with several paintings, but one stood out over the desk. It was a nautical theme with a square-rigged Spanish Galleon fighting a sea battle with another sailing ship. The Galleon in the painting was flying Esteban's Jolly Rodger with the two crossed swords and the fist.

"Please have a seat, Alice," Esteban said, indicating one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. "Can I get you anything to drink?" He asked as he walked to the bar and poured himself a drink.

"No, thank you. Perhaps after we talk…" and then he came back to the desk and sat in the high backed leather chair behind the desk.

"I had a very interesting conversation on my way over here from the airport, Alice. To be honest, I didn't expect to see you here. I thought I'd be having a very difficult conversation with your friend, Bella. From the necklace that you're wearing, I can see that you're better informed than I had been led to believe. I know Bella is very young, but I didn't think she would break the very laws that I have given so many years to protect."

"Bella hasn't broken your laws. She has been most circumspect, and hasn't said anything to me or Edward that she isn't allowed to tell us. Actually, that's part of the problem and what I'd like to discuss with you."

"If Bella hasn't broken the rules and told you, then how do you know?"

"I have my ways. I figured most of it out on my own, but once I knew what to look for, the pieces all fell into place."

"Ok, just how much do you really know? I want to hear you say it. Out loud. And what do you mean, 'you have your ways'? What ways?"

"Right, let's get the big one out of the way first. You, Bella, Jasper, pretty much the whole family are vampires. You're Esteban Moreno, three hundred year old Spanish buccaneer, and head of the Moreno Organized Crime Family. You own all of the buildings on this city block, and the Flying Dutchman Lounge is you Seattle headquarters. You've been central to the power structure of this region for the last century, but something has happened recently to upset the balance of power. I haven't quite figured the details out yet..."

"Yes, you are very well informed, but you haven't explained how you have acquired this knowledge. You say that Bella hasn't told you, but she knows everything you've told me. If there is a leak in our security, it's my duty to stop it," Then Esteban was quiet for a minute as he contemplated something. "You have no fear of me Alice. You know that our laws forbid you from knowing our secrets on pain of death."

"I'm not the only human here that knows your secrets."

"They are bonded and registered with our authorities. We have ways of insuring their compliance with the rules"

"Yes, Omerta, the code of silence. I won't reveal your secrets. You're aware of the bond between Jasper and me. Eventually, I'll be one of you and join your family."

"There is more to it than simply Omerta, but I believe you. So you would join our Clan and follow me?"

I shrugged. "Jasper accepts you as his leader, and is sworn to your cause. I'm bonded to Jasper, and his fate is my fate. I will go where he goes. He will be my mate so if that means I join your Clan, then so be it."

Esteban nodded. "Yes, Jasper is sworn to me, and his fate and mine are intertwined. Now tell me how you know so much."

"I have a gift. I can see the future. It isn't always clear, and the future is constantly changing. It's subjective, and changes based on the decisions that people make. I've been watching this path unfold for a long time. Once I knew what to look for, like I said, the pieces all fell into place."

"So you're a fortune teller? That's a very powerful gift to manifest while you're still human. You will be very powerful indeed when Jasper has shared his immortality with you. You are human, correct?"

"Last time I checked," I pinched my arm. "Yeah, still human."

Esteban chuckled. "I am intrigued by this ability of yours. Can you read my future?"

"I can, but you have to understand. I see the path as it lies before us now. I don't control the future. Most people only want to hear good news, and don't want to hear the bad things. Also, the more I tell about a future event reduces its chance of happening. People make different decisions when they know what lies ahead, and it has an affect on how the path unfolds." I opened my purse, and took out the new deck of tarot cards that I had purchased at the market.

"I understand. You read the cards?"

"No, not in the sense that some people assign meaning to certain combinations of cards, and then interpret them like reading tea leaves or looking at the lines on your palm." I opened the deck and started to shuffle as I spoke. "The cards are a prop, a tool to allow me to focus my mind. I don't need them, but they make it easier to achieve the mind set I need to see the possible. They give me a degree of control. Otherwise I'd just see things in my dreams or random visions."

Esteban nodded and was silent as I worked the cards. I closed my eyes and let my awareness drift and expand to encompass the room. I shuffled and cut the deck, and shuffled again and spread a pattern with the cards on the desk in front of me. I opened my eyes, as my awareness danced at the edge of the room, and I was aware of Esteban sitting across from me. I gathered the cards, shuffled and cast another pattern as my awareness shifted and focused on Esteban. I could feel his aura and sense his strength of will. I saw his path and the decisions that would affect it.

I closed my eyes again as my awareness flowed out and looked at the possible and what might be and what would be as our lives became more tightly intertwined and my future moved along the same path as Jasper and Esteban. My hands moved with a will of their own as the cards came together and I shuffled and laid another pattern.

The room was silent, and I could feel then energy practically crackle through the room. Esteban was motionless as he watched me, and I knew he wasn't breathing. The air was still and he didn't move as she sat motionless as stone. And then I could feel him close his eyes to listen as I finally spoke.

"The Fu's will move against Port Angeles to put pressure on your Clan and test for weakness. They will use the docks to traffic in the white horse, the fruit of the purple flower. Fu Chang Hong will become bold and claim more and more territory when you return to Italy. The Italian will support their cause as their power grows."

My hands moved as I flipped the cards and they landed in front of me on the desk, drawn into the pattern as though they were connected to the desk by elastic and they snapped into position as I let them go. My eyes were open but I couldn't see, as my eyes rolled back in my head showing only the whites. I passed my hand over the desk, and felt the cards gather to me as they moved to my hand like iron filings drawn to a magnet.

"The Clans will war with each other, but there will be too many newborns in our ranks to stand against them all. The fury of the Italians will consume us if we do not flee the coming conflict. The Moreno's must abandon Seattle to the chaos. There will be a new Club in the windy city and a house in a sea of green where our skills will develop and our strength will grow."

I could feel the path before us as my hands moved, and the cards snapped back out into a new pattern. I could feel the energy of the possible crackle around me, and I could sense the charged atmosphere in the room. It was like I was suspended above us, as I watched my hands move, my body breathed, my lips move, I spoke words.

"The Moreno Clan will grow to become a force to be reckoned with as we draw strength from the heartland. You will have your revenge on Fu Chang Hong and return one day to reclaim all that is lost and more."

I started to pull my awareness back in and focused on my breathing as I closed my eyes and concentrated on centering myself. I gathered the cards one last time and left the deck on the table in front of me. I realized Esteban looked upset, and a low growl rumbled in his chest, but I knew he wasn't mad at me.

"Damn Aro and his meddling ways! I am Proconsul of the Pacific Northwest Province, and First Sword of the Volturi in Seattle. This region was mine until he recalled me to the Guard! I've spent the last hundred years building all of this, and now you tell me we're going to abandon it and just walk away?"

I shrugged. "I see what I see. Do with that knowledge what you will. If we stay in Seattle when the war starts, we'll all be lost. If we leave, we'll become stronger than we are today, while the other clans are weakened from all the in fighting and squabbling for territory. There will be a power vacuum if you pull out of Seattle, and the other clans will consume themselves in the maelstrom of destruction that follows."

"Yes, I can see where that would be an advantage…"

"Why did this Aro recall you to the Guard if you have been running this province for the last hundred years?"

"I thought you would have already known that. Aro is the leader of our kind. He wanted Bella when he learned of her. She has a powerful gift, but I refused to give her up."

"I was a member of the Volturi Guard for two hundred years until Aro released me to settle this province for him. Nobody ever truly leaves the Guard. It's more like being in the army reserve for life. I've put my time in with the Guard, but Bella hasn't. Aro claimed service from my Clan, hoping that I'd send Bella to him to serve. If I sent her, she would have been under his control for the next fifty years even though she'd still be part of my Clan in name and I'd get credit for her service. When I refused, he 'invited' me to return to Italy to serve with his personal household. You do not turn down Aro's invitation."

"Well you're here now, how long did you have to serve?"

"This is just a temporary leave, Alice, my vacation so to speak. I must return to Italy in two weeks. I have been away for almost five years except for short trips like this one. I will be required to serve for at least another five years unless something causes Aro to request my further assistance."

"Pardon me for being blunt, but why does it matter if you are in personal command of your forces here? Can't the core structure that you've established withstand your absence for a couple of years? Why is everything going to hell because you're in Italy instead of here?"

"Something you need to understand about our world is that it revolves around power. Personal power and the ability to take what you want and hold it make it yours. This is not a democracy like the humans have toyed with for the last couple of centuries. In our world, you have as much power and influence as you can take and hold onto. There is no force of law except that which we choose to enforce ourselves. Aro can name me his viceroy, and make me Proconsul, but it's meaningless unless I have the power to make it happen and enforce it. If I failed, he would simply name another to take my place, and if the situation got too far out of hand, then he would send the Guard to clean up the mess."

"As First Sword of the Volturi for this region, I have the right to call on the Guard to enforce my will, but this is a personal right. The Guard serves me because they honor who I am and what I represent. When I am gone, my Clan loses those resources. Jasper has no official standing with the Guard because of his past, although many of them honor his prowess in battle. Despite his best efforts, my Clan is just my personal household and simply another Clan squabbling for territory if I am not here to lead them.

"Now, on to more pressing matters, what are we going to do about your brother? I assume that's why you came to talk to me. Jasper tells me that he is in love with a human girl, and is resisting his connection to Bella. I have sacrificed much to see Bella trained and safe. I do not begrudge her finding her mate, but she must claim him, and bring him into the Clan. If he learns of our secret and refuses Bella he will be breaking our oldest and most important law. Jasper tells me Bella has exposed herself to save his life. Does he know as much about us as you?"

"I won't lie to you, Edward knows more than Bella or Jasper thinks he does, but he won't expose the secret. Edward will choose Bella, I'm almost certain of it, but they need more time to settle their relationship. They are both exceptionally stubborn people."

"What of the human girl? How much does she know?"

"Katy doesn't know anything. Edward hasn't shared any of this with her. That's part of what's driving him towards Bella."

"This is a very dangerous game that you're playing, Alice. If you guess wrong, I'll have to order his destruction, and Bella will die defending him. Why can't I just order Bella to claim him, or simply bring him here and force him to join the Clan?"

"That path leads to destruction. Edward must make his choice of his own free will. He will have a gift when he is changed, but if you force him, he will resent you and fight us. If he accepts Bella and joins us freely, they will be an unstoppable pair. One of them needs to make the first move. Bella wants Edward to accept her for who she is, and not simply because he's her mate, and Edward is waiting for Bella to trust him enough to tell him what she is."

"I don't know why, but something tells me to trust you. Alright, Alice, I'll do what you ask. I'll give them time but I won't wait forever."

Then Esteban leaned forward and pressed a button on his desk.

"Yes, Esteban, what can I do for you?" The voice over the intercom sounded like Rose.

"Yes, Rosalie. Find Bella, and tell her to come up to my office. I need to talk to her."

"She's right here, Esteban. She heard you and she's on her way up." Rose's voice spoke out of the speaker.

"Thank you, Rosalie."

A minute later there was a soft knock on the door, and then Esteban said, "Come in Bella" The door opened and she nervously stepped into the room. She looked back and forth between us apprehensively as she stood inside the door. "Come in dear, please have a seat. We've been discussing the situation with Edward."

"Alice tells me that you haven't claimed Edward yet, but you're waiting for him to tell you that he wants you first?"

"Yes, Esteban," Bella spoke softly while looking down at the floor.

"Alice tells me that you need more time, but she is convinced that Edward will not expose our secret. I will give you more time, if that is what you desire. Further more, you have permission to tell Edward about us," Bella looked up at Esteban with wide eyes, "but I am trusting you to guard our secret. You know the rules. He must promise to protect the secret or die if he learns the truth."

"Thank you, Esteban." Bella said with a happy grin on her face now.

"I will give you until all hallows eve to bring him before a truth sayer to take his oath. If he has not accepted you by the thirty-first of October, then you will claim him and make him yours. Do you understand, Bella?"

"Yes, Esteban, I understand. Thank you."

"Thank Alice, she has told me many things that I must consider. Now you two go down to the club and enjoy the rest of your evening. Oh, and Bella, I'll be setting up your testing. The Major tells me I will be impressed. Can you come back next Saturday evening?"

"Yes Sir, I'll see you next Saturday."

I got out of my chair and put the cards back in my purse. Bella got up, and I hooked my arm through hers as we turned toward the door and went out into the hall.

"Good night, Esteban," I said as we went out the door. "C'mon, Bella, let's go find Jessica and Angela. Hopefully they haven't gotten into anymore trouble yet. So are you going to show me the rest of the club now?"

"Sure, Alice, the private club is one floor down. It's a lot more fun than the public areas down at the street level. Rose was going to take the girls on a tour. Maybe we can catch up with them…"

Bella led me to the elevator again to go back down to the club. Well, I had bought them more time to try and get their shit together. Hopefully one of them would step up and move the relationship forward. Bella had Esteban's blessing now, but did she have the courage to actually talk to Edward? Would Edward finally pull his head out of his ass and see what everybody else already knew? I guess time would tell.