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Into the Woods

By: Everleigh Allen

Chapter 41

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If Renee could look ashen, she would have. "I didn't- but's what Forks and La Push have is called an Otherworld. It's where the realm of the living and the other kinds of powerful spirits, coexist; to put in laymen's terms. They, the Sidhe, the supernatural race, live underground or alongside the living, but are invisible to most humans and in this case, vampires, and I expect- the wolves. There is no getting rid of it, as you say. It's here forever, just like you and now me… even Jake."

"What about Jake?" Edward's lips were mere lines as he listened to Renee.

"The Quileute's folklore speaks of being so angry that the cold ones were attacking their tribe that many of them suddenly shape shifted into wolves. How do you think that actually happened? It didn't happen to other tribes that we know of- why this tribe? It isn't because they descend from wolves as they say they do," she scoffed, shaking her head at the absurdity, "it's because they were affected by the Otherworld that they didn't know they were living within. To be descendants of wolves would require some kind of mating with a wolf, which I assure you, didn't happen."

"That you know of," Rosalie sneered. "Jake isn't a valid example since he's pretty vile with dangerous, volatile temperament-"

"I didn't know he was after Bella the way he was!" Renee screeched. "I thought his interest would be innocent puppy love."

"Oh, the irony!" Alice scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Bella has a restraining order on him, now," Esme added softly, ignoring Alice's outburst. "He kidnapped her by dragging her out of her house against her will- late at night, and into the woods. Charlie was working so he had no idea."

"I didn't know." Renee reiterated.

Esme continued, "He threw her to the ground and she bolted, but tripped. That's one of the ways we knew something was odd out there in the woods, or maybe with Bella, because she started to disappear when Jake was getting closer to her."

"She must have been terrified!" Renee sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

Edward sighed, "Please keep going with your side of things, Renee. There's nothing we can do about Jake, Victoria, and James until we have all the information."

Renee nodded and composed herself before she continued. "Anyway, the Sidhe may consider the Quileute wolves much like the guardians of the Otherworld, knowingly to them or not- much like Hades' three-headed hound Cerberus. Like attracts like, which is why you feel so attracted to this place, just like the Fae, the werewolves, and everything else-"

"So if you didn't create the Otherworld, who did?" Carlisle asked.

Renee shrugged, "I can't be completely sure but it could've been be one of my ancestors since some have been there for at least a better part of a century. I just added the two fairies that I rescued from my trip to Ireland."

"Stole." Rosalie snipped.

"Whatever. You weren't there to make judgements. But that part was true. I didn't realize at my young age that there was an Otherworld within Forks and La Push already! Just as I didn't realize that by putting an enchantment or protection spell for Bella would change everything so much!"

Everyone was silent, soaking everything in.

There was no way to save Bella at this point and she was apparently on her own and with the Fae.

Renee continued to explain that the Otherworld of Forks and La Push was centuries old so that meant that there was so much more there they didn't see. As Renee put it, there are Seelie's or the light, like fairies and elves, and the Unseelie's, or the dark, like Boggarts and Bogles of the Otherworld.

She went on to explain that more until Emmett put a stop to it with a loud, frustrated yell.

Apparently, he had hit his limit.

They all could relate, even Demetri was wondering what he got himself into with his new mate.

"And the stones," Edward sighed with exasperation. "What was that all about?"

Renee beamed, "They are used for protection, of course."

"We know," Alice groaned. "But it's crazy to think that anyone is going to wear a bunch of rocks on them for protection."

Renee bit her lip, reminding Edward of Bella, but she stayed silent, ignoring the comment.

"Actually, Bella did have some of the stones on her before she went off with the Banshee." Edward added and watched as Renee's eyes lit up.

"At least she has something."

"She left most them with you before the change."

"Oh," Renee looked sad, vaguely remembering the crystals on the bed when she woke up.

"The long black shadow things, what are they exactly?" Carlisle asked interrupting Renee's thoughts. He had been writing things down for a while and had been researching the buzzwords on the computer.

"They are Wraiths; an accumulation of negative energy. A good cleansing will get rid of them for a bit. Not completely, but at least for a while. I can lay obsidian and selenite on the ground close to where you saw them and that will help absorb the negative energy and cleanse it."

"This all just seems crazy!" Rosalie shrieked.

The smile Renee had faded away into a thin line. "Well, we all believe in different things, obviously. This has always been my reality, my heritage, and you'll probably be pleased to know that I've blocked Bella from the majority of it."

"Small favors," Edward huffed, "I plan to go search for Bella as soon as the sun comes back up." Edward said as he stood up. He looked right at Renee and then Demetri. "I would like it if you accompanied us in the search as long as you do not leave with her if you find her. Alice will know."

"I know enough than to get in the middle of a male and his mate, so you have our word." Demetri stood and shook Edward's hand before sitting back down. Edward then looked at Renee and she quickly nodded her agreement and gave her resignation to protect her daughter.

It was now in Edward's hands.

Renee then turned toward her mate with a slight smile.

Jasper could instantly feel the amorous feelings and the sudden need to mate from the new couple.

Both had actually been quite able to control themselves, especially as a newborn vampire and newly mated.

Edward hoped Bella would be similarly able to control the bloodlust when or if she was ever changed.

"Good… until, then, I am going back to my own home."

Edward opened the door and jumped into the darkness of night.

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The sun slowly rounded over the horizon painting the sky with soft pinks and purples as the daylight peeked through the evergreen trees, offering long plumes of yellow light. The morning light was slowly burning off the blanket of fog, leaving the dewy forest floor a lit with little rainbow-like light. The birds chirped happily from above, alerting the forest of the break of the new day as the slight whistle of the soft breeze drifted through the leaves.

Bella smiled, just waking up, and reached out with hands balled into fists, her back arched as she stretched.

She had never felt better.

She had never felt more connected to the Earth. It was as if she was rooted there and belonged.

Blinking away the sleep, Bella felt the happy gratitude of a new day radiating through her as she took in the world around her, slowly sitting up and seeing the world anew.

Little blue belled flowers swayed in the slight breeze, dancing with the long grasses and Bella giggled as she cupped one of them. She brought it to her nose and smelled the sweet nectar and airy pollen fragrance of the delicate flower and wondered how she hadn't noticed them before.

The sudden breeze lifted up her hair, kissing her cheeks as it passed and she couldn't help but turn to it in greeting; which felt odd yet very natural.

Little flurries of light caught her attention and she watched in wonder as they came closer, very carefully, before Bella could see they were actually fairies. One brave little soul sat on Bella's propped up leg and smiled widely as the others flew off into the forest.

She had had little perfect, yet sharp teeth that glinted back at Bella as she played with a long strand of Bella's hair. Bella watched in awe as she lowered her hand and the fairy confidently climbed onto her palm, her white hair waving behind her with the breeze as her silvery eyes shined brightly. The fairy's clothes were little pieces of almost see through silk adorned with flowers and leaves but her perfect lithe form was barely covered. Her wings were iridescent and see through, but very much like a butterfly.

"Hello," Bella whispered her voice light and careful of the fairy's delicate ears.

The fairy smiled happily, twisting into a circle in her palm before hugging Bella's thumb.

When she let go, she stood up, smiling widely, before she flew off Bella's hand and started tugging at the back of Bella's shirt.

Turning, Bella tried to see what the little fairy was trying to get at, but couldn't.

The fairy disappeared underneath Bella's shirt causing her to gasp in shock as it tickled and scratched awkwardly.

Like a giant bug crawling under her clothes.

"What are you doing?" Bella gasped as she tried to swat at the fairy and get her out of her clothes. But the fairy pulled and pulled as Bella shook back and forth until it was apparent that the fairy wanted the shirt off.

Bella looked around, not seeing anyone around before she lifted off her shirt.

Covering herself, but still in her bra, Bella turned her head to look over her shoulder and saw the fairy scratching at her back. At first it tickled, but then it was like the fairy grew talons! Other fairies started to circle around and landed on her back or legs and crawled over her to get to her back.

Bella was in shock, afraid to move as if they would do something or she would do something to harm, but then those fairies started to claw and tear at her skin with their talon like claws, screeching as they shredded her. Bella screamed out in pain and clawed at the ground, trying to move away but she didn't get far. She landed face down in the flowers and grass, which just made her back more accessible.

"STOP!" Bella screamed out, crying, as the fairies giggled and mimicked her. It felt as if a layer of skin was suddenly ripped off of her back and Bella screamed out in pain again.

After their deed was done, the fairies flew away into the woods and left just the one fairy behind.

Bella sobbed, tears lining her face, the pain acute, as she tentatively turned to look to see the damage they had done.

But there was no damage to be seen but it still felt as if she was horrible sunburnt, but the pain ebbed and dissipated slowly as Bella lay over the grass and cried and cried.

Never had she imagined she would have wings.

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As the sun finally reached the middle of the sky, Bella woke up with a start. She hadn't realized she had cried herself to sleep and the wings flared out behind her as if to mimic her shock.

It wasn't a dream.

It was an unbelievable sight. Flaring out from where she lay were iridescent, shimmery wings very much like the first fairy with the white hair.

Bella gasped, trying to get away from the wings, but they flapped awkwardly as her body twisted back and forth.

"Oh, shit!" She screamed, "I… do… I have… Oh, no! I cannot have wings!"

Suddenly, Bella stopped her flaring around as the fairy stood before her, suspended in air, as she flapped her wings, urging Bella to copy her.

"No… just… no." Bella started to hyperventilate. "I can't have wings!"

The little fairy huffed as Bella continued to rant and cry, her back sore with each movement but not unbearable.

It was a while later, after Bella had complained, cried, tried to pull the painful wings off, and then with a new resolve and she decided this all was just an elaborate dream or nightmare and she would wake up soon, so she'd just play along until then…

It sounded great in her head!

Dew, the little fairy,sat patiently waiting and rolling her eyes sometimes and frowned through Bella's crying.

Finally, exasperated, Bella watched as the fairy floated down to the ground next to her. She grabbed her wings and wrapped them around herself and then nodded for Bella to do the same, which she finally did.

It was the weirdest thing ever.

Tears fell as Bella, shaking, pulled at the wings and wrapped them around her torso.

She felt oddly comforted and hidden.

The fairy squeaked with happiness and clapped which caused Bella to look up and watch as the little fairy flared out the wings next and waited for Bella to comply.

Begrudgingly, she tried several times, feeling the awkward way the wings felt, but they were definitely a part of her whether she liked it or not. She could feel every touch; every little burst or wisp of the breeze.

They were very sensitive.

This all was so beyond what Bella was ready for, but she mustered the courage to do as the little fair haired fairy was trying to teach her since she woke up.

Bella soon realized that she could control them with ease and as the sun moved upward through the trees and deeper into the sky, she could see almost control them with at will.

She also learned that she could hide them. They laid flat on her back, if she so chose to. The wings fused to her back almost as if it was tattooed with black lines and shimmery ink, but only after she removed her bra.

"What's your name?" Bella sighed, trying to smile. They stopped Bella's "training" to eat some of the berries that were collected earlier.

The fairy suddenly zipped off and grabbed a drop of dew and held it in her hand. She presented to Bella with a slight smile and hopeful eyes.

"Dew?" The fairy shrugged and pushed the drop toward Bella again and then let it fall, motioning the downward motion with her fingers. "Dew drop?"

The fairy beamed and nodded before she shrugged with a shy smile.

It reminded Bella so much of herself.

Bella looked at the fairy more closely and noticed that their wings were almost exactly the same.

"Our wings are so similar! Were you the one that first bit me?" Bella asked with a coy smile. The fairy blushed instantly and finally smirked.

"Well…" Bella bit her lip, and concentrated on the leaves around her. She picked one up and started to crumble it, eyebrows drawn together as she lost for words.

What do you say to something like that?

It was then that Bella's mother came to mind and she felt the sudden horror of Renee being like her... Like a fairy.

But she would have known, right? She would have seen the wings. "Is Renee, uh, my mother, the same way? Is she a… fairy, too?"

The Dew scrunched her little face as if in disgust and hissed. She flew up to Bella's ear, moving her hair aside as she talked in a high pitched voice. "She was not chosen by the fairy woman."

Bella tried not to cringe. "The fairy woman?"

The little fairy moved back to Bella's palm and nodded.

"I… don't understand. Who's the fairy woman?"

The fairy tilted her head to the side and then turned it to the other side before her eyes lit up.

Dew took in a deep breath and then started screaming and wailing a horrible inhuman cry.

Birds fled their nests angrily squawking in anger.

The woods fell silent as many of the Fae peeked out of their little hiding spots to see what was going on. After several uneventful moments, they disappeared behind the lush ferns and leaves, again.

"Oh, the Banshee… wait…NO!" Memories assaulted her mind in an instant… Edward watching in horror as Bella left with the screaming woman… how she didn't have a choice since it was like she was under some kind of spell. How the woman disappeared soon into a large tree a lit with lanterns but refused Bella entrance. Bella falling asleep on the forest floor nearby as the fairies covered her with ferns and leaves.

With a gasp, Bella looked at the fairy and she could instantly see it was all seemingly real. "I thought that this was all a dream!" Bella screeched, "I actually- I thought this- everything was still all an elaborate dream… or a nightmare." She muttered, tears falling again.

But then Bella remembered the Banshee and the tree. She looked around, noticing a large tree that the Banshee woman disappeared into but she couldn't see anything odd about it. It definitely had no doorway that was so blatantly there before, and no trace of the lanterns.

"I don't understand!" Bella sobbed out, feeling the tree, pushing at it.

The fairy just watched Bella with curiosity.

"Where's Edward? Is he okay?" Bella rushed over, looking around to try to get a sense of where she could be in the woods, but that was impossible. There was only a small meadow, not unlike Edward's but it was much smaller. It was more like a circle.

A fairy circle.

Bella frowned.

Dew looked at Bella warily, breathing in and out as if she was ready to start her screams again or an anxiety attack; but she didn't answer any questions. She just looked at Bella sadly before she flew up and around Bella and tugged harshly at the wings, telling her that now was not the time for questions about anything other than what they were doing.

Bella squealed out in pain, looking irritated behind her. "I get it. It's not a dream! Edward's gone and the Banshee and the vampires and the wolves are all real. I know… but that really hurts!"

There was a sudden rustle in the trees and a deep guttural growl.

Bella gasped out, falling to the forest floor instantly and somehow managed to wrap her wings around her, hoping that she'd disappear from whatever danger seeming to be lurking in the woods.

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A/N: Stopping there.

We've come to the poem…

Deep into the woods on Gaelach Day (Irish Day, which could be debatable on the actual date.)

She laughed as she watched the bluebells sway- We know who was laughing as the bluebells swayed (did you catch that up there?)

With a flick of light doth a teasing fae- Dew.

Into the woods the Dire one lay- Is it James, Jake, Victoria (if she's still undead) maybe even Edward , Renee, or Demetri? Perhaps it's one of the wolves, Billy, or Charlie? Or maybe a wild animal?

With mirth and mayhem doth she play (Could mean that she's playing with something deadly or dangerous, maybe?)

Straight into the woods where the spirits slay….

I hope that explains things… at least most of them. You can Google Otherworld, Sidhe, Seelie's and Unseelie's, etc. and all others mythical things used in this chapter.

As ever, thank you for reading and reviewing.

Wiki says an Otherworld is: In Celtic mythology, the Otherworld is the realm of the living and the home of the deities and other powerful spirits. Tales and folklore refer to the Otherworld as "The Fortunate Isles" in the black sea, or at other times underground (such as in the Sídhe) or right alongside the world of the living, but invisible to most humans. The intrusion of the Otherworld into this one is signaled by the appearance of divine beings or unusual animals, or other phenomena such as sudden changes in the weather.[1] Sometimes an otherworldly woman will present an apple or an apple branch, or a ball of thread to follow as it unwinds.