Not often did awfully much faze Esme Cullen, she looked after five teenage vampires on a day to day basis after all. But she just couldn't seem to initially grasp what was right in front of her eyes today, well, at first. The town of Forks was beautiful, strange and idyllic. The first thing she realised was it had no supermarket or small convenience stores of any kind. It had many exotic and unusual one-off shops though.

In fact, the whole place looked like something out of a dream. The kind of dream a young, impressionable Esme Platt might have once had. Little did she know that was her answer, she was seeing exactly what she imagined she should. Each one of the Cullens would see something to their liking and not what each other saw. This illusion was tailored just for her alone. This was a mistake on the magical community's part. They really should have picked one thing and shown it to them all.

There were little shops selling fabric and others selling antiques. She could see all kinds of things she'd need to renovate the Forks house and then some. But what really caught her eye was a display in a window for the sheerest of fabrics, delicate as gossamer wings. It was almost perfect if only it had been in green and then it was. She was stunned for a second and then the extremely pragmatic Esme Cullen, pulled up her big girl pants.

Without so much as a twitch, Esme moved on and then tried that again and again, each time the item changed to be what she wanted it to be. Carlisle had told her often that there were other supernaturals in their world but never having met any she really didn't accept it, not that she disbelieved her mate. But she was nothing but open to it now, sitting on a bench she smiled serenely to anyone who passed by.

So if this is an illusion she thought how do I make it stop? In her mind, Esme whispered "I want to see the truth' and there it was, the best way to break an illusion, is to know it is one. Forks was no less beautiful, just more. Well, more everything, it was magical she thought. The crowning glory was the little pond in the centre of town.

Around the edge sat several beings, some human others clearly not. Whilst in the water children splashed about, children with tails, tails like in the old storybooks she'd seen. They were all real, as real as she was. Right there in the centre of town, Esme decided she was staying, she was never leaving here. A place at last where they could be themselves, no pretence, no hiding.

This was as close to heaven as vampires would ever get, she decided. Not wanting anyone to guess she knew what was happening Esme opened a door of what had been an antique shop and asked for directions to the hospital.

"My husband forgot his lunch, so I thought I'd take it to him," she said and rolled her eyes as if to say, men!

TCHBTE

"This is much harder than I thought. It's so easy to fool the humans; they don't look to close by nature. But vampires see so much more" Tyler said flopping down beside his wife Lauren.

"We're all feeling the strain Ty, Bella says with her shield up she sees some flaws. I'm just going to recheck some of my Trans before we head to the meeting" she replied sounding quite tired,

"Yeah, Eric has snuck off to freeze the Cullens so none of them catches on. I'll come with you and reinforce my illusions too" he said kissing her cheek before getting up and holding out his hand.

The magical community were beginning to see they had grown lax and a little slapdash over the years. Their spells and wards, illusions and transmutations weren't standing up so well against the vampires as they should. Lauren felt it might be good to have everyone do some retraining, she would mention it at the meeting. As Eric arrived by transporting, the meeting of the magical community commenced. Many smaller issues were dealt with first; Lauren added her plea for retraining.

It was agreed that they had allowed their abilities to become weak and less effective and this was a wake-up call. The people were divided on should the Cullens stay or go, should they know or not about the supernatural presence here. Bella mentioned the two Whitlocks coming and you'd have thought she'd invited them herself, by the way, everyone was ranting on at her. Romain got to his feet and silenced everyone,

"We have no right to send any of them away, they too are supernaturals. We will not be allowing memory charm usage on mass! You all seem to forget, we are not the only group here in Forks. We are not the elite, just one of many and they too must have their say in how we all proceed.

So in three days, a full Forks council will be held at the pond, the Mer, the Quileutes and all other fey will be attending. Bella if this Peter Whitlock knows what going on here, invite them too. Maybe they can help us with making a decision about the Cullens" Romain said nodding to her,

"Me, why me?" she asked unhappily.

"He made direct contact with you specifically, my dear. So you are now our vampire liaison" he smiled at her as he said this before he continued saying,

"Those of you who are advocating radical, magical enforcement need to take a hard look at yourselves. Hiding ourselves was a temporary solution until we determined their status; we will not be refusing anyone from the light, the right to live here. That is the path to the other side, this is why the fey are separated into dark and light, are you perhaps on the wrong side?

Maybe it is you and not they who need to leave!" he said with much disdain in his voice and many heads dropped.

TCHBTE

After the meeting was closed, Bella quickly transported herself away up into the mountains, she had much to think about. Could it be possible he the Major, was her intended life partner, her mate! She was conflicted, confused and just a little angry at fate. What did this mean for her, would she be able to stay semi-immortal? Would she become a vampire? What did that mean for her powers? Would she turn to the dark?

It all spun around and around in her head faster and faster, needing to get out so she could think straight. Without really noticing Bella was throwing lightning bolts at the rocks near to her and thunder could be heard in the distance. As the boulders disintegrated into little puffs of dust, Bella heard a throat clearing behind her.

She swung around quickly releasing a bolt of lightning which exploded a tree next to the man who stood there.

"Hey suga' that's no way to treat you future brother-in-law!" he said with no little awe in his voice,

"Why me? How can I be mated to a vampire? I'm a witch, we don't mix well! This will be a disaster, I know it!" Bella whined, more to herself than him.

"What you see isn't the real him, neither is what you read in those books. He's a good man and everythin' will be fine, you have to trust me on that sweet cheeks!" he told her smiling,

"How'd you know that?" Bella quizzed him directly now.

"I just know shit! So you need to bring out the real him, by bein' yourself. Not the Major or Jasper Hale, but Jasper Whitlock! Then everythin' will be fine. Trust me, trust yourself. But you all have to do somethin' about Alice. She's the loose cannon in this scenario!" he said now sitting on the only boulder for miles,

"You're Peter I take it and the lovely lady hanging back in the trees? Your mate Charlotte I presume?" Bella said now freezing the rain that had started and made it snow all around them.

"Yup, right on both counts! Any idea where we can stay suga'? The Cullens don't like us much; I think it's the diet or the clothes, maybe the accent. Who knows?" Peter said not sounding the least put out,

"More like the attitude! Hello Bella, I'm Charlotte, but please call me Char" the beautiful blonde said as she came up beside them both.

"Hi Char, I can't think of a place off hand Peter, but give me two minutes since I've made a clearing anyway," Bella said before disappearing and then reappearing with a disgruntled Mike by her side,

"Just give us a small two bedroomed log cabin Mike! You can do that in your sleep. By the way, this is Peter and Charlotte Whitlock" Bella said as she pointed to them and Mike grimaced in their direction.

"Okay, jeez Bella! You do know it's date night? I'm taking that little red-headed

fairy to the waterfall tonight, so what and where?" he said agitated,

"Cabin here, two bedrooms," Bella said spreading her arms wide.

"You guys don't need plumbing, do you? I can rustle up a magic shower if you'd like" Mike said getting into it now,

Peter and Char stood bemused as quicker than even they could do it, a small but comfortable cabin appeared out of thin air.

"Okay, everything works by just saying on or off. We did away with all the old Latin spells, too laborious! Right I'm off, hot date well I hope so" Mike said before he disappeared again,

Once they'd settled into the cosy little cottage, Bella explained about the meeting and asked them to come. Explaining that the council would like their opinion on the trustworthiness of the Cullens and Peter laughed hard, then stopped and burst out laughing again.

"Their lives in my hands! The irony of it, jeez I wish I could see their faces when they find out" Peter sniggered,

"The good doctor is a tad condescendin' about our diet! Edward is a snob and thinks us below him intellectually and Alice thinks we're one step up from hillbillies or is it down!" Char explained to Bella, who had a disgusted frown on her face.

"That's a bit patronizing, we treat everyone equally here, we have to because we're all so different and aren't they the anomalies in your world?" she asked less than amused by this bit of information.

TCHBTE

The next morning was Saturday and Alice decided she would venture into the town. She was convinced it would be so provincial that she would be disgusted. But to her immense pleasure, it was anything but, all her favourite shops were here. Unlike Esme, Alice couldn't see past the end of her own nose and never even thought Forks was anything but what she saw. Spending exorbitant amounts of money on unneeded items was what she did best.

Whist walking between two shops she was assailed by the most delightful of scents and could not help but followed it immediately. At the end of the trail, she found herself face to face with the most amazingly handsome young man. The pull of his scent was confusing her and without her sight, Alice assumed wrongly that this was her mate.

Without thinking about or asking for confirmation from her family, which would have been in the negative. She in true Alice fashion dove in headfirst or was that feet? Because this was her version of what Forks should be he was dressed in the most expensive of clothes and was watching her rapturously. In fact, he was watching her with mild interest, he was a fairly newly matured male merman who had very little control over his phenomenal pheromone pull.

He was looking to build a strong pod and she, this little vampire would be a feather in his cap. After all, he only had Rav or as the town call her Ralo, in his pod at present, his own father had had six Olni (females) in his besides his mother. He was wondering if Mar-Cln-Alic was going to be more bother than it was worth, it's not as if she could give him young. Alice was now already convinced she's mated to the man, unaware he was anything but human.

He had introduced himself as Har-Ans-Niv-Karc, Hank to the local community. They spent hours talking and if Alice had been human and needed to move she might have noticed he never stood up in her presence. This, of course, was because he was really waist-deep in water. She had been drawn to the centre of town by his scent and was on the banks of the pond, as she talked to him.

He was unsure of this mating thing Mar-Cln-Alic talked of, they the Mer dealt in pheromones. If the person smelt good to you and complimented your own scent, then a match could be made and just as easily broken when either's scent changed. Alice has no idea, that having accepted Hank, only a scent change or death would free her. He is aware they cannot be together officially until after the town meeting, so he floods Alice's system with his scent almost like a drug, marking her as taken.

When she eventually manages to return home Carlisle is horrified. Everyone smells the scent on her and try hopelessly to explain to her the error of her ways, that it was not mating but an enthrallment place on her. Alice was not willing to admit she made a mistake decides she can deal with this her own way. She is still unaware Hank is not human.

TCHBTE

Edward was next to arrive in town, but unlike Alice, he didn't see anything special. He saw Forks, as it was, but it was deserted. The illusionists creating these alternate views were stumped, the boy had no imagination. Why, because Edward didn't believe in anything, not God, not magic, not the slightest possibility of any other life-forms. He didn't deviate from what was real to him for one second of any day, he would never have believed Carlisle's story about vampires, if not for his mind-reading ability.

He had to believe what he was hearing and seeing, he had to believe what he could do and feel. So yes he believed in vampires, but not much else. Well, humans, he knew they were real and little by little the full humans of Forks started to appear to him. The other's were just invisible to the shuttered mind of a very young Edward Cullen. His staunchly correct and proper view of the world left him blind to what could also be real.

Edward was the type of boy who had to be led by the hand and shown proof positive continually before he would even consider it might truly be fact. It was a sad truth, but one that didn't upset or bother him, because that was his life. He didn't feel he was missing out on anything, he'd seen the others daydreaming in the past and thought it was a waste of time and energy and far too insignificant for one as intelligent as him. The machinations of a weaker mind was how he truly saw it, not that he would say that to their faces.

So within half an hour of reaching town Edward turned around and headed back to the house. The only thing keeping him from siding with Alice about leaving was the peace and quiet. No longer hearing all of the thoughts around him was glorious, no more incessant thoughts of sex from Emmett, no more talk of fashion or cars or house renovations. No more war stories or medical dramas, just peace and his own thoughts about music.

This was the only part of Edward that was not rigid and straitlaced. His ability to write music, it just flowed from him, with no real thought or planning and that was the only part of him he let have free rein. Edward had never stopped to smell the Roses in life and although he couldn't miss what he'd never had, the others felt sorry for him because of it. He had stalled himself at such a young age and it would likely take a massive shock to jolt him free, maybe Forks would be the place.

TCHBTE

Jasper was the third vampire to enter Forks, but he unlike them was slowly beginning to see something is not normal about Forks, what he is unsure at present. Although he knows he should be worried he doesn't care. All that occupies his mind is Bella Swan. He to went into town, but he was hoping to see Bella, but unlike Esme and Alice his idea of a small town was of the Texan variety and that was his first clue all was not what it seemed. Saloons and horses at every turn made him stop for a moment and stare in wonder.

He soon realised this was his own hometown, but from a time before he was born, one he'd wished he'd seen with his own eyes. It had long since been swallowed up by Houston nowadays. but as a child, this was what he'd wanted to see on visits into town. He like Esme saw it was an illusion, but he was enjoying it too much to dispel it right away. Looking down at himself he smirked and watched as his clothes turned into those of a gunslinger. He was trying hard not to imagine bumping into Bella dressed as a saloon girl.

"Howdy stranger" came an all to familiar voice,

"Peter? What in tarnation are you doin' in my fantasy?" he asked, not really surprised to see his brother.

Over the many years since Jasper had changed him, Peter would appear whenever Jasper needed him. So did he need him now?

"Problems Captain?" he enquired tipping back the Stetson on his head slightly,

"Not exactly, I'm here as emotional back-up, not physical" was the cryptic reply.

Peter was decked out in the regulation outfit for the sheriff of the day and behind him, in a doorway, he could see Char, who was dressed as he'd imagined Bella earlier.

"Ma'am," he said sassily and she winked at him before linking arms with Peter,

"Little lady, you look mighty fine!" her husband told her before smacking her butt playfully.

"What's the chances of the whiskey actually tastin' as it should?" Peter asked raising his eyebrow,

"Pretty damned high since this is based on my dreams" Jasper said as they all strolled into a saloon and ordered the bartender to set up a round.

Not ones to miss a chance of some fun, they all played a few hands of poker, drank a few shots and even had a little dance, as Jasper played the piano. He was just as good, if not better than Edward, but much less of a show-off. As they strolled to the centre of town later, Jasper asked Peter if he knew what was going on around here.

"Yes and No! What do you think is happenin' Major?" Peter hedged,

"Well, it's supernatural, not the Quileutes though, the wrong kind of power! At first, I thought it was them blockin' my gift, well all three of our gifts. But then there's her, it has somethin' to do with her!" Jasper rambled as he mulled it over, "So it's got to be somethin' else and all I can guess is magic!" he finished off by saying.

"Alright, give that man a coconut! So this is all what?" Peter asked,

"An illusion to keep us distracted, but we come from different eras so they've bitten off more than they can chew. Man, I'd love to have seen Carlisle's town, seventeenth-century London. So why the subterfuge?" he said looking around thoughtfully,

" Because we're vampires and they need to know if we're good or bad! Because vampires are normally evil or at least bad and these people are obviously good and don't want wind of themselves gettin' back to Volterra!" Jasper said smiling at first, then it faded as a thought struck him.

"Damn! She's a witch, isn't she? So how can I feel her emotions and hers alone? Out of this whole town, I feel only her, why?" he asked himself distractedly,

"Oh! Oh no! Fuck!" Jasper groaned and spun to face his brother, "She's my mate!"

Made up Mer language for this story

There are no Y's, no E's or U's in their language, neither do they have double letters like in Cullen. So Alice would be Mar-Cln-Alic-Olni (Mary-Cullen-Alice-female)

Mer Males are Karc, females are Olni. Ans is his family surname, as is Cln for Alice.

Therefore Hank is Har-Niv (first names) Ans (surname) Karc (male)

Formal Har-Ans-Niv, informal Har-Niv very informal Har

Rav-Ans-Liv-Olni female in his pod