Disclaimer: As usual I don't own Twilight, I just play in the sandbox. I do lay claim to Ella and the Fey world inclusion in this story.

AN: Posting this chapter a day early because it's gloomy and rainy in England today and I have a headache, so I thought posting this would cheer me up! :) It worked, sort of ~Hannah

Reviews for Chapter Forty-Seven:

Arkyitor's Song: I know right! I'm on a roll, it's about time I managed to plan ahead of posting . I always loved Jazz and Rose as characters and dislike the fact that they were never fully developed in the books. Of course, I'm only really touching the surface with them here but it's a start, right? Yeah Edward is a pain but he was written as a pain. I suppose he was supposed to come off as charming and gentlemanly but frankly I just find him irritating and whiny! The Edward I'm writing in this story, should in theory get a little better. He tends to change from one day to the next, depending on what mood I'm in when I write :D ~ Hannah

Chapter Forty-Eight – Mind Prison

I found myself within a cage. There were windows and bars but no way out. I was trapped but I was trapped by my own making. I'd caged myself. I'd trapped myself. I was my own worst nightmare. Locked within my mind I was safe. I couldn't be harmed by anyone or anything and in return I couldn't hurt others.

Some people would call it a breakdown.

I suppose they were right. I had broken down. I had crumbled. I knew I was strong, I knew I had the ability to pick myself off the ground and get on with my life. The logical side of my brain told me as much but the other side of my brain, the emotional side, kept me in the dark without help. It whispered things to me, things that fed off my negative thoughts and so, against the logic of my mind, I kept myself trapped when I knew I could not be accessed.

Jasper P.O.V

Dealing with my emotions was bad enough but dealing with everyone else's in this situation was almost more than I could bear. I wasn't even sure how I was surviving till I realised what was keeping me grounded. Ella. I couldn't feel Ella. Her emotions should have been the loudest of all yet all I was getting was silence. I didn't understand it and when I didn't understand something I became frustrated.

Out of everyone here I had the most similar experiences with depression and all associated but so far no one had asked me for my help in the matter. Mostly they just argued between themselves. Rose and I had always been particularly close having to pretend to be twins for so long but now I was standing more and more on her side.

I'd expected Alice and I to be fighting on different sides once more, as she often took Edward's side over mine but I was pleasantly surprised to have her standing by my side. Holding her hand and drawing intricate patterns on the back of it kept me sane during all the arguing. Sometimes I hated being an empath.

Ella was, special. She was special to all of us in different ways. For me, she was my best friend. I don't think any of us could say we were unchanged by her arrival in our lives. She bought out the best in us and made us determined to be better versions of ourselves. I had never willingly interacted with a human before but there was something about Ella that made me forget she was so vulnerable. She didn't judge me and she'd accepted me completely. I knew that was rare.

With everyone insistent that they force their own healing methods on Ella, I knew I wasn't the only one close to breaking point. Alice had given up trying to get her point across. She was almost certain of what the future contained and knew that pushing Ella was the wrong thing to do. If the others didn't listen to her then she was just going to sit back and watch. In her words, if Ella is angry at everyone else, it'll be nice for her to be able to come to Alice or myself without fear of judgement.

Alice was wise beyond her years, it was just often masked by her hyper attitude.

I was on a mission now. Naturally I'd asked Alice about it, and while she couldn't see the entire picture, she knew that there would be no rejection. Between us we managed to empty the house for one reason or another. I suspect Alice told Carlisle the truth while she told a version of the truth to everyone else.

I had set up the art room with a chaise and chair, hidden cameras and microphones and though I felt a little guilty about the hidden act, I knew this was something that needed to be recorded.

Ella arrived on time but she was hesitant. I knew she wasn't comfortable in our house anymore and that pained me. I still couldn't hear anything from her. It wasn't natural.

She needed help. I could see it. She had the same look in her eyes as I did before I found the Cullen's. It was a look of desperation, fear and hatred. So long had I spent drowning in those emotions, it had taken me a long time to overcome them and I hoped Ella's journey to recovery would be quicker.

"Do you know why I asked you here?"

"You said you could help me," she said nervously. She paused as her eyes darted around the room and she licked her lips. "Where is everyone?"

"Out. I didn't want them here. You need to be comfortable and frankly their attitudes are less than helpful right now."

"How can you help me?"

"I understand you. No, exactly what has happened to you but I understand the feelings."

"I'm sorry, I must not be very fun to be around with you being an empath and all."

"Actually, I can't feel you right now Ella and that worries me."

"Oh."

"Why don't you lie down," I said, pointing to the chaise.

She took the hint but reluctantly so.

"Are you going to play therapist?" she asked.

"No, I'm going to hypnotise you."

She panicked, her eyes going wide, her face draining of colour and sat bolt upright on the chaise.

"Calm down Ella, it's fine."

"Hypnosis doesn't exist. If you are just going to tease me, I'll leave."

"Ella, do you trust me?"

She nodded.

"Then let me help you. I promise I'm not teasing you. If this doesn't work we don't have to try it again, alright?"

She nodded, relaxing into the chaise once more.

I moved to lower the blinds, I lit a few aromatic candles, and let some quiet calm music float around the room. I bought out a pocket watch from my pocket that I'd had since before I was turned. It was one of the only items I had left from my human life. I treasured it always.

I began to sway it in front of Ella. Hypnosis didn't always work on people but I hoped and prayed it worked on Ella. I saw the tail tale signs of her eyes glazing over and her breathing evening out as I continued to sway the pocket watch and spoke calming drawn out words. I had learnt the art of hypnosis in the latter years before I met the Cullen's, it served to get my prey to stop feeling so that the guilt didn't tear me apart. I now used it for other reasons.

"Ella, can you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Where are you?"

"Safe."

"Ok, I want you to come out of your safe place and head back in time. All the way back to the first day of camp. Can you tell me how you met Marco?"

"Marco? No, he's bad."

"It's alright Ella. What happened to you didn't, it happened to somebody else, you're safe remember. Tell me what happened."

"Camp was busy. I was trying to register and was looking forward to making some new friends and some good music. I missed Edward and wished he was by my side. The camp attendant dealing with registration was annoying. She was so bubbly and hyper but not in a sweet way like Alice. I wanted to punch her."

"Then what happened?"

"Someone bumped into me. I thought nothing of it but I did stumble and fall to the ground. It didn't hurt. Somebody helped me up."

"Who helped you?"

"The devil in disguise. Shaggy black hair, eyes with no colour. He pulled me to my feet. I was going to say thank you but he was looking at me with a snarl upon his face and I just wanted to run from him. I couldn't because he had a bruising grip on my hand."

"What happened then?"

"He told me I was destined to die. That I would die slowly and painfully at the hands of his Master. That my blood would be the first to be spilt in the war. He warned me that I would remember none of this conversation and that I would slowly find myself drawn to him. That I would be enamoured by him, lust after him and ultimately fall in love with him. My life would be his and when I had given him everything he would finish me."

She had started to breathe erratically.

"Ella, you're safe, it's alright. Breathe in and out for me. Slowly and deeply, that's it. Remember you are safe, no harm will come to you."

"I'm safe, Jazz is safe," she mumbled but it warmed my heart to know that she felt safe with me.

"Can you tell me anything else?"

"A light went off in my mind. Like a switch was flipped. I was waiting to register and getting increasingly annoyed by the hyper camp attendant when I met Marco. He'd been waiting to register longer than me and was equally annoyed. We bonded over our mutual dislike for the hyperactive woman before us and chatted while we waited. He was a boarding camper while I was commuting but we hit things off right away. I was so happy to have made my first camp friend. Marco was a gentleman, he even guided me towards our first lesson. He's a good friend."

It was hard not to swear out loud at this development. No wonder Ella was having such a hard time coping, her mind must be in chaos trying to stop her from remembering all that had happened. Marco had got his claws into Ella far sooner than anyone imagined. The spell that had been given to clear her mind hadn't taken away the hidden layer because no one knew it was there.

Marco had been poisoning her mind, terrorising her with words and then overlaying it with the kind and friendly Marco persona that had fooled us all.

"Ok Ella, you've done really well. I want you to come back now, slowly, take your time. When you wake, you'll be tired and need to sleep. Later when you wake fully rested, the memories of this session will come back to you."

She nodded.

"Ready in, one, two, three, awake."

Her eyes lost their glaze as she came back to the room. She yawned and sleepily rubbed dust from her eyes.

"Thanks Jazz, I think I'm going to go lie down."

"Of course, Ella, any time."

Inside I couldn't wait for her to leave. To be safely asleep upstairs so I could relax. My shoulders sagging after the ordeal. Poor Ella. I'm sure she'd be offended if I was pitying her so but I couldn't believe the strength and resilience she had to survive all that had happened this summer. I couldn't believe the sneakiness and the intelligence of the plan Marco had played. To insert false memories over the top of the hurtful ones spoke of extensive planning. Ella believed those false memories to be one hundred percent real. There had been no doubt in her mind that they weren't. I hoped she wasn't too hysterical when she woke with the new memories in her mind as well. I hoped it would allow her to realise how strong she was and what had happened wasn't her fault.

I knew that everyone would be home shortly. I couldn't get them to stay away for too long but hopefully the time away had done them some good and they'd calmed down. If I was extra lucky they would have quietened enough for Alice to give them a good talking to and hopefully they'd return knowing what needed to be done. I stopped the cameras from recording and locked todays video and microphone tapes away in a secret safe in the bedroom I shared with Alice. No point anyone finding them until they were ready to hear them.

I had one thing left to do to fulfil my self-imposed good deeds for the day. If it wasn't something that would help Ella in the long run, then I would leave it be but I just couldn't let this lie when I knew it was damaging Ella's recovery.

Call me a Mother hen.

Ella was still sleeping, thank goodness, when everyone returned. I could ensure they stay quiet enough to let her sleep, inform them that the hypnosis had worked and argue that they weren't ready to hear or see what had been said yet, before they finally stopped harassing me.

If I was a human I'd be exhausted right now.

Alice winked at me, I knew what that wink meant, sexy times for later.

Cornering Bella was easier than I imagined as she wasn't exactly trying to include herself in the conversations of others. She was, instead looking forlornly outside and unlike Ella, I could tell what Bella was feeling: guilt.

Why though?

"Bella, can I talk to you?"

"Sure Jasper, what's up?"

"Why are you avoiding your sister?"

"What? I'm, I'm not doing that."

"You are and even when you're standing right next to her you stand silently and without comfort. I can feel your emotions Bella, I can feel them miles away you're shouting them so loudly. Why are you feeling guilty? Why avoid Ella when you know it damages her so?"

"It's my fault."

"I thought we'd agreed that this was no one's fault."

"Not what happened, not what Marco did. Ella now, that's my fault."

"I don't understand."

"I've always been there for Ella. Through every bad moment, through every good moment, I have been the constant by her side. I've seen this behaviour before, this retreat into herself. I've always let her do it because I know she comes out the other side. What if I've been wrong all these years? What if I should have been getting her to talk to me instead of locking everything inside of her? I told Ella it was alright to keep her feelings bottled up. That's why I carry guilt. I should have encouraged her to express herself and tell others of her feelings. What if I've damaged her?"

"Bella, calm down. You haven't damaged Ella. You just did what you thought was best and it probably worked very well. This is a special situation and Ella is just falling back on the method that has served her well over the years, it has nothing to do with your input at all. She doesn't blame you for how she's handling this. The only thing you should feel guilty for – and I'm sorry for not sugar-coating this – is avoiding Ella. You're the person she needs right now, more than anyone else because you're her sister, you're her twin. She knows you've kept her safe all these years and removing yourself now is only going to hurt her. She's going to wonder why you aren't keeping her safe anymore and why you don't love her."

"But that's not true."

"I know but Ella isn't in the right frame of mind to realise that now. She needs all the help she can get from all of us. The best thing you can do for Ella is to just continue as normal. Don't make any reference to what is happening, to how she's suffering or what's happened to her. She needs to know that she can still be normal and that there is a light at the end of her darkened tunnel. The only way we can help her is to pretend that nothing has happened and move on with our lives."

"That sounds easier said than done."

"Life isn't easy Bella but Alice did mention that help might come from where we least expect it."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know, it's Alice, she's cryptic but she's never wrong."

I just hoped whatever cryptic help Alice was referring to would actually help Ella and wouldn't end up making things worse.