Part 2
.
Beloved of the people
But not of the blood
Four lives lived
Called beautiful one
Vanquishing enemies
Uniting Foes
She must be protected
She must be let go
She cannot be changed
Before she is lost
Her fifth life's return
May soften the cost
.
Chapter One - Interlude
Bella woke from another nightmare very early on Sunday morning. She thought of them as nightmares now, not the hopeful dreams she'd had all her life but nightmares of a life without Jasper, of being forced into an arranged marriage with a man old enough to be her father. She looked around for Jasper, but he wasn't there. He'd gone to hunt, and though he'd promised to be back by the time she woke up, he'd meant morning, not the middle of the night.
He hadn't spent the night with her in the two days since she'd been home from the hospital, instead he spent the nights hunting or patrolling. The whole family had decided to hunt every other day, determined to be at full strength if Victoria came back. Or rather, when she came back.
She sat up in bed and hugged her knees to her chest, staring at the night sky and the branches of the tree outside her window. She knew Alice and Edward were out there tonight. She hadn't wanted Edward listening to her nightmares, but she couldn't exactly insist that he leave Alice to guard her alone or that Carlisle and Esme take an extra turn.
It was still full dark out, but she could hear Charlie stirring. He was going on a fishing trip with Billy, and not returning until late that night. They'd both wanted to cancel, but Bella had insisted they go. They'd refused to go for the whole weekend, as they'd originally planned, but given in and agreed to go on Sunday when she'd pointed out that if she did have the chemotherapy, she would need a lot of home care and support over the next six months or more. She was relieved, not only because she wanted to spend the time with Jasper, but because she wanted to do everything she could to strengthen Charlie's ties with his Quileute friends. He would need support just as much as she would.
"I promise I'll still be here when you get back," she'd said, making direct eye contact with Billy and hoping he understood her point.
Later, she'd told Charlie she'd have a sleepover with Alice. "She'll probably inflict painted toenails and other tortures on me, but it will be worth it if you go on your trip."
"A sleepover with Alice?" Charlie had asked wryly. "Or Jasper?"
"Dad!" Bella exclaimed. "Jasper and I have only been together for a few days! And besides, Carlisle and Esme will be there the whole time." She had squirmed a little inside as she spoke, knowing that while she wasn't lying, she also wasn't telling the whole truth. She suspected Charlie knew that too. He could see how intense things were between them. He hadn't looked entirely convinced, but Esme had called him to officially invite Bella to spend the night, saying they would take good care of her and that Esme would bring her home Monday morning after Jasper, Edward and Alice went to school. Bella had decided to withdraw from school. One way or the other, she wasn't going to be seeing out this school year.
So Charlie had agreed—and I didn't even have to remind him that I'm eighteen, Bella thought—and now she could hear him showering, so she decided to get up herself to see him off.
.
The coffee had just finished brewing when there was a knock at the door. Jasper! She thought, and practically ran to open it, only to find Jacob and Billy on the other side.
"Oh!" she said, startled. "Uh...hi. Come in." She moved out of the way to allow Jake to push Billy's chair into the house.
"Hi, Bella," Billy said.
"Don't look so excited to see us," Jake said at the same time.
"Sorry," she answered. "I just thought you were someone else. I assumed Dad would be picking you up, Billy."
"He would have, but Jake wanted to come see you. Although Charlie assured us you would still be asleep."
"Yeah, I was planning on getting another hour's shut-eye, at least," Jake said. "What gives?"
Bella shrugged. "Couldn't sleep," she explained, shortly. "Woke up from a nightmare and I figured Charlie was up, so thought I'd get the coffee started. Want some?"
She poured for them both without waiting for an answer, knowing they were both caffeine addicts.
"Thanks, Bella," Billy said as she handed him a cup, just as Charlie appeared in the kitchen.
"So who were you expecting at the door then? Bit early for visitors isn't it?" Jake challenged her, before accepting his own cup and taking a large gulp of the hot liquid.
Bella blushed, glancing at Charlie. "Oh, I guess I was still a bit muddled—need my own coffee. But Jasper and Alice are coming over later. Alice and I are having a sleepover while you're away," she added to Billy, hoping he wouldn't change his mind and refuse to go.
"Really?" was all he said, though his tone was disapproving. Charlie frowned at him, but said nothing,
"Yeah, I didn't want Dad to feel like he had to come back early for me. So sorry, Jake, but I won't be able to hang out for long."
"Hmm," Jacob grinned, but she thought she could see the hint of resentment in his eyes. "Well, maybe I should just kidnap you and take you back to the rez before they get here."
"Yeah, I'd like to see you try," Bella muttered, crossly.
Charlie finished his coffee and took Billy's cup, rinsing them both and leaving them to dry by the sink. "Well, Billy, shall we get out of here and leave these kids to sort themselves out?"
As soon as they were out the door, she rounded on Jacob.
"I hope you weren't even slightly serious about that crack earlier, because—"
"And I hope you aren't planning anything more serious than getting your nails done with your bloodsucker friends tonight!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, infuriated not only by his name calling, but by his insinuations. There was no way he could possibly know what she had planned for tonight. No-one could.
"Just that I hope you aren't planning to make any permanent changes while Charlie's away, that will break his heart."
"What?! Not that it's any of your business what I do, but how can you think I would do that to my Dad? Not to mention I haven't even spoken to Renee yet. Do you really think I would do something so drastic now?"
"What else am I supposed to think? You insist Charlie and my Dad go fishing for the day, despite the rogue vampires roaming around..."
She felt herself pale at that thought. "But there are wolves watching them, right? You wouldn't leave Billy unprotected!"
"Yeah, which is two less wolves to patrol anywhere else. But maybe you don't care about that, if you're going to be off with your bloodsuckers."
"Jake! Would you stop calling them that! You're talking about my friends. And I wanted my Dad to have one day—just one—where he could go away and have fun before everything goes to hell with my treatment. He's probably going to spend the next six months taking care of me while I go through hell—which means he'll be going through hell too. Is it so wrong for me to want him to have this time to just relax?"
"So, you are going to have treatment then?" Jake sounded surprised.
"Of course, I am!" she said, feeling only slightly guilty for the implied lie, that she would go through the full course of treatment. She may decide to do so, after all.
"Then it's not as bad as you thought? There's hope?" Oh. Now he sounded hopeful.
"Um...No," she said quietly. "Not really. I mean, I don't know any more than I did on Friday. I'm seeing the oncologist this week, remember. But if chemo gives me more time..."
"Oh." She could see him deflate before her eyes.
With the advantage of Edward's mind reading, they had decided not to even bring up her change with the wolves for now, knowing that the council had decided they would not allow it under the treaty. And while it was clear they were already concerned that changing her might be on the cards—as early as this weekend!—Bella wasn't going to say anything to encourage that line of thinking. Any more than she already had last night, anyway.
"I'm just trying not to think too much about it until that appointment though. I don't have all the results, and I don't really know what he'll be recommending. But whatever happens, I know that next six months is going to be rough—for me and Charlie. So I want him to relax while he can, does that make sense?"
"Sure, sure, I get it. But you know that Billy and I are here for you—and Charlie—for anything we can do, right? And the pack too—we'll keep that red headed leach off your back, help take her out if we can. So you can just focus on fighting this thing."
"Thanks, Jake." She reached across to give him a one-armed hug, just as another knock sounded at the front door.
She laughed. "Now this time, I'm pretty sure I do know who it is," she said. "Will you stay and meet them properly?"
"Sure, sure," he answered. "I'm supposed to be delivering them a message anyway."
.
Later that day, Jasper watched fondly as Alice did Bella's toenails, having already subjected her to a facial and a manicure.
"I'm not sure which is sweeter," Esme said to him. "The way Alice is doing everything she can to spoil her, or the way Bella is tolerating it all without complaint." Alice stuck out her tongue at Esme.
"You know it's good for her to relax this way," she said to Esme, "even if she wouldn't do it herself. In fact, especially because she wouldn't."
"Well, regardless," Jasper drawled, "You've got ten more minutes, then she's mine. I promised her I'd stop her before you got to waxing, and I'm sure you're almost there."
"Pfft!" Alice complained. "She doesn't know what she's missing."
"I am in the room you know," Bella interjected.
"Yes, but not for much longer," Jasper said. "Eight minutes, Alice, then I'm taking her away."
He thought back to Jacob's message for them that morning. "Just a reminder from the elders that the treaty specifies no biting humans, for any reason," he'd said, "not just no killing."
"We're well aware," was all Jasper had said in reply. Alice had surprised him by being the one to growl, but then, she did find the wolves doubly annoying, because of the way they blocked her visions.
His mind wandered to the Quileute legend. He felt it likely, with the support of those wolves who had imprinted, that they would have been able to talk them around to a treaty exception, if it wasn't for the prophecy. With her dreams and evidence of her past lives, it was surely clear that they were meant to be together.
But that same evidence convinced them that she was the subject of their prophecy, and with that, any chance of their agreeing to her change was gone.
Jasper's fear though, was not that the Quileute's wouldn't agree. He was sure they could get around the wolves. If need be they would simply leave, taking Bella with them, with no warning for the tribe.
No, his fear was that the prophecy was right. It didn't say they shouldn't change her. It said she couldn't be changed, in time. It made him want to take her and change her now, without waiting another minute. But he knew he couldn't do that. She naturally wanted more time with her father. He had to respect her wishes, and allow her to make her own choices.
Five minutes later he had her sitting at the kitchen table while he served her lunch. She still had cotton wool buds between her toes and had promised not to move from her seat until Alice gave her permission, but that suited Jasper fine. He knew she couldn't eat much, and all he was doing was reheating some soup Esme had made, but he liked having the chance to take care of her. He also knew she was likely to eat more, if forced to sit still with him, than she would have left to her own devices.
After Alice came back and pronounced her toes ready for walking, he pulled her into his lap. "Shall we go up to my room?" he asked, liking the intimacy of having her in there. It was something he could never have done when they were both human. And now, he had something particular he wanted to talk to her about.
"Sure," she said, "only..."
"Only?"
She lowered her voice. "Can everyone hear us? When we're up there I mean? Only, there's something..."
"They can," he replied, cutting her off. "But actually, they're all going out. They won't be far, but it will just be us here for a while." Alice had seen what he wanted to discuss, and had offered to get everyone away for a while—an offer he jumped on with alacrity. He was used to the lack of privacy. Between their super human hearing, Edward's mind reading, Alice's visions and his empathy, there was very little real privacy in their family. But he knew Bella would be more forthcoming about her feelings without the family all listening, so he was grateful to Alice for organising it.
He picked her up and flew up the stairs with her, settling her comfortably on his couch. There was a new queen-sized bed pushed into one corner of his room, which Alice had bought two days earlier.
"She'll be uncomfortable if you buy it after she finds out you don't have a bed," she'd told him. "But I'm sure she'll be staying here from time to time, so we might as well get one for her now."
"I thought you couldn't see her clearly enough to know that sort of detail," he'd retorted, slightly irritated that she'd made the purchase without consulting him.
"I can't. But I know how she thinks. She likes doing things for others, but she's not that comfortable having people take care of her."
She was right, he knew, so he gave in gracefully. The bed made his room a little cluttered, with the desk, the bookshelves lining the walls, and the couch, but he was grateful now that it was there, so she would have somewhere to sleep tonight.
"Bella," he said, once he knew everyone was out of hearing range. "There's something I wanted to ask you."
"Okay," she said, looking at him curiously. "Me too actually, but—you go ahead."
He could tell that she was feeling nervous about something, but whether it was about his question or hers he didn't know. He decided to just bite the bullet and find out what she thought.
"So, I got something for you...I don't know how you'll feel about it. And if you don't like it, of course we can change it. And maybe you won't want it at all right now, I just..." He realised he was rambling and took a deep, unnecessary breath.
He went to his desk and took a small bag out of the top drawer, and brought it over to her.
"Isabella Swan, I love you more than I can possibly express. You've already agreed to be my wife, but I wasn't sure if you wanted people to know. I—" He opened the bag and held out the ring he'd chosen while she slept, and had shipped overnight from Seattle.
"Jasper," she almost gasped out his name, and he could feel her love and happiness as she glanced up at his eyes, and then back down at the ring. She held out her hand for him to slide it onto her ring finger. "It's beautiful," she said, bringing her hand back to look at the ring more closely.
"It's not something I could ever have afforded when I was human," he said, "but it's something I could imagine I would have chosen then if I could—although I chose the central topaz because it will match your eyes after your change. But if you'd rather something more contemporary..."
"No, no it's perfect! I love it. Thank you, Jasper." She leaned over and kissed him, and he couldn't help himself, he pulled her into his lap and deepened the kiss, until she pulled away, breathless.
He ran his fingers through her hair and then stroked her cheek, relishing the feeling of her leaning into his touch.
"I don't know if you want your father to know," he began. "It will come across very differently to him than it does to us, so if you don't, maybe you can wear it around your neck. Or you can just hold on to it until...Until after. It's up to you, whatever you're comfortable with is what I want."
"Oh," she said. "I don't—I hadn't thought about that."
"Well, you don't have to decide right away, you can take your time, but... I had another thought as well."
"Okay," she said, gazing trustingly into his eyes. Even though he knew that she was his mate, his soulmate, who had been reborn three times looking for him, it still amazed him sometimes that she was so comfortable being close to him. That there was absolutely no fear or revulsion for what he'd become.
"I thought maybe...Would you like to get married while you're still human? Maybe even before you start the chemo, assuming you do. While you're still—relatively—well?"
"Oh!" He could tell he had shocked her. "I—"
"You would still live with Charlie, of course," he interrupted. "I know you want to spend as much time with him as you can, quite aside from the issue of the wolves. I just—if you were really going to die, I know I would want to have said my vows to you before God, even knowing I would never be able to live with you as husband and wife. And I thought, maybe you would want the opportunity to have your father walk you down the aisle?"
She looked thoughtful, the tears that he knew were always close to the surface, threatening to fall as she gazed at him.
"I would like that. To have him walk me down the aisle. But... It's very sudden. It would seem very sudden to everyone else."
"True, but I think they would understand our reasons."
"And, it would be weird to marry and then not live together. Part of me wants to say yes. But another part of me sort of wants to save marrying you until I can actually be married to you, does that make any sense?"
"Perfect sense."
"Can I think about it?"
"Of course. And there's no rush. We could do it soon, before you start chemo. But we could also do it later, when you've recovered from the chemo too. Or anytime you want, or not until after. It's entirely your call."
"It's your wedding too, though," she protested. "It shouldn't be all about me!"
"I just want to be married to you, darlin'. I don't mind when or how, as long as whatever we do is what you want. But—I suppose I would like to have our engagement acknowledged. I know it will seem sudden, but I'd like everyone to know how serious I am about you. I don't want to be just the boyfriend, while you're going through all this. I want my right to be there for you to be clear. Does that make sense?"
"Absolutely," she said.
"But it doesn't have to be straight away. I want to it be right for you, more than anything." He paused, watching the expressions chase themselves across her face as she gazed down at the ring. He wished she'd look up so he'd know what she was feeling. "Well," he added, "you said you had something to ask me as well?"
.
Bella glanced up nervously, and then gazed back down at her engagement ring, wondering how to frame her request. She wasn't at all sure how Jasper would take it, especially as she hadn't yet agreed to set a wedding date. But then again, this wasn't the 1860s.
"Okay," she said finally, looking resolutely into her new fiancé's eyes. "Tonight..." God, this was harder than she expected. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before opening them and starting again. "Tonight, in 1863, I'll be getting married." Jasper took a sharp breath in, and she knew she'd surprised him with her subject matter. "And after the wedding..." She clenched her jaw, and let her eyes drift down until she was staring at Jasper's collar.
Her voice dropping almost to a whisper, she told him about her previous night's dream. "Mama gave me 'the talk'," she said, bending her fingers to suggest quote marks. "She told me what to expect on my wedding night. And I—nineteenth century Bella—she's preparing herself, mentally. It's making her feel sick to her stomach, but Jasper, she doesn't have a choice. Once she's married..."
"I know, Bella. I'm so sorry! Oh Lord, I can't tell you how sorry I am."
"No, don't be sorry," she said immediately. "I'm not telling you this so you can be sorry. I just—I don't want that to be my first time."
"I don't—what do you mean? How can it not be?"
"You and I," she began, looking back up at him and indicating between the two of them with her hand. "Tonight. You and I could..." She trailed off. "I know it won't make any difference to her, to my dreams. But it would make a difference for me."
"Tonight? You want to make love with me, tonight? Is that what you're saying?" She couldn't interpret the look on his face. She thought it was a mix of shock and maybe—awe? Was that a good thing?
"Yes?" She didn't mean it to come out like a question, but somehow it did.
"Oh, Bella. I don't know..."
"Please Jasper, I know we're not married yet, but—"
"No, Bella, it's not that. It's— You're fragile right now, even more than usual, and, well...I haven't ever made love with a human woman, even in the best of health."
"I should hope not!" she joked.
He gave a half smile, but she could tell his heart wasn't in it.
"The thing is, every moment I'm with you, I have to be so careful. I could so easily crush your hand, instead of just holding it. When I move your hair out of your face"—he illustrated his meaning, gently stroking her forehead and moving aside a strand of hair—"if I wasn't paying attention, I could accidently put my fingers right through your skull."
"Ew, that's an image I didn't need in my head!"
"Sorry." This time his sheepish smile was less forced, despite the subject matter of their conversation.
"That's okay, I know you're just trying to protect me, but..."
"It's just—remember how I explained about newborns, how their bloodlust is so strong, and that instinct pretty much takes over everything?" She nodded, frowning. Maybe he wouldn't be able to make love to her without feeding on her? "Well, sex is a bit like that too. When we give free rein to our instincts..."
"So you're worried you'd bite me?" she asked.
"No... Not that, really. I'm just worried I would hurt you, darlin'. Kiss you too hard, or crush your shoulders, or, well...some other part of you."
"Oh, that's—" She thought about it for a minute, then started again. "But I mean, we've kissed, and...it seemed—for me anyway—pretty..." She could feel herself flushing. "Well, pretty hot and heavy," she finished, not looking at him. "And that seemed okay." She looked up at him. "I mean, you didn't seem to have any trouble staying in control then, did you?"
"No," he said. "And honestly, I think it would be all right, but the idea that I could hurt you. It makes me feel sick. And vampires can't get sick, so that's really saying something." He gave her another half-smile. "I do think I could do it," he said, "and you have no idea how much I want to. Really. I'm just worried."
"Could we, maybe just play it by ear a little?"
He frowned at that. "What do you mean?" he asked, incredulously. "Try it and stop if I hurt you?"
"No! I just mean, maybe we could fool around a little, and then," she flushed, "you know. See how you are feeling about it?"
"Hmm. Maybe that could work."
.
Jasper pulled Bella onto his lap, pulling her hair back off her shoulder.
"Hmm, fooling around a little could be fun, I guess," he said, running his nose down her neck to breathe in her scent at her pulse point. He listened to her heart speed up, and felt his own desire increase, before he pulled back, dropped a quick kiss to the side of her head as he did so. "I have another idea though, darlin'," he added, his hand reaching up under her hair to gentle massage her neck. "Let's keep you awake for the whole night."
"Oh." She pulled back, turning to look at him. "You think if I skip a night's sleep completely, I won't dream about it?"
"Well yeah. I mean, I know you've said anything that happens in between the bits you dream, you know about instantly the next time you dream, but you said it doesn't feel as immediate, right?"
"Yeah. It's like—I know it happened, and it still kinda feels like it happened to me, but kind of not too. Or rather, while I'm dreaming it's like I am Isabella Williams, so it feels like it happened to me then. But when I wake up, there's a difference between the stuff I actually experienced in the dream, and just what I remembered in the dream, if that makes sense?"
"Exactly," he said. "So if you don't sleep tonight, it won't have quite the same immediacy afterwards.
"It's just—I know you Bella. I know you now, and I knew you then. And the Isabella Williams of my time, she'll do her duty, and there's nothing you'll be able to do to stop it. She'll hate every second of it, but she won't fight it and she won't actually see it as rape, exactly. But you—you'll feel like you've been raped. And it kills me, every time I think of it—of what she—what you went through, after I disappeared. I—God!" He ran his free hand through his hair and gritted his teeth in frustration. "I want to kill Maria over and over again for what she did to you when she changed me. I want to go back in time and kill your father, and that fucker who dared to call himself your husband... arrrgh! I just want to—I want to—"
Bella tenderly put her hand up to his cheek and brought his face around to look back at her.
"Hey," she said, interrupting him. "It's okay. I'm here, I'm right here, and it's going to be okay. I mean, I know, it's going to be awful. You're right about me then, and me now. I haven't experienced it yet—or I have, but I don't remember yet—but I know it will be horrendous. But we're here now. And as much as I hate Maria—for taking you from me, yes, but more for what she put you through—I have to thank her too. Because Jasper, don't forget, if you hadn't disappeared, even if my father hadn't forced me to marry someone else—I still would have died. And you would have been off fighting, and not even known."
"I know. God! I know. I can't even think about that...although, maybe I would have died then too...and then maybe we'd be together forever, in heaven. And you wouldn't have had to live through another three times of this, looking for me."
"Maybe," she said, "who knows? But Jazz—we're here now, together. That's what matters to me right now. I want forever with you, and now, finally, I think I'm going to get it."
Jasper growled, and she could feel the vibrations through her hand. "You are going to get it. There's no two ways about it."
"But still, I like your idea of skipping that night completely. I know I'm going to remember it, but if I can skip actually experiencing it first hand, this time around, that would be better."
"Exactly."
"But that doesn't change what I said before Jasper."
"About...?"
"About making love with you. Before. Before I take on that memory, I want to make love with you, the man I love, the man I was always meant to be with."
"Bella—you know I want to. So much. It's just—"
"I know. I'm fragile right now. Even more than a normal human. But Jazz, I trust you. And I need this. I know it won't help her—the me of 150 years ago. But it will help me, now, today. And also too, I just—" She looked down, and felt her face heat with her signature blush. Now I get embarrassed, she thought, half amused at herself.
Jasper's finger under her chin gently brought her gaze back up to his. He bent down and pressed his lips to hers tenderly. "You just what, darlin'?"
"I'm afraid that once I'm a vampire—I won't feel quite like me anymore. You explained about newborn bloodlust and"—she flushed hot again—"other lust. But... I just want to do this while I'm still human. Just once. Can you understand that?"
"Yeah darlin', I can. Truly. I just don't know, though. Can I—how would you feel about me discussing it with Carlisle? Would that be okay?"
"Oh, um..." she felt herself flush even hotter. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, he's a doctor, right? So... Yeah, that makes sense."
"Not only that, but he's your doctor, darlin'." Jasper chuckled. "But yeah, if he thinks it will be okay, and if you accept that we may have to stop, if I feel like I'm losing control, then—I would love nothing better than to be the first man in your memory to ever make love to you."
"The first man to make love to me at all in this life—and the only," she said, smiling shyly at him.
He growled again, playfully, "I'd better be," he said.
.
.
Author's Notes and Recs (down the bottom):
Many thanks to my fabulous beta reader Green Eyed Lana Lee for going back and forth with me for this chapter. I have, of course, made some more changes and additions since then, so any awkward sentences or errors are my own!
.
Word Count: 5216; First Published about 3:30pm, 18/Nov/18, AEDT
And as always, thanks to Ms Meyer for permission to play in with her characters and mess up her sand pit.
.
Reviews are like candy! Jus' sayin'...
.
Timing: You can expect about one chapter a month from here on out. Maybe I'll get quicker later, but no promises. I'm staying only a little ahead in my draft. I completely understand if you want to wait to read until there are a few more chapters, or until it's complete, but if you do that, can I ask a little favour and ask that you just leave a quick review – even just a hello, here's where I'm up to – as you go?
.
I LOVED all your comments on the prophecy, how you interpret it, how you think they will etc! Love to hear more of those. Some people were closer than others...
.
Recs:
If you read these (or any of my other recs), please will you leave them a review and let them know I sent you? Reviews are like candy, and I would personally be thrilled to know someone was recommending my story, so I am sure they will be too.
Jasper/Bella old story:
The So Unknown, by: Slywolf9 I didn't plan on staying with Bella long after Edward left, but suddenly the days turned into weeks, into months. It was perfection and happiness, and nothing could take it away. Then one day Edward came back. JxB s/4942273/1/The-So-Unknown
.
WIP (updated to add - now complete):
This one is not getting anywhere near the attention it deserves, so I highly encourage you to go read it! Pairing not specified.
Transit Twilight by K. J. Groening This is a relatively new WIP being updated quite frequently, that I am really enjoying. I can't quite figure out where it's going, which makes it extra interesting.
It is about a trans version of Bella named Jack who's just moved to Forks in his junior year. Edward seems to have the same reaction that he had to Bella, but Jack does not have the same reaction to him, and there is a new character named Alia (who is herself intriguing) who becomes important to Jack quite quickly. It's well written, the plot is interesting, and best of all, it's unpredictable.
.
All human story B/E complete:
A Thousand Leaves by: BellaSunshine
Isabella Swan grew up as the best friend of Alice Cullen, younger sister of Edward Cullen, who was never nice to Bella despite her being an "honorary Cullen." Everything changes when Edward is sent to prison for the murder of Bella's mother. AU-Human
