Short update, then I'm off to bed. Thanks for all of your wonderful feedback on the last chapter. I needed some resolution before crawling back into the dark musty place beneath the stairs. . . I thought you all might like some, too. :) Yes, I'm working on the next installment for Mosaic of a Broken Heart. Those characters are just a little more temperamental than these ones lately. Grrr.

"We need to talk about what just happened."

"Don't worry. I'm fine. I think I just slept too much last night, then the alcohol hit me harder than I expected."

"I'm serious."

"I know you are. But, really, I'm fine. Trust me," Bella insisted.

"Ms. Swan, you are not fine. Five minutes ago you were in tears and on the verge of a complete meltdown. Call me crazy, but that doesn't really inspire trust. Talk to me."

"I told you, I'm good. Don't worry. It won't happen again. I've got this." Bella was still wearing the robe he had given her and was standing at the bathroom sink, methodically removing the rest of her makeup.

"Agent Swan!" Masen's voice cut through the air, no longer patient or friendly.

He was her superior. The agent in charge of their mission. He was also pissed off, and Bella couldn't stop herself from flinching away from his anger. It seemed like Marie's reflexes were becoming more powerful than her own.

She set the blackened square of cotton down on the counter and stared hard at her reflection. She had puffy bags under her eyes, and the corners of her mouth was drawn down into a frown. Her thoughts were slamming around inside her skull, making her neck and jaw ache with tension.

They'd been traveling hard all week, and they were both over-taxed. That would wear anyone down, right? So she'd had a mini-meltdown. It had only lasted a few minutes. They had gotten through it together. Masen had helped her find herself again. She was holding her emotions in check as well as could be expected. So why was he forcing the issue?

A more rational voice cut through the chaos of her thoughts. She was in denial, and that had to stop immediately. Next time, he might not be able to help her without breaking character. She would have to do it all by herself. Bella swallowed hard and wiped her face once more to remove the final traces of makeup. He was still waiting for her response. He wasn't going to allow her to avoid the issue. Gritting her teeth, she turned to face it, and him, head on.

"Bree. . . Marie. . . whatever her name is. . . she's getting too strong. I feel like she's taking over. And the thing that terrifies me most is that I have to let her. She's the only one who can exist in that place. But there isn't enough room for both of us. Not in my head and not in my body. I don't know how you do it, Masen. You're not evil, but Edward Cullen sure is. Concentrated, refined, brutal evil. How the hell can you go from being the man who would cheerfully beat, rape or murder me, to holding me while I cry? I'm going crazy. I can feel it. It's started already. In a couple weeks, I won't even be able to recognize myself anymore!"

The words had started as a trickle, but grown to a cataract, pouring out of her unchecked. And she was shaking again. Shaking so hard that her breath rattled and her teeth chattered as she tried to talk. She desperately wished he would hold her like before. Just long enough for the shaking to subside. But Masen made no move to embrace her again. He didn't attempt to soothe or comfort her. He just crossed his arms and watched her dispassionately as she wrestled her body and emotions back into submission.

Bella pressed the heels of her palms hard against her eyes to stop the tears. "Shit. . ." she muttered, angry at herself for losing control again.

Masen grunted something unintelligible, then spoke up, "Let's sit down. Tell me what's really going on."

"I just did," Bella protested, as she followed him out to the dining area and took a seat across from him.

"No, you didn't."

"I did. I'm going crazy. That's it. I can't do it. I thought I could, but I can't. All he did was touch me, and look at me now! It was nothing! If I can't handle that, there's no way we can make our plan work."

"You're afraid of failing."

"Yes!" she almost yelled.

"Then don't."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't fail." He leaned back in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head, the picture of easy confidence.

"It's not that simple!" Bella protested.

"Yes. It is."

"Maybe for you. . ." she cried, looking away.

She was ashamed of herself. She had factored in a lot of details as they built their strategy. Being too weak to handle her role had never made it into the equation. When she had looked at herself in the mirror earlier, she'd seen a failure.

"Who is Edward Cullen?"

The change of subject surprised her enough to pull her out of her head.

"He's a millionaire consultant who gets paid to blackmail, strong-arm, bully and threaten people into getting out of the way of his clients' social, financial or political ambitions. He's a liar and a bully. He hates women and uses them for sex, even if they don't want it. He looks down on other men, especially those he thinks are weaker than him. Which is practically everyone. He thrives on pushing other people down. Essentially, he's a narcissistic sadist."

"No."

"What?"

"Edward Cullen does not exist. He is a construct. A character in a play. He is my creation, built to serve a specific purpose and nothing more."

Bella paused before answering. New 'School of Masen' lessons had been popping up less frequently, but she felt like this was a big one. Possibly a life-saving one.

"What are you trying to teach me?"

"Who is Marie?" he avoided her question.

Bella huffed, but decided to play along and answer him.

"She's a girl who was kidnapped eleven years a-" she stopped talking, struck dumb by a new epiphany.

She'd been working so hard to make Marie seem like a real person to her audience that she had started thinking of her as a real girl in her own head. But she wasn't real. No more than Edward Cullen was.

"She's a construct. A character I wrote to play a part in this mission. She's my creation. Nothing more," Bella finished in a quiet voice.

"Exactly. An elaborate creation, one you've spent many days sculpting, but she is still just a projection of your will. She has no past except the one you've given her. No present but what you allow. And no future beyond the final day of this mission. You are real. She is not."

"No. She isn't."

That thought saddened her. As pitiful as Marie was, as tragic as her story was, admitting that she had no life or future, and therefore no salvation, was physically painful. Hot tears dripped down her cheeks. She let them fall.

"She isn't. But Mary Alice is."

"Yes she is," he agreed calmly. "And Marie is going to be the instrument of her salvation. Marie. . . the character that you created for that exact purpose."

Bella wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her robe and looked up at her partner. He didn't look angry anymore. Just watchful.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be."

"So, the lesson for tonight is 'don't fail', huh?"

"Success is always easier than failure. Failure sucks balls."

Bella's lips twisted in disgust, but Masen didn't seem to notice. He was already half way across the room and getting ready for bed. Bella didn't move for almost an hour, lost in thought. It couldn't be that simple, could it? Ruling out failure only left one option.

They were going to destroy the Volturi, or else. . .

No.

They were going to destroy the Volturi. . . Period.