A/N – A little bit of time jumping in this chapter. Sorry about that, but it's important to keep the story fluid.
I stared at the full- length mirror in shock. Alice had forced me to change and then look at myself. She'd dressed me in a long flowing white dress with white gladiator sandals to match. She'd broken several hairbrushes removing the knots from my brunette locks and then had pinned my hair up out of my face. My eyes, although still mostly red, looked less harsh and scary with the light colours of the dress. My skin was pale and flawless, my body inexplicably slender. I stared at my reflection. I couldn't believe how beautiful I looked. It really was worlds away from my human appearance.
Although I didn't want to admit it to Alice, I looked quite nice in her clothes. My hair looked sophisticated and regal, matching my new stunning features perfectly. "Not really what I had in mind for a rescue mission." I grumble to Alice who laughs in delight.
"It's perfect!" She squeals, taking my hand. "You look stunning. Now, you're ready to go."
/
Leaving was surprisingly easy. Alice was a born liar, seriously. I nearly believed her myself. "I'm taking Bella hunting!" She yells, as she casually opens the front door. "You interrupted her in the middle of a hunt and she's still thirsty! We won't go far!
"Okay Alice." I hear Carlisle says softly from the next room and Alice grins at me in triumph. "Don't be too long."
"We won't." Alice murmurs, grabbing my arm.
We sprint towards the forest.
/
We don't stop for anything. An hour later I'm still laughing in exhilaration at the feel of running. Alice laughs lightly from behind me and I slow down, letting her catch up. She grins at me. "I love running too. The feeling of being this free, this alive, never goes away. I could run forever."
I smile in response as she speaks again. "Carlisle will know we're gone now." She giggles, her voice soprano.
I couldn't help but laugh too. "He's not going to like me when we get back. I lied to his face."
Alice instantly stops laughing, her expression serious. She looks dead ahead as we run. "You may be surprised." She says quietly. "Carlisle is the most decent vampire I've ever met."
I ignore the forest blurring past me as I answer. "Are you going to tell me why you're helping me, Alice?"
She glances at me, lightly leaping over a fallen tree trunk. "You're not going to let it go if I don't, are you?"
"No." I say resolutely.
She laughs. "My brother, Edward, he's been alone for a long time."
I frown at her. "But he has you guys, his family." I argue, feeling a strong sense of sympathy for Edward. I knew what it was like to be alone. I'd been alone since I was turned.
Alice sighs. "Family isn't everything. It fills some needs but not others. He makes do but it must be hard on him, being the only one who isn't in love." She says softly.
"What do you mean?"
She raises her eyebrows. "I'm sure you've noticed that Emmett and Rosalie are a couple, and obviously Carlisle and Esme. Well, me and Jasper are together too, which leaves…"
"Edward." I interrupt, suddenly understanding. He was alone.
"Exactly." She says quietly. "He's the odd one out. Esme hates it."
"But... what has this got to do with me?" I ask, frowning.
"You could be what he needs."
"And what does that mean?"
She laughs at my annoyed expression. "Whatever you want it to mean." She answers.
I sigh, knowing this was the most I was going to get out of Alice. "How far away from Edward are we?"
Her eyes glaze over for a minute. "He's still running." She tells me softly. "We will keep going until he stops. He has an hour advantage, made into several because of his speed, so for now I don't know how far behind we are."
"It's going to be a long journey."
"Yes." She agrees solemnly.
/
A natural silence had fallen between me and Alice as we continued to run. Around twelve hours into our journey the ground became less green and snow had started to coat it. Alice gripped my hand as darkness fell but we did not slow down. She had begun guiding me now. "He's stopped running." She said suddenly. "He's got a seven-hour advantage on our position. Hopefully we can catch up before he takes off again."
"Seven hours? He's fast." I noted.
"You have no idea." She agreed. "Catching up to him is just the beginning. The hard part comes when we find him. He will read our minds on approach."
"We'll deal with that when we come to it." I said firmly.
/
Alice and I spokesporadicallyfor the next few hours. Her constant future searching for Edward's position made it difficult to maintain a conversation. However, I did manage to learn some more about the world I was inhabiting. As the sun started to slowly rise, I realised that it had been nearly seven hours and we would soon be catching up with Edward.
"Alice?" I ask, about to question our proximity to Edward when she yanks me to an abrupt halt.
I look around in confusion. We seem to be the middle of nowhere. We're standing in the middle of a snowy field that stretched for miles. It's completely deserted besides myself and Alice. "This is where I saw him last." She says, pointing to a snow covered tree with long hanging branches about an acre away. "He was sat in front of that tree."
We both turn to stare at the tree, but there's no figure in front of it. "He figured it out." I say softly. "He's left." A pang of regret grips me suddenly.
Alice shakes her head. "No Edward is still here. I would have seen if he'd decided to leave. He probably heard us coming. Be on your guard." Her voice sounded frustrated.
"Well we should at least check out the tree where you saw him last." I say slowly. "His scent will give us some idea to how long ago he was here."
Alice nods and we dash across the snowy field towards the tree. We'd just come to a graceful halt in front of it when a dark figure jumps on us, knocking us both to the ground in one simple move.