A Distant Memory

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

A/N Some of you were confused about the last chapter. You didn't know whether she remembered everything. Well she does. Sorry if that wasn't very clear.

Chapter 5: Unanswered Questions.

Bpov

I remembered everything. I remembered all that had happened, from the time I first met Edward to the time I left. I even remembered what happened while I had "amnesia."

"You see, Bella. I told you that you shouldn't have left," Alice said.

I didn't reply. She was wrong. Of course I never wanted to leave, but I didn't regret it. She saw what would have happened if I had stayed. My leaving is the only reason why my family is still alive.

"Now that you remember us all . . . Maybe you could shed some light on what happened to you?" Carlisle asked.

"Where shall I start?" So much has happened in these three years.

"How about the beginning? It's always a good place to start. Tell us what happened the day you and Alice fought," Carlisle stated.

Oh, so, Alice had never told them what I saw, what we both saw. She had kept her promise.

"I had a vision. It was the most terrifying vision I'd ever seen. It was as if someone had found out my worst nightmare and made it real."

I paused. It was hard to tell them this. The memory of the vision played through my mind, over and over again. Every time I saw it, a wave of pain washed over me.

"It must be bad if it's causing you this much pain, Bella," Jasper remarked.

"It is." I agreed with him. "I was standing in the living room of your old house. Edward's piano was broken. There was … blood. Everywhere." I was struggling to finish my sentences. The pain was becoming almost unbearable. My chest tightened and if felt like someone was thrusting their hand into my chest and messing up my insides.

Jasper's face was scrunched up in pain. I felt guilty that I was causing him this pain.

"I'm sorry, Jasper. It hurts so much talking about it – even thinking about it."

"S'okay, Bella," he grunted. "I can handle it."

I breathed in deeply and continued. "There was blood everywhere. On the white walls, the wooden floor. The furniture was broken and lying all around the room. All the beautiful photographs and paintings were smashed and torn. So there I was, standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by bodies. Your bodies. My family. My family … torn … in pieces … dead," I manage to choke out. I'm gasping the pain has become so unbearable.

Alice runs over to Jasper who is doubled over with the pain.

"Jasper, you should leave. Go for a run. We'll tell you about it later," she said, her voice thick with concern.

"No. I'll be fine. I want to know what caused my little sister to leave."

I was touched by what he said. It managed to give me strength to carry on. The sooner I got over this part of the story, the sooner Jasper would be feeling better.

"I was surrounded by you all. In my arms were Allie and Edward. They were dead too and were staring at me with cold, blank eyes. Eyes that used to be full of life and love were piercing my soul with their coldness." I looked at Allie then and held her to me. Edward looked into my eyes with a look of love and understanding.

"I was alone in the world. I had no one. Standing there laughing were Annabelle, Dawn, Christian, and Antoine. They had killed all of you. She said to me, 'You should have come to me Bella,' and then she moved towards me. That's when the vision ended."

There was silence in the room until Edward spoke.

"Bella, if I had seen what you saw, I would have done the exact same thing," he said, putting his arms around me. "I love you," he whispered into my hair.

"I love you, too," I whispered back.

"So what happened after you left Bella dear?" Esme's gentle voice inquired..

"Before I left, I had made Alice promise to not tell anyone what we had seen. Alice, I'm sorry about our fight the day I left."

"It's okay, Bella. There's nothing to forgive." She smiled at me.

"Anyway, I flew to Chicago because that's where I had last seen Annabelle, and I found her there. She greeted me like a long lost daughter and told me that I'd done the right thing by coming here. Then all I remember is waking up, and Dawn, Christian, and Antoine were there. I didn't remember you guys at all."

"I'm guessing Annabelle can not only block powers but she can also change people's memories or erase them completely if need be," Carlisle said, putting the pieces together.

"Of course, that makes sense," Rose said.

"But how does that explain how Bella kept getting a glimpse of her memories. If her memory had been erased, wouldn't she not remember us at all?" Emmett asked, sounding confused.

"That's a good question Emmett. I'm guessing that she didn't completely erase Bella's memories, she just altered them to fit her story. Her real memories were there, hiding, waiting to be found. Waiting for a way out. Did you ever notice anything about how you were feeling whenever your memories came to you?" Carlisle asked.

I thought about it and now that he mentioned it, I did notice a pattern in my feelings whenever they would appear.

"I never noticed it before, but they would come to me whenever I felt sad or lonely. Whenever I felt like I didn't belong."

"I think that when you felt like that, your defenses were low. You weren't guarded and they managed to slip through the barriers that Annabelle had created."

"That kind of makes sense I guess." I nodded.

"What can you tell us about Annabelle and her coven? We need as much information as possible," Jasper asked, in full military mode.

"Well, let me see. Dawn was changed when she was twenty. She can change her appearance so she can make herself look like she's aging. She's a relatively young vampire, only about twenty-five years old or so. She is unbelievably fast. Almost as fast as Edward. She has a mate, Christian. He's really protective of her. He's not that strong physically, but his ability is very powerful. He can control the elements. The fire and earth elements take up the most energy, but a substance with the elements must be in the room if he is to use that element. For example, if there is no fir in the room then he cannot use his firepower and so on. Then there's Antoine. He can move things and stop things with his mind. It does have its limits, though. He has to be able to see the thing he's moving or freezing. He can move things a certain distance. Ten meters, I think. The size and distance of the object to be moved is taken into account when moving them. The longer the distance and the larger the object, the more energy it uses up. His ability to stop things also has a limit. The longer he tries stop something, the more of his energy it drains. Annabelle is the one I have the least information on. I know she can block people's powers, but it's only one power at a time. So if she wanted to stop Alice's power, then she wouldn't be able to stop Jasper's power. I don't know how strong her memory control ability is. I don't know it's weaknesses."

"That's great, Bella. That's very helpful indeed." Jasper smiled at me.

"Just out of curiosity, Bella, but how long has Annabelle been living in Chicago?" Carlisle asked.

"She's been here for her entire existence. She stays inside most of the time, locked in her study. She really only leaves to hunt . . . Except during one day of the year, she disappears for the entire day, and when she returns, she's usually mumbling something about a man named Jack or something." I shook my head. It just didn't make any sense to me.

I saw Carlisle freeze when I mentioned that name.

"Carlisle what's wrong?" I asked, worried.

"What did you say Annabelle's surname was?" he whispered.

"I didn't. I think it's Swift or something like that. Actually, I'm pretty certain it's Swift."

His body didn't relax. He stood there rigid like a statue, muttering to himself. I could catch an odd word here and there but it made no sense to me.

"No. It … it couldn't be. She couldn't have … is it possible? Of course it is, look at your family … but … she can't possibly … I know she was upset but she can't blame me … I was off duty, there was nothing I could've done.. It was too late." He was pacing up and down the room, running his and through his golden hair.

"Carlisle, dear, what's wrong?" Esme asked, her voice filled with worry.

We were all worried, we never saw him like this. Not ever.

He turned to look at us. His eyes filled with concern and could that be … fear?

He looked at each of us in turn before his eyes rested on me.

"I think I know why Annabelle wants Bella."


N So what do you think? R&R and let me know.

Helen =]