Chapter Sixteen: Gives You Hell

'Now you'll never see, what you've done to me.
You can take back your memories they're no good to me,
And here's all your lies,
You can look me in the eyes,
With that sad sad look that you wear so well.
When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell.'

The All American Rejects - Gives You Hell

"What are you doing here?" The cold voice of Jasper cut through her thoughts like a sudden ice storm. Closing her eyes tightly Lucy tried to ignore the image that refused to leave her mind; the cold eyes, the anger... the sudden shock and wave of regret that he hadn't been able to mask quickly enough. Charlotte wouldn't ask any questions if she returned late; the woods provided a good room for fuming.

"I brought a present for Esme... and Carlisle, of course. Something I have found on my... adventures." Her voice had been uncharacteristically sweet, amused. He felt guilty at seeing her; her tiny figure, shining red eyes, and pointed features. It had taken a few months for her to get used to seeing her own reflection. The eyes were the most shocking; it seemed they would never dull from the shocking red, though after some time had passed, she had come to enjoy the effects of it. Yet he pitied her for it even more; he was remorseful over what she had become. She wanted to twist the knife in his proverbial stomach, cause that pain to spread throughout every inch of his body; she wanted him to suffer as she had.

Cursing under her breath Lucy kicked a log that was well over twice her size, the rotting wood soared through the air, crashing against a tall tree with a thud. Her resolve had been perfectly strong so long as she looked to Jasper; his facade of anger returned quickly, only helping to fuel hers... yet the moment Esme appeared her thoughts crumbled. Her warm face was nearly as daunting as Jasper's... the sadness; there was no hope in hiding her own pain to the empath in the room; she wanted that family. Esme's warm embrace, loving conversations... the hopes that after a few years pass she would still have those people there, loving her; that she could continue loving them without worries. Yet so long as Jasper remained around, she would not be welcome in that home.

Her heart tore to pieces at the thought of how much he truly disliked her. Sitting quietly on a log she watched the water in a small river babble past. It was a smooth and refreshing sound, though it did little to calm her nerves. She had unknowingly given him her trust once more, only to have it thrown in to her face... though this time, he had not died; he had defied her. He betrayed her.

It was midday in the beginning of August, 1863. Her feet had blisters from walking, and her legs were numb from the pain. Her cheeks would have taken on a deeper red were it not for the dirt providing a decent screen for the sun, a dark crop of freckles that she had never before seen were sprouted across her cheeks.

"Miss Lucy, we must be going." A woman's voice called. The young girl looked up from the water as she splashed her face. It was an older woman from town, the woman whose daughter she had given her jacket to a few nights prior.

"Thank you, Eleanor." Lucy nodded politely, smiling warmly as she took her hands from the water, smoothing her hair down and pulling it back with her one remaining yellow ribbon; the other had been lost somewhere on their travel out of town. Her bonnet sat on the ground, with a sigh she dusted it off, following the older woman as she pulled it over her unruly hair, tying the now browned ribbons under her chin. It smelled horrible; she smelled atrocious... but they were alive. If she showed the women of her town that she was suffering it would solve nothing.

"You've got to walk with us." Eleanor said. Her dress was a dark cream, covered in brown dirt despite having been washed that morning. Lucy smiled, waving out a dark jacket and shirt as she walked towards the woman. She then grabbed a pair of pants from a limb on a tree and followed her.

"I will be quite all right, ma'am. Though I thank you for your concern." Lucy nodded her head with a smile, holding the young soldiers uniform as she walked briskly through the trees where other women and soldiers were picking up to walk for the day. They would be home by tomorrow this time, or so Major Whitlock had said.

"I know better than to argue with you, though the young soldiers may not be as wise." The woman told her, Lucy nearly wanted to laugh at it. Perhaps she was a bit stubborn at getting what she wanted. She attributed it to having grown up in a wealthy family that had given her everything. It wasn't to say that she had never worked, she enjoyed helping Marietta with chores, and always begged her mother to allow her to the market for shopping the produce. Yet, despite this, she had never taken well to being told "no." The woman smiled, bowing her head as a sign of respect before disappearing. Lucy had quickly taken to being a respectable figure within the town; they looked to her for guidance. Women who were twice her age, with a higher stature... she was their hero... not because of her stubbornness, or because of her position in life... but because of what she had lost, because she had not killed herself, as many women had been heard of doing.

"Major Whitlock, I've got your uniform for you." Lucy said outside of the officers tent. She heard laughter from within, and within seconds another man exited.

"Thank you, Miss Merriweather. You are too kind." The man chuckled deeply, grabbing the uniform from her as he entered the tent. "Here's your uniform! Smells like that broad, too! If you don't take her, I will!"

"Silence, Edward." The annoyed voice of Jasper carried out the tent. Lucy held back a soft laugh as she approached two large horses that were tied up besides it. Jasper had not spent much time with the other officers over the past few days; having spent a great deal of time with her. He had been a perfect gentleman, and it made her giggle to think of this Edward fellow trying to embarrass him. Undoubtedly it had worked.

"I apologize for Lieutenant Michaels." Jasper's tall figure emerged from the tent, she turned from a large black and brown horse to smile, his cheeks held a slightly red tint to it.

"I apologize for your uniform being damp." Lucy smiled, turning back to stroking the horses soft hair. She had never been allowed very close to horses as a child, and found them fascinating.

"It is no bother, thank you very much for washing it. It feels much better." He told her, approaching the horse. "We will be walking straight through the night, and in to the town."

"Will your company stay in town long? Or must you leave right away?" She asked, glancing up to him as he secured a saddle on the horse.

"We're meeting another company there, it depends on what our general says." He told her, kneeling beneath the horse to fasten it. He was so gentle and calm with the animal; he wasn't remotely fearful of it; it must have been due to his raising on a farm. She wanted to be that comfortable with animals.

"Will you force me to walk with the women and children?" She asked him, casting a sideways glance while running her fingers through the long mane.

"What?" He looked up to her, standing besides her with his brows slightly puckered in confusion.

"While we return to town, will you force me to walk in the center with women and children? Or will you allow me to walk with you again? I don't mind the danger, I trust you!" She pleaded firmly. Her heart yearned to stay with him, for the fear that would she walk with the women and children, she would find that he had never truly existed.

"I would very much enjoy having your company while I patrol, though it would be selfish of me to risk your safety." He told her firmly. She frowned, sighing as she folded her arms across her chest, looking up to him darkly.

"But I do not want to be safely with my women, I want to be with you." She said in exasperation. "Please do not make me go with them. Allow me one more day of your companionship. We may, after all, never see one another again."

"Don't say that." He told her in a stoic tone. It was demanding. His eyes looked intensely to her, and made her stomach flutter excitedly. He wanted to see her after the war. He wanted to see her now.

"But it is possible! You cannot deny it!" She told him defiantly. A thick knot found its way in to her throat at the thought of him dying. He was her hope, the string that pulled her along, that not all was lost. It seemed silly to think that in only a few short days she had become so infatuated with a young man, though she had heard from other women of it happening more quickly. She nearly wanted to lock him up in her cellar until the end of the war to ensure his safety, though that would help nothing. He was a strong fighter, their country needed him. "You cannot tell me that our men do not die every day. I know more than any of these women that they do, I..."

"I'm sorry, Miss Merriweather." He said suddenly. She hadn't realized how emotional she had become until he was hugging her. It was a closer embrace than the two had held before. She had never embraced anyone other than her parents, and children. Yet he was hugging her, and she was sobbing in to his chest. The only thought in her mind was the fear that he, too, would die. That all of these men would die. "Please don't cry."

Instinctively her arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly to her as though he would disappear at any moment. Even after washing he did not smell very well, and it was inappropriate to be so close with a man that was not family... but she didn't care at this moment. Her fears of social etiquette were currently non-existent, the only thing she wanted right now was to stand right there, in the middle of the woods, holding this strange man that she had just met.

"You may walk with me. I promise you that so long as I am around, no harm will befall you." He told her with such determination as his hand smoothed down her mess of black hair. "We will not speak of such ill events, and I shall be particularly safe so that you may rest well."

"Thank you." She said quietly in to his chest, resting her cheek against his shirt. He was warm, and comfortable. She trusted him, and believed what he said, even when common sense told her not to, to try harder to protect herself and her name.

"We've got to get going." He told her gently, his voice softened to nearly a whisper. Sighing she acknowledged that he was correct, this moment had to end. Reality had to return, and she was forced to remember that they were at war.

Reality always returned. Each time that Lucy had been foolish enough to fall in to a comfortable state of contentedness reality returned. Jasper disappears, enemy forces shoot down her plane holding wounded soldiers and civilians, her 'friends' realize that she has not aged a day since the day they met her... watching everyone around her die, all of her relationships disappear before her eyes. She had thought that meeting the Cullens would fix that; they would prove that not all relationships ended after a few years... yet when it came down to it, they had done nothing but prove her fears to be true. Everything that she placed hope in failed. Her only strength in living had been that; living... though at least before she had been able to heal people; now she was no more than a blood thirsty monster that could do nothing but survive.

The smell of animals was not tempting in the slightest, though the smell of humans did not hold much lure over her either. The smell was delicious, yet withstand-able... the choice between humans and animals was like choosing between spinach and cheesecake. Ten times out of Ten she would have chosen the cheesecake; spinach disgusted her. She couldn't say why it tasted so horrible, it just did... and she had never been good at forcing herself to do things that she found displeasing. It wasn't that she had lived a hedonistic life, at least not up until this point... she enjoyed helping people, and going to school. Working was something that pleased her... yet now, doing those things was nearly impossible, and she had found new things to have fun doing. Running, jumping through rivers, laying in the sun, reading books and counting the stars. Uninhibited things that she had never even taken the time to consider enjoying before... things that seemed so human, though at such an extreme there was little farther from it.

Warm sunlight on her cheeks told the small woman that it was now morning. She hadn't slept, though she had sat in one position, watching the water, for hours... time seemed to disappear, and a moment passed without any recollection. Time effected her little, and a few hours passing meant nothing to her. The thought of returning to Charlotte and Peter was not desirable; they would remind her of Jasper. Of the Cullens, and a life that she couldn't have. She would need to find a new life yet again.

Crunching twigs and rustling leaves caused the small figure to jump on edge, glancing to the source of the noise. A slight laughter echoed through the woods. At first she had thought it was one of her friends, though the laughter was unfamiliar.

"Don't worry, young one. I won't harm you." The man laughed, suddenly before her a short man stood. He was still much taller than her, though amongst men he was not very large. Perhaps 5'7" at most. His hair was a golden red, his eyes piercing as hers. "You are one of us."

"What do you mean?" She asked forcefully, a woman jumped down from the trees at his side, her hair was long and pale. She looked like a shorter version of Rosalie, her beauty radiating in the sunlight. Their eyes both a shocking red that looked like newborns; though their poise was not that of a newborn. Her eyes darted amongst the two, taking in their appearance quickly. They both had some scars on their arms, though not nearly as many as she had.

"We are immortal." The woman spoke gently, her tone laughing musically. Lucy frowned, she had already understood that much, though the wheels in her mind began ticking. You're one of us. The eyes, the scars... perhaps they were like her... perhaps they weren't truly vampires, maybe there were others like her.

"We have been tracking you for the past month, and would like to bring you back to our home. I am certain that you will find it much more enjoyable than living as you currently do." The man had a thick velvety voice that reminded her of melted chocolate. She had no idea who these people were... but she had nothing to lose. At the worst, they would enslave her, and kill her. She was always a step away from that happening regardless, perhaps these people could help her.

"Very well, I will go with you." Lucy said, dusting herself off slightly of dirt from the woods. The woman suddenly pulled a small vile from her jacket.

"Drink this. It will help to keep you from returning to human." The woman handed it to her. Lucy warily took it. She should have feared drinking something from a complete stranger; though nothing had killed her yet. The smell was horrid, like burning tar... yet bravely she downed the strangely thick fluid, that may very well have been tar for its thick, gooey consistency that burned her throat.

"What is this?" Lucy choked slightly on the awful taste. She wanted to vomit, though forced her gag reflex down.

"It is a mixture of venom, and other ingredients to help keep us in our vampiric form." The woman explained to her. Lucy nodded daftly, unsure of what to say.

A warm salty mist kissed the pale cheekbones on her sculpted face as Lucy sat besides the Pacific Ocean, her small toes wiggling in the wet sand. Her hair was long and sleek, dancing in the wind as rays of light danced off of her skin magically. There was only one side of the small island with sand, the rest was covered in sharp coral, and while it did not harm her in the slightest, it was far from comfortable to stand on. She had no idea of their exact location; she had been blindfolded while they took a helicopter there; to keep the location private. It was a beautiful, and exotic island in the south Pacific, for what she had been able to notice. It was very small, with a large and deep clear blue lagoon that was filled with many deathly animals within it. It was through a large underground cave that they were able to enter her new 'home.'

The weather was beautiful here, with the exception of ocean storms; though living underground took care of that. They were very interesting as a civilization; living in underground caverns that had been dug out in to such extraordinary structures that it seemed more something from a Germanic fairy tale than something that she was experiencing. They were all like her; drinking the strange potion once a week to maintain their 'vampirism' as they put it. They drank blood from large silver goblets, and lived deep beneath the surface like royalty. It was extremely surreal. There was one rule to adhere to, though it seemed as though it could be split in to millions at their desire.

"You must never, under any circumstances, allow another that is not of our kind to know of our existence. Even the vampires must remain in oblivion. This is why we remain in this state; it keeps our kind safe from their suspicions. We are not to associate with them for fear that they will seek to destroy us." The tall man with waving pale red hair spoke to her firmly after having spent three days there. His name was John, and he was one of the 'guard' members in charge of keeping their secret.

"But what if the vampires already know of my existence? They are aware of my differences." Lucy had asked quickly after he had spoken with her. The Cullens all knew of her strange peculiarities; as did many other vampires. Charlotte and Peter had been very kind to help take care of her, and the Denali coven did not know of what she was, though they had known to protect her.

"They will assume that you have been killed, and will forget of your existence in time. You will remain here, on our island." His words had been so final, so strong. "What have they done to protect you? To care for you? They have rejected you, child!"

A flock of migrating birds caught her attention as Lucy glanced up, sighing slightly. She would never be a human if she remained on the island. It was as though she were living as a prisoner in paradise. She had been given a mate; a handsome Italian man that she was told she could love in time. His hair was slick black, his skin an odd chalky pallor due to his olive skin tone prior to turning. Alberto was a nice man, though she felt no connection to him, and by his many mistresses throughout their large underground city, she knew that the feeling was mutual. Monogamy was not something their kind practiced frequently.

They may have lived in the center of Europe for as frequently as she was allowed outside; she was unsure of how long she had been there. Days and weeks seemed concepts of the past, she now measured time by how much she had done in the time. She had read one hundred and forty-seven books, done thirteen paintings, and composed three concertos since the last time she had seen sunlight. They had no clocks underground, and there was little way to see the time passing. Each time she stood outside, she tried to find a way to measure time by the suns movement, to remain as long as possible to catch as much of a day as possible and find a way to understand how much had passed... yet they had always pulled her back before she was able to find a pattern.

This was how an eternity would pass; behind their backs. The human race could find an extinction as they waited patiently underground. No one daring to fight against the leaders, not one soul wishing to fight. The monotony of it was tiring.

"Lucy, will you be returning soon?" The smooth voice of Alberto carried from the woods behind her. The birds singing seemed to add perfectly to the symphony that came from his voice. He was no more her mate than her babysitter.

"I'll come in soon. I'd just like to watch the sunset." She said, turning to the man with a soft smile. Neither held looks of compassion as he neared her, though both smiled out of politeness.

"The sunsets here are quite beautiful, are they not?" He commented, placing his hand on the small of her back as her eyes returned to the sea. She could see the sun setting in the west where she faced. A book she had read told her of how long the sun should take to set during different parts of the year. If it set more quickly, it was winter, slower summer. It had been spring when she came. The sunsets had been gradual.

"Yes, they really are. I do hate spending so much time underground, the earth is such a lovely place." She sighed, leaning in to him. Fighting was useless; there were guards everywhere to ensure that she did not disappear during her trips to the surface. They lived as outcast mutants, yet they had brought it upon themselves, refusing to function within society.

"One day, when all of the other beings have killed themselves, we will be allowed on the surface to enjoy and rule as we rightly deserve." He explained to her gently. It was a concept that she had heard many times. The vampires and humans would all die; leaving them to overcome everything and rule the world. "Then we will not be required to maintain lives as vampires."

"How would hundreds of us survive in this world alone? What point is there to existence? Wouldn't it be horribly boring?" She frowned; it was something she did not enjoy thinking about. Life would not be the same without humans, without the vampires... she did not want to live in a world where everyone was one of them...

"In time you will come to find that life is much more enjoyable with our kind." He told her, his tone held such finality that she knew there was no use in debating the matter.

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Five hundred and sixty seven books. One hundred and twelve paintings. ninety-eight Concertos, and more uncompleted musical compositions on over ten different instruments than were worth counting. Without clocks or light to measure the passing of days, Lucy was forced to keep track of her minor accomplishments and hobbies as a means to track the time.

Large candles hung from the ceiling, casting a misleading warm light about the large room where a small figure stood painting yet another piece. With frustration she knew who it would be of; the golden hair was a beacon of annoyance at best. Compared to being imprisoned, she rather enjoyed being endangered.

"You are painting that man again." Laughed a beautiful woman's voice. Lucy ignored it as she continued to stroke the canvas with a delicate brown paint. "He is very handsome, were you in love?"

"We deeply hate one another." Lucy responded to the woman casually. The woman looked younger, perhaps 16 at most, though Lucy knew she was nearly 200 years old. The second youngest to Lucy. They rarely created new 'children' of their kind, and even more rarely were they allowed to remain in the 'human realm' as it had been put. Marie Leveau had been one of them; though she had lived amongst humans for hundreds of years, traveling about.

"You love him." She laughed. Lucy frowned at the girl. Annette was her name. She had been a beautiful french girl, her hair long and brown, her features perfect in every sense. Perhaps what enraged Lucy more, was not that this girl was stating it as though it were so obvious... but the fact that it was so painfully obvious. Images from her 'human' life were difficult to maintain, though his face graced her memory most strongly. Even as she fought hard to hate him, to resent him, the underlying feelings of attachment refused to leave. She hated him with every fiber of her being, she would not deny that, and she wanted him to die for what she was being forced to endure on account of his behavior... yet she found herself hating him even more for the fact that she knew she would have quickly forgiven him had he so much as asked.

"Perhaps." Lucy said quietly, nearly inaudibly, even to their ears. Admitting it openly did not make it feel any better. If anything, it made her thankful for living hundreds of feet underground in the middle of the ocean. Jasper would never apologize, and she would never see the Cullens again. A time would not come when she had to accept her feelings towards him, and she could continue to hate him as he deserved.

"Why do you not return to him?" Annette asked her curiously, sitting in an arm chair casually. Raising an eyebrow Lucy glanced back from her painting to see her voluptuous friend watching curiously. Lucy laughed dryly, shaking her head.

"You're right! Why don't I just leave here, and go back out there?" Lucy proclaimed sardonically, her voice dripping with each word. Annette frowned.

"We do not get along very well, and it would be impossible to escape here." Lucy finally said, turning back to her portrait. Even being around Jasper as a jerk would be better than living underground with all of these people. She would miss Annette, though she would rather die than remain here for all of eternity.

"He would surely apologize after all of this time, I am certain he misses you." Annette said firmly. Lucy shook her head, laughing as she set her brush on the easel.

"And how are you so certain of this?" She asked, folding her arms across her chest, unable to hold back a smirk at the girl. Annette glanced around suspiciously.

"Many of us have special abilities." Annette began quietly, almost afraid of the others hearing her. Lucy approached her so that they stood more closely together. "I know that some vampires have them too, though ours tend to disappear, or at least lessen, when we become a vampire." Anne paused. "Did you have a gift?"

"I could heal people. I was a nurse." Lucy said quietly, furrowing her brows slightly. She hadn't been alone, many of them did have special traits, yet they were only active while in a human form. It was something that they rarely spoke of, and Lucy suspected that their gifts were kept secret for some reason that would make no sense to her. "Did you have one?"

"I assume that being a vampire we give up our abilities in order to be swift, and strong." Annette said in a gentle whisper. "While I was a human I was able to sense things; relationships between people, if you will. I was able to see the connection between two people. I was a matchmaker in my time."

"I see." Lucy said, trying hard to keep a frown from her face.

"You are meant for him; you have to go back. I can't see the future, but you have no place here. You need to be with him." The girl said softly, her hand resting gently on Lucy's slender arm. Lucy was unable to hold her scowl back in annoyance. She didn't want to hear that she needed Jasper, that she had to go back to him. She didn't have to do anything, and death seemed more desirable than either option at this point.

"No, I am not." Lucy responded stubbornly. Even if her emotions told her it was true, she would fight it. She wouldn't run to him; even if she wanted to be near him, she still hated him for what he had done. She didn't even care how he felt towards her; she wanted him to suffer in any way possible.

"There are ways to leave, you know." The taller girl said, her voice scarcely audible. Lucy's ears perked up as she turned to her friend. "It is risky, but..."

Nothing else she said even registered in Lucy's mind... she could escape. She could run away, and not be surrounded by these people... they may not kill as many innocent people, or live as wretched beasts... yet they were selfish, and greedy. They refused to admit that anyone else in the world could deserve to live there. She could leave them.

"Lu-" Her friend began, shaking her arms firmly. Lucy looked up confused; Anne's wide eyes were filled with curiosity and fear.

"Wh-" Lucy tried to ask, but Anne quickly raised a hand to her lips. Lucy frowned, Anne motioned her hand up to her ear. Lucy furrowed her brows, trying to listen.

"...Seer has seen them coming for her. The vampires have a seer of their own and they have seen our location." A man's voice that Lucy couldn't recognize said. They were talking about Alice, most certainly... She had seen where she was, and was coming for her. They had not forgotten about her.

"We must destroy them. A man and a woman will arrive here within the week; Althaea will not take the news well, so we must keep it silent from her. Spare them long enough to hear the location of the family. Dispose of them all." He continued. Her dead heart clenched in her chest; thankful that she was no longer human... no longer able to truly show emotion. Alice and Nick would come to find her; and they would be killed. The entire family would be killed... she was cross with them, though she did not want them to die.

"I cannot let them die." Lucy said fearfully, envisioning all of those that she had once considered to be a family dying... being murdered behind her back as she was locked away in a proverbial tower. Ignoring the brown haired woman Lucy threw open the door to her room, storming down the halls towards the main hall where the voice had come from.

Two men stood in front of the large dining hall, both glanced up in shock as the small woman burst through the doors. They would have killed her; she had no where to run... yet somewhere within her mind, she did not care. She would provide what fight she could to stop them from killing the family of vampires.

"Don't you think the Volturi would be upset if you killed an entire coven?" Lucy countered, throwing out the best excuse that she could find. She didn't know a great deal about the Volturi; though she did know that they were a powerful group of vampires that ruled over the entire kind.

"Upset?" One of the men laughed; it was the man that had been talking. The other man was John; he watched her with amused eyes. "They would assist. The Cullen's are competition to them."

"Did you think that we opposed the Volturi?" John asked with a laugh. "We have the same motives. To keep our secrets. Naturally, we both wish to overcome the other; though for the purpose of public relations we have formed an alliance."

"I'm sorry, my child. They must not know of our secret." The man told her softly, as though he truly felt guilty for saying it.

"Yet we know their secret." Lucy said, trying to wrap her mind around what they were telling her. They knew about the vampires; they had always known about them... yet they kept their existence secret from the vampires.

"In time you will understand the importance of our secret." John told her gently. "Return to your room, and Al-"

"I don't want to understand the importance, and I refuse to return to my room. I will die sooner than I will stay here. I do not belong underground and I will no longer sit aside while you imprison me against my will." She stood firmly, her lips pursed tightly. "I do not care to live as a vampire, nor do I care to cower in the depths of the earth for fear of someone finding me."

"You were created for a reason, to assist in our society once we-" John began firmly, his red eyes glowing darkly. Were her heart still beating, it would have been throbbing against her chest in fear.

"Be calm, John." The unnamed man said with a slight grin to his face. It was more unsettling than the enraged expression that John held. John turned in confusion, his eyes wide as he looked to the dark haired man.

"You may return to the surface, and stay with the Cullen family for five years. You must return to your human form, and if we find that you have been bitten, or insufficiently cared for, they will be killed, and you shall be returned to us here for all of time." The man spoke to her, his eyes twinkling dangerously. "If, after five years, you have remained safe, and the family has accepted you as you are... you may remain above the surface for so long as you desire."

"Bu-" The red headed man began to dispute the other man. Lucy felt hope swell up within her; she would return to the surface, and the Cullens would be safe... so long as they took her back. Esme would undoubtedly take her back, and she could ignore Jasper well enough.

"Is it a deal?" He asked her curiously.

"Yes." Lucy responded firmly, nodding her head as she jutted her hand out. The overwhelming sense that she was selling her soul to the devil seemed to loom over her head. Surely this would not be such a perfect offer.

"You will leave once night falls." He responded crisply, shaking her hand as the corners of his thin lips pulled up in to a wicked smile.

"Thank you." She said with a slight bow before leaving the room, no longer wishing to be near to the men. There was something unsettling about them. If the Cullens did not take her back, they would be killed, and she would be forced to return... It all fell back to that; she would be forced to return if anything happened. Five years could pass quickly; she would be extremely careful, and make sure that they were always on guard.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading this far. I would have posted this chapter sooner, but was acting up and refusing to let me log in. I'm not very happy with this chapter, though hopefully you guys don't mind it. It became something that I hadn't actually intended it to be, but it has everything I had wanted to include, though it is more like two chapters put in to one.

The next chapter is all written out, so the more reviews I get, the sooner I post it! Have a great night!