The Forbidden Fruit

By realixweatherfairy

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

Chapter 2: Growing Closer

The next few months went by quickly, and before Bella knew it, it had begun to snow as the roads became slick with ice. The morning that the snow had begun to fall Bella woke up with the feeling that she shouldn't go to school that day, but she did anyway; for one reason: Edward would worry if she didn't.

Over the last few months the two of them had become very good friends, though it hadn't always been that way. In the beginning he had been absolutely set on them staying apart. At the time, she had been adamant about being his friend, but for the last few weeks, Bella had begun to regret that decision. She had been sensing impure auras that were normally associated with the Black Angels, and had started to worry that Edward would run into them when he was hunting. She still hadn't told him about her being an Angel, or that she knew that he was a vampire.

As she drove to school, Bella didn't have the trouble that the others did and once she got to school, she found out why. As she was about to turn away from her car, Bella noticed something silver on the tires. Bending down to get a better look, Bella noticed the chains that were crisscrossed into her tires. Charlie had gotten up who knows how early and put snow chains on her tires. When Bella stood up again, she had to fight the wave of emotion that came over her; she wasn't used to being taken care of like that. For almost every single year of her life, Bella had had to take care of herself.

In a single space of one minute, three things happened. A loud squeal sounded through the air, Bella noticed Edward standing four cars away from her, a look of horror marring his handsome features, and a blue van sliding on the ice, quickly coming towards her and her car. Using her Angel's powers, Bella rammed her shoulder against the van, leaving a huge dent in it, stopping it completely. Feeling faint, Bella fell to the ground; an Angel's powers are weakened when in human form. The last thing that Bella saw before she blacked out was Edward's face, looking concerned and horrorstruck.

When Bella woke up again, the paramedics were loading her into the ambulance. Opening her eyes the first thing she noticed was Edward sitting next to her with a look of confusion on his face as he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just got ran over by a semi truck," she groaned. Chuckling slightly before his face became serious, Edward leaned over the bed that Bella was lying on and whispered so that only she would hear, "How did you do that?"

Bella panicked as she thought, "Should I tell him about being an Angel? Would he believe me or think I was crazy?" She decided to go with the safe route and didn't care if he was angry with her as she replied, "I can't tell you, Edward. I'm not allowed."

"Bella," he growled. Bella ignored him, feeling rejected at the moment and she thought, "I had been hoping that he hadn't noticed my odd behavior lately, but obviously he has."

Looking down at Bella, Edward could tell that there was something that she wasn't telling him as he thought, "Is she too afraid to tell me? She has been acting really weird lately; she keeps acting like there's someone following her. It feels as if I'm losing her. It is so frustrating that I can't hear her thoughts!"

As if she had sensed his frustration, Bella whispered, "I wish I could tell you, Edward, but you're happier not knowing. My life is complicated," making him think, "Happier not knowing what? What is so scary that she thinks that I'm happier in my ignorance?" Edward nodded once, but did not reply, making Bella's eyes dim as she said, "Maybe someday, I'll be able to tell you," making Edward stiffen at the rejected tone of her voice.

For the next four weeks, Edward and Bella completely avoided each other; both thinking that it was for the best. Though he was avoiding her, it didn't mean that Edward didn't think or worry about her; every time he went hunting he would pray to whatever gods existed that she was safe, and she did the same when he was not in class with her.

When a girl's choice dance was announced, Edward began to secretly hope that Bella would stop avoiding him and ask him to go with her. He couldn't help but overhear when Mike, Eric, and Tyler, the guy who hit her, asked her to go with them, and he could feel the jealousy running wild through his veins again, but couldn't deny the relief that he felt when she rejected them all with an annoyed look on her face.

"Damn school dance," Bella thought as she rejected Mike and told him that she would be in Seattle that day and that he should ask Jessica. "I needed to go to Seattle anyway."

Jessica and Angela had asked the day before if she could go with them to Portland and help them find dresses, and she had agreed. Angela and Jessica had decided to drive themselves, while Bella drove herself. After about an hour of helping Jessica and Angela find their dresses, shoes, and jewelry, they had decided that they should go visit the beach; well, Angela and Jessica did, but Bella went for a drive. Though she loved Jess, she didn't that an hour of talking about nothing but the dance and Mike was good for anyone's health.

As Bella drove she thought about her life. After 3,000 years of life, she had never found anyone who intrigued her as much as Edward Cullen had. She had lived through the Civil War, both World Wars, and the Gulf War and she had never ever found someone that made her feel the way she did about Edward. Not even when she was a princess of Egypt did she find someone like Edward. It made her really confused.

As the sun started to go down, Bella stiffened as she sensed that her charge was in danger. Groaning she thought, "Does that boy know when to stay out of trouble?," and began driving in his direction to find that Edward was being cornered by four Angels and were saying some very mean things as she pulled up.

Edward followed Bella's car as she drove to Portland; instead of driving his car, Edward had decided to run since he hadn't in a while. His clothes hid his features until it was dark enough that he could take off his hood and walk down the street like the rest of the mortals. Edward was worried about Bella; the girl seemed like the type who could find trouble like a magnet.

As he walked down the street, Edward never noticed that he was being tailed by four men with weird auras that were similar to Bella's until he went down another street, still looking for Bella since she was no longer with Jessica and Angela anymore, and they pushed him against a wall, much to his surprise.

"Why would a monster like you need her help?" one of the men sneered.

"Vampires don't deserve our help," another agreed, before any of the rest could say anything, a dark car speeding up the street and pulled up next to them. As the window rolled down, Edward immediately recognized Bella, who glared at the men as she growled, "Get in, Edward." Knowing better than to protest when she was angry, Edward quickly passed the men who had been harassing him, though he didn't know why, and got into Bella's Porsche and she sped away, driving faster than he normally would. The silence that had fallen over the two began to scare Edward as he asked, "Bella, are you alright?"

"No," she growled before asking, "Are you alright?"

"Just peachy, since just about five minutes ago, I was minding my own business and was harassed by some men that I didn't even know," Edward said.

"I'm sorry about that," Bella said.

"Do you know why they were harassing me?" Edward asked.

"Yes," she replied. Edward was about to open his mouth to say something as Bella continued, "I will explain later; I'm going to have to turn around as Jess and Angela are getting worried about me." He didn't reply as she turned the car around and headed back to the restaurant that she and the other girls were to meet up at, to find them pacing in front of it with worried expressions on their faces.

Once Bella pulled up, Jessica and Angela looked relieved and walked over and said, "Bella! We were getting worried; we're sorry but we already went ahead and ate without you." Smiling her bright smile, Bella replied, "That's okay; I'm just going to go ahead and get something to eat. You girls can go ahead and head home; I'll see you at school tomorrow," as they nodded and headed to Jessica's car and drove off.

Heading into the restaurant, Bella and Edward were immediately seated in the back booth, and ordered two cokes and some food. For the longest time, they just sat there and stared at each other, before Edward said, "I'm surprised."

"Surprised? At what?" she replied.

"That you're not going into shock about saving your male friend from harassment," Edward answered.

"I've seen worse," Bella retorted.

"Oh, really," Edward said, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"You don't know me, Edward, you don't know one thing about me," Bella growled angrily, which caught him by surprise as she fell silent as the waitress brought the drinks and said that the food would be done momentarily. As she walked away, Edward replied, "I would if you just told me, instead of keeping secrets."

"You don't want to know everything about me, Edward," Bella warned, "My life is complicated."

"But I do," he replied, "You have no idea how hard it is to keep track of you. It's like keeping you safe is full time occupation."

Eyes becoming wary as she bit her lip and whispered, "What if it's supposed to be the other way around?" Looking at her with confusion, Edward asked, "What?"

"What if I'm supposed to be the one keeping track of you?" Bella repeated, making his topaz eyes go wide.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded. Closing her eyes and sighing, Bella said, "I'm not as human as you think I am. I haven't been human in over 3,000 years."

"What are you then? A vampire?" he whispered.

"No, I'm something else," she replied, "I'm an Angel."

"A what?" Edward breathed his eyes widening again.

"An Angel, more specifically a Warrior Angel," Bella said, "I have powers you can't possibly imagine."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, "And what do you mean by powers?"

"I'll tell you on the way home," Bella replied, "Too many wandering ears."

"Earlier, when you said you knew why they were harassing me," Edward said, changing the subject, "What did you mean by that?"

"The men who were harassing you, Edward, were also Angels, like me, but they, like many of my kind, harbor intense hatred for vampires," Bella answered grimly, "and they aren't afraid of acting out against them."

"They said something that I didn't need her help; what were they talking about," Edward demanded.

"They were talking about me," Bella replied, making Edward confused as he started, "But…" but before he could finish his question, Bella interrupted, "Guardian Angels aren't the only ones who have charges, you know. Warrior Angels do too, only our charges are more high priority, than theirs are; people who are detrimental to the development of our future and are targets of our worst enemies. You want to know why they were saying that, Edward; it's because you are my charge." Edward's eyes widened with surprise; he was detrimental to the future?

"Why would someone like me be detrimental to the future?" Edward whispered.

"I don't know," Bella said, "God doesn't give us our charges; we have to find them on our own; it's like the basic instinct to protect. We are drawn to them and they are drawn to us. It's as simple as that. Remember the feeling that you were being beckoned? That's what that was." Edward's eyes widened again, this time with understanding as he asked, "Tell me why you were so mad before?"

"An Angel's charge is their life," Bella answered, "If their charge is put into danger in any way, the Angel's need to protect is flared to life with a vengeance. Hell hath no fury like an angered Angel. The bond between Angel and charge is a very complex one; an Angel can sense when her charge is near, their emotions, or when they're in trouble; just as the charge can sense their Angel's presence and power, as well as their emotions as well." Bella fell silent as the waitress came back with the food that she had ordered. Edward sat quietly watching Bella eat her food as he said, "Bella, there's something that you need to know."

Already knowing what he was going to say, Bella interrupted, "I already know."

Eyes widening again, Edward asked, "How?!"

"Angel thing," she replied, "I'll explain in the car." Nodding, Edward remained silent as Bella ate her food, allowing all he had heard to sink in, unknowingly being watched closely by Bella. After she finished eating, Bella said, "Are you ready?" and he nodded, eager to get to the car and get his answers and they left. Getting in the car, Bella turned on the ignition and drove off, while turning to Edward and saying, "Now you may ask the questions that have been burning up your brain all night."

"You said that you haven't been human in over 3,000 years," Edward said, "Explain that please."

"I was born approximately 3,034 years ago in the place known today as Ancient Egypt," Bella answered, "Of course, I wasn't born an Angel; I was once as human as you once were, but I died. My father was Pharaoh Ramses the Fourth of the Upper Kingdom, and I was named Nefertari, and then there was the one person who ruined it all: my father's mistress, Kanika. He loved her almost as much as he had loved my mother, who had died giving birth to me, and had planned to marry her, but she was in love with his priest of the dead, Odji. Together they murdered him, but not before they murdered me for interfering."

"You tried to save him," Edward breathed. Bella nodded a tear running down her cheek, and said, "Next question."

"Your powers?" Edward asked.

"I, like you, have the power of telepathy, but mine's more pronounced," Bella replied, "I can move things with my mind, whereas you can't; however, like you, I can read a person's mind and speak to them with my mind. I can control time, have supernatural super strength and speed. I can read and sense auras, and I can control the four elements."

"I've already seen part of what you can do," Edward said.

"Yes, but that is only part of my strength," Bella replied, "When in human form, we still have our powers, but they're greatly weakened."

"Human form?"

"My human self that you see before you is nothing but an illusion of what I looked like when I was human," Bella explained.

"What about Charlie and Renee?" Edward asked.

"They're Angels, too, but they're Blue Angels," Bella answered.

"Blue?"

"There are four clans of Angels, one clan rules one point on the compass," Bella explained, "The Blue Angels rule the North, the Red Angels rule the East, the Green Angels rule the South, and the Silver Angels, my clan, ruled the West. Each clan of Angels also has an element that they're attuned to, Blue to water, Red to fire, Green to earth, and Silver to air, but I, however, am attuned to all elements, something that no Angel has ever had before."

"You said that the Silver Angels ruled the West?"

"I am the last of my clan," Bella answered sadly, "You see, God chooses who is reborn as an Angel, those who are pure of heart and have not yet fulfilled their purpose. But not all of those chosen stay pure of heart, there are those who have turned against God, and their fellow Angels; we call them the Black Angels, Angels who were once pure but have allied themselves with the Devil, God's worst enemy, and have tainted themselves and their powers, making them slightly weaker than a pure Angel's, destroying their charges along with them. Six years after I was reborn, as the princess of my clan, a Black Angel named Kaira, who was my older sister, destroyed my clan while my mother placed a barrier around me to keep me from joining the fight."

"I would hope so!" Edward said.

Shaking her head, Bella continued, "Angels are born with instinctual control over their powers and are taught to fight at a very early age, almost as soon as they can walk. As I was saying, she refused to let me join the fight, therefore, I watched my entire clan die in front of me without being able to do anything about it." Edward, not knowing what to say, just stared at her while thinking, "She has been through so much; seen much more than any person alive, and yet after watching her entire clan die right before her eyes as a child, she's still so bright and pure hearted. How could such a wonderful person be meant to protect me?"

"You never told me how you knew that I was a vampire," Edward stated after a few moments.

"I could tell by your aura, Edward," Bella explained quietly, "The aura of vampires and Angels are relatively different than a human's, so it's not hard to differentiate a vampire's aura from a human's. I could also tell that you were a gifted. I also know that my blood appeals to you more than any other's could; there's a lot that I know about you, Edward." Pulling up to his house, Bella looked at him with apprehension.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Edward asked, looking her right in the eye.

"Would you have believed me?" she replied, uncertainty shining in her eyes, like she thought that she had told him too much. Not able to look away from her, Edward asked, "Will I ever see the true you?"

Smiling brightly, Bella said, "Maybe, now you better get inside before your family becomes too worried." Looking at her smile, Edward found it hard to breathe, not that he needed to, but it was like this woman had absolute control over him. Getting out of the car, Edward turned back to look at her as she drove away, going what looked like 200 miles per hour.

Turning around and walking into his house, Edward was immediately met by Esme, who despite looking thirsty, looked insanely worried. The others stood not too far away from the door, looking thirsty and bored as if they had known that he would show up eventually.

"Edward, where have you been?" Esme demanded standing in front of him with her hands on her hips and an eyebrow raised. Looking at the woman he considered his mother, Edward shook his head and thought of Bella. She reminded him so much of Esme; beautiful, caring, kind, and a hellcat when she was angry. Whenever he thought of Bella, he wasn't able to breathe, even if he didn't need to, his blood would run cold at the thought of Bella ever dying for any reason; Edward knew that if Bella was ever hurt, that he would probably hunt down the person who hurt her and kill them for it.

"With Bella," he replied as Rosalie growled and Emmett said, "She knows, doesn't she?"

"Apparently, she's always known; since her first day," Edward replied solemnly, making Rosalie growl again while turning her black eyes towards him and hissing at the same time.

"How?" Jasper asked his eyes becoming suspicious, "Is she one too?"

"No," Edward said, "Apparently, she's an Angel." His family, all except for Carlisle, who wasn't home at the moment, and Alice, looked at him weirdly.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth; I've seen part of what she can do," Edward continued, "She's just as strong as I am, if not stronger than Emmett. She can run just as fast as me, if her driving is anything to go by. She can read and sense auras, has power of the elements, and is telepathic, like me, but she can move things with her mind and she can use her mind as a means of communication, not only that but she can control time too."

"Are you sure that you can trust her though," Esme asked.

"Mom, there's nothing to worry about from Bella," Alice said while chuckling with an evil look on her face, like she knew something that everyone else didn't.

"You already knew didn't you, Alice" Edward demanded.

"Maybe," Alice smirked as he glared at her and thought, "I know more about her than you do, brother. There's more than meets the eye when it comes to young Bella."

"I heard that, Alice," Edward griped as he glared at her again, "And what do you know about Bella that I don't?"

"Only the things that she tells me," Alice replied, "I just don't think about it, well, there's that and she blocks anything that has to do with her past from you until she's ready to tell you herself."

"What else could there possibly be?" Edward demanded.

"I'm not allowed to tell you," Alice replied coolly, "Bella'll be mad at me if I told you before she had a chance to tell you herself, and trust me, she's scary when she's mad, even scarier than you are, little brother."

"And how long have you and Bella been friends, may I ask?" Jasper asked raising his eyebrow, even he hadn't heard anything about this, and it made his blood run cold.

"Since her first day of school," Alice said, "We've never really talked face to face, but somehow we were able to connect mentally. I don't know how to really explain it. It's like I know Bella from a long time ago, but I can't remember where. It's as if I should remember her but I don't. It's all so confusing."

"Well, we all need to go hunting, so we can continue this conversation when your father gets home," Esme said as Alice and the others followed her out the door.

Looking down on the Cullens, God could tell that the pieces were falling into place, that soon Bella would realize that she was bonded to the Cullens in more ways than one.

"Father, I can tell when you're up to something," his son said as Jesus walked up to him.

"You know me too well, my Son," God smiled at his oldest child, "Alice and Bella are bonded in more ways than just that of friendship, even if Alice doesn't remember, and Bella was too young to remember."

"Bonded, Father?" Jesus asked, his eyes widening.

"Bella never had just one older sister; Alice disappeared for the longest time until I realized that she had given up her Angel's powers and turned into a mortal," God explained, "She ended up in mental institution for having visions of the future when the human family she was living with admitted her. The rest as they say is history; Bella and Alice will figure this all out in due time."

"What will Bella think when she finds out that Alice is really her older sister?" Jesus asked worriedly.

"I don't know, Son, we'll just have to watch and find out," God answered returning his gaze to his favorite daughter and thought, "The trials ahead, young one, will be long and hard, but I know that I can depend on you to follow your heart and know what you must do. You have much more power than you even acknowledge; I just hope that you'll know what to do with it when the time comes."