Monday morning Bella took her bicycle to work with Ed placed in the basket. Bella had a headache. Again she had had a nightmare. This one unfortunately a repeat of the last. With this still on her mind Bella didn't notice that Ed was acting oddly growling from time to time looking as if he was on his watch.

It wasn't until he started barking that Bella stopped her bicycle.

"What's wrong?" she asked the dog.

She wondered if he was in a bad mood or if he was hurting because of his injured leg that was still healing. It never occured to her that he might be sensing something she didn't. The barkings grew louder as the little dog looked straight ahead. Bella followed the dog's gaze.

She froze.

The pale girl standing in front of her was smiling wickedly. Her bright red eyes seemed to stare right through Bella's soul.

"Jane" Bella greeted politely trying to display a calm she didn't feel.

Little Ed had stopped barking and was now only shaking while trying to hide in his little basket. Bella petted him calmly trying to tell him it was going to be alright. Although she wasn't so sure. While Dimitri had never laid a hand on her nor had he never been close to fysically hurting her Jane was the opposite. If she ever saw an opportunity to cause pain she seized it. Through the years Aro had given strict orders not to kill Bella as she was more precious to him alive, but had said nothing about having a little fun – as Jane liked to put it.

"And our favorite Swan" Jane greeted smiling widely.

It was an evil smile that made Bella shiver.

"Aro says hello?" she conversed politely.

"He's not happy with you" Jane answered.

Bella felt annoyed.

"My life is all about making Aro happy, isn't it?"

Jane didn't answer but instead began walking around confidently.

"When you got involved with the Cullens" Jane began frowning as if she was deep in thought. She stopped in her tracks suddenly, looking Bella straight in the eye. "Did it ever occur to you that it would put you in danger? That maybe..." she pretended to think again. "One day it would end your life?" she asked.

Bella shook her head.

"I'm not playing your mindgames. I've played them all already."

Jane raised one eyebrow.

"You're not afraid of death, are you?" she asked.

Before Bella could think her answer through she answered exactly what she was thinking.

"If it doesn't hurt too much."

Jane smiled again apparently pleased with the answer.

"Well there you said it, didn't you?" she mused. "Death does hurt."

Bella felt hear heart speed up and her grip on her bike tightened slightly. She'd just gotten herself in deep trouble. You don't small-talk with the Volturi, unless it was Dimitri and even then it's slightly out of line.

But this was Jane and she was something else: Aro's pet entirely and slightly out of control.

"Of course" Jane said. "I will never know" she smiled again.

"Planning on living forever?" Bella couldn't help but to retort.

She told herself to stop making this even more enjoyable to Jane, but suddenly felt that it didn't matter. Bella had a feeling Jane was going to do exactly what she felt like doing anyway. Horror struck Bella as she realized that maybe Aro had changed his mind. Maybe Bella wasn't very valuable alive anymore. Afterall she hadn't been very willing to corporate through the years and she still didn't seem to get any closer to fullfilling his wish. That would mean Jane could finally do what she had wanted to do all these years.

To kill her.

"You're not taking this very seriously" Jane said disapprovingly. "That makes me unhappy."

She began walking around again.

"Since I'm here doing my job I'm going to ask if you're going to do yours."

Bella frowned. What was she talking about this time?

"Are you going to turn in Alice Cullen?" Jane asked.

Bella could hardly believe it! The Volturi took pride in their detective skills. They could find anybody anytime no matter where they were hiding (until Alice, that is) but they couldn't figure out that Bella genuinely had no idea where Alice Cullen was.

Bella's death would be such a useless one.

"I don't know where she is, and no pain or torture could ever give me that kind of knowledge" Bella answered slightly irritated.

Jane smiled and her red eyes seemed to twinkle.

"Then we don't have much use for you anyway, don't we?"

Bella said nothing but instead let her hand run through little Ed's soft fur looking away from the pale girl in front of her and down on the scared puppy. Her heart was pounding hard knowing what was coming and that there was nothing she could do. If Bella were to die today, what would happen to Anthony? She wondered. There would be nothing left for him in Forks. Charlie was gone and with Bella gone would he accept Aro's standing invitation and finally join the Volturi? Give in?

Bella told herself rather sharply not to despair because she was scared. She found the answer in her heart.

No, not Anthony.

He would never give in.

Right when she felt this conviction she looked up at Jane who was still smiling.

She was now staring hard at Bella squinting her eyes to get focus. Then she shrugged her head and Bella knew what she had remembered.

"Right, you were... immune to our talents" Jane reminded herself.

She seemed to think things over. Bella's heart sped up and her hands felt shaky as she waited.

The girl's smile widened.

"I guess we have to do it the old-fashioned way" she decided.

Bella stood no chance as Jane lunged at her.

The pain was excruciating as Bella's arm was the first part of her body to break. The last thought that hit Bella before it all blackened was not one about her son, Charlie or Edward. Instead it had to do with the person she had once considered her sister.

Alice, where are you?