Isabella was disenchanted. Literally. When the Cullen's left, the tribe had taken her under their wing. Now naturally, there were those that were opposed to her very existence. Who blamed her for them transforming into horse sized wolves, never mind the coven were in Forks months before she crossed the county line. But the elders and her godfather, Billy above all, had helped her. They knew that being 'dazzled' as she so naively called it, was a type of glamour. That being in close proximity for too long had the same effects as someone on meth. It was interesting Edward had used the analogy of being a junky around her, and she had come to the conclusion that there was no way that he wouldn't have known that that was exactly what he was doing to her. Especially with Carlisle acting as the household righteous man.

When the tribe realized that she was essentially going through withdrawal, their shaman, Old Quil broke the enchantment. It required a disgusting tasting concoction of leaves, a series of rituals, and a neat little tattoo, but from that moment on, she was protected from any kind of glamour, be it from witches or vampires. It all happened just in time too, because not long after, the global vampire community decided to out itself. Only these weren't the vampires that Bella was familiar with. These were the more traditional vampires. Stakes, sunlight, and everything.

No one on the reservation were surprised, and in the long run, neither was Bella. But Charlie was and boy was he pissed at everyone for being in on the secret but him. He wasn't angry enough to cut out his own daughter, but their relationship, what little of a relationship they had at least, was definitely damaged beyond repair in his eyes. It didn't matter to him one wit that she was keeping quiet for his protection. In the end, both thought it would be in both of their best interests if Bella got out of town for a bit. Let cooler heads prevail. She was 21 and had a little money set aside from her Gran Marie and her job at Newton's, she figured she'd land on her feet just fine.

When she left, she didn't have an exact place to land. She did know that she wanted to be in the south. Savannah area or maybe somewhere in New Orleans. So, she thought she would try both. Savannah wasn't all that far from her mom in Florida, so the last time she went to visit her, she made a pit stop, and while the Spanish moss was beautiful, and the ocean, and the interesting construction choice adding oyster shells to the sidewalks and buildings, it just didn't feel like home.

She took a separate trip to Louisiana. New Orleans was close, but not quite right. So, Bella decided to drive around for a little while. Five or so hours later, she found herself in another small town called Bon Tempes. It felt…different. Almost like home. She figured that this was going to be the closest that she going to get for a while, so she started looking around for a place to stay. She found a place that was being overseen by a man named Sam. He seemed to be some kind of real estate guru, and she learned that he also owned a bar.

"Are you looking for people? Fair warning though, I'm clumsy," She tells him with a smile.

He seemed the easy-going type. "I do need someone to help in the kitchen. How are you as a cook. The one I have now is amazing, Lafyette and Big John are always complaining when rush comes in during the weekend," he tells her.

"When and where, and I'll take care of the rest," she says. Sam gives her the address to his bar and asks her for her sizes for the uniform.

"It'll be short, but if you are worried about wondering eyes, you'll be in the kitchen mostly, so you won't have to worry about it much," he warns her.

She shakes her head. "All of my best friends at home are over six feet tall and all males. You learn to lose you modesty real quick around them."

"You were the girl that hung with the guys?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not like that, trash brain," she laughed. "It was either them or little miss righteous with the pastor's daughter, or the town bicycles. At least with the boys, I could cliff dive."

"Thrill seeker?"

"Unexpectedly. Never was one before."

"Oh, before I leave," he says as if he suddenly remembered. "Bon Tempes is usually a really safe town, but we have had a couple of murders lately. So lock your doors."

"How recent and how close?" she asked worriedly.

"One was on the other side of town, but the other was just down the block," he says, gesturing to the end of the street as they stood at the door to her new place.

"Is it ok if I get the place wired up?"

"I hadn't thought of that, but it would be a really good idea," he said.

"Then I'll start looking into that tomorrow."

Sam nodded then bid his goodbyes. She liked him. He was easy to talk to and didn't pry if she didn't want to answer a question. For now though, if there was a hunter in the town, well, maybe it would be a good idea for any new prey to spend time out of town. Bella had heard that there was a bar not far from the town in nearby Shreveport. A vampire bar. So she dug into her bag, pulled out a pair of black leggings, a black knitted dress that hugged her curves wonderfully with a bright red belt, and a simple hair claw. Comfy and fashionable.

It took her half an hour to get to the bar, and it looked like she had to wait a while, but she thought it couldn't hurt anything. The drop-dead gorgeous woman at the door blinking in surprise when she saw Bella.

"Now who are you, doll?" she asked in a slow southern drawl. Bella didn't do anything more than smile at her before handing the woman her Washington ID. "You're a long way from home, beautiful."

Bella nodded. "Just moved. Atmosphere back home was a bit tense."

The blonde looked right at Bella, and she immediately knew what she was trying to do. Glamour. "How about I help you relieve some of that tension."

Bella breathed in and out deeply before replying, shaking her head. "No, thank you for the offer though. Buy me a drink or four later and I might be up for it, though." Bella didn't really mind who was in bed with her if she really liked them, but she did at least want to know who they were first. The blond again blinked rapidly at her answer but recovered well.

"I may just do that," she said softly as she stepped aside and ushered Bella in.

The vibe inside was exciting with an edge. A dark dangerous edge. She went to the bar and knocked to get the bartender's attention. "Merlot." He nodded after staring for a moment, then went to fill her order. It took him half a blink. She didn't even flinch. Picking up the glass, she turned to look at those in the bar as she drank slowly. She was surprised to see a pretty blonde woman on the arm of a rather morose looking man. She stood out like a sore thumb, and they were stopped by the woman from the front door. Bella would have carded her too. She was way too carefree for a place like this. She'd bet dime to dollar the girl had never been laid. After the Cullen's left, Bella gladly shoved her virginity card at Paul. Jake was put out for a while, but Bella wanted experience over encouraging puppy love.

She watched them. The man leading the woman to the bar, where she brazenly asked about two women, and then to a table. It didn't take the young woman long to notice something farther into the bar and Bella followed her line of sight. Then it was Bella's turn to blink rapidly in succession. The man on the dais was gorgeous. She saw the woman from the door approach him and whisper in his ear, he turned his attention first to her at the bar. He stared, then winked at her. Bella gave a light blush, and he smirked as he turned his attention to the couple at the table. He motioned to them before whispering something else to the blond beside him.

Bella shook her head and finished her wine. She figured that this was more than enough people/vampire watching for the night. She sat her glass at the bar, left a 20$ for the drink, and made for the door. It seemed it was a good thing she left when she did. She was in her car when she saw the officers bust in through the front door. She sat there for a moment, before prudence reminded her she really didn't want to be there and she left the lot.

She made it to the end of the street when both the blonde man and woman from the bar quite literally landed in front of her. She gently stopped her car, and dimmed the lights. Parking where she was she opened the door and stood there just outside her car.

"You two all right?" she asked, as if people just landing from an evening flight from a vampire bar was completely normal.

"I owe you a drink," the woman said. Bella smiled.

"I'd like to know your name first, ma'am," she said. "For the future, my name is Bella. Though you probably remember that from my ID."

She smiled. "Pam," she said nodding her head in greeting.

Bella turned her attention to the male. "Eric. This century, I go by Eric Northman." Bella smiled at him.

"Isabella Swan," he said, mimicking Pam, and bowing her head slightly. "If you two can fly, this is a moot question, but can I give the two of you a lift?" she asked.

"You're asking two vampires on the side of the road if they would like a ride somewhere?" Eric asked as if she was both crazy and amusing.

"Suppose I am," she said simply. Eric looked at Pam and said something in what Bella thought was a Nordic language. She replied and they both looked back at her.

"I suppose a ride around then back to the bar if you would be so kind. I would hate to miss the fun of a raid, but I can't be turning up right after I had run," Eric replied. Bella nodded and gestured into the car before she got in. The other two followed suit and before she knew it, she was circling Shreveport. This place felt a little more like home to her, she thought. It was too bad she had already signed a six month lease with Sam.

"What had you coming into my bar this evening Isabella?" Eric asked.

Bella shrugged. "You can call me Bella. As for why I was there. I just got to town, was really bored, and wanted to people watch. Well, I suppose vampire watch is better way to put it. I wanted to check out the supernatural scene. See how deep it went around here."

"Your conclusion?" Eric pressed.

"It goes deeper than I thought, and most normal people are complete idiots as to what is going on around them. For instance, Barbie and Dracula back at the bar. What was he doing with her? Can vampires have mid life crisis?" she asks.

Eric chuckled. "Mr. Compton is attempting to mainstream. I was ascertaining how that was going for him before the raid. I'm not at all convinced he doesn't have an ulterior motive."

"Yeah, well, asking what she was asking wasn't all that smart. Especially at Fangtasia. So, I don't have high hopes for her. She's asking to disappear," Bella told him.

"You heard her? Do you know why she was asking about those girls?" Pam asked her. Bella nodded.

"Sort of. Like I said, I just moved to town. Well, it seems her town. Two women were killed recently. I don't know specifics, but if Barbie was at Fangtasia, there must be a vampire element involved. I don't think a vampire is doing it, because the hubbub would be worse than just the little blurb I heard about it. But maybe they both were at your bar, and they had receipts from there recently or something," she surmised.

"Not a bad theory. I'll have to look into it. Having patrons drop dead and linked to my bar won't be good for publicity if it gets out," Eric said.

"Not my business. I have no one to tell and no reason to tell, so this stays with me and my car," Bella shrugged.

"Hmmm," Eric said. "Any idea why you can't be glamoured?" Eric asked. This brought Bella up short for a moment, then she burst out laughing.

"A theory or two. But I don't know either of you all that well, Mr. Northman. Like I said to Pam, you'll need to buy me a drink at least before I spill all of my secrets. Which one of you will get there first is up for grabs," she said winking at them as she pulled back into the Fangtasia lot. It was mostly empty with a few Police cars still there, but Bella didn't enter any further than the very entrance, not wanting to get caught up in it.

"This is where I drop you. I'll come back by again," she said.

"Is that a promise, Miss. Swan?" Eric asked, seduction and dark promises in both his eyes and tone.

"My dear Mr. Northman, that is a guarantee," she replies with a smile.

A/N 1/28/2023: Bella/Eric surprisingly won out of Bella/Death. But don't worry, I have that one started as well, so y'all might get them in tandem. This is only the first chapter, which is why it is so short. And I haven't seen TB in so long, I'll have to rewatch it to see how I'm going to write this, so future chapters are longer. I hope you like it. Peace Love and Poprocks. ~Angel