Ok well I know that the last chapter wasn't fabulous, but I like receiving flames that tell me so. Don't be afraid to hurt my feelings if you really don't like something or if you think something should happen differently. And of course I like reviews that say you liked it. I know that sometimes you really don't feel like leaving a review (I personally don't sometimes, even though I should) a review every now and then is nice (I'm sure you know) Anyway, my rant is over and I hope you enjoy chapter 8!

Chapter Eight

EPOV

I stood by her side as she moved closer to the bones. She gingerly picked one up, only to have it crumble into dust in her hands. She scoffed, "I should have known." Her fingers lightly touched the bones that remained, leaving no evidence that something had happened. She turned back to us. "Could I possibly use some bandages for this? I really don't want to stare at it for the rest of my life."

I took the hand that was not covered in her new scar and led her inside, up to Carlisle's office. As she sat on Carlisle's desk, I pulled out the first aid kit he'd left in there and began treating her wound. "Be careful Edward. Don't touch it for too long." The mark was interesting, somewhat frightening. It created a star like pattern across part of her arm and onto her hand. As my ice cold hands glided across her arm, I could feel an intense heat rising up from the mark.

"Bella, will you please explain what happened?" She sighed. "In the demon world, there has been a war happening for as long as I can remember. There are normally two sections of hell, one for humans and one for demons like me."

"What about us?" I froze. Either Emmett was going to sound really stupid, or he just accidentally told her our secret. Rosalie noticed this too and slapped the back of his head. "You idiot, she just said humans have their own section." Bella laughed… such a beautiful, ringing laugh.

"Well, because you're vampires, you wouldn't end up in my world."

Everyone except Emmett gasped. How did she…? "So, if we were to all die in some freak accident within the next 5 minutes, we wouldn't end up in the same place as you?"

She shook her head, "You all have a soul, one that keeps you connected to not only the human world, but the world of paradise that you will encounter at the end of your existence, whether it is within the next 5 minutes or as the end of eternity. We would probably only see one another from a distance, but we would be unable to speak or touch one another." I felt a sharp jolt in my chest. Unable to speak or touch her? What kind of heaven would that be?

Heaven wouldn't be heaven unless I had Bella with me.

"Wait, how did you know what we are?" She smiled. "I met Carlisle, Rosalie, Esme, and Edward over 70 years ago…. when you all first encountered the shape-shifters. It was a very interesting and short meeting." Rosalie laughed.

"Oh yeah! It mostly consisted of Bella kicking some mutt's butt and capturing Edward's full attention." She smirked at me as she spoke. I ignored the embarrassment that grew and finished with Bella's wound. I placed all the tools away and returned the kit to its place in the office.

Did Rose really need to make it that obvious that I was completely captivated by Bella? She surprised me every time I had the honor of spending time with her, always catching me off guard with her delicate movements and her witty comments. I could always feel my world brighten up and become happy and carefree. I smiled at the thought.

"Uhh Edward? Hello? You still with us?" Alice was snapping her fingers in front of me, a knowing look on her smug little pixie face. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Edward! Alice! Stop it. Bella would you like to move to the living room where you would be more comfortable? Perhaps you could finish your story, only if you wish." Bella smiled brightly at Esme. She leapt down from the desk, grabbed Esme's hand with her good one, and together they proceeded down the stairs. The rest of us followed behind, quietly listening to Esme's excitement over having someone who shared her same passion for decoration and building.

BPOV

Esme was like my own mother in so many ways. If they ever met, they would probably become fast friends. I smiled as Esme began telling me about this old house she had found in Europe somewhere and was planning a trip to go and begin redecorating it. "What was your house like?" I closed my eyes as I remembered my home. "It was quite like this one. Very open, very familiar. It was a lot like this one. No reason to hide anything, neither our problems nor our looks." I sighed.

"Anyway, as I was saying earlier," I sat on the same couch as Edward, "there has been a war going on in my world for as long as I can remember, maybe even longer. That monster that attacked earlier is the effect the war has had on many demons. Eventually, they forget who they really are, and remember nothing of their lives before the war and what it was like to be normal." I felt Edward's arm around my shoulders as I did my best to not cry. It was supposed to be my duty to end the war... to marry the enemy... but my selfishness probably destroyed my life. But, it led me to Edward...

I sighed. "The rest is as every other war goes. It drags on and on until it gets boring. Unfortunately for this particular one, it seems that neither side can see enough humans and possessed demons kill each other... their own brothers and sisters... God, it's disgusting. I'm sure you understand Jasper." Jasper nodded and spread a wave of calm through the room.

I felt that I really couldn't say much more than that, simply because it was not the time to tell such things. But perhaps, a bit more wouldn't hurt to tell. "So, please don't take this the wrong way or anything Bella, but how old are you?" I burst out laughing.

"Emmett, let's put it this way. If I were to date any of you, including Carlisle, my demon friends would consider me to be equal to a child molester... or at least very close to one." Emmett burst out into laughter, as did everyone else. "Ok, but seriously, how old are you?" I smiled. "Mmmm... well, much older than seventeen. Oh, I suppose my 3018 birthday is rapidly approaching." Emmett's eyes widened. He turned to Edward, "Dude, she's got so much experience on you. Why didn't you tell us you liked older women? What, was Tanya too young for you?" Edward growled.

"Oh hush Emmett. You enjoy older women too if I remember correctly." He quieted down a bit after that, though occasional chuckles still escaped.

They asked me many questions about my life and the things I had seen. I left out the whole heir to the royal throne part, but otherwise I hid almost nothing from them. In turn, they did the same. If they hid something, it was their choice. They didn't press me, and I didn't press them. This continued for several hours, or at least it felt like it did. Suddenly, I nearly gasped in pain as the curse mark that covered my arm reacted with my body. Edward tightened the grip he had placed on my shoulders, providing me with both a form of protection from myself and as something that I could grip onto if need be.

I tried to take some deep breaths as the pounding in my body slowed and finally stopped. "Bella?"

I sighed. "The blood from that monster doesn't mix with my blood very well. Eventually, it will tear what's left of my body and destroy me..." What a fate to look forward to. "What? No, there has to be someway to stop it. Or wait, can you even die?"

I explained that demons can die, and if they do in hell, then nothing really happens. We just vanish for a short time. But if we die on Earth, we are send to the edge of our world, and we are forced to work for at least 1000 years before we are allowed to even return to the city, let alone Earth.

"Well there has to be someway to get this off you isn't there?" Edward's eyes were begging me to say yes. And I could.

"There is, but in order to do it, I'd have to go home. And I'd rather die here than go back there."