Faith

This is not good. Alice thought. I can warn us if Aro ever finds out, but what are we going to do about it?

She was checking out Jasper who was cradling Bella in the back of the room. Bella was completely calm and holding on to him.

Edward, do you know what is wrong with Jazz? I am worried.

Jasper's face had a guarded expression. Edward tried to read his mind. His thoughts were jumbled and he was subconsciously using his powers. Everybody in the room relaxed and calmed down when a wave of Jasper's powers hit the room. He was so much involved in calming himself down that he calmed down everybody else instead. Edward could not understand Jasper yet, he didn't seem to understand his reaction himself. Jasper needed some time and this was not a conversation to be held at this moment anyway. He shrugged to Alice to tell her to let it go and she did.

A little bit later Bella was surrounded by the Denali's. They were all laughing. Bella was telling them about her life and she was now telling them how Emmett accidentally hit a baseball through the house, breaking two windows and a vase, which of course brought him the wrath of Esme. Bella was having a lot of fun telling the story and the Denali's were having a lot of fun watching her tell the story. They were already smitten with her and Edward smiled. I didn't take much to be wrapped around Bella's finger. No one seemed to be able to escape that fate.

His family had scattered around the house, except for Jasper, who still hovered protectively around Bella. Jasper understood his reaction better now, so Edward did too, but he left it to Jasper to explain when they had the opportunity to talk. The day passed quickly with the Denali's talking and playing with Bella, who enjoyed the company of her new friends very much. Both Edward and Jasper had warned Kate three times to stay out of physical contact range of Bella. They didn't want her accidentally shocked. Kate gave them sour looks at first. After the third time she had given them a very agitated look. Edward was afraid she was going to shock one or both of them if they would dare to warn her one more time. She did do what she was asked and kept her distance. He had to give her credit, since that was not an easy task. Bella was free in her movement and she had a tendency to touch the people she liked. She seemed to like Kate a lot. Kate however managed to avoid contact.

When it was time for Bella to go to bed, Jasper brought her upstairs and the Denali's decided to go hunting for a few hours. Edward was relieved. His family needed to talk without their visitors present. He assumed they realized that and was grateful for their tactful disappearance.

As soon as Bella was asleep and the Denali's were gone, they gathered around in the dining room and sat around their favourite table, used only when they wanted to discuss something. Jasper had been dragged away from Bella by Alice. She had lost her patience with his new obsession and wanted to know what was with him. The rest of his family had the same thought.

Jasper was drawing in a deep breath.

'I have told you all about my past with Maria, but I never told anyone this, not even Alice.'

His eyes went to Alice and she gave him a sad look.

'It wasn't intentional, Alice. I never really understood until now.'

She nodded to him and grabbed his hand.

'It was near the end of my time with Maria, Peter had already left with Charlotte. Maria and I were in the middle of one of the worst wars we had fought, when the Volturi decided to intervene again. Maria was well connected and had a sixth sense about the Volturi, so once again she managed to stay out of the line of fire. With her, I survived too. This time Aro himself travelled with his subjects, which was highly improbable. Maria's interest was piqued. Why would Aro come? He could just let his guard do the dirty work, like always. I don't know how she got the information or how she survived getting near Aro, but somehow she stole his secret. I suspect she might have a gift to know when something interesting comes along and get her hands on it. She was different when she returned, telling me she found a new way to gain power over the other covens. She wouldn't tell me what it was, but from that time on she was distracted, leaving me to defend our territory. Sometimes she didn't check on me for months. I was getting more and more depressed and thought about ending my existence many times.' His expression became sad.

'Maria came to me. She told me she discovered a very powerful secret. She wouldn't tell me more, just that I needed to look for a child and that the child could give her more than enough power to end the wars and rule over the populated area's forever. She didn't tell me much, but I was not stupid. I guessed that she knew this from Aro and that the only reason he accompanied his guard was to look for the child himself. If he was desperate enough to leave the safety of his city, this child was really something special.'

He hesitated for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Edward read that he found it hard to tell this correctly.

'I can't tell you how this made me feel. I saw her power dazed eyes and for the very first time I was able to look at Maria and see her for whom she really was. I realized that she was never going to stop and that nothing would be enough for her. She was willing to do anything, even use a child, to get what she wanted. I would be forever at her side, fighting her battles, until she would kill me, just as she did with everybody else. I was useful now, but if I gained too much power, I knew she could easily dispose of me. Maria searched obsessively for the child and I watched her. Somehow, this knowledge changed me. I saw a flicker of light and my depression broke. When Peter returned I was finally able to let go of my former life and leave with him. I never understood why I found the courage to leave, but now I do. Peter gave me the opportunity, but knowing about the child gave me the courage to start a new life. Knowing that there was something else, something other than meaningless battles, something worthy of fighting for, made me strong enough. I promised myself that if I was ever going to find the child I would never let Maria or anyone else near her.'

His expression became determinant.

'In a way, she saved my life.'

They were all silent, staring blindly, lost in thoughts.

'My new life was all I ever wanted. I became distracted and tried to put a large gap between this life and my life with Maria. I didn't realize Bella was the child, until Eleazar told us. He knew more about the child than I did, but I think I closed my eyes for what was obvious. Now that I know, I cannot understand why I didn't see immediately.' He shook his head disapprovingly.

'I wondered a lot of things about Bella, but I never expected she was this child. What I do want to emphasize is that our troubles are great. Nobody of our world can ever find out about Bella or we will have a lot more than the Volturi to worry about.' Jasper finished his story.

'Do you think this means Bella has no parents? That she didn't exist before you found her in the forest?' Rose asked quietly. 'It would explain why she doesn't remember and why no one is looking for her.'

Edward shook his head.

'In the forest she asked me to call her Bella just like her mother did. I still think she selectively lost her memory. She doesn't know less about the world around her than any other four-year-old.'

Edward is right. Carlisle thought, but he didn't speak his thoughts, letting Alice speak instead.

'What concerns me is that for a so-called powerful child that is lusted after by many vampires, she seems so breakable.... She is so innocent.' Her voice died down with her last words. Her thoughts were extremely worried.

'She is just a child, but her gifts are showing.' Carlisle spoke seriously. 'Think about her ability to block both Edward and Eleazar and her strange ability to know things without anyone telling her. I think she is going to surprise us many times before we fully understand her. She may look like a normal child, but we cannot ignore she is more.'

What does it matter?

Edward's head jerked up in the direction of that thought. Esme's eyes were soft and tender.

'Does it really matter what she is or what she can do?' Everybody was staring at Esme. 'We are all strange in our own way and we all have our quirks. The only important thing is that Bella means something to us.' Her eyes grew big with emotion. 'We love her and isn't that the only thing that matters?'

The room was silent after Esme's speech, but it was not silent for Edward.

Absolutely! I so don't care what kind of freak our girl is! Emmett

We should not underestimate the child's importance. I am afraid we are not enough to protect her. Carlisle

If we fail to protect this child, the consequences could be disastrous and not only for our family. Jasper

We will have to be extremely careful. I have to watch out for Maria as well as Aro. Alice

Of course we love her, but I am worried about the dog that crossed Edward's path. What if he knows something? Rosalie.

They decided to be careful, but there wasn't much they could do besides living without attracting attention. They were already doing that to the fullest of their ability. Their meeting ended and after a lot of worrying Edward decided to watch Bella sleep. He did that every time he felt restless, it always calmed him. She was sleeping dreamlessly with a peaceful expression. He was happy that at least one person was free from worry and he was going to do everything in his power to keep it that way for as long as he could.

The next day Bella was at school. Esme and Rosalie were taking the women of the Denali's shopping, Eleazar was wandering somewhere on his own, Carlisle was at work and Jasper and Emmett were hunting. Alice and Edward were the only ones in the house. They wanted to pick Bella up from school. Alice liked picking up Bella even more than shopping and Edward just couldn't let Bella out of his sight longer than was completely necessary. They were in different rooms, Edward was playing the piano and Alice was working on a fashion project in her study. He wasn't focussed on her thoughts, until he heard her piercing scream.

'No!'

Edward was up before he knew it. Her scream could only mean one thing and it scared him so much he couldn't breathe.

Edward! Bella's future just went blank!

The fear and panic that followed overwhelmed him. For a moment he couldn't move. Alice was at his side and ripped him from his panic.

'We have to get to her school right now!' She screamed in his ear.

It was enough to shake him lose. They were on their way in record time.