It has been awhile *sheepish shrug*. A few more chapters and we'll reach the end. To those of you out there still reading this, thank you.

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"Edward, please get her out of the house for a while."

"Why?" I was charcoal sketching while Bella watched my fingers scrawl over the pad.

"I want to go over the documents and call Barcelona to discuss them, but I can't do that if she's here."

"Spanish?" I paused in the sketch and Bella reached over to touch the tip of her finger to the charcoal stick. It came away smudged in gray-black; she rubbed the powdery color between her fingers and grimaced at the stains. I smiled and offered her the corner of my dark t-shirt for her to wipe them off.

"Yeah." Alice smirked at me with a raised eyebrow and turned back to the computer and opened a new tab, shopping for shoes.

Well, shit. I glanced at Bella, who still stared in fascination as a picture appeared beneath the charcoal tip. I put some finishing touches on the sketch before I held it up with a flourish. It was nothing more than the landscaped yard outside, visible through any of the huge windows around the house. At the moment, low-hanging cobalt clouds smeared across the sky, threatening rain. Bella smiled radiantly, and reached out to touch the paper again.

Out of nowhere, something struck the back of the pad I held up and toppled it to the floor. Bella yelped and snatched her arm back. I looked down—black Prada pump.

"Now, get out!"

"Alice! What the fuck! You nearly got her!" I shouted angrily as I stood up from the couch.

"Of course not, you ass. I aimed perfectly. At you." She smiled evilly and gestured for me to hand her back the shoe. Oh, I'd hand it back to her alright. I picked it up and held it, hefting the weight.

"Well, if this is the kind of shit Jasper puts up with, my sympathies are with him," I said snidely while grabbing Bella's hand in mine and pulling her along.

"Hey, my shoe!" Alice called out from the study.

"Oh, yeah." I turned and hurled it straight at her head. High school baseball was not wasted on me. The shoe sailed incredibly fast before she reached up and caught it right before it smashed into her face.

"Fuck you," Alice said sweetly, before she turned back to her computer. To shop for more shoes.

--

"Puedo?" I held up a sparkly silver scarf. Bella bit her lip and nodded slightly, staying still while I looped the fabric around her head and fastened it in a loose knot. I led her to the passenger side and helped her climb in; the seatbelt clicked into place.

I slid into my seat and started the car. The engine revved and I caught Bella gripping the leather seats for dear life. I took her left hand in my right and rested them on the center console. I smoothed my thumb over her skin reassuringly. As I did so, the strangest jolt sparked at my fingertips. I tried to ignore the tingling sensation as I pulled into traffic.

I talked at Bella, knowing she couldn't really understand or respond. Mostly, I was trying to keep her calm, since I knew how much she fucking hated car rides. The place I had in mind was nearly 7 miles away; there was no choice but to drive.

I parked under a shady tree. The air was only just losing its sweltering death grip. The oppressive humidity hinted at possible rain. After I had fed Bella a quick lunch made up of sandwiches and cookies (about all I could make without seriously fucking up), I remembered this park filled with walnut trees and shady breezes—rarely afforded by the sparse Phoenix vegetation.

I tugged the scarf off Bella's eyes, watching her blink in the startling afternoon glare. I smiled at her as she gazed about her in wonder. It really wasn't often that we got her out of the house; it was kind of a hassle, with the blindfold and no immediately available translator without the laptop or Alice nearby.

I went around the car to the trunk. I pulled out an old patterned blanket and bundled it up before leading Bella under the biggest tree in the park. People were starting to come out, exercising in the hot air, walking dogs, relaxing, before the storm hit. The blanket spread beneath the sprawling branches, I gestured for her to sit next to me. Bella hesitated at first, probably askance at the idea of sitting on the ground. Finally, she lowered herself awkwardly, folding her legs and tucking the skirt around her. She sat prim and straight, like she was wearing one of those corset things. She looked around, taking in the sight of the bustling city slowing down to practically a crawl in this park.

This was why I had chosen this place. It was relatively normal, away from the roar and speed of modern Phoenix. I wanted to share part of my world with her, show her that not everything was chaos and noise.

I thought about what Alice might find in her research with the help of those Barcelona guys. I glanced at Bella from the corner of my eye. She was fascinated by some dude throwing a plastic disc to his dog, some russet-colored breed. After a few minutes of blatantly staring at him, the guy turned to meet Bella's eyes. He was really tall, with tanned skin and longish hair. I dismissed him briefly as I pondered about what sort of documents they could dig up on Isabella.

I was brought out of my reverie by Bella's hand suddenly and tightly squeezing my own. I looked up and saw the dude standing before us, his dog panting next to him. I hadn't heard him walk up, or his greeting to Bella. I felt slightly threatened by the man's sheer size, but refused to let it show on my face. I let my eyes travel up to his face.

"Yeah, can I help you?" I asked, hoping my voice sounded bored.

"No, thanks. I was talking to Bella here." He grinned stupidly and nodded at her. She looked helplessly lost, unable to understand anything he said except maybe her nickname. How did he know her name?

"Um, okay, I don't think she wants to talk to you, man. Why don't you go back to enjoying your afternoon?" I squeezed back on Bella's hand, trying to reassure her again. I really fucking hoped this wouldn't turn to physical violence. I was in no way equipped to deal with the hugely muscled guy and what was sure to be a hysterical response from the gentle girl beside me.

"I said, I'm talking to Bella, not you. So why don't you just back off?" He crouched so he was at Bella's eye level. As soon as he was closer to her, she started to drag herself until she backed into the tree trunk, her eyes betraying panic and an edge of fear. Oh, fuck no, he was not scaring her like that.

I stood up to my full 6"1', flexing my shoulders. I knew he could take me, probably bust my face pretty bad, but this was Bella we were talking about. Isabella.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your name," I growled softly, taking a step forward. I would try to draw him away from her, in case he took a swing at me.

"I didn't say. It's Jake." He stood up as well, sparing a glance for Bella. Guy was nine inches taller than me, probably. He was waiting for some flash of recognition, but receiving none. She looked utterly clueless. She did not remember him at all.

Jake, Jake… Jacob? Shit, where had I heard his name before? And then it hit me. The fucking diary. I felt something akin to a gut-wrenching blow to my stomach, but Jacob's hands were nowhere near me. It was realization—one of Bella's one-night stands.

"Well, Jake—" my voice was decidedly shaky, "—I don't think she really remembers you. Maybe you have the wrong girl. In fact… do you speak Spanish at all? 'Cause she doesn't speak English." I turned to look at Bella, cowering on the ground. "Isabella? Um… conocer a este hom-hombre?"

Now the guy looked really confused. He alternated glares between me and the girl and looked in amazement at Bella when she answered.

"No sé quién es. Por qué me habla? Qué quiere de mí?" Her tone was both supplicant and scared, with just a hint of indignation. Perfect. Grab on to that.

I didn't really understand what she said, but it seemed to have an effect on Jacob. He shook his head as though clearing it. "What the hell? Bella, it's me, Jake. Don't you remember? From the Starbucks?" His voice trailed off. "You sure as hell spoke English then."

"Yeah, like I said, she doesn't now, so I'm gonna say this one more time. Please leave." I gritted my teeth in frustration. I didn't want to know about guys at the Starbucks. Random guys, one-night stands… fuck.

"Maybe she can remember her English and ask me herself," Jacob said. "Bella? You don't want me to leave, do you? Come on, cut the crap. You know me, and you totally speak English. You practically screamed English that night—"

The next words out of his jaw were drowned out by two things. The first was my fist against his rock-hard mouth, and the second was a crack of thunder and the ensuing rainstorm. The drops pattered, quick and surprising. That was desert rain for you. I could barely register the squeals and the rush of people searching for cover before I reached down, grabbing Bella's hand in mine and hauling ass out of there. I winced as her skin rubbed against my raw knuckles. I think I split them open.

"La cobija!" I turned to her and saw her gesturing to the blanket, now a soaked mess on the ground. Jacob was only beginning to pick himself up, while his annoying dog barked and yipped in the rain. He was massaging his jaw, but appeared relatively unharmed.

"Forget it. No." I hit the button on the keychain and the car chirped open. I yanked on the door, stuffing Bella inside before Jacob could come after us. The rain was really pelting down, and as I peeled out of there, only then did I think to look at Bella. Her eyes were shining, her hair sparkling with droplets of water. Her clothes, like mine, were sopping wet… and kind of see-through. Fuck me. Damn you, Alice.

I steered my eyes clear of her top and instead focused on her face. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "What?" I tried not to smile in return. "Qué?"

"No puedo creerlo… lo golpeaste?" She was full-on grinning now. "Um… you… hit." Bella smacked her fist against her own hand to make sure I understood. God, she was trying to speak English. I swear my heart fucking fluttered. My own hands twitched on the wheel and I noticed that I had in fact split the skin on my knuckles. Whatever. It had been worth it.

"Guess I did hit him," I laughed, feeling light and free for the first time in a long time. I took her hand in mine, squeezing it over and over. She settled back in the seat, not panicking even though the blindfold was off.

--

"What the hell did you do?" Alice hissed as she pushed Bella upstairs ahead of her.

"Nothing, we got caught in the rain." I grinned widely and followed them to Bella's room. Alice paused and turned at the door, making me knock into her.

"What are you doing?" Alice tapped her fingernails against the frame, glancing back at Bella, who was standing in the middle of the room, dripping onto the carpet.

"Huh?" I peered around Alice's head for a clear view of her.

"What do you think you're doing? I'm going to draw her a bath—she's soaking wet. You, get the hell out!" She shoved me with her little hip and slammed the door in my face. I didn't even care. I still wore a stupid smile.

"You might want to look at what Barcelona sent us," Alice called through the closed door. "I did some research of my own!"

Okay… I went into my own room and peeled the wet jeans from my legs. Ugh. The t-shirt was plastered to my back and both made squishy noises as I dropped them on the bathroom floor. I considered showering, decided it didn't matter, and simply unearthed dry clothes from my temporary dresser. I slapped a band-aid on my bleeding knuckles and went down to the study.

I spun the swivel chair and stared at the mess Alice had left on the desk. Papers and legal pads and printouts everywhere. Damn. I sifted through the sheets until I found the keyboard beneath them. I checked out the files Alice and I had worked on previously, and was surprised at what she had managed to find since then.

The people at the university had sent her several documents. I peered at the grainy scans and managed to make out a few Spanish words. One appeared to be some sort of family tree, and I immediately saw Bella's name. Well, Isabella Cisneros. Her parents' names had been Carlos and Renata or something (there was a smudge on that one), and it could be traced back to 13th century Spanish families. She hadn't been kidding when she said she was practically royalty. A few branches from her family tree stemmed off with dotted lines to names with what appeared to be royal seals. Felipe V de Borbón. I Googled his name and sure enough—he held the throne at the time of Isabella's birth. Holy shit.

Alice had researched a lot about the time period, and specific events from 1697. Among other things, there was a document with the elusive Eduardo Caellén's name. It was a coat of arms, or crest. I read through Alice's notes on him, and found he was a couple of years older than Isabella, and belonged to an equally important family. She hadn't been kidding about the dynasty part of her union with this guy.

"I tried to look up more info on him," Alice said from behind me, making me jump.

"Shit! Don't do that!" I placed my hand over my racing heart. "Where is she?"

"I found her an old copy of Don Quixote in Carlisle's library. She's fine. What's this she says about you punching some guy at the park?"

"Oh, that." I shrugged, and explained about our encounter with Jacob. "Seriously, the asshole was freaking her out. Thought he knew her. I kind of lost it when he said some… less than polite stuff about her."

"Bella thinks it was hilarious, for some reason." Alice rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I was saying—there's very little about Eduardo. I can't be sure why, but Carmen and Eleazar are now working on researching documents about him."

"Did you Google Eduardo?"

"Of course. Here." She pushed me aside and pulled up some webpages. More family trees, as far as I could tell.

"She's always going on about how she is waiting for this dude. We've never come upon information that he actually made it to the Americas and married her, right?" My sister didn't answer.

"Had you noticed…" Alice hesitated. "That Caellén sounds an awful lot like Cullen?"

"Not really, no. What are you getting at?" I toyed with a pen.

"His last name… it turns Irish later on. See?" She pointed at some lines on the genealogy. "These mean siblings, these mean death, and these are for marriage." Alice traced over some names and relationships and then, bam. She was right. Some Spanish guy married an Irish woman and moved to Ireland. Just like that, the name got anglicized.

"No fucking way." I shook my head. "Like Cisneros turned into Swan? That's just a little too convenient. Isabella's boyfriend turns out to have my last name?"

"Consider that this happened several generations later. Look at the dates." Alice mapped them out and again, she was right.

"Again… what are you getting at?" I sputtered.

"I think you should talk to Jasper," Alice said softly, glancing at the roof. Somewhere above our heads sat an oblivious 400-year-old Spanish princess, waiting to return home—waiting for her long lost love.

"I think you should regress."

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Ah, of course you saw this coming. I think this is the longest chapter I've written. Jake somehow got himself written in here. I did not see that until he was there on the page. Review me! And then please go read Awake in the Infinite Cold byquothmeright now. It is beautifully written and makes my heart ache.