AN: Thanks for all the reviews! I see Alice is still a fan favorite, lol. She'll be back eventually, but this one is more about Emmett and Rosalie. :)

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Chapter 57:

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By the time Bella and I were done "freshening up" we could hear the others slowly trickle from their rooms as well. Bella and I eventually emerged as well, each of us clad in nice summer dress we'd found. Mine was a little tight across the bust but I rather liked it. Tanya and Irena had gone somewhere to converse with Carlisle, and Kate and Alice had paired off somewhere as well. The woman named Esme had taken temporary custody of the two humans, Leah and Claire, and it was in the kitchen where we found them.

The kitchen was downstairs, a stainless steel paradise of pristine marble counter tops and luxurious lightwood cabinets. Everything polished and sparkling. Cookware hanging over the counter like wind chimes, pots and pans and spoons and ladles. You could see the beach through the windows over the sink and seagulls were calling in the distance.

A small latina maid was standing by demurely, young and pretty with long black hair and big black eyes, and I noted her with some surprise. The house was staffed, I suppose. The maid noticed Bella and I and she did a small doubletake at Bella. I smiled and wondered if anyone would notice if one of the servants went missing but on an island like this they probably even had their own quarters.

Esme was explaining how they didn't have a cook but the girls were free to fix something to eat anytime they wanted. Carmen was there too and she said it would be a pleasure to cook for her girls in such a magnificent kitchen—if Esme didn't mind, of course. Esme glowed at the compliment to her kitchen and said that would be fine. She also confessed that it had been a very long time since she had used a kitchen and she would be more than happy to help. Carmen accepted the offer with a smile and I had to smile as well at the similarities between the two women. Esme seemed to be the den mother of her coven the same way Carmen was of ours.

Leah was looking around in satisfaction, opening a cupboard or two. Claire was standing there in sandals and a new dress, cream colored, and yet she looked utterly naked without her mistress. She nodded a thank you as well, very quietly with a small smile. Esme had opened a small walk-in pantry to reveal shelves of breads and cereals and now she closed it again and gave everyone a smile.

"There should be more than plenty," she said. "I made sure Yelena stocked up on everything."

Yelena was the small latina maid and she gave a small curtsy as everyone looked at her. A pretty girl, perhaps hardly even twenty one years old. She wore a pale gray uniform with a pinny and white petticoats and on her feet were small black shoes.

Bella was smiling at her and I could tell she'd had the same thought I had. Hopefully the thought would perish just as quickly as mine. The maid noticed Bella's smile and she gave Bella a tiny little glare that she tried to hide. For some reason it struck me as peculiar. She almost seemed to recognize Bella somehow.

Bella turned to Esme and made her voice extra soft and sweet.

"Hey, Esme," she said. "I saw Emmett and Rosalie playing tennis out there. Is it okay if I go say hello?"

Esme still hadn't seemed to recover from the shock of Bella even being here but she managed a nod. "Of course, sweetie. And, um…"

Bella had started away but now she turned back.

Esme came forward and hugged her.

Bella seemed somewhat surprised, considering the woman's earlier coldness, and I was a little surprised as well. The woman herself was frowning a little bit, as if she was ignoring some inner warning against doing this, but she gave Bella a squeeze and released her with a smile.

"It really is so nice to see you again," she said. "Sorry if I was taken aback earlier. I just don't know what's going to happen when Edward sees you. Especially like this," she added with a glance at me.

Well. It was impossible to know if she objected to me as a person, me as a woman, or me as a vampire, but it was a bit unfair regardless.

Bella had to refrain from a retort. You could visibly see her bite her lip through a tense smile. Me, however, I wasn't too upset. I could've taken offence, I suppose, but as a playful sociopath it was more natural to laugh on the inside and pretend sympathy on the outside.

I gave the woman my best look of concern and nodded at her feelings.

"I understand how you must feel," I told her. "But rest assured, we haven't come to cause trouble. Quite the contrary; we're here to help. Ever since Bella found out about Edward she's been worried sick about him and she insisted on coming here and speaking with him face to face."

Bella looked at me with a spark of surprise in her sexy red eyes and then she instantly dropped the smirk and turned back to Esme in concern.

"Yeah," she added. "I know he thinks he broke my heart, but he needs to know that I'm okay now. That I've moved on. Then maybe he can move on as well, you know?"

Leah had been listening to all this and she laughed silently behind Esme's back. She knew it was complete bullshit. Claire wore a tiny smirk as well and even Carmen rolled her eyes subtly.

Esme listened to all that and then nodded sadly. Perhaps in her heart she had hoped that Bella and Edward would get back together but realistically this was the most that could happen.

"I'm not sure if he even can move on," she said. "He still loves you so terribly, Bella."

Bella nodded with sympathy and I was going to as well when I noticed something peculiar—the maid, Yelena.

She had been standing by this whole time, waiting to get on with her housework, and something about Esme's last words seemed to break her heart. Her face crumpled and she looked away quickly. She even dabbed a knuckle at her eyes. She fought it all back with impressive swiftness but it was interesting. Perhaps the pretty maid had developed something of a crush on the heartbroken son of the billionaire who owned the private island she worked on.

"I know he does," Bella was saying to Esme. Then she turned to me and took my hand, making it clear where her own feelings lie. She gazed at me fondly, to make the point even clearer, and then she turned back to Esme. "I just hope we can still be friends."

Esme nodded at that disappointedly, as if even now she had been hoping Bella would dump me on the spot, renounce her orientation, and go running back into Edward's arms. But luckily she wasn't quite that ridiculous.

"Yes, I hope so too," she said.

Bella smiled at her and I smiled as well in approval of Bella's respectfulness. She was handling herself quite maturely. She had taken the lead from me, of course, but I was impressed nonetheless.

Leah had opened the huge steel door of the refrigerator and now she grinned into it.

"Beer," she said. "I like it."

Bella laughed, still holding my hand, and began to tug me away. "We're gonna go say hi to Emmett. I wonder if he even remembers me?"

I laughed as well and went with her out through a sliding glassdoor.

We emerged into a courtyard where several small fountains trickled in the sunny tropical quiet. Each fountain featured a group of stone infants, all of them male, all of them pudgy and naked. I preferred maidens and topless mermaids but I suppose we all had different tastes. Bella and I going down a small set of steps, the bricks red and baked and leaking heat through the soles of our shoes. The sun had only just began its decline. The day was at its hottest but it was no more discomforting than the snow in Seattle. Bella even seemed to like the sun, smiling up at the sky as we continued hand and hand toward the tennis courts. She was explaining how Emmett and Rosalie were mates and they had gotten married a bunch of times and I wondered to myself if maybe Bella and I should have a proper ceremony as well at least one time.

The couple were still where I had seen them from the upperwindows, a blonde woman and a large man with cropped dark hair. They were each clad in white tennis gear, a pleated miniskirt and tanktop for the woman and a t-shirt and shorts for the man. Both of them were quite very attractive. The woman's blonde hair was long and flaxen and it flicked and swished as she swung her racket. The man was grinning and concentrating on the game and I seemed to remember him as well from Forks. Very bulky and muscular, over six feet tall, shoulder muscles as large as my breasts. He wacked the ball over the net and then he happened to glance over at the two approaching spectators, me and my mate. It was Bella his eyes tripped over. He was poised with his racket but his concentration was lost. He stared at Bella in shock and Bella smiled and lifted a hand to wave. The tennis ball thumped off his head.

It did no damage but the ball bounced off and began rolling toward Bella. Now the blonde woman was looking over as well. Bella bent and picked up the ball and by now the man was outright grinning as he came over.

"Bella?" he asked her. "Is that you?"

Bella smiled and chuckled once. "Hey, Emmett."

The man named Emmett laughed and looked at the woman to see what she thought. Rosalie, I suppose. She was coming over as well but she wasn't smiling like her mate. She was glaring quite angrily and directly at Bella.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded coldly.

The man cringed, the way husband's do sometimes when their wife acts like a bitch to someone they like, mostly in embarrassment. Bella looked at her coolly, up and down, appraising her. The sun was in her blonde hair and she had the facial features and body of a goddess but Bella didn't seem all that impressed or intimidated.

"Nice to see you too, Rosalie," she said.

The aloofness of the greeting made those blonde brows glare even deeper. I smiled to myself and gave the blonde my own glance of appraisal. She was indeed quite sexy. Tall, long legs, trim waist. Large breasts. She had her hands on her hips and she stood there in all her miniskirted fury like a goddess who's tennis game had been interrupted.

Emmett was grinning again with the racket in his hands and he was staring at Bella in wonder.

"Holy fuck," he said. "I can't believe it. Last time I saw you was your birthday. When you had that papercut, and um…"

He trailed off. Bella smiled.

"…when Jasper almost killed me?"

He laughed and nodded. "Yeah," he said. "We got you a radio for your truck, remember? Man, it's been so long. I hated leaving you like that. We were just starting to be friends. I missed you a lot when you were gone. You were so funny with how you kept tripping up all over the place and eating actual food and stuff."

Bella smiled and looked down shyly. I smiled as well, happy for her. The man named Emmett was large and imposing but he had a very friendly manner and animated way of speaking, peppered with chuckles and lots of dimpled smiles.

The woman seemed to be the opposite. She even glared at her husband for being nice. Her husband ignored it however and continued speaking to Bella.

"But wow, what the fuck?" he went on. "How'd you get here? Did you come with Tanya?"

Yeah, we did," Bella said, and then she took a deep breath and smiled. "A lot's happened since back then."

"No shit, look at you," he exclaimed. "You're hot as fuck."

Now the wife outright rolled her eyes and snorted in disgust. Emmett was leaning to the side as if to get a glimpse of Bella's ass and Bella giggled and almost gave a coy swish of her blue summer dress.

"Thanks," she said.

Emmett was still grinning hugely. He had noticed me as well but if my red hair and red eyes gave him any alarm he didn't show it. He was still completely absorbed with Bella, looking her up and down, grinning.

"Wow," he said again. "Vampire, huh? I guess your eyes are red because you're a newborn."

The statement was something of a question. Bella smirked at it and gave a noncommittal little shrug.

"Something like that," she said.

Emmett grinned and finally turned to me.

"And who's your friend?" he asked, looking me over and offering a hand. "Hi, I'm Emmett. Nice to meet you."

I took his hand. It was huge and it completely engulfed mine. He shook it vigorously, perhaps to make my cleavage jiggle in the tight bust of my polka dot dress, and I gave him a smile for being so friendly.

"Victoria," I said, introducing myself.

"Victoria," he repeated, smirking, still looking me over with blatant admiration. "Wow. Sexy name for a sexy woman, huh?"

I raised a brow and glanced at Bella. She didn't seem to know how to deal with such candid flirtiness either. The wife was steaming by now, her lips compressed to a line, and I turned back to the charming oaf and gave him an awkward smile.

"Thank you," I said politely. "Emmett is very…sexy as well."

It was a very lame bit of reciprocation but in fairness I was quite out of practice with men. He chuckled, though, as if I was cute, and I chuckled as well.

"I take it you don't remember me, do you?" I asked him.

His eyebrows rose inquiringly but the woman glared at me.

"I do," she said coldly.

I smiled at her and gave her another flicker of my eyes. The man glanced at his wife in surprise and then back at me.

"We know you?" he asked.

The woman rolled her eyes away from me and fixed them on her husband. "She's the woman who was with that man who tried to kill Bella. James's mate. Remember, during the thunder storm?"

The man lit up with a grin as if it was just a charming coincidence.

"Oh shit," he said to me. "That was you?"

I chuckled at his attitude, liking it very much, and nodded a couple times. "Yes," I said. "The loss of my mate was a terrible blow, but happily, fate saw fit to give me another one."

I glanced at Bella and Bella smiled and took my hand.

The man was grinning but as our hands clasped and our fingers entwined the grin slowly faded. So far nothing had seemed to actually shock him. Not our surprise visit, not the fact that she was a vampire, and not even the fact that an old enemy like me was here as well. Yet a little lesbian contact and the reveal that we were mates had dropped his jaw open.

I had to smile.

He stared at us and gulped.

"Oh," he said.

Then he started grinning again.

Rosalie ignored him and focused her ire on Bella. "How could Carlisle not tell us about this? And what's Edward going to say when he sees you? Did you even think about that?"

Bella opened her mouth, for some sarcastic retort perhaps, but then something changed her mind and she spoke much softer than she might've originally intended. "Rosalie, I know this is a shock," she said. "But we came here specifically to see Edward. Tanya told us he hasn't been doing well and she thought maybe seeing me would help him move on."

Rosalie was not placated. "Or maybe it'll push him over the edge."

Bella shook her head and for a moment she seemed almost genuinely concerned. "I won't let that happen, Rosalie," she said. "Edward left me but I still love him as much as any of you do. I've been worried sick ever since I found out about him."

I only just refrained from laughing. She mimicked the very words I had used inside and she was giving such an effective performance that even Emmett sobered a little and nodded thoughtfully. Rosalie had her arms crossed tightly in her tenniswear and Bella offered her a tentative smile.

"I only want him to move on and be as happy as I am," she said.

The tone of her voice was perfect but the words themselves made the other woman glare even more.

"Happy as you are with that monster?" she snapped.

I raised my brows innocently and looked about the tennis court as if there were some monster around that I wasn't aware of. Emmett gave his wife a little frown and I was slightly touched that he appeared to be on our side. Clearly the man thought I was too beautiful to be a monster.

Bella was still holding my hand and now she allowed her own eyes to harden.

"Vicky is not a monster," she said to Rosalie. "She's the kindest, gentlest, most loving person I've ever met. And she was there for me when Edward wasn't."

This was perfectly logical and plausible but of course the other woman was blonde. Her lips were pursed so tight it even made her a little less attractive. Her sharp yellow eyes were glaring into Bella's but Bella did not look away.

Emmett glanced between them both, wary of a knife fight breaking out perhaps, and finally cleared his throat to break the silence. He didn't seem like the brightest of men and the only thing he apparently cared about at the moment was that Bella and I were two beautiful women in a sexual relationship with each other.

"Well," he said. "I'm happy for you, Bella."

Bella smiled and he gave her a warm smile in return. Rosalie spun and stared at him in shock, as if she simply couldn't believe he had dared to defy her. Emmett smirked and gave a shrug.

"What?" he said innocently. "I am."

Rosalie continued staring at him for a moment and then she spun and pushed between Bella and I and stalked off the court.

Our hand clasp had been broken and we chuckled to ourselves as we watched her go. She marched with an angry swing in her hips that swished her white miniskirt and she was halfway across the courtyard when she realized she was still carrying her tennis racket. She looked at it and threw it away angrily, as if all this were the racket's fault, and kept marching.

Emmett cleared his throat embarrassedly and scratched his head. Bella and I smiled and shuffled our feet. The afternoon sun was beginning its decline but it was still very bright and hot. A door slammed loudly in the distance. Emmett jumped at the sound and chuckled, glancing to see if his wife was really gone, and then he turned back to us with a sheepish grin.

"So, um," he said. "Would it be inappropriate to ask you guys to make out?"

Bella and I sighed. His grin went lopsided.

"Just a little?" he begged. "Just quickly? Come on, please?"

Bella rolled her eyes and smiled and then she surprised me by turning to me and cupping my face and lifting on her toes to press her lips to mine. Usually she absolutely despised men and male attention but for some reason she seemed to like this one. She even slipped me a little tongue.

By the time she rocked back on her heels the guy was grinning like a little boy on christmas. He even giggled.

"Awesome," he said. "That's so hot."

Bella rolled her eyes again, a grudging smile on her freshly kissed lips, and together we started back toward the villa. Already we could hear the blonde woman yelling at someone inside and we really ought to be present for any theatrics we'd triggered.

Emmett was coming along behind us, carrying his racket, and he was still grinning.

"Oh hey," he said. "I heard Kate has a girlfriend now too. Leah or something. Is she as hot as you guys?"

"Leah's sexy as fuck," Bella said.

"And both bisexual," I added. "They tend to be quite open in their relationship, so you might want to keep that in mind."

I gave him a wink. I wasn't into men myself anymore but I didn't mind helping a guy out. He grinned widely and excitedly but he also chuckled and shook his head.

"I would, but Rosalie would kill me if I even thought about it," he said.

Bella laughed and started up the small bricklaid steps at the rear of the villa. The steps led onto a large veranda with a gardentable and thick white columns. More screaming could be heard inside and Emmett cringed at it.

"Esme has Carlisle on a pretty tight leash too," he was saying. "Only Alice and Jasper have any fun when the Denali girls come visit. "

"Bella and I liked to have a little fun too," I told him in a teasing tone.

He went excited. "You do?"

"But only with other women," Bella added in an equally teasing voice.

He went crestfallen and we giggled and continued into the villa.

Both covens seemed to have assembled in the broad marble foyer, as if the blonde wanted to be sure her voice would echo as much as possible. Most of her outrage seemed to be aimed at Carlisle, not just for not telling them but for even allowing it in the first place. Carlisle spoke reasonably and calmly, explaining that the Denali coven were their friends and that Bella and I were now part of the Denali coven. Esme was standing by, anxious in her housedress, not quite on her daughter's side but not quite on her husband's side either. They were standing under the cluster of crystal chandeliers that hung from the ceiling like actors on a stage and the blonde woman kept scoffing and ignoring logic and raising her voice.

Emmett meanwhile was smiling and lifting a hand in greeting to the Denali's gathered there, all but ignoring his raging wife. Irena and Claire were watching from the balcony above and Irena gave him a nod and Claire a little wave just to be polite. Tanya was at Carlisle's side, doing her best to help him calm the furious blonde, and Kate and Leah were just smiling and trying not to giggle. They were sitting on the stairs like a couple of highschool girls, watching the drama and watching Emmett. Emmett gave Kate a grin and Kate grinned back and Leah tossed her chin while letting her eyes roam with a smirk over Emmett's broad and muscular pecs in that tight white shirt. Leah was wearing jeans and a croptop and she lounged back with her elbows on the steps a little in order to give a view of her lean coppercolored abs. Emmett liked what he saw and so did Leah and together Leah and Kate started whispering to each other with their lips clearly moving to shape the words so fucking hot.

The girl named Alice had come downstairs as well and she was clinging to the arm of a tall man with blonde hair who must've been her mate. Jasper, if I recalled correctly. Alice gave us a cheeky smirk, recalling our little threeway affair upstairs, and sidled closer to her husband.

Bella soon was dragged into the argument in order to defend herself from accusations that were spouting from Rosalie's mouth. She did a great job at remaining calm and pretending to actually care about these people. She wore a wounded look and spoke as if it made her sad to cause such a fuss. She claimed she was only here to help. Esme seemed to believe her and she even took Bella's side against Rosalie. The Denali's, however, knew she was full of shit and they giggled and hid smirks behind their hands so that no one would see. Rosalie had very few allies but that didn't seem to deter her belief that Bella wasn't part of their lives anymore and had no business being here. She also called into attention the red eyes of Tanya and her coven and claimed they oughtn't be welcome here either.

At that Carlisle finally became cold. He had been calm to this point but the slight to his respected friend Tanya seemed to have crossed a line and now his blonde brows drew into a frown that was actually quite devastating on his beautiful face.

"Rosalie," he said, his voice echoing firmly in that marble cavern. "You know we don't judge people in this household."

Rosalie snorted in disgust. "I'm not judging, Carlisle. I'm saying they're murderers."

"It's not our place to judge their feeding habits and frankly none of our business either."

"Oh, so we're supposed to just let a bunch of murderers into our home and not bat an eyelid?"

Esme was getting worried about offending their friends. "Rosalie, please."

Rosalie ignored her and thrust a pointing finger at Bella. "And what about her? I thought we left Forks to get away from her? Now we're supposed to be happy she's back?"

Carlisle exhaled through his nose. Esme was knitting her hands anxiously and whispering to Carmen and Tanya about how sorry she was about all this.

Me, I was just trying not to smile. I found it all vastly entertaining. I didn't know why the blonde woman was making such a big deal about this. None of the others seemed to be particularly fazed.

Rosalie glared at everyone, still pointing at Bella. "It's her fault we had to leave Forks to begin with," she said. "Her and that red haired bitch and her mate. A whole carefully crafted life and home abandoned because of some human girl and some human feeding vampires. Do we really want to let all that happen again?"

Carlisle pinched the bridge of his nose. I could understand his exasperation. The blonde woman's claims were so ludicrous and lop sided that even I didn't know where to begin to refute them.

Luckily the small pixie girl did. Alice. She wore a look of sadness on her pretty face and she let her mate's arm slip from hers as she came forward to speak to Rosalie.

"That's not fair, Rosalie," she said. "Bella isn't even human anymore. Besides, the encounter with James and Victoria was only part of the reason we left Forks. It wasn't all of it. You know Edward was far more concerned about the danger from us than from anyone else."

Now her mate, the tall blonde man, came forward. His hair was in a ponytail and he wore a white stetson hat on his head like a cowboy on vacation. He had a Texan jawline on his handsome face and his voice likewise had a slight Texan drawl.

"I was the one responsible for us leaving Forks," he said. Then he removed his hat and turned a pair of regretful amber eyes on Bella. "I almost killed you, Bella, and I never got the chance to apologize."

Bella smiled at him and shook her head. "You don't have to," she said. "But as long as we're pointing fingers, why not point one at Edward? No one forced him to leave. It was his own decision. It was also the wrong decision. I managed to move on and get over it and now he has to as well. In the end, it's as simple as that."

Rosalie folded her arms and glared at Bella hatefully.

Carlisle smiled and gave Bella a nod.

"Well spoken, Bella," he said.

Rosalie scoffed and flung an arm angrily. "Fine," she said. "I'm done trying to argue. You've all obviously made up your minds. But I hope you know it's going to kill him to see her with that woman. Literally kill him. The only thing that's kept him going is the belief that maybe he'll have her back one day."

Tanya till now had been very diplomatic but at this even she lost her cool.

"Edward needs to take responsibility for his own emotional state," she said. "Bella's only responsibility here to give him the opportunity. Beyond that the rest is up to him."

The foyer fell silent. An orange light was beginning to glow in the windows as the late tropical sun started to set into the ocean outside. Tanya had always had strong feelings for Edward, strong enough to convince us to come here in the first place, but it was clear that her feelings for Bella and I had now indeed become much stronger.

Rosalie had recrossed her arms and she swept a glare across both covens, seeking anyone who might share her point of view. But at this point her anger and self-righteousness had alienated even Esme. Rosalie snorted in disgust and even now she didn't shut up.

"I think they should leave," she said. "Edward needs time. He doesn't need some silly ex-girlfriend to come back into his life and… and…"

She flapped a hand, speech failing her. Bella sighed and glanced at me. I smirked at her and then I wiped the smirk away and turned a glare to the blonde woman.

"Bella didn't come here to be treated like an intruder," I said firmly, as if I too had lost patience. "She came here to help an old friend and make your coven whole. If that's not good enough for you, fine. That's your problem. But I'm not going to stand here any longer while you disrespect my mate and my dear friends. Therefore I'm going to have to insist that you shut your stupid mouth."

Stunned silence in the foyer. Tanya smirked to herself and Carmen was so proud of my coven pride that she looked like she wanted to fistpump. Irena, up on the balcony, hadn't been much interested in the proceedings down but now she smiled and chuckled to herself silently. Claire at her side smiled as well. Esme was shocked at my gall and Alice was trying not to grin and Emmett, the blonde woman's husband, was looking at me as if I were his new hero for standing up to his wife.

Rosalie was positively seething. Her hands clenched into fists at her side and she glared at me so powerfully that I absolutely had to rape this bitch at least once before we left the island. Shame her, humiliate her, debase her like a slut and—

Carlisle frowned and stepped forward.

"Tanya and her coven are welcome on this island as long as they wish," he pronounced. "That includes Bella and Victoria. You, however, Rosalie, may leave the room right now."

Rosalie spun to him with shocked eyes. She looked at the others. She looked at her husband. No one said a word for her. Then she spun once more and stormed from the room.

Emmett heaved a sigh and favoured Bella and I with an apologetic grin before trooping out after his wife.

Esme watched her daughter go sadly but then she came over to Bella and took Bella's hands and gave them a squeeze. "Thank you for thinking of Edward, Bella," she said. "Please bring him back to us. He's been lost for so long."

Bella nodded understandingly. Only someone who knew her as well as I did would've noticed the devilish glint in her red eyes.

"Where can I find him?" she asked.

Alice giggled once. "He's probably at Edward's Bluff."

"What's that?"

"It's where he usually spends his evenings, watching the sunset from the west facing cliffs. We call it Edward's Bluff. Because he's there so often. Just head outside and follow the road that leads to the sunset. It's not far. He should be there."

Bella nodded and gave Esme another smile and let go of her hands. Carlisle put an arm around Esme's shoulders and spoke to Bella.

"Would you like anyone to come with you?" he asked.

Bella shook her head, supressing a smirk, and took my hand.

"Just Victoria," she said.

Esme frowned slightly at that, as if she thought it was a bad idea, but she did seem to trust Bella. One couldn't fault her, really. Bella had become a marvellous little actress. Almost as good as myself.

"We'll be back soon," Bella assured them.

They all nodded, gathered there under the chandelier in the last of the sunset, and Bella and I turned and went out.

Outside there was a stark orange glare over the western jungle, the tips of taller palm trees in an illusion of incineration against the reddish blaze across the sky. Bella and I skipped down the steps of the courtyard, hand in hand, and went down the lane, giggling and light as feathers. Bella had finally allowed her expression to slip into a grin and she kept looking backward at the villa as if she had something naughty in mind and better make sure no one followed.

I noticed the glint in her eyes and smiled as we started down a dirt path that led into the jungle.

"Do you really intend to soothe his wounded spirit and return him to the safety of his coven?" I asked her.

She looked at me and laughed.

"Fuck no," she said. "I'm gonna rip his heart out."

I chuckled to myself and shook my head and hoped she meant metaphorically.

—

AN: This one was a bit shorter than I thought, but I felt the next part ought to be separated a little. It's gonna be awesome, trust me. ;)

More male characters in this one, but Jasper was very minor and Emmett was actually kind of fun to write. I like the harmless oaf archetype. It's characters like Edward and Carlisle, the ones who are supposed to reek of male superiority, that piss me off, lol. But at least Carlisle's a nice guy and he's clearly on Bella and Vicky's side.

No sex in this chapter, which is another drawback of male characters, lol. If Emmett was girl, he would've definitely gotten some, but as a guy he was out of luck. ;)

Okay, hope you liked it. New chapter soon. :)