I sat in the back seat and watched Bella, she had fallen asleep about an hour into the journey, I was beyond terrified, for her, my dad, the Cullens, Emmett. I wished I could just go back to that perfect moment of just the two of us standing in the entry way, surrounded by the candles and petals, where the world was simple, but this was far from it.

"Ana?" a voice pulled me from my thoughts, I turned and saw Alice looking at me from the passenger seat,

"you should get some sleep, it will be a while" she said softly, I nodded a little, I rested my head against the chair and closed my eyes, but sleep evaded me once again, every time I closed my eyes the images that flashed all too vividly, were unbearable. Charlie's broken expression, Bella terrified, Edward's brutal snarl, teeth bared, Rosalie's resentful glare towards Bella and myself, the keen-eyed scrutiny of the tracker towards Bella, Emmett's words when he left. I couldn't stand to see them. So I fought against my weariness and watched as the sun rose higher as we passed through town after town.

Phoenix, the palm trees, the scrubby creosote, the haphazard lines of the intersecting freeways, the green swaths of golf courses and turquoise splotches of swimming pools, all submerged in a thin smog and embraced by the short, rocky ridges that weren't really big enough to be called mountains.
The shadows of the palm trees slanted across the freeway — defined, sharper than I remembered, paler than they should be. Nothing could hide in these shadows. The bright, open freeway seemed benign enough. But I felt no relief, no sense of homecoming.
"Which way to the airport, Liliana?" Jasper had asked, I jumped almost, although his voice was quite soft and un-alarming, It was the first sound, besides the purr of the car, to break the long night's silence.
"Stay on the I-ten, We'll pass right by it" I'd answered automatically
My brain had worked slowly through the fog of sleep deprivation, until something dawned on me,

"Are we flying somewhere?" I asked Alice, quietly not wanting to wake Bella,
"No, but it's better to be close, just in case, we will find a hotel and stay there" Alice said with a small smile, I nodded, I leaned my head back again, wishing I was just able to sleep and suddenly a feeling came over me,

"Jas, not fair" I mumbled as sleep took over my body.
I stirred and glanced around to find myself laid on a bed, I slowly sat up and guessed we had found a hotel, I looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. The red numbers claimed it was three o'clock, but they gave no indication if it was night or day. No edge of light escaped the thick curtains, but the room was bright with the light from the lamps. I rose stiffly and walked to the window, pulling back the drapes.
It was dark outside. Three in the morning, then. My room looked out on a deserted section of the freeway and the new long-term parking garage for the airport. It was slightly comforting to be able to pinpoint time and place.

I stared into the dark night and wondered where Emmett was, whether my dad was safe when a light tap on the door made me jump.
"Can I come in?" Alice's voice said from the other side of the door,

"come in Alice" I said quietly, She walked in, and looked me over cautiously. "You look like you could sleep longer," Alice's concerned voice said, I just shook my head, knowing sleep was almost impossible, Alice drifted silently to the curtains and closed them securely before turning back to me.
"We'll need to stay inside" she told me with a sad smile
"Okay, where's Bella?" My voice was hoarse; it cracked from the lack of fluids,
"she's in the living area, Thirsty?" she asked, I shrugged,

"I'll be okay. How about you?" I said, only just having the thought about her and Jasper being in close proximity to me Bella for so long,
"Nothing unmanageable, I ordered some food for you and Bella, it's in the front room. Emmett reminded me that you have to eat a lot more frequently than we do" Alice said softly, I was instantly more alert,

"Em called?" I asked with a sort of urgency,
"No, It was before we left" Alice said giving me a sympathetic smile, I nodded.
Alice took my hand carefully and led me through the door into the living room of the hotel suite. I could hear a low buzz of voices coming from the TV. Jasper sat motionlessly at the desk in the corner, his eyes watching the news with no glimmer of interest. Bella was sat on the sofa silently eating some food, I sat on the floor next to the coffee table, just at the side on the sofa where a tray of food waited, and began picking at it without noticing what I was eating.
Alice perched on the arm of the sofa and stared blankly at the TV like Jasper.
I ate slowly, watching Alice, turning now and then to glance quickly at Jasper. It began to dawn on me that they were too still. They never looked away from the screen, though commercials were playing now. I pushed the tray away, my stomach abruptly uneasy. Alice looked down at me.
"What's wrong, Alice?" I asked looking at her expression, Bella turned to look at her too,
"Nothing's wrong" Her eyes were wide, honest… and I didn't trust them, I glanced at Bella, she too didn't trust her,
"What do we do now?" Bella asked,
"We wait for Carlisle to call" Jasper said stiffly,
"And should he have called by now?" I asked and I could see that I was near the mark. Alice's eyes flitted from mine to the phone on top of her leather bag and back, I feeling of fear filling my stomach,
"What does that mean? That he hasn't called yet?" Bella's voice quavered, I quickly got up and sat next to her, wrapping my arm around her for some sort of comfort,
"It just means that they don't have anything to tell us" Alice said simply, but her voice was too even, and the air was harder to breathe. Jasper was suddenly beside Alice, closer to me and Bella than usual.
"Bella, You have nothing to worry about. You are completely safe here" Jasper reassured her, I nodded In agreement,
"I know that" Bella whispered,
"Then why are you frightened?" he asked, confused. He might feel the tenor of her emotions, but he couldn't read the reasons behind them.

"You heard what Laurent said, he said James was lethal. What if something goes wrong, and they get separated? If something happens to any of them, Carlisle, Emmett… Edward, what If that wild female hurts Esme…" Bella's voice was just a whisper, I tried to keep my own emotions in check,
"None of you should be risking yourselves for me" she whispered even quieter,
"Bella, Bella, stop," Jasper interrupted her, his words pouring out so quickly they were hard to understand,
"You're worrying about all the wrong things, Bella. Trust me on this — none of us are in jeopardy. You are under too much strain as it is; don't add to it with wholly unnecessary worries. Listen to me, our family is strong. Our only fear is losing you or Liliana" Jasper said,
"But why should you —" Bella started to say, Alice interrupted this time, touching Bella's cheek with her cold fingers.

"It's been almost a century that Edward's been alone. Now he's found you. You can't see the changes that we see, we who have been with him for so long. Do you think any of us want to look into his eyes for the next hundred years if he loses you?" Alice said softly, Bella nodded, I sighed, It was going to be a very long day,

"go and get changed, have a shower, you will feel better" I said to Bella, she nodded and I watched as she left into the room I had woke in.
We stayed in the room for hours, Alice called down to the front desk and asked them to ignore our maid service for now. The windows stayed shut, the TV on, though no one watched it. At regular intervals, food was delivered for me and Bella. The silver phone resting on Alice's bag seemed to grow bigger as the hours passed.
Our babysitters handled the suspense better than I did. As Bella fidgeted and paced, they simply grew more still, two statues whose eyes followed Bella imperceptibly as she moved, on the other hand I occupied myself with memorizing the room; the striped pattern of the couches, tan, peach, cream, dull gold, and tan again. Sometimes I stared at the abstract prints, randomly finding pictures in the shapes, like I'd found pictures in the clouds as a child. I traced a blue hand, a woman combing her hair, a cat stretching. But when the pale red circle became a staring eye, I looked away.

As the afternoon wore on, Bella went back to bed, simply for something to do. I sat motionless on the sofa under Alice's and Jasper's careful supervision.
"Alice?" I asked quietly,
"Yes?" she said turning to look at me,
"What do you think they're doing?" I kept my voice very calm, Alice glanced at Jasper, I saw him give a small nod, before she turned back to me,
"Carlisle wanted to lead the tracker as far north as possible, wait for him to get close, and then turn and ambush him. Esme and Rosalie were supposed to head west as long as they could keep the female behind them. If she turned around, they were to head back to Forks and keep an eye on your dad. So I imagine things are going well if they can't call. It means the tracker is close enough that they don't want him to overhear" Alice explained,
"And Esme?" I enquired,

"I think she must be back in Forks. She won't call if there's any chance the female will overhear. I expect they're all just being very careful" Alice explained again, I nodded,
"Do you think they're safe, really?" I asked trying to convince myself,
"Ana, how many times do we have to tell you that there's no danger to us?"
"Alice, I'm not Bella, would you tell me the truth though? No matter what it is" I asked looking her dead in her honey coloured eyes,
"Yes. I will always tell you the truth." Her voice was earnest, I deliberated for a moment before asking my next question,
"Tell me then… how do you become a vampire?" I asked, my question caught her off guard. She was quiet stared at her and saw her expression seemed ambivalent.
"Emmett doesn't want me to tell you that" she said firmly, but I sensed she didn't agree,
"That's not fair. I think I have a right to know, it's Bella in danger" I said in a matter of a fact way,

"and you" was Jasper's only input,
"I know" I said giving him a small glance, I turned back to Alice and looked at her, waiting.
"He'll be extremely angry" She sighed, almost trying to argue with herself,
"It's none of his business. This is between you and me. Alice, as a friend, I'm begging you." And we were friends now, somehow, as she must have known we would be all along, she looked at me with her splendid, wise eyes… choosing.
"I'll tell you the mechanics of it, but I don't remember it myself, and I've never done it or seen it done, so keep in mind that I can only tell you the theory" she said finally, I waited.
"As predators, we have a glut of weapons in our physical arsenal, much, much more than really necessary. The strength, the speed, the acute senses, not to mention those of us like Edward, Jasper, and I, who have extra senses as well. And then, like a carnivorous flower, we are physically attractive to our prey" Alice explained, I was very still,
"We have another fairly superfluous weapon. We're also venomous" she said, her teeth glistening.

"The venom doesn't kill, it's merely incapacitating. It works slowly,
spreading through the bloodstream, so that, once bitten, our prey is in too much physical pain to escape us. Mostly superfluous, as I said. If we're that close, the prey doesn't escape. Of course, there are always exceptions. Carlisle, for example" Jasper said moving closer to me and Alice,
"So… if the venom is left to spread…" I murmured, tyring to comprehend it,
"It takes a few days for the transformation to be complete, depending on how much venom is in the bloodstream, how close the venom enters to the heart. As long as the heart keeps beating, the poison spreads, healing, changing the body as it moves through it. Eventually the heart stops, and the conversion is finished. But all that time, every minute of it, a victim would be wishing for death" Alice explained, I shivered,
"It's not pleasant, you see" Alice whispered, I nodded,
"We're also like sharks in a way. Once we taste the blood, or even smell it for that matter, it becomes very hard to keep from feeding. Sometimes impossible. So you see, to actually bite someone, to taste the blood, it would begin the frenzy. It's difficult on both sides, the blood-lust on the one hand, the awful pain on the other" Alice carried on,
"Why do you think you don't remember?" I enquired softly,
"I don't know. For everyone else, the pain of transformation is the sharpest memory they have of their human life, but I remember nothing of being human." Her voice was wistful.
The seconds ticked by, and I had almost forgotten their presence in the room, I was so enveloped in my thoughts. Then, without any warning, Alice leaped from the sofa, landing lightly on her feet. My head jerked up as I stared at her, startled.
"Something's changed" Alice's voice was urgent, and she wasn't talking to me anymore, Jasper put his hands on her shoulders and guided her back to the chair by the window,
"What do you see?" he asked intently, staring into her eyes. Her eyes were focused on something very far away. I leaned in to catch her low, quick voice.
"I see a room. It's long, and there are mirrors everywhere. The floor is wooden. He's in the room, and he's waiting. There's gold… a gold stripe across the mirrors" Alice said while not focusing on us,

"Where is the room?" I asked quickly,
"I don't know. Something is missing — another decision hasn't been made yet" Alice said,
"How much time?" Jasper asked
"It's soon. He'll be in the mirror room today, or maybe tomorrow. It all depends. He's waiting for something. And he's in the dark now" Alice explained,
"What is he doing?" Jasper's voice was calm, methodical, as he questioned her in a practiced way.
"He's watching TV… no, he's running a VCR, in the dark, in another place" Alice said quietly,
"Can you see where he is?" Jasper asked,
"No, it's too dark" I watched as Alice and Jasper spoke,
"And the mirror room, what else is there?"
"Just the mirrors, and the gold. It's a band, around the room. And there's a black table with a big stereo, and a TV. He's touching the VCR there, but he doesn't watch the way he does in the dark room. This is the room where he waits." Her eyes drifted, then focused on Jasper's face.
"There's nothing else?" She shook her head. They looked at each other, motionless.
"What does it mean?" I asked, neither of them answered for a moment, then Jasper looked at me.
"It means the tracker's plans have changed. He's made a decision that will lead him to the mirror room, and the dark room."
"But we don't know where those rooms are?" I asked
"No" was his simple answer,
"But we do know that he won't be in the mountains north of Washington, being hunted. He'll elude them" Alice's voice was bleak.
"Should we call?" I asked, they traded a serious look, undecided.
And then the phone rang.

Alice was across the room before I could lift my head to look at it, she pushed a button and held the phone to her ear, but she didn't speak first.
"Carlisle" she breathed. She didn't seem surprised or relieved, the way I felt at this moment,
"Yes," she said, glancing at me. She listened for a long moment,
"I just saw him." She then described again the vision she'd seen. "Whatever made him get on that plane… it was leading him to those rooms." She paused. "Yes," Alice said into the phone, and then she spoke to me,

"will you get Bella?" Alice asked, I nodded and quickly got her and almost dragged her back in the room and pulled her down on the sofa, Alice pressed a button and placed the phone on the coffee table,

"Bella," Edward said,
"Oh, Edward! I was so worried" Bella almost shouted, I leaned back against the sofa,
"Bella," he sighed in frustration,

"I told you not to worry about anything but yourself" I almost scoffed, did he not know her at all?
"Where are you?" Bella asked,
"We're outside of Vancouver. Bella, I'm sorry, we lost him. He seems suspicious of us, he's careful to stay just far enough away that I can't hear what he's thinking. But he's gone now, it looks like he got on a plane. We think he's heading back to Forks to start over" I glanced and saw Alice filling in Jasper behind me, her quick words blurring together into a humming noise.
"You don't have to worry, though. He won't find anything to lead him to you. You just have to stay there and wait till we find him again" Edward explained,
"I'll be fine. Is Esme with Charlie?" Bella asked, my focus now intently on the phone,
"Yes, the female has been in town. She went to the house, but while Charlie was at work. She hasn't gone near him, so don't be afraid. He's safe with Esme and Rosalie watching" Edward said, I sighed in relief,
"What is she doing?" I asked quietly,
"Probably trying to pick up the trail. She's been all through the town during the night. Rosalie traced her through the airport, all the roads around town, the school… she's digging for information, but there's nothing to find" Edward said,
"And you're sure Charlie's safe?" Bella asked,
"Yes, Esme won't let him out of her sight. And we'll be there soon. If the tracker gets anywhere near Forks, we'll have him"
"I miss you" Bella whispered, I stood up and walked over to near Alice, letting them have a moment,
"I know, Bella. Believe me, I know. It's like you've taken half myself away with you" Edward said to her,
"Come and get it, then," Bella challenged.
"Soon, as soon as I possibly can. I will make you safe first." His voice was hard.
"I love you," Bella said softly
"Could you believe that, despite everything I've put you through, I love you, too?"
"Yes, I can, actually."
"I'll come for you soon."
"I'll be waiting." I sighed to myself listening to the conversation, as soon as the phone went dead, the room was silent again, I walked over and hugged Bella to give her some comfort,
I turned to give the phone back to Alice and found her and Jasper bent over the table, where Alice was sketching on a piece of hotel stationery. I leaned on the back of the couch, looking over her shoulder.
She drew a room: long, rectangular, with a thinner, square section at the back. The wooden planks that made up the floor stretched lengthwise across the room. Down the walls were lines denoting the breaks in the mirrors. And then, wrapping around the walls, waist high, a long band. The band Alice said was gold.
"It's a ballet studio," I said, suddenly recognizing the familiar shapes.
They looked at me, surprised.
"Do you know this room?" Jasper's voice sounded calm, but there was an undercurrent of something I couldn't identify. Alice bent her head to her work, her hand flying across the page now, the shape of an emergency exit taking shape against the back wall, the stereo and TV on a low table by the front right corner.
"It looks like a place I used to go for dance lessons, when I was eight or nine. It was shaped just the same." I touched the page where the square section jutted out, narrowing the back part of the room.
"That's where the bathrooms were, the doors were through the other dance floor. But the stereo was here" I pointed to the left corner,

"it was older, and there wasn't a TV. There was a window in the waiting room, you would see the room from this perspective if you looked through it" I explained, Alice and Jasper were staring at me.
"Are you sure it's the same room?" Jasper asked, still calm.
"No, not at all, I suppose most dance studios would look the same, the mirrors, the bar." I traced my finger along the ballet bar set against the mirrors. "It's just the shape that looked familiar." I touched the door, set in exactly the same place as the one I remembered.
"Would you or Bella have any reason to go there now?" Alice asked, breaking my reverie.
"No, I haven't been there in almost ten years. Bella was a terrible dancer they always put her in the back for recitals," I admitted.
"So there's no way it could be connected with you?" Alice asked intently.
"No, I don't even think the same person owns it. I'm sure it's just another dance studio, somewhere." I said calmly trying to ignore my gut feeling,
"Where was the studio you went to?" Jasper asked in a casual voice.
"It was just around the corner from my mom's house. I used to walk there after school…" I said, my voice trailing off. I didn't miss the look they exchanged.
"Here in Phoenix, then?" Jasper's voice was still casual.
"Yes," I whispered. "Fifty-eighth Street and Cactus."
We all sat in silence, staring at the drawing.
"Alice, is that phone safe?" Bella asked,
"Yes, The number would just trace back to Washington" Alice said to Bella,
"Then I can use it to call my mom?" Bella asked, I glanced at her,
"I thought she was in Florida" Alice asked,
"She is, but she's coming home soon, and she can't come back to that house while…" Bella's voice trembled.
"How will you reach her?" Jasper asked,
"They don't have a permanent number except at the house, she's supposed to check her messages regularly" I answered that question,
"Jasper?" Alice asked, he thought about it.

"I don't think there's any way it could hurt, be sure you don't say where you are, of course" Jasper said to Bella, Bella nodded and quickly grabbed the phone and went into the bedroom, I followed wanting to make sure she didn't do anything rash.


Sorry for lack of Updates :) hope this filler chapter is okay also what do you think do you Liliana should go alone to Ballet studio or with Bella?