He meddles again. I sense his presence around her as she disappears into the tall building with her employer. Humans started to build towards the sky again. They forgot Babel so quickly, prone to leading by memory. Memory has never served a human. Perhaps, He liked that goldfish quality to them. I would have preferred to give them more agency, something akin to free will. He feels more secure when he is in control. I tell Emmett to protect her. I cannot neglect my duties for much longer.

Love is a fickle animal. Bella felt it inside her, writhing. I love you. Her mind came up with so many permutations of that sweet moment, where it almost tumbled out of her. He was vast and powerful. She? His current infatuation. I love you, she told him in her mind. He said it back. Over and over, he whispered it to her in her ear, he shouted it as he came, he gripped her hair and pressed his forehead to hers, filled with so much need it threatened to destroy him. It was all fantasy. His need a manifestation of hers. What a pathetic thing it was when she tried it on herself. She thought back to the silk room; the hypnosis of hell, an awe-spiring and terrible thing. He should have kept her forever. It would be mortifying to ask him now, take me back. I'll be your prisoner forever. I was wrong to run from you.

"You look awful." Rosalie handed her a cup of coffee.

"Why is the call-time five in the morning," she hissed. She tolerated the photoshoots quite well when they were in the evening. The blonde bombshell was completely unfazed.

"Because, there are more hands on deck than just me. We have a set for you. You will be in the Garden of Eden today."

Patricia was already behind her desk, and gazed at Bella with a hating kind of curiosity. Every time Bella saw her face she wanted both to hit her and tell her to leave a job which owed her nothing. She deserved to stay with that kind of attitude. Rosalie ushered them into the elevator, and clicked the highest floor. It was a large and empty warehouse space, odd in such a contentious city for real-estate. However, when the doors slid open, it was clear what it was used for. There were probably at least ten people milling around the replica of a lush garden. It was so large that there were trees obscuring and bisecting the space. "I understand now," Bella said.

"You do?" Rosalie raised an eyebrow, lips pursing in displeasure. If there were an open book…

"About the call time," she clarified. Her companion's jaw unclenched. Alice floated over, a steaming mug of coffee in an open palm. It was prudent to wonder how the temperature did not affect her.

"We have a new donor on the project, very wealthy. We're so lucky!" The two visionaries looked at each-other proudly. Bella assumed this was normal. "That's how we got all of these live plants and staff in. Let's get you prepped."

Her first outfit was jeans and a lingerie bra-shirt thing. "Isn't this a bit basic for you," she asked. Alice openly leered at people who she thought didn't care about fashion. It was an ugly habit and happened rarely, but made this outfit egregious in her mighty presence.

"Yes, but I trust Rose's vision, think of the set as an accessory to your outfit. At least, that's what she told me." It was clear that there had been much convincing. The angel wings were rolled in by one of the interns. They looked brighter today, newer. If one was not keen to details, they would look sinewy and lifelike. Bella wanted to stare at them forever, and she was not the only one. A couple of photographers stood on the side, both awed by the construction.

"I don't know why you don't just put these in a museum." They watched as Rosalie shooed away the onlookers, saying something about camera settings. Alice grabbed her chin to put some powder on her face.

"I don't want them there," she said simply.

She dressed as Rosalie prattled off a bunch of instructions. She was to first simply explore the garden, and then she would be directed into specific poses in specific places. They were be getting shots of her from far away, and some up close. The rest was too technical to understand. "What about the wings?"

"You'll get the wings at the end. I just want you for most of today."

"But- I'm just me without the wings." A sudden wave of fear overtook her. Without the wings, these would just photos of her, like photographing a Superman who did not fly, or a Batman who had no wealth.

"I want you," Rosalie said. "Haven't I made that clear?"

"Me with the wings," Bella countered but found absolutely no footing in a negotiation. Rosalie smiled and patted her shoulder.

"Go explore the garden."

The moment she stepped into the garden, the world seemed silenced. The pads of her feet were met with lush grass. A gentle sunlight kissed the back of her neck and a warm breeze blew, the kind right before a tropical rain. She looked back and the illusion broke. There were the cameras, there was Rosalie and Alice watching her. What the absolute… was Jasper behind this? She started to walk in, and again the outside world quieted. It was a place of peace. I'm going fucking crazy, she whipped her head back around as a the sound of a birdsong came from far away. No, they were still there. She walked in deeper and the garden seemed to expand. She stopped looking back. How did they do that? It was beautiful and she wanted to never leave. She walked, and brushed upon leaves and tree bark. This did not feel like Jasper in the slightest. She stopped to admire a an apple tree. The feeling of something slithering up her leg made her freeze. "Might I interest you in an apple?" Edward appeared from behind the tree, holding a a perfectly formed red apple in his palm.

"No," Bella snorted. She was not going to fall for this a second time.

"Good choice but a naive one," he said, but kept it outstretched between them. It had a deliciously sweet scent, one that smelled of a promise of an eternal childhood.

"Why are you here?"

"Remember our conversation on the plane, about Jasper?" Bella only remembered that they had met and something about saving Jasper. "Your time's running out to save him. But I am the bearer of good news today." Edward's eyes were so golden it seemed he would cry drops of the sweetest honey.

"You're awful at giving good news."

"Do you love him," he finally lowered the apple. Would it be prudent to lie to God? She imagined Jasper holding her, saying those three words. His clawed hand raked through her hair.

"Yes," she whispered, her head lowering like a defeated warrior.

"It is a curse to fall in love with him, I agree," he smiled as he spoke. "But if you love him, then you will be able to save him."

"Give me something tangible" she demanded. "No more cryptic answers. What is going on?"

"You aren't mine," he threw the apple up in the air and caught it. Clown.

"What does that mean?"

"You are not one of my creations, there is no human soul within you. In fact, you may not have a soul at all." Bella blinked. Then what had she signed over to Jasper? Did he know? Without even a soul to give, the whole bargain was worthless. "I care that the balance of the world is preserved, and you are the symptom of something going amiss. The easiest answer would be to simply kill you while you are powerless and mortal. In fact, I could do it right now," he pushed her into the tree. Something slithered around her neck. She refused to make any sound as the branches pierced into her back. "The fact that you are the only thing Jasper has ever taken even minimal curiosity in, makes me think of a couple culprits. Maybe Eve. Maybe Lilith. Maybe one of my own angels. Could be Jesus, I don't know." Wasn't Jesus his son?

"Where do I go when I die?"

Edward seemed taken aback by the question, "What a curious response. Did you believe you could find a way into Heaven?"

"Into Hell," she replied as the snake started to tighten. Her vision filled with tiny sparkly dots. What a stupid idea to let live in the subconcious. Die. Go to Hell. Live happily ever after.

"You'll go where the Atheists think they're going to go. Back to the stars," he shrugged but lifted the apple to her face. "Take a bite." She pursed her lips, but her windpipe was being crushed. "The snake can choke you eternally. Take a bite, Isabella." His tone was impatient. She wanted to ask why. He held right to her lips and she took the tiniest bite she could.

Then, she was waking, from a curled up position under a bush. Her name was being called from many angles, and she looked to see three cameras pointed to her.

"I cannot believe you did that," Rosalie was saying. "It was so perfect. Little innocent lamb under the apple tree. See? I told you the apple tree was worth the money." Click. Click. Click.

"Ok, Bella now stand up and pose with the apple, pretend you're about to take a bite."

She stood and pretended to take a bite.

Edward rarely visited my domain. I sat behind my desk, sifting through different expansion requests from different sectors. More torture chamber, more temperature regulators, more space. I could, in theory, give them all an infinite amount of space they could do whatever they wanted with. But where was the fun in that? It would be heresy to not make them complete the bureaucratic process of begging.

"Lilith is behind this," he said as he walked in.

"Oh, not the Mommy issues again," I didn't have time for this, he was always paranoid of her. Something about taking the world back for all those betrayed. Lilith was under the category of beings that wanted to create discord and chaos. Her powers waned long ago, when she was banished from Eden by Adam.

"She created Bella. She's powerful enough." Onto my desk clinked a golden medallion, with a seal on it. It was a snake and woman, tied together in erotic ecstasy. The medallion was the result of forcing someone to eat an apple from Eden. There was a time when such a test was necessary, to see the providence of a creature.

"Did you…" I picked it up, examining for authenticity. But I knew.

"No, she ate it quite voluntarily."

"Stay away from her," I snarled but could not fault him for performing this test.

"I will not," he said, taking the medallion back. "This concerns both of us. Lilith is up to something."

"But what? What could she possibly want?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," and he walked out without closing the door behind him.

A/n: What's your favorite holiday drink?