chapter four

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— THE SLIGHT BREEZE MADE THE FLOWERS DANCE, the sun shined perfectly down into the eye of the forest. There laid Bella Swan and her perfectly sculpted boyfriend, Edward Cullen. Both basking in the sunlight absorbed in the world the two had managed to create together. However, today something made that kingdom come crashing down.

Edward stared right through Bella, putting pieces of a puzzle together in his mind. Trying to find any solution to the problem that had risen.

Bella didn't have to have the power to read minds to know that something had befallen him. Something that frustrated him to his core, without any possible solution coming to mind of how to deal.

"Edward," she spoke softly, trying not to startle him from his consuming thoughts, "what's wrong?"

His eyes that had been directed towards her finally focused on her figure, taking in account that he had just been spoken to. Yet for a few moments, words could not find their way out of his mouth and break the silence that grew between them. Or perhaps, he just didn't want them too.

Fixated on trying to protect her as much from his troubled life as he could, he often found himself jumping around her questions. Coming up with excuses and situations to put her out of the way of the things he and his family found themselves needing to do.

Even after he had come back from his time away, agreeing to finally be with Bella, he still didn't agree with her plans to sell her soul in order to have him forever. It wasn't something he thought he'd ever be able to agree with, but he knew now her persistence would not fall short. She would push and push until she got what she wanted.

For not much longer, he wanted to hide what he could. But she read him like an open book.

"It's nothing." He tried to play it off, a lazy attempt to brush past her.

But there she was, brows furrowed and her lips pushed out in a pout. Edward couldn't help but let out a mix between a laugh and a scoff. "Bella, really it's not that big of a deal."

"Okay, well if it's not that big of a deal, stop looking like you are solving the world's hardest math problem." She rolled her eyes and laid back next to him, watching the clouds move above them.

It wasn't often that Forks had weather that gave them a glimpse of the sun. And when it did, Bella would leave school for the day if it meant she could lay out underneath the sweet kisses of the sun's heat. Although her skin didn't often show it, she had always been a fan of the sun lingering on her skin for too long.

Despite Edward's obvious avoidance of it, he always took these moments with her to enjoy something that once meant so much to her. Something she would grow to avoid, living in places where it didn't shine, simply so she could step outside without fear of the world finding out their secret.

As she laid back down, she could still feel the tension that he held. Unable to let go of as his mind crashed in waves of mystery and aggravation.

"Come on, just tell me what it's about? You know, you can't hide these things from me forever. Besides, if I have to, I'll just ask Alice." Bella dared him to speak his mind to her. Knowing well that he would rather be the one to tell her than her running to his sister.

"Have you noticed anything strange about the new girl?"

Bella thought for a moment, thinking back to the few times she had seen her in her first two days at the school.

While pictures of Elle painted her mind, she tried to notice anything she could. And it almost slipped by her, but she finally realised that there was something different about her.

Her skin laid without a single imperfection. In spite of her naturally tanned skin, there was a certain quality that made it come off as dull or pale, even. And her eyes. They had to be the most shocking detail about her appearance.

They sat the darkest shade of black. Almost like her entire pupil dilated to the size of her iris.

Bella let out a quiet gasp, "She looks almost like you guys do when you haven't eaten. But, how would Alice have not seen her coming?"

Edward shook his head. It was beyond him whatever she was and however she seemed to hold so much control over herself and her mind and body.

She was an anomaly. Nothing like he'd ever seen before, something he was sure even Carlisle would question. And because of that, he knew that she could be lethal to everything they had created here.

- THE QUIET PATTER OF RAIN ON HER WINDOWS IS THE ONLY COMFORT SHE WAS PROVIDED. Her mind was not silent enough for her to feel she could read. Although, that is all she truly wished to be doing at this very moment.

It seemed something had set off along the line of her family's radar.

Their voices became clustered and quickly overwhelmed her as she sat at her desk, staring outside her windows which faced the view of the dark green forest outside. It was a beautiful sight to see after spending months looking over a skyline made of skyscrapers.

Yet in this peaceful environment, it was laced and poisoned by chaos and trouble. She was aware of all the things that could go wrong in a town like this. But she tried her best to take moments to herself to keep her grounded. But of course, they were infiltrated by the creation of buzzing by her family.

Frustration boiled within her. Enraging her beyond belief as she tried to shut it out, but within a second, there was something that caught her ear.

The mention of the group in Seattle.

They were being led by some unknown force or leader, some would say. And while there was no for sure answer, there was speculation that there were two theories that grasped their minds.

The redheaded trouble maker, who has seemingly taken quite the interest in Bella and the Cullens. Then of course, the unstoppable and chilling Volturi.

It seemed out of reach for them to be in any sort of control, because Aro had to worry about the risk of Alice Cullen seeing his every move. But that didn't stop the younger members from trying to start a war.

And with that small amount of information, the buzzing sound that played along in her head finally died out. Bringing her back to silence interrupted by the pattering of rain.

It wasn't a lot to find out, but the possibilities it created were immense. Creating a certain kind of thrill that the situation had packed before.

Elle knew what her purpose in the world had been, and she had chosen to ignore it. Moving along and letting her parents continue the burden of their life's work. However, she saw it childish and a waste of time.

She loved her parents and supported them, but she couldn't imagine signing her life away for a cause she didn't care about.

That was until it involved the Volturi.

A group of powerful individuals that sparked interest in her mind. Bringing her disdain to a slight disliking and allowing her to delve deeper into what their creation and existence meant in correlation to the world's order.

Elle stood up from the seat she sat in and moved along to run her fingers along the ridges of her bookshelves. Taking in the smell of books that had been around for centuries. The authentic first edition of many of her family's journals and books of discovery.

No library in the world could compete with the interesting and dynamic tales that sat in the books amongst her now. Filled with information on many preposterous things. Such as men who turned into beasts in the light of the moon, human-like creatures who couldn't walk in the sun, and beings sculpted to create a balance in the world. But destroyed, burdened, and tainted with the pressure and look of being like their natural enemy.

Finally she found the one she was looking for. An entire novel dedicated to talk about the mysterious and dangerous Volturi.

Resides in Italy, holds power in deciding the law of vampires and having people amongst them with the most treacherous abilities. Abilities that allow them to cause pain and death if they truly please to do so. And with them, it was unlikely to find them at a point where they didn't.

Sitting back at her desk and staring at pages upon pages talking all about the things that had been discovered about them, she sat fascinated. Disgusted by the things they would do and breed in their sickly walls. But encapsulated by their nature to stand against everything people believed to be natural and pure.

Just as her being became totally sucked into the world of their enigma, the landline in the next room over rang loudly. Making sure to bounce off the still poorly decorated walls.

Standing up and making her way over, she questioned who it could be that was calling her. And to her surprise, she picked up the phone and the lovely ring of Angela's voice carrying over the line.

She had completely forgotten she had given the girl her number for them to hangout.

"Hey, Elle! I was just calling to see if maybe you were free tonight?" She paused for a moment waiting for an answer before her worried voice began to pick up, "Oh gosh, this is Elle, right? I didn't even ask. Hi! Is this Elle?"

Elle laughed, finally breaking her silence and letting Angela shrink in relief. Even though she couldn't see her, Elle nodded her head with a bright smile, "I would certainly hope this was Elle speaking. And as for your invitation, yes, I am free."

"Perfect!" The girl exclaimed before quickly trying to hide the extent of her excitement. "Do you want me to pick you up, or maybe we can meet? I also just realised I totally never told you what I thought we could do." An uncomfortable laugh escaped her, "I thought we could go to the movies. Forks always has a weird selection of indie films for us to lose our minds over."

Elle turned and looked towards her living room window, which sat facing a brief glimpse of the apartments next door and the short amount of greenery they planted by the walkways. Rain still poured generously. "That sounds great, Angela. How about I pick you up?"

In the walls of her pale purple bedroom, Angela held back a squeal at the thought of Elle being kind enough to take her to and from the movie theater. But she couldn't hold back her smile that stretched miles and miles apart, "Yeah! I'm so glad you are free. I just finished my homework and realised Jessica is going out with Mike, so I desperately needed someone to spend time with."

"Well, I'm glad I can be of any assistance." Looking at the clock that sat on her wall, she realised it was getting later and that she should probably leave soon. "How much time do you need to get ready?"

Angela looked down to the clothes she was wearing, a comfortable pair of sweats that she knew would help her fly through her school work. "I just need to change, but then I'll be all yours!"

A chuckle escaped Elle, making Angela's heart flutter. "Great. I'll be there soon."

Angela gave Elle her address and within a few minutes, Elle was out the front door and into the pouring rain with an umbrella held over her head.

The rain filled air smelt nice and gave her warmth despite the cold area enveloped around her. Maybe her time in Forks wouldn't be so bad after all.