𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙒𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙔
ミ★ ( bewitched, act two ) ★彡

Bella and Lilith hiked through the forrest as they tried to clear their minds with a picnic. Lilith subtly looked over at Bella, a glint of worry washing over the blonde's face as she noticed the same look that she had weeks ago now match Bella's expression.

A knock was heard from the front door of the Bailey home, distracting Lilith from her page in her book. Lilith walked downstairs to open it, trying not to trip over the black cat that ran in front of her feet again to be there to greet the person at the door. Lilith opened the door, not expecting to see a distraught Bella standing behind it in the pouring rain. The second their eyes met, the brunette completely broke down in front of her, sobbing into her hand, "Woah, what happened?" Lilith asked as she ushered Bella inside, running to grab some towels and dry clothes for her.

"It's Jake... he—he broke up with me." She confessed and Lilith's brown eyes widened at the revelation, "He cut his hair off and got a tattoo. He told me to go away and that he wasn't good for me. I think he joined the gang that lives on the reservation. He knows about everything."

"Woah, woah, woah." Lilith said as she handed her the towel, "How did this all happen in a span of a week? And what do you mean by 'he knows about everything'?"

"He knows about the Cullens being vampires and he even knows about your family being witches." Bella explained and Lilith tried to hold in the vomit she felt coming up. She felt sick to her stomach that they knew—she knew Bella wouldn't be the type to blab, even to Jacob, but, somehow that gang knew about the supernatural, "I don't know what Sam told him or how they know, but, he knows. He said he was trying to protect me by breaking up with me, but, I don't understand how that works!" She sobbed.

Lilith could only pull her friend towards her, ignoring the shiver she got from the coldness of the damp clothes that Bella was still wearing as she sighed, remembering how she was in that same position and Bella was strong and was there for her—now, it was her turn to be there for Bella, but, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to be when she wasn't even completely healed or strong in anyway.

Bella was doing a lot better at handling her breakup compared to how Lilith did, and the blonde girl was almost jealous about it. It was almost as if it wasn't affecting her—but, Lilith was glad she knew her friend well enough to see how and where Jacob's absence was truly affecting Bella which was why Lilith decided to take her mind off of it. The girls reached a clearing, Bella gasping at the sight seeing it completely dead and filled with long dead grass that went on for miles, but, it was still technically the springtime so Bella didn't understand why it was so dead. Lilith let out a nervous chuckle as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Sorry, it usually is filled with flowers and what not. I guess I should've picked a different spot."

"No, this is okay." Bella said firmly, "At least it's not muddy like everywhere else in this town." The girls sat down, settling down the picnic blanket before Bella grabbed her backpack and opened it up, she looked up seeing the glossy look on Lilith's eyes as she looked around the place. Lilith had wished that Bella said it wasn't okay to be there, she had wished that her body hadn't automatically taken her to the clearing. Everything about it was just making the memories hit her mind like a tsunami and it didn't help the searing pain in her chest go away one bit, "Are you okay?" She knew the answer was going to be no deep down, even if Lilith gave her a yes, she knew it to be a lie, but, she couldn't help but ask anyway.

"Edward and I used to come here a lot on our hikes together." Lilith began to pick at her fingernails sadly, "I used to come here a lot after he left and I just... I just kept getting overwhelmed with this wave of sadness and hurt that I lost control and did this." She said waving at the dead grass, "And then I couldn't stop coming back here to remind myself that not only did I kill my relationship, I killed the one good memory I had left of it." Even when she didn't want to go to the field, her mind was one of its own and would always just lead her back there and she would be reminded of what she had done again and again.

"You did this?" Bella asked. She was quite thankful that she didn't have magic as she would probably do the same thing and she wouldn't know how to control it. Lilith always did seem like she was in control, but, lately, it was worrying how her magic was spiralling along with her. It was clear that Lilith was worried about it too but didn't want to mention it and bug people with her problems.

"And a lot worse, but, the fall and winter weather covered up most of it." Lilith said sadly as she bit into her lunch, "It just keeps happening and I don't know how to make it stop. I tried to fix it and make the flowers grow, but, that takes so much power and energy now compared to before that it hurts me... so, I just gave up and accepted it."

"Lilith..." Bella started sympathetically.

The blonde witch shook her head, "No, don't." She put her hand up, "This isn't just about me. You're upset too, and I can't keep acting like I'm the only one hurt."

Bella's eyebrow raised, "Just because I'm upset also doesn't mean you need hide your own feelings to try and make me feel better." She told her friend, "We can get through this together, one step at a time. So, tell me everything."

Lilith pursed her lips, "There's nothing else to tell. I was supposed to find out about what was happening to me, but, the person who was going to find me some answers has completely disappeared. They closed up shop and they won't answer my calls. So, I'm back at square one guessing what the hell is going on." It was like Magda had disappeared, the shop had cleared out and it was quite worrying, but, Lilith's mind was always trying to look at the positives and say that she had to leave to try and figure out what was wrong. Either way, she was determined to find out. With or without Magda.

"Your parents don't know?" Bella questioned, tucking a piece of hair behind her ears.

"They know parts. I just don't know how to tell them about this, it'll send them up the wall in worry and I don't want to do that to them. I've caused them enough stress." The witch explained.

"It'll cause them more stress if it gets worse and they find out you've been suffering for months." Bella reminded her. Lilith's parents cared about her deeply and Bella knew that if something happened to their daughter, they'd be even more distraught, "I can come with you when you decide to tell them, if you'd like?" Bella looked up to what she thought she would see of an appreciative smile, only to see Lilith looking behind her, paled, "What is it?"

"Don't move." Lilith ordered, not taking her eyes off of what was behind her as she stood up in front of Bella, the brunette turning to see a dark skinned man with long dreads standing on the outskirts of the field, wearing nothing but slacks and a blazer with no shirt underneath it, showing his toned chest. What shocked Bella even more was the fact that she could see his piercing red eyes from where she stood. He was a vampire.

"Lilith." He greeted stiffly.

"Laurent." Lilith remembered him vividly as the man who was with James' coven and then tried to help them with him—however, it didn't change the fact that she was confused why he was back.

The next thing she knew, Laurent was directly in front of her, Bella jumping in fright from how quick it was while Lilith tried to hide her fear from him, staying strong for Bella, "I didn't expect to find you here." He admitted, "I went to visit the Cullens, but... their house is empty." He said as he began to pace slowly in front of them, "I'm surprised they left you behind. Aren't you sort of, um... a pet of theirs?"

A fire sparked within her as she thought about his words, she sure felt like an abandoned pet considering how they loved her in the beginning but she must of gotten too old and not cute enough for them before they decided to leave. But she didn't want Laurent to know that, "Witches aren't anyone's pet." She simply responded, it was neutral enough so Laurent wouldn't know the true answer behind his question.

"Do the Cullens visit often?" He asked her again.

Lilith's first natural instinct was to lie to protect Bella, she wanted him to think that they did so if he tried to harm them, he would think that the Cullens would track him down sooner than we would like, "Of course they do. They're here quite often." She said, trying to make sure her heartbeat didn't quicken or skip a beat. Laurent cocked his head to the side as his eyes observed Bella who was standing behind the witch, licking his lips as he listened in the intense heart rate coming from her, "I can tell them that you stopped by." Lilith said pushing the limits, trying to Laurent's eyes back to her. She then cursed, "Actually... I probably shouldn't tell Edward, since he's pretty protective. You remember how he was."

Laurent remembered clearly how Edward was about to tear all three members of his old coven apart for trying to attack Lilith in the first place, and then how he was going to attack him again the second he saw him in his home, "But, he's far away, isn't he?" Laurent asked, catching her out in her lie.

Lilith felt her heart catch in her throat for a short moment, but she couldn't let him see it in case he was just testing her to admit the truth, "Why are you here?" Lilith then deflected.

"I came as a... favour to to Victoria." He answered and the blonde witch paled instantly at the mention of Victoria.

"Victoria." Lilith repeated slowly, she hadn't thought of her in a long time, the pain of her breakup with Edward completely overshadowing her fear of the red headed vampire. Bella's eyebrows furrowed, she didn't remember being told about Victoria or even remember if she had met her before, but, she could see the slight fear in Lilith's eyes at the mention of her.

"She asked me to see if you were still under the protection of the Cullens." Laurent explained, "Victoria feels it's only fair to kill Edward's mate, given he killed hers. An eye for an eye."

"James tried to kill me. He attacked my friend to lure me out and then tried to record my death to send to Edward just because he wanted to." Lilith reminded the vampire, "Edward did what he had to do to protect me, and he'll do it again if you try to kill me now." Bella watched anxiously as she tried to think of what to do, she remembered Lilith saying how trying to make a flower grow took so much power from her and was painful, she wondered if she would be able to take down a vampire without killing herself.

Laurent made a face, looking completely unbothered by her threat, "I don't think he will. After all, how much could you mean to him if he left you here unprotected?" His words hit her hard, knowing damn well that Edward didn't care about her. He hated her. He left her—now for dead it seemed. The vampire then sighed like he was experiencing a real conundrum, "Oh, Victoria won't be happy about my killing you." Bella gasped, "But, I can't help myself. You and your friend are so mouthwatering."

"Don't hurt her." Lilith begged, "You helped us, I don't understand."

Laurent whooshed forward and Lilith quickly placed upon a forcefield between them, wincing from the pain before dropping it, hoping it would be enough to remind the vampire not to come any closer, "No, no, no. Don't be afraid. I'm doing you a kindness." He hushed, "Victoria plans on killing you slowly—painfully. Whereas, I will make it quick. I promise. You will feel nothing."

Bella sobbed in her hand and Lilith looked back at her while Laurent took a step back to prepare himself, "When I say, I want you to run as fast as you can and don't look back, do you understand?" Lilith sniffled, a tear rolling down her cheek. She couldn't protect the both of them, but she sure as hell would do what she could to protect Bella. She was innocent in all of this. The human girl shook her head, not wanting to leave her, "Bella, please don't argue." She begged. She turned to face Laurent, "You can kill me, but, leave Bella out of this." She said and the vampire smiled.

"As you wish." Laurent shrugged, in his mind not really caring what happened to the human girl, but also not caring about what Lilith wanted either. She would be dead soon anyway so why did it matter to her what happened to Bella.

"I want your word." The girl insisted.

"You have my word." Laurent placed a hand over his heart, almost sarcastically.

Lilith turned back to Bella as she softly pleaded, "Run."

Bella quickly got up when she noticed the look in Lilith's eye, she noticed that this was not one for arguing and there couldn't be anything she could say or do to let Bella stay. The human girl felt horrible that she was constantly letting her friend sacrifice herself for her, but, even Lilith knew that Bella wouldn't stand a chance against a vampire and she wasn't going to let her try either. Bella just hoped she could get far away to find someone to help—whether it be her dad, Lilith's parents, or even the gang on the reservation. Someone would want to help or least have to help. If she couldn't get help in time, she sure as hell wish she could get the Cullens to come back and avenge her at least.

Lilith looked back at Laurent before closing her eyes and whispering to herself, "Edward, I love you." Hoping that it would somehow get back to him.

Laurent braced himself for the attack, but stopped when he heard the sound of branches snapping nearby. He turned his head towards it, hearing the sound of growling get closer and closer, "I don't believe it." He whispered, causing Lilith to open her eyes.

Lilith's head snapped to the side as she also heard the growling, her eyes widening, stumbling back a little as she saw the large black wolf emerge itself from the bushes, it's sharp teeth bared and it's eyes trained on Laurent. It stood tall as other wolves began to make their presence known and Lilith covered her mouth with a hand, holding back the gasp. Werewolves.

The wolf snarled at Laurent, almost as if it was a warning for him to run, and the vampire didn't hesitate to turn and try to run the other direction, completely disregarding his intentions to kill Lilith—the only thing on his mind now was escaping safely. Laurent stopped and turned around, whacking the black wolf away from him to the ground with a whine, close to where Lilith stood before it quickly got back up on all fours and ran back at Laurent.

The pack of wolves pounced on top the vampire, tearing him to shreds in front of Lilith; the sight making her feel sick to her stomach as she tried to shut her eyes and look away from the scene along with cover her ears to block the sound of the growling and snarling and Laurent's screams.

The image was burned too clearly in her mind as she began to sway, her knees buckling and the next thing she knew, the world went black once more.