Chapter 1: Discovered

BPOV

Listen to: Waiting On An Angel by Ben Harper

My name is Isabella Marie Swan. Bella for short. Almost as short as my life was before it was traded for something different, better in some ways, worse in others. This life was different because I couldn't be hurt by anything physical, but that leaves emotionally out of the picture. I lived alone anywhere I could find, and spent most of my days avoiding humans.

It had been two months since my life had been flipped up side down and burned (literally). It had also been three months since I had seen Charlie. I felt a pang of guilt. I was probably killing him every second I stayed away, but what could I do? Killing my father was not an option. I wanted to make sure I could make due with animal blood before I got anywhere near him.

It still hurts.

I glanced around me, looking for a distraction. That's another thing I hate about living in the forests near Forks – there was nothing to do.

I sighed and decided to work with my shield. This was one thing I really did love about being a vampire – I got something to work with. I had discovered my shield about a week after my transformation, when I was still trying to fall asleep.

I looked down at my hands, mentally stretching and pulling at the paper-thin elastic that I knew only I could see. I could feel it too. I stretched it into a sphere around myself, extending it until it reached about twenty feet in diameter. Then I focused on smoothing it until it was flawless. Intensifying my gaze, I started to weave different strands around and through it until the entire surface area was covered, then I pulled them all taught in the same instant. I watched as my shield became a physical repellent as well as a mental one.

I was proud of myself. This was the tightest weave yet. I let it fall, my shield flying back to cling to my shape once more.

Then I thrust it back out, closing my eyes. My mental shield kept going, giving me insights into the inner-workings of the forest. Of course, I couldn't exactly see, but I could sense it; kind of like a doctor holding an x-ray up to the light to see better.

There were tiny life forms swarming everywhere, and I could see them like I was standing right there. There was a raccoon on the bank of a river about a half mile away, fishing. Directly to the east, there was a flock of birds, all chattering together about something that was obviously upsetting to them.

I let my shield snap back and looked around the clearing that I was standing in. It was wet. Everything was always wet here.

I fell to the ground, landing on the squishy moss. If I were human, it would have knocked the air out of me, but it felt pleasant, like falling onto a bed of soft pillows. I sighed and focused on the overcast sky above me, my eyes following the different densities. They were thin, occasionally letting small shafts of light through. I suddenly found myself submersed in a rare bout of sunshine. It bounced off my skin, reflecting and throwing small fragments into the shadows around me. I closed my eyes, reveling in the warmth, totally absorbed.

That's probably why I didn't hear him.

I heard a twig snap, and I flew to my feet, my eyes instantly focusing on the source of the noise. I didn't see anyone immediately, but I knew someone was there.

"Who's there?" I called, inhaling and catching a scent I couldn't quite place, but was incredibly sweet and pleasant. It smelled kind of like a combination between honey, lilac, and pure sunshine.

I figure immerged, cloaked in shadows, and stepped into the clearing.

EPOV

Listen to: Learning To Breathe by Switchfoot

Jasper was going through a bout of mischievousness. I had learned a long, long time ago that you should avoid him at all costs when he is like this. He had already made Emmett ruin four Wii remotes, two chairs, and one perfectly innocent wall. I had decided to leave after the wall.

So now I was running through the forest, heading for nowhere in particular. I unconsciously decided to go to my meadow. I was so deep in thought when I got there, I didn't really notice that there was someone already there. I stood there, stunned.

She was indisputably most beautiful being I had ever seen. She was laying there, a slight smile on her lips as she basked in the glow of the sun. She was fluid even in stillness, and her flawless face was as pale as the moon against the frame of a dark, heavy curtain of hair that cascaded down her back and glistened in the bright sunlight.

Her limbs were long and strong, glistening in the sun, throwing a thousand splinters of light into the shadows. She was wearing a stained tank top, her long legs were sheathed in dirty jeans, and she was barefoot. She didn't seem to be aware of my presence.

I took an involuntary step forward, wanting to touch her - make the dream real. My foot connected with an unusually dry twig, sending a loud crack! through the meadow, startling her.

She was on her feet instantly, her eyes flying open to look at what had made the alarming noise.

I didn't move, I couldn't breathe. Her eyes were the impossibly bright, vicious red of a newborn. I was surprised how little that meant to me. She was still the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Who's there?" She called, inhaling and catching my scent, not taking her eyes from where I was hiding in the shadows.

I stepped out into the sunshine with her, watching her face, trying not to startle her further.

She examined me, her red eyes running down my form, taking in every threat and then returning to my face. She didn't appear to be afraid, just alarmed. She cocked her head slightly to the side, making a section of her hair fall over her shoulder.

"Who are you?" her voice was like bells and water, it coursed over me like the wind.

"My name is Edward," I answered, "What is yours?"

"I'm Bella." She answered, smiling slightly at me. She straitened out of her defensive crouch, deciding to trust me – to a point. She kept her muscles bunched. "What are you doing around here?"

"I live here with my family," I answered. She didn't seem surprised by this, but her eyebrows did rise.

"How many…people… are in your family?"

"Seven, including me."

She surprised me by smiling. It was wide, and made her eyes wrinkle a little at the edges. It stunned me for a minute, it was so beautiful. "I would like to meet them…" she mused, the words seeming to slip out without meaning to.

"Sure," I agreed quickly. She smiled even wider.

"Lead the way."

I reluctantly pried my eyes from her face and turned back towards the house.