Consciousness crept upon her slowly.

Hearing seemed to be the first sense to return. She could hear voices around her, several people it sounded like, talking in quiet conversation but Alice's brain couldn't appear to make out the words. She tried to force her eyelids open but they wouldn't respond to her brain's command, she attempted to speak and only managed to get a faint moan out. He throat felt dry and raw and her head throbbed.

"Mummy! She is waking up!"

The angelic child's voice rang out like the sweetest bells in Alice's mind. Suddenly, with the clarity of those words, reality seemed to suddenly return to Alice and her eyes snapped open as she felt a cool cloth pressed to her forehead. The sensation was blissful and she couldn't help the slight smile as she looked up into the kind, warm chocolate eyes of the beautiful woman above her.

The heart shaped face was faintly lined, showing her age to be maybe 20 years older than Alice herself at best guess, but the happiness shining through her eyes made her appear eternally youthful. Her thick mahogany hair was messily pulled back, unruly tendrils framed her face.

"Welcome to our home.. you are safe here" the woman said with a smile, her voice quiet and even.

"My name is Rosie, whats yours?" said that sweet child's voice again.

Alice forced her head to turn slightly to her right to find the most beautiful little angel leaning half over her with a big smile on her face. The child was exquisite. It was obvious that she was the woman's daughter, the face shape, translucent skin and silky hair was identical to the older woman, but her eyes were her most noticeable feature. They were a vivid, startling jade. Alice had never seen eyes that colour, they looked like the most precious gems. They didn't look real and she vaguely wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her. She hadn't spent much time around children but she guessed the child's age to be maybe eleven or twelve.

Alice smiled as she answered the sweet child's question, having to take two attempts to speak and her voice still came out hoarse and scratchy.

"Hi Rosie, I am Alice".

The woman quickly grabbed a cup and helped Alice sit up and sip at the cool water while her daughter continued grinning at Alice. When she had had her fill Alice leaned back and the woman helped her ease to a sitting position and rest back against the fluffy pillows behind her. Alice took the opportunity to look around at her surroundings. She was on a large bed with a surprisingly comfortable mattress, she assumed it was feathers or some kind of animal hair. It was divine. The room was light and not large but the window on the wall to her right gave the impression of a spacious environment. The walls were wooden, the home appeared to be a large log cabin. It was obvious that everything was very basic but it was comfortable, homey. The small chest of drawers at the opposite wall was crude but appeared to be lovingly carved, as was the bed she led on. The two women wore thick clothes that appeared to be coarsely woven fabric. Alice looked down at herself and found that she was wearing a similar tunic type dress as the two women.

Finally remembering her manners, she looked up at the older woman who had walked around the bed and was now lifting the child from the mattress and setting her on her feet.

"Thank you for bringing me here.. I don't remember what happened or how you found me. All I remember was walking, and being so thirsty.. I thought I had died…" Alice frowned, wondering how on earth she had ended up here. The woman obviously read her thoughts on her face and gave Alice a kind smile as she answered.

"My husband found you whilst he was out hunting four days ago.. He brought you here, we were worried you wouldn't make it. I am Bella by the way. I apologise for my Rose, we don't get many visitors and she was so worried for you!"

"Please, don't apologise Bella, she is an angel.." Alice smiled at the sweet child who was beaming at her, "thank you for your care, for taking me in… and thank you to your husband. Thank God he found me".

"Yes, someone must have been watching over you for sure" Bella smiled, "now rest some, dinner is cooking and I am sure you are very hungry".

As if on cue Alice stomach growled loudly, she laughed sheepishly as Bella gave a hearty belly-laugh and lightly squeezed her hand before bustling across the room, ushering Rosie before her as she left through the doorway. No door Alice noted, just a small doorway that an average height man would have to stoop down to get through, covered with a woven curtain of sorts.

She glanced out of the window as she felt her eyes growing heavy again. The house appeared to be in a clearing in a thick wood, there was long, lush grass outside the window and beyond that there were trees. Very tall trees. A hundred feet or more Alice thought.

She slipped into unconsciousness again then, but this time it wasn't blackness, but green and warmth that she dreamed of.

When she awoke Alice again was surrounded by the soft murmuring of voices. She managed to get her eyes to cooperate with much less effort this time and found the room thrown into the half-light of early evening, crudely made candles dotted the room and four people sat around a table at the end of her bed. A table that definitely hadn't been there earlier. The delicious smell of food had her stomach growling loudly, causing her cheeks to flush with embarrassment.

Bella quickly rose from her chair and approached Alice with a happy smile.

"Would you like to join us for dinner Alice? We were just about to get started… sorry about all of this" she gestured behind her to the table "Rosie insisted we eat in here in case you woke".

Alice let out a small laugh and nodded. Bella started pulling at the warm, thick blankets covering Alice to help her out of bed when movement behind her cause Alice's eye. A man was approaching them. He was tall, about a foot taller than Bella and he had the most unusual brown-red hair, a beautiful mess on top of his handsome face. He appeared to be around the same age as Bella and Alice immediately was captivated by his eyes, an exact duplicate of which graced his daughters angelic little face. And there could be no doubt that Rosie was his daughter, as much as the child looked like her mother, she seemed to have an equal amount of her father in her features.

The man was beautiful, there was no other word for it. He approached the bed slowly, as if worried he might scare Alice away. At this point Bella was pulling Alice's feet over the side of the bed to help her rise to standing. The man came to the bedside, a tentative smile on his face as he held his hand out.

"Hi Alice.. I am Edward… we are very happy to have you here with us" his eyes shone with sincerity and Alice could scarcely pull her eyes from his, "would you like some help, your feet were rather cut up from your walk and I fear they may be uncomfortable".

Alice gave him a small smile as she placed her hand into Edwards.

"Thank you Edward" she replied quietly as she slowly rose to her feet.

Pain shot up her legs, the muscles immediately cramping as the blisters and sores on her feet gave out their own objections to being placed on solid ground again. Alice felt her knees buckle and was preparing herself for a painful fall when strong hands grabbed her around the waist, holding her firmly and guiding her back to sit on the bed. Bella had grabbed her hand and immediately dropped to her knees, rubbing at the tense muscles in Alice's legs to try to ease the pain. Alice immediately flushed with embarrassment and tried to get Bella to stand, even through her agony. Bella brushed off her hands that were grabbing gently at her shoulders and smiled up into Alice's eyes.

"Shush now.. It may have been many years ago, but I remember this all to well. Let us take care of you".

Alice smiled but said nothing, letting her muscles relax as much as possible and she felt the cramps slowly easing in her legs. Finally, after what felt like forever, the pain ebbed away enough that she was able to take tentative steps towards the table. Edward held her arms at the elbows and she gripped his muscular forearms in a manner she knew was much too forceful, but she couldn't seem to unclench her fingers and retract her claws. For his part, Edward showed no discomfort as he kept his eyes fixed on Alice's feet while they made their way the few short steps to the table, Bella hovering at their side the whole time.

Finally Alice sank into one of the chairs, the weight off her feet was a feeling of pure bliss after the agony of walking. Edward gave a shy smile before taking his seat between Alice and Rosie, while Bella sat at Alice's other side.

"I'm Charlie!" a little voice piped up from across the table.

Alice had barely paid attention to the other small child, what with her mind being entirely focussed on her poor feet. She looked across at him now. Another angel! He was young, maybe four or five, with a thick, unruly shock of hair on his head that matched his mothers in colour but definitely was his fathers in the wild style. His large eyes were all his mothers, big and brown. He had a happy smile on his face as he looked at Alice, all innocence.

"Nice to meet you Charlie, I am Alice".

"My daddy said that you were hurted in the woods and that he carried you here and that I wasn't allowed to wake you up at all because you needed your sleep…" he rambled in his adorable little voice. Edward stifled a laugh behind his hand.

"Your daddy was right Charlie" Alice smiled, "I was hurt, and your mummy and daddy saved me and I am very grateful to both of them for that" she gave Bella and Edward each an appreciative smile before looking back at Charlie, "thank you for allowing me into your home sweetie".

"S'ok…" Charlie shrugged before trying to grab at the food spread on the table. Bella immediately leapt up and started spooning food onto his plate, cutting it into tiny, bitesize pieces for him while Edward did the same for Rosie, talking quietly to her all the while.

Alice looking at the impressive array of food in front of her. There was a large joint of meat. She couldn't tell exactly what but it looked delicious. There were potatoes, carrots, peas, a beautiful fluffy loaf of homemade bread… It all looked very rustic and simple but it was clearly home-grown and the smells were delicious. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Alice sat quietly taking it all in. Suddenly, she was jolted out of her reverie by Bella saying her name.

"Come Alice, eat! You need to get your strength back".

Alice smiled at her as the older woman started piling generous helpings of everything onto her plate until it was full.

Bella sat back down after giving Alice a reassuring smile. The room had quieted and Alice noticed no one was eating so she refrained from picking up her fork and digging straight in like she wanted to. After a pause, Edwards's soft voice came from beside her.

"Thank you Bella, for this wonderful meal, and for all you do for us".

Alice looked up in time to see the lingering glance shared between Bella and Edward. They both had a small, secret smile for the other. It suddenly felt like a very private moment between the couple and Alice averted her eyes to the table quickly.

"And thank you for providing this all for us my love…" Bella responded, "now, lets eat!" She finished with a laugh.

Suddenly the sound of happy chatter filled the room and Alice listened and laughed with the happy family, answering more than one question aimed at herself in between delicious mouthfuls. Alice knew she should eat small meals, after so long without food she might make herself sick if she ate until she was truly full. But she was starving and it was very hard to make herself stop. Finally, when she was comfortably full but not stuffed, she sat back and sipped at a glass of water, silently taking in the scene before her.

It was an odd little family for sure. Edward was a mystery to her. He was quiet, so softly spoken and clearly a man of few words – in front of her at least. But the look in his eyes when his gaze settled on Bella or the children. It was love. Pure and simple. He looked… content. They all did. They clearly didn't have much in the way of material possessions, but they seemed happy and healthy.

Finally, everyone stopped eating and the talk turned to general chatter about their day. From the easy way the spoke to each other Alice guessed that this was probably a regular thing they did every evening; eat together as a family and discuss their day. It was perfect.

Rosie was talking about her lessons, it seemed she was attending some sort of education. Her mother was presumably teaching her as it was Edward she was explaining things to. She rapidly moved from one subject to the other – history, geography, maths, cooking, sewing… Clearly she had a very broad education and a real thirst for knowledge.

Charlie had moved to snuggle in his mother's lap where she was cuddling him, whispering affectionately into his ear. Alice couldn't hear what she was saying, but she could see the small child gradually losing the fight to keep his eyes open. It was starting to get dark outside but Alice had no way of knowing the time.

Bella suddenly rose to her feet with Charlie cradled in her arms.

"Bedtime now angel", she smiled at Rosie, "Go and wash up and get ready for bed while I sort your brother out".

Bella smiled at Alice before carrying Charlie out of the room. Rosie jumped off her chair and ran around the table to her father's side, pulling his shoulder until he leaned down for her to give him a big kiss on his cheek. He wrapped his arm around her and she snuggled into him.

"Love you daddy… Goodnight"

"Goodnight angel. I love you more than anything baby." Edward said softly before placing a kiss on her forehead. Alice smiled. Such a simple but loving family they were, Alice had never known that for herself.

Rosie suddenly appeared at Alice's side, and before she could react the child had launched at her, wrapping her arms around Alice's torso. Alice had always been tiny, so Rosie even as young as she was, wasn't much smaller than Alice. She returned the embrace tentatively.

"I am so happy you are here with us Alice" Rosie whispered so only Alice could hear, "I just know that this is all going to work out perfectly. Trust me…"

Rosie suddenly pulled back with a beaming smile on her face before racing out of the room, leaving a bemused Alice with Edward who was standing up and collecting up the plates and leftovers. Alice felt useless just sitting there so started piling up plates, trying to help.

Suddenly Edward stopped what he was doing and moved to stand beside Alice, placing a tentative hand over hers where it had frozen on the table.

"I am glad you are here Alice… I-I know we seem a bit, old fashioned… But really, I think you will like it here. I hope you and Bella can be good friends" he smiled down at Alice with such affection that she couldn't help but smile back.

"Come, lets get you back into bed" he said before offering his hands to help her to her feet.

What seemed like hours later Alice was finally back in the warm, comfortable bed. She had made a detour to the bathroom with Edwards help and she felt better for giving her teeth a thorough brush and having a quick wash. There was a small, carved stone sink that used a rudimentary pump device to fill it. The water was cold, but Alice marvelled at the work and engineering that must have gone into that. Did Bella and Edward work that out by themselves? The toilet also flushed for which Alice was immensely grateful. The place may have looked like something out of medieval times but it was comfortable and functional. She loved it.

Finally, the house was quiet, the children settled in bed. Bella came bustling in looking harassed but still smiling. She sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand over Alice's, squeezing gently.

"Do you need anything sweetheart? Any more food? A drink?"

"No, thank you Bella. I am fine, you have done so much for me already", Alice replied feeling very humbled.

"Nonsense!" Bella responded, "I am just thanking God every moment for bringing you here… If Edward hadn't found you…"

Bella pressed her hand to her chest, her sentence trailing off. Alice knew all too well that if Edward hadn't found her, she would probably have died out there on the edge of this woodland.

"I will be eternally grateful to him.. To you both" Alice said, her voice trembling. "I don't know if he really knows how grateful I am, I mean.. its all been a bit overwhelming but I really am Bella…"

"Shush now sweetheart, he knows" she smiled warmly, "My Edward.. he is a wonderful man, what on earth would I do without him…. But he really is the strong silent type" Bella laughed softly, "We don't get many visitors out here and I think he struggles to know how to deal with new people, he didn't have the best experience with people before we came here, so its hardly surprising I suppose. My poor, sweet man.."

Bella trailed off, her eyes glazing as though she were a million miles, and as many years, away from the here and now.

"Did you come from New York?" Alice asked quietly. It took a moment for Bella to snap back into the present but when she did she lowered her gaze, her eyes meeting Alice's were hard, icy. She looked a different person. Alice couldn't help frowning at the change in this gentle lady.

"Yes, a lifetime ago that's where we both came from" she responded.

"How did you come to be here? Did you run away? I remember the stories of people leaving in the dead of night, but I always thought they were myths… or, were you cast out, like… like me?"

"We left.. We chose to, but we also had to really".

"Why? How? How did you end up here?" Alice asked, "Can you tell me?"

Bella smiled down at her and gave her hand another gentle squeeze.

"That is a long story and now is not the time. Tomorrow sweetheart. We will talk tomorrow".

Alice returned Bella's warm smile and nodded as the older woman rose from the bed.

"If you need anything at all, I am just in the room next door", Bella pointed at the wall to Alice's left, and presumably, the room beyond it, "when you have rested and got your strength back tomorrow I will show you around properly and we will talk. But sleep now…"

"Goodnight Bella.. Thank you again, for everything".

"You are more than welcome sweetheart. Goodnight Alice", Bella said softly before leaving the room quietly, dousing the candles on the wall and pulling the door-curtain across once she had left. Alice blew out the candle on the table beside her bed and the room was thrown into darkness. Sleep soon took her over, the darkness pulling her under to a peaceful sleep.

One more chapter in this epilogue to go and this story complete! I know I said I would get it completed by this weekend but it has kind of run away with me a bit (3500 words just on this chapter!) so I decided to stop here and post this and finish it off in two separate updates rather than one big one.

I am on holiday next week until the following Wednesday but will try to get the last chapter out by the weekend after if all goes to plan!