So... its been a while...

I'm not going to lie, if it weren't for the amazing reviewers who come back to review months after I've posted a chapter I may not have been able to find the inspiration to continue. Thank you so much for your support! I love you guys...

My HSC trials are now over and the HSC exams are in October. After that I will be free of school and can write fanfiction whenever I want :D woot woot!

Only two more months guys :)

Thankyou!

x-shadow-x-kisses-x

Miranda

If there was anyone I trusted in this world more than Jackson, it was his daughter Skyla.

So when she'd asked me to run for fifteen minutes towards the north and scream "Alice Cullen we are coming!" a hundred times, I didn't question her.

However, when I returned home and found all five of the hybrid children huddled together, Jordan crying, with Remy and Adrian trying to comfort him, I began to rethink my blind trust.

"What in the world happened?" I asked, a little worried. Remy and Adrian exchanged nervous glances; it was Matt who answered.

"Skye and Zelda are gone."

Angelo nodded his little head.

I struggled, for the first time in my immortal life, to form words. A feeling of complete foreboding rose its gloomy head within me as Remy pointed to the small wooden coffee table in front of where they were sitting on the couch. Perched on top was a note addressed to me... and one addressed to "Bella."

Skye

It was dark by the time I noticed Fred approaching. Could he sense my anxiety? Did my face give away my fear?

A lot went through my mind as he stepped out of the shadows of the forest. I leant against the tree behind me; more for something to do than actual necessity.

Miranda and the children were long gone, probably half way to Forks by now. It was where I'd sent them; it was a long shot, but I had to hope that my theory was right. The Cullen's would accept Miranda into their coven, and then Bella would follow the instructions I'd left her on the note. It had to work. It was the only way I could save Zelda.

And with that, I returned my attention to Fred.

He was just as dazzlingly handsome ever; his dark eyes smouldering with hunger beneath his blonde fringe. I swiftly closed the distance between us and threw my arms around his neck.

He seemed surprised at my forcefulness, but not un-eager. He kissed me back with just as much passion as I was kissing him. I strained my body closer to his, unwilling to let him go. I wanted to stay in this moment forever; with his lips on mine the world seemed so much simpler. There was no Volturi or threat of death lingering over my head or that of Zelda's. Miranda, Adrian, Remy, Jordan, Matt and Angelo – all of them were safe and there was no reason for us to be separated. In this simple world I would be with them when they sought out the Cullen's. I could be with my sister and my mother, and we could go back to how it was before I ever let Jackson in to my life and agreed to help him.

And yet, despite the trouble finding my siblings had caused me, I could not bring myself to regret finding them. Surely, the very fact that they were alive and no longer left alone to kill hundreds, thousands of humans was worth a life on the run.

And one small person made a life on the run seem simpler than the perfect world I often dreamed about. I realised then that it didn't matter what Fred said to me, whether he agreed to run with me or not, I had to protect the one person who was more important to me than life itself.

I pulled away from Fred, and looked up into his eyes – so full of love and lust for me. I wanted so much to be with him in this moment forever…

Fred's gaze turned speculative. "What's wrong?" he asked, and I tried to hide some of the sorrow from my expression.

"I haven't been completely honest with you." I told him.

He ran his fingers through my hair. I shivered, my body longing for his touch. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I can handle it."

I touched his face. "Don't make me any promises you can't keep."

Confusion and – I cringed internally – hurt washed over his features. "Skye, what –"

I put a finger over his lips. "Just wait, please." I moved away from him, back towards my tree. "There's something I need to show you."

On cue, Zelda came out from her hiding spot behind the tree. On seeing Fred, she darted behind me, hiding behind my legs. Although she needn't have done so, for Fred had leaped away from us the second he saw her.

Despair filled me when I saw the look of shock and betrayal on his face. This is what I'd feared. He knew the stories of the immortal children, and he feared the Volturi enough to know he should definitely not be involved with one.

"Skye… why?" his whispered question was too low for human ears. The hurt in his voice – it literally pierced my soul. I had no explanation for him. I couldn't even tell him I was sorry. I would be lying.

"We have to leave. It's not safe for us here anymore." I held my hand out behind me. Zelda latched on and I tried to get her to move into Fred's line of vision. She stayed firmly in place; I sensed her fear.

Fred's eyes – they were so full of anguish. I could almost see the internal struggle that was raging inside of him. My chest tightened as he backed further away.

And then a hand squeezed my shoulder comfortingly. Relief washed over me; my father was with me. I hadn't realised how deeply I'd missed him. An empty space in my heart filled with his presence. Just the knowledge that I had his support was enough to give me the strength I needed to accept whatever response I received from Fred.

It was almost too easy to enter my dreamy space.

I rarely ever entered it now – I could communicate with spirits without it. But it gave me a feeling of privacy; all the speaking I did was in my head rather than out loud; any actions I made were not paralleled by my real body.

Jackson stood in front of me, a white void I tried to ignore behind him. Waiting. Beckoning. He didn't move towards it.

He stared at me for a long time, eventually placing his hand on my cheek and saying in a thick voice, "I'm so proud of you."

A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed the tears that were formulating. "Proud? How can you be proud? I'm allowing deadly creature to wreak havoc on the earth, and I abandoned my siblings to a life that could get them killed. I could have just gotten my entire family killed. There's no guarantee my plan will work, you know."

He wiped a tear off with his thumb. "No..." he said placing a hand on my shoulder. "You trusted a man you hated, who you knew had committed atrocious deeds because he forced you to watch him commit them, because of the mere possibility that there could be young children left fending for themselves who would have eventually been tracked down and killed by the Volturi. You gave a six year old girl, who wanted desperately to protect her brother, a chance at living her immortal life. There aren't many people who would do that, Skye. Even now, you're prepared to give up your own happiness and freedom to protect this child. You're willing to cut yourself off from every person you love just to defend her." He smiled a genuine smile that looked nothing like his usual snarky one. "I couldn't be prouder of you."

Then he did something I'd never expected. He hugged me. I hugged him back as hard as I could, the tears flowing freely now.

When we pulled away from each other I watched his face and the dream fade away until all I saw was Fred's horrified expression.

"No… Skye don't cry."

I wiped my tears away, and tried to keep my voice steady. "This is Zelda." I said, tightening my grip on her.

He looked so forlorn, I almost started crying again. "Skye, your past coven freely interacts with various other vampires, and I know they've interacted with the Volturi… surely they must have told you –"

"I know the law." I said curtly. "It changes nothing. I'm not abandoning her, or anything else I know you're considering."

Zelda stiffened at the 'anything else,' but said nothing. Her hand remained clutched to mine. Fred studied us curiously.

"Look, I'm not expecting anything from you," I began, a little more forward than usual. I hated to sound harsh, but I needed to get my point through before I turned into a sobbing vampire-human waterfall. "We can't stay here. It's become too dangerous for us. I would love it if you joined us… but if you don't want to I understand. I'm not going to forcibly endanger your life."

Fred looked completely grief stricken, and I could understand why. I knew he loved me, but did his love transcend the danger of living with an immortal child?

A familiar pull of my mind alerted me to the presence of a spirit. She looked about fifteen, and had long dark hair. I'd seen her before, and knew she was somehow attached to him, though I'd never asked who she was – I saw ghosts following their loved ones often enough to ignore their presence unless they directly communicated with me. Her eyes were on Fred, studying his struggle to regain his composure.

Thus far, I'd been unable to allow vampires to see the dead. I could bring spirits to the dreams of my mother and Jacquie, but I suspected that was because in dreams, the imagination was limitless. There was something in the ever conscious minds of vampires that blocked out the spirit world, and I believed that if I could somehow tap into that, I could remove the mind's barrier and enable people to see, if only briefly, their loved ones in the other world.

I'd thought I'd done it while practising on Miranda, but it was too brief to for me to be certain. I had nothing to lose now in trying to get Fred to see the spirit of the dead girl who seemed desperate to communicate with him. I wondered how long she'd followed him around.

I focused my attention completely on Fred's mind and tried to find the part of his brain that would make him sleep, had he been a human. It was like a fuzzy spot in an otherwise smooth plane of the mind, and I tried to mentally smooth it out. I pushed against the fuzziness and tried desperately to clear it out. I could almost feel the girl's desperation to talk to him, and it edged me on, further and further into Fred's mind…

He opened his mouth to speak, and then stopped, his eyes widening at the sight of the girl in front of him. "Bree?"

It had worked. Bree smiled brightly, seemingly ecstatic to be acknowledged by her long-lost friend. I wondered again how they knew each other, and immediately ruled out the possibility that they were related. His blonde hair stood out in stark contrast to her brunette locks.

His wide eyes turned on me. "Are you doing this?"

I nodded.

He turned back to Bree, and I almost felt like I was intruding on them. I turned to Zelda and asked her a few meaningless questions in order to give them some privacy, but I couldn't help over hearing their conversation.

"I shouldn't have let you leave to find Diego. I knew he would be dead. I could feel it; I should have followed you and made you come with me…" he seemed deeply apologetic.

Bree smiled. "I wouldn't have been the same, I would always be wondering whether he was out there, and I'd never be able to move on. Finding out he was dead… it left me a shell of myself." She made an attempt at playful teasing, "You wouldn't have wanted a depressed immortal following you around."

"I wouldn't have cared. I should have protected you –"

Bree cut him off, and I was slightly glad. It was unnerving seeing him this… emotional. Sad. Panicky. He was usually so controlled and calm in his demeanour. "You did protect me. I could have been killed numerous times by Raoul or Kristy or the others, but you kept them away. Without you I never would have met Diego or known what love was like…"

This didn't seem to comfort him much. "I wish there was something I could have done…anything to keep you alive. You didn't deserve to die."

"It doesn't matter." She grinned. "I'm free now."

Fred considered this. He didn't smile, but at least the devastated look was gone.

"I know you want to follow this girl anywhere. Protect her."

He grimaced. "I do… but its so complicated…" he glanced at Zelda pointedly.

"You're in love. It doesn't have to be complicated." She placed her ghostly hand on his cheek, and I wondered if he could feel her. "You're gifted, Fred. I know you can protect Skye. You can protect both of them. No one will ever find you if you don't want them to. Don't do what you think is right. Do what feels right. They are two very separate things."

And with that she disappeared.

Fred looked directly at me, and some part of my brain registered that the conversation with Zelda had stopped. I glanced at her, and she looked a little confused. I knew why – to her, Fred had been talking to himself.

He walked towards me cautiously and I didn't move. I hoped desperately that what Bree had said to him was enough for him to let go of his fear of Zelda. I waited for him to tell me that he was leaving. Or that he was staying. Or that he needed time to think.

Instead he said, "I love you."

Okay the pace will start picking up from here ... you've been warned...