Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Heat.

That was all that I could feel.

My other senses were blocked off from the unbearable temperature that only seemed to affect me.

The blue wool cardigan I wore suddenly felt too heavy and stifling. Beads of sweat welled up against my forehead and at the nape of my neck. I leaned against the uncomfortable hard chair, grateful for the coolness. I suddenly felt nauseous. My head swam as I sat up, trying to find a more comfortable position than the one I was in.

"Bella, my love? Are you alright? You look a little pale," asked Edward worriedly. He was always worried now. It was a tendency I suppose that was brought on from knowing you and your family were in danger and there was nothing that you could do about it.

Nessie frowned at Edward's comment, looking up from a blanket on the floor where she had been sitting and playing. (I had insisted on the blanket, not because she might get cold, but rather at the horrifying thought of how filthy an airport floor actually was. Nessie was playing with a doll we had bought her in an attempt at trying to distract her from the busy crowd of the airport.

"I'm fine, just a little tired," I answered, trying to reassure Edward.

"Momma, what's wrong?" asked Nessie. The way her forehead crinkled reminded me so much of Edward at that moment.

"Nothing sweetheart, I promise."

I scooped Renesmee up in my arms cradling her and kissed the top of her head. She looked about the size of a three-year old, and her growing had slowed down quite a bit from what it previously was. Edward and I were just happy that we would have her as a baby for a bit longer.

I hoped she would get some sleep before the flight. She needed rest after the whole ordeal.

We all did.

"Have there been any more changes about the flight?" I asked Edward.

"No, there hasn't been any. It's still going to be delayed for a few more hours," Edward said frowning unhappily.

His forehead crumpled and he bit his lip, a habit I was sure that he picked up from me.

"Bella, are you sure you are okay?" Edward asked again.

His honey coloured eyes bore into me, as if he were looking at straight at my soul. It was only him who was able to so. His look was filled with so much care and adoration that I couldn't help but shudder. How could I lie to him?

Of course I hadn't been able to fool him.

As a vampire my lying skills had improved a marginally, but now back as a human, my face was able to betray me again. I wasn't able to hide my emotions like most people were able to. I was an open book.

My mother, Renee, despite her scatter brained tendencies did have her moments of wisdom. She always said that I wore my heart on my sleeve and that one day that would be my downfall. I had never understood what she meant by that. The first time she had told me that, I had been about five years old. I didn't remember much from that time, but I do remember my mother packing up our bags and moving across the city. It was only later that I learned that it was a lover she was fleeing from.

Edward had become even more observant over me after the whole debacle. I don't blame him though.

I had once been human. I had left my home town to move to dreary old Washington, Forks. But it was in this little town that I had met my soul mate. In the rainy town of Forks I had embarked on my true journey. Through many trials that had tested our love, we had eventually prevailed. I had become an immortal. I had forsaken my life as a human and joined Edward in immortality where we hoped to spend eternity together. Not just him, but our daughter and his family which had become my own.

I had been human and then vampire... and now human again.

It was all because of her.

She was the cause of all of this.

We had finally found our piece of happiness and she had come along and destroyed it.

It was all her fault. We were all in this position because of her.

If we had known the repercussions of her actions, we would have done things differently. Perhaps we could have torn her limb from limb the moment she entered our house. Perhaps we could have terrified her or even threatened her into never coming back. (Despite Carlisle's peace loving tendencies there was another side to him, especially when his family was threatened.) We could have even met with her and after, have fled to some far off land. It would not have been practical, but we would have been safe and together.

This was not the first time my thoughts had strayed to this path. Ever since it had happened, I kept wishing I had done something differently. Maybe it was just because I hated the situation that had been forced upon us.

It had been a normal day, well normal enough for our family. Alice hadn't even seen this coming. She feels horrible now that she didn't see this coming, but she couldn't have done anything anyway. I don't blame her of course. It just seems that our little bit of peace couldn't have lasted forever.

We had all been outside in the garden watching Renesmee play when she had appeared.

She had looked so harmless.

But I suppose even the most voracious of creatures can disguise themselves to make themselves seem innocent. It is only then do they strike by catching their prey of guard.

She was a vampire who had introduced herself as Esther. She had looked so young. She couldn't have been changed at a human age much older than ourselves. She didn't give much information about herself, but it was understandable. Even as a vampire, it is not prudent to give out such personal information about yourself to strangers you couldn't quite trust yet.

Esther was of average height and had had long dish water blonde hair which she wore in an unassuming braid. Like all vampires she shared our similar characteristics. She had pale skin and a stunning beauty that was enhanced by her vampirism.

Her eyes however were her most striking feature.

They were not like the usual vampires' eyes. They were not black from thirst or ruby red from hunting humans or even golden from our choice of lifestyle, hunting animals.

Esther's were the most unusual colour of violet.

I had never seen such a colour before. They sparkled as she talked how she had came across us. She had heard about us from other vampires she had come across on her travels.

Apparently our family had become quite famous after the Volturi incident.

Who knew?

Esther was always polite and kind when she interacted with all of us. She didn't seem dangerous at all. She chose to ignore the hostile looks and rudeness from the rest of us. Vampires showing up out of no-where was not a common thing and we were very skeptical.

Esther said she was most intrigued by our choice of lifestyle as is not common among the many vampires she had come across. She said she wanted to try out our lifestyle as she had began to develop a conscience from killing so many people.

To be civil, Carlisle invited her to the house to speak with. We were all most wary of her and her usual eyes. Our history with coming across nomads didn't help her case either.

Esther listened closely to the story of Edward and I and how Renesmee came about. Like most, she had been very curious about Nessie's conception. It was a subject that embarrassed me to no end. I let Edward do most of the talking.

After a few hours of talking with all of us, she had left.

The rest of us were quite relieved that was all. Esther's deep questioning of our clan made it seem almost like she sought as place with us or perhaps she was just morbidly curious.

Esther however had left as fast as she had come.

Days passed and soon weeks and we'd all almost forgotten about the strange visit we'd gotten from Esther.

I had later questioned Edward about Esther, and he had told me that her thoughts seemed quite normal and she had nothing to hide. I was put to ease and soon things went back to normal. There seemed like there was nothing to worry about.

That was until the letter came. We were all shocked from its arrival. It was not the usual sort of post we normally received. It was thick and looked very regal, something I imagined that a king or queen must use. The contents of the letter were most disturbing and confusing.

Dear Cullen Clan

I did not appreciate the treatment I had received upon our last visit. Under usual circumstances I would punish you for what had taken place. Unfortunately my brothers do not feel the same way, and I cannot carry out my plan as intended. However I did come across someone very remarkable with an extraordinary ability. My brother did not however find use for her at the moment, but I have. I am not allowed to harm any of you just yet, but I am sure this will cause an adequate amount of destruction in the mean time.

Have fun!

Caius

The letter did not make much sense until Esther showed up again.

But this time, it was different.

Esther seemed as it she was a completely different person. She was hostile and mean, and didn't care for idle talk this time. I couldn't understand how a person could change so dramatically. What shocked us the most was when she stood in the middle of the clearing, a few metres from our house and started chanting.

She held her palms in the air and just stood muttering strange words which sounded like it was in another tongue.

There was a rush of wind which her hair fly wildly making her look demented. The sky turned ominously dark and thunder crackled as if a storm had broken out just over our house. The air felt strange as if nature itself was rebelling.

None of us could understand what was going on, and when we tried to get near her, we couldn't, like there was some sort of physical shield blocking us. The shield reminded me of Renata's gift even though I had never actually experienced it.

Then there was a spark of pain that shot through my body.

When I awoke I was human.

I had dull ache at the back of my head which felt like I had been hit with a baseball bat. My whole body ached and felt like heavy like lead. I vaguely remember wondering if a hangover felt like that.

There was nothing that we could do. Carlisle examined me and after taking a series of painful blood tests, in which I cringed from the needles, he concluded that I was indeed human again. We all were confused and scared of what would happen, especially since Alice couldn't see what would happen in the near future. So we did the hardest thing the family has ever had to do.

We split up. It was safer that way; we didn't know what else Esther might do or even what she could do. She had fled after she had turned me human and with an ominous warning she had disappeared. All attempts at trying to track her, failed. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air.

Carlisle was convinced that she is a witch. Before then I didn't even know witches existed. Well to be fair three years ago I didn't know vampires existed either. Carlisle admitted to having heard about witches, but didn't know if the rumors were true or if they were all made up. Esther had come across as a vampire, was it possible that she was both? A witch and a vampire?

As hard as it was to accept such a thin explanation, I had too.

Because somehow, I had found myself as a human again.

So that was how Edward, Nessie and I ended up at the airport. The others had left already, we weren't the last to leave, but our flight had been delayed. We had all said our farewells with lingering hugs. We didn't know when we would see each other again.

It was just our luck that I still half expected Esther to burst into the room and possibly turn us to rats. It probably wasn't the best idea for the family to split up but it was the only thing we could do at the moment.

The nausea I felt earlier returned, and I barely made it to the trash can before I heaved, throwing up the little food I had in my stomach. Edward was by my side in a second.

"Bella? Are you alright!?" Edward asked panicking.

I stood up, trying to pass him to sit back down. It was when I wobbled that Edward pulled me into his arms. I could feel the tension in his arms as he held me gently. I was a human again, breakable in his arms.

"Yeah, I'm okay...the throwing up is just the side effect when you are changed from a vampire into a human by a witch," I said trying to lighten the mood.

I suddenly found myself overcame with emotion and started crying uncontrollably into Edward's chest.

What was wrong with me?

I had never been this emotional last time I was human. The nerves of all that had happened must have gotten to me.

"Ssshhh sweetheart, everything will be okay," Edward said trying to get me to stop crying.

I pulled away from him to look him in the eyes. "When? When will it be over?"

Edward said nothing. He didn't have an answer for me. Nobody did.

At that moment, Nessie started crying in a result of me crying.

I suddenly felt guilty for making her cry which made me want to cry even more. Edward grabbed Nessie and me and pulled us on to his lap and tried soothing us.

My sobs quietened when I noticed everyone staring. How weird we must look to everyone in the airport.

One teenager comforting another teenager and toddler on his lap.

This is what our lives had come to.

I buried my head into Edward's cold shoulder wishing for something better than this.