When I opened the door,
I was surprised to find a folded piece of yellowing paper on my door
mat. The outside was addressed ‘To Becky’. The writing was neat
and elegant, a slightly Gothic twist to the letters.
I dumped the piano
books on the hall table and picked up the note, crossing into the
living room and flopping down on the couch before I unfolded it.
My heartbeat picked up
as I read the note.
It has come to my
attention that you have been spending time with a young lady by the
name of Alice Cullen. Judging by what my guard heard of your
conversation, and the manner in which Miss Cullen left your home, on
Wednesday night, I am sure you will be aware of what she and the rest
of her family really are. You will also be aware, no doubt, of who I
am and why I am writing to you.
I would very much
like to meet you personally. Call the number at the bottom of the
page and my secretary will make you an appointment.
You would be wise
not to delay, my dear Becky.
We do not offer
second chances.
Yours,
Aro of the Volturi
I was utterly frozen
for one half second. Then the panic washed over me.
What was I going to do?
If I didn’t go to Volterra, Aro would send the guard here, and that
could not be allowed to happen.
But he had said his
guard saw me and Alice, and heard us talking. What were they even
doing here?
I decided it wasn’t
worth worrying about until I absolutely had to. I hadn’t had a
visit from Lillian since I arrived, so everything must still be on
track. My focus now should be getting to Italy and back again before
Monday without alerting a certain bronze-haired vampire or his easily
panicked girlfriend. If Edward wouldn’t let Bella go 15 miles down
the road to La Push, he certainly wasn’t going to let me go half
way across the globe to visit vampire royalty. Not that I was as
fragile as Bella was, but he would still kick up a fuss, and she
would stress herself out with needless worrying.
I sighed. It would be
impossible to keep this from them. All I could hope for was
convincing them not to follow me when I went. And I would go; I had
to, to protect them.
The phone number at the
bottom of the note was fairly ordinary, but my fingers shook as I
dialled.
“Hello, Volterra
Enterprises, how may I help you?” a pleasant female voice answered.
“Hi, this is Rebecca
Wainwright, I’ve been asked to make an appointment with a Mr Aro?”
I made my sentence a question, as if I wasn’t quite sure I had the
right name. Which was true; I didn’t know if he used an alias as
part of the business façade.
“Of course! We’ve
been waiting for your call.” The voice was light and bubbly, the
Italian accent prominent but not overwhelming. “We have an opening
at 5:00 pm on Saturday, will that be ok?”
I mentally flipped
through all the relevant flight schedules, looking for something that
could get me to Italy in time and back to America as soon after the
meeting as possible. There were plenty to choose from, but, of
course, with the nine hour time difference between Italy and western
America, I would have to leave tomorrow afternoon to make it with a
reasonable allowance for sleep. Still, it was possible. I thought
through all this so quickly, the receptionist probably didn’t even
notice my hesitation.
“Yes, that will be
fine.” I said, making sure to sound light and positive.
“Wonderful,” the
voice replied, and I could hear the smile in it, “We look forward
to your visit.”
“Thank you,” I
replied pleasantly before hanging up and hurrying upstairs to pack.
***
I knew Edward and Alice
could feel my edginess the next day, but I took no notice of their
sideways glances and suspicious looks, focussing on acting normal for
Bella.
When I got home, I sat
down at my desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen.
Undoubtedly, someone would call at some point this evening, and if I
didn’t answer the phone they might decide to come over. I had to
leave some explanation of my sudden disappearance, and the truth
seemed like the best plan; I would never be able to come up with a
feasible excuse, and, knowing Alice, she would probably search the
house just to satisfy her own curiosity.
Alice, I wrote,
reasoning that she would probably be the one to come.
I apologise for
disappearing so suddenly, but I have a rather pressing problem that
requires my immediate attention. All you need to know is:
1. I will be out of
the country for approximately three days, and I should return
sometime on Sunday night.
2. When I say the
problem requires my immediate attention, I do mean mine and
no one else’s. That means you don’t follow
me, and you stop anyone else who tries; I don’t care if you have to
tie Edward to a tree, NO ONE is to follow me.
3. You have to keep
this from Bella at all costs. I am positive she will panic and that
is never a good thing. If you can’t keep it from her, at least keep
her calm (Jasper may come in handy for that one).
4. If you really
want to know more, there is a note, addressed to me, in
the top drawer of my desk that should explain everything.
5. If in doubt, text
me. My mobile number is on a post-it by the phone.
I think that’s
everything you need. One again, I’m sorry I can’t give you a
better explanation, and please, please, PLEASE
don’t follow me. I’m doing this for your own good. If
I don’t go, the problem will come here, and that is a very bad
thing if I want to keep things on track for Eclipse.
See you at school on
Monday.
Becky
I folded the paper in
half, wrote ‘Alice’ on the outside and propped it up against the
phone on the hall table. I wrote my number on one of the pink heart
shaped post-its I kept there for writing notes and stuck it to the
receiver. Then I took my suitcase and travel bag from where they sat
waiting at the foot of the stairs, and flew around to the garage,
locking the door behind me.
I pulled out before
stopping the car and stowing my bags, then locked the garage door and
did a last sweep of the house.
When I was satisfied
that everything was in place, I climbed back into the car and sped
along my driveway, turning onto the road at the end and heading for
the airport in Seattle.
***
I was waiting for my
connection in New York when my phone buzzed. Ah ha! Someone must have
noticed I was gone. I pulled it out and... Yep, ‘Incoming call,
Alice Cullen’ was lighting up the screen. I hit the answer button
and put it to my ear.
“Hi Alice.”
“BECKY ARE YOU
TOTALLY CRAZY?!”
I winced and held the
phone away as Alice’s shrill voice screeched at me. Even with the
speaker an inch and a half away from my ear, I could still pick out
each word with perfect clarity.
“YOU ARE COMPLETELY
OUT OF YOUR MIND! IF YOU THINK YOU CAN GO INTO THE VOLTURI STRONGHOLD
AND COME OUT ALIVE YOU HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM AND NO EDWARD I WILL
NOT CALM DOWN!”
“Please Alice; you’re
giving me a head ache!” I pleaded as quietly as I could, not
wanting to draw attention to myself in the crowded departure lounge.
It seemed to work, because Alice took a deep breath and continued in
a slightly more measured tone.
“Give me one good
reason why I shouldn’t send Emmet and Jasper after you right this
second.”
“How about two?” I
asked, and then continued before she could respond. “One, I do not
need their help, because I am not some helpless human, and you know
better than anyone what I am capable of. And two, if they end up in
Volterra, Aro is going to know about it, and anything that reminds
him about you guys is a very bad thing indeed.”
There was silence for a
few seconds as Alice took all this in.
“Why is it bad?”
she said, her voice quiet and serious.
I chewed on my lip,
trying to come up with a way to explain it without giving anything
away. When I was fairly sure I had it right, I spoke slowly and
deliberately, trying to convey what I couldn’t say.
“If he is reminded of
you, he is undoubtedly going to be reminded of Bella, and a certain
agreement you made with him a few weeks ago. If that happens, he
might decide to check on you earlier than he first planned. That’s
another reason why I’m doing this of course; if I don’t go to
him, he will come to Forks, or send someone, and he already knows I’m
involved with you. Look, Alice, I really wish I could explain all of
this; but I can’t, not without revealing the future, and there are
some things even you can’t be allowed to know about.”
Another silence. Then
the sound of the phone being passed from one hand to another.
“Becky, Alice is
translating the Declaration of Independence into German in her head.
What is she trying to hide?”
I smirked. Typical
Alice. Typical Edward too, always wanting to know everything.
“I would guess that
she is avoiding telling you what happened on Wednesday night after we
went shopping, but she shouldn’t be, because I want you to know
that I can take care of myself.”
“Who are you trying
to protect Becky?” Edward asked, and his question threw me for a
second.
“What?”
“You heard me. You’re
obviously trying to protect someone, but who is it?”
I had to think about
that for a minute.
I was shocked by a
voice in my ear that wasn't Edward’s. It was loud and clear, like
the person was standing right next to me.
You can’t keep
this from him Becky, Lillian’s voice said, echoing around my
head, you’re going to have to let a little bit slip. Not too
much, mind. Time scales, deadlines, important dates, but no
specifics. Just do what you did with Jacob and you’ll be fine.
Are you sure? I
asked her hesitantly. I had to be positive that this was right.
I’ll stop you if
you go wrong. Have faith Becky; let the powers of the Multi-verse
guide you.
“Becky?” Edward
asked. His voice was low and nervous.
I took a deep breath.
“Listen to me Edward, and listen carefully. What I am about to tell
you must stay between us, got it? No one can know besides you, me and
Alice.”
There was a short
pause. Then Edward spoke, his voice sombre now, serious.
“We’re listening.”
I took another breath
to steady myself.
“Ok. I can only give
you the timing; I can’t tell you anything in detail. It’s early
April now. Eclipse is set to start in about a week, and then it’s
pretty much solid story from there to next January. None of the
Volturi is supposed to be anywhere near Forks until June, and, if all
goes as it should, they won’t even think of visiting you
specifically until August. If this goes wrong there will be major mix
ups in the space-time continuum and I know that sounds cheesy but
it’s the truth. If I don’t go to Volterra, they come to me. That
is a very bad thing, because it throws everything off schedule. And
of course, I would get the blame because it would be my fault. You
asked who I’m trying to protect. I’m trying to protect myself.
I’m trying to protect you, and Bella, and the people of Forks. I’m
trying to protect the entire Multi-verse, and that isn’t something
that’s easy to do. I’m risking so much just by telling you this;
I can’t even explain it right. To put it as simply as possible, I
would risk more by not going than I am by going. I’m sorry I can’t
be more helpful, but there’s no help for it.”
The tannoy pinged,
announcing my flight.
“Look, I have to go,
my connection is boarding. I’ll see you in school on Monday, ok?”
“Sure.” Alice
answered, having apparently reclaimed the phone. Her voice shook
slightly. Obviously the new information had had an adverse effect on
her nerves.
“Text me if you need
me.” I said, and then hung up as I approached the gate.
***
It was dark when the
plane finally landed at the airport in Florence.
My car was waiting for
me, not just an identical copy, but the exact same pink Mini I had
left in Seattle. I wasn’t usually a selfish person, I liked to do
things for others rather than myself, but sometimes even I couldn’t
resist doing things just for the fun of it. Besides, it would be nice
to actually drive it with the top down.
I climbed into the
driver’s seat, popping the roof open before starting the engine and
going on my way.
I had found a little
village, about an hours drive from Volterra, with a small hotel, and
had made reservations there over the phone while I waited for my
first flight. It took me two hours to get there, for I wasn’t in a
hurry and took every opportunity to admire the beautiful landscape
around me. In my own world, Italy was the farthest I had been from
home, on a family holiday to Tuscany when I was 13. We went in May,
during a heat wave, and the sun shone everyday. It was beautiful, but
good lord, it was hot. We had spent most of the time in the
pool.
As I topped the last
hill before my destination, I caught sight of the city, perched atop
the next hill along. It was like every other town and city I had
passed. There was nothing in its appearance to suggest it was any
different from the others, and, to most people, it wasn’t.
Tomorrow I would enter
that city. The very real possibility that I wouldn’t come back out
should have terrified me. But all I felt was gratitude.
I was grateful that I
was able to do this for my friends.
I was grateful that
Alice and Edward had listened to me and stayed in Forks.
I was grateful for the
time that I had had here.
And, most of all, I was
grateful that even a serious injury would send me home, to my
parents, and my friends, and my Alex.
I was still thinking
about Alex as I lay in an unfamiliar bed in a generic hotel room half
an hour later. As I drifted to sleep, I dreamt that I was home. I
dreamt of half term in Cornwall, of walking along a beach at sunset,
hand in hand with the most perfect boy on the planet. I dreamt of
playing the piano for Eileen in the ballroom at Parks House. I dreamt
of singing as Alex played his guitar, and of him singing to me. I
imagined what he would say if he was here with me, what he would
think of the Cullens, and what he would think of what I was doing
now.
I could almost hear his
voice, like he was lying next to me.
I can’t say I’m
happy about this, Becks; but I trust you. I know you can take care of
yourself, and I know you’ll come back to me, because you always do.
God knows why; I’ve never done anything good enough to deserve you.
I have faith in you. I know you can do this. You’ve gotten yourself
out of tighter spots than this before, and I know you’ll do it
again. Oh, and by the way...
I love you.
I smiled in my sleep,
content in my dreams of my home and my Alex.
My heart.
My soul.
My one true love.
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