Chapter II
Title: Shadow and Sunshine
Pairing: J/B, some E/B
Rating: PG-13
Summary: On their honeymoon, Bella is torn away from Edward when they are attacked by a strange group. Although Bella survives, she ends up stranded at a mysterious school with no memory of her prior life. As her new life begins to fall apart at the seams, Bella must piece together the clues to her past.
Disclaimer: You probably already suspect that I'm not Stephanie Meyer.
Chapter Two
I guess it's over.
My memory plays our tune,
The same old song.
-1973, James Blunt
Alice watched him silently, pain etched into her face. Though he knew she was there, Edward lay unmoving and spread-eagled on the grass, eyes closed.
She rested one cold, unmoving hand on the door frame, and tilted her head back to gaze up at the black, starless night. Alice knew she had failed Edward, had let him down in the most agonizing way.
She had not stopped it, because she had not seen that it would happen. She, Alice, had allowed his true love, his wife, to be kidnapped-and possibly much worse. And though he looked her full in the face, his eyes dead and hopeless, and told her that it was not her fault, Alice knew he didn’t mean it.
The sky was empty of stars, and seemingly of hope. Though the Cullens would scour every last inch of the earth in an effort to bring Bella back, they were dealing with an unknown force. And there was no guarantee that all their hunting would find Bella alive.
Her shoulders slumped. What could they possibly tell Bella’s parents?
“That burglars broke into the house where we were staying, and now she’s missing.”
Alice jumped at Edward’s voice-he hadn’t spoken to her in days. The raw pain she could feel radiating from him was almost unbearable.
“Someone will need to tell the wolves,” she said hesitantly, knowing that he would not want to hear it, but that it was necessary nonetheless. “Are you up to it?”
She felt rather than saw him flinch. “No.” His eyes never left the empty sky above him. “But I’ll do it anyway.”
Bella sipped her iced tea from the flimsy paper cup, surveying her surroundings over the rim of her sunglasses.
“Is this seat taken?”
Bella turned and saw that, much to her surprise, the lanky redhead from her philosophy class stood only a few feet away. “Um, no,” she said awkwardly, sweeping her extra notebooks and pencils into her bag. “Go ahead.”
He plopped down next door. “Good discussion today, huh?”
Though she was unsure why, Bella thought that his boyish attitude seemed bizarrely familiar. “I-yes, I thought it went pretty well. My name is Bella, by the way.”
“Oh!” He looked sheepish. “Sorry, here I am rambling on without even introducing myself. I’m Ciaran.”
Bella nodded politely and took another drink of iced tea. There was a slight pause. “Have we met before?” she asked, cautiously. “Outside of class, I mean?”
“Well.” He screwed up his face, thinking. “No, I don’t think so. Why?”
“No reason,” she assured him. “You just remind me of someone, that’s all. At least,” she hesitated, “I think you do.”
“I get that all the time! A lot of people think I look like a young Warren Beatty.” He looked at Bella, hopefully. “Do you see it?”
“Um…” She smiled uncertainly. “A little, I think.”
There was another pause, and Bella found herself growing uncomfortable under his gaze. She groped around for a conversation topic. “Do you have another class to go today?”
“No, I’m done today. What about you?”
“Actually, I have basic defense soon.” Bella checked her watch.
“Hey! What’s that?” Ciaran leaned forward, noticing her charm bracelet as it dangled from her wrist.
“Oh, it’s…” she trailed off, uncertain how to finish the sentence. Luckily, Ciaran didn’t seem to notice.
“I really like the wolf one,” he commented, craning his neck. “Do you have werewolf blood in you or something?”
“I- well, I’m not a werewolf.” Bella pulled her wrist back, tucking her bracelet securely back in her sleeve.
“I didn’t mean to pry or anything,” he said quickly. “Just- werewolves kind of like to flaunt what they are, you know? Cocky little bastards.” He grinned.
Bella frowned a little, toying with her now empty cup. “Really.” She didn’t know why exactly, but she could feel herself bristling at the comment.
“Well, they’re probably not all like that. Just the ones I’ve met, I guess,” he continued lightly, seemingly not noticing Bella’s discomfort. “I’ve always thought it would be really cool to be some kind of shape-shifter. My grandmother was one, but I didn’t inherit it.”
“Oh. That’s too bad, I guess.” Bella shouldered her bag and grabbed her cup. “Sorry to interrupt you, but I should probably get going. It was nice talking to you.”
“Yeah.” His brown eyes brightened. “See you later, Bella.”
Once she was out of view, Bella shook her head as she tossed her cup into a nearby trashcan. Her basic defense class with Madeline didn’t start for another half an hour, but she had been growing increasingly uneasy with her conversation with Ciaran. She held still for a moment, staring unseeingly at the trashcan in front of her.
Strangely, she had never considered the possible connection to werewolves before. Was Roger right? Was it possible she did somehow have werewolf blood in her?
Bella chewed her lower lip, thoughtfully.
Micah’s eyes crinkled with laughter, one large hand waving for emphasis. “Okay, so then, as if all this weren’t bad enough, he starts going on about-” he broke off. “Bella?”
“Hmm?” She looked up from the cup she was cradling between her hands, startled. “Sorry, Micah. You were saying?”
“Never mind.” He leaned back, taking a swig. Sera leaned forward, dark hair falling into her face.
“Bella,” she asked, carefully. “What’s going on? You seem… moody. More so than usual.”
Bella snorted. “Thanks. Love you too.”
Sera rolled her eyes, tossing her thick curls over one shoulder. “Bella, if you’re not careful you’re going to become a tiny person with one big chip on her shoulder.”
Bella stiffened. “You’re a little judgmental for someone who actually remembers their past.”
“Don’t be like that,” Micah said gently, flattening both hands on the table. “When the timing’s right, everything will come back to you.”
Bella fiddled with her wrinkled napkin. “It’s not like everything is a complete blank slate,” she shot back. “You don’t know what it’s like when you keep getting these-these nagging sensations. I’m just sitting in the coffee shop, minding my own business, and then wham. It’s there, I can’t control it, I don’t even know what caused it.” Bella felt her lips tremble slightly, and she pressed them together tightly.
Micah took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. Sera reached forward, covering Bella’s hand with her own. “But what can you do? You’re obviously here for a rea-”
“Oh, stop it,” Bella said impatiently, pulling her hand away. “You don’t know how tired I am of hearing that. What good am I here, anyway? I’m the only one without-magic, or super-strength, or something. The school made a mistake.”
Micah’s eyes widened slightly. “You can’t possibly mean that.”
“Of course I do. I want to be something else.” She considered this. “Something powerful.”
Sera shook her head emphatically, curls flying wildly. “Since when is brute strength the only thing you need to protect people? You don’t understand what you have.”
“You two are all I have.” She sighed. “I’m sorry I brought this up, okay? Let’s please talk about something else.”
“Fine,” Micah said quietly. “But just wait, Bella. One day you’ll recognize what you are, and you won’t want to give it up.”
“My little philosopher,” Sera said lightly, nudging him with her shoulder.
“Uh-huh,” Bella muttered, unconvinced.
That night, Bella dreamt of blood and darkness. She thought she could distantly hear the howl of an animal in pain, but she couldn’t be sure. Bella tossed restlessly for a moment, then rolled over and went back to sleep. When she woke the next morning, she was surprised to find her hand clamped protectively over her bracelet.
Chapter Three