Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the ORIGINAL characters. No copyright infringement intended.

BPoV Chapter 1

Here I stand, Edward next to me, a palpable distance between us. I shivered; my jeans were wet from running through that fountain… I knew I shouldn't have done that. But I was so caught up in saving Edward from his untimely demise that I couldn't control my actions.

I felt – more like sensed – the presence of two others behind me. They led us through a series of endless, maze-like hallways that were decorated with ancient paintings and tapestries. A sharp scraping noise caught my attention and I looked up, my dark eyes flashing, to see the most beautiful being I have ever laid eyes on, opening a mahogany door. Wait, I thought guiltily, I shouldn't be thinking that. I love Edward… don't I?

When the God caught me out-right staring at him, I blushed a deep shade of scarlet. He was about 6'1 with unruly raven black hair that fell carelessly into his sapphire ringed ruby eyes. I looked over at him and noted that he was wearing a dark coat that clung to his muscular frame. He was manly and mature, which I found slightly odd, considering he had the appearance of an eighteen-year-old.

The mahogany doors led to a large room with three thrones, ancient looking vampires with papery skin and milky eyes occupying them. I immediately recognized them as the vampires from Carlisle's paintings: Aro, Caius and Marcus.

The God walked over to Aro and grabbed his hand; a seemingly intense mental conversation seemed to pass through them. After what seemed like hours, Aro nodded and let go of the God's hand. Relief flooded through my body freely and I sighed in relief and content; he didn't hurt the God, and by the looks of things, he won't hurt Edward, either.

"Isabella," Aro started after a moment of silence, his voice holding a note of wisdom and knowledge, "you look uncomfortable. Would you care to retreat to one of the guest rooms to freshen up? Alec here will show you to the room, if you wish." He said as he gestured to the God – whose name I now know is 'Alec'.

Just as I was about to agree, Edward cut me off, "No, she doesn't." he almost growled out.

That just pissed me off. How dare he answer for me? How dare he think he could? Aro was about to say something, but I interrupted.

"Edward," I hissed, "you have no right to answer for me. Your name isn't 'Isabella', is it? Damn! And here I was thinking you were a guy…" I trailed off. Aro, Caius, Marcus and the members of the guard started laughing. Alec looked at me and winked, which caused my cheeks to redden slightly. I turned to Aro and said, "Yes, thank you. I would love to."

Alec walked over to me at a human pace and took my hand. As soon as I came in contact with his skin, a current of electricity flowed through me, zapping my nerves and rendering me speechless for a moment, only sobering when I heard a feral growl. I turned and looked at Edward to see his livid expression. I glared at him, shooting a look that says 'shut the fuck up' and said, "Don't. You. Dare." I warned before narrowing my eyes slightly, "Stop growling - you sound like a fucking rabid dog."

I faintly heard a round of laughter as Alec guided me to the door, and Aro's unmistakable voice saying, "She's a feisty one, isn't she?"

"You have no idea," I murmured as we fled the scene.

Minutes later, after walking in a comfortable silence, my hand in Alec's, we rounded a corner and he stopped, "This is a spare guest room. It is stocked with clothes, hair-care products, make-up and other… things for your womanly needs…" Alec trailed off uncomfortably.

I laughed, "Thanks," I said as he opened the door for me.

I followed him to a set of doors, "This is the bathroom. You should bathe, I will be waiting for you on the bed." He smiled boyishly and it lit up his whole face, bringing a unique light into his eyes and making his skin glow slightly, like an angel. He looked beautiful – if you could call a male that.

I walked into the bathroom and marveled over the marble and chrome details before running the water and turning it on to the warmer side. I peeled my drenched clothes off my body and stepped into the shower, basking in the warmth of the water.

After washing thoroughly, I wrapped a towel tightly around my 5'8 frame and walked out of the bathroom.

Alec left, probably to give me some privacy, so I walked into the closet, clutching the top of the towel tightly in my left hand.

After a few minutes of searching – noticing there was absolutely no casual clothes whatsoever – I picked out a strapless white-silver dress with a bodice that clung to my curvy figure like a second skin. It flowed out slightly around my hips where, from my hips to the middle of my thigh where the material ends, details of golden vines and flowers accentuated the delicacy and beauty of my figure.

It looked a little bit too classy, so I searched for a jacket and found ebony colored leather jacket, it was cropped artistically, giving it that bad-girl edge, and threw it on hastily. I looked through the closet in search for some shoes and came across a pair of ebony colored leather heeled boots and strapped them on. Thankfully, my balance had improved slightly from all the motorcycle lessons with Jake. I still looked a little plain, so I added a necklace and applied some eyeliner and lipstick.

I walked over to the vanity and sat down, brushing my wet hair off my neck and searching for a hair dryer. "Where's the hair dryer when you need it?" I asked as I searched in the drawers next to the vanity.

"The second drawer on the right hand side." A cool voice murmured into my ear, sweet breath blowing onto my wet neck, making me shiver.

"Hey Alec," I said, turning to face him.

His eyes drank in the sight of me and I detected an emotion in his eyes that I couldn't quite place. Like hunger… but not for my blood.

He walked over to the bed and lay down. I combed my wet hair with my fingers, "Do you know where the brush is?" I asked.

He nodded and came back a second later with a brush, "Would you like me to plug the hair dryer in?" he asked.

I nodded and brushed my hair, working through the knots until it was straight and smooth. "Here," Alec said as he handed me the hair dryer.

After my hair was done, I put in a black bow-clip and brushed through it again. I walked over to Alec and sat on the edge of the bed. After a few minutes, he asked, "What do you see in him?"

"What?" I asked, snapping out of the blissful daze I recently conducted.

"Edward." He answered, hissing his name.

"He's been there for me… he cares for me and he is just an amazing person." I said, sighing at the end.

"He's in love with a strawberry blonde name Tanya and was seeing her while you were dating." He said, looking at me in the eye with a sympathetic and loving expression.

And that's when I started seeing red.