Disclaimer: Twilight is property of S. Meyer and no copyright infringement intended, How ever the plot is my own - stealing is not cool guys!

Summary: Bella Swan is a plain, ordinary human… or so she thought. When Bella sees through Edward's 'Cloaking', her whole world turns upside down. Will she embrace her destiny or turn her back on it all?

Submitted for the 100 Pictures—An Anon Fanfic Competition

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******12 months earlier*****

"Alice, are you ready yet?" I tapped my foot impatiently, huffing as I checked my watch; yep there is no way we were gonna make it in time.

….

"Alice? Come on!"

….

Nothing. No reply. Very unlike my best friend. I gave up on shouting and ran up the two flights of stairs, barging into her room. "Alice what the hell's taking so….long?"

I stood motionless, chin possibly hitting the ground as I took in the sight before my eyes. Alice stood, hands on her hips, as her brother Edward paced her sitting room. This, in itself wasn't at all strange; Edward Cullen always seemed to be pacing... when he was even around that is. What was strange was the way his whole body seemed to emit luminosity; his bronze hair glowed and his skin sparkled like it had been covered in glitter. It was like some one was shining a spot light on him, only it was midday and there were certainly no spot lights in Alice's room. Yet all of this still wasn't what had stopped me. What stopped me was the fact that Edward stood shirtless and sprouting from his incredibly toned back were what could only be described as… well…Wings!

They both turned wide eyed towards where I stood in the doorway, and, as if I'd imagined the whole thing, Edward stopped glowing and the gossamer wings disappeared. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head, I must be crazy!

"We will finish this later," he dead paned to Alice before fleeing the room. He didn't as much as look at me.

"Alice?"

She sighed, "I'll be right back. You'd better sit down Bella; you look kinda pale."

My feet shuffled forward until I hit her couch, falling into the oversize cushions with out even thinking. My brain had shut off; I was on auto pilot. I grabbed a glass and filled it with the blue sugary drink that her family always seemed to have on hand; I had a feeling I would need it.

"Bella, are you okay?" I heard Carlisle ask, moments later. His voice was filled with concern.

I nodded a yes, but wasn't sure it was true.

"Good. I'm going to need you to listen very carefully. I have a lot to explain but when I'm done; I will answer any questions you have." He strode purposefully into the room, and sat opposite me.

Again I nodded, only paying the slightest bit of attention as Alice perched herself next to me and grabbed a hold of my hand.

"I know that this is going to be a lot to take in at once, and truthfully you should have been told of your heritage before this, however we never were sure that your mother's blood would be strong enough to allow you the sight. And then there was the fact that you were sent to live with your father's very human mother. But I digress; perhaps you can tell me what happened just now?" His tone was fatherly, concerned.

My parents passed away when I was young. Carlisle and my mom had once been very close, or so I was told. He had always treated me like one of his children. So, though I was confused and scared, I didn't hesitate to tell him what my gut insisted was the truth, even though my brain was insisting I need a straitjacket.

"Edward… Is he" I stopped looking for the right word, "He has wings!"

The small squeeze Alice gave my hand caused me to look up at her. Though there were tears in her eyes, she looked radiantly happy.

"Yes child, he does. We all do."

"How?" I gasped, "I don't understand?"

"Our families are different Bella. We aren't normal humans; we aren't human at all, in fact. Your mother was one of us too. We are faeries Bella, all except you and Alice here." He smiled sweetly at his daughter. "Alice is due to be changed this spring, on her Eighteenth birthday. And, by the look of it, you will not be far behind her."

"F…f…faeries?" I stuttered.

"Yes Child. You know that your mother was not born here; you have never met her family. They will be so delighted to finally meet you. Your mother and I were born in Sasirma, the Faerie realm, we were sent here as emissaries, delegates; if you will. There are Fae families all over the world; we live our lives in the human world and most of us are doctors or scientists. We ensure that the humans do not stumble across anything that they shouldn't. That is one of the main reasons you haven't been told of us earlier. Our world is rather complex. You see, only males are born Faeries; females have to be changed. Things are rather different for daughters in Sasirma; it is often known quite early on who a child's mate will be. Alice has been promised since she was ten."

I shook my head, not comprehending what he was telling me.

"Oh Bella, I'm so glad you are going to be one of us! I just knew you would!" Alice beamed while bouncing in her seat. "Oh dad, can Bella come to the handfast? Please?" her clear blue eyes seemed to grow ten sizes as she gazed at her father, imploring him to agree.

"Perhaps you should discuss that with Edward."

"Excuse me, sorry, I don't think I get it. You think you are faeries? And what does Edward have to do with whether or not I go to this hand thingy?"

Carlisle sighed, before running his fingers through his platinum blonde hair. To be honest; I'd always thought Alice's dad was kind of hot.

"Bella, you saw through his cloaking. There is a reason you don't see my wings right now, the same reason you have never seen Emmett or Esme or Rosalie's wings. It's called cloaking, and…and this is rather awkward for me to discuss, perhaps I can let Alice explain, or Esme? Do you want me to get Esme? Please, let me get Esme." He hurried to stand and rushed for the door, while Alice exploded in a fit of giggles.

"Don't worry dad, leave mom in the garden, I'll tell her. Sheesh, mention periods or cloaking and the infamous Dr Cullen takes off running. No wonder you aren't a GP!"

He shot her a withering look and fled out the door just as quickly as Edward had.

"Men" Alice snorted, "So Bella, well done, you sent my dad running! I haven't seen him do that since he told me about Jasper!"

"Who is Jasper?"

"Don't worry we will get to that, but the more important thing right now is that you and Edward are mates! We are going to be sisters!" she squealed

I snorted, my blue drink flying up my nostrils, causing me to choke. First I'm supposedly descended from faeries and now I have a mate! What crazy crap is this?

"Alice, I'm pretty sure you've snorted too much pixie dust! Faeries aren't real Alice. I've just had too much sugar or something. Actually I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming. I am dreaming aren't I?"

She shook her head, "Sorry honey but this isn't a dream, which means my brother is definitely your mate."

"No I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. He's never even around. I don't know him and I am most certainly not mated to or with him!"

"Bella, weren't you listening? You saw through his cloaking! You saw his wings. Now I'm sorry, but I know a lot of Fledglings – and none, not one of them, ever saw a set of wings that didn't belong to their direct family unless they were discovering their mate. And you, my friend, have just discovered your mate! Come on, the Doc isn't so good at explaining. Let's go see Rose, she will help."

Alice dragged me from her couch and blindly I followed behind her.

****present day*****

"Come on Bella, this is really important! I'm getting hand fasted and I want my best friend there with me. Please, I can't do this by myself. Besides it's a free trip to Paris! We'll get to use the private jet and spend three months in a château that once belonged to royalty!"

And there was the pout; she pulled it out every time she was dying to get her own way. Alice knew that the whole handfast thing was a sore point with me, mostly because of the fact that I was apparently mated to her absentee brother, with whom I would be expected to complete a handfast at some point in the not too distant future.

"What do I have to do to get you to come? I am not leaving without you!"

There was no escaping it, Alice would never relent.

"Three things – no private butler, I can unpack my own stuff – the last time your maid unpacked my shit I couldn't look at her for weeks and nobody, and I do mean nobody, bows to me."

She grinned widely, seeing a victory and started to bounce. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Bella you won't regret this!"

"Sure. So who will stay with me for the month you are…away?"

"Probably Edward," she shrugged

"How convenient! What about your parents?

"They will probably just fly in for the ceremony, then they will have to present to Sasirma. The Queen will have to be told that the handfast is done."

"Great, three weeks with Edward. I can hardly wait!" The sarcasm dripped from my voice.

"Me either!" Alice replied – not a hint of sarcasm to be seen.

On a Wednesday, three weeks later, Alice, her sister-in-law Rosalie, and I were all safely ensconced in the back of the Cullen's sleek black limousine. There was no embarrassing man with a sign waiting for us at the baggage carousel. Oh no it was much worse – the limo was parked smack bang in the middle of the tarmac at Charles de Gaulle Airport. We each disembarked and were ushered straight into the beautiful car, Alice popping bottles of Cristal while we waited for the trunk to be loaded with our many suitcases. The trip to the château itself didn't take all that long, considering our chauffeur drove like a maniac.

I stared in wonder as we drove along the Champs-Elysées to a magnificent white building with sprawling lawns and a beautiful curved drive. The limo turned up the long drive and pulled right up to the front door. The driver came around and opened our door.

"Madame" He politely offered Rosalie his hand to assist her in disembarking. She gave a tight smile, but gladly accepted his assistance.

Once all three of us were out, he walked right up to the front door and opened it with a flourish.

"Monsieur Cullen has asked that I inform you the house keeping staff will not return until morning. If Mademoiselle Cullen or Swann require anything at all, you should feel free to contact me." He advised and, with a flourish, provided Alice with a card.

"Thank you Jon, but I think we can handle things for one night. Please consider yourself to be off duty."

Alice was very good with handling the staff; she wasn't nasty or snotty about it, just firm. They seemed to respect that.

"Very well. In this case, Je vous souhaite une très agréable soirée," the beautiful words rolled off of his tongue, though I had no idea what they meant.

It took all of three seconds for Alice to close the door and run screaming towards the staircase; all semblance of propriety dropped. "I call shotgun on the royal suite!"

In a whir of glossy black hair she was gone. I shook my head and followed her up the grand staircase to the third floor. The door to her room was wide open and I couldn't help but giggle, seeing her five foot frame sprawled out over the king size bed.

After a few minutes she jumped off and opened her suitcase. I watched in wonder as she pulled dress after beautiful dress out and placed them into the walk in closet.

We have to get ready! And you need to get changed!"

"Um why do I need to get changed?"

"Bella! Really! Jasper will be here in a little over an hour. We have to be presented to the queen! I've already told you that until the hand fast is official, we each have to have two chaperones when we are together. That means you and Rose, so come on, scoot. There is a dress waiting for you in your room. Which, by the way, is that one." She pointed to the room directly across from hers.

I shuffled off of the bed, shaking my head the whole way across the hall and in to my room, where my luggage had already been deposited, but thankfully, not unpacked. I walked to my identical wardrobe and flung it open revealing a long piece of semi-transparent silk and a silver ribbon hanging from a padded coat hanger. Where's the dress?

"Alice?" I called out, not bothering to move from my spot in the wardrobe.

"What?" she asked, popping her head through my door.

"Um, where is this dress I'm supposed to wear?"

She flitted over to where I stood and pulled the coat hanger off the little rack that it was hanging from. "Right here."

"No Alice, that is a…a…head scarf or some thing? I don't know? But what it is not is a dress!"

She sighed placing one of her tiny hands on the small of my back and gently pushing me forward. "A lot of darn good you're gonna be to me! Grab your bag of toiletries, I can tell that this is going to take some time." She sighed, followed in the same instant by "Rosalie I'm going to need your help!"

A few moments later Rosalie sauntered in, carrying with her a similar strip of fabric and her own make up case.

"We may as well all get ready together then." She shrugged before selecting another length of gold and white fabric from Alice's own collection. "Who's going first?"

"I will" Alice answered. "Bella go take all that stuff off while Rose gets me into this."

I nodded and headed into Alice's bathroom, quickly shedding my halter top and jeans. Thank GOD I wore good undies today! I thought to myself. Once I'd freshened up, I wandered back into the room to find Rose already dressed and expertly wrapping Alice so that the silk length of fabric that had once adorned her hanger now dipped low, right to the small of her back, and fitted tightly against her chest, then fell in delicate lengths down to her calves. I watched in wonder as she clasped a beautiful flower brooch just above her left breast to hold the whole thing together. Looking at Alice I could see where the fairy tales of Tinkerbelle had come from.

"Rosalie, this is beautiful, thank you!" Alice gushed as she was spun around to face a mirror.

"You are more than welcome, after tonight you will be my sister in more ways than one."

Alice raised a delicate hand to her mouth and giggled before telling me that Jasper was evidently Rosalie's twin brother.

"Right, you! Bring that tush over here, hold your arms out and don't move unless you're told – I won't hesitate to stick this pin right in that pretty pink skin if you squirm." Rosalie ordered at me, while holding up a silver disk-shaped brooch.

Rose took some getting used to. She could be mistaken for a bitch, but deep down she was actually pretty cool. She had appeared at the Cullen home about two years ago on Emmett's arm and had hardly left since. I now knew why.

As ordered, I stood as still as possible with my arms out wide, while Rose wound the fabric around my body and Alice played with my hair. It took fifteen minutes before Rose was done winding and I was turned to face the mirror.

The sight that greeted me caught my breath. The garment was see-through enough that you could see the outline of all my curves, but not enough that I would need to feel embarrassed. On closer inspection I could see that the brooch was engraved with pretty little flowers and the words; 'Deux coeurs qui battent à l'unisson.'

"This is soo pretty!" I remarked, "Who does it belong to?"

"Edward sent it. It's yours." Alice lilted, before applying another layer of pink gloss.

I rolled my eyes. He did this often, sent me little trinkets, supposed tokens of his affection.

"Do I even want to know what it says?"

Rosalie peered closer and read, "Two Hearts That Beat as One.' My French is rusty, though, I could be wrong." She shrugged.

Alice stood from the vanity stool she had been occupying, "I'm done, you girls ready? It's probably time."

Rosalie checked her reflection in the mirror before nodding her approval. With Alice grasping tightly to my hand, we made our way down the staircase and into the parlor, where a pretty man with blond curls stood waiting, flanked by Alice's two brothers.

The blond man bent slightly at his waist in a formal bow as Alice approached, and Alice sunk just before him into a graceful curtsy.

"Alice, it has been too long."

She rose and broke out in a beautiful smile. "Indeed it has Jasper."

"The driver awaits. It would be my pleasure to escort you to Sasirma this evening. I believe Her Majesty is keen to give her blessing on our union." He offered her his elbow, which she happily slipped her tiny hand through.

A small giggle from Rosalie's direction tore my gaze from the couple in front of me, just in time to see Emmett give her a wink and mouth " 'Sup baby?" She rolled her eyes before taking his arm, just as Alice had taken Jasper's and, arm-in-arm, they moved towards the door.

With no choice left, I finally chanced a glance at Edward. It was the first time I'd even allowed myself to look at him since the day I'd seen his true form. Again he glowed as if he were backlit and, like Jasper before him, he bowed deeply from his waist. "Miss Swan, will you allow me to be your escort this evening?"

His voice was musical and so soft, like new velvet, and his eyes shone the most beautiful shade of green. I found myself nodding and placing my hand in his before I had even considered my actions. He was a fridge and I was a magnet – irresistibly drawn towards him.

"Where are we going?" I managed to whisper once we were seated in the limo.

"To Sasirma, Alice and Jasper need the queen's blessing before the handfasting can be completed. Also, you and I need to know if we truly are mated."

"And we will know that how?"

"Easy, only Fae and their mates can enter Sasirma. The portal is protected by disorienting spells, to stop wayward humans from finding their way in."

"Portal?" I knew I sounded about as clever as Paris Hilton, but truly it was a lot to take in. Edward smiled at me indulgently. "Yes, Bella, A portal, you know - the door, gate, entrance, if you will."

"I know what a portal is you ass, I just can't comprehend that they are real!"

"Well believe it. We will be there shortly and you shall see for yourself."

True to his word, mere minutes later the car stopped, the men got out, and each in turn offered their hand to assist us in disembarking. I looked around in wonder, "Um guys, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is the Eiffel tower! Aren't we meant to be going to this Sasirma place?"

I'm fairly certain that I saw five sets of eyes roll at the exact same time.

Emmett took his wife by the hand and strode purposefully towards the base of the Iron Lady, where he pressed his hand to the first of its legs, and muttered something I could not hear. A symbol began to glow red in the iron. It was so bright; I couldn't help but look around at the people milling nearby. Why weren't they watching this?

"It's a rune; called 'Thurisaz,' we use it for opening gateways, for luck, and for protection. Don't worry, the humans can't see, we are cloaked right now." Edward murmured into my ear.

The Thurisaz rune was glowing in three corners now, and as Emmett stepped away from the fourth corner, the archway that connected the base began to shimmer, like water on a still lake. Rosalie took Emmett's hand and together they walked towards the shimmering wall, stepped through, and then were out of sight. I gave a little yelp of surprise, causing Alice to turn towards me.

"Bella I swear to you that this is going to be okay. Trust us." She gave me a small hug before taking Jasper's elbow again, and then they, too, disappeared through the wall.

"Bella, are you okay?" Edward's green eyes searched mine.

"I'm not sure."

"Really, it is alright. I am your mate, despite your reservations – I swear to protect you from this moment forth. I won't let anything happen to you." He took a few steps forward, then turned and offered his hand to me.

"Will you join me Bella?"

Je vous souhaite une très agréable soirée – I wish you a pleasant evening. (At least that is what Google translator told me!)

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