— 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟔 —
𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

Isabella Marie Swan paused in her packing because a few things finally occurred to her at once. And it had nothing to do with Jacob Black's insistent pleas to 'stop' and 'let Edward do what he wanted' AKA die.

Rather, she remembered that her best friend was the mate of said vampires Edward was currently going to. The overlords who had no clue of Sandy's existence.

Unless Bella wanted to be the one to expose her to them then she could not go.

It was a horrible thought and in Bella's mind, it was more than anything a choice and a testament to who she was as a person. To who she wanted to be.

A choice between Cassandra and Edward. Both of whom she loved with all her heart, and only one of which had left her broken on the forest grounds. But, to her anger, she still forgave and loved him.

She was not even really angry at him for doing so, she was angry at herself for not being angry.

Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes, her fingers shaking as she stopped packing and turned to face Sandy.

She couldn't do it—she wouldn't sell out her best friend for anything in the world. Her best friend who had just saved her life.

The fae was staring at Alice sadly and she sent a look of dread right back. It was obvious that Alice was now in the know.

Bella could not follow through with it, she could not go, she would not do her best friend so... dirty. Sandy meant too much to her—she would need to try to save Edward from afar, without risking the exposure of her dear friend.

And if anything, the thing that Bella was angry at Edward for was being so thoughtless toward Sandy.

He more than knew that when Aro—the main leader of the Volturi—touched him, he would become aware of Sandy's existence. He didn't care that he was exposing her and jeopardizing her already unsafe place in this world.

To make matters worse, Edward had never seen nor talked to Cassandra himself, everything he knew was through the mouth.

And none of them up until Alice at this point had any clue of her being their mate.

Edward was essentially sentencing Sandy and her siblings to being hunted by the Guard and killed. There was no doubt that Aro would want them brought back to Volterra upon being found, so at least there was a good chance that Sandy would not be killed on the spot and rather the leaders would realize she was their mate.

Not that it was a good thing either: Sandy valued her freedom and the freedom of everyone else more than anything.

If Sandy did not trust her mates enough to respect those wishes then that was that.

She would be miserable with them. Trapped in a silver cage for the rest of her existence.

"I'm not going," Bella finally said firmly, cutting Jacob's rambling off.

Jacob looked relieved, a hopeful twinkle in his eyes while Alice and Sandy snapped their heads to her in shock.

"We'll find another way, I won't expose you like that..." She finished looking to Sandy whose eyes softened immensely at her friend's words.

Alice gained a faraway look before suddenly shrieking in horror.

"No!" She cried out. "We have to go—it's the only chance we have at saving Edward's life! Not to mention, if we don't go and Edward dies; Aro will read his thoughts and learn about Sandy, but he won't know you're his mate... none of them will!" She was rambling, her eyes still looking into the future as she spoke into existence what she saw. "...They'll make a mistake, you'll be killed by the Guard before the leaders even realize that you're their mate... I can see it, you and a dark-skinned man are ripped apart and set ablaze!"

Sandy, Jacob, and Bella were all gaping in horror at Alice's tale.

A dark-skinned man...? Who did Alice see her with?

"Nicholas..." Sandy realized seeing as he was the only one of her siblings who came of full African descent.

He was also one of the only people that Sandy would travel with, she would surely never involve anyone else in her dangers.

Nicholas was a talented warlock, indeed. He and Sandy were powerful together, but there was no way even they would be able to hold off an attack from multiple Volturi Guards. They might put up a good fight but it would inevitably end in their demise.

Now, to be fair, Alice's visions were very subjective and changed all the time. So was it guaranteed that this would happen if they did not go after Edward? Not necessarily.

But, unfortunately, it was more than likely that this or something eerily similar would happen. Alice wouldn't be so scared if this was only one possibly out of hundreds.

Her reaction meant that based on what she saw, there was a high probability of this happening.

Not to mention, Sandy felt it in her bones. Alice was not lying. If they tried to stop Edward from afar then he and she would end up dead.

Cassandra was not able to muster a response before Jacob was freaking out over the new knowledge he learned.

"You're mated to the vampire overlords?!" Jacob seemed flabbergasted, staring at Sandy in disgust.

Sandy rolled her eyes.

"It's why I've been avoiding them for the past 20 years to keep them from finding out and coming after me... keep up, Jake!" She snapped her fingers and he rolled his eyes while holding his hands up in defense.

"Whatever, but that sounds like some freaky stuff to me..."

"No one's denying that it is—why do you think they don't know that I exist?" Sandy said right back.

Bella cut them off, looking at Alice desperately. "Okay, well what happens if we go after Edward? Will we make it in time to stop him from reaching Volterra? If we could do that then we don't need to worry about them finding out about Sandy at all!"

Alice was thoughtful, attempting to see too many possibilities of the future to count.

"From what I can gather, we do stand a chance... but we need to leave now, if even one thing is delayed then we'll end up standing trial against the Volturi..."

Trial was not a good path to be on either, but at least that way Aro would read Alice's thoughts and realize that Sandy was his mate. She doubted that he would be able to read Bella's mind—she was too powerful of a shield, even as a mere human.

If anything: Aro, Marcus, and Caius learning the truth may very well be the thing that spares Alice, Edward, and Bella's lives.

Sandy bit her lip, her eyes alight. She would not let her friends die. "Then you use me... once Aro knows that I exist and I'm their mate... they'll let you go free."

"How do you know that?" Bella asked with wide eyes. "I'm still forbidden to know about the vampire world—Rosalie said it herself, the Cullen's will be implicated..."

"Don't get me wrong, they'll demand that you are turned into a vampire, Bella. Maybe even on the spot. But they won't kill any of you... not unless they want to chance losing their already fickle possibility of me accepting the bond..." She ended quietly, cringing at the word 'bond'. "If they did something to you then Aro would see in your thoughts that I would never be able to forgive them for such an act, and eternity is a very long time. They won't kill you guys..." She finished gambling on the hope that she was as important to them as they had made it seem during her dreamwalking sessions in recent months.

Cassandra would go with them if she had to. As much as she valued her freedom: her friends' lives were just as important to her.

"We can't use you like that!" Bella sounded revolted at the mere idea.

"The hell you can't?" Sandy argued. "That's what happens when you get a mate, they get used against you if you're not careful! This is what they get! So let it be known now, Aro, whenever you inevitably see this memory whether it be through me, Alice, or even Jacob fucking Black; if you touch so much as even a hair on their heads, none of you will ever even hear as much as a whisper from me!"

"Sandy!" Alice gasped. "Stop making threats that I'll need to deliver!"

"I said I'll come—!"

"No," Bella stopped her. "Don't do it, if everything that you have said about mates—yours, in particular—is true, then they won't kill us. Whether you're there or not. If you come, you'll give up your freedom for nothing. But if you don't, at least we'll walk away and you have a chance at fleeing the silver cage," The human explained.

Sandy always referred to the instance of Aro, Caius, and Marcus ever finding and catching her as 'the silver cage'. Because that is how she perceived life would be with them: entrapment in the prettiest of ways.

"Okay, but won't they just send cold ones back with you guys, or God forbid themselves, to take 'Cass?" Jacob asked, his brows furrowed.

Alice chimed in at that moment. "Perhaps, but that doesn't matter if Sandy isn't here when we get back..."

Everyone went silent. It was obvious what Alice was saying—a potential future she had seen.

Alice explained herself further upon seeing the thoughtful look in the fae's eyes. "Right now, I see you everywhere, my friend, all across the globe. You have not chosen a place to go next, and I am sure that you are talented enough to whip up a simple spell to block me from seeing your future before you choose where the wind takes you. It would keep Aro from seeing your next location in my mind..."

"I would need to cut all contact with you guys for who-knows-how-long, Aro will no doubt be watching you all closely, to make sure they know when I return," Sandy said right back, her voice unsure. "And I would miss you all dearly."

Bella stepped closer to her friend. "Then you better have some good stories to tell when I see you next... real-life Barbie ones. I want to know all about your time as a lawyer and a ballerina... even if you're a damn mail-girl."

Sandy bit her lip, nodding her head. "I'm sure I'll have a few... but I can't make too much ruckus, I'll need to stay on the down low. It's strange to think the next time I see you'll probably be a vampire..."

Jacob attempted to cut in. "Hey! No one's becoming a vampire—!"

"Not now, Jakey!" Sandy hissed, tears gathering in her eyes. "I'm trying to say the ultimate 'hasta la vista'!"

At that moment, she pulled Bella into a tight hug.

"Stay strong, Bells, you're one of the strongest that I know..." The fae muttered into her hair, and Bella squeezed her tighter.

"Not nearly as strong as you thought," Bella slowly pulled away only to be replaced by an emotional Alice.

"Don't you dare get caught—keep running for as long as you want, Sandy. Soar, if you must..." The small vampire sniffled, tears that would never fall pooling in her eyes.

"And you don't ever allow Edward to make major life choices for you again," Sandy demanded right back, doing her best to hug the cold and hard body of Alice Cullen tightly.

The next goodbye was from Jacob, far less emotional and more playful. A hug followed by him trying to persuade her to stay on the lands of the Quileute Tribe. He believed that the pack would be able to take the Volturi down if they came near.

Cassandra did not want to be the one to give him a reality check, so she had to decline politely.

The pack was powerful but not powerful enough to take down the ancient ones.

Besides: she had places to go, sights to see, and adventures to experience. Not to mention, she was working on a time crunch—the rest of the Cullens would no doubt come back when Alice called and informed them of what was happening.

Cassandra had to be long gone and far away from Forks, Washington without a trace before any of the Cullens came back. Let alone any of the Volturi who would inevitably come to investigate the area and ensure she had left town.

Forks had been starting to grow on her too, how unfortunate that she now had to leave the lovely little town so soon.

"Remember," Alice warned. "Under no circumstances are you to decide on where you're going until you do that blocking spell against me. Your future is not safe from me until then, and therefore, not safe from Aro's all-seeing eye..."

—————————

Jacob roared in outrage as Alice drove off at high speeds down the road. Sandy could not even attempt to calm him before he raced into the woods, transforming.

He had not been able to convince Bella from going or Sandy from leaving and this was the result of that.

She gaped at his display of dramatic emotion.

As much as she was tempted to go after him, she knew that she did not have any time to spare. No—she needs to get home, get her stuff, and go.

As the new saying goes: bitch, bye.

With that thought, Sandy easily teleported to the front of her home and barged inside. She had left the door unlocked. The lights were still on when she made it inside, and despite how she wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed and go to sleep. No matter how many little voices in her mind tried to convince her to sleep for the night and deal with this in the morning—she could not.

She absolutely could not risk it.

And so, for the next hour or so, Sandy was nothing but a whisp as she zipped around her little house packing everything up. She had no time to take all her valuables, so to her despair, she would need to leave many boxes here.

She could only pray that the Cullens would find these items and put them in storage for her until she could hopefully get them at some point in the future.

Nevertheless, she was able to fit her most valuable and cherished belongings in three large suitcases, a duffel bag, a backpack, and a purse. It was very impressive, to say the least.

It sucked that she could not ship anything to her intended destination, but she couldn't risk the package being intercepted and her location being revealed.

The last step when everything was packed away was creating one of the strongest mental and physical blockade spells that she could. If she truly wanted to succeed in running and hiding away, she had to stay clear of Alice's inner eye.

Cassandra had not had to create such a strong spell in a few years but despite being rusty, she made sure to put her all into it. There was no room for mistakes.

Not in a situation such as this.

If a mortal were to walk into her home at such a moment, they might believe that she was simply cooking a potent-smelling soup. Alas, they could not be more wrong.

The moment the spell was done, Sandy was pouring it into a series of small vials that she delicately placed into a case. The said case was then packed tightly into her suitcase.

She made enough to last her a month before she would need to make the potion again. To her horror, she was already feeling winded from creating the spell and a day of using her powers much more than she typically did.

She felt horror because she knew that such a thing was very bad—if she was already winded then in a fight she would not fare well. It seemed that she had much training to do.

With that thought, she brought a plastic cup filled with the potion to her lips. She muttered an easy Latin phrase before gulping down the smooth substance. It tasted like granite with small grains of dust-like particles.

It was definitely not a good taste, but it was not the worst in the world. Simply uncomfortable in the sense that if one could drink a brick wall, this is how Sandy would envision it tasted.

However, upon finishing the potion she had to wait a mere five minutes (all of which she stood in nervous silence fidgeting and praying that her potion-making and spell-casting skills were not so rusty that the potion didn't work at all). Thankfully, after five minutes Sandy felt a sudden weight overcome her.

Not a physical one, but rather a mental one—something that blocked every mental aspect of her. A great big red-bricked wall was built around her mind: towering and strong, created from her desire to never be found.

The weight it placed upon her shoulders was anything but comfortable, it was not a natural shield so it wouldn't ever be comfortable. It also put a strain on her powers and tampered with her connection to the Earth.

Such a block strained what was supposed to be an open connection to the planet and therefore her abilities. It's why Cassandra only ever performed such a spell unless absolutely necessary.

She was more than ready to deal with this weight for years to come; however, anything to keep her and her siblings safe. Even if it weakened her. She would only need to train harder and prepare herself to use her abilities to the fullest extent that she could with such a blockade.

Nevertheless, the weight came as a relief because Alice could no longer see her. Aro, God forbid he ever touched her, would not be able to get into her head if she was under the influence of this potion.

Edward wouldn't be able to read her mind nor Jasper tamper with her emotions.

No vampire's mental illusions, emotional ties, or tricks would work on her.

Sandy was quick to pack her truck up with the bags she was to be traveling with, sighing as she turned off the lights and other power to the tiny home. She frowned in the doorway, she really was going to miss this place. It did not help that many of her lovely belongings were stored away in various boxes around the place. Some things she had not parted with for over a hundred years.

But things were just things in the end.

Her shoulders sagged and she was turning on her heel, locking the door behind her and placing the key safely under the mat.

She was firing up the engine to the truck shortly afterward—driving off to the gas station. Seattle was just over a four-hour drive away. Thankfully, Bella and Alice had left about two hours prior, and Alice's driving along with it being late meant that they were no doubt nearly almost to the airport themselves.

Not to mention they will be getting on the first flight they can that'll get them to Italy. By the time Sandy, arrives they will be long gone.

Her only fear is potentially running into some of the Cullens as they'll most likely be flying into Washington themselves. However, they would more than likely be arriving the following evening.

Therefore, as long as luck and logic were on her side, she should have no run-ins with anyone she did not want to.

After a short stop at the gas station, the fae managed to bump her way inside just before they closed—she was leaving Forks with a full tank of gas, a glass bottle of Coca-Cola, and a bag of veggie straws.

She drove the speed limit, her headlights lighting up the dark interstate. It would be hours until she hit a road with street lights—interstates such as these were dark. The forest around was hauntingly beautiful, the tall trees looming above all.

The heat was blasting, fighting against the cold outside and the radio played softly. Cassandra already missed Bella Swan.

While this situation was not nearly as heart-stopping as when she first ran away from Lithiovai or when she ran from California because she figured out who her mates were, it was still saddening. She was always on the move, never able to stay in one place, and always always running.

Thankfully, so far, it seemed that she was always able to run fast enough. But Cassandra feared the day that she would not be able to do that, and she could only pray that the day would never come.

The day that she was not able to run fast enough everything and everyone would catch up to her. What a day that would be indeed, but for now; Sandy was safe.

Sandy was safe as long as she kept running fast enough. As long as she outran everything.