If Bella had thought she was doomed before, it was nothing compared to experiencing it. True to their word, Vince and Tenzie had begun training her to fight as soon as the next forest came into view. So far, she had managed to injure the enthusiastic vampire with an unintentional kick (she slipped on a twig, and her foot went up) and nearly bowl over Tenzie when she tried to punch, swung her arm too hard, and stumbled forward several feet.

It wasn't all bad though. Bella had made some progress, but she wasn't anywhere near Tenzie or Vince's level. Hell, she wasn't near a student just starting in a dojo today's level! She wasn't about to give up though. This was for Edward, and that thought kept her going – even when it seemed a hopeless cause.

Occasionally, the trio would return to the cities and towns, just to make sure Tainteds weren't around, but as they had yet to come across anymore, their visits became rarer and rarer. Bella knew she should object to their blatant neglect for the oblivious humans living in civilized towns, but she found herself thankful for the times when they returned to whatever forest had become their dwelling. Going into the populated towns made her feel almost sick, claustrophobic in a way, and she didn't like it one bit.

Perhaps, if she were to be completely honest with herself, there was a fact that time in the forest clearings strongly reminded her of The Meadow. She had started using capital letters with it because it was more like the name of her love's and her favorite place than a simple description anymore. That wasn't all though, but the other reason why Bella enjoyed leaving behind the humans was something even she didn't quite understand.

It seemed as if the mere thought of going into a village and seeing Tainteds attacking made her sick. That shouldn't be too shocking; they had been horrible creatures, and she was certainly in no hurry to see them again. But it wasn't their appearance that made her hesitant to run into another soulless vampire. A great sense of loss seemed to overcome her every time they were among others of her species, and she didn't like that feeling at all.