Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Behind Steel Bars

By Midnight Dreamer

Chapter 03: Growing up Swan

Isabella Swan was a sweet child; she was tall for her age (she stood 5-feet at the age of 12) and also smart, shy, and very pretty. Her long fiery red hair hung down to her hips; her pale skin and high cheek bones drew great attention to her emerald green eyes. She was the perfect picture of a southern bell – until you got to know her.

Isabella was more boy then girl sometimes; her love of cars, motorcycles, and trucks could rival any man’s. Most of the time, if her face wasn’t buried in a book, it was covered in grease.

Her brain power meant that by the time she was 15 she had graduated high school. Isabella had an eidetic memory and therefore could retain more knowledge faster then others twice her age. She was often picked on by her peers, but Isabella was anything but weak – and often fought back. Yes, young Isabella was a fighter and this, of course, lead to many phone calls from the school to her father. But Charlie understood that it wasn’t easy being so smart at such a young age.

By the time Isabella was 20 she had several degrees in criminal sciences, psychology, criminal profiling and mathematics.

It was just after Isabella’s 21^st birthday that tragedy struck the Swans once again: Charlie and Renee were killed in a car accident. A drunk driver ran a red light and swerved into their lane, hitting them head on. Both were killed instantly.

After the funeral Isabella was approached by the family lawyer, asking to speak with her. That was the day that Isabella learned of her family’s legacy: The Swan Penitentiary. The prison was built in the early 1800’s by her great-great grandfather, Richard Swan and was passed down from father to son throughout the years. However, seeing that she was the only surviving Swan left it was now hers. She was told by the lawyer that her father and grandfather never ran it themselves and they had hired others to do so – and if she would like she could continue to do the same.

Isabella thought it over and ultimately decided that she would take over as warden to the prison.

Seven years later, Isabella is still warden of the second most famous prison in the U.S. – right behind Alcatraz.