Alrighty. Rewrite of The Real Second Cullen, Chapter one. Enjoy.
Bella P.O.V.
Despite the fact that I knew with a bone-deep certainty that I could catch the grizzly I was hunting with no problem, when he picked up his pace, I did too. Since I was lacking a weapon, my run was unhindered, not even by the loose, flowing sun dress I wore.
I crept closer to the enormous bear, crouching low, preparing to leap at him. My lips curled back from my glistening white teeth, and I could practically feel blackness expanding from my pupil to the outer-edge of my iris's, making the color even darker. I was thirsty. I already taste the warm, sweet blood rushing down my throat, soothing the burn there.
I crouched even lower, venom filling my mouth, and...
...a stray breeze crossed my path, blowing into my face. More instinctively than anything, I took a deep breath, promptly freezing as the scent-one I hadn't caught in more than three hundred years-registered in my brain.
I straightened as if in a trance, completely ignoring the bear, and followed the scent.
It lead me to a clearing. As intoxicated as I was by the smell, my instincts kicked in, and I lingered at the tree line, staring at the white mansion in the middle of the clearing-the mansion that I just knew that smell disappeared into. Finally, after a long moment, I took another deep breath, letting my gift overwhelm me as I did so. A tingle covered my entire body as my medium-brown hair turned pitch black, my black eyes to green, my icy pale skin to tan, as well as giving myself a faux heartbeat and warmth.
I exhaled, and with that breath, I pushed away my nervousness-a rather foreign emotion to me-to the back of my mind, and crossed the clearing. I walked silently up the porch, knocking politely on the door. Even though the outer part of my body said 'human', I was still very much nonhuman, so I could hear all the subtle noises inside stop. there was a rush of words, so soft even I was unable to clearly hear it, before the door was opened by a tall, lean, young-looking, honey eyed and haired male.
Immediately, I took a handful of steps back, for a handful of reasons. Firstly was because of the male-his skin was covered in crescent shaped scars, paler than the rest of his skin. To an innocent observer, they would look harmless, but to me, they screamed danger. Secondly was because of the smell that rushed out at me-the smell of six-six, not counting the one in front of me-came shooting out at me. Luckily, I recognized one as the scent I'd been following.
"May I help you?" the guy asked, returning my attention to him. His voice, containing the same alluring tones of all of our kind, was just this side of rude, and was accented by a rather distinct Southern accent.
"Is there a man by the name of Carlisle Cullen living here?" I asked politely.
Instantly, the guys eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Who wants to know?" he asked, voice mimicking his face. Before I could answer, someone else spoke. I swear my unbeating heart nearly, well, beat in response to the voice-one I thought I'd never, ever hear again.
"Jasper, don't be rude." the newcomer said reprimandingly. "I'm sure she means no harm." he added, appearing at the door beside the Southerner-apparently Jasper-gently pushing him back. He stood in front of me, studying me with kind golden eyes while I tried desperately to do something other than gawk at him. But it was hard, considering that my body wasn't exactly listening to me at the moment. It took every inch of my control not to fling myself into his arms.
Finally, I breathed, "Carlisle." his face, which had been kind and welcoming a mere moment before, faded into confusion.
"Isa-" he began. Abruptly, he cut himself off, shaking his head. "No, it's impossible." he murmured, low enough that he'd think I couldn't hear.
"Do I know you?" he asked, squinting as if it could make his perfect eyesight better.
"You mean you don't remember me?" I asked, feigning hurt. He blinked a few times.
"Admittedly, you remind me of someone I used to know, but there's no way you're her." his voice turned sad at the end, and I couldn't bear it anymore. I let my fake features melt from face and body, returning everything to normal-my hair to chestnut, eyes to black, skin to white, my heartbeat and heat fading to nothing.
"Whoa." Jasper said, still peering over Carlisle's shoulder, his golden eyes big. Carlisle's eyes were also wide, but for a different reason, I sensed.
"Isabella?" he said, somewhat wonderingly. "Bella now." I told him quietly. I waited for his response, but he had frozen.
"Carlisle." I said, a little sharply. He blinked once, though the rest of his body remained perfectly still. And then, so fast that even I had trouble catching it, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to his chest.
"Bella." he said quietly, so quietly that the only reason I heard it was because my ear was pressed to his chest. I tilted my head back, smiling up at him. Before I could think better of it, I pushed myself upwards, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He compensated for my change in position instantly, still holding me tightly as I hooked my feet behind his back.
I rested my forehead against his, closing my eyes. He did as well, and neither of us moved the slightest bit. A moment later, Carlisle broke the silence.
"I missed you." his voice was quiet, and his face was so close to mine that his lips brushed mine for the briefest of moments. I reopened my eyes to meet his, but closed them again instantly when he brushed his lips against mine in a real kiss. I sighed, my arms tightening around his neck. I felt, more than saw, his smile, and his body shifted infinitesimally as he leaned in for another kiss.
Before his lips could touch mine again, however, Jasper cleared his throat. I let out a small groan, dropping my forehead back against Carlisle's and shaking my head. Carlisle smiled slightly, and let me drop to the ground.
"I am completely confused." Jasper said, his voice slightly accusing. Carlisle and I looked at him, then back at eachother. "Am I allowed to come in?" I asked. He smiled at me.
"Of course." he said quietly, lacing our fingers together. I allowed him to lead me into the house, Jasper following closely behind us. Carlisle led me to the room which I assumed was the living room-'living' being the relative term. In the room, five other vampires waited for us. Jasper bypassed Carlisle and I, going to stand next to a tiny, black-haired, pixie like girl.
All five vampires stared at us with wary golden eyes. A stunning blonde female-stunning even for one of us-leaning against the far wall said, more than a little snippily, "Who are you?"
"I might be asking you the same question. i replied, my voice matching hers. Carlisle gave me a sharp look from the corner of his eye-not a reprimand, just one of surprise. I bit my lip anyway, wincing a little at what felt like a chastisement, and his fingers tightened on mine.
"I'm sorry." I said grudgingly. "I'm not exactly comfortable with giving my name." I added quietly. An awkward silence descended on the room, before Carlisle, ever the peacemaker, broke it.
"This is Rosalie," he gestured towards the stunning blonde female-
"Her mate, Emmet," a huge, brawny guy with a shock of dark brown hair.
"Alice," the tiny pixie girl,
"Her mate, Jasper. Edward," a male, shorter and less muscular than the rest, who had wild bronze hair.
"And Esme. She was my mate until recently." Esme was slender and soft, practically radiating maternal-ness. She had a gentle, heart shaped face, and long chestnut hair. I met the eyes of each as Carlisle introduced them.
"I'm Isabella. But I prefer Bella." I said softly when he was done. Before I could blink, Alice was in front of me, wrapping me in a tight hug.
"Hi, Bella!" she said cheerfully. I resisted the urge to stumble back a step, replying, "Um, hi."
I felt a pair of holes burning into me, and looked up, meeting Edward's fierce, brooding golden gaze. I stared back at him warily until something flashed in his eyes and he looked down. By that time, Alice had stepped away from me, much to my relief, but was replaced by Esme, who merely offered me a slender hand, which I shook briefly.
"Welcome to our home, Bella." she said warmly. I smiled at her-something about her made me want to trust her, even though I knew she'd been Carlisle's mate.
"If I may, how did you come to know Carlisle?" she added. "Yeah, I've been wondering that too." Jasper jumped in. I ignored him, but looked up at Carlisle. He met my eyes, his own uncertain. Something he saw in my face must have reassured him, because he looked back at his family.
His hand tightened on mine a little before he said unceremoniously, "Edwards was not the first vampire I changed. Bella was."
The entire room froze, six pairs of eyes staring at Carlisle and I in astonishment. After a moment, Jasper managed to choke out, "What?"
Carlisle met my eyes. "It is your story, Bella. You should be the one to tell it." "It is also yours." I reminded him. He shook his head a little, rolling his eyes, though a small grin curved his mouth. Absently, he leaned his head down and rubbed his cheek against the top of my head.
"Stubborn." he said affectionately. I grinned up at him before he began speaking.
"Thirty years after I was changed, I was walking down a street in central England, when I heard thuds and a woman's cries coming from one of the houses. I have to admit that it peaked my curiosity, so I stole a look inside the window of the house. Inside, I saw an older man beating a teenage girl with an iron fire-poker. The girl was half-dead, but the man was relentless."
By the end of this, his warm voice had roughened into a growl, which turned into a snarl loud enough to shake the foundations of the house. I saw his golden eyes fade to black. By the way the others stared at him, I guessed that they'd never seen him act like that before. I reached out, putting my hand on his arm.
He looked at me, amber flooding back into his eyes, and took a deep, unnecessary breath before lacing his long fingers through mine. I picked up the thread of the story.
"Obviously, the girl he saw was me. The man beating me was my father. He was angry at me because he believed I'd done something to dishonor my family." I shook my head. "I don't even remember what I did anymore." I said quietly.
I shook myself before continuing. "Anyway. Carlisle broke through the window, stopping my father before he could hit me again. I thought I was dead, and that Carlisle was an angel sent to take me to heaven. He shattered the fire poker, and nearly killed my father. However, he stopped short, warning him that if he ever did anything remotely like he'd done to me to anyone else, he wouldn't hesitate to kill him. My father was scared silly, unable to move a single muscle. Carlisle lifted me from the floor-I'd fallen after he'd attacked my father-and jumped out the window."
Carlisle took over again. "Bella's injuries were far too extensive for a doctor to save her, so, seeing no other option, I changed her. For the next few decades, Bella and I traveled together. I taught her to hunt only animals, never humans. After a while, Bella decided to go her own way. I went to the Volturi for a while, working on getting my bloodlust under control. From there, you know the rest."
He turned to me. "And what happened to you, Bella?" his voice was quietly searching.
I took a deep breath. "I was taken by the Volturi. Now that I know you were there, I realize we were probably there simultaneously. However, they kept me hidden, so I rarely saw anyone else-human or otherwise-when I went out hunting. They found my gift to be very...useful. They tried their best to break me of my animal hunting habits, but you had taught me too well, Carlisle. Nearly two centuries later, I managed to leave. I've been on my own ever since."
I fell quiet, tightening my grip on Carlisle's hand. He pressed his lips absentmindedly to my temple in response as Emmet asked curiously, "What is your gift?"
"I can change any of my features into anything I can think of, as long as it is humanoid."
"Truly?" Edward asked. I realized it was the first word he'd spoken, and it was heavily laced with skepticism, but I could tell he was intrigued, at least a little.
In response, I closed my eyes. After a moment, I reopened them, trying not to respond to the astonished gasps. I'd changed my eyes to chocolate, skin to tan, wavy mahogany hair to black curls. A minute passed before I changed back.
"Cool." Emmet said, his voice awed. I chuckled, but didn't say anything.
Without warning, my throat burst into flame, reminding me of what I'd been doing before I'd been distracted by Carlisle's scent. I took a step towards the door after freeing my hand from Carlisle's, only to stop when Carlisle put his hand gently on my shoulder.
"Where are you going?" he asked, voice a little hurt.
"I need to hunt." I told him, pointing to my eyes. "Oh. May-" he began, but was cut off by Jasper.
"How do we know you are who you say you are?" his voice was deadly quiet.
"Jasper!" Esme gasped reprimandingly. He shrugged, and Rosalie came to his defense.
"Actually, he's right. You can change the way you look. How do we know you're not making yourself look like this Bella girl? And no one has ever left the Volturi - well, no one but Carlisle. But still. How did you manage to get away?"
"It wasn't hard to get out, seeing as I can change how I look." I said, somewhat evasively. They gave me wary looks. I sighed. Were we already back to this?
"Look, you will just have to trust me."
"Sorry. I'm afraid that I can't take your word for that, so, Edward, if you wouldn't mind..." Jasper trailed off. Edward stared even harder at me before grunting, "She's blank. I can't read her mind."
"What?" the sound of four vampires saying the single word at once rebounded off the walls. Edward didn't take back what he'd said, instead dropping his eyes to the floor.
The rest of them returned their attention to me. Emmet strode forward.
"I hate to say this-I really do, because I honestly like you-but until we are totally sure that you're telling the truth, you've gotta stay here." his tone was honestly remorseful, but he reached for me anyway. Instantly, I darted back a step, easily evading his grip.
"You can't keep me here." I said calmly. I wasn't bragging, merely stating a fact.
"Bet I can." he responded, his eyes lighting up with the thought of a challenge.
"You'll have to catch me first." I responded, a little surprised at how teasing my voice was.
"No problem." he grinned, darting towards me. With barely a thought, I dodged him again. He tried to catch me a few more times, and I avoided him each time. Finally, he straightened, laughing.
"Damn. I've never seen anyone move that fast, not even Eddie."
I grinned back. "Thanks. But I really do need to hunt."
"I'll go with her." Carlisle said before anyone else could reply.
"Are you sure? You're eyes are really light. You couldn't have hunted more than a day ago." I protested. It was true-his eyes were a warm, liquid topaz. Hastily, I looked away from his eyes, abruptly feeling a little weak in the knees.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Carlisle asked, his voice teasing. I rolled my eyes, grabbed his hand, yanking him after me.
"Come on, old man. Let's hunt." I pretend-grumbled. He laughed, and began running beside me.
Okey-dokey. This isn't exactly a new chapter...it's a rewrite. I was rather dissatisfied with the previous chapters, so I will be redoing all of them. I feel like I backed myself into a corner with the previous one. So...
Anyway, hope you enjoy. If theres any mistakes, I apologize-I was watching the Karate Kid as I wrote this. Reviews are my favorite.