Alright I normally don't do this but I am posting one of my in between stories. It is a story I write when I am feeling a little bored with my main story that I post here or when I am waiting for my Beta to edit.
Prologue: UPS Sends the Oddest Things
September 15, 2081
A UPS man walked up the Cullen's driveway.
Alice was the first one to hear his shoes crunch on the asphalt. She waited impatiently as he walked at a human pace to the front porch.
Alice shifted from foot to foot hoping that it was the new stilettos she had order two days ago. The UPS man rang the door bell and Alice counted to ten in her head before opening the door.
She frowned. She had been expecting the package to be the size of a shoe box but instead it was thin and rectangular, about the size of a large cutting board.
The UPS man handed her a pen and she signed for the package. It was addressed to the whole Cullen's family, but didn't have a return address. Alice put it in Carlisle's office before returning to her room to clean some of her old things.
Soon after Carlisle drove home from the local hospital in his black Mercedes.
"Carlisle, a package is in your office." Alice said from upstairs as he entered the house.
"Thank you, Alice." Carlisle walked upstairs and into his office. He pushed aside the package and started on his paper work from the hospital. Edward walked in a few minutes later.
"You back from the hospital already?" Edward asked while looking through the bookshelf for something to distract himself.
"Yes, Dr. Kiev and I switched shifts so he could go to his daughter's birthday party." Carlisle said as he finished up his paper work and picked up the package. "Did you order anything?"
"No, is it addressed to me?" Edward didn't even turn around while answering.
"No, it's to the family." It was rare for the Cullens to get a package that was addressed to Alice and Rosalie, let alone to the whole family.
Edward pulled the package from Carlisle and opened it. Not a second later he dropped it to the ground as if it burned him.
Carlisle smelled a mixture of paint and dried blood as it flew through the air and hit the ground loudly. It landed face down so that all that could be seen was the back of a golden picture frame.
"What the hell?" Edward said breathlessly and fell onto the floor beside the picture frame.
"What's wrong, Edward?" Carlisle asked while standing from his desk.
He didn't answer, but instead lifted the picture frame from the ground and stared at the picture within.
Carlisle walked behind Edward to see the picture and gasped.
It was a painting of Edward's only love and soul mate, Isabella Swan.
They hadn't seen a picture or spoken of Bella since Edward left her behind in Forks some seventy six years ago.
Two year after the Cullen family left Bella behind in Forks they returned on not so happy circumstances.
In the painting Bella was wearing a dark maroon dress that complamented her figure. It had a plunging neckline that the Bella of Edward's memories would never wear.
The painting was simple yet elegant.
Bella was sitting on a black velvet couch with golden pillows. The room surrounding her had pillows of all sizes on the floor. A bloodied knife was lodged into the couch beside Bella.
Her face was mellow as she seemed to finger a necklace that was draped around her neck. The pendent was an engraved crystal that said: Two Sins Twisted into One. The engraving was so small Edward and Carlisle had to squint to read it.
On the bottom of the solid gold frame read the words: Our Divine Patron.
"Look at this, Edward." Carlisle pointed to the bottom right corner. "Someone with the initials W.V. painted this in 2081. It was painted this year."
Edward ran his finger over the painting, lingering on Bella's face. He leaned in as if to kiss the painting and sniffed it. The painting smelled faintly of blood.
"The paint is mixed with her blood." Edward said in a monotone voice. "Bella's fresh blood." His eyes showed both dread and hope.
Review and yes I am still writing A Missed Year. Picture of necklace on my profile.
Edited (11-29-09)