History and Memory
Author's Note: Characters may sometimes appear out of character – I haven't read Twilight in months. And Edward was born in Chicago, this could well be Illinois, where Carlisle worked, beats me.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Twilight Franchise. Empire?
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Chicago
2018
Edward stopped just outside the house he could still remember from his memories, even as long ago as they were. The details were just as he remembered, even though his memories had dulled over the years. There were still the ornate doors, the tall building, and the mastery of the garden around it. The only differences were the installation of the new technologies around the home. The house showed no signs of the recent developments, making way for sleek shiny buildings. It was very much a place for history and memory. For heritage.
It was the 100th anniversary; you could call it, of his death-day. Although he hadn't died at his house, he felt the house deserved a visit, and he felt he owed his parents that much, at least. The cloudy sky seemed appropriate for the visit, and he was relieved at least that the sun wouldn't be around to expose him for what he was.
Bella came up behind him sweeping eyes over the house appreciatively, a smile lingering on her lips as the door opened and a girl stepped outside the door. Spotting him and Bella as they turned their gaze to her, she stopped abruptly and stared at them. Edward noticed he seemed to share some features with the girl, certainly the reddish brown hair, but her eyes were a summer blue.
"Hello?" The girl called cautiously, watching the couple on the stairs.
"Hello." Edward called back, in a volume the girl would be able to hear.
"Who are you? Can I help you?"
Edward's brow furrowed in thought. What should he tell her?
"My name is Edward … Masen –"
"And I'm his… girlfriend, Bella Cullen, we were just passing through." Bella continued with a glance in Edward's direction. She could understand why he had told her his name was Masen, but still – it sounded odd. She very well couldn't tell the girl she was his wife either.
"Masen?" The girl's face lighted and she opened the door further, eyebrows raised in interest. Edward took this as an invitation to come closer and came forward a few steps, closer to the stairs. Bella followed. "Are you by any chance related to Elizabeth and Edward Masen? They used to own this house, around the 1900s."
Edward hesitated for a split second, then nodded. "Distantly," he tried. The girl still seemed cautious, but smiled at them and opened the door fully.
"Would you like to come in? I was just going to go and get a magazine, but it's not important. I would be glad to show a relative around the house. Was there a reason you came?"
"Not exactly." Edward replied as he and Bella stepped inside, Bella's gaze immediately went to the decorum with great interest – Esme would be interested, indeed.
"I knew I had … relatives here once, so we came to have a look at where they lived, since we were here."
"Yes." The girl's expression was sad. "The Masens lived here in the 1900s, but they died from the Spanish Influenza, I think. Our family inherited the house after they died, but noone really wanted to move in until years later."
Edward nodded. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've been introduced to you."
"Oh." The girl smiled sheepishly. "I didn't mean to be rude. My name is Lydia Marsh. My three times great grandmother was a Masen, but I don't think we were too close with our relatives here. Of course," She hastened to add, "It didn't mean they were devastated with the death of relatives."
Edward nodded absent mindedly. He would have picked up on her name earlier if she had been thinking it, but funnily enough the girl didn't seem to have that much clear thought, as if the thought process happened somewhere else in the body first. There were glimpses of emotion, and strangely enough, a few question marks marking her slight confusion and caution. Another strange mind, but still, one he could read, unlike the unique mind next to him glancing in the rooms.
As Edward and Bella followed Lydia through the vaguely familiar rooms, he compared them to the faded memories in his own mind, while also listening to her explanations and picking more detailed explanations from her own mind. It was clear Lydia knew a lot about the house which she was summarizing.
The rooms were furnished differently from how Edward remembered, but that was only to be expected. The rooms held the new technology which hadn't been visible from the outside. A plasma screen television mounted against the white wall, a micro computer in the corner with a large LCD screen, they were all changes, but the windows were still the same gleaming glass, covered with a set of heavy – albeit different – curtains.
As they finished the tour, Lydia turned back to Edward and Bella.
"Would you two like anything to eat or drink?"
Edward smiled wryly and glanced at Bella who was holding her face straight, but only just. "No, thank you. I think we're perfectly fine. Thank you for the tour." He let his gaze sweep the hall. "Is it alright if I ask you more about the family?"
"Certainly." Lydia replied. "Would you like to come to the Library? There are many books there that might be worth looking at."
"Sure." Edward replied. As they headed towards the library, Bella asked in a nonchalant voice, "I heard that the couple you mentioned earlier, Elizabeth and Edward Masen, they had a son?" Edward had been meaning to ask, but he was a little glad Bella had decided to instead. He was interested in what news had reached his relatives.
"He died shortly after his parent is the word. We don't know what happened to him, for all we know, he could have been buried in a mass grave. It was too chaotic to really know at that time, if my memory serves. I think my great great grandparents put up a grave for their whole family in one of the local graveyards. They deserved that, at least."
Edward stilled, aware of Bella's eyes fixed on him, worried. "Where is this?"
Lydia didn't seem to find his reaction odd. "It's a few blocks down and around the corner. It's a local graveyard, and if you wanted to find their graves they're near the west side, closer to the fence than to the middle."
Edward nodded. "I see. You know, I think I'm going to go and visit them now, actually. Thanks for the tour, I really appreciate learning more about my family and my past."
"It was my pleasure." Lydia smiled hesitantly as Edward turned abruptly and headed back to the front door, Bella following in his wake and smiling apologetically at the girl. "Good luck, and goodbye… cousin!" She called as Edward left the house in a hurry and headed down the street. Edward could hear her confusion and suspicion and her intent to see if anything was missing from the house, but they hadn't taken anything – or at least, he knew he hadn't – so he didn't feel in danger of being ambushed by cops suddenly – not that it really mattered if they were. Still, it wouldn't be a smart thing to do, and he knew about smart things to do. A not-so-smart, but so worth it, 'thing' was walking quickly beside him.
"She was nice." Bella commented. "I'm glad we, or at least I, go to know more about your family. It's hardly fair, since you know all about mine. Of course though," She smiled apologetically, "It gets a little hard when your parents are dead."
Edward shrugged, smiling slightly. "Well, it's not like it's your fault."
They continued the walk to the graveyard and stopped outside the gate for a second as they assessed which direction was west, then they headed towards the graves.
"How about you take a few rows and I'll take a few rows?" Bella suggested.
"Fine with me. It won't take long either way."
They started on the rows, running, scanning the graves with precision and continuing. Edward had finished on his section, when he noticed Bella had stopped over a couple of graves. He went over quietly.
The graves were stone, and a little weathered with time, but perfectly readable and clear. The first two were his mother and fathers, but the third…
This is the grave of
Edward Anthony Masen
1901-1918
Beloved Son, Cousin and Nephew
Who died all too young and unfairly
Well, what did he expect? All the vampires were thought to have been dead, but seeing the grave was another matter. Edward didn't want to know what Bella was thinking, not this time, but he could guess nonetheless. If they hadn't told her parents, would Bella have her own grave? This is the grave of Isabella Marie Swan, 1987-2006…
Edward curled his hand around Bella's and she looked up.
"Let's go." Edward murmured and Bella nodded in agreement.
Hand in hand they left the graveyard, leaving the history, and memories behind.
Because it was time for the future.
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RAWR.