Edward slid expertly into the tiny parking space between two land cruisers and turned to smile at me.
"It's only for a few hours, Bella."
I remained as I was, knowing full well that my pout only made me look like a spoilt child. I heard Edward's chuckle from the drivers seat, but in the next instant he was on my side of the Volvo, opening the door with a flourish.
"I don't want to go." I kept my eyes fixated on the patterns of the leather in front of me. If his pleading tone was any clue, looking at his eyes right now would be disastrous.
"I know," he said, with a laugh. "So you've been saying, all the way since Forks. I'm unimpressed, Bella. We go to Italy, and you don't even bother to look at the sights. Now I take you to Paris…and what do you do?" his tone was mocking, infuriating.
"Sitting in some old lady's house for a whole day, hearing her rant on about what it means to be a vampire doesn't strike me as seeing the sights," I snapped, but the edge was trickling out of my voice. I knew, just as he did, that he had already won.
"I've told you. She's not an 'old lady,'" Edward began, but I groaned. I was bored of this. Might as well give it up. If I didn't today, he'd keep at me tomorrow.
There was something to be said for the persistency of immortals.
Swinging my legs around and avoiding the smooth hand he held out to me, I slid haughtily out of the Volvo, took two steps, and slipped on a patch of ice, hurtling forward. He caught me, naturally, his butterscotch eyes twinkling.
"Do try to be more careful, Bella. I'd prefer Wise didn't meet you for the first time with a broken nose."
Long before I had thought up a suitable retort, I was nestled in his arms, and we were skimming down a thin ally, bordered by tall buildings and lines of ragged washing. Even at the unnatural pace we were travelling, I could see paint peeling off the walls, and mud splattered everywhere, pooling along the cobblestones.
"For all she's so great, I'd imagine Wise would pick a nicer place to live," I grumbled, as a mangy cat darted past.
Edward snorted. "Picky, picky. She's less ostentatious than the Volturi, if that's what you mean. She stays here for safety. It's far easier to remain inconspicuous in a slum than a palace, and she could hardly LIVE with the Volturi, considering their…differences."
He was right. As he had already told me a thousand times, the whole reason I was being dragged along to see Wise was because she, of all the vampires in the world, was the only one to not only abstain from human blood, but animal blood as well; growing so immune to the smell and taste that she had become a vegetarian in human terms, and liked it. She had been Carlisle's idol, and in turn Edward's, for her unfailing determination against the odds, and Edward was resolute that I should see her before we entered any further discussion about being changed.
All this was quite interesting…until he got to the part about Wise' age. She was reputed to be the world's oldest known vampire; and at 5000 years old, that was quite a title to hold. With the memory of the Volturi's horrible appearance, I wasn't at all eager to meet with any more ancients; at least, not for the next few centuries.
Edward stopped suddenly before a square, unadorned wooden door and placed me gently on the ground.
"Be polite," he hissed in my ear, his white knuckles brushing against the door's surface. I grimaced in response.
There was a slight sound of movement inside the house before the door swung open. I gaped in shock.
Instead of the dingy interior I had been expecting, the room before me was bright and warm, every surface draped with colourful rugs and intricate antiques. The delightful smell of biscuits wafted out, and I could hear a kettle singing merrily from another room.
But more interesting still was the figure standing before us, swathed in an immense apron and covered in flour. Instead of the stately, papery elegance I had been expecting, I was met with the small form of a young girl, no more than twelve years old, with a wide smile and eyes that flashed brilliantly. Immediately I assumed that Wise must have her as a maid, but to my shock, Edward leaned forward and brushed her cheek with a kiss.
"Wise," he said, and the delight in his voice was tangible. "It's been too long."
"Too long?" Her voice was music, high and sweet, slightly lilting, with an accent I couldn't decipher. "Too long! My dear boy, it's been a good four decades. Don't stand on ceremony, you big dolt," and leaping forward, she caught Edward impulsively in a bear hug. He laughed and hugged back.
Wise suddenly seemed to remember my presence, for she turned to me and smiled even wider than before. I was stunned to see her eyes; they were a deep blue, like a sea at night, unlike any vampire I'd seen before. Her hands, as they reached out to embrace me, held a hint of the same papery texture that Aro's had, but she beamed with such vitality and life that I knew her 5000 years had hardly touched her. She hugged me, not carefully or reservedly as the other vampires did, but firmly, like we were already old friends.
"Bella," she said, pulling back to look at me. "You're even more beautiful than Edward described; and that's four hours of gushing I'm denouncing. Welcome in, dear. I made cookies."
She moved swiftly, shutting the door and the outside cold out, relieving us of our jackets, and ushering us into her spacious, sunny dining room. It was hard to believe it was winter as we sat down around the table. Edward sat beside me, holding my hand under the table, and generally glowing as we watched Wise flit around the room, preparing snacks.
"There, then. That's done. I imagine you still have a taste for this sort of thing, Bella," said Wise, depositing a plate of biscuits that had been cooked to golden perfection. She paused for a moment, then put one in front of Edward.
"Do try, dear. You know how much it'd please me."
Edward grimaced slightly, then smiled. "Anything for you, Wise. As always." I watched in awe as he lifted one cookie, held it for a moment, and bit into it lightly. Wise clapped her hands.
"There's my boy! Not so hard, is it." It was a statement, rather than a question. Edward showed no sign of discomfort, chewing calmly. Wise turned brightly to me.
"How do you like them, Bella? I spent the past five centuries perfecting the recipe."
I bit into my first. It was incredible: slightly moist on the inside, with such an explosion of sweet flavours that my eyes bulged. These were tastes I hadn't known existed. I could hardly reply, but my expression seemed to please her.
"Now then, time is sauntering past, and even though YOU might have grown indifferent to it, Eddy, me and Bella haven't. I have a few things to tell you, darling. Edward," she added, turning to him. He had almost finished his food. "I finally finished the book. Would you like to read it?"
He nodded eagerly, and Wise disappeared, reappearing momentarily with a book so large it would have bent many normal tables. In her thin, childish arms, it looked as if it would snap her, but her youthful appearance belied her strength, which was quite as potent as Edward's.
"What's that?" I asked. Edward looked at it hungrily as he grabbed it from her hands.
"The history of the world," said Wise cheerfully. "All the important details. I began writing it around two thousand years ago, so you can see its quite an accomplishment to have finished. When Atlantis was wiped out, all the historical documents went with it. This is the only true account left, I believe. Milk?"
My jaw felt dislodged from my face. "Atlantis? Are we talking the under the sea Atlantis?"
Wise giggled, sliding a tall glass towards me. "The very same. My home country, as it were. You don't think this accent came from just anywhere, did you? But come now. There'll be time for history lessons later; and besides, Edward can tell you everything you'd like to know, once he's finished that." She motioned to Edward, who looked so engrossed in the huge volume it was almost possible to believe he couldn't hear us. "Come to the lounge room. We'll leave the poor boy in peace."
One we had settled on the soft suede sofas, Wise tapped her mug. "I hear you're wanting to join us, Bella." She said, without preliminaries.
I would have felt uncomfortable discussing the topic with anyone but Wise. She was so calm and cordial, I felt as if she'd already heard every take on life, and yet was still genuinely interested in mine.
"Yes," I agreed simply.
"Good." She said decidedly, which surprised me. Edward had been so insistent about me coming here, and yet she was agreeing with me! "He's been alone for too long now, and to loose you for the cause of mere mortality would be a dreadful blow. I suppose he put up one hell of a fuss."
"Like you wouldn't believe. He still isn't keen on the idea."
Wise chuckled. "He's very headstrong like that. He'll never fully agree, you know. You'll just have to play his game: show you're unsatisfied until your wants are met. It's rather odd; I've never seen any vampire so deadest on not changing someone, let alone a loved one. I don't have a problem with it; although Marcus and Caius weren't exactly loved ones." She laughed again.
"Hang on." I said. "Marcus? Caius? From the Volturi?"
"Why, yes." said Wise. "They're not so old as they make out to be, you know. It's rather funny, watching them prance around and set themselves up as such big shots. They've formed quite the class system for themselves, I understand. Ha! I should like to see them boss me around. If you want my opinion, Bella, what those boys need is a good, old-fashioned spank. If you had seen them originally…well, they were very different. Aro was always my favourite. We got along so well. He was the first human I ever told about what I was, and he took it so well. When he got older, he requested to be changed, and I did. I can slightly see where Edward's coming from; it's quite a shock to see how someone you love and know so well can transform. But it's a small price to pay, if you can keep them forever."
"He's worried…he thinks he's robbing me of a soul. Wise…I don't know. I'm not even sure there's a God. You've been around long enough…what do you think?"
Wise smiled and leaned back in her chair. She looked like one of Michelangelo's cherubs, curled up in flowing robes of ermine underneath the apron.
"Bella, in the 5000 odd years that I've lived, there has never been any firm proof of an afterlife. However, I will say this. I lived in an age where things that you take for legend now, like dragons and unicorns, flourished; were even thought of as common. I watched as they died out and faded into myth; as humanity dismissed their existence for children's stories, and realised: all tales have a beginning, and some far truer than you could imagine. Perhaps, in a time before even I existed, there was solid, undeniable proof; witnesses, even, of a world beyond this. And while I do not know, for sure, I cannot say that I believe that people, over so many generations and through so much strife, would continue to believe in a hereafter if there wasn't some truth to the story."