Hi guys! This idea has been plaguing my mind for a while, so I'll try to type it out, and let's see where this goes. Everything belongs to the author.
This whole story will be in Edward's perspective, and I don't plan on changing that. Maybe an outtake?
The Rose did caper on her cheek—
Her Bodice rose and fell—
Her pretty speech—like drunken men—
Did stagger pitiful—
Chapter 1: Heart Beat
I ran as far as my legs would push, exerting the pent up energy from the past week. We began high school again, my siblings and I, and in the middle of the scholastic year no less. My slightly less controlled brother, Jasper, had a slip up in our last residence. After a brief stint in the wilderness for Jasper to regain golden eyes and slightly improve his confidence, we return to the eternal purgatory of pubescent hormones and loud thoughts.
I went off on my own several hours every week, to release myself from a house of couples and their, well, coupling. Not only was it incredibly uncomfortable, what with my ability to hear every loving murmur and sound of passion, both spoken and internalized, it also reminded me of what I lacked.
The vibrant foliage was a mere blur with the pace of my run. I had spent decades contemplating my solitude. Logically, I knew both Jasper and Carlisle had sent more than my ninety years waiting for their mates. But I also knew how I differed from them so dramatically; perhaps I was incapable of giving or receiving such devotion because of it.
Carlisle had never taken a human life, he had spent centuries dedicated to the task of preserving their fragile and fleeting existence. From what I had gleaned from his mind, he had barely been tempted, his devotion to God and his enhanced compassion prevented any such demonic action.
Jasper had taken thousands, both human and vampire. He had been taught no other way than the normal way, that human blood was the only sustenance, and he had been raised as a newborn to kill. He had no control over his upbringing, and none of us even remotely blamed him for his few slip ups, which were becoming further and further apart.
I had gone searching for murder. Despite having two, wonderful "parents", I abandoned them in pursuit of death because I was the uncontrollable monster. My whole family has been adamant against that idea, but I am no fool. Vampires are unchanging creatures, and this is my nature. Mates are the only influence to change a vampire, and because of my unlovable being, I will never find a mate to tame the monster. It is a vicious circle of irony I have been doomed to dwell in, indeed.
"Edward, you are being a complete idiot," Rose called. Despite running a great distance at a much faster speed than anyone else in my family was capable of, my oldest and coldest sibling had tracked me down.
"It worries Esme when you leave, she thinks one day you won't come back," Again, she adds mentally, insisting on reminding me of my ocean of transgressions against my family and humankind.
"I apologize. I will return home immediately," I replied nearly apathetically.
"Whatever, Edward. I want to hunt for a while, I'll catch up with you later," Rosalie was the only member of the family who did not communicate with me mentally unless absolutely necessary. She wished to hide her deeper thoughts and feelings, they were personal and important to her, a sentiment I respected. Some things, I discovered, were meant only to be shared with one's mate. I was a constant, unwelcome intruder in my family's relationships.
I nodded my agreement and took off, leaving Rose to her devices deep into the south Canadian forests. I was now in no rush. I had no wishes to return to the house, only agreeing to appease and escape from Rose. Esme would mentally fret over me, Emmett would once again inform I just needed to bed a woman, and then provide graphic images of two faceless bodies gliding over each other, in the throes of passion. Jasper, though he never concretely thought so, would be unhappy I returned after a day free of my depressing emotions, and Alice would scan the bleak future for any sign of hope. There was none. Carlisle, it seemed, partially agreed with Emmett, but in a less crass manner. He understood that perhaps I would wish to refrain from intimacy until I was "married", or mated, such as he did. What my poor surrogate father did not seem to understand was that I would never achieve that. I knew I was fated to a solitary eternity in atonement for my sins.
No, I was not really looking forward to that. I was not looking forward to another day in Forks High School, surrounded by the hormonal imaginings of my peers, teachers, and siblings alike. I nearly gagged at the reminder of what my future held. And Alice has seen no change in this routine, so I knew it to be true.
It was then, halfway between where I left Rose and our home outside of Forks, where I smelled a fresh scent that was unfamiliar to me, All vampires knew this area was claimed, and the fragrance was certainly from a vampire. Determined to peacefully settle this discretion, I followed the trail. I felt no mental presence, though, which I thought odd because I knew I was nearing the offensive vampire.
"Excuse me," I called out to the shadowed figure ;eagues away from me. The silhouette spun around and rushed to reach me, causing me to settle into a defensive stance. I still heard no thoughts, felt no presence other than the obvious physical one. She was female, I registered, before my mind went completely blank.
Female she was, and the most stunning creature I had ever seen. Her hair was dark and wild, swirling about her body like a controlled hurricane of silk and softness. Her face was obviously pale, but luminous, and her black eyes were deep and expressive.
It took me a moment, though, to register the expression in her eyes. She was feral, her pink, rosebud lips pulled over her glistening white teeth menacingly. Deep, black bruises shadowed under her eyes, darker than I had ever seen before on a vampire. Her body was covered by tattered layers of dirty clothing, and her feet were bare. She was obviously nomadic.
"Please, I mean no harm," I lifted my hands slowly, reassuringly using the international sign for peace, "I just request you do not hunt on these lands until reaching the borders of Montana."
My explanation seemed to have little effect on her countenance. She did, however, cover her teeth, removing one threat. Her mouth opened and closed in silent words, ones that I could not interpretate, and I felt even more frustrated with the silence and aggressiveness of the beauty before me.
"Hunt?" She managed to whisper in the most beautiful and melodic voice that had ever graced a being's ear.
"Yes," I replied carefully, moving out of my stance to a normal standing position, "By the colour of your eyes, you have not fed in a long time. We'd rather not have attention drawn to these areas with a massacre."
"Massacre? We? I don't understand," She looked about to cry, and I felt a deep, dull pain in my dead heart. She looked scared and oddly tired for a wild vampire, I thought it best to become as unthreatening as possible. I slowly sunk to the ground, positioning myself in the "criss- cross applesauce" sit, and gestured for her to do the same. She was still several feet away, but she complied, mirroring my motions down to the exact speed accomplished.
"May I ask your name?" I inquired politely, gently. There was something about her, other than her otherworldly beauty, which intrigued me.
"Bella Swan," There was that chiming voice again. Her name was so perfect to describe her it was nearly funny.
"I am Edward Cullen. I live in these areas with my family, Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper, and Carlisle and Esme," I couldn't fathom why I was disclosing such information to a nomadic stranger, "We reside in Forks, where we attend school. Carlisle is a doctor."
"Oh! I go to school too!" She squeeled. While the sound was magnificent, hearing her happy filled me with strange elation, I gave her an incredulous look.
"Well, I used to. I think. I remember a fire in the woods, and I've been wandering out here since. Will you help me?" Bella, too, seemed uncomfortable telling me personal details, I didn't have to read her mind to read her body language. But then my mind registered what she had said, and my eyes widened in shock. This girl, this Bella, had obviously been a vampire for a while, yet she had either repressed killing anyone or anything, or she had remarkable and painful control.
"Do you mean to tell me that you have never fed? When was this fire you remember?" Maybe she was like Alice, her past a black hole of mystery.
"What day is it?" The fact that she didn't know what day it was troubled me, vampires have perfect internal clocks.
"The eighth of January."
"Then the fire was four months ago. I have no idea how I survived, it felt for sure that my whole body was engulfed in the flames."
Four months. This girl had never fed in her whole four month existence; she had not embarked on the usual newborn frenzy, and did not seem wholly out for control. It was then I felt a mental presence, Rose was actually calling out for me.
Edward! Is something wrong? I smell someone! She ran to us, and as Bella sensed a new vampire, she shot up into the defensive stance I was greeted with.
"Rose, it's okay. This is Bella, and she has a very interesting past," I tuned in to Rose's mind, hoping she had no plan to attack the beautiful girl. It was then I saw what she did of Bella. No longer was the brunette beauty I saw Bella to be, but a young woman that looked nearly identical to Rose. The same blonde locks and supermodel-esque physique, but this figment had tanned skin and rosy cheeks. The Rose-Bella had the same black eyes and was wearing the same tattered clothes, but it was not Bella she saw.
A gift.
Oh, brooding Edward, how I love you so.
