Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Most of the dialogue is from the original Twilight book. (The added dialogue is simply analyzing the universe they live in, because I sort of refuse to believe they only had the conversation cited in Twilight ch 12 and 13.)
Midday Sun…
The Meadow
EPOV
I watched her back as she walked on into the sunny meadow. The sun played on her brown hair, made it shine like polished bronze. There were scrapes on her arms after the long walk through the woods, but her pale skin positively glowed. She seemed to have forgotten about her exhaustion. I reminded myself to carry her back; she was a fragile human, after all. Not to mention, she was in for the surprise of her life.
I watched her close her eyes and inhale the, to her, sweet scents of wet soil and grass. She seemed so totally at peace and happy with the world around her, not worried and absent-minded like she usually was. I wondered if it could have anything to do with me, if I could ever have that effect on her. I allowed myself to believe that for a moment, warmth flooding my chest; then I dismissed it as impossible – I was too dangerous for her; an intuitive person like her must have felt that by now – but the warmth of it didn't completely leave me. There it is, then, I thought to myself. I can perhaps allow myself these moments of happiness with her, and maybe they will all linger. Even when, one day… No, I couldn't bear to think of that. There could not be a world without her. But she is human. And humans must die… I pushed the thought away again, angry with myself. All the more reason to focus on the time we spent together. I could never let a moment of my time with her go to waste.
I remained in the shadow of the trees behind her, began to unbutton my shirt. I inhaled as well, deeply; I could smell everything she could, and more; I could smell the bark on the trees and the birds that had landed here, however briefly, since the rain stopped. I could smell every detail of the soil, the animals that had stepped on it and which way they had gone across it, the new sprouts on the trees, the cold air… the cars on the highway several miles to the west. None of it struck me as sweet. To my senses, it was perfectly neutral smells, just information about my surroundings.
But I could smell one more thing, and that is the sweetest scent of all to me, although it would likely have made Bella nauseous if she could smell it. She had said it smelled like rust and salt. While it certainly would be a bad idea to live on the Olympian peninsula, or anywhere close to a coast, if you could not stand the smell of salt, I could agree with her about rust; the smell of it was sickening. I mused about this for a second, buying me some more time to watch her enjoy the sunlight, before I had to scare her half to death. Maybe she had never smelled her own blood? But salt and rust? There was zero resemblance between either of those two and blood, to me.
But her blood… from here, eighteen feet away from her, the scent was strong enough to fill my senses. It smelled like sweet, life-giving ambrosia… liquid honey, coursing through her veins… it sang to me – no, to the predator in me. The monster stirred inside my chest, sent images of drinking her blood to my mind… Oh no, you don't! My mental command sounded a lot like Alice's, reminding me that hurting Bella would hurt my sister as well. Knowing this helped a little. I forced my attention away from her scent, made myself focus on the scent of fresh wet grass and pines instead. It seemed an awful smell after the one I had just immersed myself in, but that was good. As long as it would keep her alive, I would take it and be grateful.
Good on you for letting yourself get carried away, I thought to myself. As I watched, she walked towards the center of the meadow, arms open, welcoming the place into her heart. I wondered what that meant for me. Was she welcoming me, too? I shook my head. This was it; there was no turning back now, I told myself; she was going to see. And then? Who knew. Maybe she would finally be sensible and see me as the monster I was. I tried not to let the thought bother me. She turned around, wrists turned out. I could not guess whether it was a peace offering or a sign of trust. I shook my head again, more forcefully this time, as if that could convince me that my own disbelief was right, and that what was now happening could not happen. I had promised to show her this. She had already shown me a great deal of trust by coming here with me, alone. Presently, her expression was curious, expectant, like a child on Christmas Eve.
I took a deep breath, and stepped forward into the sunlight.
