The Lion, the Witch and the Forgotten Past.
Chapter 1
The sky was pitch-black as she left her office late at night. As always, she had a lot of work to do and left too late. Now she just wanted to grab a quick dinner to go before she headed back to her apartment. There was an Italian restaurant, which made unbelievable good pasta, from which she would take something home, have a glass of wine or maybe two and relax for the remainder of the evening. The street was mostly empty, given that is was a weekday, and all you could hear was the sound of her high heels on the pavement. Click-Clack.
Bella pulled out her phone, looking at her mails one last time and making notes on what she had to do the next day. This new project was complex, but she loved ever second of it. She was an architect, specialised on real estate and urban planning, and right now she was planning a new office complex in Dubai. Given the time difference, she had to work a lot of crazy hours in order to have Skype conferences with the costumer and ensure that everything was going according to plan. Once a month she would travel to Dubai and meet up with the clients in person. This project started six months ago and was scheduled to go for three years. And so far she loved every minute of it and would love everything in the future. She was happy with her job, took her long enough to find it, and she was happy to work more hours than usual.
It was not like there was someone waiting for her at home, except her dog, Rumo. This week, as an exception, Rumo was with sister and her children. Bella had been to Dubai just two days ago and left her dog with Alice. Saturday she would drive to Forks to pick him up. Just today she realised how much she really missed him. Usually her dog stayed with her in her office, so when she was the only one left, she wouldn't feel so lonely.
Arriving at the restaurant she went in and was greeted by the receptionist. She just smiled and nodded her head. Bella was allowed to go directly into the kitchen, a privilege, which she enjoyed every time. "Ah… Bella. Buonasera. La mia bella signora. Come va?" [Ah, Bella Good Evening. My pretty little lady. How are you?]. The owner, an old Italian man named Mr. Rossero, greeted her. She could just smile, although the restaurant was full and packed, he always took the time to talk to her. "Buonasera, sir. Sto bene. E tu?"[Good evening, sir. I'm doing good and you?] she answered. Italian was one of her favourite languages, it was just music to her ears. "Ora, è molto buono con me. Il solito per voi?" [Now I am feeling good. The usual for you?] the old man asked. "Si" [Yes] she sat down on a little chair, while waiting for her food. "Dove é il mio piccolo amigo?" [Where is our little friend?] Mr. Rossero asked. Bella sighed. Rumo would usually come along and get something to eat from Mr. Rossero. That was the deal, given that Rumo was not allowed in the kitchen and always had to wait outside. She told Mr. Rossero, that her dog was with her sister and that she travelled a lot. With conversation going easy, the time passed quickly and later she was leaving with her meal (gnocchi with mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce) and headed back to her office building, where she had her car parked.
Click Clack, was the only sound noticeable, provided by her heels. Otherwise, it was quite; well at least for the city. She was thinking about the bottle of wine, which she would open with her dinner. Only 20 minutes away.
Then she stopped abruptly. She sniffed and closed her eyes to concentrate. Was she going mad? She sniffed again. No, no doubt. She smelled vampire. She breathed in and out again. This could not be happening, she hasn't met a vampire for years, if not decades, why now. She began to run, whoever this was, she was sure that she would now want to meet this person just now. Her office building came into view, it was not long now. However, she now felt the presence of that vampire. Knowing that he or she was quite close, she needed to concentrate and stopped to run. Closing her eyes she concentrated on her car. Whispering the words, she feared she almost forgot, in a repetitive manner. And then, she felt it. The movement. She opened her eyes and she sat in her car. "Yes" she laughed. "I still got it", doing a little happy dance and probably looking crazy for everyone else. Searching for her keys in her purse, she came across her phone and decided to give her sister a late call. But first, she needed to get moving.
She sped up and drove to her apartment, just to make sure, she drove a different direction and was trying to confuse anyone, who might possibly be following her. While doing so, she gave her sister a call "…yes? This better be good" Alice voice sounded rough, like she had been already asleep. A quick glance a the time, told Bella that it was indeed quite late, at least for Alice. "Alice, it's me. Sorry, about the late call, but I need to tell you something." Bella told her in a serious voice, as an answer she just heard her sister yawn "Well?" she asked. "Well.." Bella began "I don't want you to worry or get mad, but I think I encountered a vampire just now." there was some rustling of the bed sheets and a lot noise. "WHAT?" came a near scream from her sister followed with a n"Au, I just feel out of bed. What? What happened? When? How did you escape?" Apparently, her sister was now fully awake. Bella retold her the story and was anxious when she came to a certain part "and at that point, I could not help it… I used magic" the silence that followed was awful "I know we swore to never use magic again, but I was helpless and I couldn't…" "Bella, it is alright. I know we swore, but I guess it is ok. I would have acted the same. Don't worry. I mean, it is not ideal, but it is what it is now." Sometimes Bella was surprised as to how mature and wise her sister was, when at other times she was just a silly girl, even after all these years. "Ok. Thanks for understanding." she breathed in relief "Where are you now?" asked her sister.
Bella was just passing the entrance of her apartment building, taking the elevator to the penthouse. "Nearly at home, just taking the elevator up" she said, while pushing the button. "What are you going to do now? What if that vampire follows you? This is dangerous, I know you usually could fight them off, but you haven't practiced magic in some years now. I don't know if you will be able to do so now…" Bella sighed, "I know, I was wondering that, too. Hmm, maybe I can get off work tomorrow and Friday and come early to you, so we can discuss what to do and get away from the city" With a loud bing, the elevator opened, welcoming her to her apartment. "That would be a good idea. You can come home anytime, I hope you know that." her sister said in a serious tone. "I know, I know. Well, I will try to come tomorrow and hopefully, when I return here, it will all be forgotten. But for now go back to sleep. The kids will be awake early tomorrow". They said their goodbyes and Bella was left with the silence of her apartment.
The growling of her stomach reminded her, that she had not eaten. And she took the bag she was still holding in her hand and went to reheat her food in the oven. While doing so, she picked a red wine from her selection, settling at her dinner table. Taking a sip from the glass, she started to relax. She decided then, that she wasn't going to be scared by a vampire, she never has und she never will. After all, she was still a witch.