Disclaimer: Anything Twilight related does NOT belong to me. I am simply the writer taking the general idea given to me and turning it into a story.
Missing Pieces - Part One
I breathed in deep, counting the seconds in my head like the ticking of a clock. One, two, three, four… I waited until I reached ten, stopped, then opened my eyes. I could smell quite a number of things around me, at which point, I mentally catalogued them - a preference of mine, I suppose.
I could smell the trees, the grass, and the dirt, first and foremost. Given the fact that my home, Forks, was a heavily wooded place, it made sense these would be the strongest smells. They were quite pleasant during this time of year - it was close to autumn, and with the shift in temperature and weather, that meant the leaves were crisping and preparing to start falling. I loved it - I loved the colors of the leaves during autumn, and I loved all the scents that came with it. There was an equally crisp quality to the smells that just eased me with the leaves and the trees. It made me smile.
I could also smell flowers in the distance - not many, but, the flavor was there, wafting about in the breeze that blew overhead, ruffling my hair. And I could smell several other, fainter scents - animals, and humans. The human smells were the weakest, likely hikers or people who strolled about in this part of the woods where I was currently resting. The animals were a little stronger, mostly tiny woodland creatures like squirrels and birds, and some deer, a herd of them several yards out. Their scents brought the faintest flavor of blood to my nose, but, I had already fed on two deer a few hours ago.
My thirst was calm, thankfully. It allowed me to sit in the grass and just enjoy nature in peace, without the nagging desire to kill some innocent animal for my own survival.
I sighed. I tried to focus more on the smells, and I caught a whiff of something different, something strange to me, but it was much too far for me to really decipher. I considered going after it, to explore, of course, but opted against it. Being back in Forks after twenty years was a big deal for me, and right now, what I wanted most was just to soak in the atmosphere. It was so… strange to be back, after such a long time, even if twenty years didn't feel long in the grander scheme of things.
Twenty years…
Now that I was really thinking about it, it seemed more than strange that so much time had passed, and so much had changed since then. It all started off great, a family vacation to Italy with my parents, but then it ended with death and screams and nightmares that would stay with me for the rest of my now immortal life - unless someone happened to kill me, which, hey, was a possibility now like it had been then.
It was also possible that my former 'coven' would be the ones to end my life, since I hadn't exactly left them on the best of terms. It didn't help that I wasn't the most cordial toward most of them toward the end of my stay there. After what they did to me, to my parents, to people I knew… I could still remember the words Aro used when I awaked from my transformation into a vampire.
"Dearest Isabella, you need only put your trust in us," Aro said, smiling that crinkled smile of his - it was a friendly, affable one, the one he often always wore, but I never truly knew if he meant it when he said anything kind. "We are your family now. And we look after our family, I assure you."
"But you killed my family," I said, staring him down. "You took them from me, and then turned me into THIS without my consent."
He had looked at me with a strange expression - almost one of shame and regret. "I cannot undo what we have done to you in that regard. I… am sorry, truly, for the pain we caused you. I know you won't fully believe that, and I don't expect you to. But you have been blessed with new life and new abilities, and here, you can use them to the fullest, of that you have my word."
"The world is a lot bigger than you know," Sulpicia said right after. "It is vast and dangerous, and we vampires are far more plentiful than you may think. Sad as the loss of your loved ones is, and regretful as the lack of consent on your part the changing may have been, look to the future, not to the past. It's easier that way."
"We will make amends, I promise," Aro said, smiling a little. "Or try to, at least."
I stared back at them silently. They seemed like they actually meant the words they said, and the emotion was reflected in their eyes. But whether it was real or simply engineered, I didn't know then, and I still didn't know now.
I sighed and shook the memory away. Part of me was numb to it all at this point, the memories of how my life had been turned upside down. But there was no point dwelling on it, really, since there was nothing I could do about it right now. At least I had a home to come back to. Sort of.
I got up and, at a more casual, human pace, started walking. I was in the middle of a large forest not far from my old home, which to my knowledge was still standing and still unoccupied. I guessed if I could be thankful to the Volturi for one thing, it was that someone - maybe Heidi, maybe Sulpicia, maybe Didyme, I didn't know for certain - had gone out of their way to keep the house in its current state, and to keep it in 'good' condition. Or so I was told.
"Why would you do that?" I asked Didyme, the one who made the comment the first time. She was the only Head that seemed to treat me like a person. "I live here now, and not really because I want to, either." I frowned. "Why say you'll keep my old house tidied up and tended to?"
Didyme gave me a small smile. "You never know, Bella. You could return there."
"I don't think the others would let me go…" I said. In fact, I knew they wouldn't, especially not Aro and Sulpicia. They liked me a lot, or something. "Besides, I thought Volturi guards weren't allowed to just up and quit? Don't they just kill you?"
"Oh, no," Didyme said. "They have allowed others to leave before. It's not a 'simple' matter, admittedly, but, it's possible. There were two members - Eleazar and Carmen, a mated pair. They left about thirty years ago, in truth, and their gifts were very useful as well for Aro and Sulpicia. Don't fear for your life if you wish to leave. They might not be thrilled about it, but no one dies for wanting to leave us."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"I promise," Didyme said softly. "I would not allow it."
I sighed. "Even so. I mean, I don't exactly have anything to go back to…"
"You might," Didyme said. She said it so… strangely, and when I looked at her, I couldn't really read her expression all that well. Her eyes weren't looking at me, and while her tone was gentle, there was just something about it. "You can never be sure until you do so, after all."
"Maybe," I said. I didn't know if this was some sort of test or not, but, I wasn't going to push it. Then again, she made it a little harder to do that with how she responded…
Didyme's smile grew. "Ah, but, really, how would they be able to stop you? Your shield is remarkable - it may not be best for physical defense, but against mental offense, it's a solid gift to possess. Demetri couldn't track you. They'd have to track you by scent, the traditional way."
I stared at her for a very long time. She sounded so casual and friendly as she talked about this, about me leaving the place that turned me into a vampire in the first place, that was basically the heart of the vampire government. There were things I was still learning about the Volturi despite the fact I'd been there for eight years, and I was still learning a lot about the vampire world in general.
And Didyme, one of the Heads, the sister of the main leader, was telling me to my face that she thought I could - and should - leave. I didn't understand it. Why would she want me to go? Wasn't it in her best interest for me to stay? To keep the Volturi strong?
"You look at me as if I've grown a second head," Didyme said, chortling. "Don't be so surprised! I want to see you happy, not miserable, Bella."
I continued to stare at her. "Are you… are you telling me to leave, Didyme?"
"Am I?" Didyme asked, shrugging. There was a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "I don't know that I'm telling you anything you didn't already know, Bella. You're younger than most of us, true, but you grew up in a newer age. You've got a good head on your shoulders and a solid understanding of the world. Inexperienced, yes, that may be true, but you shouldn't think you can't do something because of this. And really. Why stay in a place that makes you unhappy? No one is forcing you to stay. I see no reason."
"Are you happy here?" I asked quietly.
Didyme's smile lowered. She gave me a knowing look after a few seconds of silence. "Perhaps a little. But, I have my ways of coping. Besides, I feel it's best I keep my brother and sister-in-law in check. Someone has to." She rolled her eyes. "Now, would you do me the honor of hunting with me?"
"Sure, I guess," I said. "Um. Could we…"
"Don't worry, dear," Didyme said. "We'll be careful with whom we choose to feed from, and we'll do it out of the way from the city. You have my word."
I wondered if Didyme had gone out of her way to push me into leaving. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed likely. I didn't know why, of course, since my gift was pretty nifty for the Volturi - a mental shield that could block out mental abilities. It was the reason Aro and Sulpicia wanted me turned when I was a human, because it apparently manifested enough that it caught their eyes. Lucky me, I guess.
I'd find out soon enough if Didyme's strange offer was a genuine one, though.
It didn't take long, even moving at a more easy pace, to get to my house. It was still where I remembered it, further away from most other houses since Charlie and Renee had preferred living near nature. I found myself standing in front of it soon, and for a long moment, I just… looked at it.
Twenty years of no one living there - I could confirm no one was living there by the fact there were no new scents around it, no tire tracks from vehicles, and it looked untouched for the most part - hadn't done it a whole lot of favors. Yet when I really studied the roof, the door, the windows, I did find that it wasn't as dusty or dirty as I expected it to be. Everything looked maybe not pristine, but, close to it, and when I moved closer, I could smell very faint hints of things like Windex.
"Guess Didyme wasn't lying," I said to myself. I reached out to brush my fingers against the window, and when I checked my hand, I saw that there was little dust on them.
I didn't know why it surprised me. But, it did, although I only ended up shrugging it off.
The key was still where I remembered it being - under a fake rock surrounded by real rocks, hidden behind a pot that once held several roses that had long since withered. I picked the fake rock up, retrieved the key, then blurred over to the door - it was a few seconds now that I could move so quickly, one of the few things I honestly did enjoy about being a vampire now. Once I unlocked the door, I slid the key into my jean pocket and pushed my way inside.
It hit me the second I was inside - the familiarity of the surroundings, the old smells I still remembered from when I was a human, and with them, the emptiness.
My chest felt heavy. My stomach knotted.
It felt both like the warm home it used to be, and at the same time, a cold tomb. The inside was dustier, with some cobwebs spread about, and the remnants of what could've been mice living somewhere inside plainly obvious. For a few minutes, I stood there, looking around, taking in the sights that felt so foreign to me even though I'd spent twenty-one years living here. I could still picture my parents' voices, still see them doing their usual routines, see myself helping my father cook or helping my mother in our garden out back.
My eyes felt moist. I wiped the tears away, then shut the door behind me. I'd spent long enough mourning their deaths. But then, I was sure I'd be spending more doing that, because there was no way I wouldn't now that I was living here. I only hoped more time would help me get over the pain - I doubted it, though. Pain like this, it didn't seem like it was going to go away anytime soon. Maybe in a hundred years…
I almost laughed. A hundred years. Now I could actually say that and mean it.
I locked the door behind me - an impulse, even though as a vampire, I didn't have to be quite as worried about intruders - and then began to ponder what I wanted to do with myself. I had several things in order already now that I was here - even after ten years of being away from the Volturi, Didyme kept in touch with me, showing she cared more than I ever thought or expected she would. She'd helped me get myself some money and helped me set things up for Forks.
I wondered if Aro and Sulpicia knew she was helping me. I wasn't sure - Didyme was good at keeping herself busy to avoid having to deal with them unless she needed to, but, Aro was curious, and Sulpicia was… well, I knew she wasn't entirely happy about my leaving. None of them were. But that was ten years ago, and I had no desire to return. I hoped they wouldn't find me anytime soon. I really didn't want to deal with them…
But I shrugged this away for now. Instead, I figured the least I could do is clean the place up. So, I did just that - using my vampire speed and reflexes made it easy to run through the house, cleaning everything. Dust, cobwebs, spiders - everything. I left nothing untouched, and even though I wound up a dirty, dusty mess by the time I was finished, at least the house was presentable on the inside. Charlie and Renee would've been happy, I was sure of that much.
Dusting myself off was a simple matter, but, I was eager to check to see if the shower still worked. I sped upstairs, again stopping when I reached my room. I didn't dare look at Charlie and Renee's room - I pushed the door open and stepped into what was and still was my space. It looked the same. Same blue walls, same band posters and random anime stuff, same Funko Pop collection, same bed…
I smiled a little. It was nice to be home, to be back where I felt I belonged, even though it was going to take a while to adjust to being alone. I had planned to move out before our trip to Italy. I guessed I didn't need to anymore.
With a sigh - I realized I was doing this a lot, and doing a lot of pushing my thoughts away, but since I was alone, it didn't bother me, at least for the moment - I undressed and went into my bathroom, then turned the faucet on. Water came out, and while my skin was naturally cooler now, I could still feel the subtle temperature differences enough to know the water did indeed get hotter and colder. So, I went ahead and took a nice shower to clean myself.
When I was finished, I got dressed again, only to pause when I had to remind myself I didn't exactly have anything to do. No homework for school. No groceries that needed buying or dinner that needed cooking, or any meal, for that matter. I had no friends anymore to hang out with, human or vampire. No parents to talk to or spend time with.
What the hell was there for me?
My memories sifted back in time to a day at Volterra.
"So where did you come from?" Jane had asked me.
I set down one of the books I'd picked up - the Volturi had a massive library, and this one was some sort of swashbuckling adventure tale - and turned my gaze to her. "I was born in Washington, in a small town called Forks. It's drizzly a good chunk of the time, but, a good enough place. Very quaint and sort of out of the way from big cities. Not a whole lot of interesting stuff, I guess, but, I always loved it."
She nodded slowly. "You miss it."
"Of course," I whispered. "How could I not?"
"Alec and I came from Salem," Jane said. "During the Witch Trial period, unfortunately. That's sort of why we wound up getting turned." She shrugged. "Time was different then. I look at the modern world, at how humans have changed. Well. Sort of changed." Her nose wrinkled. "Many are just as idiotic and bigoted as they were when I was human."
"A lot of people suck," I said. I'd had my experience with bullies or rude jackholes growing up, but those were few and far between. "But there are plenty of good people in the world. I knew a lot. My parents. I had friends, too, that were really cool. Good teachers, and so on…"
"I'm sorry," Jane said softly.
Silence fell between us.
Jane broke it moments later. "What did you do for fun in this small town?"
"Not a whole lot, I guess," I said, not really looking at her. "They had a theater. Bookstores and other stores to browse. Most of the fun things to do were in towns around us, but… It still had its charm." I smiled. "I could tell you, if you want."
Thinking back to that moment, and being here now, I realized most of the activities were fun and made sense… when I was human. Now, as a vampire, what exactly did that leave me to do for myself, especially when I was all alone?
"Huh. I hadn't really thought of that," I said, as if I were speaking to someone else.
I frowned, glancing at my window, as if that would somehow give me an idea. Being a vampire, I didn't have to worry about some of the things normal humans did - I needed rest like them, but this was more of a meditative state than anything, and this was only when I was genuinely tired, and since I'd rested a few days ago, I hadn't reached that point yet. So, I was stuck by myself, with nowhere to go and nothing to do.
"I could explore the town," I murmured to myself. I hadn't seen Forks in twenty years either, so… "I don't know, Bella, what would you like to do? Besides talk to yourself, alone in your room that hasn't been touched in years and years?" I rolled my eyes, if only because I could find humor in what was both somewhat normal and somewhat crazy. "Town's the only thing, besides a hike through nature. Could do both, I guess."
It was an idea, at least. And it gave me a way to entertain myself. I decided I would go into town first, until I got bored with that or something else interesting caught my attention.
With little else to really do beyond continue to stand around like an idiot talking to myself, I got dressed and then left my room, casually made my way downstairs, then locked up and exited the house. I stuffed the key into my pocket - while I sincerely doubted anyone would try to break into my home, I was still cautious. I had only just gotten back to it, after all, so the last thing I wanted was to act as if it wasn't possible for someone to try and burglarize it.
Not that they would get far. Though I hated killing humans, I wasn't against other, lighter measures to get my point across. Unless the person who broke in was another vampire…
As I began heading into the forest on foot, my mind wandered a little. I had no vehicle of my own, unfortunately, but I did have a license. I would have to see about getting a new car or something, if only for the moments where I needed to venture into town or away from town for something. I loved the freedom of running and feeling the wind in my hair, but for practical purposes, owning a vehicle was smart, even if it was something simple like a Beetle or a Prius.
I snorted a little. I actually HAD a Prius once, my vehicle not by choice but because it was cheap and affordable. It broke down a few months before the trip to Italy. I planned on saving up to get something new for myself - new in the sense of a new vehicle to drive, not some new, overly fancy, super priced car - but that never happened.
But then, my thoughts wandered from the subject of cars to something more important: other vampires. I was somewhat aware that there was a chance there were other vampires in the area. I didn't know for certain - Aro and Sulpicia had mentioned in passing something about a 'strange' coven that lived in Washington. But, I'd never pressed, in part because I never really had the time for it.
I hoped that if there was a coven, they'd moved. I didn't feel like dealing with conflict unless it was direly needed. Fighting was something I'd learned during my ten years with the Volturi, but, it didn't mean I liked it one little bit.
"I don't see why you don't like combat," Heidi said to me one time, after a training session. She came over to me and looked at me quizzically. "Surely it isn't because you feel you're inadequate at it? If that's the case, I've seen worse, Bella. Newborns turned by random vampires tend to have no finesse or understanding. They think just punching or kicking is enough to count as a method of fighting. It isn't, and they tend to… well, lose."
I ran a hand through my hair. "I don't like fighting, Heidi. I've never been a fighter. Watching action movies and MMA fights was one thing, but getting into an actual fist fight? I did it, like, twice in my life, and I lost both times. It's not in me to fight."
"Even with all the superhuman abilities you've been blessed with?" Heidi asked, arching a fine eyebrow.
I scowled. "I'd rather use those for FUN, not for fighting to the death, thank you."
"How strange," Heidi said. "Is this some sort of modern day thing? When I was a human, life or death was a common practice. It makes sense to know how to fight when it means being able to defend yourself from harm."
"Is every other vampire that psychotic that they'd want to kill me for existing?" I asked.
She paused and seemed to ponder this. "I suppose not, no. But I do think it's wise to sharpen your skills. You don't have to kill, if you don't want to, I guess." She shrugged, then smirked at me. "But, you know, we don't need to think about combat. There's other ways we could pass the time…"
I bit my lip. "You don't… you don't mean…"
"I liked fucking you the other night," Heidi said, her lips curling into a devilish smirk. "I'd enjoy to do it again." She winked and stroked my arm. "If you want."
She vanished in a blur, and I remembered watching and thinking it over…
I sighed and picked my speed up to a semi-slow burst. Moving as a vampire was like moving as a blur - it had its benefits, of course, but it also had its downsides, like getting complete tunnel vision, and the fact sometimes it was harder to notice things BECAUSE of the tunnel vision. I liked to keep at a pace that was somewhere between what a human could feasibly run at and what I could run at top speed if I wanted - faster than a normal human could catch unless they were paying extra good attention, but slower than your normal vampire. It suited me just fine, since it let me keep my senses peeled while I still got the rush of excitement from moving fast.
Speed was honestly my favorite part about being a vampire. The ability to move like a blur was utterly exhilarating. I smiled to myself as I kept on forward, running around trees, jumping over rocks and shrubs. I felt superhuman, in a good way, and with no thirst to keep me hampered or fear of any danger, it made it all the better.
Even during my time with the Volturi, my speed was one of the things I got genuine compliments on.
"I'm sort of jealous," Heidi told me once. This was after a training session, when a few of us were standing around in a hallway, mostly just to relax - or I was, anyways, though I'd considered going to the library to spend some time alone. "You're insanely quick despite it not being your gift."
Heidi was standing next to me, appraising me with intent eyes. And we weren't alone, either. You never really were in Volterra, even when you thought you could be.
"Am I?" I had asked in response. And I meant it, too, I was really surprised to hear it. "I wasn't aware."
"Seriously," Heidi said. "I mean, you're not THE fastest vampire around, but, seeing you move…"
"It's impressive," Felix, another of the guards, added. He was close by, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, like he often did. It was sort of like he posed - he liked to pose to show off his impressive, big physique, in a way that it looked like he really thought he was hot stuff. He grinned at me, a flirty grin, I guessed, but I had little interest in him in that way. "I wonder if you're quick in… other ways." He wiggled his eyebrows at this.
Heidi growled. "Felix. Behave."
"What? I'm only curious."
I ran a hand through my hair, fidgeting somewhat. I wasn't used to this much attention, and I had no clue how to deal with it when we were all superhuman creatures with super powers. Were there rules about this? Did anyone really care?
Felix sighed. "Look, my flirting aside, I do mean it. And when the hell did you start getting so possessive of the newbie, Heidi? Don't act like you claimed her as yours or anything." He snorted. "That's kind of ridiculous of you."
"I'm not," Heidi said. "I'm keeping my eyes on the new blood to make sure dumbass brutes like YOU don't try to take advantage of her."
"As if I would do that," Felix said, looking offended.
I didn't say a word to that, although I gave him a pointed stare. Felix had flirted with me before, and I told him, with words, that I wasn't interested. Either he didn't give up easily, or he was only doing it to get a rise out of Heidi. That was likely, I guess, but, I wasn't about to speak on it unless I really had to. Which I might've needed to…
"Quick vampires tend to be the most dangerous," Demetri added - he was looming about, but he was reading rather than standing near me like Felix and Heidi.
Demetri was… an odd one, in my mind. He didn't say much usually, not to me at least, but I knew full well he wasn't to be messed with. He was a tracker - the best tracker of the Volturi, barring another vampire named James with equally good tracking abilities. But to my knowledge, neither of their abilities worked on me. Demetri's didn't, anyways…
"My point is, it's a good thing," Heidi said, smirking at me. "Keep honing it. It'll be a valuable skill."
"Oh, sure," I said.
How right she wound up being in the end.
I kept at the pace for a while, dashing past trees, moving across a road when there were no cars, and so on, until I got closer to town. I slowed myself down to a human pace once I got to a point where I knew I couldn't realistically be a blur anymore - I didn't want to freak anyone out by popping out of nowhere on a busy street, after all.
Town was filled with people today - many were out and about, biking, skateboarding, or just walking. It was a nice day, so I could see why. It was kind of pleasant to see so many people, although I dearly hoped I wouldn't see any… familiar faces. That was why, when I'd gotten dressed, I opted for a beanie to cover my head, sunglasses, and a baggy, but also comfy, hoodie. Couldn't be too careful.
I began strolling around, smiling at anyone who caught sight of me, but otherwise, keeping to myself. Being a vampire, I was oddly aware of the fact I kind of stood out among the humans, yet most people wouldn't bat an eye at me normally unless I actively 'wanted' them to. Something about being a vampire made it easy for me to blend in - the 'gifts of the ultimate predator,' or some crap, Aro had said once.
I shuddered at thinking about that. I didn't like thinking of myself like… that.
I spotted a bookstore, one I recognized from when I was still a human living here, and with a little spark of interest, I headed toward it automatically. It was a decently large one, an old Mom and Pop style place that managed to keep in business even with bigger bookstores popping up in nearby towns. And when I entered, I was greeted by the same musty book mixed in with new book smells that I remembered so well.
I breathed in quietly, just soaking in the familiar scents. As I did, I counted the seconds, once more like the ticking of a clock. One, two, three, four, five, six…
"Hello and welcome," a voice said from behind the counter. Right at the end of the 'ten' in my head. Fitting enough.
I turned and caught sight of the woman standing there - she wasn't a face I recognized, so I felt a little less anxious being in here. Her name tag read Angela, which I made a mental note of just in case.
"Hi there," I said.
"Need any help finding anything?" Angela asked.
"No, not at the moment, thank you," I replied.
With a nod, she went back to eyeballing her cell phone, and I noted to myself that was another thing I'd need to get. Every twenty-one year old had a cell phone, after all.
She was cute, though. Tall, with long dark hair that fell past her shoulders, and brown eyes - her skin was a light olive tone, and her features made me think maybe she had some Hispanic in her, perhaps a little Asian. Either way, very pretty. Part of me was, admittedly, curious, but, I opted not to make things too awkward on my first day back in Forks.
'Not that I'd have too much of a problem flirting… if I wanted,' I thought.
Romance was a weird thing for me, when I stopped to consider it. Before that fateful trip to Italy, I had mostly been single for my early teenage years. I had one or two 'boyfriends' during that time, usually just crushes who I went to a dance or something, but those never really evolved into anything serious. My first 'actual' relationship came about when I was in high school, around my sophomore year - that was when I dated a girl for the first time, and it was… wonderful.
If I had to be honest, if there was one thing of good that came from my time with the Volturi, it was that I was allowed to… experiment more frequently. The Volturi Guard was vast in size, and while there were some mated pairs - even a triad or two - most of them were single, many of whom would 'play' with one another. I wound up sticking mostly to women, save for a brief moment with Alec, Jane's brother. Jane herself was the first person I spent romantic time with. Then there was Heidi…
I sighed and shoved the thoughts away. None of that mattered now. I doubted they saw me as a friend or anything else - I was a tool, or a toy. Nothing more.
I kept my shades on and began slowly walking through the bookstore. I figured I could just strut around, mostly to enjoy the cozy, quaint atmosphere, and then I would eventually start looking at - and maybe even reading - some of the books. The hours up front said the place was open late, which suited me just fine. It wasn't like I had anywhere else I could or needed to go anytime soon, so…
Yet as I began to wander around, a few minutes in, really, the front door opened, and I stopped. I was behind a row of books toward the back of the store, yet right away, my nostrils flared. The smell of whomever had entered was not the smell of a human.
"Hello and welcome," Angela said.
I froze, hovering near the back of the row of books. I didn't dare move, not even to see what the new person looked like. But their scent told me they were a vampire - I knew straight away from my years with the Volturi what vampires smelled like to other vampires. The scent was lighter, sweeter, but that meant little.
"Thank you," came the response. Female. "How are you today, Angela?"
"Eh, same ol', same ol'," Angela said. "Term papers are kicking my ass, but I'm hanging in there the best that I can. Sorry if I seem rude for being so focused on my phone - been getting a lot of messages on Facebook for stuff I'm trying to sell. Preparing to move to Seattle soon. Anyways. Let me know if you need any help finding something."
"Of course."
Inside, I was panicking. It didn't matter that this was a public place with another human - one vampire wasn't something I wanted to deal with, let alone something I was prepared to deal with. I grimaced and remained where I was, keeping my senses focused only on the one vampire.
She began moving, her footsteps light and almost musical-sounding, but rather than make a beeline for where I was - there was no way she couldn't know I was here, no, her senses would tell her - she went a different direction entirely.
I waited, refusing to move until I knew she was far enough from me that I could leave the bookstore without problem. She kept walking, and, once I was certain there was enough of a gap between where we were, I slid back the way I'd come. My chest felt tense as I crept along the row of books, keeping my eyes forward, but my nose and ears on high alert. I didn't smell her, or hear any movement, but even so…
I stopped when I hit the end of the bookshelf and peered over the corner. I didn't see the vampire, nor did I hear her. I could smell her scent, still, mixed with some kind of perfume. The human, Angela, was still behind the desk, checking out her phone, texting maybe. She seemed unaware, which was fine by me.
'Okay, take it easy and be casual,' I thought. 'Just go out the door and book it. Simple.'
I was about to move when I heard something - a whish of movement above, then behind me. I could barely react in time when I felt a presence, followed by the smell of the vampire, followed then by her voice.
"Leaving so soon?"
I froze again. 'Damn it. Damn it, damn it…'
There was a very long pause. If I had a beating heart, I was certain it would've been pounding to try and break free from my chest at this point. I didn't dare move, lest the vampire decide to just rip my head off right then and there. Ten years of combat experience wasn't enough in my mind, and even with my gift…
"You don't need to be so tense," the other vampire said. Her voice was… soft, with a certain husky quality to it. "I'm not going to hurt you."
I didn't exactly trust that - I'd heard it enough times before, and with other vampires…
"Please," she said. "Turn around. I promise, I'm not your enemy."
I gritted my teeth. "How do I know you won't kill me the second I lower my guard?"
"In a bookstore?" She sounded somewhat amused. "Come on, now. If I wanted to kill you, I'd have dragged you through the back door and been done with it. We both know we can be quiet enough when we care to, although I suppose it's equally true we could be loud and draw an immense amount of attention to us. I'd rather not do that, though."
"How do I know you won't do that anyways?" I asked quietly.
She sighed. "Look, just… I don't know what I can say exactly that will ease you, but, I mean what I say." She paused and I heard her shift her weight a little. "Granted, I suppose I'm cheating a bit. I kind of know what's going to happen, so…"
I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Another pause. "Aro and Sulpicia never mentioned me? I'm surprised."
I whirled around. "How do you…?"
I stopped when I actually got a look at her - I hadn't exactly thought of what she may look like, but putting the voice to the face was… different.
She was my height, for starters, maybe a tiny bit taller than me - I was 5'5, not super tall, but close to normal, I guess - but she was definitely more toned than I was. Her athletic, muscular build was clear from the sleeveless tanktop she wore, which showed off her very impressive biceps, and the rest of her wardrobe hugged her figure perfectly. She had short, pixie-length black hair, spikes jutting out all over the place. And her skin was pale, much like mine, though maybe even paler.
But what stopped me dead in my tracks were her eyes - golden. Like mine.
She smiled an easy-going smile and pointed to her eyes. "Does that help?"
"I… You…" I wasn't sure how to react, for some reason. I needed a moment to process all this.
"You don't need to be afraid of me," she said again. "I won't hurt you, like I said. I have no reason to." She smiled wider. "It helps that you're like me, you know."
I slowly removed my sunglasses, knowing my eyes were the same shade of gold as hers. Well, close enough, that is - her eyes were a vibrant color, almost butterscotch, even though using the term sounded a little cliche. Still. They were… admittedly gorgeous.
"My name is Alice," she said, extending her hand out to me. "Alice Cullen."
I hesitated, then reached out to shake her hand. "Bella."
Her grip was firm, yet, gentle enough. It wasn't threatening at all.
"Bella…?" She arched an eyebrow as she let my hand go.
I stared at her still. My head was spinning a bit because never had I anticipated this - meeting a vampire in Forks was enough of a shock, even though I'd been semi-warned about it - but seeing one that was, like me, a vampire that survived off of animal blood instead of human blood…
"Er, uh. Swan."
Alice's smile turned playful. "Bella Swan? Beautiful Swan?" She giggled. "Wow, your parents must've had fun with that one. That's kind of cute, actually." She grinned wider. "In fact, you're pretty stinking cute yourself, if I do say so."
I had no clue how to respond. Were this Volterra, I would've been coy as a habit, and were I human, I'd be blushing a deep crimson at the compliment and the look in her eyes.
She was silent then, biting her bottom lip. "Sorry. I, uh, didn't mean to be rude." She rubbed the back of her neck. "This is kind of awkward for me, but, I'm sure it's ten times more awkward for you. I admit, I kind of dithered on how I wanted to go about this when I saw you coming to Forks. This seemed like the most… natural option when I took into consideration how you would end up reacting. It's not perfect, I know. And I'm probably confusing you more, judging by the look in your eyes."
"I'm kind of at a loss," I said softly. "My big vampire brain doesn't know how to react…"
Alice sighed. "Let's relocate, and I can explain a little better."
I stared at her, again hesitant. But, she didn't give off the vibe that she would hurt - or kill me - the moment I followed her, so, with a little nod, we exited the bookstore. When we got outside, Alice nodded for me to keep following, and so we wound up just sort of strolling about together, as if we were the best of friends.
"I have the ability to see the future," Alice said, like she were talking about the weather. She shrugged. "I sort of assumed you would know that, or have some inkling that one of the Cullens in Washington possessed such a gift. I'm surprised no one said it to you before."
I stared at her again, longer this time, as I processed this.
I was vaguely - very vaguely - aware of hearing something like that mentioned once or twice, but always in passing. My time with the Volturi for those ten years was a bit jumbled, if I were honest, so it made it hard to actively pull back the specific memories. Either way, I didn't recall any names mentioned, although 'Cullen' did ring a bell.
"So… you can see any future?" I asked, finally finding my voice.
She nodded. "To a degree, at least. The future is sort of… subjective. I can see what COULD happen in any given scenario." She paused and tapped her chin while walking. "Think of it like a big-ass spider web. At the center of the web is the basic thing I'm looking up, like if it's gonna rain. From there, it spreads out, with mutliple options - the more I concentrate, the more the web shrinks down to the likelier scenarios. Even then, though, it's hardly set in stone in most cases. Sometimes, the future will change. Usually, I can catch it, but there are moments when I get surprised, like with you, for example."
"Did… did you see me coming?"
"Yes," she said. Another smile.
"And you're telling me this why?" I asked.
She paused, stopping near an alleyway, and I stopped as well. She waited for several people to pass us by before she nodded for me to come in there with her. I sighed internally and followed until we were hidden from public view.
"Because you're a stranger who happened to wander into our territory," Alice said. "Normally, we try to be diplomatic with vampires or covens who come here. In the past, we've had mostly good fortune with other vampires - only twice did we need to fight them because they didn't want to play nice. With you, it's the same, but… you being a vegetarian vampire certainly makes this different."
I blinked a few times. "Vegetarian?"
Alice chortled. "Sorry. It's a bit of an in-joke in my family. It's not funny, I know, but we use it to play around, mostly, 'cuz we feed off animal blood only. Like you do."
"Oh." I bit my lip. "How many of you are there in this coven of yours?"
"There are nine of us right now," Alice said. "We have a sort of… extended family, you could say, living in Alaska - they have eight members right now. We've got one extra, which happens to be yours truly." She giggled. "Would you like to meet them?"
"Wh-what?" I stared at her. "Um. N-no, thank you. Not really."
Alice arched an eyebrow. "Ah, okay. You'd rather keep to yourself, I see." Her lips twitched. "I'm… sorry to say that may be an issue. My coven knows about you already. They've all sort of known about you, and that you would be showing up today."
I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat. "O-oh."
"Sorry," Alice said. "I'm kind of the alert system for my coven. I tell them about any and all potential threats and visits and anything else that might be remotely interesting or entertaining. But don't worry." She held her hands up, smiling softly. "My parents are keen on meeting you to see what you're like, but you being like us has made it a lot less tense than normal. My siblings… they're kind of on the fence about you, though."
"...great," I muttered.
"It'll be fine," Alice said. "You can trust me on that."
I stared at her. "You want me to trust someone I've never met before who can see the future and looks like she worked out a lot as a human?"
Alice blinked and eyed me for a moment. Then, she grinned. "Were you checking me out, Miss Swan?"
My eyes widened. "Wh-what? No! I… It's obvious!"
She giggled again. "I'm teasing. I know you aren't going to trust me, and I don't expect you to." She stepped forward, until she was right in front of me. Her eyes were warm and gentle, her expression just as tender. "But believe me when I say that I've seen enough of the future to know that you and me… we're gonna be friends, Bella. You won't be alone for long, I promise."
Her words - but especially the tone of her voice - took my breath away. I had no idea how to respond to her whatsoever.
"Now then," Alice said. "I actually do have some errands to run in town. You're welcome to join me, if you want to keep chatting, but I can sort of tell you'd prefer not to - I don't have to look into the future to tell the obvious." She winked. "And that's cool. As a warning, we'll be stopping by tonight at your place to 'meet' you. Please know we mean you no harm. Esme and Carlisle would never lift a finger to someone who wasn't an enemy."
I grimaced. "And your siblings?"
"They'll be wary, but, they won't be hostile," Alice said. "You have my word."
I wasn't entirely sure her word would be worth all that much in the grander scheme of things - I mean, even if she didn't kill humans for blood, that didn't make her or her coven any less dangerous. And if there were nine of them? Nine against just me, the vampire who was barely twenty years old and hated to fight? Yeah, it wasn't going to end well for me. Not like I could shield them to death - my shield was mental, not physical…
Alice's eyes stayed gentle. "Please, all I ask is for a chance. That's it. You have my word, for what it may be worth to you, that if you feel unsafe or threatened, we'll leave you alone. I promise."
"Just like that?" I asked. "You won't kill me or chase me out?"
"This is your home, same as ours," Alice said.
I groaned inwardly. "Okay, fine, fine." I looked away from her. "What time am I going to be seeing all of you so I can mentally prepare?"
She was silent for a moment, and when I turned back to her, she looked like she was zoning out. When she came to, she smiled again. "Seven o'clock, on the nose. Is that a fitting time?"
"I guess," I said.
"Excellent," Alice said. "Then I will see you tonight." She beamed. "It was nice to meet you, Bella. Take care."
"Er, sure," I said.
And then she brushed past me with ease, going right back toward the bookstore. I watched her go, and for a few moments, I stood there, unsure of what to do. She'd just gone back to her business like we'd had a pleasant chat about the weather, but I knew deep down there was a whole lot more to it. I had no clue what to do now - I had to expect guests, that much I knew, but would they really be as kind as she seemed?
I had no freaking clue. And that terrified me to no end.
'I could run, maybe,' I thought. 'But where can I go? Nowhere. The Volturi…' I was still scared about them tracking me down, so, I couldn't venture too far just in case. 'Damn it.'
Yet I knew standing around like an idiot in an alleyway wasn't going to do me a whole lot of good. And I had plenty of time to kill before tonight came. So, without much else on my plate, I guessed the only choice I had was to… keep doing what I'd come to town for in the first place.
I left the alleyway and bypassed the bookstore - I could swing back around later if I wanted to, but, right now, I didn't want to take any chances. This Alice Cullen acted friendly enough, but I couldn't trust her yet, not fully.
All I knew for sure was that it was going to be a very long day. And an even longer night.
A/N: Hey... So, uh. Hi everyone! Long time no see. I'm not dead!
Life has been... interesting for me. I have graduated from the university I was studying at for three years, and now I'm home, floating about in some weird miasma of stagnant uncertainty and struggles. Huzzah! But in all seriousness, I've been focusing a lot on writing, especially in the commission department. That is where this piece comes from - some time ago, I was approached by a fan of my work, apdarkness905, saw that I was open for commissions and asked if I was open to doing something based on my old, old, old, OLD Twilight work. I accepted, and I've done several for him. Of those, this is the most recent, and it's also the one I think is my strongest compared to the others. So, I thought I would post it, my first post in ages.
Writing is still my biggest passion in life, and I'm still working on that novel I've mentioned. It's had a few ups and downs, as you would expect, and a healthy dose of depression and real life troubles (uncle passed away, sister had a cancer scare, my dog has heart troubles, and so on), so I've basically been trying to grapple a lot of things at the same time while ALSO looking for a 'real' job. But, I'm still writing when I can, and I am proud of what I do, even when it is flawed and far from perfect (as all writing will always be, I guess).
At any rate, thank you to anyone who reads this. I don't expect reviews, so please don't feel obligated to do so. If you read this and you like my work, and you're someone who has an idea for a story you'd like to see, message me, and we can talk. I'm open for commissions over on DeviantArt (still Hollowgo over there), and I always welcome the challenge. Until then, take care, stay strong, and have a pleasant day/night! :D
~ Hollow Pages (or just Hollow)
