Immortal Legacy

Ch. 2: Mom

CPOV (Cassandra)

Isabella, my beautiful daughter slept with her head on my shoulder the whole way to the airport in Port Angeles. There was a private jet waiting to take us to one of my sanctuaries. The Olympic Peninsula and the surrounding area, for some unfathomable reason, was a magnet for Immortals playing The Game and I wanted as much distance between this place and my little girl as possible. I parked the rental in the hanger and tossed the keys to one of the employees with orders to return it then carried the sleeping girl onto the plane.

It had been just over eighteen years since I had to give her up to keep her safe, there was no way I was letting her away from my side for a while. I situated us on the leather couch then instructed the pilot to take off. One hand stroked her thick silken locks while I reluctantly pulled out my cell phone and made the last call I wanted to.

"Methos, our little girl was shot and went through her first death. Remember the arrangement, I'll send her to you when she's ready," I said as soon as he picked up the phone and was amazed that my tone was civil.

"Cass, is she alright? Tell me about her," Methos asked desperately.

Isabella's head was cushioned on my lap, she brought her right hand up close to her face and I noticed the odd scar on it. An all too familiar scar that only meant one thing and I had to control my anger before I spoke.

"She's confused but that's to be expected, her whole world just got turned upside down but I just found some evidence that she'll accept her situation. There's a scar from a vampire bite on her right hand," I explained and heard him gasp.

"WHAT," he yelled as he lost of control of his own anger.

"Calm down, it's clear that she has some things to explain the same as I do. I'll call you and let you know what I learn. We should be at my island in the Florida Keys tomorrow morning. The plane lands in New Orleans this afternoon then we'll be taking the boat from there. That's plenty of time to hear her story," I told him then hung up after a brief goodbye.

Halfway into the flight, my baby began to thrash with a nightmare. "Please, Edward, don't leave me," she begged in her sleep and silent tears streaked down her cheeks. I stroked her face and she relaxed at my touch. Then I leaned down and whispered soothing words which allowed her to drift off into a more peaceful sleep. My maternal instincts flared and I wanted nothing more that to hunt down this Edward and kill him for hurting my baby.

I'd gotten a feeling that Bella was about to die and made to Forks just as the mortal shot her. Knowing that it was going to be a while before I could get to her body, I posed as a reporter and tried to learn as much as I could. A girl named Angela Webber had been babysitting across the street and proved to be a useful source of information. According to her, Bella – as she liked to be called – had moved to town in the middle of January. She was a shy girl that didn't like to be the center of attention and was clueless to all the potential suitors she had. Not long after her arrival, she caught the attention of Edward Cullen, one of the adopted children of Dr. and Mrs. Carlisle Cullen.

Based on Angela's observations, the two started out with an almost love/hate relationship that eventually blossomed into a purely romantic one. Just prior to Spring Break, Bella had run off to Phoenix and had gotten hurt. When she returned, she and Edward were inseparable. The mortal confessed that Bella often confided feelings of inadequacy and the fear he would realize she was nothing special to her. Something happened on her birthday last week but Miss Webber never found out what it was. I thanked her and headed to my car when I overheard one of the Police Officers mention something about the dead girl being dumped by e-mail.

At the hospital, I learned some more about the enigmatic Dr. Cullen and his family. Based on the descriptions I received, it almost sounded like they were vampires but they had golden eyes instead of red. Maybe they were some other kind of creature, I wondered as the plane started making its descent. Bella sat up, stretched, yawned, blinked a few times then looked around confused until her gaze locked on me.

"M-m-mom," she stammered and I smiled tentatively as I nodded.

"This is for real… all that actually happened," Bella asked and I continued to smile and nod.

She took a moment then smiled brightly at me and threw herself at me. I wrapped my arms around her and she encased me in hers then snuggled into my embrace. Bella simultaneously laughed and cried as she locked me in a death grip. I basked in her unconditional love and acceptance for a few minutes before getting down to business.

"You seem to be handling this well. Before I explain things to you, I want you to tell about yourself. Especially. That. Scar. On. Your. Hand," I told her and enunciated each of the last words sternly. I pulled back to gauge her reaction.

My daughter's eyes widened with realization and she turned a bright scarlet. I gave her some time to compose herself then arched an eyebrow in question after what I felt was a suitable period.

"Let me start out by saying that in my heart, I always knew I wasn't Charlie's and Renee's child and that one day my birth parents would come get me. Now here you are and it's cool but confusing," she started then told me everything about her life.

The first part of her story was only interesting from the standpoint of a mother that had missed out on her child growing up. The last part was where things got both interesting and infuriating. From the time she arrived in Forks, my baby seemed to be on a collision course with her destiny. Bella explained about how she fell in love with Edward Cullen and his "vegetarian" vampire family. Being hunted by James and Victoria; including the truth about what happened in Phoenix. The accident that ruined her birthday party and how eventually Edward dumped her via e-mail and the terrible things he wrote. I was beyond pissed and was happy when she excused herself to go to the bathroom. I was on the phone with Methos before the bathroom door closed.

"What did you learn," Methos asked when he picked up after the first ring. I told him everything that Bella told me and was shocked to learn that he knew something about Carlisle Cullen. Vampires, being psuedo-immortals, had come to the attention of the Watchers just before the fall of the Roman Empire. Methos had been the original chronicler for Carlisle before the vampire was assigned his personal Watcher. He said he'd get in touch with the doctor's current Watcher and learn everything he could. He even agreed with me that Victoria was a problem that needed to be dealt with. I hung up when Bella came out of the bathroom.

"Who were you talking to," the young Immortal asked curiously.

"Your father," I stated and couldn't help the frustration when I mentioned Methos the continued, "He wanted an update and promised I'd call when we landed."

"Is he going to meet us at the airport," Bella enquired hopefully and it pained me to crush that hope.

"No, sweetheart, you won't meet him for a while. After we land and get something to eat, we're going to take a boat to my private island in the Keys. That's where we're going to live while I teach you about your powers. When you've mastered the basics, I'll send you to live with your father so he can finish your training," I admitted and watched sadness briefly flash across her eyes before it was replaced by excitement.

"Where are we now," she wondered. I told her we were about to land in New Orleans then asked her to hold off on questions until we reached the restaurant. She agreed and our flight ended in a comfortable silence.

My daughter is an amazing creature, I thought as I watched her stare out the window as the plane finally touched down. Bella's excitement was growing by the second and I knew how badly she wanted to start this new adventure. An air of being a rakish thrill-seeker hung about her and I knew it was something she inherited from her father. Hopefully, she'd out grow it in time. I had to grudgingly admit that Methos had.

AN: Next chapter, Bella learns her heritage and Amanda shows up. Ch. 3 should be up by morning. After that, I'm going to post at least one chapter of a Bella/Charlotte fic then focus on finishing Tidings of Comfort and Joy. Then I'm going to try to finish some of my other fics and will update the new stories when I can. Unless inspiration strikes, of course.