2. Old Friends


Charles mentally growled to himself. He had watched Bella for all of a few minutes, and it was already evident why Edward took so much interest in her – if he couldn't read the girl's mind, he was certain that Edward couldn't either. However, Charles didn't need telepathy to know when Bella realized that he was there. Sighing resignedly, he stepped forward. "Hello, my name is Charles. I'm a friend of Edward's." The greeting was impromptu, but he hoped she wouldn't read too far into the possibilities.

Given the outcome of most of her encounters with strange vampires – James, Victoria, Laurent, Riley – she supposed she had reason to be apprehensive…but his eyes were liquid gold, just like Edward's, Alice's and Jasper's. Just like hers would be someday. So she had nothing to fear from him. "Really? He's never mentioned you before. I'm Bella...his wife."

"Edward's wife?" The surprise in his voice was genuine. "In that case, may I ask you something slightly personal?"

Bella's eyes shifted slightly, wondering if she should say yes, or if it would end up being something slightly too personal. "Um…sure…I guess."

"Why isn't your husband escorting you to wherever you're headed?" Charles turned his head to peer at her with his left eye. "He's not the most loved vampire in existence, so I would think he would want to protect you better."

"Well, actually, the Volturi...nevermind. He's hunting, but he'll be back soon," Bella assured him, in case he wanted to wait.

"Hunting? You mean that he's out for a while?" He sounded as if he actually cared. Charles was being extra careful to have the proper body language and verbal pitch to keep Bella at ease. "Would you…" – he paused with measured uncertainty – "…like me to take you where you're going? I need both hands to count the number of specific vampires within the state that would wish Edward harm."

"Thanks," Bella said, glancing toward the truck. "But if something was going to happen, Alice probably would have seen it already."

Charles's open hands went up in defense. "I wasn't implying that something was going to happen. Just that it could. As for Alice…" – a warm smile covered his face – "…she doesn't always see everything that might happen, I'm afraid." He lowered his hands slowly, slipping them into his pockets. "If you don't think that I should accompany you, just say so; it won't hurt my feelings. I was just wanting to help out an old friend."

Bella had been prepared to tell him exactly that, but the last part...made her think twice. Maybe Edward would have wanted him to come if he couldn't. "If you want to." She opened the door and got in.

Charles paused for a moment before slipping into the passenger seat. "Thanks for letting me help out. It's been a little while since I last saw Edward, and I want to make up for lost time. By the way, if you have any questions about either of us, feel free to ask."

His easy smile belied his true emotions: this enigmatic girl was extremely annoying. Never before had he needed to play with a human's emotions so actively and blindly. If she didn't show so much promise...

He forced his mind shut on that thought. Charles couldn't risk that Edward might be eavesdropping. It was too likely.

"Why does he never talk about you?"

"He never talks about me?" Charles's eyebrows lifted in surprise. He might be working blindly, but he had manipulated enough people in his existence to have an integral understanding of the best methods. "I'm not exactly sure why that would be. Though I guess we didn't separate on the best of terms. A slight argument, if I remember correctly." He sighed, then added, "That's a large part of why I want to help him out now. Put us back where we were before everything happened."

"What was the argument about?" Bella asked.

"Well…" His pause was almost unnoticeable, but necessary for him to decide to tell her part of the truth. "On that particular day, we were discussing how vampires would progress into the future. Theoretically only, of course. Some of my ideas upset Edward, and we had an argument about it. In order to prevent anything more, we decided to part ways." Then he decided to turn the conversation to something that could benefit him more immediately. "Would you mind telling me a little about the current Edward? And yourself, of course."

She wondered when exactly he had known him, and where she should begin. "Edward probably has…more self–control now," she said. "And he's more…laidback, I guess. Trusting. At first, he didn't want me anywhere near werewolves, but he came around…"

Charles mentally sighed. This was a large part of why he loved telepathy - humans at large had trouble saying what they meant in coherent sentences. Incidentally, this was also partially why Bella frustrated him so very much. Yet again, he had to remind himself that she had more value alive than dead. "Edward laidback? What about werewolves? My apologies, but I don't think I'm following you appropriately."

"I met Edward in a place called Forks, Washington. You've probably never heard of it. Anyway, a group of werewolves live close to there, and I was friends with some of them, but at first, Edward was convinced that they were going to rip me to pieces." Bella almost laughed.

Charles was confused whether to join in the laughter or not. "Edward's right about werewolves, Bella. You should be careful around them." He watched Bella carefully, ready to adapt in order to keep her talking.

Bella shook her head. "You've never even spoken to one, have you?"

"Truthfully, I've only met a few. And none of those meetings were what you would call normal – mostly involving me running, and them chasing."

"And then being disappointed when you got past the boundary line…"

"Boundary line? What are you talking about, boundary line?" He squinted at Bella in honest confusion.

"The boundary line between the Cullens' land and theirs."

"Miss Bella, the werewolves that I speak of were nowhere near the Cullens' land. I haven't been in these parts for a long while." Charles's frustration was steadily growing. The conversation was going nowhere that he desired.

"Oh…then where are the others?"

"The others?" He nearly grinned at her acceptance of this. "Werewolf packs tend to spring up wherever vampires historically congregate. It's a kind of natural balance. Hasn't Edward explained all this to you before?"

"No, he didn't. I thought the Quileutes were the only ones."

Charles mentally calmed himself. He could afford to play this out. "Yes, there are a few other tribes. Though they tend to fluctuate in numbers over the years. It's a fact that many vampires attempt to ignore, though I never figured Edward for one of those."

"Maybe it's because…they've never really had a reason to attack him before."

Charles smiled and responded, "Are you implying that I gave them a reason to attack?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there."

. . . .

"Thanks for letting me feel like I was doing something to help Edward. I hope you have a nice day, Mrs. Cullen."

Charles smiled to himself as he eased into the growing crowd. Despite being extremely frustrating, the morning had gone well. A few more hours, and Bella would be ready to do anything he asked – within restrictions, of course.


A few more hours, and a strange vampire would target Bella. Alice watched the scenes play out far from the living room. While the outcome of their meeting wasn't entirely clear (it kept changing), none of the possibilities were pleasant. Edward would need to know about this. They needed to be there.


A crescent moon glimmered above in a nearly-cloudless pristine sky. Edward strode strongly along, seemingly oblivious to the world around him. However, his bright topaz eyes – once the deepest black of oblivion – absorbed everything.

Upon returning from a successful hunting expedition, most vampires' minds would be brimming with thoughts of how they had struck down their prey. However, the only thoughts that could find purchase in Edward's mind were of his beloved wife Bella, and their adorable son Hayden.


Bella had started to wonder where Edward was. Hayden was on her lap, and she was reading to him in the living room. Every few minutes, she glanced out the window. The dark, empty street remained just that.

Alice's eyes lit up as she sprang to her feet. "He's here, Bella! Edward's here, open the door for him. Quickly, before he goes for the window." She was beaming not only because her brother was present, but also because Bella's favorite individual was at the door.

Bella paused in the middle of her sentence, and looked at her. "Why would he go for the-?"

Before her sentence could be completed, Edward calmly strolled into the living room. His crooked smile displayed his immense pleasure at being home. "Hello, Bella. Haven't broken anything yet, have you?"

"Just a couple ribs and a few priceless antiques, nothing huge," Bella replied.

Edward glanced sideways toward Alice as if to confirm Bella's claim. Returning his gaze to Bella, he responded, "What am I going to do with you? Leave for not quite two days, and you've broken plenty. Leave for a few more, and who knows what else might be mangled beyond repair." A smirk spread across his lips just before he leaned in to hug her delicate body.

Bella leaned forward slightly, careful of Hayden, and put her arms around him. "We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

Edward wrapped his arms around them both. "I'd rather not wait and see," he whispered loudly in her ear. Pulling back slightly, he examined his small family. "How were you two while I was away?"

"We were fine," Bella said conventionally, looking down at Hayden.

"Fine? Come now, Bella, tell me how you were." He leaned back in to kiss her forehead briefly. Straightening, his eyes moved slowly to Hayden, leading Bella's with them. "Hayden isn't very talkative yet. According to him, you two slept the majority of the time."

"Well, it was only one day…and humans tend to have to do that for at least a few hours…"

Edward rolled his eyes in mock-exasperation. "You're as frustrating as ever, Bella. At least tell me if you enjoyed yourself or not. Please."

Bella smiled at his comment. As if she could really enjoy herself when he wasn't around. "It wasn't so bad, I suppose."

Edward smiled warmly at Bella before quickly and firmly kissing her on the lips. Breaking away, he eased her into a nearby chair to recuperate. He kept a loving eye on her as he addressed Alice. "How do you think they fared?"

Bella waited for Alice to confirm what she had said, but she didn't. She and Edward shared a moment of silence, glancing over at her every so often, and she could only guess what that meant. "What?"

Alice turned to beam at Bella, but waited for Edward to respond.

Edward paused for a short moment before speaking. "Bella, we need to be more careful in the near future. Alice saw something about you being in possible danger."

Danger? From what? Bella's bemused expression relaxed into one of dawning realization when she was on the verge of asking them. Maybe Charles was right, and there were vampires around who wouldn't mind attacking her because of him.

Alice shrugged weakly. "There wasn't much - a vampire attacked you. I've never seen him before. There wasn't any indication of when, or where...because he hasn't decided that yet. I'm sorry that I can't be of more help, Bella..."

"Should I go out tomorrow?"

Alice began to shake her head in a negative response, but Edward cut her off. "Yes, you should go. It won't be long before we'll have to keep you isolated, and you will wish that you had stayed out as often as possible before." He sighed, obviously troubled by the need to allow his wife to possibly be placed in danger.

"Will one of you go with me, then?"

Edward forced a seemingly easy smile as he embraced Bella. "We won't impose on your normal day. Though you can be certain that you are well–watched and a split second from salvation when needed. I'll make sure that no one will hurt you."

If he was sure of that, then so was she. Bella embraced him tightly, enjoying his dizzying scent…before Hayden started to cry, and she let go.

Edward released her and took a single step backwards. There he stood in silence, absorbing the perfection of Bella's appearance and scent. Her warmth swiftly faded from the surface of his chest. A barely perceivable sigh indicated how very much he would miss the beauty of Bella's humanness when it was gone.

Bella didn't have to hear it to know how he felt: Part of him wanted it as well, but another part of him said that was wrong, that he was being unbelievably selfish. And another said that she was making a mistake. She didn't agree.


Charles sighed in relief – finally, the time to visit Bella again had arrived. He peered over his shoulder one last time, though his telepathy assured him that Edward was at ease and not quite as diligent as before. Slipping forward, Charles practically materialized before Bella.


What was your opinion of Charles after his official introduction?

And did you find the idea of a golden-eyed vampire as a threat interesting?