Chapter Three: Stranger
Several days later, I pulled into the garage and noticed Alice's car parked beside Edward's. As I walked out of the garage, I saw Esme standing on the porch. She ran to meet me, but her embrace lacked the fierce need it had so often held since she was attacked; Jasper must have come with Alice.
Sure enough, he was sitting on the sofa with his guitar when we walked into the living room. Bella sat on the floor, curled up against the end of the sofa with a notebook. As I came in, she looked up and asked Esme some inconsequential question, distracting her from my presence as I nodded my thanks to Bella and hurried up the stairs.
I knew my study was the likeliest place for someone to be waiting for me, and when I pushed the half open door, I saw that Alice sat on my desk, her arms clasped around her legs and her chin resting on her knees. Edward stood with one hand resting easily on the bookshelf, the relaxed expression of his face telling me at once that nothing serious was wrong. *
"Alice?" I questioned.
She looked up, her face pensive. "There's a stranger passing through, Carlisle. I don't think she'll pass closer than a mile of us…and I don't 'see' anything happening even if she does…but I don't know…" She still felt guilty for missing Esme's attacker; she hadn't fully trusted her powers since then, and had been on high alert for any strangers.
Not that I disagreed. I didn't exactly blame Alice for what had happened, but I did wonder why she couldn't have "seen" it sooner. And I certainly wanted to know about any strangers in the area.
"Where is she now, Alice?"
"About eight miles northwest of us."
"All right. Edward, you and Bella meet me outside. Alice, I assume you and Jasper can stay with Esme?"
She nodded, not moving from her place on my desk.
I turned to leave the room, then hesitated. "Alice. Should I tell her I'm leaving?"
Alice closed her eyes for a moment. "Better not; she'd want to know why. She'll be fine with Jasper here."
"All right. Thanks, Alice." I crossed to Esme's and my bedroom and jumped lightly through the window; Bella and Edward joined me moments later.
None of us said anything as we ran through the woods, Bella and Edward hand in hand. I knew they both thought I was being overly cautious, but both understood.
I wanted Edward with me for his mind-reading abilities; Bella for her shield. And I had to go with them because I could trust no third party to determine if this stranger was a threat to my Esme.
We slowed before we reached her, not wanting her to think this was any kind of attack. She stood at the opposite side of a small clearing, her ash blonde hair in loose curls down her back. Her clothes seemed purposely ragged, a style I had never been able to understand the attraction of, but it somehow seemed to suit her. And yet it struck me that there was something missing about her appearance.
She regarded our approach with curiosity. "Hiya."
"Hello," I returned. "Are you passing through here?"
"Yeah." It was then that I realized what was missing; something about her appearance suggested to me that she ought to be chewing a wad of gum. "You?"
"No; we have a permanent home not too far from here. I'm Carlisle; this is my son Edward and daughter Bella."
"Anastasia; pleased ta meetcha." I could just picture her snapping that wad of gum.
I nodded. "Likewise. You understand, having a permanent residence here, we have to be careful; we feed only on animal blood, and I have to ask that you not feed on humans in our territory."
She shrugged. "No prob. Any humans see me, I just wipe their minds of the memory — poof, no exposure!"
"It isn't only exposure we're concerned about. We have friends among the humans; I'm sure you understand that we wouldn't want you to get one of them by accident. Also, we have a peace treaty with a werewolf; he doesn't mind us having guests, but if he sees you with red eyes in his territory, you're fair game."
"Right. Gotcha. No feeding till I leave."
I smiled. "Or you could try our diet; it's honestly not that bad."
She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, maybe."
I started to turn away, satisfied that this vampire was no danger.
"Wait, Carlisle," Edward said with tense restraint in his voice. "I think you missed something she said."
I heard it, I thought shortly.
"Anastasia," he continued, ignoring me; I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at him, "when you wipe someone's mind of a memory, can you do it…selectively?"
"Sure, long's I know what I'm goin' for," she answered. "Why?"
Edward. No one is messing with my Esme's mind. Tell Bella to shield her, now!
Edward rolled his eyes, but leaned to murmur in Bella's ear.
"We're just…interested in the various powers vampires have," I explained shortly. "Mind-wiping is one we hadn't heard of before. We'll be leaving you alone now; just remember what I said."
"Sure," she murmured.
"Anastasia, are you going to be here for a few days?" Edward asked quietly.
Edward!
She shrugged. "I just fed, so I can stick around. Something up?"
"No," I said shortly. "Let's go, Edward."
Bella put her hand gently on his arm, and he sighed and followed me, shaking his head.
I wished for a moment I could justify killing Anastasia, because there was no guarantee Edward wouldn't go behind my back — and he had more influence over Bella than I did.
Next chapter coming next week!
* Illustration for this scene can be found at femalechauvinist dot deviantart dot com slash art slash Pensive-675848827
I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!
Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Twilight alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie
