A/N:Phew, it really took a lot of work to finish this chapter. Sorry for taking so long -.-'
Anyway, this chapter is only half way beta'ed so please excuse all of the mistakes that I've made.
A few things are going to be explained in this chapter, so I hope you'll enjoy it- I'll be at the bottom :)
Chris POV
For various moments no one said anything.
"You have a sister?" my mother finally interrupted the silence. Dad only nodded. "How did I not know about this?"
"We're not related by blood. She is actually my stepsister. You know that my mother got remarried when I was fourteen. Didyme had barely been around; she was at some fancy school in Italy. I only saw her during the summer break and we never really bonded. We got along but we're not really close to each other," he explained.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but that doesn't explain why we all didn't know anything about her," Bella threw in.
"She always kept her distance, it was almost like she didn't want to belong to the family – that's why I never really involved her. Reneé, you've already met my sister, you just forgot all about it. When you were pregnant with the girls there were strange things happening and one day we visited my family. Didyme noticed what was going on and she helped you, but she also made you forget about her. She told me that I probably should tell you about her and the girls, so that you would be prepared for things in the future. I didn't do it..."
"Charlie, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about," Mom cut him off.
To be honest, he really didn't make much sense.
Dad sighed. "I don't know how to say this... My sister and the girls are..." he let his voice trail off.
Bella and I exchanged a look. What did he know?
Edward cleared his throat. "They are witches," Edward completed.
We all turned to look at him.
I stared at him in disbelief and I was pretty sure that Bella gave him the same look.
Edward looked back at us with no expression on his face. "Your father already knew that," he told us.
Now we looked at Dad, who seemed to be a little uncomfortable.
"How do you know that I know?" he asked Edward.
Edward smiled slightly. "I can read minds."
Dad's expression turned sour.
"I'm sorry, but if this is supposed to be a joke, then it's not a good one," Mom piped up, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
I understood her just all too well.
Bella walked over to Mom and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not a joke. Chris and I really are witches," she explained calmly.
Mom only snorted at that. "I don't have to believe this, do I?"
"No, you don't have to, but it's still the truth," Dad said.
"Okay, so let me get this straight. Your stepsister is a witch and when Mom was pregnant with us there were weird things happening because of us being witches as well." Dad nodded. "Then she did what, put a seal on Mom?" Another nod. "And when we were born, she probably came to take the seal away from Mom. And then she saw us and just thought it would be fun to seal our powers?"
Dad shook his head. "It wasn't like that. Yes, she came to the hospital to take the seal from your mother, because she no longer had any magical powers to be sealed away. I was scared that similar things would happen again when you two grew up. I didn't want you to be witches. I wanted a normal family and I wanted you to fit in with the other children – so I asked Didyme to seal away your powers.
"She didn't like the idea very much and told me that she would only seal a part of it. Then she must have seen something when I let her see you. She was so awed when she saw you that I wondered what that was about. She told me that she would seal away your powers but that the seal would break at some point.
"Didyme told me that it would probably make sense if I prepared you and your mother before the seals broke, but I couldn't bring myself to tell you. She also said that she would have to take you with her once you were finished with school. At first I didn't agree, but she told me that you were special and that she needed to take you along for some time and she refused to put a lasting seal on you if I didn't agree. So I did.
"You and Bella were such wonderful kids. Smart, beautiful and you got along with everyone. I didn't want you to be different and so I didn't tell you. Then when you saved that girl from the fire in your school, I knew that the seal must have broken. I had been worried how this would work out but then everything stayed normal and you got that scholarship, so I stopped worrying."
It took a moment for me to digest this information.
"Whoa," I heard Dylan breath out. That pretty much summed up my thoughts.
"So you've been lying to us our entire life?" I asked him after a few moments. I felt how my temper was starting to flare up.
"Chris," Bella warned.
I just quirked an eyebrow at her and crossed my arms.
"I wasn't lying to you – I just..."
"Kept the truth from us so your perfect family wouldn't be ruined," I ended for him.
Dad flinched at the sharp sound of my voice but I couldn't really bring myself to care.
"It is nice to know that you were willing to give us away just so you could have a normal life."
"Maybe you should calm down, Chris," Dylan murmured, suddenly standing right behind me.
"I don't want to calm down. My own father thinks that I'm a freak and found it perfectly okay to sell us to his stepsister just to have things the way he wanted them to be," I snapped.
A wave of hurt crashed down on me.
It wasn't entirely my own. Looking at Bella, I saw her looking down to the ground.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your show, but I really want to know what is really going on – enough with the nonsense," my mother said. She walked to the center of the room and looked at each of us with a demanding expression.
"Reneé," Dad started but was interrupted by Bella.
"It's not nonsense. It's pretty sad and infuriating, to be honest. I'm gonna go and pack my things." She started to make her way out of the room, but Mom grabbed her arm.
"No one is going anywhere without telling me the truth."
I saw Edward jerk slightly in Bella's direction.
Mom let go of Bella's arm, since she had halted in her movements and looked at her intensely.
"The truth is that your husband seems to be a selfish liar," I spat, glaring at my father.
He just sat there, looking down at the ground.
Mom stomped her foot on the ground. "I refuse to believe this story. This is not some Disney movie, so stop making up ridiculous things like you being witches," she shrieked.
I was still looking at Dad, who didn't think it was necessary to look at his daughters.
Hurt and anger mixed within me and only intensified each second.
I felt how Dylan stepped away from me.
"Chris," I heard Bella hiss at me.
I looked at her and found her looking at me in disapproval. You need to control yourself. You can't set the house on fire – at least not yet.
The sound of her voice in my head surprised me and momentarily broke the spell of my anger.
Looking down, I noticed how my hands were blazing. Frowning, I concentrated on quenching the flames. Reluctantly, they left, although I could feel that they shared my anger and just wanted to help me express it.
I turned on my heel and waltzed out of the room. Bella was quick to follow me.
Once we were both in our room, we collapsed on Bella's bed, since it was closer to the door.
The boys walked in as well, both of them watching us with worried expressions.
For a few moments, no one said anything.
Then I felt how pure sadness took over Bella's being.
Before I could react, Edward was already kneeling in front of her, wiping away her tears.
"I can't believe that he just lied to us... how can he even sell us out like that?" she blubbered.
I wanted to comfort her, but I didn't know what to say to her.
Bella looked up at me and sent me a watery smile, obviously sensing my intention.
"Bella, love, don't be so hard on him. He only did what he thought was the right thing to do," Edward said soothingly.
I pulled a grimace at that and got off the bed, going over to our small walk-in closet, and frowning. We had too many things to pack.
"I'll take care of the packing," Dylan offered.
I turned around and found him standing right behind me again. Without saying anything, I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.
Dylan returned the hug, running a hand through my hair. "Don't worry, everything will work out."
I didn't respond to that. I wasn't even sure if he knew what he was talking about. I was just grateful for him trying to comfort me.
"Let me pack your things; you go and get some sleep. Who knows how early Mr. Decour will turn up."
I shook my head. "I don't wanna sleep. I don't really want to stay here for another minute," I whispered.
"But this is your home—"
"Yes, but I can't stand to have my father around right now. I don't want to see him. I need time before I can manage to be around him without the urge to burn everything down," I admitted.
Dylan sighed and let me go. I still had my arms around him, but that didn't seem to bother him when he turned around slightly. "Edward, do you think we can take the girls with us to the hotel?" he asked his brother.
I peeked around him to see Edward's reaction. He was rocking a sobbing Bella back and forth and looked up at his brother. Then he whispered something to Bella. She nodded and Edward smiled slightly at him.
"I think we can," he then answered Dylan's question.
"But we need to pack," Bella exclaimed suddenly and jumped up.
"Don't worry about it, love. Dylan is taking care of that."
Bella looked at Dylan in question.
"Just tell me what you want to take with you," he said gently.
"Everything," I told him gravely.
Dylan shook his head at me. "I'll find out myself."
"Well then, let's go," Edward announced and got up.
"What? Are we leaving now?" Bella sniffed.
"Yes. Unless you want to stay here a little longer..."
Bella and I shook our heads at the same time.
"Then I'll drive you."
"And Dylan?" I asked.
"I still have to pack your things. I'll manage," he winked at me.
I finally let go of him and nodded.
He reached into his pocket and handed me a card. "Here, that's the key card to my room. You can choose the sleeping arrangements." He placed a chaste kiss on my lips. "See you later."
I followed Edward and Bella out of the room.
At the bottom of the stairs, Bella froze. "We need to tell Mom and Dad," she whispered.
A flare of anger went through me again. "I'm handling that," I promised and gestured for her and Edward to keep going.
Bella looked worried but went anyway.
As soon as the door closed behind those two, I went to the living room.
Mom and Dad had stayed pretty much in the same position as they had when we left. They both looked up at me.
"We're leaving," I announced, trying to stay as calm as possible. Through the bond, I felt Bella reaching out, trying to keep me in check.
"Where are you going?" Dad asked sharply.
I wanted to roll my eyes at him and tell him that it was none of his business, but I refrained from that. "Going to the hotel the boys are staying at. It's closer to the airport," I explained swiftly.
Mom's eyes filled with tears. "Will you be coming home for Christmas?" she asked me in a small voice.
Looking at Dad, I could only think of how I wanted to get away as fast as possible but I didn't want to hurt my mother's feelings. She had nothing to do with any of this.
I walked over to her and hugged her tightly. "Of course we will. We'll also call you as often as possible," I promised her.
Mom sniffed in response. "Please take care of your sister and tell her to keep an eye on you," she pleaded.
Now I did roll my eyes and grinned. "I don't need her to look out for me," I told her and it made her smile slightly.
"I love you, my little puppy."
"I love you, too, Mom."
She kissed my forehead and let me go.
I gave her one last smile, before I left the room and then the house.
xXxXxXxXxXx
The drive to the hotel was a quiet one. I sat with Bella on the backseat, our hands clasped together. Our emotions were mixing to the point that I couldn't even tell which ones belonged to me.
I hadn't even known that the hotel was indeed close to the airport, so I felt slightly better for not even lying to my mom.
I was so caught up in our thoughts that I didn't even notice what was going on around me until Edward cleared his throat.
I looked up and let go of Bella's hand. Instantly, the blurry mess left my head.
Edward stood in front of us with a worried expression on his face."Are you okay?" he asked us both.
"Yes," we answered in unison.
He looked back and forth between us. "Do you want to have a room together? I'm sure you need some time alone," he asked.
Looking around for the first time, I noticed that we stood in a long and empty corridor in front of two doors. Everything was nicely decorated and polished clean so it was safe to assume that we were already in the hotel. I wondered how we got here.
"It's not much of a mystery really. You two weren't very responsive but you still followed me," Edward explained as if he had read my mind – which he probably had.
The sheepish grin on his face gave it away.
With a sigh, I turned to look at Bella, who was looking right back at me. Neither of us were particularly sure what had just transferred between us.
Is it okay if I want to stay with Edward? she asked, We'll leave tomorrow morning and who knows when we get to see them again.
I smiled weakly at her. I don't mind. He's a lot better at comforting you anyway.
Bella smiled back at me.
Edward had obviously been following the conversation, because he looked quite content.
It was time to get that shield back in place.
"Which one is Dylan's room?" I asked.
Edward pointed at the door on his left side.
"Alright," I said slowly.
Bella wrapped her arms around me tightly. "Goodnight," she whispered.
"It's not really night yet," I mumbled.
Bella sighed. "Just humor me."
"Fine. Goodnight," I responded and hugged her back. I let her go then and turned away from them. "Don't keep her up all night, Edward," I warned and unlocked the door.
Both of them rolled their eyes at me.
With a grin, I stepped into the room.
It was a beautiful room, although I was pretty sure that this was a normality in a hotel that had any kind of class. It was held mainly in a soft yellow mixed with black and white.
In the middle of the room stood a king-sized bed that practically begged me to jump around on it.
Figuring that I definitely deserved some fun, I ran toward the bed and threw myself with as much swing as I could muster.
I immediately bounced off the mattress, causing me to giggle to myself.
Then I noticed that I was lying on something. It was the remote for the TV. Pressing the ON button, I started to switch through the channels right away.
Eventually, I settled on a music channel. The song was just too perfect to pass by.
Getting up to stand on the bed, I started rocking out to the music.
Carelessly jumping around on a bed in a hotel room, whilst belting out the lyrics of Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend, was way better than keep thinking about my idiotic father.
I could still do that later.
Suddenly the music was turned off.
Landing on the mattress again, I twirled around to see what was going on.
Dylan stood there with a collection of suitcases and looked at me, his eyebrows raised. "I seriously don't get what you have against my girlfriend," he said.
I grimaced at him and sat down on the bed. "You're ruining my fun," I pouted.
"I can go again, if you like." He turned toward the door.
"Now it's too late. It's already ruined so you might as well stay here."
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he prompted.
"Yeah, yeah... I'm getting to that."
He held up a duffel bag. "I even packed the most important things in here, so you won't have to rummage through the suitcases."
I grinned at that and crawled of the bed.
Snatching the bag out of his hand, I shot him a quick 'Thanks' and dashed into the bathroom. I changed quickly and brushed my teeth, before I marched back into the bedroom.
Dylan was already lounging on the bed, only dressed in sweats and flicking through the channels.
I crawled on the bed as well and made myself comfortable under the covers.
"There is nothing useful on," Dylan grumbled and got up to vanish in the bathroom as well.
I switched the TV off and just lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling.
It was almost surreal how everything changed once again during the course of about 24 hours.
There would most likely never be the time that Bella and I could just spend at home without someone suddenly appearing and telling us to go to some unknown place.
I wondered what this Marcus guy wanted from us.
So far the only thing I knew about him was that he was Laurent's boss. The boss of the Guardians.
But what in the world did that mean?
Marcus.
The name made something stir inside me. It was rather strange.
My vision suddenly got blurry. I blinked a couple of times but it didn't get better. Something in the back of my mind tried to fight its way forward. I tried to suppress it – I knew the feeling. But I couldn't fight it. The memory took over my mind without me being able to stop it.
I was walking through the field, my eyes scanning the entire place.
"Marcus?" I called frantically. "Marcus?"
"I'm here," I heard a voice respond.
Following the sound, I found him sitting behind a bush of flowers.
"What are you doing here? We were worried about you."
The little boy shook his head. "You should be more worried about the others."
I didn't respond. Instead, I looked at his hands. They were buried in the earth.
"What are you doing?" I repeated.
"Those flowers were dying," he whispered. "I had to help them." Then he looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "It hurts." His voice was barely audible.
I only stood there and stared at him for a moment, before I knelt down and pulled him into a hug.
"Why am I feeling this?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"Will it get better?"
"Of course it will. I'll make sure of that."
He nodded. "I love you, Mom."
I smiled lightly at that. "I love you, too, Marcus."
"Chris?"
I blinked. Dylan's face was right above mine, wearing a worried expression.
"Are you okay? What happened? You were completely out of it," he ranted.
"Um..." I slowly sat up and ran a hand through my hair. "I was just lost in thought?"
That had to be the least convincing lie that had ever left my mouth.
Dylan didn't exactly look like he believed that.
"I don't really wanna talk about it," I added.
That seemed to be satisfying enough for him, because he simply nodded.
Only then I noticed the way he had positioned himself. His knees and arms held him up on both sides of my body, keeping me kind of caged in.
This time one of my own memories crossed my mind and I shrank back into the pillows and pulled the blanket up to my face.
Dylan, who had sill been watching me now send me a confused look. "Are you sure that you are okay?"
I nodded quickly.
Dylan sighed. "I worry about you," he said. "You're way too composed all the time. It's not healthy to keep your emotions to yourself the way you do."
"I don't keep them to myself. I share them with Bella, whether I want to or not."
He frowned at that and he pulled the blanket down to reveal the rest of my face. "I want you to share things with me as well."
"There is nothing to share right now. You already know that I'm pissed at my dad."
He nodded. "But you'd tell me if there is anything else that occupies you, right?"
I hummed my agreement.
"Good girl," Dylan approved and kissed me.
I felt a blush forming and turned to the side. "Really need to sleep now," I mumbled. I closed my eyes and waited for Dylan to react.
I didn't have to wait for long.
"Now this would be the perfect moment for you to tell me what's wrong with you," he said.
"Nothing is wrong. I just think that I should get some sleep."
"Oh please, that blush is giving you away, Swan."
I turned to glare at Dylan. "I'm not blushing," I argued, knowing fully well that I was. "It's just really hot in here."
He snorted at that. "Keep telling yourself that. I know for a fact that you were having some naughty thoughts." He finally gave up his current position and slumped down on the mattress right next to me.
"I wasn't having naughty thoughts," I muttered and turned my back to him.
"I have a hard time believing that, but I'll just let you have your delusions." His arm snaked around my waist, pulling me closer to him and he rested his head on my shoulder. "Goodnight, Chris," he whispered and placed a kiss on my shoulder.
"Don't start any funny business," I mumbled and yawned then.
Dylan didn't respond.
Following his lead, I stayed silent as well and closed my eyes.
Eventually, sleep came and dragged me into the land of dreams.
"Cuddling hour is over. Get up!"
What the hell? I had barely closed my eyes. I wanted to turn around but I couldn't move.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered that Dylan had his arms slung around me.
Not thinking anymore about it, I just drifted back into sleep.
Or at least I wanted to.
Suddenly, I felt the cool air on my body and even in my half-asleep state I knew that someone had taken the warm shelter of the bed sheet away.
Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and saw a dark figure walk around the room.
I frowned and tried to sit up. Thanks to Dylan that didn't work.
I cast a quick look at him and found him fast asleep. Good to know that he had his peace.
Turning back to the person whirling around the room, I opened my mouth to start complaining but was cut off before I even said anything.
"It's enough that you made me track you down. Now get up and get ready, we're leaving in five minutes."
My mind slowly came back to working and my eyes finally registered that Laurent stood by the door, looking as stoic as he always did.
"How am I supposed to get ready in five minutes?" I yawned.
"I don't care how you do it, just do it."
With these words he left the room.
I frowned at the door, which was pretty senseless since Laurent couldn't see it anyway.
With a sigh I let my head fall back into the pillow.
"Dylan," I called.
He didn't react. I tried it again.
"Dylan, let go of me if you don't want me to burn your arms off."
Still no reaction.
Was he dead? I hoped not.
I twisted around in his grip to face him.
Looking up at his sleeping face, I realized that I'd never actually seen him sleep.
He looked adorable with his hair falling into his face and his mouth slightly open.
His sleeping face held an innocence that really shouldn't have been there, seeing that I knew what he was like when he was awake.
I reached up and patted his cheek lightly.
"Wake up."
Behind me I heard the door open.
"Hey Chris, are you..." Bella started and let her voice trail off.
I turned my head to look at her with a questioning look.
"Oh, I thought you were still sleeping," she explained.
She was already fully dressed, but looked about as awake as I felt.
Edward appeared in the door frame as well.
"Morning," he mumbled.
"How do I wake him up?" I asked Edward instead of responding.
Edward looked confused for a moment, but then seemed to grasp what I wanted from him.
"I don't know... scream at him?"
"Not much of an help."
Bella sat on the edge of the bed and looked over my shoulder.
"He looks so cute when he sleeps," she noted and shook her head as if she couldn't believe it.
"I know, it's kinda weird."
Edward walked around the bed and leaned over his brother.
"Alice wants to cut your hair and I think Mom agrees to it. If you don't get up fast to catch Dad before he leaves, you'll have a very weak defense for your hair."
Dylan's eyes opened almost immediately.
"No one is cutting my hair," he roared and sat up abruptly.
"I'm not sure about that. You should cut a bit off, not much just enough so that I won't feel strange that my boyfriend eventually has longer hair than I do," I replied dryly and got off the bed, now that I was free to move.
Dylan looked around disorientated.
"Alice is not even here," he turned to glare at Edward. "What was that for?"
I only heard Edward say something about holding me in a death grip, while I grabbed my duffel back and vanished into the bathroom.
I was pretty sure that the five minutes were up by now but since I didn't hear an impatient Laurent anywhere close by, I figured that he only tried to make me hurry as much as possible.
There would be no harm in taking a quick two minute shower.
I stripped off my clothes as quickly as I could and nearly jumped into the shower.
Since I didn't want Laurent to come in here and drag me out, I cleaned myself off so fast that I was pretty impressed with myself.
I wrapped myself in a towel and gabbed the blow dryer to make quick work of my hair.
Edward and I are going to head down for a quick breakfast, should I get something for you? Bella's mental voice asked.
Nope, I'm good.
Slipping into her mind for a moment, I saw how she and Edward left the room and started talking about how Laurent had found us.
I went back into my own mind, since I couldn't afford standing around and doing nothing and started to get dressed.
"It's kind of unfair that I didn't get to spend any time with you at all."
I spun around and found Dylan standing next to the sink with an unhappy expression.
"You did spend time with me," I reminded him.
"We only arrived yesterday and you're already leaving today. It's not a lot of your time that I got to enjoy."
The way he stood there, pouting just made me roll my eyes at him then I realized something else.
"What are you doing in here anyway? Have you never heard of privacy?" I snapped at him and rummaged around in the bag in search of some pants.
"Psh, it's not like I haven't seen it all before. You got naked for me before," he commented.
I threw a dark look at him over my shoulder.
"This is not the moment to talk about that."
"I think it was very funny. It'll be a story that I'll tell at every family dinner."
Now I was lost. Were we even talking about the same thing?
I looked at him and he only grinned at me in return.
"I was talking about the day you burned your entire clothing off," he clarified, still grinning.
I opened my mouth only to close it again and then decided to just ignore him.
Finally finding my pants, I started to put them on.
Dylan's hands were suddenly around my waist, while I zipped up my jeans.
He definitely didn't have a sense of privacy or he figured that I wouldn't mind.
"I'm going to miss you. I missed you every day since we were sent on vacation," he murmured into my ear and hugged me close to him.
I smiled at that.
"I'll miss you too, but we'll probably see each other sooner than you think."
I turned around in his embrace and put my arms around his neck.
Without having any time to react, Dylan lifted me up so he could kiss me.
The sudden bang of the door being ripped open almost made my heart stop.
I pulled away from Dylan, who didn't seem to be very shocked to find Laurent standing in the door way. He was still holding me up, which was kind of impressive given the fact that Laurent looked very annoyed.
"Get dressed and stop fooling around, we need to get going," he grumbled.
I had most definitely forgotten that I was not wearing a shirt yet.
Laurent shot a particularly mean look at Dylan and left again.
"You didn't lock the door?" Dylan asked me.
"Apparently not or Laurent just unlocked it. It shouldn't surprise you so much."
He set me back down on the ground.
"True," he allowed and reached behind me to hand me my shirt.
I put it on quickly.
"Let's get going, before Laurent really yanks me out of here."
We left the bathroom and I found the room empty.
The suitcases were already gone.
We made our way downstairs and found Bella, Edward and Laurent in the lobby.
Laurent wore a scowl on his face, which didn't really surprise me much.
"Are you finally ready?" he asked, when Dylan and I approached.
I wanted to snap something at him in response when I heard a familiar voice.
"Laurent, we have a schedule to keep!"
I looked around Laurent and found Ms. Carmina walking up to us.
I bit back a groan. We had to be the only ones in the world that had their teachers around them during the summer vacation. Was there anything in my life that didn't suck?
Glancing up at Dylan, I decided there was.
"What are you doing here, Ms. Carmina?" Bella asked in wonder.
"We can talk about this once we get going? Are you ready?"
She sounded like a business woman, who desperately wanted to seal a deal.
I looked at the others.
"We'll come after a you as soon as possible. I've already started with organizing everything," Edward informed me.
I just nodded.
He stepped closer to me and pulled me in a hug.
"Be good, don't kill anyone and take care of your sister," he muttered to me.
"I'll try to be good. It depends on how much those people will annoy me."
Edward chuckled. "That's all I can ask for, I guess."
He let go of me and turned to Bella, who had just finished exchanging words with Dylan.
Ms. Carmina and Napoleon were murmuring something to each other. The only thing I caught was the words 'Trydian'.
I was being pulled into a hug, without noticing. Turning my head, I came face to face with Dylan.
He pressed a light kiss on my cheek.
"Don't be too mean to Laurent," he said, earning an eye roll from me.
"Yeah, yeah," I replied slowly and pulled a grimace.
"We don't have all day, so let's get moving," Ms. Carmina urged.
The way those two kept reminding us that we had to hurry, was definitely starting to get on my nerves.
"Why didn't you make a better schedule and picked us up earlier, in case that we take a little longer?" I asked in annoyance.
Laurent's eyes narrowed. He was in such a bad mood.
"We did, but you left your house without telling me and I had to track you down. That doesn't work in just two seconds. It's not helpful either that your father decided it was the right time to argue with Didyme."
My mood was immediately dampened by that. I had already pushed the thought of my father's betrayal aside, but Laurent just had to be so kind and remind me.
I didn't say anything in response and just wiggled out of Dylan's hug.
Ms. Carmina and Laurent looked at all of us as if there were waiting for us to do something else to keep us from departing and then started to lead the way out.
Bella and I were quick to follow them, not without turning various times to wave at the boys.
Outside, stood a black SUV in which our teacher's climbed without saying a word.
Bella and I exchanged a look before getting into the back.
Inside it was nice and cool, almost chilling.
"Do you mind telling us where exactly we are going?" Bella asked, when Laurent started the engine.
"Guardian headquarters in Trydian," Ms. Carmina responded in a clipped tone.
Again, I exchanged a look with my sister.
That information didn't do anything to help us. The only thing I could recall was Dylan saying something about a lost country or whatever.
For some reason though, neither of us dared to ask what that was all about. Both of them were radiating unpleasant vibes, so we kept our mouths shut.
Laurent was speeding through the streets of Phoenix, which almost made me wish that Edward was driving.
Seeing the direction that we were driving, it was obvious that we were not headed for the airport.
With a small sigh, I leaned back in my seat and looked out the window.
"Laurent?" Bella asked, after a while.
"Yes?"
"Where is Didyme? You said earlier that..." she didn't continue, but Laurent answered anyway.
"She was with us when we went to your parent's house, but I told her to get going when I had to track you down, so she's already on her way home."
"And her home is where?" I questioned.
"Trydian, of course."
He made it sound as if it was obvious. It could have been, but with those people you never knew what to expect.
Looking out the window again, I noticed that we were no longer in Phoenix- or anywhere near civilization for that matter.
"So where is that Trydian place?" I asked.
Ms. Carmina sighed. "Do they always ask so many questions?" she complained.
Laurent nodded in answer.
Bella and I looked at each other briefly, both of us looking a bit offended.
Again the time passed without anyone talking. It started to get on my nerves, but I kept my mouth shut as well.
The scenery outside was not much to look at. We were driving through a deserted area, where I could practically see the heat.
Suddenly, I saw a person appearing in the middle of nowhere. I was fairly sure that I had seen him floating down from the sky.
I frowned in confusion and took a closer look, but he was now standing with his two feet on the ground.
"Umm..." I started, but was cut off by Laurent.
"It's not a hallucination."
He pulled the car to the side and turned the engine off.
The man approached the car in a casual manner, as if it was normal to descend the sky and land in the desert.
"Who is he?" Bella murmured. It seemed like she had seen him floating as well.
Ms. Carmina got out of the car and met the man half-way.
I opened my window to hear what they were saying.
"I didn't know that they'd send you, Peter," Ms. Carmina said, instead of greeting him.
Peter pulled a grimace at her.
"I can leave again, if you want. I'm sure that you'll find your way up without my help," he retorted, smirking at her.
Different than Ms. Carmina and Laurent, Peter seemed to be quite at ease. He was dressed casually and his sandy brown hair fell carelessly into his face, so he pushed it back every now and then.
"Aren't you supposed to be sorting out a mess that you started in Teas," Ms. Carmina inquired, ignoring his earlier statement.
Peter looked at her for a moment, before his gaze landed on me, since I was leaning out the window to listen to their conversation.
"Aren't you supposed to get those two, to the headquarters instead of annoying me?" he shot back at Ms. Carmina.
I heard Laurent mumble something about 'idiotic antics' before he got out of the car as well.
"Peter," he greeted with a nod.
Peter's eyes landed on him and he grinned.
"Well, well... if that isn't the great Laurent. We've been missing you upstairs. It's not the same without you and your sense of humor," Peter responded almost mockingly.
"He has a sense of humor?" I blurted out, without thinking.
All three of them looked at me instantly.
It was only to be expected that Ms. Carmina and Laurent didn't look like they valued my input much.
Peter on the other hand was grinning. Then he turned his attention back to Laurent.
"I guess I have to take care of the car, seeing that you can get them up there yourself."
Laurent shook his head.
"Alicia and I have something to take care of. You will take them up. We'll follow in a couple of hours," he answered and stepped closer to Peter and put his hand on Peter's shoulder.
Peter looked a bit displeased about that.
"So I'm supposed to be taking care of them?" he asked, looking at me with a slight horror on his face. "I'm not good at babysitting."
"Don't worry, we have arranged for someone to help you. She should be here any minute," Ms. Carmina informed him with a roll of her eyes.
"Hey, Chris," Bella whispered into my ear. I hadn't even noticed that she had scooted closer to look out the window as well. "Do you think that their headquarters are in the sky?"
I shrugged. "Seems like it. It doesn't actually surprise me though. I just wonder how that is supposed to work."
Bella made a thoughtful sound, before she tapped me on shoulder.
I turned to look at her and she pointed at something ahead.
Looking through the windshield, I saw another SUV coming to halt right in front of ours.
"I guess that is our second babysitter," I muttered.
"I'm not really comfortable with us having to go with two complete strangers to some place in the sky," Bella noted.
I knew that of course, since I felt the feeling radiating off of her and I shared that emotional state.
The passenger door opened and a familiar person jumped out.
Delphine was wearing a pair of very stylish overall pants that I definitely wanted as well. She walked over to the group of adults next to our car, looking completely at ease.
"Hey, Delphine," Bella and I greeted her at the same time, both of us relieved that we not only had someone familiar with us but also someone who wasn't totally serious all the time.
I liked Laurent, but he was just no fun to be around.
Delphine smiled at us and waved.
Peter eyed her carefully. "It's hard to believe that you are Laurent's sister," he muttered, loud enough for all of us to hear.
"I find it hard to believe that you are actually a guardian. You were only supposed to gather information and yet you managed to let a war break out between the vampires. Doesn't sound very professional to me," Delphine replied.
Peter made a face at that.
"Never mind what I said, there's no mistaking that you are his sister."
Ms. Carmina now started to get impatient and she went over to the car to get our luggage out that back.
"We need to get a move on. The island is not going to stay and wait all day," she instructed, while she threw the bags out of the car.
I looked at Bella, who had now decided to get out of the car as well.
I followed her lead.
"Am I supposed to transport all of that up as well?" Peter asked in disbelief.
"No, I can take care of that real quick, thanks to that Cullen boy," Laurent told him and grabbed our suitcases.
Once he had a grip on all of them, he vanished right in front of our eyes.
"How does he do that all the time?" Bella wondered.
"What do you mean?" Delphine asked.
"The whole vanishing act," Bella explained.
Peter looked at us in curiosity.
"You don't know?" he chuckled.
"I don't think that she would ask, if she did," I said.
Just then Laurent reappeared.
"It's on the move again, so we should get going," he said breathlessly and got back into the car.
Ms. Carmina didn't waste any time to do the same thing.
Without any more words being exchanged, the two of them took off, speeding down the street.
I hadn't even noticed that the other car was already gone.
Delphine shook her head before she clapped her hands together and looked expectantly at Peter.
Meanwhile, I was starting to feel a little hot. I already missed the cool air inside the car.
"Alright girls, gather around," Peter instructed opening his arms.
I wasn't exactly sure what he wanted from us but Bella pushed me toward him.
When we all stood in a close circle, I suddenly felt a short force going through me.
"What-" I started but then I noticed something else. We were starting to float up.
Yet, I still felt as if I was standing on a solid surface.
"It's a gravity-defying field," Peter explained,before any of us asked. "Sort of like a bubble, which is why it feels like you still have ground beneath your feet."
Delphine nodded as if she already knew about that.
"I've always wanted to experience your gift, first hand. It's really fascinating," she complimented him.
"I would have thought you'd seen it before," Peter said and said down.
He crossed his legs and it look very weird, seeing that we were floating higher and higher and the field around us was invisible.
I leaned back a bit and came in contact with an invisible wall. It really was like being in a bubble.
"How should I have seen it before, we've never met," Delphine said in response to Peter.
"Your brother copied it quite a few times already."
Delphine just shrugged. "We don't see each other all that often. Especially not when he's working."
"Wait, what do you by 'he copied it'?" Bella barged into their conversation.
While I paid attention to the conversation, I was also very concerned about the heights we were exploring.
Everything beneath us had the size of child's toys, which wouldn't worry me much if it weren't for the fact that I felt like this bubble could burst any second.
"It's not going to burst," Peter said.
I looked up and found him looking at me knowingly.
"You'd have to knock me out for that to happen."
"Good to know, I guess I won't punch you then," I joked half-heartedly.
"To answer your question, Bella," Delphine said, ignoring the exchange between Peter and I, "Laurent's gift has several aspects. It's also quite rare. He senses other gifts and is able to track them down, once he's within a certain range, he's able to analyze the gift. He once explained it to me. He sees it's weaknesses, the potential and different mechanisms. He basically knows how to work it, which leads to the third aspect of his gift. He copies them. Once he's very close to the person he can take on the ability."
"He can copy them? So he has the gift of every person he ever met?" I asked.
This was very surprising.
"No, he only keeps the ability for some time. Depending on how long he has been in it's presence. When he has physical contact with the person, he practically absorbs the gift, so he gets to use it for several hours before it fades."
"Well, that explains a few things," Bella noted with a nod.
"By the way," Peter said, looking at Delphine, "Shouldn't you have a more spectacular gift, seeing that you are related?"
Delphine narrowed her eyes at him.
"There is nothing wrong with being able to heal."
"I didn't say that, but the genes of your parents shouldn't result in such a extraordinary gift and then in a more simple one. Normally, all of the children have similar gifts. His gift is mainly mental, so you should have a more mental gift as well."
Bella nudged me slightly and pointed up.
Following her gaze, I saw something floating above us.
Meanwhile, Delphine continued talking. "I have a second gift."
My eyes went back to her.
"You do?" I asked in wonder.
Delphine started to shift slightly and bit her lip. It seemed like she was uncomfortable.
"I learned very early that it's not wise to tell other people about it. It scares them off," she told us.
"Is it deadly?"
Delphine smiled and shook her head.
"Oh, tell us what it is. I'm pretty certain that it's not as bad as you make it out to be," Peter pushed.
"Why would I tell you? I hardly even know you."
Peter shot her a quick grin.
"That's true, but you know what my job is so you should know that I'm able to keep a secret."
Delphine sighed.
"I can sense other gifts nearby, like my brother..."
"And that's what you were trying to hide?" Peter interrupted her.
Delphine shot him a look. "I wasn't done talking."
"Oh. Keep going then."
Delphine directed her gaze upwards real quick, before she continued.
"I can't track them down like he does. I can actually only sense them because my ability is Gift Erasure. I eliminate the gifts of others permanently. It's kind of ironic that my second ability is healing."
"You steal powers?" Peter and I questioned at the same time.
Delphine nodded.
"How many have you already erased," Peter pressed.
"Only three. And it's not all that pleasant. I get to feel every emotion that the person ever connected with the gift."
"No wonder that you don't tell anyone about it. I can imagine how people would avoid you, because of that gift."
Delphine didn't respond. She just looked up again.
"We're almost there."
I looked back up as well.
The clouds around us were thinning and I could clearly make out what I had seen floating above us earlier.
It looked like a piece of land, being ripped off a continent and sent up to the sky.
"It's an island," Bella said in awe.
"It's Trydian," Peter explained.
For a moment we all just looked up, while our bubble moved closer to it.
"Hey, Delphine," I spoke after a moment, making her look back at me. "Just so you know, Bella and I still like you even if you could steal our powers if you wanted to."
Bella's agreement, flooded through the bond mixed with affection and amusement. I didn't bother asking her what that was about.
Delphine chuckled lightly. "That is very nice of you, but you don't even have anything to worry about. Your gifts are too big and too forceful for me to touch them. I could never take all of it- merely a few parts."
"Of course," I whispered, not very surprised that Bella and I were a strange exception once again.
"Wait," Peter interrupted. "Who are the two of you exactly?"
Now we all turned our attention to him.
"You don't know?" Delphine wondered.
"I was only told that we there are two girls who have to get to head quarters. No specifics."
"Who gave you the assignment?"
"It was Charlotte."
Delphine giggled. "No wonder, she didn't give you the specifics then. She's not very fond of you."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"That she's holding a grudge against you ever since you-"
"Yeah, yeah. I know that. I want to know what the specifics are."
Delphine opened her mouth, but closed it again.
We had reached the island and Peter got back to his feet.
He put his hands on the invisible walls and directed us closer to the ground.
We were at a giant gate, through which a stream flowed with two walkways on either side of it.
The stream flowed down the edge of the island as well, but there was no water running over the edge. It seemed more like white mist- like a cloud.
Whatever it was in this stream, it wasn't water. It was too white for that.
Peter directed us toward the ground. Another force went through and all of us were free to move again.
"Welcome to Trydian," Peter announced. "Are now going to tell me, who I just led unto this sacred ground."
Delphine just gestured for us to keep quiet and then walked up to the big gate.
Next to it was a small booth in which a small woman sat.
Once she spotted us she asked for our names.
"Those are Isabella and Christabel Swan, they want to-" Delphine didn't get to finish her sentence
The woman got up and looked at us with wide eyes.
"Didyme arrived a while ago, she told me about her nieces," she said, sounding almost like she was about to cry.
"What?" Peter called in the background. "They are Didyme's nieces?"
Delphine looked a bit confused about that. "I was actually going to say that they are the bonded ones..."
Now the woman in the booth looked like she was about to faint.
I heard Bella sigh beside me and I had to hold back a sigh of my own.
"The bonded..." Peter started to whisper but stopped, it was almost like he was choking on the words. Then he regained his posture. "I'm going to kill Charlotte for that!"
The door to the booth opened and the woman came over to shake Bella's and my hands.
She didn't say anything and just let us go before she turned toward the wall next to her booth.
She snipped the fingers of her right hand, which made a wand appear in it.
Tapping it against the wall, she muttered something under breath.
Then she stepped back and we all watched how the wall parted to reveal a golden staircase behind it.
"You can take the stairs. No need for you to make your way across the island to get to Marcus," she said and gestured for us to go ahead.
Bella and I turned to look at Delphine and Peter, who both nodded for us to go ahead.
Hesitating shortly we started to go up the golden steps with Peter and Delphine following behind us.
A low rumbling came from behind us and when I turned around, I saw the wall closing up.
"Where do these stairs lead to?" Bella asked.
"They teleport us right over to Marcus," Delphine explained.
Suddenly a door opened in front of us, despite the fact that there hadn't actually been a door.
The light behind the door was blinding. I took an involuntary step back.
"Chris?" I heard Bella ask. Her hand grabbed mine and she squeezed it tightly. "I saw something."
"You saw something?" I repeated. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Another one of Melantha's memories. Just second ago."
I made a sound of enlightment. "What did you see?"
"Marcus is Aro's brother."
A/N:It almost pains me to have revealed a part of Marcus'identity :/ I really enjoyed, being the only one who knew what was going on... oh well, I'm still happy to share this story with you :)
So please tell me what you think of this chapter, I value your opinions very much
Lots and Lots of love
xoxo~ Star