The Twihaze
Summary:
Edward rejects Bella's love. Stunned and hurt, Bella runs from the confrontation only to go face to face with a rogue Rinne. Barely clinging to her life from repeated attacks, she is saved by Marjorie Daw, who subsequently sends her away to be trained as a Flame-Haze.
A century later, a changed Bella meets the Cullens. But how will they cope when they find out that they're sweet naïve Bella isn't as innocent as she once was.
Chapter 4
Edward POV
"No."
"Come on, please!"
"No!"
"Why?"
"Because it makes me look like an idiot. Besides, I can't fight in that!"
"Why would you want to fight in it?"
-_-. That was the only way to describe the look on Bella's face when Alice asked her question. I chuckled and Bella turned to me.
"I suppose you find that funny," she said, glaring at me. Her eyes glittered.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Very," I said, grinning. She scowled and rolled her eyes.
"Fine, I'll put it on but the instant Carlisle gets back, I'm taking it off," she said.
"Yay! You'll be in it for about two hours then," she said with a cheerful grin. Bella scowled again before leaving the room.
When she returned she was wearing the white sundress Alice had been trying to put her in. The spaghetti straps showed the bandages which wrapped her from her waist up. She caught me staring and gave me a chagrined smile.
"When Carlisle gets back I think I'll bully him into taking it off," she said, eyeing the bandages which wrapped her arms.
I raised a brow and she stuck her tongue out at me.
"They've only been on for a day. They shouldn't come off so soon," I said. "Especially with the injuries you received."
"Oh please, they've already healed. See?" she said and made a show of waving her arms around like crazy. I was stunned.
"How could they heal so fast?" I asked. I was at her side in an instant, touching the 'wounded' area.
"I heal fast?" she said, like a question. She pulled her hand away and got up. "I'm hungry," and she made her way to the kitchen.
"Bella," I said softly, watching her rummage through our well stocked fridge from behind the kitchen island.
"Hm?" she said, not looking at me.
"What were you doing… when you got those injuries?" I asked sounding nonchalant.
She hesitated for not more than a second before speaking.
"You've been dying to ask me that all this time haven't you?" she asked, closing the fridge and leaning against the counter with an apple in her hand. The thoughts of everyone in the house now centered on our conversation.
I waited. "Later," she said, walking out.
"No," I said, putting my arm out to block her. "Now!"
She scowled. Then did something weird. She grinned.
"Fine, I'll tell you," she said. In a second, everyone, minus Carlisle who was at work, was by my side looking intently at Bella. "On one condition," she said, holding up her hand.
"What?" Emmet asked, looking excited.
"Catch me." Her voice sounded like a whisper. Catch her? Why where we supposed to catch her?
I opened my mouth to say something when I realized she wasn't there.
"Too slow," she sang. It sounded like she was outside. Emmet grinned. I knew he was pumped for a good chase.
We all dashed outside only to find that Bella was nowhere to be found.
"Yoo-hoo, up he-ere."
We turned and saw Bella standing on the roof of our house. In one strong leap we were there too, grabbing for her. She was faster than before.
She dodged away from our outstretched arms and leaped lightly off of the roof. She giggled as she ran to the cover of the forest.
"Keep up." She yelled as we chased after her.
Bella POV
It was exhilarating, the rush that came while running through the forest, being hunted by the Cullens. I laughed as I swung myself out and above the trees. I heard the Cullens' passage below me. Apparently they hadn't discovered my side trip.
I landed on a branch and focused. I needed a specific place to tell them, to show them. My mind clicked as the perfect place came to mind. I let out a shrill whistle and ran.
Sure enough, they followed as I lead them to our destination. Then, I froze as arms locked around me. Instinct kicked in and I grabbed the attacker and threw him over my shoulder. He flew into a tree and the tree broke.
I took a decent look and realised that it was Emmet. He was lucky that I didn't accidentally use my flame on him.
"Nice try Em, but not good enough," and with that I was gone.
A few golden rays cast an odd orangey light on the small beach. A few of the rays caught Marie's earring and it reflected gold and black light. I stood and the roof of a closed hut which stood on the beach's shore line. The sea wind whipped my hair around my head.
It had taken most of the day, but I had led the Cullens on a wild goose-chase all through the small city which they were currently taking residence in. I had lost them about an hour back however, so I decided to come to the beach, the place where I decided I was going to show them.
I looked at the few people left on the beach. They would do well for my demonstration; a few of them were torches whose flames were dimming.
They arrived without making any noise. It was only the sudden flare of existence which alerted me to their presence.
"You made it," I said, not turning to look at them.
"You mean you led us here?" Carlisle asked. I supposed he had joined the hunt at some point in the afternoon.
"As a matter of fact, yes."
"So you're going to answer our questions?" Edward asked.
"Yes," I said, "I did promise, didn't I?"
"Okay. What was that thing that we fought yesterday?" Carlisle asked.
I chuckled. "Funny you say fought when you barely scratched him," I said. Emmet growled and then made as if to say something but I stopped him.
"Easy Em," I said holding up a hand. "Carlisle, that thing I fought yesterday is called a Rinne, it is a servant of a being we call Denizens."
"Denizens?" Alice asked. I nodded.
"Right next to this world exists another dimension, called the Crimson Realm, which is home to Denizens and Rinne alike. They feed off of a substance called existence. However, existence isn't as abundant in the Crimson Realm as it is in this world therefore they often journey between the worlds to feed off of the existence found here."
"And how does this affect us?" Rosalie asked.
"Think of it in this way, Rose," I said. "The entire world depends on the balance of existence. If a lot of existence were to disappear then the world would be thrown out of balance."
"What is existence exactly, Bella?" Carlisle asked.
"Existence… it… it's hard to describe. Think of it as the basic element for living. More important than a beating heart or than blood running through your veins. Without it, you just cease to exist. It was like you were never born. Any pictures with you all there'll be is an empty space. Your old room, probably a guest room. A child," and I paused. I thought of Charlie, the father who, when I visited him, didn't remember me. I ground my teeth to hold back my tears. "Never born," I whispered.
"That's terrible," Carlisle said. I broke out of my melancholic state and whirled to face him.
"That's life," I said coldly.
"Isn't there anything that can be done to stop them?" Carlisle asked. I knew his sympathetic nature would make him ask this.
"Not all Denizens think it's right to steal your existence," I said. "That's why some of them have come into this world to fight them. They form contracts with humans who have survived near fatal contact with a Denizen to create Flame Hazes. They constantly fight against Denizens and Rinne to protect this world."
"How?" Jasper asked. "If a human's existence is eaten, how can you keep the balance?"
"When a human's existence is eaten, they still leave behind a small trace of their existence. Flame Hazes manipulate these and create temporary replacements called torches."
"Why do you do that?" Esme asked.
"Think of it like this; say someone jumps out of a second floor window. If that person lands on concrete then they'll be severely injured. That represents the way denizens consume existence. Now say the concrete is replaced with grass or sand, then the injuries will be less severe. The torches are like the grass, they ease the impact of having a person simply disappear."
"But-"
"Here's an example right now," I said and pointed to a group of teens who were walking along the beach. In the group there was one teen who the others didn't seem to notice. Burning in the center of his chest was a dying flame.
"Now watch," I whispered and just as the words left my mouth, the flame erupted around the boy's body then died leaving a wisp of smoke. The other teens didn't even look fazed by the spontaneous combustion of one of their friends. They just walked on, laughing at a joke one of them must have told.
Esme gasped. "What happened there?" she all but shouted in shock.
"That boy was a torch" I said jumping down from the roof and in the middle of the passing group.
"Hey watch it!" one of them said angrily before the rest of the group walked away.
"What happened to him?" Alice asked jumping down after me.
"His flame died," I said. "Once a torch's flame has died it just disappears. By that time the person's existence has disappeared so much that there's no real damage done to the balance."
"That's terrible," Alice said. Jasper put his arms around her.
"Why didn't they notice anything?" Emmet asked.
"They didn't notice because that boy's existence had faded away so much that they barely remembered him," I said.
"That's horrible," Esme said.
"That's life. Sorry about having to open your eyes this way," I said.
"It's alright," Edward said. He sounded shaky. I looked at the others. They seemed pretty shaken as well. Esme was in Carlisle's arms; Alice had her face covered with her hands and was shaking her head like she didn't believe what was happening, Jasper looked like he was trying to comfort her, Rosalie's face showed disdain and Emmet looked thoughtful. Out of the entire coven the latter pair looked the most accepting of the truth.
I sighed.
"You guys should get home, I'll meet you there later," I said.
"Where are you going?" Edward asked.
"I want to scout out this place," I said. "Get a good layout of the town."
"W-will you stay with us?" Esme asked hesitantly.
"Sure," I said with a shrug.
"Bella, I mean, would you really stay with us? Like, become a part of the family?" Esme asked. She moved forward and took my hands in hers, her golden eyes pleaded with my.
"Um…" I didn't know what to say.
"I understand if you don't want to," she said hurriedly.
"Oh, no! It's not that I don't want to," I said "It's just that, it's a bit much to take in," I lied. "Lemme think about it, please?"
She smiled. "Sure." She pulled me into a hug. It felt nice, being in her cool embrace, I hadn't been held this way for so long. I smiled.
"We'll go now," she said. I nodded and she pulled away. "I'll make dinner for you when you get home," she said. I nodded, not trusting my voice. I felt happy. After Charlie had died I had given up on having a family but now here was a great opportunity. I hadn't felt this happy since I had beaten sensei for the first time.
I felt my eyes sting and I turned away.
"I'll see you guys later," I said as I walked away. I felt their existences move away as I made my way down the beach front.
You seem to be in a good mood, Maria said. I jumped.
Now really, did you forget about me?
"Honestly, yes," I said.
You're getting soft. Are you really going to stay?
"I don't know," I said. "Maybe. I could catch up on some training and research."
Hn. You truly are going soft...
I smiled and watchd as the last rays of light faded.
"Maybe I am."
Next Time:
Forget all your memories of me... that girl no longer exists nor do I intend to bring her back for the sake of a pup
Old friends are found but still cling to old ways...
Hey guys ^-^' Sorry about not updating for a while but I've had a major case of writers block. Normally i try to write out my stories a few chapters ahead before i update them but i've been stuck on chapter 5 for a while now and i thought it cruel to leave you guys hanging for so long so i decided to update although you might probably have to wait a while for the next chapter. Gomenasai!
